Page 57 of Vicious Little Darling

The soreness.

My heart pounds. My thighs clench. I don’t know whether to be terrified or fucking jump his goddamn bones.

“Whatcha doin’ up here?” His voice stays cold and flat as he slides his phone back into his pocket, his eyes studying my every move.

“I just found out Josh was murdered,” I say carefully.

“Oh,” he replies, the air between us full of fucking uncertainty as I try to process everything I know now—and the way it’s making me fucking feel.

“Did you kill him?” I ask, my voice confident.

He nods, and then shrugs. “Yep. He tried to touch what’s mine.”

I take a deep breath, and then bite down on my lip. “Take off your shirt.”

Xander’s eyes darken. “Why?”

I mimic his nonchalance. “So I know it’s true.”

With a smirk and a shake of his head, he peels the black T-shirt over his head and tosses it to the floor. “Is this what you were looking for?” He twists his body, just enough for me to see the scar that’s still healing on his side.

My breath catches, but I can’t hold back.

“Why?”

“Why what?” he asks carefully, still giving me space.

“Why’d you try to kill me?”

He goes silent for a few moments, his eyes on the mark on his side. Then, he looks up at me. “Because it used to be the only thing that could get me off, the only thing that made me feel anything. But then I met you, and you complicated things for me.”

“But youstilltried to kill me, Xander,” I say, my voice growing sharp.

“Yeah, because I thought things would get more complicated if I let you know the real me. I thought that was the answer, but you proved otherwise to me. And here we are.”

“Here we are,” I echo him. “Now what?”

“Now, I love you,” he rasps. “And I don’t have to fucking hide this gash or this monstrous cock anymore, Little Flame.”

My pussy gushes for him. “How do you know you won’t still want to kill me?”

He laughs. “Because I’d kill myself before I ever killed you, Ember. I’ll never hurt you again—unless it’s that soreness you’re feeling now.”

My head spins.

Why do I actually believe him?

I step back and then go into his room to peer down at the pile of shit that’s there.

I know he’s a serial killer.

He’s killed other women.

“I’ve found a better way to feed my urges.” His voice is closer now, right behind me. “I need you. I’ve been fuckingdyingfor you. I’ll work as a hitman for my uncle, and then I’ll fuck you every night when I get home. I never knew what I was missing out on.”

I glance over my shoulder as his frame fills the doorway, and then I grab the mask up and look at it closely. Excitement thrums through my body, and I turn to toss it to him.

He catches it, raising his brows. “I was going to throw it away.”

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