“Eden, I know you didn’t intend to hurt us and it was no fault of your own what happened - but your death broke them so badly and I’ve spent a century trying to put them back together. You coming back is a miracle but I’m terrified of what it will mean when you leave us again, because you will. Even if we protect you from every possible harm, one day you will die and I will be left to pick up the pieces once again, only this time, I don’t know if I will be able to do it.”
I try and pull away from him but his arms tighten around me holding me in place as his eyes harden. “No matter what happens, you will destroy us in the end but God help me because having you back in my arms? Not even the flames of Hell can stop me from loving you.”
His lips crash down on mine even as I whimper from the pain of his words. He kisses all of it away as his strong hands lift me up against his hard body. His lips and tongue are relentless as they sweep against mine and urgent moans of need escape me as I feel his thick hardness against my thigh. A hot, wet, ache blooms between my legs as I push even harder against him and my nails dig into his skin through his shirt. Sebastian growls into my mouth and it’s the only warning I get before he’s pushing me against the closest wall. He yanks up my skirt and holds it in place with one hand while his other pulls my panties to the side and two thick fingers are thrust inside of me. My head bangs back against the wall as I arch into him with a loud gasp of pleasure even as my own fingers reach for the laces of his pants to try and free him.
His thrusting fingers pump in and out of me with a brutal assault that has me moaning for more as the heel of his hand grinds against my clit, sending wave after wave of pleasure through me. I finally manage to free his thick, hard, cock and take it in my hand. It’s warm and heavy as he thrusts into my hand in time with his strong fingers still thrusting in my wet, aching pussy and in no time it has me coming in a shocking detonation that steals my breath and rocks my entire body. His mouth drops back onto mine to swallow my cries as he pulls his hand away from me and replaces it with his cock. I lift my leg up to wind around his hip and he drives into me, balls deep, with one hard stroke that only amps up the waves of pleasure rushing through me. He lifts me higher against the wall until both my legs are around his hips and he begins to pound into me hard and deep and with each thrust he growls.
“One hundred, eight years, four months, thirteen days. And every, fucking, day, I woke up, with your face, first thing in my mind, and the last thing I saw, before I slept. Every…god…damn…day.”
I sob out a mix of pleasure and pain at his words and the brutal thrusting of his cock as he fucks me against the wall. I dig my nails deeper into his back and jerk my hips forward to meet his every stroke, trying to take some of that pain from him. Anchoring me with only one arm, he uses the other to slip between our pounding bodies and strums my clit hard and fast. His eyes flare blood red as my walls clamp down on him and he barks out, “Come for me!” And then his head drops down to my neck and his teeth slide into my skin causing me to explode with a scream of intense pleasure that has my vision whiting out and my body spasming so hard around his cock that it sends him over the edge as well. As he roars against my neck I feel his hot seed fill me. A few more hard strokes and he stills inside of me as I suck in air to try and get my racing heart and breathing under control.
Sebastian slumps against me as all the tension leaves his body. He rests his forehead against mine and I can see the love in them but also a deep sadness and it kills me that I put that there.
I reach up and brush my fingers gently against his lips and whisper, “I won’t apologize for loving you but I will for causing you such pain. I can’t stop myself from aging and dying one day but I will make you a promise, a vow. If something happens, something that takes me back to my own time again before I die a natural death, I promise I won’t come back. I won’t put you all through this again.”
His eyes close briefly before he tilts his head down enough to brush his lips against mine in the softest of kisses and then he whispers, “Thank you.”
He helps ease my legs down so my feet hit the floor and steadies me before stepping back and turning away to close his pants but I just stand there and wait for what comes next. The words he said and the vow I made ricochet through my head and I can’t help but wonder if the pain this love has caused is worth it for any of us.
When he turns back and sees me still in place against the wall, he lets out a deep sigh and reaches for me pulling me back into his arms.
“No matter what, I’m happy you are here Eden and I’m so glad that you didn’t die.” He brushes his knuckles across my cheek and drops a kiss on my forehead. “I will see you at supper?”
I manage a nod and a small trembling smile so he steps away and leaves the room closing the door quietly behind him. I manage to hold it in for a few moments before the emotions overwhelm me and I drop to the floor as the sobs trapped in my chest pour out of me.
Sebastian
Istand frozen in the hall as I listen to her heartbreaking sobs filter through the door and clutch my fingers into fists. Guilt wracks me at the brutally honest words I said to her. I know it’s not her fault. She’s blameless in both the death that took her from us and the cursed mirror that sent her back over a hundred years later but it doesn’t change the bitterness coursing through me for all the years I was forced to manage my brothers’ grief while pushing my own to the side. Having and losing Eden has changed each of us from the men we once were and I don’t know how she will fit into our new dynamic now that we all know what will come the next time she dies. I force myself to relax my hands and then scrub at my face before leaving her door and heading in search of the others. I find all three of them waiting for me in the study where we plan our business dealings. Luca sneers at me the moment I step into the room but I ignore him as well as the wolves and their grim expressions as I head straight for the Brandy decanter and pour myself a double dose that I quickly throw back.
When I set the tumbler carefully down Finn asks, “Is she alright?”
I shake my head as I turn to face them. “Are any of us alright? Having her return has been shocking and I’ll confess to not knowing what the right course is going forward.”
Luca barks out a harsh laugh. “Now that you have sunk your cock into her, you mean!”
I flash across the room in a blink and lift his body into the air with a hand wrapped around his throat. Both of our eyes flare red as I bite out through clenched teeth.
“Mind your tone with me, boy! I’ve allowed you much latitude over the years due to your grief for her but you begin to test my patience with your constant surliness. Remind yourself that you weren’t the only one who suffered at her loss.”
I toss him away from me with barely a flicker of my strength and he crashes into the wall with a snarl.
I turn my back on him and catch the approving looks on the wolves’ faces. We will always stand with Luca but we have also all felt the lash of his ugly demeanor these last few decades. Perhaps we have done him a disservice by allowing it to continue for so long. I blow out a breath and address the question Finn asked properly.
“Of course she is not alright. She came back expecting the men she fell in love with and found us instead. Over a century later. She is wracked with guilt and doubt for what we went through and where we will go from here.”
Finn and Cade share a look between them before Cade steps forward with a determined look.
“No matter how or why, Eden is back. She is our mate and we will care for her and protect her, this time more carefully until she dies a natural death…or longer…if possible.”
Luca sucks in a breath at what Cade is implying and steps closer with a desperate look in my direction. “Sebastian…?”
I swipe my hand through the air like a knife. “NO! Do not even suggest it! She will remain human. No matter how it pains us, we will not selfishly force that horror on her.”
Luca scowls and snaps back, “We could…” I cut him off again but this time I pull him close and look deep into his eyes and compel him.
“You will NEVER change Eden into a vampire!”
I shove him away from me again, disgusted that he would even consider doing that to her and relieved that he will not be able to do it behind my back now that I have compelled him against it.
