Goddess of Pain - Katie May Page 0,26

idiot.

“Come here,” I say abruptly, rising to my feet and extending my hand. Avery eyes it for a moment in silence, eyes rapidly darkening until the pupils swallow the irises completely, before he accepts my proffered limb.

I lead him to my bedroom and into my closet. Only then do I push away the clothes obscuring my work from view. Newspaper clippings. Articles. Photographs. It’s all there.

A shrine dedicated to Avery.

“You did this, didn’t you?” I ask, voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart. He stills next to me, gorgeous face draining of color. “You killed these people for me.”

“I…” He takes a deep, haunted breath. “I would do anything for you.” Unexpectedly, he wraps an arm around my waist, spinning me to face him. “I would kill for you, Emily.” Those dark, dark eyes of his seem to swirl, as if I’m staring into the unknown of the universe. This man, he’s pure power. With one snap of his fingers, he could drop you dead.

Even before he knew the truth of his heritage, he still played God. He still killed indiscriminately.

“You noticed.” His eyes ensnare my own, and I’m helpless to turn away. His entire face fills my vision until he’s all I can see, all I can breathe.

“I didn’t know it was you,” I admit, raising my hands to run them through his golden blond hair.

“Those people deserved to die,” he continues. “They hurt you.”

I thought I’d be furious once I discovered the truth of my serial killer stalker. I thought I would be upset. Instead, I…understand. It’s twisted and fucked up, and I think a part of me is irrevocably broken. But even when we believed we were humans, we didn’t live to human standards. Our morals are skewed, and I can’t fault Avery for being who he was made to be. He’s not just an instrument of death; he is death. He decides who lives and who dies.

Maybe that makes me callous. I’m sure my reaction would be entirely different if I actually liked any of the people who were killed in my name. Instead, I feel nothing but numbness as I stare at the numerous photographs of Avery’s victims throughout time. The return of my memories destroyed something fundamental inside of me, something that made me human. If I discovered the truth only yesterday, when I retained only my human memories, I would’ve been terrified. At least, I think I would’ve been. I can’t tell you for certain.

All I know is that a diminutive part of me must have always suspected I was something other. Why else didn’t I contact the cops after my first assassination attempt? Why did I hold these secrets to my chest, obscuring them from the world?

Because you knew, a tiny voice whispers in my head. Even before you got your memories back.

“Emily…” He slants his mouth over mine, and I lose myself to his kiss.

How many times did I imagine kissing Avery Living when I was nothing but a human?

How many times did I actually kiss Avery when we were living in my palace in the Realm of the Gods?

This kiss surpasses anything from my past.

It’s a clashing of lips and teeth and tongues. It’s a meeting of two lost souls who’ve been shoved apart by forces outside of their understanding and control. Avery kisses me like he needs me to breathe, to survive. As if he can’t imagine a world without my lips seared to his.

Fire races down my spine, and I almost believe Sin has made an impromptu appearance. That wouldn’t surprise me. I once found him lingering in my closet for days in the Realm of the Gods.

Avery’s hands roam over my body, and I do the same with his. His muscles flex under my exploring hands as I reluctantly pull my lips away from his, desperate to breathe.

“Fuck, Em,” he pants, kissing down my neck.

I quickly shove his sleep shorts down until his cock springs free, already hard and dripping with pre-cum. My pelvic muscles clench at the realization that Avery sleeps commando.

Fuck, I had this magnificent cock mere feet away from me for years, and I never used it? What was human me thinking?

“I want to…” He lowers his mouth to my breast and captures my nipple through my shirt and bra. I groan at the contact, arching my back so he can take my tit further into his mouth. “I want to take this slow.”

“Well, I want you to fuck me,” I counter