Page 75 of Pretty Lies & Ugly Truths

She is stronger than any person I know, and after hearing Maggie tell me some of the stories her mother shares with her at their weekly brunches, I can see where she got it from. After learning justsomeof the things her mother endured at the hands of that madman, if he wasn’t already rotting in the ground, I would gladly send him to hell myself.

Cara left Boston behind and moved to a small apartment close to Jane. She has started going to therapy, and although still strained, Maggie and her mother are working on building some sort of a relationship.

I hear the front door open and close downstairs. Atmy behest, Jane—who is newly engaged and doing remarkably well now, living with her fiancé—convinced Maggie to take a long weekend off at work. Jayce agreed to cover for me so we could finally spend a few days alone together at the cove.

“Archer!” I hear her call out, her soft footsteps echoing as she enters the foyer, the switch clicking as she tries to turn on the lights. “What the hell?” she mutters to herself, and I smile behind my mask as she tries all the lights before realizing that the power’s been turned off.

“Baby… I think the power’s out,” she says as she begins walking up the stairs.

I stand near the closet, unmoving, as I watch the glow from the flashlight on her phone get brighter and brighter as she moves closer towards our room.

I’m hidden in the shadow created by the open door, so she doesn’t see me when she enters. She yelps, when I reach out, my arm snagging her around the waist before she can pass by. Her phone clatters to the floor, landing face down, leaving a beam of bright light shining straight to the ceiling.

Her body stiffens in my hold but immediately relaxes as soon as she realizes it’s me. “Mmm… Archer,” she moans as one of my hands glides across the front of her cotton dress, snaking up between her breasts to close gently around her throat.

She leans further into my hold, the back of her head coming to rest against my chest. Her eyes flutter open, finally seeing me for the first time since she entered. There’s a flash of fear there that makes my cock twitch,and she tries to pull out of my arms, but I keep my grip firm.

“Archer—what the hell?” she says, her voicing quivering—whether from fear or arousal, I can’t tell. She stills, swallowing hard when my grip on her throat tightens.

“Shh… Baby, relax,” I breathe into her ear, filled with smug satisfaction when she immediately obeys. “Good girl. Now, we’re gonna play a little game of hide and seek,” I say, taking her earlobe between my teeth, grinning around it when she lets out a low whimper. “I’m gonna stay here and count while you go run and hide. If I find you, I get to keep you…”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” she answers before letting me finish. I spin her around, staring deep into her eyes, letting her see the seriousness of what I’m about to say.

“Forever. If I find you…I get to keep youforever. I’m going to fuck you, make sure to ruin you for any other man. You willalwaysbe mine. Understand?” I tell her, and the dirty little minx just smiles.

“Yes. I understand,” she purrs in a husky voice, rubbing up against me like a cat.

“Behave,” I say, landing a hard smack on her ass.

She looks up at me with hooded eyes filled with so much love and lust, all the nerves about what I’m going to do fade away. There will never be anyone more perfect for me than her.

“I love you,” I blurt out, and she giggles softly, her face lighting up in the dim glow.

“I love you too.”

“Now run,” I growl, my voice low and deep.

Fear flashes in her eyes for a split second before she turns and darts from the room. I make it to about thirty-eight before I give up counting. I’m too impatient to wait, every cell in my body urging me to find and claim Maggie. Every primal instinct in my body pushes me to sink inside her tight, wet heat and mark her as mine.

“Ready or not, Little Rose—here I come.”

Maggie

“Now run.”

As soon as his words cut through the fog of lust clouding my brain, a spark of fear compels me to move, and I turn and flee. Logically, my mind knows Archer would never hurt me, but instinctively, my fight or flight has kicked in, and the urge to put as much distance between us forces my legs to obey.

I run down the stairs, straight across the living room and out the back door, the same path I took that first morning. Out on the lawn, I turn, looking for somewhere to hide, and I spot our tree.No. Too easy.That would be the first place he’d look for me.

The sound of ocean waves beckons me, and I turn to sprint towards the beach.

Halfway across the boardwalk, the back doors open. I pause, looking behind me to see the haunting image ofmoonlight bouncing off the bone white design of the skull mask as Archer stalks out onto the deck.

There’s no way he counted that fast, the little cheat.

My heart hammers in my chest as I watch him get closer, and I push my legs to move. Sand kicks up from under my feet, and a loud squeal escapes as big strong arms grab me from behind. Archer tackles me, twisting at the last minute so he lands beneath me, taking the brunt of my weight as we fall to the ground.

“Gotcha,” he grunts.

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