My rage thundered through me and I screamed. It was a piercing sound that seemed to send vibrations through the air and with it all of glasses in the room shook before they shattered into a thousand pieces. I stopped screaming and the tears rolled down my cheeks.
Marianne covered her eyes and her head with her arms and looked up at me with shock.
“I…” I began, but I knew there was nothing I could say.
The glass looked like glistening cubes of ice, covering every surface and I turned and ran. I should have known better. I should have stopped it from happening.
“Aradia!” she called after me but I kept on running.
This time, I was taking her car. And as I burst out of the doors of Woodmont and climbed inside I watched her as she stood looking at me from the doorway.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I started the engine and put it into reverse. “I have to go.”
I pulled off and skidded down the driveway. My heart was racing and I felt like I was on fire.
There was something Marianne wasn’t telling me about Lucifer… and now I was determined to find out what.
I got to the end of the driveway and the gates opened ahead of me. I barely slowed as I spun out onto the open road and made my way out away from town. He was right, even though I didn’t have a clue where Valmont was… I seemed to be able to sense it.
I flew down the woodland roads and within a few moments I could almost taste him again. I hit the brakes and looked to the left. It was pitch black but even through the darkness I could see the tips of wrought iron spikes sticking up into the sky. The gates were set right back from the road, and the entryway was almost completely disguised, but there was no mistaking it. They were the gates to Valmont.
I pulled off the road and crawled along slowly towards them. They loomed up out of the dark and as the headlights shone on them my skin bumped with anticipation. They were so big, so opulent, and a lot more impressive to those that guarded Woodmont. I looked up at them and at the curling ‘V’ that was emblazoned onto the front, almost as if it was holding them closed.
“I’m here,” I whispered.
And in a way that was as if he could have heard me say it… the gates clicked slowly open.
Chapter 13
The winding driveway that led all of the way through the tress up to Valmont was a lot longer and more intimidating than the road that led up to Aunt Marianne’s. As I crawled along, I was aware of eyes watching me from the depths of the trees and I gripped onto the wheel and willed them to back away. I don’t know who or what was in there, following my every move, but my heart hammered loudly in my chest with each bend in the road, and as I moved the wheel, I was aware of my hands shaking.
It seemed darker there, the moon couldn’t break through the thick canopy of the trees, and even my headlights didn’t seem to be illuminating the path ahead. I took another bend in the road and there, flanking either side of the driveway, were two huge stone lions. Their mouths were wide and full of teeth, paws raised and their manes curled and extravagant. I slowed so I could see them properly and I smiled. They were so him. A majestic, yet dangerous, animal seemed to represent him perfectly.
I drove between them and almost instantly a surge of light seemed to shine from behind me and illuminate the grand house ahead.
My mouth gaped open and I stopped the car to take it all in.
“Wow,” I whispered as I looked up at Valmont.
It was without a doubt, the most incredible house I had ever seen. It was tall and gothic, yet beautiful and full of history. Its turrets were so much higher than Woodmont’s, and its arched windows glistened with candlelight. Gargoyles lined the outer rims of each floor and the opulent fountain in the center of the driveway gushed what appeared to be silver water, lit by tiny lights.
The large oak door that stood tall and proud in the middle of this magnificent building opened and Lucifer came into view. I smiled and as I turned and looked at the eyes that were still watching me from the trees, I saw them narrow and fade into the night.
“Come here,” I heard him say as if he was inside my head.
I pulled forward and around the fountain, so I was parallel to the front door and directly in front of him. He jogged down the steps and opened the door with his big, rough hands.
“Aradia,” he whispered as he wrapped his muscular arms around me and pulled me close to him. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to have you here.”
I felt myself blushing and I kissed him. I ran my fingertips through his hair and pressed my body against his. Just feeling his incredibly well toned and muscular abs next to mine was sending me into a frenzy. He did wild things to me…. And I was powerless to stop him.
“Come inside,” he whispered as he took hold of my hand and led me through the doorway.
As I crossed into the entrance of Valmont, my breath was taken away again. The stunning hallway was high and twice the size of Aunt Marianne’s. The galleried landings seemed to travel up four floors and huge chandeliers hung between them. I stepped forward and looked up. Each room was lit by candlelight and open fires roared in every fireplace. It was decadent and intoxicating, and now I was there, I knew I would never want to leave.
From behind me Lucifer wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me on the neck. He breathed me in and I could smell the titillating scent of his cologne. As he nibbled my neck and held me close I pushed myself into him, stirring something impressive in his groin. With one hand he held onto me around the neck and kept me in place, whilst with the other he trailed down the front of my breasts, down across my belly and into the waist band of my jeans. As he undid each button a new surge ran through me.
I wanted this man so badly it hurt.
And I wanted him to hurt me.
As he slipped his fingers into my lace panties and pulled them down I was on the verge of unraveling right there and then. I waited eagerly for him to part my legs and slip a finger right down to my pussy. When he touched me for the first time, I was already soaking wet and ready for him. He murmured with approval and sunk his thick finger inside of me. I gasped and groaned as he slipped it back and forth, in and out, working me over so hard and good I could barely stand it.
“Lucifer…” I gasped as I trembled in his arms and he turned me around and kissed me again. He was frantic and I could feel his manhood sticking hard and sharp into my side.
I had to have him.
He picked me up and carried me across the room to in front of one of the huge open fires. A large, white, bear skin rug was spread out beneath it and he lay me down gently before he knelt up in front of me.
I watched him with lust filled eyes as he removed his shirt. When he pulled it down and his torso came into view I gasped and ran my hands up it, desperate to touch him. The light from the fire shone against him and the shadows it created added all the more to his air of mystery.
“You are incredible,” he said as he reached for my foot and began to kiss it gently. “You are the one I’ve been waiting for.”
I knew I should have been stopping him. I knew I should have wanted to find out what Marianne had meant when she said he had used me before… but when I was there, spread out beneath him as he removed both of our clothes and took me to a place I had never been with a man before… I just didn’t want it to end.
I let him strip me naked and watched as he pulled down his jeans and underwear and his huge cock sprang free. I had never been with a man before… and he was so much of a man. His dick was huge, his shoulders were broad and his muscles heaved as he took hold of my thighs and opened them wide, ready to take me. As he held onto me and prepared to penetrate me for the first time he looked into my eyes and whispered,
“This was always meant to be…”
He thrust his powerful cock inside of me, opening me up and deflowering me with all of the strength he had and I cried with agony, before it quickly gave way to pleasure. I gripped him tightly and wrapped my legs around him. As he
thrust his manhood into me over and over again, I could feel him getting harder with each stroke and his breath became heavier. His whole demeanor was changing. He was becoming more animalistic before my very eyes and he sunk his teeth into me as he groaned and grunted with pleasure.
“Again,” I panted as he moved to another spot and bit me again. I knew he wasn’t causing me much harm, but the sensation of his saliva mixing in with my blood was the biggest turn on I had ever felt. Our chemicals were mixing and we were creating something new.
His cock was so powerful I was cumming within minutes, and when he witnessed me unravelling because of his immense power his strokes became more fevered and frantic before he too crashed over the edge. He held onto me tight as he exploded and emptied his massive, hot, thick load right up inside of me. It was so hard and powerful I felt every last spurt and I gasped as we held onto each other and he pumped his dick into me one more time.
He collapsed down on top of me and kissed me on the forehead. He wiped the hair out of my eyes and looked at me, both of us were glistening with sweat and his red hot skin was still on fire.
“I love you,” he whispered, “I always have… and I always will…”
Chapter 14
He carried me upstairs naked, cradled in his arms like a child. I clung to him, holding onto his neck and breathing him in. I felt so safe and so secure, it was as if I had finally come home.
He opened the door to his bedroom and in the center stood a huge four poster bed, clad with shackles and chains. I giggled as he eyed them cheekily but when he lay me down and stroked my face he whispered, “But, I never want to truly hurt you.”
He climbed in beside me and we held each other. I easily could have fallen asleep, my whole body was so relaxed and at peace… but my mind was alive with questions.
I had to know…
“Lucifer?” I said quietly as I looked up to him. “Marianne told me something earlier… and now I need some answers.”
He nodded as if he knew what was coming.
“She said that… that you’d used me before…”
He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, as if he was trying to swallow down his anger. When he didn’t respond I had to push him further.
“She said there’s a darkness inside of you…” I trailed my fingertips over his chest. “She said that you’ve got a power she doesn’t understand.”
“We’ve all got some kind of darkness within us, babe,” he said. “It’s just about figuring out who’s got the right kind to play with our own.”
I smiled at how in tune with himself he was.
“Your aunt has never cared for me…” he continued, “And I don’t want to get in the way of your relationship with her, but I suspect there’s a lot that she and your mother have never told you.”
I leaned up on my elbows and looked down at him. He lay next to me so perfect, so handsome and wild in nature I could barely believe he was mine. I had never once truly thought about the age gap between us, or what he may have seen of life before I came along. But now, as he began to tell me the story of our pasts and how they entwined, I shuddered and feared for us both.
“Your family have been in Valport for generations,” he said, “And they have always been well respected and high up in this community.”
I nodded and hung off his every word.
“There’s magic here,” he said knowingly, “Your family brought it way back when they first arrived. Witches gathered to be close to them and before long this little town was full of powerful things that a lot of us didn’t understand.”
“But you did?” I asked him.
He nodded.
“My family were always in control, but with the arrival of The Black Women… well, not everybody liked it… Least of all my grandparent’s and great grandparents,” he sighed. “They fought, and a lot of people died. Your family won, of course…” he trailed off and looked into space.
“But then…?” I encouraged him.
“Then, years later, I came along…” he said seriously. “And I knew the women in your family were special.”
“So why does Marianne hate you?”
“I fought with my parents since the day I was born. Some say the magic of the town was invoked into me, stored whilst I was in the womb and brought out when I was brought into this world. I’ve never been able to do the kind of things you have, but I can harness certain powers. I can enhance them, and I believe that with you, we could do something really amazing.”
I took hold of his hand.
“How have you used me before?” I asked, feeling as if I was getting closer to the answer.
“You weren’t alone in the forest that day the Baker Boy died,” he said flatly. “But I didn’t use you. I don’t even really know what happened…”
My skin chilled and I felt each tiny hair on my body stand on end.
“What do you mean?” I whispered.
“That boy… the one who died… he was my brother,” he said. “Somehow between us Aradia… we killed him…”
“What? How… I don’t understand…” I could feel myself beginning to cry.
“I wanted him gone,” he said sadly, “He and I had never really got along. We fought constantly and he was evil, more than I never understood. Being the older brother I always felt responsible… I always felt like I had to keep him check and stop him from doing bad things. When my parents died… well I knew he would inherit half of the estate alongside me and I couldn’t let him have that amount of control. Even at his young age, he knew what he was doing. He was evil.”
“But how did we…?”
“All of that hate, all of that energy that I had within me seemed to transfer to you… and it was done… it was as if our souls merged that day and we did something so powerful no one could explain it.”
I was shaking.
“Your aunts forbid you to come back… and your father… well, he couldn’t handle it from what I heard, and your mother pushed him away, willing him mad.”
A tear rolled down my cheek.
“How could they have lied to me for so long?” my sadness was quickly turning into anger.
“They didn’t want you to come back here because of me…” he said. “They didn’t like the fact that you were more powerful than them, and what they had seen when you had been combined with me and my energy… well… it terrified them. I said to them they wouldn’t be able to keep us apart… They knew at any point I could have thrown them out of Woodmont… my family owns the estate and always has done… but I let them stay here because of you.”
My heart swelled.
“I always knew you were the one for me… Even back then when you were just a teen… I knew when you were of age and you came back we would be together. There would be no stopping us…”
“Why didn’t Marianne tell me?” I said. “How could she honestly believe that I would never find out?”
“I think she thought by now I would have moved on,” he laughed, “But that was never going to happen… not with you…”
He touched my face tenderly.
“I’ve never felt anything like I have when I’m with you,” he whispered, “Since the second I saw you… and again when I knew you were back here… I couldn’t wait to have you.”
“But what are you?” I asked him.
“Now that I don’t know,” he smiled. “But you bring it out in me. The power… our connection… it’s something new and unstoppable.”
I lay back down and he wrapped his arm around me. It was all so much to take in, I didn’t know what to think.
“You belong here,” he told me, “They took you away to keep your power subdued… but now you’re back, you and I could rule the world.”
He kissed me on the forehead and I pulled the blankets up around us. For the first time since we had been together, I was cold.
“You wanted to kill your brother?” I asked him.
He closed his eyes and sighed.
“I wa
nted the best for everyone… and he wasn’t going to ever ensure that. I was beginning to be afraid of what he was capable of.”
“But I remember him,” I said, “He was just a boy…”
Lucifer shook his head.
“No,” he whispered, “He was a darker force than I am… there was something very bad about him.”
As we lay there and all of the information began to sink in, I realized how much of a mess I was in. I had fallen in love with Lucifer so quickly and I knew I never wanted to be without him. But I was so torn, how could I just turn my back on Marianne and my mom? Even if deep down, I knew what he was telling me was the truth?
As we fell to sleep that night my mind swirled with uncertainty and all I could see were the bright eyes that had been watching me from the trees. Lucifer was right about his darkness. It was everywhere at Valmont… and although I felt more at home there than I had anywhere else in the world… it also terrified me.
Chapter 15
I woke up in the comfort of Lucifer’s arms. He pulled me close and kissed me so deeply I never wanted it to end. As we lay there together I watched the way his chest lifted and fell as he breathed, and I felt so safe and happy I almost couldn’t believe how such a terrible situation had been turned into something so perfect.
“I have to go and speak with Marianne,” I whispered as I climbed out of bed with the black silk sheet wrapped around me.
Lucifer leant up on his elbows and watched me. His dark gray skin and black eyes capturing my every move.
I was reminded of the eyes that followed me through the trees and my skin prickled. I was going to have to drive out through them again and they were so frightening, I had to know what I was dealing with.
“What do you have in the forest?” I asked him as I tied up my hair and turned to face him.
He smiled wickedly and raised his eyebrows.
“Nothing you need to be afraid of my darling,” he ran a hand through his hair, “They protect me and now, they will most certainly protect you.”
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