Page 83
I licked my lips, my gaze tracing her every inch. “I want to.”
Her eyes dropped to the floor. “All of this is madness. Everything is still absurd.”
“You’ll accept it.”
She snapped her head up. “What if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll kiss every inch of you until you’re convinced.”
Taken aback, she blinked rapidly, finally some color rising in her cheeks. My fingers slowly glided over her flushed cheeks. Leaning closer, I planted a tiny kiss there. I was thirsty, my lips excited like they were touching something for the first time. A whole week… Without even being able to smell her, let alone touch her… I should congratulate myself for not going mad.
I began kissing her chin without changing my position, lightly touching her lower lip, just touching… I pulled her into my lap, pressing her against my chest, then buried my nose into her shoulder. My lips moved down her arms, her bleeding wrists, abdomen… Despite her decay, Mina still smelled like heaven, the source of my addiction, my ticket to another world, driving me mad, making me want to devour her, bite her, tear her apart, make her scream…
“God, Raymond!”
When she pushed my body with all her strength, I realized what I was doing. I swallowed, my head bowed.
“Mina, I’m sorry, I’ll be a good boy, I’ll be…”
“I’m sorry.” A blank look settled over her face. “I am honored by your feelings for me. But… I don’t know you. You feel like a stranger. Why don’t you understand that?
The color drained from my face. “You are honored?”
For a moment, I was rooted to the spot. As the pain of those words spread through my chest, I found it hard to swallow.
“You’re acting on purpose. All because of one little thing, you’re throwing away what you’ve been certain of for years—”
“One little thing?” She screamed in disbelief, eyes blown wide. “I just found out everything was a lie. Is that so little to you?”
“Not everything, no. You know my feelings are not a lie, you just don’t want to admit it.”
“Don’t make assumptions about me.”
“I don’t. I know you. Maybe better than you know yourself. You know I love you.”
“Oh, you know me better than I know myself?”
When she laughed as if I’d made an overly funny joke, an uneasy restlessness filled me. She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, and I just wished my damn sixth sense would be wrong for once.
“Mina!”
I moved instantly, but when she emerged from the bathroom with a long knife in her hand, I froze. She was holding it toward me, breathing deeply. I only frowned.
“Mina, put it down—”
“You say you know me? Take a good look at me! This is the girl you claim to love! You don’t know who you love. This is the real me! So leave me alone and never show yourself again! Get out!”
Unfazed, I took another step toward her.
“I’m telling you, Loxton! Go away!”
I closed the distance between us. Seeing her hands trembling, a wave of anger spread through me, I grimaced. She was acting. I didn’t know why she was acting. My Mina shouldn’t pretend in front of me, she couldn’t dare.
“If you come any closer, I’ll stab you! Stay away!”
She shouted, but I didn’t listen. I gazed at the knife, which colored with blood. Most likely her blood. I felt an urge to lick it. Instead, I brought my nose close to the tip of it. She flinched.
“W-What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”
