Page 55 of The Trick

“Your fear. Your loyalty. Your life…beginning and ending with mine. It’s all I have ever wanted,” he confesses and for the first time all night, I believe him. I know what he is saying he truly feels and that’s what fucking scares me because that kind of haunted grip I have on his heart and mind, can’t be broken easily…if ever.

“Anyway, enough of that, you’re getting warmer” he says, deflecting from the previous sentiment of his words. He continues to speak, but I can’t process any of it because the scene before me is so horrifying, so depraved, that my air becomes trapped making me gasp in fear.

What did he do?

CHAPTER 24

“Walk,” I instruct.

I can sense the torment on her face, even though her back is facing me. Dropping her phone to the ground, she begins to walk in silence and like a magnet, I feel the forcefield she forever holds on me begin to pull as my steps trail hers.

Rows of pumpkins line either side of the freshly cemented path we walk on as we continue moving on the once desolate land of the abandoned mill which,surprise,is no longerabandoned.

I wish I could hear the thoughts that must be racing through that devious mind of hers, seeing the plot of land that once stood as an obstacle to us having our happy ending, now become the official landmark of our twisted love.

Just like in the picture I attached to the note from earlier this evening, at the end of the pathway, a cabin awaits. It’s nothing elaborate but it will do. Building new construction with the kind of materials I prefer to use, to ensure what needs to be concealed is, in fact, concealed gets tricky. So, I opted for a simple design since the real appeal of this place is the land itself. Not only is it a vast canvas for every piece of gaudy Halloween décor my hellcat could ever want, it’s sentimental. It just felt right to have a physical representation built to remind her how far she has come and how I will never let her forget our humble beginnings.

Her heels click against the wood steps that lead to the wrap around porch. There are more jack-o-lanterns on the porch, although they are scattered to make room for the Headless Horseman animatronic by the front door.

“What is this?” she asks, finally breaking the silence, her neck snapping in every direction trying to make sense of where she is now standing. “I don’t understand, I thought this place was still abandoned?”

My boots continue to move until they are rubbing against the front of her heeled foot. I take my hand to her chin, tilting it in the direction of where my gaze is seared on her. I don’t know how she does it. How she can be so unbelievably maddening, so downright malicious yet her beauty, undeniable and so unique to her black cat stare, always has me coming back for more.

I lower my head, my lips hovering over hers, the split of my tongue begging to be released so it can smother her the way her being smothers my entire soul.

“Our secrets are buried here,” I remind her, brushing my lips against hers. “How else can we ensure they are concealed if we leave this place abandoned?”

“I can’t believe you did this,” she exclaims, pressing her lips against where mine hover over hers. Our lips crash together in a fervent kiss. She wraps her arms around my neck and I take that as my opportunity to swoop her up, cupping her ass in my hands as I move us closer to the large window next to the front door.

A playful and nervous giggle breaks from her, slipping through the cracks of our kiss, making my cock hard as I break the seal of where our mouths are meshed together.

“Turn around,” I instruct her.

“Why?” she asks, apprehension now swarming her perfectly arched brows.

“Just trust me,” I pivot her stance for her.

“But I don’t,” she deadpans.

Leaning into her ear, I whisper. “Good, that makes it more fun for me then,” I tease, continuing to move her reluctant body around until she is facing the glass.

My hands glide from where they are stationed at her forearms until they are at each of her wrists. Cuffing them in my grip, I slowly move her hand up and onto the window, the motion forcing her body forward. With her wrists in my possession, I press my torso against her backside, securing her so she can’t run away as I force her to look straight ahead, through the window.

I inhale, her scent invading my every sense. “Would you look at that,” I begin, angling my head so that I can take in her physical reaction to what lies before her on the other side of the glass. “A window, just like the one I used to watch you through all those years ago. Dreaming of when I could make youmine.”

“I can’t believe you did this,” she whispers, her mouth so close to the glass that a small ring of condensation forms.

My mouth slithers to her neck, working slow, intentional kisses onto her smooth skin. With each press of my lips, I feel her cold exterior melting away. “For you, I would do anything,” I murmur, caressing the delicate area of flesh that exists between her neck and ear with my tongue.

Speechless, her head falls back into my kiss, pushing her ass against me. “Maddox,” she breathes, “I–” she begins but she pauses, too distracted by the way I’m nibbling at her neck.

“Stop,” she playfully squeals. “You’re going to give me a hickey!”

A soft chuckle breaks from my lips as I reduce only a little bit the way I’m teasing her sensitive skin. “Baby, after the way I carved a damn jack-o-lantern face into your thigh and tore up that pretty little costume you had on this evening, a hickey is the least of your worries.”

“But still.”

“Still nothing, little hellcat.” Moving my lips to her ear, I expel a teasingly long breath. “So, tell me baby, how did I do?”

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