Page 76 of Kill Feed

The second I finish speaking, he moves, and it’s not panic or desperation driving him. It’s decision. I barely get my footing before he’s on me again and there’s something deeply satisfying about it.

About him.

I laugh under my breath as I pivot, reveling in the sensation of hot blood pulsing under soft flesh as I wrap my fingers around his wrist. The light stand beside us rattles as he slams into it. One of the softboxes sways dangerously, cascading dancing silhouettes of us along the walls.

“Jesus,” I murmur, grinning. “You get prettier every time you try to kill me.”

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up,” he pushes into me with every syllable, twisting out of my grip and, much to my own surprise, Adrian sweeps my feet from under me, wasting no time to pin me chest-first to the floor.

He moves quicker on the ground, straddles my back before I fully reset. Clever bastard.

I feel the cable wrenching around my neck, tightening. “Fuck,” I breathe, amused more than anything. “You really do have a thing for this.”

His weight presses down harder, arms pulling, trying to close off my airways properly. “Just die already, and stop wasting my time.”

I slide my fingers between the cable and my throat before it locks in, bracing and holding space. The rest of my hand hooks the cable, ripping it loose just enough to break his leverage, and I twist, throwing my weight sideways. The canvas shifts under us as I flip us over, momentum carrying through until he’s the one hitting the ground.

I don’t give him time to process the power shift as I grab him and pin him down. With the cable’s still in my hand, I use it to my advantage, wrapping it tight around his arms, binding them in one clean motion from just below his shoulders down to his wrists.

“I’ve got you now.” I flip Adrian onto his back, press him down into the crumpled backdrop, both light boxes glaring down like interrogation lamps.

I lean over him, bracing a knee at his hip to keep him still. And as always, I’m back in control. Time to set a few things straight.

“Tell me something,” I start, studying him. “You’d rather be with that girl at the café?”

His eyes flash as he peers back at me.

“Emily,” I add, almost thoughtfully.

He lets out a sharp, humorless laugh, breath uneven but his face already resetting, already going cold again.

“I’m not even into women, you fuck,” he bites back.

I hum, leaning closer. “So what are you into, kitten?”

“Not you.”

“Yeah,” I murmur with a grin, dragging my thumb lightly along his jaw, feeling the tension there, the restraint, the lie sitting just under the surface. “We’ll see about that.”

I don’t rush it. See, that’s the difference between us. Adrian moves to end things. I, on the other hand, drag it the fuck out.

I lean in slowly and deliberately. My hand comes up, fingers sliding along his jaw before I take hold of his face properly, thumb pressing into one cheek, the rest of my grip firm enough to keep him exactly where I want him.

“Not me?” I laugh, almost amused. I tilt his head just slightly and drag my tongue along the sharp line of his jaw.

His whole body reacts in a way he tries to shut down immediately, with his shoulders going rigid, breath catching for half a second before he forces it back into control, but it’s too damn late. I felt it.

“Funny,” I say against his skin, voice low as my mouth hovers just beneath his ear, not quite touching now. “Because your body doesn’t seem to agree with you.”

He exhales through his nose. “Get off me.” He lacks the precise bite his tone usually carries. Instead, what carries on his voice is… heat?

I smile against his jaw, shifting just enough to let my lips brush there this time. Barely anything, but a ghost of contact.

“Make me.”

He pulls against the cable instinctively, testing it again, measuring, already working angles in his head. I tighten my grip on his face, forcing his gaze back to mine.

“You were so eager earlier,” I continue, tone softening in a way that doesn’t match the pressure of my hold. “Thought you wanted me dead.”