Life moves on whether we want it to or not. The sun rises and sets. Only here, it’s always dark. A week has passed since my escape. Daemon won’t speak to me, and Alaric and Ronan keep close as if they worry I might try to escape again. Though we all know it’ll be a while before my feathers grow back in. In the meantime, I get to look even more like a freak in this world of black.
I can’t seem to move past the fact that my home rejected me. I’m a shadow of my former self, walking the hallways with my gaze down. I should pay attention in class. Especially now that it’s becoming abundantly clear that I won’t ever return to Eden. I need to learn all there is about life in Hell, but it’s hard. I don’t even have the strength to feel jealous when Daemon brings girls home.
I sit on the couch, squashed between Ronan and Alaric, while a girl dances sultrily for Daemon in her panties and bra. My gaze burns a hole in the carpet. Is this my life now? Stuck here? In this world of despair, where we feed on others’ suffering? Why else would he pull her down on his lap and spread out like a king while she rolls her hips against him?
Ronan nudges me. “Earth to Angel.”
I drag my eyes away from the worn carpet and gaze up at him. His dark hair curls at the ends and his brown eyes, framed by dark lashes, search mine.
He snaps his fingers in front of my face and says, “She’s about to fuck him. Aren’t you going to do something? Launch yourself at her for the most epic catfight of the century? Stake your claim?”
My eyes wander over to Daemon, and I watch as she slides down the straps on her bra and bares her small, perfect breasts. “It’s only fair, isn’t it? I fucked his cousin.” I rise to my feet and walk out. Daemon follows me with his eyes, but his attention soon gets drawn back to the girl when she throws her head back and bares her slender neck.
I’ve barely made it upstairs before Ronan grabs the back of my neck and shoves me into his bedroom. Alaric follows us in, kicking the door shut. A king-sized bed with gray silk sheets takes up most of the space. The window behind it is ajar, and sheer, black curtains move in the slight breeze. There’s a large desk with a pile of books on it, one of which lies open. It smells of Ronan in here—woodsy and mysterious.
He drops down in his chair, reaching for a joint on his desk, while Alaric walks past me and sinks down on the edge of the bed.
Confused, I look between them. “Why am I here?”
Ronan lights up his joint, puts his feet on the desk, and crosses them at the ankles. “We’re hanging out. The time for moping is fucking over. So they didn’t let you back in, big fucking deal. Now you get to hang with us out here and have fun.”
“Fun.” I taste the word on my tongue as I walk to the bed and lower myself down next to Alaric, then lie back and stare at the ceiling.
“Yeah, fun,” Ronan says while Alaric looks down at me.
“What do you miss the most about Eden?” Alaric asks, his tone curious instead of mocking, and Ronan groans.
“What?” Alaric questions. “It might help her to talk about it.”
Ronan smokes his joint, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “Whatever.”
“Go on.” Alaric nudges my bare knee.
I keep my eyes on the ceiling as I think of what to say. “I miss not feeling.”
They both give me a weird look, so I try to explain. “Everything is stable in Eden. We don’t experience anger, jealousy, bitterness, or even high levels of joy. We’re just happy.”
“If that’s the case, how did you end up outside of Eden?”
I shrug. “Curiosity mainly. I felt drawn to the gates.”
“You couldn’t have been happy all the time, or you wouldn’t have defied your elders and snuck out.”
He’s right. I wasn’t always happy in there, looking back, but I also didn’t experience this rollercoaster ride of emotions. “I miss my best friend, Freya.”
They’re silent for a moment while we listen to the soft beat of the music that filters from Daemon’s room. “What’s she like?”
“Alaric,” I breathe, wiping away a tear. “I try not to think about home when I’m here. It hurts too much.”
He lies down on his back beside me and gazes into my eyes. His brown irises have specks of lighter hazel in them. “Talking about pain is good.”
“What are you? Her fucking therapist?” Ronan asks with a snort.
Ignoring him, Alaric brushes the backs of his fingers over my cheek. “Change always hurts before it gets better. I know you can’t see it now, but this will become your home. And one day you’ll look back and think, ‘I can’t remember living anywhere else.’”
“This isn’t my home,” I argue. “You’ll grow bored of me and throw me out. I’m at your mercy.”
Alaric looks back up at the ceiling, and I trail the sharp line of his stubbly jaw. “Daemon is a dick, but he’s fiercely loyal.”
I chew my bottom lip in thought. “Yeah, that’s why he’s downstairs now with her.” I regret the words as soon as they leave my lips, but it’s too late. “You said you planned on finding girls to fuck. I was angry. I wanted to fight back.”
Alaric looks at me, his eyes skating between mine as smoke fills the room.
“You told me compassion and kindness have no place in this world, but you’re being kind to me right now.”
Amused, Ronan chuckles. “He hasn’t got a kind bone in his body.”
Alaric leans in to taste my lips with a soft kiss before palming my cheek and deepening our connection. His tongue sweeps against mine and he sucks my bottom lip between his teeth, then lets go and flops back on the bed. My chin burns from his day-old stubble.
“Maybe I don’t want to see you mope anymore. Now that Daemon has stolen your virginity, you’re fair game. Maybe I want to see you smile again so I can fuck you.”
“You want to fuck me after I slept with Dmitriy?”
Alaric clenches his jaw and slowly rolls his head on the pillow. When our eyes clash, he says, “Dmitriy thought he could hurt us through you. I’m not Daemon. I won’t let that piece of shit win.”
“Why do you hate him so much? What’s the rivalry about?”
Running a hand down his face, Alaric shakes his head. “It’s always been there between their fathers. Daemon and Dmitriy inherited their rivalry. Everything is a competition to them. Who is the most powerful? Who has the biggest fortune?”
Ronan tosses his joint on the floor before straightening up in the chair and crushing it beneath his heel. Then he gets to his feet and walks up to us. “What’s it going to take?”
I lift my head off the bed. “What are you talking about?”
In a swift move, his hand shoots out and grips my ankle. He drags me down the bed, drops to his knees, and sweeps his hands up my thighs before sliding them back down with my panties. “For you to stop moping and rediscover your fucking fire. You want Daemon to look at you again? Fight him!”
I start to argue, but he shuts me up when he spreads my legs and covers my pussy with his hot mouth. Beside me, Alaric smirks before getting up and helping himself to a joint. He lights it up and flops back down beside me, smoking lazily while my eyes roll back. God, I’ve missed this feeling. The sheer freedom of simply letting go.
Ronan takes his sweet time as he brings me to the edge and keeps me there. He blows on my sex, sucks my clit into his mouth, and swirls his tongue over the swollen nub.
“Ronan,” I whimper, rocking against his mouth. “Oh, God…”
“There’s no fucking God here. Your God kicked you out, remember?” Ronan growls as he slaps my clit hard.
Fisting the sheets, my heels slide on the bed. It’s too much. It’s too little. I want to crawl away and I want to push closer.
Alaric blows smoke in my face before shifting onto his elbow and placing the joint between my lips. He orders me to suck. The smoke that fills my lungs burns sweetly, and I begin to cough. Alaric’s laugh is long and drawn out.
Placing the joint between his lips, he shoves my dress down and kneads my naked breasts. He takes a deep pull on the joint, pinching it between his index and middle finger as he holds the smoke in his lungs while rolling my nipple between his fingers.
A dirty smirk curls the corner of his lips right before he grabs my chin and blows the smoke into my mouth. My soul floats, bobbing on the surface in a sea of pleasure and drugging touches. They bring me to life, only to kill me slowly with their destructive, possessive, and dominant natures as they steal the breath from my lungs.
With his fingers buried deep inside me, Ronan laps at my swollen clit until I’m begging him to let me come. He’s merciless, keeping me right where he wants me. Toying with me like injured prey.
My moans grow in volume, and Alaric bites down on my bottom lip to shut me up. It’s so sharp that I gasp as blood rushes to the surface.
“That’s our beautiful angel,” he whispers, his lips pressed against mine. “Let us make you feel good. Let us ravage your angel cunt. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
There’s a thud downstairs.
Ronan laughs between my legs. “Hell is about to break loose.”
Clarity threatens to clear this blissful haze, but Alaric grips my jaw, demanding my attention, and plunges his tongue into my mouth. He sucks on my tongue and bites my bottom lip. My kiss-swollen lips burn and tingle while he continues to devour me. I moan as he explores every inch of me with hard kisses. I need more, so much more…
The door flies open just as Ronan fills me up with his tongue. Daemon takes in the scene. His belt is unbuckled, his T-shirt is creased, and his hair stands on end. Not to mention the smeared lipstick on his mouth.
Alaric breaks away from my lips and takes another pull on his joint, then holds it out. “Want some? There’s plenty to go around.”
The door slams shut, rattling on its hinges. Daemon snatches the joint from Alaric, tosses it to the floor, and crushes it beneath his boot. Then he grabs my arm and hauls me to my feet, ignoring my surprised shriek when he yanks me to his chest. “Did I say any of you assholes could touch her?”
Rising to his full height, Ronan makes a show of wiping his mouth. “You were otherwise occupied. I wasn’t going to let good pussy go to waste.”
Alaric covers his smirk with his fisted hand. They’re amused. I’m not. I’m fucking angry.
Whirling on Daemon, I slap his cheek. “How fucking dare you come in here and tell them they can’t touch me when your lips,” I smack him again, “are smeared with lipstick.”
The words have barely left my mouth when he wrestles me to the bed and flips my skirt up. He holds me down with his hand on the back of my neck, then smacks my ass hard. I yelp, and he smacks me again, harder this time.
“That’s for fucking my cousin.” The next resounding thwack makes me cry out. “That’s for disobeying me at every fucking turn!” His hand slides between my legs, and he chuckles darkly as my cheeks blaze.
I’m dripping with desire.
“I forgot what a dirty little slut you are.”
“Fuck you!”
Smack!
A treacherous moan slips from my lips, and he plunges two thick fingers inside me.
“You think I wouldn’t punish you for opening your legs for my cousin?”
“I thought you would kill me,” I admit, my voice muffled in the sheet.
“Tempting,” he says, removing his fingers to smack me again. My skin is on fire from his blows. “I fucking hate the thought that he’s been inside you.”
I shoot up, breathing hard, and shove him away. “How dare you make me seem like such a fucking whore when you were upstairs with a girl just now? Fuck you, Daemon!”
His wings sprout behind him, knocking over the tower of books on Ronan’s desk. Then he’s on me, forcing me down on the bed. Subduing me with his weight and power.
My body comes alive like a flower in spring.
“What the fuck do you want from me, little angel?”
His hand is on my throat and I claw his cheek, pleased to see blood rush to the surface.
“What the fuck do you want from me?” I counter.
“You!” he growls, his nose brushing up against mine, and then he jostles me. “I want you!”
My heart stops beating as his words register. Daemon wants me? What does that mean? He climbs off and walks to the door, but before he gets there, I scramble off the bed, run in front of him, and block the way out. His cold expression gives nothing away when I kneel down in front of him, gazing up at his devastatingly handsome face. “If you ever touch another girl again, I’ll run away and never return.”
Daemon grabs my chin, bruising me with his punishing grip. “Try it and see. I’ll hunt you down.” He steps around me and exits the room.
As the door shuts behind me, I blink back tears.
“Well, that went well,” Ronan comments drily, seated beside Alaric on the bed.
My tears seep out, wetting my cheeks. I’ve lost him. I’m nothing more than a broken ornament he refuses to part with, but he doesn’t like me enough to keep me on the mantelpiece anymore. I’m locked away in a dark cupboard somewhere. I’m the unwanted gift he feels obliged to keep.
“Why don’t you come here?” Ronan says as they both unbuckle their belts. “We’ll make you feel better.”
With one last glance at the shut door, I squash the pain down along with the rest of my confusing emotions. Out of sight, out of mind. My feet carry me over to Alaric and Ronan.
Their veiny dicks glisten with precum as I kneel down and lose myself in their darkness.
