Page 59 of Buried Beneath Sin

“I can't help if the people I hang out with spoil me. There were bound to be consequences, Thatch,” Knox replies with a chuckle as he looks away from my stepsister to the gift she’s brought. His face lights up as he snatches the box off the island. When he opens it, Knox pauses in surprise before he lets out a loud gasp. “A pearl necklace? Really? You can't take them back now that you've given them to me!”

Beatrix's small, reserved smile comes and goes. “They're yours.”

I groan, and it brings her gaze back to me. “Giving Knox jewelry is even more of a terrible idea. It'll go to his head.”

“It's already there. Actually, it's around my neck, but close enough,” Knox corrects as he fashions the jewelry into place.

Rather than check out the necklace, my eyes remain trained on my stepsister's pretty face. Unable to resist, I reach up and stroke it with the back of my hand. I expect her to recoil or cringe. After all, these same hands helped shove a man to his fiery death. To my delight, she doesn't. My heart stumbles before righting itself as Beatrix tilts her head into my hand. Her eyes roam my face, curiosity lighting up those beautiful golden irises.

“I must admit, you’re taking our acquisition to your life quite well. Are you not afraid of our debauchery, Little Sister?”

Her gaze jumps from me to Knox and then back to me. Oh how I ache to know what she’s thinking. For a moment, she purses her lips as she regards the two of us. When her mouth finally relaxes, she speaks.

“I probably should be,” she admits slowly. Her eyes flash with some unspoken emotion and though I can’t quite place it, I have to suppress a shudder under its intensity. “But so far, you’ve only helped me. And between Sagan’s visits and our, ah—” She glances nervously at Knox who’s too busy studying his gift to notice before looking back at me. “—time together, I’ve never felt more alive. I want to be here with you.”

I close the short distance between us. Grabbing her chin with one hand, I brace my other on the edge of the island behind her, effective trapping her against it. Her gasp is a pretty sound that sinks into my psyche.

“We’ll have you experiencing life to its fucking fullest, Little Sister,” I promise. “What we have together will only get better as we familiarize ourselves with one another.”

Her face twitches, cringing some before the expression smooths away. My laughter is softer this time.

“You don't like the familiarity?”

“Not really.”

“Tough, because I do,” I lean down and kiss her before she can say anything else. Her soft lips don’t yield for me, not like last night, but it doesn’t matter. Her uncertainty will melt away in time. I feel featherlight as I pull away. Fuck, is the room spinning? I laugh as I realize I might be quite drunk off a single kiss. “It makes what we have so much more special, don't you think?”

Despite the pretty pink that gathers beneath her warm brown cheeks, Beatrix manages to keep her composure. Her head shakes slowly. “What do you think we have?”

“Oh I think you know,Little Sister,” I taunt, chuckling as she cringes lightly again. “I think we fit together pretty well, you and I.”

Her mouth parts as her brows furrow. “Oh, you mean sex… That’s why you’re keeping me alive?”

I snort. “If good sex was enough to stop me from killing people, there'd be a lot less people buried in various places along the side of the road, I can promise you that.”

Knox laughs at Beatrix’s flinch. “You don’t react when we throw someone in your fancy ovens down at the funeral home, but you’ll recoil at the news that we’ve killed a lot of people andleft them various places? Oh, Starr Girl, I hate to break it to you, but we’ve been doing this for ages.”

Beatrix looks between us, confusion and worry twisting her pretty face up. With her composure shaken, I can read her loud and clear. I grin.

“Does this scare you? Oh well, we’re not going to sugar coat our life for you, Beatrix. You're in our world now, which means you get to know all the dirty, bloody details.” I reach out and grab hold of one of her braids. “As to your question, while the sex was phenomenal, it's what we have in common that makes you special to us. Your blackened soul calls to us, looking for others like it, and we're happy to answer. You are ours now, Beatrix Starr.”

The smile that stretches across Beatrix’s face stuns me into momentary silence. What ever could I have said to inspire such a?—

“No one has ever helped me before, but you guys have—twice now.” Beatrix tilts her head almost all the way back to stare up at me. Her eyes twinkle with such raw adoration that I question how I’ve even come to earn it. “I owe you. So whatever you want, it’s yours. Will you…” Her cheeks turn a light pink. “Will you let me be your good girl, Thatcher? I was once, I can be again. I’ll show you that I’m worth the risks you’ve taken.”

Oh… I blink slowly as her words sink in. She’s offering herself to me. Oh god, first she gives me her soul and now she’s giving me her body. My chest constricts. When I suck in a deep breath, I find I can’t quite fill my lungs.

My stepsister is offering herself up as a beautiful sacrifice.

One I have no intention of forsaking.

I groan. With each thump of my heart, the rhythm increases in tempo. I can feel it beating down between my legs as my dick stiffens. Sucking in a sharp breath, I breathe in the heady power I now have over her. That she’swillinglygiving me.

“Oh boy, you think giving me gifts is a bad idea?” Knox sighs loudly, drawing me back into the moment. “Letting Thatcher control your life is a whole new can of worms. Helovescontrol.”

My laughter is a bit strained as I look back down at Beatrix. “Your willingness to please me has proven to be fruitful in the past. But that was just one night.” I reach up and grab her chin. “How far will you go to please me, Little Sister?”

Her eyes continue to twinkle, appearing unnerved despite the fact that I hadn’t hidden the hunger in my voice, while resolve and determination harden the rest of her face. “As far as you need me to go.”

---