LSK Prologue

I’m going to kill the man I love today.

 

Shannon clung to Killian’s neck as he pinned her against the wall and kissed her wildly, reaffirming her resolve. She had to do this before the delicate, dizzying sensations he stirred in her completely stole her senses.

 

“Hngh! Haah, Killian!”

 

“I told you.”

 

Unlike Shannon, who was trembling and helplessly losing control of her overheated body, Killian looked as composed as ever. A low chuckle brushed her ear, and a victor’s smile played at the corners of his lips.

 

“I told you you’d come to me on your own.”

 

Smooch, smooch.

 

Burying his face in the nape of her neck, Killian indulged in the scent of her skin, his hot lips pressing against the sensitive flesh there. His breath tickled her shoulder, and as Shannon glimpsed their reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall, she bit her lip and shut her eyes tight.

 

“That you’d beg me to fuck you.”

 

“Ah!”

 

She swore she wouldn’t look, but her resolve crumbled in less than a second. A dark red mark bloomed on her soft skin where he had sucked, and, unfortunately, the humiliation only made her body tremble in greater arousal.

 

This man who could so easily rob her of her sanity and still remain utterly unaffected, he hadn’t changed a bit.

 

…Unlike me.

 

“Remember?”

 

Leaving his mark without permission like a scoundrel, yet smiling with perfect gentlemanly grace, his voice was sweet, like a lover offering a rose in a park— Darling, remember when I told you I love you?

 

Of course I remember. Damn it, I should’ve killed you long before ending up like this…!

 

Avoiding his gaze and biting her lip, Shannon remained stubbornly silent. Killian simply looked down at her, a mocking glint in his eyes. You’ve really lost your fire, Shannon Sherwood.

 

“Please… do something… to me…”

 

Having thrown away pride and restraint alike, Shannon clung to Killian’s arms and pleaded.

 

She had accepted his kiss only to buy time until the sleeping drug took effect, but instead, the situation had flipped, and she was the one most aroused, caught up in the moment. It was absurd. Forcing herself to remember the reason she lured Killian into her mansion, Shannon struggled to steady her mind.

 

“Then beg for it, Miss Sherwood.”

 

As the heavy petting continued, Killian’s hand slipped beneath her bodice, caressing her breast. The sudden intrusion was at odds with his infinitely gentle touch, just like how he’d invaded her life.

 

“Hngh! Killian… let’s… go to the bed…”

 

“Go to the bed and do what, exactly?”

 

Despite the corset’s tightness, his large hand kneaded her breast, fingertips teasing her nipple. The steady pleasure made Shannon thrash her head desperately. When she faltered, Killian nipped her ear, pressing the question again.

 

“What is it, Miss Sherwood, who’s about to be fucked? What should you say right now? Hm?”

 

“Please, Killian…”

 

His breath against her ear made it difficult to even breathe. She glared at him with teary eyes, frustrated by his refusal to ease her torment. Staring into Shannon’s silvery-grey eyes, Killian finally softened. She was the only strange woman who crossed his lines as she pleased.

 

And the sight of her prettily begging and crying — he could savor that all night long.

 

“Haah… fine, fine.”

 

Though it was clear Shannon was losing, in the end, it was Killian who raised the white flag first. Still showing no suspicion, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. The moment he laid her down, his lips found hers again.

 

Shannon struggled to resist the seductive sensations wrapping around her like a serpent and desperately reminded herself of the pistol hidden in the headboard.

 

‘I need to get the gun.’

 

Killian’s lips trailed kisses down from hers to her throat, his hands slipping under her skirt, reaching between her thighs. She flinched at his touch, instinctively pressing her legs together, but he had already found her wetness.

 

“You’re sensitive today. Wanted me this bad, huh?”

 

Normally, she’d snap at such nonsense. But this time, she only averted her gaze and bit her lip.

 

Killian, already having loosened her corset, slid it off completely, his smile deepening at her reaction. His fingers brushed against her hardened nipples, now flushed red against her pale breasts.

 

“Agh… haah…”

 

Satisfied with how she trembled and crossed her legs, Killian fondled her breasts, cupping them like ripe peaches, her soft flesh spilling between his fingers. The heat of his touch overwhelmed her. The sleeping drug still hadn’t taken effect, and impatience gnawed at her.

 

“You should’ve told me sooner. I cleared my whole week’s evenings since Monday just to fuck you… and now it’s Saturday, goddamn.”

 

As Killian’s green eyes stared not at her but at some unseen point beyond, Shannon realized again how psychotic he was, a sociopathic killer to the core. This insane bastard… I should’ve killed him back then!

 

“Ah!”

 

But just then, Killian’s mouth found her breast, his tongue flicking and curling around her nipple before sucking it deeply into his hot mouth. The electric shock-like pleasure made her cry out involuntarily. His tongue teased and lashed her sensitive flesh until it felt like something had ignited inside her.

 

“Hngh, haah!”

 

The obscene wet sounds of him sucking at her breast made her dizzy, her mind going blank. No, I have to hold on! Clenching her teeth, Shannon reached for the pistol again, but Killian gave her no opening.

 

Even while fondling both her breasts, he managed to shrug off his own shirt and — just as she reached toward the headboard, he entwined his fingers with hers. When she tried with her other hand, he pulled it up behind her neck, as though inviting her to embrace him.

 

‘Damn it! I can’t grab the gun like this!’

 

It felt like she was a tiny rowboat adrift in a vast, merciless sea. The pleasure he inflicted was swallowing her whole, and she struggled to keep her purpose clear.

 

What do I do now? How do I get the gun? Should I ask him to turn off the gas lamps? Think, think…!

 

“What are you thinking about?”

 

“!”

 

Killian, who had been nuzzling into her chest, suddenly locked eyes with her. Feigning hurt that she was distracted, he rested his forehead against hers. At the same time, his stiff, heated length pressed firmly between her thighs through their clothes. He even ground his hips upward, like he might take her at any moment.

 

“I—I wasn’t thinking about anything…”

 

Panicking, Shannon turned her head aside, unable to hide her fluster. Whether it was from his question or the unmistakable hardness against her, she couldn’t tell.

 

“Should I guess?”

 

Calm as ever, Killian smirked at the sight of Shannon disheveled and vulnerable. He chuckled and asked with light, teasing words:

 

“Were you thinking about killing me?”

 

A chill washed over her. Shannon’s body went rigid, while Killian’s smile never faded, if anything, it deepened.

 

“Wondering when to pull out this gun?”

 

As Shannon’s trembling fingers betrayed her, Killian tightened their interlocked hands. She couldn’t move. Meanwhile, Killian reached up as though it were nothing, pulling the pistol from where it was hidden in the headboard, like he was retrieving his own belonging. Casually spinning the loaded revolver in his hand, he mused aloud:

 

“Hmm… what would it feel like if a bullet lodged in that pretty little head of yours?”

 

Shannon couldn’t even breathe, frozen in horror. Killian, however, simply lowered himself again, planting a deep kiss on her lips. And with his lips still brushing hers, he whispered one more time:

 

“Hm? Darling, answer me.”

 

His fox-like green eyes crinkled in amusement. Tears spilled silently from Shannon’s sorrowful eyes.

 

Ah… what a miserable, cruel world this is, so relentlessly merciless to me alone.