I walked over the sand to where I knew Rabbit waited for me. The large umbrella hid his face. But I spotted his tattooed forearms, shirt sleeves rolled to the elbow.

Hand on hip, I walked around the umbrella until I knew he could see me. I looked out over the sea. Rabbit and I lived in a house on a beach. We had our own private beach. We could see the public beach beside us. After all, people-watching in Wonderland was one of my favorite things in life. With every day here in this new part of Wonderland, I got curiouser and curiouser.

I heard Rabbit growl deeply in his throat.

And I smiled.

I arched my back, pretending to see something in the distance. Rabbit growled again and said, “Turn around.”

Shivers broke out down my spine at his command. Fluffing my hair with my hands, I fixed my crown and spun . . . slowly . . . oh so slowly. My boombox sang a song about a fruity drink called Piña Colada. I swayed my hips to its beat.

When I looked up, Rabbit had lain back on his sun lounger. I giggled on seeing him. He dressed as he always did, only his pants were rolled up to his knees, showing off his tattooed legs. His black shirt sleeves were rolled up too. His shirt was unbuttoned to his navel, and his cravat hung loose around his neck.

And he wore a monocle on his left eye. I had bought it for him as a gift. My Rabbit couldn’t be a true White Rabbit without a monocle.

The vial of my blood hung at his throat. My thighs clenched just looking at it . . . at thinking back to that night. And the many nights that have been just like it. I loved touching my Rabbit.

Not a night went by that we didn’t touch and play.

“Here,” Rabbit ordered, pointing to the small gap on his sun lounger. I kept my hand on my hip as I flounced to him. I stood beside the sun lounger and demanded, “Well?”

I waited for him to comment on my new pale-blue-and-white bikini. Rabbit’s eyes flared as they tracked up and down my body. I glanced down at his crotch and smiled.

He very much liked what he saw.

Suddenly, Rabbit grabbed my wrist and pulled me down to his chest. I yelped as I fell. But I laughed when my chest hit his. When my lips hovered above his.

“Do you like it?” I asked. “The bikini?”

Rabbit’s hand moved to the back of my neck, and he slammed his lips on me. He ate at my mouth, biting at my lip. Fighting back, I bit into the flesh of his lip so hard that I tasted blood. Rabbit groaned loudly as he stole more hard kisses.

When we broke away, his pupils were dilated. “Silly Rabbit,” I scolded and slapped at his hard chest.

Someone cleared their throat. The server had brought our tea. “Time for tea!” I sang and pointed to the table to the side of us for the server to put it down. Rabbit’s arms stayed around my waist, holding me in place. I wasn’t going anywhere.

The server withdrew. I sat up and poured the Earl Grey into our cups. Milk and sugar—two lumps each. Rabbit’s hand stayed on my stomach. When I turned to give him his tea, he was looking at his phone. I lay beside him and placed his tea on the table on his other side. I laid my head on his shoulder and watched him type out words I couldn’t read.

“Will I ever meet them?” I asked, pouting. I wanted to be friends with Mr. Chapel, and Messrs. Henry and Hyde.

“Maybe one day,” Rabbit said and pocketed his cell. “They both have their own journeys to travel first. Their own bad men to kill.”

I sat back in a mood and sipped at my tea. “I’m bored,” I complained, heaving out a deep sigh. I turned to Rabbit. “I miss killing, Rabbit. I miss sinking my blade into people’s flesh and making them bleed.” I thought about all of our lovely kills. I smiled fondly. “I rather miss hearing the loud screams our wickedness causes too.”

Such sweet, heavenly sounds . . .

“I do too, darlin’,” he replied, and I giggled into my cup when his naughty part got hard in his pants. I knew he was imagining all that lovely blood on his hands.

I busied myself with drinking my tea. I had taken only four sips, Rabbit had taken only two, when a loud smack could be heard from the public beach beside us. Our heads whipped to the side. A man had a little boy—no older than eight—by his neck. His mouth was at his ear . . . then he ran his hand down the boy’s back and over his bottom.

The boy cried.

My teacup shook in my hand at the sight. At the man licking along the little’s boy’s neck. The little boy froze, his head dropping as the man led him to a car that waited at the beach’s edge.

“Dolly,” Rabbit’s cold voice said as we watched the car drive out of sight.

“Yes, Rabbit?”

He turned to me, his eyes just as furious as mine. “We’re going on a new adventure.” I felt the blood surge through my veins. I nodded in delight. He finished his tea, and then sat on the edge of his lounger.

I jumped to my feet, readying to race after the car.

Rabbit reached out and stopped me with his hand on my wrist. He messaged someone on his cell. “Chapel will have his address in ten minutes. Stupid fucker let me see his registration plate.”

Smirking, he stood and yanked me to his chest. His eyes were wild, his hard cock pressing against my leg. “Go get your gun and your blade—”

“And my dress and socks and boots and lipstick,” I said, interrupting him. “I can’t kill without all my favorite things.” My eyes widened. “Oh! And my Alice dolly too. She just loves to watch us kill.”

Then I waited. I waited for the White Rabbit . . . my White Rabbit . . . to signal the start of our new adventure.

I watched him, breath held. Watched as a slow, vicious grin pulled on his lips. Watched as he reached into his waistcoat and pulled out his pocket watch.

My heart raced as he looked into my eyes. I locked my stare on him as he raised the watch to his ear.

Tapped on the metal.

And with malice in his heart and darkness in his veins, smiled and said, “Tick tock.”