Sawyer
We drag the tarp to the tanks. They aren’t too big - not over the short tree line - and I scramble up the ladder.
“What are you doing?” Cali asks.
I move to the valve and open it. “Laying him to rest, bunny.”
“Here?”
I peek over the edge, and she’s looking around. God, she looks cute. Despite the fact she’s mad at me, she’s hanging on my every word like a little puppy.
“Well, yeah. We’ll be able to look at this for years and remember. Much more romantic than burying it. Hand me a piece.”
Cali stands there, frozen. I notice again how pretty her hair looks in the dark. It’s almost translucent with the truck lights shining through it.
Miles moves past her and grabs a piece.
“C’mon up, you can help.” I pat the metal beside me.
Before she can say anything, Miles snaps, “No. She’s fine.”
Jesus, he’s being unusually bossy today. I shoot a glare at him. Ryder has stayed by the truck, texting someone again. That’s fine. He doesn’t have to like it, but he can’t try to claim that we aren’t including him.
Cali moves to the ladder, arguing with Miles. “I want to see.”
He looks like he’s going to throw her over his shoulder and run.
Holy fuck, hunting them both down would be hot. My dick twitches. But even I know that’s too risky right now. Not here.
Cali climbs up next to me. Her necklace glints dimly in the night, and my mark of ownership makes me fully hard.
“Whoa.” The gasp comes from those pretty little lips. Goddamn, she’s fucking gorgeous. And I can’t believe she’s mine. Ours. She doesn’t think she is, but I’ll purge that thought from her head. She won’t dream of saying something as stupid as she did earlier.
I regret my deal to let her fuck Ryder to get points. At this moment, I hate that I’m a man of my word. I’ll just have to make sure that it doesn’t happen.
“You can see so much from up here.” Cali looks around. The metal makes a hollow thump as she shifts.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Just like her. I give her a meaningful stare. She catches me watching and suddenly looks bashful, and if it isn’t the cutest thing ever.
“Hey! Fucker.” Miles bangs on the ladder, handing up a limb. “Focus, please.”
At this rate, I’m going to throwhimin the tank. I shoot Miles a look, snatch the arm, and drop it into the narrow opening of the tank. It hits the bottom with a hollow bang. These have been abandoned for a while. I checked them and the family history. It’s perfect to keep animals from digging up the pieces and dragging them all over for the cops to find. Plus, I think it’sromantic. I can take them here on dates, and we can reminisce and have picnics under the moon.
I drop another piece in with a bang.
Cali jumps at the sound and then giggles.
I flash her a smile. “Oh, you like that?”
Miles hands me another. Blood drips all over the container and myself. We brought lye to clean the majority of the mess up, although I have to use it sparingly to keep the integrity of the metal.
Cali watches as we put the rest of the body in. I leave the lid partially open to allow bugs to come in and assist in the process. Him being found eventually is not my worry, but I do need the DNA to decompose enough that it can’t be traced back to us.
After I throw some more pieces in, I see that Cali is staring at the sky. I look up. It’s scattered in bright stars. Being so far from the city lights, it’s absolutely scattered in bright stars as far as the eye can see.
I look at Cali again. Her skin looks pale and smooth, and I trace my gaze down her neck, wishing I could see my brand. Good lord, she’s the hottest, most infuriating woman I’ve ever seen. And normally, the only time of day I give women is to hate fuck them and throw them away.
Something stirs in my chest. It’s not entirely unpleasant, but my body immediately tenses. Am I feeling…affection? Fuck. Every time I’ve felt this, the object of my emotions has been ripped from me. How could I do this to myself again?