He reaches his hand up, cupping my cheek, and his thumb brushes my lips. I feel a shiver run up my spine and sparks rush over my skin. It is unsettling, and I don’t know if I want to cringe away or lean into his hand.
“You’re not leaving. I can’t let you go now,” he says, making me look up at him.
His eyes watch me with a hunger I have never seen before, a cross between wanting to rip me apart and feast on my blood, or something all-consuming. Either way, I don’t like the idea. I try to move around him when his hand moves to my arm, gripping it tightly, and fear rushes through me at the tightness of his grip.
“I said you’re not leaving. It would be in your best interest not to provoke me,” he says, his tone emotionless and cold as I try to walk out of the room.
“Thaddeus?” Orion snaps, making me look at him.
I find both Ryland and Orion looking at Thaddeus with worried expressions. My eyes move to his and I gasp at what I see. His eyes are completely black. It feels like I am staring into the eyes of a demon. Black veins ripple under his eyes and down his cheeks. The air leaves my lungs, and my throat restricts when I notice the fangs protruding from beneath his top and bottom lips. My entire body trembles in fear as he looks down at me, and I take a step back. My stomach turns upside down, and the thought of throwing up becomes a real possibility as I feel fear knot my stomach and goosebumps raise on my skin. Fear makes me step back away from him. But he steps closer like a predator, ready to pounce. Suddenly, the lights flicker, and my pulse rises.
“Thaddeus, get a grip of yourself,” Ryland’s voice rings out in the darkness.
“You’re him, aren’t you?” I whisper, suddenly realizing I’m not just in the presence of shifters, but the Dark Ones. The men responsible for destroying the world, destroying lives.
He chuckles, and I feel my hair stand on end. “And who is that?” His voice is coldly calm.
“The Dark King,” I stutter.
Something in me snaps me out of my fear. As adrenaline runs through me, I run, taking off out the door. I am desperately looking for an exit, a way out of this maze of a place. I see a door and run for it, my feet hitting the tiled floor in panic. As I reach for the handle, I find myself spun around and pinned against the door.
Thaddeus’ hand wraps around my throat as he presses himself extremely close. His entire body is pressed against mine as his head drops to my neck. He inhales deeply, running his nose from my shoulder to my jaw.
“The things I want to do to you. The things I will do to you,” he says with a groan.
Tears brim in my eyes as they start burning. I notice Orion and Ryland behind him, walking toward us. “Orion,” I gasp.
Both of them step on either side of him and I watch as Thaddeus reacts to their touch and his eyes go to his shoulder where Ryland’s hand rests. I feel a hand press between our bodies, and I feel Orion grab Thaddeus’ crotch, and Thaddeus presses himself against me and into his hand.
“Focus on me, Thaddeus; you don’t want to hurt her,” Orion whispers to him, before pressing his chest into Thaddeus’s back. Thaddeus leans back into him as his hand slips from my throat to my chest.
Knowing if I move, he may kill me, I freeze, as his hand cups my breast through my shirt, squeezing and palming it.
“I want her,” he growls, but it almost sounds like a purr leaving his lips.
“You will have her, but you need to let her go,” Orion tells him. I shiver at his words, and Thaddeus’ eyes dart to mine like bottomless pits. I can’t tear my eyes from his as they swallow me whole. “She isn’t going anywhere, Thaddeus. Focus on me,” Orion tells him.
“She is trying to leave me.” He groans, as I feel Orion’s hand between us, rubbing him harder, and I can feel his enormous length against my stomach. Ryland’s hand runs over his chest, and Thaddeus moans at their touch. I can’t stop the arousal that spreads through me as I watch them touch him.
“You’re not leaving, are you, Evelyn?” My eyes snap to Ryland at his words, and I see he is trying to warn me to agree with him.
“No, I will stay,” I gasp out, my heart thumping in my chest erratically at his warning. Thaddeus groans before moving closer, his lips crash against mine hungrily as he devours my lips, forcing his tongue into my mouth. I freeze, letting him have the control he wants as I fight the urge to shove him off and away from me.
His kiss is demanding, and his hand snakes into my hair as he tangles his fingers and yanks my head back. His lips move down my jaw to my neck, and I look to Orion helplessly as Thaddeus assaults my skin with his lips. Ryland tugs his face away from me, kissing him passionately with the same desire Thaddeus has. Thaddeus lets me go and steps away, all but attacking him as Ryland pulls him away from me. Orion tugs me to him, and I follow him; anything to get away from that beast of a man.
Evelyn
Orion leads me through the place and past a lounge room. Then, we enter the kitchen, and he walks me to a sliding door. He slides it open, and I am blasted by the cold, crisp air of the night. Stepping onto the balcony, Orion points to some chairs. I sit on one, peering over the side. I see we are very high up; the lights below look like fairy lights against the snow-covered rooftops.
“Don’t ever run from him. Thaddeus is more predator than human,” Orion says, making my eyes snap from the view to him. I watch as he lights up a smoke, and my mouth falls open. He lectures me every time he follows me out for a smoke at work. He chuckles softly, “What?”
I raise an eyebrow at him, and he passes the packet to me, and I pull one out. Orion flicks the lighter, cupping the flame so I can light my smoke. “Such a bad habit; you really shouldn’t smoke,” he says, his lips turning up slightly.
“You smoke,” I tell him.
“I’m immortal; it can’t kill me,” he says. Oddly, he sounds sad. Or at least the way he says those words makes him sound sad.
“What’s Thaddeus’ deal?” I ask, looking anywhere but at him.
“He hasn’t got good control. Don’t run from him again like that. I know you’re scared, but we really won’t hurt you. Not intentionally, anyway.” He sounds somewhat distant as he speaks.