Chapter 10
LUELLA
T he emptiness of my apartment mocks me as I pace, my bare feet silent against the cold floor. Each step feeds the rage building inside me, a familiar darkness that mirrors his own.
Abandoned.
My fingers trace the marks he left on my skin, proof that I wasn’t imagining the hunger in his eyes, the possession in his touch. The monster I saw lurking beneath his carefully constructed facade.
“Fuck you, Colton,” I whisper, but the words taste like ash in my mouth.
I catch my reflection in the window and pause, studying the woman staring back at me. Wild eyes, swollen lips, skin marked by his claiming. Is this what scared him away? The evidence of how perfectly matched our monsters are?
My phone sits on the coffee table, taunting me. One text could bring him back—I know exactly what words would make him break, what buttons to push to fully unleash the darkness I glimpsed tonight.
But I won’t. Not this time.
Instead, I grab the bottle of whiskey from my kitchen counter, not bothering with a glass. The liquid burns on its way down, but it’s nothing compared to the fire he ignited inside me.
“What are you so afraid of?” I ask the empty room, remembering the way he looked at me before he left—like he was fighting something inside himself. Something that recognized the darkness in me and wanted to devour it whole.
The bartender’s face flashes in my mind, and a bitter laugh escapes me. Poor bastard had no idea he was just a pawn in our game. But the way Colton’s eyes darkened when I smiled at him...Christ, I thought he might kill him right there.
Maybe that’s what I wanted.
The whiskey isn’t helping anymore. Nothing helps except the exquisite pain only Colton knows how to inflict. The perfect balance of pleasure and punishment that makes me feel alive.
“You can’t run forever,” I murmur, pressing my forehead against the cool glass of my window. If I focus, I can almost convince myself I see his car out there in the darkness, watching, waiting.
But he’s gone.
For now.
The monster inside me stretches, hungry and restless. It knows what I know; this isn't over. Not by a long shot.
He’ll be back.
And next time, I won’t let him leave.
The knock at my door is hard, impatient. I know who it is before I even reach the door. My heart thuds in my chest, matching the urgency in his fist.
I tug open the door, and there he is.
Colton.
His eyes wild, breaths ragged, every muscle in his body tense. He’s the dark thunder in the storm, and I’m the fucking lightning.
“You came back,” I say, stepping aside to let him in, knowing I’m inviting the devil himself into my home.
He paces like a caged animal, his eyes never leaving mine. “You knew I would.”
I shrug, feigning nonchalance. “Did I? You left.”
His jaw clenches, and he takes a step closer. “Wanna know why?”
“Because you’re a coward?” I taunt, watching as his hands curl into fists. “Or because you can’t handle what we are?”
He’s on me in an instant, his hands gripping my arms, his face inches from mine. “Don’t, Luella,” he growls.
I smile, sweet and sinister. “Or what, Colton? You’ll leave again? You’ll leave me?”
Something in him snaps. His mouth crashes onto mine, teeth clashing, tongues warring. It’s a kiss of violence, of desperation, and I meet it with equal desperation and passion. Our breaths are harsh, our bodies pressed so tightly together, I can feel his heart pounding against my chest.
“I almost killed a man tonight,” he mumbles against my lips, his voice raw.
“Who?” I gasp as a shiver runs down my spine, excitement and fear twisting together.
“That fucking bartender.”
My God, the way this man makes my pussy drool for him is beyond comprehension.
He wanted to kill the man I smiled at .
“Would you have done it? For me?” I ask breathlessly, hating how needy I sound.
He pulls back, his eyes searching mine. “Would you have liked that?”
I smile slowly. “Maybe.”
His grip on my arms tightens, his fingers digging into my flesh. It hurts, but it’s a good pain, the kind that makes me feel alive.
“You’re fucking sick, Luella,” he whispers, but there’s no condemnation in his voice. Only understanding.
“So are you,” I reply, my voice barely a whisper. “That’s why we’re perfect together.”
His mouth finds mine again, hungry and brutal. Our bodies crash into the wall, pictures falling, glass shattering. His hands are under my shirt, on my skin, marking me with his touch. I bite his lip, tasting blood, and he growls, his fingers tightening in my hair.
“You can’t leave again,” I gasp as his teeth find my neck, biting down hard. “I won’t let you.”
He pulls back, his eyes locked onto mine. They’re wild, fierce, filled with a darkness that matches my own. “I won’t,” he promises, his voice hoarse. “Never again.”
Then he’s on me, his body pressing mine against the wall with a force that sends more pictures crashing to the floor, more glass shattering around us. His mouth claims mine again, hungry and brutal, teeth clashing, tongues warring. I can taste his desperation, his need, and it fuels my own.
His hands are under my shirt, rough and demanding, marking my skin with his touch. I bite his lip, drawing blood, and he growls, his fingers tightening in my hair. The pain is exquisite, a reminder that I’m alive, that he’s here, that we’re real.
“You think you can control me, don’t you, Luella?” Colton rasps, his hand sliding down my body, hooking into the delicate fabric of my fresh underwear. He drags it away, his breath hot and heavy on my skin. “Huh?” He shoves into me, a dark laugh echoing around the room. “You think you can control me?”
He fills me, stretches me, every thrust claiming me in a way that’s both brutal and exhilarating. His hands grip my hips with a force that will leave bruises, but I don’t care. I welcome it. Each powerful stroke sends pleasure and pain crashing through me, until I can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. His intensity consumes me, his darkness wrapping around us both like a cloak. With each movement, he touches something deep inside me, not just physically, but emotionally, stoking a fire that only he can ignite. I feel alive, electric, my body humming with a raw, primal energy that only he can draw out. He’s dangerous and intoxicating, and I never want this to end.
Does it matter that he almost ruined me?
No.
I should care more, but no one else does this to me.
Only him.
It’s a twisted, sick love that I can’t shake off. It’s like he’s poison in my veins, a darkness that has seeped into my soul. I’m addicted. I’m trapped in a whirlwind of fear and desire, where the line between love and hatred blurs.
Every fiber of my being screams that it’s wrong, that I shouldn’t feel this way about the man who took so much from me. Yet, here I am, craving his touch, yearning for his gaze. It’s a sickness, a perverse obsession that has me bound to him.
The thought of him makes my heart race, a mix of terror and longing coursing through me. I’m in love with my monster, rapist, stalker, and captor. It’s a truth that shatters me, piece by piece. But even as I crumble, I know I can’t walk away. Because no one else makes me feel like this. Only him.
No one else understands the darkness inside me like he does. No one else accepts it, feeds it, nurtures it. It’s a twisted walk of destruction, and I’m striding right beside him. I should run away or scream, but all I want is to be consumed by him, to be claimed, to be owned.
It’s wrong, it’s sick, it’s perverted. But it’s us.
His mouth finds mine again, swallowing my moans and pleas.
“You’re mine, Luella,” he whispers against my skin, his voice raw and ragged. “You have to accept me as I am. I can’t change, but I’d do anything for you.”
My fingers tangle in his hair, pulling hard, forcing his head back so I can look into his eyes. “You made me this way,” I say, my voice barely a whisper. “You made me into this monster.”
His smile is slow, sinister, filled with a pride that should be sickening but isn’t. Not to me. Not coming from him. “Yes, I did,” he admits, thrusting deeper, harder, drawing a scream from my lips. “And aren’t you just fucking perfect?”
My orgasm hits me like a freight train, my body convulsing around him, my teeth sinking into his shoulder. I taste blood, and it’s sweet, coppery, perfect. I scream his name, that I hate him, and I love him.
And then I’m crying.
Sobs wrack my body as the intensity of our connection overwhelms me. Colton holds me tightly, his strong arms wrapped around me, keeping me from shattering into a million pieces. He says nothing, just holds me as I cry into his chest, my tears mingling with the sweat and blood on his skin.
I can’t take his security, his safety. It makes me want to stay in his arms forever, even as a part of me screams to run. It’s a confusing tunnel of emotions—the fear that courses through me when I see the darkness in his eyes, the terror that makes my heart pound like a drum in my chest. Yet, at the same time, there’s a comfort, a warmth that envelops me when he’s near. His strength is a shield, a fortress that makes me feel protected, untouchable. It’s a conflicting mix of dread and desire, a chaotic whirlwind that leaves me breathless and yearning for more.
How can someone who terrifies me also make me feel so incredibly safe? It’s a puzzle I can’t solve, a riddle that keeps me coming back, craving his touch, his presence, his adoration—no matter how dangerous it may be.
Eventually, he scoops me up, carrying me effortlessly to the bedroom. He lays me down on the bed, climbing in beside me and pulling me back into his arms. I bury my face in his chest, inhaling his scent, letting it ground me as the storm of emotion slowly subsides.
His fingers stroke my hair gently, the only movement in the otherwise still room. The darkness outside seems to press against the windows, as if trying to get in, to join us in our twisted embrace.
“Maybe we hate each other,” I murmur, my voice hoarse from screaming and crying. “But our monsters...they’re in love.”
Colton’s arms tighten around me, his heart beating steady and strong against my cheek. He doesn’t reply, just holds me tighter, as if trying to meld our bodies into one. And that’s how I fall asleep, wrapped in his arms, our monsters content, our love a dark and twisted language that only we understand.
And maybe this is our ending. There isn’t anything happy about it at all.
It just is.
Thank you for reading this story.
If you loved it, please consider leaving a review anywhere! It really helps the book get seen by more readers.
This is the last book in the Archer High Series.
Linz xx