45. Felix
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
FELIX
The air is thick with the scent of sex and sweat.
Moans and gasps of pleasure echo through the hedges.
While Harper was busy dancing this afternoon, Tyler and I set up the clearing at the heart of the maze with fire torches pitched along the perimeter and portable heaters to offset the cool weather.
The fire flickers now, casting gold light upon the party’s guests. The hedges are wild and untamed. Old statues of nymphs and beasts are half crumbled. The whole place feels ancient, like a ritual site. It’s primal, raw, and erotic, exactly as I planned.
A circle of masked men cheers as they watch a masked couple fucking without restraint. I expected my turn with Harper and Tyler would take place by now, but midnight has come and gone.
Harper isn’t here.
My pulse thrums with uncertainty as I await her arrival, fearing that I’ve pushed her too far by giving her this party.
I sent Tyler to find her an hour ago, with the suspicion that she may need extra encouragement to join us.
She was trembling when we approached her in her bedroom, torn between nerves and desire.
This party is supposed to be a gift to her.
I want to fulfill her deepest and darkest fantasies.
But maybe the party is too much. Maybe I’ve screwed up.
As the wet slap of bodies and moans continue, I pull out my phone, tracking Harper’s location. When I find she’s still inside the beach house, I feel like a piece of shit for not reading my girl right. She’s not coming. I should have known she wouldn’t.
I slide my phone into my pocket and head toward an exit passageway, needing to get back to Harper. I don’t care about abandoning the party and its guests. I don’t know any of the people well. That was the whole purpose of inviting them—strangers watching strangers fuck.
I make my way around the voyeur circle, stopping short when I lock eyes with Harper.
She stands at the edge of the clearing with dim torchlight flickering against her pale skin.
Fiery red hair frames the beautiful skeleton face gazing back at me.
My cock hardens at Harper’s attire, a black tutu and leotard she must have stored at the beach house when we lived here before Clara passed.
The sight of her is hauntingly beautiful.
Closing the distance between us, I pull her waist to mine. My lips lower to meet hers in an open-mouthed kiss. “I thought you weren’t coming. I tracked your phone and found it at the house.”
“I left my phone behind.” Her kisses are languid. She clutches my shirt, pulling me closer but with barely any power. She’s almost limp in my arms.
I search her eyes, finding them glazed over and with a dreamy haze. Her pupils are dilated and her smile is loose.
“Are you high right now? ”
“Yes,” she giggles. “I found eclipse in your bag. There’s no way I can go through with this party without a little help.”
“We’re leaving. I fucked up by throwing this party. I’m sorry. We’ll return to the house and the three of us can—” I pause, glancing around, realizing my brother isn’t with Harper. “Where’s Tyler? I sent him to find you.”
“I haven’t seen him. I came alone. I don’t want to leave. I want to do this.” She reaches into her bra and pulls out a small, red pill. “Take eclipse with me. I have one for Tyler too.”
A threesome while on eclipse, in front of an audience would be a fever dream. But I drop the pill to the grass. A feeling in my gut warns me I need to remain sober to take care of Harper.
She clicks her tongue. “Since when are you the responsible one?”
“You’re not supposed to be high for this party. You’re supposed to be here on your own accord, not because you’re influenced by eclipse. We’re leaving.”
I take her hand, but she evades my grip, laughing, and steps up to the voyeur circle. Her eyes widen. Her chest rises with shallow breaths of excitement as she spots the people having sex. She can’t take her eyes off them, fascinated and aroused, not one bit nervous due to the eclipse.
Under any other circumstances, I would love seeing her react this way. I get off on pushing Harper’s limits. But not at the risk of her waking tomorrow when the high of the drug has worn off, regretting her choices from tonight.
“Where’s Tyler? I want our turn next,” she says, still locked onto the sight of people having sex. Her voice is filled with impatience. Desire and lust.
I dial Tyler’s number, primarily for help to make Harper leave. The line goes dead immediately. He hung up on my incoming call. For fuck’s sake. What could possibly have him so occupied?
“He’s not answering his phone. We should look for him,” I say, not overly worried about Tyler but taking any chance to get Harper away from this party.
She’s not listening to a word I say, either because she can’t hear me over the cheering, or because she’s so entranced by the couple grunting as they reach their climax. Harper licks her lips. Her legs clench together, blatantly obvious beneath the tutu which hides nothing.
Fuck. The things that turn this girl on.
“That’s about to be us,” Harper says as the couple collapse onto the grass in a sweaty mess.
Knowing Harper won’t back down, I grab her by the waist and throw her over my shoulder, carrying her away from the party. She’s so tiny that it’s no issue to remove her from the premises, even with her kicking and screaming, pleading with me to take her back.
The hedges quickly block out voices from the party. Harper bangs on my shoulder as I carry her along a passageway lit up in torches, the most direct route to the maze entrance to prevent guests from getting lost.
“Put me down, Felix.”
“We’re going to find Tyler.” I smack her ass, laughing when my hand comes away wet from how turned on she is.
“Fine. Just put me down.”
The instant I lower her to the ground, she’s sprinting back to the party, laughing as I chase her. Lucky for me, I’ve always been faster, and catch her quickly.
She pouts. “You’re no fun tonight.” When I don’t back down, she sighs, heading in the right direction.
I follow, watching her walk ahead of me. It’s not long before eclipse has her giggling again, feeling invincible as her arms spread wide and she spins in circles, enjoying the high.
As much as I don’t approve of her being on eclipse right now, she’s a sight to enjoy.
Her black tutu fans around her waist as she pirouettes.
Her curls are like fire. With her skeleton face paint, she looks like something dark and macabre.
A doll. She’s so fucking beautiful that I question how she’s real.
She’s like… a mirage, as she likes to refer to me.
A scarlet mirage.
Magical. Mysterious. Hypnotic.
Except she’s not going anywhere. She’s mine and I’m never letting go.
“Eclipse really is incredible.” She tilts her head up to the sky, bathing in moonlight. When I don’t respond, Harper looks at me, smiling when she catches me watching her. “You know, the two of us haven’t been alone in a while.”
I do know. I haven’t minded. I like when Harper is all mine, but I also enjoy sharing her with my brother.
She steps up to me, lifting onto her toes and kissing me gently. “If you won’t let me enjoy my party, the least you can do is let me enjoy you right now. Right here, in our maze. Tyler has had me here. I’m still waiting for my turn with you.”
My hand rests at her throat, just as she likes it. But I push space between our lips. “We need to search for Tyler.”
“Tyler is a big boy. I’m sure he can handle himself.” She slips one strap of the leotard down her arm, following with the other side. “Maybe he’ll stumble across us and get to watch.”
“Harper,” I laugh under my breath in protest, watching her undress in front of me. She rolls the fabric down her chest, revealing her perfect tits, then steps out of the tutu and leotard.
I swallow painfully, so fucking hard from her naked body and the depraved look peeking through her skeleton makeup.
Unfamiliar voices approach, belonging to party guests. Before they get a glimpse of Harper, I pull her into a nearby crevice, pushing her against a hedge wall and shielding her from view with my body. The foliage hides us well. No one gets to see her naked body when she isn’t thinking straight.
While I’m busy trying to protect her, the desperate little thing is unbuckling my belt.
“Fuck, Harper,” I laugh, the sound turning into a strained groan as she lowers my waistband and slides her wet pussy onto my cock.
I grab Harper’s hips, attempting to still her movements as the voices draw nearer. But she pushes onto me, taking me deeper. “I want them to see us together.”
“That’s a decision I’ll let you make only when you’re sober.”
Branches are no doubt digging into her back. She doesn’t seem to care. Right as the people walk by, Harper reaches for her clit, moaning. I’m quick to clap a hand over her mouth, muffling the sound.
As the voices fade, I stick my head out of our hiding place, confirming we’re once again alone. Thank fuck, because she’s wrapped so tight around my cock that there’s no way I can end this without coming inside her.
“You are out of control, you know that?” I press my lips to Harper’s, lifting her off the ground and wrapping her legs around me.
“I’m not out of control. I’m addicted to you. In love with you. There’s nothing wrong with loving my boyfriend. People should see it.”
Harper’s back arches when I push deeper into her. Considering the mood she’s in, I expect us to fuck hard and fast, but her arms wrap around my shoulders, pulling me closer, holding me like she needs an emotional connection more than a climax.
A delicate moan leaves her lips. When she peers up at me, there’s no haste in her blue eyes. Her gaze is soft and vulnerable, despite the contrasting skeleton makeup.
“I love you,” she speaks the words like they’re sacred. “You are my favorite secret, Felix Blackwood.”
I stop moving and stroke her cheek, impacted by the profound words. The mood has shifted from laughter and reckless public sex to something so incredibly intimate and tender.
“I know you love me too, even if you can’t say the words,” she whispers.
I do love her.
My throat tightens. Heat spreads through my chest in a nervous manner.
Over this last week, the ripple effect of Paul’s attack has heightened my emotions and caused me to do things I never thought I would, like giving into my deepest desires and having Harper at the same time as Tyler.
Nearly killing a man for abusing my girlfriend.
For the first time, I feel the urge to tell Harper I love her, even though the words have been true for years.
I’ve opened up to her over these last few months, more than I have with anyone else. But there’s always been one last barrier in place to protect me from the pain I’m so accustomed to feeling from trusted people. It seems like one way or another, they always let me down.
Looking into her eyes now, the love and devotion I see within her gives me the strength to completely lower my guard and let her in all the way.
But she’s high on eclipse.
There’s a chance she won’t remember the confession.
I can’t say it. I won’t say it like this.
Instead, I lean in and brush my lips to Harper’s, telling her the next best thing. “You are my entire world.”
She smiles against my lips, knowing the true meaning behind my words. But these placeholder words aren’t enough. When the eclipse is out of Harper’s system, I’m going to tell her I love her. I’ll never stop saying the words.
Our hips rock together in a slow rhythm. I’m lost in the pure and intimate connection we’re sharing. So overwhelmed by the way she clings to me.
This is love right here.
Whatever I’m feeling, I know she’s feeling it tenfold, being on eclipse.
I commit every detail to memory. The way her eyelashes flutter against her cheekbones, the parting of her lips as she gasps, and the swell of her breasts pressed against my chest. Every inch of her is perfection and she’s mine, body and soul.
“Harper, you are so beautiful,” I grit out, trembling with pleasure as I thrust into her.
She laughs against my ear, the sound so breathy and feminine, so beautifully Harper, that it makes me come instantly.
There’s so much cum that I feel it leak from her pussy. Harper’s laughter turns into a moan. She’s coming with me too, her orgasm clenching my cock and sucking me dry.
I watch her body work through the orgasm. Her spine arches and her head falls back in ecstasy. Her lips part as pleasure unfurls through her, slow and consuming. Absolute perfection.
As the rush of our climax fades, I cradle Harper, savoring the intimacy of the moment. Her heart pounds against mine. Her body is warm and pliant, as always when she peaks.
I pull out of Harper, tucking myself away and resting her against the hedge as I help her get dressed. She watches me with drooping eyelids and a lazy smile, almost falling asleep, she’s so satiated from her orgasm.
The night didn’t turn out as I’d planned. But this version was better.
Knowing Harper is in no state to search for Tyler, I scoop her into my arms, carrying her back through the maze to the house. I’m holding the most precious thing in the world.
She curls up in my arms, drifting in and out of sleep, each time muttering how much she loves me. I kiss her forehead, desperate for the morning to arrive so I can finally tell Harper I love her too.