Page 23 of My Hunger, Your Soul

We arrive at his apartment door and his hands shake as he tries to open it. This is so thrilling. Nobody has ever given me this buzz of adrenaline like Ty.

Just as he unlocks the door, he stops, holding onto the door knob. I push my face into the back of his neck and inhale deeply. He smells so fucking good.

“Open the door, Ty. Or do you want me to make you?” I whisper into his neck. I want to lick it.

I gently push him forward and he opens the door. We enter his apartment and I close the door behind me, locking it. He turns to face me in his hallway, his pupils dilated, his breathing harsh. A complex mix of curiosity and fear rolls off him.

“Leave. Now.”

“No.”

“If you don’t leave…why are you grinning like that?”

“I like your spirit. I’m excited to break it.”

“You’re insane.”

I stalk toward him and he doesn’t move as we stand face to face.

“Yeah. And this is only the beginning, Tyler.”

15

TYLER

I can’t catch my breath. Is Ivan really in my apartment right now, promising to break my spirit, whatever the fuck that means? He watches me briefly with a soft smile that doesn’t match the cold intense look in his eyes. It's akin to two separate personalities being shown on one face. I’ve never seen that before. He moves past me and walks further into my apartment. I’ve no idea how the hell I’m supposed to get him to leave. I quickly remove my coat along with my suit jacket and put all my belongings away in the hallway, and quickly chase after him, unnerved at what his next move may be.

He stands in the living room and slowly spins around, taking in the mess that is my life on display. There’s still an array of half emptied boxes that I still haven’t unpacked. I’d be embarrassed if my mind wasn’t so preoccupied with trying to guess what he’s gonna do.

“Are you moving out?” he asks.

“No. I haven’t gotten around to finishing unpacking yet.”

“Interesting.”

“Why is it interesting?”

“You seem so…organized. Uptight. Is that an act?”

“I’m not acting anything. I’m just too tired to deal with it. Anyway, it's none of your business. You’ve had your fill of invading my personal space, you can leave now.”

“I’ll leave, if you do something for me.”

My heart rate spikes, oh god, do I wanna know?

“It depends.”

A low chuckle leaves him as he removes his leather jacket and tosses it onto my one pathetic lonely sofa. The black shirt underneath clings to his skin. His muscles flex under the fabric as he moves over to one of the boxes and picks up the packaging tape that rests on the lid.

“Show me your bedroom.”

“What? No!”

Holding the tape in one hand, he reaches around to his back pocket with the other hand and pulls out a small knife. Moving toward me, he holds up the knife, a menacing smirk on his face as he gets closer to me. I’m frozen in fear.

“Take me there or I’ll stay here all night. I have to warn you, I get bored easily and may start using my knife to entertain myself, Ty, and not on myself. Now take me to your room.”

His nostrils flare as he focuses his unblinking stare on me. Time stands still in this moment as I war with myself whether to be brave and fight him, or give in and then move home and quit my job. It’s actually quite amusing that I even would consider taking him on.

---