SEVEN
I sit crisscrossat the edge of Grace’s mattress, my chin resting on my intertwined fingers as I watch her sleep.
The heavy sedative I slipped in her tea will keep her in a deep slumber no matter what I do, meaning I can stare at her for hours if I want. Still, it’s not enough.
My hand reaches out with a mind of its own, hovering just above her thigh. She’s kicked her duvet off in her sleep, leaving her body exposed to the night air. The only thing covering her is a pair of strawberry-covered pj’s, the bottoms so thin and tiny she might as well be wearing nothing.
Sucking in a deep breath, I lower my hand to her thigh. A groan tumbles from my lips, my eyes rolling to the back of my head at the feel of her enticing warmth. Her skin is so soft, so kissable, and it's taking all my self-control not to lean down and run my tongue over every inch of her.
A gasping noise pulls my attention up to her face, and I’m delighted at the expression twisting her features. My little Grace is having a dream, and it seems to be a good one.
She’s wet. I cansmellit.
I kneel between her parted thighs, tracing my hand along her inner thigh, breathing her in. There’s a noticeable dark spotgrowing at her center, soaking through the thin fabric. Her heady scent envelops me, driving me mad, and I struggle against the urge to wake her.
A groan pours into the air as my cock throbs, desperate for release. I get hard at just the thought of her, so being in her presence, touching her, and breathing her in… it’s too much.
More soft moans fall from Grace’s open mouth, and I forget about everything else. I lie there, watching her as she wriggles, desperate forsomething.I’m so enamored that I don’t realize her thighs are clamping together.
My breath exits in a mightywhooshas her soft thighs close around my hand, trapping it right there against her dripping center. Grace whimpers, reaching down and curling her small hands around my forearm. She tugs weakly, trying to press my hand harder against her pussy—and how can I deny her?
My mouth works into a smirk as Grace guides me, putting my hand just where she needs it to give her pleasure. With a satisfied hum, she begins moving, her hips jerking forward and back as she rubs her little clit against my palm.
“That’s a good girl. Use me.” My cock aches as I watch her pleasure herself. “Fucking use me.”
Grace keeps moving, the sounds filling her bedroom growing louder, more desperate. A thin sheen of sweat coats her body, and she practically glows in the moonlight streaming through the open window.I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.
Grace cries out as she comes, her expression twisting into one of pure bliss. Her intoxicating scent grows stronger as her release coats my hand, and my eyes roll to the back of my head as a deep groan explodes from my chest. My balls tighten, and I grit my teeth, desperately trying to stop what’s happening. But it’s too late.
A deep moan echoes along the walls of Grace’s apartment as I come. The smell, the feel, the sight of her—it’s all too much—andI come undone. My head falls back as my cock throbs, pulsing hot seed and soaking my pants.
When it’s over, I’m more disappointed than satisfied. It feels wrong to come outside of my Grace, especially when I know how beautiful she would look swollen with my child.
Patience,I tell myself.She’ll be mine soon enough.
Grace’s body shudders with her comedown, her fingers loosening around my wrist as her body relaxes into the mattress. A minute later, she releases me altogether, turning onto her side and snuggling deeper into her pillow with a pleased hum.
Satisfied. Meanwhile, I’m harder than I’ve ever been in my life. A desperate hiss slides between my teeth as I pull my hand away from her and place it on my aching cock. I want her so much, it’s driving me mad. But I have to be patient. I have to suffer before I enjoy her.
It takes everything inside me to stand from the bed, and when I do, I’m filled with a great sense of loss. It’s the right thing to do, but it feels so, so wrong.
“I’ll be back for you, beautiful girl,” I whisper,
With the breath frozen in my lungs, I leave. I close the door gently behind me, making sure to lock it tight using tech I stole from the Sanctum years ago—extremely convenient for my line of work, and now, it has the dual purpose of letting me in and out of Grace’s apartment undetected.
Now that her intoxicating scent isn’t so strong, I’m able to breathe normally—or as normal as I can despite what just happened. Shaking off my thoughts, I move to the stairwell, racing down the steps before I do something stupid like go back into Grace’s apartment and put a baby in her.
As soon as my door closes behind me, I strip my cum-soaked clothes and hop in the shower, eager to wash away the shameful reminder of my lack of control.
Just before hopping under the stream, I rip off my mask, taking what feels like the first real breath since I put it on. It’s not as high-tech as the upper-ranked Masks, like Reapers and Phantoms. The older models like mine are known to deliver less oxygen to the wearer due to a manufacturing fault. I’ve made several modifications to it over the years using stolen tech and the bits of knowledge I’ve managed to retain by eavesdropping on the Reaper classes, but it’s still not the best.
I step into the shower, closing my eyes with a sigh as the water covers my skin in a warm embrace. I’ve never actually been hugged before, so this is the closest thing I have to compare it to. Growing up in the Sanctum, I didn’t have many opportunities to experience warmth or affection, so I’ve learned to make my own.
I’m part of the lowest-ranking Masks in the Sanctum, and my job is exactly what it sounds like—I dispose of bodies that the organization leaves in its wake. Occasionally, one of my superiors will order me to take someone out, but it’s always a low-priority target. Someone unimportant.
Just like me.
My whole life, I’ve been looked over by the organization that raised me. Thought to be worthless, even stupid at times. Because of where I came from and how I spoke and looked, they underestimated me. They gave me the worst of the worst jobs, pushed me to the outskirts, and tried to forget I even existed.
