Page 71 of Ever Dark

This house is massive. There are hundreds of places to hide. But she forgets that I know the layout better than she does.

I catch a flash of her dark hair flying around the banister toward the wine cellar. “I’ve got you, little lamb. I’m coming.”

The heat in my body rises with my adrenaline. Along with my traitorous cock. This game of predator, prey is fueling the ache, the need to be buried inside her tight pussy. Fuck. I hold onto the top of the staircase railing while I adjust myself. The scent of jasmine is so thick I can barely breathe. I need to calm down.Stay focused.

I barrel down the stairs, my anger growing with every step. “Mia, stop trying to ruin my life,” I call out. Her silence is pissing me off.

I round the corner between the shelves just in time to see her slip out the back door and make another run for it. Fuck. She’s going to get herself lost on her own damn property.

The fog is thicker than usual tonight—a bad omen. But through the heavy mist, I spot her running toward the field.

Oh, no.

She’s heading straight for the baneberry.

Fuck.

“Mia, come back here,” I yell but my voice gets lost in the wind.

When she reaches the third row of bushes, she finally stops and turns around. As I make a move to bum rush her, my stomach sinks.

“Mia, what are you doing?” She holds a bottle of liquor in one hand, a cloth sticking out of it, and a lighter in the other.

Her blue eye is almost as dark as the brown one. She smirks back at me. “If I can’t have this land, neither will you.”

She’s lost her fucking mind. We did this. I did this. I fucking broke her, and now she’s out of control.

“Put the bottle down and come back to the house so we can talk about this.”

“Fuck you, Draven. For the last time, stop telling me what to do.” She flicks the wheel of the lighter and the flame sparks to life.

Now she’s riding my last fucking nerve. “Did your nightmare man tell you to do this, Mia? Hmm? For fuck’s sake come to your senses. Everything will burn if you light that. Including your house.”

She laughs and holds the flame closer to the bottle. “Oh,nowit’smyhouse? Go fuck yourself. All you do is torment me. You act like you care one minute and then dismiss me the next. At least be honest. Admit that you don’t really want me. That all you care about is your greed. That’s the real reason why you won’t fuck me.”

Fucking hell. My stomach knots. I’ve done too good a job of pushing her away. She believes I hate her. That’s what I wanted. So why the fuck is it breaking my heart to see her look at me with the same hate?

I take another step closer, praying she doesn’t set us both on fire. “Think about your family’s legacy. I shouldn’t have put you in the trunk. We can still figure this out. Just please, put the lighter away.”

Tears stream down her face even as her smile remains. “What fucking legacy? They didn’t want me. No one wants me. Except him. Only Nox.” She lights the rag that hangs from the bottle.

Fuck. I get it. I understand why she won’t sell. How could I beso blind? I’m fucking stupid. “Mia, I want you to walk very slowly to me. It doesn’t have to be this way. I take it back. You can keep everything. I’m begging you, and I don’t fucking beg anyone. Please, come to me.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t believe a word out of your mouth. You’re lying to get what you want. Just like you always do. Well, fuck you, Draven. You can’t have me or my land because I’m burning it all down.”

She tosses the Molotov to her left and the first bush it hits ignites instantly.

“Mia!” I yell.

She darts out of the bushes as the first row catches. “Enjoy the show,” she yells.

“Fucking hell.” I sprint back toward the side of the house and grab the hose. “She fucking did it. I can’t believe it,” I mutter to myself.

As I run back, hose in hand, my heart sinks from my chest. She’s on the ground, hunched over. Fuck. I drop the hose and run to her. “Mia?”

On all fours, she gasps for air.

The fumes. Shit. I was so worried about the poison burning, I forgot what happens when it burns. I forgot that she’s not immune. Fuck.

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