Free Hansel 2: An Erotic Fairy Tale by Ella James Page A

almost expecting to see blood there.
    “Shit, Hansel. You scared me. You like…weren’t breathing right and—God,” she scrambles closer, “are you okay?”
    I put a hand over my face and turn away.
    “Hansel?”
    I grit my teeth. I hang my legs over the side of the bed, and without turning to look at her, I rasp, “How do you know my name is Hansel?”
    I can feel my world unraveling as I grip my hair and tug on it.
    “It’s Leah, Hansel. I’m Leah. Don’t you remember seeing me last night?” Her voice drones on, but I can’t keep up with it. When it stops, I say the first thing I can think of.
    “You should leave. You shouldn’t even be here.”
    She gets down off the bed and stands in front of me. She pulls her mask off, showing me the wonder of her perfect face. It’s angry now.
    “Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t do! You don’t make choices for me. I want to be here. God, Hansel, or whatever you want to be called—I will call you anything you want, but I want to be here. I want to stay here. What’s going on with you? What was that just now? Please, Hansel…talk to me.”
    “Luke,” I whisper numbly. “I’m Luke.”
    I get down off the bed and cross the room. I fold my arms in front of me, as if they’ll serve as a shield from those blue eyes.
    “Leah, you need to go.” I shake my head, trying to find the words I need inside my scrambled brain. “Go on. Mistake,” I grate out. “I made a mistake, thinking we could…” I wave from me to her, unable to think past the thick fog that’s surrounding me.
    Leah’s blue eyes dance. She shakes her head. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Hansel—Edgar—Luke— Whoever you are, do you know how long I looked for you?” Her voice breaks as she shakes her head. “How long I wanted you?”
    “It doesn’t matter,” I growl. “You know why?”
    She shakes her head, looking so wide-eyed and innocent, and fury builds inside me, both for what I’m doing now and for all the time I lost her.
    “Because that person that you knew was just…a fucking ghost! You were a little girl, a fucking lost girl, and I tried to help you. That was all it was.”
    She glares at me, then sneers, “That’s not all.” Her eyes flash. “I saw the show you did that night, the one with the two girls? I was here with my sisters, and I saw you. You were in my room.” Her voice cracks, but she pushes on. “This whole place,” she waves her hand around, “it’s Mother’s house. Not this room but the outside area. You built a shrine to that place, and you told me today you call all your women Leah.” She shakes her head a little, laughing humorlessly. “I’m surprised that you are such a coward.”
    I laugh, too. I can’t imagine that surprising anyone.
    I hold my hands up, take a small step back. “Do what you want, Leah, but I’m leaving—now. I don’t want to talk to you. I’m sorry.” Now it’s my turn to teeter on the edge. I lock my jaw until my voice hardens. “This was a mistake. A…sick mistake. All mine. But I’ve got…shit to do. I’ve got another life now. And it’s true I want you, Leah, but it’s not going to work.”
    Her eyes gleam. Tears start falling down her face. “I’m stupid,” she says.
    I clench my jaw. I’m not going to contradict her. Not when I need her to leave.
    She sniffs. “I shouldn’t be so upset, because I know you don’t mean what you’re saying. I can tell. So I’m sorry I’m crying. I’m not usually so…weak. But listen to me, hear me out on this: I’m not leaving until I talk to you. Like really talk, as you and me, without a mask.”
    Visions of that night, pulling on the black hood, dance through my head; my stomach rolls.
    I open my mouth, and my throat is so dry, I cough before I speak. “I don’t talk about my past, not now or ever. If that’s what you’re here for, you should leave.”
    She starts to shake her head, and I can’t stand the look on her face.