Chapter 24
Jayce
I meant to go inside earlier, but I was stuck just staring up at her window. From across the lot, she probably hadn’t spotted me. If she had, she didn’t make it known. For so long, this was all I did. I’d watch from outside when she was awake and come inside when she slept. There was comfort in it, a familiarity that ran deep.
With how content I was, I almost chose not to go up there but suddenly, she was at the living room window. The curtains parted and she peered out, looking left and right. After a minute, she disappeared.
Was she looking for me? If she was expecting me to follow through, I was surprised she’d stayed put, regardless of my threats. I was almost offended she didn’t think I- the real me- could defend myself against some dude in a mask. I’d kick my own ass without a problem.
Since I was curious, I stayed outside. The light in the living room eventually turned off. It was already close to midnight, which seemed pretty late for her to start getting ready to relax in her room. A shadow moved in her bedroom window, then she was looking outside again.
Well, I’ll be damned. I was sure it had to do with fear of my return, but she didn’t look all that scared. She crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to scan the lot. When she disappeared, I got to my feet.
My phone buzzed, surprising me.
Alana: If I go to sleep, can I trust that nobody will wake me up?
I couldn’t contain the grin that rose on my face. Keeping the phone in my hand, I crossed over to her building and quietly climbed the stairs, only to receive another text.
Alana: I’ll take that as a yes. Thanks for the prompt response, asshole.
God, she was starved for attention. She wouldn’t accept what she needed from the real me and it seemed that it was bleeding over into her relationship with this version, even if she didn’t recognize that yet. She was clinging to the pain I caused her, but it was clouded by other things.
Orgasms could be forced, sure, but she’d been shocked by what she felt and I was sure it stuck with her. I kept coming back, showing her that I was committed to whatever this was. I claimed her in a fucked up and downright possessive way, but something about that made her feel confused. She thought she wasn’t telling me more about the stalker because she wanted to protect me, but I was the one she called when he first showed up. Why did that change?
Cue Finding Nemo sharks: Denial.
She wanted someone to make her feel better after my brother wrecked her confidence. Because she’d been with him for so long, she didn’t let herself address her needs that hadn’t been fulfilled. She became happy with being comfortable. If she’d do some introspection, she’d recognize that she needed far more than that. She always had.
I leaned against the outside of her apartment with my thumbs hovering over the screen.
Erebus: You could always pretend to be asleep. That way everybody wins.
Alana: Oh yeah. You enjoy ripping me from my dreams and plunging me straight into your nightmare.
Erebus: I’m busy tonight. Sorry to disappoint.
The dots came and went multiple times. I pulled up my app to see what was going on from her end.
Good. Fuck you. Erase.
Cool. Back to blocked. Erase.
What the fuck are you hiding behind your mask? Erase.
I got a knife and I’m gonna stab you. Erase.
In the end, she exited out of the message without sending anything. She navigated to her music app and started it. I waited a few minutes before I unlocked the door. The sound of the shower greeted me, the perfect cover for my entrance.
My hand hovered above the knob to the bathroom. I couldn’t do much there if I was going to stay in my clothes, which I had to. She may not recognize my body when I was dressed, but my tattoos would give me away and she’d seen me shirtless many times, so that alone could trigger recognition.
I bypassed the bathroom. Instead, I kicked off my shoes and started going through her drawers. The knife wasn’t in any of them. When I checked her purse, I didn’t find it there either. I laid on her bed with my back propped up with the pillows, hoping she didn’t have it with her in the bathroom. She could rush in and jump on me with it.
If she wanted to stab me, where would she stash it so that it’d be accessible? I reached under the pillow and smiled. Clever, but not clever enough. I slipped it into my pocket before I settled into a more comfortable position and stared up at the ceiling.
When the shower turned off, I grabbed my bag and moved into the closet. Positioning myself behind some hanging clothes in the corner, I waited. She was humming when she returned to the room. Through the gaps in my hiding spot, I watched her twirl in her towel, then rummage around in her drawers. She tossed sleep shorts onto the bed and started to untuck her towel when she froze, staring at the boots I’d left by the door.
She took a step back and looked to the sides. I pulled out my phone to send her a message, making sure that I was tucked into the corner enough that she wouldn’t see me.
Erebus: Hide of that, I was sure.
Her expression wavered as her hand continued to move underneath the pillow. Pushing her knees to her chest, I thrust my hips forward. My jeans rubbed against her, causing a pained sound to escape her lips. As my cock hardened further, I continued making a grinding motion, forcing her to become desperate for her escape, enough so that she gave herself away.
She dug around beneath the pillow, searching for her means of escape, the whole reason she’d allowed me this close without a fight. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the knife, flipping it open. Her lips parted and a fresh wave of fear clouded her eyes.
“Wait,” she pleaded.
“Duplicitous, not clever. Did you intend to stab me? Kill me, perhaps?”
“N-no, I just… I wouldn’t…”
I dropped her legs and braced myself beside her head. “Let me spell this out for you, Alana.” Latching onto her throat, I dragged the blade over her cheek gently. “Even God cannot kill the devil. What made you think you could?”
“Please, Erebus, I’m sorry. Fuck, I’m sorry.”
Moving the blade to her lips, I traced them with the tip. She was deathly still, her eyes locked on my face. “Open.”
Tears brimmed as she parted her lips. The edge scraped against her tooth as I pushed it inside. I ran the flat of it over her tongue, slowly moving it deeper. The beginning of a sob was building in her throat, but she fought it off to keep herself from moving.
“Suck on it.”
Her eyes squeezed shut and she closed her lips around the blade. My cock throbbed when her cheeks hollowed. I could feel the movement tug on the knife.
“Would you have gone for the neck? Or would you want to watch me suffer for longer? Maybe you’d want to remove my cock. It’s not as satisfying as you might think, although it might be different for you. Don’t move.”
I pulled the knife toward me, letting it slide through her lips. Her hands went to my thighs and she dug her fingers in. Fear had her in a chokehold, forcing her to hold onto the very person who was causing it.
“Look how compliant you are now. So fucking good for me.”
When the tip was barely inside of her mouth, I pushed the blade in again. She made a sound of dissent, but I ignored her. Right now, she knew better than to try anything.
“Would you rather this be my cock?”
Her lips trembled and her eyes traveled to the ceiling. After a moment, she moved her hands inward. She got the button on my jeans undone before she met my eyes.
“Open.”
When she did, I removed the knife from her mouth. She took a gasping breath, letting the sobs take over now that the danger was gone.
“Just get it over with,” she muttered.
Instead of that dumb idea, I scooted backward and used my fingers to part her labia. The tattoo wasn’t inflamed like it was after I put it there, so it was easier to make out the letters that created an arch from the left, above her clit, and to the right.
“Have you looked at it?” I asked.
“Never.”
With a chuckle, I touched her clit with the metal. She jolted and her breaths picked up again.
“Please stop hurting me.”
“Have I hurt you? You look okay to me.”
“You tattooed my clit!”
“And it looks so lovely,” I said, giving it a little tap with the flat of the blade. “If anyone ever dares to touch you, they’ll know you already belong to someone else.”
“You…” She set her jaw and glared at the wall, then returned her gaze to me. “Is it your name?”
I smiled, even though she couldn’t see it. Using the knife, I strummed against her clit. It was a single bevel knife, which gave me a perfect way to use it without hurting her. I wasn’t sure why she’d chosen one like this. Maybe to slice off my cock.
When I swiped my thumb over her, she slammed her hands into the mattress.
“Please, it hurts,” she cried.
“I know it does. So, a choice. I can hurt you like this until you cum- because you will cum, regardless of what you think. Or I can fuck you. Same result, but it might not hurt as much.”
“You don’t get to fuck me,” she growled.
I applied firm pressure, making her let out a strangled cry. She squirmed as I continued, caught between warring sensations.
“Why didn’t you go to the police again?” I asked, continuing my movements.
“Scared,” she rasped, then pursed her lips to smother a moan.
“But not of what I’ll continue doing to you.”
“You can hurt me. Not them.”
“How noble. I saw you looking for me tonight.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “When there’s a monster on the loose, you keep watch.”
“Haven’t we established that monsters turn you on?”
I leaned down off the side of the bed to reach into my backpack. When I pulled out a black blindfold, she shook her head.
“I told you to stop telling me no.”
“That’s how consent works,” she spat.
“I don’t need your consent when I own your fucking soul.”
Flipping her onto her stomach, I put the leather over her eyes. I lifted her hair to situate the strap so that she wouldn’t be able to get it off without effort, which would allow me ample time to stop her.
Wearing the mask wasn’t an issue for me and I enjoyed playing this part, but one thing I wouldn’t do was fuck her for the first time without being able to use my mouth for whatever I wanted. I wanted to fuck her as me, whether she knew it or not.
This moment right here was the one that would completely secure my place in a hell of my own creation. It was going to tie the essence of my very soul to hers, ensuring that I was completely incapable of letting her escape me, no matter what it cost either of us.