“I didn’t say I wanted to marry the guy,” I defended. “I just said that he might make a good potential husband.” I shrugged again before immaturely muttering, “I’m sure he wouldn’t make my nose bleed and threaten my existence if he were to get intimate with me . . .”
“If he even knows his way around,” Eclipse muttered under his own breath.
“I’m sure he’s more experienced than you,” I fired back.
“Don’t count me out yet, Teacup,” he fired back with just as much intensity. “You have no idea how experienced I actually am.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” There was a hidden implication in his statement that irked me. It was my turn to gaze at him with scrutiny. “I thought you said you were a virgin?”
“I’m the Demon of Lust,” he stated haughtily. “I could satisfy my woman without getting her into bed.”
I stopped in my tracks, gaping at him. “And you’ve done this?”
“More times than I can count,” he retorted. “Why do you think Rho is so addicted to that lollipop? Because I got her started on it.”
I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded scandalous and offensive enough to make me lose my cool.
“You disgusting jerk!” I shouted, throwing rocks at him. OinkOink, who had returned to us with the stick in his mouth, was staring at us in confusion as his head darted from me to Eclipse. “Who talks like that?!”
Eclipse smirked dryly, looking just as embittered. “You taunted me as well with that other guy, virgin.”
“I was just saying nice things about him because your ass brought him up,” I argued.
“And I brought up the rest of the girls because you asked me about them.”
“My answer was not as perverted as yours.”
“No, it was very innocent,” he said stiffly, his structured jaw constricting in anger. “Which is why it bothered the hell out of me even more.”
I snorted, stepping several paces away from him to put some distance between us. “Who are you to get mad?”
His face was dangerously irate. “Naïve girls like you shouldn’t go around giving your virginity to just any human guy.”
“Oh, so I should endeavor to give my virginity to the Demon of Lust who could kill me at first orgasm?”
I jolted to a halt, putting a wrench to where this conversation was headed.
“No, wait. Let me tell you something before this talk goes any further,” I snapped, moving further away from him. “I may be soft spoken and a people-pleaser, but I’m not going to be a pushover. You can’t tell me what to do. I’m not going to be one of those girls who allows her boyfriend to dictate who she can or can’t talk to.”
His annoyance with me eroded slightly. A dark brow rose in distracted intrigue. “I’m your boyfriend now?”
“Y-you know what I meant,” I blubbered in haste, panicking at the idiocy of what I said. I shook my head before speedily retracting my statement. “I’m just saying that you can’t tell me who I can or cannot talk to. You’re not going to control my life like that. I can talk to whoever I want.”
“I was never trying to control your life,” he agreed. “You can talk to whatever guy you want.”
I nodded in approval at his understanding—that was before he put a huge asterisk next to his previous statement.
“Those guys just can’t talk to you or I’ll have their heads.”
I folded my arms in anger. “Is this how you handle a misunderstanding in Hell?”
“There are no misunderstandings in Hell,” he sneered, offense present in the regal features of his face. “Down there, I am worshipped. When I step into a room, women fight one another to throw themselves at me. Everyone falls to their knees because they are in awe of my presence.” Bitterness streaked through his luminescent eyes when they found mine. “The only one who seems to misunderstand this consensus is you, Teacup. I am a God in my world, and yet here I am, out of breath and climbing up a goddamn mountain for you. As opposed to counting your blessings, you are standing there, in your sinfully cute hiking outfit, daydreaming about some other guy instead.”
Now it was my turn to scoff at him and his overbearing arrogance. “You are unreal.”
“You know what?” he finally snapped, coming to a deafening stop. He looked infuriated. “Tell me his name so I can go kill him and end our problems right now.”
“What? No!” I gawked at him wide-eyed. “Are you seriously jealous right now?”
His dark, embittered laughter ricocheted off the rustling leaves. “No. Jealous would be me telling you that I’m going to kick this guy’s ass. I’m enraged right now. This nameless fuck just ruined my birthday. I’m going to kill him.”
“If you kill him, I’m going to kill myself along with him!” I bluffed without thinking, causing OinkOink to whine in concern.
“Why the bloody hell would you do that?” Eclipse thundered at the absurdity of my reply, looking further vexed. “You hardly know the guy! It doesn’t make any sense!”
“Well, it doesn’t make any sense to want to kill a guy because I like him, you insanely violent Demon!”
His nostrils flared, his eyes getting violently fiercer. “If you kill yourself because of him, then I’m going to resurrect him and kill his ass again for indirectly hurting you.”
I scoffed inwardly, stomping harder through the woods and garnering more distance between us. I couldn’t believe that for such an intelligent being, he was being so idiotic.
“You’re a psycho, you know that?” I stated heatedly, rage clouding my vision. “You are a complete and utter psy—Ahhh!”
Thump!
One second I was stomping away from Eclipse, and next thing I knew, my nose was hurting, my face was numb, and there were stars canvassing my eyes while I laid on the ground, whimpering in pain.
Holy eff . . .
I just bulldozed into a tree!
“Gracie!” I heard Eclipse’s voice.
This was one of those few moments in life where I wish I could’ve blacked out because once the pain settled in, a rush of mortification came spilling over me as well.
Oh my flying pig.
I couldn’t believe I just crashed into a tree.
This was so humiliating!
“What happened?” I felt Eclipse pull me to his chest while his hand lightly tapped on my cheek.
“What does it look like? I crashed into a tree because of you!” I cried, furious at him for being the indirect reason why I had stupidly hurt myself.
“Who the fuck crashes into an inanimate object?!” he contested, clearly offended that I was blaming him for my own mistakes.
“Shaddup! This is all your fault,” I went on unreasonably, pushing him away once the darkness had lifted and my vision was clear again. My nose pounded in pain. “I was so blinded by my anger that I didn’t watch where I was going.”
“Woman,” he gritted tightly, his face more frustrated than I had ever seen it. “You are the single most unreasonable person I’ve ever met in my life.”
“Funny. I was about to say the same thing about you.”
When it looked like Eclipse was about to retort with more fighting words, he abruptly stopped.
Looking around the forest and as if realizing how ridiculous this whole argument was, an ocean of laughter poured from him.
“I can’t believe you crashed into a tree,” he said in a fit of laughter. A smile reappeared on his lips as he looked at me with adoration. It was clear that he no longer wanted to continue this silly quarrel. “It’s going to be a long hike. Let’s not be mad at each other, Teacup.” He held his hand out and smiled innocently. “Peace?”
I softened my frown and sighed. I thought over how ridiculous we were being and agreed with him. This trip was just beginning and it was his birthday weekend after all. There was no point in continuing this absurd fight.
“Peace.”
As he helped me clean the dirt from my clothes, we resumed our trek through the forest
.
“I’ve been a relatively good sport throughout this hike, but I have to ask,” Eclipse began, batting away a few bugs. “Where are we going, Gracie? Are you planning on making us sleep out here too?”
“It’s a surprise,” I offered enigmatically.
Once he saw the resolve in my eyes, Eclipse simply smiled as we continued to exhaust ourselves, hiking under the sunset.
I stepped over a bed of crunchy leaves and allowed my train of questions to meander into a more fun and distracting topic.
“How does your monarchy celebrate your birthday?”
“They are very extravagant from what I hear,” Eclipse remarked disinterestedly.
I sent him a surprised expression. “From what you hear?”
His gaze turned over to me. For a breath of a second, I thought I saw melancholy in his eyes. He shrugged carelessly, giving me another one of his trademark smiles to mask the poignant undercurrent in his voice.
“I’ve never celebrated my birthday before.”
Confusion sprinkled like rain over me. “Why not?”
Eclipse was one of the most egocentric creatures I had ever met. How could he not celebrate his own birth?
“Would you find it appropriate to celebrate the day your father went into hibernation and never came out?” he asked broodingly, revealing a sensitive side he had never shown before. He shrugged again, and I could sense that this wasn’t something he was comfortable talking about. I thought he was going to end the conversation right then and there, but when he locked eyes with me, I surmised that he must’ve felt that it wouldn’t be fair to leave my question hanging. To give me some closure, he added, “I may not have any love for the guy, but it’s still a fucked up thing to celebrate.”
I nodded.
For the first time, I realized that we had more in common than I’d care to admit. Before I could evaluate my actions, I admitted something that I had never voiced to anyone before.
“I’ve never celebrated my birthday either,” I told him bleakly. A small smile managed to crawl on my lips when our eyes connected. “I may not have any love for my family, but I still think it’s messed up to celebrate the day of my birth when they died less than a couple of hours before my birthday.”
Eclipse regarded me with surprise. I suppose in his mind, he coined me as being the same selfish creature as him. He couldn’t fathom why I wouldn’t want to celebrate the day of my own birth. Our situation wasn’t exactly the same, but it was heavily similar and sometimes, a similarity was all you needed to bond.
Eclipse, who appeared to have removed a boulder off his chest, surveyed the woods with what looked like a newfound respect for the place.
“It is ironic that my first time deciding to celebrate my birthday would be through human means.” His chuckle waltzed throughout the woods, sounding nothing short of melodic. “My life is irony in a box.”
“Why’d you decide to celebrate it now?”
“Because I know my first real friend in the world will make it a good one for me,” he answered thoughtlessly, warming my heart. At the beaming expression on my face, his soft smile turned cunning. “You know that if this birthday flops, you’re going to have to make it up to me, right?”
My brows drew down into a frown. “Why would I owe you anything?”
“Because I’m going to make a big deal out of your birthday.”
I folded my arms defensively. His words piqued my interest. “What are you going to do for mine?”
“Something that will take your breath away,” he murmured, glancing at me with favorable eyes.
Excitement mounted over me. As much as I didn’t anticipate my birthday, I had to admit that I looked forward to whatever he would do to celebrate it. This must be why my fellow human beings loved having friends. When you couldn’t count on your family, it was your friends who would pick up the slack and celebrate your existence for you. For the first time in many years, I was beginning to feel included in this human world, even if the catalyst for this inclusion was a Demon.
“This weekend better be a good one, Teacup,” he warned again. “You know me—I collect the debt that is owed to me. If you screw up, there will be consequences to pay.”
I carefully studied his face as OinkOink padded alongside him. “What are you going to do to me if it flops?”
A grin outlined his lips. He peered down at me with sensuality radiating from his heated gaze. “A gorgeous girl like you should know how to make my birthday a good one.”
“You’re not getting my body,” I retorted, my breath threatening to escape from me. My goodness. One of these days, I was going to faint from his hotness alone.
He feigned innocence. “Why not?”
“Because of my nosebleeds.”
“We can warm you up.”
“No way!”
Those broad shoulders rose into a frivolous shrug. “Let’s hope I like the remainder of your next surprise then.”
“I’m going to punch OinkOink in the face if you don’t like my next surprise,” I threatened at once. As a warning, I lightly tapped OinkOink’s booty with my shoe, causing him to gently tumble to the side.
OinkOink whimpered. Like a turtle stuck on his back, he began to shake his paws in confusion. Stuck upside down, he had trouble getting himself upright.
Eclipse laughed, gently lifting OinkOink back up with his shoe. He dissected me with wispy disapproval. “So much for wanting to be human, Source. You think it’s humane to push your defenseless puppy to the ground?”
“I’m not human yet, Demon,” I countered, ignoring how bad I felt when OinkOink whimpered accusingly. He looked hurt that I caused him to tumble over. Saving face though, I repeated my threat again. “Like I said, I’m going to punch OinkOink in the face if you don’t like my surprise, so you better like it.”
“If you punch OinkOink, then I’m going to spank you. And then I’m going to stop being your friend.”
I knew he was joking about the latter, but I wasn’t sure about the former. I gaped at him, panic shooting through me at the thought of being spanked by him.
“Can’t wait to see what you have in store for me later tonight.” He laughed again, catching me with his next statement just as I was about to run off. “And don’t think about running away. I hid your car keys.”
“You smart bastard!” I cried, outraged that my escape plan was foiled. How could I bear to stay on this mountain with a Demon who was so hot that he put the sun to shame?
Eclipse gave me another lighthearted look before he turned straight ahead. He came to a sudden stop, looking like someone had doused him with glacial ice water.
“What—?” I froze as well, stunned at what had him so rapt.
I followed the trail of his gaze. A proud smile tilted on my mouth when I saw that we had finally arrived at my next surprise for the weekend.
Situated in the middle of the woods, under the glow of the sunset, was the cottage I rented.
When I was researching online about nice vacation spots, this particular mountain cottage came up with the most glowing reviews. All the comments describing the beauty of this cottage made my heart flutter in anticipation: magical, unforgettable, and timeless.
When I saw its picture, I knew I had to get it.
The cottage appeared more charming in person than it did on the picture I printed out. It looked like it was lifted right off of a Thomas Kinkade painting. There was a small bridge suspended over a stream, a flagstone pathway that led to the front door, and little stone lamps that sat on the property. Beside the cottage lay a decorative well while on the other side sat a man-made pond that had a watermill running over it. The trees, the plants, and the flowers around the property were simply stunning.
We walked over the bridge, strolled past the watermill, and stepped on the front steps to unlock the door.
Creak.
Once the wooden door creaked opened, we stepped into the two-bedroom cottage. Awe hung over us as we inspected the world in
side. The living room was tastefully decorated with flowers, comfy furniture, candles, antique-looking knickknacks, and paintings of other cottages. There was a small fireplace in the main room while down the hall were two bedrooms and a bathroom. Through one of the windows in the kitchen, I could also see into the backyard. With flowers and lush vegetation glowing underneath the various hues of the sunset, it exuded nothing short of magnificence.
“You rented us a cottage in the middle of nowhere for the weekend?” Eclipse breathed out, stupefied by what I had planned for him.
His shocked eyes continued to peruse over the place. In any other capacity, Eclipse would never fail to dwarf a building without effort. It was his gift—his disposition. Yet, in this cottage, even though he overpowered everything within it, Eclipse resembled a little boy who had discovered an oasis.
“Yes,” I answered slowly, beaming at him with thrill. “Do you like this surprise?”
He nodded absently. “I think my screwed up weekend has gotten exponentially better.” He turned to me and I was suddenly thinking twice about renting a cottage in the middle of nowhere. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but this setting was a bit romantic, wasn’t it?
Eclipse inhaled with satisfaction, gazing at everything with the utmost approval. In that instant, I felt like I had voluntarily locked myself in a cage with a lion that hadn’t been fed for years. He was ravenous—voracious. And there I was, offering myself up as a succulent treat for his pleasure.
“I think,” he whispered, anticipation glowing on his beautiful face, “this is going to be the best birthday I’ll ever have.”
“What do you mean?”
He bit his lower lip, grabbing a towel from his backpack and heading towards the shower. He stopped in front of me, the sexual magnetism from his body caressing me with potency.
“Your first mistake was bringing a savage like me to the wilderness.” He leaned in beside me, his lips brushing my ear. “And your second mistake was locking yourself up with me in the middle of nowhere . . . with no one to bother us.”
I dragged in a desperate breath when he pointed this out, and he laughed—a soft, sexy laugh that promised the fulfillment of my wildest and darkest fantasies.