Page 72 of Pretty Poisoned

Luca runs his hand through his hair and sighs. "Well, he's wrong," he says. "Is wanting love really that bad? Wanting to take care of someone, and have them take care of you, too? Wanting someone to need you?"

"It's okay," I tell him. "I don't—I don't need you to love me. I'm fine without it."

"I'll prove it to you," he says.

I smile sadly, unsure of what to say. "Okay."

It's pouring when we leave the restaurant. We get into the back of a taxi, and I slide all the way over under his arm.

"Don't leave me, Teagan," he says again. "If you stay with us, we'll take care of you. We'll be your family. You can have whatever you want. You can do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want? What about Declan's rules?"

"Mmm…you'll have to follow those. But they're just to keep us safe, to take care of us. You'll like it—having someone taking care of you—once you get used to it."

I rest my head against his shoulder and take his hand, lacing his fingers with mine.

"Okay," I tell him. "I'll stay."

Just for a little while.

When we get back to the hotel, we fuck, and then he cleans me and holds me. He tells me things that can't possibly be true; he bites my tit hard enough that I bleed and drinks from it, and a dark purple bruise forms around the teeth marks.

He gives me a knife and tells me I can cut him anywhere, and I drag it down his sternum before cutting him just below his waistline. I lick it and drink from it until his cock is hard again, and then I sink my pussy onto him, kissing him, letting him bite my lip again and letting our blood mix together on our lips.

I don't think about the rest of it—the bodies, the logistics, or the fact that my sudden attachment to Luca doesn't make sense and can't possibly be healthy.

And if I don't think about how wrong it is, none of it can make me feel any less human.

It's late morning when Luca wakes me. I roll onto my back and face him.

"Hey," he says. "I'm going to the gym for a while, and then we have to go down to the venue for a bit. I probably won't see you until later tonight. But…everyone else is staying on this floor. And I put their numbers in your phone."

But how did he…

He unlocked it with my face while I was sleeping. I decide not to address it.

"Okay," I tell him. "My head hurts. I need coffee."

"Order whatever you want."

"I'll probably just go downstairs. I don't think I can wait."

"Okay," he says. He kisses me on the lips. "I'll see you later, Teagan."

"Bye."

I watch the door close behind him, then pull myself out of bed. I go to the bathroom, pull my hair into a knot on top of my head, slip on a hoodie and some tights, and leave the room.

I step into the elevator, and before the doors close, a hand shoots out, stopping them, and they open again.

Alana steps into the elevator, dragging a suitcase behind her.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"I'm leaving," she says.

"What? What do you mean? Like forever?"

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