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There isn’t anything too perverse, too macabre for Hallows Grove.
I’ve had a crush on Skeleton King for as long as I can remember.
With the shadows from the lanterns dancing on his skin, the haunted beauty of our surroundings, and the poignant effect of his skull-painted face in the moonlight, he appears exactly as his nickname suggests. A king.
The moment the skull is on my face, I transform from John Skelver to Skeleton King.
choose a white button-down shirt and roll up the sleeves as I look for my signature, black bow tie.
Tilting her head, she scrunches her eyebrows, “John, I’m asking you to.” Her arms fall to her sides as she holds out her hands. “I want you to…be with me.”
Breaking our kiss, I whisper through heavy breathing, “I don’t want you cold.” She blinks a few times, stuttered puffs of air coming from her lips. I’d never noticed the pretty, light freckles sprinkled across her nose before. Panic constricts my chest as I finish my confession. “I want you just like this.”
“I’ve wanted you for years, John. Not Skeleton King, not who everyone thinks you are. You.”
I’m the only girl in the whole world that has ever had the opportunity to show him how good someone living can make him feel, and I have every intention of taking advantage of that.
His full lips lift into a smile as he climbs off of me. He tears the clothes from his body, revealing golden skin and the sharp lines that define his muscles. I snap my mouth shut once I realize it’s fallen open from gaping at him. I’ve never seen someone so…solid. Grave digging is an effective work out, apparently.
I’m truly grateful that this is happening at all, I just also need him to know I mean what I say. “You’re perfect to me. You always have been.”
A grin that brightens his face and reveals his dimples tightens me to my core. While he’s always been gorgeous, his smile makes him look ethereal.
I had a taste, and it’s going to drive me mad. I am Skeleton King. Gravedigger, taxidermist, and necrophiliac. The industry of decay is my kingdom, cemeteries my solace. I’m a nightmare merchant that thrives in the darkness. I belong in the cold, not with her light and warmth. Her beauty would only deteriorate in my presence.
That’s who we are as residents of Hallows Grove. Giving in to our deepest and darkest desires regardless of the effect on others.
God, she was so willing it was invigorating. To be wanted like that is something I’ve always desired, and it was more fulfilling than I could have ever dreamed.
“The next time I ask it will be with a bullet in your brain.” John’s fury is something I’ve rarely seen over the years and never, ever to this extreme. It’s mesmerizing.
Honestly, I don’t care anymore. If it means Sarah is safe and free, they can do whatever they want to me.
I grasp the back of her neck to make her look at me. “You’ve ruined the dead for me, Sarah. I’ll never desire them as long as you’re in my bed. However, for now anyway, I still run a business that requires cadavers. I’m still Skeleton King.”
The sunlight shines through her red hair, creating a halo effect. I still can’t believe she’s really here.
“I’ve been curious about something.” Slowly pushing my T-shirt up her thighs, I allow my lips to travel down her neck. “What?” she whispers, her hot breath releasing in puffs against my cheek. She makes me brave, and I’m elated by that power when my fingers slide inside of her hot entrance. “What you taste like.”
Dead girls never come.
She’s so fucking beautiful.
Scars are scattered across her pale skin, her rosebud nipples rising with each intake of oxygen. The beauty of watching her breathe is so erotic to me.
I move the hair covering her eye, reminding myself that I can be honest with her. Sighing, I lift her chin. “The only thing I’m scared of is losing you.” Her eyebrows crease when she pushes up on her arms to kiss me. When she pulls away, the words lurch from my throat in a frantic whisper. “I love you.”
Cutting off my thoughts, her mouth crashes to mine as she hugs her arms around my neck. “I’ve loved you since I was nine years old. All I’ve ever wanted was to hear you say that.”
I hold her hand, kissing every scar on every finger as I tell myself once again that she’s trustworthy.
When I look at her, she cups my face and whispers, “You deserve everything you’ve ever wanted.”
That’s my main defense; I did everything because I love Sarah. And there’s no doubt in my mind I’d do it again. Today was easily the best day of my life, and it never would have happened without the choices I made.
Her stubbornness frustrates the fuck out of me, yet at the same time I can’t help but be proud of her for her bravery.
“Take Nothing home. I’ll be there in a bit.” Even saying that gives me chills. From the grin on her face, I’d be willing to bet she likes hearing it just as much.
John’s obsession with celebrating Christmas has been getting crazier.
I feel my favorite sensation. Her heat.
She’s so fucking beautiful and kind, smart and forgiving. I truly don’t deserve her, and I won’t let a day pass without praying she never figures that out.
“You’ve become my dearest friend, but you’re more than that…”
“You’re it for me. I truly believe that. You and I were meant to be.” She gasps as her tattered breath expels little white clouds from her lips. “Will you marry me, Sarah?” Her eyes widen, showing them shiny with tears as she hugs my neck so hard, I hiss in pain. “Oh, sorry, I—I, yes! Of course,” she laughs, “Absolutely yes!”
It’s me and her. John and Sarah. Forever.

