Maybe it was that I wasn’t a killer myself. Maybe I was scared that it was dark, and if I messed up I would ruin my one chance at escape. Maybe I felt sorry for him. Whatever the reason, my fingers retreated, leaving the razor tucked safely in the bottom of my bra.
He brought the chain over my head, encircling my neck. On the nape of my neck I felt his knuckles graze my skin as he closed the clasp shut. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine that we were a married couple, and he was helping me get ready for a dinner party. A sense of security swept through me, a warm feeling. The strangest feeling.
Gavriel bent his head and kissed my naked shoulder, his lips trembling almost imperceptibly against my skin. Kissed me like a husband, like a gentle lover. His words were a whisper that floated faintly to my ear in the darkness.
“Happy birthday, kitten.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gav
Why was I so interested in her? It made no sense. There was a spark of something inside of her that drew me from behind the dark shadow to peer out. No other woman had ever been able to draw me out.
It wasn’t only that I didn’t love the women I brought home. It was more than that. I hated them. Every one of them. Gold-diggers. Idiots. They looked at me and saw that they wanted to see, and didn’t look any further. With a suit on, I was their fantasy - a smoky billionaire tempting them into bed, a lawyer whispering dreams of Paris into their ears, a young CEO who would sweep them away from their boring, useless lives.
That, perhaps, was why she drew me out. She had looked at her boring, useless life and tried to escape it without anyone to help her. She’d taken a look at the world and said… no.
I admired that.
Some might say that suicide is for cowards. I dare them to hold a razor to their wrists and say it as they slice into their own flesh.
There aren’t a lot of things out there that scare me. I’ve put a knife through a man’s heart. I’ve seen blood spurt and froth forward from the lips of the dying on my table. And yet the thought of killing myself terrifies me, sends a shudder out from my hands and through my arms.
The shadow smiles inside me. It knows that there is only one other thing that terrifies me, and that’s running out of people to kill.
I clasped the necklace around her, caressing her collarbone, and thought that she was doing very well. The handcuff was gone from her wrist, but this silver chain was one that would bind her even more tightly to me. There were still some secrets she had yet to reveal to me, but I knew I would be able to take her soon. Then she would be mine, mine for good.
Mine forever.
“Come upstairs, kitten,” I said to her, turning her gently around. “I have another present for you.”
Kat
Following Gavriel up the stairs, I wondered if he knew about the razor. It wouldn’t have surprised me to know that he was simply teasing me. How could I use it, anyway? If I held it wrong, or not tightly enough, all I would do is injure him. And anger him.
I didn’t want him to be angry at me. I saw what he did to people who angered him. Whether it was true or not that he only killed bad people, I thought he could probably find an excuse to kill the girl who’d witnessed him murdering someone.
He led me up through the house. Every step I took was slow, savored. The light was bright here, and though it burned my eyes I couldn’t get enough. I’d been stuck down in the darkness for too long. Maybe if I let him do what he wanted to me, he would let me out from there. Maybe—
No. I wouldn’t sell myself for a better cage. I steeled myself and continued up the stairs behind him. He let me into the bathroom, and I took my time. I put toothpaste on my finger and used that to brush my teeth. I wasn’t about to use a serial killer’s toothbrush, no matter how bad my breath smelled.
When I went to leave, though, he stopped me and walked past me into the room.
He sat at the edge of the bathtub and turned on the faucets. Steaming water poured into the cream colored granite tub. I stood in the doorway and watched.
“What are you doing?” I asked finally. Gav looked up as though surprised I was still there.
“You’re going to take a bath,” he said. “That’s your second present, kitten.”
I almost melted inside. It had been nearly a week since I’d bathed.
“Thank you,” I said. He stayed, though, and when the bath was full he made no movement to leave.
“Are you going to stay and watch?” I asked, frowning.
“I’m going to help,” he said.
All the breath ran out of my body, and I crossed my arms.
“I can take a bath myself.”
“Are you going to clean yourself with those bandages on both hands?”
I looked down to where the bandages were dirty and beginning to pull off.
“Maybe.”
“You can’t get water on those stitches. They’ll get infected.” He spoke matter-of-factly, as though it was a simple problem with only one solution.
“I don’t—”
“What, kitten?”
“I don’t want you to see me naked,” I said, hating the timidity in my voice.
“That’s too bad, isn’t it?”
“But—”