Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

She thought she was strong. She thought she could play
with me.
She could try. I had you once. I’ll have you again.
I rose silently and stood there as she finally got out of the
tub, wrapping herself in a towel, and left the bathroom. I
quietly followed, stopping just outside the bathroom door and
watching as she trailed down the hallway, no turn of the head
to hear if anyone was behind her and no fear that anything was
at her back, and entered her bedroom, closing the door behind
her.
I inhaled a deep breath, feeling the silence of the house and
anticipation for the long nights ahead. Ari and her mother were
gone.
Her father was gone.
All the ducks in a row.
Walking into my room, I shut the door, seeing Mikhail’s
head pop from where he’d been asleep on the bed. He jumped
to his feet, wagging his tail and tongue hanging out of his
mouth.
I couldn’t help but quirk a smile as I dug into my pocket
for a treat. He gobbled it out of my hand, and I petted him with
the other, stroking his blond head. Amazing how some animals
knew not to bite the hand that fed them while others couldn’t
deny their nature to be what they were.
“I can’t sleep, boy,” I told him, smoothing both hands over
his head now. “It’s not so complicated for an animal, is it?
Why can’t the things I need be basic?”
Or physical?
I wanted to fuck. I wanted it slow, feeling her fear, her
desire, and her mouth giving back what I gave to her.
But I needed her mind.
“It’s all in my head,” I muttered.
The control. The memories. The knowledge that our
bodies betray us, and it was the brain that was the prize. That