by E. C. Land
Cedric’s Ecstasy
Night’s Bliss Book 1
E.C. Land
Contents
Acknowledgments
Warning
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Bonus Content
Author’s Note
Available Now
Coming Soon
Brielle’s Nightmare
Viper’s Touch
Forever Tombstone’s
Pipe’s Burn
Spiral into Chaos
Social Media
Cedric’s Ecstasy
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Cedric’s Ecstasy. Copyright © 2021 by E.C. Land. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews. For information, contact E.C. Land.
Cover Design by Charli Childs, Cosmic Letterz Cover Design
Editing by Jackie Ziegler
Formatting by E.C. Land
Proofreading by Alecia Rivers Goodman
Created with Vellum
Acknowledgments
My Pappy – He didn’t know I was writing until recently. I wanted him to be proud of me for something I’ve achieved. Growing up, he taught me to be a strong person, and no matter how many times we’d butt heads, I knew he always stood in my corner. I will always be his blondie and remember the good times rather than the bad.
My Husband – For years, he’s worked himself to death to give our family everything we needed or wanted. He encourages me every day to follow my dreams just like he did the day he told me to take the chance. He’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t know what to do without him. Or the fact he listens to my non-stop rambling or my always having a notepad with me in case I need to write something down that pops into my head.
My Three Kiddos – Every day, I watch them grow up into little people who want to take over the world. Well, in their own way, that is. They are inspirations all by themselves. They love to find out what I’m working on and give me ideas. One of my favorite things is to ask them what I should have someone do or how they should act. Some of their ideas are wicked.
My Alphas – You guys rock big time! Thank you all for being the first to read the stories as they come alive. It means the world to me. Especially when you all start to get mad. That’s when I know I’m doing something right. And in doing so, pushing me to keep going with all the different plots that form in my head. I’m thankful to you all for being ready and willing to read and give your input.
My Knox Publishing People – Thank you guys for being such great people to work with.
Liz – My sister from another mister, my best friend, and Publisher/Boss/Co-Writer extraordinaire. You’re my go-to when I need it. I love working with you on all that we do. No matter how much chaos we go through to get it done.
Diane – If not for you, I swear I would lose my head. You set me straight when I don’t know which way to look. Thank you for everything you do in being the best PA I could ask for. However, you’re also one amazing friend.
My Editing/Plotting Team – Thank you all for working with me. I truly do enjoy working alongside you all as I bring each and every book to life. I don’t know what I would do without each and every one of you to help me when I need it most.
Trigger Warning
This content is intended for mature audiences only. It contains material that may be viewed as offensive to some readers, including graphic language, dangerous and sexual situations, murder, rape, and extreme violence.
Proceed with caution. This book does entail several scenes that may very well be a trigger to some.
Also, tissues are a must with other scenes.
Not for the faint at heart.
If you don’t like violence and cannot handle certain subjects, then this is not a book you’ll want to read.
Nobody is perfect until you fall in love with them.
~ Unknown
Prologue
Cedric
Three Months Ago . . .
“Tell me,” I demand, slamming my fist into the bastard’s face—I’m beyond pissed. Why men like this feel the need to beat up on women is beyond me.
Mara-Lee went out to run an errand only to come back and call me outside, because of these men I’ve brought down to the basement. They were standing over a beaten woman.
Stepping fully into the massive basement, I’m met with the sight of four men. Three of them are bound to the wall farthest away from the middle, while the fourth man is strung up by a meat hook. Halton is standing off to the side, struggling to keep his temper in check from the looks of it.
“Started the party without me?” Finley asks, making her presence known.
“Just getting the party started, boss,” I grunt, keeping my eyes on the fucker in front of me.
“Step back, Cedric. While you’re at it, tell me who these fuckers are and why they beat the fuck out of that girl,” Finley commands. If she were any other woman, I’d tell her to fuck off, but I value my life. She’s not just my best friend, but my boss, and she’s not one for bullshit.
“These men brutalized her,” I say, finally turning to meet Finley’s gaze. A fury like no other flows through my veins. Seeing that girl beaten the way she was brought back memories of my little sister. Though she might not have been beaten, she was killed because of men like the one in front of me. “They haven’t said why they did it. Only that their boss was leaving a gift for us. For me in general.”
Finley’s brows crease, and she glances over to the men. “Why would they want to send you a message?” she asks.
When it comes to my past, she knows everything about me and the family that I come from.
The Gheata Family.
Thanks to my father not being able to keep it in his pants, he had made my mother his mistress and he visited when he felt like it. They ended up having me, and then two years later, dear ol’ Dad’s wife fell pregnant, giving him another son, my half-brother, Cesare. Under his wife’s demand, he cast my mother and me aside when she promised to give him more children. But yet, he still expected me to become part of the family business once I became old enough to work for him. This is something I refused to do. I’m not about to work for them. He didn’t want me and he shamed my mother in the eyes of her own family. I had decided to make a statement by going against him, one that’s worked well over the years. By these men being here, it shows my father’s not pleased with his eldest son. He simply needs to accept the fact I won’t bend to his will like my half-siblings.
“Cedric,” Finley quips.
“I know,” I snarl. “Fuckers are working for my father. What I want to know is who the woman is?”
The man strung up by the hook sneers. “You should know who she is.”
Taking a step forward, I glide my knife across the asshole’s stomach. Not deep enough to gut him, but enough to cause him immense pain. The man struggles to keep his composure. Having grown up with the same training these men probably went through, I’m working my way to getting them to break.
“Tell me,” I snarl.
“You tell him, or I step in,” Finley snaps, stepping closer.
“What the fuck can you do? You’re nothing but a whore running a whorehouse,” the as
shole grinds out through clenched teeth.
Dumbass just fucked up by saying that shit. Finley eyes the knife in my hand and holds out her hand. “We want answers, and I’m not going to wait for them.”
Nodding, I flip the knife in my hand, giving her the handle. Finley turns to the asshole who’s smirking at us. Finley steps around the man I’ve been working on and looks to the others. She stops in front of one and presses the tip of the blade to the man’s throat.
“Go to hell, whore,” he spits brazenly.
“Wrong answer.” Finley grins, pulls the blade away from the man’s throat and shoves it straight into his stomach. “Now, answer me. Who is the girl?”
“Fuck you,” he grinds out, but I sense he’s going to cave.
Finley yanks the blade from his stomach and slams it in once again to the hilt, closer to his sternum.
“Tell me, and I might kill you faster,” Finley commands. She’s not holding back at this point, and I’m sure she saw the girl’s beaten body.
“He doesn’t know shit,” the man chained next to the one Finley’s working on yells.
That doesn’t stop the one Finley’s stuck the knife in from blathering, “She was supposed to marry Cedric. Their marriage was planned from the day Cedric was born. Bastards alike but connect families.”
Finley releases the knife, leaving it embedded in the guy’s chest and turns to me. “Have your fun. I’ll see you at the Fort. The girl will be okay.”
Taking over, I let my frustrations out, killing these men slowly. I’ll be sure to send their bodies back to my father and Cesare as a warning. They need to get it through their heads, I’m not playing these games with them. I’m not anything to them. And if they don’t back off, I won’t hesitate in taking them out.
Chapter One
Arwen
Present Day . . .
I need to get out of here. I can’t stand it anymore. It doesn’t matter that there’s a chance I could be caught and punished. With my family being who they are, I’ll be lucky enough to escape this time. My father and uncles have upped the security to make sure it doesn’t happen.
I’ve been attempting to run away since I was sixteen. Each time they’ve found me and made sure I regretted it. Especially my uncle, Stefano. Other people call him Preacher, but I call him Devil. My father may be the head of the house, but he allows Stefano to do as he pleases.
This time when I leave, I need to make sure they don’t catch me. Not this time. I don’t wanna do as they want—marry a man I don’t know. Then again, I don’t know many people as it is. I’m not allowed to leave the premises. Most of the time, I’m not allowed to step foot out of the house.
When I was younger, I had wished my mom would save me. It never happened. Cantara Petruccelli has and always will think of only herself. Her addiction to drugs means more to her than my brothers and me. According to Danti, she used to be a great mom until our father and uncles started her addiction. Now she prefers her drugs to us. They do this to keep her compliant to their wishes. Meaning they have easier access to her trust fund.
It’s probably why they want to sell me off as well. I overheard them talking about it. My trust fund left to me by my mother’s mother states I’m not to get it until I’m twenty-five or married. Being twenty-two, that’s only three more years.
With a small backpack, I sneak out of my room, doing my best to stay quiet. I don’t need anyone to hear or see me. I’ve paid attention to the guards, and know it’s close to shift change. It’s also when they slack the most.
My heart races in my chest, blood pulsing rapidly through my veins. I need to make it out of here. Getting to the back door, I silently open it and slip through, making sure to close it behind me.
Outside, I stay close to the shadows, not wanting to take a chance of anyone seeing me. I scan the darkness, scared of what will happen if they catch me.
No, I can’t let it happen. I won’t. I’ve dealt with enough in this lifetime to last me through the next century.
I make it far enough away from the security guards and decide to run for it. If I could get across the yard and climb over the gate, I’ll be able to breathe slightly better. In order to officially be able to escape, I need to catch the bus heading out of town. Unfortunately, thanks to my family never letting me leave the property, I don’t know where or how to do it.
I don’t even know if there’s one close to me. I’ve only ever heard my brothers and uncles talking about it.
Coming up on the fence, I glance behind me to see if anyone’s following me. I send a silent thank you to whoever I can that I’ve gotten this far. I stare up at the tall iron bars used to keep me prisoner my entire life. This honestly is the first time I’ve even gotten this close to officially escaping. I didn’t realize just how tall the dang thing is—really, really tall.
With me being five foot six, I consider myself average height. Still standing next to this fence, I know it’s gonna be a struggle to climb it. Swallowing my fear down, I jump up and start scaling upward. Using my feet, I grab hold and push myself to the top. Careful not to fall, I adjust my footing and slide down to the ground. Releasing a breath, I didn’t realize I was holding, I straighten up and look at the house beyond the fence.
Pivoting on my heel, I take off in a run, needing to put as much distance between this prison and myself. I don’t want them to catch me. I’m sure someone will find I’m missing sooner rather than later.
Coming up on a road, I stop at the corner. Cars are zooming past, though, I’m not necessarily afraid of them, I am scared. The only time I’ve been in one was when Uncle Stefano took me down to his club Tainted X.
A shiver of fear courses through my body at the thought. Thunder in the distance causes me to jump, and I nearly fall into the street with oncoming traffic. Someone honks a horn and I start panicking.
Get it together, Arwen!
Sucking in a breath, I scuttle my way down the sidewalk leading to God only knows where. I’ve got to find the bus station or at least somewhere to hide for the night. Rushing, I come upon another intersection, and I notice a bunch of other people waiting to cross. A few teenagers are laughing, talking about heading to the boardwalk to listen to some music.
Following them, I make it to the boardwalk and keep going further down. The farther I get, the better I’ll be. Maybe I could find a place to crash and hide until I locate the bus station to get out of here.
I don’t know how much time passes by, but I keep moving. My legs are starting to burn, and my hands are shaking. I need to find somewhere to rest and stay low-key.
Coming off the boardwalk, I start making my way through the streets looking for a place I can stay. Spotting a motel, I head in there and get a room. I guess it will be better than nothing and from the looks of it, I highly doubt my family would think to find me here.
Chapter Two
Cedric
Sitting back in my chair, I stare up at the security monitors hanging on the wall. I scan over each one making sure nothing is out of the normal. The club’s getting ready to open for the night, and I’ve made sure the team is prepared. Halton and Dalton are our lead men for security. They’re tasked with making sure all of the men who work for us are always on their game. We don’t need any fuck ups, too much shit can happen. I personally have seen it happen and had to stop it myself.
With Finley being pregnant, I’ve taken on more in order to make sure she relaxes. Since we’d all found out about her pregnancy, I guess you can say Mara-Lee and I’ve become even more protective. It doesn’t matter if she says she doesn’t need us protecting her ass; we’re still there. Vex finds it comical as she sits back and watches Mara-Lee and me argue with Finley over what she can and can’t do.
No one tells Finley what to do.
Over the past year, things have seriously changed. Not only do we now have Vex living at the Fort with Finley—we’ve got Dominic. Little dude’s my buddy. I love having him around. He’s a great kid and just startin
g to walk around the place. He’s another one I’m overly protective of. Besides them, Eliya’s been staying with us.
After Eliya’s attack, she wouldn’t come out of her room. It took a while, but now Eliya roams around the Fort somewhat.
I don’t know how I feel about having her around, but I can’t just throw her out on the streets. It doesn’t matter if she’s the girl my father’s goons had sent to me since she’s the woman I was supposed to marry. What does he expect? Me to marry her? Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Eliya does nothing for me. It doesn’t matter if she’s hot or not. She’s just not my taste.
Finley and Mara-Lee would say I don’t have standards when it comes to picking up chicks. Normally I’d say they’re right—only now, recently, I’ve barely gotten my dick wet. It seems any chick in a skirt who comes up to me hasn’t been appealing. I wanna think my cock’s broken, but I’m sure that isn’t the case.
I want what Finley and Vex have, I guess.
A knock on my door pulls me out of my thoughts. Inwardly shaking my head, I clear my throat. “Yeah.”
The door opens to Mara-Lee popping her head in. “Hey, brought you some food since I know you haven’t left this office all day.”
I give her a grin and take the bag of food from her. “Thanks, babe, don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Me either,” she says, flicking a wrist in the air and taking a seat on the edge of my desk. She’s wearing a fitted dress—showing off her legs and a pair of stiletto heels, Mara-Lee is a knockout. I’ve beaten the hell out of a few men who’ve tried to hit on her. Mainly because I’m a protective brother to Mara-Lee, even if we aren’t related by blood.