At first, Jasmine thought she was imagining the cold, sharp edge of the blade pressed against her throat as she slept. She shifted, wanting to turn on her side but she felt anchored and trapped. She opened her blurry eyes, blinking several times in confusion.

Trying to move once more was impossible. Something was holding her down. All she saw was a looming shadow. It was then she finally realized the weight pressing her into the mattress felt like a man's body.

Her immediate reaction was to stiffen.

A hand covered her mouth, preventing the scream that had risen from her mouth. She blinked rapidly trying desperately to rid her vision of the blur from the remains of sleep.

The man sighed above her.

"Don't be afraid." Said the voice along her ear.

Her entire body broke out in a sweat, painfully aware of the blade slicing the delicate of her throat as she breathed and unconsciously swallowed. Jasmine fought the urge to squirm knowing her only chance was lay still and keep calm.

"It's not easy to part from you." He lamented. "You're such a strong beautiful woman." With a free hand, he stroked her hair back from her face with a calm tenderness, as if they'd been lovers.

Now that she was fully awake she recognized the voice. To her utter shock and horror, the voice and the man holding the knife was no other than Humphrey.

Jasmine didn't understand, so many questions firing off in her head. Why was he doing this? What did he want? Why was he in her bedroom pressing a knife to her throat?

Humphrey knotted his fingers in her hair and pulled and she closed her eyes at the burn it caused her scalp. She smelled madness on his breath as he said, "If only that damnable guest of yours hadn't stayed, you and I would have been finally together long ago."

He lifted the blade from her throat and traced both her eyebrows slowly and drifted the sharp point along the length of her nose. Jasmine sucked in deeply through her nose, her eyes widening. She struggled against her own fear. The only thing she could do was stare up at him and wait.

What was happening? Was she having a nightmare?

Humphrey traced the point of his knife along the perimeters of Jasmine's breasts. Despite the thickness of the pajamas she wore, she felt the deadly sharpness of it.

This was no dream. He was slowly starting to assault her and she had a very strong feeling he meant to do more harm.

Someone please help me, she called out from deep within herself. Help me!

"If I cannot have you, nobody else will." He vowed.

Jasmine watched in horror as the knife descended towards her chest, powerless to stop him. She didn't even have a chance to scream or fight, her entire body left paralyzed, her heart stopping in her chest.

Instead of killing her, like she expected, Humphrey, to her utter shock, rips the top of her sweater down the front, completely down her waist, exposing her chest and the lacy bra she wore underneath. A explosive breath she was holding burst passed her lips, her chest heaving with the force of her breaths.

"You are absolutely stunning." Humprey murmured in approval, his eyes lighting in appreciation.

The white ethereal glow from the new moon shone from the window enough for her to make out some his features. She fought not to shudder in revulsion at his words and his greedy eyes. A cold shaft of horror spiked down her spine, for he was feasting his eyes on her breasts, his gaze devouring her nakedness.

He ran a finger between the cleft between her breasts and slowly went down the middle of her stomach circling her belly button sensually.

Jasmine held her breath.

Her baby!

"Skin like silk. What a beautiful creature you are. You have this power over me that I cannot even explain. Ahhhhh, how I've yearned to touch you so."

The cold air in the room rushed over her exposed skin raising goosebumps all over her. This could not be happening, she thought. Fighting tears of rage, she bit her lower lip fuming with humiliation. She was shaking, feeling a volcanic force of pure rage building from deep within her soul.

It was like this greater force woke her from her vegetative state and pushed her terror aside. Her survival instinct kicked into high gear and lurched into action.

He wasn't going to have the chance to hurt her or her baby.

Fear enchanted her strength making her heart race wildly. Releasing a wordless cry of fury, she fought, palming her fists and

punching him across the face as hard as she could.

Taking advantage to his pain and surprise, and gasping for breath in a momentary state of pure shock, Jasmine tore free of his legs tangling with her own and left him sprawled on his back, quickly scrambling from the bed. Ready to seize hold of the first thing within her reach, the bedside lamp, her relief was short lived as Humprey regained his composure and grabbed hold of her shoulders and shoved her backward.

With a cry she fell and crashed to the bed with enough force to knock the breath from her as her legs dangled over the edge of the bed. Humphrey, panting with exertion, drove his full weight more firmly, pinning her down with his body. Mindless with fear, she tried to arch upward, desperate to throw him off. She was kicking and squirming, thrashing and punching, trying everything to get him off her body. He easily dodged her blows, caught her wrists and let her exhaust herself as she bucked and thrashed, fighting him furiously.

Her face was red with exertion, the sweat forming beads over her brow. She wasn't ready for this. It wasn't her time to die.

"Get off of me!" Jasmine arched forward despite having her hands pinned and screamed in his face. "Get off me you sick freak!"

Her insult earned her a strong hit with the back of his hand across her cheek. The hard slap forced her to collapse back down against the bed, rendering her immobile as her vision blurred and her head pounded with pain at his attack. Her cheek throbbed, her molars cutting into the soft tissue inside her mouth.

She tasted blood as she groaned.

Dazed, she shook her head, her ears rang sharply trying to clear her head of the waves of pain. It took her several long moments to get her brain to work again, struggling to regain her vision and the ringing in her ears to subside.

She couldn't move, she could only stare at him as despair as anger crashed over her in conflicting waves. The stinging and burning sensation across her swelling face fueled the barely contained blazing hatred swamping her mind.

The sick bastard. He could toy with and torment her before killing her but she was willing to fight him down to her last dying breath. That, she promised herself.

"I'm sorry." He said in a remorseful tone, gripping both wrists over her head with one hand as he leaned to the side and grabbed the knife left laying sprawled beside her pillow. "You make me do things for which I have no control over." A cruel smile twisted his face as his icy blue eyes clashed with hers. "If you had noticed me. If you only really looked at me, you would have seen my soul bared to you and the worship in my eyes. But like everyone else, you ignore me, dismissed me, as if I were a speck of dust nobody cared about. All the victims I killed did nothing to make up for what I could not have. No matter how much they resembled you."

She froze, trapped by his gaze as realization crashed into her. Her mind tripped over everything she'd ignored. All the little pieces of the puzzle she always had but could assembled incorrectly in the wrong place finally began to fall into place. The evil glint in his eyes said it all.

She was horrified.

She had assumed he was embarrassed when caught staring and blushing in response whenever he stole a glance at her and she noticed. He was always so quiet and observing. He was too complaint and meek, always on his best behavior yet professional. But it was all a show. He had an hidden agenda all this time and she was completely clueless.

He was the Casanova Killer. The murderer the police couldn't track. The ruthless killer. He framed Marcus Cunnings and made it look like a suicide.

"It's you." She breathed. "You are the one murdering all those women."

She was all too aware of the bruise against her cheek throbbing and swelling with every passing second.

Humprey flashed his yellow crooked teeth, his eyes twinkling with merriment. "Yes luv, that's how it all started." Eyeing her body hungrily, like some salivating dog. "No thanks to Sarah, I would have lived the rest of my life without you. Good thing I got rid of that tiresome little bitch when I had the chance!" He hissed.

Her assistant? She never thought her name would come up in this crazed interlude with Humphrey. What did she have to do with anything?

"Sarah?" She managed to ask, her fear spiking as she thought of the baby in her womb.

What if he could feel the bump?

"Never suspected her, aye? She was my accomplice, of course. How do you think I managed to send you roses? How do you think I'd known the places you visited? Couldn't you feel me? I watched you. And it was all thanks to her. But its unfortunate, had her crazed obsession with your brother Zayn hadn't gotten out of hand and in my way, she would be alive as we speak."

"S-She's dead?"

Oh God, Jasmine thought. She trusted her. They've been working together for years. She knew nearly everything about her and Zayn. Where she went. What she did. What she was planning. Sarah was notified of her every move and left her in charge plenty of times when she'd be away. How else would Humphrey have gotten very far without her aid. Her most trusted assistant was apart of the nightmare that plagued her.

All this time she believed Cristiano was the sending the roses. The initials were always with a "C". How was that possible?

Jasmine gasped as it clicked not a moment later. Humphrey's middle name was Carlisle. Humphrey Carlisle Stewart.

"You see, I learned of her infatuation with him and in return she saw how I loved you from afar. We spoke in secret about and ended striking a deal." Humphrey smiles. "She helps me get you and I would help her get Zayn. However, the insufferable flea was growing impatient and reckless. She was wild with jealousy, threatening to turn me in and tell you. The bitch was keeping proof of the things we've done and all her evidence pointed back to me. She twisted and omitted everything that pointed towards her just in case I leaked our involvement. Sarah was too confident and even bragged how she was planning to feign innocence and tell you I forced her and threatened to kill her is she didn't cooperate. Innocent my arse! I was much too close to my objective to allow her to ruin my plans after months of waiting." He shrugged, lifting the knife tightly in his hand. "Let's just say she was adequately disposed of."

"What about Marcus? What does he have to do with any of this?" She asked, eyeing the knife, hoping to buy herself time and keep him distracted.

"Marcus? That big oaf found out about our deception, the clever bastard. She and I did the only thing we could. It caused us a horrible amount of trouble, by the way. We killed him and set-up his office to make it look like he was the Casanova killer. Let's just say, his death was in vain. He shouldn't have sniffed around where his nose was not welcome."

Bile heaved up her throat.

They killed, implicated, and accused an innocent man. All this time, where she believed Humphrey couldn't hurt a fly, he was the person responsible for all those horrendous crimes. She would have never imaged, never would have suspected him or Sarah of such violence and deception.

"I won't kill you like the others and than take my fulfillment from your body. I want see the ecstasy on your face as I ride and sheath myself deeply inside you. I will fulfill every fantasy I've ever had. To finally find heaven before I kill you would bring peace to my soul."

Jasmine shook her head, unable to speak as his words brought forth a rolling revulsion from which she couldn't escape. Images of what he would do to her smashed through the haze.

She glared at him as her upper lip curled into a sneer.

"I. Would. Rather. Die." She says between clenched teeth.

"I won't make that mistake just quite yet." He taunted. "You will never be the same by the time I'm done with you. You're body will be mine. You will be mine until death do us part."

It was on the tip of her tongue to object again and throw a hateful string of the worst cuss words in his ugly face, when she snapped her mouth shut. She had to think of the child growing inside her. If she wasn't smart, he would kill her and her unborn baby.

Humprey was sick in the head. Crazy. A lunatic. Mentally unstable people did things without thinking and she was sure he was capable in doing what he promised. Managing to avoid his psychotic triggers would help her and all she was doing is defying him. He would rape her and than kill her and nobody was around to stop him. . .

Except her.

Her cooperation would be the key to escaping him because if she didn't, he may become more infuriated with her to the point where he killed her by accident before she could stop him. She must fool him into thinking her desire matched his. And she would use his infatuation with her against him.

It was the only way to survive him.

He would believe anything she said as long as it matched what he desired. It was time to switch gears and change the course of events. Either she wins or she dies.

"Do you truly love me? As a man loves a woman?" Jasmine was surprised her voice sounded as calm and cool as it did.

He looked at her with surprise, his expression softening, caressing her uninjured cheek. "No man has ever loved a woman as much as I love you."

He really was crazy.

"You killed all those women because they resembled me? You truly loved me that much?" She asked demurely.

He stroked her hair tenderly.

"I had to, luv. It was the only choice I had while I waited. But I promise you, they never compared, nor will they ever."

"Then why do you treat my like all the women you killed? If you loved me you'd treat me differently! You wouldn't threaten to kill me! How do you suppose I would have reacted otherwise?" Jasmine paused for a second pushing forth the act. "You're scaring me Humphrey and this is no way to win a ladies heart. You are manhandling me like any other selfish, egotistic, sexist man would. What you're doing to me is no different! This is not love!"

And then Jasmine cried, turning her face to the side, sobbing against the arm curved alongside her head. They were true tears. They were tears of frustration, sadness, hatred. Everything she'd felt in the weeks that passed, everything she had bottled up came spilling forth like an uncontrollable dam. They were more for the sake of show than anything else but after all this time, she let herself feel every emotion she'd experienced so she'd be able to save herself.

"Nobody has ever loved me." She lied in a miserable sounding tone. "I've lived alone all my life. I was always the neglected child in my family. The one who always took care of herself. Everyone put me last."

"Don't fret, my beauty." Humprey sighed above her. "You and I have much in common." He says bending close to her ear, kissing her tears in an attempt to comfort her. "I will make all the pain go away. You and I will be one. You need not be alone in eternity."

Jasmine looked into his eyes in the darkness. If it wasn't for the moon streaming through the curtains giving her a glimpse of his partially shadowed features, she wouldn't be able to see if her lies were working on him.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you, Humphrey. Maybe you are the man I've been waiting for." Her words sounded so sick she had a difficult time saying them. "The one person who was destined to love me unconditionally. You saw me everyday, you know everything about me–my faults, weaknesses, strengths . . .nobody else could ever understand me like you do."

Everything she said challenged all her beliefs and values.

"Yes! Yes my darling! We are destined soul mates. I've felt it in every fiber of my soul when we first met." He declared, his smile stretching so wide, it took her of Jasmine's strength not to look disgusted.

"I would like to touch you." She explained softening her tone, allowing her body to relax its tense state. "Release me, Humprey. Lower the knife." She continued to urge gently, hoping he didn't doubt her words.

His eyes were troubled and yet so very hopeful as he searched her face. He was deciding if he could fully trust her. Concealing her true colors, she showed him vulnerability and hope while she held her breath in anticipation managing a wry smile she didn't feel. But she needed to reassure him, needed him to begin to trust her. It was a risk to use every trick in the book to try and deceive him.

She could only pray her plan would work.

It was as if her prayers were answered. She watches as he lowers the knife beside his thigh on the bed and released his constricting, bruising grip from her wrists. It took all her power not to sigh in relief. However, he seized hold of her hand as she numbly let him do as he wished. He kissed it tenderly, repeatedly. An urgency radiated from him and quickly overwhelmed her as he rose up over her, his thin body coming down on top of hers fully.

Jasmine's heart hammered, her body fighting the urge to clam up while every one of her senses wanted to push him off of her. For a thin, lanky man he was heavy. His fingers dug into her hair as he pulled her more firmly against him.

She would die if he French kissed her with his yellow, plaque-coated teeth. Aiming for her mouth as his head descended towards her, Jasmine turned her face, shut her eyes as tight as possible and offered him the side of her face. His mouth was hot on her skin as he brushed his lips against the tender skin of her neck. His tongue was darting out to taste the sweet hollow at the base of her collarbone.

His hands slid to her torn sweater to the side to stroke over her skin. He caressed her tenderly as his fingers slid down to the waistband of her workout pants. Jasmine tensed as she felt his desperation.

She didn't know how much more she could withstand. The suffocating stench of his bad breath threatened whatever contents were in her stomach to rise up her throat and burst free from her mouth.

Fighting the consuming urge not to scream in agony at his unbearable touch, she waited, and waited and waited. Waiting for the right moment to act. But it was a lost cause as a torturous moan left her lips. Humphrey, too blinded by desire mistook her moan for pleasure and groaned before continuing on downward the cleft separating her breasts.

"I've dreamed of this day." He murmured huskily against her skin. "All the torment I've been living with for months and months is gone. The queen of my heart, finally in my arms."