Stalker (The Company Book 3)

Present

I had to pull out of that situation. I could feel my heart beating again, which is never a good sign. Not when she’s saying things like that.

Fuck. I never knew her parents forced her to marry Phillip. Then again, I’m not sure how much of that sob story I should believe. However, I do recall something from a particular conversation we once had, back in the old days. It was on that spot we always shared our secrets, the place in the meadows, far away from the road. The place I almost buried a body. Now it leaves a tangy taste in my mouth just thinking about it.

I remember every last detail of our encounters back in school as vivid as if they happened just days ago. As I storm down the stairs, I keep thinking … what if things had gone differently? What if we’d made different choices? Would I still be the killer? Would she still be the conniving bitch she is now? Would we hate or love each other?

I can’t imagine myself feeling anything but loathing for her. Maybe it’s the anger talking. Or maybe it’s all those memories I’ve stored somewhere … memories of a time when I wanted something I couldn’t ever have.

***

Age 16

She walks around school with another guy on her arms. Whenever she passes me, I make a fist, trying to hold myself back. Rage boils through me, filling my bones with hatred toward her boyfriend and even Vanessa herself. Sometimes, I just wish I could tell her to stop. Scream in her face. Maybe it’ll wake her up.

But then I realize she was never mine to begin with.

Even when I thought she was. When I thought I still had a chance.

What a fucking joke.

I slam my locker shut and try to focus on something other than the girl flaunting her goods. I pick up my lighter and a joint and walk outside so I can be on my own for a second. This the only way I can truly relax. It stops me from thinking about what the fuck I’m doing in school anyway. I don’t belong here. I don’t have brains. All I have is muscle and a wicked sense of justice. Not something people want or need … unless you’re into shady practices. But maybe that’s what I’m supposed to do. Who knows.

When the bell rings, Vanessa walks out with her boyfriend, and the moment I spot them hand in hand, my nose already begins to twitch. I hate looking at them, hugging each other, being all lovey-dovey. It makes me want to barf. I should barf down his shirt sometime … Would make a good show.

They’re standing near the wall of the building; he’s leaning against her with his hands all over places he shouldn’t be, and it’s pissing me off. The way he’s talking to her, like she’s some kind of candy he can chew on, makes me want to go over there and punch him in the face.

Actually, I guess I’ll go do just that.

Especially when I notice him lean in to kiss her.

She pulls back, but he keeps insisting. He keeps trying to put his lips on her, despite her pushing him away.

I storm toward them and jerk on his shirt. “Hey! Get your fucking hands off her,” I growl.

Apparently, the guy has such little backbone that my shove makes him fall on his back.

“Dude! What the fuck?” he says, as he looks up.

“Miles!” Vanessa says, her face looking like thunder in the skies. “What the hell are you doing?”

“He was trying to kiss you,” I say.

“Yeah, so?” She folds her arms, raising an eyebrow as if I’m the one losing my mind instead of the other way around.

“You clearly didn’t want him to,” I say, making a face. “Stop lying to yourself.”

She gets in my face, and then out of nowhere, she pushes me back. “Stop butting into my life, asshole.”

“What?” I wince. “Are you serious? I’m trying to protect you here.”

“Stop trying! I don’t need any protection,” she says, shoving me again. Making fists, she pushes me in the stomach and forces me to step back. Her fists don’t hurt, but her words do.

“I don’t understand you,” I say. “Why are you mad at me, when he’s the one who tried to kiss you when you didn’t want him to?”

“Why are you trying to ruin things for me?” she says, as she helps Phillip up from the ground.

Her words cut into me like a blade. I can feel it hurt, but I won’t let it go skin-deep. Not any further.

“Fine,” I snap. “Have it your way.”

And then I turn around and walk away from her. “He’s all yours.”

She wants that guy? She can have him.

Maybe it’s for the best. We weren’t right for each other anyway. Our puzzle pieces don’t align. Too bad we had to find out this way.

***

Present

Did she really marry Phillip to save me? Or is she just lying to make me go easy on her?

I wonder because I do recall her loathing gazes each time she had to see him. Then again, she did marry him herself, and she stayed.

Who did she want to protect me from anyway? Her mother? Laughable. That woman wouldn’t have been able to come close without me snapping her neck first. But I guess rich families like hers use others to do their dirty work for them.

Maybe that witch did want to have my head on a pike. It’s not surprising, as my anger spreads like wildfire, and it burns everyone who dares to come close. Of course they’d be mad if I hung out with their daughter.

I can’t help but wonder … what if what she said was true?

If only I hadn’t given up on claiming her. Maybe then she wouldn’t have betrayed me the way she did. We both lost our fucking way, but that doesn’t mean we have to continue being liars. Maybe I can literally fuck some sense into her.

I turn around and rush back up, skipping some stairs as I go. The moment I open the door, her head turns to me and her eyes widen. I slam the door and go to her. Then I rip the tape off her mouth, her skin glowing red. So fucking pretty.

“You’re back,” she mutters.

“Didn’t expect me?” I say. “Well, too bad, because I’m about to fuck you up.”

She shakes her head. “As if you haven’t fucked me up already.”

“Oh, I can do plenty more things to you, sweet cheeks.” A grin spreads to my cheeks. “And about half of them involve having you scream my name.”

She makes a face. “Is that all you can think of? Sex?”

“With you, it is,” I growl. “Somehow, every fucking time I look at you, you make me insane with lust.”

It’s true; I’m not going to deny it. Her body is still as sexy as ever, and her lips are so fucking kissable. Part of me hates it and part of me loves it, especially the fact that she’s all mine right now. I’m not able to fucking resist it, and I don’t fucking care anymore.

I hate her for what she did to me, but damn, I can’t stop thinking about having her all to myself. Seeing her cooped up in that cage gets me all riled up, knowing that I can do anything I want with her. Anything my heart needs … anything my cock desires. And from the flushed look on her face, I know that she wants it, too.

Why kill her when I can fuck her day in and day out without retribution? When I have all the freedom and time in the world, why spend it on hatred when I can spend it on fucking her senseless? It’s all I ever wanted … all I ever needed, even if she wouldn’t give herself to me. That’s what pissed me off to begin with, that she never fucking chose me. But here’s the thing; she doesn’t have a choice now.

I am in control, and I will make her want me; I will make her need me to the point of her begging me to stay. The princess locked up in a tower, captured by the monster … and he has an appetite for pretty girls. This is too good to pass up on.

As I walk around her cage, I hear her sniff. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” she says, holding onto her legs, clamping what little is left of her dress.

“Let me guess.” I narrow my eyes. “You’re upset because you found out Arthur actually doesn’t give a shit about you and only wanted your money.”

“Not just that.” She looks up at me with those doe-like eyes that could murder a man, if I didn’t know better. “You’re just here to use me. Just like the rest of them. Arthur. Phillip. My parents.”

“Hmm … you want to compare me to them?” I say, cocking my head as I come near the cage. “I’m not like them. At. All.”

“You are. You just don’t want to admit it. All you people do is use and abuse,” she says.

“And you do it too, so how does that make you any different?” I smile. “Just because you’re trying to get back at them doesn’t make you any better.”

“Says the guy who keeps the object of his revenge locked up in a cage.”

“Touché.” I wink. “But I never denied being a piece of shit.”

“True. You really are a piece of shit.”

I take my knife from my pocket and wave it at her. “Just because I say it doesn’t mean you can say it so keep that to yourself.”

“Why? Will it make you feel better about doing this to me?” She makes a face. “Because whether I say it or not doesn’t matter. You’re still a piece of shit.”

“Yeah, well, this fucking piece of shit is keeping your assistant captive, and if you want to keep her alive, you’d better do as he says.”

She gasps. “She’s alive?”

“Hey, I might be a killer, but I’m not stupid. I know a bargaining chip when I see one.”

“Yeah, right.” She rolls her eyes, but I know I’m right.

“Besides, it’s not like I can let her go.”

“But you’re not going to hurt her? Right?” Her tone is louder, almost as if she’s trying to make me.

“That depends on how well you behave …” I murmur.

She frowns. “You wanna fuck me …”

“That’s right, Princess. I will fuck you and blow my load in all your holes, whether you like it or not.”

“And that’s going to save Paige?”

“Maybe,” I muse, smiling a little when I see her annoyed face.

“How would I know for sure? If you fuck me, you could still hurt her afterward.”

“I guess you’ll just have to trust me on my word,” I say.

“Your word means shit to me,” she spits.

“Oh, Vanessa … haven’t I proven myself already? When I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to fucking make it happen. Whether it’s killing people or chasing after you.”

I’m gloating right now, just because of that look she’s giving me. It’s a mixture of disgust and arousal, and I can’t tell which one is winning, but I don’t fucking care. I’m having her whether she wants it or not. She’s not in control. She never was.

“Fine …” she mutters, but she’s licking her lips anyway. I guess she just doesn’t want to admit to herself that she wants this as much as I do.

I hold out my hand. “Let’s start by you giving me that dress.”

Her fingers latch onto it. “No …”

“Give. Me. The. Dress,” I reiterate. I don’t know why she holds onto it like it’s precious. The shoulder straps are already torn, so it’s useless anyway. Might as well get rid it of it now. I don’t want it to be in the way while I ram my cock into her.

Slowly, her fingers loosen, and her dress drapes off her, falling to the floor. Then she crawls out of it and hands the dress to me. My eyes slide over her naked body, taking it all in with greed. Her petite frame and silky skin shine like a rough diamond, grabbing all the attention that I have in me. For a moment, I find it hard to remind myself that she’s the woman who had me arrested and put me in jail. That she’s the woman who ruined my life. Every time I see her pretty face and smile, I have to remind myself that she’s not a sweet apple but a rotten one.

I can’t allow myself to fall for her charms again. Fuck no; she doesn’t deserve to be loved. Not by me. Not by anyone. Not ever again. Not when she’s become the villain in her own story. I’ll be the one to hand out her punishment, and I know exactly how.

I pick up my belt and walk toward her back.

“What are you doing?”

“Shh.” I wrap the belt around her neck, and immediately her hand reaches for it, so I slap it away. “Don’t you fucking touch it.”

She lowers her hand, taking a sip of air as I tighten the belt around her neck. “Are you going to kill me?” she asks.

I laugh. “Of course, not. Where’s the fun in that?” When she lets out a breath, seemingly relaxing, I say, “It’s too soon, at least.” Her posture turns rigid. Good. She should stay on her toes. I don’t want her relaxing, not around me.

Pulling back on the belt, her head moves up, and I can hear her gasp for air.

I’ve created the perfect leash for a perfect princess.

“You look so nice with a leash on. Someone should have done this long ago,” I say, holding the belt. “Get up.”

“How? I can’t stand in here.”

“On hands and knees.”

She does what I say, and perks up her ass and tits for me to look at. I place the long end of the belt on the floor. “Don’t you fucking attempt to take it off,” I growl when I catch her fingers moving toward her neck. I flash my knife, which is always ready to slice through something painfully slow. This makes her stop immediately.

I reach into the cage and grab a handful of her titties, squeezing them to my liking. They’re still as soft and squishy as ever, so fucking nice I could shove my cock between them and blow my load right on her face. But that’s not what I’m after today. No, I want to teach her a lesson. I want to give her her own version of hell.

I smirk when tugging on her nipples makes her squeal. “I should do this more often. Sounds like you enjoy it.”

“No,” she murmurs.

“Keep telling yourself that,” I say, letting go after making them puckered.

As I circle around the cage, I peek at her sweet pussy, which looks just as appetizing as I remember. Maybe I’ll have a taste later. First, she’s going to prove to me how much her own life is worth to her.

“Ass against the bars, Princess,” I muse.

She sighs a little, but she does it anyway. Such a good pet.

“So … how much are you willing to give to keep this assistant of yours alive?” I ask, licking my lips while taking a good look at her naked body.

“Just don’t kill her,” she says.

“I wonder why you care so much.”

“I’m not as cold as you think I am.”

“Hmmm …” I smile. “Well, show me how much she’s worth then.”

She turns her head to look at me, and I can see the color on her cheeks change the moment she sees that I’m admiring her ass.

“I’ll do anything you want.”

I give her a piercing glare. “You know what I want.”

She immediately turns her head, but I could swear I saw a narrowing of her eyes. I enjoy her bold resistance. It’s always been something I liked about her … and now I get dominion over her once again.

“Spread your legs,” I say.

“I can’t go any further.”

I reach into the cage and give her a smack on the ass, which makes her squeal. She probably didn’t expect it, which makes it all the better.

“Ow! What did you do that for?” she yells.

I smack her other ass cheek. “Don’t question me, Princess.”

“Or what?”

I slap her ass again, which makes her jolt up. “Or you get this as punishment.”

“That’s not fair.”

I grab the belt and pull back so hard that her entire body chucks against the bars, her hands clasping her throat. I reduce the tension on the belt, giving her an inch of space to move so she can breathe. She drops down to the floor and coughs.

“Get up,” I say.

She does what I want but with a cheeky growl.

“Anything is fair in love and war, sweet cheeks.” I smirk, rubbing her round ass with my bare hand. “Especially if it involves spanking this sweet ass.”

She blows out a big breath but doesn’t respond. Good. She’s finally learning that she has to make a choice. Either obey and keep the assistant alive, or disobey and the assistant dies. She can’t have both. Besides, it’s not like this is a hard choice. Being fucked by me isn’t punishment at all … she should consider it a gift in comparison to what else I could do to her.

“You should be happy,” I say, leaning in, “that all I want is your ass.”

“Hmpf, I know you. It’ll never be enough,” she says, looking back at me.

“Correct.” I smack her ass again, making her moan. “Now what did I say about talking back?”

“Fine. Sorry,” she growls.

I rub her sore ass, which is turning red. “Love this color. Pink always looked good on you, and I don’t mean just those dresses …” I grin.

“What are you thinking of?” she asks.

“You. In my car. Back in the old days, when you begged to ride my cock.”

She laughs. “Not a chance in hell you’ll ever hear me do that again.”

I spank her again, this time harder than before because I can’t control myself and I don’t want to. She deserves punishment, especially after making a comment like that.

“Don’t. Lie. To. Me.” Each word is another strike. “You fucking know the truth as well as I do.”

“Okay, okay! You’re right,” she says. “Just stop.”

“What’s that?” I spank her again, and she drops to the floor. “Ass up,” I growl, pulling back on the belt.

“No, you’ll just hit me.”

I pull harder, forcing her to get up. “What I’m going to do to you if you don’t listen to me will be far worse than a little spanking. Compared to that, you should be moaning with pleasure for these slaps,” I say. “Now, get up.”

Her body shakes as she lifts herself back into position again. With my hand, I circle her flesh, letting go quickly so I can enjoy her spasms as she expects another blow, which doesn’t come. I love the sight of her body moving with my hand, as if she’s trying to prepare for the pain.

“Aw, does it hurt?” I muse, petting her red cheeks.

“No,” she says, but she’s hissing when I touch a certain spot, so I’m guessing she’s lying.

I spank her again.

“What did I just say? Don’t lie.”

“Sorry; yes, it does.” She clears her throat.

“Good. It’s supposed to. That means you’re finally learning not to be defiant.”

I rub her painful skin until she’s relaxed, and then I lower my hand all the way down her legs, stroking her softly. My cock begins to twitch in my pants at the sight of her pussy, which is begging me to touch it. I can clearly see the wetness glistening in her tiny hole, making me bite my lip ring.

“Hmm … I spy, I spy … a wet pussy.” A half laugh, half groan escapes from my mouth as my finger slides just past her slickness causing her to sway to the side my finger is.

“Oh … you like that now?” I muse.

“No …” she mutters.

I slap her hard, and a moan hitches in her throat. “I mean, yes.”

“Yes, indeed …” I say, grinning. “Do you feel that, Princess?” With one finger, I touch her entrance and cause her to gasp. “Your body wants this.”

She shakes her head but keeps her lips sealed.

“You can deny it all you want, but I can see you shaking with need. You want my finger here.” I push inside, feeling her wet flesh surround me for the first time in years, and fuck … it feels amazing.

“Oh …” she moans.

“Yes,” I growl, teasing her pussy with my finger. “You want this.”

“No …” she murmurs.

“Keep telling yourself that, and you might actually start believing it,” I muse.

I stroke her slit with my thumb, which is getting wetter by the second. “Wet already, Princess? Not so proper now, are we?”

She groans, but no words come out. I suspect she’s still fighting the urge to enjoy this, which is good. It’s exactly what I want. Her to feel vulnerable, punished, and humiliated. This is exactly the kind of fate that she deserves after seducing me all those years ago. This is the pain she needs.

“So bad, Princess, so bad. Your pussy wants to be fucked so badly.” I smear her wetness all over her pussy. “Do you like being bad?”

“No,” she huffs, her hands trembling with need.

I slap her ass, making her bounce up and down on the top of the cage. “Ow!” she says.

“That’s what you get for lying.”

“Fine, I like being bad. I’ll just say whatever you want to hear. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“No, I want to hear the truth!” I say, and then I stick a whole finger into her pussy.

Her moan is so loud that it makes my cock push against my pants, eager to pump some sense into her.

“Holy shit,” she murmurs as I start to thrust in and out of her pussy, my finger coated in slickness.

“See? It’s not that hard to admit it.”

“Oh, fuck off,” she mutters.

I laugh. “Keep that fakery up, Princess. It’ll only make me want to punish you more.”

I push in another finger and fuck her hard and fast, causing her to shiver. Goosebumps cover her skin, and her breath comes in short gasps. I can feel her muscles contracting, so I take out my finger right before she explodes.

“Ah …” she moans. “Why did you stop?”

I slap her other ass cheek. “Don’t fucking ask questions you don’t deserve to ask.”

“Isn’t this what you want? To humiliate me? Well, you succeeded all right.”

I smirk. “You wish that was the only thing on my mind. No, I have much more planned, but first, I’m going to enjoy the soft flesh of your pussy. Now tell me, Vanessa, what is it that you want me to do?”

She turns her head toward me, frowning. “What? Why are you asking me?”

I smile at her. “Simple. Who gets to live or die? You know what I want, but are you willing to go there?”

She swallows, visibly shaken. She blinks and takes a few breaths. “I want … you to fuck me.”

I narrow my eyes, gazing into hers with equal passion … a passionate hatred. It shoots from her eyes like arrows directed straight to my heart. Too bad mine was ripped out long ago.

“Good choice, sweet cheeks,” I say. “Finally making the right decisions, I see.”

“Oh, fuck you,” she says.

“Such a potty mouth, too,” I muse, licking my lips.

“Just for you,” she scoffs.

I grin, bringing my finger to my lips to taste her sweetness. I can’t help but groan when I taste her on my tongue. She tastes just like I remember … delicious.

Toxic.

The smile on my face dissipates as I remember why I’m here in the first place.

I want to fuck her.

I want to break her.

I want to throw her into the abyss.

Taste her … kill her … put her down where she belongs.

I want it all, and I’ll get it right fucking now.