ELIANA
The eyes are keys to the soul… or so they say. His soul was an abyss. Dark. Cold. Hollow. A wormhole that sucked you in. His eyes were a beautiful abyss. I’ve never been drawn to a man and I’ve seen a handful of men but all of them, compared to him, were like pebbles amongst a gemstone.
The devil wears Armani. He was that devil and my fate was sealed the moment I was dragged into this room and locked eyes with him.
I didn’t know what was going on but fear launched at me and clipped me to the door, the sight of the devil’s gun against the house master’s temple reminded me of how easy it was to spend the life of another man in an instance but what was more frightening was the dark smile that grew on his face when I retracted from the sight.
The devil launched towards me, his gait footsteps, quiet and gallant. His tall form exuded raw, animalistic, yet refined power. It was danger in blaring red lights. As a human, I’ve felt fear but this man was the personification of it. He terrified me but that was exactly what drew me to him and like a moth to a flame, the abyss of his soul held me captive— like a lone princess in a warrior’s cage.
Although his fingertips were cold, my skin lit up from their contact. It was the middle of July, how was his fingers so cold? A strange, somewhat warming feeling threatened to throw me overboard when his thumb pad caressed the hollow of my cheek. It threw me off, shattering the shield I had put up against him as he caressed the skin on my face. His lands lingered a little too long over the spot, that was when I realised he was touching the scare on my face.
He’d asked me what my name was, though fearfully, I was compelled to respond to him. The authority he relinquished wasn’t to be questioned. This man was a very dangerous species, one that I couldn’t help but be absorbed by his very presence.
His smile was small yet cruel, beautiful and bathed in darkness. I’ve never known danger so hot, it warmed the very core of my being. “A pretty name for a pretty little bird.”
I wasn’t sure if those words were a compliment or a threat but his voice, as it sank into my ears, reverberated through me in a rich, thick baritone.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, Morelle.” His words drained all the life force encased in my body; they cleanly ripped it out, smiting it at my feet. “I’ll keep her.”
My life flashed by me in a heavy haze but his dark orbs never left mine as he spouted out that declaration. Too numb to speak, my frozen body mapped out my housemaster from the corner of my vision as he shivered, grovelling.
“I’m eternally grateful, Mr Moretti.”
His cruel warmth left me when he stood over me, his dark form retracing into the shadows that defined the room and I was reminded of just how cold it was in this space or maybe it was the cold that one experiences when their life’s about to take a drastic change. It paralyzed me and I was left to reckon with my newly bestowed fate that I had just been traded to this dark and dangerous knight.
“Pick her up.”
He might as well be the king of hell.
My body was pulled up and pushed through the door. It was happening all too fast to comprehend but in that instant, I was going to lose everything I had ever known, that came close to being my home.
I was orphaned at a tender age of two, Morelle had told me that he’d found me at the orphanage’s doorstep with no details to my identity. I had no name, nothing. I was unconscious when he found me, I didn’t know the details of how I came to be at this place but whoever had dropped me off had thought it a good idea to put me directly and horizontally at the door, I was almost stepped on.
Or at least that’s what Morelle told me. It was all he could tell me.
Marie dresses backwards as she pulls out from the corner, almost bumping into the man whose grip was like a vise clamp on my arm; the same man who had taken me away from the living quarters and into my house master's office.
She carried a tray of tea in her hand that was meant for us, she’d sneaked down to the kitchen to make some because we weren’t allowed extra edibles outside of what we were given. It almost slipped when she saw me in the company of men darker than life itself, being whisked away.
Marie was endowed, barrel-chest with an hourglass figure, she watched in horrid silence as the man, dressed in a black attire, walked me beyond the confining walls.
*** ***
We’ve driven off to the edge of the world and only then did the house reveal itself. But calling it the structural term of a mare building didn’t do justice to the majestic nature. Beyond the black gates and the path road lined with trees as the car drove down through the driveway and the tall walls surrounding the perimeters, I’m struck with awe at the magnificence of the white mansion that comes into view. For a moment I forget that I was a captive, taken out of the place I knew as home, into the unknown.
The car pulled to a stop before the building and the doors to the car flew open. The devil’s subordinates line out. A shadow hovers beside me, his body blocked off any crevice that would let the evening light through and swiftly, my body was whisked out of the car seat by the man that dragged me into the dark corners of Morelle’s study. The very place I met the devil.
I met the devil’s gaze as soon as I was rounded up towards the building. And those dark eyes glowed a mesmerising shade of burning gold and green. His eyes were heterochromic and just like the captured sunset swirling in his eyes, they pinned me on a choke hold but his gaze disappeared almost immediately and a churning pool of disappointment cages my gut.
The large double door pulled open and a woman stood in the entryway, her upper body bent into a bow. “Welcome back, Mr Moretti.”
“Esme.” The devil regards, stopping right in front of her. “Show her to a room.” He ordered, his eyes landing on me and doing a once over, something dark glinting in his eyes and I felt the chill run through me and not one from cold.
A paint of confusion ruins her face as she looks up at the devil, she looks to be in her forties, but then she follows his gaze as they briefly wash over me. Her face slowly lights up as she takes in my appearance besides her master.
“Of course, sir. As you wish.” Her voice is soft and her response comes with a polite nod.
I don’t catch the words he mutters next when the dark knight comes to stand beside him. He weaves his hand through his hair, cussing as I’m whisked away from the hall by Esme.
I’m pulled along by Esme’s firm grip on my wrist. It’s not hurting or tight but it’s locked against my wrist like a clip on. Like a woman who’s worked diligently for years with those hands. We take the huge, sweeping marble staircase, we turn the corner into a hallway and step into a room.
The room I’m brought into is spacious, a shade of cream and grey paint filters the walls. The white sheer curtains dance softly to the tune of the breeze and grey drapes are drawn apart and held with silver ropes over a hook against the wall. There’s a Victorian Queen sized bed at the center of the room neatly dressed in soft looking white sheets and a grey cushioned bed stool at the edge. Beautiful antique furniture contributed to the appealing look of the room.
But my attention was quickly taken by what was in front of me. I’ve never seen a bathtub this big. It could perfectly fit three people with an extra space to spare. It’s fashioned with a double footing and thin rail handle and the water in the bath is crystal clear, steaming with warm steam and an alluring fruity scent that was calling to me.
“Whoa.” The only word I could muster. The first word I’ve spoken since I was taken away by the devil and his subjects.
“The master has quite the taste, doesn’t he?” Esme says behind a small smile.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” It was true, we never got out of the orphanage that much. We were homeschooled too by the neighbourhood teacher, Mrs. Admina, on weekends so we didn’t have the luxury of hanging out with friends and stuff. We were our only friends and even though the orphanage was quite big and equipped, it could never beat the architectural prowess of this place.
She turns to me, her smile still plastered on her face, “Why don’t you freshen up first, dinner would be ready for you downstairs. I’ll be in the kitchen.”
After Esme left and I had a grooming session, I call it that because of how nice I smelled after the bath and the long hours I stayed in the bath. The water just felt amazing and I feel reborn but now the antsy that I kept tucked down are playing circus in my stomach.
My heart picked up pace when the door to my room clicked open and my body rose from where I sat on the bed. The shadows coated him like a second skin, the door closed behind him and then, his eyes caged me. The moonlight and the low glow from the nightstand lamp were the only source of light, it bathed half of the room but it didn’t reach all of him, cutting short across his shoulders and masking his face.
His eyes captured the moonlight when he stepped into it and all the air I held within me left me breathless and terrified at the same time at the sight of him. And bathed in blood, the devil stood before me and peered into my soul with a burning gaze.
LUCA The agonizing cries of a cowering man is the greatest bliss of a lifetime. I would say that I find it pleasurably entertaining from the depths of my soul but it has none. It’s earned me a reputation that I now love to live by. I’ve been called a lot of things and evil is one of them but not the kind that’s done to a man by his fellow man, sprung by jealousy or broken pride. No, it was the evil that came at you in retribution to the sin one commits against me or my family. Fenir Ramos had incurred that wrath and he was getting the bitter taste of it. His screams filled the room as I dug my blade into his flesh and twisting it. A bit of blood splatter on my face and trail down. I lick the solid, metallic taste of it as it trailed down my lips. When I look up at him again, his eyes were saucing with immense fear. Ah, that was it. The look on his face, mixed with an unadulterated sliver of hate, was so pleasing to behold and I can’t help the sinister smirk that plays on my lips.
ELIANA It was morning by the time I blink my eyes open. Somehow I’d managed to fall asleep but my body felt a little heavy. The memories of last night flashed in my mind; when he had walked in, what he’d said and the things I’d sworn. It still felt dreamlike, to be here, knowing that my freedom was now a fleeting thought. My housemaster didn’t have a second thought when he offered me up as payment for his debt and somehow it made me a little glad that I wasn’t in that orphanage anymore. But that didn’t mean that being here was any better. I’ve been thrust into the dark unknown and given to a man scarier than the darkness itself. My thoughts were jumbled up, I feel scared and somehow, not scared, somehow I feel relieved to be out of the orphanage but this was still a far throw from what I’ve always envisioned. I was given as a payment for a debt owed. I belonged to him now, in body and soul, I was going to be his sex toy but somehow that fate didn’t scare me, not as much as it’d scar
LUCA She looked stunning in that cream dress as she walked through the doors of the dining hall and her beauty was so radiant, it almost fucking blinded me. I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was like an angel of light walking through my dark hall, the sight of her in that dress, one that I’d personally handpicked for her, was a fucking turn on. It was a perfect fit and it hugged all her assets, the seductive features that she didn’t know how to use but did so effortlessly. She was brimming with pure innocence and allure and I was caught in them the moment I laid eyes on her. I’ve never wanted anything or anyone as much as I did her and I didn’t know why. She was like an enigma but I didn’t question it either. I simply took what I wanted, when I wanted and I wanted her, so I took her in place of my money. I sauntered out of the dining room and headed to my office, two of my guards acknowledged mumbled a greeting as I approached, pulling one part of the door open for me. I respo
ELIANA The gentle breeze blew the strands of my hair, which had fallen out of place, over my face. I sat by the window in my bedroom that overlooks the wide courtyard, the view’s simply amazing and it almost left me breathless upon gazing at it. The perimeter is littered with armed guards in black camos and they all look very intimidating. Two guards walk by and the second one comes to an abrupt halt then turns his head towards the direction of my window, our eyes meet. His green eyes and dirty blonde hair shimmers in the afternoon sun as he stares up at me, his forehead creases when he narrows his gaze at me. Then the other guard he’d been with came back and his attention shifted to his companion. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, then the other guard left him and he followed behind but not before he turned back to me and gave me a wink and a crawling sensation ran up my skin. The door to my bedroom pushed open and in walked the devil. His dark hair stood in a smooth d
LUCA I never thought anything could taste so delectable. The moment her soft lips touched mine, I felt the burning urge to claim those lips with mine. Her lips were tender and smooth like silk and tasted like aged wine, fucking sweet. I rushed into her room after I'd dealt with things in my office because the mere thought of her had disrupted any further activity I had. My cock was adamant at lying still in my pants, so I left, abandoning everything else I had to review today and beelined into her room. I had to have her, that was all I thought about. Claiming her, fucking her. I wanted to mark her so she'll only ever know the taste of me, not that she was anyone else's. I claimed her the moment I laid my eyes on her. She was mine, her pure yet wildish innocence enchanted me. I don't exactly know what's wild about it, maybe it's the look in her eyes or the untapped allure she possessed. Whatever it was, I wanted all of her. She was gorgeous and she looked so beautiful in the c
ELIANA I feel hot. My body's overheating, burning from the dark and precise touches of this man over me. Of luca’s wicked touches. It wasn't supposed to be this way. At least in my mind I'd envisioned something else, something different. Something rough and swift and painful but this wasn't it. This was everything I'd not envisioned. It was everything that was not supposed to be. He wasn't supposed to be gentle. He wasn't supposed to praise me or tell me how beautiful my body was. He wasn't supposed to care. Wasn't I supposed to be his slave? To be used for his own pleasure, not mine but he was taking his time exploring my body, savouring every inche like it meant something precious to him. His actions confused me, since the moment he walked into my room, everything he did puzzled my mind. I didn't know what to think of it. “Relax, Eliana. Stop thinking.” His hoarse voice captured my attention and I find myself relaxing at his command. “No one’s going to hurt you.” I want to r
LUCA She's perfect. So fucking responsive. So delectable. So innocent. So mine. Her wide blue-grey eyes watch me, the lust is pushed to the side and replaced by fear at my words. I've driven her to multiple orgasms and I still want more of her. When I inhaled the sweet scent of her innocence, I lost all control, the only thing on my mind was to claim her with my mouth. It's ironic when I'm a man that thrives on control and power. But everything that I held under control seemed to be falling apart since I saw her. I shouldn't be craving her as much as I did, it wasn't just unhealthy but dangerous and everytime I think I've gotten back that control she does something that tips it out of my grip. I didn't like that, she wasn't even here for twenty-four hours and she was already starting to mess with my head but I couldn't bring myself to push her away either. She was in my grasp, she was underneath me, naked and panting but she was scared. And I got that twisted feeling in my gut, th
ELIANA I stirred in my sleep, feeling incredibly sore all over. The ache rousing between my legs pulled my eyes open and I fell into darkness. I turned over and my eyes caught the light from the standing lamp beside the nightstand and I blinked. Luca’s nowhere to be seen as I look around the dimly lit room. Of course he wouldn't, it wasn't like there was anything special going on between the both of us. He'd just used me for sex. And I'd given it to him; my virginity. This wasn't exactly how I wanted my first my first sex to be, meaningless, offered to a monster but in the end it was consented. But still, I hated to admit how much I liked it. It was my first sex and even though it was with a man like Luca, it was utterly mind-blowing. I guess it's because he has experience, probably a lot too, giving his godly looks. I was pretty sure he didn't need to ask for it, any woman would die to be entangled with a man like Luca Moretti. He’d been gentle at first, but after he'd gotten pas