Blood Luster

Chapter Five

***Mature Content***

He left her breathless as he pulled away.

"I'm sorry for just showing up, I hope you didn't have other plans. We need to talk about Ricky," he said.

The door shut behind him as he walked inside.

"Okay, I'm listening."

This is obviously important to him.

"First, how did things go with your dad?"

"It went as expected. Shock, anger, then he asked me to stay for dinner."

"Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No worries, I told him I couldn't tonight. It was nice seeing him, but it was overwhelming. Being back there with all the memories of my childhood wasn't easy. I expected for it to be hard seeing him and that house, but I didn't expect for it to feel debilitating."

He walked closer and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, if it's okay I'd rather not talk about it."

She breathed in his scent, then pulled away. She knew if she allowed herself to get lost in his touch, she'd be a blubbering mess.

"It's a nice place you have here." He joked.

"They don't give these luxurious suites to just anybody. I'm not sure if you've heard, but I'm VIP here."

She caught his gaze; he was staring at her with a gentle expression.

"What?" she asked.

"I've never met anyone like you."

"For a serial killer, you really know how to sweet talk," she said.

"That's what my victims tell me."

He sat down on the bed and patted the spot beside him. The thought of being on the bed with him flooded her body with warmth. She sat down next to him and began fidgeting with her fingers.

"It's not safe for you to be here, Ricky knows where you're at," he said.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand your sudden paranoia of Ricky?"

"It's not sudden. I've never trusted him, but now I have you to worry about." He grabbed her hand and pulled it into his lap. "Will you come stay with me? You can sleep in the guest house; I just need to know you're safe."

"Benjamin, I've known you for one day and you're expecting me to trust you enough to stay at your house? I think you're overreacting about Ricky. I've known him my whole life."

"It would be my guest house, think of it as a free temporary apartment. Rather you're ready to admit it or not, on some level you know I'm right about Ricky," he said.

Maybe a little.

"Why do you think he's dangerous?" she asked.

"I can't tell you."

"Do you expect me to follow your lead blindly? You can't provide me any explanation?"

"It's for your own good."

She could tell it was important to him.

"I'm not the kind of person that allows someone to abruptly come into their life and take over. You're going to have to give me more of an explanation." She rubbed her forehead.