Warped (Dueling Devils 4)

“You do that while I clean up and I’ll walk you to your car.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Yes, I do.” He walked away.

Symone stared after him, dazed. In a matter of minutes, he’d turned her new life upside down. I cannot do this. If I upset him, it’d mess up everything I’m trying to build here. She pushed her desire down and returned to her computer, saving and closing out the programs. She grabbed her purse, slung it over her shoulder, grabbed her keys from the desk, and headed for the door.

“Trying to leave me?”

The voice made her jump. She spun around and found Monster leaned against the wall opposite her doorway.

She shrugged.

Hurt appeared in his eyes and she instantly regretted her decision. The last thing she wanted to do was cause him pain. “Look, I’m not used to all this.”

“All what?” Monster shook his head.

“Interest.”

The harshness melted from his face. “Then you fucking need to get used to it from me.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Tell me what you need and it's done.”

“If only I knew. This is a completely new way of life for me. There’s so much you don’t know. And when you do…” A lump formed in her throat. She struggled to keep it together, blinking to keep the tears at bay. “Then everything will change.”

“No.”

“Don’t say that when you have no clue what my past is filled with.”

“Why? I don’t give a fuck about then. I care about now.”

She laughed. “So easy to say.”

“Because I mean that shit.”

“Right? You’re a man. If your lips are moving, lies are being told.”

He recoiled as if she slapped him. “That’s not me, Symone.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

“Yes, we will. Let’s go before I prove just how wrong you are and how easily I could slip past those high walls you’ve placed up as defense. Newsflash, they won’t work on me.”

“And why not?” she snapped, raising her voice.

“Because I know those tactics and the reasoning behind them. You don’t want to open up because you were hurt. Deep down to the bone and it almost crushed your spirit to smithereens. See, I’m intimately familiar with that expression. I’ve seen it in the mirror every day for longer than I want to remember.”

She closed her eyes. He understands.

“I’m a monster, I recognize and realize this, but even Frankenstein had a bride.

“You’re not a monster.”

“You don’t know the things I’ve done, babe. My hands are covered in blood so red it’ll never wash away. And I see myself in the mirror.”

He looked down and her heart ached. “I thought you said past doesn’t matter.”