Page 68 of Haunted Prey

His hand slowed a little, but he didn’t stop. I watched his mouth turn down slightly. Full lips I wanted to crush against mine.

“They took you there right after it happened?” he asked.

“Yeah. They didn’t let me look for you, even when I begged. Didn’t let me stay. Just took me there without warning. I had no time to think, to contemplate what had happened. I just kept seeing you dropping in the water and disappearing.” This time, it was painful to swallow as a knot grew in my throat. “Everything we created washed away with you...everything, our plans, all gone. I feel like…in a way I did too.”

He clenched his jaw as if the memory pained him too. He dropped the cloth he’d used to clean my cut and snaked his handaround the back of my neck, leaning in so his head touched mine. “This isn’t over, Evee. Not a fucking chance. A bad break, yes, but I’m still here and so are you. And our time isn’t over. Once everything here is finished, and those fuckers at Severfalls pay, it will be just us again, you’ll see.” He fisted some of my hair. “Just us. And we’ll have the ocean. Our dream, baby, I swear it.”

Unable to stop myself, I cupped his throat, feeling it bob. Feeling his breath against my lips, I took in some of his air before I pressed my mouth to his.

He didn’t hesitate. He pulled me in closer, greedy, and desperate for more. I let him in without a fight, his lips crushing mine, tongue tangling with mine. I grazed his bottom lip with my teeth and he moaned softly, his other hand clutching my hip, pulling me off the seat.

As much as I wanted him to haul me over to the bed in the room behind us and fuck me till I saw stars, I tensed. I let him in a little longer before pulling away, still keeping my forehead against his.

“I saw you almost every night in Severfalls, you know,” I said against his lips. “You were decaying before my eyes. Your face just a skull. I couldn’t look at you, couldn’t sleep. I’m still afraid I’ll see that face even now. And then you’ll…”

A shadow passed over his eyes. “I won’t ever hurt you.”

I looked him dead in the eyes and said, “You have.”

He stiffened, unable to hide how much that truth must hurt. “I know,” he said. “But never again.”

“There was a therapist at Severfalls who told me if you were alive, that wouldn’t have changed. But I told him he was wrong.”

“He is,” he breathed. “He’s wrong, Evee.”

I saw the sincerity in his eyes. “You’ve changed,” I whispered. “You seem different. You seem more…here.”

“I am,” he said. “And it’s because of you.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

It was my turn to watch as Emery sat in the exam chair. Andrea, having returned to make sure Lena was okay, started to clean and rewrap Emery’s shoulder and back in new gauze. I wanted to see his gunshot wounds instead of looking away. Seeing them healing made him more real.

“Already, the new skin is forming over the stitches,” Andrea commented. “You’ll have a couple extra scars in a week, tops.”

“I’m guessing that’s not normal,” I said, remembering how quickly he had healed when Lena’s bullet had grazed his arm.

Andrea glanced at me and smiled. “No. But Emery and the others aren’t normal.”

My hand slid up to my throat to clutch at my necklace. “Because of the drugs.”

His eyes glowed as he caught me rubbing at the heart. “One of the few perks,” he said.

Andrea cleared her throat. “Yes, one of the few successful side effects. Besides abnormal strength, dexterity, stamina, Emery is better physically in every way. One of your father’s most successful…subjects.”

“Quit, Doctor, you’ll make me blush,” Emery mocked.

Andrea made quick work of securing the gauze just as someone knocked.

Cassidy poked her head in and scowled at us. “Micheal is here.”

Before anyone could utter a word, the door was slammed closed.

Andrea put away her supplies while Emery put back on his shirt. I stood and suddenly felt shaky, afraid for some reason that this Micheal would force me and Lena to be locked away, considering he was the leader of the group.

Emery must have caught my unease because he grabbed my hand and pulled me in.

“It’s going to be fine,” he said. “He won’t touch you. Micheal isn’t the aggressive type like Lez. He might not be happy you’re here, but you're safe. I will make sure of it, got it?”

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