Page 3 of Fall

“How sweet of her.” Harrow’s—Kieran’s—words drip with sarcasm. “Did you tell her you’re fine and dandy? Just a little sore?” He tilts his head to the side as he watches me, and Val snorts.

“Should I?” I roll my eyes, trying for a bit of bravado. “Or should I tell her to do hourly checks on me, just in case the two murderers I let into my apartment decide I’m next?”

“Nah, because you’ll miss those checks while we play,” Val tells me, stepping closer until he’s only a few feet away. I look down at the space between us, then back up at him, unable to stop myself from anxiously worrying my lower lip between my teeth. “Oh, don’t do that, princess,” he drawls. Valentin reaches out for me, thumb pressing against my lower lip and dragging it free. “If you make yourself bleed, then I’ll get too excited to have a conversation with you.”

My eyes drop to his bandaged hand, and he grins. “Same goes for if you make me bleed.”

“Text your friend back. Tell her whatever you want.” Kieran just sounds bored, and when I look at him, I see he’s also on his phone.

Well, that certainly makes me feel a little dismissed. But neither of them seem to really care what I tell her. Judging by the way Val is making jokes and Kieran just…really doesn’t give a damn. Surely, if there was a problem here, they would try to wrestle the phone from me or hold me at knifepoint to make me lie to her.

Besides, they had all the time in the world to kill me last night. But they knocked me out and brought me home instead.

That makes up my mind for me. I pick up my phone and send Sierra a slightly lengthy message, feeling self-conscious as I tap away at the screen to assure her I’m fine. My ‘new friends’ just want to hang out, and she doesn’t need to worry.

In return, she reminds me of her trip, and makes me promise to call her while she’s in Portland with her mom. Once that’s done, I set my phone down on the counter and gaze between the two men.

I don’t know how this is going to go.

I don’t know why they came back.

“Do you guys, umm, live around here?” I ask finally when they don’t take any initiative to speak. “Or do you guys…like, roam nomadically and murder?—?”

Val reaches up to wrap his fingers lightly around my throat, and a noise of approval goes through him when it immediately makes me shut up. “So nervous.” He chuckles. “You’re just babbling, trying to make conversation. Are you trying to prolong this, princess? Trying to figure out ourmotives?” Before I can stop him, he drags me off the counter, and my hand makes an instinctive grab toward the drawer.

My finger hooks over the knob, and Val stops when I manage to pull it open a few inches to reveal the silverware inside. “Oh, yeah?” He snorts, then his hand goes out, and he pulls out one of the sharp steak knives to hold it up between us. “Still want to cut me, Noa?”

“It’s just kind of a knee-jerk reaction.” My blood rushes in my ears as he examines it, though I let out a sharp exhale of relief when Valentin only drops it back into the drawer and closes it.

“I’m not looking to get stabbed by a steak knife today. And seeing as I don’t trust that you actually sanitize your blades well enough for me not to catch something…I think we’ll keep you knife free for now.” Without another word, he yanks me forward, taking advantage when I stumble and pulls me into the living room that’s sparsely decorated with only a coffee table, sofa, bookshelf, and my TV. He doesn’t stop, doesn’t let me go, and he’s strong enough toslingme toward the sofa just as Finn bolts for my room in surprise.

My cat’s exit makes room for Kieran to pull me onto his lap with a huff and chuckle. “You’re a feral little thing even in the daylight,” he murmurs against my neck. “I already bandaged him up once, from your enthusiasm. I’d prefer not to do it today.” Though I wiggle against him, Kieran only presses a hand against my stomach to force me back against him.

“God, she’s just so fucking pretty.” Without warning, Val drops to his knees on the carpet, crawling forward until he’s seated between Kieran’s thighs. “Even prettier in the daylight, princess. Though…” He sits up, resting his elbows on Kieran’s thighs while he looks me over. “I think she’s prettiest when she’s covered in blood. This is cute. Very seasonal.” He reaches up to trail his fingers through my ombre hair.

“I would like to protest being covered in blood ever again.” The words come out quick and nervous, as I cringe away from the memories of what they did to the others at the haunt. “Why did you kill those people? You mentioned last year, right? Is this something you?—”

Kieran grabs my face with his free hand, jerking me around to face him. “It’s too early for questions,” he murmurs. “And we came here to play, not to tell you all our secrets. Unless you’re too sore, darling…” His other hand trails downward, pushing my thighs apart to stroke over the seam of my too-short shorts.

I can’t help the sound that leaves me. It’s something like a whimper and a gasp, though I’m jerked back to earth when Val’s fingers push the hems of my shorts upward and he sucks in an appreciative breath through his teeth.

“Look at you, princess.” The husky roughness of his voice makes my stomach twist, and I tense as he reveals more and more of the marks they left on me. “You know what you look like, don’t you?” He grins up at me, and I squirm uncomfortably on Kieran’s lap.

“A trauma scene? A domestic violence poster child?” I ask flatly, unable to help my sarcasm.

Kieran chuckles against my shoulder and Valentin scoffs.

“Nah, that’s not it.” He runs his fingers over the marks at the tops of my thighs, light green eyes fixed on them like they’re some kind of work of art. “Show me the rest of you.” It isn’t aquestion, and he doesn’t give me time to think or comply with his request.

Val lunges forward, greedy in his excitement, and grabs my tank top in his hands. He barely manages not to rip it at the seams, and even as I yelp a protest, it’s over my head and tossed somewhere else in the room.

The action leaves me mostly naked for their eyes…again. It’s a no less vulnerable feeling than before, and my arms instinctively come up to cover myself. Only for Kieran to snatch them away, using one of his hands to pin my wrists at my lower back with a soft growl.

“You know, it’s only fair for you to take your clothes off, too. Both of you. At some point,” I point out while trying to sound casual. And failing in an epic manner, of course. Even I can hear the tremor in my words, and normally I’m an optimist about my success in all things deception.

Val’s gaze drags up to mine and I bite my lip, only for him to reach up with his thumb to stop me again. “You have got to stop doing that.” His grin widens. “You make it hard for me to control myself.”

Kieran shifts behind me, a small huff on his lips. “You want to play with us, don’t you darling?” he murmurs against my ear. “Do you want Val to make you come?”

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