Tales of Darkness & Sin: An Anthology

by Pepper Winters

  Talia flushed at my words. My lips twitched and I couldn’t help but smirk at her red face.

  “Like you want?” she whispered, pushing her hair away from her sweaty face. “Didn’t you just do that?”

  Chuckling, I raised an eyebrow. “I just did you a favor, Talia. No, I didn’t fuck you like I wanted. I fucked you like you needed me to. You were a virgin and so, I had to be… tender,” I said. The word ‘tender’ sounded foreign on my tongue and I was disgusted by it and the meaning behind the word. I was neither gentle nor tender. “Consider this a charity.”

  “Are you always an asshole?” Talia mumbled more to herself than to me. She hadn’t meant for me to hear it.

  “Now, now. That’s not how you speak to your savior.”

  Her eyes darkened at the mocking tone of my voice. “You used me to your advantage. I wouldn’t say you’re my savior.”

  I stood up, reaching for my discarded clothes. Talia’s gaze lingered on my body, far longer on my cock before she quickly blinked away. “You seem to have some memory problem. Let me help you remember,” I taunted. “You came here because you needed me. You didn’t have enough money to pay for the job, so I offered you an easy way out. Which was quite… considerate of me. I could have asked for something more debase. I only asked for your virginity. Then, I saved you from getting assaulted and raped. I killed a man for you… free of charge. And I’m about to kill another. So? What do you have to say for yourself?

  “I think… I think that’s the most I ever heard you speak.” Of course, she’d divert my question and the whole conversation. Slick little Talia. I guessed she wasn’t as stupid as I thought. Maybe naïve and a little too trusting… but hmm, not stupid.

  My chest rumbled with a dry laugh. She was silent as I quickly dressed. Once I was done, I grabbed the glass of water on her nightstand and offered it to her. She licked her dry lips and took it without question.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “For what?” she asked, confusion lingering in her eyes.

  I looked back to where she was still sprawled, legs opened. There was a wet spot on the bedsheet underneath her. My cum was starting to dry on the inside of her thighs. Her cunt looked red and swollen, covered with my semen. There was no mistaking the hint of blood there.

  I nodded toward her. “Thanks for the payment. You look just as filthy as I imagined you would after I’d take your virginity.”

  Talia followed my gaze and she gasped, closing her legs as she finally realized how indecent she looked. Tsk.

  She pulled the covers over herself – as if to hide the proof of what we had just done. Her nakedness. My cum, still dripping out of her cunt. The fact that she bled for me. What we had just done… this could ruin her.

  But there was no hiding it.

  It was a cruel reminder of what she sold and bargained for the death of her enemy. Talia had to live with this night, ingrained in her mind, for the rest of her life. Er, well…

  I grabbed the empty glass from her hand and placed it back on the nightstand. “Good night.”

  Not waiting for a reply, I walked out of her bedroom and closed the door behind me. Maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me, but I swore I heard her whisper goodnight back to me.

  Right, Talia was about to have a good night’s sleep. No nightmares, like the last few nights.

  Not after the sleeping pill I had slipped into the glass I offered her.

  Two days later, I walked into her apartment and found her sitting on the couch, cuddled up against a bunch of pillows and staring at the TV. She gasped as I walked through the door and jumped to her feet in alarm. Only to end up back on the couch with a loud cry.

  I walked over to her and crouched to her level. Grasping her lower leg, I placed her injured foot on my knee for a closer look. I probed her ankle with my thumb. “It still hurts?”

  “You need to knock. This is my apartment. You can’t just come and go as you please.”

  I raised my head and speared her with a look, cocking my head to the side. Really? We fucked… I was about to kill a man for her and she was worried about me coming into her apartment without knocking?

  She swallowed and averted her gaze. “How did you get in anyway?”

  “I have my ways,” I said, not elaborating. Meaning…I had a duplicate key made, but she didn’t know that. Or maybe she guessed it now. My words were cryptic, but I was starting to learn that Talia wasn’t as stupid as I thought she was.

  Talia let out a low hiss and crossed her arms. “Well, you can’t just walk in like that!”

  “I can and I have.” I placed the plastic bag on the couch. “Food. Eat.”

  “I already had a sandwich,” she replied, but gave the bag a longing look. She was practically salivating at the smell of the Chinese food.

  “You lie. I checked your refrigerator and it was empty. Eat.”

  Talia made an agitated sound in the back of her throat. “Maybe if you tell me nicely instead of demanding I eat…”

  I kept my expression blank and stayed silent, waiting for her to give in. And she did. Not even a minute later, her stomach growled and she reached for the food, practically digging in like a desperate, starving little thing.

  She shoved a spoonful of rice into her mouth and chewed almost aggressively as she kept her eyes averted. It was kinda… cute.

  I watched her as she ate. Until I couldn’t just watch anymore. My hands twitched with the urge to touch her and so I did. My hand came up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and my thumb brushed away the grain of rice that was stuck to her lips. Talia inhaled sharply and her gaze landed on me again.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered.

  My head lowered and my lips slammed against her, stealing her breath and swallowing her gasp. Her tiny fist thumped against my chest for a mere second… before her touch became less of an effort to escape me and more...

  Her fingers dug into my shoulders and her body slid closer to me. I groaned into the kiss, my tongue sliding across her lips and demanding entrance. She let me and I fucking devoured her. Talia pulled away, breathless. Her eyes hazy, her lips red and swollen and her cheeks flushed.

  “What…?”

  My cock throbbed. “You’re getting better.”

  “Huh?”

  “Kissing. You’re getting better, but I think you need a little more practice.” I had known Talia was a virgin, but I hadn’t expected I would be her first kiss. She was so goddamn innocent and so fucking inexperienced.

  And here I was. A bastard who was taking advantage of it all.

  Talia’s eyes flared, growing darker. I didn’t give her a chance to refute me before I claimed her lips again.

  Fuck, she tasted so sweet.

  Three days later, Talia sat next to me on the couch, wringing her hands. She was less nervous in my presence now, but still somewhat fearful.

  Yesterday, she said I was unpredictable. Which was… true, I’d give her that. She even went as far as saying she couldn’t let her guard down around me… or trust me.

  Yeah, Talia was finally learning.

  But no, she was still quite…innocent. Not stupid, she had brains – I found out. She also had a sharp tongue when she wasn’t too frightened.

  I bumped my knee against hers, bringing her attention back to me. “I asked you a question.”

  “Yes, my ribs are feeling better now. My ankle is fine, the sprain wasn’t too bad.”

  “And your sleep?” I continued to push. Talia looked a little reluctant to answer my questions. Not because she was scared. Because she was confused by the attention I was giving her.

  “Surprisingly, I’m sleeping better,” she confessed.

  Because of the sleeping pills… unknown to her, of course.

  “When…” She broke off when her voice cracked. “When will you…”

  “Do you want him to have a quick death? Or do you want him to suffer?”

  Talia swallowed. “Make him suffer.”

&nbs
p; “Please.”

  “What?”

  “Say please.” There was outrage in her brown eyes. I curled a lock of her hair around my finger, tugging her closer to me. I leaned forward, rubbing my nose along the column of her throat. Talia responded with a small shudder. “Beg me to kill him.”

  “Please, make him suffer.”

  My dick hardened. “Say it again.”

  “Please,” she breathed.

  I pulled back, a grin on my lips. “I quite like you like this. Submissive.”

  And at my mercy.

  Talia was provoked and she squinted at me. She opened her mouth, but I placed a finger against her lips, stopping her tirade of words. “Careful, or I might decide to continue our kissing lessons right now.”

  Her jaw snapped shut. I knew exactly how to shut her up.

  “I can kiss just fine.” Talia glared with no heat.

  I chuckled at how affronted she appeared. “You’re getting better.”

  She nudged her chin up and looked away from me. I stood up and straightened to my full height.

  “Once the job is done, I’ll collect the second half of my payment.”

  Talia paused. Her eyes lost the mirth and were now replaced with caution. “Second half?” she sputtered. The color drained from her face as she finally came to the realization. “Wait, I thought this was a one-time thing. You wanted my virginity and I gave you that. The payment has been made.”

  “No, the payment is done when I say it’s done. You gave me your virginity… but I had to hold myself back,” I growled. “I’m not satisfied with your service, Talia.”

  Her eyes widened and she jumped off the couch, taking a few steps back. “You… you mean…”

  I stalked to her, moving forward for every step she took away from me. Her back slammed against the wall and I crowded into her space. “You struck a bargain with the Kazan’s Devil. You’re out of luck, Little One. I’ll be back to collect the rest of my payment.”

  I pushed away from her soft, tempting body. Talia brought a hand up to her heaving chest and silently gasped.

  “If you run,” I warned. “I will find you. And you won’t like the consequences.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Talia

  After all these years I’d finally get my wish. Killer would kill Pasquale, would dole out the revenge I’d only ever dreamed about. It was an exhilarating feeling. Even knowing that Killer would make him suffer, I didn’t feel a hint of guilt.

  I’d gone through my work shift in a trance today, thinking about Killer, about what he’d do, about what we had done.

  Nerves tightened my belly. I’d really slept with him. From an early age, girls in my circle were taught to protect their virtue because it determined their worth. It was something deeply engrained in me, and yet I’d given it up to Killer. Not just anyone, but the enemy. If my family or my friends found out, they wouldn’t understand. Maybe Cara would understand. My sister herself had been with Growl before marriage, but her situation had been vastly different. She had been a captive, trying to make her situation more bearable. My mother, she’d be terribly disappointed, even heartbroken.

  They’d condemn me for my choice, and maybe they would be right to do so.

  I hadn’t offered myself to Killer to protect someone or for some other virtuous reason. I’d done it for simple revenge, to still the hunger for blood humming in my veins.

  I glanced at the door for what felt like the hundredth time, waiting for Killer to return. I didn’t know when that would be, how long he’d need to end Pasquale for me, to end him brutally.

  Sighing, I closed my eyes. Images from our time together flashed through my mind, vividly, breathtakingly. I tensed when heat pooled in my belly, remembering Killer’s imposing body, the feel of his muscles on top of me, the pressure of him inside of me. It had been painful, and yet I’d felt the teasing hints of something more beneath the ache. Something I was dangerously curious about. But worse than my kindling desire was that gentle flutter in my chest when I thought of him, of how carefully he’d treated me. I hadn’t expected him to be gentle. To know that there was more to him than brutality made me want to discover all of him, peel back all the layers of darkness to the man hidden beneath.

  I wanted to spend more time with him. But how would that ever be possible? Our time was limited. Eventually I’d have to return to New York. Not yet though. We still had time. I had time to coerce more out of Killer, to make him realize that it was okay to be gentle with some people, with me. We had tonight, and tomorrow, and maybe…

  …maybe I could stay in Florida for a bit? Was anyone really missing me in New York? Cara perhaps, but she’d understand if I stayed here to find happiness. My mother wouldn’t approve but she was caught in the past, in her sad memories, and barely paid attention to me most of the time.

  Florida meant freedom. The chance to explore who I was without the restrictions of tradition. I could date, could be with someone…

  Maybe I was foolish for thinking that someone could be Killer.

  The lock turned. My eyes flew open as Killer unlocked my door with his spare key and stepped in, looking like a demon straight out of the deepest pit of hell. His hands, his arms, his upper body were covered in blood, proof of a life taken. I stood slowly, my heartbeat speeding up. Then I registered Killer’s face, the lingering brutality and bloodlust…

  And worse than that, the dark, relentless hunger in his eyes.

  Killer

  The moment I had her against the wall, Talia went limp in my arms. She didn’t struggle, but her eyes shone with uncertainty and… strange interest. Curiosity. Need. Hunger.

  Anticipation poured out of her and I could taste her lust on my tongue.

  “Are you scared?” My words spilled out like a growl. I was covered in Pasquale’s blood and the pungent smell of death still lingered on me. Adrenaline coursed through my body, making it harder for me to think. My dick was hard as granite and I wanted to push her legs open and slam right into her cunt, take what was mine, claim what belonged to me.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  I pushed my face into her neck, inhaling her scent. Sweet. So fucking sweet. My nose trailed up, along the column of her throat. My teeth grazed the skin right below her ear and she trembled in my arms.

  “Do you want to run away?”

  I was giving her a way out… or maybe I wanted her to think she could escape.

  Her hands came up and she grasped my forearms. She clung to me. Oh, little Talia kept surprising me on every turn.

  “Will you hurt me?” she asked quietly.

  “Maybe,” I confessed, my voice taking a deeper undertone. “It depends on your definition of hurt.” Lust fired up through my veins and all I wanted to do was throw her on the ground and fuck her like the savage I was.

  I grasped her hand and brought it to my lips. Talia stared at me, our gazes locked in that single moment. I gave her index finger a sharp nip and her eyes flared. “Pain and pleasure are the same to me. I indulge in both.”

  Talia shook her head, looking a little scared…a little…eager. “Pain is not pleasure.”

  Another nip and she flinched. “So innocent. So naïve.”

  So fucking restraint, I wanted to push all her buttons. I wanted to strip her bare, discover all her hidden desires, force them out of her and show her what it truly felt like to be mounted and claimed by a man like me.

  “Will you be collecting the rest of your payment now?” she whispered, her voice shaking.

  I didn’t answer. My hands landed on her waist and pulled her hard into my body, my fingers digging into her hips. I waited for a reaction.

  Talia didn’t push me away. Instead, in a small gesture of submission, she tilted her head to the side. The slightest and smallest movement, something I’d miss if I wasn’t so in tune with her body and her reaction. Talia gave me full access to her lips, a silent permission.

  To take, to devour, to hurt, to ruin.

  I made m
y kill.

  And now I needed to fuck the aggression… this need…out of my system.

  Carnal lust licked through my veins, like gasoline added to an already out of control fire. With a low snarl, my lips crashed against hers.

  I kissed Talia.

  I devoured her lips.

  I breathed her. Inhaled her. Fucking kissed her like I needed to.

  She gasped; her knees weakened and her legs gave out.

  Her hands came up to my shoulders and she clung to me, almost in a desperate attempt… to push me away… to pull me closer. Fuck! FUCK!

  I growled into the kiss, shoving my tongue into her mouth. She cried out softly but kissed me back. Her tongue tasted mine, a little tentative… inexperienced, but she didn’t pull away.

  Lips. Tongue. Teeth.

  Blood roared between my ears and I lost sense of everything. Talia owed me. This was her payment to me. And I was going to take… until she had nothing left to give.

  Grabbing Talia by the waist, I kept our lips locked and walked us to the opposite wall. A soft moan came from her throat when I pulled away from the kiss and turned her around. With her back against mine, I pushed her front against the full-length mirror that was attached to the wall.

  Talia gasped as she took in our reflection.

  Her lips swollen and red from my kisses. Her chest heaving. Her hair in disarray. And I still had dry blood on me. My arms curled around her and I grabbed the front of her dress. Her eyes widened and she cried out as I ripped it open, her bra coming along too until she was fully exposed. I crowded into her back, forcing her against the mirror. Her tits pressed against the cold mirror and her nipples hardened.

  Her neck and cheeks flushed red.

  Talia looked scandalized.

  She was at my mercy.

  I pulled her dress up and shoved my hand into her black, cotton panties. She was…fuck, she was soaked. I ripped her panties away, not giving her a chance to react. My fingers slid over her wet pussy lips before my teeth sank down into her bare shoulder. Talia screamed and rocked against my hand as I speared her with two fingers. Her cunt clenched around the intrusion, her juices soaking my hand.