LustAfterDeath Read Online Free

hardware.
    Her eyes narrowed—a challenge or maybe a dare—and Bane
allowed a cruel smile to play at his lips. “Ah, Josie, you are going to make me
‘come’ so hard someday.”
    She gasped in fury, but then her face went slack and her
eyes dulled. Josie’s muscles relaxed until she stood placid before him, just
another re-animated corpse awaiting its master’s commands.
    “Uh…that’s better.” Ignoring the regret tearing a hole in
his already shredded conscience, Bane listened at the door.
     
    Josie’s muscles screamed with pent-up rage. She struggled to
focus her gaze on her new husband’s face, hoping her expression conveyed the
depth of her hurt.
    “When I open this door, I want you to run as fast as you
can. Will you do that?”
    She dragged her jaw low, forcing her tongue to work.
“Noooooo.” Her voice sounded foreign, sickly, frightening to her own ears.
    Bane scrubbed a hand over his face. “Listen, it’s for your
own good. I…” He couldn’t seem to look at her, his gaze swinging to the corners
and shelves.
    Her breath dragged into her chest, slow and ragged.
“Nooooooo.” Josie couldn’t… Couldn’t let this man, who’d she’d hoped for so
hard, treat her like a thing. Adam had done that, and it nearly broke her.
    His lips pinched. With guilt? She couldn’t tell. Then Bane
crossed his arms and stepped back as far as the tiny room would allow. “All
right, fine,” he whispered. “If I let you go free will you run as fast as you
can?”
    Her mind shrieked to refuse, but she chose what would give
her the best chance at freedom. Josie pinched her eyes and gulped hard on her
pride, then nodded.
    “I release you.”
    She let out her breath and lifted her chin, but refused to
show the depth of her relief.
    Bane reached for the handle, not giving her a chance to even
think. “Head for the stairs and out the front door. Don’t turn around, don’t
look at me. I’ll be right behind you. One…” he breathed. “Two…three!”
    The door flew open and Josie ran. She’d planned to head to
her room and lock the door once they reached the top, but from behind her,
gunfire erupted. Her vision tunneled, her legs pedaled up the staircase. Josie
stumbled at the top step and her knee smacked down on the marble floor, but
Bane’s arm hooked under her shoulder and hauled her to her feet.
    He shoved her across Adam’s living room, and then gripped
her upper arm to haul her outside. All the while, Bane continued firing behind
them, not looking where he shot, but hitting his mark every time.
    Cool, fragrant air filled her senses. The heels of her shoes
sank into the damp ground with her every step. She ran as fast as she could,
her legs burning as she fought to keep Bane’s pace. The forest swirled with
life—animals scurried in the underbrush, birds rustled the leaves, waist-high
greenery licked at her dress with waterlogged branches.
    The enormous white confection became heavier as she ran, her
shoes burned at her heels and toes. She panted, “I can’t… I have to stop…” Bane
bent over and grabbed her waist and hauled her up, then set her down
immediately. “You wearing anything under that?”
    Josie opened her mouth to answer, but he waved his hand.
“Whatever.” Gripping her shoulders, he turned her around and unzipped the back.
Bane shoved the dress to the forest floor and ordered, “Ditch the shoes too.
They’ll only slow you down.”
    Too frightened to argue, Josie bent over to tilt her shoes
off then stepped out of the pile of dress. When she rounded on Bane, his
desperate expression forced her to step back and consider running the other
way.
    “Damn, babe.” He ripped his shirt over his head. The muscles
of his arms and abdomen rippled as he bunched the cloth in his fists. More
gently than she would have thought, he put it over her head. Josie fed her arms
through the holes and the scent of man and sweat clung to the garment, as did
the heat of his body. Josie wanted to