Page 12

Max

The club pulsed with life.

Bass-heavy music vibrated through the air, rolling through my body like a second heartbeat.

The scent of alcohol, sweat and expensive cologne thickened the atmosphere, wrapping around me as I moved through the crowd.

Lara had already disappeared in the throng of bodies, her laugh echoing somewhere near the bar as she undoubtedly worked her magic on some poor bastard to swindle more drinks.

I wasn’t worried about her, she always landed on her feet.

I, on the other hand, was drinking to try and forget my life, even just for a moment.

Forget work, forget responsibilities and to forget the way my life had narrowed into a cycle of hunt, kill, clean, repeat.

Tonight was about me.

The tequila burned as it slid down my throat, but I welcomed it, licking the lingering taste of lime from my lips.

I tilted my head back, rolling my hips as the music shifted – slow, sensual, attention demanding movements.

Bodies pressed close, the club was a jungle of sweat-slicked limbs tangling together under the strobed lighting.

Strangers grinding against each other like they knew already how their nights would end, part of me felt just a little too old for this now, but then I saw him.

Tall, broad shoulders wrapped in a fitted black button-up.

A jawline dusted with the perfect amount of stubble.

Blue eyes that held a flicker of amusement as he caught me watching.

His lips quirked, as if to say, come get me - my kind of man.

I arched a brow, tipping my glass, letting the ice wet my lips before setting it back down, never breaking the eye contact.

He moved first; they always did, cutting through the space between us like he belonged there, confidence in every swaggering step towards me.

“Been watching me all night, gorgeous?”

He murmured, his voice deep, his words slightly slurred from the effects of the alcohol he’d been consuming.

I smirked, running a hand through my slightly sweat slicked hair, “Bold of you to assume it was you I was watching.”

His grin was sharp, teasing.

“Well, I was certainly watching you.”

Smirking, I look up at him through my eyelashes, “Then maybe I should be flattered.”

“Maybe you should,”

He responded as he leaned in, the scent of whiskey and cologne rolling off him.

His fingers grazed my waist, testing, teasing.

“You gonna let me dance with you?”

I didn’t answer, I just turned, pressing my back against his chest as I moved my hips to the music.

He followed seamlessly as his hands settled on my hips, gripping just tight enough to make my breath hitch.

The touch reminded me of Craig, the way he held me like I was his.

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind, reminding myself that not all men were like the men I killed.

But this was exactly why I struggled to have casual sex, because when you spend your time around poison, it’s hard to forget that not everything around you is trying to harm you.

We moved together, falling into the rhythm of the music, bodies flush, heat curling between us.

I let my head drop back onto his chest, exposing the long line of my throat.

His fingers tightened, I could feel his breath against my neck, warm, teasing, promising.

“Fuck, you’re dangerous.”

He groaned into my ear.

He had no idea.

I turned into his hold, pressing my palms against his chest.

“Buy me a drink, then I’ll tell you how dangerous I really am.”

His grin was all teeth.

“Lead the way, baby.”

I wasn’t sure who’s idea it was to leave first.

Maybe his, maybe mine, it didn’t matter.

All I knew was that my lips were on his the second we stumbled into my apartment.

The door slammed shut behind us as his hands tangled in my hair, using the back of my head to pull me deeper into the kiss, heat coiling low in my stomach.

I let him press my back against the door, his body flush against mine, his thigh sliding between my legs.

I rolled my hips, the friction sparking pleasure as he swallowed my moan.

“Bedroom?”

He rasped.

“Eventually,”

I smirked.

I shoved him backward, making him fall onto the couch.

His eyes flickered with surprise, then amusement, then hunger.

I climbed onto his lap, straddling his thighs, rolling my hips in a slow, taunting rhythm, my dress hitching up with the movement.

“Fuck, you know exactly what you’re doing, don’t you?”

His hands dragged up my thighs, nails scratching against my skin.

I leaned in, lips brushing his jaw.

“Wouldn’t be as fun if I didn’t.”

His fingers slid beneath the hem of my dress, pushing it up even further.

His touch was firm, teasing, inching higher until his knuckles grazed my heat.

There was no teasing now.

I reached between us, undoing his belt, palming at the bulge beneath his jeans.

A hiss slipped through his teeth. “Jesus.”

I smirked against his jaw, trailing kisses down his throat, before sinking to my knees between his legs.

It started on the couch, hot and messy, with hands gripping and lips crashing against each other in bruising kisses.

I teased his cock with my mouth before we moved to the bedroom, I barely remember how we got there, only that his mouth was on my neck as he carried me through.

He placed me down on the bed, trailing kisses across my breasts and down my thighs, whilst he stripped my dress from my body, like a man starved, groaning when he pulled it over my head, licking at his lips as he studied my body.

Then he slid off my panties, trailing soft kisses over my pussy, before I took control.

I returned the favour, shoving his shirt from his shoulders, nails dragging down his chest as I pushed him down onto the bed.

I climbed on top of him, rolling my hips against his cock as I could feel the heat building in my belly.

I slid myself down onto him, a gasp slipping from me as I lowered, his hands squeezed my ass, guiding me as I rode him slow, teasing.

“Fuck, you’re unreal.”

He groaned, throwing his head back against the pillows.

I smirked as my nails dug deeper into his chest, and then there was no more talking.

Just heat, lips, teeth and skin against skin, the perfect escape.

The smell of sex still clung to my sheets.

I groaned, pressing my face deeper into the pillow as the sunlight stabbed through my curtains like the worlds brightest fucking laser beam.

My body ached in a way that came only after a night of very satisfying cardio.

My fingers stretched out, brushing against the cools sheets where he had been.

Gone.

I cracked one eye open, blinking through the haze of my hangover.

A folded napkin sat on the pillow beside me, the writing scribbled in black ink.

Had fun.

Call me sometime.

– Dave, with his number scribbled underneath.

I snorted, Dave.

He looked more like a Liam or a Nathan.

Dave felt… wrong, it was such a dad name, ergh.

Still, he was gone, which meant I could enjoy my morning in peace.

I sat up, instantly regretting it as my skull pounded, my throat dry as hell.

Why did I take that last shot? Dragging myself out of bed, I pulled on the first hoodie I found and a pair of panties and padded into the kitchen.

Coffee, I needed coffee. Just as I was about to start the machine, a knock rattled my front door. There’s only one person knocking like that. With a groan, I shuffled over and yanked it open.

Lara grinned, holding up a tray of Melinda’s coffee and a bag with something warm and delicious, and a singular black rose.

“You look like shit.”

“Good morning to you too.”

I croaked, stepping aside to let her in.

She breezed past me, already making herself at home.

“Rough night?”

I dragged my hand through my tangled hair.

“You could say that.”

She noticed the slight smirk on my face and her eyes lit up, “Ohhh, so that’s why you disappeared last night.

Here’s me thinking old age got the better of you and you went home early alone. Do tell.”

She placed the coffee and bag on the coffee table, plopping herself onto the couch, tucking her legs beneath her.

“Also, this rose was on your doorstep.”

I snatched the coffee from the tray and took a long sip.

Sweet, glorious caffeine.

I eyed the rose, confusion settling in.

Was it from Dave?

“First of all, fuck you.

Second of all, Dave,”

I dragged his name with slight disgust, “left me a napkin with his number on and fucked off before sunrise.”

I waved the offending napkin at her.

Lara blinked, crinkling her nose. “Dave?”

“I know,”

I laughed.

“That’s a fake name if I’ve ever heard one, maybe he left you that little rose too.”

I plopped down beside her.

“Right? He did not look like a Dave, and maybe? He didn’t seem the type to just drop by a single black rose, seems a little creepy if you ask me.”

Lara reached into the greasy brown bag, pulling out a croissant.

“Yeah, it is a little macabre, even if it is so perfectly you.

So… was he at least worth it?”

My lips curled behind the coffee cup.

“Oh, very worth it.”

She clapped her hands excitedly, biting her bottom lip.

“Details. Now.”

I groaned, leaning back against the couch.

“We started on the couch, moved to the bedroom.

Possibly broke the headboard.”

Lara nearly choked on her croissant.

“That’s my girl.”

I pulled out a bagel, “Is this stuffed with scrambled egg and bacon and topped with hot honey?”

She grinned, nodding.

My absolute favourite, god, I loved Lara.

I smiled, stuffing the bagel into my mouth.

For the first time in a while, I felt at peace.

But even as me and Lara continued to talk about our night, eating the greasy breakfast food and sipping down our coffees, I could feel the niggling in the back of my head.

The itch, the urge, the need to take away another monsters life.

The feeling of guilt slowly clawing back, that I was never doing enough, that I wasn’t doing my dad proud.

I just hoped a case dropped by my desk soon, because I had to keep his legacy going.

I had to make his death worth something.