Epilogue
Six Months Later
Ishrug off my sweater, letting the soft fabric slide down my arms and pool around my waist.A warm breeze drifts by and I inhale the scent of wildflowers and earth.I rub my fingers along the hem of the picnic blanket beneath me.Speckles of sunlight peek through the trees and I watch their tiny beams float down toward my hand.
A smile pulls at my lips when the light catches my ring.The teardrop-shaped ruby glitters above the ashy gray band.Blood and soot.That’s how he found me in that house, and that’s all that we left behind.We sealed our vows the same way, standing in City Hall the next week, caked in blood and soot.It shocked me that I didn’t bawk at his impromptu proposal or that he’d wanted me to wear the tattered, dirty t-shirt that I had worn during my captivity.It seemed fitting that my new life should begin in the ashes of what I left behind.
The chittering of a small animal draws my eyes toward the trees, where green leaves and tall pines reach upward toward a blue afternoon sky.It’s beautiful here.
“Hungry?”Gray asks, gesturing toward a generous spread of cheese, meat, and crackers.
My stomach lets out a gurgling rumble and I laugh.“Starving.”
My eyes follow the movement of his body, watching the way the muscles in his forearms bunch as he moves.He piles salami and cheddar on a cracker and moves it toward my mouth.I open my lips to accept the tasty treat, letting my tongue brush over his fingers as he feeds me.He pulls his fingers from my mouth, a heated look flashing through his eyes.
His voice takes on a deeper tone, hinting at something dark.“Do you know why I like it here?”
“Idummoo,” I mumble around bites of food.
He runs his hand up my thigh and I swallow thickly.My skin tingles in the wake of his touch and my core tightens at his closeness.
He leans in, his breath ghosting over my lips.“This place is very special to me.”
My gaze flits around the clearing, taking in the trees around us and the large patch of earth.We sit in the center of what’s almost a circle.The forest around us is lush and green, but this particular area is only dirt.The tree cover is so vast that the sun must not be able to come through enough for grass or flowers to grow here.
Gray places his thumb under my chin and angles my face toward him.When our eyes meet, my stomach flutters and my nerve-endings spring to life.Goosebumps break out over my bare legs, their bumpy pattern creeping under my skirt.There’s something dark within his gaze, something predatory.
“This,” he says, waving his hand in a circle around us, “is where all the bodies are buried.”
My breath catches in my throat and the blood in my veins turns to ice.Is he telling me that we’re having a picnic in a graveyard?A graveyard of his victims?I dig my teeth into my lower lip to stop it from wobbling.He can’t be serious.I shake my head because surely, he’s kidding.
A devilish grin slides across his face.“Oh, yes, precious.”He grabs my hips, forcing my body in front of him until my knees bump his.He opens his legs, pressing his thighs on either side of mine and trapping me between them.My steady breaths turn into choppy pants as I draw in much needed air.
His fingers trace along the line of my jaw, his eyes never leaving mine.“Everyone I’ve killed, every man who’s ever touched you…” his voice trails off, his grip tightening on my chin.“They’re all here, buried beneath the dirt.”
He dips his head and kisses a line along the column of my throat.I moan at the feeling of his lips on me and the scrape of his teeth against my sensitive skin.His hand wraps around my throat, the other grabbing my hip in a bruising grip and I choke out a gasp.His fingers tighten around my neck, making me work to suck in air.Fear skitters through my veins, tightening my stomach and pinching my lungs.
“Are you afraid of me, little bird?I can feel your pulse racing.”His tongue flicks out, licking a line across his lower lip.“Is my little wife afraid of me?”
“Yes,” I whisper, not trusting the strength of my voice.
An approving sound hums in his throat.“Good.You should be.”
He releases his grip on my neck and I suck in a greedy breath, filling my lungs to capacity.I yelp as he grabs my waist and yanks me into his lap.My stomach collides with his thigh and all the air puffs out of me.He lifts my skirt, baring my panty-clad ass to the creatures of the forest.The rip of fabric echoes through the trees just before I feel the breeze glide over my naked core.
Warmth pools in my belly as Gray’s fingertips dance along the tops of my thighs.I wiggle my hips, trying to force his fingers to the place that I really need them.Without my permission, wanton, needy sounds fall from my lips.I gasp as his hand cracks down on my behind and a jolt of pain zips through my body.
“So impatient,” he chides.
My heartbeat quickens at his commanding tone.Need courses through my body, dampening my thighs and making me desperate for his touch.
“Please, master,” I beg.
His open palm smacks down on my ass harder and I groan at the sting.He rubs a slow circle over my stinging skin before cracking his hand down again.I wince as he slaps the tops of my thighs several times in quick succession, making my skin burn.Pushing my thighs apart, I silently beg for him to turn his attention toward my aching pussy.My clit pulses with every slap of his hand against my bare skin.
He runs a finger over my slick folds, his touch barely grazing the sensitive flesh.“Do you want me to touch you, little wife?To fuck you here above the corpses?”
Embarrassment floods through me, heating my face, but I can’t deny that I want that.I want him.I want every monstrous part of him and every shadow that lives in his heart.
