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“Does anything here feel familiar to you at all?” she threw at him after another coughing fit. “Maybe,” he said as he flicked his gaze leisurely over the book she currently held—a thick encyclopedia wrapped in distressed brown leather and embossed with gold foil. “Maybe not.”
yo ass is playing
That was it. She chucked the tome at his head with all her might. He switched into his non-corporeal state a second before the projectile would have smashed into his face. How unsatisfying. When he solidified himself once more, there was a lazy smirk on his face. “If you want to play rough,” he drawled, “I have better games we can play. Ones that involve less clothing—”
brooo
She threw her hands up. “Then why are we in here getting my dress covered in dust?” He blinked out suddenly and reappeared right in front of her, making her startle. “Boo.” He grinned.
SIGH
“Would it torture you to speak plainly for once?” He reached out and placed a hand against the frame of the bookshelf at her back. “Something you need to understand if our partnership is going to work—we are on the same side. I want you to be successful more than you do, I promise. You found the Whispering Gate and you made that room in the secret passage appear just fine. That’s what I mean when I say ‘dig deeper.’ Find things I haven’t looked through a million times already. Look beyond the books, the obvious.”
the way how he said "i promise" rlly just did it for me
A shame, too. I feel robbed of my first time laying eyes on you.”
whew
“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “Perhaps that is it. I was an immortal in my past life. A Vampire, maybe. I do like to bite.” He clacked his teeth together in demonstration before giving her a wink.
he is totally not taking this seriously but this is funny as hell
She quickly changed the subject. “Maybe we should just start with the basics. What’s your favorite color?” He lifted a brow at the mundane question but reached out with the hand that wasn’t propping him up and tugged at the tail of the velvet ribbon tied in her hair. “Red.”
Jasper gave her a knowing grin. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as Blackwell’s first choice. What did you do to get his attention?” He flicked his gaze over to Blackwell now. “Or is this one of those rounds where you just picked the prettiest contestant in hopes that you’d get to ravage them in dark corners?”
man i hope so
“Sorry, handsome.” Jasper shook his head. “No can do. Why don’t the two of you rip each other’s clothes off elsewhere?” Ophelia’s entire body flushed at the suggestion. “We aren’t—that’s not—” “Don’t tell me he hasn’t even kissed you yet?” Jasper flicked his eyes between them. “Taking it slow this time, Blackwell?”
ikr man this sucks
“Is the thought of kissing me that horrible?” he murmured. No. “Yes,” she answered. “Did you know that every time you lie, your left eye twitches a little?” She crossed her arms. “It does not.”
bye cause this just made me miss paedyn and kai
As she shuffled past him in the doorway, she asked, “Do you know which Circle of Hell this one will be based on?” Blackwell pulled the door shut behind them and then brought his mouth down to her ear to whisper a single, spine-tingling word. “Lust.”
oh brother
“You both look as if you should be carrying torches and pitchforks. Honestly, if I rile you up this much, the Ghosts in this manor must be having an absolute ball haunting the two of you.”
im sayinggg
The clothes draped over her skin felt softer than clouds, and she began to rub her hands over her arms and torso, soaking in the heavenly feeling of the fabric. Her hands moved up over her stomach, to her breasts, and she moaned as she felt them peak beneath her palms. She reached beneath the collar of her dress and began scraping her fingernails over her skin, leaving angry red lines.
uhm what are you doing
“Hey,” the stranger soothed, interrupting her thoughts. He crouched down before her, placing a steadying hand on her knee as he brought his eyes level with hers. “I’m right here. I had to go get you the antidote.”
She looked back at her savior and breathed, “Blackwell.” He grinned in satisfaction. “How do you feel?” “Okay…” she trailed off, rubbing at her temples where a headache was beginning to form. “If you hadn’t come to help—” “But I did,” he said. “Now, here’s the catch of this trial—you can’t get out of here until you perform a task themed after the type of lust you chose.” “What does that mean?” “It means that because you selected Bloodlust as your vice, you have to drink someone’s blood and let them drink yours,” he deadpanned. “Now, if you want me to help you choose someone—” “No,” she
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He pulled her to her feet, shifting to take her seat on the bed before pulling her to sit across his lap. He wrapped one of his arms around the back of her waist. She wiggled against him, making herself more comfortable, eliciting a groan from his throat. “Unless you want this to go in a much different direction, I wouldn’t do that again,” he admonished. She blushed. “Tilt your head for me, sweetheart,” he requested, voice still gruff.
AHH
“Can I…” he trailed off, letting the unspoken question hang between them. She nodded and that’s all it took for his lips to crash onto hers. His lips were cold, hard, not at all like she thought they might feel. And the adrenaline that went through her as he began to deepen the kiss was not from passion. She pulled back. “I…” “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked, impatience bleeding into his tone. Sweetheart. Blackwell had never once called her that.
omg that is not him
“What gave it away? Was it the voice? The way I kiss? I could try it again, I could reach into your mind and get every little detail right to make your deepest, wildest fantasies come true.
damn i wanna play
“It’s about damn time—” the silhouette began. She lunged. Tackling him to ground, she wrapped her hands around his throat, determined to cause as much harm as she could while he was still solid. “I don’t care if you’re already dead,” she hissed. “I’m going to kill you again.” “Is this your attempt at flirting, angel?” he choked out despite the pressure she was putting on his neck. Her lip curled up in disgust. “Both of my hands are wrapped around your throat!” “That doesn’t make it any clearer,”
oh gosh
He tilted his head. “You didn’t say my name three times?” She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment. “I did.” “Why were you saying my name if not to…” When his words trailed off, she let her eyes flutter back open, and the moment they refocused on his face, she regretted it. His grin could have blinded the stars.
“Don’t tell me you’re disappointed you didn’t get to live out a wild illusion of another nature?” He started to scoff, before pausing thoughtfully and saying, “Actually, do tell. I’m desperate to know what sort of wicked fantasies live in your head.”
“What’s wrong, angel? Too many salacious scenarios to choose from? Or are they too scandalous for you to say aloud?”
both
Her mouth parted in awe as he tilted his face closer to hers. She knew it wasn’t real, that it was an illusion, but she couldn’t control her reaction to the words let me kiss you coming from Blackwell’s lips. Even if it was an imposter. “I sure as Hell hope I’ve never sounded so ridiculous,” the real Blackwell said behind her, snapping her out of her momentary lapse in judgment. She cleared her throat as she answered, “Oh, you absolutely have.”
“Nicely done,” he praised. “Though, for the record, I’d like it to be known that I am personally rather fond of choking as the method of attack if you’re ever compelled to brawl with me again.”
Blackwell pulled the trap door open. He offered a hand to her and said, “I’ll jump with you.” She grimaced down into the dark abyss beyond the trap door, remembering the unpleasant collide with the dining hall’s floor from the first level. “I’ve got you,” he reassured her.
“Well, I suppose the debate on whether or not you think it’d be terrible to kiss me has been settled,” he declared as he kicked the door shut behind them. She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Do not tease me right now. That was horrible.” “Of course it was,” he agreed. “No illusion could possibly replace my—”
He watched as she began to pace back and forth, the amusement in his eyes slowly dissipating the more anxious she became.
“Look at me,” he demanded, reaching out to lightly pinch her chin and tilt her face up to his. She swallowed as she allowed her gaze to slide back to his. “This is real,” he promised. “I’m real. I’m sorry the illusion used my likeness to trick you. I need you to know if you were to ever let me touch you, in any way, the moment you wanted to stop—I would. No hesitation.”
He spoke with such vehement intensity that she didn’t have a single doubt in her mind they were true.
“I’ll try not to be insulted that you believed whatever stale pleasure that imposter was giving you could have come from me. I think in the future it would be objectively beneficial to let me prove to you exactly what it feels like to be kissed by me, just in case such a thing were to ever happen again.”
lol
The mischievous glint in his eyes was back in full force as he leaned down. “If you thought that was your threshold of pleasure—imagine being worshipped by the real thing.”
“It looks like you gave that imposter a Hell of a fight at least. Good girl.” His fingertips warmed as he reached out to brush them over the wound once more, and she relished the relief of his magic as it healed her. “There.” “The illusion wasn’t the one who did that,” she corrected, lightly brushing her own fingertips over where the split had been moments before. “Actually, I had completely forgotten about that.” He stiffened as he asked, “Who was responsible, then?” She shrugged. “One of the other contestants.” He narrowed his eyes. “Which one?” “Who cares? I’m fine. You healed me. We need
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oh shootttt
The faint white haze that always clung around Blackwell’s form illuminated the space and filled her with such a strong sense of relief that before she realized what she was doing, she was launching herself in his direction. He caught her against his chest easily, and she wrapped her arms so tightly around his neck that it was a good thing he didn’t need to breathe.
She buried her face into the crook of his throat. “You came.” “You called,” he answered.
i love it here
The room began to shake. Ophelia rocked back into Blackwell, and he wrapped an arm around her waist as their gazes darted around.
Blackwell cursed as he transported himself into the tunnel just ahead of her and grasped onto each of her biceps in order to drag her headfirst through the crawl space with him. Blackwell let her go just long enough to kick in the small wooden door at the end of the passageway before hauling them both into another pitch-black space. “Hold on, angel,” he reassured.
She tilted her head. “You got me out of there. It could have been worse.” “You don’t get it,” he said, gaze locking back on hers. “Every time I allow you to get hurt, the bond unravels a little. Eventually, it will make it harder to hear when you summon me. That could have been catastrophic.” “Oh,” she breathed. “Why didn’t you tell me that little detail before?”
right
“Angel?” Blackwell murmured. “I swear I will burn this forsaken place to the ground,” she went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “Ophelia.” “What?” A familiar wicked gleam lit up his emerald irises as he mused, “As much as I’m enjoying this rant, perhaps it would come off more threatening if you weren’t practically nude.”
He lifted a brow. “I think it’s a bit too late for modesty, don’t you?” “Says the one who isn’t almost naked!” she threw back. His smile turned into a full-on grin now. “I could change that if you’d like.”
PERIOD LMAO
He leaned in close enough that the tips of their noses nearly touched as he spoke. “There’s no article of clothing I don’t know how to take off efficiently.”
“You know, I’m still waiting to know exactly what happened with that imposter during the trial earlier, angel,” he drawled. “I’ve been wrought with curiosity to know exactly what experiences I need to replace in your mind.” She flushed but tilted her nose up at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a response. “If you don’t want to tell me, I’ll just imagine my own version of events. I’m sure it would be more creative anyway.”
“Well?” she prompted. “Let’s hear it. How would things have gone if it had really been you and not an illusion?” “Are you sure you want me to tell you?” He shifted until their lips were practically touching. “Or would you like me to show you instead?”
well i love me a good show and tell
And as soon as the permission fell from her mouth, he was moving. Capturing her lips with his own, no hesitation, no timidness. As if this had been inevitable to him all along. She let her eyes flutter closed and sank into the feeling of his mouth against hers. Electrifying. His lips were warm, unlike the illusion’s had been, and her toes curled as the static she had grown to associate with him zapped through her entire body, searing her from the inside out. When he pressed closer to deepen the kiss further, her hands came up of their own accord to plunge into the soft tresses of his moonlit
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“At any point, if you want to stop,” he said, his voice thick with his arousal, “we stop. Understand?” “Yes,” she confirmed, tugging gently on his hair to bring his mouth back down to hers. Their lips slammed together once again, and their moans were swallowed with equal fervor.
He huffed a laugh at her eagerness and snapped his fingers. The shirt was gone before she could blink. “That is incredibly convenient,” she noted. He smiled down at her with an alarming amount of mischief. “As is this.” He snapped again and her camisole disappeared, letting the cool air hit her chest and send a ripple of goosebumps across her skin.
“Exquisite,” he remarked as his eyes roamed over her bare body.
She had always wondered what it would be like to have the voluptuous curves she thought were so lovely on her sister, but the way Blackwell was looking at her right now eradicated any thought of self-consciousness from her mind.
She whimpered as she pressed herself into his length even harder, and he met her with a thrust of equal fervor. “Good girl,” he murmured as he licked and nipped at the sensitive skin behind her right ear. She preened at the praise. “Let go.”
oh whatttt
“I imagine that’s right about where you would have lost the trial if it had really been me,” he told her. “And that was barely a taste.”
Does it always feel like that?” His brows shot up. “Have you never—” “I’ve had a lover,” she interrupted before he could jump to any conclusions. “But he never made me do that.” “Then he was useless and a waste of your time,” Blackwell told her as he tightened his arms around her waist and lifted them both from the ground.
