Page 130 of Brutal Obsession

I shake my head to dislodge those images.

The violence I crave versus the woman dancing before me.

“I see you,” she says. Her head whips around with each spin, up on her toe. She turns breathtakingly fast, but she doesn’t lose balance.

Not until I step into the room.

Then she falters.

“Afraid?”

She narrows her eyes. “No.”

The music loops again.

“What’s playing?”

“It’s the ‘Moonlight Sonata.’ The first movement.” She tilts her head. “How did you find me?”

I tap my chin, pretending to think while I step closer. I circle to her right, away from the mirrors. She turns, keeping me in her sights. Smart girl, to think that she’s in danger right now. I want her against the mirrors, I want her on the floor. I want to rip through the thin fabric of her shorts and make her walk home half-naked.

I want her humiliation and I want her pain.

But most of all, I want to know where my photo album is.

“You took something from me,” I say.

She smiles.

Smiles.

Goddamn, she’s beautiful.

“I know.”

I narrow my eyes. “I suppose you would.”

She sinks gracefully to the floor and begins to undo the ribbons around her ankles. “Whatever you want to do to me… I may as well take these off. They’re too expensive for you to ruin.”

“But your body isn’t?” I focus in on her, my lips curling.

Yes, something in the back of my mind hisses.Ruin her for anyone else.

“My body will heal.” She meets my eyes. “Unless you’re planning on breaking me again.”

I smile, too. I can’t help it. “When I break you, it won’t be your leg. Or your ribs. Or your vocal cords. It’s your mind I’m after, Violet. Your mind and your soul, because that black heart that beats behind your ribcage? That already belongs tome.”

I thump my chest.

She starts and rises, newly barefoot. Still graceful, even afraid.

Oh, the adrenaline. Another shot, better than a drug, flows through me. I inhale. She smells the same, floral and sweet, with an undercurrent of sweat. When I catch her, I’ll lick it from between her breasts. Between her legs, too.

There’s no part of her that’s safe from me.

And she knows it, judging from the way she’s suddenly trembling.

I raise my eyebrow. “What are you waiting for, Violet? You know this game.”

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