Page 133 of Shadows in Bloom

Her sweet screams are cut off abruptly when she hits the floor with a hard smack. Blood is everywhere. Her severed foot looks grotesque amongst the cushions. She tries to crawl, tries so damn hard to get away, but her legs are useless. I follow the fresh blood trail until she’s halfway into the hallway, sobbing uncontrollably.

I’m numb. I’m so close to my goal. So close that I can taste it. Fuck if I’m going to watch this annoying bitch steal it away.

Blood splatters over my clothing and mask as I drive the chainsaw into her back, causing her body to jerk violently. A dark pool of blood spreads across the floor, surrounding me and soaking into the carpet. It’s over in a heartbeat. A split second. I raise the bloody chainsaw to see the serrated blade coated in chunks of flesh.

Well, that was fun.

Covered head to toe in blood, I step over her body and walk out the way I came.

A smile creeps on my lips beneath the mask.

That’s another obstacle out of the way.

MARSHALL

An advertisement for cat food startles me awake. Why are the ads between shows always louder?

My neck aches from falling asleep on the couch again. That’s twice this week. I rub the tender spot as I reach forward to grab the remote.

Movement in my periphery makes me pause, and I snap my head toward the doorway. Cruz watches me silently, leaning up against the doorframe with one booted foot crossed in front of the other. We stare at each other. The cat food commercial ends and another random ad starts. It’s all muted background noise to me.

Cruz looks casual in jeans and a black hoodie, but there’s a darkness about him that sets me on edge—something wild.

The palpable tension in the air pulsates.

Clearing my throat, I ask, “How did you get in?”

“I have a key.”

A key? How can he have a key? Did his father give him the spare one I entrusted him with in case I lost mine, or did Cruz steal it?

“You have a key?”

Pushing off the doorway, his hulking frame disturbs the throbbing silence. Wisps of dark hair peek out from underneath his hood, and his eyes are shadowed.

He walks with purpose as he stalks me, sizing me up—predator and prey.

“You can’t come around this late, Cruz. You can’t just enter my home uninvited.”

“I can do whatever I want. Especially where you’re concerned.” His deep voice rumbles like an incoming storm, and I swallow down the spike of anxiety crawling up my throat.

Or maybe it’s anticipation. A mix of both? I don’t know anymore.

As he nears, rich cedarwood and vanilla wrap around me. But beneath their seductive notes is something else, something tangy that lifts the hairs on my neck as fear ratchets down my spine and settles low in my belly while my nose prickles with the rich scent of iron. “You need to leave, Cruz. This is inappropriate.”

When he comes to stand in front of me, I shoot to my feet, but he shoves me back down with a firm hand on my chest. “You need to shut up, Professor Kirk.”

He stares at me from beneath his dark hood, his lips curving into a smirk as he reaches for his belt. It clanks in the silence, the sound kick-starting my heartbeat.

“Cruz…” I warn, digging my nails into my palms. “Stop whatever you’re doing.”

“You’re not in the slightest bit curious?” he asks, unzipping his pants.

“I’m not gay.”

“Then this shouldn’t turn you on.” He pushes down the front of his jeans, and his veiny dick springs free.

Fuck me…

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