Page 38 of Dance of Deception

And for the first time in my life?—

So am I.

7

LYRA

“Psychopathy isone of the most studied yet misunderstood conditions in forensic psychology.”

I twirl my pen between my fingers, only half-listening as Professor Armitage paces at the front of the lecture hall.

“A true psychopath lacks empathy and the ability to form genuine emotional connections. They can, however, be very charming, and incredibly skilled at mimicking normal human behavior. This is what makes them so dangerous.”

My fingers tighten on my pen as the memory flashes through my mind.

Cold, unyielding stone pressing against my back. Candlelight flickering in my eyes.

The Hound’s breath on my skin, his voice curling around me like smoke.

“Fight back.”

A shudder teases down my spine, a familiar war raging inside me between fear, anxiety, and…something else.

Excitement.

Desire.

The thought should make me sick.

I shouldn’t have wanted it. I shouldn’t still feel the throb of heat between my legs every time I close my eyes at night, my fingers brushing over the places he touched.

“Psychopaths seek control,” Professor Armitage continues. “They’re highly skilled at reading people, understanding their desires, their weaknesses. They enjoy the game of breaking them down.”

My throat tightens.

Because it’s notjustThe Hound snarling into my neck and sinking his fingers between my thighs, making me squirm and gasp for more.

I’m also thinking of my other recent scary encounter: the one with Carmine Barone in the alley behind the Mercury Opera House.

The way he stood in the shadows outside the theater, staring down into my face, blocking my path.

The way he touched my throat, fingers pressing just enough to remind me how much power he held.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, trying to force the thoughts away.

Two encounters with two different men. And yet, they made me feel the same way: terrified.

Afraid.

Excited.

And turned on.

Sourness curdles in my stomach as I try to focus on the Behavioral Studies lecture.

“Psychopaths seek control,” Professor Armitage continues, her hands moving expressively as she speaks. “What makes a psychopath truly dangerous isn’t just their capacity for violence…”

My mind flashes to the brutal sound of a blade cutting flesh, to blood spraying across the stone floor like spilled wine, the thick, iron-slick scent of it filling my nostrils as I tried to keep dancing.

---