Page 144 of Pucking Obsessed

Mom’s ghost, the demons of Cody and my childhood, and the terror that Dad is the monster underneath our beds that I didn’t know was there all along, are haunting me.

Can I escape them out here?

I march away along the long drive that winds down the mountain road from the sprawling, old-fashioned Rebel House.

I’m not sure where to, since we haven’t called a taxi yet. I only know that anywhere right now is better than being inside

“Even if I apparently haveDaddy issues,” D’Angelo drawls, “how about we don’t bring your dad into anything else tonight? This is the afterparty. We’re vicious, gorgeous creatures of thenight. Why don’t we enjoy that and forget those worthless mortals?”

At his words, something inside me lightens.

Somehow, D’Angelo always seems to know the right thing to say to ground me.

He went to a lot of effort to get these costumes for me.

Together, we should reclaim Halloween.

I want that for both of us: to make good memories to replace the bad.

We deserve it.

I twirl to D’Angelo. “I promised that your pets would give you a party, my king. I won’t break my promise.”

D’Angelo is smiling, underneath the edge of his intimidating, fanged mask.

Yet his voice is cold and commanding. “You had better not, thrall. You’re not wearing any panties. It gives me easy access to pull up your pretty dress and spank your even prettier ass.”

I blush, sliding my hands over my ass protectively. “Someone could see.”

“Then don’t break your promise.”

“Cruel,” Shay’s muffled voice comes from over D’Angelo’s shoulder, where he’s hanging in a fireman’s lift.

D’Angelo picked him up, as soon as we stepped outside and he noticed how much Shay was trying to hide his limp. Skillfully, D’Angelo is balancing the tray with glasses and wine in his other hand, which he took from me after we stepped outside.

I scrunch up my brow.

He’s so skillful at that, it makes me wonder if he’s worked as a waiter.

Did he have a job at college that I didn’t know about? Or after that?

Sometimes, I feel like I know D’Angelo better than anyone else in the world. And sometimes, it feels like I’m only juststarting to peel off the first layer of him, onion-like, because there’s so much underneath that is still a mystery waiting to be discovered.

D’Angelo smacks Shay’s ass, and Shay yelps. “Disrespectful.”

“Sorry, my king.” Shay doesn’t sound sorry. Instead, he pushes out his ass like he’s hopeful for another smack. “But youarecruel. What if someone saw?”

“No one sees what’s mine.” D’Angelo prowls toward the oaks that line the drive.

Excitement winds through me, as I follow him into the shadows.

Pumpkin lanterns are hung in the trees’ branches. By their light, in his mask and leather outfit, D’Angelo looks like a true Vampire King.

The cold night air cuts my cheeks. I take rapid breaths. The forest smells earthy and primal.

Dangerous.

I let myself fall into the headspace: this is our planned role play.

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