Chapter 49: Nightmare
Aurora’s POV
??"Thank you," I whispered, the words tasting bitter and sweet all at once. "For tonight. Not just for... the body. But for the food. And for staying."
??I couldn’t believe I was actually saying those words. I was thanking the man who had haunted my nightmares for six years—the man who destroyed my life. My mind was screaming that I was a traitor to my own family, but my heart was too exhausted to listen.
??"You’re welco, Aurora," he said, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it.
??I looked at him, the curiosity finally winning. "Why are you being this nice to , Raymond? Surely you want sothing in return. n like you don’t do favors for free."
??He was silent for a long mont, the green of his eyes darkening behind the mask. He didn’t blink, didn’t move. "I want you," he said simply, the weight of the words hanging heavy in the air. "Be my submissive."
??I swallowed hard, my throat feeling tight. So he was still bent on having . "I can’t," I whispered. "I won’t. If I refuse... will you turn
in? Will you tell the police what I did in the alley?"
??He scoffed, a dark, low sound. He reached out and gently took both of my hands in his, his thumbs grazing my knuckles. "As far as I am concerned, Aurora, what happened tonight never happened. The man doesn’t exist. The cri doesn’t exist. You have nothing to fear from the law."
??My heart gave a treacherous flutter. Why was I feeling this? I needed to get a grip. This man was a murderer. He was the reason I was an orphan. He was a monster who killed for sport.
??The sudden realization of who he was—of what he had taken from —hit
like a physical blow. I felt a surge of self-loathing. I pulled my hands away from his warmth as if I’d been burned.
??"I’m feeling sleepy," I said abruptly, my voice cold.
??He didn’t push. He didn’t get angry. He just nodded and stood up, moving back to the chair by the desk. I climbed onto the bed, turning my back to him and pulling the covers up to my chin. I reached over and switched on the dim bedside lamp, the soft yellow glow barely reaching the corners of the room.
??"Sleep," he said from the shadows. "Once you are asleep, I will leave."
??I nodded, staring at the wall.
??I lay there in the silence, listening to the steady sound of his breathing. My mind was a ss of contradictions. I hated him. I wanted him to stay. I wanted him to leave. But as the minutes ticked by, the exhaustion finally started to win, the presence of the masked monster in the corner providing a strange, terrifying sense of security that I hated myself for needing.
??As soon as I drifted off, the walls of my room disappeared. I was back in that alley. The sll of blood was so thick I could taste it. I saw the man’s glassy eyes, but this ti, he wasn’t dead. He was standing, his throat gurgling as he reached for
with blood-slicked fingers. I tried to run, but my feet were stuck in the dark pool on the concrete.
??"No!" I shrieked, the sound tearing from my throat.
??I bolted upright, my chest heaving, my skin drenched in a cold sweat. The light snapped on instantly. Before I could even process where I was, Raymond was there. He moved with a speed that shouldn’t have been possible, climbing onto the bed and pulling
into his massive chest.
??Without thinking, I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in the crook of his shoulder. I sobbed into his sweater, clinging to him like he was the only solid thing in a world made of ghosts.
??"You stayed," I gasped between sobs. "Thank you... thank you for staying."
??"Shh, Aurora. I’m here," he murmured. His large, warm hand began to stroke my hair, a slow, rhythmic motion that forced my heart to slow down. "What did you see? Tell ."
??"I saw him," I whispered, my voice trembling. "The man from the alley. He was running after . He wouldn’t stay down."
??"It was just your fear, Aurora," he said, his voice a deep, grounding rumble against my ear. "A trick of your imagination. He is gone. I made sure of it. He can never hurt you again."
??"I’m scared," I confessed, finally pulling back just enough to look at his masked face. "I’m scared of everything. I’m scared of what I did."
??He looked at
for a long ti, his green eyes soft—almost pained. "Then we sleep together," he said firmly. He pulled back the covers and settled himself beside , his large fra taking up half the bed. He didn’t ask; he simply moved
so that I was tucked against his side, my head resting on his chest.
??The fear began to lt away, replaced by a heat that radiated from him. I could hear his heart beating—slow, steady, and powerful. It was the heart of a predator, yet it felt like ho. My hand wandered up to his chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath his sweater.
??I looked up at him. The dim light of the lamp cast long shadows across his mask, making him look like a dark god. I forgot that he was a killer. I forgot he was the man who took my parents. All I felt was the way his touch made my skin tingle and the way he had protected
when no one else would.
??"Raymond," I breathed.
??He looked down at , his hand pausing its movent in my hair. The tension returned, but it wasn’t the tension of the alley. It was a magnetic pull that I couldn’t resist anymore. I moved upward, my lips grazing the bottom of his mask, seeking the warmth I knew was there.
??I didn’t wait for him to move. I pressed my lips to his. For a heartbeat, he stiffened, but then he let out a low, hungry growl. His hand gripped the back of my head, pulling
deeper into the kiss, turning it from a gentle gesture into sothing fierce and passionate.
??
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