Page 59 of A Murderous Crow
Did he scare the shit out of me?
Yes.
Could I trust him?
In the bedroom? Absolutely. Out of it? Not as far as I could throw him… and that was the crux of things, wasn’t it?
My heart ached with a sudden loss and loneliness even though the man was right here.
The words escaped my lips before I could stop them as though all sort of filter had been removed from between my thoughts and my mouth: “Dammit, I love what you do to me. At the same time? I hate it.”
He laughed at that, and then it was as thoughhisthoughts caught up to the weight and the meaning behind my words.
“This is just sex, Savannah. Don’t get attached,” he warned.
“No, I know…” I said faintly, and I hadn’t even been thinking along those lines…was he?
Impossible,I thought to myself.
That begged the question, though…was I?Was I catching feelings for him? I mean, the sex was incredible… the best sex of my life! But honestly, this whatever it was between us was toxic as hell. What lunatic in their right mind would want this full time?
Which was a funny thought as his thumbs pressed deep into my lower back, near my hips, just absolutelysending meand making me yip with that pain that oh, once I got through it, I knew I would feelso much better.
“Really?” he asked. “There?”
“I sit a lot!” I complained and he chuckled.
“Too hard?” he asked.
“Harder!” I gasped, and he laughed then.
“A woman after my own heart,” his tone was dry and I turned to look up at him as best I could from my prone and captured state beneath him and I pointedly threw his own words back at him. “This is just sex, Corbett – don’t get – AIIE!” He pressed in that spicy spot that sent an electric pain lancing from my butt and hip, midway down to my knee and without thinking, I kicked up. My heel tapped him right in his butt from the way he was sitting on me.
“Oh! Achievement unlocked!” I cried, and I tapped him in the butt again with my heel. “I can finally say I kicked your ass.”
“Oh, really?” he demanded, and he sat back fully on my thighs andmercilesslytickled me.
I shrieked, and wriggled, and fought but to no avail – not with the way he held me down; and as much as Iloathedbeing tickled, I loved that he did it and that I felt safe – even knowing he would push boundaries.
When he’d deemed that I’d had enough, and I lay beneath him gasping, giggling, and spent, he lay atop me, cuddling me, cozy, laughing and gasping with me and it was in that moment that I knew, it was too late for me.
That I loved this Corbett Prescott –Corvus– whatever he wished to be called. This version of him? The playful, sweet, and considerate version? I loved him and being with him and I knew that I would put up with all manner of Hell from the asshole version of him just for these moments… and I also knew in my heart of hearts thatthatwasn’t healthy, or good, at all.
Still. I didn’t know if I could help myself.
Chapter Twenty
Corvus…
“Well, well, well… look at what the catfinallydragged in…” Specter stood up from the billiard’s table after taking his shot. I rolled my eyes and stopped at the bar. Spooky didn’t even ask – just popped the top on one of my favorite beers and handed it over. I rose the bottle in an absentminded salute in his direction and he gave me a half-assed little grin of appreciation for the acknowledgment.
“Fuck, I take a timeout for one night and it’s like you girls couldn’t live without me,” I shot back and Synister chuckled from where he sat back on a bar stool, eyeing the table, his hands wrapped around a cue as he calculated.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with this one,” he said.
“Just getting my dick wet,” I lied. I could taste it like the bitter tang of heated, acrid metal on my tongue just saying it. I felt a pang of actual fuckingguiltjust phrasing it that way… because I knew better. I knew just how much Savannah was starting to mean to me.
It had started out all fun, games, and cruel intentions… but the more layers I peeled away from her, the more of a mystery she presented.
