Page 38 of Power of Shadow

“What’s yours?” He tilts his head back, sizing me up. “I have a hunch we’re heading for the same place.”

“Impossible,” I say, shaking my head.

“And yet, it’s not by chance that we’ve run into each other. For so long, our paths never crossed, and now, suddenly, here we are.”

“Stop getting in my way, Jackal, or it will end badly for you. Whatever you’re doing now, back off,” I hiss.

A mischievous fire burns in his eyes. With one step, then another, he closes the distance between us.

“I can’t do that, and you know it. Maybe you should back off?”

“No way. I have a job to do, and I’m going to do it. Stop getting in my way.”

“You’re fucking hot when you’re angry, you know that?” His voice is seductive and affects me like nothing else in the world. Of course, I won’t admit that. Lately, there’s a lot of things I don’t want to admit, even to myself.

Fuck.

“Don’t say shit like that.”

“Why? We’re more alike than anyone will ever say. I know more than you’d like.” With that, he pulls a knife from his pocket and throws it at me.

I don’t dodge; I don’t move. The blade cuts through the sleeve of my sweatshirt and sticks into the wall behind me. A trickle of blood runs down my arm and lower.

Strangely, it doesn’t make me feel disgusted or upset. I feel... calm.

The Jackal’s fucking fast, and for a split second, I think he’s too fast for me. But he doesn’t want to hurt me right now, just scratch me. If it were any other way, I would have a knife stuck in my heart.

“You’re just like me,” he repeats. “We think alike. You enjoy playing with knives. Blood excites you. Am I right?”

He’s out of his mind. I’m not going to confess my darkest desires. Or that we’re alike.

“You couldn’t control yourself, could you?” I nod toward the security guard. I need to change the subject. Fast.

“Like I said, he was useless. If it makes you feel any better, I was bored waiting here for you. You know I like to play with my food.”

“You’re a psycho,” I say, but a smile plays at the corners of my mouth. In that, we’re alike.

“I am, and I’m right behind you, my love.”

He chuckles and then attacks, prompting me to react in kind. Jumping on him like a tree, I wrap my legs around his waist and hit his shoulders with my elbows. I want to wring his stupid neck.

The Jackal catches me around the waist with one hand, spins us around, and throws us to the ground. His arms protect me a little from the impact, but I still feel it in every bone. But that’s not the worst part.

The worst thing is that the damn bastard doesn’t stop laughing. The sound is so warm and happy that I know I’ve made a mistake.

Almost his entire weight lands on me.

Before he can make his next move, I punch his masked face until he turns it to the side.

I wonder if he’ll be so happy now.

He pins the hand I hit him with to the ground, then does the same with my other.

For a moment, the world stands still. Our breaths mingle. All I see are his eyes, dark as a stormy sky, steely. Beautiful. Magnetic. I can’t look away.

All I can feel is his body pressed against mine and my heart pounding like crazy. Mine and his. I breathe deeper, more greedily, and yet I still feel like I’m not getting enough oxygen.

And then my thoughts turn to that place in my lower abdomen, waking up from its lethargy and vibrating with all its might. I want to move closer to him, to feel him more intensely.