Page 12 of Reaper

“What? Is it there?”

She lets out a heavy breath and snaps a picture.

A moment later, a text buzzes in on my phone.

I stare down at the screen and click the image open. In her little hand is a tiny white pill.

“I’m so dumb.” She’s crying and I wish I were there. I hate that she’s doing this alone.

“You’re not dumb, and he’s not a bad man. He’s sick. He’s lonely. He’s not himself.”

She swallows hard enough that I hear the lump pass in her throat. “I’m coming out to see you. Give me ten minutes.”

“I’ll come get you.”

“No, the cameras,” she sighs. “I’m coming.” The line disconnects, and though I feel horrible calling my buddy out like that, it needed to be done. He shouldn’t have the power over her like he does. No one should. She needs to live her life, experience things, find her own path, and discover who the hell she is outside of this fucking prison.

I push down the kickstand and walk into the field to meet her. It’s a dark night and there have been some wolves patrolling the area lately. I doubt they’d fuck with people, but better safe than sorry.

Walking into the tall brush, I aim the flashlight from my phone ahead and think over how the rest of this goes. I wanted to help her break free, but now I’m not sure what that means.

Will she leave Rugged Mountain? Will she go to Washington? Will she meet someone age appropriate and never come back again?

The light from her flashlight glistens ahead. At least I think it’s hers. I can’t imagine who the hell else would be out this time of the night unless it’s Danny. In that case, I’ll take him right now. I get being heartbroken, I get not wanting your only child to leave, but this is too fucking much.

She signals back and the swish of the tall grass gets louder and faster as she closes the distance between us.

Seconds pass, and before I realize what’s happening, she’s against my chest in the dark with her lips pressed against mine.

My cock reacts before my brain, and I kiss her back, hard and fast. My hands are in her hair, on her back, cupping her neck. She moans against my mouth, moving her tongue against mine as we hold each other tight.

I’m not sure what’s happening, but I like it.

She pulls away and sighs, biting her bottom lip under the dim light of the moon. “Thank you.”

My eyes widen. “For what?”

“For seeing what I couldn’t see. For taking me out today. For kissing me back.”

I tip my head to the side. “Is this the adrenaline again?”

“It wasn’t adrenaline before.” She sighs as she says, “I’ve been wanting to kiss you, Reaper. I’ve wanted to for so long.”

Okay, my cock is harder now. “What?”

She swallows hard. “Yeah, like… I have these fantasies about you showing up and taking me away all the time. I think about your hands on me, your lips pressing into mine, your body holding me close. I know that’s fucked up, but all of this is fucked up. I mean, maybe I’m reading this whole thing wrong, and you were weirded out by the first kiss, so this one is even weirder, but I’m doing weird things, and this is what—”

I crash into her lips again and again, holding her close against my chest as though the explosion of hunger I’ve felt for her is finally able to release.

“I think about you too, little cat. All the damn time.” The words lift a weight off my shoulders.

Tears stream down her face and she hooks back into the perfect spot in my arms. She belongs here. I’ve known it forever and a day. It’s this moment that snaps something inside of me. I don’t want to stop myself anymore. I don’t want to pull away from what I want. I need my little cat, and I’m going to take her.

“I’m not a nice guy,” I groan lowly in her ear. “You should know that.”

She swallows hard and steps closer, landing her hands on my chest. “You are to me.”

I hold my hand tight against her throat and kiss her lips. “You’re the only one. But hear me when I tell you, you’ll get sick of hearing what an asshole I am.”

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