Page 53 of Sins of Autumn

I wanted to tell him he was full of shit, but I’d seen the looks they exchanged behind their masks, the way they acted as if this nightmarish chaos was somehow normal and justified. Theybelievedwhat they were saying.

I shut my eyes and forced myself to breathe calmly. My mind was at war with itself—one side begging me to give in, to just stop fighting and accept the inevitable, while the other, the voice that had carried me through every struggle in my life, screamed at me to hold on.

But what was the point when there was no clear way out? Wilder dried me off with the same meticulous care he always showed. The towel moved over my skin in slow strokes, and though his mask was back in place, I could feel the weight of his gaze, the unnerving focus of a man who thought he owned me.

When he finished, he grabbed the clothes he had already picked out from me—my clothes. A sweatshirt, leggings, and even my favorite fluffy socks. He dressed me like I was a doll, his hands careful yet unrelenting, stripping away any autonomy I had left. His touch was efficient and intimate in the worst way. Every moment of it reminded me of how powerless I was.

He retrieved a small tube of cream and gauze from beneath the sink and then knelt in front of me. “This will help,” he assured as he smoothed it over the raw lacerations on my wrists.

The coolness of the cream burned at first, but his movements were maddeningly gentle. Once he’d bandaged my wrists, he grabbed a comb and began working it through my damp hair.

“How did you even know to find us here?”

“I’ve had your house bugged for months,” he readily confessed. “I knew about this trip the moment Daniella booked it.”

A hollow laugh escaped me. I wasn’t even shocked. How could I be, after everything?

“The only thing I didn’t account for,” he continued, his tone darkening slightly, “was the men.” He set the comb down. “You let him put his lips on you, Mint.”

“It wasn’t, that didn’t mean anything,” I started, but he cut me off.

“Why did you let him do it?”

“I didn’t—he just—”

“Youlethim.” His voice was low, lethal, and unrelenting. Leather-clad fingers trailed down my cheek, almost tender.

My mind zoomed back to what started all of this in the first place. “You have no right when this all began because of the wayyoutalk to other women.”

“How can you circle back to that when this night is to prove the exact opposite?”

He took hold of my face and made me hold his masked gaze. “I’ve never cheated on you. These women you’re so fixated on?” His tone was icy now, but there was an unmistakable edge of disdain. “They were begging for me, Mint. Begging for something they thought they were getting. My brothers fucked them all at least twice before they killed them. They had no idea who was behind the mask. That’s the thrill of it.”

I didn’t think this was making it better.

“They never knew my real name,” he went on, his voice softening but losing none of its intensity. “They never heard the sound of my voice, never touched my body. They didn’t know how I feel.” He leaned even closer, his mask mere inches from my face. “I’m all yours. No one else gets any parts of me. No one else deserves it.”

His words were impossible to ignore, the conviction in his tone chilling.

There was no hesitation, no doubt—just raw, unfiltered obsession and the sick, treacherous part of me that loved him no matter how horrific he was.

“You don’t understand yet,” he continued, his voice dipping lower, dangerously intimate. “I wake up every morning, and my first thought is of you. I go to sleep every night wondering how I got so fucking lucky to live in your world.” He gently stroked the side of my face. “I want nothing more than to spoil you, to give you every dream you’ve ever had.”

“Stop it.” I tried to pull away, but he held me tighter.

“You’ve always wanted to travel the country, haven’t you? We’ll do that. I’ll take you to every state, and every city you’ve ever dreamed of seeing. And that farm you’ve always talked about? I’m going to make sure you get that. We’ll build a life there. A perfect life..”

Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I was so fucking tired of crying.

“And babies,” he added. “You’ll have all my babies. I know how much you want a family of your own. Now that all the cards are on the table, we can continue building our future. Nothing’s holding us back anymore.”

His words wrapped around me like chains.

“I’m going to marry you,” he continued, “You’re going to be my Mrs. Carson.” His hand still cradled my face, his thumb brushing against my cheek. “If you take nothing else away from this, let it be that you are it for me,” he swore.

“And if I want none of that?” I dared to ask.

“Then you’ll have to tell me what you do want with the understanding whatever it may be, I’m going to be there.” His gaze, even hidden behind a mask, felt like it was burning through me.

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