Dark Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  “More,” I begged against his lips as he pushed into me once more, his pace still achingly slow and making me writhe beneath him.

  A dark laugh was the only response he gave as he pushed into me just as slowly again, taking my body hostage with each inch of movement. I gasped as he stilled there, owning me, filling me, possessing me. And right then I was more than happy to be his.

  It felt so good that I could hardly even breathe, but I needed him to stop torturing me and move faster.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist, digging my heels into his back in an effort to force him to do what I wanted.

  Gabriel slid a hand beneath my lower back, tipping my hips up before thrusting into me more firmly at last. I cried out as he hit the perfect spot deep inside me and his kisses moved to my neck as I rolled my head back, lost in the sensation of what he was doing to me.

  He slowly increased his rhythm, pushing me higher and higher as each thrust got a little harder, a little faster.

  His mouth was on my flesh, his tongue worshiping me as he held me in torment beneath him and I cried out for it never to stop.

  My skin was tingling, aching, buzzing with the promise of release again as he built me up and up, climbing to the top of a precipice with me which I was desperate to fall off of.

  Each powerful thrust of his hips had my head spinning, my body bowing and my lips pouring out cries of pleasure which only seemed to encourage him to torture me more.

  “Please,” I begged when I finally reached my limit, unable to take any more of his torture on my flesh. “Gabriel.”

  His name on my lips was my undoing and I tumbled into a well of pleasure, crying out as he continued to move faster and faster while I could only cling to him and ride through it.

  My muscles tightened around him as he moved his mouth back to mine, kissing me hungrily. He kept moving, a growl of desire escaping him as he pounded into me, prolonging the pleasure he’d given me and sending more and more of it skittering through my body with each thrust. I couldn’t take it, I’d never felt anything like it; I was going to burn up with the power of it at any moment.

  With a final thrust, he slammed into me, growling as he found his release too and I groaned beneath him as he filled me completely.

  My heart jackhammered against my ribs as his weight pressed me down, our slick bodies moulding together as we tried to recover from the intensity of what we’d just done.

  I slowly loosened my grip on him so that I was just holding him instead of gripping onto him like the world would fall away beneath me if I let go.

  I traced my fingers over his shoulder blades, skimming the line where his wings burst from his back and feeling him shudder at my touch.

  “Do you like that?” I asked, unsure if his response was pleasure or discomfort.

  “That feels...unbelievable. No one’s ever touched me like that,” he replied in a devilish tone, leaning back to kiss me once more before he rolled onto his side, untangling our bodies.

  As he shifted, the moonlight spilled in on us as the storm began to burn out and I blinked at the silvery light.

  Gabriel flexed his wings for a moment before withdrawing back into his Fae form as they glimmered out of existence.

  He rolled onto his back, pulling me close and I let him, not wanting this moment between us to end despite how unexpected it had been.

  “I never would have imagined tonight ending up this way,” I breathed, biting my lip against a grin as I touched my fingers to the Scorpio mark which sat just beneath his collar bone, slowly tracing the lines of his star sign.

  “Fate,” he replied roughly. “She does whatever the fuck she wants.” He hooked a blanket over us as I let my eyes fall shut and his hand trailed over my breast making me wonder if he was considering round two.

  He kept touching me as I lay in his arms but he didn’t seem inclined to disturb me again yet and I felt so damn tired that I was already starting to drift off.

  I shouldn’t have felt safe to sleep in his arms but something about the way he’d said that word just felt so... right. Fate. I was so tired of suspicion and fear, I just wanted to feel this moment while it lasted without second guessing any of it. Fated or not.

  Though it was almost dawn, I still tasted cherries in my mouth from Elise’s lips, her effect lingering on me like a second skin. I pulled away as she slept, shifting to sit up and scratch at my jaw. There was something so fucking seductive about this girl. And her body had felt more divine than I’d thought possible. It was the most intense sex I’d ever experienced. Fate had sent me women before but this felt like...well shit, I didn’t even have words for it. But that left me in a serious predicament.

  I didn’t get attached to anyone. No ties. That was my mantra. Anyone who’d ever gotten close in the past was firmly removed from my life. My adopted father had taught me that. We’d moved all over Solaria when I was a kid before finally settling in this town where the air tasted like piss and gangs owned every street you walked down. Great choice, Marty.

  Visions hovered on the edge of my mind. The Sight often gave me a glimpse of things to come. I couldn’t control what I saw. Sometimes it was just a taste, a feeling, other times a snapshot of the future. Every ink stain on my skin was something I’d seen. Something the stars had deemed to show me.

  Fucking stars. They were so damn cryptic. I scrawled their messages on my body so that I didn’t forget them though, because each one had either come to pass or was yet to.

  I grabbed my Atlas, opening my horoscope in hopes of gleaning some answers.

  Good morning Scorpio.

  The stars have spoken about your day!

  With great revelations comes great choices. A storm rises of your own creation but it may blow out if you take time to think before you react. With a Libra sitting firmly in alignment with you, a night of passion may give way to new problems.

  Beware of taking a dark path, you might end up on a road you can’t turn back from.

  The sign of Libra on my chest was itching and I scored my nails across it to make it stop. Elise’s sign. Dammit, I should have seen her coming.

  Two inked manacles wrapped around my wrists and I ground my teeth as I trailed my eyes over them. Yeah, I don’t get tied to shit. Except the stars. They keep me in a jar which they like to rattle sometimes.

  “Morning,” Elise said, clearing her throat.

  I didn’t answer, my back to her. A knot of heat tightened in my chest as her fingers brushed down my spine. I wanted her flesh again. I ached for it, the need making me hard for her already. But screw what the stars wanted. I didn’t want a girl in my life. I didn’t need the complication. Last night had been a one night thing. I’d let my guard down, fallen under her spell and the spell of the heavens. But in the cold light of day, I realised Elise wasn’t just some girl who’d stumbled into my bed. Her sign was printed on my fucking skin. Why hadn’t I stopped to consider that?

  I eyed the left manacle on my wrist, reading the words that wrapped around it. We fall together. It made me think of the tattoo I’d seen on Elise’s ribs while I’d run my mouth over her flesh, even angels fall… almost like it made a damn sentence.

  “I’m gonna head back to the dorm.”

  I said nothing.

  She stood, dressing and as she moved past me, I caught her ankle on instinct. “Don’t tell anyone,” I snarled.

  Her gaze collided with mine and my throat tightened as a vision from the stars pushed into me, demanding my attention. Her eyes were ringed with silver and fear crashed over me so hard I couldn’t breathe. Fuck fuck fuck.

  I knew I’d been in trouble with this girl, but not this much trouble.

  My grip tightened on her leg and she tried to shake me off to escape.

  “Don’t move,” I growled, rising to my feet. I hounded into her personal space and she leaned backwards but held her ground. I hunted her eyes, pinching her chin firmly between my finger and thumb as I searched.

  “What are you doing?
” she demanded, curling her hand around mine and pushing it away.

  Her lips were still red from how hard I’d kissed her last night. Screwing like it was our last night alive. And that urge was rising again now. I blew out a breath of irritation. Fuck fate. The last thing I could ever afford was letting someone get close to me. I’d known that my entire life. The stars had rarely tested the strength of that decision. But this was the mother of all tests. And I wasn’t going to fail it.

  “This didn’t happen. Don’t come back for more.” I brushed past her as her expression skewed into a sharp frown. I drew on the power of my Order form so my wings burst from my back then dove from the roof and flew into the golden light of the sunrise before she could reply. Alone. Where I belonged. Where the world made fucking sense to me. And as far away from Elise Callisto as I could get.

  ***

  The stars kept showing me that vision of Elise with a silver ring around her irises. And worst than that. So much fucking worse. They showed me my eyes with the exact same thing. I’d been looking in the bathroom mirror one moment and the next, there it was. A sign. A promise. A life sentence.

  If she was my Elysian Mate then that meant this infernal bond between us was only going to grow more powerful. So I decided to read every book I could about how to break it off before it was too late. But there was one major problem with that plan: there was a sum total of zero books on that subject. Because no one had ever done it before. Once you came into contact with your mate, the time bomb started ticking. But I wasn’t some ordinary Fae. I was Gabriel Nox. And I had a heart of fucking iron. So if anyone could break this off it was me.

  I was going to be cold, cruel and heartless. By the time I was done, she was going to rue the day she’d met me. It was callous, but I’d been hounded by girls I’d slept with before. And I couldn’t take the risk this time. Because if she got close again, my inner compass was going to point me firmly toward her. I wasn’t going to underestimate the magnetic power of Elysian Mates, so I needed to drive the point home today.

  I followed her down the hallway before our first class, silent as a ghost as I crept up on her. Before she turned down the next corridor, I snagged her wrist and crowded her in against the wall with a dark look that made even the shadows run from me.

  “Get out of here,” I commanded the other students and they scattered like mice. “A word,” I growled at Elise.

  “That sounded like two words. Which is more words than you’ve spoken to me since last night on the roof. Thanks for living up to my expectations and being a complete asshole.”

  I cocked my head, mouth flat. “You have no idea.” Even this close to her, I could feel the urges of our bond rising in me. Which meant she could feel them too.

  “I’m guessing you’re about to show me.”

  I shifted closer, dipping my head to look down at her. Prey in the talons of a hawk. But she didn’t cower, she tilted her chin up and faced me. I tried not to like that about her. “Guess what the stars whispered in my ear earlier?”

  “What?” she frowned and I eyed the v between her eyes with the slight urge to run my thumb over it.

  “That we’re destined. Elysian Mates. Together forever if we want it.”

  She laughed and I had to admit it was hot. So many girls would fall at my feet for the mere thought that I could be mated to them. This girl laughed in my face and part of me wanted to kiss her until I swallowed that sound right up. But fuck if I would.

  “You’re joking?” she assumed.

  “No,” I said hollowly. “I don’t do jokes.”

  “I can see that.” She raised a brow then shook her head at me. “Why do you even think something crazy like that?”

  “I told you: the stars.”

  “Liar liar,” she purred.

  I shoved myself against her, moving my mouth to her ear, her heart drumming against my chest. “I’m not lying, Elise. And I don’t tend to do what the stars tell me. So do you want to avoid fate with me?”

  She frowned for a second. “I don’t believe you’re my Elysian Mate.”

  I crushed her back against the wall until a breath of discomfort rolled from her lungs. “So you don’t feel this power dragging us together? You don’t want to kiss me?”

  Her brows dipped and her eyes scoured me. “I want you to step back, Gabriel. I’m not beyond biting you.” Her fangs snapped out and I smirked, glancing down between us and she followed my gaze to where I’d bound her hands in vines, so gently she hadn’t even felt it.

  I stepped aside and with a flick of my hand, threw her across the floor. She rolled and I bound her tighter in vines until she was wrapped up like a Tootsie Roll in the centre of the hallway. It felt like shit. Like cutting off a chunk of my heart. But I had to drive the message home.

  “Fuck you!” she snapped as my eyes locked with hers. I guided a vine up around her mouth, gagging her as I strolled forward, staring down at her and tasting the bile pushing against my throat. The urge to help her free and drag her into my arms was almost overwhelming, but I wouldn’t let it win. I’d treat her so mean, she’d refuse me even if her soul burned right out of her body in search of mine.

  “Let’s play a game,” I snarled. “It’s called stay the hell away from me.”

  Her eyes spewed venom as I released her from the vines. Her skirt was caught up above her waist and her cheeks flushed scarlet as she shot to her feet with her Vampire speed. I was ready for her attack, throwing up a shield as a storm of air crashed into me from her outstretched hands. She was stronger than I expected and I stumbled back a step as I had to work to maintain my shield. I was more powerful though and I gritted my teeth, defending against her until she gave up.

  “Asshole,” she hissed. “I’ll gladly stay out of your way.” She stalked off down the corridor and I stood there, letting the pain of that encounter crash through me.

  Had to be done.

  She didn’t seem tempted to look back and that didn’t piss me off at all. But I did wonder why the hell I was still watching her go.

  ***

  I perched on my bed, visions capturing my mind as I stared at the opposite wall. Colours and tastes, smells and feelings, all giving me hints of things to come. The most frustrating thing was, I couldn’t control what I saw.

  The past eluded me. I couldn’t remember a single thing before my fifth birthday, but sometimes the stars showed me snippets, memories, and I clung onto them with all my might.

  I knew next to nothing about my past. My adopted parents didn’t know much either. What they did know, was that I’d been planted into their care with strict instructions: to keep me hidden. When I pushed them for answers about who exactly had placed me into their care, they outright refused to tell me. Maybe they didn’t even know. Either way, they received a generous sum of money deposited into their bank account monthly from some anonymous source. Since I’d turned eighteen, I’d been getting the payments too. I’d spent my young life thinking they loved me, now I just wondered if I’d always been a job to them.

  They’d spent years teaching me to fly under the radar. Someone was after me. Didn’t know who, or what, or why. But the extent to which my adopted parents had gone to keep me hidden was proof that I was in serious danger if I was ever found. Since I’d enrolled at Aurora Academy, they were more worried than ever. And frankly, so was I.

  For the first time in my life, attention was on me constantly. With two Elements making me the most powerful Fae in school, I was naturally noticeable. Because of my double Elements, the girls here all battled for my attention and talked non-stop about me on fucking FaeBook. It set me on edge. What if whoever was after me caught wind of me here at the academy? Marty said homeschooling wasn’t an option anymore after I was Awakened because I needed the best education available to train me on how to defend myself. So I took my education more seriously than most. I was miles ahead of my class because my life fucking depended on it. If I dropped the ball, it could mean the difference between winning o
r losing in a fight. And I was determined to be prepared.

  Elise kept shooting me glares like I was staring at her, but I wasn’t. Mostly. Except sometimes my eyes trailed to her as the visions faltered. The curve of her neck, her full lips which had looked so good pressed to my tattoos.

  Sharing a room with her was not going to be easy. I’d no doubt be sleeping on the roof more often than not. I’d never realised the bond of Elysian Mates was so powerful. It dominated every inch of me. The guilt of what I’d done to her earlier today was eating me alive. Like fucking locusts feasting on my insides. I was strong. But was I strong enough for this?

  “Say something or stop fucking looking at me,” she snarled and the poison in her tone made me both seriously miserable and relieved at once. She hated me. Job done. But also...shit I wish she didn’t have to.

  “He never says anything unless it’s to piss me off.” Dante pulled back his sheet to glare out at me. White hot energy burned from his core since I’d rescued Elise from him but he wouldn’t dare challenge me.

  “For fuck’s sake Dante you’re making it so hot in here. What’s your deal?” Laini stormed into the room, wafting her face as she headed to the window and pushed it open.

  Elise flinched so imperceptibly, only my hawk-keen eyes caught it. Fear flickered in her gaze. She didn’t like heights. And the Dragon had thrown her out there like an unwanted house spider. I’d been compelled to go after her. The stars had shoved her into my way and refused to let me ignore her.

  Dante disappeared behind his sheet and I slid down from my bed, not drawing anyone’s attention as I moved across the room, my wings brushing past Dante’s bed and making the sheet fall. Asshole. I hated the gangs. They were pathetic, sucking more blood out of this town than all the Vampires in Alestria combined. My uncle had gotten caught up in the crossfire once; he nearly lost an arm after a bite from one of the Oscura Werewolves.