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I looked up and blinked back the tears, watching as Ethan stroked the hair from Casey’s face. She was crying as hard as I was, and all I could do was blink instead of comfort her. My story had broken her heart. That she could feel the pain as strongly as I did wasn’t a surprise. She was all that was good and kind.
“I can’t stand to see bad things happen to innocent people. So… I kill the perpetrators.” My words were so matter of fact. Void of any emotion. “That woman that you saw at the diner with the two kids? Her husband had been beating her. But he was also touching her daughter. I couldn’t let him do that. Not to that little girl.”
I could hear the plea in my voice. I was begging for understanding. I needed her to understand and accept who I was. Because I knew I wasn’t going to stop. I couldn’t punish my parents for what they had done. All I could do was try to save others from their monsters.
Casey suddenly pulled her hand from mine and stood up from Ethan’s lap. I was expecting her to run from the room, call the police, and escape from our lives forever. What I didn’t expect was for her to crawl into my lap and wrap her arms around my neck.
I hesitated only a second, then wrapped my arms around her and held her to me. I was probably holding her too tight, but she didn’t seem to mind. We cried into each other’s necks for a long while. I didn’t even know how long we sat there, but I was exhausted by the time I raised my head and looked down at her. She was sound asleep, tears drying on her cheeks, and looking like an angel.
“Go,” Ethan whispered as I continued to stare down at the woman that had stolen my heart. “Take her to bed. I’ll clean up the kitchen.”
I nodded numbly and carefully stood up with her cradled in my arms. She sighed and pressed her cheek against my shoulder as I walked down the hall. Gently laying her down after I pulled the sheets back, making sure to place her just right in the center of the bed. Then I stripped off my clothes and lay down next to her, pulling her body flush with mine. She blinked open her eyes and looked up at me.
“Sleep,” I whispered and kissed her lips with just the lightest pressure. I didn’t deserve her. But I would fight to keep her with me always. And if the man that was after her came to claim what was ours, I would show him what a real killer was.
A short time later, Ethan walked into the room, shucking off his clothes before climbing in behind her. Together, we held her close. We would both protect what was ours.
***
I woke up in a similar state as I had the first morning, with hair covering me like jungle vines. It was easier to extract myself this time, since it seemed like it was Ethan’s turn to be used as a pillow. I couldn’t help the pang of jealousy. Not that I was upset she was snuggled up to my partner, just that I missed her draped over me instead.
As I stood at the side of the bed, I looked back before heading into the bathroom, surprised to see Casey blinking up at me.
“Do you enjoy it?”
Her quiet words had me pausing. “Do I enjoy what, dollface?”
“Do you enjoy killing people?” She bit her lip as she waited for my response.
I put one knee on the bed and braced myself on my hands as I leaned over, placing my face close to hers so she could read the absolute sincerity in my eyes. “Do I enjoy removing the worst kind of scum off the face of the planet? Fuck yeah, I do.”
I kissed her hard on the mouth, then backed off the bed again and headed straight for the bathroom. I was brushing my teeth when she walked in wearing one of my T-shirts. She stared thoughtfully at me for a long minute before breaking the silence.
“I just want you to know that though it scares me, I don’t blame you for doing what you do. In a way, I understand.” She hesitated, shifting on her feet. “I want to understand. The next time you… do what you do, I want to be there. To watch.”
I threw the brush down on the counter and turned to her incredulously. “What? No! Fuck no.” There was no way I’d want her to see me like that. “Why the fuck would you want that?”
She looked down at her hands as they tangled in the shirt hem, twisting it and then smoothing it back out. “I want to know you aren’t like him.”
Him. The serial killer that had planned to kill her. “I already told you, Casey.” I jerked open the shower door and twisted the handle of the shower hard in my agitation. “I’m exactly like the man you ran from.”
I felt her place a hand on my back, making me freeze. “I don’t think you are.”
“You don’t want to see that. I don’t want you to see that. You say you understand, but all you’ll see afterward is a killer. You won’t seemeanymore.” I shook my head and turned away from her, stepping into the shower and shoving my head under the water. When I pulled back to look at her, she was lifting the shirt over her head and placing it on the counter. She stepped inside with me, and I automatically stepped aside, making room for her under the spray.
“That’s not true. I’ll see you’re still the same man that I…” She stopped herself and looked down at my chest, breaking eye contact.
I placed a finger under her chin to raise her eyes back to mine. “The man that you what, dollface? Tell me.”
She blinked, her face turning pink. I didn’t think it had anything to do with the heat of the water. “A man that I am falling in love with.”
I stroked my thumb over her soft cheek. “Only falling?” I asked softly.
“Maybe more than that.” Her quiet confession had me dipping down to take her mouth in a deep kiss. I picked up her slick body and shoved her up against the tiled wall.
“That’s good, dollface. Because both Ethan and I were just waiting for you to catch up.” I lined my cock up with her entrance and sank inside slowly, watching as her pupils dilated and her breathing grew shallow. “You’re ours now. We aren’t letting you go. Ever.”
Once she adjusted to my invasion, I pulled back. I didn’t give her soft and sweet. There was very little of what I did to her that could be called making love. I fucked her hard and rough against the tile wall. I held the back of her head so she wouldn’t hurt herself, but the hand that I had gripping her ass as I pounded into her, would likely leave a bruise. I was just depraved enough to look forward to seeing my fingerprints on her for days to come.
