Page 73 of Sin & Fall
“What’s wrong?”
I jump into his arms, wrapping my limbs tight around him and he holds me close.
“You weren’t there when I woke up. I thought you?—”
His muscles tighten and he strokes my back. “Never, darlin’. I’m never leaving you.”
Zack climbs back into bed, with me still attached to him and pulls the blanket over us. I snuggle him hard and try to get back to sleep, but I can’t switch my mind off.
His new guitar, that is propped up in the corner of the room, catches my eye. It brings a sad smile to my face, remembering how nervous he was when I found it in the closet. He told me about the band he was part of with his old high school friends and the guilt that he still holds for prioritizing his happiness over his twin’s. I tell him all the time that none of it was his fault. Because if it was, then it’s my fault I was abused at the convent, and it was Kat’s fault that she was raped. Zack and I both have a lot of trauma to work through, but we’ll get there with each other to lean on.
“What’s wrong?” Zack’s raspy voice caresses my neck.
I take a moment to think things over before saying anything. I’m not about to lie and say everything’s fine, but I don’t want to pressure him after what he’s been through.
“Darlin’?”
I turn in his arms to face him.
“Are you happy?” I ask.
He sits up, panic and possession warring on his face. “Why would you ask that? Of course, I’m happy, Chloe. Are you not? I’m sorry it took me so long to quit the drugs. I really wanted to sooner, you’re all I need. I won’t touch anything again. I’m going to do this for you. I promise. I?—”
I straddle his lap and place my hand over his mouth.
“Zack, baby, stop. I’m so fucking proud of you. You make me the happiest girl in the world. I’m not talking about that. I…I need to know if you want more…”
The worry fades from his features, but questions linger in his eyes.
“Murder,” I clarify. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I love our life here, truly. I’ve got to experience being a normal person. Everything I’ve missed out on, you’ve given me. But you also gave me a hunger I don’t know how to ignore. Believe me, I’ve tried to suppress it. We only killed because we had to, but I can’t deny how much I enjoyed it and how much I miss it. There are a lot of bad people in the world. Maybe we could do it again?”
His pierced brow slowly raises, and I feel him smile beneath my palm. He gently takes hold of my wrist and moves my hand away.
The crazy look on his face takes me back to the killer I fell for and tells me everything I need to know. It’s still a part of him too. Neither of us intended to grow into killers. It was the world around us that forced our hand, but the blood that stains our palms never fully washed away. There’s always a reminder of our sins. And it makes me want more.
“Oh, little sinner,” he drawls as he studies my face. It makes me blush nervously. “You miss the blood?” His hand brushes against the scar on my leg that he gave me the night he caught me. “The screams of pain?” His fingers tease higher until they’re brushing against my pussy. “The scent of death in the air as you snuff a life out?” He pushes two inside me and we both groan in satisfaction. “You do,” he confirms as he feels how wet I am.
“I do.”
“Uh-uh. Save those words for our weddingday.”
Our wedding?He hasn’t asked me to marry him.
With his fingers still inside me, Zack reaches with his other hand to the nightstand where he pulls out his old pill tin from the top drawer. I know he wouldn’t keep drugs in there anymore, which means…
My body tenses, my pussy squeezing him. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me as he strokes my inner walls soothingly before pulling out, leaving me whining.
He licks his fingers clean then flips open the lid.
“I wasn’t sure how exactly to propose. In the movies it’s always some big grand affair. I wanted you to have that, but no matter what I thought of, it was never good enough. This feels right, though. Chloe, darlin’, this is more than a proposal, it’s a vow of life and death. You saved me and my life will always belong to you. Now, I want to give you the greatest gift of all.”
“And what exactly is that?”
He takes my hand and holds the ring to the tip of my finger. The band is covered in metallic black thorns with a red rose nestled in them on the top. I wait with bated breath for him to push it on the rest of the way.
“Death.”
My eyes shoot up to his.