Page 49 of Depraved Devotion

A laugh bursts from me. “I must say, Doc, I’m really enjoying the verbal foreplay. Insult me again. I like it.”

“Cut the shit, Ghost. You killed him.”

I blink, feigning innocence. “Who are you talking about?”

She takes a deep breath, but her composure is fraying at the edges. “Don’t insult my intelligence. I know what you did.” She flicks her gaze to the cameras before looking at me. “You all but confessed in your texts.”

God, she’s magnificent when she’s like this. We both know I did it, but she’s still trying to keep herself in check. It’s pointless and yet, it doesn’t fail to turn me on.

“Well,” I say, leaning forward, “I made sure my message got across.”

Geneva bristles at my words, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. I catch the slightest tremble in her fingers before she forces them to relax.

“Why, Ghost?”

I sit back, watching her, enjoying the way she’s wrestling with herself. She’s not just angry because Mason’s dead. She knows I did it for her.

“Why?” I repeat, raising an eyebrow. “Because he touched you. And that’s unacceptable.”

“You don’t get to decide who touches me.”

“Oh, but I do.” My voice is calm, steady, even as I lower it to a whisper. “He touched what belongs to me.You. And I don’t tolerate that, Dr. Andrews. Not ever.”

“You don’t own me,” she says through gritted teeth. “I’m not your property.”

I smirk, relaxing into my chair. “We both know that’s not true. You may not like it, but you belong to me in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.”

I study her for a long moment, savoring her righteous indignation. “Mason was weak. He hurt you because you let him think he could. I simply corrected that mistake.”

Her eyes flash with something… anger, disgust, or maybe even guilt. But she doesn’t break. She finally sits down. “I don’t need you to protect me, Ghost.”

“I know.” I give her an impish grin. “Mason told me about the baseball bat.”

Geneva freezes for a fraction of a second, and that’s all I need to see. That small hesitation tells me everything. She’s still holding on to the belief that she has control in this situation, that she’s above the chaos, but her reaction betrays her.

“Ah, yes,” I continue, my voice low and smooth. “He didn’t expect it, did he? You, standing there with that bat in your hands, ready to bash his skull in? I have to admit, the image of you like that… It’s impressive. And so fucking hot.”

The skin around her mouth tightens, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. “Mason was wrong for hitting me, but he didn’t deserve to die.”

I imitate the sound of a buzzer. “Wrong. He deserved everything I did to him and more for what he did to you.”

“I wanted him out of my life, not out of this world.” Geneva’s gaze hardens, a dark glint flaring in her eyes as she finally loses the battle and her frustration seeps through. “You think this sick gesture of loyalty will do what exactly? Make me trust you? Connect us further?”

“Connect us further,” I repeat, rolling the phrase over my tongue as if savoring a fine wine. “Now that is an interesting choice of words, don’t you think?”

She goes statue-still.

“Whether you want to admit it or not, Doc, we share a connection neither of us can ignore.”

“If we’re so connected, I would understand why you killed Mason, but I don’t.”

“Maybe I just enjoy killing the way other people enjoy video games? Or maybe, it was for you. To show you that I don’t like disobedience.” I pause, watching her reaction. “Or maybe it was for me. Because I don’t share what’s mine, Geneva. Not with Mason. Not with anyone.”

Her mouth tightens, and for a second, I think she’s going to stand up and leave. But she doesn’t. She stays. My body relaxes.

“You’re sick, Ghost.”

“And you keep coming back,” I say. “Why do you think that is? Why do you keep playing this game with me?”