Page 87 of Savagely Scarred

I pound into her brutally, knowing her back is scraping against the tree. “I do fucking hate you,” I pant.

I want to watch her bleed. I want to see it dripping down her back when I’m finished. She screams in pain and moans in pleasure.

“Shut the fuck up.” I cover her mouth with one hand, still holding her up with the other.

Her legs and hands cling to me for support when I snap my hips faster. Tears run down her cheeks, her muffled cries trying to break past my hold. She rolls her eyes back and clenches around my dick.

“Fuuuuck,” I groan.

I wrap my arms around her and peel her away from the tree and drop behind a cluster of bushes. Her moan echoes when I slam back inside of her pussy. I grab her throat and squeeze. My gaze snaps to my hand when I see the blood smeared on my fingers and a smile tugs at the corner of my lips.

I lean down while violently fucking her. “See, you got it wrong. You’re my fucking toy and I will break you.”

When she tries to speak, I choke her harder. I don’t want to hear her bullshit anymore. She scratches at my arms as I continue to pound into her cunt.

“You’re first mistake was threatening me. But your biggest mistake was threatening my wife.” I squeeze her throat even more and watch her face redden. “One you will regret for the next thirty seconds of your pathetic life.”

Her pulse fades under my thumb, and her arms go limp at her sides, freeing mine from her clutches. I groan, her pussy gripping my dick even as the life drains from her body.

Black lines my vision and pleasure rolls from the base of my spine. I moan Olivia’s name while coming inside of her motionless body. My hold on her neck loosens and her head rolls to the side. Her unblinking eyes stare straight ahead.

From this angle, the color seems to change. I lean in and notice a thin line around the iris. I place my finger on it and slide it to the side, dragging the blue colored lens with it. Underneath, her real iris is brown with gold flecks. I hum and remove my finger, watching it slide back into place.

After I stand, I glare down at her in disgust while pulling my jeans back up and fastening them. I squat next to her and gently push her head straight and close her eyelids. Then I grab her lifeless arms and cross them on her chest. I brush my knuckles down her pale cheek.

“You tried so hard. But you will never be her.”

Nika was nothing but a distraction. One I didn’t welcome. Now that I’m done playing games, it’s finally time to take back what’s mine. I’ve made Olivia wait long enough.

She’s cracked porcelain held together by fear, rage and the pieces of me still buried inside her.

And she feels me, even now.

In the chill that snakes up her spine. In the twitch of her fingers when the wind brushes her cheek. In the silence between heartbeats when she thinks she’s alone.

She remembers the fire.

She remembers the screams.

She remembers us.

And now? Now I’m coming to remind her. To finish what we started. To pull her back into the fire where she belongs. Where we belong.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Olivia

Grief is a funny thing. It will sneak up on you when you least expect it. Like in the grocery store when you pick up a jar of tomato sauce that your dad used to love. And the next thing you know is you’re crying in the pasta aisle while Karen silently judges you as she pushes her cart past.

Even though we had time to prepare ourselves mentally for Mom to die, I still spiraled after the cancer finally took her. She was my best friend and we did everything together. After she passed, I felt so empty inside. A part of me was missing.

And then Dad and Trevor were taken from me at the same time. Nothing prepares you for murder and betrayal. It guts you right where you’re standing, leaving you in pieces on the floor.

Everyone will inevitably leave you one way or another. They’re there one day and the next, they’re gone. The world around you keeps moving while you feel frozen in place.

I don’t think grief ever really goes away. Over time, you just learn to live with it. But the worst part of it all is the memories fading away. They slowly dissolve like wet paper. What you once could hold onto will eventually slip through your fingers.

The cemetery gates squeak on their hinges when I push them open and enter through the gap. I make my way down the paved path that wraps around the outer edge of the iron fence.