ChapterFifty-Five
Ipull Ava into my arms, reveling at the feeling of her body pressed against mine.Her skin is cool, the result of spending several days half naked in a basement, but she doesn’t feel cold in my arms.Maybe the warmth that seeps from her body and into mine is just my imagination.Is this what love does to me?Is that what makes her feel like sunlight pressed against my chest?
Pressing my nose into her hair, I inhale deeply.Beneath the scent of copper and ash, the sweet smell of her lingers.I suck it in greedily, needing it like I need the oxygen in my lungs.She wraps her arms around my shoulders, her face nestling into the crook of my neck.Her tears wet my skin as I carry her from the room.
Malik leans against the splintered door frame, brushing bits of plaster from his jacket sleeves.When he sees me, he nods.I don’t have the words to express my gratitude for the risk he took today, so I simply nod back.
I point my finger toward the ruined foyer and the rooms beyond.“Torch it.”
“Gladly.”He chuckles.He looks down at the woman in my arms and his mouth tilts up into a proud grin.“I’ll see you soon, tiny killer.”
“Bye, Malik,” Ava mumbles against my neck.
Stepping outside, a cold wind whips at my face.I pull my jacket around Ava and move toward the tree line.Leaves crunch beneath my boots and I breathe in the earthy scent of decay.I’ve always appreciated autumn for the way that it kills.The season means more to me now than it did before.I look down at the woman in my arms and the way her hair falls against my shoulder, the colors of it like warm earth and fallen leaves.
At the edge of the woods, I turn back toward the house.The crackle of flames drifts through the night air as fire licks at the wood of Bianca’s former home.Embers lift from the house, floating toward the sky like fireflies.A black wall of smoke moves toward us and the acrid tang of gasoline coats my tongue.Ava sputters a disgusted sound and presses her nose into my neck.She’s not used to it, but I don’t mind the scent.It smells like destruction and vengeance, like an ending and a beginning.
The flames rise higher, engulfing the enormous house and warming the wintery chill around us.Pulling Ava from my arms, I place her on her feet.She wiggles her toes in the dried leaves and sighs.Tears drip down her cheeks as she tilts her head toward me.
“You came for me,” she whispers.
I place my fingers beneath her chin, stroking the smooth curve of her neck.“And you killed for me.”No, that’s not right.I shake my head.“No, not just for me.For you, for us.You’re so brave, baby, so much braver than you ever let yourself believe.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her into my chest.“I will always come for you.There’s no place in this world that you can go that I won’t find you.”
She presses her palms into my chest, her fingers kneading the fabric of my jacket.She opens her mouth, but doesn’t speak.My eyes track the movement of a tear that glides down her cheek, settling on her wobbling lower lip.Need burns in my gut and I lean down to taste the salt of her on my tongue.She gasps out a sob as I lick a tear from her cheek.
“I-I almost, almost,” she sputters, “I almost died.They were going to…going to…”
“Shh, it’s okay now.You’re safe now,” I whisper, rubbing my palms over her arms.“Nothing like this will ever happen again.”
“How can you know that?”she whispers.
I step back from our embrace and latch my hands around her shoulders.Shoving her forward, I press her back against a tree.Her back hits the rough bark and she lets out a whimper that makes my dick jump to attention.She shoves her hands into my chest, her fingernails scraping over the fabric of my shirt.Pressing in closer, I invade her space and shove my knee between her thighs.My fingers wrap around her throat and I squeeze just hard enough to pinken her cheeks and make her pant for air.
“Because no one in this world is allowed to hurt you ever again.”I run my palm up her thigh, feeling her legs quiver as I near her center.“No one but me.”
Her eyes widen, fear and lust evident on her face.The demented creature that lives inside of me purrs, loving the way she fears me.
“You’re mine, little bird.”
My fingers whisper over her skin, trailing over her body to her chest.I grip the collar of her shirt between my fingers and wrench my hands apart.The fabric shrieks as it rips apart.Its frayed edges dangle at Ava’s shoulders.She shivers as I run my palm over her soft stomach.Her breath becomes shallow and ragged.Her breasts bounce as she sucks in shallow pants, drawing my eyes to her chest.
The cool night air blows by us, hardening her nipples into stiff peaks.Dipping my head, I swirl my tongue over one of the rosy buds, wrenching a gasp from her lips.She shudders as I scrape my teeth over the sensitive skin.
“Do you need me to show you why I’m your master?”I pinch her other nipple between my fingers and tug.“To show you why you chose me?”
She hisses as I sink my teeth into her flesh, rolling her nipple between my teeth.I groan at the sweet taste of her skin and the spice of her sweat.Need builds inside of me and that feral thing in my chest claws at my ribcage, needing to be closer to her, to devour and claim her.
Her hands fall to her sides and she twists her fingers in the scraps of her ruined shirt.She bucks her hips, drawing a whimper from her lips when her core grinds against my leg.
“That’s it, precious,” I breathe against her chest and press my knee harder into her core.“You want me to prove to you that you’re mine?”
“Uh huh,” she pants.
“Good, then I will.”I pull my mouth from her nipple and she whines at the loss.Gripping her chin between my fingers, I force her gaze to meet mine.Her half-lidded eyes shine with a delicious combination of lust and fear.“We both know how much you love being mine, obeying me, submitting to me.I knew you would from the moment I first laid eyes on you.”
I grind my pelvis into her hip, forcing her to feel how hard I am for her.Her eyes widen and needy little sounds sputter from her mouth.
