Possessed by Lust, page 13
“You purp?” He couldn’t get his mind to work right, and he wasn’t sure if what he mumbled even made sense.
“Shh,” Meadow whispered at him while another sharp pain wracked his body. This shit sucked, and he really hoped it worked because he couldn’t live his life as Natasha’s pet, and he didn’t want to go through this again.
He closed his eyes, hoping it would help in fighting off the worst of the pain. He tried to keep his focus on the soft hand on his face and the grip of Meadow holding his hand.
“You’re doing great, Elijah.” He heard her whisper to him, and he felt her lips against his skin a moment later. His body instantly relaxed. He was going to use her presence to get him through this.
If he survived, it would be because of his Meadow.
Meadow stayed curled up against Elijah’s side. She dozed off a few times but always woke with a start, half-expecting Elijah to be gone or Natasha to have him.
His breathing had evened out, and his body no longer shook. She placed her ear to his chest, checking for a steady heartbeat, and when she heard his heart beat wildly against his chest, she let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding.
Caliste told Meadow the spell had dangerous side effects. If it worked, Elijah was free, but if it didn’t, Elijah could very well die or be sucked further into Natasha’s poison. The spell was tricky too because of Elijah’s demon. The spell was magically cleansing his body from the magic Natasha put into him, but his demon had been the wild card. Either the demon would try to fight off the spell or the spell would weaken the demon, which would weaken Elijah and possibly kill him.
Caliste tried to explain Elijah’s demon a little further than what Elijah had told her before the spell. Meadow had more questions than answers, and it made her curious about the rest of his brothers. Did he have a relationship with them or just Lev? Meadow remembered the urgency Lev had with her to find Elijah and assumed they were pretty close, but after talking to Caliste, she wasn’t so sure.
Meadow looked down at Elijah’s sleeping form, still wondering if her attraction to him had been based on the demon inside of him. Caliste made it seem like that wasn’t the case, but she did tell Meadow that the reason her eyes flashed purple had to do with Elijah and his demon.
Believe that he is yours and was meant to be yours.
Caliste had whispered in her mind before she left her alone with Elijah. The spell had taken a lot out of Caliste, and she disappeared soon after she filled Meadow in on the spell, but not before handing her a bunch of potions and reminding Meadow that her heart had already chosen and to trust what was to come.
Elijah shifted in his sleep, and Meadow felt a pull in her low belly. She felt his pain as if it were her own, and seeing him rest peacefully now put her at ease. She reached up to cup his face, and his hand shot out, grabbing her wrist before she could make contact. His eyes flashed open, and they were full purple before they returned to their natural cinnamon color.
“Hi.” His voice was hoarse, and Meadow held her breath, waiting to see if he was truly free from Natasha. “How long have I been out?”
“Thirty minutes, maybe forty.”
“The spell?” He dropped his grip on her wrist and his hand flew to his neck. She saw the moment disappointment filled his features when he realized the collar was still on him. “It didn’t work?”
Meadow shrugged. “We’re not sure. Caliste couldn’t remove it with her hands or magic, and she made sure I wasn’t to touch it. She told me to tell you if the spell worked, when you’re ready, you would be able to remove it yourself. How do you feel?”
Elijah dropped his hands to his side and tried to sit upright. Meadow was right at his side helping him. “That hurt,” he groaned. “I feel like I’ve been put through a shredder.” He rubbed his hand down his face and scanned Starlet. “Where’s Desmond?”
Meadow flinched when she heard his name, knowing she was going to hurt Desmond when she told him the truth about her feelings for Elijah. She couldn’t hide them, and when she tried to ignore them, they found ways to sneak past her defenses and show themselves, like now. All Meadow felt pulled to do was climb into Elijah’s lap and hold him. She wanted to take his pain away, and it sucked that it would be at the expense of Desmond.
“Hey, is he okay?” Elijah sounded concerned.
Meadow nodded. “Yeah, I think. Caliste put him in a room and said she was going to try and fix him.” Caliste had volunteered the information when Meadow hadn’t asked. It made her feel like a bad person, especially when Caliste made it seem like she needed to worry about Elijah more—like Desmond wasn’t going to make it.
“That’s good.” He coughed and it turned into a groan. “Okay, maybe I’m still in pain.” He wrapped his arms around himself and fell back on the cold floor. “I think I need a distraction.”
Elijah started shivering against the floor, and he tasted copper. This had to be the side effects of the spell. Caliste and Meadow seemed to be unsure if it had worked, and when Elijah searched his mind, he wasn’t sure either. He could still feel his demon, but he hadn’t felt Natasha’s presence. He knew that didn’t mean anything because he only felt her in Lust when she wanted to be there.
Meadow’s hands were on his arms, rubbing them up and down, trying to generate heat in his body. “What type of distraction are you looking for?”
He looked up at her and when his eyes were locked with hers, he felt the pain leave his body.
Are you the cure to all of this?
Elijah looked at Meadow with wonder. She’d been a lighthouse for him, leading the way in the dark night. Every time he thought he lost himself under his demon or the pain from the spell, all he had to do was focus on her soft palm in his, and it kept him on the course he needed to be on.
The light in my darkness.
When Elijah felt like sitting up wouldn’t suck, he slowly pushed himself up. When the world didn’t spin and he didn’t feel like a punching bag, he took a chance and tried to stand up. Meadow was right beside him, the hum from her wings the only sound in Starlet aside from him groaning with each move he made.
His body felt worn out, and once he was standing on two feet, his hands went to his collar and gave it a pull. When nothing happened he let out a frustrated grunt and tried again and again and again, until Meadow pulled his hands away. “Don’t kill your energy. Caliste said when you’re ready it should come off, maybe you’re not—”
“Not what, Meadow?” he snapped at her. “I’ve been a fucking slave for this cunt for a year. I’ve been ready since she put the damn collar around my neck,” he growled, and Meadow’s eyes flashed purple, causing him to curse. “Meadow I didn’t—”
“Mean to be a shithead?” she finished for him. “I get that you’re frustrated. I would be too. But don’t take that out on me. Caliste is very tricky in her words. There’s probably some lesson or something you need to come to terms with before the collar can come off.”
Meadow looked up at him like it made all the sense in the world, and all he wanted to do was strangle Caliste. There were witches less annoying and just as powerful. He could have had them work the spell, and he would have woken up with the collar off his neck instead of it still on.
“What now?” Elijah asked. He wasn’t sure they could still stay here. If the spell hadn’t worked and he was still magically connected to Natasha, they couldn’t stay idle. He had zero desire to go back to her, and he didn’t want Meadow caught in the crossfire.
“I’m actually not sure. I can’t leave Desmond, and I’m not leaving you to fend for yourself.” She pointed behind him, and Elijah turned, following her finger. “We have enough potions and whatever Caliste left me with if we need to make a quick getaway or stay and fight.”
Elijah turned back to face her. “You shouldn’t have to fight this battle. Natasha wants me.”
“And she’s going to try and kill me for helping you escape. It’s my battle too, and don’t try and argue with me about it.” The purple in her eyes damn near blinded him before her eyes returned mostly to their normal color. There seemed to be little specks of purple dotting her eyes now, making them like little purple stars in the night sky.
My Meadow.
He felt his demon stir like it had just woken up from a nap and was pleasantly surprised to see Meadow still there with them. He felt his chest ache. It wasn’t from the residue of the spell but from her beauty. She was a diamond in the rough yet shining so brightly she was hard to miss. He realized then that if she walked away from all of this with Desmond, it might just be the thing that killed him.
“Can I ask you something?” Elijah nodded, not trusting his voice to betray him. “Can you show me how it works?”
“How what works?”
Meadow waved a hand in between them seeming flustered all of a sudden. “Your eyes, they’re purple.”
Elijah took a step back and scanned Starlet, hoping there would be something hanging that would show him his reflection. His eyes weren’t in pain, which usually was the only warning he had that his demon was getting ready to play.
“Are they not supposed to be purple now?” she asked, sensing his confusion.
“I usually feel it when it happens. This time I didn’t, though I guess that could be because of the spell.” He shook his head. “Never mind that. What do you want me to show you?”
“Your sin—or demon, I guess. How it works. You said you weren’t sure it affected me. I want to see.”
Elijah shook his head, swallowing his groan. She had no idea what she was asking for. He was barely stable enough to hold his head up, and she wanted him to let his demon loose on her? The thing was as attached to her as Elijah was, and he was scared that if he let it off its leash, the thing would have her doing things she’d regret when it was over.
“Meadow,” he warned, this had train wreck written all over it.
“I’m sure,” she whispered, and her gaze dipped to his lips. He cursed when he felt his demon’s head perk up. He could feel it was unsure, or maybe that was Elijah. It felt like he was walking into a trap, and he wasn’t smart enough to ignore it.
He should tell her to forget it—tell her thanks for all her help and go off on his own, leaving her here. That would have been the right thing to do, but that little voice in his head that should have been able to talk some sense into him hadn’t been available in who knows how long.
Instead, Elijah’s demon had whispered promises of finally finding out how sweet their Meadow was, and he took that as the only okay he needed to go down this dark path with her.
Elijah crowded her space, getting eye level with his little pixie. She wore a purple T-shirt that matched the color of his eyes, and it filled his chest with satisfaction. It felt like she was telling the world she was his.
“You really want to know?” he whispered, feeling the heat from her skin as her curiosity, mixed with her own arousal, coursed through her. They’ve been fighting their attraction toward one another since Lust, and in the short time they had spent together, it had only intensified. The sound of her wings buzzing rapidly behind her let him know she wanted this just as much as he did. But would she cross that line with him? There was still the matter of Desmond, though after having her keep him steady during the painful parts of the spell, Elijah was convinced that Desmond was just a roadblock for them.
Elijah hadn’t believed in fated mates, but ever since she rescued him, he couldn’t deny the pull she had on him. He felt Meadow inside of him as much as Natasha’s claws had been in him. Meadow had been able to pull reactions out of him with the ease of a talented seamstress weaving two pieces of cloth together. Elijah had felt empty and alone his whole life, not really understanding his place because of the demon that lived inside of him, and then Meadow showed up.
She literally freed him from the chains that held him prisoner, only to have her put a different pair of shackles on him.
Meadow’s breath hitched, and it was just enough to let the cynical part of him whisper that this was madness he shouldn’t court. He was giving up one set of chains for a prettier set wrapped in long dark hair. The difference was that he wanted to be restrained by Meadow’s chains. She wasn’t the prison Natasha was.
Meadow was his freedom.
“I don’t think you can handle that, Meadow,” his voice purred, and he could smell the pheromones seeping out of his body. The demon he spent his life trying to keep on a short leash was out and about, trying desperately to entice Meadow into skipping down that dimly lit road that held unimaginable pleasures.
“He’s out now, isn’t he?” Meadow’s breath sounded like silk, and Elijah nodded. “I don’t feel anything, though. Are you going to show me?”
He chuckled at the disappointment in her tone. He didn’t understand her urgency, but he was willing to accommodate her. Elijah took a step closer to her. His hand found her wrist, and he gave it a slight tug so she would topple into him—with his other hand, he grabbed her chin and forced her gaze to meet his heated one. “It’s not that simple,” he started.
When they first met, his demon had been out and strong enough to affect Desmond in the cage over. He knew the second it escaped, but it hadn’t affected Meadow. If it had, she did a damn good job of ignoring it.
“When he’s out, he takes hold of your mind first, teasing you with images and sounds of the pleasure that’s to come at my hands, your own, or another’s. You saw it when we first got to Starlet. It only took seconds for everyone to react.”
Elijah kept a close eye on Meadow. He could hear her rapid pulse, and her eyes stayed glued to his lips as he spoke.
Was this the side effect of his demon or because she could no longer control her attraction to him?
“It’s an urgency that starts somewhere between your legs.” He shifted his right leg in between Meadow’s legs, widening her stance to make sure she straddled his leg. Her eyes widened, and he could have sworn she shifted her hips against his leg.
He let out a grunt before he continued, trying to ignore how hot his little pixie was getting. “It travels all over your body, making you so needy that you’d kill your own flesh and blood for a release. It’s designed to drive you mad with want—to seep into the darkest parts of you until your body can longer do without mine.”
“Elijah.” His name was a husky whisper that went straight to his dick. It seemed she had leaned in closer as he spoke, or maybe he was the one to close the distance, and the air around him held only her earthy scent, and he was soaking it up like a desperate man in need of air.
Meadow’s hips jerked against his leg, making her gasp her surprise. It brought her lips closer to his and he held his breath, waiting to see what she would do.
If she kissed him, if they ran down this dimly lit path together, there would be no turning back for him. He already recognized her as his, and she managed to sate and help control the demon who lived inside of him. If he kissed her, he was going to have an even harder time giving her up to a male that he didn’t think deserved her.
“I can feel it,” she started. “That’s some potent shit, Elijah, and I can see why Natasha wants you.” She pulled out of his grasp, leaving him with his mouth open. Her wings still buzzed rapidly behind her, and she was still breathing heavily, but she wasn’t acting like someone who had just been exposed to his demon. “But it didn’t affect me. At least, not the way it did to everyone here at Starlet. Anything I felt, I actually felt for you.”
“Yeah—wait, what?” His hearing was going, it had to be. Did she just say that she wanted him? His heart sounded like a bomb going off every time it beat, and if she was talking to him, he couldn’t understand any of the words she was saying. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Elijah tried to calm his heartbeat and relax, but his palms started to sweat, and he didn’t think his knees were going to be able to hold him up much.
“You’ve felt it too. I’ve been trying to ignore it because of Desmond, but the more I push, the stronger you become. It doesn’t make sense to me, but neither did my purple eyes until I met you. It’s like everything just clicks into place when I am with you.”
Elijah rushed to her, grabbing her hands to make sure she was real and this wasn’t some sick hallucinations. He felt it for her too since he met her, and hearing her feel the same set him at peace. “I don’t know what to say,” Elijah chuckled. He was at a loss for words. He never thought he would hear her utter that she wanted him, and now that she had, he had no idea what to do with it.
“I—” he started and stopped when a noise sounded behind him. He turned his face and saw Desmond standing in a doorway. Elijah turned fully around and kept Meadow behind him just in case he went full berserker again. Desmond had on jeans and a white T-shirt that stretched over his broad chest. Elijah could see his chest rising and falling, but he hadn’t moved or blinked.
“What is it?” Meadow whispered behind him.
“It’s Desmond. Don’t,” he said through gritted teeth when he felt her try and move around him. “If he sees you, he might go berserk again. I don’t want him to hurt you.”
“Oh, that’s sweet.” Elijah snapped his gaze to the front where Natasha stood with two nightwalkers and a berserker. “I really thought it would have been harder to find you.” Her lips pulled back into a sinister smile, and he watched as her hand went up above her head before she threw a vial in their direction.
Elijah grabbed Meadow and ran, but it was too late. He heard the blast before he felt pieces of wood hit his back. The last thing he remembered before the lights went out was the sound of an oak staff hitting the floor three times.
Meadow coughed as smoke filled her vision. Starlet had gone up in smoke from whatever was in the vial Natasha threw. She searched for Elijah but couldn’t find him, she could barely see two feet in front of her.
She cried out in pain as something lifted her up by her wings and flung her so hard that she broke through the walls of Starlet and landed on grass. She looked down confused when she saw trees and flowers.
