EpiLogue
PART ONE
A nother day, another body.
I’m standing next to my bike, wiping the dried blood and sinew from my exposed skin with a damp rag.
I can’t stop the nostalgia that washes over me when I think about the way Steve and…
What did the other guy call himself? Ritz?
Like the cracker, I guess. Anywho, they screamed so pretty for me as I drove my arrow right through their hearts after fucking with their minds a little first.
Okay, so they’ve been dead for like, fifteen minutes tops, but it was a juicy kill and one I won’t soon forget.
I’d received a kill contract for them by some Scottish mob boss in Northern California, so I decided to make a little mini honeymoon out of it.
You know, since I totally fucking married Odessa two weeks ago.
Granted, said honeymoon was planned for all the wrong reasons because I refuse to be parted from her and need to keep her close to me.
It’s an unhealthy obsession, really. But my Wraith also deserves to spend some time in the sun and not have to worry about tomorrow for once.
These men were being held prisoner in a new warehouse for sexually assaulting someone close to these Scots, and apparently one of the victim’s partners went batshit crazy and wanted them to die a very graphic death .
Since that’s my specialty, I was all in. It’s my self-appointed task to rid this planet of the scum that dwells within it, I was all too happy to oblige.
I send off proof of death to the contact and payment follows through a moment later. Job done.
I scowl at the bloodstained rag like it offended me, because I really don’t feel any better. I’m on edge and my hands are itching to find more victims to make an example of. I can’t see straight. Not when I’ve been away from my wife for this long. My brain is running on two modes.
Fuck or fight.
While I’d fucked my little wife goodbye this morning before heading out for this job, it wasn’t enough.
Rune and Calix agreed to come down and keep an eye on her while I took out the trash. Since it’s been quiet from all three of them, I’m assuming they’re all just fine and haven’t killed each other yet.
That’s a lie. There’s no assuming. I watched them. So I know she’s fine, because I kept a live stream from the security cameras inside the house on and in my ears the whole time I was working.
I mount my bike and take off, breaking so many laws and speed limits as I make my way back to Odessa. Thank fuck there’s no traffic, but even if there was, I’d be slashing tires and throats all the same just to get back to her.
She mostly stayed in our bedroom the whole time, reading, watching the ocean from our private balcony, or doing fucking yoga that only pissed me off because I wasn’t there to watch her bend into those positions. Or fuck her when she wasn’t all twisted up like a pretty little pretzel.
Occasionally, she’d venture beyond our room for a snack or a meal, which Calix was thrilled to prepare for her. He and Rune have never been better—Cal’s words, not mine—but I can see a shift in his demeanor when he’s around Odessa.
He’d never shown interest in women before, and he’s only ever had eyes for Rune, but he’s different with Odessa . Rune takes care of him, but he gets to take care of her when I’m not there. Rune isn’t blind to it, either.
I’m still not thrilled about the idea of playing with the three of them together, but it doesn’t make my eye as twitchy as it used to. I don’t have that strong urge to stab the only two men I trust… that much. So, you know, progress.
“ Oh, fuck .” The breathy words take me by surprise, because Odessa has been so quiet all damned day. But that… That sounded like a fucking moan. Which shouldn’t be possible considering I’m here and she’s there and Rune and Calix are… Oh, shit.
Logically, I know they would never betray my trust in them, but with the way my own father tried to kill me and with the way she’s just moaned in my ear, any-fucking-thing is possible.
Nobody, not a goddamned soul, gets to paint her pleasure to draw those sounds out of her sinful mouth unless it’s me.
I make it back to the beachside manor in record time and skid to a stop in the garage next to the armored SUV that Rune had driven down. I’m about to remove my helmet when I hear another soft moan drift through the speakers. It confirms that what I’m hearing is the live camera footage.
So I hadn’t imagined it earlier .
She’d been so quiet up until this point, save for asking Rune or Calix questions throughout the day and into the evening.
My blood pressure rises instantly when another soft moan graces my ears.
What the fuck ? —
My helmet is off and I’m practically kicking in the door, hunting down the source of her pleasure, ready to fucking maim.
Okay, so maybe the murderous thoughts are still there because I swear to fucking all that is unholy, if Calix is touching her without my goddamned permission, I’m going to ? —
I hear the faint sound of someone yelling what I think could be my name, but it’s unclear through the blood fucking roaring through my veins and whooshing through my ears.
I take the stairs three at a time, knife in hand, and when I reach my door, I throw my boot into it so hard that the wood splinters and it bounces off the wall. The sheets are rumpled but Odessa’s fresh peach curls are nowhere to be seen against the black satin.
The bathroom light is on and I’m like a fucking insect, drawn to it immediately.
Before I can kick that door in, too, a hand clamps down over my shoulder and pulls to spin me around, but I won’t be kept from what’s mine.
My knife meets Rune’s throat and he just stares at me, unaffected by the blade currently pricking his skin just enough for a bead of blood to roll down his neck.
He simply cocks a brow. “You done?”
“Am I done?” I mock with a scoff. “I haven’t even fucking begun. The second I open that door, Calix is going to fucking feel the pain of?—”
“Adris?” The topic of conversation’s voice sounds out from somewhere behind me.
Behind me.
As in, not in the bathroom.
As if perfectly timed, Odessa chooses that exact moment to fucking release the most mind-melting moan from just beyond the door.
Well, what the fuck is happening if she’s in there alone and these two are?—
“Get the fuck out,” I snap, removing the blade when I realize just what my little Wraith is up to.
Rune just scoffs, shaking his head. “You’re welcome, you fucking moody prick.”
“Wait, why were you—” Calix’s eyes widen when Rune approaches where he stands at the threshold of my room.
His dark eyes light up like a kid in a candy store and his cheeks flush to a dark, rosy shade, looking from Rune to me.
“Oh, oh. You thought that I was… That she and I were… Wait.” A shit-eating grin spreads across his freckled face.
“You’ve thought about it, too, haven’t you? ”
I narrow my eyes at him. “ Too ?”
“Goodbye, Adris,” Rune mutters as he grabs Calix by the dick— literally— and leads him away before I can question why he’s thinking about Odessa. “Everything is ready for you, FYI. We’ll resurface sometime tomorrow to help with cleanup. Sort your shit out in the meantime, yeah?”
I strong arm the broken door until it’s closed, and pause. I know what he’s talking about, but his last words are almost an echo of what I told him that first night I brought Odessa back. But that’s a problem for future Adris to figure out.
My wraith moans again and just like that, I’m singular in thought again. Knowing she’s behind this door alone has me turning the handle quietly so I can spy on what she’s actually doing.
I peer through the crack and though I can’t see much, the sight before me is pretty fucking telling.
She’s in the clawfoot tub in the center of the room with her pastel curls tied up in a messy knot while her head rests just off the edge.
She’s wearing my noise-cancelling headphones that she’s taken a liking to while listening to any kind of music from Bach to Dark Sins.
That explains why she’s completely unperturbed by my kicking the door in.
One of her legs, an even deeper tan now that she’s spent time outside, is propped up against the side of the tub and the detachable shower head is nowhere to be seen.
My dick was already hard from the first time I heard her moan in my ear, but it’s fucking steel now just watching as her brows draw together and her full lips part on a soft “ Oh. ”
Her eyes are closed when I quietly slink into the room with her, ready to show her exactly who owns her pleasure, but I’m given pause when her body begins to coil and undulate beneath her own ministrations.
“ Adris ,” she cries, her eyes still closed. “Oh, fuck… I need you.”
Well, if she insists.
The second I approach the tub, I lean over her until I’m inches away with one hand braced on the ledge next to her head while the other dips into the hot water.
I watch her for a moment, her body undulating beneath the pulse of the spray.
I watch as the muscles of her abdomen begin to tighten and I know she’s about to come.
Before she can finish, I’m gripping her throat and her eyes fly open in panic before settling on me, headphones falling off the back of her head and clattering onto the floor, then her smile fucking morphs into something downright sinister.
“Took you long enough,” she fucking teases, flashing her perfect teeth at me.
“I had no idea you missed me this much, Wraith.” I groan against her lips, my hand in the water dipping lower until the tips of my fingers barely brush against her clit and she jerks against me.
“What’s the matter, baby? Did I leave my little wife unsatisfied when I left you passed out from fucking you six ways to Sunday this morning? ”
Her eyes roll back when I run the length of my middle finger along the length of her pussy. I can feel her wetness even while fully submerged in this bath.