Page 5 of The Art of Obsession

When she reaches the door, finding it locked from the inside due to the metal pole I secured at its back, Everleigh flees into the kitchen. Oh, so adorable when she grabs a cleaver from thebutcher block, gripping it and waving it around like a butterfly attacking a battleaxe.

“Get away, you goddamn devil!” she screams, holding the counter with her other hand, moving away the more I close in.

“Trust me, sweet scribe, I am far worse than the devil,” I leer, following as she weaves around the counter, walking backwards, her vision whirling. Fuck, if she keeps doing that, she’s going to trip. Never a wise idea with a blade in her hands.

“That’s what the crazy psychos in those erotic horrors all say,” she practically slurs.

I chuckle, more than amused since I’ve done my homework. “How would you know, sweet thing?”

She pales, realizing her mistake. How I will thrill in bringing all those suppressed, dark fantasies to life.

Recovering, Everleigh takes the blade in both hands and forces bravery in her voice, “You’re still just a man. You can still bleed.”

Sweeping my cape to the side, I pause mid-stride and clench my black-gloved hand into a fist, cracking the leather. “If you spill one drop of my blood, Little Quill, I’ll return it tenfold.”

That has her stopping, her lips parting in a pretty ‘O’. A second later, the cleaver clatters on the floor.Good girl,I reflect as she scurries like a frightened rabbit toward the front door.

She unlocks the knob, then goes for the deadbolt.

I catch her hair in a death grip, stealing a cry from her throat. “Tsk, tsk, tsk…” I click my tongue. “So close, Everleigh.”

She blinks rapidly. Swallows hard. When I lift my hand to cup her throat, I can practically feel her pulse thundering through my glove.

Intrigued, I tilt my head again, inspecting those tear-glistening eyes, turned from misty gray to melted silver, but her lips pressed together with no protests or sounds. “Why aren’tyou screaming?” I list my fingers to those sensual, pouty lips I can’t wait to kiss.

“Why bother?” she responds, clenching her eyes.

Smart girl. No one could possibly hear her.

She trembles, shivering beneath my grip. “Wh-what are you g-going to do t-to me?”

Leaning closer until she can feel my hot breath curl across her face, I lower my voice to a deep hum and say, “Much.”

3

I Can Fix Him!

Chapter Playlist:

“Sweet Dreams” – Eurythmics – Emily Browning Cover

EVERLEIGH

The mask sendsa bone-deep shiver through me. It drips with menace, blood-red streaks pouring like fresh wounds down a porcelain-white face, tempting and terrifying.

Okay, Evie, get a hold of yourself. You donothave a death wish.

I don’t watch much porn—because I read it like a lady—but it looks like I’m starring in a surreal, gothic porno now. With my hair in his firm grip, his lips and the texture of the surrounding mask rubbing along the curvature of my neck, and his gloved hand anchored just beneath my breasts, he gives me a taste of his strength. A well-muscled chest at my back. I can feel his hard sinew through his suit. God, is he a body sculptor or something?

He’s had the means and motive to follow me, to stalk me across the country. Oh, God, has he seen my hentai porn? Archive of Their Own? Oh, shit…my Kindle history?

Questions rampage through my mind. Is he a billionaire CEO? A mafia boss? SecretPhantom of the Operaactor? I blame Booktok for those damn thoughts.

The real question: is he morally gray or pitch black?

My heart seizes at his “much” proclamation, and my lungs struggle for air. The darkness closes in like a fist, yanking me from the moment into memories…

Stone walls all around me. The scent of decay filling my nose. The door locked. I can’t get out. Iron bars over the window. After an hour of yelling my throat hoarse, I finally curl up against the cold wall, shivering and wondering if I will die here…and become a piece of the history I’ve spent years studying.