“We need to go,” Rabbit said, but he never stopped running his hands over my flesh. I couldn’t keep my hands off him either. He placed a kiss in the center of my palm. When he pulled back, he said firmly, “We must go.” He raised his eyebrow. “We have more kills to make. More bad men to destroy.”
Heat swirled in my stomach and darted to the apex of my thighs. “Yes.” I slid my hand up to his pocket and pulled out the pack of cards he kept there. “Ah-ha!” I called when I found the pencil-drawn face of the Cheshire Cat.
I stepped back from Rabbit. I reached into the pocket of my dress with my free hand, sliding the Cheshire Cat’s card across Rabbit’s cheeks as he watched me with transfixed eyes. Uncapping my lipstick with my teeth, I walked over to the kitty on the floor and stepped into the mess of blood.
I wiped away the blood from Kitty’s forehead and positioned my lipstick against his graying skin. Tongue at the side of my mouth in concentration, I wrote “SICK FUX” right on his face.
“Bad, bad pussycat,” I chided. Admiring the smile Rabbit had carved on Kitty’s face, I slid the card between his teeth. “The Four of Hearts.” I straightened to see Rabbit watching me. He had gathered his clothes, but I knew his eyes had been on me the entire time.
They always were.
Just like I needed.
I turned to face him. “I liked touching you, Rabbit.”
His eyes grazed down my now bloodstained body, then crept back up to my eyes. “I liked touching you too, Dolly darlin’.”
I smiled and walked toward him. I ran my hand down his arm until my fingers entwined with his. I stared at our joined hands, as did he.
“I think we should always touch, Rabbit.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, his voice broken and graveled.
“This way neither of us will get lost in Wonderland.”
Slowly, he brought our joined hands to his lips, kissed my fingers, and said, “As my lady commands.”
A laugh bubbled up my throat and sailed into the stale air of the cellar. He released my hand and tied up the ribbons on my corset. When they were taut, he took hold of my chin and brought his mouth to mine for a kiss. He winced as our lips joined, but then he relaxed.
He broke away and tapped the roman numerals still painted on my face. “Time to go. We don’t want to be late.”
Chapter 11
Dolly
“Police reports claim that this is the second of two apparently linked murders. Sources close to the police tell us that detectives refer to the killer or killers as the ‘Sick Fux’. It seems to be the killer’s signature, found written in pink lipstick at the scenes. Both victims are Caucasian men in their fifties. Another murder, of an elderly female in Dallas, and the abduction of a young woman, also from Dallas, may also be linked. At this time there are no leads on the identity of the killer. Police ask the public to be vigilant and immediately report any unusual activity in their area. More after this break.”
I squealed at the television and bounced up and down on the couch. “Rabbit!” I called. Rabbit pounded from the bathroom. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, his skin still glistening wet from the shower. My eyes traveled down his skin. I had knowledge of it now, how it felt and how it tasted.
He walked over and stood behind the couch, and his hand found its way to the nape of my neck, holding me in place. Ever since we had left the Cheshire Cat’s home, he found a way to touch me whenever he could. And I found a way to touch him too.
He stroked the nape of my neck as the woman on the TV began to speak again.
“Besides the killer’s name, sources tell us that hand-drawn playing cards have been left with each body. The first victim, in Dallas, was the Queen of Hearts; the second, in Amarillo, the Three of Hearts; and the latest killing, the Four of Hearts. We will bring you more as the story develops.”
“See, Rabbit?” I looked up at Rabbit, whose eyes were glued to the TV. He nodded but said nothing. He just kept stroking the nape of my neck.
Rabbit had called the police after our last kill. He wanted the police of Wonderland to know that the Cheshire Cat, our Four of Hearts, was dead.
“They know us, Rabbit!” I yelled in excitement. “They know our name!”
Rabbit straightened, took the remote from my hand and turned off the TV. I pouted. “I was watching that!”
“You need to shower.” Rabbit looked down at my dress, and his lip curled in disgust. I was still in the clothes from Kitty’s death. I still had his blood on my skin.