Chapter 28 #2
“You’re allowed to freeze, just don’t stay frozen. Come back to me when you’re ready. I’ll be right here.”
I nod against him, breathing him in. “I’m back.”
“Good,” he says, then weaves his fingers through mine as we head back into the living room. For a few minutes we just sit, cuddled together, until my heart rate has calmed and the ghosts of my past have retreated.
He sits up and grabs the box, quiet as he says, “Here, let me get rid of this.” A small square of paper falls from the package and flutters to the floor, and a strange expression crosses his face as he grabs it and reads it.
He shoves the paper and the flogger inside the box, then hurries into the kitchen and smashes it into the trashcan.
“Theo?”
He turns and gives me a smile, but it’s off by a fraction. “It was one of those giveaways they send out for reviews. I must buy enough toys and frilly, lacy things for my opinion to matter.”
I frown at his nervous mannerisms and the way he refuses to meet my eye. “Don’t lie to me.”
He flinches, suddenly focused on the floor. When I take a step toward the trash, he doesn’t try to stop me, so I move past him and grab the box from inside the can. The tiny paper is a gift receipt.
I still think about how pretty you looked when you cried. Come home soon, baby. I’ve got plans for us. You’ll like them this time.
The paper crumples in my fist as I hurl the box across the room. “I’m going to kill him. I’ll find out where he lives, and I won’t even use a weapon. I’ll just wring his stupid fucking neck and watch as he takes his last breath.”
The fear in Theo’s eyes fuels me as my fists clench at my sides, ready to attack.
Murder never sounded so fucking fun.
“Right now,” I decide with a nod. “I’m going to kill him right now.”
“Calm down, Dante. No one is killing anyone.”
“Fucking bet,” I snap.
He places his palms on my chest and leans against me.
“He is not worth it,” he pleads, distracting me with a kiss.
“He sent it to my apartment instead of here, which means he has no clue where I am. The date on that package was a few days after I left. He’s grasping at straws, and I won’t let him affect us like this. Say you understand.”
“I understand.” Relief floods his eyes, but it’s cut short. “I understand that I’m going to put him in the ground.”
“Dante…”
“Six fucking feet underground. He’ll take a dirt nap for a while. Forever, actually.”
He takes a deep breath, fingers curling into my shirt. “How about this as an alternative solution. Let’s swing by the police station and have them add it to the file for the restraining order. Create the paper trail, just like you said.”
“I was wrong.”
He scoffs. “Dante, stop.”
“His name isn’t on it, Theo!” I explode, throwing my hands up in the air. “No fucking fingerprints or anything that could tie it to him. They’ll say that anyone could’ve sent that!”
Theo shrinks back, and guilt hits me hard, squarely in the chest. “Don’t yell,” he whispers, sounding so very small that the knife already in my heart twists. This is the loss of control I’ve always feared with Theo, and his reaction is heartbreaking.
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” I rasp. “I’m sorry.”
Theo takes a tentative step forward, and when I open my arms, he crashes into them. “It’s not you I’m yelling at,” I murmur. “And not you I’m upset with… you know that, don’t you?”
He nods, his cheek rubbing against my chest. “I do, but I also can’t lose you because of some hotheaded decision to assassinate someone. Murder is kind of a big deal in at least thirty of the states.”
A loud sigh blows out of my lips, puffing my cheeks out as I calm myself. “Only if you get caught.”
He tilts his face up to glare at me.
“Alright, fine,” I concede. “We’ll do it your way and take it to the police.”
His posture relaxes with first-degree murder being off the table. “Thank you. Since we have to go out, there’s another stop I’d like to make.”
“What’s that?”
He hesitates, eyes searching my face for a moment. “I’d like to go get tested together. You said it yourself—‘Next time I fuck you, I’m going to fill your cute little bubble butt with my buckets of cum.’”
“Is that what I said?”
He grins. “That’s the gist of it.”
“You’re just trying to distract from my vendetta.”
“Well, is it working?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course it is.”
“I’ve always been careful in the past,” he says slowly, “but despite your dirty-talking promises earlier, I know you need this.”
He gets it—understands that it isn’t a matter of trust, but that I need the control, and he’s found a way to give it to me.
“Thank you,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to his hair.
“Don’t act like it’s an inconvenience to me,” he teases. “The sooner we do it, the sooner I get to feel you with nothing between us.”
“Why are you so perfect?” I mumble, kissing his temple, then his cheek, and finally ending on his lips.
“Just born this way, I guess,” he teases. “When do you want to go?”
“Let’s do it now so I can make good on my promise. And Theo?” I drag my thumb across his bottom lip, and the flex of my cock inside my jeans has a mind of its own, despite our earlier romp in the sheets. “I’m a man of my word.”