I nod, working to swallow past the rock in my throat.
Almost shyly, she grabs my hand and walks me over to Olivia's bed. I'm not sure what she intends, but my head is too fuzzy to ask.
With a slight smile on her face, she lies down on one side of the bed and pats the empty spot next to her. Confused, I follow suit, the both of us staring up at the ceiling silently. Right as I begin to ask her what she's doing, a burst of music fills the room.
My eyes flick to where she holds her phone up, “Sunglasses at Night” playing from the speakers.
“Mol—”
“Shh,” she hushes, laying her hand over mine. “Don’t be rude. Olivia might be trying to listen, too.”
I can't breathe.
A fire explodes in my chest, burning a path down to our entwined hands.
I hope to God that it burns her, too.
I want the flames to melt our hands together so she can never let go.
If she wanted me to fall in love with her, she only needed to tell me. Now, she has no choice in the matter.
Though, I suppose she never really did.
Turning my head, I stare at her until she meets my eyes. “I will chase away all your nightmares until they grow wary of returning. They will fear me, my little ghost. But you never will.”
Molly
Nine Years Ago
2013
I don't know that I've felt so clean in my entire life. Nor has my skin ever been so smooth.
A towel is wrapped tightly around my body, and my hair tumbles over my shoulders in a mass of curls, water dripping from the ends.
Anxiety is holding every last one of my nerves hostage. I'm standing at the door, staring at it as if it's the mirror on the wall from Snow White, and it’s going to tell me my future.
Will I like sex?
I've never had an orgasm before. Too caught up in trying to survive to even consider it. I’ve always avoided intimacy or anything to do with sex. After what my father did to me, and then everything that happened in Francesca’s house—I never felt inclined to try.
Now, I wish I had. If I don't even know what I like, how will he?
I'm too much in my head.
Surely, he can figure it out.
Inhaling deeply, I swing open the door and find the room empty. That's both disappointing and relieving. Had he been standing there, I probably wouldn't know what to do with myself. But that means I'm going to have to seek him out now. Which sounds equally terrifying.
What the fuck am I even supposed to say to him?
Hi, excuse me, can you put your dick inside me? I'm not sure if I’ll like it, but let's find out together.
I'm going to embarrass myself. I just know it.
I walk over to the bed, noticing a pile of clothing folded atop. They look like men's clothing, and when I pick up the soft black t-shirt, I'm instantly hit with a delectable scent—a mix of vetiver and sandalwood.
My eyes nearly roll, and I'm unabashed in the way I practically stuff the soft fabric up my nose.
“Smell good?”
The voice is so sudden, there's no containing the loud screech that bursts from my throat. I drop the shirt while I whip around, my towel unraveling from the quick movement. I catch it before it falls completely, then bar my arm across my breasts and hold it there, though it only manages to cover my center. With my other hand, I grip the towel against my stomach, keeping it from swaying and exposing me further.
My heart is on the verge of exploding out of my chest, and I'm too stunned to get my shit together and cover myself properly. At this moment, I hardly remember how to breathe. My lungs are functioning no better than an old, rusty engine that was left abandoned in a junkyard.
Green eyes darken, a red-hot flame burning within. They blaze a trail over my exposed flesh, unashamed by the way his stare so readily devours me. I don't miss the way it catches on the white bite marks imprinted on my skin. My hips, my thighs, my stomach…
His teeth visibly clench, rage flashing across his gaze.
“What?” The delayed question comes out as a breathless squeak.
Nostrils flaring, he takes a step toward me, and the battered muscle in my chest flies up into my throat. I lock my knees, forcing myself to stand still despite how much I want to back away.
Distinctly, I feel a bead of water drip onto the swell of my breast, which his gaze immediately tracks. The droplet slowly trails down the valley between my breasts, and the muscle in his jaw pulses, nearly tearing through his skin. His animalistic gaze snaps up to mine, his chin tipping low as he stares at me fiercely from beneath thick brows.
Heat gathers low in my stomach, sinking down between my trembling thighs. My clit pulses from that single look alone, and I know that if he were to part my legs, he'd see the evidence glistening from within.