Page 24 of Hate Mates

I annihilate.

Now that Fletcher Stanley is penniless and bleeding, it’s time to reclaim what belongs to me. She’s all I can think about. What she tastes like. What she feels like. How loud she screams. How much of a fight she’d put up. How that sweet pussy would look dripping with my cum.

She asked Lucifer about his favorite kink.

It’s this. The chase. The adrenaline. The fear. The showdown between predator and prey where nature dominates, and the strong overpower the weak. It’s the illusion of taking what’s not offered and possessing it wholly.

It’s why my marriage didn’t last. It’s why all my dates are contractual with an NDA and an expiration date. My kind of sex isn’t about love. It’s about power.

Then my ultimate fantasy turned into fucking clickbait.

Deep down, Izzy knows it’s me. No one could break into this estate without tripping several layers of alarms. But her mind is forcing her to see things for what they should be instead of what they are. What she deems socially acceptable. So, if the illusion of Lucifer is what she needs to let go of whatever uptight shame filter she views sex through, so be it. I’ll be the Devil. But I felt her body respond when I pushed her against the wall. I smelled her arousal.

Izzy may fuck the Devil tonight, but it’ll be with my cock.

“You have ten seconds,” I tell her, the anticipation building like a tsunami. “Scurry to the attic, little mouse. First one there wins.” Giving her earlobe a sharp bite, I release her wrists. “Run.”

SIX

Izzy

What have I done?

I knew playing with fire was a mistake, and now I’ve brought it into the Carvers’ house and endangered Maeve. Even if I live through this, Lennox Carver is going to crucify me.

So why are you running toward the attic instead of the exit?

My frantic pace slows as it registers that I’ve done exactly that. Instead of rushing down the stairs and toward the front door, I unconsciously head in the opposite direction.

Not away from danger but toward it.

A slow glance over my shoulder verifies my complete loss of any shred of sanity. I’m standing at the end of a long, windowless hallway tucked deep in a dark corner of the third floor. I tell myself what I’m doing is more sacrificial than stupid. Saving myself would leave Maeve in here alone with Lucifer. At least if he’s chasing me, he can’t hurt her.

That’s what I tell myself.

The dampness between my legs tells a different story.

Swallowing, I open the door in front of me and climb a narrow set of stairs. The uneven floorboards creak as I step intothe complete darkness of the attic. While the only other sound is my ragged breath, I know he’s here. I feel the weight of his presence. It fills every corner of the room, stealing all the air. I should fear for my life. But the moment Lucifer touched me, it felt…familiar. As if all the world’s a stage, and we’re simply embracing the roles we’re meant to play.

“You know what they say to do about mice trapped in the attic, don’t you, love?”

I stiffen. I have no clue where the voice is coming from. He could be right next to me or clear across the room. Being surrounded by darkness is throwing off my spatial awareness. “No.”

“Seal off any means of escape, then set a trap,” he offers, that low, rhythmic cadence sending a shiver up my spine. “Now that I’ve caught one, what shall I do with it?”

“Let it go.”

His laugh is like a rumble of ominous thunder. “Not tonight.” I feel him move closer, circling, watching, taunting. “Not ever…”

“Why are you doing this?” I ask, repeating the same words from earlier.

“Why didn’t you run?” he challenges.

“I—”

“It’s because you wanted to get caught,” he says, laying my darkest truth out like an offering. “You’re just as immoral as I am, but that good girl image you hang onto won’t let you fully embrace it. But that’s all right. I like to chase just as much as you like to run. I knew the real you before you typed that first message. You were born to dance in flames, Izzy. What you need lurks in the shadows of a dark and sinful place where the line of consent is frighteningly thin.”

I clench my fists as his breath heats the back of my neck. “How do you know that?”

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