Maggots still writhed on her flesh, struggling to escape the blood raining down on their tiny white bodies.
Declan wrapped a hand around Ethan’s throat and gripped his hip with the other, starting to move faster, forcing Ethan’s cock deeper into the blonde’s mouth as he brutally pounded his ass.
The only one not in pain seemed to be the woman.
Ethan’s loud moans and Declan’s grunts were of pleasure.
I was sure of it.
It was sick.
They were sick, like me.
I was watched them, another kind of sensation developed in my core and my hand found its way to my slit.
Switching my position so that I was on my knees, I spread them apart and slowly started to rub up and down, working faster as I watched Declan’s cock move in and out of Ethan.
A sound rumbled in the back of my throat when I felt myself growing wet.
Doing as Ethan had, I slid my fingers inside me to gather some and then brought them up to my clit, circling it with quick, pressured strokes.
As the woman’s body began to twitch, I worked my fingers’ faster, dipping them inside myself to make myself even wetter. My hips began to move on their own, my clit pushed into my fingertips.
Declan’s loud groan nearly caused that feeling to burst again.
He stilled, eyes shutting as he pressed himself deep into Ethan.
When he finally stepped back pulling Ethan with him, he reached around to stroke his cock.
Ethan’s head fell back onto Declan’s shoulder and they stroked him together, the blonde’s screams falling silent as they did.
White semen shot out with a cursed moan, landing in the woman’s slack jaw.
And I came.
I came so hard I almost fell over, squeezing a hand into a fist as the strong sensation washed over me for a second time, only without the spraying of fluid.
Swallowing, I wiped my hand on the shirt, shakily rising to my feet.
Before I could go anywhere the camera was lifted and zoomed in on Ethan’s smiling face.
He looked right into the lens and asked, “Did we make you come again, Helena?”
I unplugged the television from the wall, grabbed my skull, and retreated upstairs.
Chapter Eighteen
Helena
I woke in the same massive bed I had fallen asleep in.
It was the most comfortable sleep I’d gotten in a very long time.
I sat for a moment, reflecting on everything that had happened the day before. It seemed like a long winded dream.
A day like yesterday didn’t happen for me. I was something other than numb, other than empty. I hadn’t been anything else in such a long time I’d forgotten what it was like to be alive.
The feelings…weren’t the same this morning. I was prepared for Declan and Ethan to realize what type of girl I was and never speak to me again.
They weren’t broken, but I would fix them if I had to.
I didn’t want to, but I would.
I’d make sure they stayed together, and with me, the three of us. One day a dog.
That sounded perfect.
Like a family.
Spreading my hands out, I felt that either side of me was cool, but from the wrinkled sheets obviously slept in.
There was enough space that whoever had been beside me could easily slip and out without disturbing my rest.
Breathing in, I caught the scent of bacon, and two different colognes.
Did that mean they came back?
Tossing the heavy comforter off, I scrambled from the bed, grabbing my skull off the nightstand.
Catching sight of myself in the round mirror on the wall, I rerouted and went into the bathroom.
After relieving my bladder and rinsing out my mouth, I smoothed down my hair and then headed down to the lower level.
Due to the open concept I saw the two of them immediately, increasing my speed down the stairs.
“You came back,” I said, stepping off the last step.
They stopped their conversation and both turned to look at me.
I didn’t care this time. I was too focused on the warmth spreading through my body at seeing them again.
They hadn’t lied to me.
“Of course we came back, we live here,” Ethan finally replied.
“And you’re here,” Declan stated.
“You fuckin kiss ass,” Ethan laughed. “He’s right though. How could we not come back for you?”
“Because I’m sick.”
“So—.”
“Sit down, Helena,” Declan cut him off with a shake of his head.
“Here, baby girl.”Ethan pulled out one of the barstools beside him, pushing it in once I was sat, skull securely sitting on the breakfast bar beside me.
“Anything you don’t like?” Declan asked, placing a plate of food in front of me not a second later.
I stared at the items and shook my head. I wasn’t allowed to be picky.
“It’s okay,” I replied.
“I didn’t ask you if it was okay, I asked you if there was anything on the plate that you didn’t like.”
His tone sounded firm, it made me shift uncomfortably in my chair.
I looked down at my plate again, and nodded. “The eggs.”
Without a word, he lifted the plate and replaced it a moment later with another piece of watermelon where the eggs had been.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. If you don’t like something, tell us. I don’t know what you’re used to but you can be your own person here, Helena.”
I nodded again and started to eat.
The previous night wasn’t discussed, not at breakfast at least.
It was half-way through my meal that Ethan announced my clothes were in the spare bedroom.
“Once you’re done go head and shower, I’ll drop you off at work.”
Swallowing a chunk of watermelon, I looked over at him unsure what he was talking about.
“At the bakery…” he slowly stated, understanding my silence.
“Your dad didn’t tell you he had Molly get you a job?” Declan asked, his tone changed again, but it didn’t seem to be directed at me this time.
I recalled a brief conversation the day she showed me her place of employment, but I’d never agreed or confessed a desire to join her there.
“Here’s what we’re gonna do then,” Ethan began. “You’re going to go, and if you don’t like it you never have to go again. They should have asked you. You’re more than capable of making your own decisions. You should probably leave the skull here, though.”
I couldn’t form a response for that. He was right; I could make my own choices. I was sick, not handicapped. Not stupid.
My brain worked differently, but I still could pick and choose what I did or did not want to do.
I’d just never been given such a liberty, until now.
Because of Declan.
Because of Ethan.
It was sudden, the way they were trying to make me feel alive after such a long time.
I wondered what possessed them to try and do such a thing. What did they get out of this?
They may have been sick too, but they seemed to be much better at living than I was. They could control theirs.
I couldn’t force myself to function like the other girls I’m sure they were used to in a matter of a day.
Maybe I never would.
After all, my sickness was a part of me I didn’t want to lose, because without it, who was Helena Gardener?
The ride into town was uneventful.
Ethan drove the speed limit and spoke to be about mundane things.
I found my attention drawn to his side profile. How the sun reflected off his hair and made it appear a few shades lighter.
The goatee on his face was a little fuller than the day before but he was still just as beautiful.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how his lips felt, or Decl
an’s.
Or what they did to me.
He caught me a few times but didn’t comment on my staring, giving me a smile every time.
A few blocks away from the bakery, he finally brought up the previous night.
“Did it bother you? Seeing me and Declan together?”
I understood the meaning of the question without clarification, not why he would ask me. I was certain the first discussion would be about the woman they had killed.
Some men liked men, some men liked women, and some men liked both. It was the same for women, just vice versa. I saw plenty of such relationships on television.
I understood what it meant and had no issue with it. He and Declan’s sexual orientation wasn’t a scientific discovery. It didn’t bother me in any form or fashion, it’s who they were.
Plus…
“I liked it.”
“Did you now,” he intoned.
“Yeah. When are you going to do it again?”
That caused him to laugh.
“Your honesty and lack of filter is super refreshing, baby girl. Don’t ever lose that.”
“Okay,” I agreed, getting another small laugh in return.
“We do that often, actually. We just didn’t want to throw everything at you at once. We’ve got something else planned for tonight, though.”
“Are you going to make me like that women?”
He turned his head sharply, slightly swerving towards the sidewalk.
“Hell no! You’re not anything like the bit– the girls brought to the château.”
“I’m different.”
“Yes,” he side-eyed me. “You are different. You’re ours.”
I diverted my attention to the upcoming bakery.
First they wanted me to stay.
Now he said I was theirs.
The murder, the torture, the room with shiny red light wasn’t a big deal. That was his normal.
I was struck with an inability to focus or respond. This was…too much. Too many unfamiliar sensations were trying to penetrate my chest and my brain.
I had just met them, how could they have such a potent effect on my person?
What was it they were doing to me?
He left me in peace the short remainder of the ride, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder when I went to get out.
“Don’t forget this. I charged it up for you last night.”
I silently accepted my cellphone from him, stilling when his knuckles came beneath my chin and lifted my gaze to his.
Copper hues probing, searching, he seemed to be seeking out something specific.
“Can you smile for me?”
It was an unexpected request.
I obliged, forcing my lips into an upturned direction.
“One day, this will be natural.”
Not sure if he was saying that to himself or me, I remained silent.
He placed a light kiss on my forehead, and then leaned back. “I’ll pick you up okay? If you want to leave just call or text, Declan put our numbers in your phone.”
“Okay.” I undid my restrained, and got out.
He waited until I was inside before he pulled off, leaving me to navigate my first job.
Chapter Nineteen
Declan
If there was one person who could ruin my morning it was my Mother.
So when she came barreling towards me before I could finish my coffee, I knew she was on a mission.
Dark hair blowing in the wind behind her, she almost resembled the demon she was.
She was usually out of sight until noon, when my father was pre-occupied with Dahlia business.
“Dec,” she greeted me, nearly out of breath. She’d probably sprinted across the grounds to reach me before I could reach the château.
Mason couldn’t stand her and was always quick to intercept when she bothered me.
If his mother had helped mine commit suicide, I wouldn’t be fond of her either.
Oh, wait. I wasn’t fond of my mom either.
“Dakota,” I greeted back.
Her expression immediately soured. She hated when I called her by her real name just as much as I hated being called Dec.
“Who is that girl?” she questioned, falling in step beside me.
“Can you be a bit more specific?”
“You know who I am talking about. The girl that stayed in your house all night, who is she?”
I took a sip from my travel mug, loudly, before entertaining her with a reply.
“Now, Dakota, we both know that you know who she is. You’re the nosiest person I have ever met.”
“I’m supposed to be nosey. I’m your mom.”
“Telling jokes this early in the morning?”
She stopped walking and grabbed my arm.
I could have dragged her up the path. I decided to stop and get her bullshit out of the way now.
“I heard she’s sick.”
“And?”
“And that doesn’t bother you?”
“Is this a real conversation we’re having? Are you pretending to be concerned?”
“Declan Andreou—.”
“Exactly.” I cut her off before she could go any further.
Did people think that full name crap really worked as a disciplinary measure? Not to mention I was grown ass man now.
She should have tried it when I was seven instead of telling me I was a mentally ill piece of shit, just like my father. Thinking about Dad and the way she still treated him to this day pissed me off.
“I’m an Andreou, just like the men who raised me because you refused to have anything to do with me if it wasn’t degrading.
“Take a look around you, we’re all fucking sick. In case you have failed to notice, none of us have a problem with it. We do sick people shit because we’re delightfully sick bastards.”
I pulled my arm free and continued on my way.
“Declan,” she called after me. “The girl?”
“She’s none of your business, but if you tell her how fucked up you are Dakota, she might be able to fix it.”
I left her after that, entering the Dahlia with more force than necessary.
“You want a drink?” Mason yelled from the drawing room, amusement in his tone.
Following his voice, I walked in and dropped down onto one of the thickly cushioned arm chairs.
“Hey,” Katie greeted from the sofa.
Her feet were propped on Mason’s lap, and Max was playing guard dog on the floor beside them.
“You ready?” I asked, taking notice of her stomach.
It was the roundest fucking thing I’d ever seen. I kept that to myself, obviously.
“So ready,” she answered around a yawn.
“I don’t understand what your dad sees in that bitch,” Mason mused. “She has no tits or ass, no personality.”
“Wow,” I leaned back. “You’ve really gone into deep thought about this. Fantasizing about Dakota lately? Do you hear this, Kat?”
“She’s the one who made the profile, I’m just repeating it,” he smirked, smugly.
“Katie, how could you?” I placed a hand over my chest, pretending to be wounded.
Her cheeks turned a bright shade of red, and she slapped his arm. “You said you wouldn’t tell.”
“That’s actually an accurate description. I don’t know what he sees in her either.”
I really didn’t.
He loved her, which was great.
He also fucked and killed every single woman that came to the kennels with a resemblance to her.
How could love, fuck, and want to kill someone.
In that order.
I’d had the misfortune of hearing one of their hate fucks a time too many.
I began to wonder if our relationship with Helena would be like that.
The night before, I watched pleasure dance across her gorgeous face. I tasted her sweet pussy with my tongue. She squirted all over my goddamn hand. All the while a real life snu
ff film played in the background.
I came home to her fast asleep in my bed cuddled up with a human skull, as if it were a new stuffed animal.
What if she tried to leave and found out she couldn’t? Would she get angry?
I wanted to see her angry. I wanted to see her happy. I wanted to see her empty fucking eyes fill with tears.
I wanted this gorgeous girl to come alive. As it was, she was still the same emotionless girl I’d met on Hollows Eve.
But I wanted her.
It was a solidified more than ever now. At this point her going anywhere wasn’t fucking happening.
She was everything Ethan and I had been searching for.
Helena Gardener was by far the strangest girl I had ever met, and that made her all the more precious.
Maybe I should hand her my balls and Ethan’s at the same time.
“You over there daydreaming?” Mason’s voice broke through my deep thoughts.
I shot him a look of annoyance.
“Now that I’ve got your attention, how did the other night go?” he inquired.
“It went great. If you can set aside the fact it might as well have never happened.”
I’d seen her face this morning. She truly thought we wouldn’t come back, which meant she had no faith in us whatsoever, and that would be normal if she were a regular girl, but she wasn’t.
I knew it was her own insecurities filling her head with bullshit.
He went to reply, stopping short when Uncle Julian appeared in the doorway, and Ethan popped up not a few seconds later.
“Ah, look. You’re all exactly where I need you to be. We need to have a little chat,” Julian announced.
I knew it had to do with Helena, and something told me I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
I take it back.
I didn’t like what he had to say was a massive understatement.
Walking back to our house, I rubbed a hand down my face, trying to figure out the best plan of action.
Uncle Julian had dug deep for this one. He must have liked our girl more than I realized.
“I’ve got the appointment booked,” Ethan stated from beside me.
“Good, that’s good,” I absentmindedly replied.
“What do you think Heath’s hiding?” he asked as we entered the house.
DEPRAVITY: Love Depraved Page 11