Page 32 of Entombed In Sin

“Great!” I flash the two of them a grin and take a step toward the door. “Leave the trackers on then. Now let me go see if your sister is game to party.”

I don’t have to search too hard to find Beatrix.

Given that the funeral home isn’t even open yet at this hour, there are really only two places she would be. Since she wasn’t in the cremation chamber with us, that leaves the preparationroom. I push open one of the double doors and find her standing behind her desk.

Beatrix is in the middle of placing a plastic bag of ashes into a fancy wooden box but pauses to look up as I enter. I half-expect her to flinch or to shriek at the sight of me like she did yesterday. To my surprise, Beatrix gives me a smile. It’s warm and makes her eyes twinkle. There’s even some color in her cheeks today.

“Hey, Knox,” she greets softly.

“Hey… you,” I reply warily as I approach the desk.

She doesn’t shrink away or glare as I come to a stop before her, so I’m kind of confused. Has everything already blown over? Searching her face for animosity and finding none, I think that seems likely. Perfect. She was overreacting anyway. I only buried her alive. It’s not like she died or anything.

Still… This feels too good to be true.

“Can I help you?” she asks, still smiling.

“Yeah, I—” I pause as I realize she’s not looking at me.

Her gaze is trained behind me, over my shoulder and glazed over. I frown. Quickly, I do another sweeping glance over her sleek all-black attire. As always, she’s well put together, but there’s something off today. My eyes land on her hands that tremble slightly, and that’s when I pick up that her whole frame is swaying. I look back up at her face and take in how she’s trying hard not to break out into a full grin.

An incredulous bark of laughter spills out my mouth. “Are you blood drunk right now?”

Beatrix flinches at my outburst before blinking rapidly. “What’s that?”

“You know, blood drunk.” I shrug. At her bewildered look, I elaborate, “Do you feel really warm inside? Or like you're floating? What about your hands? Do they feel like they're tingling?”

Her mouth shifts into an ‘O’ shape as understanding dawns on her. Then she falls into a giggling fit. The sound is so innocent given what she finds amusing that I can’t help but chuckle with her.

“Is that what this is? Blood drunk? I like it, it feelssogood.” She laughs, her head falling back, and a hand lands on her stomach.

Starr Girl is beautiful when she laughs.

My cock twitches. I’m immediately reminded of its confines as it presses up against the cage Sagan locked me in. I grunt as the feeling becomes uncomfortable. Pushing past the growing discomfort, I saunter over until I’m standing right there in front of Beatrix.

“Yeah, it’s a great feeling, isn’t it?” I agree, watching her closely. I can see a growing opportunity before me as her eyes twinkle up at me. “Want to keep it up?”

Starr Girl’s laughter cuts off with a gentle gasp.

“Wait, it fades?” Her brows pinch together with concern. “Yes, how do I?—”

“By killing again,obviously,” I explain as I lean a hip against the desk. “We could go out tonight and?—”

“We? As in, you and me?” Beatrix asks sharply. She takes a step back as her smile fades. “No. I’m not doing anything with you. I might end up in a coffin with six feet of dirt covering me like the last time you and I had anything to do with one another.”

“It was actually four feet of dirt. I got lazy,” I correct, forcing out a laugh in an attempt to defuse the tension growing in the room. It doesn’t work. Beatrix purses her lips in disapproval. Ok, so being blood drunk hasn’t made her forget she’s mad at me. Right. Time to fix this. “Look, I’m sorry. Can’t we go back to the way things were? You know, where we had an amazing friendship?”

Or more if you want… The words that never pass my lips are saturated with hope in my head.

Beatrix’s brows furrow in genuine confusing as she repeats, “‘An amazing friendship’?”

“Yeah,” I agree quickly, nodding as if the visual confirmation might solidify the slightly exaggerated state of our delicate relationship before I buried her. The reluctance to accept her around, to give in to what was clearly being offered, was solely on me. But I’ve seen the light and have changed.

Starr Girl sighs before she turns her attention back to stuffing ashes into that little wooden box. “I may end up dead next time myfriendwants to play a game.”

“I got distracted, but it won’t happen again.” I cover my heart with my hand and lift the other up beside my face. “I promise.”

The look Starr Girl shoots me lets me know she doesn’t believe me even as her mouth twitches like she wants to smile. Too bad being blood drunk isn’t working in my favor right now. I sigh.

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