Devour Me

The Devil Likes Red Ch 3 Cont

Eeros

Fucking hell! I was losing it. All the composure I had been able to hang onto by a mere thread of discipline had seemed to disintegrate into thin air the moment she had thought about satisfying herself elsewhere. With some other male that was not me. I was still seeing red, and it had been hours since I last saw her.

For one very long and very painful year I have kept my secret. The secret that would change Avalon’s life forever once she found out. There had been so many times I had come close to whispering it in her ear as I had made her tremble with never-ending orgasms. I had imagined various ways in which I would claim her and how it would feel to finally make that bond permanent.

Avalon was my mate. Death’s mate. A mating bond to an ancient being such as myself is more than those mating bonds creatures feel today. It is deeper, ancient, very much alive. And it is extremely rare. I have lived for ages. Seen civilization grow from nothing into what it is today. Seen countries fall and tyrants run rampant. Seen them overthrown and new rulers rebuild the destruction left behind.

The moment I realized my mate walked the earth, the moment in which I was released from that damn curse, I could feel her, smell her, see her. I was immediately lost and all at once found. Nobody would take her from me. Nobody.

I had sought her out, watched her, observed her before making my move. Calling to her, I lured her to the place where we first met and I made the deal I did in order to be close to her. To make her need me as much as I needed her. And now that I have…I was afraid of losing control.

For one year, I kept from claiming her how I desired. Tortured myself in giving Avalon the most miniscule amount of physical contact when all I really wanted to do was f**k her like an animal. I hadn’t even let her see my human form until today.

Where are you? Avalon’s voice brushed against my mind. Her tone was clipped, which meant she was angry.

I can not see you right now, I growled. Suddenly, the door to my room burst open and there, in all her dark beauty, was Avalon. Her eyes were blazing, and they glowed with unchecked anger. Stalking into my space, she shut the door behind her.

“I told you, I can’t see you right now.” She came closer, not heeding my words.

“You say can’t instead of won’t,” she whispered. I could hear each word enunciated with icy precision.

“Get out,” I rumbled, not taking my eyes off of her. My grip on my self-restraint was slipping with each step she took closer to me.

“Not a chance, mate.” The way she purred that one word. My body jerked, and I found I had covered the rest of the distance between us. My breathing was ragged as I looked down into her upturned face.

“How could you not tell me?” she accused, grabbing the front of my tunic.

“How did you find out?” I demanded, grabbing her wrists. She winced with the strength in which I grabbed them.

“It doesn’t matter. What does matter,” she hissed, “is that you haven’t told me. You knew! You knew for one whole f*****g year!” I froze, staring at her look of anguish.

“Did you feel it?” My voice was deathly soft. I needed to know.

“I didn’t understand the feeling that kept drawing me to you like a moth to a flame. I had always been told a mating bond would just click. It would be clear as day not shrouded in darkness and shadows, making me second guess what I knew.” She could feel it. Those words kept playing through my mind like a broken record. She could feel the bond preordained by time itself. But she didn’t realize I was Death. The other half of two gods that oversaw the ebb and flow of the world. Would she reject me? Reject the bond?

“How long did you know?” she whispered, the fight leaving her body. Tears now streaked down those petal-soft cheeks.

“The moment I awoke and was released from my curse.” She inhaled sharply. “I kept it from you because…” my voice trailed off as I realized I didn’t have a good enough reason as to why I hid it from her other than my fear. I was afraid she would reject something so sacred and so precious. Looking down into her stricken eyes, I knew there was no turning back. She was mine and I was going to make sure she knew it.