Page 40 of The Blue Rose
She has her bangs half up, the rest of her hair wavy and falling past her shoulders. I want to wrap it around my fist and bend her to my will.
Her lips are painted red. Probably to match her outfit, which she looks sinfully delicious in.
The same red I would’ve chosen for her.
She runs over and gets in the car, kissing me on the lips, before sitting back in her seat. “Where are we going?” she asks excitedly.
I smirk, staring at the road. “It’s a surprise,” I say, glancing over at her before speeding out of her driveway, my blood thrumming in my veins.
The sun has already set in the sky, creating the perfect atmosphere for what I have planned for our date.
Tonight is the night.If all goes according to plan, this will be our last date, and I will finally get her on my table.Finally.
Looking over at her, I can feel the excitement rolling across her skin.She wouldn’t be so excited if she knew how the night was going to end.
She reaches towards the radio, messing with dials as she flips through the stations. Her body freezes when she hears a song she likes come on. She mimics the drum intro, and bangs her head along with the beat, pretending she is part of the band, mouthing the intro. Paying attention to the road while she’s being so cute is hard. I listen to the lyrics, realizing it is “Waking the Demon” by Bullet For My Valentine as soon as they say the title.
I didn’t know she was into this type of music.Smirking, I turn the song all the way up. She starts to sing her heart out, never missing a lyric.
I wonder if she knows she has woken this demon?
The station plays several more songs she sings along to, dancing in her seat as she loses herself to the music. The way she just lets go, and is completely herself, has me tapping the steering wheel to the beat of the songs I know.I hope she’s only like this with me.
Her whole face lights up as we pull into the abandoned parking lot, and she screams excitedly, “OH. MY. GOD! You are taking me to Graves Haunted Houses?!” She bounces in her seat, straining against the seatbelt. “Do you know how hard it is to get tickets? Me and Jess have been trying foryears. Wait… they'renot even open yet, don’t they open next week?” She turns to me, her eyes bouncing between mine.
I get out of the car, and walk to her side, opening the door and grabbing her hand, suddenly craving the connection. “The owner and I are very close.”
She gapes at me, leaning into me, my cock twitching at the sight. “You know the owner of Graves? The owner is one of the best kept mysteries of Salem. The only thing anyone knows is that the owner is a guy. No one, except a select few of his employees, know who he is.” She steps closer and whispers. “I heard he makes his employees sign NDAs and those who break the rules become a part of one of the haunted houses…” Serena glances around, as if making sure no one was listening in. “Permanently.”
This makes me belly laugh. “That is my favorite rumor.”
She slaps me playfully. “I’m being serious, Aster. I’m desperate to know who owns Graves. Jess thinks I’m obsessed. She’s okay with this obsession because it’s not over The Morbid Monet.”
If only she knew we are one and the same.
She looks around as we are walking up, nearly stumbling over the loose gravel, lost in amazement. “I wonder how he came up with the thirteen houses of horror. Each one is inspired by either an iconic horror movie or serial killers. He changes the movie houses every year so it doesn’t get old. Since you know him, you have to know the reason why. What’s the story behind the houses?”
When I first came up with the idea to use my inheritance towards opening Graves it took me sometime to come up with what I would do. There are so many haunted houses already, and I can’t kill all the time, so I needed a distraction. I visited so many haunted houses, most of them were the same, and the owners of those had to use the same props every year, making itrepetitive and boring. I wanted my attractions to be the opposite, and with the amount of money I had, I came up with the idea to change the houses every year. Bringing back the same people, new customers, far and wide. All the haunted house goers coming and going brought in more than enough money to keep changing it every year.
I have permanent staff, the ones who know the owner, who not only start building the new attractions after the season ends at the end of November, but who also love to be a part of the attraction. Dressing up and scaring everyone. It makes the transition period easier having the same staff, and that is their career, which they love and are grateful for.
I turn to her, getting in her face, backing her against a tree lining the path to the entrance, and whisper. “If I told you, then you might end up here.” I lean in close, my breath brushing against her neck and leaving goosebumps behind. “Permanently.”
She slaps me on the arm. “That’s not funny Aster, but could you imagine working here? Oh, the fun I’d have tormenting everyone.” Her eyes spark, something much darker lurking behind her excitement.
That’s surprising.Her choice of words intrigues me, and I can't help but imagine what it would be like tormenting her in these houses.
Maybe I will.
When we get up to the entrance an employee is waiting to let us in. “Mr. Graves, we’ve been expecting you, we made tonight extra memorable as requested.”
From the corner of my eye I see Serena gasp, pure shock on her face. “Thank you, Sam.”
We walk past my employee, and Serena shrieks, “You’re the owner of Graves?!” She shakes her head in disbelief. “Wait, so your name is Aster Graves? That actually fits really well.”
I look at her, a small smile playing on my lips, heart racing. “Oh really? And why is that so fitting, little lamb?”
Serena lets go of my hands, skipping ahead with her hands behind her back. She glances over her shoulder and repeats the words I once said to her, “I promise I will tell you everything, all in due time.”
