I am not sure if time stops, or slows tremendously, but as the first bolt of lightning pierces me, everything suddenly pauses. Every raindrop freezes to a halt, looking like a million congealed jewels suspended in the air. The strong gusts of wind die, not even whisper of a howl to be heard. Everything around me is completely silent and still. Another strikes me, lighting every cell in my body on fire with its intense current. I gasp at the feeling yet no cries escape my lips. It’s…jolting, just like Donna said it would be. I smile through the odd sensation, my thoughts now on my adopted parents as the third bolt zaps me. They will never again have to be afraid. They’ll never have to worry about me again. It’s my turn to protect them. My turn to show them that twenty-one years of sacrifice was worth it.
The lightning flies down in a seamless blur, shocking my body from every angle and causing me to writhe and convulse with the intensity. It continues for several minutes, or maybe hours, I can’t be completely sure. There is no sense of time in this realm where all other life is frozen. But as the last strike rocks my entire frame and brings me to my knees, I know no time has passed at all. Life returns yet the tumultuous rain and wind cease. The lightning and thunder have also dissipated. All is still in the night. And I can see all of it. I embrace it. I thrive in the looming darkness as if this is my natural element.
A scared, bemused girl came here, not knowing who and what she was. Unsure of the path she should choose. Uncertain of what her place was amongst the violence, rage and turmoil between two ancient enemy forces.
Now a goddess emerges, leaving behind the confusion that kept her bound with anxiety. She was made for this. She was chosen to undo the wrongs that have plagued this world and beyond. To bridge the gap between the Light Enchanters and Dark Ones and a tainted history of conflict. Her parents died so she could live and achieve her destiny. A destiny to be great, to be fearless. A destiny to be utterly extraordinary.
Chapter Thirty
Seeing the world through brand new eyes is almost jarring. Hell, have I been blind for twenty-one years? Even the way I walk, the way I move, is different. It’s not so much that I’m afraid that I’ll move unnaturally fast, it’s keeping myself planted on the ground that seems to be the real feat. It seems easier to somewhat ghost to where I want to be. To think of a spot and somehow manifest there. Now I realize how much restraint Dorian had been using just to appear normal.
I walk down the cobblestone path, my head snapping at every creak and rustle of the leaves. It’s not so much hearing as it is knowing. Like an instinctual force within me that knows what is there without truly hearing or seeing it. It’s as if all my senses have combined and I’ve become somewhat omnipresent. Yet I still feel normal. I still feel like me. Yeah, the superhuman senses and the way my eyes and fingertips seem to constantly tingle is a bit weird, but for the most part, I am still Gabs. New & improved Gabs. Gabs 2.0. But still Gabs.
I step off the familiar elevator without hesitance and face the double doors. I know what I’ve come here for. My once clouded, jaded mind is now crystal clear. No amount of influence from him or anyone else can dissuade me from this. The truth is screaming at me and I can’t ignore it any longer. I can’t continue to live a lie.
I face the doors, contemplating my next move. Do I just bust in, guns blazing? Should I knock? Would he even answer, especially if he knew what I am? Can’t he already sense the power rolling off of me in iridescent waves? Damn, I really am me. I still can’t make up my mind.
The door swings open, disrupting me from my thoughts, though I expect it. I heard the footprints lightly padding across the carpet. I smelled the cool freshness of his skin. I heard his heart hammering with nervous expectation as I approached. I could even taste his flavor on my tongue. He knew I’d be coming for him. He knew this moment was inevitable.
“Gabriella,” Dorian breathes, a hint of desperation in his usually smooth voice. I watch as his brilliant blue eyes take me in, a myriad of vibrant emotions displayed clearly on his face. From relief to confusion to shock to horror to fear, every one of his reactions do not go unnoticed by my skillful eyes. I know what he sees, and I know what that must mean for him. For us. But this is what I have chosen. And honestly, there was no other choice.
“Dorian,” I reply confidently with a slight nod of my head.
He swallows, my eyes studying the movements of his throat and the rapid pulsing of his jugular. He’s nervous. Even a bit afraid of me. I know because I can feel it. I can feel every one of his emotions just as he can feel mine. My ascension has brought our link full circle.
“What have you done?” he rasps, his eyes growing wide. “How? How did you… Why?”
I lick my lips, though they feel as smooth as silk under my tongue. “Let me in so I can tell you.”
Uncertainty furrows his brow and he looks away, contemplating his next move. After a beat, he steps aside, realizing that I would make my way inside no matter what he decided. His eyes stay trained on me, taking on the icy glaze reserved for hostile threats. Once I cross the threshold, I spin around, faster than even he can probably detect.
“You can relax, Dorian. I won’t attack you from behind,” I smirk, giving back the same words he spoke to me the day I found out who and what he is. “It’s not my style.”
The look of sheer disbelief mars his gorgeous face, his jaw dropping in surprise. He quickly closes it and composes himself, ushering me through to the living room with a wave of his hand. I take the liberty to make myself comfortable on the couch, totally at ease with what I am about to do. I don’t even have to think about it. I know there’s only one solution and I don’t want to waste time dancing around it.
“Sit with me,” I say, patting the cushion beside me.
With masked hesitance, Dorian complies, yet stays a good two feet away from me, his cold, calculating eyes still focused on mine, no doubt predetermining my next move. We spend long moments sizing up the other with rapt awareness. I had always known Dorian was absolutely beautiful. Yet seeing him now, being able to unveil the mask he wears for the world is really a sight to behold. He is powerful, terrifying and magnificent. It still hurts to look at him, but in a different way entirely. He’s trying to keep me out. Trying to keep up the façade to protect himself, yet he can’t deny me access. His anxiety is my anxiety. I am more powerful than he is, and effortlessly tear down the barriers that he struggles to put up to hide his true form.
“Why?” he finally whispers, giving up on trying to delay his fate.
I smile. “There was no other option. I knew what I had to do. I know what I was made for. It’s this. This is why I was created,” I say.
Dorian shakes his head and looks away, unable to stand the sight of me. “But it’s impossible. It’s not supposed to be like this.”
Before he can turn his head back, I am beside him, clutching his face between my hands. He gasps and nearly recoils at the contact.
“But don’t you see? It is supposed to be like this. This is what was meant for me all along. I am half Dark and half Light equally. Both good and evil. I was meant to rule the night and the day. And that’s what I am going to do.” I give him a reassuring smile. “It’s ok. I’m ok, Dorian. I was meant to be both. I was never supposed to choose.”
His eyes never leave mine, searching for some semblance of rationality. “But your…eyes.”
I shrug, dropping my hands from his face and grasping his hands instead. He jerks a bit at first, still growing accustomed to the prickles I give him. “Yeah, that will take some getting used to. One blue and one gold eye isn’t exactly normal, is it? It kinda scared the shit out of me.”
Dorian finally cracks the faintest of smiles. “So you’re…ok? You’re not hurt? You’re not…different?”
“Well, other than the eyes, do I look different?”
His eyes begin their study at the crown of my head, my semi-wet hair in a tangled, curly mess that oddly seems perfectly styled and intentional. He takes in the luminescent skin st
retched over my high cheekbones, and my full pouty lips that part reflexively with his notice. Then his eyes are on collarbone, traveling down to where my wet shirt clings to my round, heavy breasts.
“Yes,” he breathes, a smile curling his succulent lips. “You are absolutely breathtaking. Even more so than before because you finally know it. You finally see what I’ve seen in you all along.”
I beam at him, relief flooding my chest. I lift his hands and brush them with my lips. This time, he barely flinches. “I have never been more certain of what I was created for, Dorian. I’m not supposed to be solely Light or Dark. I was made to be the Dark Light. Once I accepted that, everything just clicked into place. I didn’t question it anymore.”
I brush his cheek with my hand, trying to be as gentle as possible. He instinctively lets his eyes close and nuzzles into the touch. “And I didn’t question you anymore. You have sacrificed so much for me. You gave up everything you knew- your family, your life… for me. For love.”
“Yes,” he rasps, his voice thick with emotion.
“I know that now, and I thank you.” I inch forward, closing the small distance between our bodies. “Let me do that for you. Let me protect you and sacrifice for you. Let me show you what it is like for someone to care for you and want to keep you safe against all odds. Let me love you like you love me.”
Doubt puckers the space between his brows. “You would do that for me?”
I stifle the giggle in my throat and shake my head before resting it against his forehead. “When are you going to realize that I am stupid, crazy in love with you? That I never stopped loving you? That I simply cannot live another day without you? Didn’t you know? The Dark die for love. I think I inherited that trait from my dad’s side.”
“I think I did hear that somewhere,” he chuckles. “So this is it? This is what you really want?”
I lift my face to study his features. I didn’t realize it before but Dorian has been scared this entire time that we’ve been together. Since the day we met, he has had to fight against his nature, to try to go against what has been engrained in him from birth. Stepping out on faith- on love- has been as terrifying for him as it has been for me. Yet he did it anyway. He loved me in spite of it all.
“Dorian, I’ve tried to be as human as I could possibly be. I’ve tried to embrace the ways of the Light like my mother wanted me to. I even tried to accept that I may very well be Dark. I have done everything that people wanted me to. I’ve rejected what I have wanted because I thought that was what I was supposed to do.” I take a deep breath and beam at the exotic Warlock in front of me, letting conviction shine through every pore. “Hell yes, this is what I want. You are what I want. I know what it meant for you to come to my rescue. I know what that fate entails for you. And now it’s my turn. Now I want to show you what it means to be loved unconditionally.”
I turn over his hand displaying the tiny blue anchor that matches my own. “We’re anchored, Dorian. Not by an impulse. Not by a curse. But by love. And I’m ready to fight for that love. I’m ready to fight for you.”
I only have a split second to take in his awe-filled expression, his eyes glazed and full of ardor before I am on my back, his weight crushing me into the couch cushion. Our mouths waste no time reuniting, our tongues and breaths conjoining simultaneously. His kiss is nothing like I had remembered. It’s better. So much so that I moan against his lips. I can actually taste the depth of his affection for me. I feel how much I mean to him with just the slide of his fingertips against my skin. I can see how much I affect him even with tightly closed eyes.
Dorian pulls away, yet stays situated on top of me. His fingers rake through my wild curls as he smiles down at me adoringly. “I am going to love you for eternity. I know we have adversity stacked against us but I promise to always fight and protect you. I’ll never give up on you. On us. It’s just me and you. This is our destiny. I love you, little girl.”
I bite my bottom lip and smile, gazing up at him with sultry, hooded eyes. Then without even thinking about, I instinctively let the words fall from my lips in the language that we now both share. The ancient language of the Dark that now comes as natural to me as breathing.
“I love you too, Dorian. Forever.”
Epilogue
Dorian
I can’t tear my eyes away from the sleeping, naked woman in my bed. I don’t even want to blink, for fear that she will disappear. I’ve had to tell myself time and time again that this isn’t an illusion. This isn’t a dream. She’s real. She’s here. And she’s mine. All mine.
I still can’t believe that less than 24 hours ago, she was snatched away from me. I lost her. I lost the only thing still anchoring me to this life. I was ready to end it all. It wasn’t even a question. But I held on, I kept trying. For her. Her life was worth saving.
I trace the lotus blossom tattoo at the nape of her neck with my fingertips, brushing it gently down her spine. My hand lingers at the dip of her lower back where it merges into her round, delicious ass. Fuck, she has an amazing ass. One that should be worshipped by the gods. I grab a luscious handful and squeeze, her taut flesh sizzling hot underneath my grip. The things I want to do to it are downright sinful. I know she’ll let me…eventually. And she’ll like it. She’ll love it when I ruin every little perfect part of her.
My hand slips farther south, slipping between her slightly parted legs. I can already feel the humid heat emitting from her beautiful sex. That’s right…beautiful. Her soft, pink folds are truly a work of art. And the things I do to it, the way she arches her back and mewls softly when I work her over with my tongue…shit. It’s the most magnificent thing I have ever seen. She comes in Technicolor, her reaction to me so vibrant and colorful whenever I bring her to the brink. I am fascinated by every quiver and moan.
“Mmmm,” she sighs sleepily, her eyes still closed. “What are you doing?”
“Shhhh, go back to sleep, baby. I’m just exploring.”
I slip a single finger between her already slick folds, eliciting a small whimper. “I don’t want to sleep anymore. I’ve been sleeping for twenty-one years.”
Her eyes pop open and I nearly gasp at their brilliance. Shit, she is still the most gorgeous creature on Earth. And now that she can see me just as I see her, I can’t help but be even more taken by her. I’ve got it bad. Really fuckin’ bad.
She’s straddling me in the next second, pinning my arms above my head much like I have done with her in the past. Shit, I love how she is able to take control. I love it when she has that fiery look in those big, dazzling eyes. And the energy they emit when she lets them pool into mine… I can’t even describe it. I’ve honestly never come that hard in my life. But even more than that, I have never felt so much love and passion fill my once empty heart. We were both surprised at the intensity, yet I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed at my almost tearful reaction. Yeah…I had a near-bitch experience.
My awe-filled gaze takes in her round, bare breasts mere inches from my face. I flick a hardened nipple with my tongue instinctively. Fuck, she tastes good. I suck the rigid nub into my mouth eagerly, nibbling and licking until she reflexively writhes her bottom half against my hard dick.
“Oh God, Dorian,” she pants, loosening her grip on my hands. It’s all I need to break free from her hold and grasp that amazing ass of hers, grinding her wetness onto my rock hard erection even more and sucking harder on her breast. She likes it like that. I know what makes her go mad with lust for me. I know what she craves. Me and only me.
I flip her onto her back, my cock still pressed against the sliver of her entrance. I press it into the hypersensitive bundle of nerves of her mound, teasing her relentlessly. I can’t help but smile in wonder. We made love for hours after she came back to me. Both of us could hardly wait to taste and feel each other again. Yet she still wants me. She still yearns for me. Her body still needs mine just as I need hers. How the fuck did I get so lucky?
“Careful, little girl,�
� I murmur against her still hardened nipple before pulling the other into my mouth. “You may be stronger, but remember who owns this.” I rotate my hips, pressing my cock against her wetness with delicious friction. She moans my name again, making it pulse furiously against her. Shit, I need to be inside her now. I won’t be able to hold off much longer.
“Yes, oh God, yes,” she coos as I slide into her. I don’t stifle my own moan at the sensation. She’s so warm. So tight. So fucking perfect in every way.
I begin a slow, drawn out pace, careful to reach every tingling area within her walls. She moves with me, meeting me stroke for stroke, grabbing handfuls of my hair and tugging at the root. I love it when she does that. Just like she loves it when I nuzzle my face into her neck and graze her collarbone with my teeth. Or how she goes wild when my fingers dig into the skin of her ass. And of course, I know that she likes it when I wrap my hand around her throat just as she begins to climb higher into euphoria. And when she takes that dive, her walls pulsing around my cock, milking every last drop of come from me, she likes me to slowly release my grip, letting her tumble down from her orgasm-induced high.
After giving her everything she craves and more, we recline on the couch, flipping through the room service menu. She’s wearing one of my dress shirts, only a few buttons securing her stunning, naked skin. I run my hands up and down her bare legs, gazing at her lovingly as she flips through the menu.
“What?” she asks, not even bothering to look at me with those startling blue and gold irises.
The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series) Page 41