Page 73 of Pretty Little Psycho

I take it without hesitating and climb on the bike. These woods are getting darker by the second, and I don’t know what the fuck is lurking out here. At least Riot is the devil I know.

“Hold on tight, firecracker.”

I wrap my arms around his waist and press my chest against his back. Fuck, his body is as hard as a rock. It dawns on me that I’ve never touched him like this before. In the car, he fucked me from behind, and in the library, he had me pinned against the stacks, but there was still space between us. Even when I woke up in his bed that night, we kept our distance.

My heart swells with an ache I didn’t know was there as I hug him from behind. I breathe in his familiar scent of tobacco and coffee like it’s my favorite drug. I wish I could bottle it up or make a candle out of it.

Riot hits the throttle, and I almost lose my breath. He takes the turns at full speed, knowing exactly where he’s going. I should be terrified of being wrapped around a tree or crashing into a ditch. But I feel safe with him. He knows these woods like the back of his hand. And something tells me that the headlights are only for my benefit. This man’s eyes fucking glow in the dark.

When we fly past The Nest without stopping, I squeeze his arm. “Hey, where are we going? You just passed the dorms.”

He shakes his head but says nothing as he accelerates, and the world becomes a blur around us. I pinch my eyes shut to stave off the nausea.

I try to focus on the roar of the engine, the feel of his pulse beating against mine, and the scent of the rain-soaked soil that we race across. A warmth spreads through me, caressing my thighs and tickling my lips. It makes my ears buzz and my head spin. I feel our momentum slowing, steadying to a calmer pace.

“Open your eyes, firecracker,” Riot calls out. His silky voice penetrates the noise of the bike, carrying over it as if it were a distant rumble.

As I open my lids, I see a precipice in the distance. A sign saying Welcome to Raven’s Gate perches between two wooden posts. He slows the bike to a stop in front of it and kills the engine.

He takes off his helmet, then mine, before I hop off, confused and over-stimulated. “What’s going on, Riot?”

“This is the end of the road. The border that separates Raven’s Gate from the rest of Melancholia.” He slides off the bike and faces me. Fuck, he’s gorgeous.

“But why are we here? Neither of us can leave, right?” I ask. There’s a part of me that’s tempted to try. That rebellious streak in me that wants to see how far he’d go to hunt me down. The sick part of me that relishes in the chase. In the thought of being caught.

His eyes harden as he looks out across the threshold. “I can leave. But the second I do, my body starts to slowly decay. My powers weaken. The curse keeps me this way. After I left you in Wickford Hollow, I was sick for days. It almost killed me. I lingered too long.”

There’s a longing in his eyes. A longing I feel too. Deep in my gut. “Because of me?”

He nods. “I didn’t want to leave you. You have no idea how close I came to stealing you away that night.”

He has a nervous tick I’ve never noticed before. He looks at me, then the ground, and then back, each time flexing the muscle in his jaw like he’s grinding his teeth.

“It hurts to look at you,” he says softly as if reading my mind.

I take a cautious step toward him. “Why?”

He leans against his bike and looks me up and down. “Because you’re beautiful and I’m… damaged. Because I want to own you, destroy you, and protect you all at the same time. Because you’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted to hate and love with every ounce of light and darkness that I possess. You ruined me, firecracker. You fucking ruined everything.”

In this moment, I feel the same way. I know exactly what he means even though it’s fucked up and doesn’t make any sense.

I take a few more steps toward him until I bridge the gap between us. The air seems to sizzle with electricity. His muscles twitch as I press my palms to his chest. “It’s not your fault, Riot. Any more than it is mine.”

He draws in a quick breath as I slide my hands down to his belly and lift up his shirt. His skin feels smooth and soft against my fingertips. “I’m damaged too. Our scars make us beautiful.”

“No one has ever looked at me the way you do. Why?” he asks.

I unbutton his jeans and slide the zipper down. My heart races as I take control of his cock, relishing in the way it throbs in my hand. “Because I see you, Riot. The real you. And you see the real me. But I won’t let you claim me unless you’re willing to be claimed too.”

His eyelids flutter, and he lets out a soft moan as I caress him gently. “Fuck… you’ve owned me since the moment I laid eyes on you, firecracker. Every depraved fucking piece of me.”

I press my lips to his, urging him to kiss me. “Hate them for what they did to you. For what they did to me. But hating me is pointless, Riot. You and I are end game. So let’s get revenge together.”

“Fuck, I can’t keep my hands off you any longer.” He grabs my face and kisses me hard. We both gasp as our tongues lock and swirl together in a frantic state of lust and need. The desperation to consume him overwhelms me. He’s my elusive monster. My demon who can’t be slayed, only tamed.

I stroke his cock faster as he pulls my hair, forcing my head back, so he can devour my neck. He nips at my flesh with his teeth in between kisses and licks. “I wanna mark every inch of you. I want everyone to know you’re mine.” He bites down hard on my shoulder, and it sends waves of euphoria through my whole body.

The sensations of pain and pleasure are inseparable. I crave them both. I need every vile and depraved act he wants to thrust upon me. “I want you inside me,” I murmur.

---