Page 72 of The Cute Psycho

"But you don't date," I reply with a feigned huff.

"And you won't either!" He quickly exclaims, his eyes widening at his own outburst.

"What? Of course I will. I'm young, I've finally started living, and I need to think about dating at some point," I lie, closely studying his expression.

"No," he decrees, folding his arms over his chest and looking at me defiantly.

"Excuse me?" I ask in faked outrage.

"You can't!" He takes my laptop from me, quickly punching some keys.

"What are you doing?" I frown at his unusual reaction. I'd only wanted to give him a little push to kiss me again.

"There," he hands it back to me, "I blocked all dating sites from your computer," he says smugly.

"Why would you do that?" I push, needing at least an explanation. If he's not going to kiss me just yet, I'll settle for a small admission that hedoesn'twant me to date.

"It's not safe," he quickly answers, a small scowl appearing on his face. "Besides, when would you have time to date? I occupy most of your time," he reasons, looking mightily pleased with himself.

"You do, don't you?" I probe, a smile playing on my lips.

"Exactly," he replies, "why would you need a boyfriend when you have me?"

The reaction is delayed as he realizes what he just said. He blinks twice, his mouth half-open as he undoubtedly must be thinking of ways to correct his mistake.

Instead, he amazes me when he continues. "That's right, I found you first. Finders keepers," he declares proudly, placing the laptop on the table in front of him. Out of nowhere, his arm darts out, his fingers grabbing onto my chin as he tugs me into a bruising kiss.

"There you have it," he speaks against my mouth, "sealed with a kiss."

I can only stare into his eyes, the pupils so big they almost overshadow his irises. He doesn't seem to wait for my approval as he looks at me like a feral animal ready to devour its prey. Out of nowhere, his tongue sneaks out and he licks my lips with a long swipe.

I'm frozen in shock at his actions, because even in my sheltered mind this isn't normal. But the more I look at him, the more I realize thatheisn't normal. He probably has no idea how to behave with a woman. Lord, I'm surprised he even knows how to behave with other people.

There's a savagery in him that can't be tamed by superficial manners. And no matter how expensive his suits, or how practiced his expressions are, he can't hide what he really is.

A beast.

A smile pulls at my lips, and I return his lick with one of my own.

He might be a beast, but I wouldn't be this drawn to him if he weren't.

His teeth catch my tongue, and he sucks it into his mouth, his palm fitted around my throat as he brings me into him.

"I prepared something for you," he whispers, his teeth nibbling at my lips.

"What?" I ask in a breathless tone. Already visions assault me, of us naked together, limbs tangled, mouths fused... Ah, my thighs clench together just thinking about that.

"The ocean. I'm taking you to the ocean," he says, and he's suddenly off me and righting his clothes.

"That sounds amazing," I answer, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I barely got him to kiss me again, and he didn't waste any time in finding a reason to stop.

For a brief moment, I have to wonder if maybe he's not attracted to me. At his age, it's almost unheard of that he'd never kissed anyone before. I should know since I've spent exorbitant amounts of time researching men and relationships. So what if... he's not into women at all?

The thought makes me still, and when he takes my hand and leads me to the car, I have to force myself to smile.

The drive is quick as we get to Vlad's childhood home, which is only a few steps away from the beach. He's tight-lipped when I ask him more about his family, mainly commenting that they are all dead.

"So there's only Katya left," I remark as we climb out of the car. Vlad is carrying a couple of blankets so we can sit on the sand, and a basket with a few snacks and drinks. I'm actually surprised by the effort he's put into this.

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