Ghostface Killer ~ M. Never

by Never, M.

“I had a feeling.” He smirks, peering down at me.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I question.

  “Nothing. Nothing bad,” he clarifies. “You just seem like the kind of person who can rise to the occasion.”

  “I am,” I confirm.

  Baz’s smirk grows into a full-on smile.

  I wish he wouldn’t do that. Enjoy being with me so much. It’s making it all the harder to do my job. Nearly impossible, actually.

  Neither judge nor jury.

  As we get deeper into the forest, my opportunity grows by leaps and bounds. It’s the perfect setting. Quiet, remote, isolated. He’d get picked apart by animals before anyone would find his body. My heart sinks at the thought, but I shake off the guilt. If Benny was here, he would whip my ass for letting a detestable emotion like remorse get the better of me. Allow it to make me weak.

  “Keep up, slow poke,” Baz tosses over his shoulder as I fall a little behind.

  “I’m right here with you,” I promise as I pull my backpack to the front of my chest.

  Baz whistles the melody of the Audioslave song like he doesn’t have a care in the world—completely unassuming—as the sound of running water becomes increasingly louder.

  The beat of my heart is literally as resounding as a gong as I reach inside my bag and grab for the gun. The cold metal grazes against my heated skin as I slip my fingers around the grip.

  Just do it. Just do it. Just do it. I chant to myself like an annoying Nike commercial. I take a deep breath, and just as I go to pull the gun, Baz turns his head. “C’mon, you gotta see this.” The happy, boyish expression on his handsome face utterly destroys me. I release the gun as he raises an eyebrow questioningly. Caught red handed, I swiftly pull out a water bottle from the bag. His suspicions disappear as I unscrew the cap and take a hefty sip.

  Waiting until I finish hydrating, Baz takes it upon himself to grab my hand and keep me next to him. “No more falling behind.” We walk at the same brisk pace as the sound of the running water becomes deafening. Taking a hard left, Baz leads me deeper into the forest, and before long, we come to a magnificent waterfall thundering off a sky-high cliff across a ravine.

  Baz inhales the cleansing scent of nature wafting through the air, and a serene aura seems to encapsulate us. “This is what it’s all about. The simplicity of life.” He exhales as he watches the falls with appreciation.

  I wish I could relate to what he’s feeling. My life is anything but simple. I wish I could look at something as simplistic as a waterfall and feel as free as him. What would that liberation be like? To be able to make my own decisions? To not be dictated to, or have expectations laid upon my shoulders like shackles?

  I step closer to the edge, peering down into the blue pool below. At the base of the waterfall, rainbows play hide and seek as the cloud cover shields the light of the sun.

  “I love this part of the hike.” He peeks over my shoulder.

  “It’s just another check on the ‘experience natures beauty’ list,” I muse.

  “The main attraction is still to come. Ready?” Baz’s excitement is palpable. His presence like gravity. I’ve never enjoyed simply standing next to another human being the way I love standing next to him.

  “So ready.”

  “Then let’s go.” He stalks around me.

  “Should we race?” I challenge him.

  “Do you have any idea where you’re going?” He folds his arms haughtily.

  Good point. I bat my eyelashes playfully. “No.”

  “How ‘bout we just hold hands, then?” he offers an alternative. I look down at Baz’s extended palm, and a funny feeling tingles in my stomach. A ridiculous, giddy sensation.

  God, I’m such a damn girl. When did that happen?

  Just as I go to take his hand, the earth gives out from under his feet, and he stumbles back.

  “Baz!” The alarm in my own voice startles me as I snatch his backpack straps and yank him back on solid ground.

  With hammering hearts and short breaths, we both stand perfectly still, processing what almost happened.

  “Holy shit, I almost just bit it.” Baz looks down with his arms locked around my chest. “You saved me, Stevie.” The stupid idiot actually has the audacity to laugh, while I’m rendered speechless. I did just fucking save you, didn’t I?

  What. The. Fuck? Who am I right now? Who the hell is this person Benjamin Sabatino makes me?

  “I think we should go.” I can hear the slight shakiness in my words.

  “Good idea.” Baz hesitates an extra few beats before releasing me. Static snaps between us as we back away from the ledge and Baz entwines his fingers with mine. My pulse accelerates in a way I’m unfamiliar with. With a quiet excitement. An adolescent enthusiasm. I’m all over the fucking place.

  We walk hand in hand through the woodsy terrain, stealing heated glances here and there until we come to the boulders Baz spoke about.

  “The spring is right over the rocks,” he explains as he helps me maneuver through the cracks. He makes every effort to touch me as we climb the rocky hill, and my dumb ass loves every second of it. You’re supposed to kill him, not want to fuck him.

  But the thought of hurting Baz just isn’t an option at the moment.

  “Okay, wait, wait.” He forces me to stop just before we climb over the last rock.

  “What?”

  “Close your eyes.”

  “What? Why?” Suspicion and resistance are present in both my questions.

  “C’mon, just trust me.” Baz persuades me with his glittery green snake eyes.

  I swear they’re fucking hypnotic.

  Trust him? What an ironic twist.

  I do as he asks, lowering my lids until the world disappears.

  “Okay. Don’t freak.” Famous last words as he lifts me off the ground.

  “Baz!” I clutch onto his neck as he moves effortlessly with me in his arms. I want to look. I want to open my eyes so bad. But I also want to trust him. In a flash, I’m perched on a rock with what sounds like a small babbling brook below my dangling feet.

  “Okay.” His mouth is right next to my ear, his warm breath tickling the shell.

  I slowly open my eyes and inhale a wondrous breath. Below us, three steaming tiered pools overlook a fast-moving stream.

  “Wow!”

  “Yeah, you’d never find this place on any map. The water from the falls funnels right out to the stream.”

  “It’s amazing.” I didn’t expect anything like this. When I researched the area, I saw a few pictures of different springs, but none of them seemed this unique or fairytale-like.

  “Ready to experience nature at its finest? Just the way you wanted?” Baz tries to psych me up. I look at the big, burly man in front of me as eager as a child, and his energy is infectious.

  “I’m definitely ready.”

  His smile widens so almost every white tooth is visible. It’s so genuine and warm, I don’t even need the spring to experience nature at its finest. Baz is the epitome of that. He’s the salt of the earth. “Let’s do it then.” He hops over the boulder, plucks me up, and plants me on my feet. We shuffle down the side of the hill until we come to some flat land next to the middle pool.

  A babbling waterfall from the first pool spills into the greenish water, circling around as it overflows continuously into the third below it.

  “Let’s get wet.” Baz drops his backpack and kicks off his shoes. I try not to laugh, but does he know he alludes to sex every time he opens his mouth, or is that just him? “You have your suit on, right?”

  Suit? Shit. I never even thought of a bathing suit. I never thought we’d even make it this far. Or he’d be alive this long.

  Baz must interpret the expression on my face. “You did bring a bathing suit, right?”

  Um. “Bathing suit? I told you I wanted to experience the spring in its natural form.” I slide off my backpack. “And what’s more natural than au naturel?” I drop my jacket and pu
ll off my shirt—bra and all.

  Baz’s jaw hits the ground as I continue to strip. “Coming?” I ask over my shoulder as I wade into the steaming pool. Au naturel.

  “Fuck, yes.” I’ve never seen a man lose all his clothes faster. He nearly disintegrates them. I won’t lie; I inspect every inch of him. Every hard-angled line, the writing tattooed like a slithering snake over his hip, the cuts in his abs, the bulges in his flexing arms, the strength in his toned legs, and the impressive length hanging between his thighs. Damn. I want that body. I want it pinning me down. I want it rubbing against me. I want it moving inside me.

  Baz isn’t shy about invading my personal space as I tie my hair up in a high bun. He comes close but leaves just an inch between our naked skin. The way his eyes burn tells me he shares all my wants, but he’s being a perfect gentleman and keeping his hands to himself. Disappointingly.

  We drift around each other, our gazes locked with a dozen and a half unspoken desires.

  Jesus, this man affects me in ways I never knew possible. On levels I never wanted to explore. Provoking my feminine instincts with unruly lust.

  After a while, we settle by the edge of the pool. The water is so warm and soothing it’s like soft hands caressing every inch of your body. It’s almost fucking erotic.

  It’s definitely fucking erotic the way Baz is devouring me with his eyes.

  When he asked if I was ready to get wet, he had no idea just how ready I was. How ready I am now.

  Resting my arms on the ledge of the spring, I look down into the animated blue-green water below.

  Unexpectedly, I feel a light graze on my back, and I whip my face in Baz’s direction. He’s tracing the tattoo I have sprawled across my shoulder blades.

  “They’re my favorite flowers,” I explain.

  “Lilies?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” he asks, completely invested. Honestly? The flowers are associated with funerals, which I thought apropos for a death dealer.

  I shrug, providing only part of the story. “They’re unique. And they make a statement. They’re also bold.”

  “Mmm, just like you.” He absorbs my reasons, concentrating heavily on the intricate pattern of the filigree flowers. His soft touch is so eliciting. So arousing. Any doubts I ever had about getting the ink suddenly evaporate.

  Benny shit a canary when he discovered the art. He wasn’t big on change, and he definitely didn’t like the fact I marred my body. He said it made me identifiable and it diminished my beauty. But the way Baz is doting over every line and point and curve, I’m inclined to disagree with him.

  “Baz, can I ask you a question?”

  He flicks his eyes up to mine. “Anything.”

  Here goes nothing.

  “Why did you follow me last night? Why didn’t you just let me go?”

  The way he scans over my face makes me feel put on the spot. Makes me feel vulnerable. What exactly does he see? No one has ever looked at me the way he does.

  “When a beautiful woman sits down and strikes up a conversation with you, you don’t just let an opportunity to get to know her go to waste.”

  I press my chin into my shoulder shyly and gaze back at Baz. “You think I’m beautiful?”

  “Stevie, I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever encountered.”

  I swear I swoon. I’ve been called beautiful so many times I’ve lost count. But when Baz says it, the word suddenly takes on a life of its own. And for the first time, I actually believe that I am beautiful.

  Whatever reservations I’ve had about Baz, and however fucked up our situation may be, the simple truth is, I want this man. I want to see where that smoldering look will take us. And what will happen if I allow myself to cross the line. If I allow Baz to kiss me just as he’s about to do. Leaning in so slowly, so spellbindingly, I forget about the whole world. About my present and my past and who I really am.

  “Stevie, say it again,” he whispers, his lips a breath away from mine.

  “Say what?” I question, mesmerized.

  “My name. I think that’s the first time you’ve ever spoken my name.”

  “Baz,” I breathe seductively, and he purrs like a lion. So does my pussy. Fuck, I want him. No, I need him. Right fucking here and right fucking now.

  Kiss me, Baz, so we can shatter the glass ceiling. So we can be together.

  Something cold suddenly touches the tip of my nose, then my cheeks, then my shoulders. I snap out of Baz’s spell long enough to realize what’s happening. I look up as big, fat, wet snowflakes fall from the sky.

  “Oh, my god. It’s snowing.” I look around at the wintery scene unfolding.

  It’s a surreal moment to be submerged in the warm spring as the snow rests on the trees but evaporates on the ground and the surface of the water.

  “I think Mother Nature is showing off for you,” Baz remarks as he catches the fluffy crystals in the palm of his hand.

  “I’m definitely impressed.”

  “Your trip was well worth it then.”

  I regard Baz guiltily. “I think it was.”

  I’m so fucking screwed.

  We cuddle together as the snow falls, flakes accumulating in his long, dark hair and soft beard. We watch the flurries a few minutes more before Baz turns to me. “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

  “Of course I will.” There’s no other answer I could possibly consider.

  Baz’s face lights up with a grin as wide as the Cheshire cats. As mischievous, too.

  “I think we should go soon,” Baz suggests. “It’s not cold enough for the snow to accumulate, but it’s going to be cold and wet on the hike back.”

  “I’m ready when you are.”

  “There’s one thing you’re going to learn about me, Stevie. I’m always ready.”

  I leer at him. What a coincidence, so am I.

  Baz was right; the hike back to the truck was cold and wet. The snow didn’t let up until we were half way back to town. Thank God for heated seats. It took forever to rid the chill parked in my bones.

  “So where are we having dinner?” I inquire as I press my bare hands to the vents.

  “My house?”

  “Are you asking or telling?”

  “Asking. Would that be okay? I have some fresh venison steaks marinating in the fridge.”

  “Oh, really? Was this dinner invitation premeditated?” I toy with him.

  “No,” he scoffs like that’s preposterous. “Kinda.” He changes his tune. “Maybe. Okay, yes.” He chews on his bottom lip unrepentantly as he drives.

  “I’ve never eaten venison before,” I confess.

  “You’ll love it. I killed and skinned the deer myself.”

  “Yum?” I don’t exactly know how to respond to that tidbit of information. I usually don’t know where the meat I eat comes from, and I’m sort of okay with that.

  “I promise it will be great.”

  “I’m up for trying anything once.” I allude to so much more than food.

  The way Baz’s mouth twitches tells me he received the subliminal message.

  With butterflies causing a ruckus in my ribcage, we pull up to a small log cabin in the fucking middle of nowhere.

  “This is where you live?” I scrutinize the tiny house surrounded by woods. “Are you sure you’re not a serial killer?”

  Baz laughs. A loud, free, belly-rumbling laugh. “Definitely not. I hate violence.”

  “Huh. Good to know,” I deliberate as he gets out of the truck and jogs around to my side. He opens the passenger side door and helps me out.

  “Thank you.” How chivalrous. Benjamin Sabatino is just full of surprises.

  “No problem.” He cops a feel by sliding his hands around my waist and drawing me close to him. We share a sizzling look. A heart-pounding, concentration-altering, dizzying moment in time.

  If he wasn’t holding me, I might just fall over.

  Once I get my bearings, I follow closely behind Baz t
o the front porch of his storybook cottage in the woods.

  When he opens the door, I walk into quaint, cozy, and rustic decor. If you picture a cabin in the woods, this is exactly what it would look like. Dark brown couches in the living room surrounding a stone fireplace, red plaid accents, and cowhide rugs. Very rugged, just like the home’s owner.

  “You can toss your stuff in the living room. Bathroom is back through there if you want to freshen up.”

  “Sounds good.” I take my backpack with me and make my way through the kitchen into the bathroom. Once inside, I flip the lock and lean against the door, breathing for what I think is the first time since we left the spring. I have no idea where this night is going to lead or the consequences that will arise tomorrow, but I’m here now, and I’m just going to have to roll with the punches.

  I do my business then splash some water on my face. My cheeks are flushed and my hair is tousled, but I’ve definitely looked worse. I take it upon myself to snoop around the bathroom, checking the cabinets underneath the sink and the contents in the medicine cabinet. Most everything is normal—toothpaste, mouthwash, razor, brush—but there are two large pill bottles. I read the prescriptions, Concerta and Wellbutrin, I’m not familiar with either.

  Realizing I have been holed up for longer than I intended, I make sure my gun and knife are tucked safely away on the bottom of my backpack.

  When I emerge from the bathroom, I find Baz moving around the kitchen. His shirt sleeves are rolled up, and his long hair is pulled back into a bun.

  Yum. I drop my bag on the couch before joining him. “What can I do?”

  Baz grins and pops his eyebrows. He’s so carefree. “String beans, in the vegetable drawer in the fridge.” He points with the knife in his hand.

  “Okay.” I head to the refrigerator as he dumps a bag of small red potatoes onto a baking sheet. When I open the door, I pause with surprise. The inside is immaculate, every condiment perfectly spaced and in its own place. As I inspect further, I realize all the food is organic. The butter, the yogurt, the milk, even the ketchup.

  “Someone is preservative free,” I state as I pull out the bag of fresh green beans.

  “Your body is a temple,” Baz responds as he seasons the potatoes with olive oil and salt.