The Blue Rose

19. Aster

NINETEEN

ASTER

N othing. There is nothing anywhere about Serena's best friend. I’ve combed through her Instagram hoping for her to be following a Jessica, or have tagged her in or been tagged in something. But the only thing on her page is her artwork. I scroll mindlessly through her page, admiring the way she brings her pieces to life. She truly is a talent to this world, one we see once in a lifetime. Kind of like Picasso or Michelangelo, she makes work that stops you in your tracks and forces you to bear witness. It’s no wonder she can make a living on her art alone. Just another reason to add to the list of reasons why I spared her life and made her mine.

She can’t be mine fully until her pesky best friend disappears. I tried all social media outlets I could think of, Facebook, TikTok, even Linkedin, but Serena doesn’t have an account of any of those. Without knowing what Jessica’s last name is, it is impossible to find her. It is like she’s a ghost, no presence on any social media at all.

Shutting my laptop and giving up on my search, I go to the kitchen and make myself a Moscow Mule, smiling to myself when it brings back the memory of first meeting Serena. Taking a fresh lime and squeezing it into my cup, I take a long sip, closing my eyes and basking in the memory. Adjusting my pants, I give my dick, hardening and pressing against my gray sweats, a small squeeze, taking some of the pressure away while the thought of Serena in her sinful red dress haunts me once more.

The hunting grounds I chose that night were new to me. I’d never be caught dead in a place like that, but switching it up is what keeps me from being caught. After a fresh kill, I usually wait a couple months to go out and hunt, but that night something was telling me to get off my ass. I feel like I was in that god forsaken book bar for hours before a flash of red caught my eye. When she walked in, all by herself, looking like a lost lamb in red, with lips to match. I knew she would be my next victim. It was like the flames of hell guided her straight into my arms. I didn’t approach her right away, which is what I usually do, instead I watched her. The way her eyes lit up taking in the whole place, the way her lips moved when she was speaking to herself. The way she commanded attention without even trying, totally oblivious to the rapture she created.

My lips lifted at the corner, watching her excitement, like a kid in a candy store not knowing where to start first. My reaction of not being able to tear my eyes away, standing still in a trance when I first saw her, and smirking at her cuteness should have been my first indication she was more than just a lamb to slaughter.

She stumbled over to the bar after looking between the books and the drink trying to make up her mind on where to start. I watched her mouth the word ‘booze’ and the way her lips made an ‘O’ had me standing up straight and adjusting myself. The way her breasts bounced when she hopped onto the bar stool, gathering the attention from everyone but that piece of shit bartender, made me see red. More from everyone staring at my lamb. She’s mine. The hold I had on the beer I was sipping could have shattered the bottle at any moment if I squeezed any tighter. Instead of helping my little lamb, the bartender was helping a group of girls behind her, the same group who mocked her later that night with their laughs. One look from the grim reaper shut them right up. I wanted each and every one of those bitches on my table that night, but I was already breaking one rule by going after the bartender. He deserved it more than those girls for his blatant disrespect, plus, they were in a group. No way was I risking my life to take theirs.

After she ordered her Moscow mule, she started to look around while sipping her drink through the little black straw that came with it, her spine straightened and I could just tell she was looking for me. When her piercing blue eyes met mine, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. I emerged from the darkness and made my move. A move, I didn’t know at the time, would be my salvation.

My phone beeps, alerting me that Serena is driving down my road. I had a system put in after being taken by surprise and my parents being arrested. I was never going to let the authorities take me by surprise, if they ever did catch me. No one was allowed on my property without my permission. I’m careful with what I do, so it is highly unlikely they ever would, but I am not taking any chances. I’m the only person who ever enters my property, and my victims are always with me when I do, but now Serena is a permanent part of my life, she will be welcome as well.

Opening the door to wait for her, with her drink in my hand, I watch as she gets out of her car and steals the breath from my lungs. The outfit she is wearing is wickedly beautiful and has me thanking whatever God is listening that she is mine. She’s dressed to the nines, wearing a short and tight little black dress that hugs all of her delectable curves. One side of the dress is cut higher than the other, and if she bent over her plump ass would show, teasing me even more with a flash of soft skin. The dress is cut in a deep V, showing the sides of her breast, with a long necklace of an animal of some sort dangling just above the opening. She’s wearing black heels, accentuating her legs, gracefully gliding down my driveway. My eyes travel back up her body in a slow perusal, stopping at her mischievous eyes staring back at me.

She knows what she’s doing and the way her hips sway as she walks over to me makes a smile lift my lips.

“Aster,” she says as she attempts to walk right past me.

Two can play your little game.

I shut the door with my foot and snatch her by the waist, still holding her drink in my other hand. Bending down I whisper in her ear, “Just because you’re on time, doesn’t mean I won’t still punish you, especially if this is how you’re going to greet me.”

Without turning around, she says, “I’d like to see you try.”

I growl into her ear, my breath teasing the strands of her hair. “Don’t test me, Serena.”

Flipping her hair right into my face, she bends over to take her shoes off, and I lower my eyes to see her exposed, glistening pussy. She’s not wearing any panties. Good. Getting a whiff of her arousal, I bend over her, and whisper in her ear. “Tempting this fox with his dessert before dinner is a wicked thing to do.”

She squirms against my hardening erection, moaning quietly. I close my eyes, relishing in her ass pressed up against my dick, groaning from the sensation.

Then, all too soon, I feel nothing. I hear the front door open and see Serena sprinting barefoot across the grass. The soft moonlight is illuminating her form, her dress riding up her waist as she runs, the wind whipping her hair in all directions.

I slip off my shoes, place the drink down, and take off after her, yelling, “When I catch you, little lamb, I am going to make you scream.” My threat makes her look back, eyes widening when she sees how close I am. She picks up her pace, sprinting for a line of trees. I know this land like the back of my hand, there’s nowhere she can go that I won’t find her. Stopping in my tracks, I glance around before heading the direction I know exactly where she will end up.

If my little lamb wants to be chased, then this fox will hunt.

Hiding behind a thick tree, I hear Serena approaching, breathless and unaware of the danger she’s in. Peering around my cover, I see her frantically looking around. After I make sure she sees no sign of me, watching as she walks behind a tree in my eye line, smiles, and sits down.

She thinks she lost me? A dark chuckle silently escapes me. Oh little lamb, you can never escape me.

Bending down to pick up a rock, I throw it in the direction she came. I smirk as I watch her spine straighten, her hands going over her mouth to quiet her breathing. I chuckle quietly to myself, silently making my way over to her from the other direction. I blend into the shadows around me, but my little lamb can sense me coming. She always knows when I’m near. I realized it the first time I met her, and at the market when she searched for me as I hid. The connection we have outstretches anything humanly possible. It’s as if we’re intimately connected by something unseen. Something fated. Although we can sense one another, she is looking in the other direction. I need to train her senses better. The second she is distracted, I pounce.

Coming around the tree, I crouch down silently, and brush the hair from her neck, making her freeze and goosebumps rise all over her body. The hairs on the back of her neck rise, and I blow a soft breath against them. Her shiver makes my cock jump, then I bite, hard, making her scream. Her voice echoes through the trees, heating my blood further. She turns around, fury and arousal lighting her eyes while one hand holds the back of her neck. Scooting back, she tries to rise, but my body hovers over hers, trapping her on the forest floor. Grabbing both arms, I pin them above her head in an instant. She grunts and glares at me.

“You thought you could escape me, little lamb?” I’m sitting above her exposed sex, her scent driving me wild, as she squirms underneath me.

“Let me go, Aster,” she spits with venom.

I lean down so my lips brush hers. “Now, is that really what you want, Serena? For me to let you go without dishing out your punishment?”

“Fuck. You.”

I smile against her lips. “No; my dear Serena, that is precisely what I’m going to do to you .” I straighten, staring down at unforgiving eyes. “But in the way I promised you would learn to love.”

Her brows pinch together, then her eyes shoot up, and the fear I love to see shines brightly. “Don’t you fucking dare, Aster.” She seethes and starts to buck up against me, but it is no use. She is pinned tight underneath me, the fox finally having caught his prey..

I let go of her hands and flip her onto her stomach in one swift motion.

“I swear to God-” she starts to say.

“Shh, shh.” I brush my hand across her back, move her hair, and kiss her neck, silencing her idle threats. “Trust me, Serena, I would never hurt you. The pain you feel will only last a moment, then I will bring you bliss. I will send you to heaven and back. I will make you feel like you’re flying high above the clouds, and when you start to come back down, I won’t let you. I will send you soaring again and again and again, until you’re begging me to stop. That is a promise, little lamb.”

She starts to shiver from excitement below me, and a wicked grin lifts my cheeks. She can deny all she wants, but her body gives her away. I know she wants this as much as I do, and because she does want this, I’ll play her little game of keep away.

I pick her up effortlessly, making her yelp in the process. Her breast pressed against my back as her little fists pummel it. “Let me go right now, Aster!”

One smack to her plump ass, perfectly in my line of sight, makes her heartbeat accelerate and a little moan escape her lips. A small smile plays on my lips, my desire to hear that noise again making me spank her once more. This time she squirms a little, and I can tell her lips have parted with the tiny little breaths escaping her perfect, defiant mouth. I can smell the arousal coming off of her and it makes me turn my head to inhale her sweet scent even more. Her body freezes at the intrusion of my nose gliding up her leg.

“Where are we going?” Serena asks breathlessly as she bounces on my shoulder while we walk.

Silence is all that greets her, and I can feel her cross her arms and huff out a puff. Cute, now she’s pouting, another reason for punishment later. I know why she is being like this, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out her petty, vindictive behavior. Even though she forgave me for leaving her on read, she hasn’t forgotten it. Absentmindedly, I drum my fingers against her flesh. No, my little Vixen. My fingers still, digging in hard enough for her to release another moan.

Vixen, yes, that’s what she is.

The way she didn’t shy away from our blood. The way she loves to be punished. The way I crave her. The way she consumes every fiber of my being. The way she makes me question everything. She was never my little lamb, no, she was always my equal.

My little vixen.

We are both foxes who wear the face of sheep.

I stride back towards the house with purposeful steps and an angry little vixen over my shoulders.

“I thought you were going to fuck me?” Serena says in a mocking tone. I don’t acknowledge her taunt, so she continues, “I guess the big bad fox doesn’t hold true to his threats. I guess, like his promises, his threats are empty, too.”

Not responding to her childish remark, I grip her tighter, so I don’t bend her over, and dish out her punishment right here. I stride up to the door, throwing it open, and head straight to my bedroom. I throw Serena onto my bed, enraptured as she bounces across the mattress. I walk over to my bedside table and retrieve the lube I bought when I first made my promise, feeling Serena's eyes on me the entire time, her body frozen.

I wanted to fuck her in the woods, to claim her sweet ass with nothing but the moon as our witness, but I also want my vixen to enjoy what’s to come, not be scared and never do it again. Hence why we are now in my room, and I will get her ready to take all of me. That and as an extra punishment, I won’t be giving her exactly what she wanted. To be chased and then fucked in the woods. No, I’ll save that for another time. A reward for being a good girl . The look in her eyes, the smile that splayed across her face, when she first took off. She was trying to push me into giving her exactly what she wanted. She has to try a lot harder to trick this fox.

I pop the cap open on the bottle, making eye contact with Serena, and I unbuckle my jeans. Squirting the lube into my hands, I free my cock, a sense of power I normally feel once my lambs are strapped to the table flowing through me. She licks her lips, and I stroke my painful length, relieving some of the pressure. She sits still, like the perfect doll she could have been, but I like her alive and begging for something more than her life.

“Turn around,” I demand, and motion with my hands.

She obeys with no retort and turns around, back facing me. I crawl onto the bed, grabbing her feet, pulling them out from under her and pushing her legs up, so she is on her knees, ass up in the position I intended. The way she bends displays her ass perfectly, just begging to be bitten and that is exactly what I do. She lets out a guttural moan that has my hand stroking my cock faster. I shoot some lube around her forbidden opening, getting her ready for what she thinks she fears.

I circle my finger around her tight little hole, not giving her any indication when I will enter her. She shudders, her fingers curling into the sheets as she pushes her ass back, granting permission for entry. I slip one finger inside slowly, allowing her muscles to clench around my finger. She hisses, as I push further past the tight ring. “Relax, Serena, this will only be enjoyable if you relax.” Like a puppet obeying their master, my words make her slowly relax.

Her moans grow louder as I stick another finger in, stretching her further, making her gasp.

“You’re doing so good, little vixen.” I say, slowly going in and out. After a few thrusts I pull my fingers out and line up my cock at her entrance, circling my head around her glistening hole. Not giving her a warning, I slowly push inside, making her clench around my tip, denying access as her whole body tenses. I reach my hand under her and start to rub her soaked pussy, making her body start to relax. “That’s it, Serena, concentrate on my fingers, and breathe.” Her body relaxes, her moans growing louder, as I push all the way in. “Fuck, little vixen.” I moan, “Your ass is even sweeter than your pussy.” One hand grabs one side of her hip, while the other circles her clit.

“Fuck,” I groan as I start to go in and out, my speed increasing with every thrust. She feels too good to slow down.

“Aster! I’m about to come,” she stutters, shaking below me.

“Come for me, Serena. Let go.” With that, she comes undone, her ass tightening around my cock as I continue to tease her, not stopping until I fill her hole. As the last of her orgasm dies down, I grab both of her hips and thrust hard, coming undone inside. Both breathless, I pull out of her and lay beside her. Our breaths tangle as she turns over, the last of the lust leaves her eyes, replaced with something else. I’m not quite sure what. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that look before.

I look down, finally seeing the animal on her necklace. “A fox,” I whisper, grabbing the animal to inspect it closer. It is in a sitting position, its head tilted looking up with big innocent eyes hiding so many secrets. The tail a big bush behind him, creating the perfect backdrop for the excited sparkle in his eyes. How can such a small trinket hold so many questions?

Eyes still locked onto the small critter, I feel Serena’s hand wrap around mine. “Aster, are you okay?” she asks with concern, her hand tightening around my shaking one.

Shaking my head, I release the necklace watching it bounce and still across her chest. My eyes rise to meet hers, a million questions swirling in both of our eyes.

“When?” is all I can manage to say.

She looks away biting her lip, subconsciously grabbing the necklace, shocking me with her next words. “The night we met.”

The truth in her words makes me sit up and look out into the room. The night we met she knew. She knew what I denied for so long. She knew we had a connection, one that made us both do crazy things. She bought a necklace when she called me by the name only my mother used. Fox. Seeing past the mask I wear, wanting to remove it to see the truth of what lays behind it. The truth of who I am.

“Aster?” she asks quietly, tapping my shoulder. I turn to face her, and stare, not saying anything, knowing a thousand thoughts are racing in her mind, just as they are mine.

“Why? You’d only just met me. A stranger , who could have intended to kill you, who ghosted you, even after all of that you kept this.” I say pointing down at the little fox around her neck with trembling hands.

She grips both my hands in hers, calming the erratic beating of my heart. Taking a deep breath, her spine straightens and my eyes meet her determined ones.

“I trust you, I don’t know why, but the night we met I knew you could never hurt me.” Her hands tighten. “And as for you killing me? Don’t make me laugh, if you wanted to kill me, you would have already done so, not fuck me, tell me your secrets, and take me to your home.”

She’s right. Her truth is what I refused to believe.

I broke rule one by killing the bartender.

I broke rule two by fucking her.

I showed her one of my closest guarded secrets, what the world is desperate to know, with who owns Graves Haunted Houses.

I broke rule three by bringing her here.

My eyes trace her face, my mind finally accepting the truth she always knew.

I interlace our fingers, and say, “You were mine, Serena, from the moment we met in that bar to right now. You were my greatest fear realized. I never expected that a guy like me could be more than what he was bred to be. More than what his parents made him to be.” Her eyes glisten from the tears threatening to fall, silently allowing me to continue with a gentle squeeze of her hands. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize, you were never my little lamb.” Her brows pinch together, and her shoulders drop, a single tear falling. I swipe it away with my thumb, my hands never leaving hers. “You knew you were never one of my little lambs, and now I know you, Serena, are in every way my equal. My twin flame. My vixen . My fear, my disbelief, kept me in the dark. Now you’re here with me, and everything has aligned as it was supposed to.”

She jumps into my arms, pushing me onto my back, and straddling me. Without hesitation she kisses me with so much force, so much passion, I’m breathless. Her kiss tells me her walls are crumbling and the secrets I know she hides will reveal themselves.

Our kiss is broken, a loud smoke alarm blaring through the house. Both of us still, our eyes locking, the moment broken.

“Shit! the lasagna.”

She giggles and pulls back, “We can always order a pizza and pass the time waiting doing other things. It’d truly be a shame if we had to leave the comfort of your bed.”

“I like the way you think, little vixen,” I say with a smirk, lifting her off of me. “I’ll go turn off that alarm and throw away the lasagna. Can you order a pizza? Then I’ll come back for my dessert.”

She gets out her phone, and I hand her my card before I leave the room.

“Oh!” she gasps. “What kind of pizza do you like?”

“Hawiian,” I holler from the hall.

“Me too,” she giggles, which makes me smile as I continue to the kitchen.