Page 97 of Kiss Me Honey Hone

The thought struck like a blade to his heart. It wasn’t just about desire. It was about the power of connection. How Kenny made him feel alive.Whole. Without that, the simple, vital intimacy of touch, what would be left of him?

As Dr Lyons had pointed out in class so many times, the difference between an ordinary person and a killer was just a few twists and turns. A few broken moments, a few choices made in desperation. He wasn’t sure if that terrified him more, or if it was the haunting realisation of how close Peter’s pain mirrored his own.

Peter arched an eyebrow. “Curious?”

“Yeah. You come in the shop buying all my lip balms. Wanted to know what you did with them.”

“We experiment with them.”

“Right. Yeah. Course.” Aaron rubbed his forehead. “For what?”

“To evaluate the antibacterial or antifungal properties of lip balms infused with antimicrobial agents, such as tea tree oil,honey, or pharmaceutical compounds.” He delivered the explanation in a flat, clinical tone. As if he’d been rolling it around in his head as a response for a while.

“Sick.” Aaron nodded. “Sounds fun.” He turned back to the bag. “Do you…uh…do any other experiments?”

“Like what?”

“Like…investigate whether they could be used as a potential delivery system for active pharmaceutical ingredients?”

“Are you a student here?”

“Yes.” Aaron smiled. “Although, not of chemistry. Or Natural Sciences or whatever.”

“Then what of?”

“Forensic psychology.”

Peter blinked.

“I look into criminal behaviour.” Aaron held his gaze. “Find out what makes someone do something that maybe they shouldn’t.”

“You should leave.”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t belong in these labs.”

“Don’t I?”

Peter narrowed his eyes. “Aaron Jones?”

“Yeah.” Aaron smiled. Sweetly. Heart hammering.

Peter shook his head, then shimmied around him to the bag, opened a cupboard below, and shoved them in. “You need to go.”

Aaron wasn’t getting anywhere. But he neededsomething. Or this was all for nothing. How could he walk out knowing he concocted deadly toxins in here and used them on unsuspecting girls and not do anything about it?

“Lure him out. Give him what he wants.”

Aaron tugged out his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and hit the Voice Memo app. He turned the volume down, slipping the phone back into his pocket and hoped it would record whatever happenednext.

Peter snapped the cupboard shut, locked it using a key from his pocket, then stood, eyes narrowed.

“I’m sorry my mum did that to your face.” Aaron gave a brief smile, trying to let him know he was on his side. “I’d want revenge, too.”

Peter said nothing. He just stared at him. Assessing him.

“I mean, she’s in prison. For life. And dad topped himself last year, so they are paying for what they did to you. But I get you might not think it’s enough. Especially with how much they took from you. But I’m not sure killing off all blondes is ever going to make you feel better.”

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