Page 9 of The Black Lotus (Fatal Florals Duet #2)

FIVE

ASTER

B eing stealthy with Serena wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.

During our training sessions that often turned into me fucking her when I found her, she would often give her location away by snapping on a twig or crushing the leaves beneath her.

Her small mistakes led to me catching her rather quickly, but the more I hunted the better she became.

Still, this level of furtiveness is impressive.

Her hand is gripped in mine as I pull us quickly and quietly through the woods. She is a fast learner, and that is something I was grateful for when we started the lessons.

I wonder who the first killer assassin is, chancing their luck with taking us out.

I know their primary target is my vixen, but my mother has another thing coming if she thinks I’d let that go down without a fight.

That I wouldn’t give my life to save Serena’s.

She could no longer hurt the little boy she abandoned.

Too bad that little boy grew up to be a serial killer who wouldn’t think twice about marking his own mother’s lips with my special shade of red lipstick and laying her to rest forever.

I started painting the lips of my victims red as a testament to her and everything I came from; even when she was dead to me, she was still my mother and a small part of me hoped she would be watching.

Hoped she’d be proud of me. Now I know she is, but it’s too late.

She wouldn’t be a Jane Doe. She would be the first, and only, victim with a name and face.

I’d leave my signature so everyone who knows our connection knows I killed my mother.

Sure, the cops could question me, but I’m her son, one she hasn’t ever had contact with since being arrested, and I’ll have an airtight alibi. They would never connect the dots.

I pull us behind a tree, the trunk big enough to hide us both.

Turning and pushing Serena’s back up against the bark.

“Ast-” I clamp my hand over her mouth and peer around her to see if our pursuer is done searching the house and level a glare at her.

She bites her lip and instant regret fills me.

She mouths the word sorry, making my eyes soften.

I take my hand away from her mouth and signal her to be quiet.

She nods once, I kiss her forehead and look back at the house.

The spot I chose for us to wait in has the perfect view point of the house. When he comes out I can see him, but if he searches where we’re at, the tree will conceal us. A wicked smile stretches my lips, Serena’s fingers flexing around my biceps as she peers over my shoulder.

The hunted become the hunters, and our prey was stupid enough to try and strike on land he knows nothing about.

I could have bear traps set up all over these woods, just waiting to snap and snare.

I don’t, but now that I think of it, maybe I should lay traps down.

With Serena, so she knows where to avoid.

Granted, if she was running from two or three killers, then if we had to split up, and she wasn’t paying attention; what if she ended up caught in a trap, I would never forgive myself.

The trap could hurt her, but it could also lead to her death.

That is something I don’t ever want to think about.

Yep, it’s decided; no to the bear traps.

I hear Serena blowing into her hands and rubbing them together, her body shaking against mine.

Looking down, I see the tip of her button nose turning red, as are her cheeks.

Shit. I know we both love the cold but today was forecast to be one of the coldest, and although we both have winter coats on, neither of us had time to grab gloves before we were out the door.

I grab her hands, rubbing them between mine and blowing against them. She sighs quietly, her hands warming.

“I like the cold, but not when it’s nipple painful cold.”

“Nipple painful?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow.

She giggles at my confusion. “Yes, I don’t know about other women but when it’s really cold my nipples harden to the point of pain.” She brings our hands and rubs her sensitive nubs. “Not the kind of pain I welcome either.”

I laugh, bringing our hands to my mouth and kissing the delicate skin over her knuckles.

The door to the house slams open, banging against the wall and cracking through the trees.

I peer over to see the man standing at the edge of the stairs looking around with a long rifle in hand.

Bastard. No serial killer worth their reputation kills with a gun, and if he thinks his name will be praised for using one on us, then this sad fuck has another thing coming.

“He has a gun,” I whisper, my eyes not leaving our prey.

Her body stiffens, her hands tightening in mine.

“We need to make it to the shed before he does.” Her spine straightens, ready to move on my word.

We hear a creak of the worn wood and our heads snap to watch as the guy takes slow, measured steps down, stopping at the edge of the porch.

He’s shorter than me from the looks of it, and on the skinnier side now that the giant winter coat he was wearing is replaced with a tight black jacket.

He may be more skilled than I give him credit for, and I’d be foolish to think I could take him just based on his looks.

I have no idea who he is, how he kills, or what he is capable of, just that his choice of weapon is a rifle.

The best thing for us to do is to catch him by surprise and get him into Serena’s kill room .

We could always kill him in mine, but I want every person who comes after her to perish by her hands, in her space. To unleash her darkness in the place she will soon be most familiar with.

He finally starts walking towards our shared killing rooms, and once he’s out of view, my shoulders and hands relax, my knuckles returning from white to their normal color.

“Aster?” Serena whispers, placing her still cold hand gently on my cheek and making me flinch.

I look down and see her brow dipped in concern. Placing my hand over hers, I close my eyes, feeling my heart slow at the contact. “It’s okay, little vixen; he walked to the sheds.” He may think he’s a cat hunting the mice, but he’ll soon find out we’re the foxes hunting him.

Her eyes close as she tilts her head towards the sky, her body stilling against mine.

“We should start moving.” Leave it to my vixen to bring me back into the moment.

Instead of responding, I start stalking towards the sheds, careful to be quiet and stay out of sight.

“Aster?” she whispers.

I hum in response, not bothering to look at her, too determined to get us to our destination.

She tugs on my hand, stopping me in my tracks. “I wanted to play with him before we ended him, maybe get some information.” She drops her head, disappointment evident in the way her body slouches a little. “How are we supposed to get the jump on him when he has a gun bigger than your dick?”

I nearly trip over the root sticking up from the ground, missing it just in time. “Fuck, Serena, warn a guy before you compare his dick to anything.”

She shrugs, unaffected. “What? I was expecting a gun the size of your hand, not one almost half your height. That thing looks like he’s compensating for something.”

“I get that, but-”

“But why compare it to your cock?” I nod and she steps into me, her finger trailing ice up my chest. “Because, even in a situation like this, all I can think about is your dick pounding into me, preferably bathed in that poor sap's blood.”

Fuck. Me.

My hand grips her ass, my cock pressed firmly against her. “After we get this over with, I’m going to make you scream my name, begging me to stop so loud your voice never recovers. I won’t. Not until your tears have soaked the ground below you as I make you come over and over and over again.”

She shivers in my arms, her chest arching into mine. “ You’ll be the one screaming.”

I lift a brow. “Oh? Is that a challenge?”

She steps out of my embrace. “One I intend to win. But we have someone to kill first, and as much as I love teasing you, I need to watch that asshole’s life leave his eyes while he begs to keep it.”

I groan, reaching into my coat pocket. Now is not the time. “I grabbed this before we left the house.” Her eyes widen as she admires the syringe I’m holding in front of her.

She grabs my hand, her finger brushing against the cover of the needle. “Is that what I think it is?”

I laugh, delighted at how well my vixen knows my M.O. “And what do you think this is?”

Her hands still wrapped around mine, a wicked gleam in her eyes she says, “The drug you use to capture your victims.”

My cock jumps. “That’s right, vixen”

She jumps up and down, joy radiating from every inch of her. Seeing her like this makes me grateful the first killer came for us at our home; now the fun she craves can begin.

“Can I do the honors?”

As much as I would love to see my vixen take down her first assassin, I haven’t taught her how to properly place the needle to get the fastest and most potent results. She looks up at me, making her eyes bigger and sticking her bottom lip out as her fingers once more wrap around the syringe.

“Please?”

Fuck, this girl. I reach down to adjust my growing erection, grateful I put on sweats.

No, I have to be strong ; if I let her do this, something could go wrong, which could lead to her death. I can’t .

“I’m sorry, vixen, not this time.”

She bites her lip, her nose running the length of mine. “I’ll let you fuck me in the ass.”

“Serena…” I groan as her fingers dance up my chest. “As much as I would love to feel your tight hole grip every inch of me, no . You haven’t had the lessons to know how to do it.”

Her fingers stop, her brows dipping as she steps away and crosses her arms. “And whose fault is that?” She mocks, turning her head away.