Page 67 of Death Kiss

I can’t tell Freddie without him reporting it.

I can’t tell Kat, in case she is some sort of psycho who will chop my dick off too. Not that I have a dick, but I’m partial to my flaps too.

So I cocoon. Shut myself off from the world until I can get my head around everything.

It’s not every day you find out your best friend might be a serial killer.

THIRTY

LIAM

Sleep evades both Kat and me as we lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. Reggie and Hamish have finally calmed down to a vague truce, more on Reggie’s side if I’m being honest. Hamish would love to climb up and become Reggie’s cuddle bud, but the grumpy cat is having none of it. So Kat and I lie beside each other, too exhausted to go over everything again, but too antsy to sleep.

Turning onto my side, I look at her profile. The bruises are starting to abate, and we’ve mostly stayed in to avoid anyone else reacting the way Ellie did. I hate that Gregory managed to hurt her. My stupidity in lying to her nearly cost her life. I’ll spend forever making it up to her.

Assuming we get out of this unscathed, because things are getting messy. Between Ellie seeing our bruises and Freddie getting involved, it feels like there are vultures circling.

Kat’s been quiet all day. Nothing but monosyllabic answers and spacing out. I don’t know how to reach her. Normally we just ignore the hard times and fuck hard enough to forget the bad stuff for a night. After Saturday, I’m scared of going there with her. I’ve been through what she’s going through, and for a very long time, I didn’t want anyone to touch me ever again.

Giving her that space matters to me, but it also seems to be closing off everything else.

‘Kat,’ I say softly. ‘Come here.’

She rolls against me, one thigh crossing mine and her head lying next to my collarbone. Her soft tresses spill around her, and I trail my fingers through the silken strands.

‘Are you okay?’ I ask.

‘Not really. Are you?’

‘Better with you here.’ I kiss the top of her head, and when she looks up, I add another kiss to her nose.

Her blue eyes darken, the pupils dilating. Sliding a hand into my hair, she tugs my mouth to hers and kisses me like she’s starving. Not just horny, but desperate. Having her touching me feels so fucking good that I let it happen, swallowing down a wince when her thigh nudges my ribs.

I’m hard before I can think straight. Fuck, I’ve missed her. Missed this. Feeding my obsession with her.

‘Kat,’ I gasp her name between slides of our tongues.

‘I need you,’ she demands. ‘Help me escape.’

‘Baby,’ I say as she tugs down my boxer shorts and pulls me against her heat. ‘Slow down.’

‘I can’t.’ She adjusts her hips until the head of my cock slips inside, that addictive hot wetness stealing my breath. My ribs scream as I turn onto my side so I can slide into her fully.

A selfish part of me can’t stop myself. She’s my home. A little slice of perfection in this dark and twisted world.

‘Fuck,’ I moan. Her breath catches, and I pull back a little, seeing her cheeks wet.

‘Don’t stop,’ she demands, her nails digging into my backside and pulling me deeper. ‘I’m fine.’

‘You’re not fine. You’re crying.’

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Holding her hips still, I pull back enough to see her face fully. ‘Look at me, Kat.’

‘I want to escape.’

Her tears flow, and it breaks my heart. I want to give her everything she needs, but I also need to make sure she’s okay. The sex we’ve had in the past few months has gotten darker and darker, which is fun and hot, but we’ve both been avoiding real intimacy for a while.