Page 7 of Delicious Prey

Dear Zaika,

So many questions. You are a curious little bunny, aren’t you? I’ll try to answer them all because the last thing I want is to disappoint you.

First, I would never hurt Peanut. I’ve never hurt an animal in my life, and I never would. I have four dogs of my own. They’re beautiful Belgian Malinois, and I can’t wait for you to meet them. I’ve never brought a woman to my home before, but I’m going to bring you.

I’m sorry you’re stuck working a job you hate, but it won’t be for long. I’d give you money now, but we don’t want to look too suspicious, now do we? Just know that once I’m out of here, you’ll never have to work another day in your life, sweetheart. I will take care of you and give you anything you want. My little bunny deserves nothing less.

There’s something you should know about me, Lydia. I’m a man who likes to be obeyed, and you refused to write me like I asked, so I had a friend give you a gentle nudge in the right direction. You are a stubborn little thing. I’m guessing you’ll be walking around with my handprint on your ass more times than not. I think my girl needs some discipline. Don’t worry, baby, I’ll always make it enjoyable. Pain mixed with pleasure always. Despite what you may think, I’m not a cruel man. Never to you, anyway.

Spanking aside, I am not going to hurt you, Lydia, so please stop worrying about that, but you’re very right about one thing: I don’t leave witnesses. You’re still alive. Do the math, sweetheart. I know you can. You were almost valedictorian.

Are you getting enough sleep? I’m told you’re still waking up screaming. I’m more sorry than I can say that you have to wake up alone. I’ve never wanted to take care of anyone before, but I want to take care of you, Lydia. I look forward to the day when you welcome that instead of fear it.

Tell me what your favorite movies and books are. What kind of music do you like? You like to plant flowers? When did that start? What’s your favorite kind? I want to know everything about you.

You have no idea how much I love the part in your last letter where you beg me. I can’t wait to hear it in person, except you won’t be begging me to leave; you’ll be begging me to stay.

Thanks for the pink, lacy panties, zaika. You smell fucking divine. Before I wrote this letter I had them in my mouth, running my tongue over the used fabric while I jerked myself off. God, the things I’m going to do to you, sweetheart. I can’t fucking wait.

I’m always thinking about you,

Kirill

P.S. Don’t forget what I said about other men. I know you’re a virgin, and you’d better damn well stay that way. I will kill any man who dares to touch you. That pussy is mine, sweetheart.

P.P.S. Write back soon!

Chapter 4

Lydia

I stare at the letter in my hand and read it yet again. This man is crazy. Worse, he’s obsessed and crazy. That’s like crazy on top of crazy, and all of that is focused on me. I have no idea what to do. The obvious choice is to go to the police and hand all this over, but I don’t trust them to be able to keep me safe. Kirill has a man watching me, obviously, and the fucker broke into my home while I was sleeping without me even knowing. That thought alone is enough to get me to keep my damn mouth shut.

Peanut nuzzles my hand and gives it a quick lick. “It’s okay, buddy,” I tell him. “I won’t let the crazy bastard get you.”

He looks up at me with absolute trust and love, and I know I’d do anything to keep him safe. He’s the only family I have. I briefly wonder if Kirill was telling the truth about his dogs. I’d looked them up online, and I’m not at all surprised that they’re the kind of dog that could easily rip a man’s throat out. Like owner like pet. I look down at Peanut’s sweet face and kiss his nose. He may not be fierce enough to protect me in quite the same way, but this little guy has saved me over and over again in more ways than I can count. I’ll take that over brute force any day.

I read over the end of his letter again. Kirill may be completely off his rocker, but I don’t understand why he keeps trying to convince me that he’s not a threat or why he even wants to write me. Everything about this confuses me. He’s never denied what he is to me in his letters, and he’s already sentenced and knows that there’s no way in hell confessing to the crime is going to make things worse at this point, so why keep hinting at his innocence?

The little voice in the back of my head reminds me that I didn’t see the man who shot my dad. I caught a glimpse of a cheek and chin. That’s hardly identifying someone. They don’t do cheek and chin line-ups for fuck’s sake.

My mind keeps going back to the mention of my pink panties. I’d been looking for them a few days ago and just assumed they were around here somewhere, but now I know that he had his creepy underling steal them. I remember exactly what Kirill looks like. His face haunts my every waking thought and also my dreams. He scares me, but there’s no denying he’s the most attractive man I’ve ever seen. The thought of him jerking off to my panties, well, goddamn, that does something to me when I know that it absolutely should not. I stuff the thought down deep, way, way deep, because I’m not willing to admit how fucked up I might be.

“We’re gonna bottle that shit down deep, Peanut.”

He gives a soft yip, encouraging me in my not-so-healthy coping choice. Pushing the letter aside, I decide it’s time to take some serious action. Kirill has set his sights on me, and I think it’s because he sees me as his. He’s fixated on me and thinks that I belong to him, but what if I take away the one thing he thinks he has a right to? If I find some random dude and lose my virginity, then I’ll no longer have what he wants. He said there’s a man watching me, but he can’t watch me all the damn time. He can’t be everywhere at once. A plan starts to form as I nibble on a piece of red licorice. It’s not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination, but it just might work.

Two hours later, I’m petting Peanut goodbye and slipping out my front door like I’m not up to no good. I’m carrying my reusable grocery bags, swinging them as I walk in a causal, hey, just going grocery shopping kind of way for anyone who might be spying on me. While I head downtown, I notice my car is still making the wonky noise that I’ve been pretending I don’t hear for the last couple of weeks because I don’t want to deal with it. I park in front of the grocery store I work at and walk in. As soon as I’m through the entrance, I bolt for the employee breakroom, giving a quick nod to one of my coworkers before slipping out the private door in the back. I race across the dark alley, hoping that all the perverts in the area took the night off. I make it down the narrow alley unscathed and practically run to the nightclub at the end of the street.

I pay the ridiculous cover charge, get my hand stamped so no one will sell me alcohol, and then disappear into the dark club. It’s Friday night, so the place is packed. Loud, thumping music vibrates up from the floor, and when I start to weave through the crowd, I get a few smiles from the guys around me. When I see a guy who looks close to my age with a friendly face, I smile back, figuring he’s as good as anyone. This isn’t about love. This is about making myself undesirable to the guy who’s stalking me. Clearly, this has all the elements of a good life choice.

“Hey,” he says, walking over and leaning down so I can hear him over the music. “What’s your name?”

Now that I’ve reeled a man in, I have no idea what to do. I’ve got a few chaste kisses under my belt. That’s what I’m working with here, and a huge flaw in my plan becomes painfully obvious.

“Lydia,” I finally stammer out when he’s still waiting for an answer.

“Pretty name.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to the bar. “Want a drink?”

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