Devil's Lair (Molotov Obsession #1) - Anna Zaires Page 0,45

disposable fuck toy, a casual plaything, but she’s wrong. As much as I want to bury myself in Chloe’s tight little body, I want to get inside her mind even more. I want to know every thought behind those brown eyes, to lay bare her every want and need… every scar and wound. I want to dig deep into her psyche, and not just because of the secrets she’s hiding.

I don’t just want to unravel the mystery she represents.

I want to unravel her.

I want to take her apart and understand what makes her tick.

I want that so I can make her tick solely for me, so she can be mine alone.

I want her the way my father must’ve once wanted my mother… a lifetime ago, before their love turned to hate.

For one long, stomach-hollowing second, I contemplate doing the right thing. I consider walking away, or rather, letting Chloe do so. First thing tomorrow, I could give her two months’ pay, free of strings, and send her on her way… watch her drive out of here in her rundown Toyota.

I consider it, and I dismiss it.

It may be too soon for Chloe to occupy my bed, but it’s too late for me to do the right thing.

It was too late the moment I laid eyes on her… maybe even the moment I was born.

I meant what I said to her tonight.

This is inevitable. I feel the certainty of that deep in my bones.

She’ll come to me, drawn by the same dark, primal need that writhes under my skin.

She’ll give herself to me, and it’ll seal her fate.

Shutting off the cold water, I step out and towel off, then pad silently into my bedroom. The recessed lights in the headboard are lit, casting a soft glow on the white silk sheets, but the bed doesn’t feel welcoming. Not the way her bed felt, with her small, warm body in it. Not the way she felt, writhing against me, not asking but taking her pleasure from me, her lips like honey and sin, her taste like innocence and darkness combined.

My cock hardens anew, a wave of burning lust chasing away the chill lingering from the shower. Sitting down on the bed, I pull open my nightstand drawer and look at a pair of keys on a furry pink keychain—the ones Pavel gave me last evening, right after he re-parked Chloe’s car.

Carefully, reverently, I pick them up and bring them to my nose. The keys themselves smell like metal, but the pink fur holds a faint trace of wildflowers and spring, the fresh, delicate sweetness of her. I inhale deeply, absorbing every note, every nuance.

Then I drop the keys back in the drawer and slide it shut.

24

Chloe

Groaning, I roll over onto my back and throw an arm over my eyes to shield them from the sunlight. It took me hours to fall asleep after Nikolai left, and I feel like a total wreck. All I want to do is shut out the stupid sunlight and—

Wait, sunlight?

I jerk upright, squinting at the bright light streaming through the window.

Dammit.

Am I late to breakfast?

I cast a frantic glance around the room, but there’s no clock. There is, however, the TV hanging from the ceiling, and I spot a remote lying on top of my nightstand. I grab it and press the power button, hoping it’s not one of those complicated home theater setups that requires a computer science degree to operate.

The TV comes on, conveniently tuned to a news channel, and I exhale a relieved breath.

7:48 a.m.

If I hurry, I’ll make it downstairs in time.

I dash to the bathroom and speed through my morning routine, then beeline for my closet. The TV is still on, the newscaster droning on about the upcoming elections as I grab one of my new pairs of jeans and a soft-looking long-sleeved shirt, another new purchase. According to the informative blue strip on the bottom of the TV screen, the temperature is in the high fifties this morning, significantly cooler than yesterday. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to cover up those still-healing scabs on my arm—I saw Nikolai eyeing them last night.

I emerge from the closet fully dressed at 7:55 and, as a last-minute thought, grab the jewelry box with the pendant and earrings and slip it into my pocket, so I can return it to Alina. The news program is now showing a clip from last night’s presidential primary debates, in which one of the frontrunners, a popular California senator, is