Corrupt(85)

Slamming my bedroom door closed behind me, I crashed onto my bed and buried my face in my pillow. But the cool fabric of the fresh sheets did nothing to soothe my burning skin.

I was a wreck.

I needed him deep inside, to feel him and taste him and see him lose control over me for once.

I wanted him to use me and fuck me and go at me with a desperation he never showed for anything or anyone.

How did he manage to stop just then? He wasn’t a machine. I hadn’t mistaken what I’d seen in his eyes and the heat I’d felt from his mouth. He wanted me, didn’t he?

I let out a sigh, trying to get my breathing to even out.

Circling, circling, circling…He pulled, I pulled. He pushed, I pushed. We fought and played, toyed and challenged, but he never gave in. We never came together, fused, and seized what was there.

And I was so tired. There was something holding him back.

I stared at my alarm clock, wondering if I should even bother to set it. I had classes tomorrow, but I wouldn’t make it. I knew that. It was already after two in the morning, and I still hadn’t slept.

I gazed at the red numbers, wondering what I was going to do. Would he act like none of this had happened tomorrow?

But then I blinked, my brain going on alert. The numbers on the screen disappeared, the clock went dead, and I jerked my head up, pinching my eyebrows together.

What the…?

I turned around to see the small lights along the bottom of the bathroom walls—which were always kept on as a type of night-light—dark as well.

I pushed myself up, turning the knob on the bedside lamp, but that didn’t work, either.

“Shit.”

I twisted my head, looking out the window and seeing a light breeze. It wasn’t anything major, but the power could’ve gone out, I guessed.

Climbing off the bed, I walked to my door and opened it a crack. The hallway was nearly pitch black. I couldn’t see five feet in front of me.

My heart started to race, and I inched the door open all the way, peering out. “Michael?”

But the only sound I heard was the low howl of the wind outside. My toes curled into the carpet.

Stepping out of my room, I walked slowly, looking around and keeping my ears peeled as I made my way down the hallway.

“Michael?” I called again. “Where are you?”

I clenched my fists, the eerie darkness of the house vibrating off every inch of my skin. I felt like someone was behind me and I was being watched.

The grandfather clock chimed for the quarter hour, still working since it ran off a battery, and I stepped lightly down the stairs and into the foyer, twisting my head side to side and breathing hard.

But then someone grabbed my arm, and I sucked in a sharp breath. A large, dark form picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist, holding me tight.

“No!” I cried out.

He slammed me into a wall next to a small table, the mirror above it shaking as I gripped his shoulders and he dug his fingers into my thighs.

I stared wide-eyed, coming face to face with a vicious red mask.

Michael.

The dark, violent gouges sent shivers down my spine, and his eyes stared out through the small holes like a chained monster. I stopped breathing.

Fear swirled in my gut, warming my insides and making every muscle clench. I tightened my thighs around his waist, feeling the slickness between my legs and my nipples chafe against my tank top.

Oh, God. He was right.

My eyes burned, and I wanted to cry. Goddammit, he was right.

I locked my ankles behind his back and held his shoulders as his hazel eyes stared at me. He wore jeans and a black hoodie, just like in the past.

I stared into his eyes and slowly slid my arms around his neck, the drumming in my chest charging every muscle in my body, making me strong.

“Yes,” I breathed out, bringing my lips close to his mask and taunting him. “Yes, it turns me on.”

And then I dived down, burying my lips in his neck and devouring him.

He let out a breath, digging his fingers into my thighs as I went at him, nibbling and biting. I caught his hot skin between my teeth, sucking on him and kissing, before reaching up and flicking his ear lobe with the tip of my tongue.

Moving down his neck, I left soft, urgent kisses and grazed his skin with my nose, smelling his body wash. Like spice and man, and I nudged my head in more, forcing his neck to arch back as I kissed his throat, trailing the tip of my tongue up to his jaw.

“Rika,” he warned in a hard voice.

But I didn’t care.

I could hear his heavy breathing through his mask, and for a moment, I thought he was going to stop me, but I sucked in a surprised breath he hoisted me up and slammed me into the wall again, holding me tighter.

“Fuck,” he gritted out.

His hand slid down between our bodies, and I let out a moan, flattening my back against the wall and giving him room as he unfastened his belt and jeans.