Page 11 of Out of the Darkness

Madelyn tried to ignore it, she really did, but hearing that small tidbit about his past touched something deep inside of her. His words managed to reach the small, terrified little girl she had been all those years ago, and her heart squeezed in her chest. Eleven years old. That was a very young age to find yourself all alone, and she knew exactly how that felt. She had been through that and so much more. The fact that they had something in common was not what she had expected.

Instead of responding though, Madelyn pressed her lips together and swallowed. That commonality aside, she didn’t want to engage him any further. Who knew what kind of damage she had already done by engaging this much?

The two of them stood in the hallway in a tense silence. While Madelyn was uncomfortable and unsure, Xavier seemed to be perfectly happy standing there as his eyes roamed over every inch of her. She had never felt as exposed or vulnerable as she did in that moment. Even when she told Melanie about her past, it hadn’t been as revealing as this.

As he toyed with the edge of the towel again, she squeezed her eyes closed and rested her head against the wall. That was too much, too far, and she didn’t think she could bear it. “Please, don’t.”

“Relax,” he murmured. “We aren’t doing anything tonight. Even if you are looking mighty delicious. I just wanted us to have this little introduction. I wanted you to be able to put a face to the man you are going to spend the rest of your life with.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the side of her neck, right over her rapid pulse, and then another to her cheek before finally taking a step away from her. “Get some sleep. We will talk again soon.”

When she felt him leave, her eyes snapped open, and she watched as he descended the stairs and headed right out the front door. Just before he closed it, he looked up at her and winked. Then he was gone.

Madelyn let out a breath and slid to the ground, her back still pressed against the wall. All at once, her body began trembling as she tried to figure out what just happened. She was so angry that she hadn’t fought back more, that she hadn’t told him to leave her alone. Instead of doing either of those things, she had just stood there like a scared rabbit. What good were the self-defense classes if she didn’t use what she learned against an actual attacker?

Chapter Five

Xavier

Xavier: Now that we finally met face-to-face, when are you going to let me take you out?

Madelyn: Who says I’m going to go out with you? Just because you say we are ‘destined’ to be together doesn’t make it true. You are just some creep who follows me around. Which you should probably stop doing, by the way, before I go to the police.

Xavier smirked at his phone as the waitress stopped by with his lunch. He was sitting at the bistro across from the station, the same one that Madelyn liked to frequent on her lunches. He didn’t need to look at the tracking device he had planted on her car to know where she was at this exact moment because he knew her work schedule by heart. The station’s electronic security was a joke, and he had been able to gain access within a matter of minutes.

Usually, he would watch her throughout the day through the security cameras, but today, he wanted to be near her. Or at least as close as he could be without being detected. Having been so close to her, close enough to touch her, as he had been able to do a couple of nights ago, it hadn’t been enough. It would never be enough.

He nodded once at the waitress without looking up from his phone as he typed back a response. They were making some real progress now that they got their first meeting out of the way. She never used to respond to him before, but over the last couple of days, she had been. Granted, she had mainly been telling him to leave her alone, sometimes going so far as to tell him to jump off a bridge, but he knew deep down she didn’t mean it. She was just confused and in denial about what she felt for him, which was normal, considering the circumstances.

Xavier: Sweetheart, if you were going to go to the police, you would have done so already. I think you are just afraid of what you feel for me.

Madelyn: The only thing I feel for you is hatred and loathing.

Xavier: Liar.

He knew all about her past. He knew of her intimacy and trust issues too. That was why he was taking things slower with her than he wanted to. But the monster inside of him was beginning to get impatient. He wanted to have his mate by his side already, was desperate for it, which was why he was pushing things a little harder now.

Madelyn: I’m not a liar!

Xavier: Really? So you hate and loathe me so much that you watch the video I sent you of me stroking my cock while you play with yourself? How many times HAVE you gotten off to it now?

Madelyn: How the hell do you even know that?

Xavier: I told you, I’m always watching, little dove. You could have my cock, you know. All you have to do is ask, and it’s yours.

Madelyn: Fucking creep!

Chuckling, Xavier picked up his sandwich and took a bite. He could picture her getting flustered, the color rising to her cheeks and neck as she struggled to maintain her composure while at work. He had seen how his dirty words affected her, and now he used them to mess with her. It was the only bright spot in his otherwise tragic and boring life.

Xavier: You love it. You like knowing that I’m always watching you. You get off on the attention.

Madelyn: I do not! Go away!

Xavier: Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. I’ll have you begging for my cock soon enough.

Because he had been so caught up in their banter, he hadn’t realized anyone had sat down at his table until they cleared their throat.

Xavier’s eyes shot up and away from his phone, his body tensing as he grabbed the knife from the table, instantly going on the defensive. At the same time, he silently cursed himself for letting his guard down. He knew better than that.

“You’re getting sloppy in your old age, Xavier,” the familiar, husky voice of his old partner, Isabelle, said pointedly.

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