The Ringmaster (Harrow Faire #4) - Kathryn Ann Kingsley Page 0,86
his embrace just a little.
You love me for what I am. You love me because I am this monster before you. You pretend to be revolted by my cruelty. But I don’t think you are, Cora Glass. I think you’re every bit as bad as I am. I think you’re simply waiting to be set free.
He only had to find how to break the lock on the cage. He had to find a way to shove his little villainous bird from the nest and watch her take flight. He would not accept death. He would not let the grave take him.
Harrow Faire should have chosen him to lead. He never would have hesitated. He never would have debated the morality of their existence. Turk would have been mincemeat before the Faire had even finished speaking.
What a terrible, terrible mistake had been made in choosing his little Contortionist to be their savior. But he no longer regretted her presence at the Faire. He no longer wished she had never come to join them. Even with his missing piece of seity that had been stolen from him.
Because she let him devour her. She let him crush her lips against his in a violent embrace. And as he parted, he left her shivering from his passion. Lust and fear clouded those smoky gray eyes of hers.
It should have been me.
But when is my life ever fair?
At least I have you, Cora. At least I have you.
For now.
He cradled her head in his hands and placed a second, far more gentle kiss to her lips. “Go on. Get a costume from Elena. I will see you at lunch, then I will help you rehearse your routine for tonight.”
Cora took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and nodded. “I’m going to make a fool out of myself. Or no one is going to come to the tent. I’m going to perform to an empty audience.”
“Hardly. You’ll have me.” He grinned mischievously and grabbed her ass with both hands. She yelped and smacked her palms on his chest, but he didn’t let go. If anything, he pulled her closer. “And I’ll make sure anybody who walks into that tent gets more of a contortionist show than they were planning for.”
She squeaked. “Simon!”
He cackled as he leaned in and sank his teeth into her throat. He let out a growl as he did. He didn’t break the skin, but he wasn’t gentle either. Cora whacked at him again and finally wriggled out of his grasp.
“You absolute hound.” She shoved him playfully. “Knock it off.”
“Fine, fine. Go get your costume. Enjoy watching that bruise form while Elena is taking your measurements.” He winked as he backed away from her. “See you at lunch, cupcake.”
She smiled at him and nodded. “Yeah. See you at lunch.”
He felt bad leaving her. She was clearly distraught. She was torn, confused, and afraid. But he needed to go for a walk. He needed to clear his head. He needed to shake off his anger. He needed to go murder someone.
If he couldn’t hurt Ringmaster, he’d find someone else to slaughter. To torture. He walked away from Cora, feeling the itching claws of his madness creeping in at the edges of his mind. She had enough issues to contend with. She didn’t need his violence in this moment.
She needed to get ready to take the stage tonight.
Simon stormed to his tent, shoving a few of Harrow Faire’s reappeared ghostly employees out of his way as he did. He didn’t need to be polite to them. They weren’t real. Therefore, they weren’t even worth murdering.
He stormed into his tent, fingers already twitching. He walked down the aisle and struggled to steady his breathing.
“We have to stop Ringmaster.”
“I know that, you fool. I simply do not know how!”
“We need to convince Cora to kill him.”
“To quote Bruce, no shit!” He rounded on his shadow, wishing he could rip it to pieces. Wishing he could dig his fingers into the darkness and pull it apart. “What do you think I’ve been trying to do? What would you have me do, oh wise one? Tell me.”
His shadow shrank down on the wall, turning into little more than a blob with swirled eyes and a thinly frowning mouth with a few scraggly teeth sticking out in various directions. “I don’t know. Tell her you love her. Maybe if she feels like…like you care for her, she’ll fight for us.”