Page 41 of Things Get Dark

See You Next Fall

By TL Hamilton

Chapter One

The human body containsapproximately ten and a half pints of blood. Two hundred and six bones make up the skeleton that houses a heart designed to beat sixty to one hundred times per minute.

My pulse sat at the lower end of that scale as I stared into the mid-distance toward a frame containing a picture that I couldn’t see in the dark. Not that my eyes were actually focused on it. A wet bubbling sound broke the silence of the room and I sighed.

This was taking too long.

Good things come to those who wait.

My nanny used to tell me that when I wanted dessert before dinner. The thought of dinner was a reminder that my wait time could be better utilized washing up. Heaving myself off the bed, I wandered out of the room in search of soap and water.

The apartment was nice, considering it was an addition above the garage of a mid-century modern home I assumed belonged to his aging parents.

Beneath my feet, the cool floorboards gave way to cold tiles as I found the bathroom. Without bothering to turn on a light,I cranked the sink faucet and let the water flow over my sticky hands.

“Messy, messy,” I chided, getting off the worst of the gunk before pumping a good amount of soap into my hands and scrubbing hard. The lyrics toTwinkle Twinkle Little Stardrifted through my mind as I washed, rinsed, and washed and rinsed again.

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

I snorted and dried off my hands before backtracking to the bedroom to find complete silence had fallen.

“Finally.”

I fished a small coin purse out of my pocket and retrieved one of the four coins inside. It didn’t matter which, seeing as all four would be used tonight.

Approaching the bed, I grimaced as my foot squelched in the viscous fluid leaking over the edge. Gross. Now I’d have to wash up again.

Careful of the congealing mess, I climbed onto the bed and straddled the cooling body, placing the coin carefully on his tongue.

At first, nothing happened.

The stillness of the room reminded me of the first time I had summoned them. It was a bittersweet memory. We had been reunited, just as they promised, but they always left me again.

One night every year wasn’t enough.

The thighs beneath my ass tensed, and the whole corpse jolted as someone took up temporary residence.

The handcuffs I’d used to restrain the vessel clanked as the new soul settled in place. The eyes opened. Even in the dark of the room, they glistened with a malice that could only belong to one person.

“Dalton.”

I threw myself up his body, crushing my lips to his in my urgency to connect with him again. He opened to me, and I moaned as he pushed his tongue past my teeth. He was vicious in his exploration of my mouth, tongue lashing and teeth biting until I was a panting mess on top of him. The clank of metal on wood returned my horny brain to the present. As I pulled back, Dalton raised an unimpressed eyebrow at me. He lifted his wrist, his lips forming inaudible words.

“Oops,” I shrugged, unlocking his cuffs and opening my eyes wide in an effort to look innocent. It seemed I’d unintentionally cut the body’s throat too deep and severed its vocal chords. It looked like Dalton would be having a quiet Samhain this year. He cast an accusing glare at my knife, and I pouted.Of course,the body would be less damaged if I didn’t cut it up, but Ilikedmy knife. And I loved the way blood seeped from an open wound. Right up until the moment it congealed and became difficult to clean off.

The second his hand was free, he snapped it out, fingers digging into my throat until sparks flashed at the corners of my vision.

Yes.

“Is it finally time for me to join you?” I choked out as my tongue swelled under the pressure of his grip. My body shook with the thundering of my heart — far surpassing the hundred beats per minute mark — and my lashes fluttered. Hypoxia kicked in, making my head spin. Just as my body began to relax, his grip tightened, then left me altogether. Instinct took over and my body sucked in a greedy breath.

“Cock-tease,” I growled, my voice hoarse from how close to oblivion he took me. His scowl matched mine as I moved to get off him. We had more vessels to find. The night was already getting away from us.

He threw off the covers, revealing the naked body beneath. An impressive erection jutted out from the hips and, eyes sparking with accusation, he reached down and gave it a hard pump. I pursed my lips and ran my eyes over the length of him, unable to resist fucking with him, and was rewarded instantly when he fisted my hair and slammed my head down on his cock. Tears flowed from my eyes as freely as saliva dripped down my chin as he savagely fucked my throat, taking everything he couldn’t on any other day of the year. My already saturated panties chafed against my tender skin, and I slid them aside to shove two fingers inside me to relieve the ache.

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