And now, she’smine.
Truly and completely mine. Without barriers, without lies, without walls or anything coming between us. Assuming she doesn’t run again, of course.
“So,” she begins finally as she continues to slowly spin and take it all in. Her eyes narrow in on the bouquet of lilies sitting on the counter. “The house, the land, the…everything, was to lure me in?”
I close the distance between us slowly. She’s like a terrified hare caught in a snare; if I move toward her too quickly, she’ll sense the predator approaching and bolt. I push my hands into the pockets of my dark jeans to stop myself from touching her.
“Lure sounds sinister, Princess.” I cock an eyebrow at her. “I did it so you’d have your dream home once you arrived.”
She stops moving and stares at me for a moment. Her hair has become messy over the last few hours, strands of fiery red hang around her face. She looks wild, undone, free. I’ve never seen her more beautiful.
“You are sinister,” she snarks back with heat burning in her hazel eyes. “But sweet,” she concedes and I can’t stop the corner of my mouth from tilting up.
“So, to recap…” She turns and begins slowly walking through the home, taking everything in through a new lens. She’s lived here for the last few weeks, but now she’s seeing it all through different eyes. I just hope she likes what she sees. “You became obsessed with me, stalked me, realized I was with someone else, left to become a gazillionaire—“”
“Multi-millionaire,” I correct her but she’s undeterred.
“Came back, found me again, built my dream house—which we will have to come back to the question of how you’d even know what type of house I’d want.” She spins and levels me with a cold look.
“Stalker, remember?” I shrug my shoulders and shoot her what I hope is a winning grin.
It’s true—this house was built for her. Every single inch was meticulously planned with her in mind. I wanted it to be cool but bright, full of nature and color, with an art studio so she could paint again. She used to love to paint but hasn’t in years.
“So not from Iowa?” She asks with a cock of her eyebrow. “Not afraid of the water? Just a creepy ass stalker?”
I chuckle at the memory of the lies I fed her, the lies she willingly ate up. “Would you have gotten on the sailboat with me if I told you the truth?” I ask as I shove my hands into my pockets and shrug.
She doesn’t answer. She doesn’t need to. I see her face glass over, the memory of what happened next still haunting her. I hate that she still doesn’t feel completely safe. I only ever want to see her smile.
“And then what, Garett? How did we end up here? Don’t tell me I fell into your arms by coincidence? I found the mask, your weird room of screens, videos. Tell me the truth.”
She comes to a stop in the kitchen, spinning and landing her hands on her hips. She’s so fiery, so full of life. I’m immediately intoxicated with her fight, her spice. I want her to yell at me and be angry and alive. I want it all from her—every last messy piece that makes her the masterpiece she is. She’s been so dulled and reserved for so long. I want my Sleeping Beauty to finally wake up and find her escape. As long as it’s with me, of course.
I stalk toward her, closing the distance between us in just a few steps. Her bravado falters and I watch uncertainty flit across her beautiful face. It’s dark outside now, but the low light of the moon reflects off her porcelain skin. I pull my hands from my pockets, bracketing them against the island and caging her in. She lets out a small shocked noise when she hits the stone behind her.
“The truth?” I lean in, running my nose along the column of her slender throat. She smells like sweat and sex, and I damnnear growl knowing that she’s covered in me. “The truth is that I did whatever I had to do, Allison. And I’d gladly do it again if it meant we ended up here, with my marks covering your flesh and my cum still dripping down your thigh.”
She shivers beneath me, letting out a fractured exhale. Her sweet little noises go straight to my cock, as does my blood. I’m going to need to buy some electrolyte mix so I can keep fucking her morning, noon, and night; fucking her until the only thing left on her mind is me and my co—
“Did you kill Celeste?” she asks, pulling me from my thoughts as her hands instinctively reach out to wrap around me. Even in the face of murderous truths, she knows she’s meant to be mine.
“No,” I tell her truthfully. “I would have, I planned to, but things took an unexpected turn.” That turn being that my best friend Luke got involved.
Several months ago, I lured Celeste Briggs, Ali’s coworker into the woods on Halloween. The plan was to kill her and frame Ali’s husband. It was a win-win, Brody would go away for murder and there would be a job opening at Ali’s work that gave me daily access to her. But my best friend and partner in this plan decided he wanted to keep the little angel for himself. So, we had to plan a disappearance instead. The lack of a body has caused my plan to move much slower than anticipated. If I didn’t love Luke like a brother, I’d gut him like a pig for ruining the plan.
“And you planned to kill her, to what? Frame Brody? Why?” she asks as I begin to pepper kisses along her neck, unable to stop myself from touching her. She doesn’t shove me away, in fact, she tilts her chin, allowing me more access. My girl is just as dark and depraved as me, even if she tries to hide from it. “Why him?”
I can’t hold back the growl of anger that rumbles through my chest when I think of Brody fucking Clarke.
“One—he had you. And he didn’t deserve you. He never treated you right.” I swiftly pull back, spinning her so she faces the countertop. Ali sucks in a sharp breath as I bend her at the waist. She’s still not wearing pants after I cut and tore hers to pieces, leaving her exposed. I bring my hand around the front of her and let two fingers graze her lips, caressing the tender flesh between her thighs. She mewls lightly. “He never took care of you like you deserved, did he?”
I know the answer. I watched enough times through hidden cameras as he flopped on top of her like a fucking fish while she laid there looking bored. I slide my fingers further into her folds, finding her needy nub and rubbing lightly.
“I’d come into your room, you know?” Her thighs begin to quiver as I stroke her clit slowly. “When you were asleep, passed out, and I’d fuck you.”
“What?” she asks through a moan as I slide a finger inside her. She’s still slick with our combined cum.
“I waited until you were passed out, Princess.” She whines when I curl my fingers and stroke a certain spot inside of her. “And then I claimed your body. Because you make me wild, Ali. I’m addicted to you. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t stay away from you. You bring out the beast inside me.” I growl the last words into her ear as I fuck her ruthlessly with my fingers.
