“I want you so badly,” he whispers as he drags his lips to my ear.
“Me, too,” I say. “I want you, too.” My body arches to meet his as he cups my breast and massages it, giving ample attention to my nipple with his thumb.
“Is it wrong?” he groans, pressing a kiss to my neck.
“No …” I moan as he rubs his cock against me.
“God, I feel so bad,” he says, hissing while biting his lip. “I just can’t stop myself.”
“Don’t stop,” I whisper. “I need it. I need you.” He looks me in the eye as I say, “Let’s be bad together.”
*
Phoenix
“How long are we going to be here?” my girlfriend asks, tugging on my arm.
I jerk my arm and take my eyes off the binoculars. “As long as I want to.”
“Why? You said you’d take me out,” she says.
I frown. “Yes, and we’re outside. Your point?”
She rolls her eyes. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I don’t care. I have more important things on my mind right now.”
She makes a face. “Oh, c’mon. What’s so fun about spying on a girl anyway when you got me?” She flaunts her body by pushing her tits in my face.
I shove her back in her seat. “Sit down. I don’t have time for you now.”
She sighs out loud. “Fine.” She folds her arms and gazes outside the other window. Finally, she’s off my case. God, that woman can be annoying sometimes. Like now, I wonder why the fuck I ever agreed to live together … but then I remember it’s because she’s such a good sucker. She’s always ready, willing, and I can take what I want when I want. And I love me a good fuck every day. Why not take it from her if she offers it so willingly?
Besides, it’s not like she’s useful for anything else. She gets on my nerves a lot, especially when I’m trying to do something like now.
I return my attention to the view I had through the binoculars and look through the window. I can clearly see Vanessa talking with some dude who I presume is Phillip’s brother. I’m curious to see if she’s going to tell him anything about me. I’ve been keeping an eye on her the entire time, just to see if she would make a move. I assume she’s waiting for the right time or the right person … someone like his brother would make sense. Plus, she is the type of girl who would try and get the police on my tracks. It’s not a question of if, but when.
My grip on the binoculars tightens as I spot him inching closer to her and touching her face. A jolt of anger rushes through me, something I’m not familiar with, as I rarely get jealous. But damn, the moment he puts his lips on hers, a raging fire boils inside me, bursting out through my mouth. I growl, almost breaking the binoculars in my hands. How dare he fucking touch her? She’s mine. I fucked her first. I don’t fucking care what happens next. I just want her to think about me, and only me.
In a fit of rage, I throw the binoculars at the window, almost breaking the glass.
“Hey! Be careful,” my girlfriend says.
“Fuck off …” I mutter, rubbing my forehead. Why can’t I stop thinking about her? She means nothing to me. And yet, I can’t stop wondering if she’ll expose me as the killer, and as someone she fucked. I should be the only one on her mind right now, but I’m not, and it’s pissing me off.
“No, what the hell is wrong with you?” my girlfriend yells.
“Shut up,” I say, narrowing my eyes at her. “I don’t want to hear your yammering.”
She frowns, pursing her lips. “Well, you’re in a great mood. I knew I shouldn’t have left the house with you. It was a mistake to even think you’d finally go out with me like normal couples do.”
“I said shut the fuck up!” I scream at her face, which makes her back away.
She swallows, and I lean back in my chair, grabbing the steering wheel like it’s my lifeline. “Don’t talk to me right now.”
“Sorry,” she says softly.
Blowing out a big breath, I turn on the engine and drive away.
I don’t want to see, hear, or even think of anything that involves Vanessa Starr anymore. I can’t take that woman consuming my mind. I have to burn the image out of my memories quickly, and there’s only one way I know how to make that happen.
Either she does what I want, which is not talking to anyone, or heads are going to roll.
*
Vanessa
Arthur smiles and then kisses me again, and I hungrily kiss him back while undoing the button of his jeans. They slide down as I cup his ass and bring him closer to me. His hands slip down between my legs to cup my pussy and circle around my clit. I breathe heavily into his mouth, warmth flowing through my body as he starts toying with my most sensitive spot. All I can think about is having him inside me, so I pull down his boxer shorts, letting his cock spring out.
“Are you sure?” he murmurs, kissing my lips while still playing with my pussy.
“Yes, I want you,” I moan. “Please …”
I’m pathetic, begging him to fuck me, but the urge is consuming me. I need him to love me. I need love … I’ve been deprived of it for so long, and Arthur hands it to me on a silver platter. How can I not give in?
From under his lashes, he looks at me and then hooks his fingers underneath my panties and pulls them down slowly, kissing me sensually on my collarbone. I lean up as he grabs a condom from his pants and rips it open. His cock is nicely shaped, thick but not too large, and I love the way it bounces when he sees me looking. I push the zipper on the back of my dress as far as I can and let it slide off my shoulders, just past my breasts. When my nipples peek out, the left side of his lip perks up. He rolls the condom over his dick and then lowers himself on top of me, covering my nipple with his mouth.
I moan out loud as he gives me what I need, and in return, I let him have me for the night. I don’t know if this is one of many nights to come, but there’s no need to worry about that now. Not when I’m delirious from his kisses.
When his hard-on pokes my entrance, I gasp, and when he thrusts, I feel complete.
“God, you feel so good,” he mutters, as he slides back out and in again.
“Yes,” I moan. “Fuck me, Arthur.”
“Fuck?” he says, stopping his kisses for a second. “I don’t want to fuck you, Vanessa. I want to love you.”
I frown. “It’s the same thing.”
“Not in my book.” He smiles, sliding aside a strand of hair from my face. He presses a kiss on my nose. “I want to love you for everything you are and give you what you need.”
“What I need now is you, inside me,” I whisper. “Please, do it. I don’t want to think anymore. I want to feel you.”
He groans as his cock pulsates, and then he thrusts again. “All right.” He presses his lips to my mouth and consumes me with a deep kiss. “I love you, Vanessa. Not just today. I always have.”
“I know, Arthur … I know.”
“Let me love you, let me in,” he murmurs as I feel the tension rise.
“Yes.” The thrusts come faster and faster, and I’m reaching my climax soon.
“Give everything to me,” he says.
“I’m going to come,” I moan, grabbing him tight.
We exchange hot breaths, moans, and whispers as we’re both about to burst. I look him in the eyes, knowing what we’re doing and enjoying every single second of it. The way he gazes at me, completely enraptured, so intense that it makes me fall apart right underneath him. My body rocks with the rhythm of his thrusts as I come apart at the seams, convulsing, disappearing into bliss. And then he explodes, and I feel his warmth filling me up. A few more thrusts and he sinks down on top of me, hugging me, panting heavily. I wrap my arms around him and close my eyes … For the first time in a long time, I feel loved again.
Chapter Ten
Vanessa
The next day, sunset
Spending the night with Arthur was just what I needed. Recuperating much-needed energy, my body fel
t renewed and ready for the counterattack. Phoenix may have set me up to make the police believe that I killed my husband on purpose, but that doesn’t mean I’m not able to do the same to him.
I hold my pink dress hat tight as the wind almost whisks it away. I’m sitting at a table outside a bar, right across the street. With a steaming cup of tea, and the sun shining brightly against my sunglasses, I watch the scene in front of me unfold.
Phoenix steps out of his apartment building with a horrid look on his face, and he marches toward his car. I check my watch, which signifies it’s been thirty minutes since he arrived. Took him long enough.
My father texted me the address last night, so when I came home this morning, the first thing I did was pay Phoenix a visit. Too bad he wasn’t there. Luckily, he’s here now. Just in time for the show to start.
I wait and drink my tea until he comes back with his car, parks it in front of the door, and goes back inside. I wonder what he’s doing, but I don’t have to wait long for an answer. Within a few minutes, he’s back, this time with a tent bag that is way too large to actually contain a tent … and much heavier too, it seems.
I guess he really doesn’t give a shit who sees him. In broad daylight, he throws the bag into the backseat of his car and jumps behind the wheel.
Taking a last sip, I put down a few bills and leave my seat. Before I get into my car, I walk into an obscure alley away from the crowd and grab my phone. Swallowing and sighing, I try to make myself out of breath before I dial the numbers.
“Hello, is this the police?” I ask, trying to make my voice sound erratic.
“Yes, do you want to report a crime?”
“He’s trying to kill me!” I yell.
“Who is? Where are you, ma’am?”
“Route fifty-five. Please, come quickly!”
“The cars are on their way, ma’am, hold on.”
“Hurry up,” I scream between, “Help!”
“Ma’am, stay on the phone, please. We’re coming to your location as fast as possible.”
“I can’t! He just killed this other girl, and now he’s coming after me.”
“Ma’am, please do not hang up the phone.”
“I can’t …” I make gurgling sounds, choking myself while doing so. Then I turn off the phone and walk away. Putting on my sunglasses, I jump into my car and drive after Phoenix.
I don’t need to see his car to know where he’s going.
It’s where he always goes.
*
Phoenix
I can’t believe I have to fucking do this again. Burying a corpse isn’t one of my favorite things to do, especially not when it’s my fucking girlfriend. But there’s nothing else to do about it. She’s dead anyway, and I can’t leave her in my apartment. The stench would make people call the police, and I can’t have them on my back right now. Still, it’s sad that she had to die this way. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I guess there are always unforeseen casualties in this business.
I park my car near the edge of the road and jump out, so I can open the back door and pull out the bag with her corpse in it. It’s quite a strain on the muscles as I pull her out and drag her toward the sand far from the road. It’s taking all my strength to get as far away as possible, but once my energy is spent, I drop the bag and take a few moments to breathe.
Right then, I hear another engine roaring behind me.
I look up and to my side and see a car parked right behind mine.
Well, fuck me.
Visitors? I guess someone’s having a bad day, and it isn’t me. Oh well, one more kill isn’t going to make a difference.
I walk back to the car, leaving the body behind because she’s dead anyway and there’s no one out here to steal her body. I’m far more interested in the person who came to snoop in on my business. I wonder if there is a certain death wish floating around, or if I have an admiring fan. That would be a fun surprise.
Instead, I get a grumpy Vanessa Starr stepping out of her car with her shades tucked into the rim of her dress. Fucking hell, if it weren’t for the fact that she looks like a walking fuck-doll, I would grab my gun and shoot her for even daring to come here. But I’d much rather enjoy her figure for a while; might as well while she’s here anyway. And I know she wants it.
“You again,” I say. “How did you find me?”
With a smug smile, she says, “Easy. This is where we always bury our secrets.”
Goddammit. She’s really getting on my nerves now, bringing that up. “Didn’t you hear me when I told you to fuck off?” I growl.
“Oh, I did, but then again I’ve never been much of a good listener anyway,” she says, wearing that fake smile like she always does.
I want to fuck that pretty little smile off her face.
Narrowing my eyes, I walk toward her as she leans against her car. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Following you,” she says.
With furrowed brows, I say, “Playing with the devil will get you killed, Princess.”
I place my hand on the car as she puts her back against it. “I’m not here to play games, Phoenix.”
“Aw, really? Shame, because I was really starting to get into this game of catch.” She tries to push me away, but I don’t back off that easily. “Wow, settle down, girl, you don’t want to enrage the beast.”
“I think I already have, so I don’t care anymore,” she says, and then she slaps me in the face. “That’s for killing my husband.”
I cock my head. “You had to go and do that.” I grind my teeth. “You fucking bitch.”
She spits in my face, so I grab her hands and pin them to the door. “Make one more move and I’ll fuck you up, right here, right now.”
“Let’s go, baby,” she taunts.
I breathe through my nose, attempting to calm myself because I’d rather not kill a beauty like her, but damn … she’s really getting on my nerves now, especially after what she’s done.
“Wanna fuck me, boy?” she says.
“Been there, done that,” I say, smiling at her. “I wasn’t too impressed.”
The look on her face goes from seductive to rage within the snap of a finger. “Fuck you!”
She kicks me in the balls. God-fucking-dammit. That fucking hurts.
She runs past me, so after catching a quick breath, I go after her. It doesn’t take long for me to catch up. I jump on her back, causing her to fall into the sand and roll around.
“Get off me!” she yells.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you beg me to not be on top.”
She tries to slap me again, but I grab her wrists and pin them down. “Not again.”
“Yes, again. Think I’m going to stop? After what you did?”
“Yeah, I thought my knife on your throat was a good warning. Apparently not. Jesus Christ, all you girls are the same.”
“Are what?” she says.
“Pitiful …” I spit.
“Why did you kill him?”
My nose starts to twitch, feeling the urge to kill. “Oh, there are plenty of reasons why I killed that son of a bitch, and now I have plenty of reasons to kill you, too.”
“You fucking murderer!” she yells.
“Oh, that’s precious, coming from a girl like you,” I say, making a face. “Pretentious, fake little princess. Jesus fucking Christ, you really have outdone yourself this time.”
“Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Except, I do, or did you forget everything?”
She’s quiet for a moment, taking a deep breath. “As if I’m the only fake one here. Phoenix Sullivan? Is that the name you go by now?”
“So, you do remember.” I eye her from top to bottom, getting closer as I smell her intoxicating scent.
“I don’t want to remember.”
Frowning, I stare at her, anger seeping into my pores until I no longer feel anything but hatred for her. Again, she’s proven just how much
of a bitch she can be. Just by uttering those words, she’s torn open a long ago closed wound that I’ve been trying to cover up for years.
“You bitch,” I mutter. My hands immediately go for her throat.
I want her gone. I want her dead. I don’t want to think about her anymore. Screw her, screw everything. She has to die. She has to be gone from this world. She has to pay for what she did … everything she and her husband did. It’s all I can think about. Kill … kill … kill!
My fingers wrap so tightly around her neck that I can hear her choke on her own breath. Her fingers pry at mine in a desperate attempt to free her from my grasp, but I hold on mercilessly.
It’s not until the sirens in the distance come that I realize what I’m doing. By the time the police come near, my hands are pulled from her throat, and I hear her raspy breath before I’m taken away.
She’s done it. She’s outwitted me. She knew I’d go for it … and I knew it, too … and yet I did it anyway.
Chapter Eleven
Vanessa
The next day …
In the police station, I stare at the wall, drinking water from a plastic cup, thinking about Phoenix. He’s been on my mind for ages … ever since I saw him at the party … the moment I knew he was back in my life.
Yes, I’ve known Phoenix longer than just a few days. Longer than weeks … months … even years. Our history goes way back, except back then he wasn’t a ruthless killer going under the name Phoenix Sullivan, and I wasn’t the coldhearted bitch that I am today.
When I said he was a stranger, I meant it. I don’t know him the way I used to, and neither does he know me for how I am today. However, I have a feeling this is far from over.
Even though he is in a cell right now, it only takes one moment for him to escape. Now that I’ve seen what he’s capable of, I know this is just the beginning of the end.
It didn’t always used to be like this. There was a time when he was just as innocent as I portray myself to be. But like everything else in this world, we changed as time passed, and so did our personalities … our appearance… our goals.