Hallowed Night: A Halloween Romance Anthology, page 33
The first thing I noticed as I climbed out of his car, was that Elijah’s SUV was gone.
Half an hour later, my calls to Fallon were finally answered. Except it wasn’t Fallon, it was her brother, Joseph.
“Fallon will contact you when she’s ready,” he told me in a broken, cracked voice. “Thanks for thinking of her.”
I gave him my condolences, feeling completely helpless. I couldn’t even imagine the heartbreak and pain they were dealing with. It had been the worst night of my life, yet they’d lost a brother. A son. A best friend.
At a loss for what to do, I slowly climbed the stairs, and made my way into my bedroom.
The first thing I noticed was my desk chair, propped up against my wardrobe. My heart beat faster as I climbed up on top of it, raising my hand to feel above me.
The camera was gone.
I flew back down the stairs, out of the house, and was knocking on Elijah’s front door before I even knew what I was doing. When Elijah’s dad answered the door, clad in a dressing gown and rubbing at his eyes, I realised my mistake.
“Mr. Ripley. I-I’m so sorry to disturb you so late. Have you seen Elijah? I was—”
Thankfully, he interrupted my tumbling words, a tired smile on his face. “Take a breath, Hailey.”
Doing as he said, I sucked in a breath of the fresh night air, gripping onto the brick wall at the side of the doorframe. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologise. Now, what was it you wanted? You’re looking for Eli?”
“Yes.”
A shadow crossed his face. “He’s gone. Back to university. He left all of a sudden—barely gave us a chance to say goodbye. Still, I suppose we should be glad that we saw him at all, since he wasn’t due back at home until his Christmas break.”
He’d gone back to Edinburgh?
“Oh. Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry to bother you.” I took a step backwards.
“You’re never a bother, Hailey. If you ever need anything, you only need to knock.” He gave me another smile, before gently closing the door.
It felt final, like something was ending.
Something I didn’t even know I’d miss until I really realised it was gone.
In the weeks that followed, I moved on autopilot. House contracts were signed, the sale moving along smoothly. It had been something I’d been looking forward to for so long, but I couldn’t find joy in it anymore, not after everything that had happened. Tim’s death had been ruled an accident. Fallon had been sent away, and I had no way to contact her, and no way of knowing where she was. She wasn’t allowed any contact “until she was better,” or so I was told. I’d done what I could—dropping care packages at the Hyde mansion for them to pass on to her, and letting the family know that I’d do whatever I could for them.
As for Elijah, he must have blocked my number because none of my calls would connect. I’d never voluntarily contacted him before, but now I felt his absence. It was like a hole that couldn’t be filled. How fucked up was it that I missed him? After everything? He occupied my thoughts, a constant worry—how he was dealing with the loss of his best friend, if he had anyone that was there for him, if he was okay.
The thoughts drove me crazy. I struggled to eat, to sleep, to care about anything that wasn’t to do with him or Fallon.
When the estate agent’s call came to say that the house sale was complete, I felt nothing.
Then it was time for me to move out. My car was filled—a total of three boxes and two suitcases, the sum total of my belongings. Other than a few items of sentimental value that had belonged to my grandmother, a few kitchen items, and two albums filled with family photos, I took nothing from the house. Everything else was immaterial, replaceable.
It was time to leave Alstone behind. Time for a new beginning.
I just hoped that a fresh start would fill the emptiness inside me.
10
ELIJAH
END OF AUGUST—TEN MONTHS LATER
Letting myself into my apartment, I dropped my stack of books on the table. That was the last of it—I was ready for the next semester.
I dropped into the armchair next to the window, looking out over the cobbled streets behind the Royal Mile. This apartment had been an amazing find, like gold dust. The chance of one of these coming up for sale was so minute, I hadn’t even considered it. Not until the estate agent had called me to say he’d been given advance notice that it was being put on the market, and if I wanted to get an early offer in, now was the time.
When I’d got it, back when I’d first moved to Edinburgh, I had Hailey in mind. She would’ve loved it. It meant nothing to me now though since I’d let her go.
It had been the right thing to do. Losing my best friend had gutted me beyond repair, and when I’d been there on the cold, hard ground, clasping Tim’s lifeless fingers between my own, with my heart fucking rending, torn into shreds, I had an epiphany.
Hailey was so alive. I’d thought she had a darkness inside her, thought she was like me, deep down, but she wasn’t. I’d dragged her down, tainted her with my own darkness.
I didn’t know how to be any other way. There was something broken inside me. But I could stop my sickness from spreading, and let her go. Let her be free.
So I had. I’d gone back to her house, removed the cameras, removed every trace of myself from her life, and left Alstone, and what was left of my shrivelled, blackened heart behind.
Her ghost was everywhere, though.
When I pulled my phone from my pocket in attempt to redirect my thoughts, my fucking finger had a mind of its own. Scrolling through my contacts, it hovered over Tim’s name, which I couldn’t bring myself to delete. I couldn’t even count the number of times I’d called his number, just to hear his voice on his voicemail, right up until his phone was disconnected just a few months earlier.
I’d lost my best friend and the girl I loved in one go, and nothing could ever replace them.
Instead of staying in the apartment, lost in my depressing as fuck thoughts, I decided to take a walk. Heading through the narrow passageway that led onto the Royal Mile, I weaved around a group of tourists heading into the catacombs and made my way up the hill towards Edinburgh Castle.
I kept walking, past the castle and down to the grassy area at the bottom of the hill. I paused at a bench, taking a quick breather before I continued on.
The heavy clouds rolled in without any warning, darkening the sky. I should’ve been prepared for the inclement weather, but I hadn’t brought a coat.
The rain poured. I didn’t care.
“Elijah!” The voice carried through the rain, and my head snapped up.
Hailey stood there, a few feet away from me. Drops of water rolled down her face, gathering on her lashes, her nose, her lips, drenching her. She was so beautiful, I couldn’t even breathe as I took her in, rising to my feet as I stared at her.
“Hailey?” My voice fucking cracked, the shock of seeing her here, of all places—was I hallucinating?
“I don’t want normal,” she shouted over the sound of the rain, and her words jumpstarted my heart.
“What are you saying?” Moving closer, I gripped her chin in my hand. “Why…how are you here? How did you find me?”
“I’m saying…” She paused for breath, her eyes connecting with mine. “I don’t want to just exist anymore. I want to live.”
“How did you find me?” I couldn’t fucking look away from her.
“Luck. I got your address from your parents, and I…it’s taken me the best part of eight months to work up the courage to come. I thought I’d walk from my hotel, and then it started raining, and then you were there…”
Taking a step closer to her, I curled my other hand around her throat, over her wet skin, feeling her pulse under my grip, so steady and sure. I forced myself to say the words that I knew to be true. “I’m no good for you, baby.”
She shook her head violently, droplets of water flying from her hair. “I don’t want good anymore, Eli. Don’t you understand? I tried a normal life. I tried so hard, and I…maybe I’m just as fucked up as you, but I don’t want it. I want you. Elijah Ripley. Whatever that entails.”
My hand that wasn’t gripping her throat slid from her chin to her waist, before I pulled her into me. I lowered my voice as I skimmed my lips over her ear. “I hope you know what you’re letting yourself in for. You’d better be completely sure, because now that you’re here, I’m not sure I can let you go.”
Drawing back, her eyes met mine, and a small smile curved over her lips. “I think I have a pretty good idea of what being with you entails.”
Then she closed the distance between us and kissed me.
11
HAILEY
I didn’t even know how we made it back to Elijah’s apartment. It was all a blur, and all I could focus on was him. It felt so right, after everything else had been so wrong for so long. I’d been fighting against him, against my feelings for such a long time, and once I’d finally admitted to myself that he was what I wanted, everything inside me settled.
He didn’t hold back, taking control, pulling my jacket from my shoulders and directing me to my knees right there in the entrance hall. But there was something new between us. It wasn’t him being controlling, exactly, because I wanted it too, and I’d vocalised it. I knew that if I told him I wanted to stop, he would. Okay, so he had stopped in the past, but there had always been an arrogance, a certainty that we’d continue on where we’d left off. That arrogant surety was gone now, but all of his confidence was still there, and it made me want him even more.
He pulled his cock from his soaked jeans, his lashes lowering as he gripped my hair, angling my head up. He slid the head of his erect length across my lips with a groan, and my tongue darted out to taste him.
“Ten months, baby. Ten fucking months of feeling nothing, then you’re here.” His dark, dark eyes stared down at me as he fed his cock into my mouth, heavy on my tongue. “I’m going to fuck your mouth now.” One hand gripped my chin, the other still buried in my hair. Then he thrust his hips forwards.
Tears streamed down my face as I choked on his thick length, sliding my tongue around him with no finesse as he fucked my throat raw. He came down my throat in an impossibly short space of time, then yanked me to my feet and kissed me, swiping his tongue into my mouth.
“Fuck. Look at you.” Drawing back, he traced his thumbs down the tracks of my tears. “My beautiful girl. You’re mine, aren’t you, Hailey?”
“I’m yours.”
The smile he gave me was sinful, his eyes full of dark promise as he held my gaze, and I ached for him. I was so turned on from his kisses, the way he’d fucked my mouth, the way he was looking at me, I was trembling with need. He slid his hand around my throat. “You’ve been so good; you deserve a reward. What do you want?”
My eyes widened as I stared at him. Endless possibilities ran through my mind, but in the end, there was only one option. I wanted to place myself in his hands. “I want you to…to do whatever you want.”
There was silence for a long moment. Heat flared in his eyes, and he licked his lips as his gaze tracked over me. Releasing me, he moved to the wall, his hand poised over the light switch. “Do you trust me, baby?”
I hadn’t taken in any of the details of his apartment yet, but as I took a quick glance around me, I realised that there must have been blackout blinds covering the windows, because the only source of light was coming from the one bulb above my head.
Our gazes held, and I gave a single nod.
He flipped the switch, plunging us into darkness.
Then, my monster was free.
Hot breath fell across my ear as he closed in on me, not touching me yet. I could only feel his breaths, first on one side of me, then the other, then he was gone again.
“Hailey…”
It seemed like his voice was all around me. I spun around, reaching out, feeling the wall beneath the fingertips of my left hand. Feeling my way, I moved down what felt like an endless corridor, using my instincts to guide me. There was a whoosh—a small disturbance in the air at my back, and I spun again. Hands lifted my dress over my head, a soft whisper of fabric, leaving me in just my underwear and summer shoes that were now soaked through. The presence disappeared, and I continued on, disorientated, hoping I was moving in the right direction. My hand hit a door, and I toed my wet shoes off before reaching for the handle.
“Not yet.” A hard body pressed against my back, stopping me with a hand curled around my wrist. I stopped dead, and Elijah rewarded me with a kiss to my shoulder, then trailing kisses down my back as he divested me of my underwear, leaving me naked.
The featherlight touches were driving me insane. I was so ready for him, needed him inside me, filling me up.
“Are you wet for me yet, Hailey?” His low rasp sounded in my ear as he slid his hand down my body, stopping just below my belly button, teasing me by sliding his fingers incrementally lower, but not low enough.
“Yes,” I whimpered, arching into his touch as his clothed cock pressed against my naked ass. When he pulled me back against him, I turned, and he let me lift his T-shirt over his head. His jeans were already gone, and all that was now between us was the fabric of his underwear.
“Want to know a secret?” he murmured against my throat, then clamped his mouth down over my skin, marking me.
“Yessss.” My hands stroked over his body, hot and hard beneath my touch. He’d never let me touch him like this before, never given me free rein to do what I wanted, and I was greedy for him, touching him everywhere I could, leaning forwards and following the path of my hands with my lips.
He slid his hand under my chin, tugging me up. “My secret.” His confession was whispered into the darkness. “My heart…whatever’s left of it, if I even have one at all…it’s yours.”
I was lost for words. My own heart beat faster, pounding in time with his own. His lips covered mine, this kiss turning frantic and biting as he lifted me, pressing me into the wall. My legs went around him, and his grip became punishing, his fingers digging into me as he held me, trapped in place, thrusting up.
He moved, carrying me effortlessly, dropping me on a soft surface. This new room wasn’t pitch black—I could just about see the outline of his body as he loomed over me.
With a swift movement, he scooped my legs up, pushing them apart, and then his hot mouth was on me, his tongue gliding over my wetness. I gasped, arching up, and he placed a hand to my stomach, holding me in place as his tongue worked magic, driving me over the edge almost as soon as he clamped down on my throbbing clit, and sucked, hard.
My legs shook against him as I fell apart beneath him, crying out his name.
He didn’t even give me a second to catch my breath before he was sliding up my body, dragging me into another biting kiss. I moaned into his mouth as I tasted myself on his tongue.
“Eli, please…”
“Trust me.” Moving back a bit, he took my wrists. “I’m going to tie you up now, baby.”
It said something about how far gone for him I was that I didn’t even protest. Far from it. I lunged forwards, aiming for his mouth so I could kiss him again, but bumping against the side of his nose in the dark.
He gave a small laugh, and the sound was so new and unusual for him, that I froze. Then a slow smile spread across my face. I wanted to hear that from him again. And again. I wanted to make him happy.
The revelation stunned me. It shouldn’t have—I’d already made my peace with the fact that I wanted to be with him, and that was why I was right here now. But I wanted more. Everything that he could give me. I wanted his happiness, and his sadness, as much as I craved his darkness. I wanted everything that made up who Elijah Ripley was.
“I dreamed of you riding me in this bed.” His lips skimmed over mine, before he drew back, pulling me up into a seated position. He put my hands behind my back, binding them in place with a soft, silky material. When I was immobile, he kissed me again, then moved away. There was a rustling sound, and then a sliver of muted grey light appeared from the window, enough that I could make out the features of Elijah’s face. As I watched from my position on the bed, he lowered his boxer briefs, revealing his hard, thick erection.
“You’re gorgeous,” I whispered. When he returned to me tugging me into his lap, he tipped my chin up, staring into my eyes.
“So are you. There’s never been anyone else, and there never will be.”
Then he lifted me, and in one smooth movement, impaled me on his cock.
I rode him as hard as I could with my hands bound behind my back, feeling him thrust up inside me, stretching me and filling me so completely that it took my breath away.
“Eli.” I moaned his name over and over again as he thrust up even harder. He angled me forwards, and I was done for. My orgasm hit me so hard that all I could do was hang on, my entire body shaking against him as I came all over his cock.
I was still coming when his climax hit him, his cock pulsing inside me, filling me with his cum while he groaned out my name, holding onto me like he’d never let me go.
Much, much later, we were lying on his bed, both still naked. He’d untied my hands, and I had one draped across his chest while he held me to him.
“I missed you so fucking much.” His words broke the silence, and I tilted my head up to look at him.
“I missed you, too.” I leaned up to kiss him, and we lost ourselves in a long, slow kiss, like we’d never had before.
“You did?” When we drew apart, he stared at me.
“Yeah. That’s why I’m here.”
He nodded slowly. “Hailey, you have to promise me that you know what you’re getting into with me. I know you said you did earlier, but I let you go once, and I can’t do it again.”
