Page 53 of Riot

Using her hair, I drag Terrie up and keep her on her knees, the blade pressed to her throat as she whimpers.

The sound finally wakes her husband, and he flails as he sits up, rubbing his face. “What is it? I told you to stop taking those sleeping meds.” He trails off when he sees me holding the knife to his wife’s throat and pales. “We don’t have much cash. There are jewels in the box over there, but some are fake. Just take what you want and leave.”

“I don’t want your money,” I reply. “I have enough of my own.”

“Then what do you want?” he asks.

“Your death, but that would hurt my girl more. No, she needs you alive for now, but you came after her tonight.” I pull down my mask, letting him see my face. “You hurt her. You won’t do that again or I will come back here and finish what I started. Leave her alone.”

“I can’t do that,” he whines. “I need the money.”

“Here is the difference between you and me. I will kill for what I love, and I would do some very bad things to keep my girl safe, so you’re going to back away or I’m going to return and gut your wife while she sleeps, and then I’ll hang her intestines around your throat. I won’t kill you. I’ll leave you here, drenched in her blood, and I’ll make it look like you did it.”

Terrie screams as I press the blade firmer against her throat, and he swallows. “Okay, okay, we’ll leave her alone. Please, just let her go.” I feel sorry for him. It’s clear he loves his wife, or as much as somebody like him can.

I throw her at him, her blood coating my blade, and I slide it away as I tug my mask back up. “Remember my warning. She isn’t alone anymore, and you aren’t as powerful as you think. You might have been untouchable back then, but you aren’t now. I will carve into your skin until you feel every ounce of the pain you put her through.” I leave them crying and holding each other.

This might have been about money for them, but it’s about so much more for my girl. It’s about reclaiming her power, her body, and her past, and I won’t let anyone get in her way. If I have to get my hands dirty for that, I will.

I’ll do anything for her.

I would die for her.

I would kill for her.

I would burn with this world for her.

It doesn’t take me long to get home, and once there, I head to the kitchen.

Wiping the blade, I slide it back into the knife block and head upstairs, opening my bedroom door softly so I don’t wake my girl, but the lights are on and she’s awake and waiting.

“Where were you?” she asks, sitting up in my bed. I can’t hide the blood on my hands, and I don’t try to.

“Warning the people who threatened you,” I admit without shame. “It’s what happens to anyone who tries to come after my girl.” I stop next to her.

“Are they dead?” she asks calmly, knowing exactly where I went. Maybe my girl knows more about my depth of obsession than I thought.

“No, not yet.” I smirk as I lean in, and she shivers, her eyes widening in lust. “Want them to be? Say the word and I’ll kill them.”

She watches me for a moment. “You would, wouldn’t you? If I said so, you’d kill everyone who hurt me.”

“Without blinking,” I promise, sliding my hand up her neck and across her cheek, smearing the blood there. “Without question.”

“You’re crazy,” she murmurs, but there’s hunger in her gaze as she leans into my touch.

“Maybe, but only for you,” I murmur, and she flings herself at me, knocking me back to the floor as we tangle in the sheets. Her lips press against mine so hard I taste blood.

Groaning, I kiss her back as she sits across my lap, reaching down and pulling off her cami. Her chest is bare to my hungry gaze as I absorb every inch of her perfect skin and perfect fucking breasts. Her cherry nipples harden for me as she shivers and grabs my hand, sliding my bloody palm across her chest and down into her shorts.

“You’re mine, Kage. I’m yours,” she murmurs, widening her legs as she presses my fingers to her channel. “Show me.”

TWENTY-SIX

He freezes under me for a moment, and then his fingers move, sliding inside my wet channel. He watches me hungrily as he strokes me, claiming me.

“Say it again,” he orders.

There’s blood on his hands and my skin. It should make me sick, but I love it. I love him dirtying my skin. I love how far he is willing to go to protect me. I also love this side of him—this obsessive, crazy side.

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