Page 87 of When Night Falls
Rivian's words come down to me in an attempt to make me believe that I didn't just kill an innocent man.
"It-it wasn't?" I look up at him, tears now settling down from streaming down my face.
"No. He doesn't believe that he did anything wrong because he's a piece of shit. But he roofied that girl's drink earlier." Rivian nods his head behind me which brings my attention to the girl I saw him whispering to earlier.
Realization washes over me as I watch her with a new drink in her hand.
"That's why you were whispering in her ear?" I look down at where Rivian holds me, my skin on fire under the velvet material of this dress. Then I bring my eyes back up to him and an intense feeling falls over me.
Fuck, the way he looks at me makes my knees wobble and my breath hitch.
"I only have eyes for you." He leans down and kisses my forehead, my mouth opening as he does.
"So, you killed him because he had plans to take advantage of that girl?" I ask, my words holding a hint of disappointment.
He leans down lower to press kiss to the side of my neck right below my ear.
"No, my sweet sin. I killed him because he touched what was mine. He deserved it because he's a piece of shit." Rivian's confession settles deep inside me like a volcano. Everything lighting on fire and near explosion as he kisses my neck, his teeth barely scraping the surface of my delicate skin.
No doubt, his words provide me the security I need to move on from this obsession of needing to know how loyal he'll really be to me; that and the lifeless body still bleeding out behind us. I can tell he's holding something back though, but I want as much of him as I can take. Troy's words from this morning ring clear as day in my ear.
Make him work for what you want and give him just as much. That will go a long way for him.
"Thank you." I decide to say, knowing that I in fact did make him work for my trust just now and he had no qualms proving me wrong; he is loyal to me. Though I still feel some type of way about how far I allowed this to go.
"Come with me, little one. There's something I want to show you." His lips brush over my ear as he lifts himself away from me and I miss the heat he provided while I revel in the tingles that spread there instead.
He steps away and walks towards a familiar hallway. One that I didn't think I'd be heading toward again any time soon. Or ever. But I follow him because now it's my time to trust him. My heart sounds like a low but harsh thrum the closer we get when I realize we're walking past the hallway and further down to the other side of where the balcony wraps around.
"Where are you taking me?" I ask, looking down to see more eyes than I can count watching as Rivian leads me somewhere mysterious.
"You once told me that I needed to treat you like my queen…" he lets his words fade off as he reaches for a doorknob, turning to look me straight in my eyes.
Something overwhelming takes over, something that ignites more curiosity and charges more electricity buzzing within. A devious smirk is painted on Rivian's dreamy lips as he opens his mouth to say,
"I'm going to do just that, little one."
28
throne of throes
Lucynda
I'm staring at the room.
The room.
The crushed, red-velvet chair sits in the dead center, almost matching my dress exactly. The spotlight chandelier hangs directly above it, but otherwise, the room is empty. And silent. There's a mirror across from where I stand that I know for a fact is the one-way window. I see my own reflection in the mirror as I let my thoughts fade off, not really wanting to revisit that night as jealousy seems to be a strong feeling of mine when it comes to Rivian with anyone else.
"Why are we here?" I ask, looking at Rivian in the mirror next to me. His hand is on my back again, and his eyes are on me.
"Do you remember what it felt like to watch what was taking place in this room, Lucynda?" I feel my cheeks redden at the reminder. It felt forbidden but I couldn't deny that I was turnedon. Even now, remembering that it was him and another girl and he touched her there, the way he touched me a few days after.
Everything lights up inside me, my nerve endings burning like a sparkler fizzling to the end of the stick on a hot fourth of July night.
"I'll take that as a yes." Rivian removes his hand from my body and walks past me, leaving his scorched amber and shadowed smoke scent in his wake, lifting me off my toes to catch the last of it as he reaches the chair in the middle of the room.
"I know what you crave, Lucynda. I know what your darkest desires are, and I know what you want most out of life." He circles the chair as he waits for me to make a move. The light above accentuating his grass-green eyes and his dark brown hair. He's wearing a dark plum colored suit tonight which only adds to the glint in his eyes.