I force myself off the bed, leaving a trail of my dress and underwear all the way to the bathroom. I’ll need a cold shower to kick him out of my mind, but I bet his would have to be way colder than mine.
I’m tempted to touch myself even under the icy water at the memory of tonight’s escapade. Though I don’t, the temptation lingers once I’m out, droplets gliding down my skin, mocking how the cold can’t erase his rough touch. But at least his scent no longer torments me. Pretending it doesn’t affect me is a whole other circle of hell I’ll have to visit frequently, until the fires there no longer burn me.
As I move my hair aside to dry it, his mark catches my eye in the mirror, and my skin prickles at the ghost of his teeth.
I’ll have to toughen up. I’m not some primitive creature.
Pulling on my panties and a crop top, I look around with one concern in mind. If he breaks into my room, which I’m certain he can, is there anything here I wouldn’t want him to see?
Trent dealt with the roommate issue, as I played my cards well, exploiting his guilt. The same guilt that made him secure me this translating gig, and go above and beyond, pulling all kinds of strings to set me up with a scholarship, to offer me a life, while the Bureau didn’t give a shit about any of it.
I wish I could find it in me to be grateful to him, but I still can’t shake the feeling he could’ve done a better job of protecting my family, arranging another safe location faster, especially with the power his father holds at the FBI. He leveraged it too late by faking the report of that blood-soaked night, adding one more female cadaver on paper. According to the files, I died that night, and my brother was the only one who got away.
How I wish that were the case!
But guilt isn’t the single driving force behind Trent’s actions. I’ve seen the way he stares at me, unable or unwilling to hide how he drinks me in. Though I’ll never give him what he wants, he’s still someone I should keep on my side.
But not on my phone.
The only traces of my past now live on it in the form of pictures and my ex’s texts. An OopsieDaisyKill&Run duffel stuffed inside the carved out mattress of my former roommate is the single trace of myfuture. Neither of the above should be things Atlas can get to.
And here I am wondering if my target had enough for the night, or if he’d visit my dorm. If I were expecting any other intruder, I’d have ensured he couldn’t get through my door. I might’ve even set a shotgun, just in case. But allowing Atlas inside my room is part of the game. My guess is he’ll look around, familiarizing himself with what he considers his prey.
If only he knew!
On second thought... I jump off my bed, grab a piece of duct tape and place it on the lower corner of the door, making sure it catches the frame too. If he comes tonight, leaving no explicit traces, I’d still have a way of knowing whether I’ve had company.
I fear my nightmares, because my mind relives how I lost everything so vividly that I wake up smelling blood. But sleep is also the only place I still get to be with my brother. I see Milo a lot in my dreams. That’s what makes me want to close my eyes at night.
For those few hours when sleep takes over, the future has no hold on me.
But for the first time, that dormant time, which shouldn’t matter, matters the most.
Are you coming, Atlas?
Chapter 6
Atlas
Blood stains my knuckles. I thought I’d cleaned it all in the car.
Rearranging that fuckwit’s face felt so good. He’s never going to dare look at Summer again. Until I’m done with her, I won’t let anyone get in my way.
It’s been more than two hours since the lights in her room went out. If it were another girl, she wouldn’t even be able to blink tonight. That Succubus... the effortlessness with which she handled the situation makes me think nothing like that can rattle her or trigger a sleepless night. But I’ll change that. I’ll make sure to leave a lasting impression, get under her skin, deep enough to keep her up at night, wondering how she got soluckyto bump into me.
In front of her dorm door, I press an ear to it, and the complete silence is my cue for breaking and entering the room, though I crave to be breaking and entering her.
Using the key card I got my hands on, I slink inside more silently than I thought I was capable of. I have no idea if Summer’s a light sleeper or not, and I don’t intend to wake her up. I want to find out everything I can about her before leaving the not-so-personal stuff for Link to dig out. And if she’s still awake, I haven’t figured outa single excuse for being here.
Housekeeping?
Getting to her bed, I loom over her, coiled with anger at the realization that I’m indeed right in my assumptions. She’s sleeping so peacefully, like nothing of importance happened tonight. The urge to rob her of that calm rises inside me. That Succubus doesn’t deserve sweet dreams when she has me all wound up, waiting like a fool for hours outside, unable to think of anything else but our fucked-up encounter and how badly I want more of the same.
I pull a strand of hair away from her face, taking in the sight before me. It’s unfair for a demon like her to be this gorgeous. So fuckin’ captivating that her presence commands undivided attention, and there’s nothing I can do to fight it. No one should hold that kind of power. Yet, right now, she does over me.
It takes pure will and determination to drag my gaze from this temptation and scan her room. No roommate, as presumed, since the record for this dorm stated only one resident—Maria Ramirez. The information hasn’t been updated, since my demon is definitely not a Latina. Or Summer killed that girl and is now living in her dorm. I wouldn’t put it past her.
Clean room—nothing out of order, nothing on the walls,nothingpersonal. Only a few chocolate bars on the desk and a laptop left open...with Touch ID.
