Page 35 of Beneath Her Skin

So my mouth says the opposite.

"Yes," I breathe, and we both moan when his fingers part my pussy lips and dip inside my tight cunt. It's been so long.

"That's it, Lily. Be a good girl."

Josh's voice morphs into my husband's.

Lily.

Who's Lily?

I moan, but it's not my voice. This one is raspier. "Such a good girl," she moans as he continues to fuck me—her—slowly. Taking his time with each thrust, and I close my eyes, my arms wrap around his neck. But when I open my eyes, this isn't my Rey. He's younger, the salt-and-pepper hair all black now. The scar that slashes through his left eyebrow—gone. This Rey has no tattoos on his arm, only muscle, and his thrusts are slow, passionate—nothing like the animalistic and brutal thrusts I love. The smell of iron fills the air, and I hear a small wheezing sound. The fabric clings to my skin as his thrusts grow more painful.

I feel something firm beneath me.

I feel something wet and sticky. My hand moves beneath me, and I feel the warmth. Bare skin. A wound. A sob escapes my lips, causing the person above me to distort, blending from Josh to Rey as he fucks me. A scream escapes my lips as I bring my hand to my face, and I notice that it's blood.

"Serena, wake up. It's a dream." Josh's voice calls out to me, "Snap out of it."

"Lily," the name comes out of my mouth before my eyes flutter open, catching a glimpse of her as she stands over Josh. And despite the different eye and hair color, I can see the similarities in their features.

"Lily." I repeat, catching her off guard, like she had also forgotten her name. She looks at me, confused, and then angry. I'm so invested in the woman before me that I don't notice Josh pull away, his eyes teary as he snatches my wrist painfully. "How do you know that name?"

"I don't know." I shake my head, trying to free my wrist from his hold. "I had a dream, and the woman in my dream—her name."

Looking up, I watch as Lily shakes her head.No.

So I stop speaking, my body was on high alert. Using all my might, I kick him between the legs, causing him to release me. My stomach tightens, but I force myself to run.

She is warning me.

As I take off out of my room, I see the tall shadow and realize it isn't a shadow but charred skin. From up close, I can see the cracks that expose the pink flesh and the flakes. Bile rises in my throat, but I push out of the room, down the hall, and almost down the stairs before Josh is on me.

"Serena, stop!" he yells behind me, but even as I almost fall, I don't stop. Even through the pain, I don't stop.

"SERENA!"

Opening the front door, I look out at the fields, the wind making the dead flowers sway. The sky is dark, heavy, the smell of rain thick in the air—once comforting, now suffocating.

My heart sinks.

My stomach tightens.

My hands clasp over the door trim.

Not now. Please, not now.

The pounding of my heart drowns out everything else as I stumble down the front steps. Behind me, I hear him closing in.

A raindrop hits my forehead. I wipe it away with the back of my hand, glancing up at the sky just as the storm breaks. Rain falls in sheets, soaking my clothes, clinging to my skin. The sound of snapping dead lavender stalks behind me makes my breath hitch, but I push forward, bile rising in my throat from exhaustion. My lungs burn, my legs scream—but I keep running. Despite the pain in my center. Despite the pressure building inside me.

I keep running.

Not into the woods.

Not deeper into the darkness.

I won’t die here.

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