Ryan nods rapidly, frantically. I’m sure he can see the black halo surrounding Adrian like a second skin. Or maybe I’m the only one who can see his unmodified nature.

“Fuck off.” Adrian removes his foot and kicks the back of his thigh. Something for which Ryan sobs out loud as he struggles to his feet.

He faces us while heading to the stairs as if expecting Adrian to come at him from behind again, knowing this time, he’ll make good on his promise.

I steal a look at the ballerina couple who were making out when I first got here, but there’s not one soul in sight. I inhale, not realizing I stopped breathing. While I usually don’t care, the last thing I want or need is to be associated with a mobster.

“Don’t defend another scum like him in front of me again.”

My attention flits back to Adrian. My fingers are still digging in his shirt, and my heart continues to beat in and out of sync as if I’m still watching the scene with Ryan play out in front of me.

“Do you understand?”

I shake my head, taking a deep breath to gather my thoughts before releasing him. “You don’t get to treat people as if they’re disposable garbage.”

“That’s exactly what he was.” He takes my hand in his and I shudder when he raises it to his mouth and nibbles on my pinkie the slightest bit. The gesture is possessive and shoots straight between my legs. “You’re trembling.”

“I’m okay.”

“Don’t say that again.”

“That I’m okay?”

“That word doesn’t suit you. It’s juvenile, when you’re anything but.” He watches me, his eyes running over my body in a full sweep as if he’s checking to see if I’ve grown something since the last time he saw me. “Are you all right?”

I nod, completely baffled by his caring nature. Witnessing him kill once and almost repeating it again tonight has allowed me a front row seat of this brutal personality that terrifies me to the core, so to see him act concerned is giving me whiplash.

“How is your foot? Try moving it.”

I rotate it slowly and release a breath when I realize most of the pain is gone. “It’s fine.”

“Are you sure or are you trying to stop me from catching up to that fucker and paralyzing him?”

“It’s really fine.” I scowl. “And stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Threatening other people’s lives and dreams. You’re like a true villain.”

His lips twitch in rare amusement. “You thought I was a fake villain?”

“If I did, you’ve completely proved me wrong.”

“I’m happy to do so.” He’s still gripping my fingers near his mouth, sending tiny sparks down my spine with each word against them. “If anyone touches you again, I’ll make sure it’s their last time to touch anyone.”

I shudder, and I’m not sure if it’s because of his words or his hold on my hand—or both.

All I’m sure about is that this man is a lot more dangerous than I thought.

“How will you know?”

“Know what?”

“That someone has touched me. Are you going to stalk me?”

He raises a brow.

“Right. You’re doing it already or you wouldn’t have found me here.” I pull my hand from his with more force than needed.

Adrian grabs it again, his hold not brutal but firm enough to crush my fingers against each other.

“That’s the second and final time you pull away from me.”

“People don’t like to touch their stalkers.”

“Is that what you believe, Lenochka? That I’m your stalker?”

“Aren’t you?”

“No. Stalkers are cowards who are afraid to get close. Do you see me watching from the shadows?”

“You were. If Ryan hadn’t done what he did, would you have come out or would you have disappeared into thin air like that day?”

“Do I hear hurt, Lia? Were you disappointed that I left?”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to. I can see it in the depths of those beautiful eyes. I can sense it in every shiver of your body. And you know what else your reaction tells me?”

I shake my head, not wanting to listen to him psychoanalyze me. I hate that he’s so observant of my every move and that nothing escapes him. Not even the little things that I’m not aware of.

His voice lowers with a dark, seductive undertone. “It tells me that you were disappointed I left that day. You wanted more, didn’t you? You wanted me to tear into that tight cunt of yours and fuck you into the mattress until my cum covered your every pore while you screamed my name.”

My thighs clench and the familiar sensation of falling into a deep hole grips me. I can feel myself disintegrating, being caught in his web all over again.

Lifting my chin, I gather whatever’s left of my dignity. “I would never let you touch me if it were up to me.”

“That’s why it’s not up to you.”

“I hate you.”

He nods as if he’s suspected that all along. “Understandable. I’d hate me, too, if I were you.”

“Don’t you feel even a sliver of remorse?”

“You desperately want that to be a yes, don’t you? But you already answered your own question when you labeled me a villain. Tell me, Lenochka. Do villains feel remorse?”

I purse my lips. I know what he’s playing at. He wants to make this about me. Since I already picked a name for him, I shouldn’t be surprised by his actions. If anything, I need to expect them and act accordingly. But if he thought he’d get a lamb, that’s far from reality.

Adrian grips my chin and lifts it up with two fingers, forcing me to gaze into his merciless eyes. “Answer my question. Do they?”

“No.”

“Correct.”

“But that doesn’t give you free access into someone else’s life to wreak havoc as you please. To come in as you see fit and get out when it suits you.”

“That’s exactly what the lack of remorse gives me, Lenochka. The freedom to do what I want without feeling that little thing called guilt.”

He really is a monster. There’s no other word to describe the man within. When you’re dealing with someone without any moral compass, it’s impossible to beat him.