Page 98 of Hollow

He comes with a shuddering moan, his broad chest trembling at my back as his orgasm works through him. I can feel his hot seed spurting inside me. He finishes with a couple of slow pumps, and I squeeze him hard, emptying him.

Eventually, he pulls out, his essence leaking out of me and running down my legs. He presses his chest against my back, pushing me against the wall, and leaves a trail of kisses down the back of my head, his breathing shallow and labored.

“Kat,” he says, and there’s a quiet desperation in his voice. “I…”

I try and catch my breath, waiting for what he’s going to say.

He brings his mouth to my cheek, his facial hair rough against my skin, and kisses me there. Tender, so tender.

“I never stopped loving you,” he says in barely a whisper.

I gulp, my heart blooming in my chest.

Dear God.

“Brom…”

I don’t know what to say.

“I’ve loved you my whole life,” he goes on softly, tenderly, resting his lips on my shoulder.

I turn my head toward him, unable to process his words.

He loves me?

He really loves me?

“Your whole life?” I ask, that champagne feeling coming back.

“I knew I would marry you one day,” he murmurs, his beard tickling my shoulder as he speaks. “It didn’t matter what they said. It was never their decision. I fell in love with you from the very start because you’re you. You’re my daffy. You’re my Kat.” His throat bobs against my skin as he swallows.

“I don’t know who I am anymore,” he goes on, his voice breaking. “But I know how I feel about you. And I’ll do everything to do right by you. Whether you love me or want to marry me, it doesn’t matter. I’ll do everything in my power to stay…to…”

He trails off, his body going tense.

“What?” I whisper.

Silence.

Stillness.

Terror pricks at my spine.

He lifts off my back, his presence feeling heavy and ominous.

Carefully, I twist around enough to face him.

In the dim moonlight that’s coming through the window, I can see his handsome face, the dark beard on his strong jaw, his perfect nose, those black arched brows.

But the eyes that are staring back at me don’t belong to Brom.

They are black like tar.

Simmering with evil.

Oh God.

I open my mouth to say something, anything, but he reaches out and grabs my head and slams it into the wall.