Page 103 of Cruel Malady: A Necrosis of the Mind

I have no soul to lose.

Or to sell, for that matter, but that didn’t stop me from making a trade with the fiend himself for more time. A bargain with my own personal devil. What choice did I have? Go after Grayson with blinding fury and fight to the death? Reap vengeance on my sister’s behalf? To what end?

Even if I thought slitting his throat with a scalpel would solve my problem, that grudge feels more like a distant memory than a need to sate. Too much has happened, too much has changed since Mary’s death, and my initial reason for the project has altered beyond that of a cure.

The most amazing scientific discoveries are sometimes by accident, a random chance.

A beautiful new start.

Like Blakely and I now, dancing to a tune of our own, tangled in a web of violence and blazing heat.

The gift of life started with an explosion, a literal bang amid the void, where all that is passion and chaos was born.

This moment here, this is our big bang.

We were created in a fiery collision, and if she needs to fight and draw blood, then I’ll suffer her wrath, I’ll welcome her fury, because I know the beauty that awaits us when our systems align.

Hand fixed to the soft pocket of her knee, I draw her leg around my hip, fusing us together so she’s unable to attempt another attack. Truthfully, I’m not surprised or even hurt by her intended manipulation. I’m surprised she hasn’t Tasered me yet.

“I thought confiding my torture in you might gain me a degree of sympathy,” I say as I shove her back to the wall. She fits against me perfectly. We were designed for each other.

“I feel absolutely nothing for you.” Pure disdain masks her beautiful features. “No, that’s not true. Thanks to you, I know what unadulterated hatred feels like.”

The malice lacing her words sends a heated charge over my skin. I’ve missed her mouth, her touch, even the vitriol she carries in her gaze. Feeling the press of her body to mine is making it damn hard not to touch her, to taste her everywhere.

I thrust between her thighs, my entire body searing to feel her skin against mine. “You can lie pretty well now, too,” I say, grinding the shaft of my rock-hard cock along her heat. “But I can still read the truth in your body.”

Her hand flattens against my chest, her expression creased in a mixture of agony and yearning. “Can you read a fucking slap to the face?”

I don’t stop her. From this close proximity, the angle is awkward and it’s not a strong slap, but she backs it with enough force to leave a lingering sting.

I never drop her gaze. Her chest heaves, her emotions cresting right along with her cleavage over the top of her shirt. She’s the epitome of sin and temptation, and I can’t resist her.

“God, you’re not even human anymore,” she says.

The lights, the smoke, the scent of her skin—it affects all five senses to create a violent storm within me.Human. No, she altered me, and I’m no longer just a man. Some beast has taken up residency and is gnashing from the inside to get out and claim her.

We’re locked in this battle together, her eyes searing me, my desire to never let her go dominating my willpower. The music is a fucking aphrodisiac coaxing me like a siren’s song to taste her lips.

She seems to sense my urgency, and a sprig of panic blooms behind her eyes. “You’re losing your mark,” she says, nodding toward the dance floor. “Addisyn is leaving the club.”

I don’t even look. “I’m not here for Addisyn.”

She doesn’t appear surprised. She’s smart enough to have already put it together. To find her, I took Grayson’s insight and reversed the stalking process. He found me by using Blakely’s list. I had to assume he was right, and that Blakely would also start watching her previous targets.

Since Grayson left me with little time and a literal ticking warning adhered to my body, I didn’t have time to waste. I’ve been watching two of her targets.

“Right,” she says. “And here I was almost jealous, since I thought I was the only woman you tortured. But I guess she’s not an ideal candidate for your new murder project.”

The way her eyes spear me, the judgement…she thinks she has me all figured out. She has no idea what we’re up against.

“The truth is far more disconcerting,” I say.

“If you don’t release me, Iwillmake a scene. I swear, Alex.”

I hold her a moment longer, weighing the cost of her kiss, and decide night clubs have never worked in our favor.

Without verbal acknowledgement, I release her but only to take hold of her hand. Then I head toward the stairs that lead to a closed-off section connecting two buildings. While she was dancing, letting another man grope her, I was scoping out the building to mark all exits and blind spots.

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