Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Leo
Well, isn’t this delightful thing a sight for sore eyes?
Her black hair fans around her in a makeshift halo that slips against the flannel sheets as the bed dips beneath my weight. Her wrist is bent beneath the crook of her jaw to make her look deceptively innocent. Beautifully, blissfully unaware of the monster she’s allowed into her bed.
Mina. My gorgeous disaster.
My stalker.
It’s truly such a shame the lighting is never in our favor at this time of night. No matter. We have a different goal tonight. Darkness won’t stop me from doling out what must be done.
Her soft breaths fill the quiet room as I creep closer, moving beneath the covers. I press my nose into her hair, breathing in her jasmine scent. God, I love the smell of her. It sends a dangerous thrill down my spine. I’d die happy with her in my lungs.
The tips of my fingers skate over the smooth patch of skin beneath her shirt. My shirt. The one this thief stole right from under my nose when she thought I didn’t know.
Oh, I know.
I know every little thing there is to know about her. Every depraved thought. The rules she’d make and break to get what she wants. Me.
She’s obsessed. Fortunate, really, since she’s become my obsession too. It’s always a pity that she leaves my bed before I arrive, but her scent remains, threaded into the fibers.
No matter. If she doesn’t want to wait for me in my bed, I’ll come to hers, and she’s always a goddamn fucking vision in hers.
It’s a miracle I haven’t left any marks on her yet despite all the nights I’ve spent in her bed without her knowing. She drives me completely and utterly insane, always knowing she’s within my reach, but I have to stay away.
Tonight, she’s mine for the taking. Bundled up beneath the blankets, surrounded by bags of clothing she thinks I have no idea about.
My hand spans over her stomach, pulling her back against my hardening cock, and my sweet little stalker breathes out the most delectable sound, somewhere between a sleepy moan and a silent gasp.
I grind my hips against her ass, and for the first time tonight, something akin to peace descends over me. A beast that settles in the darkest recesses of my soul. It stops clawing at its cage. Stops snarling. Stops thirsting for blood.
That’s what this woman does to me.
I’d have never known she was making frequent visits to my home if she wasn’t playing dress-up with my clothes. It’s cute that she thinks I have no idea she’s having little outings to my place.
The first time I saw her in my shirt a month ago, I thought it was purely coincidental. Nothing was amiss at my house, so how could I possibly think that little ol’ Mina was making herself at home?
I thought I was delirious when I caught her scent in my sheets.
After I saw her wearing my hoodie, with my shirt beneath it, I knew I had a thief on my hands.
I was proud of her for helping herself inside because I didn’t like that she was sitting alone in her car for hours on end.
It’s why her favorite snacks are now stocked inside one of my kitchen cupboards.
I’m only surprised it took her so long to do it.
It would have been irresponsible of me to leave my house unprotected after finding out about my uninvited guest. The only logical next step was to install cameras in every room in case anyone else ever decides to enter through the window in my spare bedroom.
As soon as Mina sets foot in the house, my phone pings with a notification. The moment she steps into my bedroom, the camera starts recording.
Her place, on the other hand? It’s a good thing I made a copy of her key since I’ve scared Joyce enough that she’s stopped jeopardizing my girl’s safety and locks the fucking door behind her.
Now I’m here more often than Mina will ever know.
Keeping one hand on her warm skin, I reach over for her phone on the bedside table. The book I was reading last night is still there, right next to the glass of water I grabbed for myself. All untouched. It’s as if she knows I’ll be coming back for her.
And the type of books she reads? The scenes she highlights?
I tsk as I give her a kiss on the back of her head. It’s impossible not to feel smug as I enter my birthday to unlock Mina’s phone. It appears someone is a little obsessed with me.
How embarrassing for her.
I squeeze her flesh, breathing in another lungful of her as I navigate through her apps to the account she made especially for me.
Jas Manalo.
It’s almost offensive that she thinks I haven’t familiarized myself with her entire family line. I’ve memorized each and every fucking tattoo on her body, and she actually thought I wouldn’t recognize her in all the faceless photos she posts? It’s insulting.
I trace the snake coiled around her arm, and then the spider on the inside of her elbow.
The cybersigilism butterfly wings and the vertebrae permanently etched across her back are ingrained in my mind.
There are countless more, like the spires of a gothic cathedral above her knee and a bat above the other, and yin and yang ravens on her calf.
She has skulls, flames, and more cyberpunk tattoos all over her body.
One day, I’ll have more than a clip-on book light to see them all. But for now, she can keep playing her game, messaging me through a persona she can hide behind.
I log into the fake account and open her follower list to remove every guy who thinks he has any right to look at her. I do the same to the fashion account she made to message my sister.
I admit, I appreciate the effort she’s making to be friends with the people close to me. It’s endearing and shows her undying dedication to me.
Every time either Mitchell or I ask Sabrina about their friendship, she’s confident that they’re legit. I’ve seen their texts. Mina’s been opening up to her.
I was concerned at the start, but from what I’ve seen, other than a couple of things, she’s always been honest with Sabrina. I’ve even watched them interact from outside the window of a restaurant, and they genuinely looked like they were having fun.
After returning the phone to where I got it, I snake my hand over Mina’s waist and down the curve of her hips, to the inside of her bare thighs. I push my hips against her as I brush my fingers over her cotton panties.
I slide the material aside and bite back a groan. Fucking hell, she’s warm. The delicate skin of her little nub is already driving me wild. The softest, barest moan passes her lips, and I rub her clit twice to hear it again, relishing the sound.
She fucked up tonight.
I wouldn’t have to do this if she just listened. If she took. It. Back.
But no. She has to force my hand. I have no choice but to remind her who she belongs to.
I carefully push my knee between her thighs to spread her legs and give me better access.
Her breathing slowly grows shallow as I continue circling my fingers over her clit.
I trail my lips down her neck, leaving marks that will be gone by morning.
I’ll need to give her something more permanent one day.
Does she really think she can wear another group of men’s colors? That she could wear another fucking man’s number?
Only I get to occupy her mind. She only wears me.
Just the recollection of seeing her in the crowd supporting someone else has my vision clouding red.
And she left me on fucking read.
All reason escapes me as rage sends my blood to near boiling. I push two fingers into her cunt and hold her to me when her entire body convulses.
“Fuck,” I hiss.
I’m not the one getting felt up, and my eyes are already rolling to the back of my head. I’ve barely done anything to her, and she’s already soaked.
Yet she doesn’t wake. She never does. My girl knows she’s safe with me.
When I lift my knee, her body complies without any restraint, spreading wide open for me to pummel my fingers into her sweet pussy. Just like the other times I’ve played with her cunt, the only reactions I get from her are hiccuped mewls and heavy breaths.
I fuck my fingers into her, enjoying the feel of her, and how fucking responsive she always is to me.
Mina has left me no choice but to take it further tonight. I wouldn’t need to if she just listened—and I couldn’t be more grateful that she misbehaved.
Brushing my lips along her neck, I twist one of her nipples between my fingers of my free hand.
Her ass presses against my dick, and I latch onto the delicate skin of her throat without pause, sucking and nibbling hard enough to pull her from sleep, letting the sounds of her wet pussy fill the space.
But my girl’s eyes stay closed, letting me do whatever I want with her.
So I keep pushing my fingers into her. Keep curling them so my girl feels good.
She’s going to wake up tomorrow and know that she’s not the only one who sneaks into people’s houses and helps themselves into their beds.
After all, we’re one and the same.
The only difference between us is that I had time to prepare. I’ve been hanging on for months, waiting for the day I can bring her home. I started this game before she did.
Why else would my cupboards be filled with all the processed shit that she likes? Why else have I spent thousands of dollars renovating my home so everything is the way she likes?
Although I’ll admit finding all the limited-edition books that she likes proved harder than I thought it would. It was a minor inconvenience, but worth the way her eyes brighten when she sees them in the library I built just for her.
Mina’s the reason this is the best season of my career—and it has nothing to do with Coach. I’m at my prime because I know her eyes are always on me. Whatever money I earn from the Serpents or any endorsements belongs to her.
Everything I have is hers.
Tonight, she’s going to take it.