by Marie Mistry
I knew he was keeping us both on the edge with his power.
It was a game of who would surrender first but I held strong, refusing to beg, despite the promise of pleasure blooming beneath my skin with every heartbeat.
“Enough! I want you now, Pretty Darling,” he commanded, his voice rough.
I lined him up with my entrance but I couldn't help but torture him a little more. I rubbed my wet core against him and was rewarded when he bucked and growled beneath me. But I couldn't keep it up for long. I was just as tormented by my actions as he was. So, with a single, sensuous move, I sheathed him inside me.
“Oh fuck…” I breathed past the perfect fullness of his invasion.
I stayed still for a second, just long enough for my body to adjust, then rotated my hips slowly in an infinity motion, clenching around his length as I moved.
His tortured groan made me smile and I repeated the move again.
His control snapped.
With a roar, his hands clamped hard on my hips, holding me above him as he thrust upwards into me. His harsh, frantic pace made his pelvic bone jostle my clit with each bounce and I screamed at the intensity of the sensation. I was liquid with desire, my frame trembling with need as he rammed into me over and over, filling me completely.
Our eyes locked, and the intimacy of the moment sent me soaring over the edge. He gave a victorious shout as he followed, spurting hot inside me, filling me with cum and power all at once.
I collapsed against him without separating our bodies and there was nothing but the sound of our harsh breathing for long moments as we recovered. His arms slowly moved from my hips to surround me completely, crushing me to him as his fingers played lightly in my hair. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and breathed in the smell of him.
It was like my earlier anger had been driven out of me. Perhaps it was the endorphins talking but all I really wanted to do was stay like this and forget everything, except the feel of my mate holding me.
Enzo drove me insane but my heart bled for him at the same time. He treated me like spun glass but trusted my inner strength more than I did. He was utterly and completely mad but had the coldest, most rational mind of any person I'd ever met.
He was a man of contradictions and I loved him despite it. Or perhaps even because of it.
I was still reeling from that epiphany when he kissed the tip of my ear gently.
“I vow to the Strange God never to use you to kill a target again,” he whispered. “My decision was … rash. I was too caught up in seeking vengeance for my brother and I let it cloud my judgement. I'm … sorry if that hurt you.”
I pulled back a breath until my eyes were locked with his again. “It only hurt so much because I love you,” I admitted, studying him for his reaction.
Enzo's eyes widened slightly. I heard his breath lock in his throat as the rest of his body turned to stone against me.
“Oh, Pretty Darling.” He closed his eyes with a sigh. “You're determined to drive me insane, aren't you?”
I frowned, pushing away. “What do you mean?”
He didn't reply immediately. Instead, he tugged me back into him, holding me against his chest. His touch feathered across the exposed skin of my bare shoulder. “You already know you're my greatest weakness. I have—for the most part—managed to curb my desire to lock you away from the world and keep you safe. But if you keep testing me like this, Pretty Darling…”
He sighed and a sudden wave of tiredness washed over me and I frowned at his blatant manipulation.
“Stop making me sleepy!” It was the most underhanded method of avoiding the subject possible and I was too weary to even be angry at him for it.
“Apologies, Pretty Darling.”
But the drowsiness kept filling my body like liquid lead, making every part of me feel heavy with sleep. I was out in minutes and there was nothing I could do about it.
Chapter 2
I woke in my room in the Carnal Tower, naked and alone. Clutching the sheet to my breasts, I sat up and surveyed the room, wondering if Enzo had lingered at all. He wasn't there, but my dress was hanging neatly on the chair by my desk and my sigillary lay in its plain, ring form on my bedside cabinet.
Onyx and Ivory were snoring away in their little house and I smiled softly at the sight they made as I quietly left my bed and headed for the shower, careful not to wake them. I wasn't entirely successful, as Ivory opened one bleary eye, but he quickly went back to sleep when he realised I wasn't going anywhere.
I'd just finished dressing and drying my hair when the twins burst into the room.
“Happy birthday!” they sang, the noise waking both imps and sending them fluttering out of their house.
“We brought presents!” Lulu added, depositing two brightly-wrapped parcels in my arms before jumping on the freshly-made bed.
They were both dressed in regular clothes, rather than the school uniform. For a second, I balked at seeing Lulu in a floaty, skater dress and Nelly in jeans and a shirt. They looked so … normal. My heart sank when I realised it was because they were no longer students. They hadn't been since the ball yesterday—and tonight, they'd be disappearing from the Carnal Tower forever.
In two years' time, that would be me.
“Open them!” Nelly insisted, tucking a blonde strand behind her ear as she perched next to her sister on the bed.
The first one turned out to be a huge picture frame, filled with a collage of the three of us. Tears pricked my eyes as I examined each one. Some were moments I remembered as if they were yesterday and hoped to remember forever, whilst others were just general, off-guard moments when we'd all been smiling. It was perfect but I had no idea how they'd gotten the photos.
“How did you two get these?” I said, fingers trailing over the frame, eyes flicking between all the perfectly-captured moments. “You've never had a camera and there's no electricity for students…”
“We snuck into the records office, where they keep all of the old security camera footage,” Lulu announced. “It's almost as good as if we'd taken them ourselves, which is kind of creepy, when you think about it…”
“Anyway, they looked good enough for what we needed them for,” Nelly interrupted Lulu's musings, shooting her an amused, exasperated glare.
I grinned. “It's perfect!” I set the first present on top of my dresser before I turned to the second parcel.
But when I opened that one, my brows scrunched together in confusion. “You got me a bikini?” The skimpy, deep blue set had a halter neck and bottoms that tied together at the sides. The fabric was soft and lush and three adorable, copper buttons adorned one edge of the plunging neckline. Beneath it, a sheer, creamy lace kaftan was snuggled into the bottom of the box, along with a pair of flip-flops.
“That is part of your birthday surprise.” Lulu grinned. “We're going to have breakfast in the Great Hall and then we're going to come back here and get changed." She paused for dramatic effect and looked to Nelly, who rolled her eyes but obliged her by playing air drums. "We're going on a group day trip to Greece!”
“All of us,” Nelly added. “We even persuaded Rina into it.”
The expression on my face must have been a comical cross between excitement and disbelief. I opened and closed my mouth several times, before giving up on finding words and launching myself at my two mentors.
“You two are the best!” I squealed embarrassingly, as we crushed ourselves into a group hug.
“No, birthdays are the best,” Nelly corrected. “As you'll soon discover for yourself.”
Breakfast flew by as I tried to contain my excitement for the trip. With the teachers surveying us all from the high table, we couldn't let slip that we were preparing to leave the college—let alone the country. Pretending to be interested in eating at all was almost as difficult for me as it was for Kain, who was all but bouncing in his seat with enthusiasm.
The only thing that could even remotely dull my anticipation was the sigh
t of Aeron in jeans and a leather jacket. He looked drop-dead gorgeous, every inch the sexy bad boy every girl dreamed of. But, just like seeing Nelly and Lulu that morning, I couldn't help the dread that seeing him out of uniform filled me with. The gut-wrenching feeling must have been something my mates could sense because there was no battle as to who I sat with. The moment I arrived, Aeron pulled me into his lap and I snuggled against him for the rest of the meal.
The twins were undoubtedly in charge of my birthday because they dragged me away from the table before I'd even swallowed my last bite. My fork clattered onto the plate as I was yanked from Aeron's lap.
"Come on! They have to get your surprise ready!" Nelly said, leaving behind my grinning mates.
We spent the time getting changed and I fell in love with the bikini the instant I tried it on. It was soft, yet supportive, and from the heat in Enzo's eyes when he arrived to collect the three of us, it obviously showed off my best assets.
“Pretty Darling…” he choked out, eyes roving over my body, lingering on the exposed skin of my cleavage and the junction between my ass and thighs. “You are stunning.”
He was wearing black, as usual, but it was weird to see him in just a black t-shirt and swimming shorts. The relaxed combination was so strange on my Gluttony mate, that I couldn't help taking him in for a second as well.
Eventually, I got over my gawking and pulled him in for a hug.
“I know you found my last gift … lacking,” he said quietly. “So, I took the liberty of procuring us a box at the theatre in Paris next week. The French version of Les Misérables is supposed to be too perfect to miss.”
I smiled and went to him, looping my arms around his neck. We needed to talk about what had happened last night but I was only too happy to put it off a little longer.
“I'd like that,” I whispered against him. “Are you coming on the trip with us?”
“Of course he is.” Nelly snapped her fingers impatiently. “I told him I'd kick his butt three ways to Sunday if he tried to weasel out of it.”
“Shall we, then?” He smirked and didn't wait for an answer before we blinked out of existence.
I could tell that no one had warned the twins about how teleporting felt. Both of them had paled considerably, but they shook off my concern before I could voice it.
“We're here!” I looked out at the impossibly blue ocean and grinned. “First one to the sea wins!”
“Presents first!” Nelly chided, grabbing my wrist and keeping me from dashing off towards the sea.
My bare feet dug easily into the pristine, white sand, as I stared at the scene around us. We were in a rocky cove, surrounded by steep cliffs that provided privacy and a sense of secrecy. It would be almost impossible to climb down to this beach. They'd brought us far enough out that I couldn't imagine anyone swimming around to find us either. It was a peaceful place. Only the crash of the waves and the cawing of flying gulls disturbed the silence.
And in the middle of the beach, surrounding a crackling fire pit, the rest of my men waited for me, a cooler full of food and a pile of presents by their feet. I grinned at them and snagged Enzo's hand when he would have pulled away, dragging him into the group with me. I only released him when I was certain he wasn't going to linger on the outside.
After a lot of hugs, things settled down into an easy rhythm between us. Despite Nelly wanting me to open presents, Kain distracted us with snorkelling equipment. Of course, Bane couldn't resist playing a trick on Aeron during our swim, which dissolved our peaceful snorkel into a splash war which involved everyone. I stuck close to Jin, like the coward I was, and he kept us both shielded whilst taking the opportunity to kiss me senseless.
Chapter 3
Sooner than we would have liked, we were drawn out of the rapidly-cooling water and back to the beach. We ended up on the sand, sat in a ring around the fire, sipping ice-cold drinks as Lulu sorted through the pile of presents.
Before another argument could break out, Blaze, shirtless with his scars glistening in the sun, pulled me into his lap, sending our mating bond humming comfortably between us. He never got to sit with us at mealtimes, so the others didn't complain and it was nice to cosy up to my Wrath mate for once. “Happy birthday, Sweetness,” he said, circling his arms around my waist. “As I'm the eldest, you get to open my present first.”
“Ahem, technically I'm the eldest…” Enzo smirked from the other side of the fire, sipping a cup of steaming hot tea. “But, don't worry. I've already given her my present.”
Blaze shrugged, not rising to the bait as he passed me his gift. From the second I held it, I could just tell it was a book and I grinned. Ripping open the paper, I threw it to the side and gaped at the leather-bound, first edition copy of Pride and Prejudice, sitting in my hands.
“Oh my god, you shouldn't have.” I held the book reverently, gently flicking through the pages of the two-hundred-year-old text. I was holding a book that was two hundred years old and exposing it to salty sea air! Was that bad for it? I looked up at Blaze, awed. “How did you even…?”
“I have my ways,” he replied, mysteriously.
Eyeing him for a moment, I decided to let him keep his secrets. Instead, I turned to Enzo. “Can you put it in the Paris apartment?” I expected he would know how to keep a book as old as this one safe, given the pile of treasures he kept.
He winked and the book disappeared. I was almost sorry to see it go but Blaze distracted me.
“Rina also has something to give you,” he said, looking pointedly at his sister beside him.
She rolled her eyes, but a faint blush coloured her cheeks. “Don't make a big deal of it but I'll watch the clouds for you if you want.” When I blinked at her, uncomprehending, she rolled her eyes again. “I'll look at your future for you, dumbass.”
I was speechless. Some demons paid millions to get a seer to peer into their future and here Rina was, offering it to me as a gift. But at the same time, the thought of knowing what was to come filled me with dread. What if she saw something I didn't want to know about?
“Rina is better at directing her gift than I am.” Blaze seemed to read my mind. “She can't see much but she can fine-tune her visions more than I can.”
“As long as I'm looking for a positive moment, I'll find one … unless there aren't any for me to see,” Rina interjected. “But that's quite unlikely…”
“Thank you.” I smiled, hoping that this was a good sign for our friendship.
“We'll do it later,” she announced. “I don't see well surrounded by a crowd.”
I nodded, curious about the mysterious seer's gift that she never talked about. Before I could launch into the interrogation I had kept at bay for so long, Kain dragged me onto his lap with one hand, reaching for the two parcels beside him with the other.
“I was trying to keep your present a surprise but apparently Daron told you about the refurbishment of the Carazor Estate already.” He scowled playfully at my other mate as he passed me a small box. “So, I got you something else as well.” He held the second parcel just out of my reach and ducked his head to whisper in my ear. “But you only get to open it when we're alone and I'm going to enjoy every second of using them on you…”
I flushed scarlet, although I couldn't tell if it was from desire or embarrassment. Kain's ability to make me wet with just a few, well-placed words had me eyeing the box with apprehension. The rest of my men grinned and I wondered if all of them knew what my Pride mate had bought me. I knew that he loved to torment me and that thought sent my imagination into overdrive. This was the man who'd sent me to my first end-of-year ball wearing vibrating underwear. I knew whatever was in that box would probably leave me boneless and panting … but only after he tormented me with it first.
Shaking away the titillating possibilities which were wreaking havoc on my mind, I ripped open the smaller box. Even though I knew what was inside, I still smiled at the set of keys, attached to a keychain with an ornate, house-shaped, bra
ss charm on it.
“As Daron already told you, I hired his sisters to work on designing a completely new interior for your ancestral home,” Kain said. “The contractors I hired finished work yesterday and Bane has transformed the garden with his gifts. The Carazor Estate is ready for you to move in as soon as you finish college.”
I stared at the keys, eyes wide. “Kain…” How much had that cost him? Daron had shown me pictures of the estate's huge manor house and he'd paid to have the interiors completely redesigned? Was he insane?
“Don't say a word about the money, Sunshine,” he said, a warning look in his eyes that was quickly replaced with his trademark smile. “You're worth every penny … and I plan to live there with you, so, really, it was a selfish gift.” He winked as though that was enough to dismiss the small fortune he spent.
I glanced up at him, and then at Bane, who was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, clutching his own box. How much power had it taken him to help Kain with his gift? I couldn't imagine that the grounds of the Carazor Estate were small; in fact, I'd put money on them being vast.
“Thank you, both of you,” I whispered, cradling the keys gently as tears pricked my eyes.
Jin noticed and snatched me away before anyone could object. “No tears, Pet. This is supposed to be a happy birthday.”
“They're happy tears,” I promised him. “I just can't believe…”
“That we all adore you and want to give you the world?” His soft, sleepy smile made my heart throb. “It's not that hard to believe, Pet.” He picked up his gift—a flat, square box—handed it to me. “Although, he has tried to outdo us all this year. Typical Pride.”
I shook my head because I knew that whatever Jin had gotten me would be just as wonderful and heartfelt. I was proved right when I lifted open the lid and inside were the softest pair of pyjamas, folded neatly. The bottoms were a pale purple and covered in happy doughnut cartoons, whilst the cream-coloured top read 'Doughnut Disturb' in curly writing.
