Page 25 of Sadistic Obsession (Rise of Phoenyxx #1)

P hoenyxx

I am curious where he’s taking me. We head over to the main building.

He takes my hand by the administration offices, and bypasses the classrooms on the main level.

We walk to the end of a hall, near an art and music wing.

We suddenly stop, and he quickly checks that no one’s around. “Follow me,” he whispers.

He feels along the wall, and I hear a soft clicking sound, then a section of the wall moves inward. I gasp when I see the opening, and a staircase at the far end. “What the hell?”

“It’s a secret tunnel. Not many know about this, it’s older than most people here.”

“Wow,” I whisper in amazement. “Cool!”

He leads me through the doorway, pushing the wall on the other side to swing it closed again.

It's dark and chilly, but there’s dim light coming from somewhere around the stairs.

He walks behind the stairs, to the far wall, pressing in again.

ANOTHER doorway opens, leading into a room where the light’s coming from.

He ducks inside, pulling me with him. Once he’s made sure the door closes, he turns to me.

“This is my private space. It's where I come when I need to be alone. No one knows about it, not even my brothers.”

My eyes get watery as I realize how special this is. I see an older, sunk-in sofa, and mattresses double-stacked on the floor. A little table made from an old wine crate and a small oil lamp complete the room.

“Ghost, it’s beautiful. Thank you for showing me!”

He silently leads me over to the sofa, which is draped in blankets and pillows.

The bed is made up in a similar fashion.

I sit down next to him, entwining his fingers with mine.

“I don’t know why, but I feel...something for you.

I always feel safe and cared for when I'm with you,” I admit, a small blush rising on my cheeks.

He leans in, brushing my lips softly with his. I move closer, stopping abruptly when I see what looks like blood on his arm. He's always wearing a hoodie; I’ve never seen him without one. The right sleeve rides up his wrist a bit, showing a sliver of skin. “Ghost, you’re bleeding!”

He freezes, looking away before responding, “It’s fine, Malishka.”

“Wait, let me see, please?” I reach out to grasp his arm, and he swallows hard.

“Okay, but don’t say anything,” he rushes out, as he slowly strips the hoodie off.

He is fit! I can see the definition of his abs through his T-shirt.

Ashamed I looked there first; my eyes stray towards his arm.

I gasp as I grab his arm. There's dried blood, along with dozens of small horizontal cuts all up and down, shoulder to wrist. “You...cut yourself? Why?”

He sighs. “I have to bleed out the pain, the anger, the rage. Unlike Frost, I feel everything. Too much. I cut to be able to exhale. So, I don’t hurt others.”

I should be horrified. Instead of pulling back, I lick my lips, getting closer. “Can I...see?”

He jerks his head up, looking me deep in the eyes. “I knew this was real; what’s between us.” He then reaches into his pocket, bringing out a small box cutter blade. “Are you sure?”

My heart is beating so loudly, I can hear it in my head.

All I can do is nod vigorously. Holding my stare, he slowly runs the sharp blade across his forearm, right in front of his elbow.

I gasp out loud, transfixed. That feeling right there.

..that rush. This is what I felt before.

Before I can think, I lean down and lick the line of blood off his arm.

“Fuck,” he whispers.

“My turn,” I declare. He hands over the blade, with his blood still on it. I lift my skirt, parting my legs to reveal my inner thigh. With a shaky hand, I cut into the soft flesh. I groan in ecstasy, my eyes rolling back in my head. “Oh my God....” The burning inside spreads through me.

His eyes light up. “Taste,” he groans. He licks it so very slowly off my thigh. I am all too aware of my bare core, feeling the breeze brushing across it. “Please...” I whimper, uncontrollably rolling my hips in place.

“Malishka—if I do this now, I won’t be stopped. Do you understand?”

“God, Ghost—you don’t know how much I want you. But...” My voice trails off, knowing I’m too injured for sex. But I don’t want to tell him about Synn and ruin this moment.

“It’s okay,” he says softly. “I’m content just being here with you.

” He strokes my cheek, placing a soft kiss on my neck.

“Let’s just lie together. I want you in my arms. I'm not ready to let go yet.” He pauses, letting me see the sincerity in his eyes.

“Stay?” he asks, turning to wrap me in his strong arms.

“Okay,” I say in a whisper. My eyes close as I float. Is this what love feels like?

Ghost

I slowly blink my eyes awake, feeling the warm body lying almost on top of me.

I smile, smelling the heavenly scent of sugar and sweet that is Phoenyxx .

She is sprawled out on her stomach, her head burrowed into my chest, one leg thrown over mine.

I take a second to just lie there with her.

It's strange—I feel content. That is something I have zero experience with. I don’t even know what happiness or joy feels like.

But this—here with her—I have a warm feeling in my chest.

Ghost Age 16

My legs burn as I push myself to run faster. My prey is just up ahead. He won’t be able to escape from me. He doesn’t even hear me as I slip through the deserted road, aiming to get him into the alley up ahead.

I purposely make a small sound, and he whips his head around, eyes widening when he sees me behind him. In a panic, he rushes into the alley, right where I want him. I catch up quickly, cornering him by the stinking dumpster.

“You fucked up, Vlad. Fucking my mother, behind my father’s back?”

He pales and starts trembling. “Wait...Mr. Petrov...you’ve been misinformed!”

I laugh hollowly, narrowing my eyes at the bug in front of me. “You are a liar, too. That makes this so much easier for me...”

I move to grab him, and he blurts out, “Haven't you ever been in love? I love her!”

“Love?” I cock my head, pretending to think about it. “Not possible. Now, you’re going back to my father.” He screams and kicks when I haul him away, but he has no shot at getting away.

Knowing we have to go to class soon, I gently rouse her from sleep. I pepper kisses along her neck, whispering, “Good morning, Malishka. Time to get up.”

She stirs, grumbling. “Not yet, I don't want to people today.”

“Sorry, beautiful. I don’t want you to miss breakfast.”

“Mmmm...food,” she mumbles, opening her eyes. “Hi...good morning.”

I smile a bit as I help her up, and bend over the bed to retrieve the skirt and shoes she shimmied off sometime during the night.

I take a peek as she sits up, standing to grab her skirt.

She has the most perfect ass—round and juicy, like an apple.

I playfully reach out and swat her as I stand up too.

She winces, a groan leaving her mouth. I frown. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just overdid it in gym, I’m fine.”

“Well then, let me be a gentleman and help you out. Want me to carry you?”

She laughs. “No, Ghost, but thank you.”

“I’ll walk you back to the dorm, then.”

Her brows furrow. “Will anyone see us leaving here?”

“No, there's no one around this time of morning. I've been here enough, don’t worry.”

She smiles. “I trust you.”

That shoots a bolt straight to my heart. I redden a bit, reaching over to take her hand. She lets me, luckily.

We head out, sneaking back through the hidden door that goes into the art hallway.

I glance around; it’s deserted. We walk quickly to the door leading outside, to the courtyard near the girls’ dorm.

I safely get us back to her building. “Well, I guess this is goodbye for now,” she says, leaning up to give me a peck on my lips.

“Never goodbye, Malishka.” My arms tighten around her, swooping down to kiss her properly. Breathless, she turns to the door, smiling ear to ear. She digs in her bag, grabbing the keycard. I stand and wait until she’s safely inside. I know I have to...

“Bro! Where the fuck have you been?” Trikk’s voice rings out behind me. A clap on my back follows.

“Ghost, damn! We have been looking all night!” Razor joins in.

Purge marches up to stand in front of me. His face is flushed. “Were you with her all night, man?”

“Yes,” I answer, shrugging.

Purge turns even redder, grabbing me by the shirt. “The FUCK, Bro? Did you fuck her?”

I push him off me. “I’m sure that’s none of your business!”

“Ghost,” Frost chimes in. “Do you know what she’s just been through?”

“What? She didn’t say anything to me.”

He curses under his breath. “We all need to talk. It can’t wait. We're heading to Purge’s Rage Out spot now that we’ve found you.”

“Where’s Synn?” I frown, noticing he’s nowhere around.

“Fuck,” Trikk mutters. “We’ll talk more at the spot. We can’t have any prying ears listening in.”

I don’t know what this is about, but the lack of Synn’s presence is making my pulse rise. It must be bad for him not to be here. We're all always together, especially when something important needs to be discussed. “Let’s go, I need to be filled in.”

We all head off, me looking behind to make sure Phoenyxx isn’t around.