Page 26 of Vicious Little Darling

“Come on.” Josh finishes locking the door and shoves the keys in his pocket. “You’re always telling me that you’d rather walk.”

I scrutinize her carefully, smiling to myself as her pretty hazel eyes dart around. She’s looking for me. I know she is.

“I think we should drive,” she finally says, her voice quiet in the empty street. “I just have a bad feeling.”

Josh stares at her for a few minutes. “A bad feeling, huh? Well, that’s even more of a reason to walk. I’ll prove to you that I can handle anything.”

Bro, get your ego in check.It’s already in the stratosphere. I nearly laugh out loud at Josh’s asinine comment. If there’sanythingI’ve learned in my time of lurking in the shadows, it’s thatanyonecan get themselves “unalived”under the right circumstances. And I’m sure that Josh is mostly bark rather than bite…

Though hedoeshave something about him that makes me question just how far he’d go to have Ember. She might be oblivious to it, but I’m not. He’s into her, and I see the way he manages her.

I don’t like it.

“Come on,” Josh repeats, threading his arm through hers. “It’s all going to be fine. Besides you don’t have work at the bookstore, tomorrow, so getting home a little later shouldn’t make a great difference.”

“I really haven’t been sleeping well, though,” Ember shoots back at him. However, she does let him start to guide her down the street.

“How come?” he asks her.

I miss the next part of the conversation, too busy trying to slink along behind them. There really isn’t anyone out on the streets, so if I show myself, they’re going to notice—and thatwould ruin my plan. I’m a figment in Ember’s life, and only in a way that should make her doubt if I’m really there at all.

I like my women a little crazy, I guess.

My Vans are silent on the concrete as I drift a ways behind them. Part of me was hoping they’d just take the damned car, so I could walk without having to slink like this, but it is what it is. I keep my distance for the near hour the walk takes, too far back to hear their conversation.

When they reach the apartment building, I slip into the alleyway, giving me the familiar sight of her window. I wait for the light to flicker on, and for Josh to load up in the Uber that shows up a few moments later. As soon as the car pulls away from the curb, I head around to the front, punch in the code and slip inside.

I take the stairs two at a time, my cock already straining against my jeans. I’m not going to go slow with her this time. I’m taking what I want and then I’m ending it.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I kind of like the idea of coming back for more—if she doesn’t fucking report it to the cops.

When I reach her apartment, I try the knob, and to my fucking shock, the door isunlocked.I can’t decide if I’m flattered or concerned. For all I know, this might be me walking right into a trap. I take a deep breath, and push the door inward, letting the creak of the hinges split the silence.

I ease into the apartment, and the blackness settles in all around me. There’s not a single light on in the place, and I shut my eyes as I swing the door closed. It clicks loudly in place. If she doesn’t know I’m here by now, then she’s either got headphones in or she’s deaf.

Flipping the lock behind me, I ease forward, heading toward her room. Excitement and anticipation pulse in my veins, andmy cock is desperate to be let loose from my pants. I can’t fuckingwait.

“I see you’re back,” a voice says as I step over the threshold of the bedroom. “I figured you’d show up.”

“Hmm,” is all I say, unable to read Ember’s tone as she sits, her back propped up against the headboard. She’s wearing just an oversized T-shirt again, and her bare legs are begging me to spread them apart for me.

“How many girls have you followed home and fucked?”

Whoa. Where is this brazen question coming from?I stand in silence, trying to guess why she’d even care to know such a thing.

“There’s a list in the bar,” she continues. “It made me think of you. There’s a guy on there who is no longer allowed inside, because he follows women home from the bar.”

I chuckle, biting back a smile at the jealousy. “Not me, little flame.” I distort my voice under the mask to sound deeper, and Ember whips her head around to glare at me.

“So then why are you following me? Do I know you?”

I hesitate on that question. As much as I like to play these little games, sometimes, too much information is dangerous. “I know you,” I say, taking a step toward her.

She doesn’t flinch with fear, and instead takes a deep breath, blowing it out sharply into the bedroom. “Something is wrong with me.”

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