Page 46 of Darkness Tempt Me
“Can I kiss you?”
Instead of answering me with his words, he leans over and kisses me, pressing his naked body to mine. Rather than the desperate kiss we shared that first time, this is slow, deliberate, and tender. I’ve never felt anything like this before.
My heart is beating so frantically, I’m afraid it’s going to beat right out of my chest. I’m afraid this is just a dream, and I’m going to wake up to find a Peyton who hates me and everything I am. But the longer we kiss, the more I begin to believe this is real.
And when Peyton reaches over to the nightstand and pulls out a bottle of lube, as if he’d always known it would be there, I watch as he stretches himself open for me. “Next time, I want you to take control. I want you to own my body and manhandle me. I want you to fuck me until I’m screaming. But right now, I need to know that I’m in control, that this is my decision.”
I nod, unable to speak. Unable to tell Peyton how much this moment means to me. A killer. A man born of revenge. And when he sinks onto my hard cock and rides me at a leisurely pace, I savor this moment.
For the first time in my thirty-six years of life, I’m making love.
Chapter twenty-nine
Peyton
Finally having Mavik inside of me is better than I could have imagined. It’s a stark contrast to how I’ve always pictured him fucking me. But as I ride him, I know he’s giving this moment to me, as much as he’s taking it for himself. A gift to the broken boy who didn’t know he could find love.
There was a moment earlier when I saw that scared, broken boy. The fractured boy who’s spent the past eighteen years killing the assholes who hurt his mother. Of all the videos I watched that had sound, it’s the one victim’s name I recognized being repeated over and over again. Later, I will have to tell him to scrub her name from the videos, because it’s obvious they aren’t supposed to give him or the other killer away.
It might have taken me far too long to realize, but I’m 90% sure there are two killers. Mavik, and if I had to guess, Hunter. I never realized how similar they are in height and build until I saw them both in a mask.
Mavik’s body begins trembling, and I know he’s close. So am I. His intense gaze is focused on the movement of my hand as I stroke my cock. “Come inside me,” I beg. “Please, Mavik. Please, Daddy.”
I knew the title would push him over the edge. He whimpers a delicious sound and thrusts up into me. The warm splash of him coming pushes me over the edge, and I come all over his chest and abs.
Mavik pulls into his side and tucks me against his body. He presses a kiss on my temple, just over the scar my ex gave me in the throes of passion. The way he kisses it softly shows me he knows how I got it. And it’s at this moment that I realize I’ve never felt so safe.
So cherished.
“You killed him,” I say, my voice surprisingly steady. This is the first time I’ve truly acknowledged what I discovered. What he is. Will he deny that he’s a murderer? Will he give me pretty lies and brush away the facts?
Mavik is silent for far too long, and I finally find the courage to look up at him. Our gazes cling and hold, like an anchor in the ocean.
“I did,” he replies simply, never breaking eye contact.
“Why?” I whisper. I think I already know the answer but need to hear it. I need to know what I’m thinking is real. Thathe’sreal.
“Because you’re mine, little light. And I protect what’s mine.”
The air whooshes out of my lungs in a rush.‘I protect what’s mine.’I feel light. And dizzy. And safe.
Safe.
Safe.
Safe.
He presses another tender kiss on my scar. “I killed for you before, Peyton. And I’d do it again. Before, I used to think that if I could rewind time, go back and kill someone all over again, I’dkill my father. I’d kill him for everything he did to my mother. But now, I’d go back and kill Jimmy instead. I’d go back and torture him. I’d take my knife and cut into him over and over again, missing all the important arteries and aiming for the spots with the most nerve endings. I’d slice him open and focus on the spots that hurt the most. I’d linger in his pain. I’d do it just so I could tell you I kept you safe. That you can rest peacefully and know you have nothing to worry about ever again.”
Those words should chill me right down to my bones. Instead, it ignites the fire in my heart. I snuggle in closer.There’s something wrong with me,I think to myself.But I don’t fucking care.Mavik might be a serial killer and a monster.
But he’smymonster.
Chapter thirty
Peyton
The rest of our honeymoon is a blur of sex and confessions. Originally, we booked a stunning suite in some fancy hotel off the coast of Santa Cruz, but considering what I discovered, I think Mavik was too afraid to rock the boat. Instead, we spent all our time either in bed or just enjoying each other’s company over home-cooked meals.
