Vivian

 

“What… the fuck… is wrong with you?” I demand, staring at Vivian. Her brown hair is standing up in a frizzy halo from her head and her eyes are wide with fear.

 

I’ve managed to stand up, and I’ve got her shoulders in my hands.

 

I want to shake her to death. I was terrified when I woke up and found out she was gone. And when I saw her in the parking lot struggling with those two men…

 

I’m not even thinking when I pull her into a nearby alley.

 

“Are you fucking crazy?” I rail at her. “Why the hell are you just asking to get yourself killed?”

 

I’m scared at my own vehemence. I don’t want to think too hard about the fact I suddenly feel like I would give my life to protect this woman from danger.

 

Vivian’s eyes are wide and it looks like she’s about to cry. But I don’t care. I want to scare her. I want her to never, ever think of leaving my side again.

 

“I-I was just a little bored, I guess. I thought I could take a short little drive—”

 

“No. Absolutely fucking not. I don’t want you thinking anymore. It’s not your place to think in this situation. It’s your place to obey my commands.”

 

I notice then I might have gone too far. A look of rage burns in her eyes and her lips thin out. She grits her teeth at me.

 

“Who the hell do you think I am? One of your sleazy biker girls you can order around? I’m not like that. I’m your boss’s daughter. You can’t treat me like this, you…you misogynist brute!”

 

And that’s when I want to slap the shit out of her.

 

But she’s snarling with fury and nowhere near to stopping. Tears of frustration are pouring from her eyes.

 

Why is she acting like this? Is it simply the shock of what just happened?

 

“Why? Why do you treat women the way you do, Landon? Where were you taught that? And by whom?”

 

I really want her to shut up now.

 

“Don’t say another word, Vivian. I’m warning you.”

 

“Warning me? What are you going to do, hit me? Go for it, then, Landon. Hit me!”

 

Her eyes are desperately pleading with mine. Pleading for what, I don’t know.

 

I can’t believe what she does next. She actually slaps me across the face. But it feels more like a caress than a slap. My body tingles with the sensation. I grow excited against my will.

 

“Hit me, Landon! I want you to hit me!”

 

Please, I beg her in my mind. Please, Vivian, stop it and shut the fuck up. Because danger is threatening to claw its way to the surface.

 

She’s taking another breath and about to rail at me some more when my lips come crushing down on hers.

 

Vivian moans, and it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.

 

I take my hands and hold the sides of her face firmly in them, positioning her mouth over mine.

 

A soft whimper escapes her lips. Her hands brace themselves against my chest. I can hear the sudden hitch in her breath, which has gone shallow and ragged.

 

Oh, her sweet lips. I’m in disbelief that I’m actually tasting them like I’ve wanted to for so long, savoring them. She’s like some delectable dish I never knew existed. I can’t help myself. I take my tongue and part her lips with it, and she sighs into my mouth.

 

I explore the sweet, hot interior of her mouth. And her tongue touches mine, tentatively.

 

A jolt of electricity sears my body. Every fiber of me feels alive. Everything I am is being expressed in this kiss. My passion, my love, my hate, my fears…All the things I know I can never say to her.

 

“There will be time to murder and create…” I remember that poem Vivian read. At this very moment I’m creating a masterpiece by murdering her mouth.

 

Within seconds our tongues are flicking hot and fast against each other’s. She’s pressed herself tight against me. I can feel her firm tits against my chest, her nipples hardened. I’m hard as fuck and she’s pressed against me there as well.

 

Her hands have begun to roam over my flesh. She tries to pull me even closer. She feels so small in my arms and I relish in the feeling. It makes me feel strong. Like a man.

 

Soon she’s clawing at me like an animal. She tongues lightly at my lip ring. The sensation is mind-blowing. My hands reach to grip her ass hard, and I grind myself against her.

 

I break the kiss briefly to pull back and stare at her, trying to gauge her reactions. Her eyes are wide and pleading with mine. “Please…Landon,” she breathes softly.

 

I take that as consent to devour her again. My hands roam her upper arms, the small of her back, the base of her spine.

 

And I can’t describe the feeling. For the first time in my life, I understand the meaning behind every sappy love song I’ve ever heard. All the old clichés make sense. My body and soul are on fire.

 

It’s like a dance, the most beautiful dance that has ever existed. Every step is so right and so natural. It’s the choreography of pure desire, and I’ve never wanted a woman so much in my life.

 

God, I think, I want to take her right now. I want to slam her against the wall, rip open her blouse, and take her breasts into my mouth. To lift up her skirt and ram myself into her tight, wet pussy.

 

I want to fuck her like an animal. Fuck her so she can’t walk anymore.

 

Because I think I’m in love with Vivian Grayson.

 

My boss’s daughter. The one woman I can never, ever have. The one woman, no, the only woman I would want to be a good man for. A decent man for.

 

Not the monster I truly am.

 

The monster with a secret that would ruin me if it came out.

 

And that’s when a memory comes hurtling back to me.