Unseen Strings

Chapter 8

Unknown

My Angel lay in peaceful slumber, a vision of serenity. She always looked this way in sleep, a tranquil beauty that both captivated and frustrated me. Her dreams, a hidden world behind those delicately closed eyelids, were a tantalizing enigma. What fantastical landscapes did she traverse in her mind's eye? What whispered secrets did she confide to the shadows of her subconscious? I craved access to that inner realm, a burning desire to possess every fleeting thought, every nascent fantasy.

Tonight, she was curled on the sofa, her dark hair meticulously braided, framing her face like a dark halo. Her lips, slightly parted, seemed to offer a silent invitation, a siren's call that never failed to ignite a fire within me. Oh, the aching temptation to taste those lips, to finally savor the sweetness I knew resided there, a sweetness reserved only for me, though she didn't yet know it. She stirred, a delicate flutter of her eyelashes, and I held my breath, a cocktail of anticipation and a prickle of fear swirling in my gut. If she were to wake and find me here, watching her... the consequences didn't bear thinking about. She might scream, even if it was just from surprise. My beautiful, oblivious Angel. She accepted me, enjoyed me, in the limited ways I allowed. But the hunger within me, the primal urge to consume her, to spirit her away and claim her as mine, finally and irrevocably, was a constant, gnawing ache.

I knew her secrets, intimate details she'd never breathed to another soul, not even that pathetic Laci. Secrets like... her untouched purity. She was as pristine as the morning dew, my Angel, untouched by another's hand. Not that she could have given herself to another. I'd been watching her too closely for that. Any man who dared to show even a flicker of interest... well, I dealt with him. One way or another. A few were easily dissuaded with a generous sum of cash. Others required a bit more... persuasion. And a couple... a couple learned a valuable lesson about the consequences of their audacity. They learned what happened when they dared to covet what was mine. For my Angel, I would do anything. And to make her mine, truly and forever... I would do everything. The thought settled in my mind, a cold, hard resolve. Soon, very soon, she would be mine.

Angelina

"Angelina?" a voice called. "Angelina?" it repeated. "Wake up." My heavy eyelids finally fluttered open.

"What time is it?" I mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Time to go home," JJ whispered. "I'm sorry my meeting ran long." He easily scooped me up into his arms. "Put your arms around me," he murmured.

I obeyed, and he carried me down to the car. He gently placed me inside, fastened my seatbelt, and then got in himself. "Laci's going to be so mad," I yawned.

"Leave her to me," he replied, a hint of a smirk in his voice as he drove out of the parking garage.

I drifted back to sleep during the drive. I woke up again as JJ carried me into the apartment complex.

"Wait," I said, stopping him.

"Oh, you're awake." He paused.

"Put me down," I tugged on his jacket. "I can walk."

He grunted but set me on my feet.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Of course," he replied, smiling back as I started up the stairs.

I was surprised he didn't follow, but I was too tired to care. I yawned as I reached our apartment. Before I could unlock the door, it was yanked open. A furious Laci stood there.

"Where have you been?" she asked, her voice laced with panic. "I was worried sick!"

"Oh," I yawned again, "I was at the library and lost track of time...ended up falling asleep." I lied, brushing past her and opening my door.