Torment: Dark Paranormal Romance (Eclipse Warlocks Book 1)

by Ellie Cassidy

  He folded himself over me, settling between my thighs and my blood caught fire. He planted his elbows either side my head and speared his fingers through my hair, lifting my face up to brush my lips with a fierce kiss as his cock prodded my entrance.

  He was granite where I was soft. Earth where I was floral. He was all the missing pieces of me and I was all the missing pieces of him.

  I was wet, desire pulsing through me, my thighs spreading wider on their own accord to open myself to him.

  I was ready for this.

  Ready for him.

  Or so I thought.

  He thrust inside me hard and deep, tearing a gasped cry from my throat as the muscles of my inner walls protested the intrusion.

  Lex went absolutely still, then he raised himself up on his elbows.

  “Did I hurt you?” He looked into my wide eyes and saw my truth. “Sage,” he breathed out, a pained expression crossing his face. “Tell me this isn’t your first time.”

  “It’s okay.” I took some breaths, in, out.

  “Fuck.”

  “You didn’t hurt me,” I said softly. He was still seated deep inside me and I felt my muscles relax, adjusting to accommodate him. “It was just a shock.” I was throbbing for him, aching for release. “Please… don’t stop.”

  “I’m not,” he said, his voice so gruff, the look in his eyes so tender, my heart swelled to bursting. “Trust me?”

  I did.

  He started to move again, a gentle rocking motion as he brought his mouth down, his lips shaping mine, his tongue slipping in with slow, stroking sensations.

  Delicious heat swept through me, wave upon wave of desire building up and crashing over me. He seemed to read my body, knew exactly when to thrust a little deeper, a little faster, taking me higher and higher until I felt like I was teetering on the highest cliff at the top of the sky.

  “Oh God,” I moaned, every nerve in my body on fire and pulled taut, the ache in my core burning deeper and hotter.

  Lex grunted, a noise filled with raw, feral pleasure and his next thrust sent me over the cliff. I was falling, falling through a midnight sky and shattering into a million pieces of pure ecstasy.

  When I came back to my senses and opened my eyes, he was raised on his elbows, staring down on me, his features slackened in adoration and spent passion. “You are so goddamn beautiful.”

  I didn’t have the energy to do anything but pant small, flustered breaths and smile weakly. I was totally wrecked, in the most exhilarating way.

  Lex rolled off me, getting rid of the condom before he pulled me over him, our legs tangled and my cheek pressed to his racing heartbeat.

  His fingers played with my hair. “Sorry I was so rough. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you.”

  “You weren’t rough,” I murmured, tilting my face up to look at him. “And if you were, it’s my fault. I should have told you.”

  “I should have asked.”

  The self-incrimination in his voice and the concern in his eyes undid me. “Can I tell you a secret?” I didn’t wait for him to answer. “I’ve obviously thought about sex a lot.”

  “You must have had plenty of opportunities,” he said quietly.

  “I wouldn’t say plenty, but yeah, it just never felt like the right time…until now. Until you.”

  The ghost of a smile traced his mouth. “Is that your big secret?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ve thought about sex a lot, imagined how amazing it would feel, but I never came even close. I feel like you broke me apart at the seams and put me back together with parts I never knew I was missing.”

  His hand moved down my arm, caressing, holding me even closer. If I thought he’d looked at me with adoration a few minutes ago, well, that had nothing on the way he was looking at me now. “So it was good for you, too, huh?”

  I laughed, and thumped his chest with my fist.

  His chuckle rumbled deep within his chest. I rested my cheek on the ball of his shoulder, loving this closeness in the aftermath, surprised how comfortable I felt sprawled naked all over him. My eyes went to the ink on his chest—a series of moon symbols.

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, tracing my fingers over the largest moon. It covered most of his left breast, and waxed around an intricate eye that radiated slashed lines. “Does it have any special meaning?”

  He smiled, bringing his hand up to clasp my tracing fingers in his. “It’s kind of a family thing. Nothing special.”

  Ink to commemorate his family? It was both beautiful and tragic, considering he’d never known his father and his mother had walked out on him.

  “I love it,” I murmured against his skin.

  His hand flattened over mine, pressing my palm to his heartbeat.

  We lay there, wrapped in each other as we drifted into sleep.

  I didn’t wake up in his arms the next morning. We’d somehow untangled ourselves—or Lex had untangled us—during the night and I was lying on my stomach with my cheek smashed to a pillow. The curtains were drawn closed with just a crack down the middle where sunlight filtered into the room.

  Lex was sprawled flat on his back beside me, his jaw slackened in sleep. I rolled onto my side, bending an elbow beneath my head to lift my gaze for a better view. His hair was a tossed mess, silky strands falling across his face. I hadn’t noticed until now how long and thick his lashes were. His lips were soft and full, calling to me as memories of last night cascaded through me like a humming bird along my veins.

  I was tempted to wake him with a kiss he couldn’t resist so we could do it all again. Instead I crept out of the bed and gathered my clothes, not ready to test our relationship with my morning breath.

  @hawk

  I know it’s far too soon to feel this strongly. But the truth is, I’ve been falling for Lex from the moment I first saw him.

  He makes me feel safe. Not from outside dangers. I don’t need protecting. He makes me feel safe within myself.

  I’ve told him things I never knew needed a voice until I found myself opening up to him.

  He’s uncovered parts of me I never realized I’d been hiding.

  When I told him he’d broken me apart at the seams and put me back together with parts I never knew I was missing, I didn’t just mean the sex.

  I’m not afraid of me and Lex.

  He is the missing pieces of me and when if when if if if he leaves, now at least l know what those pieces look like. I will always have that.

  11

  SAGE

  After a spa session in my luxurious shower, I pulled on a strappy sundress that cupped my breasts and flirted with my thighs. I spent a few minutes studying my reflection in the mirror as I knotted my damp hair into a loose ponytail, convinced I must look different.

  I felt changed.

  I felt beautiful and precious and strong. Confident in my own skin. More alive. Back in control of my choices.

  The same brown eyes stared back at me, mocking my convictions. My cheeks were as pale as they’d been yesterday, shy to tan and susceptible to blushes. I puckered my lips, pouted, then scowled at myself.

  I may not look any different, but the shift inside me was permanent.

  Last night wasn’t just about sex.

  Last night was about total commitment, the kind I usually ran from like a bat out of hell. I’d given myself to Lex—heart, body and soul—without an inkling of what our future looked like or if we even had one. It didn’t matter. There wasn’t a shred of doubt within me. Whatever happened, I would never regret Lex.

  Flipping my reflection the bird, I made my way downstairs in search of coffee with an extra buzz in my step. This house didn’t just come with a spa shower, it also had an incredibly fancy expresso machine.

  I stopped by the den to collect my phone from the docking station and noticed the speaker had been returned to its rightful place. Hopefully that was Lex, and not Gideon cleaning up after us—I was sure he’d have something to say about that.

 
; Gideon was in the kitchen to greet me with an abrupt, “Good morning.”

  “Yes, it is!” I declared with a bright smile.

  He observed me as I rounded the sturdy oak table, his sculpted face shrugging into an expression of who gives a crap?

  A mug of coffee and a plate with a half-eaten croissant sat before him, so I figured his pissy mood wasn’t due to hunger. I guess that left me as the prime suspect.

  “About yesterday, sorry for getting all judgy on you,” I said as I turned my attention to the expresso machine. The pilot light was green. “Lex explained the whole golden ticket thing.”

  “Golden ticket thing?” Gideon drawled.

  “You’re immune to alcohol.” I rolled my eyes as I grabbed a re-sealed bag of ground coffee beans. Honestly, it still sounded ridiculous. “Must be a nice problem to have.”

  No response.

  I shot him a look over my shoulder. He was sipping on his coffee, lost to his own thoughts with his gaze on the window above the sink.

  Okay.

  The longer layers that usually fell over his forehead were pushed back, as if he’d just run a hand through his raven black hair. He’d skipped his morning shave, the hollows of his granite jaw shaded dark. I had to admit, he was still the sexiest, god-forbidden guy I’d ever set eyes on. I noticed. But the familiar jolt of awareness that usually stabbed me never came.

  Thanking all that was holy for my new-found grip on common sense, I went back to preparing my coffee, fitting the filter holder and then flicking the switch for medium strength. While the machine hissed and steamed the aromatic elixir into my mug, I fetched the carton of milk from the fridge.

  Gideon’s eyes tracked from the window to me. “What exactly did Lex have to say about me?”

  His voice was cool and level, as if he didn’t have any stake in my answer. I didn’t trust it, not one bit.

  “Um…something about your immune system treating alcohol like a virus,” I said, not looking at him as I poured milk into the stainless steel jug. “It’s rather remarkable, isn’t it?”

  I held the jug beneath the frother wand and switched it on, grateful for the additional hissing. Why was he so curious about what Lex might have told me? So, he has a rare medical condition. Big deal!

  Well, actually it was a big deal. A medical condition I struggled to wrap my head around, no matter how much I believed Lex.

  It wasn’t normal.

  Being one-of-a-kind wasn’t normal.

  And now a part of me was wondering what else about Gideon Crest might be so remarkably abnormal—other than the cruel and twisted beauty thing he had going on, of course.

  The milk was frothed.

  I flicked off the switch and turned from the machine to set the jug down— “Shit!” I shrieked, startled from my wayward thoughts by Gideon practically in my face. “Don’t do that.”

  He removed my mug from the tray and replaced it with his own, a devil’s smile tracing his mouth, the ivory in his eyes lit with amusement as he offered me my mug.

  He was filling up my personal space again, infusing all his damn pheromones into my air. I sucked in a careful breath, almost afraid of what I might be sucking into me. No unwanted heat pooled low in my stomach. I exhaled slowly, looking into his exotic, mesmerizing eyes. No bolts of savage desire burned through me.

  My gaze washed over the sculpted contours of his face and swept to the hand held out between us. Our fingers brushed as I took my mug and stepped back from him, breathing more easily now.

  He still smelled like a hot, torrid night.

  He still brought thoughts of a Picasso masterpiece to mind, with all the evil, twisted edges hidden far below the surface.

  But there was just this muted hum of acknowledgement that danced beneath my skin. The heavens hadn’t opened up to rain down mindless, heartless, soulless lust all over my stupid, hormone-raging ass.

  I swirled in the milk and took my coffee with me to the table with a smug smile plastered on my face. It was like last night had eviscerated the Gideon effect.

  If last night was the cure, that was just another reason why I wasn’t afraid to love Lex. He was everything good and right and sane in my world. He was the home I hadn’t had in a long, long time.

  Gideon retrieved a brown bag from the bread bin and set it down in front of me with a plate. “Help yourself.”

  My stomach rumbled at the smell of freshly baked pastries. I selected a cinnamon Danish. “Thanks,” I said, smiling up at him. “Did you do an early morning run into town?”

  “Well I didn’t bake it myself,” he said dryly.

  My mouth was full of delicious Danish, else I might have bothered with a snarky retort.

  His coffee was ready. He collected his mug from the tray and walked out without another word or so much as a glance in my direction. I was too busy licking the sugary cinnamon from my fingers to care about Gideon and his lack of manners.

  I slouched in the hardback chair, stretching my legs out under the table as I sipped on my coffee and scrolled through the notifications on my phone.

  There was a missed call from Haley yesterday. If it were urgent, I’d have a hundred missed calls.

  A text from Grant also yesterday: Do you know about this?

  I replied to him: Know about what?

  My social media streams were filled with selfies and other photos and short playbacks from the beach party. Seemed like a silly, drunken time was had by all. I zoomed in on a picture of Kenzie in the water, swimming lazily with her arms draped around some guy I couldn’t recognize from the view of dark, dripping hair. Not Grant, though. I took that as a good sign.

  I played a video of some Black Horns guzzling beer straight from the keg. Jack Carnebie had the pump spray. Grant was there, his t-shirt drenched…probably with beer, knowing Jack. I smirked and swiped away, rolling my eyes toward the swing doors as Lex entered.

  “Hey,” he drawled, his gaze sinking into me as he came straight over. “So this is where you got to.”

  I grinned as he propped his backside on the table beside my chair. “Miss me?”

  He leant in, cupping my jaw, his thumb feathering my cheek. “You have no idea,” he said and kissed me like I was the air he breathed.

  “Hmm...” He pulled back a fraction, his words brushing my lips. “Something sweet and something…cinnamon.”

  “Guilty as charged,” I murmured.

  “I want more,” he murmured, his mouth shaping mine again.

  A throat cleared behind us. “Lex, a word, please.”

  “His timing sucks,” I groaned around Lex’s mouth.

  He swept his kisses along the line of my jaw to whisper in my ear, “Don’t move, I’ll be right back.”

  I didn’t move—for about five seconds. That’s how long it took for suspicion and curiosity to get the better of me. I was sure Gideon’s words would be all about me. I didn’t know if he simply disapproved of me in general or whether he thought I was no good for Lex in particular or maybe he just liked to dominate and control everyone around him.

  I may be paranoid, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. With lightly placed heel-to-toe steps, I snuck out the kitchen, through the living area, past the stairway…low undertones of softly spoken male voices filtered from the den.

  I tiptoed along the hallway, pressing myself flat to the wall beside the arch.

  “What do I need to compel her to forget?” Gideon’s quietened voice reached me without making a lick of sense.

  I must have misheard.

  “Nothing,” Lex said. “I told her it was a medical condition.”

  “And you honestly think she’d believe that?” Gideon hissed. “What the fuck do you think she’s got rolling around in that pretty head of hers? Mothballs?”

  I didn’t know whether to be flattered or insulted. On the one hand, he thought my head was pretty. On the other, I had sort of believed Lex.

  That’s when it hit me. Lex had lied. There was no golden ticket.


  “I was doing you a favor, Gideon.” Lex’s irritation bubbled to the surface, raising his voice. “Do whatever you want, but if you compel it away—”

  My heart jumped as my phone vibrated and buzzed. Crap. I delved into the folds of my skirt to reach the flimsy pocket—without material to dampen the sound, the next vibration buzzed so loud, it might as well have been a siren wailing into the silence…silence?…the conversation had cut off at some point.

  Double crap.

  I started backtracking down the hallway, fumbling with the stupid phone, finally cutting the call—Grant? He never phones when a text will do—just as Gideon appeared in the archway.

  I rocked on the balls of my heels and tipped forward into some version of a casual walk toward him, pretending I’d been coming and not going. My heart was thumping in my chest, which was pathetic. It wasn’t like I’d been caught committing a federal offense red-handed.

  “Is Lex still with you?” I wet my lips nervously, unable to meet the stare he narrowed on me. “I was just wondering what was taking so long.”

  “He’s all yours.” He gestured for me to pass him into the den and I did.

  At the last second, his arm crossed in front of my chest and he blocked me with a hand on my shoulder, totally invading my personal space. Yet again!

  My eyes flashed to his, but my indignant retort snagged along with my breath as he trailed a finger along the curve of my shoulder, up the column of my throat, his touch deliberately sensual. His gaze poured into me, his eyes glinting, midnight dusted with diamonds. Heat snaked beneath my skin and coiled into my stomach.

  It doesn’t count, I swore vehemently. This is practically sexual provocation!

  “Oh, and Sage…” His path of torment ended with his knuckles tipping up my chin. “Forget everything you heard while sneaking around in the hallway.”

  His knuckles dropped away and then he was walking away, leaving me slightly flushed and highly vexed at yet another too-close encounter I didn’t want. I scowled after him, my mouth working up a slew of curses that I swallowed thickly. I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he riled me.