Page 33 of Little Darling

After a moment, he sat down on the boulder beside me. I glanced at him to see how intently his dark gaze was focused on me. There was something raw in his eyes, something that made my heart ache.

“That’s the right answer,” he finally spoke and pulled me so that I was now sitting on his lap with his arms tightly bound around me.

And then there was nothing but the steady beat of my heart as I thought about what it meant when the captive fell in love with her captor.

EPILOGUE

LARS

A couple of months later

Snow blanketed the forest floor, wintertime a heavy cloak covering everything. It was cold as fuck with frost covering the windows, and the wind-chill was frigid enough to freeze any exposed skin.

The cabin was old as hell, and the icy air seeped into every corner of the structure. I kept the hearth stocked with wood, and a constant fire burned, heating the small interior.

I stood by the window and stared out into the quiet stillness of winter, watching the sky change into oranges and pinks as night descended. Snow fell heavily, adding even more inches to everything.

The Romanian woods had become our sanctuary, our private haven that kept us away from not only the chaos of the world but civilization.

Behind me, Dolly hummed softly to herself, and I smiled at how beautiful it sounded. I looked over my shoulder to see her decorating the small tree I’d cut down for us. We’d gotten ornaments and decorations in the city center days before, as well as stocked up on more supplies.

As it was, we didn’t seem to have any plans to leave this cabin. It was a good thing I had a long-term rental agreement for it and was in the process of buying it and the land surrounding it.

She’d had free rein when we went shopping and had found a few simple things to mark the holidays, such as red candles and glittery ornaments. It was strange finding actual pleasure in the way she decorated, adding little touches of festivity that brought a lightness to the cabin.

I’m in so deep.

God, she was graceful, and I was transfixed and mesmerized as I watched her fingers trail over the decorations. But her expression showed she was lost in thought.

“What are you thinking about, little darling?” I turned and leaned against the wall, watching her obsessively, giving her as much time as she needed to answer.

“Just thinking about all the things I didn't do when I was a child and how now I want to experience everything.”

I pushed away from the wall and went up to her, pushing her hair from her shoulder and kissing her nape. “You can do and have anything you want now.” I could see the slight upward tilt of her lips.

“Growing up, I never did these things.” She started putting tinsel on the tree, and I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her back against my chest.

“A holiday was just another day. Nothing special,” she whispered, as if she were speaking more to herself than to me.

I reached over her shoulder and took some tinsel, adding it to a higher branch. And after we decorated the tree, I pulled her to the couch we now had in front of the fire and tugged her onto my lap, just holding her as we stared at the twinkling lights and the star at the top of the tree.

Over the months we’d spent here, Dolly had opened up more, like a flower finally finding the sunlight and flourishing. She kept revealing pieces of herself to me, and I was thankful to see who Dolly truly was with each passing day.

I slid my hand over her thighs, massaging gently, sliding slowly up and working my fingers down the elastic of her sweats until I was cupping her pussy. She tensed… but then relaxed and shifted slightly so her legs were spread more.

“I’ve never been happier,” she whispered, and I slid my fingers beneath her panties and touched her pussy lips. She was warm and soft and already getting wet.

“Me neither, sweetheart.” I didn't admit that I’d never feltanythingwith anyone before. I didn’t tell her she was the only one who gave me the genuine sense of feeling and like this was where I belonged. She was who I was meant to be with.

Each fragment of herself she gave me brought us closer in a way I never thought possible o,r at the very least, experience it anytime soon.

I teased her pussy hole, then slipped inside, finger-fucking her until she panted and ground herself against my hand.

“We’ll make new memories,” I said, my voice low. “Better ones.”

She moaned, and I felt her juices coating my hand. I pulled my finger out of her and pinched her clit hard enough I knew it hurt. But she turned her head and started kissing me hard enough it brought pain. Fuck, that was good.

I tried to be as open about myself as she had been, but there were some parts that had to stay in the deepest, darkest recess of my soul. Maybe one day I’d tell her about the things I’d done, the people I’d hurt, and how she was now tethered to a psychopath who loved her in the only way an insane motherfucker like me could.