Page 50 of Possess Me! (I Want You To)

It echoed through the house, quiet and unassuming, but I knew exactly what it was. The front door. It had made that same screech-thud sound every time Luca had gone in and out the month I’d spent with him.

Oblivious to danger, Luca remained unbothered, drooling on his pillow, his fluffy hair a mess around his face. There were six baseball caps stacked together laying by his lax hand. He’d fallen asleep nearly an hour ago while organizing them. He had too many. Apparently he had a system. Which was hard to believe just looking at where they lay stacked haphazardly on top of his bed posts. He’d explained, but I’d tuned him out.

Something about baseball teams.

Color.

Region.

Blah, blah, blah.

Luca snuffled, wriggling to get comfortable, his supple muscular legs sprawled wide in a way that made me want to crowd up between them and bite his ass cheeks. He reminded me of the effortlessly athletic kids in high school, destined for full-ride scholarships and a white picket fence as soon as graduation was over. Exactly the kind of guy I’d wanted to fuck from the moment I figured out how my dick worked. I didn’t bite, even though I wanted to. Instead I turned toward the threat, rising from my spot on the useless air mattress.

The clock read one a.m.

Too late for guests.

Something more nefarious was at work. I slipped through the wall, slinking along the hallway, quiet—the way I’d learned how to be out of necessity.

The light in the kitchen was on and I knew for a fact Luca had turned it off.

He’d flipped the switch, sweat gathered at his temples, his eyes bright after he’d literally wrestled me on the ground for the last Oreo in the packet he’d found in the back of the cupboard. I’d won. He’d pouted. I refused to sympathize. It was his own damn fault for telling me I could eat anything in the house. He’d brought this upon himself.

A cupboard thudded open in the kitchen. Thud, thump. Then shut. Someone was definitely here. If it was a thief I wasn’t sure what they’d be stealing. Chipped bowls? Mismatched mugs? Luca’s piece of shit laptop?

It didn’t matter.

He was mine to protect until I had what I wanted. By extension, that meant guarding his things as well as his body. I couldn’t harm someone without his go-ahead. Not with my hands, anyway. But there were a lot of other ways I could incapacitate our visitor. Which made an interesting thought arise. Huh. Would Luca help me hide a body?

Yes.

Despite his general…everything-ness, the kid had backbone. I could see strength flickering inside his eyes, especially when he’d been at his lowest. Behind the tears something else lurked. A curious sort of thing.

How I instinctively knew that, I couldn’t explain.

But my cheeks were hurting from smiling again and it was pissing me off.

The wood supports and plaster inside the wall almost tickled as I phased enough of my body through it that I could see inside the kitchen to the threat that awaited.

“I know you’re there, Prudence,” a voice echoed.

A female voice.

Familiar.

I recognized it from Luca’s many phone calls even before I saw the woman who spoke. Violet.

She was back. Two weeks early.

Shit.

This meant I was officially out of time.

Why the hell had I waited so long? Why had I been lured into a false sense of security? Why had I entertained Oreo wrestling, rom-coms, and hours of babbled nonsense? All this time, fucking wasted if I couldn’t get Luca out of here before Violet ruined everything.

The fact she wasn’t a burglar made me relax, despite the even more real threat to my plan. My thoughts whirred. I’d have to amp things up. The stakes were higher than ever now. How could I get Luca to take me where I needed to go? Oregon wasn’t just hours away, it was an entirely fucking different state.

Guard dog duties no longer necessary for now, I ignored Violet, confident she wouldn’t be a problem tonight at least, before I moved back toward Luca’s room.

---