The light from the T.V. blares across the dark room as the news reporter’s voice rings out.
“…The murders of the four government officials are still under investigation. The autopsy reports have been released to the public, revealing extreme torture before the men had died.”
A mugshot of a girl is pictured on the screen. She’s a pretty girl, with plain brown hair and brown eyes. The unsettling part is the look in her eyes. A single glance is all it takes to know that she’s clearly unstable.
She was the broken doll I saw eating at the fair.
And she was in Annie’s Playhouse that night. Hiding in the walls and watching every guest that came through. At one point, she looked at me and probably made a decision on whether she was going to kill me or not.
I shudder, knowing how close I could’ve come to death that night.
Snatching up the remote, I click off the T.V., shaking as I throw the remote back on the couch.
The asshole fucked me and then went and murdered a bunch of men with a psychotic chick.
Mark fucking Williams is one of the men, along with three other government officials I had met while standing in line for Annie’s Playhouse. He had said he had business to take care of with a psycho chick, and for some reason, him going off to murder people was the last thing I had expected.
Stupid. That’s what he does, Addie. Murders people.
The fear and anxiety are overwhelming. I knew he killed people. Arch’s hands showing up on my doorstep was proof of that. His entire family being wiped out…
I knew he was a murderer. He admitted it. But somehow, seeing his heinous crimes broadcasted on live television is eye-opening. He murdered four government politicians.
This isn’t just a boy playing dress-up with a mob boss’s suit and handgun. Arch was insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But this… this is big.
Did Mark deserve it? Absolutely. But I was at his house. I was someone on his radar. And now that he’s dead, what if they come for me?
Shit. You really are an idiot, Addie.
I rest my elbows on my knees and slump my head into my hands. My thoughts are spiraling out of control.
Who cares if it happened to be the most mind-blowing sex I’ve ever had in my life? And probably will ever have. The dude is just as crazy as the girl on screen.
He’s killed before, and he’s obviously going to do it again, and what if he tries to take out the goddamn President next? Or someone else with connections to some very unhinged people?
I just don’t think I’m okay with that. I look up at the screen again, a news reporter standing in front of flashing siren lights at Satan’s Affair.
I’m just not okay with this. With the fear that some terrifying people are going to come after me because Zade keeps killing off high-profile people. He’s a goddamn serial killer.
I need to end things with him. For good.
It doesn’t matter what he makes me feel. He’s going to put my life in danger, over and over. And how does someone just… be okay with that?
I’m rocking in Gigi’s old chair when a flash of movement outside my window catches my eye. My heart skips several beats when I find my shadow standing on the other side, several feet away with that damn red cherry blaring in the night.
Fuck. He’s here.
He’s not going to listen to reason when I tell him to leave me alone. He never did before, it won’t be any different now. I need to figure out how the hell to get him away from me permanently. Maybe I’ll look into that bodyguard Daya spoke about before.
But right now, the only thing I can do is call the police. They’ll be here quick if I lie and say I’m in serious danger, and in the meantime, I’ll try to convince him to leave.
Adrenaline and a heady mix of fear trickles into my bloodstream as I scramble up and away from the window and look for my phone.
Looking around frantically, I tear apart the living room in search of my phone. My heart is pounding, the sound resonating in my ears as my breath draws short and choppy.
It takes several minutes before I finally find my phone lodged beneath a couch cushion. When I straighten and glance out the window, I finally do freeze.
He’s gone.
Oh my fuck, where did he go?
Hands trembling, I dial in the numbers. 9-1-. I feel his presence press into my back a moment before he plucks the phone from my hand. My breath hitches as he clears the numbers, and the phone disappears from view.
His breath tickles my ear as he leans in. “Were you about to call the police on me?” he tsks. “And here I thought we were past this.”
My breath stutters. “I don’t want to do this anymore, Zade. I-I don’t want you.”
His quiet breathing is swallowed by the news reporter droning on in the background.
Finally, he says, “When did you become such a liar?”
Closing my eyes, I take a steadying breath. And then I lift my leg and stomp on his foot as hard as I can. He grunts, but before I can make a run for it, his arms encircle my waist and trap me against him.
“That’s very naughty, little mouse. And you know what happens when you’re naughty?” A heartbeat passes before he finally growls into my ear, “You get fucking eaten.”
Fire licks at my insides, igniting my entire being from the inside out. His words cause an elicit hunger to claw its way down from my throat, through my stomach, and straight to the sensitive spot between my legs.
But I will not give in so easily. I will not let this man continue to get inside my head—my body.
“I’m not your fucking prey.”
“Then why do you let me consume you?” he whispers before encircling his hand around my throat and squeezing tight. Stubble pierces my skin as his cheek rubs down the side of my own before his mouth descends on my neck. A sharp nip pulls a gasp from my lips.
His hand tightens further while my breath shortens. Words rise to my tongue, but they fail to release when a low growl vibrates from his chest, and throughout my body.
“You know how much I love it when you run,” he rasps. His other hand travels across my stomach roughly before sliding up to my heaving breasts.
He cups one in his hand and squeezes. I feel the blood rise, rushing to my face as another whimper is wrung from my throat. My nipples are hardened into twin peaks, rubbing almost painfully against the fabric of my bra. Once he bares me completely, he’ll see the evidence that I’m enjoying this far more than I should.
Somehow, that always seems to be the case with him.
“Stop it,” I choke out, attempting to get away, but his grip holds firm, tightening around my throat until black pinpricks dot my vision.
“You don’t want this, baby? You don’t want to be full of my cock and discover a new religion each time I make you come?”
“You have a lot of faith in your abilities,” I croak.
He chuckles, as deep and dark as the ocean. “You need faith to be a believer.” He cups me between my legs. “And this pussy deserves to be worshipped.”
My eyes shutter as his hot breath fans down the expanse of my chest. Goosebumps rise and a shiver crawls down my spine.
His fingers pinch my nipple through the fabric of my shirt and bra, tugging hard and wringing a pained cry from my throat.
Yet, my body reacts without permission. I grind back into him, feeling the hard expanse of him pressing into my back.
The hand around my throat pulses, tightening almost to unbearable levels. I rise on the tips of my toes to decrease the pressure, but he doesn’t let up.
“Does it scare you?” he whispers, his breath tickling my ear. “Or does it make your pussy wet knowing that I hold your life in my hands, and I allow you to breathe?”
Blood rushes to my head, and fear begins to pump through my veins. Just when I think he’s not going to stop, his hand loosens, and I greedily suck in precious air.
But he doesn’t let me breathe for much longer. He twists my body around and backs me towards the wall beside the T.V., smiling viciously as I stumble away from him and towards exactly where he wants me to be. When I’m a foot away, he grabs me and slams me into the wall, pressing the entire length of his body against mine. Before I can take another breath, his hand is once more encircling my throat, and his mouth is on mine.
Just like he said, I let him consume me. Tears burn the back of my eyes as his mouth tears my lips apart, feasting on my tongue without permission.
I can’t do this.
I can’t fucking let him do this to me.
Ripping my mouth away, I push him back, but he doesn’t move a fucking inch.
“Stop!” I snap, struggling against him. “I’m not letting you do this. You just murdered dangerous people, Zade—which means they have dangerous friends. It’s like Max all over again. You’re a monster.”
The hand still wrapped around my throat tightens before he thumps my head against the wall, ceasing my struggles.
“And you’re the sweet little angel that I’m going to drag down to hell with me,” he rasps, his voice deep and husky as he whispers his omen into my ear.
“I hate you,” I spit, glaring with all the disgust I can muster in my body. He just won’t fucking listen.
He only smiles, the gesture mocking. “And I will never let you fuck me again, Zade.” I’m not ashamed by the way my voice wobbles. Let him hear how serious I am. It’s not fear making my tone erratic, it’s the animosity bleeding out from my soul.
He presses deeper into me, a snarl forming on his face. He looks vicious and enticing all in the same breath, like the handsome devil sitting on a throne of bones.
“Are you willing to bet your life?” he asks, his smooth voice a stark contrast to mine. He grinds his pelvis against me, the hard, thick length of him digging into my stomach.
When I don’t answer, he smiles. “I think my little mouse is a liar,” he growls the last word into my ear, sending violent tremors throughout my body.
His mouth caresses my cheek, the soft flesh of his lips skating lightly towards my lips. His mouth skims against mine, eliciting electric shivers from every spot that our skin clashes.
I suck in a sharp breath, the ever-present fear and adrenaline still steadily pumping into my bloodstream, nearly drugging me with the potency and making me delirious.
“Yes,” I whisper, answering his question before I snap my leg up and knee him right between the legs. He manages to dodge the brunt of the hit, but it gives me enough room to slip from his grasp and run.
A loud, cruel laugh rings out as I nearly rip the door off its hinges before taking off into the night air.
Cold, wet droplets of rain splash onto my skin, soaking me immediately, but I don’t let the downpour deter me.
Terror pushes me forward, my legs kicking as I bolt off into the woods. My feet slip from the slickness on the porch, and it’s then that I remember I’m fucking barefoot.
Too late now. I forge on, gritting my teeth against the bite of rocks in my feet as I bolt across the driveway.
As a child, I had always wanted to explore these woods. They’re deep and incredibly easy to get lost in. My mother and Nana never let me step foot inside them as a kid. Somehow, that restriction carried into my adult life.
The warnings I received as a child subconsciously kept me from ever going into the woods and exploring. And now, I wish I had.
It doesn’t even take a minute before I’m completely turned around. The only light offered is from the moon, and even that is weak due to the canopies of trees clouding the sky.
I keep pumping my legs, harder and faster. Too scared to stop. Too frightened of the devil nipping at my heels.
Until I trip over a root, my body pitching forward and then crashing noisily into the ground. I land awkwardly on my hands, pain flaring in both wrists as they give beneath my weight. My toe throbs from where it caught on the root, my feet bloodied and abused from running barefoot in the goddamn woods.
I’m breathing heavily, heaving out panicked puffs as I roll onto my back. I have to shut my eyes from the onslaught of rain, blurring my vision and leaking into my nose and mouth.
Raising a hand to cover my face, I open my eyes and look around.
I can’t see him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t close.
My chest is tight, and I work to calm my erratic heartbeat and take deep, long breaths so I can chill the fuck out long enough to hear if he’s coming.
The wind rustles the leaves on the ground, stirring up dirt and debris and drawing out goosebumps across my skin. The sound is ominous. Threatening. Like any moment, the wind will part the trees, and I will see my shadow standing there, watching and waiting.
My soaked t-shirt and leggings provide no protection from the unrelenting rain. The clothing molds to my body, trapping the cold beneath the fabric and allowing it to seep beneath my skin. My bones rattle from the violent shivers that wrack my body.
Sitting up, I suck in a deep breath and hold it, training my ears to listen for footsteps. It takes several seconds before I hear a snap of a twig. The sound comes from directly behind me.
I whip my head around, my eyes frantically searching the woods and my breath once more speeding up. Slowly, I rise to my feet, ignoring the pain pulsing in my battered hands and feet.
I need to hide.
Just as I take a silent step, I hear another snap of a twig. My heart jumps wildly as a foot appears in my field of vision. Like a demon rising from a fire pit, I watch him emerge from between two trees. My eyes widen, my mouth drying from the sight of a massive man stepping out from the shadows, a hood drawn over his face as he stalks towards me.
With that, I turn and I run.
I run with everything I have, pumping my legs and arms as fast as they will go. But in the end, it’s for nothing. I only make it ten feet before a hand is wrapping around my arm and jerking me backward. My body goes flying into his, crashing into his hard chest and knocking the breath out of my lungs.
I struggle against him, fighting like hell to get away, but he’s too big—too strong. He easily overpowers me, circling an arm around my waist and trapping me against his heated body.
Hot breath whispers against my ear a moment before his deep voice penetrates the haze of panic and terror circulating in my brain.
“You can’t escape me, little mouse. I will always find you.” He grabs my face, clenching my cheeks tightly between his large hand. The pinch of the soft flesh digging into my teeth produces a pained moan from my throat. An answering, low growl rumbles from his chest right before he asks, “Are you ready to be eaten?”
Using the hand gripping my face to turn me around, he pulls my body tightly against his. But I won’t go down without fighting.
I thrash my arms and kick my legs, twisting my body to get loose from his unforgiving hold. My violent struggles cause my foot to slip and my body to go teetering backwards.
We both fall, but the impact of my body against the unforgiving ground is saved by his hand catching both of us, keeping him suspended while his arm holds me tight against his body.
Of course, this still doesn’t deter me.
“Let me go, you fucking maniac! I will fuckin—”
“Do what?” he hisses, cutting me off with an angry growl. He traps my body between his and the cold ground, the freezing temperatures invading my body.
Grabbing both of my wrists, he pins them above my head in one hand, while the other wraps around the back of my neck.
“Tell me, Addie. Do you think killing pedophiles is wrong?” he asks sharply, his one light eye shining bright in the darkness.
“I think killing people is wrong,” I shout in his face, breathing heavily and allowing my body a moment’s rest. I’m scared, but my body is exhausted.
“Why?” he volleys back. “Because society told you it was? Because humans fabricated morals so they can control and manipulate people into law and order? Do you think other mammals follow the same morals and rules? We’re all fucking animals, baby. The only difference is I don’t suppress mine.”
Panting and angry, I buck against him, trying to rear him off me, but it accomplishes nothing. It’s like an elephant sitting on a hamster.
He presses my wrists tighter against the ground as he rearranges himself, using his knees to spread my legs and settle between them.
Even in the cold rain, he’s as hard as a fucking rock.
‘You’re going to get me killed!’ I argue. ‘Because you had to be sick and torture them so badly, it made national news!’
“You want to know what’s fucking sick, Addie? Those men you’re so upset about dying are the same men that hurt, rape, and torture innocent fucking children and get off on it. They thrive off of it. Do you think any amount of punishment in this world will ever make up for even one child they tortured and killed?”
I snap my mouth shut, tears burning my retinas.
“And what’s worse is that despite claiming you as my own, the Society had already marked you before I even came into the picture. Which means you are in danger, whether he’s dead or not. Did you know he tried to have you kidnapped at Satan’s Affair? While you were running through Annie’s Playhouse, he was in the middle of siccing his dogs to kidnap you. And I made sure that didn’t fucking happen, Addie.
“If you thought you had any fucking chance of getting rid of me, get it out of your head. You need my protection more than you need my cock, but I fully intend on giving you both.”
My eyes widen and my heart drops. The Society has been targeting me? Jesus Christ, what the fuck did I do in my past life to deserve this shit?
I was in so much danger and never realized it. Never even felt it looming nearby.
Because the man pinning me to the ground kept me safe and protected so I could enjoy my night.
My lip trembles as he continues. “He was an evil man, Addie. And one of the worst things he ever did was put you in danger. The worst thing I ever did was make it so easy for him to find you.”
The tables have turned. Where I once accused Zade of failing to keep me hidden from Mark, I am now confessing the harsh truth. He never really stood a chance against fate.
“You couldn’t have stopped him from noticing me,” I admit on a soft whisper.
“Maybe not, but I brought you further into his sight. I had hoped claiming you would save you, but Mark was always going to turn you in. And every motherfucker who even comes within a mile of your house is going to have my knife in their throats.
“I have never pretended to be a good person. But what I did do was create my own fucking morals to live by. I will keep killing every deranged individual who resides on this goddamn planet if it means children don’t have to die, and you don’t have to live in danger.”
My lip wobbles, and all of the fight I had burning inside of me bleeds out in one breath.
I have nothing to say. No argument.
I’ve been holding so tightly onto the notion that all murder is wrong, but I need to let that go. Because Zade is right, whether he came into my life or not, I would always end up in danger. And I can’t get upset every time he kills someone who meant me harm.
If that makes me selfish, then I don’t care anymore.
Whether I like it or not… Zade isn’t going anywhere. And it’s far more exhausting holding onto morals that do nothing but fight against the one thing keeping me safe.
I study his face, needing to ask one last question.
“Have you killed an innocent person?”
“What’s your definition of innocent?” he questions, leaning in close until his minty breath skates over my cold, wet face. “People like Archie? Who have hurt others, but there was always a chance of redemption, right?”
I swallow, opening my mouth to respond, but he leans closer, his lips mere centimeters away from mine. The words die on my tongue while his flicks out, licking a droplet off my lip. The small touch should be insignificant, like a butterfly landing on your finger. But instead, it felt like a lightning bolt traveling down my spine and straight to my core.
“Do you think there’s redemption for me?” he whispers, the tenor of his voice dark and sinful.
I lick my lips, searching for the words before I ask, “Do you want there to be?”
The rest of his body molds into mine, creating a dangerous cyclone of fire and ice inside of me. The frozen ground and the raging heat of his body war with each other, while I try to fight past the delirium his close proximity is causing.
He grinds his pelvis into mine, eliciting a sharp pleasure from between my legs. Without conscious thought, my back arches and a moan slips free.
“If my redemption resides somewhere within you, then I will spend the rest of my life searching for it inside of you.” He flexes his hips again, wringing another breathless moan from my lips. “I will fill every inch of you, Adeline. And in time, my redemption will become your salvation.”
His words create a visceral reaction deep inside of me. There’s no stopping the flood of arousal between my legs, no more than I can control the intense need to hand over every bit of my soul to him on a silver platter.
He’s still a stalker, Addie.
The small voice inside my head is becoming weightless. So small and insignificant that its words are no longer holding power. I’m becoming annoyed with the voice of reason because nothing I feel for Zade is reasonable. He stirs up emotions too powerful for reason and logic. Too strong to be eclipsed by a little voice in my head.
“What if I don’t want you to?” I croak, though my words are in direct contrast to my actions. One leg hikes over his hip, bringing him closer while my mouth still attempts to push him away.
“What if the last thing I want is you inside me?” His lips skim over mine, traveling down my cheek and to my jawline. He nips harshly, his teeth pulling out another moan as pain and pleasure stab at my nerves.
This time when he grinds into me, I meet his thrust, desperate for him to be closer. Still, I can’t give up, even though my body already has.
“What if I come to hate the feeling of you inside me?”
Finally, he releases my pinned wrists, grabs the collar of my shirt, and tears it in half. I gasp from the brutal onslaught of cold rain pelting my skin. My back arches as his hands sweep up harshly across my stomach, sending waves of electricity dancing across my flesh. His touch alone is making me feel crazed. Nothing has ever felt so fucking good.
And then he’s clawing at my bra, exposing my breasts, before that too is torn away from my body.
“You would hate the feeling of coming so hard that your body gives out?”
Before I can answer, he nips at my jaw again, softer this time, before moving down to my neck. His mouth pauses over the sensitive spot right below my ear. He releases a single breath, and that action is the only warning I have before his teeth clamp down.
The only response I’m capable of is a garbled scream. My eyes roll, his tongue lapping at the sting and drawing out the intense pleasure.
Sharp bites descend down past my collarbone until one of my nipples is being sucked into his hot mouth. A strangled cry releases, and I shudder beneath his lashing tongue.
My back arches while I claw at his hair, tugging on the strands just as brutally as he sucks on my nipple.
Finally, his teeth release me, and I take a brief moment to shoot fire out of my lungs. “I can make myself come harder than you ever could.”
I feel his smile, and I don’t need to see it to know how cruel it is. He lifts his head, just enough to peer down into my eyes.
My heart sinks, and my instincts sense the doom long before his words confirm it.
“Are you prepared to prove that to me, little mouse? Because if not, I’m going to make you eat your fucking words.”
