Haunting-Adeline

I gasp, my eyes widening and snapping back to his. Not a single iota of
pain shines in his eyes. Not even a glimmer.
He jerks on the blade once, ripping it from my weak hold, blindly tossing
it behind him.
The knife cla ers loudly against something before toppling to the floor,
the sound reverbera ng in the otherwise quiet room. Nothing but my
heavy pan ng breaks the sta c of silence surrounding us. His presence is a
vortex, steadily deple ng the oxygen from the room—and even from my
brain.
Because I cannot think straight with his body so close to mine. With the
fear coiled ghtly around me, the force of it turning my body to stone. I’m
useless. Powerless. The inability to fight rages in my head, my survival
ins ncts tell me to just move, yet my body refuses to.
And then his bloody hand is wrapping around the back of my neck and
bringing my body flush with his once more. I cringe at the feel of his life’s
essence dripping from his hand. The blood feels like menacing fingers
crawling down my spine, staining my skin as if to mark me.
To my horror, he li s his other hand—the one s ll gripping a much more
wicked-looking knife than mine—and brings the p of the blade to the
underside of my chin.
He applies enough pressure to force my chin up further, the metal bi ng
into my skin. The slightest curl to his lips stalls the breath in my lungs. The
act speaks of something daun ng. Something condemning.
“You’re even more beau ful up close,” he murmurs, his sinful eyes
devouring my face.
I scowl and plant my hands on his chest, ignoring the pure steel beneath
his flesh, and a empt to push him away. But he resists the force, his lip
curling into a snarl.
Tears rim my lids as frustra on grows.
“Please, just leave. I-I don’t want you here. I don’t want you. Just leave
me alone,” I beg. It feels like reaching a hand inside my chest, yanking out
my pride and throwing it onto the floor. But I don’t give a fuck about my
pride in this moment.
I just want this man to fucking leave.
He presses in closer. “Are you going to cry, Addie?” he taunts. My hands
are s ll pressed firmly against his chest. His heart is racing beneath my