Page 15

The Demon

Darkness by XVI

I t physically pained me to leave her unsatisfied, but she needs to learn that there are rules. She’s so very nearly ready, but she needs to understand that she belongs to me. She can no longer fuck whoever she pleases. She’s moved from bed to bed, lover to lover, never letting any of them get too close to her. It’s a form of defense—not letting anyone in. She thinks no one sees, no one notices. But I see her. I see her beauty and her strength, but I also see her pain. The only person that she’s allowed past her defensive walls seems to be her one friend, the one she’s all bent out of shape about and thinking I’ve kidnapped her or some shit. I definitely did not kidnap her friend, but for now the whole truth will remain my little secret.

I should not have entered her work. That broke the rules, and I really do not like to break the rules. The rules are there for a reason—they’re meant to be followed. But when I saw her flirting with that girl, something in me snapped. She belongs to me. She is mine. She will understand when I show her all I have done and all I have risked for her. The life I have created for us will be perfect. She just needs to submit to me. Every angry encounter, every blood soaked second, every twisted moment of possessive insanity just further confirms that she is meant to be mine. Her broken soul sings out to me through the chaos of this world, begging me to claim her.

I hated leaving her desperately dripping. The taste of her sweet arousal on my tongue made me nearly feral with the need to sink into her tight cunt and claim her as mine. But she’s not ready yet. Soon, she will be ready for the truth and everything will be perfect.

In the meantime, I need to keep an eye on her. Which is why I’m at this shitty fucking casino. This place is a fucking dump. She comes here routinely every week. Sometimes for a brief time while other days she is here the entire afternoon. This is the first time I’ve risked following her inside. My curiosity got the best of me. She told me at the hall of mirrors that she’s here to see her father and my best friend mentioned something similar. But I need to know what she’s doing in here. I need to see it with my own eyes.

I couldn’t wear my mask inside this seedy rundown casino though. It would draw too many eyes. Most people are too fucking consumed by their own shitty selfishness to even truly see the world around them. They walk through life consumed with only their own whims and woes too stupid to notice the devils that walk among them. But a demonic black and gold mask might be a little hard for even the most moronic fools to not notice. So I opted for a pulled down ball cap and hoodie. I blend with the other anonymous nobodies slumped sadly on the stools littering this ill-lit bar.

“Can I grab you another beer, buddy?” the elder bartender asks as he approaches my table.

I keep my head bowed with my eyes on the grimy surface of the table. The sticky, linoleum, fake wood makes my skin crawl. Every inch of this place is covered in grime and grit and reeks of years of stale cigarette smoke. If it weren’t for the soulful siren perched across the room, I would be out of here as quickly as possible.

“Sure,” I grunt quietly at the bartender. I can’t have her hear my voice and give myself away.

The bartender returns to his spot behind the bar, leaving me alone to stalk my prey. I’m seated at a table in the back of this shitty as fuck bar with a perfect angle to watch my girl. She’s seated next to an older man whose eyes are glued intently to the televisions in front of him. Her head bobs and her pink curls light up the darkness of this shithole as she talks animatedly. She’s trying so desperately to get his attention. She craves his focus, if only for a moment. But he’s so wrapped up in the basketball game in front of him, he barely seems to hear her. His fingers twitch nervously against the bartop at his elbows. It doesn’t take an investigator to figure out he has money on this game. The problem is that my sweet siren seems determined to get him to care about her. My chest aches for her. No child should have to beg their parent for affection. It’s fucked up. And if he wasn’t her damn father I would pound his face into the bartop until it knocked some fucking sense into him.

This really is what has consumed my sweet siren’s time apparently. She’s been sneaking away from our little games, stealing hours here and there, to beg her daddy for love. Part of me is grateful to know she’s been being a good girl for me and sneaking away just to see him. The other part of me is furious that she isn’t the center of his fucking universe. Soon, she will have more affection than she’ll know what to do with. My girl deserves to be loved, and I intend to show her just what a fucking queen she is. My fingers turn white around my near empty beer bottle as I watch the scene playing out in front of me.

“Hello, brother.” A large, possessive hand lands on my shoulder, shaking me from my obsessive thoughts.

The voice of the man behind me is like nails on a fucking chalkboard. I knew it was a possibility to run into him here, but I assumed I’d spot him before he found me. I thought we were past the point where he’d be able to sneak up on me. His presence grates at some deep repressed anxiety, pulling the painful memories of my past back from the depths of my mind. My chest constricts and my pulse skyrockets as his fingers painfully dig into the skin of my shoulder. His expensive cologne wraps around my senses and darkens my sight until all I see is red. The smell is like a trigger, bringing me back to all the helpless moments from my teenage years—moments I thought I had left far behind me.

“Get your fucking fingers off me, Will,” I growl as I fight to keep myself in control. He likes it when I lose control; my madness feeds his own wild obsession with chaos and I’m not giving in to him.

He tuts as he rounds the table to face me. His heated gaze rakes across me and sets every inch of my skin on fire. He comes to a stop in front of me, completely blocking my view of my girl. He looks like he’s taken care of himself in the years since I’ve seen him. He’s lean but muscular with an expensive looking suit that’s tailored to fit him. His boyish blonde hair is now slicked back, giving more presence to his dark and intense stare. I have the urge to jump across the table and throttle him. But I won’t. I can’t.

“That’s no way to greet your brother after years of silence.” His tone is condescendingly slick. He’s always been a wolf hiding in sheep’s clothing. The perfect son, star athlete, good student, fun friend, but underneath lurks something evil.

“You’re not my fucking brother, Will. You’re a sick psycho who made my life a living Hell.” I stare at a spot on the table as I speak to him, focusing on breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth in order to maintain my composure.

“You were always a feisty little sub,” his hand reaches out to grab mine as he speaks to me. His touch makes bile rise in my throat. “It’s that fire that made your submission to me so much sweeter.” His finger grazes across the back of my hand.

I snap.

“I wasn’t your fucking sub, you sick fuck!” I growl as I shove him away.

Throwing my stool back, I stand. At my full height I’m now bigger than my former foster brother. I loom over him as he smirks in satisfaction. The wooden stool I was sitting on falls to the floor with a loud bang. My breaths come in ragged pants as I clench and unclench my fist. I glance around the room, making sure I haven’t drawn too much attention to us. My girl is still engrossed in her father, none the wiser to my presence.

I shift my gaze back to Will and immediately realize the mistake I’ve made. His line of sight has been drawn away from me. He’s staring exactly where I was looking a moment ago—right at the pink-haired beauty across the room. My heart feels as though it will beat right out of my chest as I watch him look her up and down, hungrily assessing the way her shirt rides up as she leans over the bartop, exposing her beautifully tanned skin. Skin that is mine and mine alone to mark.

“Oh,” a satisfied smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth. “I see what has brought my baby brother out of hiding. I thought you might have come here for a little family reunion, but it seems you’re more interested in that pretty little thing across the bar. She does look like a delicious snack.” His gaze flicks back to mine and I can see the lustful lurk that brightens his eyes.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Will.” I lie, hoping that it will get him to leave her alone. The thought of this monster getting anywhere near my girl boils my blood.

“Then you won’t be upset to know that she owes me a debt.” Will’s eyes burn with desire as he speaks. He’s a fucking spider, and I’m the fly caught in his web. With every word he speaks, I’m spun further and further into his trap. “Daddy dearest there owes me a lot of money, and his good little girl is going to be doing some work for me in order to pay it off.”

All the blood rushes to my ears and pounds on my brain as all the pieces fit together into a horrific realization. I clench my fists at my side, willing myself to not hit the man in front of me. Over my dead fucking body will she have anything to do with Will.

He leans in closer and his smirk pulls wider, exposing his sharpened canines. “Don’t worry, brother. I’m sure you’ll be able to buy the video online once I get it all edited. You’ll love watching me pound into her tight little ass while she lays unconscious on my bed, won’t you?”

My fist collides with his face with a deafening crack. I can feel the bone and cartilage of his nose snap against my skin. Every ounce of rage I’ve been holding in since I was a teenager gets pounded into his fucking face.

“You stay the fuck away from her,” I growl as I pull him by the collar, bringing his bloodied face up to meet mine.

The asshole has the balls to still smirk at me. Blood drips from his nose, staining his teeth, and giving him a sinister look. “Don’t worry baby brother, if you’re a real good boy I’ll let you lick my cum out of her used up cunt when I’m done with her.”

Before I know what I’m doing, his head hits the wall with a loud crack as his skull collides with the brick behind him. His neatly styled hair comes undone and a stiff lock falls across his forehead. My fingers are wrapped around his throat, squeezing so tightly that I can feel his pulse pumping against my hand. His black eyes bulge slightly but the bloodied smile never leaves his face.

“You touch her,” I growl as my fingers flex to a bruising tightness around his windpipe. “And I will fucking kill you.”

Just as I’m about to snap his neck, lithe fingers gently wrap around my arm. My eyes flick to the soft pink manicured nails that are gently caressing my skin. Her tanned skin is warm and soft against my own heated flesh. My sweet siren’s touch is enough to bring me back to reality and out of my haze of fury. I turn my face to meet hers. The concern swirling in her emerald irises drags my entire focus to her.

Her voice comes out as a soft whisper as she begs me, “Let him go, Luke.”