KILLER: An Unfit Hero Novel

by Faiman, Hayley

  I push the plate of food to the side before I turn toward her, wrapping my hands around her waist and lifting her up before dropping her ass to the counter. My eyes lift to hers as I tighten my grasp around her.

  “It could be wonderful, it could be a fucking mess too.” I shrug.

  Tulip tilts her head to the side, her eyes searching my own. “I thought you were close?”

  Nodding, I slide one of my hands up her side, cupping her breast before I shift it to wrap loosely around the side of her neck, my eyes never leaving hers. “We are, well we were,” I say. “We don’t always see eye to eye though and she’s been in a place of limbo since my father died.”

  Sadness fills Tulip’s eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that, maybe a move to a new place is just what she needs,” she says softly.

  Shrugging a shoulder, I’m not sure if that’s the case, assholes and users are everywhere and my mother seems to attract all of them. I don’t go into detail with Tulip, eventually she’ll learn everything on her own. For now, I want to forget the rest of the world and fall into her body.

  “Louis,” she breathes as soon as I lean forward and touch my mouth to the center of her throat.

  “Don’t,” I grunt, moving my mouth against her skin.

  I feel her hand wrap around the back of my neck and gently squeeze. “You made a vow and this isn’t what you need.”

  Chuckling, I lift my head and tip back to look into those blue eyes that I constantly dream about. “This is exactly what I need, Tullie. My mind was on you all fucking day long. All I could think about was your smell, the way you feel, and the sounds you make when you come. You know what?”

  She blinks, her eyes widening at my words. “I trained harder, faster, more precise than I have in years. So, yeah baby, you’re exactly what I need.”

  Neither one of us says a word and with other people milling around my house, I eat her out, then fuck her against the countertop of my kitchen island. It’s the quietest we’ve ever been and it’s a moment that I will never fucking forget.

  Chapter Eighteen

  TULIP

  After dragging my ass to Headlights, I dance mediocrely before I go back home. I didn’t want to go into the club, didn’t want to leave Louis’ side after our perfect moment together in the kitchen.

  Not only did it feel physically fantastic, I learned a little more about his personal life. Every time he opens up to me a little bit it feels like some kind of victorious mountain climb. Though, I’m not sure why, because I haven’t opened up to him much more than he has with me.

  Physically, we’re perfection, at least it feels that way for me. The personal stuff, the deep and sometimes dark past that I know we both have, it’s coming slowly with time and as much as I want to push him for everything, immediately, I know that he keeps a lot close to his chest.

  Sinking down into my driver’s seat, I lock my door and shove my key in the ignition before turning it over and starting the car. As I’ve done every time that I have sat down in my car, I slowly shift my gaze over to the passenger seat to see if there’s another note.

  My heart leaps, it pounds almost out of my chest when I see that there is one. Reaching for the paper, I pinch my eyes closed as I bring it in front of me. Slowly opening it, I bite my bottom lip as I open my eyes.

  YOU HAVEN’T LEARNED. YOUR TIME IS COMING. SO SOON. IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.

  I actually blink right after reading, then look in my back seat and pray the entire time that whoever this creep is he isn’t hiding back there. I let out a breath when I don’t see anything. But that feeling of relief doesn’t last long.

  There’s a knock on my window and I let out a scream as I turn my head to see none other than Mark peering into my car.

  Rolling down my window only two inches, I look at him, waiting to see what he’s going to say while at the same time, shifting my car into reverse in case I need to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible.

  “You okay?” he asks.

  Blinking, I wonder if this is some kind of mind game that he’s playing with me. Is he trying to ease my fears by pretending to be a nice guy, when he’s really the one that’s been leaving me these notes?

  “I’m fine,” I call out. “What are you doing here?”

  I watch as he looks behind him, my gaze travels over to his car only to see Charlie standing at his passenger side. She lifts her hand, giving me a wave.

  “Charlie.” He grins. “I wanted to tell you today, but I was afraid you’d be upset about me dating your friend.”

  Clearing my throat, I try not to laugh. Upset at him? Not at all. Feeling I should warn Charlie that he’s creepy? Totally.

  “No, not at all. Hey, I should get going,” I call out.

  He takes a step back. “See you tomorrow at work.” He grins as his eyes focus on me.

  He doesn’t blink, just holds my gaze and that completely shivery disturbing feeling washes over me again. There is just something not right about him. I look over to Charlie and wish that I could tell her to run, but I can’t.

  Leaving Headlights as quickly as possible, I glance in my rearview mirror and watch as Mark holds the door open for Charlie. She sinks down into his car and my stomach twists at the sight. I hate it and I decide that I’m going to call her tomorrow on my lunch break. I will not be able to go on with my day if I think that she’s somehow unsafe. I need to warn her.

  Keeping my gaze shifting between my rearview mirror and in front of me, I can’t shake the feeling of being watched, still. It seems like every shift at Headlights, I can feel eyes on me during work and hours afterward.

  Granted, I know that men are watching me on that stage, that they watch me walk around the room and flirt with them. But it’s not that, it’s as if I’m being secretly watched and that’s what’s bothering me.

  It’s definitely not the blatant stares of the customers at the club, it’s darker, more sinister. I can feel it down in my bones.

  Pulling into Louis’ drive, I let out a sigh. I see the cars of his trainer, chef and sparring partner parked to the side. I wonder when I’m finally going to meet them.

  I’m not home often, only to sleep and change for work, and I’ve yet to run into them the past few days that they’ve all been living here.

  I wanted to ask Louis for an introduction earlier tonight, but we were a little busy and then I was almost late for work. Shifting my car into park, I can’t help but bite my bottom lip just thinking about our evening in the kitchen all over again.

  Opening the door, I unfold from the car and close it softly, being careful not to slam it. Somehow noises are ten times louder out here in the country than in town. Making my way inside, I tiptoe through the house until I arrive at Louis’ bedroom.

  Gently closing the door behind me, I lock it before slipping into the bathroom to shower the glitter and oil from my body. Starting the shower, I quickly strip while it warms up, which only takes a second thanks to Louis’ awesome tankless water heater.

  Closing my eyes as the water washes over me, I jump when I feel a warm strong body behind me. A hand slides around my waist as lips touch the side of my neck.

  Turning around, I lift my arms and tilt my head back to look into Louis’ eyes as the warm water splashes against my back. “What are you doing up? I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  His lips turn up into a smirk and he shakes his head once. “Rolled over, you weren’t there, so I checked the time and heard the water start. Missed you,” he rasps as his hands grab ahold of my ass and squeeze my cheeks.

  Humming, I wonder if we can do this again. Shifting my legs, I lick my bottom lip and he chuckles as he picks me up by my ass. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I moan as he presses my back against the warm tile of the shower at the same time his cock presses against my center.

  “Louie,” I sigh.

  His lips travel my neck, licking and nipping my skin. Rolling my hips, I silently beg for him to come inside of me, to fill me the way that he did
only hours ago on his kitchen island. Thankfully, he doesn’t disappoint or make me wait too long.

  Shifting his hips, I whimper as he buries himself deep inside of me in one stroke. “Touch yourself, this is going to be hard and fast,” he growls against my neck.

  One of his hands is wrapped around my ass, the other presses against the tile next to my head. Moving one of my hands from his shoulder, I slip it between us and touch my clit.

  “Oh, God,” I moan as his hips roll at the same time my fingers begin to move.

  My back arches and without a word, we both focus on one thing and one thing only—pleasure. My fingers move in even firm strokes at the same time his hips thrust in hard, quick strokes. It’s absolutely perfect and I come within minutes. It’s the fastest I’ve ever reached a climax in my life.

  Louis thrusts a few more times before he buries himself completely inside of me and lets out a long groan against my neck. His hips lazily move as the water continues to wash over us. I let out a sigh, my eyelids growing heavier with each passing moment.

  “Let’s get in bed, baby,” he rasps against my neck.

  LOUIS

  Wrapping Tulip in my arms, I tug her back against my front and slip my thigh between hers. She’s deliciously naked and I know in a few hours when it’s time for me to get up, I’ll need her all over again. It seems as though my desire for her is never fucking satisfied.

  Something has been bothering me this evening though. I’ve told her a bit about my family, but I know absolutely nothing about hers. I don’t even know if they’re living or dead.

  “You haven’t told me about your parents, Tullie.”

  Her body tightens in my arms, but I flex my arms around her, silently giving her my support. There’s a long pause and I think that she’s going to ignore my question or try and brush it off, but she doesn’t.

  “They passed away when I was sixteen,” she whispers.

  Touching my mouth to the back of her neck, I taste her. “Where did you live?”

  Clearing her throat, she takes a deep breath before she continues. “I lived with Joey’s family. His parents took me in. They didn’t have to, but they did anyway. We had rules, it wasn’t a free for all, but I definitely owe them a lot.”

  “Which is why you took care of Joey for as long as you did and put up with as much as you did over the years,” I guess.

  “Yeah,” she breathes.

  “How’d they die, baby?”

  I wait, knowing that it could take her some time to gather her thoughts, her emotions, and her words. It always takes me a while to come up with the words when I talk about my own father.

  I can sympathize with her, because I’ve lost my dad, but I can’t imagine what it would be like to be left completely alone in the world the way that she was, and at such a young age.

  “My mother cheated on my dad,” she begins. Then she surprises me and rolls over in my arms. Her blue, tear-filled eyes meet mine before she continues. “It was a one-time thing. But town rumors wouldn’t stop. He heard them everywhere. He started to get paranoid, controlling, and they both started drinking really heavily. Then, they both started using. They became toxic not only to one another, but to me too.”

  My heart breaks for her, for the woman she is now and for the sixteen-year-old girl she was. She doesn’t stop telling her story though, she continues. Her eyes are no longer filled with tears, but the way that she’s staring off into space, I know that she’s not here with me right now. She’s back there, witnessing it all over again and I’m suddenly really fucking sorry that I asked her.

  “My mother had to work late one night and my dad went on a bender. He was ranting and raving, drunk and high, convinced that she was cheating. When she came home, he was waiting with a knife and stabbed her to death.”

  My heart completely breaks into pieces. It fucking shatters at her words and the way her voice says them. She’s completely devoid of emotion, and yet, she sounds broken with each uttered word.

  “Then when he’d seen what he’d done, I guess he realized that there was no way out of it. He’d killed her, so he slit his throat. I came home from a date with Joey to them both dead in the kitchen.”

  “Fuck,” I hiss. “Fucking fuck, Tullie.”

  Her gaze shifts back to mine and she shakes her body once as her eyes regain their focus. “It was a long time ago, almost ten whole years.”

  Lowering my head, I press my forehead against hers as I close my eyes. “Not long enough, baby. Don’t think a lifetime would be long enough to get over something like that.”

  “Probably not,” she whispers.

  “Know that for a fact, Tullie.”

  We don’t say anything for what feels like a lifetime, then I feel her lips touch mine. “I don’t think about it when I’m with you,” she whispers.

  “I don’t think about Antoni when I’m with you,” I respond.

  She smiles against my mouth. “We’re a mess, Louis. A complete mess.”

  I chuckle as she climbs over my body, spreading her thighs as she straddles my hips. Her hand reaches between us and she strokes my now half-mast cock until I’m completely hard. I let out a groan as she sinks down on my cock.

  “Let’s forget all of that,” she breathes as she leans forward, pressing her lips to my own. “Let’s just feel and fuck, then fall asleep.”

  Lifting my hand, I tangle my fingers in the back of her hair as I keep her mouth against mine. Thrusting my hips from beneath, I meet her downstrokes and we fuck one another until we both swallow one another’s cries of ecstasy.

  Tulip doesn’t make a move to shift off of me, instead, she buries her face in my neck, my cock softening inside of her and she lets out a sigh before she whispers against my skin.

  “I like you inside of me, Louis. Everything about you feels safe.”

  Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her tightly until I feel her body relax and the room fills with her soft snores. I don’t sleep though. I’m going to be shit in a few hours when it’s time to start my eight-hour training session, but I find that I don’t give much of a fuck.

  Holding Tulip when she needs me, that means more than sleep ever could. My girl has been through hell, she’s seen things that nobody should ever see and through all of that she’s come out on top. She’s the sweetest kindest woman I’ve ever had in my life, and I can’t deny that I feel undeserving of her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  TULIP

  My eyes are sore and raw, my head pounding and I wince at the sound of my alarm going off. With a grunt, I feel Louis’ body shift beneath mine and then the alarm stops. His mouth touches my temple and he inhales deeply through his nose.

  “You’re calling in today,” he rasps against my head.

  I let out a moan and roll over onto my back. I force my eyes to open, and I grunt when I see Louis’ looking down at me, far too awake. I feel like I slept maybe five minutes, and my eyes are puffy from crying. I hate that, hate everything about it.

  “I have to go to work,” I lamely state.

  He shakes his head slowly. “You need to rest. Are you telling me you don’t have any sick days saved up?” he asks, arching a brow as he continues to look down at me.

  Licking my lips, I let out a sigh. “What will I do all day?” I ask.

  Louis smirks and I have a feeling this is the smug look he gets on his face when he’s won a fight. He looks downright victorious and he didn’t even have to try that hard.

  I’m exhausted. Between working at the grocery store, dancing, and Louis, I haven’t slept more than three hours at one time in so long that I can’t even remember when it was, months ago, at least.

  “Sleep,” he murmurs. “Stay right here and sleep naked, wait for me,” he practically purrs.

  Shaking my head, I let out a small giggle which feels good, deep down to my soul. Lifting my hands, I cup his cheeks and look into his green eyes. “As great as that sounds, I don’t think I should. Maybe I can go back to my place and pac
k some more after I sleep a bit longer?”

  He dips his chin, his lips touching mine. “Okay. Eat lunch with me before you go? I always break for lunch.”

  Touching my tongue to his bottom lip, I nod my head. He sucks on my tongue, then releases me and practically flies off of the bed with a push-up. I blink as I watch him. He’s naked and his perfectly sculpted ass slowly walks away from me.

  Grabbing ahold of the comforter, I wrap my entire body inside of it like a burrito and curl into a ball, closing my eyes as I hear the shower water turn on. I’m almost asleep again when I hear a noise at the door and then a voice booms throughout the room, echoing in a way that I didn’t even think was possible.

  “Stop givin’ it to your woman and get your ass out here.”

  Holding on to the comforter a bit tighter, I pray that whoever it is doesn’t try to pull it off of the bed. I let out a sigh of relief when I hear the bathroom door open. Then Louis’ voice fills the room and I allow my body to completely relax.

  “Aaron, I’m taking a fuckin’ shower, get outta my room.”

  There’s a moment of pause and I hear the other man grunt. “Boy, yesterday you were a plain fuck up. Get out here, now.”

  The bedroom door slams and I feel the bed dip next to my hip. Louis tugs the comforter down, only exposing my head and face. His eyes search mine and his lips twitch. “What are the chances you’ll go back to sleep after that?” he asks softly.

  “Probably absolutely none.”

  He nods his head a couple of times before he leans down. His lips touch mine, then I sigh as I inhale his scent. He’s so clean, fresh from the shower still with small droplets on his skin that his towel missed.

  I want to tug him down and keep him in here with me. He must be able to read my mind. His lips twitch into a small smile as he stands from the bed. “Later, I promise. Aaron’s going to bust in here again any second, and I don’t have any desire for him to see you naked.”