Page 61 of Ghosts of Halloween

And now, here I am, right with them. Wanting her, too.

I consider how to solve this so I can get what I want and save face. Caden strokes higher up Harlow’s thigh, but not venturing too far, and she shivers. He’s fully hard now. So maybe I could get him to fuck her and take his ass at the same time.

I shiver with pleasure, my dick responding, but it’s not quite what I want. I really fucking need to be inside her. I need to see her writhe under me, completely helpless and at my mercy. I need to push her face into the floor, dominate her, and paint her body in my cum.

And I want to hurt her while doing it. Maybe not as drastically as I did just now, because that’s not my kink. The knife wound wasn’t for my pleasure,anyway. I did it because she begged for the pain, so I delivered. Now as my eyes fall on her shoulder, I see the wound is red and wet, slowly trickling blood.

Fuck.Suddenly, I’m afraid she’ll pass out before we’re done. What if we push her too hard? She wasn’t that healthy to start with, and right now, she looks startlingly weak. Fragile. And I fucking need this closure. I need to do everything I planned, clear everything up, before my time is over.

That’s what I tell myself, anyway, when the sight of Harlow’s pale, shivering body bleeding all over my friends makes my heart squeeze painfully.

Without thinking, I take off my shirt. It’s sweaty, probably not the perfect thing to press to a bleeding wound, but I don’t fucking care. I tear off a strip and crouch by her side, instructing Jack to lift her arm so I can bind her shoulder.

“Good thinking,” he says, and Harlow moans in pain when I work, wrapping the material tight before I tie it off.

When I glance over at Caden, he’s already looking at me, a sardonic smile stretching his lips. When I frown, he arches an eyebrow and huffs out a quiet laugh.

“Caught the caring bug, eh?”

I bristle, giving him a hard look, and Caden’s expression softens. He shakes his head slightly, still smiling, and I let it go. He’s just teasing me, not mocking, even though he has every right to after my attitude over the last two years.

Harlow’s wound taken care of, I stand up, wiping a hand over my face. Two fucking years. I almost can’t believe it. All of that time, that rage, the planning—it’s all coming to a head.

And fuck, if it really ends before tomorrow… I want to get what I want. I need to satisfy that urge gnawing at my guts. Even if that means being ridiculed for eternity. I can handle that, I think.

But I can’t handle reaching the end while having regrets.

I look at Harlow. She groans, slowly rolling off the boys’ laps. Kneeling on the floor, she rubs her eyes with both hands and flinches when that pulls on her shoulder. When she’s done, she looks up at me, up and up from where she is. It gives me a sudden jolt of pleasure.

That’s how I want to see her. At my fucking feet.

“Thank you,” she says, wide eyes blinking slowly. “For everything.”

“We’re not done yet,” I grit out through my teeth, suddenly deciding to fuck it. I’ll have what I want and worry later. “Want to pay me back?”

Her shoulders stiffen as she nods, expression growing wary, and I grin. Fuck, yes. Maybe this is what I crave. Not fucking her, but fucking with her, and the best way to do it is…

I keep my eyes on Harlow as I step back slowly until my back presses to the wall. I stand on wide feet, not blinking once as I command her with my eyes, taking pleasure in the way she shivers, goosebumps covering her naked arms.

“Crawl to me.”

Jack looks up sharply, his after-sex stupor turning into angry shock. Caden’s smile disappears, and he watches me almost as warily as Harlow. And she…

She fucking does what I said.

I watch, hypnotized, as Harlow gets on her hands and knees and slowly comes closer, her spine curving sinuously with every move. She looks up, her tangled hair hanging on either side of her face. She’s sweaty, bloodied, and her makeup has run into dark smudges under her eyes.

A filthy little angel, fallen from heaven, tossed in with the devils.

“Closer,” I whisper when she hesitates about a step away from me. “So close, I can touch you.”

She swallows and obeys. When she sits back on her heels, looking up with those wide eyes that glisten in her dirty face, I have to grit my teeth to hold back an embarrassing sound.

Becausedamn.This shouldn’t be hot, but it is, and I don’t know what that makes of me.

Harlow waits, worrying at her lower lip, her naked body trembling at my feet. Jack and Caden are silent, but I feel the weight of their eyes on me. I hesitate, and the tension thickens until I can’t fucking stand it anymore.

I reach out and touch her hair softly, looking into that sweet, open face. I saw her flayed raw today. I saw her fall apart and shatter, both in pleasure and agony. And in the hell we put her through, with everything stripped raw, my soul calls out to hers.

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