Page 22 of Cry Madness
Not that there’s a chance in hell I could talk my way out of why I’m in her room, looming over her while she’s asleep—evenwithouther catching me jacking it into her dirty panties.
Oh well, life isn’t worth living without taking a few risks.
Speaking of risks…
I trace a finger along the edge of the blanket. Dare to inch the soft quilt lower. Just enough to better expose Alice’s delicate features to the diffused light so I can admire her. Study the long, thick lashes that fan against ivory cheeks. Plush lips are slightly ajar, her gentle breathing a hush in the quiet room. I dare to brush an errant lock of hair off her face, relishing how the silken strands slide through my fingers.
It’s even riskier when I lean in close to inhale her. Relish the clean aroma that clings to her smooth skin. Listen to her deep and steady breathing. When her eyelids twitch, as if they’re about to open, I freeze, waiting to be caught. But she doesn’t wake up. She releases a soft sigh and hunkers deeper under the blanket.
“What are you dreaming about, Malice?” I whisper so quietly that my question barely breaks the silence.
I trace a finger across her bottom lip, remembering the press of her mouth against mine. The delectable taste of her. The warmth of her pussy squeezing my cock, and when my dick kicks inside the constricting confines of my pants, I inwardly groan over the relentless pressure building up my shaft. Alice Knightly may not have been my first, but after being inside her, I swore she’d be my last. I’ve never wavered in that oath.
Her grim and my crazy were made for each other.
She’s alwaysbeenmine.
She will alwaysbemine.
Alice is stubborn, but I’m determined. She may not have let me help her when she needed it the most, but I never left her. I was always here, ready, if she called. But she didn’t, and I had to stand by and watch as waves of guilt drowned her and sorrow stole her from us all.
I don’t do ‘helpless’ well, and knowing she was suffering alone fucking killed me. But she’s home now, and although she clawed her way out of that abyss, she left a piece of her soul down at the bottom.
Good thing I’ve never been afraid to jump into the darkness.
As I walk backward toward the door, I let my gaze linger on her exquisite face as I whisper, “Sleep well, Malice.”
Because she’s going to need all the rest she can get tonight.
Come tomorrow, I’m finally taking what rightfully belongs to me.
Her.
SEVEN
“I don’t see how he can ever finish, if he doesn’t begin.”
— Alice,Alice in Wonderland
I’m going to kill him.
No, seriously. If Maddox drives past this house one more time, I swear to God, I’m going to murder him. Literally, I will do murder. Okay, maybe I won’t quite do something so dramatic because, given my luck, I’ll probably leave trace evidence behind. No man is worth spending the rest of my life in prison, not even Maddox Hathorne.
But if that man drives up and down the block blasting his radio one more time…
The audacity.
Sugar.
Sugar in the gas tank of his precious Charger. Now there’s a good plan. Sure, it’ll be a sin to destroy that fancyengine he’s got under the hood, but at least it will get him to stop cruising by my house, making sure I hear the songs he’s playing.
Until this morning, I loved Papa Roach.
I borderline hate them now.
Again, I’m being dramatic, but I don’t care. What’s for damn sure is that thanks to Maddox being a pain in my ass today, I’ll no longer be able to listen to “Leave a Light On” without associating it with him.
With the early afternoon sun spilling in through the open French doors, I do my best to stop stressing about the bane of my existence, who zipped up the block for the billionth time. Instead, I stand back, one hand nailed to my hip with a nub of charcoal in the other. Tilting my head, I study the canvas, admiring how my current monster is slowly coming to life. Right now, it’s nothing more than a vague design of shadows and smudges, but when I’m finished, this piece will be a sinister, grinning cat with razor teeth and yellow eyes. It’s perched on a tree, with a thick tail curled over its back to rest atop raised hackles.