Page 112 of Unholy Masks

“From everything that’s you, Yara West.” He leaned closer, his lips softly brushing against my chocolate-stained lips. Licked it again. Groaned. “Once I had a taste, I knew it would be too hard to stay away from you.” His fingers traced my collarbone with the skill of an expert musician.

“You’re too fucking smooth for your own good. How many women have fallen for this charm?” I winked, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. His body was the most beautiful thing in this world to me. A perfect work of art. And god, I still went breathless staring at him.

“I never tried. You’re the only woman I try so hard to impress.” His fingers went lower. I bit back a moan.

“You don’t have to try. At all. I was already impressed the very first night I met you.” I leaned my head against his shoulder, my fingers on his skin. “So obsessed that I followed you all the way to an abandoned lot.”

“I remember.” His voice was full of laughter as he pulled me onto his lap. I wrapped my legs around him, my hot chocolate long forgotten. “I had nightmares about that.”

“I heard from Enzo that they weren’t nightmares.”

Ryden groaned, his lips dipping down to catch mine. I didn’t fight for dominance. I let him control. He kissed as if he had lost me and then found me after a million years. He kissed like he was drowning and found air between my lips.

When he pulled back, we were panting, flushed, and smiling.

“I want this, Red. I want this forever.”

We snuggled closer, our eyes closed, our hearts matching their beats. We didn’t break the silence yet, because we knew what waited past that quiet. I wasn’t ready to go there. Yet.

So we sat some more in the silence. We ignored the elephants sitting right in the room with us. We ignored the darkness and the decay it carried.

Ryden was the first to pull away. First to clear his throat. I felt like telling him not to say a word, asking him if we could keep the silence for another day, but unfortunately, killers didn’t wait for others.

I knew. I was one.

“What are we going to do about this?” I asked, pointing to the two envelopes that sat on the table.

“If what he wants is to play a game with me, I’ll play along.”

I understood what he meant. This was our life…

“Just be careful not to let him set the rules. Look at what playing with the Strangler cost us.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“You better be.”

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Ryden left to meet Detective Rosario while I drove toward the orphanage.

My mind was already spinning, running through every possibility--I knew the orphanage would lead me to her.

I had been looking for a man. Someone obvious. Someone deranged and too lonely.

She was none of it.

She is like you. Kat said. Maybe even better than you.

Begrudgingly, I had to agree.

I parked the car and got out, walking toward Sister Mary Elizabeth’s room. I had been there a few more times now that nobody bothered to stop me or ask me what I wanted. A few children lingering around with the sisters waved at me before going back to what they were doing.

I had become a familiar face around here.

“Doctor West, come in, come in,” the sister said warmly when I knocked on her door. “What do you need me to do?”

“I wanted to check about something, sister,” I said hesitantly.

“Go on.”