Page 12

Chapter twelve

Ashia

We stayed for about another thirty minutes, and then we were both ready to leave. My shaky legs couldn’t take anymore, and Serena had found her nightly fuck. Watching them make out in the car shouldn’t turn me on like it has, but I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of jealous of her. I’ve spent the past six years hiding from any type of affection, and now that seems to be all I want. Especially from Damien. My phone died, so I haven’t been able to see if he’s said anything. Knowing my luck, probably not. He got his thrill, so he’s most likely done with me.

But my god, the way he touched and spoke to me would’ve made Satan’s whore blush, and I find myself practically writhing and enraptured for more of him. I feel bad, and somewhat like a predator, as I watch Serena and her man-friend make out like they are. Wishing desperately that it was Damien and I instead. I can still feel his hands on my body, and my pussy doesn’t misinterpret how it’s now clenching around nothing instead of his fingers.

Thanking whatever God is out there that I’ve finally arrived back at my apartment, I go to get out of our Uber. Serena’s high-pitched yell draws my attention and causes me to look back.

“Hey! Did you have a good time?” She asks with heavy breaths, due to the man’s hands running all over her body and his lips on her neck. It makes the feelings from thirty minutes ago flood my cheeks and chest, and a part of me really wants to tell her that my stalker had his fingers deep inside me, making me come so I hard I about passed out earlier. However, the stranger in the car, and her lack of attention span at this moment, keeps me from doing that.

“Yeah, I had a great time. Thank you so much, we’ll definitely start doing this more.” Especially if my tall, devilishly handsome stalker shows up again. She goes to reply, but the man shoves his tongue in her mouth, and not in a very appealing way from the scrunch of her face.

“Come on, Garrett, hold on a sec.” She slightly pushes him off and looks back at me. “Yes, much more often. Love you! Call me in the morning!”

“Love you! I will!” I hop out and shut the door just as Garrett starts ravaging her body again. Heading inside to my apartment, heels in hand, I drunkenly start to walk up the stairs. The hallway is spinning slightly. Tilting and turning in ways I know are unnatural. Damn, how much did I actually drink? That’s the only explanation why I would be feeling this way towards a stranger. A hot stranger, a tall stranger, a romantic stranger. I keep naming off compliments with each step I climb. Totally not proving my point.

Once I turn the corner to my door, my eyes immediately drop down to the floor mat lying in front, and I have to slump against the wall. Bracing myself as I actually feel the disappointment sink into my body.

See? He’s done. Maybe I wasn’t what he was expecting, or he just wanted a quick thrill and call it quits. Whatever the case, I can’t help but feel the wave of dispiritedness crash into me. Every adoring touch and word he spoke is now crashing and burning. He did say he’d see me later right? No, he probably wasn’t serious. That’s just something people say when they don’t want to make goodbye awkward.

I just need to get to bed. Or take a cold shower. Probably both, because the needy feeling between my legs hasn’t gone away, and I'm not really in the mood to take care of it anymore. Taking a deep breath, and steeling my spine, I cast out the thoughts and feelings I’ve been having towards Damien. Mentally kicking my own ass for being fooled so easily, and I pull out the key to my door.

The key turns and the lock disengages with a pop before I push it open and walk inside. An unusual sense of despair washing over me almost instantly. It’s like it’s dark here even though I cut the lights on. There’s no fog, but there’s a dense cloud surrounding me the deeper I walk into the small foyer. An ominous tingle crawls on the back of my neck, as if a ghost traced it’s fingers across it. Something is telling me to turn around and run out the door, but that new strengthened spine isn’t allowing me to do so. It’s probably because now that my stalker has had his fun, the fact that he knows where I live is more unsettling. Maybe I should’ve stayed with Ser tonight. Any smart female with a stalker would’ve totally done that, but no. I had to get all soft and horny for the guy and get attached.

I turn the corner from my foyer, and in a flash of beige, a sudden sharp pain originates and spreads across the side of my face. The spider-webbing stings through my cheek bone and bridge of my nose. My breath immediately catches the alarm in my head, as if my entire body went on lockdown to a threat. Swift air glides across the sting, make my spine rattle, but abruptly halts the moment I see that my fall’s destination is the breakfast bar that separates my living room and kitchen. Before I can stop myself, I feel my nose crunch as I hit it, then I ricochet to the floor from my lack of balance. The floor underneath me creaks and cracks as my weight pummels into it, much like the realization that was buried somewhere deep in the abyss of my mine.

Someone fucking hit me… Damien was here waiting for me…

The wooden floors and bare white walls bleed together as I try to compose myself. My vision, that was already severely compromised, is now much more disoriented, not allowing me to focus on what’s in front of me. I turn on my back to glance at my attacker, terrified I’m going to see a set of devious blue eyes, but before I can even look up fully, I feel an enormous weight fall on top of me. My breathing is constricted by two very large, familiar hands. Tightening around my throat so harshly that I can feel him press his weight on to my airway. Trying my best to cling and pull on the callused appendages, I feel his fingers tighten around my windpipe. I gasp, desperate for air. My eyes widen as I look up, struggling to breathe.

It’s not Damien…

Cooper is kneeling on top of me, choking me, and suddenly every horrid memory, terrified tremor, and icy blow of fear ravages my body. It’s been six years since I’ve seen him, but evil doesn’t change that much. His greasy blonde hair flops over his face from the amount of force he’s using on me, and his dull hazel-green eyes look red from the hatred he feels. I should’ve known it was him from the force of the hit. From what I’m assuming was the back of his hand.

This is it. I'm not surviving this time.

I start trying to kick my legs at him, and claw at his hands, arms, and face for him to let me go, but it doesn’t do any good. He’s got me pinned and he’s much too strong for me. All of his weight is pressing me down, painfully forcing my hips into the floor while his palms crush my throat. My thoughts immediately go to digging my nails into any part of him I can, to get his DNA under my fingernails, for when they discover my body. I knew he'd come for me. I should’ve been more prepared than this. I was so worried lately about a new threat that I completely underestimated Cooper’s hatred for me.

Serena will be devastated… And so disappointed in me…

“You fucking bitch! You thought you could get rid of me?” I feel his grip tightening as he constricts my air flow completely. I try to suck in one last breath, but the slight amount of air bounces off of his grip and runs out of my mouth. My lungs are burning and screaming for air as I feel the familiar sting to my eyes. His face shakes with hatred, and as I claw at his forearms and shoulders, I can feel how taut his body is with rage.

“Are you seeing someone else, you fucking whore? Who wasted those pretty flowers on a useless, used up tramp like you? Huh? Look at how you're dressed! You think showing your body like a cheap slut is appealing to any real man!” My struggle is getting weaker and weaker with every passing moment, and the edges of my vision become darker. Light spots begin to twinkle, covering his face, the background, and bleeding into the black mist that coats the edges of my field of view. I feel my attempts to fight back lessen, and my limbs get heavier, but I push back through as hard as I can. Reaching out one last time and aiming for his eyes. Due to my static vision, I can’t quite tell what I hit, but from his lack of painful grunts, I know it wasn’t anything that could potentially weaken him temporarily. The heaviness crashes over my body and I allow my arms to fall to the side, not being able to hold them up any longer.

“Do you know what I’ve had to go through because of you!” Darkness is consuming me now. Closing in like a tiger about to pounce on its prey. I can feel my pulse against his grip grow weaker and weaker as the darkness takes over, only to be revived by a quick flash, quiet click, water, and…something else splashing onto my face.

Gathering what energy I can, I turn to my side and kick, gasping for air, and knocking Cooper off of me. The shock that takes over my body is surmounting as I’m actually able to fend him off.

Wait, that was…way too easy. He’s toying with me…

I grasp my throat and try to relieve as much of the pain as I can. Coughing and sputtering as I run the pads of my fingers over my throat, manifesting enough power to stand and run away from Cooper. My gaze immediately snaps in his direction, ready to jump to my feet, and that’s when I finally see him…

My vision is still spinning, but I see he’s lying on the floor motionless. I try to make sense of my swirling sight when it comes to a standstill…his head has a gaping hole in the side. Dark, jagged, and bloody. Skin, bone, and…brain…hanging around it in disarray. His eyes are plastered open in an empty, haunting stare as streams of blood run over them, and they don’t move or twitch… Looking back to the hole, my focus is brought to the pink and gray, cottage cheese looking brain matter scattered over his head…

That’s what’s on my fucking face…

A ghost like caress drags across my cheek, activating a ringing in my ears and scaring me back into reality. I allow my flight senses to take over as I try and catch my breath, scrambling to my feet as my eyesight throbs with every accelerated heartbeat. The blood that surges past my ear drums is the only thing that suppresses the screeching ring playing throughout my head. I sprint as fast as I can and run to my bedroom. Slamming the door, locking it, and running into my bathroom, gagging. Half from disgust and half from lack of oxygen.

What the fuck just happened…

As I run into the small space, I catch a quick look at myself in the mirror. The only thing I recognize out of the vast sea of red that now covers my face is the whites of my eyes. My trembling legs give out, drawing me closer to the toilet in just enough time for me to vomit into the porcelain bowl. Not only from the thought of brain matter and blood scattered all over my face and chest, but the fact that his bodily fluids are on me again… My head is pounding, and my heart might just beat out of my chest. I can’t even grasp the toilet properly because my hands are so slippery from the blood now on my hands.

My nerves almost jump out of my skin to the sound of the shower cutting on and I watch as two large, firm arms lift me up and take me into the stall. The grip tight and desperate, but not causing any pain as the large familiar frame towering over me stands tall. Controlling my every move. A cold shock screams through me as my back hits the cold tiled shower wall, and warm water streams over my body. My body immediately goes into a short shock from the two different temperatures colliding, while the waters trajectory is aimed perfectly so it doesn’t shoot straight into my face.

I can’t scream. My throat is too sore, and I'm not sure if any sounds would come out if I tried. So in an act of pure desperation, I start throwing my fists in front of me, only to land on a hardened wall of muscle. Hands that aren’t mine, yet soft enough to ease the tense muscles, gently grab my face and move my head up to see those piercing, teal, blue eyes. Black hair drapes down his forehead as the water pounds into it. He’s talking, but I can’t hear him over the ringing and raging heartbeat pounding in my ears.

“Look at me, baby! You’re okay!” I hear, muffled. The deep, soothing voice slowly penetrates the deep ringing, and makes its way into my eardrums. Without tearing his gaze from mine, he reaches out of the shower toward his phone, and he brings it to his ear. “I need a cleanup crew, now!” He throws it back onto the bathroom counter and puts his hand back on my face. I feel myself shaking under his calm hands. The warmth of them is trying to push out this cold confrontation.

“Look at me! Look at me, little wolf.” I do as he says but it’s hard with my hyperventilating, the edges of my vision begin blackening again as I feel my chest tighten. “I'm not going to hurt you! You can breathe, okay? Breathe for me, baby.” He takes deep breaths and nods to me, inviting me to join in, and as if completely hypnotized, I comply. After three large, painful breaths, the muscles in my chest relax and my vision starts to normalize. “Good, that’s good. I'm going to get it off, okay?” He takes my washcloth off the small hanger and begins washing my face. Gently scrubbing the evidence of Cooper’s death from my face.

Cooper’s death… He’s dead…

That realization smacks me. The blow almost as hard as the one that started this altercation. What the hell happened out there? I was as good as dead. Cooper was right there. Kneeling above me as death’s servant, ready to steal my soul, and then…dead. Not me. Him. I look down to my shirt to see the bloody chunks clinging to the material, and panic sets in. My fingers start to claw at it, whimpers finally escaping my mouth.

I just want it off! Get it off! GET IT OFF!

“Ashia, stop. You're scratching yourself.” I hear the worry conveyed in his tone, and it immediately makes me halt and stare at my shaky hands. He quickly takes his hands behind my head and yanks on the strap to my top, ripping it apart. He doesn’t waste any time doing the same to the strap around my back, and he throws the shirt to the base of the shower like it would hurt to touch it any longer. The action leaving my chest bare. Cold air brushes my skin despite the hot water pouring around us and hardens my nipples. Normally, I would be embarrassed to feel so exposed in front of a man, but that is the last thought on my mind. I squeeze my arms together, trying to cover myself as I reach to grab onto his shirt. Needing something, anything, to anchor myself, but I only feel his skin. His smooth, flawless skin. He’s shirtless.

Why didn’t I notice he was shirtless before now?

“Look at me.” He says and I comply without question. His voice reaches the parts of my soul that already trust this stranger. “It’s off, it’s all off. Okay? Just try to relax.” I claw at his shoulders to grab onto some sort of sanity, and he tightens his grip on me. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you. I'm right here.” I start to breathe again as I tremble and lose most of the feeling in my legs. My wobbly limbs don’t stand a chance after all of the adrenaline that was coursing through my veins. Weakly, I start to fall, but his strong arms hold me up.

“Don’t do that. Don’t give him the satisfaction. He can't hurt you again. I took care of it.” I look back at his beautiful blues, and his face softens as he looks at me genuinely. His stare is so soft and endearing. Like he’s truly concerned for me, and the most precious thing in the world to him. As if his gaze alone could restore the strength in my legs.

He killed Cooper, and he did it without hesitation…while that should terrify me, it doesn’t. He saved me, putting everything else aside to ensure my life. If I was sane, I’d start screaming at the top of my lungs and fight like hell to survive, but every fiber of my being is telling me to give myself over to this man. I'm not sane right now, and I'm not surviving. I knew that the moment I saw Cooper on top of me.

The stalker has come to collect his prey, and I'm willingly handing myself over.

My heartbeat in my ears begins to merge with the strong base from the music earlier tonight, melting reality and memory together. The soft touches of his hands wisp over my body in a paranormal trance. It could be because I'm delirious, but fuck he looks so good right now.

His chest muscles rise and fall with each breath, and the water runs down and over the riverbeds that his abs are. Finally seeing the toned torso that encased me earlier has my mouth watering. When I first compared him to a God, I wasn’t exaggerating. He stands tall and hardened, like he’s a warrior in command. Ready and willing to fight at the drop of a dime.

The softness of the pad of his thumb draws my attention back to his blue, chameleon colored gaze. His grazing touch across my cheek coerces a shaky breath to venture out. The touch is so soft and tender, that I wonder how he was ever capable of murdering someone. This isn’t the touch of a manic man…

I'm not thinking clearly…I watch as the blood washes down our bodies. Was it just on me? Blood also resonates on his face and chest. Is that from Cooper? How could it have gotten on both of us? Not that I have any inclination of how much blood would realistically spatter, and it doesn’t necessarily matter at this moment. Right here and now, it’s just us. I'm finally face to face with my admirer, and the veil between imagination and reality has dropped.

The red from the blood on his face compliments the teal in his eyes, and I watch as it slowly drips down his face. My sight focused on the racing beads until I’m brought down to his chiseled-out-of-marble body.

My hands begin to explore the depths, running the pads of my fingers and palms over his strong, broad shoulders and over his biceps. Only to survey further up his chest, feeling the strong, fast thud of his heart beating. After a quick concentration, committing his heart’s rhythm to my memory, I move to his neck and jaw. His skin is so soft, warm, and smooth, and the feeling of its hold on me only increases the impending build of my gut.

My pussy throbs for him as I watch the blood-stained rivers pour from us, almost now running completely clear…I slowly bring my gaze back to his hypnotizing eyes, not sure where to look when looking at such an exquisite man. His hand gently cups my jaw, and I lean into his touch. Finding myself in a trance. He has me totally and utterly entangled in his grasp. Molding me to putty in his hands. His face slowly moves closer to mine, gently closing the gap between our large height difference, as if he’s savoring the moment.

In my own moment of pure recklessness, I reach up on my toes and press my lips to his, almost instantly feeling his tongue massaging mine in a sensual and heated attack. His teeth gently graze my bottom lip in between each kiss as if he’s hungry for me, and he forcefully presses our faces together with such passion it almost steals my breath.

Fuck he’s a good kisser…

His grip around me tightens, and he lifts me up with one arm. Snaking my arms around his neck, he takes advantage of the new access and slides his hand down my side and into my pants. Allowing him to pull them off and discard them, along with my thong, in one swift movement before setting me back on my feet.

I then reach down, unbuttoning his jeans, and pull his pants down as he takes them off. The moment they’re out of the way, his large cock springs free. The appendage is long, large in girth, and veiny. The size is extremely intimidating. He wraps his arm around my back again, only this time, grabbing my ass as he lifts me up and against the tile wall. The cold, hard surface returns the chills through my body and collides with his hot touch.

His free hand glides down my leg from ass to thigh as he wraps it around his muscular hip. I bind my other leg around him out of instinct and scream out in pleasure as I feel his massive cock begin to invade me. He slowly thrusts forward, giving me a small time to adjust as he pushes inside inch by inch. My pussy straining as it stretches to accommodate him.

“God damn, you’re so tight.” He says in a low, husky voice, covered by heavy breath.

The head of his delicious cock grinds against my soft, G-spot, and then pushes past it. Sending lightning through my body. By the time he gets down to his hilt, he’s reaching so deep inside me, I catch myself squirming in his hold. Between the water and my natural lubrication, it slides in easily, while I feel the tearing and burning from his enormous size. The painful sensation is quickly replaced with pleasure as he pulls out almost completely before thrusting inside me again. Gradually, he begins picking up his speed and tightening his grip on my comparatively fragile body.

I cling to him, wrapping one arm across his shoulder and digging my nails into his skin. The grip deepens with every thrust from him as he hits that spot over and over again. His pace quickening with every hit, turning relentless and primal. A low, husky growl leaves his throat. Sending quakes down my spine and forcing out my own moans and whimpers. The sounds accompanied by my own heavy breathing as gasps.

His lips suck on my neck as his teeth bite down on me, and I yelp from his teeth scraping as he massages one of my breasts. His tongue glides over the bite, easing the pain before planting a soft kiss to it, and my legs tighten around his waist, pulling myself closer to him as his thumb circles my nipple.

“Oh, God…” I squeeze out the words through moans, and I swear I can feel the smirk on his lips against my skin just before he thrusts harder. Pressing his weight against me and pounding me senseless, causing my walls to flutter and clench around him. The fight of the push and pull in my core rages on, building more and more as my body trembles.

The forceful thrusts bounce me up and down, moving my breasts up and down against his skin. My nipples repeatedly grazing against his soft chest sends shocks through to my core, igniting my whole body on fire, as if this water pouring on us was made from molten metal. I feel a strong pull in my stomach as I tread the climb. Feeling the build all the way to my throat, a moan pushes its way free, showcasing my body’s need for that release.

“Damien!” I scream his name as he presses his thumb to my throbbing clit. Circling the swollen bud with tight, perfectly pressured circles.

“Come on my cock, baby.” His permission was all I needed to let go. Throwing myself over that cliff, falling headfirst into my orgasm and releasing every tense muscle in my body. The release is violent, the hardest I’ve ever come. Making my body tremble and shake. My pussy pulses and clenches along his incredible dick as I dig my nails even further into his taut skin.

He keeps thrusting through my orgasm, and I feel my eyes begin to roll as my orgasm continues, and even grows with intensity. Wave after pleasurable wave wracking through me and pushing out seductive moans in their wake. Growling and moaning escape him and vibrate against my throat.

I think I hear my name come out of his mouth as he tenses his muscles and thrusts into me shakily. I feel his cock twitch and a second later, his warm seed fills me. My pussy tightens around him again, as if it had a mind of its own and wanted to keep him inside me. Our movements slow and he tenderly, yet forcefully, pumps every drop into me, then comes to a stop.

“Fuck, Ashia…” We both pant, trying to catch our breath as he buries his face in my neck. Rubbing the tip of his nose up and down the sensitive skin there. My body almost goes limp as the after-sex glow crashes into me. Even as he gently pulls out of me and sets me back on my own two, very wobbly feet.

I must really be hallucinating, because he drops to his knees in front of me. His large hands run down my body, caressing me softly as he lifts one of my legs and hikes it over his shoulder. The one leg left standing doesn’t have a chance in hell to hold me up. So, I reach out to his other shoulder and steady myself on his stone body.

Once he makes sure I’m steady, he uses his large hands to glide up and down my thighs, washing my bliss, shame, and fear down the drain. His touch feather light as moves those magical fingers over my skin and sensitive vagina.

Once I'm cleaned, he stands to his full, dominating height, and I'm forced to stare up at this incredibly sexy man. His eyes pierce me with more of an icy tone this time, as he surprisingly presses his soft, swollen lips to my forehead and keeps them there. Probably for a moment longer than he should have.

After a moment, he turns off the water and grabs my towel from the rack. Tenderly using it to dry me off from head to toe before he wraps it around my body and moves my hands to the folded edge to keep it from falling.

I stare at him, completely hypnotized as I can’t move my gaze from him. The eye contact is intimidating, yet intimate, and while he has the eyes of a hungry wolf, there’s a softness behind it that does something to me. Causing my heart to flutter and my stomach to flip. Vulnerability striking through my chest like a blade.

He kisses me gently on the cheek and carefully leads me out of the shower by holding onto my arms, being careful not to allow my shaky legs to fail me. Gently turning me and leading me out to my bedroom, he walks directly behind me now. His body still encasing me as we walk, his touch gentle, yet firm, as he leads me over to my dresser and only steps away to gather fresh clothes for me. It’s as if he knows exactly which drawers hold which specific article of clothing as there’s no hesitation or mistakes.

“How do you know where my clothes are?” I ask embarrassingly, my voice trembling slightly.

“I’ve been watching you remember?” He looks back and smirks at me, and there I go, melting into a puddle again.

A jolt wreaks havoc on my mind and body as a knock comes from the other side of my bedroom door. I look back to him on high alert, while he looks undisturbed. As if he was expecting it.

He gently runs his hand over my cheek to comfort me. His eyes soft, calm, and void of any indication that there’s a danger behind the door. Giving me a slight, single nod before he walks over to it. When he opens it, a hand holding a large bag pokes through, and I can hear faint whispers from the man on the other side. I instinctively step back, making sure that the stranger can’t see me and holding my towel together in a death grip.

Damien takes a duffle bag from the hand, and as he whisper to the stranger, my line of sight is drawn to his back. He has a large tattoo covering his entire back and it reaches up to the top of his shoulders. It’s all monochrome, but that’s all I can make out before he turns back around.

But damn, that ass…

“There’s people in my apartment?” I ask him.

“My cleanup crew. Don’t worry they’ll be done soon, and it’ll be like Cooper was never here.” He smiles softly and winks at me.

“Who are you?” I start to shakily get dressed in the sweat pants and t-shirt he picked as he plops his duffle bag on the bed and starts pulling out clothes to get dressed as well, but not before he takes my towel and dries himself off.

“Damien.” He says, smirking. When the corner of his mouth tugged, it pulled my soul with it. The devious, seductive grin calling to me through space and time. It almost has me walking over to him and into his hold, but I refrain. Practically having to plant my feet onto the floor.

“I know that. Smart ass.” I try to speak with confidence and not like I’m internally screaming. “I mean are you like a cop or a drug dealer or something?”

“Opposite of both, actually.” I look at him and ponder for a moment, wondering what the hell he could possibly mean by that. Then in an instant, it’s like it clicks into place. The ability to move without being seen, knowing about ‘my story’, and getting a hold of my contact information somehow.

“You work for Devil’s Hands.” My shaky statement comes out as a whisper, and more of a statement than a question. He jumps, pulling up his jeans and fastens them as he walks up to me, only about an inch away. They fit snuggly, yet comfortably around him. How does his large penis fit in those pants?

“I am DH, baby.” He grabs my hand and brings it up to his lips, kissing my knuckles before slowly dropping it back down. “Damien Hartley.” He walks back over to his duffle.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know what you meant. I started Devil’s Hands a few years ago.” My eyes widen. Of course that’s what this is. Just some bored, rich man who needed a distraction and got caught up in something worse. All of my pining was for a man who wouldn’t normally bother to look in my direction. Probably looking for a thrill and nothing more.

I step over to the bed, sit down, and just stare at my hands as I feel his eyes on me again. The heat from my embarrassment is creeping up to warm my cheeks.

I don’t know what all has happened tonight…not only have I managed to fuck the head of a vigilante organization, but I watched him kill my ex. Granted, he tried to kill me first, but I don’t know what to think. As creepy and alluring as these past two weeks with a stalker has been, thinking someone was actually interested in me was…kind of nice. It opened up all kinds of possibilities in my mind, and now, I’ll shove them back down.

A man with that much power wouldn’t want someone as messed up as me. He probably wanted Cooper, and knew he could use me to find him. How could I be so na?ve? Of course that’s what this was. He stops drug dealers every day for fuck’s sake.

I look up just in time to see Damien stalking over to me, concern etched into his brows. As he sits, he does so carefully. Like if he moved too fast it would scare me away.

“I know what you're thinking, and don't. I'm not bored, and you're not just a plaything to me, Ashia. You’re not a charity case. Do not think of yourself like that.” I look down at my feet ashamed. I don’t know him; I suppose I shouldn’t judge him too harshly. At least until I do know him better. I mean he just finger fucked me in front of hundreds of people, killed my ex, and then fucked me in the shower. Granted, I initiated that, but should the fact that he’s a vigilante matter as long as he’s good to me?

What the fuck am I saying, of course it should! I'm so drunk and out of it. I need to seriously contemplate my life when I wake up in the morning. The first thing I’m doing is calling my therapist and begging for an appointment.

“Then what am I to you? I mean, why do all of this?” He reaches beside me and gently kisses my cheek before brushing his lips to the shell of my ear.

“Everything, Ashia. You are everything to me.” He whispers out as a declaration. His nose grazes my skin as he pulls away. His lips only an inch from mine.

“So, you weren’t using me to get to Cooper?” He gently leans back and hoods his eyes. Furrowing his brows, almost as if I insulted him.

“Absolutely not. I haven’t been courting you for weeks for that piece of shit.” He nudges towards my bedroom door at Coopers dead body.

“You don’t know me. If you knew…”

“I know more than you think.” He murmurs, interrupting me before I spit out something else that insults his intentions. “I may not know everything, but I will spend the rest of my life finding out every detail of you.” His warm breath fogs up my vision like a cold window.

We take a moment and just stare at each other intensely, trying to get a good read on each other. It’s probably much easier for him than it is for me. He’s so calm, relaxed, and almost seems happy. I know liars, and from the sincere look in his eyes, he’s not one.

I don’t understand. I don’t know him, and he doesn’t know me, but it’s like he doesn’t need to know everything, more like he wants to. He’s made up his mind about me, and he’s not changing it. He’s crazy…that’s the only explanation…right?

I’m first to break and look back down at the bed. A bed that I'll still get to sleep in tonight thanks to him.

“I suppose I should thank you, for stopping him.” I whisper shyly, even though I meant to come right out and say it. He places his hand under my chin and lifts my teary gaze to meet him.

“You don’t have to thank me. No one is going to hurt you again.” He wipes the tear that falls from my face. How can a murderer’s touch be so soft and sincere? So soothing, as if the waves of violence in his mind would never be turned on me.

“What game are you playing?” Regardless of whether he deserved it or not, Cooper is dead. This isn’t just a harmless crush anymore or light stalking. Someone is dead. Gone. Hopefully his soul is being tortured in whatever hell exists, but still dead.

“No games, Ashia. Just me and you.” He begins to caress my cheek again before he gently runs his hand through my hair. “You should get some sleep. You’ve been through a lot tonight. I'll let the crew out when they’re done, and we can talk more in the morning.” He stands and walks back to his duffle bag.

“Am I going to wake up to a…” I'm interrupted by him pulling a black flower out of his duffle bag. He walks over again before holding it out to me, and as I take it, he kisses my cheek again.

“I wanted to give you this one in person.” He walks back and grabs his bag before turning and heading to the door.

“Don’t…” The word blurts out before I can stop it. What am I about to say? Am I so desperate to ask my murdering stalker to stay the night? What could I possibly want from him? To hold me? Stand guard over me all night? Fuck, that would make me look so weak and desperate. I can’t ask any of that from him. I don’t know him!

He turns around at the door, leaving it barely ajar, as he drops his bag and leans against the wall. His toned arms cross over his broad chest, and his feet do the same at his ankles. That dark, predatory stare returns as he rakes it over my face and body, but then it softens as it drifts back to my eyes.

“I'll stay right here, little wolf. Don’t be afraid.” I stare back at him as if this one look could tell me his intentions and what he sees in me. After a moment, and his adoring gaze doesn’t falter, I lay back on my pillows and try to relax. Which, either because of the alcohol or the adrenaline crash, it doesn’t take much. In a matter of what feels like seconds, I drift off to a hardened sleep.