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She’d entered the beast’s lair.
Now it was time to capture his prey.
Tonight, she would begin her new life.
After all, I always took what I wanted.
* * *
Candy
Anger.
My Irish temper remained close to the surface the entire day. I’d purposely left the apartment as soon as I was showered and dressed, refusing to have another member of the Walsh family try to tell me what to do. I was my own person. I made my own decisions. And I couldn’t believe my parents had ‘hired’ Rian to watch out over me. I should have guessed that was the case when they’d suddenly changed their minds about allowing me to go and one of them had stopped by on a regular basis. I’d thought it was wonderful that Finnegan regularly drove past the street as a member of law enforcement, although red flags should have been raised given he was a first grade detective.
He didn’t do a beat. He didn’t patrol streets on a regular basis. No one believed I could take care of myself. Gggrrr… I was still hot, and I had to work tonight. Maybe it was time to find another job. I’d held my cell phone in my hand several times, almost calling my mother to berate her, but I knew how concerned my parents had been in accepting my move.
I’d gone shopping for hours instead of staying at home. And I’d spent way too much money that I didn’t have when I should have been learning my lines for an upcoming audition in a couple of days. My entire schedule had been disrupted and all because I’d dared to knock on the door of a stranger in the middle of the night.
You did this to yourself.
The little nagging voice inside my head wasn’t helping reduce my fury. However, she was right. If I’d minded my own business, maybe I wouldn’t feel so suffocated. I pulled into the parking lot of the bar, glaring into the rearview mirror. What would happen if Kirill showed up again? I had to shove that aside. I didn’t see the man as someone looking for a fight. Then again, I didn’t know him at all.
Except carnally.
Shuddering, I cut the engine, remaining where I was as I allowed my thoughts to shift back to the one person I should definitely push out of my life for good. Somehow, I knew that wasn’t going to be possible because he wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
He. Him. Killer.
As I closed my eyes, visions rushed to the surface of my mind, every one of them sensual. No, they were downright sexual in nature.
His hard, muscular body.
His dark, demanding gaze.
His voluptuous lips.
His big, fat cock.
This was hopeless. I’d enjoyed the brutal sex more than I should have, relishing the way he made my body feel. He was a master of using his tongue. A heated shiver twisted through my body with such force, my mouth was suddenly dry. I wanted to say I didn’t like the daydreams but that would be a lie. My mind was constantly filled with the same image of the emerald-eyed Adonis with a body carved out of the finest stone.
Unfortunately, my fantasy was always interrupted by the realization he had no soul and a heart of ice. The man was a killer. Proven. Maybe. Could I believe anything Rian had told me or was he just trying to scare me? At this point, it didn’t really matter. I’d need to put on my big girl panties and figure out how best to get myself out of the twisted, terrifying situation.
Strangely, I wasn’t as fearful of Kirill as I should be after hearing what Rian had to say. I winced at the various thoughts before launching myself from the car. I’d stay as far away from Rian as possible and would refuse to take any additional bullshit.
I was a big girl and could handle my own problems.
At least that’s what I continued to tell myself.
As I walked inside, Rian didn’t approach me, and then started to say something. I waved my hand, charging toward the small locker room to dump my gear. When he appeared in the doorway, I didn’t bother looking in his direction.
“Where the hell were you?” he demanded.
“Were you checking up on me again?” I didn’t bother looking at him, concentrating on yanking my hair into a ponytail. Then I decided against it, tossing the hairband into my purse and slamming the door. Fuck the rules. I was finished with playing games.
“I wanted to confirm you accepted your duties.”
That was the line drawn in the sand. I snapped my head in his direction, moving to within two inches of him. He usually had a jovial look on his face, always smiling. Tonight, he had a serious, almost malevolent look.
