39. Veil
39
VEIL
I ’m giddy from the three glasses of champagne I’ve had as I follow Gemini outside. The night air cools my heated cheeks, the earthy smell tickling my nose. Gemini is just as inhibited as me, his eyes twinkling with mirth whenever he finds my gaze to share a laugh.
My merriment ends when I realize he’s leading us to the maze. My laughter disappears like smoke into the night. I balk, my feet cementing themselves to the ground, even when Gemini tries to tug me forward by the arm. Turning to face me, he furrows his brow, his hand still circling my wrist, but his grin turns wicked.
“Come now, doll. Don’t you trust me?”
My rational mind knows this is not like before. I’m safe. This is just a maze, and so much has changed since that fateful night over two months ago.
But my body does not care; it’s still living in the past, reacting negatively at just the sight of the maze’s looming hedges. Especially when I connect it to the man currently holding my wrist.
“I don’t trust you.” My tone is resolute as I shake my head.
His laugh is surprisingly warm as his head falls backward before he locks eyes with mine again. “Smart,” he says with a quirk of his lips. “I wouldn’t trust the god of trickery either.”
A sense of dread trickles down my spine, and I swallow hard at the sensation.
“I promise I have nothing nefarious planned,” he adds, tugging on my wrist. “However, it can be.” He winks. “If that’s what you so wish.”
I stare back with the most unimpressed look I can muster, and his smile widens. The last of our conversation is exchanged in silence. He urges me on with a quick jerk of the head. I still don’t trust him, but after a few seconds and a handful of rapid heartbeats, I acquiesce with a slow nod.
Not long after, we arrive at the center of the maze, the looming statue of an archer with his arrow pointing to the sky welcoming us. A cold chill traverses my body, as if I am walking straight into a haunted memory. If I strain hard enough, I can almost hear the wild thump of my heartbeat before Wolfgang told us to run that night.
We’re both quiet as we walk deeper into the maze’s center. A crow caws above our heads, and I lift my gaze to catch its flight, its dark shadow crossing the night sky. The waning moon is barely a sliver tonight, and the moonlight struggles to illuminate our path.
“Why did you bring me here?” My question feels accusatory, and I make no effort to rectify it.
“Why do you think, Veil Vulturine?” Gemini smirks as he unbuttons his cuffs before doing the same with the collar of his black silk shirt.
I eye him warily, but I say nothing as my nape prickles with apprehension. When his collar is loose enough, he reaches up to the back of his neck, pulls the shirt over his head, and discards it with a flick of his wrist.
His raw beauty takes me aback, as if it were my first time laying my eyes on him. His tattooed chest heaves with anticipation, muscles tight and corded, as if he’s already holding himself back.
“Another one of your games?” I ask condescendingly. All the while, my heart pounds in my chest.
He laughs, toeing off his dress shoes. “Nonsense,” he says, chock-full of arrogance. “I’m simply helping you rewrite history.”
I’m fairly certain where this is going, but something in me needs him to say it out loud. Still, I carefully take off my stilettos while I ask, “Whose history?”
His smirk transforms into a leering grin, and I’m eerily reminded of the stranger who was destined to kill me in this very maze.
“Ours.”
I gulp loudly, a healthy dose of fear and excitement now coursing through my veins.
His bright eyes darken as his chin dips down. As he stares at me through his lashes, his smile turns threatening and calculated. “ Run .”
The word is barely out of his mouth before I bolt away, my subconscious leading me directly to the same hedge path I took the first time I was here.
Gemini’s laughter rises up in the air like a bleak warning, and my body breaks into goose bumps. My mind knows this is all pretend, but I can’t seem to convince my body that it isn’t real.
And what if it isn’t?
And this past month was just one elaborate hoax?
The taunting fear has adrenaline coursing through my limbs, urging me on. Blood rushes through my ears as I weave through the maze, blindly turning left and then right.
This time, I can tell Gemini hasn’t given me a head start. I hear his heavy footfalls behind me like a stalking shadow, and the sound sends me into a frenzy. My heart pounds and pounds and pounds as I continue to run, cold sweat beading across my forehead.
I take a left turn and immediately realize my mistake when I find myself facing a dead end, where the hedge maze seems to reach much higher into the night sky in my frantic state.
“Dead end, little rabbit?”
I squeak out a small cry, as if I didn’t expect Gemini to appear behind me.
I whirl around, my eyes wild.
“You haven’t caught me yet,” I spit, walking backward to keep my distance.
Gemini closes his eyes and takes a large inhale. He hums in delight before his deadly gaze slams back into mine. “Your fear smells just as sweet as I remember.”
“I’m not scared of you,” I hurry to say, hating how much my body reacts to his threats.
“That’s a lie, pet.”
“And how would you know?” I growl.
“Haven’t you learned by now?” he says slowly in a predatory tone. “I know everything about you.”
He lunges forward before I have time to react and manages to grab my waist, but I immediately fight back with a renewed sense of outrage.
“Let go of me!” I screech, pushing against Gemini’s arm, my nails digging into his skin.
Gemini snickers coldly. “Back to that same song, I see.”
My rage only builds, and I lose myself in the feeling and all the repressed fury I once felt for my captor. I swing my arm backward, aiming for his face, then propel it forward. My fist connects hard against bone as I manage to land a hard blow near Gemini’s temple.
His head snaps back, and my first instinct is to fall still and see if I hurt him, but my survival instinct kicks in instead, and I take the opportunity to fight him off.
When his arms fall away, I laugh in disbelief, but don’t take the time to look back before sprinting away, making my way even deeper into the maze. The hard, grassy soil hurts my soles, but it only spurs me onward, making me determined to evade Gemini for as long as I can manage.
His cackling laughter reaches me through the depths of the gnarled branches of the tall hedges, and I can’t tell if he’s behind me or somewhere on another path parallel to me. I let out a small, breathless whimper, my lungs tightening as they burn with the exertion.
I keep running, turning this way and that, letting my feet choose for me, my mind now devoid of rational thoughts, except for the throbbing need to escape.
Suddenly, I hear pounding footsteps behind me and make the mistake of looking over my shoulder, slowing me down.
Gemini is right behind me, a mad look on his face. I yelp and try to speed up, but he grabs a fistful of my dress and yanks me backward to him.
Swiveling my torso around so I can slam my palms into his chest, I lose my footing and fall hard on my ass. Gemini doesn’t stop laughing, his tone turning even more manic as he follows me down to the ground.
Panic rises, boiling through my veins as I continue to try to escape his hold, struggling to scramble away. My foot flies out, the heel connecting hard with his nose. His head snaps backward, and he curses loudly, his hands flying to cradle his bruised nose. I take the opportunity to turn my body away from him in a feeble attempt to break free. I’ve only managed a few measly inches before I’m dragged back across the grass.
“The hunt is over, little rabbit,” Gemini rasps, the blood from his nose now running down his mouth and chin. “Quit resisting. It’s now time to savor the spoils.”
I ignore his command and continue to struggle in his harsh grasp, but my body flares in heat, knowing exactly what will happen next.
And I want nothing more than to be devoured whole by Gemini Foley.
Still, I bare my teeth and spit in his face as he pins me to the ground with a large palm against my neck and collarbone. My actions only embolden Gemini further as he tugs his pants down.
“You’ll never have me,” I hiss, and part of me is surprised by the harsh intent in my tone.
Gemini roughly pushes my dress up, ripping my thong off in a rush of movements. My core throbs in wanton need, my arousal hungry and aching.
“Your words mean nothing, Veil Vulturine,” he growls, his eyes crazed and aflame as he positions himself at my entrance. “Not when I’ve owned you since I took my very first breath.”
He impales me with his cock in one vicious thrust, and my mouth falls open on a ragged moan, my head pressing into the earth under me.
His hand keeps me pinned to the ground, his fingers curling around my throat. He fucks me with abandon, and my breath is nearly snatched out of my lungs when the pleasure explodes inside of me.
Gemini snickers mockingly, and the sound of it makes me squeeze around his throbbing length.
“I knew you’d be soaking wet.” He leans close to my cheek, his tongue laving a path up my face, certainly staining me with his blood as he does so. “Listen to how sloppy you sound as I fuck you, my pet. Why would you ever deny us when I can hear it in the panting moans you sing for me?”
It’s my turn to laugh. It’s delirious and mocking. Gemini appears surprised by my reaction with the way his head pops up to gaze into my eyes, the bottom half of his face smeared with blood.
“Foolish Gemini,” I singsong, bringing one of my legs up and over his waist.
He moans with the change in angle, his head dropping for a split second as he renews his punishing rhythm, then snaps back to stare me in the eyes.
“Obsession has made you lose control,” I continue. “How could you ever claim to own me when I own every single thought in that pretty little head of yours?”
We share a loaded beat of silence. Gemini’s expression shutters, his smile dropping, and I can tell I struck a nerve.
Good.
He pulls out, and for a split second, I think I might have ruined the moment. Instead, he sits on the ground and tugs me onto his lap. My dress flutters around us as I grab the base of his shaft and use my weight to sink down on his cock in one mind-pulverizing movement.
We both moan in unison. Gemini’s mouth drops open in what looks like raptured awe. I’m struck by the softness in his expression, as if he’s lost all sense of his nefarious and taunting motives.
“Have my heir, beloved,” he rasps as his hand slips between us, his thumb stroking my swollen clit. “Give me the pleasure of pumping you full of my seed and watching your belly swell with my child.”
His tone is full of grit and determination, his gaze serious and steadfast as his free hand finds the base of my nape, his thumb resting close to my parted lips.
I can feel the shift in his intent—this isn’t a game anymore.
I slow my movements down, sliding up and down his cock in a teasing cadence. “Why are you in such a rush, Gem?” I ask sincerely, placing my hands atop his shoulders to help me hover over the tip of his cock.
He audibly groans, catching my lips with his as I sink back down, my pussy fluttering around his hard shaft. He kisses me with abandon, his thumb still circling my clit, sending shivers of pleasure throughout my body. My orgasm rushes over me, and I fight it for a little while longer, eager for this moment to last.
“This is not me rushing,” he says after breaking our kiss. His hands find my ass under my dress, squeezing hard while making me grind against him. “This is divine timing.”
The numbing tendrils of my climax slither into every small crevasse of my mind, and I lose all sense of self. I can’t hold it any longer. My body seizes, and my nails dig into Gemini’s shoulders.
He moans loudly, and my breath catches when I feel his teeth sink into the thin skin of my throat, his tongue immediately licking over the bite mark now smarting my neck.
I’ve barely come down from my orgasm before he rolls us forward, grabbing me behind the knees as my back hits the ground behind me. He pushes my legs up, practically folding me in half, the angle so deep that I can feel every inch of him pulsing inside of me.
“Do you trust me?” he grits, his voice strained by his own climax. He curses under his breath as he stills inside of me, then returns to fucking me.
The fleeting thought of having Gemini’s child has my core unexpectedly squeezing around his pulsing shaft while he continues to mindlessly fuck me through his orgasm.
Falling motionless, he finds the bite mark on my neck, peppering it with kisses. I caress his back, and something about his heated skin makes my heart flutter with affection. It’s followed by a bizarre pulse of apprehension, as if I sense something before my conscious mind ever can.
I never answer his question.