The Darker Side of Love (A Dark Erotica Boxed Set)

by Tara Crescent

  “Who knows how many friends, brothers, sons, your family has murdered?” Her body was shivering. She felt cold, and she’d stopped screaming even though the cut of the knife was still an impossible pain. Was this shock? Maybe she’d pass out. Neil seemed to catch on as he finished, and he laid the knife to the side. Blood swiped across her gray sheets and she couldn’t take her eyes off of the red. “Heather? You stupid bitch! No, no, no, you have to stay awake!” He pulled the gag out of her mouth and shook her shoulders.

  “I can’t summon her,” Heather mumbled. “I won’t.” Neil laughed at that and it woke her up enough to look up at him again.

  “Oh, you will. You remember how you felt after a few sips of your wine, Heather? How you were begging for me?” He traced his thumb over her lips, leaving a swipe of blood behind, the taste of copper filling her mouth when she closed it. The wine. She remembered the surge of arousal, the impossible heat, the urge to have him inside her. “I know it’s wearing off because you barely had a few sips. It had obviously changed the taste of the wine too much. Luckily, I have plenty left.”

  That threat got her attention, and she jerked against the restraints. “No! No, Neil. You don’t need to do this, any of this, just leave. Just leave! I won’t do the rite, I’ll just let Aunt Marguerite kill me, I swear. You do not want me to summon her! Please don’t make me -” Heather clamped her teeth shut as he unscrewed the lid on the amber liquid, and then he grabbed her face. He pressed his fingers hard into her cheeks, gripping until it hurt and he was able to pry her jaw open. The moment her lips parted he poured the liquid into her mouth. The herbal taste of it was like the weird flavor she had caught in the wine. She tried to spit it out but he quickly covered her nose and mouth with his hand. She couldn’t breathe. Heather tried to shake her head to break his hold as she held the liquid on her tongue. If she swallowed it, she was lost.

  “Come on, Heather. I’m trying to be nice here. I didn’t have to bring this potion. It’s going to make everything so easy. My family has been making it for centuries. It’s better than any drug on the planet. You’ll come over, and over, and over. You won’t even care about the rite or the pain.” He kissed her forehead, his grip unrelenting as she started to get dizzy. If she didn’t swallow, she was going to pass out. Her lungs were already aching. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pass out. “Heather… swallow it. Swallow it and I’ll let you breathe.”

  A muffled whine stirred in her chest, barely more than a murmur since she couldn’t move air. His other hand was at her neck, massaging. Spots appeared in front of her eyes, the buzzing intensifying in her ears. Just when she thought she might black out her body decided for her, and in an effort to clear her airway, she swallowed. Neil waited another second as she instinctively swallowed again, and then he let go. She gasped for air as heat exploded in her stomach. The taste of herbs coated her tongue, and he kissed her hard, his tongue sweeping into her mouth until she jerked her head away.

  “It’s more fun if I have a bit of it too.” He traced his fingers between her breasts, bright red swipes across her skin, and it sent a cascading wave of pleasure through her that rippled out until her fingertips and toes were tingling. “You’ve been trying to martyr yourself for years, Heather, denying yourself the magic your family wanted you to claim. Now, with one night, you’ll eliminate all the evil your family does. You’ll keep them from torturing you, from torturing anyone else. Think of the young Pritchett women you’ll save from the decision to kill.”

  She hated that he was right. She hated it even more that her body was humming again as he started to kiss across her shoulder, his mouth finding her nipple and making her moan. “Please don’t —”

  His lips were on her skin as he laughed, “You’re going to beg me before I’m done.”

  Heather arched her back as he pulled her nipple back into his mouth, and heat pulsed through her. That fuzzy edge of lust was taking over again, and she tried to roll her hips as she felt her pussy growing wet. The pain of the runes was a distant hum, the bright red of her blood ignored under the influence of the potion. She made herself speak while she could think, “This won’t bring Kyle back, Neil.” She gritted her teeth on the whimper of pleasure rising up in her chest, but it cut off when he twisted her other nipple.

  “Say his name again and I’ll think of some other things to cut into your skin. Anyway, you shouldn’t fight me on this. This gives us what we both want, Heather.” Neil shifted down her body, his lips trailing over her ribs, her waist. “Your entire, evil family — normal. Regular, magic-free, women. With normal family drama.” Heather shook her head. There was a painful tension coiling inside her, and it was only getting worse by the minute. She whimpered, pulling at the cuffs, as his mouth brushed her hipbone. His fingers dipped beneath the edge of her panties and she heard the fabric tearing as the knife cut them away. He dropped his body to the bed between her thighs. Heat washed over her, her skin prickling as she broke into a sweat, the swipe of his tongue at the top of her thigh making her moan.

  “Neil. I’m not going to summon her!” Heather gasped as his thumb brushed over her pussy, tracing her wetness. She growled and tried to lift her hips away from his touch, “Neil! Stop!”

  “Are you sure you want me to stop?” His mouth was dangerously close to her core, his fingers slipping between her pussy lips to spread her wetness up towards her clit. The barest touch felt like he’d set her nerve endings on fire. She couldn’t think straight. Whatever he had given her was doing its work and the pulsing heat between her legs was impossible to ignore. She wanted him.

  No, she didn’t. She wanted to have sex, he just happened to be there.

  Between her legs.

  Heather groaned and dropped her head back, trying to calm her breathing and her heart rate as his tongue delved inside and traced up to her clit. He sucked gently and her hips bucked sharply, but he was waiting for that, his hand pressing her back to the bed. She cried out, whimpering the question, “What the fuck was in that potion?”

  “I’m not sure, my brother made it.” He laughed as he licked her again, the warm wet swipe of his tongue crippling her defenses. She didn’t feel pain at all anymore — the tender ache in her cheeks from his slaps, the sharp stings of the cuts, or her bruised throat and wrists. Nothing but delirious pulses of pleasure like someone had pumped her full of dopamine. “Enjoying it?” Neil asked, all bravado, as if the flush moving over her skin and the wetness between her thighs wasn’t an answer.

  “No.” She bit out, swallowing a moan.

  “It’s sort of pointless to lie when you’re making a puddle underneath you.” Neil laughed at her and then thrust two fingers inside her sharply. A moan escaped, and he increased to three fingers on the next thrust, which left her panting as he leaned in to draw her clit into his mouth.

  Her body was humming, the need inside her was painful to try and ignore. He wasn’t kidding about her forming a puddle; she was so wet she could feel the cool air between her thighs. “Jesus Christ…” She groaned, hissing air between her teeth.

  “That’s it, Heather. Just relax, let the potion do what it does.” Neil moved his fingers inside her and her hips bucked hard off the bed. Lust clouded her head. His touch felt good, felt incredible. She wanted to ignore it, but everything that had pushed the lust away before didn’t have the same effect. Yes, she was shackled to the bed and she couldn’t open the cuffs, but Rick had tied her up all the time. It was messing with her head, and every tug against her restraints was only turning her on more. Yes, he was planning on doing some weird version of the rite with her, which could get them both killed, but someone was going to die no matter what — and Heather was oddly calm about that now. And sure, he had apparently stalked her and half her family, and shown up at the speed dating event to feed her a lie he knew she would jump at.

  But she had planned on killing him. No one was innocent here.

  Neil worked to drive her higher, pushing her to the edge, and then his touches gen
tled until the crashing sensations inside her let her slide back from orgasm again. She whined when he repeated that ebb and flow for the fifth or sixth time. “What do you want, Heather?”

  Spread-eagled on the bed, the tang of magic in the air, the potion rushing like fire through her veins, making her body tighten with each movement of his fingers — Heather only wanted one thing. She wanted to come. She needed him to fuck her, she needed the tension to snap, and she needed to come so it would stop building inside her like a terrible wave. It was starting to hurt. “Please?” she pleaded.

  His fingers thrust harder inside her and she moaned through closed lips, “Please, what, Heather?”

  “I need to come, please, let me come.” Her hips lifted, trying to get him to thrust a little harder, focus a little more on her clit, give her the little extra she needed to fall over the edge. Instead, he pulled his hand back completely. “Neil! It hurts!”

  The ache between her thighs, the tension in her spine, the heat coiling in her stomach — it was too much. Neil sat up and leaned over her and - kissed her. It wasn’t vicious, it was soft. A teasing threat that he could drag this out until she was sobbing with the need to come. Heather already felt like she was about to burst into flames when he stopped. “I know it hurts, Heather. I can let it hurt for as long as you drag this out, and it will only get worse. Your body is telling you exactly what you need to make it stop, just ask me.”

  He brushed his fingers over her lips and she opened her mouth. She could taste herself, and they both groaned as she moved her tongue against the pads of his fingers. The last part of her mind that was focusing on something other than the heat between her legs gave up. She was doomed either way, and she didn’t care about the power, the rite, Herja, her family, or the death threat hanging over her. He ran his thumb down her neck, kissing the other side until he nipped the place where her neck met her shoulder. Liquid heat pooled between her thighs, making her muscles tighten in urgency. The plea jumped from her lips, “Please fuck me!”

  Neil sat up, his eyes glowing like blue fire, and he smiled. He moved on top of her, pushing his pants down until his cock sprang free. She lifted her hips, but he pressed her back to the bed as he filled the space between her thighs, brushing against her pussy.

  “Finally.” He thrust inside her in one fluid stroke, stretching her painfully. She was soaked and her body responded with ecstasy, overwhelming the ache of him filling her so quickly. Heather groaned loudly because all the aching tension dissolved into pleasure like someone had flipped a switch. Suddenly she was drowning in it, building towards an orgasm impossibly fast. Neil’s breaths against her ear were shaky as he started to thrust slowly inside her — all careful movement.

  “Please?” Heather jerked against the bindings, but she had no control over his pace. She needed to come, she needed to come.

  “You can come when you summon her, Heather.” He thrust hard and she shivered, brutally on the edge, but he knew it. Neil stilled, his hand winding in her hair to arch her head back. “Call out for her. Call out for her, and I’ll let you come.”

  “If I call out for her she could fucking kill us, you don’t know what those runes will do!” Heather whined, lifting her hips against his to try to gain a little more sensation, but he pinned her to the bed beneath his weight.

  “I know what I’m doing. Now, do you want to come?” His cock drove hard and deep again, her body shaking in response. Every movement — his lips across her skin, his hand cupping her breast to pinch her nipple and release it, the pressure of his hips driving hers into the bed — it was torture. She couldn’t take it.

  “HERJA!” She cried out and Neil cursed as he pushed inside her again, starting to really move. Each thrust drove her higher and higher.

  “Again.”

  “Herja! Please, Herja!” Heather moaned as Neil let go of all that stiff self-control. His arms moved under her until he could grab her shoulders and hold her for each driving thrust. The tension coiled tighter, their breaths intertwining, and then it finally snapped as she came. Heather moaned as lights burst behind her eyes, her body tightening in rhythmic pulses around his cock as he pushed her again and again, forcing her to ride the orgasm. The pleasure crackled over her skin like static tingles.

  “That’s it. Fuck...” His thrusts continued, and she was building toward another orgasm as if her body had been waiting for her to give in. “Come for me again, Heather, you did it, come on.” One of his hands slipped to her hip to lift her towards him, the new angle brushing against that bundle of nerves inside her that sent her tumbling over the edge into orgasm again. Only this time, when awareness returned, she could smell magic. Neil looked down at her, each movement of his cock strong and powerful and deep, but his eyes were calm blue once again even as they widened.

  Then Heather felt it, a sharp surge of electric energy that pulsed out from her chest until every inch of her skin was tingling. She screamed, crying out as she felt each line of the runes cut into her skin burn like they were branding her. Neil cursed as Heather tightened around him, and then she felt his cock kick deep inside her. But she lost focus. Her veins were filled with molten gold. Every inch of her body was pain on the heels of all that pleasure. Then it was gone and she was left sobbing and gasping underneath him. He hissed between his teeth as he stilled on top of her, both of them coated in sweat in the heat of her apartment, the acrid burn of magic in the air. Neil looked down at her, his blue eyes glowing with magic, and he gently unwound his hand from her hair before cupping her face, his mouth parting like he was about to speak.

  “Why did you summon me?” The voice was so loud Heather could feel the vibrations of it. Neil was off her in an instant, standing by the bed as he tucked himself away. Smears of red, her blood, were across his chest, but she ignored him. Without Neil in her line of sight, Heather could see the very tall, very blonde, very busty, armor clad Valkyrie standing in her tiny bedroom. She must have been seven feet tall.

  Herja. The Herja was in her fucking bedroom. And she was helpless, naked, tied and handcuffed to her bed.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I really —” Heather was starting to beg the deity, but Neil cut her off.

  “Herja, I’ve released you from your agreement with the Pritchett family.” His voice was strong when it started, but his eyes wandered back to Heather and by the end of it he was wavering. Neil’s eyes were tracing her and he swallowed, opening his mouth like he might speak again. But Herja spoke first.

  “Is that what you’ve done?” Herja walked over to the bed, and Heather whimpered, tugging at her restraints as Herja traced a rune on her chest and Heather screamed. The Valkyrie looked almost confused, and Heather finally looked down at herself. Blood streaked across her, and she could see the cuts that formed the runes where the blood came from. She almost fainted right then.

  “Yes.” Neil fumbled, pushing his hand through his hair. “That’s what I wanted to do. I just — holy shit. I did this.” He was staring at Heather, disbelief in his voice, ignoring Herja completely.

  “Mortal?” Herja glared at him and Heather wanted to suddenly know how to lockpick handcuffs with nothing in hand.

  Neil tried to recover, tearing his eyes away from her, back to Herja. “The Pritchetts were never meant to have magic, this frees you of any agreement you made —”

  “I made that agreement for my own reasons, mortal. Esther Pritchett lost her son to foolish men using foolish guns to hunt. They fired their new weapons without skill, missed the deer, and killed her son.” Herja’s eyes were golden fire as she looked across the bed at Neil. Heather wanted nothing more than to disappear into the mattress, even if she was hearing the truth of how her family came into power. “I simply provided Esther Pritchett the opportunity to get her revenge, and those three men were sacrificed to me.”

  “But they were never supposed to —”

  “It is odd, mortal, that you feel you know better than the Norns. The controllers of destiny?” Herja held out her
hand, and the cuffs and the cloth binding Heather’s ankles disappeared. Heather immediately sat up and shoved herself back until she met the headboard. She grabbed her pillow to cover herself, wincing when the fabric touched her chest. Herja held those golden eyes on her as she moved. The itch of need was back between her thighs and Heather bit her lip, trying to suppress it, trying to push back the heat. A whimper escaped her anyway. “I would not have been able to make the agreement I made if it was not meant to be. What have you done to this female?”

  Both of them were staring at her now, and Heather felt the heat in her cheeks. Two orgasms and her body was still ready for more, her thighs pressed tight together as a shiver raced through her muscles, her pain still a distant echo.

  “I — I had to stop them. Someone had to pay, they all have to pay for what they’ve done. The Pritchetts, they sacrifice men to you, they’ve killed thousands of men! They’re a blight!” Neil was shouting, but he was staring at Heather like he was sick.

  “What have you done to this female?” Herja didn’t raise her voice, but somehow it was more powerful. The weight of it shook her apartment, the candles vibrating on her dresser and her desk.

  “Someone had to pay, I had to have one of them to make it work.” Neil turned back to her, his fist tight in his hair, “I lost my temper. I never meant to hit you. I was going to give you the potion before I cut the runes. I hadn’t planned any of that. Kyle was my best friend, and I just lost it — I had to do this. I need you to understand I had to do this.”

  “You cut this female? What else did you do?” Herja was towering over her and Heather couldn’t stop shivering.

  “Those runes are fueled by blood, they wouldn’t have worked otherwise. I wouldn’t have just cut her for no reason. And the other — it’s just a potion, it will wear off. It was supposed to make it easier. I only did this, all of this, to keep them from killing anyone else.” To Neil’s credit, he seemed completely shocked by what he’d done. He wasn’t cowering in fear though, which Heather would have been perfectly happy to do if she could have found the courage to move at all. “She was going to kill me.”