Page 109 of Grave Possession

Mallory

“Ihave to switch to night shift for a while.” Lennox’s voice cuts through the thoughts I was jumbled up in. “One of the new recruits is taking paternity leave for two weeks. His wife is scheduled to be induced on Wednesday.”

A sliver of excitement slides down my spine at the thought of being alone. The three calls I’ve made to Victoria in the week since the Haunt have gone immediately to voicemail. Clearly she’s ignoring me, brushing me off like I did her. Except I did it to protect her, not hurt her. The rejection festers inside of me with each dismissed ring in my ear, and the almost instant clicking on of the automated answering machine message. I’m getting uncomfortable in my skin again, and I need an outlet…soon. “That’s nice of you to work nights instead of Grey,” I respond.

“Yeah, he said it’s not a good time for him to switch off days right now.” I know what he really means to say is Victoria can’t be left alone yet. Greyson shouldn’t be on anight patrol in the middle of nowhere when she could need him at the drop of a hat. “He offered to reassess at the end of the two weeks, should Officer Martin request more time off.”

All I can do is nod, Victoria’s suffering isn’t something to argue about. Nox has a good heart, he won’t selfishly stay on during the day, and risk something happening to her because Greyson isn’t with her. He knows I’d be pissed if that happened. “How are the new guys working out?” I ask, diverting the topic away from the guilt I feel resurfacing inside my chest.

“They’re alright. Thankfully, Jones has experience.” From what I remember, he was a transfer in from some bigger city on the other side of the mountain range. He and his wife wanted a break from the chaos there, and decided small town life was the best way to get some room to breathe. “Myers has taken Martin under his wing the past two months and he’s learning fast. His absence will be noticed but not something that’s going to set the department back too bad for the time he’ll be away.”

“That’s good, I’m glad they aren’t a pain in your ass.”

“Me too,” he says, eyes boring into me over the lip of his mug as he drinks his morning coffee, even though it’s almost noon.

I want to ask him if he’s heard anything about my missing corpse, but I know he hasn’t. I’ve been badgering him every day since, and he’s probably growing weary with my incessant questioning. There was nothing left behind at my crime scene except the pool of blood and brain matter, which was happily being devoured by the massive insect population in the forest. No drag marks, nobone fragments, and the dismembered leg was gone along with the rest of my victim. It’s like he just vanished without a trace, which unsettles me so much more. It means there’s at least two people who know what I did, and they’re just hanging around, waiting for the right time to blow up my little world.

“You know I’m going to sleep like shit while you’re gone,” I mumble, surprising him. Absent-mindedly, I pick the polish off my nails. A stupid anxious habit I’m certain he can see through.

“Now, why is that?” I can hear the smile curling his lips from across the dining room table. Forever the jackass who needs me to explain myself even though he knows exactly what I mean.

My cheeks heat, as I deliberately ignore his eyes burning into the side of my face. The chair scrapes across the floor as he rises and moves to stand before me. Placing his warm palm over my fidgeting hands, his shirtless form invades my line of sight. “There’s no mention of your murder anywhere, Mallory.” My eyes snap to his now, and they are full of compassion. Of course he knows what the hell I’m thinking about without me even uttering a word.

“Oh…okay.” I don’t know what to fucking say now as this silence dangles between us. It would be the perfect time to tell him why I’m so paranoid. He doesn’t know the man was friends with Randy, or he threatened to expose my secrets. I only told him he was a drunken perv who copped a feel, and wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

I haven’t breathed a word to Nox about Bellamy either. Was he there, lurking in the shadows at the party? Was he the one who took my kill? Was he protecting me?Or is this all part of something else…whatever Dennis was wrapped up in that had something to do with me? Bellamy told me to stay out of it, but my brain is irritated by it. This incessant itchiness I can’t fucking scratch. My calls to him have also gone unanswered, and it’s slowly chipping away at my already dwindling sanity. I need answers or I’m going to drive myself nuts.

“I’m going to go shower then maybe we can watch a movie or read until I have to leave. What do you think?”

This man gets me.“Sounds perfect.”

He leans down, pecking me quickly on the cheek before turning and slowly making his way to the bathroom. “Why don’t you order us a pizza?” he calls over his shoulder. I open my mouth to object to him leaving for close to two hours, but he silences me by saying, “Make sure to tell Miles I’ll pay the outrageous delivery fee.”

Shocked, I reply, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I want to soak up every minute with you before we’re apart for the first night since I got you back.”

“God, you’re clingy,” I snip, faking my disgust. Nox’s eyes narrow as he turns and scowls at me. I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing at the grumpy expression marring his handsome face.

“You have no fucking idea,” he growls from across the room. He storms toward me but I keep my ass planted in the seat. He doesn’t scare me anymore, and I’m not sure he ever really did. Before he can lay a finger on me, I extend my leg. Planting my foot firmly on his chest, and stopping him in his tracks.

Lennox’s emerald eyes burn with desire as he leans hisweight onto me, testing my strength and restraint. My leg starts to tremble while trying to keep him at a distance as he fights against me. If I wanted to, I could drop my foot and have him face plant into the hardwood floor. But instead, I lift my other leg and place my foot on the table, spreading my legs enough to slip my hand into my sleep shorts. He watches the fabric shift as I slip my fingers inside myself, slowly moving them in and out. The old me would never have done anything like this, but witnessing the way he craves me is a whole new level of addicting.

His tortured gaze darts between my eyes, and where my fingers dance beneath the thin strip of fabric covering me, a deep groan slipping out when he hears how wet I am for him.

Nox's fingers skim up my leg, sending goosebumps erupting out over my skin. Reaching my shorts, he pulls the material to the side. His tongue darts out, tracing over his bottom lip as his eyes feast upon the sight before him. His weight becomes near unbearable as he tries to close in on me, and I struggle to maintain the distance between us.

“I thought you were going to shower?” I taunt, withdrawing my slick fingers to swirl them around my clit.

His eyes glint wickedly, and my stomach dips. “Oh right, I don’t know how I forgot,” he says, abruptly backing away from me and dropping his pants. Slowly he steps out of them, palming his hard-on as he recedes down the hall and out of sight.

Is he fucking serious right now?

The shower turns on, and annoyance bubbles beneath my skin. The fucking audacity of this asshole. Quickly, Icall the pizza place, ordering two pizzas for us. Miles tells me the total, and it’ll take about an hour and a half until he’s here. I tell him, “That’s fine,” but just as I’m about to hang up, I yell at him to “Wait!”

“Can I order another pizza and have it delivered to Lennox Graves’s house?”

He huffs at my inability to give him the address. “The bungalow with the tin roof?”

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