Page 70 of Little Psycho

“Trust is earned, not given—I know,” I murmur, reflecting on just how far we’ve strayed away from each other, tied by the trauma we’ve each endured but unable to bridge the gap between our hearts.

Her jaw tenses, and for a fleeting moment, I think I glimpse the girl who used to confide in me about her dreams and fears.But that spark vanishes, leaving in its wake the hardened woman sitting next to me.

“You should just forget about it, Ash.I don’t want you getting mixed up in even more shit, especially shit that isn’t yours.”

“Mixed up?”I huff, a swell of anger bubbling to the surface.“You think you can just push me away again?I’ve spent nearly half my fucking life being pushed around, and I’m not living by anyone else’s fucking rules anymore.I’ll stand by your side if that’s what it takes to get through this.”

Her expression flickers—surprise battling with something deeper.“Why do you care so much?I’m a liability.You need to protect yourself, Ash.”

“Because you’re my best friend, and regardless of what we’ve been through, I want to help you.I can’t sit back and let you dive headfirst into danger, especially when it involves that fucking monster,” I say, my voice trembling.

“We have more than that one monster in common,” she mumbles, her truth tugging at my heart strings.

“I’ll fix it, Cali,” I promise her, deep down knowing that she’s talking about my father being another monster we have in common.

For the first time, a soft smile breaks through her steely facade, and it warms me, even against the chill deep in my bones.

“It’s been a long time since someone cared.I didn’t know what to expect when I walked through that door, honestly.A part of me was hoping you’d all just take the hint and leave this shit—and me—behind.”

I lean closer, wrapping my hand gently around hers, tempering the urge to crush her knuckles with a life destined for pain.“I can’t do it alone, Calista, and neither can you.We may be broken, but fuck, we can rebuild something together.”

Calista’s gaze latches onto mine, holding the weight of every moment we’ve experienced in this brutal reality.“You mean that?”She eyes me cautiously, probably trying to see if she can trust the words coming out of my mouth.

“Yeah, I do,” I reply, my voice steady.“This isn’t a fucking game.It can get messy—fucking dark as shit—I won’t sugarcoat it, but there’s fucking power in our pain, and together we can fight back.Let's rewrite our fucking story, Cali.”

She shakes her head slightly and tries to laugh it off but the tremor in her breath says otherwise.The vulnerability settles back across her features like a fragile veil.“We could end up behind bars if we’re caught, or even dead.You know that, right?”

“Maybe.”I squeeze her hand a bit tighter, warmth pulsing between us.“But I’d rather face that fate by your side than live in fear for another moment without you.”I shrug, a gnawing feeling in my gut to what this might be leading to.

A flash of hope ignites in her eyes, a spark of that fiery spirit I once adored as a child.“Okay, only if you’re up for it.”She smiles, and I know right away that she’s got a plan in mind, and that plan now involves me.

With that, a silent pact takes shape between us, trembling hesitantly forward in the dark isolation of our reality.We’ll find the fucking monster encroaching on our lives, face the shadows of our past, and carve out our futures, one piece at a fucking time.The pain we share—the scars we carry—will forge the legacy we choose to create as we dare to live again.

This time, she moves closer to me, gently reaching up to cup my face in her hands.My heart races in anticipation while my cock painfully throbs in the confinement of my jeans as it grows harder and harder with each torturous passing second.Our faces move in close, our lips mere inches apart.The desire sweeping through me becomes too much to bear, but I stand firm, waiting for her to make the first move.

And she does.

Her lips find their place on mine, her tongue dipping between them, shyly at first.But when mine thrusts into her mouth, brushing against hers, both of us lose it and dive head first into something we’ve both been wanting for a long time.

My resolve completely crumbles as I grab her cheeks and hold her face possessively in my hands, deepening the already earth-shattering kiss that we find ourselves getting lost in.seductive moans slip from her throat, and greedily, I catch them in my mouth as I continue to kiss her, refusing to let her go.

With our mouths fused and our tongues dueling in an intense, passionate battle of desperation, Calista climbs on my lap, straddling me, gently rocking back and forth.My hands fall from her face to her hips, holding them firmly to help her move the way I want on my lap.

I groan when she pulls her mouth away, keeping her lips ghosting over mine.Still holding her hips while she grinds on me, I open my eyes and come face to face with her open eyes staring deeply into mine, as if something else is on her mind.

“What is it?”I ask, trying to catch my breath.

“Remember that night in the alley—you, Dom, and Kill had those masks on?”Her brow raises into a perfect arch as she waits for my answer.

“I do…”

“Do you still have it?”

“Yeah, I also have a few others; why?”My head tilts as I try to figure out where she’s going with thus.

“Good, go grab one, put on something all black, and meet me back out here.I’ve got somethingveryfucking special planned for you—for us.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

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