Page 95 of Slay Less

Relief flooded through me as Les got out and waved. I stopped feet away and helped Laney off the snowmobile and urged her inside the warm car. I ripped off the Michael Myer's mask and threw my arms around Les.

"Thank fucking god you came."

He laughed. "Of course, man. I owe you my freedom. Let's get you two somewhere safe. You look like you've been through hell."

I joined Laney in the back. "We'll get a hotel and figure things out from there. We just need out of here."

"You're ready for another hotel?" Laney looked up at me with her beautiful doe eyes.

I chuckled. "As long as it's not trying to kill us, sure." I looked up at Les. "Maybe just a chain place, a Holiday Inn, or something."

"You want this? It's giving me the creeps." Les lifted the mask I'd tossed in the front seat. I began to shake my head, but then Laney reached for it and gave me a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe we just hold on to it for a little bit?" She blushed, and I could almost hear her thoughts.

Laney, you dirty girl.I nodded and stuffed the mask in my jacket. For her, I'd wear it for eternity if she asked me to.

"So long as you like seeing my regular face from time to time." I kissed the top of her head tenderly and relaxed into the seat. “Consider it a Valentine’s Day thing.”

“Oh! I forgot that was today!”

“Happy Valentine’s, Laney baby.” I kissed her deeply.

"Oh, Priest, I wish we hadn't lost all this time."

"We're not going to look back at that, okay? We're only moving forward, understand?"

She tilted her head to look at me, and I leaned down to give her another kiss.We were free from everything now.

"Okay, big brother."

Epilogue - Laney

One Year Later:

The shrill cry I'd been expecting for some time came from inside. I started to stand, but Priest put his hand out. "I'll go get her. You sit."

Priest hurried into the house, returning back to the veranda with Crystal, our daughter. I slid down the sleeve of my dress, exposing my swollen breast to the chill air. Priest set the baby in my arms and I helped her latch to my nipple.

"I could stare at you two forever," he said, sliding back into his chair across from us. His emerald eyes shone with utter joy.

"You're not bored with us yet?" I teased. We’d hardly seen anyone since we left the horrors we’d experienced at the Vincent. Instead, we chose a quiet life, in a house away from prying eyes, in New Jersey. Far away from Cunningham’s mental facility and from the electroshock therapy doctors I’d experienced in Shelley Vale. Here, we were safe and happy.

"How could I be? I dreamed of this every day for years. You're beautiful, pregnant, and a mother."

I blushed. This entire last year had been a dream, one large, erotic fantasy. We'd escaped the Vincent and returned to our childhood home, just long enough for Priest to get the money he'd been storing, and then we left. Priest found us a home, we married in a quiet ceremony, and then, soon after, we found out we were going to be parents.

Every day, Priest doted on me, letting me write and helping me edit and get my manuscript into shape to self-publish, and at night, he worshipped me in bed, giving me more than enough inspiration to write a whole series of spicy romance novels.

"So, have you given any thought to what I'd suggested?" Priest asked as Crystal suckled herself back into a food coma.

"I have. I think I could give it a shot. It'll take some research, but I have a feeling you're up to the challenge." I raised an eyebrow, baiting him.

"I am if you are. You could really make a career out of dark romance, Laney. I think you'd be spectacular at it." He slipped out of his seat and dropped to his knees. Taking my hand, he began to kiss up my arm, finally reaching my lips.

"Fine. Let's do it. Where should we start?"

Priest reached for Crystal.

"Let's start with taking her to her crib, and then I'll come back and take you to bed. Can you be a good girl and wait for me?" He winked, knowing I was his good girl.

“Can we bring out the mask?”

The mask we’d taken from the Vincent was a regular item in the bedroom. He loved indulging in my fantasies, and I loved doing the same for him.“It is Valentine’s Day.”

It was odd to think that all of our troubles started on this day, but now, we were finally able to celebrate it for what it was meant to be. A happy day for lovers. I’d never been happier as Priest’s wife, mother to his child, and?—

“Oh right, happy Valentine’s Day, little sister.”

The End