Page 159 of Sinister Legacy
“Curiosity?”
Laughing, she slaps me gently. “She’ll never fall for that.”
“You know what the solution is, right?”
Sliding off me, she collects her jeans. “Moving away?”
“You read my mind.”
Her affectionate smile is soft. Changing the subject, she slides on her jeans while I buckle my belt. “I’m so glad we’re going to the same university.”
“Did you expect anything else?” Digging in my pocket, I toss her the crumpled Polaroid pictures I took earlier. “You know how deep my obsession with you runs.”
If it were anyone else, they would run for the damn hills. But Keira’s darkness matches mine. She’s unfazed by how dangerous I am now that she’s mine. Before Hayley’s silly dare, Keira was a secret obsession of mine, sure, but I never took it further. Never tried to steal her from Liam. I was content to watch her from afar, but there’s no going back now that I’ve had a taste. Her own darkness runs just as deep, if not deeper. She gets me like no one else. That’s why we’re perfect together and drawn to each other in this imperfect, messed-up world. I saw her when no one else did.
She offered me a safe space to unleash my monster while she let hers out to play. As long as we get to howl beneath the full moon, the world is safe from us.
“Come here,” I order, gesturing with my arms.
Keira climbs onto my lap and wraps her arms around my neck as she peppers kisses over my face. I fucking love her like this: sexually satisfied and glowing with happiness.
“You know you’re my queen, don’t you?”
She hums, dragging her tongue over my stubble, along my jaw, all the way to my ear. “And you’re my king.”
TEN YEARS LATER.
“What is this?” I giggle, inhaling the distinct scent of fresh rain, fir trees, and the late evening air.
King drops his hands from my eyes. He places them on my shoulder and leans down to smile against my ear. “This is me helping you slay your final demons.”
Staring up at the derelict, old-as-fuck cottage in front of us, I release an uncertain soft laugh. The paint is peeling, there’s a large crack in the broken window by the front door, and the rotten, wooden steps look like they might collapse any minute. “By taking me to a shithole for the weekend instead of a five-star hotel with a fancy restaurant? I think you need to work on your romancing skills, King. You’re slacking in your old age.”
He smiles against my ear and slides his hands down my arms, over the fabric of my green wrap coat. Interlacing our fingers and kissing the crook of my neck, he whispers, “I bought it.”
Choking on my own spit, I try to turn in his arms, but he won’t let me. “You bought this place?” I all but splutter. “Why?”
“Because in order to slay the last of your demons, you needed somewhere where no one would think to look. This derelict place in the middle of nowhere officially belongs to Mr. Norman. Of course, Mr. Norman doesn’t exist.”
“King,” I say as my eyes widen. “You faked the paperwork?”
“Don’t worry yourself about the details, baby. My point is that this place can’t be traced back to us if anyone ever tries for some strange reason.”
“I can’t see why anyone would even know this place exists.”
“Lots of hunting,” he teases, his breath hot on my ear. “We can come out here and play all we want. No one will ever hear you scream.”
The cold is seeping in through my coat, and I shiver in King’s arms. “Is that why you bought it? So we would have somewhere for you to chase me?”
“Maybe. But maybe there’s also a surprise for you waiting inside.”
I frown skeptically while studying the house. It really is a shithole.
“Go on,” he coaxes. “Take a look inside.”
“Have you brought me here to kill me? Is that what this is? My final resting place?”
Sliding his arms from around me, he shoves his hands into his pockets and peers down the straight line of his nose at me. King looks too good for words in his denim, fur-lined jacket and black jeans. His dark hair falls over his brow, curling enticingly at the end, and his brown eyes glitter beneath the silvery moonlight.
