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  “Good girl.”

  Standing, I straddle her and bend over, pulling down the sweatpants I brought her. Tears slip from the corners of her eyes and roll down toward her ears on each side of her face. I lift the hem of her t-shirt and drag it over her head. Her fingers get caught on the sleeves of the shirt as I pull it off of her torso and she cries out in pain. She lays still underneath me. She is so beautiful.

  Sliding my shoes off my feet, I unbutton my pants and kick them both to the side once I have them off. Laying my body on top of hers, she lets out another sob.

  “Shhh… it won’t hurt, I promise. You’ve had enough pain today.”

  I run the tip of my cock through the slit between her legs and, despite her fear, there is moisture that has pooled there.

  “See, some part of you likes this.” I say to her with a smile.

  Her eyes shut, but it doesn’t keep the tears from pouring harder out of them. Instinctively, she moves her hand to cover her face, and cries out in pain once more.

  I continue to rub my cock through her slit, pushing in a little further each time until I am perfectly lined up with her entrance.

  I lean my head down and lick some of the tears from her face as I enter her.

  Closing my eyes, I think about Bodhi once more. About being inside of him, craving the warmth of his body around my cock. I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anyone before.

  I will claim him—willingly or not.

  Chapter 8

  His name is Dionysus and hers is Persephone.

  That’s what they tell me anyway and I know it’s the liquor coursing through their veins making them think that they’re gods.

  I decided to make their acquaintance when I watched the sloppy little girl crawl under the table to give her companion a noisy blow job. It wasn’t the act itself that got my attention, it was the wanting to save Baby Jane from seeing the clusterfuck that I ended up having to witness.

  I went into the restroom, called my superior, and let them know that I wouldn’t be back for the evening. I told them that I got sick on the diner food, which isn’t farfetched at all, and I was excused from work since it’s been a slow night anyway.

  I’ve been sitting at their booth for twenty minutes, eating the rest of my meatloaf quietly while they half cuddle, half cradle each other across from me, staring.

  They didn’t ask for my company, but I find that sometimes imposing oneself on the unwilling can work much better than asking for permission.

  “So, what did you say your name was again?” he slurs. I glance up from my half-finished meal in time to watch him wipe the excess saliva from his mouth with the back of his hand. My gaze then wanders over to the Queen of the Underworld reincarnated, who’s watching me with a vacant stare and a half open mouth.

  “Bodhi,” I repeat for the fifth time since I’ve sat down. I clear my throat as I go back to cutting a piece of my meatloaf off, slipping it into my mouth. I glance out the window and wonder how long this is going to take tonight. Perhaps I should keep them for a few days instead of disposing them quickly.

  I’ll just have to see how long I can stand their company for.

  “Need anything else, sweetheart?” Baby Jane asks as she swings by the table. I use the napkin to wipe my mouth, drop it on the plate, and slide it toward the edge of the table. I give her a small smile and shake my head as she takes my leftovers and walks away.

  “Hey, are you fucking that old lady? She seems sweet on you,” Dionysus says.

  “No.”

  “What’s it like? I’ve never had old pussy before,” he asks in his drunken stupor as he sits up and pushes Persephone away from him.

  “Well,” I begin conversationally as I fold my arms on the tabletop and give them my undivided attention, “had you paid attention to what I just said, you would know I don’t have an honest answer for you. However, I’m willing to give you a dishonest answer and tell you that it probably feels the same as fucking young pussy.”

  Persephone giggles as her false idol companion scoffs and rolls his eyes, “Whatever.”

  “Here you go, darlin’,” Baby Jane says as she drops the bill on the table. I flip it over, scan the items listed, then call out to my favorite server.

  “Jane!”

  “What’s up?” she asks, looking at me over her shoulder.

  “The entire table,” I tell her with a smile as I hold the paper out to her. Baby Jane looks from god to goddess then back at me before she shakes her head and walks away, a heavy sigh escaping her.

  “I don’t think she likes us, baby,” Persephone tells her companion who scoffs and rolls his eyes. I can tell he’ll be easy to manage for the evening. He doesn’t seem to care about anything that doesn’t hold his interest long enough and I can tell by the way he’s been stealing glances at me when he thinks I haven’t noticed, that I have his unequivocal attention.

  After Baby Jane comes back and I clear the tab for myself and my new “friends”, I get to my feet and wait patiently for them to do the same.

  “Can I ask you something?” the drunken mess of a man asks me as he waivers slightly.

  “Hm?”

  I hold out a hand to steady him, then smile at Persephone when she turns slightly red at my touching her companion. Out of jealousy or girlish fascination, I can’t tell. I don’t really give a fuck either, though.

  “What the fuck are you?” he asks, taking a step toward me.

  I arch an eyebrow.

  I’m used to this question, but not in the manner that he poses it in.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Like, are you a chick or a dude? Or are you a chick with a dick? Or are you just like a really flat chested chick. Or—”

  “Baby,” Persephone quickly pokes his side as her face flushes in embarrassment and I smile at her.

  “It’s okay,” I assure her before I turn my attention back toward the god of drunks and let my lips slide into a grin. I’m sure I look like I’m baring my teeth in this moment by the way he takes an unsteady step backward, but if he’s going to behave like a child, then I should behave like the feral monster I know I am.

  “How about you both come home with me and you can find out,” I counter, crossing my arms over my chest. It’s a challenge that his macho bravado won’t let him turn down. I’ve met men like him before and when faced with a dare, they dive straight into the deep end, not realizing that even deep-sea monsters lurk in the coolest and calmest of waters.

  “I wanna go home,” the precious little girl whines to her conquering hero, pulling on his arm and tearing her eyes away from me.

  “Fuck that,” he says, giving her another rough shove, almost knocking her off her feet. “We’ll go home when I say we do. We’re looking to party,” he continues as he turns his attention back toward me. “You up for a wild night or is this gonna be a waste of my fucking time?”

  “As wild as the beast before you,” I promise him softly as I turn and lead the way out of the diner. I give Baby Jane a small wave on the way out to let her know I’m okay and that they’re not harassing me.

  Sometimes, I think she knows what I do when I leave with patrons that never come back, but I don’t think she cares.

  And if she does, she’s smart enough not to say anything.

  She may be my favorite person to spend time with on certain nights, but she probably knows that I won’t hesitate to walk her out of the diner and never look back. It’s the animal in me that’s ready to strike at any moment.

  Even against the ones I hold most dear.

  But I won’t worry about her now, or ever really.

  Baby Jane likes to watch me hunt and in the interim, it keeps her alive and well looked after.

  Besides, I have to take my new toys home and break them in.

  Chapter 9

  Jessa and I snuggled closely with one another last night on the small mat I brought for her. She had a tough day and I didn’t want to leave her alone. She slept for a little while, but I d
idn’t catch a wink.

  Half of the night I laid there wondering if Jessa was in pain because of her hands. Was she sleeping without issue? Or did shock overcome her and plunge her into sleep? The other half of the night I pictured Bodhi, here in Jessa’s place instead of her. I pictured our hands running along each other’s skin. I pictured spooning him and inhaling the scent of firewood and morning rain coming off of his delicate body and his soft hair. My cock stirs and I reach down to adjust myself.

  I’ve never had two obsessions at the same time and I am having a hard time handling both of them. I know that I want to be with Bodhi more than I want to be with Jessa at this point, but I haven’t forgotten how much I love her too.

  The dark blues of the sky that I can see through one of the broken windows of the warehouse is beginning to turn light blue off in the distance. I need to get up and get going. I am working a morning shift in the arts center today. I hate working during the day, but I wanted to leave my night free, just in case I got up the nerve to try and see Bodhi again.

  As I get up, Jessa stirs slightly. She begins to stretch but quickly cries out as she reaches a more conscious state and the pain in her hands registers once again. She curls up into a ball and sobs. I grab my messenger bag and pull out two pain pills for her to take. It’s lucky that I had some with me or else she would have needed to wait until tomorrow. I step over her shaking body and crouch down in front of her.

  “Take these,” I say, holding them out for her and grabbing a nearby bottle of water.

  She doesn’t move, other than the way her body convulses as the sobs escape from her lips.

  “Hey,” I say, caressing her cheek. “I know you’re in pain. I’m going to help you sit up so you can take this. Then you can go back to sleep if you want. This will probably knock you out anyway.”

  “I don’t want—what is it?” she asks as I pull her to a sitting position.

  “Norcos.”

  I unscrew the cap on the water bottle for her as she opens her mouth. I pop the two pills into her mouth and place the bottle of water to her lips. She drinks the rest of the water and then asks if I have any more when she’s finished with it. I open the cap of a new bottle of water and hand it to her.

  “Can you hold it at all? You’re going to need to pick it up on your own while I’m gone.”

  She winces as she reaches her hands toward me and I place the bottle between her wrists.

  “Got it?”

  “It hurts to squeeze my hands together so I don’t drop it. But yeah, I’ve got it.”

  I smile down at her and place my hand on her chin.

  “You’re a very strong girl. That’s one of the first things that drew me to you.”

  She swallows and painstakingly brings the bottle up to her lips to take another drink.

  “I am going to be gone all day and probably tonight as well. I will bring some supplies to wrap your fingers when I come back. Like I said, the pills will more than likely knock you out. But if you wake up before I get back, I want you working on your piece until I get here.”

  The skin between her eyes pinches together in disbelief at my order.

  “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not my fault you’re in the shape you’re in right now.”

  I kiss her forehead before I stand up.

  “You’re a very smart girl. You’ll figure something out.”

  The entire twenty-five-minute walk from my apartment to my work, I was trying to convince myself that Bodhi was scared the other night, not disgusted.

  As I debate this with myself, I pull the mop and bucket out of the janitor’s closet on the second floor of the Arts building where I’m currently employed. Wheeling the cart to the far side of the hallway, I begin to scrub the floor. Most of the students are in a classroom somewhere, but there are still a few lingering around, getting in my way.

  I push the dirty water around on the linoleum as I pass the piano studio where I would watch Jessa. Flowers still litter the sleek instrument inside of the room scattered around a beautiful picture of her. I wonder if she really will get anything done on her piece tonight. It took everything I had not to burst out laughing at her expression when I told her she needed to work on it. A slight smile breaks out onto my face as I replay the memory in my mind. I don’t actually think she will get anything done. But what I said about her being smart is the honest truth and I look forward to seeing what, if anything, she accomplishes while I’m gone.

  When I make it to the door on the far side of the studio, I see two girls inside, sitting at a table. One of them is crying. I recognize one of them from seeing her and Jessa together often. Alice, I think her name is. The other one I’ve never seen before, but she is comforting Alice.

  “Has there been any progress on the case so far?” she asks.

  My interest is piqued as they aren’t saying much about it on the news.

  “No, they have absolutely nothing to go on,” Alice answers.

  “Do they know if she left the building alone that night? Did she make it home to her apartment at all? Aren’t there cameras around here?”

  There are cameras around here. That’s why I chose to take her down where the dressing rooms are; where they aren’t allowed to have cameras. There is a door that leads out to an alley at the end of the hall, and there is a camera situated there. I needed to figure out how I was going to deactivate it.

  When I was completing my surveillance of the building, I became chummy with one of the night guards; some young guy who was dishonorably discharged from the Army with a chip on his shoulder. He’s pissed off at the world when he only has himself to blame for drugging and raping one the female soldiers in his platoon. He said that it was all a lie, that she made the whole thing up and that someone else lied on her behalf. All it took was for me to share a similar “bitches be crazy” story for us to start bonding. It was awful, I hated having to spend time with him.

  One night I asked him if he wanted to smoke a J with me. I told him I knew of the perfect place, but there was a camera out there that would catch us. He asked me which camera it was and that he could shut it off using the computer at the security desk. When I told him, he laughed and said that it was a fake. That the University uses a lot of the cameras to try and deter crime, but that they can’t afford to have all of them up and running.

  He’s a complete idiot but, thankfully, he knew what he was talking about in regard to that particular camera.

  The girls look up from where they sit and notice me standing there.

  I tip my head toward them and let them know that I am just paying my respects.

  They offered me a tight smile and I got on with my business.

  Chapter 10

  After we got to my front steps, I decided to make my gods wait outside. It’s not a rebuff or second thought that’s plaguing me, rather I don’t want to get my own home dirty with whatever fluids they’ll begin to seep once I’ve decided that I’ve become bored with them.

  “Hey,” I say, nudging Persephone’s leg with my foot. She’s slumped over against Dionysus with her mouth hanging slightly open, and it’s then that I decide I want to know their real names. I won’t ask just yet since I don’t want to sour the mood before the time comes.

  “Get up,” he barks at her as he shakes her off his arm and I can feel my eyes narrowing. Don’t let him get to you, I tell myself as I grit my teeth. I don’t know either of them outside of the meal they watched me eat in almost complete silence, but the way he treats her makes me wonder why the fuck she stays with him.

  Not that it will matter soon.

  I reach down and offer a hand to the good queen and she takes it with a drunken smile as she uses her free hand to wipe her mouth. “Sorry,” she hiccups with a giggle, “I guess I fell asleep.”

  “It’s okay,” I assure her with a kind smile.

  I won’t begrudge her girlish little moment—it seems the bastard who’s arm she holds onto like it’s made of gold does that enough. I�
��ll be kind to her, make sure she doesn’t suffer, but I will also offer her the chance to join in when I lay her boyfriend out for decimation.

  “So, where are we going?” she asks as she staggers on her feet. I tighten my grip on her hand and pull her closer to me. She immediately wraps her arm around my waist, casting a triumphant glance at her companion who rolls his eyes, and turns away to spit on the pavement.

  “Somewhere that we can have fun without being interrupted,” I say with a smile as I begin to walk.

  Dionysus falls into step beside us, content on keeping a stony silence all the way to my real home, and I don’t mind.

  Soon, he’ll be screaming more than he ever has in his life, and that will make up for the silence.

  “So, what’s your name?” I ask her after we’ve walked into the building and I’ve pulled the grate down behind us.

  “Persephone,” she admonishes with a shake of her finger.

  I wait for her companion to walk over to the couch and drop down before I turn my attention back to her. She’s still standing in front of me, still wavering on her feet, still enamored by the person she sees before her—unsure if it’s even human—and I’m quite content with that.

  “Your real name,” I reply in a soft, stern tone. “I told you mine. Don’t you think it’s only fair? Especially if we plan on becoming close.”

  I take a step forward, closing the gap between us. Gently, I take her hand again, interlacing our fingers, and smile down at her. She instantly becomes shy and almost docile as she blinks rapidly a couple of times.

  “Daisy,” she finally says.

  “And his?” I ask, nodding toward the crumpled man on my couch.

  “That’s Sid,” she replies, making a face.

  “And you’re together?”

  “Kind of.”