Chapter Twenty-Three

The world seemed to grind to a screeching halt as the echo of the twig snapping reverberated off the trees everywhere. Lucianne's heart roared in her chest and she immediately hid herself behind a tree. Breathing hard, she willed for them to ignore the sound, or better yet, she hoped that they never heard it.

Peeking her head to the side of the tree, she tried to snatch a look at the bonfire to see what they were doing. To her dismay, the open field was void of any souls. She returned to her hiding position behind the tree, her mind on overdrive.

Snap!

Her head flew to the left. The sound clearly came from that direction. She scoured her surroundings, and saw Abbie approaching her general location with a long machete in her hand. The blade was dripping with blood and her eyes were crazed, as if she was ready to slaughter someone.

Lucianne scanned the woods. Her breath hitched, and she escaped to another tree further down her location. Hiding herself behind the tree, she watched Abbie looking about curiously, her brows furrowed.

"Someone there?" she heard the voice of Jonas calling out.

If her heart could beat any faster, it would've. Panic coursed through her body, and her eyes darted about her again. Taking another gamble, she escaped to another tree before she escaped again to a protruding piece of rock.

"There's nobody there, guys," she heard Harper saying.

"Maybe it was a rabbit," Jonas said.

"We have to finish the Calling," Abbie said.

"Let's just head back," Harper said.

"Fine, fine," Jonas said. "Let's go."

Lucianne exhaled in relief as she heard them leaving the area. Once they were out of earshot, she got to her feet and raced out of the woods, back down the path and back into the gates of Ravenspire.

She returned to her tower and dressed down for the day, getting into her nightdress. She climbed onto the bed and rested on her stomach with a book in her hand, and it didn't take a few minutes before she drifted off to sleep.

Her sleep was dreamless. It was pure nothingness and her mind rested well in the abyss, in the freedom. She was vaguely aware of the sound of her curtains drifting about, and a small peaceful smile formed on her lips. It seemed like the peace would last forever.

Until she was violently dragged out of her reverie by a sudden heavy pressure on her back. She gasped aloud, her eyes widening as far as they could go. She did not have to glance behind her to know who was behind her. She could smell him. The smell of cigarette smoke, of musk.

His hand dug into her shoulder, holding her firmly against the sheets. Her breathing grew ragged as she felt his other hand collecting her nightdress up to her waist before he pulled her panties down to her mid thighs.

He nudged himself between her legs, spreading them apart with his knee. One rough finger dipped between her legs and found itself at her core. He grazed her opening, coaxing the tension from it. Her pussy instinctively loosened itself to allow his finger entrance, and he sheathed it inside of her.

He lowered his head to the side of her face. "Do you not want me to stop?" Pushing his finger in and out of her, the pressure built between her thighs, causing them to quiver in excitement.

"N-No," she gasped.

He inserted three fingers all of a sudden deep into her, before inserting a fourth and extending his fingers outwards. In the next instant, his fingers had left her and she heard the unzipping of his pants.

She gasped in anticipation, waiting for him to penetrate her. It seemed like such a short time, yet such a long time before she felt his hard tip pressing against her opening. She quaked, and tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Do you not want me to stop?"

"No!"

"What does that mean, hmm?" he asked in a dark voice dripping with amusement.

She breathed hard as he pushed into her forcefully, sheathing himself inside of her in one quick thrust. He pounded in and out of her and her body shook to and fro on the bed, the force of each thrust shaking her entire body.

"Tell me to stop, Lucianne," Gabriel said.

He thrust into her repeatedly and a soft moan left her lips. Her lips parted further, her right knee lifting up across the sheets as he continued to slam into her.

"Gabriel," was all she could say.

"Your body is crying for me," he said, sliding in and out of her. Then he removed his cock from her pussy and flipped her onto her back. Pushing her legs wide open, he held either thigh on either of his shoulders, pushing himself into her again and again. She cried in pleasure as their body rocked together and the orgasm overtook her in seconds, her body crumbling in desire.

Shockwaves tore through her body, passion ripping her pussy apart. She clenched hard onto his cock, and he lifted her ass off the bed temporarily to deepen the resolution of their fucking. They rode the climax together, their bodies in rapture.

"Tell me you hated that," Gabriel said.

She panted in the aftermath of their wild sex, then wrapped her legs around his back, drawing his lower body closer to hers.