Page 29 of The Heart of Midnight

I smile at the fact that he called himself Midnight, I can’t help it. “Sorry not sorry, you can’t change your cock. Good thing too.”

He reaches around me to shut the water off and stands there dripping wet, looking at me the way he used to — like he’sfascinated by me, not angry with me. “So that’s what did it, huh? That’s why it all went to hell?”

My smile fades as I reach up to touch him. “Don’t see it that way.”

“We had a good thing going until you said my nickname,” he argues quietly. “It would’ve been a clusterfuck for me until you agreed to let Midnight off the hook, but we could’ve been happy... at least as happy as a psychopath and someone caught in his web could ever be.”

Slowly, I drop down to my knees right there and suck his cock in, never taking my eyes off of his face so he can see what I see. Yes, we could have had a good thing, but here... like this... we could have something amazing.

“Fuck,” he moans, planting his hand on the shower wall behind me. “I wanted this too. Used to fall asleep thinking about it.”

Humming, I let my eyes flutter closed and let that sink in. I wasn’t the only one who felt like there was more here, and regardless of how scared he is right now how this makes us both feel is all that matters. Who cares if he’s broken laws to have me, all that does is make me want to please him more.

I let him slip all the way into my throat as his thighs flex and his other hand slips into my wet hair. “I was too afraid you’d bite me,” he admits. “But look at you... you were born to have a cock in your mouth.”

I’d smile if I could, but instead I slowly pull off and then instantly take him back in, moaning at how wet I’m already getting from seeing him like this. I reach up with one hand to grip his balls, needing to coax him to ruin right here in this box of a shower. It doesn’t take long. The man can fuck me like he was made for it, but unravels like a virgin the second his cock touches my tongue.

“Avery...”

Give it to me.

I feel him leaking on the back of my tongue as I shove him as deep as he’ll go, holding there so he can see breathing is secondary to him — to his pleasure. He grunts my name again as he pins me to him, rocking forward until he’s so deep in my throat, I almost can’t take it.

The first pulse of his cock has me moaning and swallowing around him, his cum oozing down as I lock my gaze on him in a silent standoff. I want him to watch me swallow every single drop like the good girl I am — the one I want to be for him.

The one he only lets me be sometimes.

Even after the last drop is gone, he stays inside my mouth and gently, almost lovingly pushes my hair out of my face. “Are you manipulating me to save your own life, Avery? It’s killing me that I can’t tell.”

That’s my fault.

I told him I would do whatever I had to in order to survive and although I meant it, this isn’t me acting. I know this makes me seem insane, but I really am getting exactly what I’ve wanted since I met this man, and I don’t care if he feels like he has to lock me up in his basement every so often to feel in control. That is something I’m capable of accepting — happily, I might add — but the biggest hurdle for us right now is making him believe it.

I’ve said all I could say, so now I have to find the right actions. Whatever they may be.

Slowly, I pull off of him so I can wipe my face off, then follow him in silence so we can both brush our teeth before making our way back to the bed that seems to be my new home. He’s waiting on me to say something, I just don’t know what else there is to say. “I know it may seem like I’m being manipulative, but I think I can prove to you that I’m not if you’re willing to give me a little time. Do you think you can do that?”

He lays me down and ties me up again, but at least gives me a little more slack than normal since my wrists are already red and raw. “Time,” he repeats, then nods reluctantly. “Yes, Avery. After everything I’ve done to you and all the things I might have to do, I think you’ve earned a little time.”

It’s all I need to prove to him I won’t abandon him like the rest of the world has — like they would if they saw my Midnight for who he was, and with that promise, I lay back with a satisfied expression.

We have a long way to go, but at least he isn’t trying to convince himself not to kill me today, and that has to be enough... for now.

Nineteen

Scar

I’m in the middle of making a fucking grilled cheese sandwich when my worst fucking nightmare comes true. The doorbell rings, and I know who it is without having to look. No one rings my doorbell except for Avery, and she’s currently tied up downstairs like a felony waiting to happen.

Shutting the stove off, I shove the monster inside me into a box and control my facial expression. Chances are good they’re just canvassing looking for clues, so as long as I keep my cool, I’ll likely get out of this.

Likely.

“Can I help you?” I ask as I open the door. “I was in the middle of making lunch.”

Two men in shitty suits stare back at me. The younger one looks afraid, but the older one? He’s looking at me like he knows exactly what I am. “Mr. Solis? I’m Detective Harbough with the Saint City Police Department. This is my partner, Detective Lange. Lunch might have to wait. Can we come in?”

My hackles rise, but I manage to keep my posture loose and my expression curious. “Do you mind telling me what this is about first?”

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