Julia
It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since peace came to the house at the edge of the swamp.
I roll over in bed, blinking lazily in the golden sunlight that filters in through the windows. Zeke, already awake beside me, smiles.
“Good morning, beautiful.” He greets me in a voice that’s husky with sleep. He scoots closer to press a kiss to my lips.
It’s chaste at first. But as the grogginess of slumber flows from my veins, the warmth of his body against mine starts to become awfully distracting. A stirring between Zeke’s legs shows me that he’s no more immune to our current situation than I am.
The kiss deepens as Zeke rolls on top of me, caging me in against the mattress. His body is deliciously firm against mine. No matter how many times we do this, I can never seem to get enough of him.
“You’re insatiable,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Only for you,” I counter.
Can he really blame me? After so many years trapped with Jake as my partner, I didn’t exactly get a chance to satisfy all of my carnal urges. I still have so much lost time to make up for. It’s a good thing that Zeke is more than willing to help.
Zeke’s lips travel lower, dipping to the slender curve of my neck before teasing the spot where the top of my nightgown meets the swell of my breasts. I squirm beneath him and roll my hips in a silent plea.
A warm chuckle rolls from his lips. “All in good time, sweetheart,” he says playfully as his hands skim the hem of my nightgown.
I growl in frustration as his mouth travels down the fabric of my sleepwear. The sensation of the layers shifting against my heated skin is a tantalizing preview of what’s to come.
Zeke tosses the sheets off me, exposing my slender legs to the morning air. His fingers brush the hem of my nightdress up higher, revealing the sheer thong underneath. The fabric is already damp with the evidence of my desire. It’s a fact that doesn’t go unnoticed by Zeke, who hums in approval at the sight.
“I love that you’re always ready for me,” he marvels as I tilt my legs open to give him a better view.
Beckoned in by my wanton action, Zeke hooks his fingers over the edge of my panties and slides them down my legs in one swift motion. A thrill of desire rushes through me as his warm breath puffs over my most sensitive area.
Zeke’s eyes meet mine as he draws closer to my core. His gaze is aflame with want. He doesn’t look away as his tongue darts out to taste me.
“Zeke!” I moan.
I can feel him grin against me as he licks me again before pulling away slightly. His eyes sparkle with the impish delight of a man who knows exactly what he’s doing. It’s the sweetest kind of torture.
“More,” I plead. “Please, Zeke!”
There’s a split second where he’s still, and then his head dips forward to give me the attention I so badly need.
His tongue is everywhere. It circles my clit, dredging up a low moan from my throat, before exploring my slick entrance. My hips tilt to meet Zeke’s mouth as he presses into me, and in response, he splays a strong hand against my taut stomach to keep me from moving too much.
Just as I’m getting used to the feeling of his mouth on me, he draws back. I whimper from the loss, but the sensation of his tongue is quickly replaced by one swirling finger.
I sigh as he buries the digit in my core. He growls in approval when I welcome him in greedily. It doesn’t take long until he eases another finger inside of me. After a few languid pumps of his hand, he leans back down and closes his mouth over my clit.
An ecstatic cry tumbles from my lips. The mix of sensations is maddening. I mumble incoherent pleas into the morning air as Zeke expertly guides me closer and closer to my release.
As soon as I’m about to shatter, Zeke pulls away.
“Not yet, sweetheart,” he murmurs as he stalks back up my body. “I want to watch you come undone on my cock.”
I can think of nothing better.
As a promise of what’s to come, he runs his length through my folds, collecting my essence on himself. After several teasing seconds, he finally lines his hips up with mine.
With one long, slow movement, he presses his cock into me. He doesn’t stop until he’s nestled completely in my hot pussy, lost within me.
He gives me a moment to adjust to the size of him, and then he starts to move. He pulls out until just the tip of his shaft remains inside of me before dragging all the way back in.
Pleasure flares within me as he continues his slow and tortuous rhythm. Soon, I’m writhing beneath him, my hips bucking up in an attempt to quicken his thrusts.
Watching my frustration grow, Zeke lets out a low laugh. “Am I going too slow for you?” he teases.
I nod vigorously even as he fills me with his cock once more.
“Then how about you set the pace?” he suggests.
In one smooth motion, he rolls us over so that he’s now lying on his back with me straddling his hips. His dick is still sheathed deep inside of me, and the new angle leaves me breathless.
He doesn’t have to ask me twice. I raise my hips until he’s just barely contained within my wet heat before I sink back down onto him. Zeke groans as I repeat the process, quickening my rhythm until I’m bouncing on his cock.
One of his hands slides up to my breast. He rolls my nipple between his fingers, causing my hips to stutter. The other travels down toward where our bodies meet to find my clit. He traces lazy circles over the bundle of nerves. The combination of sensations is transcendent.
My body arches as I approach my oncoming release. Zeke can feel it too. His hands abandon their tasks to secure my hips, urging me to quicken my pace.
He comes first, emptying himself into me as I sink once more onto his cock. The sensation of his essence inside of me pushes me past the precipice toward my own undoing.
I let out a wild cry as the orgasm surges through me, and then I fall, spent and boneless, onto Zeke’s chest.
Our blissful moment doesn’t last long.
The baby monitor on the bedside table crackles to life, transmitting a sniffling sob into the room.
“Shit,” I say, rolling off of Zeke. “I think we woke the baby.”
Zeke laughs. “We’re lucky we didn’t wake Helen and Robert, to be honest,” he counters. He sits up, already swinging his legs around to get out of bed. “I’ll go.”
“No, it’s fine,” I sigh. I take a brief moment in the bathroom to clean myself up before pulling my robe on and padding across the hall to the nursery.
Baby Penny, upon seeing me appear in the doorway, immediately stops fussing. She reaches for me with one small hand and smiles.
“Hello, Miss Penny,” I coo as I scoop her out of her crib. “Did Mommy and Daddy wake you up?”
I rock her gently in my arms, marveling at our little miracle. She’s only three months old, but she already looks a lot like me. Her fine hair matches my auburn shade, and she shares my dainty bone structure.
But those warn honey eyes? She inherited those from her dad.
Zeke, now wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, joins me in the nursery. “How is my baby girl?” He takes Penny from me, cradling her gently in his strong arms. The sight never fails to make my heart burst with love and gratitude.
One year ago, I was so sure that there was no hope. I thought I’d be stuck in an abusive marriage with a demon hanging over my head forever, all while the man who would later capture my heart walked the property as a ghost.
I never would have imagined that I would be standing here today with Zeke and our perfect baby girl, our miracle family.
As Zeke rocks Penny in his arms, I catch a glimpse of him in the mirror. For a moment, I could swear that he looks like he did when I first met him, tall blond, chiseled, heartland charm. But the moment passes, and his face is Jake’s once again.
I smile softly at the scene.
For all the challenges of inhabiting somebody else’s body, Zeke adjusted to this new life surprisingly well. He stepped into Jake’s business dealings almost immediately. It didn’t take long for him to discover all the shady happenings lurking behind many of the business deals. He dealt with those swiftly and decisively, going so far as to report Jake’s former associate Thurman for human trafficking.
Now, under Zeke’s wise guidance, the companies are thriving. He even recently surprised me with a beautiful apartment in New York City, which we visit often.
“Julia, look,” Zeke whispers, drawing me back to the scene before me. I peer over his arms to find Penny sleeping soundly against his chest.
“She’s perfect,” I breathe.
“Just like her mother,” he grins. Taking great care not to wake her, Zeke lowers Penny gingerly back into the crib.
Once she’s settled, we both tiptoe out of the room.
We end up in the kitchen, drinking coffee while we keep one ear on the baby monitor. Zeke ducks out for a moment to retrieve the newspaper from the driveway, leaving me in the peaceful golden light of the kitchen.
My mind drifts back to Amos. For the first few months after sending it back to hell, I was extremely jumpy. I expected it to come roiling back out of the swamp at any second, ready to exact revenge on Zeke and me.
But that day never came. The sun rises every morning over the marsh and then sets without incident. Even so, we never spend much time out there. I still hate the place, and Zeke is sick of it after so many ghostly years spent trapped in the mire.
I think about all of the weird stuff that happened that I since realized was the demon’s doing. We haven’t had any strange incidents since that day in the swamp. And I’ve never heard that creepy song again.
As if on cue, the speaker on the counter bursts to life.
I nearly jump out of my seat as a slow blues melody floods the kitchen, turning my blood to ice in my veins.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Zeke asks.
I whip around to find him in the doorway of the kitchen. He’s got his phone in his hand, the screen illuminated with the bright colors of a playlist.
At the same time, the lyrics on the song start. A woman’s voice laments through the speakers.
It’s not the same song, not even close.
“I’m fine,” I say sheepishly. I feel stupid for having panicked at such a small thing.
Zeke places his phone down on the kitchen island and wraps his arms around me. He begins to sway me back and forth in time with the beat.
I melt in his arms, my fear leaving me as swiftly as it came.
We stand in the middle of the kitchen, rocking one another to the tune from Zeke’s youth. Golden sunlight filters in the windows around us, driving out any shadows that dare to linger. Upstairs, our baby girl sleeps peacefully.
This is the life I’ve always wanted.
I stand on my tiptoes and press my lips to Zeke’s in a tender kiss. His arms tighten around me, drawing me closer.
And there, in the house at the edge of the swamp, the ghosts of our past are finally put to rest.