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

by Maggie Sunseri

“I will do what’s right for them both, because there is no world without Scarlett. And Scarlett is in love with the world. I would sooner die than let anything she loves go up in flames.”

Nothing was spoken. A million things were said.

Scarlett Hale, my soul has been in love with yours since we were nothing but flecks of stardust. I would sooner die than let you believe otherwise ever again.”

And when he pulled back to study my face, I knew he felt the same relief. “Do you still want me here?” I nodded. “But I need to shower. You’re kind not to mention my current… scent.” Rune lifted a brow. “Fucking intoxicating and divine?” I squirmed. “You don’t have to lie or treat me differently because of what happened. I’d prefer you didn’t.”

“Scarlett, you are as beautiful as that day I found you in Noel’s Tavern. And I will not rest until you see yourself exactly as I see you, just as I promised when fate intertwined our lives and brought you to my city. You are perfect. You always have been. You always will be.”

“Feel what you feel. But feelings and thoughts are not always reality. Especially when they’ve been planted inside us by those who wish to make us small.”

“The born worship a woman and yet treat the rest as inferiors. And that makes them stupid and weak. I would be more powerful than their best man on my hands and knees in prayer before you.”

“Run from me, Little Flame. I dare you.”

“Don’t misunderstand. Love for justice can necessitate brutality. Love for a better future can necessitate war. Love for mortal life can require the harshest acts of vengeance and retribution. The dichotomy between love and violence can send the weak minded into a state of panic. But this is the fundamental difference between the turned and the born. Our side values power gleaned from love, and their side values power for power’s sake. A nasty business indeed.”

“Trauma has a nasty way of breeding shame. When we feel powerless against our abusers, it is easier to turn that loathing inward instead,”

We’re affected by our early lives forever. But we can change the story, change ourselves. 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 wanted Scarlett to soar. I wanted her to have it all. But I simultaneously wanted to tie her little wrists behind her back and keep her by my side or in my lap at all times. Where she couldn’t be harmed.

“You live long enough, and you begin to understand it, to look for it—that spark, the flame that burns in a select few. Most people, whether they’re wealthy or poor, rich in magick or dreadfully barren, fade into oblivion without a trace. But then there are those few who burn, who can’t help but make a name for themselves. It’s not luck, that spark. It’s a choice they make every day. Succumb or transcend. Fade away or become reborn.”

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

I was learning to accept that no one was entitled to my energy, my time, or my sanity. I didn’t owe anyone my love or devotion. I gave myself only to those who gave the same in return.