Page 97 of One of Them

His hypnotic eyes hid a future within them. Short or endless, it was full of possibilities.

Another promise was in order. To me, but to him first.

“Till that day comes.”

A groan escaped him as he licked his lips seductively. “For it never will.”

He brought my head to him, claiming my lips with a passion that threatened to destroy the remains of my reinforced heart.

A first.

First kiss.

First deepest desire.

First love.

I was desperate to give him all the firsts I had left, for there were many. This little thing inside me? It had never beaten for anyone. What an unfamiliar feeling to have it now beat for someone. A selected few. And there he sat. At the top. A king seated on a throne covered in smoke.

A staircase paved with sin and blood led him up, but he didn’t let the darkness stop him from claiming the spot. Maxim scaled it step by step with every action. I gave him each heartbeat, without even knowing I had something left to give.

But luckily, unlike in our world, he will remain seated. Unchallenged. With no posing threat and no one to take over his position for as long as the throne exists. And in his lap, I will remain. Through all that we have ahead. For I, too, somehow made it up the steps.

As Maxim deepened the kiss, his tongue traced the edge of my lips, demanding entry. I obeyed. Let him take control. Take it all and leave me panting.

The sadistic part of me wanted to come out and play: bite, tease, or delay. Something prevented me. The moment felt far too important. We stood at a turning point, and I was ready to jump into the depths.

Arousal, mixed with desire, filled me in delicious doses, and when I thought of the man I had chosen in my heart, I saw them all.

The mobster. A brother.

The killer. A protector.

The psycho. A son.

The monster. A partner.

Growing up, my mother never warned me about the monsters under my bed. She knew they were out there, awaiting their moment.

This monster?

I openly invited him into bed to play with a kind I harbored within me, for one didn’t exist without the other. There wasn’t a single moment, not once, had he shown me something not worth loving. I was ready to accept them all.

The future was sealed when his lips crushed mine, and when he pulled away, breathless, to look me in the eye, I smiled brighter than I ever knew possible.

I was relieved Malek was dead, but instinct warned me the fight wasn’t over. It might never be. I knew for certain I would never dare restrict her in any capacity. But a more unhinged part of me wanted to grab Taya, lock her up, chain her to the bed and service her until she forgot the outside world ever existed. Dissolved and turned into mist. That would be an ideal scenario.

Needing a moment to process, I abandoned the party for some quiet. My bedroom became my refuge. The glass fireplace burned with scorching heat as I paced for several minutes, shedding half my clothing before finally settling down. I stared into the flame long enough, the embers clouding my vision. When the door opened and Taya walked in, I feared I needed more time tocalm down.

She knew what occupied my mind and found me when I needed her most. Her presence calmed the murderous thoughts brewing inside me. I was seconds away from a bloody rampage I would have set into motion if she hadn’t come.

Not engaging at first was a decision to avoid dragging her back into my lap, where I could keep her close and let us forget the weight of the day.

Those who say opposites attract clearly haven’t experienced a truly fucked-up life. The kind you can only reveal details of to someone equally affected.

Perhaps it was just me, but all I wanted was to be seen. To be understood on a level even family can’t reach. Who better to see me than someone of a similar nature?

Someone who had lived and fought their way through the trenches of their own mind, breaking the barriers they’d tried to trap them in.

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