Page 42 of My Forever Sin

Excitement, gone.

Asher’s excited laughter follows behind me as I step out into the night, following the stream of people. “Fuck yeah!”

The forest spans for miles, and the further you go in, the denser it becomes. Earthly aroma floods my nostrils as my steps begin to become a little unsteady.

Hooded figures emerge from the shrubs, gowns hushing through the leaves. They stop at the edge of the maze, and the crowd quietens.

I look over to check on Cassie who’s sitting on a bench hugging the church wall.

The figure looms before me but there seems to be nothing behind his hood, it’s like the cloak is the entity itself. The intense energy radiating from them is so intense it makes my stomach clench. Then, he takes off slowly towards Cassie.

A distorted voice comes from one of the hoods. “Choose a partner and your role within your team because you’ll be playing hide and seek. Your only task is to not get caught before you make it out of the forest. You have twenty minutes—”

Lacey cuts in from the end of the line, stumbling. “Otherwise, the loser has to down the special drink!” She holds a bottle of red liquid, presenting it like it’s a trophy.

“Ooh, spooky,” Asher singsongs in a low, shaky voice, while wiggling his fingers at the figure standing in front of him.

A muscular arm wraps around my neck from the back and as his cheek presses against mine, Kain murmurs, “You’re going with me.”

I attempt to wiggle away from his hold, and even though he’s not holding me tightly, I still find it impossible to break free. “I’m going with—”

“Cassie?” He chuckles and I scrunch my face. He knows damn well Cassie isn’t participating, and Asher will be going with Blake.

Lacey saunters towards us, straightening her back and pushing her boobs out the closer she gets. Her eyes, all drowning in disgust, are fixed on me as she stops in front of us. I tilt my head to look at her, but that only pushes me deeper into Kain.

“Kain.” She smiles. “Me and you will play together.”

Kain’s arm tightens around me and I can feel the pounding of his heart against my back.

I remember when mine used to do that when I looked at him.

“I’d rather play with my stepsister. Make sure she doesn’t get herself into trouble.”

Lacey’s face sours as her fists clench. “I wasn’t asking, Kain.” She looks at me again. “Jordan, find someone else.”

This is my out.

“Gladly.” I roll myself away from Kain, but he catches my waist and pulls me into him again. I place my hands between us to keep the distance. “Your fiancé wants to play with you.”

“Yeah, she does.” Lacey attempts to step between us.

Kain is so tense, I think he might explode. “We’re not—”

Lacey stamps her foot and a laugh lodges in my throat at her behaviour. “You’re really going to embarrass me in front of everyone?” she all but screeches.

“This seems like a conversation I shouldn’t be present for, so I’m just gonna—” I shuffle away from Kain again, but he grips the side of my neck and presses my ear to his mouth, keeping his voice low, he says, “You’re wearing the clothes I brought you, you will stay and play with me, unless you want to see them ripped off your body in front of everyone.”

I keep from dropping my jaw.

Fucking asshole.

Lacey’s foot taps impatiently on the ground. “Do you not remember what—”

“I’ll deal with you later,” Kain growls, wrapping his hand around my wrist and dragging me past Lacey and the cloaked staff to the edge of the forest. Once again, he just proved I don’t have a choice with him. Or anyone for that matter.

“So, is this where you plan on finally killing me? Get the job done?”

He seems to study my face for a few second before twirls me so my back is pressed against him.