by J H Spade
It won’t be long now.
“I’m here to save you both from the worst,” I can’t help but smile as I say, “although, it comes at a price. I may take a piece of both of your souls by the end of it. Nothing too drastic, don’t worry. Maybe in a hundred years, you’ll forgive each other.”
She can sense how strong my magic is because she wishes for me to keep her prisoner with my mind. Perhaps she can even feel how I’ve kept my compulsion over her and Darius, calming her enough to enjoy my touch while he watches me.
My sacrificial virgin, pleads with the devil. “Please, just don’t let me go until you’re both safe. I can’t kill Darius.”
“If I were my brother, would you ask the same? For me not to let you go?” I want her to put into words how she felt the moment she saw me, she recognized we were different—my brother and I, and in that cataclysmic chance encounter when our stares bore into each other’s—how even Darius was forgotten. In the depths of her turbulent eyes, I had seen reflected I meant something far too great she couldn’t even explain it no matter how many years she tried.
“I think I need that drink after all,” she whispers when Darius’s hips jerk as he slides his pants down on his muscled thighs.
My nostrils flare when I say, “Then, I better make it a double. Join me, black bird.” Promising one hell of a wild night, I pull her along. She trails behind me with unsure steps, our hands clasped and fingers intertwined while I stalk towards Darius.
Emma
Every time Marcus says he’s feeding off of Darius, I feel like I’ve been sucked into some type of vortex I can’t escape. Gorgeous Darius with his vivid blue eyes ablaze on my body. His struggles to control his need, causes a wrenching hunger for him in the pit of my stomach. My skin is unbearably tight, making me want to crawl out of it as I become the buffer between them.
I don’t know how Marcus came to be here with Darius and I, but I can’t help feel there’s no other place he should be. I can’t move, not even to take a step away.
There’s also that inexplicable rare sense I get of knowing him my whole life.
Some things find their way out of the fog that is my amnesia, and Marcus happens to be one of them. A memory of hearing Eros mention that his twin would never bother me, filters through my mind. It was at a time when I would willingly go to be with Eros. I thought it was because Eros had ostracized Marcus from his kingdom, and I had attributed it to sibling rivalry.
But now as Marcus stands beside me, looking down at Darius with a calculated focus that frightens me, I realize nothing could keep Marcus away if he’d wanted to find me. I can feel this in every inch of his seductive hold over my body.
His eyes hold my face, absorbing the desire in my eyes. It stems from Darius’s blazing light igniting my skin and the craving that springs from my core, while I look up at Marcus because I’m too afraid of caving. Of going after what I want most, always fearing when Eros’s poison will rear its ugly head, so I look to Marcus instead.
I find a vulnerability he tries to conceal. I can’t help but be drawn to it every time I search his eyes. I blame the empath in me.
There’s also a savage kind of need I find that begs for me to listen. It should scare me away, but doesn’t because of the purpose burning in his jade glance. His stare has the ability to root me to the spot. Only by his insistence do I move.
“I’ll drink from Darius to eliminate the poison from his bloodstream. You may drink from me at any point afterward to regain your strength.” He gives me a beautiful smile that borders on evil before he continues, “I’ll behave for as long as you would like. My blood is dark—toxic–and will make you wish for darker things.” He pauses for effect to draw me in or in warning, but it’s too late.
I’ve already been caught in his trap, so I whisper on bated breath, “Go on.”
He smiles like a monster, “Once you're ready to leave, I’ll send a raven to guide you towards a more secluded area. I know you wish to drink from him and we both know what will happen when you do.” He shifts his body to look in the direction I should go while pointing over to a clear path I can follow. I take the moment to look, really take in what he is. What I’ll be taking the reins of, immorally begging for.
He’s everything Eros is, and it is like living a dual reality watching his lips say those words. All of him, painfully perfect in an obscenely masculine way, offering what his brother would punish me for. But there is something in the strength of his body, pushed to its physical limits. Even in his confident stance and composure, which relay an even deadlier magnetism you can’t help but get pulled into that distinguishes them. Marcus’s body is magnetic, looks like he’s been cage fighting since the womb with a physique trained for war, while Eros’s is seductive power, pulled together with ample muscle definition and lean build.
I said before, I might not like what happens to me with Marcus, but I can’t for the life of me move away.
This is too incomprehensible, something I can’t wrap my head around, so I try to ignore it and draw my strength from what he offers me. Getting closer to Darius.
In a bold move, I hold his wrist, stopping him to pull him a second before he kneels. “Don’t hurt him, or I’ll kill you. Don’t think I won’t find you and end you.”
His arm circles my waist, pushing my body up against a solid wall of muscle. I feel the bite of his fingers when he cups my chin, “Don’t tempt me with your words. I almost wish to return him to you in a thousand pieces, so I could find the woman you would turn into to avenge him.” He stops himself before he can say more, thinking better of it.
My hands come up to land on his chest, but I don’t struggle, I melt into him instead. “Finish what you were going to say.”
He has a sly smile on his lips, probably realizing what he does to my traitorous body. “You really don’t want to trouble yourself with the inner workings of my mind. But, no need to worry Emma. I’m only here to help you control what is drawing you to my brother.”
A guttural bellow slices me in half.
Frowning, I turn my gaze towards Darius who looks like he’s in complete agony, as he tries to stay away from me. He springs up, his movements too quick for Marcus and I. Darius is shifting into something I can’t quite make out because of his speed, but he’s definitely larger when he slams into Marcus. Trying to save me, Marcus takes the brunt of the impact. The unmistakable sound of crushing bones is too loud in the all too silent night.
I scream, “No!” to stop Darius from going after him and causing more damage.
Marcus risked himself for me, using the few seconds to spare, to push me away. I stand, hands raised, begging Darius to stop because the poison will soon have complete control of him. “No, don’t come near me. I don’t want to have to fight you!” I yell, sparing a look to find Marcus lying face down over an uprooted tree. I can see he crashed into it, smashing part of the pine to smithereens, but he has a large log jutting out of his back. My heart squeezes at the sight of his injuries and his closed eyes.
I can see why it was so important I drink from Marcus because I’m too weak from all the bloodloss, so this is an even worse idea than letting Marcus help us. I can’t possibly go hand to hand with Darius.
Before I can go to Marcus and assimilate what is happening, Darius drags me over his shoulder, whizzing through the moonlit forest. The night is bathed in blue, but all I can see is crimson.
Marcus lost so much blood.
“Please, we can’t leave him!” I say, punching Darius’s back, hoping to slow him.
Marcus’s scent hit me as Darius ran away with me in tow, and there is something so forbidden in its call.
In a deadpan voice, Darius objects over his shoulder, “Why not?”
He thinks by showing me his fangs he’ll intimidate me, but I answer him anyway, not giving a shit.
“Because . . . did you not see how he saved us from the lycans? If it weren’t for him, we’d both be dead.”
He growls, “What I s
aw was him pawing you like he was savoring a favorite snack. But then again, it’s Marcus we’re talking about. He’s probably late to some orgy.”
My eyes turn to the ground, hoping to stop myself from picturing Marcus in between naked bodies and not dwelling on the twinge of pain those images inflict. I immediately attribute it to his almost exact likeness to his twin and the unwelcome emotions from the past I was too sure left me scarred.
It’s dizzying how fast the ground speeds by under Darius’s boots, which look like they barely touch the ground. His muscles bounce, shoulders bunched underneath my body, as he sprints too quickly through the forest.
“We have to go back! He had a plan to keep us from killing each other.”
Darius keeps putting distance between us and Marcus, covering miles of ground. Making it difficult for me to find any point of reference that would lead me back to Marcus. He quickly leaps over the brush when he stops before another cliff. “I would never hurt you. Not even now as his brother’s poison works through my system. I’m fighting it and succeeding.”
“We both are, but for how long? If you remember, I’m sure I thought I could beat the poison, too; the last time I tried to kill you. All up to when I couldn’t anymore. In fact, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before you try to slice my throat.” I sigh while turning my face to see how far down he plans on landing this time.
“I’d slice my own throat before taking my claws to yours. Hold on to me, I want to hide you in one of the lower caverns tonight. I have to get you hidden and sealed inside before the poison kicks in.”
The drop is almost as bad as before, a little over half of the last cliff. Instantly, my palms become a sweaty mess, “You are trying to kill me! Wasn’t it enough with the last cliff we barely lived through? Don’t you dare put me through that rollercoaster of emotions!” I scream, shaking my head in panic.
Pushing off his back with my fists, I try to spring off of his body, but he’s too strong. As soon as my knee comes over his shoulder, he takes my waist in a tight hold I can’t escape. Darius brings me over his shoulders, kissing my bared stomach before he says against my skin, “You’ll probably hate me for this, but it’s necessary.” In the blink of an eye, he roughly sets me on my stomach over the dampened ground, coming after me to keep me down. Sitting on my back, he makes quick work of grabbing my straining wrists and captures them in a one-hand hold. I feel him pulling on his belt while I thrash and scream for him to let me go before I decide to use his intestines to string him up. I tell him I’ll string him up like a Christmas tree, but make sure to leave out how I’m only alive to tell the tale of the last jump thanks to Eros. I’m very careful not to use that name in front of him. But immediately, I think that maybe I should tell him and decide it’s a mistake not to mention it because it can cause Darius a moment of hesitation. One I can use to my advantage.
I’m sputtering dirt in anger. I can taste the violence I feel, yet I can’t control myself from soaking my panties. His sweat entices me, mixing with the dirt just as I’m about to mention Eros, but Darius stops me with his next words.
“Be still! And don’t you fucking dare!” He squats lower on my body, right over my thighs, ripping my pants clean off. My body bounces over the mud with the force of him yanking them off. When he takes a breath, I go completely still, not knowing what to expect. The hits come fast and back to back, smack over both my cheeks, stinging loud on my skin and the night. Further making his point, he runs a hand to soften the blow and lifts his hand, sending me into an outright panic. I cringe from the pain.
“You never listen, but you must tonight!” He grips my hips, lifting me before he continues. “I don’t want to hurt you. My race is cursed by the gods. It’s why I’ve kept away from you.”
I don’t care what he says. I don’t listen. Through a red haze, expecting more pain at his upraised hand I scream, “I hate you! You bastard, I’m going to kill you for this, regardless of the poison!”
“You’re just scared. You made this exact jump two weeks ago, so listen and be still. All you had to show for it was a broken clavicle and it was because you tried to stop yourself last minute. With the adrenaline and your threshold for pain, you didn’t even feel it, and it certainly didn’t stop you. I fed you my blood, and you recovered instantly.”
He grips my hips harder pulling me against him. “Fuck, I want you! I want you rough on this ground. But, I can’t. There’s no getting through to you now because of your worry for him. We’ll continue this conversation once I get you to hear me out.” He easily picks me up, while I kick my legs out against him to no avail. I make contact with his knee, but he doesn’t show any pain just a slight shift. Twigs and mud cake to my body and hair while all I can do is pray to lose him in the jump and the lake below.
I can’t help but notice the powerful swells and wide veins over his back. I ponder if I should bite him and strangle the mother fucker with my thighs.
“I’ll bite you!” Dumb of me to shout the warning, but we’ll end up like savages if I don’t.
“Do it! I’ll enjoy biting you back. But then, nothing will stop me from fucking you.” His growl is barely recognizable.
He begins backing up into the brush again for momentum, “I plan on taking the impact, so you won’t be harmed.” And with those words, he sets off, running and leaping through the air as we fly off the cliff.
-The jump makes Emma react to the poison, struggling to kill Darius she gets away.
-Marcus finds her first
-She’s in shock losing body heat fast, so Marcus strips her and himself to get her warm, feeding her his blood.
-Darius finds them together.
* * *
[1]Without the sex, since she was a virgin when Darius took her in the bar.
[2]Yes, without the sex, but you later learn there was enough foreplay for the statement to ring true. Should I say more to that effect? How would you word it without giving more away.
[3]I wrote something in the next line but the end of it sounds weird to me, let me know what you think.
[4]That's great, the only thing I would change is to have this part connected, like so: We were lovers once, going as far...
[5]Did you mean "wouldn't"?
[6]No, she would if she could follow through.
[7]Alright, just checking.
[8]The frown wouldn't make her brow move it's the eyebrows that do that.
[9]a frown can make the brows come slightly closer, making a line down the middle. My husband has a permanent frown line bc he does it so often, lol
[10]brow is that area between the eyebrows I'm referring to.
[11]I took out the word, between, maybe it's better now?
[12]Is this part of her self-thought dialogue?
[13]further thought not dialogue.
[14]Aren't these the same thing?
[15]the first one is meant more as losing the ability like being mute, the second is having the ability but forgetting to form the words.
[16]Did he use actual rope to tie her up, or was he just using his hands? If it is just his hands, I would rephrase this.
[17]better?
[18]not sure what you mean here. Does she mean come inside of her without a condom? Does she mean she wants him to rub her until she's raw?
[19]No, more to the point of do me until there is nothing left of the two of us. Let me know if there is a way if making it more clear.
[20]Should this be the light the octane creates?
[21]Not sure. The light is a product of his eyes. His light creates octane inside her (heat) lol. She just doesn't know the light is his and thinks its a storm.
[22]Let me know what you think sounds best.
[23]He would also need to turn so their heads are facing the same direction.
[24]She's facing away with her back to him.
[25]Not if they were having a 69. There's physically only one way that can work. LOL
[26]They are done, lol. She worked that man into
a coma. He's exhausted and brought her over him to rest.
[27]Why is he suddenly acting like he can't see her?
[28]Hes drained, lol.
[29]Also her back is over him, Let me know if it is stated better now.
[30]Did the pants take the mud off when he removed them?
[31]the glyphs are on his chest.
[32]oh the pants get removed before the glyphs get painted on.
[33]Did you mean: Instantly, I smell a freshly-showered Darius on my floor, exiting the elevator, thinking in a panic, he knows Eros is coming. (Darius is the one thinking in the panic?)
Or: Instantly, I smell a freshly-showered Darius on my floor, exiting the elevator. I panic, thinking, (He knows Eros is coming.)
The part in parentheses is supposed to be italicized, but it doesn't work in the comments.
[34]Thanks, 2nd choice.
[35]Earlier it said he would die soon after he killed Eros. So, does that only happen if Marcus is the killer?
[36]Yes. How do I clarify or is it understood how I'd hoped.