Water’s Edge (A Series of Sharp Edges #1)

7. Mattie

CHAPTER SEVEN

mattie

T his is not how I envisioned tonight going. I’m a boneless wreck, lying on the bed in a puddle of sweat, blood, and both of our arousal. Whoever this man is, I’ve severely misjudged him. I try to find any give in the ropes binding me to the bed, but there is none, my skin raw beneath the restraints.

My head is still reeling over how I’ve found myself in this situation. My body betrayed me, and I should have known better than to give in to my carnal desires. The whole reason I started killing was my distrust of men and my loathing of their disrespect for women, like we’re inferior somehow. Every piece of scum I send to a watery grave makes the world a little safer. I should have stuck to my plan.

Now, he’s sitting in the corner of my room, humming a tune while picking his nails, like this whole situation is normal for him. It’s just another day, another nightly conquest. After his own climax ripped through him, he put only his jeans back on. His shirtless chest taunts me as it rises with each even breath. His muscles stretch over his frame, rippling with every movement. I should plan how I’m going to escape this whole mess, but I can’t help but stare and admire him, this beautiful demon of a man. My treacherous body betrays me again, and liquid heat pools between my thighs.

“We’ve gotten ourselves into quite the dilemma.” He looks up at me with those ice-blue eyes that feel like they can see right through me. He stands from the chair and crosses the room to me with slow steps. “I’ve bent my rules for you.”

“I could say the same fucking thing,” I choke out. My throat is so dry, it could make a desert jealous. Every ounce of wetness in my body has gone straight to my core. I still don’t know this man’s fucking name, but my body melts for him.

A rumble roars through my stomach so loudly, I swear it reverberates through the room. My stranger confirms my suspicion when he looks down at me and laughs faintly. “Is my little bug hungry?”

Stubbornness keeps me from answering right away, but I’m starving. I can’t remember the last time I ate. I was going to eat at the bar last night, but this man had me so riled up, I completely forgot. I groan and shift against my restraints. My arms complain with every motion. My back arches, searching for relief.

“I’m fucking starving,” I growl, low and grisly. I sneer, but I’m unwilling to look up and meet his stare. I don’t need his cool blue eyes casting judgment, or worse, pity, on me. He bested me at my own game, and I’m still wounded over it. My body only aches from what we’ve done tonight, but my pride is bruised.

He grabs my chin, quick and hard, like a viper striking out towards its next meal. My jaw audibly clicks shut with the force of his grasp. His hand yanks my face, forcing me to look him in the eyes. His eyes narrow salaciously. “Ah, but what are you hungry for?”

“Food, you asshole,” I growl, much louder this time, spitting up at him. The spit falls short and back onto my face instead. His laughter booms, filling the entire room, and he releases my face. “So testy. You’ve got a fire in you, Mattie. You better hope I don’t decide to put it out.” A wicked grin flashes across his face, and he strolls out of my small bedroom. His shadow disappears beyond the door frame.

I strain to hear and follow his footsteps as he makes his way around my tiny cabin. His footsteps are unnaturally quiet, like he’s floating around the space instead of walking. The thought is so ridiculous, a laugh slips out before I can contain it. The humor is short-lived, and I sigh, sagging again against the ropes holding me in place. I struggle to get my legs under me, shifting to kneel in an attempt to relieve the constant pressure on my back.

Eventually, I hear him come back down the hall, stopping right outside my room. “Mattie, I figured you’d be better at surviving than this,” he says. His words drip with condescension. “There’s barely anything in your kitchen to feed you.”

“I don’t need you to feed me,” I spit. “I need you to let me go.”

“Ah, I see. So you can finish the job you started, drag me down to the water like all the others. You want to watch the light drain from my eyes as you release me to a watery grave?” His nostrils flare and his eyes narrow on me.

The air pulls from my lungs and my chest tightens. The room spins around me, and I’m already naked, but I feel infinitely more vulnerable in this moment. This man cannot just see through me, but inside me, every dark crevice I’ve kept carefully hidden away from everyone else. I don’t even know his name, but he knows my darkest secret. A crawling sensation creeps over me, and I shiver. My bound arms leave me unable to curl into myself.

“Little bug, you may not know me, but I know you,” he says. His voice is molten, flowing effortlessly, like he’s not cracking me open with each word. I suck my lips through my teeth, pressing them together so tightly, it’s painful. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth. I want to say so many things, but I’m rendered speechless. My thoughts race through every step of my last kill.

Was I followed? Did he see me out there with another nameless man? Is he holding me here until he can turn me in? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck . The best thing I can do right now is not give him the satisfaction of a confession. My throat is dry as fuck. There’s not enough air in the room. My eyes water, even though I beg my body to not betray me.

“Denying it won’t make it less true,” he laughs lowly, like he can read my thoughts. “It won’t make you less of a monster.”

His words light a fire in my blood, and I launch myself towards him, temporarily forgetting the ropes around my wrists. The restraints jerk me back, knocking the wind from my lungs. “Fuck. You.”

“You humans are all too easily offended.” He looks down and flicks invisible lint off his bare chest. The veins in his arms twist and bulge with each movement. A familiar stir in my body reappears as the anger and arousal in my blood mix dangerously. The muscles in my arms bulge, filled with rage, as I struggle against the ropes.

“You humans?” I bark. “You shouldn’t throw stones in glass houses. You’re just as much of a monster as me.”

His eyes heat as he looks up to lock eyes with me. He stalks towards me slowly, one step at a time. He doesn’t stop until he’s so close, I can feel his hot breath on top of my head. My vision blurs, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. I blink several times because I swear, he’s vibrating with all the rage filling the space between us.

“You have no fucking idea.” His hand snaps around my face, pinching my cheeks together. I squirm beneath his touch, and my body betrays me again, desperately rocking back and forth, chasing more of him, seeking any type of relief for all this tension eating me from the inside out. His tongue traces the edges of my mouth, each heavy breath from him mixing with my own. I don’t have time to sort out how contradicting my feelings are before his mouth crashes violently onto mine. Once again, I lose myself in him.