Chapter Thirty-Six

Mallory

Girlfriend? Did he seriously just say that? Do I want to be his girlfriend? Absolutely. But what about Ghost? He could never find out. Could I hide this from him, would I even be able to? He’s my damn stalker. The man could literally be hiding out in the trees, watching this entire fucking evening progress. I calm my racing thoughts and listen to my body. It’s so tuned in to Ghost, I’m sure I’d know if he was here. But, I don’t feel him and that relaxes me.

Glancing back to Nox, who I’ve left stewing in the tension, he looks as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. His question hangs over us, large and imposing. Fuck, I want to be his. It’s unethical to belong to two men, but some women do it, right? Why shouldn’t I get what I want? I’ll just have to get them both on board with sharing me. The thought of being squished between both of them makes my toes curl.

“Girlfriend? What are we… in junior high, Nox?” I playfully jab him with my words and his face falls. Damn it.

“Do you want to meet under the bleachers and make out too?” I wiggle my eyebrows in a comical fashion but his stone face is unchanging. Well shit, note to self Mallory, don’t joke about this.

“What do you want then, Mallory? Because if it’s under the sun, I’ll give it to you.” Fucking. Swoon. When he lets his real emotions out and talks freely without worry, I embrace it. It’s real, and raw, and unrestrained. His head hangs down between his shoulders and he looks exhausted and defeated. I need to fix it.

“Yours. I want to be yours.” This is a horrible idea, I already told Ghost that I’m his. He better not lay a finger on Nox, this is my choice. He’ll just have to get on board, both of them will.

When he raises his head this time, he’s almost unrecognizable. I mean, it's him, but he looks completely wild. Possessed. My soft and sweet man is gone and in his place is the hardened exterior of a predator.

“Were you…teasing me?” his voice drips with sex and unspoken threats. Don’t back down, Mallory. He’s not like every other man, he won’t hurt you; and let’s be honest, if he did, you would probably like it.

“Yep!” I boop him right on the nose and he smiles. Whatever darkness overcame him slowly begins to recede, and I find it odd that I have mixed feelings about it.

“You wound me.” He grabs his chest over his heart and mocks being injured. He’s back, whatever internal battle was raging, Nox came out on top. This time. I wonder what would happen if the predator won the fight. I have the sudden urge to make it happen.

I can’t be with someone if they keep their darkest parts hidden from me. I know all too well how trauma and abuse twists the soul. It corrupts the mind and can create a whole other side of you that you dare not show the world.

It’s happened to me. It’s the fucked up part of me that has fallen so deeply for Ghost. His tattered soul and monstrous alter ego calls to mine. The part of me that wants to be stalked, chased, and fucked into the dirt by a man in a serial killer mask.

“Oh, is the big strong policeman secretly a wimp? Better alert the captain,” I jab him again. I don’t know why; well… yes I do. I want that look in his eyes again, but it doesn’t ever come.

We spend the rest of our time talking and getting to know each other better. We don’t talk much about our trauma, or skim over it to keep the mood light. He tells me about playing sports in high school, I tell him I was a geeky loner who liked to read.

“I never would have guessed,” was his sarcastic reply. Apparently he was a closet geek. I didn’t actually believe him until late in the night after we pulled into my driveway and he started pointing out all the constellations. I found a dipper, little or big I didn’t know, but he did. It was the little one. I called him a nerd and he kissed me until I couldn’t breathe. He said it was a fair trade for bullying him all night.

“If you kiss me like that, I’ll bully you all the time,” I joked. Then he did it again. Over and over until he had led me to my stoop. The fact that Nox hasn’t brought up my other love interest didn’t go unnoticed. Maybe he realized he doesn’t care anymore, maybe he will fight for me.

Lennox cups my cheek and kisses me slow and seductively. It leaves me hot and breathless, desperate to pull him through the threshold and ravage him. He’s been a perfect gentleman since making me cum in the cab of his truck. This is the kind of relationship I want. One with all consuming passion, but also a connection that will span lifetimes. One where he shares his french fries and dips them into his milkshake because I begged him to try it; and he did it, even though he called me insane. The thought that I’ll never have this with Ghost barges into my mind and its weight is crushing. I need him too.

That tingling sense of awareness prickles up my spine and across the back of my neck. Danger. Without being obvious, I scan the tree line quickly. It’s as if the very idea of my stalker can conjure him from the ether. The mask is all I can make out in the darkness, anger must be pouring off of him for me to feel so apprehensive of his presence.

“I’ll see you again, yeah?” Nox is as breathless as I am. I nod.

Nox retreats and climbs up into the driver's seat.

“No more hiding, I’ll always find you, sweetheart,” he shouts. The engine roars to life and he starts to reverse out of my driveway. I turn my head slightly and see Ghost disappear into the shadows. He must be furious with me after what he just witnessed. I’ll give him space to work through whatever he is feeling, I don’t think my pussy could handle a punishment of this magnitude anyways.

I pat around my pockets realizing I’m completely fucked.

I turn and run after Nox, screaming his name. His truck jolts to a stop and he rolls down his window.

“My stuff…it’s all in my car,” I pant out. Clearly I need to up my cardio. A sinister smirk pulls at his lips.

“Mhmm,” he murmurs

“Nox this isn’t funny, I don’t even have my car. I have to work in the morning!” The bastard has the audacity to chuckle at my meltdown.

“I guess we will be seeing each other again real soon then, hmmm?” he utters through a full mouth smile.

“Was this your plan all along?” I accuse and he just fucking beams at me. Oh, this asshole.

“While this is a completely over-the-top adorable way to ensure that you’ll see me again, I don’t even have my keys or phone.”

“Oh…” he ponders for a moment before saying, “Do you need my help, sweetheart?”

“I’m not having you drive me all the way back to the hotel,” I reply

“Did you get an alarm system?”

What kind of question is that? “No, just cameras.”

He nods, seemingly deep in thought. “I can pick the lock for you,” he says matter of factly.

“Breaking and entering? Now that’s not a very good look for a cop,” I tease.

“I told you, messed up past, remember? Now, do you want my help or not?”

“Yes, please.”

I hear the truck shift into 'park' as he rummages through the glove box, then he exits the beast of a vehicle.

“Good girl,” he whispers against my cheek and he plants a quick peck on it. My insides melt and drip out into my leggings. Why does he have to be so damn delicious?

He strides up to my door and pulls out a small kit full of tools. Why the fuck does he just carry that around in his truck? Lock picking kits can’t be legal…right? I opt to not ask. He’s very focused on what he’s doing, green eyes honed in on the keyhole, he’s holding his breath as silence engulfs us. Then there’s a click and he smiles. He turns the knob and the door swings open. He extends his arm, welcoming me home, and bows like some extravagant castle greeter. He’s so quirky sometimes and it just makes me fall harder.

“My hero,” I joke. His head rises, eyes darkening as they lock with mine.

“Always,” he growls.

Then he’s on me. Pushing me against the door frame and smashing his mouth against mine. This isn’t soft and sweet, it’s a total devouring. His passion tangles with mine as his hands grip my hips and pull me against him. He consumes my very being as his mouth moves against mine. That predator I got a peek at before has reappeared in full force. Finally.

My cunt is so fucking thirsty for him, she’s crying. I grab his belt and start to undo it. I get his zipper down and palm his enormous cock over his underwear. He groans into my mouth as he absorbs the pleasure I bring him. Then he pulls away as if I’ve burned him the second I get the head of his dick out from under the band of his shorts.

Awkward silence threatens to smother me as his rejection sets fire to all of my self confidence.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I forgot.”

“You’ll get my cock…just not tonight, sweetheart,” he says as he rights his pants. He won’t even look at me. His dismissal of my advances sting. It’s comparable to ripping off a scab of a healing wound, reopening the laceration of something you thought was healing.

I don’t know what to say or do so I choose silence instead. I want to be alone.

Nox leans down to kiss my forehead, “See you in the morning, babe.”

“Bye,” I whisper. I shouldn’t dread the morning to come, but I do.

I stand on my doorstep long after he has left, gazing out into the night, waiting for Ghost to appear, but he doesn’t. I’ve been effectively rejected by both of them tonight.

I lock the door and trudge my ass down the hall to my room. Every inch of this house is crawling with memories of them. Even after this very short amount of time, I see them everywhere. A quiet groan turns into a cathartic shriek as I expel all my emotions. Feelings pour out of me in torrents as I collapse into a bed that smells like Ghost. He’s fucking everywhere and it makes my head spin. I rip every sheet, pillowcase and blanket off my bed and spray my perfume onto the mattress. I redress my bed in things that don’t smell like my stalker. I glance to my floor and see my favourite blanket that undoubtedly smells like him. I sigh, bummed out and frustrated.

I grab my ghost blanket off the couch and another blanket from the linen closet. It’s grey, significantly less fuzzy, and doesn’t have a great snuggle factor, but it will have to do. I strip and collapse into bed, eager to have sleep wash away the shitty ending to this day.