Crave - Teresa Mummert Page 0,26

no and risk him deciding he was done playing his game and could kill me now? Or do I tell him I’ve missed him and giving him more ammunition to humiliate me with and I die without my dignity, the only thing I had left?

“Y-yes,” I stammered hoping the rapid beating of my heart didn’t give away my fear. I wasn’t lying per se. I did miss him, but the version I missed I wasn’t even sure was real. Was he still clinging to that thin thread of humanity that I could reason with, or was it all just a game of cat and mouse? Was he simply… playing with his food?

He smiled and I caught my breath as my eyes locked onto his. “I’m here now,” he whispered in my ear as he inhaled against my hair. My body involuntarily relaxed as he slowly trailed kisses down my neck. I could feel it. This was the moment it all ended. I’d somehow found the will to live after all I’d been through, only to be eaten alive by the same guy who had somehow managed to steal my heart only days before. I wasn’t sure which part of him I hated more; the thief or the murderer.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Grayson called from the doorway and for a moment, I felt relief like I’d been spared this horrible fate. But as Elijah pulled away and turned to focus on Grayson, Fear slightly crept back in. No! Not Grayson! Kill me but let him live! He is too good to die because of me.

“We have to stop meeting this way,” Elijah joked with a sinister tone. I realized that Grayson had no idea what he was up against. He didn’t even stand a chance.

“I-I’m sorry, Grayson. Maybe we can catch up some other time?” I said quickly, flashing a small nervous smile and hoped it was convincing. Elijah glanced at me with a grin and back to Grayson.

“Right,” Grayson replied in a bitter tone and turned to head down the hall.

“Grayson,” I shouted around Elijah. Grayson’s face peeked back around the doorway waiting to hear whatever excuse I’d had for him, his eyes narrowed.

“You were always there for me with Marcus. Thank you for being here for me when I need you now,” I said hoping he would read between the lines. He nodded and walked off down the hallway, slamming the door to my apartment as he left. I let out a sigh of relief knowing he was out of danger, but the night was just beginning for me and my opponent didn’t play fair.

Chapter nine

Deliver Us from Evil

Elijah rested his forehead against mine with his hand wrapped in my hair. I remained perfectly still knowing if I didn’t fight it, at least, my death wouldn’t be terrifying. I also knew that if I let the fear take over, my blood would pump faster, putting me out of my misery faster, but I didn’t have the guts. He pressed his lips hard against mine and my knees went weak.

“Don’t be scared. Everything I feel for you is real,” He whispered. “And everything you have felt for me is real.”

My body stiffened at the sudden revelation and he gripped me tightly against him. So it wasn’t all a game to him?

“I’m so sorry for what I’d done,” he whispered as if he’d forgotten to buy milk or something. “I didn’t want you to find out that way.”

I relaxed again hoping at any moment Grayson would burst through the door to save me. But the house was quiet, the only sound from the rain that pounded the side of the building. I was completely torn. Everything about what Elijah was sickened me, but I couldn’t deny how hard I had fallen for him before I knew his dark secret.

He pulled me in for another kiss. I hesitated but decided it wasn’t in my best interests to fight him. He could kill me without blinking, and if he did actually care about me, I could use that to my advantage to stay alive. I pushed back against his mouth as he parted my lips with his tongue. He growled under his breath as I slid my hands around his back pulling him in tighter. I moaned back against him as I slipped my hand around his waist and wrapped my fingers around the gun. He pulled back from my mouth and shot me an agitated look. I pulled