Good grief.
I drank down a fourth of it, letting him get his rocks off, watching like a pervert. He slid his tongue over the fork, practically eating in slow motion. Looks like the game is still on. “I’d rather arson not be the option, so if you could make my job a little less demanding, that’d be great. I also don’t plan to be there when it happens, so don’t ask.” When he got a little quiet, I looked up to find him chewing and looking at me like he was lost in thought.
“What about you?”
I stabbed into the container, digging around and knotted my brows. “Whataboutme?”
“How’d you even get started with this? The girl I met in my house that night is far from the one I’m falling for.” His grin was ridiculous. I ignored the comment he obviously sought entertainment for the most.
“Honestly? Except for the respect I have for the ones that loved ones trust us with…to me, a body is just a body. The leftovers of what once was. One day, I think I found myself wondering what happens to bad people nobody will miss, and it grew into a lucrative idea. I posted the ad on the Dark Web and…there you have it.”
“So, you feel different about the ones that people like us kill off? Like…like they have no soul?” It almost felt intrusive, and to be honest…I wasn’t really prepared for it.
“I—yeah, I guess I do. Or I just pretend they don’t. Like I said, I don’t ask questions. I clean up, I cover up, I move on. It’s like having a double life that you don’t actually have to live. Just…occasionally change the sheets. I dunno.”
We ate in silence for a minute and then Malek started smiling down at the container. “So. People like me. Soulless. Rotten. Damned. What would you do withmybody?”
Good question.
“Hm,” I hummed into my beer. “Not sure. Might have to think on that one. For you, I’d probly get creative.”
He snickered and took another bite. “If you ever have to dispose of me, I’ll make sure to leave you the best part.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Malek. I want no part of you.”
He stood and pressed his palms to the counter, leaning over our lunch towards me. I wasn’t gonna give him an inch. His tongue slid across his lower lip, lingering on the hoop that he caught with his teeth. He’s baiting me…and it’s working. “Youwill.”
“Someone’s awfully sure of himself.” I turned my fork in my hand and touched the prongs of it under his chin. His snakelike smile got wider.
“I’m sure about a lotta things, Seven Grey.” His nose nearly touched mine and I pressed the fork harder into his skin.
“Do tell.”
He eyed my mouth, and my heart raced. “Well, for one…I’m sure that your little stunt last night was an invitation. I’m sure you liked what you saw this morning. I’mprettysure that your sweet little pussy was wet, and not because of the water runnin’ off the hard cock you couldn’t stop lookin’ at.” I swallowed hard, gritting my teeth and seething at him, pissed that he’s fucking right.
“Think so, fucker?”
“I do. I’m also sure that you’d already made up your mind about me before I came back to this apartment, and that some small part of you waited in that bed for me to make quick work of that lock and prove to you just how much better I am with my tongue than I am with a knife.”
His fingers wrapped around my wrist, and I froze, not breaking his intense eye contact as he moved the fork to the side of his neck.
“Jugular’s right here, love.”
“I know where the fucking jugular is, Jack the Ripper.” A low chuckle rumbled in his throat, and he finally backed off, turning towards my front door and slipping his bare feet into his boots. I was wholly and unequivocally stunned, fork still raised where he’d left it and watching him pull a black leather jacket around his bare back.
“Thanks for lunch,Nathair Bheag.I’ll text you about the play date with Bridget.”
He left without a spare glance behind him, while I stood there like a deer caught in headlights. Not a single thing he said was wrong. I nearly stumbled, trying to catch a glimpse of him out my window, and spotted him getting into an older model black car out on the street. At least now I know what he’s following me around in. It’s fitting. Hewoulddrive a car like that. He glanced up at me, smiling and then pulled out onto the street.
I couldn’t stop thinking about every word he said. Not when I was cleaning up the kitchen or righting my messy coffin. Not when I’d locked up and gone back to my room to make my bed either. I was hot. Needed relief. My mind kept drifting to the toy waiting in the drawer—the one with his name carved into it. I must have stared at the damn drawer for a solid twenty minutes. I know damned well he’s gone. Would he have set up cameras in here? Fuck it. I yanked the drawer open…
My Girthmaster is missing.
“Goddammit!” I found the note he’d left sitting pretty on top of the pile of other toys.
“Malek!”
CHAPTER 10
