Tales of Darkness & Sin - Pepper Winters Page 0,77

I have more answers. With slow methodical movements, he drops the bloodied tools to the floor, closing the distance between us.

My gaze darts over his shoulder to the man who is now passed out in the chair. The floor beneath him is pooled with blood, dismembered fingers scattered along the floor. The stench of it reaches my nostrils. I was so caught up in my own mind that I didn’t even realize he must’ve passed out from the pain.

Saint stops mere inches from me, and I can’t help the way my eyes widen as I take in the blood. He’s covered in it. Though, I’m sure I look no better.

He cups my face with his warm, bloodied hands, and my stomach dips for reasons that are still unknown.

“You look pale.”

My heart skips.

My throat works a swallow. “It’s a lot of blood,” I lie. That’s not why I’m pale. I suddenly feel sick because my father is a lot more devious than I thought. There’s a bigger picture here that I still need to unfold.

Saint cocks his head to the side slightly as he regards me. I see it there, in the depths of his eyes, his distrust. It’s as though he can see right through me, like he knows I’m lying about something. Tense seconds pass between us as we search each other’s gaze. I don’t know what possesses me to do it, but I reach onto my tiptoes and press my mouth against his, kissing him.

As smooth as ever, he bands an arm around my waist, pulling me flush against the hard planes of his body, and his tongue delves into my mouth, dueling with mine. His lips are firm in their intent, rough and unrelenting, just like the man himself.

Saint’s hand glides from my cheek, down to my neck and when I least expect it, his hand snatches my throat in a vise, cutting off my air supply. I choke on a breath, my eyes flying open. Slowly, he drags his lips away from mine, staring down at me with fire burning up his gaze.

“Why did you do that?” His grip around my neck tightens, painfully so, and a crease forms between his brows. Confusion seeping into his tone.

“I don’t know,” I choke out.

His gaze searches mine.

Swiping his thumb across my lower lip, he smears the blood across my face. “So many secrets, little one.”

My stomach turns. “I’m not afraid of you, you know,” I grate out, beneath the unrelenting weight of his palm.

A smile pulls taut across his face. “You should be. Now, let’s go. I’m not quite done with you just yet.”

I expect him to take me back to my room upstairs, but I’m surprised when he leads the way into his bedroom instead. Thankfully, the dead body is gone, and the mess has been cleaned away. As soon as we step over the threshold and I hear the door click shut behind me, my stomach churns, my heart banging like a steel drum in my chest.

Doing my best to ignore the heat of his body at my back, my eyes home in on the large mirror hanging on the opposite side of the wall. My core clenches, something dark and warm swirls through my gut as I catch sight of our reflections.

We’re filthy. Both of us covered in blood, our clothes stained with it.

Saint presses his front against my back, his gaze meeting mine in the mirror.

“Are you afraid yet, Tesoro?” he asks gently, while his hand snakes a cruel path around my throat. His grip around my neck tightens, and the pain from the knife wound burns beneath the pressure of his palm.

My eyes flare as I take in the erotic image, desire painted across my face. Red paints my pale flesh that’s not hidden by my dress. Saint drags his lips down the side of my neck, and when he gets to my shoulder, he meets my gaze and bites down so hard through the material, a ragged scream rips from my chest, pain snaking through my veins.

The pain he inflicts is a euphoric sensation I can’t quite comprehend yet. All I know is, I feel high, like my body is floating, the pleasure and pain, the anticipation blending together deviously.

“No,” I whisper, telling the truth.

Yes, he’s an evil man, and I should be afraid of him, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not. At some point, Saint stopped being frightening to me and instead, he became intriguing. My own likes