Page 37 of The Cute Psycho

"Assisi, come here, but slowly. He might be dangerous," Marcello says.

It's weird, because I can feel the danger he emanates. It's pure and raw and not unlike a lion stalking his next meal. Yet I can also feel something else. An emptiness that silently calls out, and once again my instincts tell me to both stay and run.

Seeing how worried Lina and Marcello are, though, I slowly move away from him.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask, seeing that Vlad is still in the same position. I doubt he's even noticed my absence.

"He's not... normal," Marcello relays.

"Not... normal?" I repeat numbly, my disturbed mind finding this entirely too fascinating. I watch as Marcello goes to Vlad's side, snapping his fingers in front of him as if he's trying to wake him up from a trance.

"More..." I think I hear Vlad speak, but I can't be sure.

"Marcello, what are you...?" I take a step back when I see my brother folding his sleeves, his features taut as he's surveying the situation.

Don't hurt him!

I don't know where this comes from, but my only thought is making sure Marcello doesn't do anything to Vlad.

I move forward, swiping Lina's arm aside and ignoring Marcello yelling at me to stay back.

Vlad moves too, rather too swiftly as he meets me in the middle. I don't even get to react as his hand shoots out, wrapping itself around my throat and pushing me into the wall.

I hear Lina's cry of alarm, and Marcello as he tries to stop her from intervening, but I can't seem to care.

His fingers wrapped around my pulse point, his warmth transferring from his skin to mine makes me lose all reason. I try to blink some sense into myself, but it's like my body's stopped obeying, giving in to sensation instead.

His grip is firm, and yet gentle. Our entangled position aside, his hold isn't painful. If anything, it's almost tender in the way his fingers play with my skin, almost like a soft caress enveloped in violence.

Nothing about this man makes sense. From the moment I'd met him until now, he's never once acted as I expected him to. And that... intrigues me.

I raise my eyes to his, finding those striking black orbs against pale skin, and I try to understand.

Who are you?

There's a strange dichotomy to him—carnage that leaves way to calm, aggression tempered by civility. The thirst for blood reflected in his gaze should make me afraid. But it only does the opposite.

It calls to my own.

Good Lord, but my entire body starts shaking, small tremors coursing through me and accumulating deep in my lower belly.

The more he stares at me like that, as if he'd kill me and kiss me at the same time, the more my body reacts.

"Assisi, are you okay?" Marcello asks, worried.

"I'm fine... he's not hurting me." I manage the words out, my eyes still fixed on Vlad.

"Vlad, I need you to focus, okay? You're hurting my sister right now." My brother starts as he tries to reach a side of Vlad that isn't gone yet.

Marcello keeps talking to Vlad, and I notice a small shift, his arms flexing slightly, his eyes gaining a hint of recognition.

"Sister?" A rough sound escapes his lips.

His hand tightens over my throat, his eyes moving wildly over my face.

"Yes, she is my sister. And you are hurting her right now."

"Sister?" He repeats, the word seemingly striking a reaction. "Sister..."

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