Page 23 of All Hallows Trick

“Curl up and die,” I replied flatly, holding Cat closer, my thumb slipping a little higher on the controls of the vibrator. Her breathing cut out. The power that filled me was a thousand times more potent than any suffering hanging around this cottage, and I soaked it up as Cat gasped and trembled against me, her fingernails biting into the sleeves of my coat.

“I hate you,” she squeaked against my chest.

“That’s a shame,” I replied, my mouth to her ear. I put the vibrator on its highest setting for a second, letting her feel what it could do, then turned it off completely. “Only good girls who don’t hate me get to come.”

My blood buzzed with it, with her, with the thrill of turning her on here, surrounded by people, none of them knowing a damn thing. I stroked up and down her back, pressing her into me so she felt how hard I was. I was desperate to be inside her.

“Miz,” she groaned. “Please.”

I pressed a lingering kiss to her temple. “Not yet. I want you aching and soaked and desperate when I finally allow you tocome. I want you so mindless you’ll do anything I want and love every second of it.”

“Oh god, like the window.”

I laughed quietly, brushing a lock of pink hair off her forehead and grinning when she glared up at me. She’d barely had a taste of what I had planned. It wasn’t her fault Madness was obsessed with her, but I’d punish her for it regardless. And knowing my wife, she’d love every moment of it.

Cat was seething when she finally pulled away from me, a little tremor in her knees that made me smug. Oh, that highest setting was dangerous. I was going to have fun playing with it today. She needed the distraction from her fear, and I needed the control over her. And at least she was trembling with need now, the haunted shadow in her eyes gone as she looked around the room again.

“There’s definitely nothing here?”

“I wish I had better news for you, beautiful,” Tor said, ransacking a set of drawers. “But we’ll take everything back to Madde’s castle. There are scientists in our domain; they can try to recreate it.”

“Try,” Virgil repeated, wiping sweat from his brow as he straightened, looking around the place. “I suppose that’s the best we can expect.”

Cat chewed her bottom lip, the sight sending a vicious throb through my cock. I told it to calm the fuck down for now because her eyes were troubled again, her shoulders slumping. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, dropping a kiss on her crown. “Is there anywhere else we can search? This can’t be the only place Nightmare made people into subjects.”

Virgil sighed, his gaze distant. “Whenever she came here to check on her little experiments, I never heard her mention another location, but she wouldn’t tell us much. She spoke about other people sometimes—her terrors, her followers, and us, hersubjects. And there was a woman she spoke about, she never mentioned her name, but it seemed like she was the one who… did all this.” He waved a hand at the apparatus. “The mad scientist behind the monsters.”

Cat’s flinch travelled through her body and into me. I tightened my arms around her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean…” Virgil winced, rubbing his scarred face. “I’m tired, that just slipped out. We’re not monsters, Cat.”

“It’s fine,” she said, straightening her spine. Pride filled my chest. My girl was so fucking strong. “So, there’s no antidote here. But—” Her tone changed, her body jolting as if the spark in her brain travelled through it. “But if we find this woman Nightmare spoke about, she might be able to make more.” She moved out of the circle of my arms, ignoring my grumble, and reached for her brother’s hands, squeezing both. “There’s hope, Virgil. For us and the others.”

“Speaking of,” Madness said, appearing out of nowhere and making us all jump. “All the cells are empty. Disturbing much?”

I watched tension begin to tighten Cat’s posture again, starting at her neck, then her shoulders. Unacceptable. I needed the bright spark back, the hope.

“Deal with that later,” I said, giving the bastard a pointed stare. “For now, we have hope, and a lead to follow.”

Tor snorted, an insufferable smirk pulling at his mouth when I looked at him. He was wearing that fashion crime he called a leather jacket. I’d never tell him it looked damn good on him. “You sound like a detective.”

“Oh, I love Poirot,” Madde said genuinely, his eyes bright with excitement. “Or Miss Marple. Any Agatha Christie sleuth really. That’s a great word, don’t you think?Sleuth.”He repeated it with emphasis, elongating it, “Sleuuth. Sleeuuuuth.”

“Madde,” Cat laughed softly. I was irritated to learn his crazy shit distracted her from her fear as well as my promises orsexual torment. “You’re right. Let’s become sleuths and find this scientist.”

For the first time in days, I heard real strength enter her voice, the effect of it on her body language evident.

“You know what else I love?” Madde asked suddenly.

“No one ask what,” I huffed, looking around the room again, hoping we’d missed something, a new box of vials hidden in plain sight. There was nothing.

Silence stretched out like toffee. Virgil sighed and asked, “What?”

“Midsomer Murders!” Madde announced, and began to sing the theme, adding words where the song had none.

When Cat laughed, I switched on the vibrator at the fullest setting and watched her stumble.

The glare she shot me when I turned it off was vicious. It warmed my heart.

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