“It’s only right for them to pay for what they’ve done to her. So why not?”
“Because,” I snapped then clenched my jaw, pulling my lips in a straight line. “That’s where I am, and believe me, it’s no place for someone like you.”
She lifted a brow. “Someone like me?”
“Yeah, Alyx. Someone like you. Take it from someone who knows. Revenge has the power to eat you alive. It can make you all rotten inside.”
“That’s what she is, you know?”
I cut my gaze to her.
She rubbed her hands up and down her naked arms. “Rotten. That’s what Neon is now, on the inside. Rotten. Broken. Shattered.”
A single tear slipped down her cheek, and I wondered how many tears this woman had cried because of me—because of what I had done to her, ripping her away from her life and thrusting her into mine. But even though she had cried countless tears, it wasn’t a weak woman standing in front of me now. She was strong, resilient, and the fact that she was still fucking standing proved to me she was more than a petite, underweight ballerina girl.
She was mine. Her need for blood just solidified it.
I brushed my fingers through my thick curls and swiped a palm down my beard. “Say you’re mine.”
She crossed her arms. “Granite, that’s not what we’re talking about here.”
“Say it.”
She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, staring at me.
“Say it, Alyx. Say it right here, right now. Say you’re mine, and everything changes this very minute.”
“What do you mean?”
I stalked forward. “Say. It.”
For the longest time, she remained still, looking up at me, scrutinizing every contour of my face. I could practically hear the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure me out. But she’d be sadly disappointed once she realized I wasn’t the type of man who could be figured out or puzzled together.
A few seconds ago, she seemed so determined and strong, but with every step I took toward her, I could see in her eyes how her courage slowly waned. I loved how I intimidated her, how easily I made her lose control. Yesterday she hated me. Today she let me fuck her. God, it thrilled me to the core, never quite knowing what to expect from her. There was nothing as boring and tedious as a predictable woman. Alyx was everything but.
Still beautifully naked, Alyx stood frozen on the spot, and I reached out and eased the back of my hand down the side of her face. The bruise she had around her eye from the night we took her was gone. No one would ever touch her again or mar her flawless skin. Not while I was breathing.
I placed my thumb on her lip and dragged it down, her lips smacking together as my fingers traveled down her chin. “Say you’re mine, Alyx.”
Crystal blue irises stared up at me, filled with so many mixed emotions. Confusion. Attraction. Desire. Lust.
Her lips parted, and I already felt the buzz starting at the back of my neck, the anticipation of her saying the words I was dying to hear tingling down my spine. But then she closed her mouth, a hint of defiance flashing across her face.
I gripped her jaw, puckering up her pretty pink lips before claiming them with my own. This wasn’t a kiss. It wasn’t a display of affection or lust. It was an act of possession, of me taking ownership of her.
My tongue explored every inch of her mouth, and I drowned her soft moans by kissing her harder. I wanted to get drunk on her sweet taste, knowing it was probably the closest a motherfucker like me would ever get to heaven.
I wrapped an arm around her tiny waist, pulling her against me and casing her petite frame with my own. Feeling her tits against my naked chest made me want to feel the warmth of her pussy around my cock. But this moment was so much more than a fuck. It was about finally sealing our fates.
As I tore my mouth from hers, I nipped at her bottom lip before looking her straight in the eye. “You need to say you’re mine.”
She licked her lip like she was savoring my taste, but she didn’t say a fucking word. My defiant ballerina girl.
I smirked, slightly amused by her clearly not willing to give me what I wanted…yet.
I wiped my lips with my thumb, still tasting her sweetness. “You’ll be glad to hear I’ve been spilling Python blood ever since we found Neon.”
Her eyes widened, but it wasn’t fear I saw swirling in those crystal blues. “Promise me you won’t stop until you’ve killed them all.”