Page 84 of Demons

I didn’t think I had a choice really. Not the way he’d been talking when the others found us at the cabin.

“Do I have a choice?” I asked him.

He scowled. “No.”

Grinning, I opened the door. “Good thing I think you’re hot,” I replied, jumping down from the truck.

I heard his door slam and waited on him to make his way around.

His dark gaze was locked on me. The scowl was gone, but there was something else there. Once, I would have been frightened of it. Now, it just excited me.

“This isn’t a joke, little doll,” he warned me, closing in on me until I had to back up against the truck.

I looked up at him. “What is it, Thatcher?” I asked.

He’d not defined it. We were stepping into real life now. No more locked away in our own world. No more stalking me. I was here. He had me.

He ran the tip of his finger down my cheek. “Mine.” The demented gleam was back. The one that sent others running. Where you weren’t sure if he was fully in control.

“Okay,” I agreed because he was right. I was his. He’d made sure of it. “But … am I the only one? We’ve been having sex without a condom. Do I need to worry about … about others?”

He stilled for a moment, then placed both of his palms on the truck beside my head as he leaned down to look me in the eyes. “Do you think I would let anyone hurt you? Have you not seen by now that I would kill to keep you safe?”

I swallowed, not sure I understood why he had to bring up killing. “Yes,” I whispered. “But the day I quit, it was because you were having sex with someone else. You’d just been in my bed hours before.”

There was a flicker of pain in his gaze that did more for my heart than he realized.

“Yeah, little doll. But that was before I fucked you. I’ve fucked you now. There will be no one else.”

Okay. This was exclusive. I wanted to throw my arms around him and pepper his face with kisses, but the savage darkness swirling in his narrowed eyes kept me from even moving. What had brought him to this mood? He was dealing with something in that head of his, and I didn’t know what.

“No one touches you,” he said, leaning in close before his tongue darted out and ran across the edge of my jaw. “Ever.” He moved to the other side and mimicked his action. “Just me. Always just me.” The raspy tone of his voice made me shiver as he licked at the corner of my mouth. “You understand, little doll?”

I nodded, struggling to breathe.

“Good,” he replied, straightening back up. “Let me give you a tour.”

I stared up at him, my breath uneven and my pulse racing. “Okay,” I managed to croak out.

There was so much I didn’t know about him. I was afraid to think about that. Especially when he threatened to kill. I wanted to think that was just a figure of speech. That he meant hurt badly. It was getting harder to think that way. He’d had a gun at the cabin within arm’s reach. Did he have one on him, like the others had that day? And why did they walk around, armed?

I glanced back at the cars in his garage. They were all expensive. I didn’t know much about cars or how much a new one costs. Especially ones that looked like this, but there was a lot of money in this garage alone. Not counting the house he lived in. Was there something to the rumors in this town? If so, wouldn’t he have told me? Wouldn’t I have seen some proof?

Or had I and just not taken it for what it was?

• Thirty-Eight •

I couldn’t let her get hurt. I wouldn’t survive that. No one would.

Thatcher

Watching her sleep in my bed, in my house, gave me more ease than the little comfort I’d gotten when I watched her at night in the small home I’d given her. She belonged here. I wanted her on expensive sheets, in clothing I bought for her, being pampered. She needed a bikini. One for my eyes only. I wanted to see her lying out by my pool.

She yawned and stretched, turning in bed. I took a drink from my coffee and grinned.

She’d talked last night. It was entertaining as fuck to listen to her rattle on in her sleep. For the most part, it was words that made no sense strung together. She’d said brush, freezer, and furlong last night in one breath. Sometimes, she’d make a normal sentence. It was rare.

I’d expected her to say something more about my not wanting her on Zephyr last night, but she hadn’t brought it up. I didn’t know if I was relieved or not. People were careful around me. Even those closest to me didn’t cross lines. I could see the uncertainty in their eyes when they looked at me.

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