Kiss Me in the Dark Anthology - Monica James Page 0,194

been that way. From the second I saw her in tenth grade, until this very moment, there’s something about her that draws me in like a moth to a flame. I know I get to her too, but only one of us can be the fire.

“After you.” I push open her door a little wider and wait for her to pass me. She takes the stairs slowly and then quickly walks by me as if she’s trying to get away from me as fast as she can. It’s not the first time she’s done that and the reaction it sparks in me is the same.

The desire to chase her.

The first time it happened, it didn’t come over me until the school year was almost over, and I knew I wouldn’t get my weekly dose of fantasizing about Chloe Rose from across the lunchroom anymore.

I gave in and went after her, and it only made the sweet, sad girl who stared back at me that much more desirable.

Kicking her front door shut and locking it, I keep my back to her until the light flicks on. I can hear her drop her purse and then continue walking to the back of the hall. She leaves me at the front door in silence, so I have to turn around and face her.

Her house is just like the rest in this area. All the townhouses here are original and were built by the same company that ran the steel mill. They were made for the workers employed by the mill.

Until it shut down, just like the coal mines did, leaving everyone in houses they couldn’t afford, with jobs they didn’t have anymore.

The slate floors have gouges in the corner; my guess is something heavy hit them, and then I remember what happened two years before. The tension I’m feeling evaporates and anger comes flooding back at the reminder. I take a quick look over my shoulder toward the door, but even through the somewhat recent coat of paint, I can see where the wood broke when it was kicked in. The main lock’s been replaced, and there’s an additional one above it.

I wonder if she thinks of that night every time she locks the door. I thought about telling her who did it. Marley was an addict who picked houses at random for items to fence to support his habit. Stealing anything and everything he could was his method. He got his last hit the night he stole from Chloe, leaving fear behind that didn’t stray from her eyes for months.

He got his high and then fell to the bottom of the river where I dumped him.

Everyone in this city knows I have my limits. They didn’t know Chloe was one of them until that night. I stayed away to keep the target off her back, but people don’t forget in this city.

I may be young, and I may work for a man who doesn’t venture into this territory, but I run these streets where she lives. No one owns Crescent Hills. If I wanted to take it though, there’s not a single prick here who’d stand in my way.

But I don’t want this city any more than it wanted me.

I want Chloe Rose. The thought catches me off guard. I’ve always known it’s true, but I don’t like to admit it. There’s something about her that begs me to be something more for her.

That’s the part that kills me though; there’s nothing more to me than what she sees, what everyone sees. A ruthless man who’s angry at life and makes his living by beating the piss out of pricks.

She’s not like me. She’s soft and kind and needs a gentler hand than I can give her. She deserves better.

“How’d you get in?” Chloe’s voice is soft, although the edge of defiance is still there. Bringing my gaze back to her, I take her in again. From her long legs and skinny waist to those wide hips that beg me to bend her over and give her a punishing fuck, the sight of her makes even the misery of why I’m here vanish for a moment.

She crosses her arms as if she doesn’t agree with what I’m thinking, but all that does is put a strain on the blouse she’s wearing and push those gorgeous tits of hers together. They may be small, but all I need is a mouthful. My dick stirs, and I have to look away, heading to the