Black Lace (Complete)

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘

Chapter Twenty

"I can't sleep."

I heard his stance shift. I closed my eyes and took in a soft breath, refusing to look at him. But the world betrayed me. Through the reflection of my window stood his figure, tall and menacing. One hand was in his pocket, loose, uncaring, and the other ran perilously over his jawline. He was frustrated.

"It's not that fucking hard, Romina. You close your eyes. You sleep."

I pressed my lips together in annoyance. "The storm outside is keeping me awake."

"You're scared?" He asked, surprise hinting in his tone.

I glared at his reflection in the window. "No, Aziel," my tone was sharp, much unlike me, but perhaps that was the entire point of Aziel: to reveal part of myself I did not know existed, "it's loud and I'm alone. What do you think my mind is going to make of those noises?"

"You shouldn't be scared of monsters," Aziel said. I heard him walking closer. I pulled my sheets closer around myself, "the only ones that are going to hurt you are the ones you can see."

"I can see my demons, Aziel."

The man remained silent.

"They follow me, it doesn't matter where." I lifted a hand from underneath my blankets and held it out in front of me, observing the lines crossing along my palm. "I-I don't even know why I'm telling you this." I cursed myself internally. He made me weak. He exposed me.

I was not supposed to be exposed.

"What demons, Romina?" He asked carefully. A shock ran down my spine as I realized he was at the side of my bed. So close...so close...

"The ones inside my mind?" I tried. Shrugged. "Everyone has their own demons, I guess."

He made a derisive snort. A scoff. Callous bastard.

"Will you be honest with me?" He asked suddenly. I frowned. The answer was clear: absolutely not. "Don't...be so quick to push me away. You far from free, Romina. Your mind is so caged you cannot even see the bars. I'm a visitor, a stranger. Would it hurt to leave your sanctuary just this once?"

It would hurt, Aziel, can't you see? I'm already hurt. You've wounded me in a way I do not even recognize. So I stayed silent. He didn't need my promise. I owed him nothing.

"You're hurt." It was a statement. A true one, yes, but not one he had the right to make. My lips trembled. I was soft—too soft. I needed to cry again. Aziel needed to leave. "I can hear you crying, you know?"

I wanted to yell at him. But I didn't.

Be reserved. Be quiet. Be soft.

"I didn't ask you to help me." My voice was hoarse, quiet, choked. But it spoke my words, the ones that needed to be spoken.

"Oh but you did. You did, Romina." Aziel, said firmly. "You asked me for help the moment you got those red marks on your wrist. You asked me to help the moment you screamed my name out in the middle of the night."

My eyes shot open. He'd heard that?

A low chuckle emitted from deep in his chest. "Yes, baby girl. You can hear me, I can hear you. I hear you crying my name in the night. I hear you moaning when you think no one is listening. You pretend to be so innocent and behaved—but I know you. I hear you."

My heart was pounding feverishly in my chest now. He'd heard. Fuck, he'd heard. He'd heard.

The feeling of the bed dipping broke me from my frozen state. Scared of him—well, not him, really. But myself. I was scared of what I would let him do, of what I wanted him to do. Spinning around to face him, I came within breathing distance of his darkened face. Shadows hit his jaw and cheekbones in a sharp, striking way. I knew it was foolish to say, but I was dumbfounded by the sight of him.

"You-you have it all wrong." I stuttered out, eyes wide and terrified.

A grin spread across Aziel's face as he placed two fists on the bed, lowering himself so his stature hung directly above me. "Try again."

"No—"

"Shh," the man hushed me. He didn't need to bring a finger to my lips. All he needed was his voice—his smooth voice, his rocky voice. His voice. It was unlike anything I'd heard before. Crafted like a weapon. Crafted for my end. "It's not you. It's not the maids. It's not your mother. So, please explain to me, again, Romina: who yells my name in those dark hours of the night? Who cries for mercy when they will receive none—knowing full well what they want has nothing to do with God." He paused, sucking in a shuddered breath. When he spoke, he spoke raspily, lustfully, and right in my ear. "The options are this, Romina. Either I am the one dreaming of your sin,"

"...or you are the one dreaming of mine."

(a/n: I don't fucking know what I'm doing with my life anymore)