Page 20 of The Ecstasy of Sin (Brutal Brotherhood #1)

It doesn’t take long for my battlefield of a brain to accept sleep, and I fall into a fitful slumber.

When I finally awaken, night has fallen. The air is sharp with the early autumn chill, and the wind finds its way beneath my clothes.

My headache is dull, but I’m still a little nauseous. I quickly grab my phone to check the clock. I can still make it to the shelter in time to secure a bed, but only if I leave right now.

I shift my weight, but before I can stand up, something moves in the shadows of the large building. It takes my eyes a moment to adjust, to focus in the darkness, but eventually I make out the shape of a person .

His large body is draped heavily in shadow, a hood obscuring his face. The exceptionally tall individual is leaning against the brick wall with his arms folded across his chest. Somehow, I know he is staring right at me.

Goosebumps erupt across my arms, and every tiny hair on my body stands on end. The aura of danger that surrounds him is unmistakable. It’s enough to trigger my memories of last night, making my heart thunder like a wild horse stampeding in my chest.

He’s watching me, his attention so razor sharp it feels like a dagger dragging lightly across my skin. When he moves again, my adrenaline kicks into overdrive. He drops his arms, and takes a step toward me.

I grab my backpack, and I run.

I run with every ounce of strength I can muster, my head flaring into a series of viciously brutal throbs that threaten to overwhelm me as my legs pump and carry me as far away as I can get, as fast as I can go.

By the time I reach the main street, I stumble against the nearest building, one hand slapping against the rough brick wall to keep me from collapsing. I try to breathe, my aching lungs protesting the abuse when they’ve already been through so much.

I can still feel his eyes on me. I can feel him watching from somewhere in the darkness. His presence is a living thing, a serpent wrapping around my senses and holding me hostage. I can’t see him, but I know he’s still there.

Terrified of what might happen if I linger, I force myself to keep walking despite the throbbing pain in my head. I walk for another twenty minutes before the sight of the shelter comes into view.

Relief floods me, and tonight’s security guard nods to me as I race up the steps and wait for him to swipe his card and unlock the door for me.

I cast a glance over my shoulder, only to see someone standing like a statue in the shadows of the nearest building. His head dips as he nods in recognition, before he takes a step back and disappears from my view.

Oh my god.

Was that Dominic?

The security guard clears his throat, nodding pointedly at the door, and I cross the threshold with an unexpected feeling of reluctance. There’s a new woman I don’t recognize at the main desk, so I get through the sign in process with very little conversation.

When I finally make it to my cot, I set my backpack down and tuck it under the frame of the small bed.

My mind is racing as I think about what just happened, and then I remember that I can just text him and ask if he was the one following me tonight.

I strip off my jacket and crawl under the thin blanket, pulling my phone out of my pocket. Even with the brightness all the way down, it still hurts to stare at the screen.

I squint, and just as I open my chat with Dominic, a message comes in.

DOMINIC

I love it when you run from me.

My heart begins to race, this time for a different reason entirely.

ME

Was that you at the park?

DOMINIC

Who else would it be?

ME

Literally any one of the hundreds of creeps and weirdos living in Toronto!?

DOMINIC

Who says I’m not one of them?

The laugh that comes out of me is embarrassing, and I immediately slam my hand over my mouth when the woman in the cot next to me shushes me.

After being a social phantom for over a decade, he sees me, and my broken brain doesn’t care about the difference between prey and mate.

And his dark sense of humor? I’m surprised that I find it so damn charming.

He killed someone for me. He… killed a man.

I should be blocking his number and calling the police. Instead, I’m drawn to him like he’s a star and I’m pulled toward his dangerous gravity.

There are butterflies making a home in my stomach, emboldened by his presence. Butterflies with a collective mental illness, it seems. I’m bonding to the man that keeps coming to my rescue, as frightening and dangerous as he can be.

ME

Maybe I should call the police. Let them know I’ve got a stalker.

DOMINIC

Give it a few days. See how being stalked feels before you do something you’ll regret.

I struggle to interpret that message. Was that an actual threat, or just his way of teasing me? Reality is, I don’t know much about him. The bigger question is why I’m still so drawn to him, despite the few things that I do know.

ME

Why would I regret it?

DOMINIC

You’ve got a soft heart. I can’t imagine you’d be too happy about all the people I’d kill for trying to get in between me and what’s mine.

My heart starts to race even faster, and heat coils low in my body at the tone of possessiveness I read in his message. I still don’t understand what he sees in me. I’m nobody. I’m worthless. I’m not worth all of this risk and effort.

ME

What are you saying?

DOMINIC

You belong to me. Anyone that comes between us is going to die.

Wow. No hesitation, no beating around the bush. This lunatic thinks I’m his property. And why am I pressing my thighs together at the rush of heat over his words? Maybe I’m sick in more ways than one.

That has to be the answer, because normal women would block a man for acting this crazy when they barely know each other.

And here I am, not wanting this conversation to end.

ME

You're insane.

DOMINIC

Go to sleep. You need the rest.

I stare at the screen for a minute, and after deciding that I’ve definitely lost my mind, I send another message.

It’s not like he can storm in here and hurt me. This place is locked and guarded. I’m safe. For now, anyway. Right?

ME

Make me.

DOMINIC

Is that what you want, little lamb? Do you want me to take you, pin you down in my bed, and fuck you until you’re begging me for mercy? Until you’re too tired to do anything but sleep in my arms?

His fallen angel face comes to mind instantly, and I remember how his powerful body felt beneath my fingertips, even in the pain-induced haze I was in at the clinic.

My breath catches as I imagine how it would feel to be trapped beneath his body while he made good on his threat.

I lean into my newfound insanity, and send him one more message.

ME

Well, you’d be my first.

DOMINIC

Your first what?

Answer me, Wren. Your first what?

I don’t answer him. I silence my phone, turn off the screen, and slide it into my pack.

My heart is racing, and my clit has a pulse. I’m so turned on it’s dizzying. I had no idea dominant men were such a turn on for me.

Being a virgin, I haven’t exactly had much experience when it comes to sex. Oral sex with a boyfriend when I was nineteen has been the extent of things for me, excluding the assault I endured all those years ago behind the pharmacy.

And I just told my stalker I’m a virgin.

Then left him on read.

Yep, it’s official. I’m as crazy as he is.