Page 75 of Only for Him

“Yes?” He turns around quickly.

I hand him the vial containing Roman’s cum. “I found this in the MacDougal evidence box. It wasn’t labeled.”

“Oh.” He reaches out with his hand to accept. “That’s odd, but not entirely unheard of. One of the techs must’ve forgotten to label it. I’ll take that for you.”

“Thanks.” I tell him.

But when the time comes to let the vial go, I suddenly can’t. I don’t know why I feel it the way that I do, but this feels wrong.

Like betrayal. Like I’m about to hurt someone who I shouldn’t hurt.

But when I feel Serena’s earrings in my back pocket—an ice-cold reminders of why I do the thing that I do—I know that what I’m about to domustbe the right thing.

Justice, Giselle. Not thrills. He’s still a murderer, even if the people he kills are monsters.

He can’t be judge, jury, and executioner.

And no man is above the law.

I repeat them until the words almost sound true. Until I can almost believe that I’m not about to make what feels like the biggest mistake of my life.

“Detective?” Arata asks, and I realize that I’m still holding the vial.

“Sorry.” I shake my head, blinking rapidly. “Just lost my train of thought for a moment.”

I drop the vial into Arata’s hand.

Sooner or later, Roman will walk into a cell, and I’ll be the one who locks the door.

And when it happens, will my pulse still drums his name?

I hope so.

I’ve survived harder losses. I’ll survive him.

And not for nothing else, I at least got a taste of him.

Just enough to slake my curiosity.

And maybe that’ll be enough.

Even if I’m dying to know what it feels like to be completely his.

21

GISELLE

I waitoutside my own door, listening and counting the seconds. My pulse pounds in my ears like a jackhammer. The air around me still hums with him like crackling static before a lightning strike.

The high of outplaying him has been bleeding away since I handed over the sample to Arata. I know that it was technically the right thing to do, but I can’t stop thinking about the possible fallout and the strange feeling that I’m somehow betraying him…

The only way I can try and assuage my guilt is telling myself that it was theonlychoice he left me.

You can’t betray someone you never made a promise to.

But it’s one thing to think that, and another thing entirely to still feel his cock pulsing in my palm, taste his cum on my tongue, and smell his scent buried so deep in my lungs that I know I’ll never get it out.

I touch the knob, just to test that it’s unlocked.