White Roses, Black Doves

A hunger through time-13

The air in the public gardens was crisp, a stark contrast to the stifling atmosphere of my father’s house. I had hoped for a moment of peace, but Lord Harrington had intercepted me near the willow pond, his face etched with a gravity that made my stomach turn.

"Alice , please," he said, holding out a crumpled, sealed letter. "I have no desire to be the specter at your feast, but you must look at this. These are records of Thorne’s dealings in the north—he is not the man you believe him to be. He is drowning in debt, and he has a reputation for… discarding those who no longer serve his purpose."

I pushed the letter away, my hands trembling. "He is my fiancé, Harrington. You are merely jealous."

"I am concerned for your life!" Harrington pleaded, stepping closer, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "He is dangerous, Alice. He looks at you not as a woman, but as a prize to be kept under lock and key. Please, just read it."

"There you are."

The voice was like a lash. I spun around to find Cornelius standing just a few feet away, his coat open, his eyes flat and devoid of any warmth. He hadn't been walking; he had been stalking me. He had done this a few other times, appearing suddenly as if he had been hiding in the bushes.

He didn't acknowledge Harrington with a word. He simply moved, his arm snapping around my waist with the force of a shackle. He pulled me so hard against him that the air left my lungs, his gaze fixed on Harrington with a look so predatory it made the other man stumble backward.

"Get in the carriage," Cornelius commanded, his voice a low, gravelly growl.

The ride home was an exercise in pure, unadulterated terror. He didn't speak until the carriage door slammed shut behind us, isolating us in the velvet-lined darkness. The moment the wheels began to turn, he surged toward me, his hands pinning my wrists above my head against the carriage wall.

"You think you can entertain other men?" he hissed, his face inches from mine, his breathing ragged. "You think you can listen to their lies about me?"

"He was only trying to—"

"He was trying to take what is mine!" Cornelius roared, the sound echoing in the small space. He captured my mouth in a kiss that was less of an embrace and more of a claim, bruising and absolute. His hand moved to the nape of my neck, his fingers curling into my hair with a force that made me gasp.

"You are mine," he murmured against my throat, his lips leaving a trail of hot, possessive kisses. "Mine. No man will ever look at you, no man will ever speak to you, and no man will ever have what is mine. You belong to me, my love. Not to your father, not to the ton, and certainly not to that pathetic fool in the park."

“Cornelius, have you been following me?” I asked breathless. He was relentless in his affection. “I’ve had my suspicions for a while now but I haven’t the nerve to ask. Lucy pointed out suitors up and vanishing. At first I thought it was coincidence, but now I’m not sure. Why though?”

He shifted, his body pressing into mine, his hands roaming with a frantic, desperate intensity that felt like a cage closing. "Yes, yes I have. I can’t seem to remove you from my thoughts for a single moment of the day” he said as he pressed himself between my legs “I will have you shackled to this life until you know nothing but me," he whispered, his eyes dark with a terrifying hunger. "I will get you with child, Alice. I will leave my mark so deep within you that you will never be able to run, never be able to hide, and never be able to exist apart from me. You are mine. You will be mine until you have nothing left of yourself, only me."

I trembled beneath his touch, caught between the absolute, intoxicating depth of his obsession. I placed my hand on his cheek “my love” I whispered. He stilled and met my eyes “there is no need to stalk me. There is no need to wander what I am doing with my days. You are everything to me and if you think you are a monster for having these possessive thoughts then unwelcome the monster. I am stronger than you think. I love that you can’t breathe without me but just know that while I can entertain your jealous rage’s, I am yours and yours alone” I said to him. A sly smile crept onto his face as his head dipped to my neck, kissing me hungrily. He kept repeating the mantra, a low, guttural rhythm against my skin—You are mine, you are mine—until it felt like the only truth left in the world.