Page 51 of Pretty Little Psycho

Fuck.

Butterflies swim in my belly. He really will fucking show up at the dress shop. Do I care? I don’t even want to go shopping anyway. Am I secretly turned on by this? Yes. Fuck me, I am. What the fuck is wrong with me?

“Who are you texting?” Libra snaps out of nowhere.

I let out a deep sigh. “I might have to cut out early today.”

Villette whines in my ear, “You like them. Fuck. Have I not told you enough about how dangerous they are? They are already trying to control you.”

I bite my lower lip in shame. I know it sounds crazy. That I shouldn’t be so attracted to them. So drawn in. But I’m a hot mess and can’t help myself. “I know what I’m doing, Villette. It’s fine. I’m just…”

“Playing with fire is what you’re doing,” she retorts back.

“I am the fire.” A surge of something protective and possessive reaches into my core and grips me. “They are the ones who want to play.”

Libra white-knuckles the steering wheel and grits her teeth. “You have no idea what you’re getting into with them. They will use you and humiliate you. Nocturnus controls everything and everyone at our school. Fuck, in this whole town. If you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t exist on their radar, then you just go about your business and stay out of their way. But people like you and me… we don’t get that luxury.”

I did my best not to gape at her but holy fuck. That was the most honest thing that’s ever come out of her mouth. I didn’t like a word of it, but it was her truth for once.

Yet despite the guys’ brutality, I can’t help but think back to how kind Riot was that night in Wickford Hollow. Then I think about Valentin stepping in when I was getting manhandled by Zeke that night at Swallow. And the way Atlas touches me like I’m a fragile flower.

“Maybe they aren’t the monsters you think they are.” I knew how stupid that sounded the second it left my mouth. Why am I defending them now?

She snickers. “Says the girl who got me whipped in front of all the Nocturnus initiates. They are monsters. But I bet that makes you want them even more, doesn’t it? I had you pegged wrong at first. Thought you were going to be a fun party girl to get drunk and bang frat boys with. But after seeing the way you look at all three of them… they’re right. They fucking own you, and you like it.”

“For fuck’s sake, Lib, you don’t have to be so harsh,” Villette chides.

What the fuck is she talking about? “Whipped? I’m going to need you to elaborate.”

Libra lets out a dramatic sigh as she pulls into a parking spot outside the dress shop. “I shouldn’t have brought you to the party that first night you got here. I knew that Riot hated your family. But I thought it would be fun to fuck with him. I didn’t realize how deep it went… I got what I deserved.”

I could feel my cheeks heating. “So they whipped you in front of their entire little cult? That’s not okay, Lib. Fuck. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because that’s what we do, Blackwell. We keep their dirty little secrets. But I’m no angel. I should have known better. When I saw the way he looked at you… It’s more than hate. He’s obsessed with you.”

Villette curses under her breath. “Fuck, Lib. Did you have a thing for Riot?”

She snickers and shakes her head. “I have a thing for a lot of assholes. But after what he did to me? Nah, you can have him, Blackwell. I’m not a fucking psycho.”

But apparently, I am? Maybe she’s right. But I can’t help feeling a twinge of guilt at the thought of Riot taking his issues with me out on her.

I’m still fuming as we sprint into the dress shop just as the rain starts pouring down on us. The store looks more like a Halloween shop than a designer boutique. The walls are painted black with purple trim. There are shelves lined with skulls and most of the dresses on the racks are black. I wander off and start fumbling through them. I spot a couple I like, but my heart isn’t in it today. I’m pissed at myself because I usually love shopping.

The store clerk points me in the direction of the dressing rooms. I have to walk down a long, black and gold-painted hallway to get to mine. As soon as I turn the knob, I’m yanked inside and pinned against the door.

I open my mouth to scream but nothing comes out as I meet Riot’s icy glare. It’s like my voice is lodged in my throat and no matter how many times I tell my brain to let it out, it won’t budge.

He pinches my chin between his fingers. “You’ve been a naughty little slut, haven’t you?”

Chills snake down my back and my heart races. He smells so fucking good I want to lick him. But a hundred thoughts rush to my brain at the same time. I think of the ravens, the feud, the way Libra and Villette refer to them as a coven… I clear my throat and feel my voice returning. “What did you just do to me? What are you?”

Riot pushes against me, pressing me hard against the dressing room door. “I’m the devil you will obey. The monster who terrorizes you until you lose your fucking mind. Until I own it completely.”

I swallow hard as he wraps his hand around my throat. “I could snap your neck right now.”

Something dark and disturbed settles into my bones at the thought of him crushing my lungs. “Then why don’t you?”

His grin is sadistic. Unhinged. “Mmm, yeah, Valentin told me you like it rough. The threat of violence gets you so fucking wet, doesn’t it?”

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