Melodic Madness Read online

  “Once your medicine starts working.”

  “My medicine?”

  “Choose one,” he urged, ignoring my question. “Scalpel or Sulfuric.”

  I chewed the inside of my cheek, considering everything he just said. “Why not both?”

  He smiled at me wickedly. “Best choice you could’ve made.”

  EPILOGUE

  I stared at the cake.

  Half was chocolate.

  Half was lemon.

  It was always the exact same.

  Unlike my life this past year. I didn’t mind it as much but sometimes it could be overwhelming. Things would be changing even more for me come spring.

  I stared at the dessert tray from across the kitchen, absentmindedly smoothing my thumb over the diamond on my engagement ring.

  Laughter spilled from the dining room. My mother was in there waiting for cake. Chloe and Niklaus too, but at least they were going to be going home with the memory of enjoying it. I’d come to terms with this a while ago. Alaric was adamant about ridding our lives of anyone not good for us or our growing family. I could hardly disagree.

  “Cat?” Alaric walked into the kitchen and placed a hand on my lower back. “Are you okay?”

  I laughed lightly and leaned my head on his shoulder. “I’m fine. He’s fine too,” I tacked on before he could ask.

  Alaric slipped his hand around to the constipation-sized bulge I was permanently sporting right now.

  “They want us to play. You up for it?”

  “What about your dessert?”

  “Shouldn’t they enjoy the show too?”

  “If that’s how you want it.” I lifted a shoulder in a shrug.

  “I’ll walk you up when we’re done.” He kissed my brow and then went to get the cake. He must have known I was ready to fall asleep right here and now. I’d have to make it through all of this first.

  Alaric returned to the kitchen after he dropped off the cake, holding out a hand for me to take. It still threw me off how sweet and caring he could be when there was this whole side of him that was completely terrifying. I loved him exactly as he was, though.

  I slid off the stool and walked with him towards the great room.

  Passing by the dining table I caught Chloe’s eye. She was quick to look away.

  The last conversation we had was approximately two weeks ago when she questioned how I could settle for this and didn’t like my reply. The answer was rather simple.

  This was my life now.

  Alaric was mine and I was his.

  The baby he had wanted so badly he’d given me fertility medicine to hurry the process along, was nestled inside of me. This small human that I loved more with each passing day.

  I had no clue what kind of parent I would be, but I knew I wouldn’t ever abandon him as my parents had me. I wanted him to have the best of everything. He was a ball and chain but also a blessing. With him and the proposal soon to be a wedding, I wouldn’t ever be free.

  Not unless I self-sabotaged everything, including the man I loved.

  But I would survive because there was nothing else for me outside of here. I wouldn’t have Alaric and I needed him. So, while she would try to escape again, I would remain content.

  I’d live this life between reality and nightmare. Sanity and madness. I would do it until he told me it was time to take my last breath. Caught in his perfectly woven web of torment and ecstasy.

  DEBAUCHERY

  Full-length standalone in the Dahlia Saga.

  Check out an excerpt on the next page!

  Pre-order here!

  I had barely wiped his come from my lips before he started spewing his cliché sob story.

  It was always the same sorry ass excuse. It wasn’t me, but him. Then came the contradiction of incompatible bullshit. Funny, we were awfully compatible when I had his dick in my mouth less than five minutes ago.

  I tuned him out and refastened my bra. When I reached for my shirt, I determined that my manicure would’ve been so much cuter if I’d gone with that chic grey color instead of this maroon.

  “Indy?”

  “I’m listening.”

  “You’re a brilliant, beautiful young woman.”

  I rolled my eyes, hard.

  No shit.

  “Your grades will be just fine without me,” he continued.

  I paused on my last button and finally looked at him.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Well…” He diverted his eyes to the woods surrounding us.

  The selfish, weak spineless asshole hadn’t even stayed in the backseat so we could do this face to face.

  “Well, what?” I used my signature flirty, naïve girl tone.

  “You know we only happened because you needed some extra help.”

  I started to laugh. I couldn’t stop myself. I mean, where did men get the goddamn audacity?

  “You don’t honestly believe I was sucking your dick to get my grades up, professor? I’m an honor student. Do you think your nut is the reason behind me excelling in all my classes?”

  His silence confirmed he genuinely thought his slightly curved penis was capable of gifting me intelligence.

  This man hadn’t given me one single tutor session. He went straight for my pussy within the first ten minutes of our meeting in this exact location two months ago. I stared at the roof of his car, rolling my lips together and doing up my last button. I had to stay calm. There was no reason to get worked up.

  He cleared his throat and turned all the way around so that he could start the car. I reached down to slip my heel back on and spotted something pink beneath his passenger seat, just a few inches away from an old store bag.

  “Are you getting up front?”

  I ignored him and reached for the object. It was one of those bracelets girls got and added the cute lil charms too. Jessica Hendal had one just like it.

  What were the odds someone else that went to our university had the same exact bracelet down to the hello kitty charm?

  Seemed the professor was quite the busy man. To his credit, Jess may have been a raging bitch, but she had a nice ass and pretty face. I didn’t blame him for wanting to stick his dick in that too. Men were visual creatures, after all.

  “Huh,” I hummed. “Can you please pass me my purse? I’m going to stay back here.”

  He cleared his throat and tentatively handed me my crossbody bag from the front seat. I dangled the bracelet on my index finger in exchange. His eyes went slightly wide when he spotted it.

  “India, I--.”

  “You should make sure Jess gets this back. She was bitching about it being stolen a few days ago.”

  With an audible swallow, he gingerly took it from me.

  He faced forward and placed it in his center console where I knew it would be forgotten.

  “I’m sorry,” he repeated for the tenth time.

  I grabbed the store bag off the floor and shook it open. “It will all be just fine,” I chirped.

  He kept talking, delaying us from moving from our secluded hideaway. That worked perfectly for me. I opened my purse and removed the custom Betty-Boop switchblade my sister had gifted me.

  Richard kept droning on about timing and whatever else. He had terrible perception skills. I waited until he leaned his blonde head back, lurching myself forward the second he was close enough.

  I placed the bag over his head and made sure it was tight, cinching the bottom around his throat. With one forceful pull, he was pressed against his headrest.

  He grabbed at the plastic, yelling what sounded an awful lot like obscenities at me. I smiled and stabbed him in the upper portion of his neck with three quick jabs. Blood sprayed the bag’s interior, changing the color from light to dark as it began to fill up.

  He coughed a few times before going completely still. I closed my eyes and inhaled, slowly releasing a deep breath when I opened them. There was no use sticking around here now, was there? I wiped my blade clean on the
arm of his shirt and then placed it back in my purse.

  Getting out of the car, I tossed my hip and shut the rear door. I looked around until I spotted where I needed to go to get back to my own vehicle

  Did I leave his engine running? That didn’t seem wise.

  Should I cut off his dick?

  No, I’d leave that for plan B.

  I pulled open the driver’s door and removed his keys from the ignition, dropping them into my bag too. Sissy wasn’t going to like this one bit, but I needed some help to clear away my and the professor's misunderstanding.

  I looked down and frowned at my heels. I knew I should’ve worn tennis shoes.

  REVENANT

  Decadently twisted.

  Revenant is a darkly erotic taboo standalone with PNR elements

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  RＥＡＤＩＮＧ ＯＲＤＥＲ

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  BADLANDS:

  Savages

  Deviants

  Outcasts

  Heathens

  Next Generation

  Degenerates

  Hellions

  Renegades

  Miscreants

  Misfits:

  Vagabonds:

  ����������'�� ��������������������

  Periculum

  Maleficium

  Daemonium:

  Obscurum:

  ����������'�� ��������������������: ��

  Tormentum: Dark RH

  Infernum

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  Malice

  Obscene

  Depravity

  Malevolence

  Iniquity

  Debauchery:

  Next Generation

  Malicious:

  �������������� ��������

  Del Diablo: Prequel

  Muerte: Dark Taboo

  ���������������� ��������

  Pestilence:

  FP

  WSS: TBA: Dark Fantasy

  ������������������

  ������ ����������: ����������������

  Queen of Diamonds

  King of Hearts

  Ace of Spades

  ������ ����������

  Dope & Diamonds:

  Jack of Clubs

  Ash to Dust

  Reign & Ruin

  Lawless Kingdom

  Savage Gods

  Vicious Dynasty

  ������������ ������������: ������/Dark Fantasy Horror

  Beauty & Rage:

  Beauty & Wreckage

  Beauty & Havoc

  ����������

  ������������ ��������, �������� ������������: Complete

  Sweet Poisons:

  Sick Remedies:

  �������������� ����������: (First duet complete)

  Crucible:

  Malady

  Calamity:

  Misery

  ���������������� ����������������

  Opaque Melodies

  Melodic Madness

  MWC:

  TBA (2022)

  ����������������������

  Twelve of Roses

  Sacred Roses: TBD

  PIB (Barron family) TBA (2022)

  Vagabonds: A Badlands Novel (2022)

  UltraViolence

  Covetous

  Revenant: (Taboo has PNR elements)

  ������-��������

  Badlands Collection 1-4

  Badlands: Next Generation

  Old Money Roulette (coming soon)

  Pretty Lies, Ugly Truths (coming soon)

  Nefarious (Dahlia Saga 1-4)

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