The collision causes me to let go of the cart, which rolls a few feet away. I whirl around, prepared to yell at the foolish woman who was stupid enough to try and reach something she’s clearly not tall enough to grab. However, when she looks up from scrambling to pick up the contents of her purse and the basket lying on its side next to her, I’m too stunned by her delicately beautiful features to speak at first.
“I’m so sorry. I’m fairly new to town and this is my first time here. I wasn’t sure where the sales assistant was and thought I could reach it myself. I didn’t mean to bump into you like that.” She blushes, clearly embarrassed.
“It’s okay. Let me help you.” I crouch down, and grabbing hold of her arm, I haul her to her feet.
I take over collecting together her items, and when I pick up her ID card, I scan the front of it, taking in her pretty face and the details written on the front. I do a double take when I see her name: Violet Blackthorn. I quickly memorize her address, repeating it over and over in my head. I need to get to know you, pretty girl, and you’ve just welcomed me in.
I hand over the card and the last few items, and she shoves them into her purse with a shyly mumbled, “Thanks.” The blush still stains her cheeks the color of cherry blossoms in spring: pale, pink...perfect.
“You’re welcome,” I reply, my voice huskier than I’d like, and her blush deepens.
When her lovely eyes meet mine again, a hunger stirs deep within me, and a craving more fierce than I’ve ever encountered before is awakened. In the brief moment when our eyes first met, I knew I had to have her. I want her, I need her, and when I’m done with her, I’m going to see how prettily she bleeds for me.
Violet walks away, and I stand there silently, staring after her in a trance. Fate has brought us together, only she doesn’t know it yet...but she will soon enough. Violets like to grow in the shade, but I want to see how she fares when faced with my darkness. I’m coming for you, sweet Violet, and then we’ll see how shy you really are.
She’s not going to be like any of my other flowers—someone might miss her if I simply snatch her right now. I’ll have to be patient. It will take time for me to carefully cultivate a connection between us, and then, when she’s ready, I’ll pluck her from her life and take her for myself.
I need her to trust me, but first, I must learn everything there is to know about her, and she’s given me the tools required to do just that. I smile as I make my way back to my abandoned cart. Pulling out my phone, I quickly create a note, tapping in her address and saving it. How better to get to know someone, than to see exactly where they come from and observe for myself what makes them tick. With this information, I’ll be able to lay the groundwork to entwine her life with mine.
Chapter Three
Zach
I’ve never done this before, but the rush of adrenaline flowing through me is a familiar sensation, and it’s one I revel in. I’m standing in Violet’s kitchen in the middle of the night, shrouded in darkness while my demons whisper in my ear. It wasn’t difficult to break in through the back door—the silly girl hadn’t locked it, probably assuming no one would find her or her house interesting enough to break into.
It would be so easy to kill her right now, but I want to possess her first. This is new for me. Before her, it was only ever about the kill, but something about Violet begs for me to own her. I want to pull her pretty petals off and see how she truly looks when she’s naked, stripped bare of everything that protects her.
I wander through her house, using the light on my phone to guide me, taking my time to look through her things while being careful not to make any noise. The predator inside of me is salivating at the scent of her—it fills every inch of this ridiculously tiny house.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize how solitary she is. The decor is simple and feminine, and the lack of accommodation for any kind of company tells me she doesn’t have many people in her life. Violet is more perfect than I could have anticipated, but I can’t be hasty when it comes to her. She has to pay her bills somehow, and if I’m to truly make her mine, like I intend, then I need to make a plan.
Spotting a closed laptop on a tidy desk, I make my way over to it and open it. I expect it to be password protected and am proved correct. I shut it with a disgruntled sigh and inspect her desk more closely. There’s a diary containing a work schedule and a few Post-Its with short, handwritten notes on them that I flick through. They consist of standard every day stuff, listing things to do and a few reminders that probably relate to her work…and then I find something which sends a wicked smile spreading across my face. I pause and stare at the slip of paper with a link to a social chatroom website written on it and a username scrawled beneath it that must be hers.
I set the diary back down on her desk, pull out her chair, and take a seat. It only takes me a few minutes to download the same app on my phone and set up an account. Her privacy settings are locked, so the only thing I can view is her photo and username, but I don’t need anything more than that. I type out a quick
