Epilogue

P etey jumps onto my lap, and I stroke his big ears. I've never loved anything the way I love this rabbit. Hands lift him off my lap, and his big back legs kick in defiance. Soft skin replaces his warmth as Allister drapes her calves over my thighs. She sets Petey on her lap. He settles into her, spreading out with a contented sigh.

I kiss Allister. She's the only other thing that I love and the only thing that bumped ahead of Petey. She whips open the curtain behind me, letting in the country light.

We had to leave the small city of Vail. We couldn't stay in Colorado. I sealed my fate when I killed an elder, then brought another to her on a silver fucking platter. It wasn't safe for either of us.

Now we live in Wyoming in the middle of fucking nowhere. We rent a cozy country cabin, nameless, for a month at a time. I was happy to leave everything behind because everything that mattered was with me. Petey. Allister. I thought it would be harder for her, but she was packed before I even decided where we would go.

We still jump every time someone knocks on the door. We still look over our shoulders whenever we're out in public. But we look a little less each day. That's a plus.

Allister puts Petey on the ground and straddles my lap. My hand brushes her cheek—her soft, smooth, colorless skin. I make sure the girl is no longer tainted by bruises. I am many horrible things, but I won't lay my hands on Allister. Not like that.

My hand drops from her cheek to her throat. She gasps as I squeeze. Every so often, she hands the power to me and lets me put her on her back on the couch, just like this. I crawl over her, and she raises her chin.

Looking up at me, her eyes darken. "Be a good boy and let me get on your lap," she says, a playful flirt flashing on her face.

If you asked me before her if I'd ever let anyone call me a "good boy," I'd tell you to eat shit. How degrading. How emasculating.

But how fucking sexy when those words drop from her lips.

She's the only woman I've let stomp on my balls. The only one I let cut my dick and ride it until she came. The only person I'd throw my life away for. My love for her has only grown since we moved away from Vail.

She's come into her own here. Given the space and freedom she needed to thrive, she has developed a sense of herself. The weight of her father's death has lifted away. The oppressive nitpicking of an abusive boyfriend has been brushed aside. She's allowed to be whoever she wants. She's free to love whoever she wants.

And she chose me.

I've made my own changes, though I struggled more than she did. We were both held captive by abusers, but at least she wasn't trained to kill. It's been difficult to remember who I was before the Exodus dug their claws into me, and I'm not entirely there yet. But I have her, and that's all I need. She pushes me to do better every day.

I smirk down at her as I sit beside her and guide her onto my lap. I shift her shorts to the side and put my cock against her warm, wet slit.

"I'm not being a very good boy right now," I say. "Not with these dirty thoughts going through my head."

A devious smirk tugs at her lips, and instead of fucking me, she slips down my lap and onto the floor. She looks up at me, her fingers swirling around my cock.

"Maybe I'll be a good girl this one time."