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A feral growl clawed its way out of my throat as a blinding burst of rage surged through my bloodstream. Lunging for her, I grabbed the lapels of my blazer and ripped the jacket off over her shoulders. It was like he’d marked her with those patches, marked every woman I’d ever loved, doomed me to watch them all die at his command.
But as I shoved the jacket down Clover’s arms, my lungs burning and soul on fire, I realized that she wasn’t lying down anymore, and she wasn’t dead. Not yet. Her smiling face was bathed in blue light, hair swirling around her anchored body as I stripped the blazer off of it and shoved it into the darkness of the lake.
I expected it to disappear into the abyss, but as I reached for my girl’s hand and fought again to push off from the gold- and silver-littered ground, the blue glow darted away from us, diving into the jacket and radiating out through every opening and bullet hole. It was like watching a balloon being inflated. The blazer expanded and smoothed. The arms straightened and bent at the elbows. Beams of light streaked from the cuffs like fingers, fastening each shiny brass button until the fitting was complete. And the moment it was, the moment that shapeless creature stood at attention, proud in its bloodied, bullet-riddled finery, the light went out, the weight was lifted, and I bolted for the surface with my girl in my arms.
I couldn’t get out of that water fast enough. As soon as I found my footing, I stood, chest deep in the lake, and clung to Clover’s gasping body as I carried her the rest of the way out. The sound of her breathing was almost as beautiful as the sight of her face when I finally dropped to my knees on the bank and drank her in. Where I’d seen death and emptiness only seconds before, Clo’s smiling eyes were now brimming with life, overflowing with it. Tears of joy sparkled in the corners as she reached up and cupped my tortured face.
Closing my eyes and leaning into her touch, I tried to convince myself that this was real. That the twisted nightmare I’d just crawled out of was nothing more than a near-death experience—some sick subconscious hallucination triggered by oxygen deprivation. But when Clo pressed her still-grinning mouth against mine, I knew there was more truth to it than I wanted to believe. Because the way she made me feel, the way she looked at me like I was invincible, but loved me like I was already broken, the way she accepted my darkness and trusted me with her light—it killed me. My heart belonged to her now, and the moment hers stopped beating, mine would have no choice but to do the same.
“Clo.” Her name was a broken prayer as I dived for her lips—a confession of fear, a plea for reassurance. And she responded with a plea of her own—for more. Clover’s soft, needful moans vibrated through my shattered soul as she shifted in my lap and thrust her fingers into my hair.
“It’s you,” she whispered, grinning against my plundering mouth. “It’s always been you.”
She was so fucking happy, so alive in my arms, but how was that possible when her blood was still warm on my hands?
Tightening my arm around Clo’s body and splaying a hand below her jaw, I focused on the swell of her lungs, relished the rapid pounding I felt against my palm.
But it wasn’t enough.
I needed to feel that pulse from the inside. Needed to bury myself in her living, breathing, writhing body until I could no longer remember what it had felt like to hold her corpse.
Until I could no longer smell the scent of blood, mixed with sawdust.
Until I could no longer feel the blade jutting out of my own heart.
Tearing my mouth away from hers, I peeled Clo’s dress off over her head and dived for her throat. My teeth grazed her pulsing flesh as she reached for my shirt, unfastening a button for every savage, sucking kiss I trailed down the side of her neck.
Without lifting my head, I shrugged off the wet fabric and wet bandages as Clover quickly unclasped her bra. Arching her back to meet my hungry mouth, she whimpered as I dragged my hands over her soft, round tits, biting the swells like a man possessed before soothing the sting with the flick of my tongue. I didn’t want to hurt her; I wanted to devour her—feed from her, drink from her, fill the gaping hole in my chest with her until the bleeding finally fucking stopped.
Clo’s whimpers turned to moans that went straight to my cock as I sucked each straining pink nipple from base to tip. My fingertips dug into her hips as I pulled them against me, ground them against me, and the subtle scent of her arousal drove me even closer to the brink of madness.
Blinding need exploded through every nerve ending as Clo braced her weight on one hand and grabbed the back of my neck with the other.
“Kiss me,” she pleaded, guiding my face toward her waiting lips.
Sealing my mouth over hers, I gripped her full, round arse and stood. Clo’s yelp of surprise echoed through the darkening woods as I carried her to a nearby bench and set her down, impatient and desperate and dying inside.
Kneeling before her, I yanked her soaked underwear down her legs and pressed a kiss to her inner thigh. The image of spurting blood and an open tourniquet instantly turned my stomach and twisted the phantom knife in my heart. Hot, angry tears filled my eyes as I sank my teeth into that very spot, needing to taste it, touch it, feel the artery inside, whole and healthy, pulsing against my sucking lips.
Threading her fingers through my hair, Clo spread her legs wider and watched me with trusting, hooded eyes. The sight of her naked body—beautiful and bared to me before the bruises inflicted by other men had even healed—hit me like a match tossed into a can of petrol.
The feral need to consume her flared beneath my skin, and in an instant, I was on her.
Her scent, her taste, her breathy moans, her soft, slick flesh, swelling and quivering beneath my ravenous mouth—all of my senses were suddenly immersed in Clo’s pleasure, and for a moment, I was free. Grief rolled off my shoulders in tingling waves as I lost myself between her thighs. With every swirl and flick of my hungry tongue, every thrust of her hips and scrape of her nails over my scalp, the horrors I’d just experienced drifted farther and farther away.
But as Clo’s breathing quickened and her body tensed, I found myself right back in the woodshop, listening to her breaths go shallow as she slipped away from me, panicked and desperate to follow her into the dark. Jerking my belt and trousers open, I fisted my cock as I drank from her desire, needing to chase her over the edge, needing to follow, wherever she went.
You jump, I jump.
Tearing my mouth away, I lunged for hers, clasping her jaw as I funneled all of my fucked-up emotions into that singular kiss.
“Wait for me,” I begged, tasting her need on both of our lips.
And even through her panting state of arousal, Clo smiled when she kissed me, shattering what was left of my heart. “Always.”
Pulling her into a standing position, I took her place on the bench and ran my hands over the swell of her arse.
“C’mere, angel,” I growled, guiding her hips down onto me as she held my gaze over her shoulder.
