Page 4 of Only in the Dark
“I know you’re just trying to get rid of me so we don’t have to talk about it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have things to do,” I lied. I planned to do nothing but sit at home. I was going to head to the grocery store today, but now I didn’t need to. Someone took care of that for me. Whoever it was didn’t know I liked to take care of myself. It certainly wasn’t Matthew, since he never bothered to do anything useful. I thought about calling him over, but the idea of seeing him while dealing with this mess gave me hives. I wanted to avoid him while I could.
“Fine. You’ll get rid of me for now. But call me the minute something feels off, and I’ll be here. Promise,” Sarah said. She brought me into a hug before leaving, setting her bat on my kitchen island. I shook my head. She knew I wouldn’t use it, and I already had pepper spray in my room, but I guess a bat wouldn’t hurt to keep under my bed. My spray was in my nightstand drawer on the side of the bed I slept closer to. I had a knife hidden under my pillow for dire emergencies.
I had to hope it didn’t come down to using it on someone, but I had a thought about why I felt so tired, groggy, and weak lately. Tonight, I’d test out my theory.
* * *
That night, I stuck to my usual routine. I sipped on my tea, snuggled with Pixie, and put on HGTV to help me drift off. It always worked quickly for me. There was something about watching wealthy individuals with peculiar professions hunt for pricey homes that lulled me to sleep. Perhaps I was dreaming, but I could have sworn last week one of the guys claimed his job was painting rocks. It wasn’t like I could trust my mind anymore.
The only difference was that, this time, I wasn’t asleep—I was pretending, luring my stalker to my room so I could see who he was once and for all.
I suspected there was something wrong with my tea. It was the only routine I maintained each evening, yet for weeks I’d been feeling sluggish, fatigued, and drained. Tonight, when I didn’t experience those feelings, I realized my suspicion was right. I had no idea how he had spiked my tea, or what he used. It was dumb since something could’ve easily gone wrong.For all he knew, I could’ve been allergic to whatever he slipped into my drink. He was an irresponsible stalker, putting me in harm’s way to appease his curiosity. But what could anyone expect of a stalker who threatened them? He clearly didn’t have great morals, but one could say the same about a woman who killed people.
The outside of my bedroom had a balcony with a wooden ladder attached to it. I kept my door locked, but I guess I hadn’t thought about the window until I heard him opening it from the other end. My chest rose and fell rapidly, each inhale sharper than the last, while my heart pounded relentlessly in my ears. My fingers trembled, and a cold sweat prickled at the back of my neck as anxiety tightened its grip on me. I was on the verge of being confronted with my nightmare—someone who had been stupid enough to drug me, visit me in my sleep, and threaten me. It must’ve shown how my faux sweet and innocent persona had been working for me.
I squeezed my eyelids shut and focused on taking slow, steady breaths, hoping he wouldn’t notice I had been faking being asleep. The room was silent, leaving me unsure of his exact location and heightening my sense of vulnerability.
“I can tell you’re awake, Little Serpent, but how? I watched you drink your tea.” His tone was sinister, the edge in his words making my breath hitch and my body freeze. What if he had a weapon and planned to kill me? Here I was with my eyes shut, inviting a stalker in. One who had made threats against my boyfriend.
“I switched my tea with duplicate mugs. You thought you were watching me drink drugged tea, but it wasn’t,” I admitted. “Are you here to kill me?” I asked softly. I had weapons within my reach if he tried.
I felt the bed dip underneath me, and felt a warm, leather-gloved hand pushing my hair behind my ear. He was behind my back while I lay on my side. “I’d never hurt you,” he whispered, his mouth so close to my ear his warm breath sent tingles down my spine. “I’d kill anyone who dared to lay a finger on you. Even Matthew, if you let him touch you again,” he growled.
“I tend to like it when men give me their fingers,” I stupidly mumbled.
He groaned. “You’re killing me, Little Serpent. If it’s a finger you want, you don’t need anyone else’s but mine.” I felt his fingers caressing down my arm and side, his hand then resting on my lower abdomen as if seeking permission to go further. My breathing deepened, but I didn’t reject him, instead shifting to lay on my back. “Keep your eyes closed, or you’ll be punished. Right now, we can only be together in the dark.”
He was dangerous, but not for the reasons most people might assume. His danger wasn’t a physical threat, but in his ability to lure out the shadowy corners of my soul. He had a way of coaxing forth the fractured pieces of me that I had meticulously concealed, threatening to expose the darkness I desperately tried to keep buried beneath the surface.
Especially the part of me that wanted to disobey and suffer the punishment. That’d mean seeing his face for the first time, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready. I had no idea whether he was someone I knew or a stranger who had taken a particular interest in me. Knowing who he was could destroy my world for several reasons, and might ruin the relationship I had invested a little over a year of my time into.My body decided for me as my eyes opened, and I found myself unexpectedly staring into the eyes of a Ghostface mask. For some reason, that was hotter than seeing his face and revealing his identity. It felt as if I were playing out one of my greatest fantasies.
“Oh, you’re in for it now,” he said darkly. I heard a hint of a chuckle in his tone. I imagined a devilish grin overtaking his face underneath the mask. Now he knew he was dealing with a brat, and a punishment wasn’t a threat; it was a chance to play.
I rolled my eyes. “As if I haven’t heard that one before,” I taunted. I didn’t know what had come over me and who I had become. Suddenly, all I wanted was to dance with the devil when he was in my bedroom.
My stalker used his strength to push me onto my side in one swift motion, his gloved hand coming down hard enough to leave a handprint on my ass. I winced, but it was a good kind of pain. “Rule number one: never talk about another man when I’m in your bed, darling. After tonight, you’ll only remember me. You’ll crave me. You’ll beg me to come back. I don’t use my words lightly; I mean them.” He pulled me back and placed me onto my back, his hand resting on my knee before slowly gliding up my thigh, stopping before my silk shorts.
“As if you’ve ever even made a girl come before,” I teased, then huffed.
“Oh, I’m going to make you come so fucking hard, Little Serpent, but not until I say so. I’m going to bring you right to the edge several times, then stop before you can finish. Then you’ll feel a fraction of the torture I’ve felt watching you these past few weeks, knowing I had been so close but couldn’t have you.”
I hated edging. He watched me enough to know the perfect way to punish me and make it an actual punishment. I hated not being able to fool someone who wasa stranger to me.
“Silent now, aren’t you?” He chuckled. He ripped his hand from my leg, and I heard a whine leave my throat, followed by a dark laugh from him. I hated sounding pathetic and needy, but of course he liked it. Men loved to feel in charge. “Don’t worry. I’ll give you what you need.”
My response died in my throat when he ripped my shorts clean from my body, exposing that I had gone without underwear…on the night I expected him to show up. Consider my dark side tempted.
He groaned. “So beautiful, exposed, and vulnerable for me. You’re doing so good.” He stood up from the bed and removed his pants, leaving them on the floor, but staying in his boxers. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to fuck you. I’m saving it for Saturday,” he said in a low, deep, intoxicating voice that had me dazed.
“Then I guess you’ll never get the chance,” I retorted, biting my lip as I looked at the massive outline in his boxers. It impressed me that his hard length had somehow remained against his thigh instead of poking through the hole.
“I’ll believe you when you can put your tongue away and stop eye-fucking me,” he taunted.
He crawled onto the bed again, lying on his side, his head propped up on his palm while he rested his elbow on the bed. The look of Ghostface watching me was intense, but it turned me on more than I expected, to the point where I wanted to check myself into a psychiatric hospital for inviting my stalker into my room. The fact that he touched me with his thick leather gloves on heightened the excitement.
I reached under my pillowcase and gripped my knife just in case. I had to remember he had stalked me, drugged me, and broke into my place with no remorse. I couldn’t help that I found his danger alluring, but I couldn’t pretend he wasn’t a threat. He sent shivers of fear through me, yet I found a strange enjoyment in it. I thought I could use him to explore the dark thrill while still searching for someone to build a future with.
