Master of Salt & Bones

by Keri Lake

There’s a heartbeat inside this place, however faint, hidden beneath its bones.

Maybe that’s the reason they call him the Devil. Because the madness that breathes within these walls is as real as the man who feeds it.

“You’re my curse. Staying away from you, is like trying to hold my breath when the tide is rising.” His words dance around my head, the deep timbre of his voice titillating my senses. “I want to drown in you.”

“You feel that? Weeks of pent-up torment, all for you. Wear it like a fucking crown, because no other woman has made me come so much in my life.”

“Well, brace yourself. Because the only thing that gets me off more than knives is water.”

Besides that, the heart is a dangerous organ that isn’t meant to be free. Why else would God have built a cage for it?”

“When you cut yourself with a blade, there’s an open wound, and blood and pain, but the pain comes to an end and the wound seals to a scar. So you cut yourself again and again, because you forget how much it hurt the first time. The heart is a different animal. A caged, lonely scavenger that feeds on its own wounds. Its scars never heal, because you can’t mend the very thing it needs to survive. So the wound continues to fester, until what’s left of the organ is eventually consumed by its own self-mutilation.”

“I’m not the devil they make me out to be. The heartless, callous monster. You can’t do this shit to yourself without feeling something. That’s the problem. I feel everything. I feel it very deeply.”

“There are darknesses in life and there are lights. You are one of the lights.” A quote from the book. He turns his eyes to mine, and I swear there’s a flickering flame in them. “The light of all lights.” He leans into me. “For the record, I read quite a bit.”

Eyes on the road, he sets his hand on my thigh in a possessive way. “Nobody fucks with you when you’re with me. Ever.”

Setting the lobster roll down, imperfectly perfect lips smile again, and I know he has another punchy comeback ready to go. Instead, he studies me in silence for a moment. “I have to admit, you’re not what I expected.” “What were you expecting?” “Not you.” “Good? Bad?” “Good, unfortunately.” “Why is that unfortunate?” “Because this is supposed to be filler, but you’re making me curious about the plot.”

“Good. One more second in this town, and I might burst into flames.” “I always thought the devil was one to cast flames, not succumb to them.” I slide the seatbelt across my body, where it slips between my breasts, and I click it in place. He seems to take notice, staring for a moment, before he throws the car in drive. “So did I. Until you decided to wear that dress.”

“So, why did you stay away?” “Because there’s a saying … absence makes the dick grow harder, or something.”

The breath of new life. The steady pulse in my veins. The long-awaited beat of a heart that’s been dead too long. My kindred flame.

want you to stay with me,” he says against my mouth. “You’ll never want for anything, Isa. And I promise you, no one will ever hurt you again.” “And what happens when you get bored of me? When the thrill of the forbidden is gone?” “Impossible. You can’t get bored of the very thing you need to stay alive.” Lips devour mine in another kiss, and he squeezes his palm, just enough to steal my breath.

Together, we are madness. And there is music in madness, and madness in love. It doesn’t matter what the world thinks of us. Because we’re the composers, the conductors of our own fate, and we write the notes to a beautiful, dark melody that no one else can hear.