The Calling

SIXTEEN

PENELOPE



I took control and used this newfound power and shifted to push him over to the side and then straddled him. My head fell back in ecstasy as I mounted him and he filled my insides. He moaned and grabbed my hips, pulling me fully down and making me take his full length. He was well endowed and I felt him hit deep inside. I dug my nails into his chest and an orgasm rocketed through me. Every fiber of my being screamed for him, but my mind whispered warnings I couldn’t ignore. This was wrong, wasn’t it? Yet, as his lips traveled along my neck, those thoughts blurred into the background. How could something that felt so right be wrong? I was torn between the fear of losing him and the pain of staying. But in his arms, all those fears melted away. At least for now, I could pretend that we were enough, that this moment was all that mattered. He picked up his pace again, thrusting with perfect rhythm and sending me over the edge several times for many hours.

I rode him and kissed him with wild abandon. I called his name. I begged him for more. He returned my passion with his own. He whispered my name, tangled his fingers in my hair, and kissed me like tomorrow would never come. His eyes glowed vibrantly as he looked into mine and he took his fill of my lust and my essence. An essence that before, he would have drained. But tonight, It was endless.

His head tilted back and he thrust into me faster, calling my name. I felt him release inside of me, gushing into my depths. I could feel my already heated insides become even warmer as he let go and pulled me down against his chest. He buried his face in my neck, inhaling deeply.

“I love you, Penelope.” He whispered in a final moan.

I was too breathless to respond, so I laid on his chest, my body trembling as the last waves of pleasure faded. My hair clung to my damp skin, and I could feel his heartbeat steadying beneath me. For a moment, I felt peace—a fleeting sense of safety in his arms. But as the silence stretched on, my mind began to race. Would this change anything? Or was I still just part of his plan to get closer to Elara? The thought sent a cold shiver through me, and I pushed myself into his chest to be closer, wishing I could shield my heart.. I didn’t want him to lock himself away again and use me to get to my best friend. Tears began pooling in my eyes again. They spilled down my cheeks, soaking his chest beneath me. They burned, each one a reminder of the pain clawing at my heart. I felt like I was drowning, the weight of everything pressing down on me. The thought of him leaving again was unbearable, but so was the idea of staying like this—half-loved, half-wanted. I clutched the blanket tightly, wishing it could shield me from the storm raging inside.

“Please don’t ask me to help you with Elara,” I whispered into his chest, my voice trembling with the weight of my plea.

His arms slid up around me, strong yet tender, and he pulled himself out of me, rolling me over so we were on our sides, facing one another. He brushed back the tangled mess of my hair and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. Slowly, his human glamour reappeared, revealing the Dexter I had fallen in love with. His short, messy black curls framed his face, his full lips were slightly parted as he sighed, and his hazel eyes—ringed with thick lashes—held a weariness that made my heart ache. I reached out and touched his chin, trailing my fingers along his strong jawline, feeling the rough stubble of his facial hair beneath my fingertips. It was such a small, intimate gesture, but it felt monumental, like a bridge between us that could crumble at any moment.

He sighed and closed his eyes as he tucked my head under his chin, petting my hair.

“I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t have to,” he said, his voice low and strained. “But I don’t have a choice. I have to find my soul bond to save my family and to save you. You and your world are in danger from my kind. And there are other demons in The Void that are worse than us. I have to do this, and I need you.”

I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist, burying myself against him. I stayed silent for a long time, torn between my love for him and the growing resentment I felt in my chest.He was breaking my heart all over again. I was angry at myself for allowing this to happen. I knew it was going to hurt. I knew he wouldn’t change his mind. He wasn’t just a charming playboy. This was his literal nature. His whole existence relied on lust, s*x, and desire. I knew all of this. He had told me his darkest secret. He had shown me his true form.

I knew I wouldn’t leave, but part of me wanted to. Part of me resented him for letting me fall in love before knowing what I was really signing up for. The only way to have Dexter all to myself was to be his soul bond, and clearly, I wasn’t. But if I wasn’t, why hadn’t his feeding drained me this time?

“Dexter, you didn’t drain me this time…” I said, my voice cautious as I pushed back from his chest to look into his eyes, searching for answers I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear.

He looked thoughtful for a moment.

“It must have been the potion Merrick made for you the other night. Maybe it strengthened you,” he said.

“Or maybe, just maybe, I am your soul bond,” I said firmly.

He sighed, the weight of my words pressing on him, and released me. He rolled away, his movements slow and deliberate, before rising from the bed and walking to the dresser where he pulled out a pair of black silk lounge pants. He tossed me a black T-shirt. I sat up and slid the T-shirt on. I pulled my knees up against me and leaned my back on the cushioned leather headboard.

He stood by the window, his silhouette framed by the faint glow of city lights filtering through the curtains. I could see it happening—he was retreating, locking himself away in a place I could never reach.

“My soul bond isn’t supposed to be affected by my powers. I nearly killed you multiple times.”

“Do you ever think that maybe that was happening because you were already out of control, Dex? Or maybe because you’ve been carelessly feeding on women even while we were together? Even when you thought I was your soul bond, you weren’t faithful to me,” I said with more ferocity than I intended.

He grimaced and kept looking at the window, running his hand through his hair.

“I know you don’t want to do this. My hunger wasn’t satiated by you most days. You react to my powers. You do react differently, and tonight… Well, tonight was definitely strange. But I think Elara is the one. I need your help to save everyone I love, including you. So will you help or not?”

I was taken aback by how cold his voice sounded, but I didn’t want to give up.

“Do you not feel satiated right now? Do you feel hunger? Maybe being with me in your true form was the key. You finally let me have all of you,” I said, standing and walking over to him.

I felt powerful right now. I felt like I could finally win him over. I wanted him to see that I was the one. I had to be, because he was the only one for me. And this was true whether I liked it or not. But the only part I didn’t like was him trying to ignore what we had before really giving it a chance. He really just wanted to toss me aside and go for Elara because she wasn’t succumbing to his advances.

“I don’t feel hunger right now. But it doesn’t matter,” he said, his voice flat. He was being stubborn. I was seeing the worst part of him right now. He would push me away until he got what he wanted. He would punish me by being cold.

I couldn’t deal with the pain of this right now. It was too raw, too sharp, cutting into parts of me I thought I’d already hardened against him. He had done too much damage to my heart, and my mind was still dazed from our lovemaking. I had so much going through my mind—rage at myself and the desire to still do anything for him, even as he shattered me. I sat back down on the end of the bed, and he moved to sit in the chair by the window. There were only a few feet between us, but now it felt like oceans.

“I’m going to have to visit the Oasis soon. The girls need me,” he said, looking out at the balcony. “I need your answer, Penelope.”

I started laughing a bit, but not a normal laugh—one on the brink of hysteria. He was really going to do this. He was going to ice me out.

“What will you do if I don’t help you?” I said, looking at him again.

“If you aren’t going to help, then you can get out of my life.” He faced me and leaned forward, menacingly.

He had locked away the beautiful and charming Dexter. He was all darkness now. He might as well not even maintain the glamour. He wanted me to see him as a monster so I’d relent. He wanted to hurt me to make me give up. I wished I was stronger. I wished that this didn’t work. But it did, and he knew it did. He was going to get his way. But I was going to get something too.

“You know I’m going to help you. I love you, Dexter. More than anything. But I have conditions,” I said, standing and crossing the room.

I stood in front of him and leaned down, my hands resting on the arms of the chair on either side of him. My face was inches from his. I could feel a power rushing through my veins. I figured it was just adrenaline.

“You will not sleep with another woman,” I said, my voice firm despite the tremble I felt inside. “You will not do to Elara what you did to me. She deserves the choice you never gave me.”

He scoffed at me and shook his head as I spoke. I covered his mouth before he could respond.

“She is my best friend in the whole world. I would do almost as much for her as I would for you. She. gets. A. Choice, Dexter,” I said firmly.

We stared into each other’s eyes, warring with one another until finally he pulled my hand away and cupped my cheek lovingly.

“As you wish,” he whispered and kissed me.