Page 67 of The Torturer's Target

Tesiera suddenly pulled away from him, her body still shaking from the night terror. She’d known it was Max holding her even before she looked into his eyes. His scent filled her nose, surrounded her, and his arms… They had felt good around her. She’d felt safe.

“Are you alright?” His voice was soft and gentle to her ears. Tesiera didn’t answer, couldn’t answer.

She felt raw, like her soul had been ripped from her body. Her too heavy heart rested in her throat, stopping any words she had from passing through her lips.

Frantically, she reached for the drawer, her fingers fumbling as she dug inside for the familiar silver handle of her knife. A breath of relief and desperation filled her as her fingers wrapped around it and she jerked it out.

Max grabbed the knife from her, threw it across the bedroom and held both her hands in between their chests.

“Let me go!” she screamed, brown eyes brimming with anger and desperation. She needed to release the voices in her head, dammit! “Now.”

Her ears filled with the siren of her father’s ambulance, the beeping of the heart monitor they’d hooked him up to, her own screams and pleas as she begged him not to go, the promises she made to him if only he’d wake up and take her hand again, the distant voices of the paramedics…

They were too loud, threatening to drive her to insanity.

“I told you that you wouldn’t do that in front of me again,” Max said, tightening his hold on her. She wasn’t fully awake yet, but he was determined that she wouldn’t cut herself, even if that was what she needed to dull the pain and regain her composure.

“Get off me!” Tesiera kicked out and caught his left thigh. Max took the hit with a grunt, and pressed himself on top of her, preventing her from landing a kick to his groin.

She tried to kick again but he held her legs captive. “Stop, Tesiera!”

She slammed her head into his with so much force that another man would have passed out, but Max groaned through gritted teeth. She struggled against him. “Leave me the fuck alone, or I swear to God, I will kill you!” she raged.

Tesiera started trying to roll them over and get the upper hand.

But Max stopped her as his thoughts whirled on what to do next. Between her desperation and being a skilled fighter, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold out for long. He had to do something before she gained the upper hand and things became more dangerous.

Max did the first thing that crossed his mind. He seized Tesiera’s face with his hands and slammed his lips onto hers. It was probably a stupid thing to do.

The force of his kiss was violent, and Tesiera’s head snapped back against the bed. She let out a shriek of horror, but Max swallowed it, his lips continued to move over hers.

As she struggled frantically underneath him, his tongue darted into her mouth, probing and exploring. He tilted his head and applied more pressure as if he were trying to conquer her with his kiss.

Tesiera stilled as he devoured her mouth. She noticed a different feeling rising above her anger, fear and desperation. The more he kissed her, the more those voices in her head grew distant until they faded completely. The pain in her chest went numb and her body, which felt cold and raw a few moments ago, was filled with warmth.

She had no idea what was going on, what he was doing, or how a simple kiss could have this effect on her. She couldn’t explain it, and she stopped trying to.

One thing was sure, though: this felt way better than cutting, and she had to hold onto it.

As Max explored Tesiera’s mouth with his tongue, he expected her to physically retaliate. He nearly fell out of bed when she wrapped her arm around his neck and drew him closer to her.

She lifted her head slightly, tilting it to assume control of the kiss. Her lips hungrily consumed his.

CHAPTER 27. THE TORTURED TORTURER

Everything else faded away, leaving only the intense sensations of their mouths moving against each other. Max could feel her warm breath mingling with his own as they devoured each other’s lips, and the erratic sound of their breathing was the only sound in the room.

The taste of her on his tongue was a heady mix of sweet and salty, driving him wild with desire, clouding his head and making him forget why he was in her bedroom, on top of her, in the first place.

As he explored the depths of her mouth, he couldn’t help but notice the softness of her lips against his own. They were full and plump, with just a hint of a pout that made them even more alluring. He felt himself getting lost in the sensation of her body underneath him, the way she glided her lips against his mouth and her hands up his body.

Meanwhile, Clinton sat on the brown chair in Bose’s bedroom, staring at the wall in silence. Concern bright in his eyes at the sudden silence after Tesiera’s scream was cut off.

They had heard The Torturer scream at the boss and what seemed like they were fighting before the sudden silence. It bothered Clinton.

“You sure one of them hasn’t killed the other?” he asked, worriedly. “This silence is disturbing.”

“The boss can take care of himself,” Bose said.

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