Chapter IX
IX
This Halloween, I wanted to be someone else and Shai gave me the perfect idea.
The costume might have been a classic, but to me it felt daring, wild, and deliciously feminine: a Playboy-style bunny outfit —it was a tight corset bodysuit with a fluffy tail, cuffs, a bow tie, fishnet tights, and tall rabbit ears.
I would never have worn something like that before.
I was always cautious, always alert, always trying to control everything around me.
But with Shai, I didn’t have to. He was my fortress, he felt solid, unshakable, like my safe place.
With him beside me, I could finally breathe.
I could be myself and myself unapologetically, boldly, and without fear of anything.
Because he was my protector.
My man.
My love.
By the look in his eyes, I could already tell that after the party, we had plans far more sinful than dancing with strangers until morning.
His gaze slid over me, slow and hungry, dripping with lust and possession.
He looked ready to tear that costume to shreds, piece by piece, and yet there was awe in his expression too as if I were something rare, something divine. Maybe, in his eyes, I truly was.
"What do you think?" I asked shyly, glancing up at him.
He didn’t speak. He just swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and nodded, eyes fixed on me like a starving wolf watching a fresh kill.
The feral heat in his gaze made my pulse quicken.
No one had ever looked at me like that before.
It sent a shiver through me with part excitement and part disbelief, all pleasure.
For once, I felt completely desired, and it was intoxicating.
The salesgirl nearby giggled softly and, with an understanding smile, quickly excused herself.
"So... we’ll take it?" I teased, grinning at him.
Another nod. He was beyond words.
I pulled the fitting room curtain closed, but before it could fall shut, his hand stopped it. He slipped inside with me in one smooth motion, the air instantly charged with tension.
He pressed himself against my back, his warmth seeping through the thin fabric of the costume. I leaned into him instinctively, meeting his eyes through the mirror’s reflection. His breath brushed my ear as he whispered, low and deliberate,
"We can go right now... but you’ll need something to wear over this."
He peeked out of the fitting room, snapped his fingers, and within seconds, the same consultant returned, she was flushed and slightly flustered, but in her hands there was a long black coat.
Before draping it over my shoulders, Shai reached down and gave my fluffy bunny tail a playful tug, swaying it side to side.
"I can’t wait to rip this off you," he murmured, voice like molten velvet, "and watch you squirm from all the ways I’ll make you come again."
He slipped the coat onto me, his fingers grazing my skin, and placed a pair of black cat ears on my head instead of the bunny ones. "Now it’s perfect, kitten."
"But it’s not according to the canon, Shai!" I protested, half-laughing.
"I’m not going there for canon," he said with a smirk. "I’m going there to spend time with you. Don’t you like this little mix? I think cat ears suit you better anyway. You’re like a real cat, all needy for a special kind of touch. You only let people close when you feel they deserve it."
How did he know that?
Oh, to hell with it, I really needed to stop questioning everything he said.
"You’re thinking right," he winked, giving my ass a playful smack through the coat before walking out.
I spun once in front of the mirror, admiring how the coat framed my curves. Perfect. I was ready for the Halloween party.
Leaning out of the fitting room, I called after him, "And what are you going to wear, Mr. Pumpkin?"
He rolled his eyes and, with a snap of his fingers, that sinister, glowing jack-o’-lantern appeared on his head again, its red eyes flickering like flames.
“Sinister and, of course, very extravagant,” I whispered, feigning surprise. I’d already seen his costume last night, and even though it was sexy, it wasn’t exactly cosplay-level. But who was I to judge? I was wearing a store-bought bunny outfit myself.
Come on, half the people who show up to Halloween parties wear black suits, slap on vampire fangs, draw a trickle of fake blood by their mouth, and call it art. Some even spend weeks on that masterpiece. It was a sin to complain about anyone’s costume, really.
I laughed quietly, feeling that inner skeptic in me stir again.
He always did, but I silenced him, ahem, ahem, strangled him, metaphorically speaking and, gathering my strength, followed Shai to the checkout.
He paid for everything with a sleek black-gold card, not even glancing at the price.
The cashier didn’t so much as blink at the fact that my boyfriend or rather, my husband, still getting used to that one, had a literal pumpkin for a head.
I laughed again, for no reason at all. Maybe I’d been bitten by some strange fly yesterday, or maybe this was what happiness felt like. Every thought made me giggle, every glance at him made the world brighter. Either I was drunk on love… or this was simply how life felt when you weren’t depressed.
Whatever it was, I didn’t want it to stop.
I lifted my shoulders and clung to my demon as we walked out of the mall, following wherever he decided to take me. I trusted him completely. I’d follow him anywhere.
To the ends of the earth.
To hell itself.
“Oh, ho ho ho!” I murmured under my breath, unable to stop smiling.