heart pounds and my throat tightens.
“You won’t open your eyes.”
It takes great effort not to step backward as Marcus moves forward again, only a single step.
“Keep them closed,” Marcus commands and I can only nod, fear stealing my voice.
He takes another step forward, blue jeans coming into view and my eyes close. With my hands fisted, I grip my cotton tank top to keep from moving.
“Stay still and keep them closed.” This time when he speaks, his voice is clearer and his steps easy to place. There’s a clink on the counter; I imagine he’s set the flash drive down there but then he takes another step forward.
“I give you something, and I’d like something, Delilah.” His soft voice is comforting, a soothing balm although it barely penetrates the nerves.
I can only nod.
Another step, and then another. I count them in my head until I can feel the heat of his body and the presence of his shadow over me, blocking the light, wrapping me in darkness.
“I’m going to cover your eyes with my hand,” he tells me and then adds, “And then I’m going to kiss you.”
My fists tighten and my lips part just slightly, maybe to object, I don’t know but it all happens too fast.
My feet move backward, his steps just as fast as mine, until my back hits the fridge. His hand presses against my eyes and his other at my hip, pinning me there as his lips meet mine.
Soft, yet demanding. It’s all too hot and overwhelming. His body pressed against me sends a bolt of longing through me as he molds his lips to mine and groans deep and low in his chest. The vibrations only add to the flick of desire that comes with the flames of danger.
With his hand still firmly over my eyes, my back against the unforgivingly hard appliance and Marcus’s grip digging into my hip, I stand there breathless, nearly shaking.
His teeth rake down the side of my neck and a gasp escapes me. True want and need roll through my body.
Shocked and breathless, attempting to cope with my own reaction, I stand there helpless just as I am, listening to him leave with haste and without a single word. I can still feel every inch of him: his heat, his demanding touch, and the all-consuming kiss.
It was only a kiss. If I tell myself that enough, one day I may believe it.
Delilah
I wasn’t in my right mind. I haven’t been. The haze of whatever came over me, the sleeplessness and the reckless, wild thoughts, all vanish once my skin chills and the reality slams into me like a car without brakes.
I wasn’t in my right mind. I couldn’t have been.
It’s all I can think as my hands shake at my sides. I’ve been staring at the cup of coffee on the counter as if it’s the coffee’s fault. Maybe it was drugged or poisoned. Because there’s no way in hell that I just kissed a serial killer and felt anything other than disgust.
My mind is playing tricks on me.
The thought has my trembling fingers barely brushing along my bottom lip, where the kiss still sears my skin.
The creak of the front door opening forces a silent gasp from me as my wide eyes stare at the kitchen threshold. My body’s so stiff, I can’t do a damn thing but stare with bated breath. I only exhale when I hear my name called out by a familiar voice.
“Delilah.” Cody says my name and as it echoes, I grip my right hand with my left to keep it from shaking as much as it is. Eyes closed and head down, I tell myself over and over: It’s just Cody. Cody’s here.
Oh thank God.
“Here,” I say. My own voice contains tremors and I clear my throat. “I’m in here,” I try to speak loud enough for him to hear me, but my voice falls, and my gaze turns toward the back of the house, in the direction Marcus left. I heard the door close. He’s gone. I know he’s gone. But how the fuck did he get in?
With confusion swirling in my mind, the tension and the disbelief still at war inside of me, I don’t know what to do or say. The front door closes with a resounding click and heavy footsteps come fast toward me, getting louder until I can see Cody’s foreboding figure in my periphery, the shadow of a man who I’ve desperately missed. His scent wraps