Tales of Darkness & Sin - Pepper Winters Page 0,101

couch with a loud cry.

I walked over to her and crouched to her level. Grasping her lower leg, I placed her injured foot on my knee for a closer look. I probed her ankle with my thumb. “It still hurts?”

“You need to knock. This is my apartment. You can’t just come and go as you please.”

I raised my head and speared her with a look, cocking my head to the side. Really? We fucked… I was about to kill a man for her and she was worried about me coming into her apartment without knocking?

She swallowed and averted her gaze. “How did you get in anyway?”

“I have my ways,” I said, not elaborating. Meaning…I had a duplicate key made, but she didn’t know that. Or maybe she guessed it now. My words were cryptic, but I was starting to learn that Talia wasn’t as stupid as I thought she was.

Talia let out a low hiss and crossed her arms. “Well, you can’t just walk in like that!”

“I can and I have.” I placed the plastic bag on the couch. “Food. Eat.”

“I already had a sandwich,” she replied, but gave the bag a longing look. She was practically salivating at the smell of the Chinese food.

“You lie. I checked your refrigerator and it was empty. Eat.”

Talia made an agitated sound in the back of her throat. “Maybe if you tell me nicely instead of demanding I eat…”

I kept my expression blank and stayed silent, waiting for her to give in. And she did. Not even a minute later, her stomach growled and she reached for the food, practically digging in like a desperate, starving little thing.

She shoved a spoonful of rice into her mouth and chewed almost aggressively as she kept her eyes averted. It was kinda… cute.

I watched her as she ate. Until I couldn’t just watch anymore. My hands twitched with the urge to touch her and so I did. My hand came up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and my thumb brushed away the grain of rice that was stuck to her lips. Talia inhaled sharply and her gaze landed on me again.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

My head lowered and my lips slammed against her, stealing her breath and swallowing her gasp. Her tiny fist thumped against my chest for a mere second… before her touch became less of an effort to escape me and more...

Her fingers dug into my shoulders and her body slid closer to me. I groaned into the kiss, my tongue sliding across her lips and demanding entrance. She let me and I fucking devoured her. Talia pulled away, breathless. Her eyes hazy, her lips red and swollen and her cheeks flushed.

“What…?”

My cock throbbed. “You’re getting better.”

“Huh?”

“Kissing. You’re getting better, but I think you need a little more practice.” I had known Talia was a virgin, but I hadn’t expected I would be her first kiss. She was so goddamn innocent and so fucking inexperienced.

And here I was. A bastard who was taking advantage of it all.

Talia’s eyes flared, growing darker. I didn’t give her a chance to refute me before I claimed her lips again.

Fuck, she tasted so sweet.

Three days later, Talia sat next to me on the couch, wringing her hands. She was less nervous in my presence now, but still somewhat fearful.

Yesterday, she said I was unpredictable. Which was… true, I’d give her that. She even went as far as saying she couldn’t let her guard down around me… or trust me.

Yeah, Talia was finally learning.

But no, she was still quite…innocent. Not stupid, she had brains – I found out. She also had a sharp tongue when she wasn’t too frightened.

I bumped my knee against hers, bringing her attention back to me. “I asked you a question.”

“Yes, my ribs are feeling better now. My ankle is fine, the sprain wasn’t too bad.”

“And your sleep?” I continued to push. Talia looked a little reluctant to answer my questions. Not because she was scared. Because she was confused by the attention I was giving her.

“Surprisingly, I’m sleeping better,” she confessed.

Because of the sleeping pills… unknown to her, of course.

“When…” She broke off when her voice cracked. “When will you…”

“Do you want him to have a quick death? Or do you want him to suffer?”

Talia swallowed. “Make him suffer.”

“Please.”

“What?”

“Say please.” There was outrage in her brown eyes. I curled a lock of her hair around my finger, tugging her closer to me. I leaned forward, rubbing my nose along