Page 49 of Darkest Desire

The rest of the guests hurry out of the house, leaving me and Nico alone. And Antonio’s dead body. Adrien does linger for a moment, promising to help clean things up before he leaves with his date, who’s still freaked out over everything that happened.

I should be freaked out too but I’m not. The drug is still coursing its way through my body, making me feel like air, weightless and happy and warm.

I try to kiss Nico again but he pulls me into a hug instead.

“You’re not in your right mind,” he says into my ear.

“But you want to kiss me. You wanted me to come to you.”

“I did. Sober. Not drugged. Or drunk.”

“I only had one glass of wine.”

“How much have you had to drink before?” he asks.

“That was my first glass,” I admit, making Nico shake his head with a rueful smile. He looks even more handsome like this.

“Let me get you to bed. While you’re still drugged and not freaking out. I’m sure in the morning, I’m going to get a lecture from you.”

“No. I don’t want to go to bed. I want to have fun.” I run from his arms and head towards the back door. “I want to be free!”

“Sasha,” he growls, chasing after me.

I laugh as I run outside, bypassing the guards on duty. Nico motions at them to stay where they are.

“Catch me if you can!” I shout, kicking my shoes off, and feeling the warm grass beneath my feet. I could roll around in it but if I do that, then Nico will catch me, and I can’t have that.

I laugh harder as I run towards the maze. With a glance over my shoulder, I see that Nico is following me but at a much slower pace, like he has all the time in the world to get me. I pick up my pace and run into the maze.

Memories of the other night invade my mind. The night Jeffery tried to rape me. All the chaos and sex and fear in the air. How electrifying it was. I was so scared that night but now, all I feel is happiness.

And arousal.

What would it be like to sink into Nico’s arms? I may hate him but I do find him handsome. I find him so handsome that it’s hard to think in his presence sometimes. I know he’s a good kisser. A great one, even, though that may just be the drug in me thinking that.

But I doubt it. I think Nico is probably great at anything he does, meaning he’d be great at withdrawing pleasure from my body if I just let him.

If I wasn’t so afraid of him.

I run faster into the maze and quickly lose my bearings. I come across dead end after dead end and have to retrace my steps and find another path forward, all while Nico still hunts me. What will he do to me once he finds me? Spank me again? Or something else?

Or nothing at all?

I run until I reach the center of the maze, the same place where he spanked me. I stumble to a halt, remembering that moment, and that allows Nico to finally catch me.

He enters the center and slowly approaches me. “You’re wild tonight. I know it’s because of the drug in you but it’s still fun tosee. If you just let yourself get loose like this when you’re sober, we could have a lot of fun together.”

I dart around the bench in the center, staying just out of his reach. “Why don’t you show me some fun now?”

“You’re only saying that because you’re drugged. If you were sober, you would tell me how much you hate me. How you’re scared that I just killed another man in front of you. But I killed him because he tried to hurt you. He drugged you and then he placed his hand on you. That couldn’t stand.”

Nico looks so strong and secure and steady that it makes him sexy. How can I be feeling this way?

“I’m not mad you wanted to protect me,” I say. “But you don’t need to kill people to do it.”

“I have a desire to kill. To hurt. Instead of using it against innocent people, I use it to hurt those who would hurt you.”

“So, it’s supposed to be romantic?” I stop moving and Nico finally is able to reach me.