Empire of Lies
bed in the middle of the night and join him on the couch, to let him fuck away the past three weeks of pain, but I’ve held back.I refuse to give in first.
Setting down the How to Adjust to Life in Switzerland book, I take a seat and make the first move. Two spaces up for a white pawn.
He moves a black pawn one space, and within four plays, he’s moving his knights—letting me know that he’s not playing to be nice. He’s playing to win.
He’s also attempting to use this match to get the upper-hand and get me to speak to him again.
Or, to give into all the tension and let him fuck me…
From the way he gazes at me in between moves, it’s hard for me to look away and stay focused on the game. His green eyes lock on mine whenever I pick up a piece, his mouth slowly parts whenever I bite my bottom lip, and my body is slowly begging to be directed under his command. And he knows it.
Once it’s my turn again, I don’t bother picking up a piece. Instead, I stand up and head to the master bedroom. I need to get away from him and handle my soaking wet clit on my own; I don’t want him to assume that I need his help.
Walking into the en-suite, I step out of my clothes and walk right into the oversized shower that faces the gulf. Turning on the water, I lean back and sigh as I stand under the piping hot streams.
I hear the sound of footsteps from behind me seconds later, and I turn around to see Michael stepping inside the shower.
Completely naked, his abs are still as rock-hard and perfect as they were the last time I dragged my fingers across them. His hardened cock is on full display—making my lips and pussy crave another taste.
“Michael,” I say, using what’s left of my restraint. “Michael, I don’t want to talk if—”
“I don’t regret taking a single fucking soul,” he says. “Every person who I’ve killed personally fucking deserved it. My only regret is that I couldn’t do it twice.”
My jaw drops.
“So, if what you said when we broke up—” He pauses, glaring at me. “Excuse me when I broke us up… If you meant what you said, about loving someone enough to be okay with what I’ve done, you should know that I’ll never apologize for doing that.”
I swallow, and the steam begins to rise between us.
“You said that I could trust you enough to tell you,” he says. “You said if there was a good enough reason—”
“You’re not God,” I say, shaking my head. “So, there’s no ‘good enough’ reason for you to kill anyone. Ever.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” I step back as he steps closer. “Granted, what you did back at the resort was self-defense and it saved us—thank you, but there’s no reason to walk around this world like a vigilante and kill people just because you think they deserve it.”
“What if I know that they fucking deserve it?”
“Then that’s even worse. Take them to court instead of taking the law into your own hands. You claimed that you used to read a lot of John Grisham novels about delayed justice, so maybe you need a reread. Or was that a fucking lie, too?”
He doesn’t answer me.
“It honestly doesn’t matter since you’re taking me to the airport the moment they open,” I say, feeling a slight pang in my chest. “But just so you know, if you’d told me what you did for a living when we first met, I wouldn’t have given a single fuck.” My breath catches in my throat. “I was that fucking lonely.”
“I haven’t noticed any new friends in your life since then.”
“No,” I say, shrugging. “But now I have standards, and I only want good people in my life. A man who kills people for no rhyme or reason is—”
“I have a fucking reason,” He cuts me off, looking far more livid than I’ve ever seen him. “But since you want to suddenly act like you’re such a ‘good person,’ let me tell you a story about someone I know. It’s about a little boy who spent years of his life locked in chains, being held captive in a disgusting basement with his twin brother, being used and abused within an inch of his life. Day after day.” He glares at me, stepping closer. “And the first time he choked the hell out of his uncle for keeping him there and ruining his life, it wasn’t enough for him… It wasn’t enough for him when he buried him several feet under, and never told another soul. Because he knew that the twenty-eight men who used him and his brother like sexual ragdolls would get away with it if he did it the ‘good person’ way. That they had enough money to hold up justice in the courts for years. And since this man still can’t function decades later, because all of the memories still drag him out of his sleep every fucking night, he hunts them down one by one, city by city, until they get what they deserve.”
My heart drops as he looks into my eyes, and I know that this ‘story’ doesn’t belong to someone he knows. It’s his.
“What about that, Meredith?” he asks, standing right in front of me as the water drenches us both. “Is that a good enough fucking reason?”
“I…” I feel tears pricking my eyes, and I don’t even know what to say. I’ve never seen this pained look of vulnerability in his eyes before. “Michael, I’m so—”
“It’s ironic that you want to get on your high-horse, in comparison to me.” He cuts me off again, pressing his chest against mine. “Because deep down, you’re just as fucked up of a person as I am. In fact, I don’t think you’re as good of a person as you like to believe. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the