Another breath answered back, the man hidden among the shadows stepping towards her. She scrambled to her feet, wrapping her arms around her naked body, but there was nowhere to run. She pulled open her nightstand drawer, screaming when he grabbed her, the cry a wasted breath.
The lamp crashed to the floor when he shoved her down, her stomach pressed into the top of the nightstand while her hand frantically searched the drawer. There was only one way to save herself, his strength far greater than her own, his arm pushing into the small of her back when her fingers wrapped around her gun.
Her grip fumbled when his fingers slipped inside her, curling into her, the sensation spidering up her spine. She grunted and shivered, her toes pressing into the floor, her body frozen as his hands awakened it. Her wet need echoed through the air, his fingers milking it from her body, the confusion twisting within her. Her mind told her to fight, grab her gun and make a stand, but her body begged her to submit, succumb to the pleasure he was forcing her to feel.
His fingers halted, replaced by something far larger pressing against her. Her hand tightened around her gun once again, pulling it from the drawer as he shoved himself roughly inside her. She trembled as he filled her, letting the gun hang by her side as he claimed her. She bent lower over the nightstand, closing her eyes as the storm inside her built. Was this what it always should have felt like? How could she have known?
He pushed into her, never faltering, never breaking his rhythm, his harsh stroke pulsing through her. She whimpered and squirmed, the feel surreal as it throbbed within her, the warmth rolling down her legs. It began to overtake her, rippling up her back and down her fingertips, his thrust relentless as she cried out, the heat shredding through her.
His hand wrapped into her hair, pulling her head back towards his as he leaned down over her, still buried deep within her. His hot breath danced over her neck, the only sound he spoke a gasp when his body tensed, pulsing inside her a final time before slipping away. She collapsed to her knees, still trembling as she turned towards him, the mask he wore leaving nothing but the empty eyes of a skeleton staring back briefly before disappearing out her bedroom door.
***
The sun was bright, the rays flooding through the trees as she drove. It had been three days. Three days filled with a tormented confusion followed by three nights aching with a twisting longing. She couldn't decide which part of herself she had lost or gained, the thought of him inside her refusing to silence itself.
"Fae?"
She glanced to the passenger seat, meeting her sister's worried stare.
"Is everything okay?"
"Just distracted..." She turned down a side street, slowing to search out the windows.
"What are we looking for, exactly?" Lena asked, rolling down her window to hold her hand out into the sunlight.
"How many summer vacations, Christmas vacations, and weekends have we spent here? I feel like it's been hundreds but we've never gone anywhere outside of Grandma's property." She lifted her sunglasses to her forehead, unsure if the man she was hunting for could ever be found.
"Doesn't look like we missed anything."
She stared into the forest as it rolled by, every once in awhile spotting a house hidden between the trees. He had to be in one of them, the skeleton mask he wore haunting her vision. There was no more perfect place to hide than the mountain town, its residents more reclusive than the skin-walkers that prowled in the night. "If you want to keep Grandma's house, we need to see what else is out here."
"Maybe we should sell it." Lena sighed, chewing into her lip. "Neither one of us is in a place in our life where we can spend every weekend vacationing at our cabin in the woods. We can't afford to fix it up, and even if we could, we can't afford to maintain it. It's an old house, and that huge yard..."
The feel of his fingers twisting through her taunted, reminding her if the house was sold, it was a feeling she would never be tormented with again. He would be gone forever, living on only in a fading memory. "We don't have to decide right now."
***
Fading light danced over Lena's pale hair as she walked to her car. "If you forgot to put something on the list just text me. The nearest grocery store is almost an hour away, but I'll hurry."
Fae nodded, watching as her sister rolled down the driveway before disappearing from sight. She made her way back into the house, glancing at the stack of boxes in the living room. It was growing higher each day, her grandmother never one to get rid of something that could still be of use.
She headed into the kitchen, picking up a knife to finish chopping the meat for the stew she had started. The house would soon smell like it had when she was a child, her grandmother's recipe filling the air. She paused when the world went silent, the only sound his breath behind her.
Her hand tightened over the knife as she slowly turned, her heart pounding when she found him watching her, the skeleton mask tight over his face, the rest of his clothes as black as a moonless night. His head tilted as if waiting for something. Maybe like her he was broken, crying out for control in a world that had left him weakened. Maybe he needed her to fight, and maybe she needed to be the one who ran.
She raced towards the door, crying out when his arm wrapped around her waist, dropping the knife as he dragged her to the ground. He climbed on top of her, her hands shoving into his chest. He grabbed them, pulling them to one side and pinning them down with one hand, his other jerking at the waist of her pants, forcing them down her hips.
She rolled onto her side, trying to gain leverage to free her wrists from his grasp, her pants binding her legs together while his fingers slid inside her. This time he was the one who froze, a momentary pause when her awaiting arousal soaked into his skin. The mask's hollow eyes stared down at her, his fingers slipping from her body.
Devastation cut through her chest, her twisted need betraying her. The hollow eyes hunted as his glistening fingers rose to his face before moving to his chin, sliding beneath the mask. Dark stubble against pale skin flashed as his fingers disappeared between his lips.
He moved forward, shoving his knees into her the back of her thighs, pinning her on her side. Her legs pressed together when his hand slid down her backside, his fingers trailing over a part of her he hadn't yet explored. She squirmed when she realized where his focus was centered, unprepared as he pushed against her resistance. A soft whimper fell from her lips when his finger forced its way inside her, the feel not a first for her but her body still clenching against his presence.
She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her cheek against the cool floor as she blocked out his empty stare. His hand shifted, his fingers penetrating through both parts of her, rough in their caress. Her teeth bit into her lip, stifling the moans wanting to escape. When his hand disappeared she shivered, knowing what would take its place. His knees pushed harder into her, shoving underneath her thighs, her shoulder pressing into the floor as her hips rose higher. He leaned over her, his left hand pinning her wrists harder against the ground, his right pressed into the floor on the opposite side. His hot breath danced against her neck, teasing over skin as he shoved himself inside her.
There was no shame when the gasps fell from her lips, her body accepting the pleasure it had forever searched for but always been denied. She sucked in a breath, praying he wouldn't weaken when a familiar fire ignited within her. It ravaged through her, savage in its claim, a desperate moan her only relief from the climax he drove from her body. There were a thousand questions she could torment herself with. A million ways she was sick, her mind twisted in a way the world would never understand, but did any of it matter? She could put the blame on him. He was the uninvited. The unjust. The nameless unrest in the solace of her sanctuary.
***
The forest was calm, calling her to it. Fae inhaled, the scent of pine and crisp air filling her lungs. Another day alone, the second of several she would spending, Lena's job demanding her attention until the weekend. She jogged past the tree with the face, the one Lena had carved as a rebelling teen. She followed the path they had run as children, the one that lead to the river where they swam on warm summer nights. It was becoming overgrown, the town growing older, its residents no longer following the paths of younger days.
The early morning run seemed to satisfy its purpose, the torturous thoughts in her head dissipating as her breath grew more ragged. All that was wrong was all she wanted, the man she should be afraid of all she craved. There was no fairness in this life, her body in constant war with her mind, her heart already choosing a side.
The sound of a dog surprised her, the deep bark echoing towards her. She turned towards the trees, the bark growing louder, snapping twigs and crushed leaves moving closer. The bloodhound lunged from the brush, bounding towards her, its tail wagging as it smelled her.
"Otis!" a rough voice called from the trees, a high whistle following the call.
The dog jumped back into the brush, racing towards the sound. She stared through the trees, the man's hands circled around his mouth as he called again. Sweat glistened over his shirtless torso, his black sweatpants familiar.
