Madman’s Cure: Madman Duet Book Two

by Mason, V. F.

  I freeze when Eachann’s blood-smeared hand grabs mine, stilling my movements. “It’s too late.” I shake my head, my hands shaking while I try to dial the phone, but he holds on to my palm tightly. “It’s okay, Eudard.”

  “No, you aren’t dying, damn it!” I scream, but he only smiles sadly, coughing once again on the blood that continues to spill.

  “I prayed to be able to wait for you. So I could say goodbye,” he whispers, his voice weak. He scrunches his eyes, but his grip on me stays strong. “I’m so happy God granted it to me.”

  “No.” I hold back a roar threatening to erupt, and beg him, “Let me call.” I don’t want to hurt him more by snatching my hand, but he raises his palm instead, touching my cheek.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay,” he murmurs, blood trickling from his mouth and his breathing becoming heavier. “Death is not the end, right? There is the afterlife.”

  Sobs shake my body, and I can’t stop the tears I promised never to shed from dropping on him. I beg him, “Please don’t die, Eachann. Please don’t leave me alone. Please.” It was always me and him against the world.

  From the captivity to Mom leaving to Dad’s indifference, even sharing Arianna’s love. How can he leave me right now? “Please, don’t die,” I repeat, crying while my hands shake, not knowing where to touch him. I grab the sword, the blade piercing my skin, but I don’t give a shit.

  I continue to gaze into my brother’s eyes, just like mine, as slowly they become blanker and blanker, but he musters a smile for me.

  “Remember,” he whispers, “a poem you wrote when we were six? About us?” I nod, silently screaming into my fist while placing my fingers on his neck needing to feel the pulse under my them that becomes slowly weaker and weaker. “Mischievous twins. Naughty twins. Smart twins,” he whispers, panting for breath. “Inseparable twins,” he finishes, squeezing my other hand and swallowing harshly. “That’s what we are. I love you, Eudard. Don’t blame yourself for this. Don’t sell your soul to the devil.”

  “Don’t leave me,” I plead, pressing his hand to my cheek. “Please don’t leave me.”

  He smiles for the last time and then chokes on the blood, giving me his last words. “I’ll be with you. I’ll always be with you.” And then his stare goes blank, he freezes, and the hand loses its hold on me, becoming limp in my grip.

  “Eachann, no!” I shout, tugging on his hand and slapping his cheek a little. “No, please. Come back. Eachann, you can’t leave me too. How will I live without you?” I continue to sob, now shaking him, and then pull him into my arms, hugging him close to me while he lies numbly in my embrace, no trace of a heartbeat. “Please, brother. Please come back to me.”

  But no matter how much I beg, he doesn’t wake up. He dies in my arms… forever gone.

  I continue to press him to my chest, rocking us back and forth and chanting, “God, I beg you please.” But I realize he is not coming back, and the pain within me becomes all-consuming, traveling through me and slamming into my head with such ferocity I can’t breathe.

  And there with my dead brother in my arms while I’m soaked with blood, I succumb to my subconscious desire to shelter myself from this agony, because I’m afraid I’m going to go insane.

  In a temporary reprieve, I live in an illusion where my twin hasn’t died, hasn’t been stabbed to death by the boy who grew up with us.

  In the temporary reprieve, my heart is not shattered beyond repair because the other half of it is gone.

  In the temporary reprieve, my maddening pain doesn’t exist while my hands are smeared in my brother’s blood, and his death along with every other disaster around us is not my fault.

  My twin is gone.

  How can a person live without his heart and soul?

  Cassandra

  I yelp when Eudard stops abruptly by the doorstep of his mansion, my hold on him tightening while the teddy bear dangles from my side, squashed between our bodies. “Careful!” I hiss at him, and he chuckles, splaying his legs on the ground and glancing over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t have let you fall.”

  I roll my eyes, placing my hands on his shoulders and pushing up so I can hop down, tugging on my dress. I don’t miss how his eyes roam around my body. “Eyes on me, Mr. Campbell,” I order, and they crash with mine. “All this”—I gesture with my palm up and down—“is unavailable right now.”

  He sighs, putting his hands on his chest, and exclaims dramatically in a high-pitched tone, “How could you be so cruel after everything I’ve done for you tonight?”

  My mouth twitches and a scandalous gasp slips past my lips. “So you won all these gifts and took me riding on your bike only because you planned to score?” There is so much outrage in my voice even though I’m barely holding back my laughter, and Eudard’s eyes flash in amusement as he takes out a cigarette, lighting it up while mumbling around it in his mouth.

  I snatch it away and drop it on the concrete, my giggles echoing in the night. I toss the bear on the bike, noticing Eudard’s mood, and dart toward the garden while a bubble of laughter continues to build inside me.

  It was a magical evening.

  After Marta fed us her famous pancakes, we went to a photo booth and made silly pictures while sharing hot kisses with his tongue gliding against mine as I straddled his thighs. Then he won that teddy bear, even though the owner claimed he cheated. We also slow danced under the moonlight and had the best of times that made us wonder about the past.

  Because if we only had the chance to experience that back then, then life would have been so different. We would have been in love forever.

  Why am I dwelling on what if though, if in the present we are together?

  Eudard’s arms wrap around my middle, lifting me up, and I squeal while he spins us before placing me back on the ground and turning me to face him. His mouth lands on mine, giving me a hot, possessive kiss that sends awareness through my entire body, desire slowly brewing in my veins.

  I moan into his mouth, fisting his shirt, but then pull back, breathing heavily and stepping away. “You are dangerous.”

  He winks but then all amusement leaves him. He extends his hand to me and motions to the alcove located a few feet away from us. “Come on, my phoenix. I’ll share my secrets with you.” There is a certain edge about his tone, like he doesn’t know how I will react to his truth.

  Or maybe that I’ll push him away.

  Taking his hand in mine, I let him lead me to the alcove, but not before telling him, “I’m yours no matter what.” He might not believe my words, but he will.

  The time has come for someone in this world to give Eudard unconditional love.

  Eudard

  Cassandra sits next to me, stunned, her eyes filling with tears, and she gasps, covering her mouth with a trembling hand. Horror and sorrow are etched on her face, while her mouth wobbles.

  “Now you know everything,” I say, tearing my gaze away from her, because I’m afraid to see hatred in her gaze once the realization that all the nightmares in her life happened because of me hits her. “I’ve hunted him for ten long years and still can’t catch him.” A bitter laugh escapes me. “It’s like the fucker is invisible. But I know he will come.” A beat, and then I add, squeezing my fists from the desire to hold on to her, “Because you came back. If he didn’t know your identity before, he knows after you screamed it at church.” I also told her how he was the one to write that letter and slip it to Patricia. He also probably wore a wig at church, pretending to be Eachann while playing the organ. The founding five and Cole were so drunk they wouldn’t have known the difference.

  “Because of the cameras,” she whispers, and I nod, feeling an odd sense of freedom from finally telling her all my secrets, not being alone in this never-ending guilt.

  Even if for a moment in time until the woman I love tells me to go to hell.

  “I brought you here for a reason. I don’t know when he will strike again. That’s why Eunan was so harsh with you.”

>   “He was protecting me,” she whispers once again with her monotone voice, and then she jumps up from the seat. I see her pacing back and forth, running her fingers through her thick locks before she stops in front of me, tears streaming down her cheeks, but what I find in her eyes is not disgust, no.

  There is pain and agony and sadness…

  But most prominent is another emotion I associate only with her.

  Love.

  With a sob, she climbs onto my knees, wrapping her hands so tight around my neck for a second she cuts off my oxygen, and then burrows her nose into my neck, mumbling, “I’m so sorry you had to go through all that alone.” She sniffs. “I’m so sorry for all the pain you had to experience.” My hands circle around her, pressing her closer to me, and I inhale her scent, finding solace in her embrace. “What happened is not your fault.” She leans back, palming my head, and there is determination in her gaze. “I love you no matter what. And I’m not afraid of Liam.”

  Just his name on her lips drives me mad, and I growl, bringing her closer so our lips are inches apart. “He won’t touch you again.”

  “Even if he does”—I grow tense, a flashback of the past playing in my mind, and my headache increases, but her gentle touch is keeping me grounded in the present— “it won’t be your fault. You will save me, Eudard.” She rests her forehead against mine. “Like you always do.” She whispers the last part, and my heart pangs painfully, the words of love on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t utter them.

  She has always been my everything.

  Is love enough of an emotion to describe how I feel about her? How much I need her? How I can’t breathe without knowing where she is?

  Life without Cassandra doesn’t exist for me.

  “Do you need the words?” I ask her, and she freezes in my arms, her eyes widening in surprise.

  She swallows loudly before taking a deep breath. “Only if you mean them.”

  A hollow laugh escapes me, and she frowns right before she yelps when I swing her to the side, hiking her legs over my hips so that she straddles me and grabs my shoulders to steady herself.

  Holding her gaze prisoner with mine, I palm her head so she doesn't miss any word I say or any emotion that might cross my face.

  Everything of mine belongs to her, down to my dark soul. “I love you.” The words slip past my lips easily, and her breath hitches. “Three little words that are so simple but mean so much for so many people.” I smile sadly. “Not to me. I love you is not enough to describe what you mean to me.” She blinks, leaning closer to me while I continue to talk. “You’ve been mine since the day you were born. I don't remember a time in my life when I haven't loved you in some way. First as a friend when you made me sit through all these countless ice-skating practices.” She chuckles through the tears. “Then you became my first crush, strolling through the school hallways, ignoring me because I’d been a fucking ass.” I wipe away her tears. Even if they are happy tears, they still break my heart, because I never want to be the cause of them. “And now you are the love of my life.” Tears continues to fall, and I can't catch them all, growling in frustration. “Don’t cry.”

  “I can’t help it” is all she says before resting her forehead against mine again. “Your words are beautiful.”

  “They’re the truth. You’ve been with me in my darkest moments, supporting me in my nightmares, even if you didn't know it.” All these awful years flash in my mind, and I scrunch my eyes, blocking them away, because they have no place between us. “Thank you for that.”

  “You’re welcome,” she replies, shifting back, and I place my hands on her hips, deciding to add something else to it.

  “You know, I have a theory.”

  Amusement dances in her eyes, and despite the contacts in them, I still see the traces of my beloved violet there. “What theory?”

  “We really love only twice in this world.” She cocks her head to the side, probably waiting for me to elaborate, so I do. “Our first love and then the love of our life. Sometimes it’s one person and sometimes it’s two different people.” Palming her head, I bring us closer so that our lips are inches apart and our breaths mingle together. “How lucky am I that you are both for me.”

  “I love you too,” she says, sniffing, and I smile, giving her a light kiss on the lips that barely grazes them. “With all the darkness and bad deeds, you are mine, and I don't want anyone else.”

  Her words soothe the dark soul residing within me who so longed for acceptance, but I didn't think she would give it to me considering my past. My shining hope, the girl who kept me sane through the years of insanity and cruelty of other people… loves me back.

  Isn't that a miracle in itself?

  “Don’t ever stop loving me, Arianna.” I call her by her real name, and she jerks in my arms but keeps her gaze on me. “Because I’m forever lost without you. This madman cannot exist in the world if you are not with him.” I caress her cheek with my knuckles, and she leans into the touch, closing her eyes, giving me all her vulnerability and trust. “You are my one true love, and my obsession.” Even those words moved her, but I don't feel like they are enough to express what she means.

  How do you explain to a woman she is your only reason for living, and without her, you’d have been dead a long time ago?

  She is vitally important to me, like any other organ in my body, without which I can’t function properly.

  “I won’t.” Her eyelids flutter, her violet orbs full of love and warmth focusing their stare on me. “And I’ll stay at your side no matter what. Don’t ever shut me out again. You and me against everything?” she asks, splaying her palm in the air, reminding me of the gesture all three of us used to share as kids when we wanted to promise something to each other or cement it.

  I press my palm against hers, and then we lace them together in a hold so strong nothing is able to break it. “You and me against everything.” I pull her into my embrace, muttering, “Come here.” Our mouths connect with each other; she opens instantly and my tongue dives inside, clashing with hers.

  Probing and tasting her, kissing her is an art in itself, where she melts in my arms, giving me access to her beautiful body that always welcomes me.

  The tender kiss quickly turns hot, hard, and deep. She circles my neck, pressing herself firmer against me and devours my mouth, staking her own claim on me as if she needs to.

  There is never any doubt to whom I irrevocably belong.

  My lungs though, noisy fuckers, demand oxygen, so I pull my mouth away while we both gulp for breath, yet her attention is zeroed on me. Her chest rises and falls, a haze of desire coating her eyes.

  “Eudard.” My name on her lips is barely a whisper, yet I read neediness and longing there all the same.

  “Wrap your legs around my waist,” I order, and she clamps her thighs over my hips, allowing me to get up. I head in the direction of the house while she skims her lips over my neck, wiggling in my arms, trying to rub herself all over me like a cat marking her territory. “Trust me, I’m yours,” I inform her, entering the house and strolling toward the stairs in the otherwise silent hallway, but I don't care about the staff.

  Most of them are either asleep or celebrating in town, and besides… I don't care who sees how much my woman loves me.

  They can gossip about it in town if they want to, with my blessing.

  She growls against me, and it’s so fucking hilarious I can't help but chuckle. I regret it though when her nails dig into my shoulders and she slides them up my nape, fisting hair. “Just making sure every other woman knows you are mine.” Even though there is playfulness in her voice, I notice the traces of jealousy in her tone that doesn't sit well with me.

  We finally reach my room. I shut the door with a hard kick and walk to the bed where I drop her. She bounces a little but sits up quickly.

  Without any words, we start to undress in record time, drinking in each other’s naked body.

  My dick springs to life,
hard as fuck. She licks her lips then rises to her knees, sliding her hands up and down her side, fucking tempting me with her every move.

  With every breath, really.

  I step closer to the bed, and she shifts toward me, her hands holding onto my shoulders while her lips land on the deep scars on my chest. She presses against them, giving them loving kisses like she hopes to soothe all the memories of the pain away with her touch.

  Like she tried to do during our first time, but then she didn't know the history behind them.

  “You are brave, so brave,” she whispers over them, traveling lower to the scar on my six-pack from the one violent sword fight where the steel sliced my skin.

  Another kiss followed by a raspy breath and another one to my side. Then she shifts lower, dusting kisses all over my bruised skin.

  And even though they no longer bring pain, her touch mends broken things inside me that have scarred me for life from someone’s cruelty.

  Her hands slide down my back to my ass where she digs in her nails. Her mouth hovers over my dick before sucking on the tip, and she moans around the length, the vibration driving me fucking insane.

  Tangling my hands in her silky black hair, I allow myself to enjoy the wet heat of her mouth that traps my dick inside, licking and sucking on it so well my knees wobble.

  Tipping her head back, I slide in a little deeper. My hand glides down her stomach to her flesh that demands my attention.

  And no matter how much I can get off on her mouth alone, nothing brings me greater pleasure than providing for my woman.

  Tugging on her hair, I pull my dick out past her lips, and she groans in protest. Her accusing eyes meet mine, but I push her back, and she lands on her back with a yelp.

  I have a second to enjoy her mesmerizing beauty splayed on my bed where I’ve had countless fantasies of her on it. Her lips are red and swollen from blowing me, and her skin is flushed from the desire slowly enveloping her in a haze. Her rosy nipples harden under the AC and anticipation.

  My mouth waters to suck and bite them, knowing how much my phoenix enjoys it, but she rubs her thighs together, and I know there is something she and I will enjoy more.