Marked by Masks and Secrets (Everlasting Possession #1)

by Maggie Sunseri

Rain and… Had she been crying? Who the fuck had made her cry?

gods help her pure, ethereal soul. Because I feared the level of insatiable addiction brewing in my cold, dead heart.

History never stayed in the past. Great men studied history to gain control of the present and future.

“Choosing meaning over meaninglessness is vulnerable, and vulnerability isn’t wrong. It’s beautiful and brave.”

“It’s not childish to be idealistic,” he continued. “All the greats are.”

“Libraries are excellent places to teach ornery little princesses harsh lessons.”

She was driving me fucking crazy. And I wanted to punish her for this obsession just as much as I wanted to protect her vulnerable, fearful heart like it was the precious gift that it was.

She walked a few steps behind me, following me like a hesitant baby duck. It was irritatingly adorable.

Her obedience was as deeply satisfying as it was maddeningly erotic. Evie wanted to be my good girl. She wanted to listen and submit. She just didn’t feel safe enough yet to fully let go. I was a patient man. Or, rather, a patient monster.

I wanted to more than taste her. I wanted to devour her. I wanted to take her sweetness, her innocence, and forever taint it with my unholy marks of depravity. I was going to ruin her for all other men.

I knew the world was a place of hidden meaning, inexplicable magick, and intertwining fates, because I knew Evie was mine the moment I laid eyes on her.

Just because someone is drawn to your light, doesn’t mean they’re made of light themselves. Some recognize that you hold something they will never have, and they will do anything, anything at all, to try to starve that radiance until it dies. Because they’d rather you both live in darkness than for you to be the only one to shine.”

“I think I’ve always been waiting for you. My soul recognized yours the moment I saw you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to love you.” Kylo smiled. “Well, that’s too bad.”

“I don’t have words for the hold you have over me, angel,” he said softly. “There is no end to the depths of my obsession. Every inch of your body, every beat of your vulnerable heart, every shade of your multitudinous soul, and every thought in your beautiful mind—I need to see it all, to possess it all. Because you already possess me. I fear the lengths I would go, the distances I would travel, the atrocities I would commit to keep you safe. Or merely to ensure you always know just how much I adore you.”

“My love is not contingent upon your behavior. You don’t have to perform for my love. You don’t have to beg for it. Or even ask very politely. I love you for existing. I love you for being you.”