Page 42 of Beneath Her Skin

Then—I strike the match.

A tiny flame flickers against the wind, small, fragile.

Then it grows.

I drop it.

The fire races along the gasoline trail, slithering like a serpent, swallowing every lie, every secret, every scream this house ever held. Up the steps. Into the doorway. Across the walls where he touched me. Through the bedroom where he whispered lies. The house goes up in flames. With it—every piece of him.

Josh wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him, his lips crashing into mine. And you wanna know the biggest fuck you I could ever give to the man who fed me nothing but lies? The man who made me sick, cheated on me, tried to take everything from me? Burning his memory to the ground. And fucking on the land he held most dear.

I hope from hell he can see it.

Josh bends me over the hood of his truck, my cheek pressed against the cool metal, as he rips my jeans down, exposing every inch of me Rey thought he owned. Then—he slams into me.

I moan. Loud, unashamed and wild because this is mine.

My body.

My pleasure.

My choice.

This is my revenge.

And this is how I bury him.

Josh thrusts into me harder, gripping my hips, taking me like I was made for this. "Look at the flames," he growls, his breath hot against my ear. I stare at the house as it collapses, burning, shrieking, dying.

He is dying.

"You did this," he thrusts. "You are a survivor," thrust. "A fucking force, Serena," another thrust. "And a damn good mama."

I splinter into a thousand pieces.

The fire devours the home I once thought would be my forever. And I moan into the night, fucked and free, as the past turns to ash behind me. Josh stays inside me, his weight grounding me, his hands still gripping me. Holding me together. I smile as I watch Lily run into the arms of the charred man as they walk hand in hand disappearing into the fields. I won and the price was not only finding myself but learning to be a mama.

THE MONSTER YOU CREATED

BY MEL REILLY

CONTENT NOTICE:

Graphic violence

Domestic Violence

Physical and emotional abuse

Psychological torture

Torture

Mentions of SA

Gore

Skinning

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