Chapter 25: : Chapter 25

The moment Eli steps out of the restaurant, I shoot. The window closest to him explodes, but he barely flinches. I quite like the gun that was left in the bag under my seat.

It’s dark and eerily quiet in the parking lot, but I can still see the unimpressed look he gives me and hear the waves crashing on the shore in the distance.

“If you were going to kill me, you wouldn’t have missed,” he states confidently, his long strides eating the distance between us until he stops directly in front of me and grabs the wrist of my hand holding the gun. He slams me against the car, and I’m startled but fight against him in equal measure. Adrenaline zips through me, and the air crackles around us as we battle for dominance. He pushes his hips against me, and my lips part in surprise at the bulging pressure of his cock behind his pants.

“Did you have fun in there, Kitten?”

“A little heads-up would have been appreciated,” I say, trying my hardest to ignore the tingles erupting along my skin.

“See how fucking hard you make me?” he growls. A pool of heat floods my core, and a low rhythm begins to hum between my thighs. His gaze skitters over my features, and then he steps away. “I don’t want anyone else seeing you flushed like this. Get in the car.”

I’m surprised by the sudden switch. Wait. Did I want something else to happen? My body is a confusing, flustered mix of need and excitement. Where shooting usually gives me a high and then a calm, relaxed feeling, I currently feel like I’m on fire with no way to put it out.

I take my seat and buckle the seat belt, fidgety in the car because of the endorphin rush.

He doesn’t even bother with his own seat belt as the car fishtails on the slippery road as he takes off.

“I can see the look on your face. You get a high after killing, just like me,” he says.

My gaze dips to his cock. “I don’t,” I lie. He’s driving at such a fast speed, I have no idea where he’s even taking me, but I can’t stop looking at him. My body is coated with a buzz that I can’t shake off, and it has something to do with this powerful man beside me, pushing against me with a level of tension I’ve never competed against.

A natural born killer.

“Are you sure? Because if you’re anything like me, fucking after you kill is the best damn high.”

“I’m not fucking you.” But it’s barely a whisper, and my thighs clench together automatically. He definitely notices it, and I can hardly push down the lump in my throat. I’m fighting against myself now for every fiber of control. What fucking spell has he put me under?

I have never fucked anyone after firing my guns. And the men I’ve fucked in the past have all been one-night stands.

“Well, I would like to fuck you,” he states, sharply turning the car. We veer off the road, and he slams hard on the brakes before we hit a line of trees. He turns to me then. The moon beaming down, and the dim interior lighting cast an unholy shadow across his features.

He’s as terrifying as he is beautiful.

My heart is pounding, and I can’t look away. My pussy is throbbing, and I’m crippled under his intensity.

“Can we call a truce for ten minutes?” he asks breathlessly.

“A truce?” I question, staring at his lips.

“A release,” he promises. “Let’s finish what we started that night at Lucy’s before you ran like a coward.”

I internally tense at his provocation. Before I can speak, he orders, “Get out of the car.” And then he’s hefting himself out of his seat and rounding the hood, rushing to open my door. I realize with sudden clarity that the palpable tension I felt before wasn’t one-sided. The only reason he drove us farther down the road was so there would be no threat if we were distracted.

My heart is pounding in my chest. My head logically knows I should fight him on this. If I give in, I’ll only be giving him what he wants. Handing over my power. But another side of me thirsts to feed off him. To taste a man that powerful and have his carnal urges dance with mine. I’ve never been with a man like him before, and I have the sense it’ll ruin me.

Hell, I’m already ruined.

He holds his hand out to me, and I try to moisten my mouth, the buzz from the kill still at an all-time high. I’m not thinking straight as I unclip the seat belt.

“You owe me a favor if I do this,” I say.

He smiles wickedly. “Forever negotiating. I’ll give you anything but your guns. Now, put your lips on my cock.” He takes my hand and yanks me into him. The calm rhythm of the ocean waves in the background and the moon shining down on us are opposite to the carnal tension crackling between us.

I should run.

His hand grips tightly onto my hip, and he slams me against him so I can feel his erection. A small moan escapes me, and I’m crazy to think I could pull away from this now. He pins me against the car, his hand scooping under my ass as I balance on top of his cock. For a moment, we just stare at one another, unsure of what to do. Some kind of new awakening happening in both of us.

It’s hard to think clearly through the haze of desire, but I’m certain of one thing: I want this man.

Even though I shouldn’t.

“Don’t take it personally when I have to kill you, okay?” I say breathlessly.

His fingers possessively feather through my hair, and he holds me captive with a devilish smile. “You can try to kill me as many times as you want. Nothing is keeping me away from this pussy that belongs to me.”

And then his lips are on mine. An explosion of stimulation bombards me as his primal nature meets mine. His tongue presses against mine, and I’m caged entirely, forced to take him. All of him. It’s not just a kiss; it’s an utter claim.

I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, a small moan escaping me.

I want him.

I need him.

I need him to calm this fiery buzz under my skin. Everything he touches comes to life. Our mouths are so desperate for each other, it’s like we’re fighting over the same pocket of air.

Fuck. I’m in trouble.

Heat pools at my core as I fight him for dominance in our kiss. I’m shoving up his shirt when I feel cool air on my back as he carries me around to the hood and lays me down on it. He doesn’t break the kiss as he discards his jacket, throwing it to the ground.

I lift my hips as he undoes my jeans. I desperately unbutton his shirt, praying he can calm whatever this reckless energy is within me. I’m feeding off him like he’s the only solution.

Our lips break apart as he yanks down my jeans and drops them next to his jacket. He stands over me, his shirt and hair a mess, as he stares at me like a rabid beast. His nostrils flare when he notices the red lace I’m wearing. My gaze lands on the small sheath strapped at his hip, and he notices.

“Are your claws not enough, Kitten?” he taunts, slowly undoing his belt, teasing me with a leisurely pace I can’t stand. “Show me those beautiful tits.”

“How certain are you that I won’t kill you?” I ask with a wicked grin as I remove my top, revealing the matching red bralette.

He removes the sheath and then his shirt. He continues holding the blade as he pushes down his pants and my pussy floods at the sight of his thick cock. I’ve seen his dick before—even taken numerous photos of it—but it’s not until this moment, with him standing in front of me, that I get my first up close and personal view of it. He’s massive. Veins aggressively bulging under smooth skin.

He purposefully and slowly unsheathes the knife, and my heart rate picks up with the unknown mixture of excitement and danger. I hitch my feet farther up the front of the car so he has a clear view of my soaked panties. He steps between my legs, his gaze sweeping up my body.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

My heart falters in surprise.

His thumb firmly presses against the neon blue tattoo on my hip as he stares at all of me as if memorizing every inch. His hand wraps around my waist and grips me tightly as if he’s unable to contain his strength. He raises the blade to the same hip as the tattoo, and I inhale as I watch him slice it through the thin waistband of the panties.

He intentionally pricks the tip of the blade into my skin, and I suck in a breath as a trickle of blood blooms on my skin. I’m so attuned to his every caress, the pinprick momentarily the only thing I can feed on, feeling like a release in itself.

And then he flips the knife in his hand and catches it with ease, offering it to me by the handle.

“I don’t think you’re ready to kill me yet, Kitten,” he says as he holds the knife out to me.

I curl my fingers around it slowly. Everything about me feels so wrapped up in him, as if I don’t know where one of us starts and the other ends because Eli is an enigma. An entity I know I shouldn’t be drawn toward but undeniably am.

As he leans over me, I raise the knife very slowly to his throat, and a sensual smile spreads over his lips. “Why don’t you drop the knife, Kitten, so that I can have my taste.”

I make no move to do as he suggests. And he just leans over farther, edging his throat along the blade. I watch, mesmerized at the small red line that appears at his jugular. But it’s his eyes that draw me back in —a striking silver in the moonlight.

“Something tells me you don’t want me to remove the knife.”

He grins arrogantly as his fingers trail up my inner thigh, and a shudder rolls through me. His lips brush against mine once again, pressing himself harder against the blade in the process.

“I’m almost certain you don’t want to fuck a dead man tonight.”

“Then don’t die,” I sass back, then sharply inhale as he stuffs my pussy with two fingers. His lips crash against mine as he takes my breath, and I’m stimulated by the two new pressures: thirsting, craving, and needing an outlet. All this energy buzzing inside me needs to be purged, and I know Eli is the only one who can take it.

He bites at my lip as the knife knicks him again, a slight growl coming from him, and I moan, hungrily wanting and needing more of that. I edge the knife in deeper, and when I do, his other hand wraps around my throat, cutting off my air supply in warning to not dig any deeper.

I’m being consumed by him as he breathes hotly against my lips. “Look how fucking wet you are for me already, Kitten. Such a good fucking girl.”

He steps out of my reach, and I snarl in irritation until my gaze locks on his very hard cock as he begins to stroke it. Blood trickles down his neck as he grabs hold of my ankle and yanks me down the front of the car. I almost fall off, but he raises my ass in the air as he hovers at my entrance.

“Do you want this cock to fill you?” he asks, still lazily stroking himself. My pussy is pounding to be filled, and I’m not so much of a saint that I can ignore my bodily desires.

“Yes,” I confess.

His eyebrow arches, beautifully split in two with the scar. “Such a fucking good girl.” He rubs his cock against my folds, and we both stare in bewilderment. How the fuck is he supposed to fit inside me?

“Did you have fun killing all those men today?” he asks as he spreads my juices over his erection. I breathe heavily, my body shaking with adrenaline.

“It’s written all over your face. We are the same, Kitten, whether you like to admit it or not. The thrill of the kill. The energy of the high. Needing that release afterward.”

“It’s a truce only this once,” I breathe, wriggling restlessly, trying to edge him into me.

He kicks up an arrogant smile. “You keep telling yourself that, Kitten.” He grabs my hip, and I hold my breath. “Look at me when I impale you with my cock,” he demands, and I do exactly as he says.

The pain is so sharp and explosive that I grunt from the sheer size of him. I wrap my arms around his neck for support as he holds me in place. This fucking man. This enigma. I can’t stop staring into his eyes because it’s like he sees every bit of me, and that’s as terrifying as it is exhilarating.

He pulls out and then hits the same spot again, triggering another hiss that quietly falls into a moan. He takes my lips again, and the fucking becomes desperate as we devour one another’s grunts and groans. I don’t usually kiss, but this otherworldly god demands his tribute.

The blade in my hand knicks his shoulder, and he hisses as he bites my lip, dragging his teeth along it as he pulls back. He stares down at me. I can taste blood on my tongue as a silent communication passes between us.

I adjust my hand, holding the knife, hooking it around his side, and angling the blade toward his back. “Do you like this?” I ask, dragging the tip from one shoulder to the other. He grunts, his pupils dilating, and he looks like he’s about to kill me.

But then his hips pull back and then thrust forward once more, impaling me again. I choke out a cry and drag the knife against his back again. He growls, slamming into me again, and then his lips are back on mine.

I can’t scream as he devours my mouth. A mix of pleasure and pain has me bucking my hips into him. My hands are working on their own, leaving small cuts down his back as he impales me again and again. My toes curl as he drives into me harder and harder.

He’s unhinged.

A monster sending me over an edge I never knew existed.

“F-fuck.”

“Scream my name!” he demands, biting at my lips again. I don’t know if it’s his blood or my blood anymore. And I can’t even string my thoughts together as he buries himself deep inside me. His hand wraps around my throat, cutting off my breath, and I limply take his thrashing.

“Say my name!” He curses, driving me into oblivion.

“Eli,” I barely gasp. His grip slackens, and he kisses me again as if in reward. I’m on the edge as I carve one more line down his back. He grunts into my mouth, his hips rolling into me.

“Eli!” I scream, snapping as I finally crash over the edge, and he’s holding me, supporting me as my body convulses on its own. He impales me one more time and curses under his breath as he begins to release inside me.

I’m riding the high, holding on to him for dear life as the crash comes in waves. I’ve shattered into a million pieces. The adrenaline that was once holding me together, is replaced by the very monster I shouldn’t be fucking.

Eli holds me as I cling to him, coming down from the peak of ecstasy. We stare at one another for a moment, an unnerving and dangerous energy crackling between us again.

I promised myself it would only be once.

A truce only for today.

But I’m unsure how to keep that promise when I’ve never been fucked to within an inch of my life like this, and something has never felt more right. For the first time in my life, I feel grounded and like I’m where I’m meant to be. And I have no idea what that even means.

Especially considering the bloody mess we’ve made of one another.

We’re both still breathing heavily as some kind of reality snaps us back into place, and I push against him as quickly as he pulls out.

I search for my clothes, ignoring his arrogant grin as he fastens his pants and belt.

I don’t want to acknowledge what just transpired between us, but whatever it was, it satisfied my immediate need for release but replaced it with something else entirely—addiction. Because I already want more.

“I’m clean, by the way,” he mentions as he bends over to collect his shirt. “I don’t usually fuck without protection.”

“So why—” My mouth snaps shut as I take in the carnage I caused. Two thick lines carve his flesh, and smaller ones add to the trail of blood dripping down his muscled and tattooed back. “I’m so sorry.”

I’m mortified. Why did I do that?

“Don’t be.” He shrugs, then leans into my space, planting his hands on either side of me. “Next time, just make sure to do your duty of care.” His muscles bunch and I’m hypnotized for a moment by the dangerous beauty of this man.

I click my tongue. “There won’t be a next time.”

He smirks as he brings his hand to my throat, applying pressure. It causes another buzz to come to life under my skin. His callused thumb delicately brushes over my jaw and rubs against my lips. He withdraws his thumb and looks down at the smudged blood, now painting the digit. “We shall see, Kitten,” he remarks before he takes the thumb into his mouth and sucks.