20. Xavier
TWENTY
XAVIER
Iwatch her stare at her appetizer with a look of utter dread.
Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for after telling her I wanted to bring her pleasure and sleep with her.
Her dark mocha eyes are shadowed, and her brow furrowed, as if she's desperately trying to come up with another option other than the one I've presented her with.
Were you expecting her to fall at your feet with excitement, or perhaps spread her legs for you right here at the table, idiot?
No, but I had hoped that she wouldn't be so averse to the option.
The way she instantly recoiled from me was a hit to my pride.
I know, realistically, I'm not a bad-looking guy, and she was right when she said I don't lack for company if I want it.
The problem is that I don't. No one has piqued my interest for a long time, not until Ashmaker and my little Spitfire.
Maybe you should fuck someone else, preferably someone still breathing. That way you wouldn't be so obsessed with this chick, who could put you behind bars for life.
SHUT THE FUCK UP! I clench my hands tightly in my lap in a meager attempt to prevent myself from lashing out, and throwing everything on this table to the floor, grabbing Scarlett and forcing her to leave with me.
The steak knife the waiter placed before me is taunting me, with visions of me pressing the sharp point to her pretty neck as she struggles against me.
I need to get myself under control, before I do or say something I can't take back.
Her small purse vibrates once again on the table, but she's so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't seem to realize it.
I wonder if that's her cunt partner trying to reach her.
I know for a fact no more bodies have dropped since the last one was found.
My hand reaches across the table as I discreetly knock her purse to the floor, and use my foot to kick it under the table and towards me.
I won't allow him to ruin this for me. She's mine, and I mean to enjoy every part of her.
She hasn't agreed to fucking you, Xavier. She might not. You underestimate her to our peril.
She will agree. My Spitfire understands how the game is played.
She's not in a position to refuse an offer that could lead her closer to Ashmaker, even if she doesn't realize that's not what she truly wants.
I caught her expression when I confessed my truths about the reason Ashmaker is out killing men.
She wasn't in the slightest bit surprised, and for one brief moment she allowed her mask to slip, and I saw not only the acceptance of why the killings are occurring, but also the approval.
Her job and duty tell her she has to stop Ashmaker, but her heart and mind, they're not convinced.
Scarlett and I have so much in common; we both come from a world that knows darkness, poverty, and pain. We know the monsters are real and they walk amongst us. We're survivors of what tried to break us. That makes us not only equals but soul mates, even if she doesn't know it yet.
"How?" She clears her throat and meets my gaze. "How did you discover the connection?"
This should be good.
I take a deep breath to steady my nerves.
I have to be careful here. One wrong word and someone as observant, and perceptive, as Scarlett will catch her on to my involvement with Ashmaker.
I want her to discover that for herself in time, after I've already made her mine.
Her phone vibrates again in her purse, this time under my foot, and I wish I could slam my booted foot down on it and crush it.
Determined fucker, isn't he? Maybe you should slit his fucking throat, Xavier? That would silence him for good.
I decide to go for a version of the truth. "I'm a trained reporter, Scarlett, and we dig until we find what we're looking for. Clues started appearing that it didn't seem anyone else was paying attention to, and it led me to Ashmaker."
"Is he leaving you clues?" She inquires, her voice hesitant, and I have to force myself not to grin. Oh sweet Spitfire, are you enjoying the clues I'm leaving you?
Before I can respond, the impudent waiter approaches our table with our entrees, and gives us a look of dismay at our untouched caviar. Buddy, don't know what you're devastated at. I'm the one who's going to have to pay the bill for this shit.
Both of us remain silent as he sets our expensive beef before us, and I realize that I'm suddenly starving, and not just for a taste of Scarlett.
She picks at her food, but I cut a perfect piece of meat with precision, before slipping it into my mouth with a groan.
A small smirk breaks across her face before she too takes a bite, and her expression changes to one of pleasure.
"Good, right?" I wipe at my mouth with my napkin and catch her blush.
"To answer your question, yes, in a way I do believe Ashmaker is leaving me clues. There's a type of artistry to the crimes, a beauty amongst the death and the ashes. I think you just have to look for it."
"Beauty in murder?" She questions with a raised brow as she takes another bite, and it fills me with satisfaction to see her enjoying her meal.
"There's beauty in everything, Scarlett, even in darkness and evil. Evil doesn't exist solely to corrupt or destroy. Its sole purpose, I believe, is to maintain a balance. One that the world needs, otherwise, it would descend into complete chaos."
"So you're saying we need someone like Ashmaker in the world? You sound almost like a devotee, Xavier? Are you perhaps a member of Ashmaker's fan club?"
I place my knife and fork down and lean back, meeting her curious gaze.
"Shall we be honest for a moment with each other, Scarlett?
No games, no snarky comebacks, just truth.
" She nods and takes a sip of her replenished wine, and I'm momentarily mesmerized by her throat moving up and down.
My fingers itch to encircle her delicate flesh, and hear her gasp when I take her breath away.
"If you weren't inhibited by your oath, and the law you serve, would you really try to stop Ashmaker, knowing what you do now? I saw your reaction to my words. You had already made the connection. You know that they're out here doing what you won't, or can't."
"The law serves a purpose. Despite my desire to see every pedophile and woman beater pay for their crimes, I do not condone taking justice into your own hands."
I snort at her absolute crock of shit. "The truth that you and I both know intimately, that we witness daily, is that the law fails far more than it succeeds in protecting anyone.
What Ashmaker is out here doing is not blind vigilante justice.
There's a method and practicality to it.
No one else but the offenders are getting hurt, Scarlett.
Why not allow Ashmaker a little more leeway, see how many of those foul demons can be dispatched back to hell?
" Her eyes narrow at my statement, and I feel the air around us change as it fills with tension.
Oh shit, you just fucked up, Xavier. You gave yourself away, boy.