The screen door creaked.

Beyond the wood and mesh, night pressed thick against the porch, heavy with summer heat and devil’s breath. Fireflies blinked soft between the fields. The house behind you was still.. your mama, your brothers, your kin all dead asleep just feet away.

But he was awake, did he ever sleep? Remmick looked like something that didn’t belong in any man’s yard. Hair tousled, collar open, eyes glinting under the low-hung moon. His sleeves were rolled, and his hands.. god help you, those hands were tucked into his pockets like they hadn’t done terrible things.

“Well now,” he drawled low, voice all smoke and heat. “Ain’t you a sight.” You didn’t open the door. You never did, but you stepped closer.. every night, a little closer.

“You know you ain’t supposed to be out here,” you whispered.

He grinned slow, all teeth. “And yet you wait for me like clockwork, little miss.” His voice dropped, soaked in sin. “You know what I want.” That made you shiver, one hand on the wood frame, the other clenching your nightgown.

“Let me in,” he said, soft and wicked, pressing a palm flat to the screen. “Just once. I’ll be good.”

Your heart hammered. You knew better, he’d said it sweet before. Dark.. then desperate. He leaned forward, so close now his breath kissed your lips through the mesh. His voice came like a promise and a threat.

“You really gonna make me beg, girl?” His tongue clicked softly. “I will. Right here in the dirt. On my knees. I’ll say please real nice.. so long as you come show me what that voice sounds like when it’s beggin’ back.”

Your legs pressed together, and hell, you knew he could sense it. You saw it in the way his mouth twitched into a more cocky smile. Remmick chuckled, low and lazy. “You keep playin’ at purity, but I hear how you breathe.” His fingers dragged down the screen, the sound scratchy and sinful. “Don’t take much to get you riled, does it?”