But the longer I waited, and the longer I stayed quiet and hidden, the more nervous she appeared. And as she walked farther into the room below, I couldn’t help but want to feel this moment. She was confused. Scared. Timid. She didn’t know I was here. Right above her. She didn’t know that my eyes were on her right now. She didn’t know that I could run at her, get her in a hold, and have her on the floor before she even knew what had happened.
I didn’t want to scare her, but I did. Power and control were addictive. And I didn’t want to like it, because it made me sick.
It made me Damon.
I started breathing harder and tightened my fists around the railing, growing scared myself. This wasn’t normal.
“I know you’re here,” she said, looking around with her eyebrows pinched together.
But the stubborn set to her eyes was forced, and I lifted the corner of my mouth in a smile behind my mask.
Her long, gray t-shirt fell off her shoulder, and rain glistened across her chest and neck. The downpour pummeled Meridian City outside, and at this time of night—and in this neighborhood—the streets were empty. No one would hear her. No one probably even saw her enter the building.
/> And by the way she began backing slowly out of the dark room, it looked like she was just beginning to realize that.
I took a step.
The grate flooring creaked, and she snapped her head left, following the sound.
Her eyes locked on me. Keeping my gaze on her, I walked toward the stairs.
“Kai?” she asked.
Why isn’t he answering me? she probably wondered. Why is he wearing his mask? Why are the lights out? Because of the storm? What’s going on?
But I said nothing as I walked slowly toward her, her pretty, small form getting more defined the closer I got. Wet strands of hair I didn’t notice before stuck to her chest, and the diamond studs Michael gave her last Christmas sparkled on her ears. The points of her breasts poked through her shirt.
Her blue eyes looked at me warily. “I know that’s you.”
I smirked behind my mask, her rigid body betraying her confident words. Do you?
I circled her slowly, caging her in, while she remained stubbornly still. Are you so sure it’s me? I might not be Kai, right? I could’ve just taken his mask. Or bought one just like it.
Stopping behind her, I tried to keep my breathing calm despite the way my heart was pounding. I could feel her. The energy between my chest and her back.
She should’ve turned around. She should’ve been preparing herself for danger like I taught her. Did she think this was a game?
“Knock it off,” she barked, turning her head just enough so I could see her lips move. “This isn’t funny.”
No, it wasn’t funny. Michael was gone—out of town for the night—and Will was probably out getting drunk somewhere. It was just us.
And with the way my goddamn stomach was flipping right now, it wasn’t funny or good or right how much I needed to constantly push myself over the edge to feel in control anymore. It wasn’t good how much I didn’t want to stop.
I grabbed her, wrapping my arms around her and burying my nose under her ear. Her perfume made my eyelids heavy, and I heard her gasp as I tightened my hold, keeping her body against mine. “It’s just us, Little Monster,” I growled. “Just how I want it to be, and we have all night.”
“Kai!” she shouted, tugging against my arms.
“Who’s Kai?”
She twisted, fighting my hold and struggling. “I know you by now. Your height, your form, your smell…”
“Do you?” I asked. “You know how I feel, huh?”
I buried my masked face in her neck and tightened my arms around her. Possessive. Threatening. I breathed out in a whisper, “I miss you as a little high school girl, Rika.” I moaned, acting like I loved the feel of her squirming against me. “You didn’t give any lip.”
She stopped, every part of her body freezing except her breathing. Her chest caved and then began to shake under my arms.
I’d gotten to her.