Page 33 of Cut Me Down

“No games, Ashia. Just me and you.” He begins to caress my cheek again before he gently runs his hand through my hair. “You should get some sleep. You’ve been through a lot tonight. I'll let the crew out when they’re done, and we can talk more in the morning.” He stands and walks back to his duffle bag.

“Am I going to wake up to a…” I'm interrupted by him pulling a black flower out of his duffle bag. He walks over again before holding it out to me, and as I take it, he kisses my cheek again.

“I wanted to give you this one in person.” He walks back and grabs his bag before turning and heading to the door.

“Don’t…” The word blurts out before I can stop it. What am I about to say? Am I so desperate to ask my murdering stalker to stay the night? What could I possibly want from him? To hold me? Stand guard over me all night? Fuck, that would make me look so weak and desperate. I can’t ask any of that from him. I don’t know him!

He turns around at the door, leaving it barely ajar, as he drops his bag and leans against the wall. His toned arms cross over his broad chest, and his feet do the same at his ankles. That dark, predatory stare returns as he rakes it over my face and body, but then it softens as it drifts back to my eyes.

“I'll stay right here, little wolf. Don’t be afraid.” I stare back at him as if this one look could tell me his intentions and what he sees in me. After a moment, and his adoring gaze doesn’t falter, I lay back on my pillows and try to relax. Which, either because of the alcohol or the adrenaline crash, it doesn’t take much. In a matter of what feels like seconds, I drift off to a hardened sleep.

Chapter thirteen

Damien

I’ve never felt so many emotions at once. Such pleasure, endearment, and lust, all mixing together with hatred, rage, and disappointment. Such warmth for my little wolf, yet such fire for that piece of shit lying dead in the living room. I look at her sleeping peacefully after the traumatic night she had, and I can’t help but admire her. She may have fought for her life tonight, and almost lost, but she also won a fight tonight. A fight for her control.

Something she lost so long ago because of Cooper.

But something she regained because ofme.

The realization of that alone causes my chest to swell and my dick to harden again. She really thought I would use her to get to Cooper? Does she truly think that little of herself? Just from the insults I heard that piece of shit screaming at her from when I first entered the building, I could only imagine what else was spewed at her from those disgusting flaps he called lips.

Seeing him on top of her with his hands wrapped around her throat almost sent me swirling in the dark pools of insanity. Even after I shot his pathetic ass, it took every fiber of my being not to pull out my knife and stab his lifeless corpse until his soul could feel the pain all the way in hell.

It was her choked sobs that pulled me away in that moment, and all of the red-hot rage that flowed through me at the time, vanished. Replaced by a warmth that I didn’t recognize. I wanted to comfort her. Showcase his body to show her that her nightmares were over, and pledge my undying loyalty and protection for the rest of her life.

I had her in my grasp in that shower, but I wasn’t going to fuck her tonight. I thought she had been through enough, but she had other ideas. She wanted me, and even though she couldn’t control any other aspect of her life tonight, she controlled that. She decided what she wanted, and she took it like a greedy child. My tether to her soul tightened in that moment, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was right. I was right about her, and it took every fiber of my being not to bend her in half and show her the monster I truly am.

Finally being able to wrap my arms around that gorgeous body is like a dream I never want to wake from. A fever haze that has me feeling the remnants of her spirit’s touch. Her divine grazes left supernatural trails along my skin. Every bit of her felt and tasted better than I could have ever imagined. The way her tongue moved with mine, and how her nails dug into my back sent hot streaks of pleasure through my core. Slight stinging from the scratches breeds a sly grin on my face, the tinge keeping the moment alive. The moment I had sunk into her it felt as if she ripped my soul from me and absorbed it into her heart.

She owns every broken piece of my soul now, and every beat of my heart belongs to her. My devotion and obsession with her are things that no one can take from her. Not even that piece of shit.

I had such plans for that slimy fuck. I had even thought about teaching his parents a lesson for creating such a despicable human being. They would have groveled at her feet, begging her for forgiveness, and I would have ended their lives regardless of her answer. The thought of her in pain makes my neck twinge with fury as I see the bruises already start to form on her neck and face. All of the progress she’s made since that day was almost thrown out of the window tonight. And I almost didn’t make it in time.

Almost.

What a shitty word.

It’s the word you hear in tragic stories.

Her life has been tragic enough. Why can’t she catch a break? Why is it that so much has happened to such a beautiful soul? I’ve never understood that about life. The havoc it wreaks, always praying on the undeserving. She’ll never feel safe in this apartment again, but I can’t take her to my house. Not yet. She’d crumble with fear and anxiety. Feelings she should only feel with the anticipation of my dick ramming into her, but only before euphoria and ecstasy flood her mind as she comes undone beneath me.

I feel myself harden, my cock painfully pressing against the metal of my zipper, and I draw in a deep breath to control myself. The urge to jerk her up by her fragile neck almost takes over, until I glance again at the forming bruises. She’ll be walking on a thin line between a PTSD relapse and total emptiness for a while. I need to be gentle with her. Pay attention to her triggers while pushing the boundaries. I won’t coddle her, she’s too strong for that. I need to push her a little so I can heal her. I won’t allow that light in her eyes to be snuffed out. She deserves to burn freely; however she pleases.

My thoughts are broken by the sound of footsteps approaching, and before one of my men can walk past me and through the door, I stick my arm out and grip it. Holding it steady and halting my man in his tracks.

“Sorry, D, but we need to clean the bathroom too. We can’t have any traces of him here, and from how wet your hair is, I assume you two showered?” I turn to look at Graham, the head of our cleaning crew, and give him a warning glare.

“Do not even fucking look at her.” I warn as I let go of the door and storm into the bathroom. I know they need to take and dispose of our clothes, but I don’t want anyone to touch any part of her. They know what would happen to them if they ever thought about my girl in any other way than just that. MY girl, but I still don’t like the thought of her belongings in the hands of anyone but me.

I reach into the shower, grab Ashia’s soaked pants, and pull her thong free. Holding my hand out to Graham, he quickly hands me a heavy evidence bag, and I drop her soaked panties inside.

“These stay with me.” I look at him and demand.

“Yeah, you got it, D. We just need the garments that have Cooper’s DNA on them.” I nod once and walk back into her bedroom, quickly disposing of her thong into my duffle.

I take a seat on the edge of the bed, shielding my little wolf from possible lingering eyes. Watching as my men work flawlessly to ensure that the mess I made is cleaned up. My cleaners get paid just as well as the rest of the group. Obviously because this is one of the most important parts. We can’t leave our own DNA at the crime scenes, and DH remains anonymous. The last thing we need is the police snooping around where they don’t belong.

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