Taken by Touch and Torment (Eternal Obsession, #2)

by Maggie Sunseri

I wanted to float away. I didn’t want to be here any longer. What had I done to deserve this? My only crime was ever being born at all.

My poor bby

I would sooner die than let anything she loves go up in flames.”

These powerful men didn’t really have a spine when it came down to it. When you illuminated their deepest insecurities and resentments, they crumbled like sand in the wind.

Scarlett, baby. Fuck. My Little Flame.

And when she does, she’s going to claim her own kind of vengeance.”

There was no stronger force when making a man a slave.

“I’m here. I’m here, and I love you. I’m here, and you’re safe. You will never be unsafe again.”

I was thoroughly convinced I’d set myself on fire just to see Scarlett give me one of her beautiful, dangerous smiles.

“Baby, there are hundreds of flavors of ice cream,” I drawled. “You don’t like any of those and I’ll get you a dozen more.”

You are perfect. You always have been. You always will be.”

But I see now that the more love I give myself, the more love I can accept from all of you.”

When Rune had been off on official clan business, and we’d fallen deeper in love through notes short and sprawling—he’d often sent me to his favorite spots in the city. To taste foods he thought I’d love, listen to music, read poetry, observe beautiful holy sites.

And I will never stop showing you how hopelessly entangled my soul has become with yours. It is my deepest regret I ever showed you anything less.”

“Scarlett, my love, I would kneel before you in front of the entire damn world.”

She continued to choose life, no matter how fiercely it had shoved her down.

My body and I were no longer fully connected. Our lines had been compromised.

My poor girl :(

“Jealousy is the most destructive force in the world,” Sadie said. “It’s a poison that erases our ability to discern reality, to understand truth. It allows others to control our moods, dictate our actions and our desires.

Escaping into a book had helped more than I’d ever thought it would. It was like leaving my body in a healthy way, allowing my mind to wander somewhere else without the stress of dissociation.

!!

“Scarlett, my soul,”

“When I look at you, all I see are stars. I see the woman I was born to love.

Our love is vast enough to get lost in. The oceans and the cosmos can’t even compare.”

Belise taught me that releasing trauma wasn’t always pretty. Sometimes it came out as violently as it went in.

Nothing is ever stuck. We need only acknowledge each root before altering the trees in our mental forest. We have the power to break patterns and start new growth. For ourselves, and for everyone around us.”

I’d been worried that in letting go of the past, I’d be letting go of who I was. But that wasn’t true. I was more myself than I’d ever been before, and shockingly, I actually liked the woman I was becoming. I was rooting for her.

I slowly turned to face Rune. His smile was downright sinister as he leaned against the wall, watching me closely.

Why did i giggle..

Not even the gods could rip us apart. I would like to see them fucking try.

Dark magick coursed through the room. And it wasn’t mine, Mason’s, or Uriah’s. It wasn’t even Sadie’s. It was darkly sweet, the divine unholy feminine. It was the deafening strike of lightning from a powerful storm, the unmistakable scent of violent sex, and the luxurious feel of soft, supple skin. It was the destruction and sensuality of the Dark Goddess and her beautifully deadly daughters.

“You’re a viper hidden in tall grass, baby.”

Now, his gaze was glued to my curved lips. “You’re fucking terrifying.”

I wanted to believe in a future where Rune finished his novel, and I studied music all over the realm. We would live out infinite lives, each richer with adventure and beauty than the last.

“You will never receive closure from other people. Closure is something that you give yourself.”

She blended in with the cosmos, shining just as bright as any nebula.

I gently stroked her hand, knowing she was mine, and I was hers. I pretended we lived in a world where that was all that mattered. Where I didn’t fear opening my eyes and her not being there anymore.

I held her hand, grinning so wide my face hurt.

They had no idea the vengeful demon they were welcoming back with open arms. And I was going to keep it that way until it was time to bite.

Rune the Ruthless was terrified, and the sight of it had my heart in a painfully tight squeeze.

“I love you, my soul,” he whispered against my lips. “I love you too, my darkness.”

I was ready to show this world exactly how strong it had made me.

“This world was built by beautiful, deadly women, as much as we men would rather believe otherwise,”

Damn right !

Let us remind this world that it was designed to worship women.”

It was her power that had always lived inside me—the power to humble men and bring them to their undeserving knees.

I sensed Scarlett’s magick aiding mine, amplifying the room’s chaos and hiding us behind a wall of glamour. Now this was true love.

The world that had betrayed her, that had shown her cruelty and hatred and endless violence. The world she was hopelessly in love with despite it all.

“Thank you,” I whispered to her, my heart clenching. “You were well worth the wait.”

“All of it—the heartbreak, the loss, the betrayals and the sacrifices. I would live every moment all over again. Just to stand here in the sand with you.”