by K L Rymer
“Misaki, where are you going?”
I look back at Lilac. Her lips really are too big for her small, oval face. Lucky for her, they’re still reversible. If she stops now, she may be able to salvage what’s left of them. There was nothing wrong with her lips before anyway. Small, but they suited her.
Thank god I inherited my full lips from my beautiful mother. A mother I haven’t even seen in years.
“I’m going to find Crystal. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Lilac shakes her head and mutters to Bryony and Beth. “Told you she likes her better than us.”
I couldn’t give two shits what they all think, so I leave them there and head off. Male eyes watch me as I snake my way through the crowd, but I’m used to the attention by now.
However, I did see Crystal turning a few heads earlier, and she’d smirked.
I knew the red would get her out of her little shell.
Plus, Eli has a weakness for women in red dresses. It’s his kryptonite.
My feet click across the foyer as I stop outside the drawing room, pressing my ear to the door. I hear heavy breathing on the other side, and without thinking, I peer through the crack.
I really shouldn’t look. After all, it’s my cousin in there, but I’m shocked. I didn’t think Crystal had it in her.
But instead of finding them splayed out on the floor, I find Eli, sitting alone in his father’s chair.
Masturbating.
Oh, bollocks.
Eli whirls around, and his eyes widen when they find me. “Get the fuck out!”
I come to my senses at last and cover my eyes. “Eli! Put it away! No one needs to see that!”
We’re a fucked up family for sure, but this just takes the cake. Not that I’ve seen him in worse scenarios...
“You’re the one who’s sneaking around, creep!”
I gnash my teeth. “Pull up your pants, now, and tell me where Crystal is!”
His zipper goes, and I breathe a sigh.
Finally.
“How should I know?” he snarls. “After she fucked with my mind, she took off, taking my dignity and self-respect with her. The temptress.”
I look up.
Eli sits at the chair, brushing a hand through his unkempt hair. There’s discarded tissue around, and I manage to take a small photo before he notices.
The hashtag will be “sexwithhishandtonight.”
He’s undone his shirt and waistcoat, exposing his manly chest for all to see, and I avert my gaze.
Seriously, I don’t need to see so much of him.
But at least my female followers will be pleased. And the gay ones too I guess.
I look at his cheek, noticing the red kiss mark.
Go, Crystal...
He has another by his neck, and I wish I had seen what went down here tonight. Or didn’t for that matter, since he wouldn’t be sitting in his father’s chair giving himself a hand job.
Eli finally looks my way, fixing me with that all too familiar disdain. “You put her up to this, didn’t you?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m afraid not, cuz. I’m sorry to tell you this, but this one was all her.”
He takes in what I say, releasing a long, frustrated breath. It blows the hair off his face. “Fuck.”
“Fuck indeed.”
“She had me,” he says, looking haunted. “Right under her spell. All I could hear was my own pulse while she breathed sweet nothings into my ear.”
I raise my brows. “Doesn’t sound so bad. A cute little blonde talking dirty into your—”
He slams his fists on the table and the glass cracks beneath his palms.
Eli glares at me, his eyes black crimson. “I’m Eli Black! I don’t cave! Not for any woman. Not for anyone!”
His words echo through the room, and I roll my eyes for what must be the thousandth time tonight. What with talking about Yorkshire terriers, as well as tending to drunk, slutty redheads for the last hour.
This party turned out to be a bust after all.
Maybe I am getting too old.
“Well, there’s a first for everything, dear cousin.”
He snarls, releasing black smoke from his nostrils. His horns curl from his head, and I groan.
So dramatic.
“I. Do. Not. Cave...” he rumbles, his voice demonic.
I sigh. “Yeah, you said that already. And besides, it was time you finally found your match. You were getting a little too big for your boots. That’s why I helped your men track her down in the end.”
Eli’s face falls completely still, and I observe his reaction.
Whoops... Did I say too much?
Surprise, surprise, the manipulative Misaki Black was the one who set the course for Eli and Crystal’s epic star-crossed romance. A love story that will be told on the interwebz for years to come.
All this was my doing, and I take full credit.
Eli and Crystal were my pawns, and I was their queen.
And you my loving audience.
His lip twitches, and then his fangs protrude. “What?”
I glance down at my beautifully manicured nails. “You heard me.”
His whole body starts to convulse as the reality of my words finally hits him. I should be afraid, but if you think his demon’s bad, wait till you see mine...
A snarl leaves his lips as he drips saliva onto the cracked coffee table. “You...” he breathes in that demented demon’s voice. “You were the one who did this? Why...?”
I meet his cold, dead eyes. “Because, I want to see you bleed, cousin. I want to watch as you slowly succumb to that sweet, helpless angel, and make you weak. I wanted to hurt you where it hurts the most, seeing you fall for the very daughter of the bastard who destroyed your life. You don’t deserve the estate. You’re not worthy to inherit while I get nothing!”
The tension that fills the room after is so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
Eli just stares at me, his jaw clicking as he remains silent. Finally, he starts to speak.
“You better run, Misaki. Far away where I will never find you. No one meddles with my life. Least of all a spoilt, selfish brat.”
I remain completely still, his empty threat falling on deaf ears.
“I’m not going anywhere. This is my home as much as it is yours.”
Something sparks inside his eyes, and then he stalks closer, standing before me.
I’m five-seven without heels, but the extra four inches make me level with his eyes.
My gold eyes reflect off his black crimson as we stare at each other for a while, sizing each other up.
Which one of us will attack first? The anticipation kills me...
“You were the one who gave her the red dress, weren’t you?”
I narrow my eyes. “Anything to get your pulse racing, cousin.”
His left eye twitches, his face a frozen mask as he deliberates his next move.
We’ve fought before, and it always ended in disaster.
Our guests will get a real treat tonight.
Suddenly, a long, shrill scream pierces through the night air, and Eli and I spring into action.
It’s Crystal.
26. Eli
We rush out the drawing room, charging our way through the throngs until we get to Crystal. That blood-curdling scream had come from the terrace, and my heart bangs against my ribs.
Something has happened to Crystal, and the fear that engulfs me next is almost smothering, I can’t breathe.
I haven’t felt the same asphyxiating fear since the day my mother died, and for a moment it’s like I’m that helpless eight-year-old boy again, running to her aid before it’s too late.
I won’t be too late again this time.
We find the patio, bursting through the glass doors and out onto the packed terrace.
The cool night air fills my lungs as I gasp for breath, pushing through the crowd.
“Move!” I roar, and sure enough, people make way.
&
nbsp; Even when I’m not in demonic mode, I’m scary as hell.
Where is she? I can’t see shit in this sea of fucking flesh! I’m going to lose it if I don’t see Crystal soon enough.
Finally, the crowd parts and my eyes fall on a horrific scene.
A burnt body lies dead on the floor, filling the terrace with the scent of charred flesh, and I gasp, covering my nose.
It’s not just the sweet smell of burning human flesh that gets to me though. It’s the scent of blessed power, and I cringe, my eyes filling with tears.
Misaki recoils too, and I lean close to her, whispering. “W-who...?”
“Fredrick...” She shivers, never taking her eyes off that poor son of a bitch’s blackened body.
A coldness seeps through my veins, and the terrace suddenly spins.
Fuck.
Fredrick.
For a moment, I see us back in our black Bottingtons blazers, smoking weed at the back of the school’s cricket field. How Fred snuck it in beneath the watchful eye of the headmaster, I’ll never know, but it was hard to believe he was lying dead before me now. That pompous jackarse and bully.
Who could have done this?
Slowly, my eyes fall on that small, crouching figure in the corner.
Crystal...
She shakes like a leaf as a soft sound leaves her lips, but I can’t take my eyes off that faint glow radiating off her body.
I’ve seen that glow before... twenty-one years ago, the night my mother died, and I break out in a cold sweat.
Even now she’s dazzling, and I see our guests straining their eyes, temporarily blinded by Crystal’s light as they fill out the terrace.
Lucky thing they weren’t around when Crystal was on full beam. They’d be as charred as poor Fredrick now.
Now that is what you call true power. Pure and unadulterated that can burn a man to a crisp.
I gulp, gazing down at Crystal’s shivering form.
How did I even think I could go up against her father? A mere demon such as myself?
My power doesn’t even hold a candle.
Finally, the glow disappears from Crystal, and she slumps to her knees, trembling.
The whispers soon start, and then someone let’s out a shrill scream.
Looks like someone finally spotted Fredrick.
I snap into action, stepping over Fredrick’s body and to Crystal’s side. I sweep her up in my arms as she falls limp like a ragdoll, and then I fix my eyes on Misaki.
“Don’t let anyone leave...”
She nods and turns to the crowd, and I rush away before anyone notices.
Hopefully, I got her away before anyone realised what had happened. Now no one would know that she had been the one to kill Fredrick. I’ll make absolute sure of it.
I don’t have to use my imagination to know what transpired tonight. I knew Fredrick. Always the twisted, fucked up type. I still remember the way he used to throw rocks at ducks back when we were kids, laughing his pants off.
The bastard.
If Crystal hadn’t killed him, then I surely would have.
Pandemonium has fallen over the house as I hurry up the stairs, but I trust Misaki to get the guests in order. That girl was lethal when she wants to be; she’ll make them silent in no time.
When I’m done tending to Crystal, I’ll thrall every guest in the house and make them forget that they ever saw Fredrick tonight. He died in a road traffic accident before he hit a telephone pole and fried.
Seems plausible enough.
That way we can cover our necks. The Black Estate won’t come under fire, but mostly I’ll do it for Crystal. The memory of her terrified little face brings out a side in me I never knew I possessed, and I hold her even closer.
I move down the corridor to my old childhood bedroom, kick the door open, then carry her to the bed, placing her down fully dressed in her sinful red dress and heels.
She’s frozen in fear, gazing at nothing with soulless eyes, and my heart wrenches with guilt.
I could have been out there protecting her. Instead, I was wanking off in my cunt of a father’s chair, and my throat clogs.
This was my fault.
I sit down on the bed before her and gaze into her glassy eyes, wondering what must have been running through her mind the moment she killed Fredrick.
It was self-defence. Nothing more. It was just a pity more women didn’t have powers like Crystal.
They’d be far fewer scumbags in the world.
“Crystal?” I whisper, trying to speak as gently as possible.
It sounds foreign on my tongue.
Her body wracks with tremors as tears leak from her eyes.
“E-Eli...?”
“Yes... it’s me.”
Finally, she looks up. We stare at each other for a while, neither one of us speaking.
There was nothing to be said. I see the apology in her eyes, the guilt at turning me into a weak puddle of a man, and the remorse tears me apart.
I never should have brought her to the estate; I never should have lied and tricked her into falling in love with me.
I should have just left her well enough alone.
Her bottom lip wiggles, and then her beautiful face twists into something I don’t recognise anymore, and my own finally cracks.
Shit. I was not ready for this.
Suddenly, she wraps her arms around my neck and cries into my shoulder, and I’m completely frozen.
Crystal’s gut-wrenching sobs fill the room, tugging and yanking on my heartstrings, and I’m completely overcome for the love I feel for her. It’s pure and sweet, just like her, beating new life into my black, rotten heart, and then I wrap my arms around her too and hold her close.
She melts into me, weeping against the crook of my neck, and her tears trickle down my chest.
I just want to hold her forever and never let her go, but Crystal will never be mine. I need to do the kind thing and let her go.
We belong to two different worlds. We’ll never be together.
But for now she’s mine, and I’m hers, and I lay her down on the bed and hold her body close to mine.
We stay that way all night.
I can’t even remember the last time I spooned a girl. I don’t think I ever have.
After a while, her sniffles die down, and she falls asleep wrapped in my arms.
I nestle my nose into her hair, breathing in her candy scent, and say just quiet enough for her to hear.
“I love you, Crystal.”
Whether she hears or not, I don’t know, but her tense face relaxes, and she resembles a sweet sleeping child again at long last.
I MUST HAVE NODDED off myself because I awake in yet another dreamscape. It’s the same winding tunnel, the one that always leads me to Crystal in the moonlit cave, and I soon find my way to her side.
She’s curled up on the same silk sheets, shivering under that thin gossamer gown.
This time she wears a soft nightie underneath, and I sigh at just how perfect she looks.
I knew the minute I first entered the cave that this wouldn’t be another average sex dream.
This time our love was what brought us together. Not lust.
I go to her side and sit down on the bed beside her, nudging her awake.
“Crystal?”
She stirs, and her electric blue eyes pop when they find me.
Her body has that dewy, star-like glow like in all the other dreams, but nowhere as dazzling as it had been out on the terrace.
Here, Crystal’s glow is just beautiful. Not deadly or dangerous.
I, however, look as hellish as a hellhound in my demon form.
“Eli?” She rises up on her elbows, her voice soft and innocent. “Is it really you?”
I smile tightly. “Afraid so.”
She sits up on her knees now, placing her soft hands against my cheeks, and I meet my red eyes inside her bright blue ones.
Next, she reaches up and caresses the grooved texture of one
of my horns.
“You really are twisted, aren’t you, Eli?” she giggles.
I shrug. “I’ve been called worse.”
She laughs again, but it soon dies in her throat, and then sadness and fear take over her eyes. I hate the expression on her face. I would do anything to take it away.
“I... I never meant to... what... what I did out there...”
“I know. It’s not in your nature, Crystal. Whatever he did to you... it wasn’t your fault. You were only defending yourself. He’s a pig. Men like that deserve to die.”
Crystal flinches when I say die, and now I feel like shit when the tears fill her eyes.
I brush my hand through her hair, shushing her. “Don’t cry, sweet angel. I’ll protect you, I promise. No one will ever find out it was—”
She hugs me again like she did in the waking world, shaking so hard I can feel it in her bones, and I wrap my arms around her.
Poor thing. Even in her dreams, she’s afraid and vulnerable, and my protective urge takes over.
“But I... I killed someone. Does... does that make me...?”
I squeeze her tighter. “No. You could never be evil, Crystal.”
Crystal peers up at me yet again, and I feel that magnetic pull as I drown in her blues.
She leans forward and plants her lips against mine, and I close my eyes, wrapping my fingers through her hair.
Okay, maybe there would be a little action in this dream.
We fall down on the bed, sucking on each other’s tongue as I become aroused. So does Crystal, but we just kiss for the time being, enjoying the taste of one another instead.
We soon pull back, panting like a pair of dogs. She brushes a hand over my lips, wiping away the spit, and I grin, showing her my teeth.
Unfortunately, they’re my demon teeth, but I’m sure she understands the sentiment.
She snickers. “Told you I’d finally make you smile, Eli.”
“You’ll always make me smile, Crystal...”
She bites that sexy lower lip, running a finger down the side of my face. “I love you, Eli. I never stopped loving you. I want you to know that.”
I’m taken aback a moment as I swallow hard, gazing down into her perfect eyes. They burn into mine, leaving scorch marks on my soul, and I release a shuddery breath.
