Page 42 of Massacre Monday

“Not at all!” Mom gives me a pointed look. “Show him to one of the suites, Pip. I’ll let your father know we have a special guest. He won’t mind.”

I stroll from the room and Ryan trips over the coffee table on his way to keep up with me.

“Are you mad at me? You seem mad,” he says in a taunting tone, but I refuse to answer.

Taking him up the back stairs, I lead him to the farthest and darkest little rooms in the dank halls of the manor. Ones that haven’t been updated in twenty years and still smell like mice. Tossing open a door, I show it off. “Here. I hope you have a terrible night.”

I spin to leave, but he catches my arm, drops it, and leans against the frame. “You’re not going to give me a goodnight kiss?”

“No.”

“I’ll just come take it from you later, then.” He turns toward the room, and I snag his T-shirt.

“No. You won’t. I’ll beat the shit out of you if you try.”

Reaching one long arm up, his broad chest drifts toward me as he grips the door frame to hold himself up. His face inches close to my ear until I’m startled into stillness. His scent hits me. All spicy, earthy, and sharp at the edges. “But you have to dowhat I say.” Blue eyes, shielded by his black lashes, flutter to my lips as he sucks in a deep breath, taking mine with him. “And I want a goodnight kiss.”

It’s as if he’s already pressed his mouth against my skin, the way it tingles. But I use every muscle of restraint I have to lift my chin and take a step back. “Don’t expect to see me in the morning.”

Even as I hurry toward the main area of the house, part of me wonders if I should have at least been nice enough to give him a better bedroom. And I think of a million excuses to turn around and speak with him again.

But I’m also proud of myself for not.

After I brush my teeth and hair, I slip on a fresh oversized T-shirt, then return to my room, bury myself under the sheets, and reach over to turn out the lights.

When I do, a pair of hands grabs me to pull me back to the bed, a scream wrenching its way from my throat.

A palm slaps over my mouth as Ryan presses his chest to my back and says, “Now…about that goodnight kiss.”

fourteen

She squealsagainst my hand as I chuckle at her big, scared eyes. “All I wanted was a kiss. That’s it.” Loosening my grip on her mouth, I lift my eyebrows with a question. “You gonna be a good girl and stay quiet, or no?”

She considers her answer for a long time, then nods at me. I release her, and she sits up. “How did you get in here?”

“Your balcony isn’t very secure.” I actually used my lock pick kit on the interior door, but there’s no way I’m telling her that.

“My father would murder you if he knew you were in here.”

“Would you stop him?” I ask, genuinely curious if she would or if she’d help him.

But she can’t reply. I’ll take it for now.

Sliding my hand under my pillow, I pull out the red object I’d found in her drawer. “So, kiss or…”

She claws at the clit sucker, her beautiful cheeks flaming that pretty pink I love so much. The color is a sign of her passion, her determination. It’s a symbol of her innocence I desperately crave.

Blood flowing heavily through her represents everything I desire, and when I’m with her, seeing the evidence pumping through her arteries is how I know I can survive.

When I’m with her, I want to live.

“Give me that!”

“I will. I will. So eager,” I say, switching the setting to low. It hums in my hand as I lean over her torso, then slip it underneath the covers and between her thighs. “Slide those panties off for me.”

“No.”

A smile comes over my face, and I lunge on top of her, pressing my lips to her neck and restraining both of her wrists in a tight grip. With the hand holding the toy, I dive beneath the fabric covering her pussy and press it near her clit. “Open your legs.”