Safe From the Dark

by Lily Rede

  “You don’t want to kill Colin,” Evie breathed.

  “You don’t know what I want!” Candace screamed.

  “You want to kill me.”

  Candace paused, letting the idea filled her brain.

  “Yes,” she said earnestly, “I really do.”

  “Because I seduced him.”

  “Evie, stop it,” begged Colin.

  Evie edged closer, keeping a careful eye on the sharp hook pressed against Colin’s heart.

  “I fucked him. Over and over again.”

  “Disgusting,” spat Candace, but her hands were shaking.

  “He’s an excellent lover. Did he tell you? His cock is always so big and hard, and he can fuck all night if he wants to. Mmm…I’m wet just thinking about it.”

  “Shut up!” ordered Candace, panting, but Evie just smiled, taking a short step to her left. Candace didn’t notice, too furious to care. “You’re vile, and you don’t deserve Hank’s attentions. He was mine, do you understand?”

  Evie’s eyes widened at the mention of Hank Daniels, but she continued, taking another step to the left.

  Just one more.

  “Did Dreyer fuck you like that? Did Alan? What did they like to do to you? Because Colin has this fixation with my breasts that I think is a little weird, but you know, guys – ”

  With a screech, Candace, pushed beyond her limit, raised her hook to strike – and at that moment, Colin jerked, forcing his body back, and throwing her off balance.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  Candace flailed like a broken doll before she fell to the ground, her eyes cold and dead.

  Evie and Colin just stared at each other from across the room as she lowered her weapon.

  The sound of shouts and footsteps roused her.

  Here comes the cavalry.

  She stepped over to Colin and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her heart to his chest to hear his heartbeat as Tony and Zeke rushed in. Zeke took one look at Candace’s dead body and puked into the nearest plastic bin.

  Poor kid, still has a few things to learn.

  “I think my arms are dead,” murmured Colin.

  A moment later, Tony had found the controls to the hook and lowered Colin to the ground. He sank to his knees with a groan.

  Evie couldn’t stop touching him, stroking his skin, and tucking his head under her chin so that his breath tickled her collarbone under her shirt. After a moment, he stirred.

  “You’re the only person I know that could stop a killer just by acting like a total, raving bitch.”

  “Well, you use the gifts God gave you.”

  Colin chuckled and held her tight.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CANDACE’S FUNERAL WAS A tiny affair – just Evie and Colin and the pastor reading a few words about peace and redemption before Colin scattered her ashes at sea. The town was still in shock, and with Alan dead, Colin had taken it upon himself to give her a proper send off. Evie had protested, of course, insisting that she had gotten what she deserved, but Colin reminded her that it was the right thing to do, to bring some closure to the situation. Evie had grumbled, but in the end had acquiesced, even going so far as to suggest setting up a scholarship fund in Alan’s name to help out local youths.

  As Evie held Colin’s hand, watching the ashes disappear into the harbor a week after Candace’s death, she realized that he still felt guilty – over the fact that he couldn’t save Candace, over the fact that he didn’t see her or love her, in the same way his own father hadn’t seen her or loved her either. His injuries were already healing to ugly yellow bruises, but Evie worried that he would always wonder if he could have saved her if he had realized the danger earlier.

  It would take time.

  Meanwhile, Evie was having her own trouble adjusting to life A.C. – after Candace. She had wondered if she’d ever be welcome in town again, and admitted that she was going to miss Mary’s cherry shakes. As the Harvest Festival kicked in, there was no way to avoid going into town, and Evie was stunned to find that she was suddenly a town hero.

  Everywhere she went, people waved hello. Well, except for Dreyer Morton, but that was to be expected.

  The kids pestered her for details on how she’d saved Colin’s life.

  Little Brian Olsen insisted on her walking him home from school whenever their paths crossed.

  “Seriously, did I step through a wormhole or something?” Evie asked Tony one afternoon, while they were setting up a sobriety point for the night’s festivities. Tony laughed.

  “You’re the flavor of the week, Asher. They’ll get bored soon enough and find someone else to worship.”

  “They haven’t gotten bored of Colin.”

  “True. You may be shit out of luck.”

  He toyed with his wedding ring, and Evie almost asked about it, but held her tongue.

  She did ask Grace over lunch the next day.

  “What’s the deal with Tony and that wedding ring? Is he married or not?”

  “Oh my God, I keep forgetting you haven’t been here forever. You wouldn’t know. About five years ago, Tony married Nora Allen. She was a new teacher from a couple of towns over, and he was just over-the-moon crazy about her. Two years later, she went out sailing and a huge storm kicked up. The boat vanished, and Nora and the crew disappeared without a trace. Tony was devastated.”

  “She drowned?”

  Grace shrugged.

  “It gets weirder. After she’d been pronounced lost at sea, all these lawyers came out of the woodwork claiming that she was a missing heiress, worth millions, and that she’d been married before. Her ex-husband has apparently been trying to get Tony to turn over all of her assets, claiming they were still married, but in the Will she left behind, she left everything to Tony. So she may have been faithful, she may have been having an affair, she may be dead, she may have been kidnapped, or she may have run away.

  “That’s awful.” Evie was appalled.

  “I know,” Grace said, taking advantage of Evie’s shock to steal her cherry shake. “No matter what happened, she left behind a hell of a mess for Tony, and broke the poor man’s heart.”

  “I wonder if there’s any way to find out what really happened?” Evie mused, “Maybe we should – Grace?”

  But Grace wasn’t paying attention. Instead, she was dreamily stirring the milkshake with a straw and watching Matt Harris lean on the counter to talk to Mary as she rang up his take out order.

  Evie grinned but didn’t comment until Matt straightened and caught sight of Grace in the corner. The spark that sizzled in the air between them was so hot, Evie was surprised that the sprinklers didn’t go off. Then he grabbed the bag of food from the counter and turned to walk out the door, and Grace slumped back into her seat.

  “You can’t tell me there isn’t something between you and that firefighter, Grace Mallow,” Evie said, fanning herself.

  “It would never work.” Grace was adamant.

  “How do you know until you try?”

  But Grace just shook her head.

  Evie wondered if she could coax Colin to take the afternoon off with her. Despite the festival, Tony had put her back on half-duty for a couple more days. He was worse than a mother hen, but Evie decided to let him have his way. Besides, she wanted to rest up for the Harvest Festival Dance that night. She was so excited about it – her first real dance.

  COLIN WAS UP FOR playing hooky, and he and Evie spent a leisurely afternoon repainting the front of Gram’s cabin. A pleasant, early dinner of salmon and salad ended with wine in front of the fireplace and Evie riding a deliciously naked Colin on the couch. He leaned back against the cushions, his hands laced behind his head, sweat sheening his body as he let her control the pace, fucking him with slow, sensuous movements of her hips.

  “You feel so good inside me,” she moaned, her head falling back so that the silk of her hair brushed his thighs.

  She traced his biceps, which were tight as he held himself in check.


  “You’re like a fist, baby.”

  Colin lifted his hips, pressing in a fraction further as her mouth fell open with a sexy little whimper. The long line of her neck was irresistible, and he leaned forward, lowering his hands to grip her hips.

  “Ah –ah,” she murmured with a grin, scraping her nails on his abdomen, “no hands.”

  “Cruel,” he retorted, but let her hips go to grip the cushions instead, and cruised his lips along her throat, nipping at her collarbone.

  “I’ll let you touch in a minute, I promise.”

  Teasingly, she cupped her breasts and then raised her arms over her head, swaying slightly as she swiveled her hips on the downstroke. She watched the heat in Colin’s eyes kick up a notch as he focused on her breasts.

  “You can’t tease me with those sweet nipples and then not let me taste,” he groaned, tortured.

  Evie arched slightly, keeping her arms raised.

  “Go crazy.”

  “Already there,” he breathed, but he pounced, the wet heat of his mouth on her breasts threatening to unravel her in seconds.

  “I’m going to buy some clamps for these. You’ll wear them for me, won’t you?”

  He nipped one tight nipple and she gasped.

  “In your dreams.”

  “And one for this hungry clit,” he continued, stealing one naughty little stroke of the swollen nubbin before obediently returning his hands to the cushions.

  Evie whimpered as he painted a mental picture, punctuating each image with licks and nibbles, and the steady rhythm of his hips rocking in counterpoint to hers.

  “I’ll lay you back on the bed and you can spread your legs wide and show off that hot little pussy. Then I’ll let you watch me jerk off while you stretch it with a fat dildo. I’ll make sure it’s the same size as my dick, so you’ll have to work to get it in, and by the time you’ve taken it to the hilt, your little clit will be all swollen. You’ll be dripping wet for me, won’t you, baby? When I’m satisfied that you’re ready for more, I’ll flip you over and stuff that pretty little ass with cock and then fuck you until we both pass out.”

  Colin broke the rules, sliding wicked fingers over her hips to part the cheeks of her ass and rub little circles into her puckered opening. He took over in the thrusting department, too, jerking his hips upward as Evie’s brain struggled to catch up to the pleasure coursing through her system.

  She was caught on the delightfully dirty image of herself spread wide, clamps on her nipples and clit, taking Colin’s monster cock in the ass. Did she want that? Would he even fit? He was going to make her crazy, planting increasingly erotic images in her mind, making her wonder about sex acts she’d never attempted or wanted before.

  Evie’s laugh was tortured.

  “I can’t tell if you’re serious, or if you just say things like that to get me hot.”

  “Oh baby, I want to do everything with you. Whatever turns you on. You dream it up and we’ll try it. Whipped cream and handcuffs, sex toys, costumes, or nothing at all. As long as you’re there, I’m in.”

  Feeling the delicious tension coiling low in her abdomen, Evie leaned back, taking him with her as she eased toward the rug. He lowered her carefully, not missing a stroke.

  “Over me,” she murmured, “I want to feel you everywhere.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, and pinned her to the floor with delicious strength, hooking his arms under her thighs to hold her wide for his thrusts.

  “More,” she moaned, and he gave her more, pounding into her.

  The heat and wonder in his eyes was enough to send her over the edge, and her release triggered his own, her pussy milking every last bit of pleasure as they both unraveled in a contented tangle of limbs on the floor.

  His breath ruffled her hair, and he lifted his head enough to catch her lips in a sweet, thorough exploration. His eyes were warm and brimming with satisfaction, and Evie felt her heart turn over. Colin schooled his features.

  “So, Miss Asher,” Colin said gravely, “I know it hasn’t been terribly long, but I think it’s fair to tell you that despite our unusual courtship I’m developing some pretty serious feelings for you at an alarming rate. As in, I don’t want to date anyone else. I don’t want to fuck anyone else. I want you to leave your toothbrush at my place and hold my hand in public and make out with me on the dance floor at the Harvest Festival Dance tonight so that every man in town knows you’re spoken for. So basically, I’m asking you to go steady, and I thought now would be a good time to share, since I have you naked and pinned down, and your deliciously demanding little pussy is still pulsing around my cock. You can go ahead and panic now.”

  Evie’s first instinct was to stiffen as delight and horror swept through her, but her body was too languidly satisfied to do anything but arch slightly, which only drove his rapidly recovering cock a little deeper. She tried to process it as he peppered soft kisses over her face, nipping her jawline and sucking the sensitive curve of her neck. It was very distracting.

  “What do you think?” he murmured.

  Evie took a deep, fortifying breath.

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  “Okay?”

  Her eyes suddenly brimmed with tears.

  “I’m sorry, I wish I could do better than that. Sometimes you’re a complete ass and a total control freak, and sometimes you’re wonderful, but I’m scared, Colin, and – ”

  He cut her off with his mouth on hers, giving and taking, hot and wet and perfect. When she pulled away to breathe, his grin was like the sun.

  “Okay is a good place to start. I’ll even let you be in charge, like, a third of the time.”

  “Two-thirds of the time,” she countered, squeezing her internal muscles around him, pleased when he groaned.

  “We can negotiate.”

  And Evie kissed him.

  EPILOGUE

  The young man with the messy brown hair flicked the lighter open and closed as he stepped onto the bus and scanned the seats. He couldn’t be more than nineteen or twenty.

  “Hey, you can’t smoke in here,” the driver said, with a face like granite.

  “I don’t smoke,” the young man replied.

  Backpack in hand, he headed down the aisle until he found an almost empty row, the seat across taken up by a little old lady knitting a sweater in garish purple. The young man found himself arrested by the color, and the old lady smiled at him, her face wrinkled and friendly.

  “Like it? It’s for my granddaughter.”

  “Sure,” he said, “My…my sister loves that color. I’m actually on my way to visit her.”

  He flicked his lighter open and closed again and set his backpack down, taking one last look at the Boston skyline.

  “That’s nice, dear,” the old lady said, not missing a stitch as the bus started to move, “Where does she live?”

  “Bright’s Ferry,” the young man said absently, and the old lady frowned in concentration before her face brightened.

  “Oh yes! That’s a lovely spot. I believe we’re passing through there. A little out of the way, though. I remember one time my husband Gordon and I got lost and wound up driving through Bright’s Ferry, this was back when he was still allowed to drive, of course…”

  She continued, but the young man missed most of it as the buildings of Boston faded into the distance, to be replaced by trees along the highway – the riotous reds and oranges of fall in New England.

  He wondered if Grace would be glad to see him.

  He wondered if he could leave his past behind.

  He wondered if she had forgiven him yet.

  Or if she ever would.

  And the bus thundered north along the road, toward Bright’s Ferry.

  THE END

  Want to spend more time in Bright’s Ferry?

  Follow Grace and Matt’s story in SAFE FROM THE FIRE by Lily Rede.

  February, 2013.

  k