19. Forever
THE RITUAL - PART ONE
“Stand still,” Demetrius commanded, walking up behind me.
I watched him from the mirror, bringing his arms around to clasp a necklace in place. The pendant hanging from the gold chain made me like him even more.
Dragonflies had significant meaning to my line of work. In some cultures, they represent the passage from life to death, while in others, they are seen as a sign of love and hope for the future.
The one he’d put around me had tiny, deep red diamonds lining the wings.
I touched it and met his gaze.
“Is this new or…”
…was it something that already belonged to me?
He pushed his arms between mine and secured them around my waist. The closer I allowed him to get, the more he touched me.
And I really liked his hands on me.
“New to you,” he said, nudging my head to the side with his chin to whisper in my ear. “It was supposed to be an anniversary gift.”
Why did he have to make my heart race like this?
“I like you,” I blurted, leaning my head back to look at him. “Wild things happen at the ritual, so this is me giving you my consent beforehand.”
He frowned and turned me to face him.
“You been before?”
I shook my head and looked down, trying my best to force the smile wanting to spread away.
“My parents have been invited the last few years, and then Kai took over. He’s not a fan, but you know, once invited, not going isn’t really an option.”
He laughed.
“Every option available is yours to choose from, as my wife, my forever. Remember that tonight.”
I couldn’t stop biting my fucking lip around this man. He could have his way with me right now if he wanted.
“You have my consent, Echo.”
A knock at the door presented the perfect opportunity to escape. I slipped past him to get it, since we were technically in my apartment.
That little tidbit still blew my mind, but the more I took in the place, the realer it became. Everything was so… me.
“Mrs. Cannon, these were dropped off for you and your husband,” the concierge said after I pulled the door open.
Me and my husband.
It had a nice ring to it.
I took both black garment boxes and thanked him, still repeating his greeting over in my head.
“Our robes are here,” I said, setting them down on the coffee table to open one. “Let me help you put it on.”
The ritual took place on the northeast side of Everwood in Fairchild territory. The entire area was barricaded for forty-eight hours, with entry checkpoints for invitees only.
What happened beyond the checkpoints was meant to stay there, but the rumors never stopped.
“You dressing me feels like before,” he murmured, arms out as he turned to stand in front of me.
I slipped the black oversized suede material onto his arms and shoulders, then moved around him to zip it.
“Does that make you happy or sad?” I asked, reaching for the mask they supplied.
His eyes searched mine for a little before I got a response. By then, the eye mask was secured, and I had his hood pulled up.
“I’m understanding now that we can create new memories and they still feel like we’re the same as before.”
He was smiling now as he moved to do exactly what I’d done for him, twirling his finger to give direction.
“Turn for me, baby.”
I did as I was told and spread my arms, loving every second of being in his care more and more.
“This is something we haven’t done before?”
He hummed and stepped in front of me to tie the mask. It was lace and covered the forehead, around the eyes, and up to the bridge of the nose.
You’d have to be looking hard to know it was us behind them.
“That’d be correct. I hope you do it more often.”
I sat on the edge of the coffee table to slip into my thigh-high leather combat boots with slots for my knives in the sides. My skirt was a little on the short side, and it was chilly out tonight.
Guns weren’t permitted, but Demetrius had one tucked. They wouldn’t check during entry, but if someone died by your hand in their territory, the act of having a gun on your person is weighed along with the crime.
The goal wasn’t to kill tonight but to gain the clarity Lucien all but promised.
“Everything that happens tonight is something we’ve never experienced before,” I said, looking up to find him watching me already. “I hope we get to continue doing that afterward.”
His smile was slow but so goddamn beautiful once on full display. I loved the way whatever he was feeling reached his eyes.
Looking into them was like seeing everything he felt for me in a flash.
I wanted to feel that way for him, too.
“You have my consent,” he said, licking and pulling his bottom into his mouth. “Even after tonight.”
A legit giggle slipped from my lips, and I contemplated killing him for making me act and feel like a school girl.
Had I felt this way the first time we did this dance?
Demetrius pulled me up and tugged the dragonfly pendant from inside my robe.
“Promise me you’ll never take this off,” he murmured, bringing it to his lips. “It’s how I’ll be able to find you if anything goes wrong.”
I leaned into him.
“I promise.”
He tucked the necklace back and took my hand.
“My driver will take us to a checkpoint and wait in the safe zone until I call for him,” he continued, setting the alarm with his free hand and then leading us to the elevators. “I’d rather you not leave my side tonight, but if the situation permits, I’ll allow it.”
He went on and on, and I listened, because it was the first time a man wanted to protect me so fiercely.
Everyone else in my life saw me as someone who didn’t need protecting, but maybe this was what I’d needed all along.
He helped me into the black Escalade truck and took my hand again once he was inside.
I stared at our fingers peeking from inside the wide robe sleeves for most of the ride. It wasn’t until the driver called out Demetrius’s name that I snapped out of my trance and took in our surroundings.
Dark robes that matched ours filled the streets, some red while others were a midnight blue.
“We’re at the black entry point,” the driver said.
Mm.
The colors meant something.
Demetrius handed him a phone, and we got out, quickly slipping into line with our heads slightly tilted toward one another.
His eyes were smiling at me, and I hoped mine were doing the same.
The line moved quickly, and before we knew it, our robes had been scanned with a blue light and we were allowed to enter.
Under the light, the Fairchild insignia was visible. They’d gone to great lengths to keep trespassers out.
“Please follow the colored path matching your robe. Do not deviate. The ritual will begin soon.”
We took a path that led us into a part of town I’d never laid eyes on before. In front of us was a piece of land with sprawling greenery and a home three times the size of my parents.
The way it lit up from where we stood left me feeling a little woozy. It wasn’t until we were inside and the light layer of smoke thickened that I realized we were being drugged.
My body felt light; even the tightness in my head had loosened.
“Please proceed to the lower level and retrieve your communion,” a voice echoed in what felt like my mind.
I squeezed Demetrius’s hand, and he stopped to look down at me, completely uncaring of the bodies trying to get by us.
“You feel it?” he asked, eyes low.
I nodded and felt myself drifting closer to him.
What the fuck did they put in the air?
“Keep moving to retrieve your communion.”
We shook our heads at once and started toward the lower level, where low murmurs grew the closer we got.
“Drink to cleanse,” one of the two at the exit ordered, pushing a small red cup in my direction.
I hesitated for the first time in my life.
Kai hadn’t mentioned being forced to drink unknown substances.
“It won’t kill you,” the man said.
My gaze drifted in Demetrius’s direction, and like before, he was regarding me closely, as if I decided this wasn’t the move, he’d walk away from a chance to possibly get close to his mom.
Knowing that this was bigger than me, I drank, and only then did he do the same.
He pulled me in front of him when we were ushered into an enclosed space with only the way we came in as our way out. I lost my train of thought as he secured his arms around my waist and pulled us into a corner that had a view of the entire room.
All movement had stopped, but my heart was doing enough for the bulk of us.
First, the humming started, then a soft ding followed every couple of seconds. I tried to count them, but it was getting harder and harder to focus, especially now that the humming had gotten louder.
My body swayed in his hold, and after a while, I noticed the whole room was moving in sync.
“I missed holding you like this,” Demetrius murmured against my ear. “I refuse to be without you again, my forever.”
I felt his love every time he spoke, looked at, or touched me.
The urge to satisfy this man filled my body out of nowhere. My skin tingled, pussy throbbing for attention.
He’d done me so good with his tongue the morning before, but wouldn’t touch me afterward unless we were cuddling.
I knew he wanted us to move slowly on my behalf, but I didn’t want that.
“Echo,” I whimpered, turning in his arms. “I want to fuck you.”
He leaned forward and licked my ear.
“Listen closely, my baby. They’ve already started.”
They’ve already…
Moans interrupted my thoughts, and I went to speak, but he cut me off with a kiss that stirred my insides.
“They drugged us,” I whispered while sucking his tongue.
He hummed and turned to press me against the wall. I instinctively arched into him.
“Not so much that we don’t know what we’re doing,” he said, stroking the length of my throat. “You know the people behind us are doing far more than we are, right, baby?”
I nodded but didn’t care.
“That means you won’t touch me if I ask you to?”
Snap out of it, Forever.
“Your wants are my needs,” he replied, forehead and nose connected to mine. “Just say the word.”