Chapter 13 #2
He groans again, shuddering. Behind us, the club door opens, and music echoes in the alley.
I don’t stop moving. Jericho’s hold becomes fierce, painful, almost as if he’s warring with himself to either stop or keep going.
Voices and laughter travel down the alley even after the door closes.
My heart races. If they keep getting closer, we’re going to get caught.
Jericho glances over his shoulder, but I don’t give a shit about those people. I want his full attention on me.
“Faster, minx,” he commands.
I do just that, picking up speed and sucking harder. Faster. Driving him crazy as heavy pants and sinful gasps of praise leave his throat. My arousal is a tangible thing, hard and heavy in my pants, but I ignore it, chasing this delicious high as Jericho uses my body for his own pleasure.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Jericho’s hips thrust faster, losing control. The voices come closer, but I don’t back off; I work harder, needing his release.
A desperate, primal sound rips from his throat. “Is this what you want, minx?” he rasps. “You want me to fuck your tight throat like an animal while a body bleeds out next to us?”
I whimper, the sound vibrating through my throat and along Jericho’s thick cock. The voices suddenly hush, listening. My fingers find Jericho’s balls, and I feel the moment they draw up tight against his body, throbbing under my touch.
“Fuck, Sky. You’re going to make me come.” His thrusts become erratic.
My other hand returns to his base. His hard length is wet from all the saliva and precum. I use it to stroke in time with my mouth.
“That’s it. Fuck, Skylar. Fuck, I’m coming.
” His whole body locks up, and suddenly, my mouth and throat are flooded with him.
I swallow as much as I can, but it leaks from my mouth, spilling onto my lips and chin.
It’s the single hottest moment of my life.
Jericho’s fingers find my jaw, caressing lightly.
I lean into his touch, still keeping his cock in my mouth.
To think, a fucking porn star unraveling just from giving head.
It’s insane, and yet, here I am. Floating.
Happy and sated, despite my own arousal still evident in my pants.
Someone in the distance giggles. “Oh, shit. I think there are people fucking out here.”
Another person laughs. “Come on, let’s head back inside and dance.”
Loud music surrounds us for a brief moment before fading behind the door.
Jericho is still caressing my cheek reverently. “You’re so damn perfect, Sky. You’re nothing like him,” he whispers. His words are so soft, I wonder if I’m even meant to hear them. “It’s like you were made for me. What would you do if I tried to keep you?”
I’m still flying high, unable to speak. Just floating. I smile and close my eyes, leaning against his palm and hoping he can feel my answer. I would let you keep me.
I swear I hear one word whispered into the air between us.
Mine.
We work in quick, efficient silence, cleaning up as much as we can and sweeping the alley for any evidence. Jericho claims that his friend owns this club, and we don’t have to worry about the cameras because he already confirmed they were off.
Meanwhile, I assure him I crushed the remaining date rape pills and tell him we don’t need to worry about witnesses because I scanned the alley the moment I walked outside.
There’s something strange about working so well with another person who just helped you kill a man.
I’m used to dealing with this darkness inside of me alone.
It’s my fucked-up burden to bear while I avenge my sister and pray that no one else like her gets hurt.
But as we finish moving the body behind the dumpster and getting rid of the evidence, I swear, Jericho’s eyes sparkle with something that looks like respect.
We walk back toward his car in silence, that easy-going camaraderie floating away on the wind, replaced with a heavy weight between us. I lean against his car and give him a small smile, trying to get us back to that moment.
Jericho watches me like a predator, blue eyes still dark with lust. His stare is hungry and primal.
I almost wouldn’t be able to tell he just had an orgasm if I didn’t know I was the one who sucked him off.
Licking my lips, I give him a sultry look and lean against the brick building. “I have a proposition for you,” I say.
He arches his brow in question before asking, “What type of proposition?”
I chuckle softly. “What, after all that, and you still don’t trust me?
” I shake my head, batting my lashes innocently.
“Handsome, you know I just watched you kill a man. Hell, we slid that blade over his neck together. I killed him just as much as you did. If that isn’t trust, I don’t know what is.
” I pause, closing the distance between us and straightening the collar on his shirt.
“Why don’t you hear me out? Then we can continue what we started back at your place. ”
“All right,” he says hesitantly. “But you’ll tell me this proposition before I bring you home.”
I grin. “I’ve been in your house multiple times since escaping your poor excuse for knots. Are you really not going to bring me there now?”
He lets out an exasperated sigh. Dear lord, the man is extra handsome after a good kill and an intense orgasm.
“Fine,” I relent, walking ahead. “Let’s at least go to the pub down the street or something. I’m starving.”
“Can’t you just spit it out?”
I tsk. “No way, my handsome brute. This is something we should sit down and discuss over good food. Preferably with a nice bourbon or scotch.”
Ten minutes later, we’re sitting in a pub downtown, only two blocks away from where we murdered Charlie. The booth we chose is tucked into the corner and private enough for us to speak freely.
“Damn, I’m starving.” I scan the food options in front of me. “Want to split the two specialty burgers and fries?”
A small smile tilts Jericho’s lips before it quickly disappears. “You aren’t even bothered by what we just did,” he states, sipping from his fresh glass of whiskey.
I peer at him from over the menu, desperate to see that grin return to his face. “What… the blow job?” I tease.
Jericho chokes. “No! I meant before that. With Charlie. Obviously, I know this isn’t your first kill, but everyone reacts differently. Even my comrades, who were used to fighting in the war. But you don’t seem bothered at all.”
I shrug. “Not really. I feel pretty damn good about it, actually. He wasn’t a good man, Jericho. That bothers me more,” I confess. “He hurt men, women, and children. Fucking children. Not to mention, there are a few missing bodies where he’s concerned.”
He’s quiet for a moment, contemplating my words. It’s so freeing to tell someone else the thoughts in my head. I mean, sure, I have Hunter. But there’s something about Jericho that fuels my obsession. We’re similar. The way we banter, the way we flow. There’s something here that’s worth exploring.
I take a sip of my scotch. “Were you and Charlie planning to meet tonight? It seemed like the two of you knew each other.”
His eyes snap up to mine, and he shakes his head. “Definitely not. I don’t hang out with sexual predators.”
I laugh. “Just serial killers?”
He finally cracks a smile, and I swear I feel like I earned a whole damn victory. “Only if they are as smart as you.”
For some reason, those words have me blushing harder than if he were to compliment my looks. Glancing down at my menu, I bite back a grin.
“But seriously, if you never talked with him before, how did you know Charlie would approach you at the club?”
“Honestly, I got really damn lucky the fucking bastard sat next to me. I’m not his usual type, but I like to think I’m handsome enough.
Sitting down in the chair next to his usual haunt intrigued him enough to test the waters.
One flirty remark was all it took. His relaxed attitude morphed into a slimy one.
Just like that, I became Charlie’s next target. ”
“And just like that, he became yours,” I laugh. “Good fucking riddance, asshole.”
He hums in agreement. “How did you know all that info about him? Was he one of the men on your list? Do you even have a list?”
“God. We’re really talking about this, aren’t we?
” I shake my head as if to clear it. “Yes, I have a list. It’s…
personal. Not quite as heroic as you, Cleaner.
And while you were busy flirting with good ol’ Charlie boy, I got bored on the dance floor and texted a friend.
” Apparently, Hunter already had a whole damn file on the bastard.
He was shocked that I wanted to go after someone who didn’t hurt my sister, but was happy to share.
Hunter used his encrypted phone to send me the electronic file he had on the guy.
The fact that Hunter wanted Charlie dead was a good enough reason for me.
Hunter only murders evil people, like I do.
Since he’s a fancy lawyer with his own law firm, he doesn’t always have time to go after everyone he finds.
It only took me a few minutes of flipping through the evidence to make a decision.
After that, I was back on the dance floor, eagerly waiting.
“You did what?” His face contorts in shock and rage. “Skylar, this so-called friend could be a potential liability.”
I lean forward and squeeze his hand. “Calm down, big guy. Remember, it’s not my first time. My friend is someone I trust with my life. He taught me everything I know. Plus, I only asked him for info on Charlie. I didn’t even mention you.”
Something flickers across his face too quickly for me to analyze. Is he upset that I didn’t want to mention him? Silly brute.
“What are you smirking about over there?” He playfully kicks me under the table, causing me to smile.
There’s still something on his face I can’t quite decipher.
It’s almost as if another invisible wall went up between us, but that’s okay.
It might take time for my big, sexy killer to warm up to me.
“Just you.” I push back against his foot, flirting like a fucking sixteen-year-old.
He gives me a heated look. Before we can get too carried away, I ask him what I’ve been dying to ask since I confirmed he was the hitman I’ve grown to respect. “About my proposition, how do you feel about teaming up?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s go after Franko together. You have to admit, what we did tonight was fucking electric. Imagine if we planned a kill together and took one more abusive piece-of-shit rapist off the streets.”
“Okaaay,” he stretches out the word carefully. “It’s true. I’ve never done anything like what we did tonight, and it was so fucking exhilarating. But Skylar, isn’t killing Franko personal for you? I’m pretty sure I robbed you of something important the night I botched the job.”
Ah. So he doesn’t know that Fiona was my sister.
I think back to the slip of paper Jericho planned on leaving with Franko’s body.
The fact that Jericho, of all people, would be around to avenge her if I weren’t here.
It gives me hope. I mull over his words before replying.
“It is personal. Very personal. If I had to give back all the lives I’ve taken over the years and choose only one, it would be him.
” I let that statement sink in. “Yeah, you might have stolen something from me that night at the restaurant, but something tells me we were always meant to do this together.”
Before he can reply, a server interrupts us to take our order.
The rest of our night passes in a blur of casual chatter, though my proposition remains suspended between us like an unspoken anchor to reality.
Yet, sitting here enjoying his company, a dangerous thought keeps looping in my mind.
What if we were just two normal guys on an actual date?
With all the darkness clawing inside of me, am I actually allowed to hold on to this tiny, brilliant fracture of happiness the universe is teasing me with?
I spend the rest of our time at the pub doing everything I can to make him smile.
All the while, Jericho keeps locking eyes with me, his gaze fierce and possessive.
Later, something shifts between us when he invites me to his place.
I’m no longer his captive. When I step inside his house, a surreal wave of clarity washes over me.
The shadows I carry don’t feel so heavy here.
It’s quiet. An undeniable truth settles into my chest. I’m finally exactly where I’m meant to be.