Page 12 of In Her Shadow

“No, it was a straight up fucking warning that I’m not gonna be hiding in the shadows, anymore. You summoned me, and now I’m here.” He kisses me again, and before all my senses melt completely, I force him away again. “Then we need to take measures. I’ll arrange an appointment with my doctor. Work’s busy at the moment, but I can try and get an extended lunch hour.”

“You don’t need to do that, I can fix it,” he tells me, distracting me with more kisses as he rests beside me on the bed.

“You’llfix it?” I laugh, “And how do you intend to do that?”

“I have a friend who’s a pharmacist; he can fix me up with anything.”

“A dodgy pharmacist buddy?” I show him how unimpressed I am with the idea,

“No, he’s legit. He owns a store on Parr Street. You can go speak to him yourself if you want. Saves you getting anappointment.” He shrugs as his fingers continue to draw delicate patterns over my stomach.

“Can he get the Plan B One-Step, too?” I ask, still unable to believe how stupid I’ve been. I remember Mary-Ann at work telling me how embarrassed she was having to go into the drug store to ask for it. Her divorce sent her into a wild phase a few months ago, and she ended up having a one-night stand with a guy from the floor above us.

“Sure.” Ren smiles as I get up out of bed and slide my panties back on.

“Where are you going?” he asks when I start to head toward the kitchen.

“I invited you over for dinner, didn’t I?” I glance over my shoulder playfully, pretending not to be uncomfortable as I continue making my way toward the stove.

“Hey, Eloise.” Ren gets up from the bed, marching toward me, ass-naked with that huge weapon between his legs still standing firm.

“You should know I’ve never done anything like this before,” he tells me, suddenly looking a little embarrassed, himself.

“You're lying, you were far too good at that not to have done it before. You seemed to know my body better than I do.” I stare at him in disbelief.

“Not that.” He swipes his thumb over his lip and laughs. “I mean this, being with someone, eating dinners together, staying over.”

“I never invited you to stay.” I fold my arms cleverly.

“You know what I mean. I’ve never had someone before. You might have to give me some leeway. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not good with boundaries.” He leans in like he’s going to kiss me again, but instead, he grips my throat. “I’m not the kind of guy you date,” he tells me through his teeth as if his own words frustrate him.

“You also told me you're not the kind of guy you have a first experience with. How about we see how it goes? I’ve enjoyed testing my limits with you so far.” What I feel when I’m around this guy is addictive, and I can’t let it get out of control. I know nothing about him; he’s a stranger to me. The level of trust I have for him already is worrying. Katelyn will tell me I’m crazy when I try to explain. Given how well she knows me, she probably won’t even believe that this happened.

“I’ll test them, but I’d never push. I’m nothing like those other guys that hurt you,” he assures me, gripping my neck tighter.

“I know,” I whisper. I just wish I could figure out how.

“What are we having?” His eyes glance across to the stove.

“Chicken in white wine sauce, I just need to heat it back up,” I tell him.

“Looks like you put in a lot of effort.” His fingers relax and slip down to my chest, squeezing me through my bra and making my pussy pulse.

“It was nothing, really. Just something I threw together,” I lie, because cooking is not something I’m either good at or enjoy. I don’t even know why I offered to cook, or at least I’m pretending to myself that I don’t. Deep down, hidden away in my subconsciousness, is the teeny, tiniest chance that I said I’d cook so he would have to come here, into my space. I liked how it felt having him here last week. I liked the rush it gave me, and I wanted to feel it all over again.

He dips his finger into the sauce, uses it to paint the side of my neck, then licks it clean, antagonizingly slowly.

“Tastes perfect,” he whispers, lifting me up onto the counter and kissing me some more.

REN

“Eloise.” I try shaking her awake, but she still moans in her sleep. Her body is thrashing like she’s trying to get away from something, and her skin is so sticky from sweat that I pull back the covers to get her some air.

“No…please don’t,” she mumbles. “I don’t want to.” I clench my fists when I realize what this is, and I’m forced to hear her weak, desperate pleas. Everytime it makes me want to dig that sick fucker out of his grave so I can kill him all over again.

“Daddy, don’t.” Her body goes rigid, and the pain on her face makes me wild with anger. Normally, I’d be watching this through a screen on the other side of the street. There’s nothing I can do to comfort her from over there, but tonight is different.

Everything is different now.

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