Chad had a sixth sense whenever Romeo was nearby.
He felt him.
Why others couldn’t sense him the same way, he had no idea.
Romeo’s arms were crossed, his face unreadable as he watched, but his finger gave away his impatience. He tapped it against his bicep. Chad’s heart responded to the beat, getting quicker.
“Yes,” Graham whispered. He brought his shaking hands together on the desk, showing Chad his wrists. “It’s about time justice is served, detective.”
“Our justice is a bit different.”
Graham frowned—his eyebrows slid into the creases of his skin. “Our?”
Romeo took his cue and strode nearer, all rippling muscles and dark eyes.
His hair was a few shades darker than Chad's, longer too, and having it messy around his face added wildness to him.
He wasn't a man.
Not right then.
He was Chad’s handsome monster.
Chad curled his fingers beneath his chair, leaning forward to drink in the sight of euphoria spreading through Romeo.
Graham grunted, or cursed, or something, but Chad couldn’t hear it with his heart booming in his ears. A small voice screeched at the back of Chad’s head, demanding he intervene. But it never grew louder, never became so insistent he had to act.
Romeo picked Graham out of the chair by his throat and spun him away from Chad. He could see Graham over Romeo’s shoulder, wide-eyed, and gaping, but the muscles in Romeo’s back, shifting, tightening, were drawing Chad’s focus.
They rippled beneath his tight t-shirt.
Chad had difficulty staying put, he wanted to touch Romeo’s muscles, paw over his strength, and tell him he was beautiful.
Wait. He told himself to wait.
It was over in a matter of moments, Graham turned limp in Romeo’s grip. The wet sounds that had gurgled in the back of his throat stopped, and silence followed, so thick, Chad swore he could hear all the hairs on his arms lifting, and the bead of sweat rushing down his spine.
Chad waited for Romeo to reopen his dark as night eyes to celebrate with him. They would crease with a smile as he hurried over to claim Chad’s mouth in a forceful kiss and take his body right there and then.
He’d done so with Doctor Carter, Julius Tipper, and Ellie Burner. All killers. All had lived far too long in their lavish lives without their comeuppance.
They lay side by side in the filth of the field, and the fourth grave was open for Graham.
Chad waited, so far forward in his chair it began to creak.
Romeo hadn’t surfaced from wherever he went inside his skull when he killed. He stood with his hands locked around Graham’s throat, holding his body up. Graham’s feet grazed the floor. Small and thin, it was still impressive that Romeo could hold him like that.
His arms didn’t even shake.
Chad’s were trembling.
He couldn’t stop the back legs of the chair lifting from the floor.
The pressure in his crotch washed shame and arousal through his skin. His face heated up, and he tipped forward on weak legs, getting to his feet. Romeo had made him like this, aroused in the face of death.
It was his fault the best sex he’d ever had was right after he’d killed. Marc. Carter. Julius. Ellie. The wrongness of it all added to it, shattering Chad’s sanity, before post-sex touches, and reassurance from Romeo put it back together again.
“Romeo?” Chad whispered.
He’d never been made to wait that long. He’d never been left to brim with so many conflicting and wrong emotions. Chad dug his teeth into his lip, not knowing whether to run the fuck away or launch himself at Romeo and trigger the onslaught his body knew was coming.
“Your phone…” Romeo said.
He turned, still holding Graham. Graham swung in his grip like a ragdoll. His gaze didn’t connect with Chad, his attention lay squarely on Graham’s greying face.
“My phone?” Chad touched his pocket and felt the vibration. “Right…”
He slipped it out with shaking hands, silenced the call without looking at who had interrupted them and switched it off.
Romeo let out one long sigh from his nose and dropped Graham to the floor. His head cracked against the concrete, not even that killed Chad’s lust. It should have. He knew it should’ve, but it didn’t touch on his desire for Romeo to ravish him.
He pushed his phone back into his pocket. “Sorry.”
Romeo tilted his head, eyeing Graham on the floor. The fact Romeo wasn’t looking at him started to bother Chad, it brought forth a fresh way of emotions, each one more confusing than the last.
Romeo’s eyebrows pinched together as he examined Graham. “Don’t be, it’s fine.”
Chad waited, skin itchy with the need for Romeo to touch it, but he didn’t take a step closer. He wanted his dark eyes, and hard hands, and a kiss that was as painful as much as it was welcome, but Romeo was too preoccupied with Graham.
Chad was damn near hyperventilating, adrift, lost with his hand quaking as he reached. Without Romeo taking control, he didn’t know what to do but stand there and internally rip himself to pieces.
He wanted to fuck, after seeing someone being murdered?
How messed up was that?