Page 148 of Bake the Town Red

“Please.”

More silence.

I blow him a kiss.

He catches it, then kisses his own fist. “Good girl.”

The duct tape is on the table next to the stove, and that’s where Tyler goes. He rips a piece and offers it to me.

With a song in my heart—the theme song from “Halloween”—I remove my hand from Rita’s lips and place the duct tape on it.

“There.” I straighten up, punching her mouth. Just to make sure the duct tape’s glued properly, of course. “Good to go.”

Her eyes bulge. She continues to scream. Who am I to deny a woman in her final moments on this earth?

“I’ll get you the liquid nitrogen.” Tyler presses his lips to mine in a quick kiss.

“Please,Daddy.” Ty’s lips quirk in a brief smirk at that. My entire body bathes in his warmth. This is real. This is really real. “We need to have it close by,” I explain. “For later.”

I sneak a glance at Rita. She’s busy, screaming and shaking her body. A loud crack and her left shoulder looks like it might have popped out of place. It bulges out. Kind of grotesque, if you ask me.

And what does a dislocated shoulder land us? A million more muffled screams.

“The boiling chocolate, please. We’ll use that first,” I whisper when he puts the nitrogen at my feet. “We’ll freeze everything later.”

“Gotcha.” Ty turns to move to the stove.

“I’ll hold her in place.” My fingers curl around his bicep. “You pour it in her eyes. Make it slow.”

Ty doesn’t respond immediately. His eyes have that sexy swamp quality to them again. He grasps my fingers, those that clutch onto him, and tugs my hand off him.

“Little savage.” Our hands go lower until we reach his cock. He places my palm on it, letting me feel him throb through his jeans. “I’m not sure I can hold much longer when you talk like that.”

I’m under his spell. Completely, unequivocally. For eternity.

“We could compromise. Pour it in at a regular speed, then.” Another whisper. This time because I can hardly breathe. “I have a speech. I need to say it.”

“I’ll do my best.” He guides my palm up and down his cock once, then walks off.

“Two things I hate about your eyes.” I take my spot behind Rita, tugging on her hair until she’s gazing at the ceiling. At me. “They were on my man for too long. And your eyelashes. You used them to flirt with him. Rude.”

The same eyes I loathe are talking. Begging for forgiveness. For help. Tears stream down her temples, along her hair. They splash on my black tarp.

For a moment, I think I might be coming down with something. A cold, maybe.

I feel…bad?

A-choo!

Nope. Not feeling bad at all. It was just a sneeze.

“Bless you.” Tyler materializes at my side. He’s holding on to the handles of the silver bowl, tilting it to the side. “Ready to start?”

“Yup.”

With my permission, Tyler pours the scalding dark chocolate on Rita’s left eye. Her right one rolls to the back ofher head, and her muscles strain from the shock. Then come the seizures. Snot drips from her nose. A spot darkens in the center of the duct tape. Puke, or she’s foaming at the mouth.

Much like Ben.

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