Voracious (The Edge of Darkness, #2)

by Leigh Rivers

It’s over. It’s been over for two years. He’s wrong. If it was over, then what the hell has this entire trip been? The sex. The kiss. The need to hold me. We aren’t done.

“What are you going to do when I go to Hawaii with my family in January?” “Burn your passport before you can leave.”

“Close your eyes. I don’t want you looking at my friends or my brother while you come from me fucking you.” A perfectly acceptable demand. In my head anyway.

“You’re doing so good, Freckles,” I say, kissing below her ear as I thrust harder. My voice is shaky, but I keep praising her. “Taking it so fucking well.”

“If you do that, I’ll leak the videos you sent us of her. I’ll even add in the other girls you’ve abused. How many is he at now, Phil? Twelve girls? Thirteen?” “Fifteen victims, I believe,” Phil – I assume – replies, sniggering. “One click and poof, all of those incriminating videos out in the world.” My stepbrother freezes. “You wouldn’t. You all took part.” “We can easily blur our faces.” The first one smirks, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He’s older, bald, a groomed ginger beard covering most of his pale face, his eyes beady and haunting. I remember the feeling of him on top of me when I was a teenager, him asking if the blood smearing his cock was virginal. Little did he know that I’d lost my daughter a month prior.

The three of them approach me, and Chris takes my hand delicately. “I’m sorry,” he mutters under his breath as he kisses my cheek, sliding something sharp into my palm.

My system is pretty fucking messed up right now too, which is maybe why I’m overanalysing my surroundings. Maybe this girl isn’t even on the mini stage in front of us?

Standing in the middle of the room, splatters of blood all over her, her dress ripped down the middle, Stacey holds the blade, hand raised to the side as tears stream down her face. Her chest is rising and falling, her lips trembling as she gasps. Fuck.

me. “Chris.” Then she gestures to her busted-up face with unsteady movements. “Cyber-freak and master manipulator. The creator of this wonderful artwork.”

“Please keep her safe – I need you to watch her. I’m about to get time off so I can be with her, and you can go and see Lisa. You haven’t been home in months.”

Every single time she tries to get close, I either shove her, threaten her or strangle her, and she still doesn’t get the fucking hint. She’s been mindfucked by her parents, but that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy and bow to her fucking orders as well.

“I always knew they’d find their way back to each other. I’m glad they talked things out.”

She squealed when I said we own them. Hugged me when I said I’d rehomed them and that they’d be with us from now on. Us. I said “us” and she didn’t correct me.

buries her head into my neck, her body shaking with a chuckle. “Please do.”

relaxing. I think if I ever took my last breaths outside, I’d like to be able to see the moon.” As grim as that statement is, she lets out a peaceful sigh. “It’s beautiful.”

“You know she’s proud of you. You’re talented as fuck and amazing, beautiful and strong.” “I like when you’re cute,” she says, the corners of her mouth curling up towards her wet eyes. “Keep going.” “You have nice tits and a cracking ass.”

“I might change my contraception, I don’t like how sick it makes me. I’m nauseous all the time.”

“One day,” is all I say. Instead of running for the hills, Stacey kisses me again, somehow happy with what I said. “One day.” Fuck, I love this girl.

“You know,” I start, swallowing down my building panic, the tightening feeling in my chest gripping my fucking heart like a vice, “you need to be my girlfriend now. You’re all I can think about.” Relief fills me as she blushes and giggles. “And that means I need to be your girlfriend?” “Yep.” I take her face and kiss her, stroking my thumbs on her freckled cheeks. “Seems boyfriend-ish to think of someone as much as I think of you.”

“Are you asking or telling me?”

“Telling.” I raise my hips, allowing her to yank both my shorts and boxers down, completely freeing my hard, thick cock. “But if you prefer I ask, I won’t be accepting no as an answer.”

Aria said that the initial shock would stay for a while, then I’ll start to overthink, but she’ll be with me. Like the mother I lost. She’s been amazing. After she washed me then got me re-dressed, she sat on the chair beside the bed she’d moved me to and slept there for two nights until I stopped crying, until she was happy for me to go to Kade’s room to sleep with the dogs.

How do I tell my best friend – someone who was always against anyone going near her twin brother – that I’ve not only been sneaking around with him since we were eighteen, but that we were also in a relationship and months from being a family of three, all while keeping it a secret from her? That we split up because he thought I cheated just weeks after losing our daughter? That we’d steered clear for two years but broke the dam by fucking each other’s brain out yet again?

My excuse was that I wasn’t ready, but in reality, I had a brother at home who would have ruined it all. Though he ended up ruining it anyway, so I guess it was all for nothing.

My dad hugged now and again, but once he married Nora, it was like the father I grew up with died with my mother.

“Do you know where Christopher is now?” “He reached out to Kyle the other day – he was getting on a boat to go somewhere and didn’t want him to worry.” Tobias scoffs. “Motherfucker.” “Barry has a team tracking him. He keeps buying a new phone and changing cars, and he has some sort of blocker on his bank account, so they can’t trace that.” I stand and walk around the living room. “He’s obsessed with cybersecurity. He builds these trojans and hacks into systems like some tech guru.”

“You’re going to annoy me by visiting every day, aren’t you?” “If I take him up on his offer, then yes.” “I’d rather spend a year back down in confinement.” I smile at his joking tone. “I think we’re becoming friends, Tobias.”

When Stacey gets excited and jumps around, they copy. When she sleeps, so do they. When she cries during a movie or after watching a video on her phone, they cuddle into her for emotional support. When it’s time for bed, they wait for her to finish brushing her teeth and washing her face before climbing in with us. Yep. They definitely love her more. Maybe they’ll change their minds when she sings.

I don’t think it’s even a case of being in love with her anymore. Is there an emotion that’s stronger than love? If not, I’m creating one. It’s like a mixture of love and not being able to breathe unless she’s around – thoughts that run wild wondering what she’s doing, where she is, if she’s thinking of me. It’s the butterflies that flutter like maniacs when I know I’m going to see her soon. The Stacey Rhodes Effect.

“The world would need to hide if we ever had children. They’d undeniably be heathens.” She tuts, shaking her head, then shifts up to kiss me. “Our little heathens.”

“‘Attracted’ is not the label I’d use when it comes to you. It’s way more than that. You’re beautiful, in all your moodiness – I think you’re the most amazing person in the world. And you’re all mine.” I lean forward and capture her lips in a claiming kiss. “Mine.” “Yours,”

“Your cum is leaking out of me,” she randomly tells me as she takes a picture of our boarding passes. The group of grannies nearby give us a horrifying look. “No, I’m serious. When I sneezed? Boom.”

“Seeing you with kids makes me feral,”

We’re drunk, happily bobbing around in the water, enjoying time together like other couples here. I like this. No, I love this. I love her. I love her so fucking much.

“I wanted you from the beginning. I wanted you so fucking much, it drove me insane. I hated you because you were my sister’s best friend. I knew you couldn’t stand me.”

“It’s only been half a year, but it feels like longer. You’re everything to me, Stacey. Everything. I think about you constantly, and I get excited when it’s time to see you. I’ve never been attracted to someone before; did you know that? Never. Not once did I come across someone I found attractive. I thought I was broken, that my emotions were limited, but I just hadn’t met you yet.”

“Because I love you. I’ve been in love with you for ages – it’s been all I’ve thought about. And I keep falling more in love with you every single fucking day.” A tear slips down her cheek, and I swipe it with my thumb. “You love me?” “I do. I’m in love with you, Freckles.” Her bottom lip trembles, her body easing against mine. Voice shaking, she whispers, “I’m in love with you too.”

“Are you going to be my forever, Freckles?”

Does that mean I can have babies with a psychopath, stab someone eighteen times and sleep with someone I work with?” Hands to her hips, she spins to face her daughter. “Luciella Mitchell! That’s enough!” All three of us burst into giggles. Tylar chokes on her cereal. Aria’s best friend was killed by someone called Justin, the deceased sidekick of Tobias, and she retaliated by driving a blade into him multiple times. Tobias took the blame, but we all know the truth. No matter how much she fights us on it. Her story has changed far too many times, and even Ewan gave us a nod behind her back once.

Maybe if I die, I’ll reincarnate into a dog. Stacey likes dogs. She’ll cuddle me. I like her cuddles.

I can’t wait to see Stacey beat the shit out of Cassie.

Kyle told me to stop. She’s on her son’s side, no matter what. I don’t want any sort of relationship with her, but I don’t want Chris to have her blessing either.

His lips part as he stares at me, searching my face, dilated pupils taking me in like he’s never seen me before – like he’s looking at a fascinating piece of art. I’m speechless. Between his expression of awe, and the bruising all over his chiselled face, I can’t speak – all I can do is look at him the way he’s looking at me.

“Make them go away, Freckles.” “Make what go away?” I manage to ask. “The voices.”

Kade: Run and hide. Unless you want everyone to witness me fucking you? Having an audience won’t stop me – I’ll take you in front of the entire party.

“You cheated on me a month after we lost our daughter. Not with just anyone either. You screwed Jason. My big brother. No matter how many times we fuck, I will never ever fucking forgive you.”

It hurts to look at her, but I can never stop myself. Denial and bitterness coated my tongue when I told her I wouldn’t ever forgive her. In truth, I already have. But do I want a future with her? Undoubtedly yes.

“No, sorry, you don’t need to decide yet. It’s a big decision. Let’s go to bed.” She smiles, and a laugh breaks out, a nervous one, as she kisses me. “I want to keep the baby. I want to have a baby with you, Kade Mitchell.”

It seems she has no idea how much I’m obsessed with her. Not just with her looks, but her heart, her fucking soul.

“I’m going to be your daddy; do you know how lucky you are? I’m pretty messed up in the head, but I’ll go for more therapy before you arrive, I promise. And I’m going to spoil the life out of you, then we’ll gang up on Mummy with Nerf guns.”