Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse Duet Book 1)

by H. D. Carlton

  “Maybe not, but I brought you further into his sight. I had hoped claiming you would save you, but Mark was always going to turn you in. And every motherfucker who even comes within a mile of your house is going to have my knife in their throats.

  “I have never pretended to be a good person. But what I did do was create my own fucking morals to live by. I will keep killing every deranged individual who resides on this goddamn planet if it means children don’t have to die, and you don't have to live in danger.”

  My lip wobbles, and all of the fight I had burning inside of me bleeds out in one breath.

  I have nothing to say. No argument.

  I've been holding so tightly onto the notion that all murder is wrong, but I need to let that go. Because Zade is right, whether he came into my life or not, I would always end up in danger. And I can't get upset every time he kills someone who meant me harm.

  If that makes me selfish, then I don't care anymore.

  Whether I like it or not... Zade isn't going anywhere. And it's far more exhausting holding onto morals that do nothing but fight against the one thing keeping me safe.

  I study his face, needing to ask one last question.

  “Have you killed an innocent person?”

  “What's your definition of innocent?” he questions, leaning in close until his minty breath skates over my cold, wet face. “People like Archie? Who have hurt others, but there was always a chance of redemption, right?”

  I swallow, opening my mouth to respond, but he leans closer, his lips mere centimeters away from mine. The words die on my tongue while his flicks out, licking a droplet off my lip. The small touch should be insignificant, like a butterfly landing on your finger. But instead, it felt like a lightning bolt traveling down my spine and straight to my core.

  “Do you think there’s redemption for me?” he whispers, the tenor of his voice dark and sinful.

  I lick my lips, searching for the words before I ask, “Do you want there to be?”

  The rest of his body molds into mine, creating a dangerous cyclone of fire and ice inside of me. The frozen ground and the raging heat of his body war with each other, while I try to fight past the delirium his close proximity is causing.

  He grinds his pelvis into mine, eliciting a sharp pleasure from between my legs. Without conscious thought, my back arches and a moan slips free.

  “If my redemption resides somewhere within you, then I will spend the rest of my life searching for it inside of you.” He flexes his hips again, wringing another breathless moan from my lips. “I will fill every inch of you, Adeline. And in time, my redemption will become your salvation.”

  His words create a visceral reaction deep inside of me. There’s no stopping the flood of arousal between my legs, no more than I can control the intense need to hand over every bit of my soul to him on a silver platter.

  He's still a stalker, Addie.

  The small voice inside my head is becoming weightless. So small and insignificant that its words are no longer holding power. I’m becoming annoyed with the voice of reason because nothing I feel for Zade is reasonable. He stirs up emotions too powerful for reason and logic. Too strong to be eclipsed by a little voice in my head.

  “What if I don’t want you to?” I croak, though my words are in direct contrast to my actions. One leg hikes over his hip, bringing him closer while my mouth still attempts to push him away.

  “What if the last thing I want is you inside me?” His lips skim over mine, traveling down my cheek and to my jawline. He nips harshly, his teeth pulling out another moan as pain and pleasure stab at my nerves.

  This time when he grinds into me, I meet his thrust, desperate for him to be closer. Still, I can’t give up, even though my body already has.

  “What if I come to hate the feeling of you inside me?”

  Finally, he releases my pinned wrists, grabs the collar of my shirt, and tears it in half. I gasp from the brutal onslaught of cold rain pelting my skin. My back arches as his hands sweep up harshly across my stomach, sending waves of electricity dancing across my flesh. His touch alone is making me feel crazed. Nothing has ever felt so fucking good.

  And then he’s clawing at my bra, exposing my breasts, before that too is torn away from my body.

  “You would hate the feeling of coming so hard that your body gives out?”

  Before I can answer, he nips at my jaw again, softer this time, before moving down to my neck. His mouth pauses over the sensitive spot right below my ear. He releases a single breath, and that action is the only warning I have before his teeth clamp down.

  The only response I’m capable of is a garbled scream. My eyes roll, his tongue lapping at the sting and drawing out the intense pleasure.

  Sharp bites descend down past my collarbone until one of my nipples is being sucked into his hot mouth. A strangled cry releases, and I shudder beneath his lashing tongue.

  My back arches while I claw at his hair, tugging on the strands just as brutally as he sucks on my nipple.

  Finally, his teeth release me, and I take a brief moment to shoot fire out of my lungs. “I can make myself come harder than you ever could.”

  I feel his smile, and I don’t need to see it to know how cruel it is. He lifts his head, just enough to peer down into my eyes.

  My heart sinks, and my instincts sense the doom long before his words confirm it.

  “Are you prepared to prove that to me, little mouse? Because if not, I’m going to make you eat your fucking words.”

  Chapter 34

  The Manipulator

  I ’ve never been religious, despite my berating a phantom in the sky for constantly testing my sanity. But in this moment, I seriously hope that something is looking out for me. Because I have a feeling when Zade is finished with me, my soul will be decimated, and nothing will be able to save me from his damnation.

  Swallowing thickly, I ask, “How do you plan on doing that?”

  I try to insert an ounce of confidence, but the calculating look on Zade's face completely shreds that notion. I shiver, but not from the relentless rain soaking my skin.

  Instead of answering verbally, he reaches down and grips the waistband of my leggings. In one sharp tug, he’s ripping the fabric down my legs and flinging it somewhere out in the forest.

  Definitely won’t be getting those back.

  My eyes round when he harshly jerks my yellow thong, the lace easily tearing beneath his strength.

  “Zade…” I gasp, attempting to close my legs to block the freezing rain from my exposed core. He deflects my attempts, prying my knees apart until the rain batters against my center. I squeal from the sensation, sucking in a sharp breath.

  Zade may resemble a God, but he’s never been the forgiving type.

  Adjusting his grip to the underside of my thighs, he pushes my legs back until my knees are hiked up to my ears, and my pussy is completely bared to the unforgiving elements.

  “Zade!” I shout, my hands shooting out to cover myself.

  “Touch yourself, little mouse. Let me see how hard you can make yourself come,” he orders, his voice thick with desire.

  “I’m not—” He bars his left arm across both thighs and uses his now free hand to swipe my hands away. Before I can ask what the hell he’s doing, he delivers a sharp slap straight on my pussy.

  I yelp loudly, pain lancing through my clit and up my spine. The only reprieve is with his body now leaning over me, the rain is no longer pounding against my sensitive core.

  “What the fu—”

  “What did I just tell you to do, Adeline? Don’t make me ask you again.”

  My mouth flops, the words having escaped me. He stares up at me, his face cast in a severe expression that brokers no room for argument.

  Biting my lip, I contemplate arguing with him. But it takes all of two seconds to come to a single conclusion.

  I don’t want to.

  Keeping my gaze locked on his, I slowly slide my hand back to the apex of
my thighs, the gathering slickness having nothing to do with the rain.

  Reluctantly, as if he can’t decide if he wants to watch my face or my hand, he pulls his gaze away and settles those yin-yang eyes on my pussy. Right as I’m dipping a finger inside me.

  His nostrils flare, and his hand on my thigh becomes bruising.

  “Fuck,” he mouths silently, his eyes flaring with heat. Heat that extends to me, spreading like wildfire until the pattering rain against my flesh is a balm to the incessant burn.

  Dragging my finger out of my pussy, I circle my finger across my clit, my mouth falling open and a husky moan slipping past my lips.

  Pleasure exudes from where my digit continues to circle, and I can’t help but rock my hips against my own hand, seeking a touch past my own. A touch that would be rougher, firmer—better.

  Ignoring my body's silent plea, I focus on my ministrations, my head kicking back as my orgasm builds.

  Zade lifts up, removing his arm from across my thighs and taking up his former position of kneeling before me with his hands firmly holding my knees to the ground on either side of me.

  This way, his body is no longer providing protection against the rain, the cold drops of water like ice between my legs.

  I lift my head, my heart thundering as Zade’s eyes sear through me. The knowledge that he is watching everything I’m doing to myself only heightens the pleasure. I’ve never been so turned on in my life, and the unfiltered moans are impossible to control.

  I’m too lost in the moment to care about how loud I am. Too high on the euphoria coursing through my system as I reach that cliff.

  Sensing my stiffening limbs, Zade looks up at me and whispers, “Show me how deeply I’ve ruined you.”

  My brows contort, and my mouth falls open as I topple over that edge. I cry out, my hips rocking relentlessly, searching for something more.

  The orgasm that washes over me is sharp and quick. Before, I would've been satisfied with that. But now, with the cruel man kneeling before me, I feel fucking robbed.

  I keep my mouth closed, the downpour and wind seeming silent now that my moans have ceased.

  A wicked smirk forms on his lips, emphasizing the scars on his face.

  “Was it better?” he asks, but it sounds like he already knows the answer.

  I nod, not brave enough to speak my lie but too prideful to say no. For a brief moment, it feels like the world around me stills. The rain, the wind, the leaves on the trees. And then everything is speeding up, too fast for me to stop him from moving my hand and delivering another sharp slap to my pussy.

  Instinctively, I try to close my legs to abate the pain, but he pins my knees back, leaning over me menacingly.

  The dormant fear flares back up again as he stares down at me.

  “Lie to me again,” he threatens. “My patience only stretches so far.”

  I swallow the lump in my throat, my wide eyes locked on his.

  “Was it better?”

  It’s at this moment, my brain decides to remind me that I’m in the middle of the woods, alone, with a very dangerous man. A man who had tortured and murdered four men only three nights ago.

  “No,” I whisper, eyeing him carefully. I’m tense, waiting to see what his next move will be. Zade has always been unpredictable. That feeling is nothing new.

  He won't hurt you, Addie.

  No, but maybe I want him to.

  He releases me and stands. “Get up,” he clips.

  Shock renders me frozen, but my brain catches up after a few seconds and I’m scrambling to my feet.

  I’m readying to ask… I don’t even know, but before I can figure it out, he’s bending down and grabbing the back of my thighs. He lifts me up, my legs instinctively curling around his waist. My sensitive center clashes with his hard cock straining in his jeans, nestling firmly between the folds of my pussy.

  A soft whimper escapes, and I’m still too shocked to move or say anything as he begins to carry me, assumingly back towards my house.

  “What’s happening?” I finally manage, shuddering as every step rubs his jeans against my overstimulated clit.

  “I’m going to remind you how good it feels to be mine.”

  Zade’s steps are purposeful as he carries me, the silence between us strained with terrifying promises. The rain hasn’t relented, seeming only to grow heavier as time passes.

  I’ve no idea how he knows where to go, and I’m both impressed and suspicious. The only reason he knows these woods so well is because he’s spent a lot of time in them. Stalking me.

  Is he hiding the dead bodies in there? The question is lingering on the end of my tongue, but I let it die. I don’t want to upset the small, albeit shaky, truce we’ve seemed to reach.

  His large palms cup my bare asscheeks, the tips of his fingers a mere inch from my entrance. He doesn’t explore, the teasing touch setting me aflame and flooding me with anticipation.

  He’s driving me mad with desire, and it’s only fair I return the favor. If he takes me on the cold, wet ground, I’d be glad for it.

  The smile that graces my lips is nothing short of evil.

  My lips trace the column of his throat, brushing so softly that the touch merely feels like a whisper. His grip tightens, and my smile grows. Parting my mouth, my tongue darts out and licks a path from the base of his throat to the spot behind his ear.

  A growl vibrates against my tongue, spurring me into action.

  He marked me relentlessly so many months ago. Isn’t it fair I mark him, too?

  I bite down on that spot, lapping and sucking at the flesh trapped between my teeth until I’m sure the skin is bruised. And then I retreat and find a new spot to mark, over and over as he gnashes his teeth, hands gripping me with bruising force.

  "Addie," he growls, his voice guttural and so deep, it sounds demonic.

  I trail my lips up to his ear and bite down, sucking the lobe into my mouth. And then I withdraw, gliding my teeth sharply against the flesh as it pops free.

  "What's wrong?" I whisper into his ear. "Can't handle what you dish out?"

  I nip at his neck again, delighting in the sound of his control slipping and a moan slipping free. It’s the sexiest sound I've ever heard, and I'm nearly feral with the need to bring it out of him again.

  The light from my front porch is just piercing through the trees when he gives in, slamming me against a tree trunk, my bare back scraping against the rough bark. His jeans are undone in record time, his cock bursting free from the confines and driving up inside me before I can process it.

  I scream from the intrusion, his cock stretching me so suddenly that all I can feel is fire. But he doesn’t relent, fucking me against the tree until I’m clamping down on him, an orgasm tearing through me that nearly causes permanent eye damage from how hard they roll.

  He spills inside of me on a hoarse shout, ramming me so deeply into the tree, I swear there will be an imprint of my ass.

  I’m sure the squirrels will find that fascinating.

  Pulling out of me, he harshly tears me away from the tree and speed walks the rest of the way back. A visceral energy radiates off him, and I can’t tell if it’s full of anger or desire.

  My back is on fire, accompanied by the dull throb radiating between my legs. It’s the sweetest agony I’ve ever felt.

  In the duration of the trek back to my house, my brain has come back to Earth, and yet nothing has changed.

  That unsettles me more than anything.

  The fact that I’m no longer delirious from fear or bliss, and still, my desire and need for this man hasn’t lessened in the slightest. If anything, it’s only grown with the weight of anticipation hanging over my head.

  The small light hanging over my door is like a beacon. As if the house will make me feel any safer from the man holding me in his arms.

  Instead of beelining towards the door as I expected, he heads for my car. Despite the back of my SUV being spacey, Zade is no small man, and being cra
mped in a small space with him suddenly feels intimidating.

  If I change my mind, it’ll be impossible to get away from him.

  “Why not the house?”

  “I’m not waiting any longer,” he answers tightly.

  His tone is serious, and if it wasn’t for his still-hard dick currently trying to play tag with my stomach, I’d think he was mad at me.

  Opening the back door, the barbarian nearly tosses me in, barely giving me enough time to scoot away before he's following in after me, slamming the door behind him.

  The rain patters loudly against the car. It’s a sound many sleep apps have tried to replicate, but nothing can ever come close to imitating the sound of Seattle rain.

  I back myself into the opposite side of the car, but the second he realizes what I’m doing, he grabs both of my legs and drags me right back to him.

  He hovers over me, my back pressing into the leather seat and instantly sticking to it like hot glue on paper.

  It’s now that my brain focuses on all the insignificant details. Like that I’m completely naked and he’s fully dressed, and somehow, that makes me feel a little embarrassed.

  Or that the scent of rain and dirt clings to both of us, yet somehow leather and smoke linger on his clothes. I notice how small this car feels with him in it and how incredibly tiny I feel with him crowding me.

  Those things shadow over the details I’m too chicken to acknowledge. Like the fact that he’s staring down at me so intently, it feels as if his retinas are electromagnetic, and he can see everything I’m hiding inside. I’m not brave enough to meet his stare.

  Or that his hands are settled back on my waist, the coarseness of his skin sending delicious static shocks throughout my nerve endings.

  He leans down close, until his lips are a mere inch from mine. My eyes snap to his, like two opposite magnets. I can’t stop the force and once our gazes clash, all thoughts—all those details—are forgotten. I can’t think of anything else but how much I want him to kiss me, touch me, and claim me as his, over and over until I’m too delirious to fight any longer.

  “You like to pretend,” he observes, a touch of amusement in his tone.