Page 7 of Dark Souls

A Storm Is Coming

I t’s been four frustrating days, and my heart thief has been radio silent. It’s as if he never existed. Sienna said there haven’t been any more suspicious kills that they know of. I hadn’t felt his presence in the shadows and there were no more notes. It was messing with my head in the most insufferable way. I found myself searching for him everywhere I went, checking over my shoulder in coffee shops and taking solo strolls through dark forests, hoping to lure him out. I constantly stared into people’s eyes to read their minds and freaked them out in the process, just to check they were not my psychotic stalker. Knowing he could morph into absolutely anyone had me on tenterhooks. I knew I was becoming a paranoid freak. And my family were starting to pick up on my odd behaviour, hence why I was sitting opposite my Grandma Alina in her sunroom after she insisted we have an emergency therapy session.

To top it off, Rue was more irritable than normal. I hadn’t seen Ronnie since the men’s locker room and, therefore, hadn’t fed properly for nearly a week. The bloodthirst was clouding my judgment. I couldn’t think as sharply, which was impacting my logical brain. I should be relieved that the killer seemed to have lost interest in me, not annoyed.

Rain pattered against the glass roof above us and drew my attention as I bent my neck back to peer up at the darkening sky. The brewing of a storm. My favourite kind of weather. I always found peace when the skies raged.

“A storm is coming,” I muttered the first words between us in ten minutes. Grandma never spoke first in our sessions. She always waited. The woman had the patience of a saint. Sometimes, we didn’t talk at all. She just sat with me in the silence, allowing me to close my eyes and ground myself. Other times, I used our time to vent. To scream and shout about all the vile things I heard in people’s heads, how much I hated that I could never just give people the benefit of the doubt. Let them prove themselves to be genuine or worthy of my time. It mainly happened through my teenage years, when I was still learning how to control my telepathy. Those were my darkest, toughest times. I know every teenager goes through the hell of raging hormones, heightened emotions and just a sense of unfairness against the world. But when you can hear every horny thought of the teenagers around you, the sick fantasies of perverted old men, the traumas of other people’s lives, it is hard not to let it affect you. Especially when you hear people’s judgments on who they believe you to be as a person. I wanted more than anything to shut the cruelty of the world out and just hibernate until it was safe. But it would never be safe. Evil, sickness, suffering, hatred, and jealousy will always exist in people. So, I had no choice but to learn how to live with my curse.

“Seems so.” Grandma smiled. Her green eyes were soft and gentle as I gazed at her pretty face. “I know you love a storm. I have to say that I prefer the first moments of silence after the storm has settled, when the world seems to slowly come out of hiding again. It always feels like the storm cleanses the Earth and breathes hope back into it for a fresh start.”

“That is because you are an optimist and see the world in bright colours.”

“What colours do you see the world in?” She tilted her head and I sighed. I doubt she even realised she did it, but she had put on her therapist voice. It was softer and slower than normal, as if she was taking her time to pronounce every syllable clearly.

“Red,” I answered without thinking. “Greys, blues and blacks too. But mostly red.”

She didn’t speak to allow me the space to continue if I wanted to. A few years ago, I would have left my answer at that. I never expanded on my reasons. But I could admit that I had worked on myself a lot since then.

“That’s why I like storms. The dreary colours comfort me and for a moment, the world feels peaceful. The thunder cancels out the noise. The lightning brightens the dark. And the rain washes away the blood.”

“Whose blood?”

“Everyone’s. No one’s.” I shrugged and glanced back out of the window as the rain fell harder. The sound pelting against the glass was almost deafening. The tension in my muscles eased slightly, but my fingers continued to tap against my thigh, trying to soothe the hunger. Grandma’s eyes flickered to the repetitive motion, knowing exactly what it meant, but she didn’t dare draw attention to it.

“I haven’t fed for a while.”

“No blood bags?”

“You know they make me feel sick and Ronnie is away on some SIA task.”

Being a pure-blood vampire from one of the strongest bloodlines meant blood bags never sufficed. They would keep me alive, but I gained no strength from them and, honestly, I wasn’t lying. Drinking from a bag turned my stomach. Rue needed a pulsing, pumping vein to thrive. My grandpapi, uncle and mum were the only other vampires in my family, but they were all hybrids or tribrids, which meant their thirst for blood was diluted by their magic and wolves. Of course, they preferred a live feed but they could survive off the blood bags with no problems.

We fell into silence for a few minutes, listening to the storm. I lifted my gaze to meet hers.

“I heard what you all said about me after dinner the other night.” Her eyebrows tensed a little but smoothed when she realised what I was referring to. “It’s okay. I get it. Grandpapi was right. I am a full-blooded Romano. That will always come with fear.”

“Ilaria.” Grandma’s voice switched back to her normal tone as she sat forwards with a pained expression. “No one in this family fears you.”

“But you fear for me.” It wasn’t a question. It was a fact.

“We worry for you. It is different. We know you will always face challenges that no one else in this family will ever quite understand. Yes, your mum and Grandpapi can relate to you but they also know your vampire side is much stronger than theirs. Which is why we are all so proud of you, Ilaria. You are one of the strongest people I know. Your determination and resilience are outstanding to me.”

I smiled because I knew that was what she needed to see. “What is it about vampires that puts everyone so on edge?”

It was meant as a joke but, of course, she answered as if she was trying to help me make sense of the world.

“Vampires are the most impulsive and unpredictable of all species. And you know the history of the originals? Some believe the devil blessed them himself. The first vampires were never meant to coexist with other species. They were sent to the human realm to dominate. To hunt. Of course, as all species do, when the wolves, fae and witches came along and posed a threat to their existence, they adapted to survive in their environment, which meant learning to coexist and not kill every living thing within their sight. They learned control. But that doesn’t mean to say it is easy. We all know how much easier it would be to just switch off your emotions, lose your humanity and become the beast. But it's not really living. That is not feeling.”

I sighed, stretching out my fingers before digging my black-painted nails into my ripped jeans again. “Is that what great-grandfather Lucius did? Disconnected with his human side when he lost his soulmate and unborn child?”

“My guess is yes. From what I’ve heard, he was never an angel before that fateful event, but at least he loved deeply. And I do believe anyone who can love so deeply cannot be completely evil. But yes, I think he switched off his humanity the moment Celeste died, which is why he could never show your grandpapi any love.”

I licked my lips and clasped my hands together to stop my nails from extending at the rage, just merely thinking of how much abuse my grandpapi endured growing up caused me. “No matter what happens, I will never be like Lucius.”

Grandma smiled with so much genuine warmth it seeped into my own icy heart because I could see that she believed me one hundred percent. “I know you won’t. We all know that. Is that what has been bothering you the last few days?”

There it was. The concern I saw in my family’s eyes this week. Had it been bothering me? Maybe a little. But it had mainly just made me even more determined to prove to them all that they didn’t need to worry about me. I could handle my darkness. My mind returned to the heart thief.

I shook my head.

“Is there something else bothering you?”

I chewed at my bottom lip, avoiding her eyes. God, she would be so upset if she found out I was covering for a serial killer. No, that wasn’t what this was. I won’t make any excuses for his behaviour and I am handing him over to the SIA as soon as I find his ass. This is just something I have to do alone. If I told any of my family, they would bulldoze all over this. They wouldn’t stop until they found him and would most probably rip him to pieces for daring to fuck with me.

My phone vibrated next to me on the sofa. A text from Lacey who had been in the group I’d forced myself to socialise with the other night.

Hey, doll. I’m hitting up a vamp club tonight in London. Fancy it?

“No, Grandma.” I shook my head. “I just need to feed. In fact, my friend Lacey has just texted me, inviting me to a vampire club in London. There will be willing humans to feed from there. I think I’m going to go and then crash at Grandpapi’s castle tonight.”

She nodded but I didn’t miss the uneasiness in her features. “Sounds like a plan. Just be careful, yeah?”

“Of course. I always am.” I smiled, jumping up from the sofa. “Thanks for the session. I feel loads better for it.”

“Anytime, darling.”

I leaned against the brickwork outside the club as I took the joint Lacey offered me. Inhaling deeply, I fought back the urge to cough from the burn filling my lungs and held it back before releasing the cloud of smoke into the air. I didn’t make a habit of doing drugs. It was pretty pointless as they never had the same effect on us supernaturals as they did on humans, but I was of the mind to try anything once . Well, maybe not anything. You wouldn’t find me down some alley with a meth needle hanging out my arm, that’s for sure. But weed took the edge of the bloodthirst enough to keep me calm and not fall into a dangerous frenzy when feeding.

Lacey jumped from one foot to the other, rubbing her arms up and down from the freezing autumn chill. “Why does England have to be so frickin’ cold all the time?”

I could tell her all about the flow of current easterly winds from Siberia and the impact of climate change, but I assumed her question was rhetorical, so I kept my mouth shut. Lacey was a vampire, too. We’d been in the same year at the academy and taken nearly all the same classes together, but I’d never actually hung out with her alone before. She was nice enough, a little dramatic, but I didn’t mind. She wasn’t one of those bitchy girls who smiled at your face while thinking of all the things she hated about you in her head, so that was a plus.

“Maybe you should have worn more clothes,” I offered bluntly, eyeing her tiny mini-skirt, heels and lace bralette. I wasn’t trying to be rude. She looked awesome. I was just being honest. I gave her back the joint as a peace offering.

“You sound like my mum.” She gave me the once over, judging my leather trousers and black long-sleeved bodysuit. The only bit of skin on show was my wrists and neck. But like she said. It was frickin’ cold in England. Her eyes lit up when they rested on my pointed nipples and the outline of the silver bars that were quite visible because of said weather.

“Oh my god! You have your nipples pierced! I want to get mine done too! Did they hurt?”

“A little. I did it myself.” I shrugged. “Who exactly are we waiting for?” I changed the subject before she said something absurd, like could I flash her or pierce hers for her?

“Lacey!”

She glanced over her shoulder at the shrill, high-pitched squeal from the blonde bombshell strutting down the pavement in her seven-inch Gucci heels that matched her silver designer handbag. Oh, hell no! Lia. The girl looked like a walking disco ball in the sequin dress which barely contained her huge tits. Yeah, okay. Now who was being bitchy? The difference was that I wouldn’t be faking any smiles for her benefit.

Lia was a vampire and witch hybrid who had also been in our year at the Academy. After the mess with the missing students in the last few months, we’d all graduated early so I had hoped I’d never have to see her face again. She was the biggest bitch and cared only about herself. Also, I found out a few weeks ago about the extent of her bullying behaviour towards my best friend, Neve. She’d even put her in the hospital during a combat training lesson she took way too far. Neve hadn’t told me about the snide comments or harassment she’d been receiving from Lia because she knew I’d lose my shit. I can be a crazy bitch when I want to be, especially for those who hurt people I love. I may not be able to do any permanent damage to her because her father’s strong ties with my grandpapi kept her family in our good graces but that didn’t mean I had to be nice to the girl.

Her made-up face dropped the moment her blue eyes met mine, and she visibly paled before shoving her shoulders back and plastering on a fake smile. I narrowed my eyes into a deadly glare and folded my arms over my chest as she hugged Lacey and then turned to me.

“Hey. Ilaria! Wow, I didn’t expect to see you here. How are you?”

Blank. Blank. Blank. Keep your mind blank and she can’t read my thoughts. Shit, she looks like she’s about to murder me. She must really hate me now, not that she likes anyone, anyway.

A smirk lifted my lips as I read her mind before she averted her eyes away from mine.

“What makes you think I don’t like you, Lia? I mean, you’d be right. But I am interested to know what gave me away,” I said with a chilling sweetness which caused her to gulp and her eyes to widen.

“Just… just that you must have heard about what happened between me and Neve, but you probably only heard one side of the story.”

“And it’s the only side of the story I’m interested in.”

“Right, of course. She’s your best friend. But I did apologise to your uncle for the whole thing and I heard Neve found her mate after all that mess, so I guess everything worked out well for her.”

’No thanks to this A-hole, ’ Rue snapped, pumping rage through my veins and forcing me to fight the urge to rip Lia’s tongue out just so I would never have to hear another fake ass word out of her mouth. Instead, I nodded, feeling an opportunity to rub just how well Neve was doing in her face, even if it may be a little exaggerated.

“Apologising to my uncle isn’t apologising to Neve. But you are right. It more than worked out. She actually has two mates. Twin brothers. Warrior wolves who are the leaders of a King’s army. And not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. They worship the ground she walks on, and she’s just left to go start her life with them in their realm. They’re probably fucking like Duracell bunnies as we speak. I mean, imagine that. Two dicks.” I looked to the heavens. “Double orgasms! Have you found your soulmate yet, Lia?”

I wished at that moment I had a camera so I could snap a picture of her face to show Neve when I next saw her. Flushed cheeks, jealous glare and mouth agape. Everyone knew Lia was obsessed with powerful men. Christ, the amount of times she has thrown herself at my brothers, any Alpha in her sight or even my uncle was embarrassing. Obviously, they all had too much class to ever go there. Even Leif, who would fuck anything with a pulse, turned her down. You make an enemy of someone we love; you make an enemy of us all.

“Good for her,” she muttered, flicking her sandy blonde hair over her shoulder with sass. “No, I haven’t. Have you?” She jeered with a vindictive smirk.

My eyes narrowed as she turned to strut off towards the entrance of the club before waiting for me to reply. But she didn’t get far. I hissed through my fangs. My need for blood affected my rational thinking, making me want to kill her before she could even flutter her lashes at the bouncers. My hand wrapped around the back of her neck and I yanked her back, causing her to lose her balance in her heels. She screeched as the hand around her neck stopped her from hitting the ground but kept her at my mercy instead. She stared up at my face with fear in her eyes.

I chuckled darkly as I read her mind. “Yes. I am a psycho bitch, Lia. It would do you well to remember that next time you think about pissing me off. You want to keep your tongue tonight? Watch what you fucking say around me.”

I released her, pushing her upright as she stumbled forwards away from me. She avoided my eyes as she walked to the entrance, a blush forming on her face from the queue of clubbers who had witnessed my warning.

Lacey gave me an awkward smile. “Sorry! I had no idea you two had problems. But I kinda had to invite her. She was on the guest list and had a plus one. It would have been impossible at this last minute for me to get in without her. We aren’t all royalty.” Lacey winked, threading her arm through mine and yanking me after Lia. I had to fight the urge to shrug her off and instead just left my arm dangling. I was not a touchy-feely person, while everyone else in the world seemed to love invading people’s personal space.

“Just keep her the hell away from me tonight. Or I don’t think it will end well… for her.”

“Gotcha. She’ll latch on to the first guy who shows her attention, anyway. Don’t even sweat it.”

I gave my name to the bouncer, knowing I wasn’t on the guest list, and watched as his face transformed into disbelief. He lowered his head slightly to avoid my eyes and unclipped the red rope for me to pass as he muttered, “Princess.”

I bit my tongue at the formality, drawing blood. But as soon as I entered the chamber, the title was forgotten. Silver, adult-sized cages lined the narrow hallway leading to the main part of the club. Inside the cages were humans, male and female, dressed in leathers, raunchy underwear, and some even with gimp masks and collars. They danced seductively to the pulsing beat, arms reaching out through the bars as if they were pleading with me. It had been a while since I had been to an underground vampire club, but the last I checked, this wasn’t the norm.

“What the fuck is this?” I growled into Lacey’s ear as she shook her head. Lia turned around with a knowing smirk.

“A new system,” she answered. “If you want to feed from a human tonight, you have to pay for it. You choose one for the night. It’s way better! We’ve thoroughly screened them, ensured they’re healthy, and they’ve agreed to participate. They want to be fed on and fucked by us. And they get paid pretty well for it, too.”

My eyes bulged in shock, but my heart skipped a beat with excitement. That was genius and exactly what I needed tonight. I took in their outstretched arms, realising that it wasn’t in fear to escape, it was in desperation to be chosen. It was fucking degrading, but I wasn’t here to judge someone else’s kinks. “Are you sure they are willing?”

“They have all signed contracts,” the vampire behind the desk shouted over the music as the three of us stepped forwards. “They either have blood oaths in place or they have agreed to have the memory of the night erased after. Some of them just want the experience. You must sign your own contract to promise you will not kill your human, feed from anyone else’s human or keep them for longer than your stay at the club.”

“People do that?” Lacey chuckled. “Try to keep them?”

“You’d be surprised.” The woman raised her eyebrow and shoved the contracts across the desk towards us. “You are more than welcome to enjoy your evening without a human, but you are strictly prohibited to the vampire-only section. So, what is it to be, ladies?”

I licked my lips as I glanced between Lacey and Lia. They were waiting for my reaction. Locking eyes with a good-looking male in one cage with blond, floppy hair and dark brown eyes similar to Harry Gould, the disguise my stalker had taken on. A flutter of excitement and adrenaline powered through me. Rue was practically foaming at the mouth in anticipation of his blood.

I picked up the pen and signed my name.

“I’ll take that one.”

I had never been one for clubbing. The music was never to my taste and I would rather dance alone in my underwear to punk rock than frolic against sweaty bodies on a dancefloor. And then there was the whole touching thing. For some reason, you put a bunch of strangers in a dark room with blaring music, throw a little alcohol in the mix, and suddenly it is socially acceptable to grope a person’s body as if you have the right. Yeah. No thanks. I’m good. Maybe just buying a human sub for the night was the new way to go. I was trying to be open-minded. Experience new things. And I had never experienced anything like this before.

Giving the human male sitting obediently at my feet the side-eye, I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat. I felt ridiculous holding the leather leash attached to the collar around his neck, like an owner with their dog. It was the only thing he was wearing other than the PVC pants that left little to the imagination.

Lacey found the whole ordeal thoroughly entertaining. She hadn’t stopped giggling since we sat down. She’d settled on a black-haired male, athletically built, with eager eyes. He was wearing a leather harness over his chest and not much else. Lia’s guy was wearing a full gimp mask, covering his face with a zip across his mouth.

“Why does mine have a leash?” I shouted over the music.

“So he can’t run away.” Lacey’s laughter grew louder at the look on my face. I turned to stare at the man.

“You are here willingly, right? If I unhook this leash, would you be allowed to run away?”

He nodded, but the excitement in his eyes told me he would most definitely stay put. My gaze drifted down to the throbbing pulse in his neck. My fangs tingled. Dammit, I was hungry. How did this exactly work? Did I have to ask his permission?

“So, what now? Do I just bite him?” I directed my question to the two girls. Lacey shrugged her shoulders, still unable to pull herself together and have a serious conversation.

“If you want. You own him for the night. You can do whatever you like with him now,” Lia answered.

“I don’t own him! He’s a person, not an object.”

“He’s a vein to drink. A dick to ride. Or a mouth to taste. That’s all,” she snapped back, unzipping her human’s mask and pulling him to her so they locked lips. My nose wrinkled in disgust as they started tongue fucking each other’s mouths. When they broke away, Lia made a point of zipping the mouth on his mask shut again. She was such an asshole. “See?”

“Can he even breathe under there?” Lacey asked, leaning forward to study the leather mask.

“He can breathe fine. Honestly, you two need to stop acting like the good girls you were raised to be and start being bad. Trust me, it’s so much more fun.”

I grumbled, turning away to scan the club, hoping it might give me some insight into how to behave in this place. Big mistake. Everywhere I looked, vampires were feeding on humans or fucking them. Those at the bar were having conversations while the human they had chosen knelt at their feet or ran their hands up and down their bodies. In the booths, there was a lot of moaning and groaning happening. And on the dancefloor… nothing was too nasty. Damn, so no one here has heard of the word discreet.

My anxiety heightened at the thought of feeding from this man in public. Of letting my inhibitions go and just taking my pleasure with no shame. What if people recognised me? I am the daughter of the King and Queen of all supernaturals, for Christ’s sake. I would die of humiliation if my parents were told I was seen dry humping some leashed human wearing leather bondage as I drank from him in front of an entire club full of vampires. No amount of blood was worth that mortification.

There must be somewhere more private we could go? Surely not everyone was an exhibitionist in this place? I caught sight of two huge vampires wearing dark suits and aggressive frowns standing in front of a black-curtained door.

“Hey, what’s through there? Are there private rooms?” I asked, annoyed I was having to speak directly to Lia but she seemed to have been here before and knew a lot more than Lacey.

Her gaze followed my finger and she frowned, shaking her head. “No. That area is for members only.”

“What do you mean? I thought this club was invite-only?”

“The main area is, yeah. But through those curtains is only for members of an exclusive club. The Underground .”

“ The Underground ?” What the hell was that? I’d never even heard of it before.

“Seriously?” Lia huffed, her eyes rolling when both Lacey and I looked clueless. “ The Underground is a restricted members-only club for the most depraved and fucked up supernaturals. Literally, anything goes. There is no moral code, no kink too taboo, no act too shocking. It’s basically the supernatural version of the mafia on steroids.”

How did I not know about this? Did my parents know? Of course they did. They must know. I immediately went to pull out my phone and text one of my brothers or Neve and then remembered I couldn’t. There were no phones in the Heroux realm along with their stupid rule of no vampires.

“How do you become a member?” I asked, my blood thirst just a constant ache now I had something more intriguing to grasp my attention.

Lia scoffed. “Why? Thinking of joining?”

“Just answer the question, Lia,” I snapped.

“I don’t know,” Lia reluctantly admitted. “It’s locked tight. Rumours are that once you’re in, you can never get out. Unless you leave in a body bag. And there seems to be only one rule. Never talk about it. No one even knows a member of The Underground . They obviously know each other but they don’t speak about it on the outside. It’s like a code.”

“Who runs it?”

Lia shrugged again. “I’m not a member, am I? So, how the hell would I know?”

Realising I was wasting my time, badgering her for information she didn’t have, I moved my attention back towards the bouncers. I needed to get closer so I could read their minds. See if there was a way in.

Standing up, forgetting all about my human on a leash, I started moving towards them until my arm was yanked back by the strain of the man not moving fast enough.

“Shit. Sorry!” I completely forgot he was there! He followed behind me as I approached. In a moment of madness, I acted as if I knew what the hell I was doing and had every right to walk past them. Both their arms shot out, grabbing me by the shoulder and pushing me back. Rue hissed in my mind.

“Where do you think you’re going?” one of them drawled in a thickly accented voice.

“I’m a member of The Underground ,” I said with conviction, staring deep into their red eyes. They weren’t even trying to hide their vampire sides with their fangs hanging over their lips.

“Prove it,” the other commanded. Shit. Was there a code word? Or a membership card?

I tried reading their minds but their inner thoughts were spoken in their native languages. French? And the other Russian perhaps?

“Didn’t think so.” He smirked. “Turn around, little girl, and go back to your party.”

I made one last-ditch attempt. Perhaps using my name would make a difference. “You are speaking to a Romano. You better watch your fucking mouth, asshole.”

A flicker of surprise crossed his harsh features and a look passed between them both. They straightened their spines, a little unsure now but still holding their ground. “No proof. No entry.”

Shooting them with one hellfire glare, I turned abruptly and walked away with frustration. That riled me up even more. Like I mentioned before, I didn’t like being told no. Feeling my restraint snap; I yanked the leash in my fist until my human blood bag’s neck was forced forwards into my hand and slammed him up against the wall. Rue was feral now and demanding to come to the surface.

I allowed my eyes to adjust as the red haze clouded my vision and my fangs snapped down from my gums. Fear swarmed the man’s eyes but before he could say a word, my fangs sunk deep into his neck. I closed my eyes, moaning as I let Rue take over. The euphoria that hit was as good as any orgasm as his warm blood trickled down my throat like silk and my hunger slowly ebbed away, making way for the insatiable arousal that took its place.

I ripped my head back from his neck, his blood dripping down my chin and met his brown eyes that were no longer scared but full of desire. When done for pleasure and not punishment, I’d heard being fed from was a high like no other and he sure looked like he’d been enjoying it. The long outline in his leather pants was a dead giveaway as he panted rapidly.

“Fuck, that was amazing. Will you do it again? There are private rooms just over there,” he pleaded. Rue was firmly in control right now, which was always dangerous but she was in a naughty mood rather than a deadly one, so I tried to relax and go with whatever she had in mind. Lifting the leash over our shoulder confidently, we walked our human straight towards another curtained door with a vacancy sign above it.

As soon as we were in the isolation of four small walls, I shoved his chest so he fell back on the chair and straddled his waist. Grinding up against his erection, I sunk my teeth into the other side of his neck and started feeding again. It was hard not to get carried away with the frenzy of the environment. The booming music vibrated beneath us, causing ripples of pleasure through our bodies and the musky scent of sex and blood filled the air. My fingers threaded into his blond hair, tugging aggressively to expose more of his neck to me. My mind took me somewhere else. To the man in the back of the bar with dangerous eyes. Heat coiled in my core and I moaned louder. If I weren’t careful, I’d be having sex with this stranger in two seconds flat.

Forcing some control, I stopped feeding and wiped the blood from my chin. The man stared up into my eyes but I looked away quickly. I didn’t want to hear his thoughts and break this fantasy. As sick as it was, I wanted to pretend this was someone else for a little longer.

Surprising me, the man suddenly turned in the chair, swapping our positions as he lowered himself to his knees.

“Let me please you. I promise I won’t stop until I make you come.” He started unbuttoning my leather trousers and I hesitated, at war with what I knew I shouldn’t do but also what I wanted. Fuck it. Who was I to deny myself an orgasm? I wouldn’t have sex with him. But if he wanted to—

Oh.

All thoughts ceased the moment his tongue found my clit. He hooked my legs over his shoulders and I dropped my head back in ecstasy as he went to work on keeping to his promise. A soft moan left my lips as I gripped the seat of the chair with my hands, my spine arching with pleasure.

I was so lost in the moment; I didn’t notice the curtain open. I didn’t hear someone enter. But the sickly sound of a neck-snapping was hard to miss. My eyes slammed open as I lifted my head to see the human drop to the side of me. His neck was twisted unnaturally. Dead. A shocked gasp left my lips as my heart flipped in my chest. And then I glanced up at the man standing before me. The clean-cut image of Harry Gould, except his eyes weren’t brown. They were entirely jet-black. Brooding. Dark. Dangerous.

Heart Thief.

“I guess you found me, Snow.”