Page 79 of All the Things We Buried

He grabbed my hips, holding me still, and then he took over. His thrusts came hard, relentless, forcing cries from my throat. My body tightened around him, gripping him so fiercely it should’ve stopped him. But it didn’t.

He kept going.

Pleasure crashed through me. My legs shook. My body trembled. I collapsed into him, biting his shoulder as the orgasm tore through me.

He didn’t stop.

He smiled through clenched teeth, then let go, my hips jerking, cock pulsing deep inside me, spilling into me. His groan echoed off the walls.

We stayed like that. Still. Shaking. Breathless.

Our foreheads touched. Our eyes never left each other.

“Promise me you’ll stay this time,” he murmured against my lips. “Promise me, if you leave, you leave with me.”

I swallowed hard. My voice cracked.

“I promise.”

This time, I meant it.

I was staying.

TWENTY FOUR

DORIAN

It’s funny how love makes you blind. When you’re in it, truly in it, you see nothing else. Not the warning signs flapping like torn flags. Not the lies bleeding through the cracks. Not the people trying to pull you back.

You just seethem. And the ones who still saw everyone else? They were never in love to begin with. The years of loneliness were behind me now. Finally, I was ready to move on.

I was in the basement, laying down the final layer of bricks across the floor. The space was stripped bare. Raw walls, unfinished wood under my feet. The cold smell of stone got soaked into my skin. The altar from Ezekiel was gone. Only the chains still hung from the ceiling, swinging slightly, like they hadn’t realized he was never coming back. I would have to take those down too.

Lenore slipped in quietly. She wore my black T-shirt, and nothing else underneath. Nagi dangled from her hand. She had finally stopped fearing her.

It felt so wrong, like something wastoogood. After everything, the blood, the madness, the nights that never ended, we had earned peace. And that’s when you start to not trust it. When the storm clears, you wait for the next one.

“Hey,” she said softly, setting Nagi on the small table by the staircase.

“Hey,” I replied, lowering the last brick before sitting on it.

She climbed into my lap. Her hands slid around my neck, her skin warm against mine, and she kissed my forehead.

“I was thinking,” she smiled, brushing her lips against my temple, “what if we burned this place down… got on your Harley, and just rode off?”

I smirked. “And where would we go?”

We were broke. This house was all we had. And still, her idea wasn’t without its charm.

“Somewhere,” she said. Her voice was light. “What if we just sold this place… and disappeared?”

I laughed this time. “No one’s as crazy as the Thorns to buy this dump.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know Cameron can beveryconvincing. I mean, he got me to sign the papers, didn’t he?”

I kissed her forehead just as she smiled and said, “We could get lost. Just...” Then I kissed the tip of her nose. “You know, whatever,” she whispered.

“I’d rather be lost with you than found without you, Trouble.”