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He tried not watching her much anymore, not the way he’d used to. Maybe he was over whatever had pulsed between them after their one time. She wasn’t.
The scent was the first thing she noticed, amidst the smell of old books and musty library, that scent of crisp burning wood and brandy. Heart pounding, she tilted her head back, catching a glimpse of the silver eyes before his mouth crashed on hers.
“You have some nerve,” she spat out in a low voice, the rage in her body making her shake. “You tell me not to expect anything, that you don’t get attached. You fuck me and ignore me for weeks, and then you corner me and demand to know if I’ve been with anyone else, like you have some kind of right?” she hissed. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Has anyone else been in that pussy?” Corvina glared at him. “As many as have been on your cock,” she spat out, pushing against him.
Corvina gripped her pencil, wanting to throw it at him as he turned to the class again.
She wanted to stay right there, letting him hold her safe.
Vad Deverell. The silver-eyed devil of Verenmore. The dark god who played like it was both a curse and blessing. Her multi-faceted, enigmatic one-time lover who knew the secrets of her soul. He’d found her.
The fact that he played it in her presence, the fact that he had taken her to his space, slept with her, had risked something when he had told her he wouldn’t, said much more than he ever could. He was attached. Just as she was.
“You play so beautifully,” she mused out loud, in a slight daze. “Even your demons must sing.” His eyes opened at that. “And what do your demons do, little crow?” She looked away. “Scream.”
It sent a thrill through her to see him so undone by her, see the cool facade crack open, and reveal the untamed man inside.
“This is happening, little crow,” he whispered softly against her lips, pinching her nipple between his fingers. “I’m done denying this. You’ve haunted me long enough. And I don’t care if you’re haunted by forces beyond your understanding or if it’s all in your head. You’re mine now. For as long as this madness ensues.” Her jaw trembled as she looked up at him with burning eyes. “For as long as this madness ensues.”
“Don’t think about me with that boy at your side,” he told her, his eyes fierce. “The call of these,” he twisted one nipple between his fingers, “is just for me. I’d hate to hurt him.”
“Verenmore had always belonged to the Deverell family line. It’s not common knowledge, but legally, the castle and this mountain are both his.”
Something pulsed in the air between them, an aura of danger wrapping around him that sent a perverse thrill to her lizard brain.
She knew, just knew that if she ran, he would chase. And she wanted him to chase. She wanted him to catch her, conquer her, claim her, and reassure her everything would be okay, that their chemistry, their connection was still the sun while her world tilted on its axis.
“You want to know who I am?” he punched his hips harshly against her. “I,” slam “am” slam “your” slam “madness.”
“I’m in your head, in your blood, in your very veins. I’ve claimed you before anything else ever could. Your body, your heart, your mind, your fucking soul, it’s all mine. Your hunger is mine to feed, your madness is mine to tame. Do you feel that?”
“Tell me you’re mine,” he demanded. “Tell me I finally get you Corvina Clemm.”
Lust was only their beginning. They were meant for more. She had to give it time.
“I’ve waited a very long time for you, little witch.” He kissed her piercing.
“I would’ve kissed you bathed in blood, Corvina. If I had a chance to kiss you while a thousand ghosts rose from their graves, I would have kissed you. Don’t doubt that.”
“I saw you,” he whispered back, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “You see me.” Her lips trembled, the realization that this man saw her, truly saw her, and still watched her with that look in his eyes making something inside her shift. “I see you.” His silver gaze seared her. “I’ve always seen you.”
He knew. He had always known. And he wanted her anyway.
He was real and warm and he had been for years that she hadn’t known.
Was it really worth it to risk her neck to spend more alone time with him? Yes. Yes, it was.
Darkness was comfortable, and even exciting, especially when it led her to him.
wearing nothing but sweatpants and glasses, his hair mussed, his shirtless body all hers to ogle.
“I’m angry that you came through the dark all alone at night,” he spoke into her skin, his hips moving deep against her. “But fuck if I’m not glad.”
“Witch,” he murmured to her reflection, the affection evident in his gaze and his tone. “Devil,” she breathed, hoping he found the same in her gaze and voice.
It struck her in that moment how the two words that had been spat at them like curses had twisted to become their own terms of endearments, in a way that was heart-warming now.
“You’re my mountain, my Vad. I don’t know how and I don’t understand why, but somehow, I’m building my castle on you.”
“You’re taking all of my firsts, Mr. Deverell,” she whispered quietly as a confession. His arm tightened. “I will take all your lasts too, Miss Clemm. Mark my words.”
With her trust, she’d given him the last of that she’d had left, her entire being this mountain of secrets that he now owned.
“Just know that if you kill me, I will personally haunt you. Good luck getting your dick wet after that.” A slash of a smile in the dark. “Duly noted.”
“I saw you then, I found you then. Bringing you here was a way for me to assuage my curiosity, nothing more. I never intended for you to know my secrets. But here we are, and this, this will last, Corvina.” His ferocity filled her entire face as he leaned closer, his lips a breath away.
“This will last until the day roses on my grave stop sharing roots with the roses on yours,” he declared. “I will have you even in death, little witch. I am your beast. I am your madness. And you, you’re my afterlife.”
A tear fell down her cheek as he kissed her, his lips brutal on her lips, his hands brutal on her face, his words brutal on her heart.
She’d wake up early and go to the library to work on one paper for a few hours, after which Vad would usually find her in an aisle after his workout, all sweaty and hot, push her against the books and fuck her for the day in the empty library.
Vad loved having that mark on her in a place usually covered, just for the two of them to know, a mark of ownership and tenderness so deep it felt bottomless. Was it messed up? Probably. Did she care? Not really.
“Girl, I know a hickey when I see one, and that, Cor, is the boss of hickeys. If hickeys could be sport, this one would qualify for the Olympics. Are you seeing someone?”
“It’s recent,” Corvina confirmed. “But we’re keeping it low-key until we’re sure it’s serious.” Which was a lie because she already knew how serious they were.
And as though she’d summoned him, the crowd parted and he strode into the circle, his silver eyes on her, watching her do her thing. The pride in his eyes at seeing her in her element made something inside her burst with joy, straightening her spine a little more, tilting her chin a little higher, making her smile a little brighter.
“If you’d be so kind to pull a card for me?” “Of course, Mr. Deverell,” she gave him a deliberate smile, one that he knew, one he’d seen on her face many times in bed. “What is it about?” He pushed his hands in his pockets, tilting his head to the side. “A woman I’m in love with.” Her heart stopped. So did her hands. She heard the gasps of the students around her, shocked that he of all people would say something like that, feel something like that.
“I’d like to know if she feels the same,” he declared, never taking his eyes off her. Had they been alone, Corvina would have pushed him to the ground and ripped his clothes off.
A card fell out. With shaking hands, she picked it up, her lips trembling, and turned it toward him. Two of Cups. The card of love exchanged, connected, deepened. “She feels the same, Mr. Deverell,” Corvina caught his blazing eyes. “She feels exactly the same.” He would have kissed her then.
“My beautiful, sexy little witch,” he pushed inside her slowly, going so deep she could feel the pulsing of his cock against every inner wall. “Telling me she feels the same. Fucking made for me. My madness.”
“Your universe made you for me, didn’t it?” he asked tenderly, one of his hands falling to cup her breast. “And it made me the man I am for you. So I could give you what you need. Do I give you what you need?” Corvina turned her face sideways, their lips aligned. “You give me more.”
My little witch, I went to Tenebrae on the weekend for a legal meeting and found this. The color reminded me of your eyes right after you come. It was a dress made for you to wear and for me to take off. You’ll find your mask in the box by the shoes. (Yes, I know your size). I won’t tell you what I’ll be wearing. Instead, I want you to recognize me from a sea of masked people. I need you to find me in the sea. Leave everything in the office for now. It will be safe. Collect it on the day before the Ball to avoid questions. I hope you miss me. Your pussy is going to be sore as fuck once I get
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God, she loved him, so, so much.
You told him I’m your mountain?” Her breath caught at the deep rumble of his words, his silver eyes warm behind the mask. “He told you?” “He told me,” Vad stepped closer, tilting his head to the side so the beak didn’t touch her as his lips did. “And this mountain would crack before it let anything happen to your castle. Remember that.”
