by Mason, V. F.
The ice scratches under me, and the sound is like greetings from an old friend who always had your back, but you had to separate from due to life circumstances.
But when you meet again?
It’s like you never lost touch with each other.
My moves are a little jerky and shaky from being out of practice, but nevertheless I glide on it, making long ovals. I swirl a little without a care in the world, raising my arm up to the ceiling where the lights used to shine brightly as my parents watched me during the small competitions our town held.
The music slides through me like the most expensive silk, directing each familiar movement, but I don't do any of them, because I can’t.
Eudard knows my routine by heart.
So instead, I spin in circles, gracefully swaying my hands in time to the music as a bubble of laughter erupts from me, bringing me back to my happy memories.
To a time when my heart was full of hope and dreams, where I imagined my future life in different scenarios, one more vivid than the other.
Where my greatest worry had been being late for practice or twisting my ankle.
Digging my skates in the ice, I stop in a half turn and hunch down, touching it softly, putting my open palm on it and feeling its power that has given me so much. “I’m glad to be back.”
Our coach used to say that we should treat the ice with love and respect, because it takes care of us while we perform on it. We found it funny, but within years, his words held so much merit.
Because right now, here, I can’t hide from who I once was.
Nor can I block away the pain slamming into me or put it in a box somewhere inside me.
Getting up, I want to glide to the side once again, but instead I stand still, only just realizing that tears are steaming down my cheeks, and I can’t control them.
None of my dreams came true, and the world proved itself to be cruel to naïve souls like I once was.
Why then do I yearn to go back in time and be that girl again?
To have my heart full of only good emotions, where hatred and vengeance didn’t exist?
I cover my mouth with my palm so the sobs won’t echo in the space and alert Eudard, but that’s when I hear a whoosh behind me and muscled arms wrap around my middle, his stomach pressing against my back and warming up the frozen parts inside me.
He rests his chin on my shoulder, and through blurry eyes I see a rose dangling in front of me as he gives it to me.
Rubbing the petals, I whisper, “They are beautiful.”
He rocks me in his arms, while I breathe in the flowery scent that oddly calms me down although my cheeks are still wet. “Roses were my mom’s favorite flowers. She would nurture them in her greenhouse, spending hours preparing the pots and watching them bloom.”
I barely remember their mom. She ran away from their father when we were so young… but she always had a smile on her face and love for her boys.
Why would she ever leave them?
“Roses have the ability to bloom even under the harshest circumstances, keeping their beauty intact for everyone to admire.” He places his hand over mine and lifts the flower to my lips. “Their beauty and symbol of man’s affection is eternal.”
I squeal when he spins me around so swiftly I get dizzy and end up back in his arms again, only this time he hugs me close, his green eyes drinking me in as his thumbs wipe away my tears. “If you share your secrets with me, Cassandra, I’ll forever take care of them.”
“You barely know me,” I say, fisting his shirt. “How can you… act like this?”
An unreadable expression crosses his face before the familiar determination falls over it. “I don't need time to know what woman I want.” Bringing me closer, he slides one hand into my hair while the other grips my hip. “You have been mine since the first glance.” My stomach flutters and everything feminine in me answers the words he once said to me.
But how can I trust him with my secrets, if those secrets have the power to forever shatter this?
Rising on tiptoes, I rest my forehead against his, breathing in his scent and wishing for a different life.
But this one is the only one I’ve got, and as such, I have nothing to offer him. “My secrets are too dark for you.”
I expect thousands of reactions, but his chest vibrating with laughter is not one of them. “Trust me, my phoenix. Nothing in this world is too dark for me.”
“Why did you bring me here?” I ask, wanting to squash that tiny hope in my heart that he knows who I am.
Because then everything would be so easy.
He hooks a strand of my hair behind my ear, smiling gently. “Once upon a time, this place had the power to calm me down. Soothe the storms in here.” He points at his chest, and the air sticks in my lungs from the implication of it.
Does he mean I did?
“I brought you to my sanctuary, sharing a piece of me with you.” He kisses me lightly on the forehead, his lips lingering on my skin. “Trust me, Cassandra.”
Oh, how I wish I could.
But in this life, I only have today until I can claim my identity back once and for all.
Sighing, he chuckles a little before saying, “Remember my nickname?”
“Madman,” I whisper, leaning back so our eyes meet and desire shoots through me at the passion brewing in his green pools. “Because when you want something, you go after it like a madman.”
“Correct. I. Want. You.” He places his hands on my hips and hikes me up, so I have no choice but to wrap my legs and arms around him, pressing myself close. “I will win this war,” he vows, and for the first time, amusement washes over me.
“The battle will be brutal,” I warn, teasing him, but he is unfazed by it.
“What would be the fun in that, if it wasn’t?”
My laughter reverberates through the space as he slides toward the seats, and I don’t even question what his plans are.
He can take me wherever he wants, because we have a maximum of five days before Ethan’s funeral.
Five more days of blissful ignorance where I can pretend a future with him is possible.
Five days.
Not every story is meant to have a happy ending.
But I at least want happy for now.
Madman
I want any version of her, because she is my one and only obsession in this life.
But this version of her? Where happiness truly shines in her eyes and genuine joy fills her face as she swirls on the ice, reminding me so much of the girl who once saved my life without knowing it.
Who used to be the only light in the dark tunnel that was my life.
And although I never kept her close, I knew she was somewhere, breathing the same air as me.
This kind of knowledge can give solace to a boy weeping in the darkness while monsters feast on his flesh and sobs rock his body.
This version of her is mine.
And even if she hates me for it, I’ll pull this version from within her.
Only then will both of us find peace.
No one before her… and no one after her.
I’ve never been with anyone else.
Till the day I die, I’ll forever be hers alone.
Cassandra
Running inside the house, I hear his heavy footsteps behind me while I do my best to control my breathing. My body longs for rest, but sleep is nowhere in sight.
I barely have time to slip off my shoes as I dart to my room, wanting to escape from the man hunting me.
I’m almost inside my room, ready to lock the door and hide behind it, when he catches up with me, fisting my hair and dragging me into his embrace. The hard-on presses against me while I cry out, digging my nails into his arms that wrap tightly around my waist.
His raspy breath fills my ears as he runs his nose along the crook of my shoulder, tugging on my hair and exposing my neck for his greedy lips to feast on my flesh. “Never run from a madman, my phoenix,” he whispers against my ski
n, biting on it. The sting breaks goose bumps over me. “He will always catch you.” He flattens his palm on my stomach, gliding it down to my core, cupping it through my shorts, sending spiraling pleasure through me. “Because you crave him, don't you?” he asks, letting go of me, but before I can protest at the loss of contact, he spins me in his arms and pushes me against the wall, his mouth on mine.
His lips meet mine in a demanding, wet, passionate kiss, boiling the blood in my veins and creating a hunger in the pit of my stomach that yearns for this man like nothing else in this world.
His fingers pop the button on my shorts and tug on them. Then he slips his hand inside, trapping my clit between his fingers. I moan into his mouth, placing my hand above his and pressing it firmer, urging him to slide his fingers inside me, to soothe the ache he has awakened in me. “Eager, are we?” he murmurs as he complies with my request, his two fingers sinking into me while his mouth captures my loud moan, drinking from me all while his fingers move in and out, spreading the wetness all over my core. “So wet.” He tugs on my lower lip, pulling at it before shifting his attention to the underside of my chin. “Who makes you this wet, Cassandra?” My head bangs against the wall, and I can barely hear him, too lost in the sensations he gives me. I clench my pussy around him, hoping for better friction, but he just laughs, taking his hand away. I groan in protest. “Who?” he demands, this time nipping my skin.
Licking my dry lips, I reply, “You.”
“Good girl,” he murmurs and then kneels in front of me, sliding my shorts to my feet along with my panties, helping me to step out of them before I kick them to the side. He raises one of my legs over his shoulder, his five o'clock shadow scratching the insides of my thighs, sending prickles through me before his fingers open me up. He rubs his face, growling against me, and the vibrations makes me gasp. I tangle my hands in his hair, holding on to him and awaiting the pleasure only he can give me. “Mine.”
He captures my clit between his teeth, sucking gently before licking my lower lips one by one, scooping my wetness as his tongue roams inside me. Whimpering, I shift closer, fisting my shirt and longing to remove it, because my tight nipples rub against the fabric, only adding to the torture Eudard gives me.
My loud moans echo in the house, mixing with his sucking sounds, all while his hands keep me glued to the wall, not allowing me the slightest movement.
He presses his thumb against my clit right before pushing his tongue in, and I arch my back, feeling the pleasure building and building inside me. My climax is shining on the horizon, so close that I’m about to reach it and float on air.
But I’m snapped back to reality when his mouth leaves me aching, trailing to my navel and biting on my stomach before traveling up to the underside of my breasts. His hands hike up my shirt, nuzzling his head into the soft mounds, but he continues to travel up until he is standing next to me again and finally strips the shirt from me.
My skin burns. It seems so tight the lightest of touches has the power to erupt an inferno in me. I groan from the torture as I put my palms to my breasts and twist my nipples between my fingers, needing the climax like my next breath. “I want you,” I tell him, my voice hoarse and needy but also seductive. I arch my back again, giving him the full view of my nakedness all while he breathes heavily, his green pools smoldering with intensity. “Right here,” I say, covering my pussy and almost slipping my fingers inside to ease the burning, but the beast next to me doesn't let me.
He growls and picks me up. I wrap my legs around him and whimper at the feel of his hard-on pressed against me.
He takes us back into my bedroom, all the while kissing me, and I marvel at my taste on his tongue, and it awakens another craving in me that I haven’t had the courage to voice since I was seventeen.
He dumps me on the bed, and I bounce a little. Breathing heavily, he sheds his clothes, palming his hard-on and giving it a stroke from root to tip.
My breathing hitches, wanting to bite and taste him, but he orders, “Eyes on me, phoenix.”
I slowly slide them up, noticing his tight six-pack, strong jaw, and finally the face of the man I so desperately crave in this life despite everything.
In this moment, it seems I can break every moral code to be with him.
In a way, I do, even right now, despite what I plan to do to his brother.
But guilt doesn't exist in this moment, so I focus only on us, only on this, only on our desire.
So, taking a deep breath, I become brave enough to ask for a new experience. “I want a taste.” Without waiting for his reply, I scoot closer, placing my hair over my shoulder while zeroing my attention in on his hard cock, reaching for it, and clasping my hand around it as he curses. “You don’t mind, right?” I ask casually, as if it’s not a big deal when it means everything to me right now.
I’ve never done this before, even by force.
My mouth is one of the things the founding five didn't tarnish. Even though I never told him what I experienced, I’m not sure I can hide my nervousness.
He lifts my chin so our eyes meet, and I notice a gentleness flashing behind the desire. “Do whatever you want to me, however you want it, and for as long as you want it. Whatever you do will be mind-blowing.” I blink at this, warmth washing over me as gratitude fills my heart for this man.
So I decide to navigate this show instinctively, learning what makes Eudard tick to bring him as much pleasure as he gives me when he loves me with his tongue.
Pleasures.
My mind is quick to remind me that love shouldn't exist between us, but I already have a suspicion it grew a long time ago; the years apart just put those emotions on hold.
I blow lightly, brushing my lips over the tip and swiping my tongue for a little lick while my hand glides over the length, earning myself a groan. He tunnels his fingers through my hair softly, jerking his hips forward.
I close my mouth around the head, sucking it lightly before shifting lower, loving the feeling of him in my mouth, and gliding up again. “Cassandra,” he rasps, fisting my hair tighter, so I repeat my action, but this time I suck him deeper, getting off on his smell and taste. Then I go back up again and lick the drop of his precum, grazing the tip of his cock with my thumb. I dive in again, this time going slowly with the tip and pushing lower, studying him with my tongue.
He thrusts a little, and I moan around his length, wondering if it sends vibrations through him.
Sliding my mouth back to the tip, I want to play with it a little more, but Eudard has other plans.
He hauls me up and then pushes me onto my back, looming over me while he covers me with his body. He locks our mouths together for a brief second, capturing my lips in a slippery kiss that allows me to share his taste with him. But then he abruptly stops and shifts lower, biting my neck and licking my collarbone, tickling me slightly.
“What do you want, Cassandra?” he asks against my skin, blowing on the mounds of my breasts. “My tongue, fingers, or my dick?” He settles between my legs, and his words light up all my previous needs at once.
Thrashing my head on the pillow, I reply, “You, inside me.” I still can’t speak as crudely as him, and I feel his smile when he gives my collarbone one last kiss.
He plants his hands on either side of my head, thrusting home with one swift move as I arch into him, groaning quietly, enjoying it. Not to reach an orgasm, but to feel his thick flesh inside me, moving, filling me up with his length while showing me his strength.
Digging so deep into my soul I don't want anything more or to remember anything else.
He leans down, connecting our mouths while thrusting faster and faster. He is probably on edge from all the foreplay, giving it to me so hard the headboard shakes against the wall as we shift up in the bed.
Pleasure spreads through me like hot liquid, gliding over my skin, enveloping my senses, and shooting straight to my head. I spasm around him, coming quietly this time, and after a few furious drives of his cock, he joins
me with a loud roar, spilling inside me, wetness coating my core, and I gasp at the unfamiliar feeling of possession.
But then the action dawns on me, and our eyes meet when he glances down, breathing heavily, and curses. “I’m clean,” he informs me, and I nod.
“I am too.” But somehow by the tension growing thick between us, that’s the least of both our worries.
He shifts to his back, wrapping his arm around me as I lie on my side, tracing my finger over the scar on his shoulder. “I’m on the pill.” Just so he can relax, and he nods again, although something plays in the depths of his eyes that I can’t name.
For a second, I imagine what it would be like to have his baby…
To build a family with this man who gazes at me like I’m his greatest possession, even if I feel danger coming from him.
Somewhere along the line of my revenge, I will have to make a choice that might kill me.
And I’m afraid of the consequences either of the decisions might bring.
So instead of thinking about it now, I crawl on top of him and hide my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent while locking away the outside world.
Just for a little while, I want to belong to him and live in this fantasy that both of us created, because it gives me a sense of protection Lachlan and the others couldn't.
A sense of belonging, even if I’ve lied to him through it all.
Once upon a time, Eudard Campbell had been the bane of my existence, a curse that I could never get rid of.
Now I think he has the power to become my salvation.
Chapter Sixteen
The monsters living inside me were different from those that hurt me.
They had patience, they had morals, but more important, they knew how to hurt those who most deserved it.
My monsters didn’t just pick a victim and act on their desires, no.
My monsters hunted them for years, finding all their weaknesses and then finally tearing their flesh apart bit by agonizing bit.