Page 55 of The Amendment

I replaced the tarp, covering his face again.

Jim didn’t deserve to be buried with my victims—he wasn’t special enough. He’d tried to harm Ainsley. But I owed him thanks for introducing me to the darkest, most satisfying parts of myself. For that, he would be buried with respect, albeit separately.

After several minutes had passed, Ainsley returned with two shovels and we set to work, digging carefully closest to the oak tree on the left.

“Are the others close by?” she asked cautiously.

“Close, yeah.” I wanted to tell her everything, but I couldn’t. Something inside of me prevented it, as much as I loved this. That was before, this was now. She could know everything going forward, but those memories were just mine.

I needed to retain control of them.

To my relief, she continued digging without asking anything else.

It was grueling work, especially in the summer heat, but it would all be worth it. I measured the hole with the length of my shovel. Once it was large enough to fit the entire thing, I tossed the shovel aside.

“Okay, slide him to me slowly,” I instructed, easing down inside the grave. She leaned forward, pushing his body forward, her breasts pressing against the topof her tank top. I shook my head, trying to focus. It was a struggle, though. This was a whole new level of excitement for me. The two things I loved most in the world combined into one moment. One fleeting, intense, powerful moment that would be over all too soon.

Once the body was inside the grave, we shoveled the dirt on top of him. We started slowly, making sure we’d covered every inch of him, then began to push the dirt in quicker.

Goodbye, old friend.

If someone had told me years ago that our friendship, the one that started the day I moved into my dorm room all those years ago, would end with him being buried in my backyard, I never would’ve believed it.

But this was how it had to happen. He’d gotten in over his head, pushed us too far. That was the problem with Jim—he didn’t know how to take no for an answer. He always wanted something more.

With the last of the dirt shoveled over top of him, I stepped onto the grave, stamping it down. I held out a hand for Ainsley and she joined me, stepping onto fresh dirt cautiously.

“Help me even it out.”

Once the earth was flattened as much as possible, she stepped off the grave, swiping the back of her hand across her forehead and reaching for the shovel.

“We really should’ve brought water out here. It’s scorching.”

I couldn’t listen, couldn’t respond. The version of myself she had yet to meet was still here, still in control. Igrabbed her arm, my grip too tight, and she turned her head to look at me.

“What are you—”

I cupped her face, pressing our lips together and forcing her backward until we smacked into the tree. She whimpered, but I didn’t care.

Couldn’t.

Pain was necessary sometimes.

Our kisses were hot and feverish, moans of pure ecstasy escaping our throats as I pulled her shirt over her head, breaking apart for merely a second.

God, she was beautiful.

I gripped her hands together, holding them above her head against the tree. I trailed passionate kisses across her collarbone, tasting the saltiness of her skin.

I lifted my face to hers, rubbing the stubble on my chin across her cheek as I moved toward her ear. “Tell me what you did to him.”

Her eyes widened with shock, then narrowed as she tried to pull away from me. We locked eyes, a challenge in mine. “Tell me.”

Dark heat filled her expression. “I killed him.”

I lowered my mouth to her breast, biting at a bit of her flesh. She jolted. “Tell me how.”

I closed my mouth over her breast, tempting and teasing her. She moaned, her eyes closed with pleasure, mouth dropped open. When she didn’t say anything, I stopped and released her hands, pulling her face to look at me with force.“Tell. Me. How.”I slipped my hand inside her pants, my fingers between her legs as she twisted and writhed against me. I pressed my forehead to hers, herbreath on my lips. She tried to kiss me, but I held back. “Tell. Me. How.”I removed my hand from between her legs, refusing to do anything else until she’d answered me. “Ainsley, now. Tell me!”

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