april
2nd Level Red Feather
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,273
- Points
- 63
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Merrit
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Jacob
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Nick
The Glen was quiet and golden in the late afternoon light, a soft breeze stirring the tall grass. You were sitting with Jacob beneath a willow tree, your laughter floating between you as he gently traced patterns along your arm. It was peaceful, warm, a moment of safety wrapped in his tenderness.
Jacob's light brown hair glimmered in the sun as he leaned closer, a soft smile on his lips. "You seem happier today," he murmured. "Whats got you so..."
The air shifted.
It wasn't a sound so much as a sensation; a weight pressing down on the glen. Jacob's head snapped up, his body instantly tense, protective. You followed his gaze and saw Merrit emerging from the shadow of the trees.
He looked calm. Too calm.
His midnight-blue eyes were unreadable, his face a perfect mask of serenity. His black shirt clung to his tall frame, sleeves rolled just enough to reveal his elegant, pale wrists. His hands were tucked casually in his pockets as though this were a social call, but there was an unmistakable storm that poised exterior.
"Petal," he said smoothly, his deep British accent carried on the wind. "Come with me."
Your heart skipped. There was something...off. Merrit was always intense, but this calmness felt very wrong, like a predator lying in wait.
Jacob sensed it too. His jaw tightened. He rose slowly, placing himself between you and Merrit.
"She's safe here," Jacob said evenly, though there was a warning edge to his voice. "Whatevers going on, we can..."
Merrits gaze flicked to him, then back to you. A small, deceptively warm smile curved his lips, dimples flashing briefly. "I only came to collect what's mine."
"Merrit," Jacob's tone was sharper now. "What's happened?"
Merrit tilted his head, still perfectly composed. "Oh, nothing at all." He replied smoothly. "It's simply that my girl has been wandering...somewhere she shouldn't. With someone she shouldn't."
His eyes locked on yours, dark and piercing. You felt heat rise to your cheeks, guilt and fear warring inside you.
Jacob's brow furrowed as realization dawned. "This is about Nick, isn't it?"
Something dangerous flickered behind Merrits calm exterior. His hands slid slowly from his pockets. "Step aside, brother."
"No." Jacob said firmly, his guardian wings shimmering faintly at his back. "Not until you explain yourself."
Merrits dimples showed again, but this time the smile was ice-cold. "Very well. I'll show you."
Before you could move, Merrit pressed forward; too fast for the human eye. Jacob barely had time to raise his arms before he was knocked to the ground. Then Merrit struck, not with fists, but his hands diving straight for Jacob's ribs.
Jacob gasped, laughter bursting out of him involuntarily. "Merrit...haha! Stop...wait, stop! This isn't...ahh...fair!"
Merrits expression remained eerily calm, almost tender as his fingers dug mercilessly into Jacob's sides.
"Oh, I think its perfectly fair," Merrit murmured, his voice low and silken. "You've been far too comfortable lately, haven't you? Lounging here with my girl while I..." His hands shot under Jacob's arms, wriggling expertly. "...deal with things you can't even begin to comprehend."
Jacob's laughter rose to a scream, his body arching against the grass as he tried to shove Merrit away.
"STOHOHOHOHOP! MERRIT, PLEASE!" He howled, kicking wildly.
But Merrit didn't stop. If anything, his movements grew slower, more deliberate, the kind of teasing, methodical tickling that broke his victims down completely. He shifted to Jacob's abs, spidering lightly over sensitive muscle, a cruel half-smile curving his lips.
"You'll forgive me, won't you love?" Merrit said, glancing at you without breaking rhythm. His voice remained soft, but his eyes were full of barely contained fury. "It's just that I hate to be interrupted when I've come to claim what's mine."
Jacobs laughter had dissolved into breathless pleading, his face flushed red.
"P-Please, Merrit! Nohoho more! She...she didn't...Ahahahaha...do anything wrong!"
Merrit leaned down, his breath against his younger brothers ear as his fingers never faltered. "Oh, Jacob," he purred darkly. "You have no idea what she's been doing."
Jacobs eyes suddenly met yours; wild, desperate, full of warning. "Run!" He practically screamed, his voice breaking through the glen like a thunderclap.
You didn't think, you moved.
Your feet hit the earth hard, grass whipping at your calves as you sprinted across the open meadow. Your lungs burned immediately, but you didn't dare look back. Behind you, Jacobs laughter exploded, ragged and uncontrollable.
"NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! MERRIT, STOP! PLEASE!"
The sound twisted your heart. His laughter was desperate, agonized and mixed with furious shouts. You could hear the scuffle of bodies, Merrits low, cruel murmur threading between Jacobs pleas. Every note of it urged you forward, faster...faster until the trees swallowed you whole.
The forest was darker here, ivy climbing up the trunks like black veins. Your pulse thundered through your ears as you tore through the undergrowth, dodging branches, your breath coming in sharp, pulled gasps. You didn't even know where you were going...only away, anywhere away from Merrits wrath and Jacobs unending laughter.
Ahead was a hollowed out old tree, its trunk split wide and draped with thick, trailing ivy like a natural curtain. A hiding place. You dove inside, dropping to your knees, curling yourself tight in the damp, earthy space. Ivy brushed over your hair as it fell back into place, cloaking you from view.
For a moment, all you could hear was your own panting breath. Then, faintly, the sounds of Merrit and Jacob reached you again. Jacobs voice cracked with hysterical laughter, the kind that was already hoarse from exhaustion.
Merrits voice followed, low and maddeningly calm. "Oh, come now brother. You can take so much more than this. Can't you?"
A soft rhythmic sound; the unmistakable sound of tickling fingers finding new territory, carried through the forest air. Jacobs response was pure hysteria.
You clapped a hand over your mouth, trying to smother your own breath. Every instinct screamed at you to run farther, but you knew better. Merrits shadows would move faster than you ever could. You'd seen the way Merrit had looked at you when he spoke of Nick. He knew.
The forest went quiet. So suddenly, it was wrong. Jacobs laughter; constant, chaotic, had vanished. No pleading. No thrashing. Just silence.
Your breath hitched, a small choked sound escaping despite your hand pressed tightly over your lips. You strained to hear anything, anything through the ivy curtain.
A faint crunch of footsteps on leaves. Slow. Deliberate. Coming closer.
"Petal..." Merrits voice was a whisper of smoke and shadow, far too close for comfort. "You ran so well." A pause. Then, almost tenderly, "Do you know how much I love when you run?"
Your entire body went rigid in the hollow tree.
He was hunting you.
His footsteps were almost soundless now, brushing softly over the leaves outside your hiding place. Each slow, measured step was like a toll bell, announcing your fate.
"My love..." Merrits deep voice coiled through the ivy curtain, achingly gentle, unbearably calm. "Such a clever little thing, aren't you? Tucking yourself away, so quiet, so still. I might almost believe you were gone..."
He was right there.
A pause.
Silence so complete it made your skin prickle.
And then...Merrits voice, right at the opening of the hollow, low and devastating. "...But you forget, my love. I always find you."
The ivy tore aside in one swift motion. You gasped, scrambling backward, but there was nowhere to go. His long, pale arm shot in like a viper, curling into the front of your dress.
With effortless strength, he yanked you out and into the open air. You stumbled, feet barely finding purchase before he spun you, pinning your back to his chest. His scent; dark, rich, unmistakably him, enveloped you as one arm clamped around your waist in a single, unyielding grip.
"There you are," Merrit murmured, his lips brushing your neck. His voice was so soft, so gentle, it made your blood fun cold. "I must admit, you made this quite...thrilling for me."
You struggled, shaking your head, but he only tightened his hold, tilting your chin up with his free hand so you were forced to meet his gaze.
His expression was affectionate, but it was too perfect, like a mask stretched over something wild and dangerous.
"Merrit," you whispered, breathless. "I...please, just listen to me..."
"Oh, I've been listening, petal." His lips curled into a slow, deceptive smile, dimples appearing. "I've been listening to you in your sleep. Listening to you whispering his name."
Your heart plummeted. He knew.
Merrits breath feathered against your cheek as he went on, voice darkening. "Nick." The name was a curse on his tongue. "My brother, who is no brother at all. A shadow I warned you to never free. And yet...you dream of him."
He nuzzled his nose along your jaw, sweet and intimate. "And what's worse...you enjoy it."
He kissed your temple softly, as though soothing you. And then his voice dropped to a silken threat. "Do you know what happens now?"
Before you could answer, there was a sharp, pained sound somewhere behind you, a groan that could only mean Jacob. Your head whipped toward it, but Merrits hands tightened on your chin, forcing your gaze back to him.
"Don't worry about our dear, sweet Jacob," he whispered. "He'll be...busy for a while."
As if on cue, a faint burst of wild laughter echoed through the trees, raw and panicked. "MERRIT! STAHAHAHAP! PLEHEHEHEASE!"
Your stomach dropped. Jacob was still being tickled by Merrits shadows. Still at his mercy.
Merrits smile turned cruel as he heard it. "See? Everyone is exactly where they belong."
The world dissolved in an instant. Shadow and starlight swallowed the glen in a blink. The air around you shimmered like molten glass. The ground vanished beneath your feet. Then it was completely gone. When your vision cleared, you were surrounded by velvet blackness. Merrits private realm.
Behind you, a door slammed shut of its own accord with a deep, echoing boom. There was no escape here.
Merrits hands moved slowly, almost worshipful as they slid along your sides. His touch was so gentle you might have thought it tender, but his midnight-blue eyes betrayed him; smoldering with jealous possession, and the promise of retribution.
You trembled as your clothing began to fall away under his expert touch. He took his time, never rushing, never tearing. Instead, he treated each piece as though undressing you was apart of the punishment itself; each slow reveal a calculated act of power.
The shadows in the room stirred. They slithered from the walls like living ribbons, smooth and cold as they wrapped around your wrists and ankles. You gasped as they lifted you off the ground, stretching you into a perfect display of helplessness.
He approached slowly, his steps deliberate, his hands flexed at his sides, elegant and pale, his long fingers itching to touch you.
"You ran from me," he murmured, voice as deep and dark as night. "You hid. And worse..." His eyes flickered with shadowy heat. "...you laughed for him."
And then he dropped gracefully to his knees.
The moment startled you, panic flashing in your chest. Merrit rarely knelt for anything, and the sight of him crouched at your bound feet was somehow more frightening than if he'd towered over you.
His hands slid along your ankles, encircling them reverantly. "Such delicate little things," he said softly, almost too himself. "They carried you when you fled...now they'll keep you right here."
You tried to yank your feet back but the shadows only tightened, forcing you perfectly still.
"Merrit, please." You tried reasoning with him, even though you couldn't hide the desperation there. "Don't touch me there, I'm begging you. I'll do anything, just not...please...dont..."
His smirk deepened. "Oh, I know," he murmured. "Thats why it must be here."
His head lowered, and you gasped when you felt the heat of his breath against your skin. He pressed a slow kiss to the arch of your left foot, then another to the ball of your right, feather-soft and maddeningly tender.
For a moment, there was only stillness.
Then his tongue came into play, tracing a languid line beneath your toes.
A strangled sound burst from you...your entire body arched violently in the air, the shadows holding you in a living vice.
He hummed in satisfaction at your reaction, his tongue circling lazily while his hands rested against your ankles. His teeth grazed the delicate skin, followed by a series of slow, teasing kisses.
His fingers joined in, nails scratching lightly across your sole in intricate, swirling patterns.
You broke instantly, giggling and thrashing, words tumbling from your lips in a flood of panicked begging.
"Stop, please stop! I can't bear it, please, I'll be good, I'll do anything, just no more...please, Merrit, please!"
"Anything," he echoed, his dimples appeared as he looked up at you through dark lashes, his expression a blend of devotion and cruelty. "Anything...and yet you gave him everything in your dreams."
His mouth returned to your foot, this time sucking the tender pad beneath your toes while his nails spidered along your heel. You laughed until your throat was raw, every muscle quaking with the effort to escape.
Your toes curled desperately, trying to hide, but he pried them apart, relentless. He dragged the tip of his tongue between each trembling digit, while his fingernails teased the arch in agonizing little scratches.
"Please! God's, please! I swear I'll never...just stop! Stop!"
He gave a dark, quiet laugh, licking one last slow stripe up the center of your foot before finally standing. You sagged in the shadows, trembling, every nerve in your body on fire.
You barely caught your breath before Merrits attention turned elsewhere. You expected him to move upward slowly, to trace a predictable path of torment across your body. Instead, he reaches up, and the shadows holding you shifted violently, jerking your arms higher above your head. Your shoulders strained with the sudden motion as your hands were forced open, palms spread wide and vulnerable.
He caught your trembling wrists in his cool, steady hands, holding them still as his thumbs brushed lightly over the center of your palms. It sent a shock of sensation throughout your body.
"You don't realize how delicate this place is, do you?" He observed, his tone sweet, but laced with dark intent. "There are thousands of nerve endings here. Some of the most sensitive on the human body."
His nails descend in one, measured, deliberate drag across your open palms.
The sensation was immediate, overwhelming. You shrieked, body shaking as though you'd been shocked. There was no escape of the feeling that spread like wildfire through your entire nervous system.
"It doesn't just tickle," Merrit explained calmly, his voice maddeningly steady while your body thrashed and jerked. "No, here..." His nails traced tiny patterns over the tender skin, circling, swirling, never rushing. "...here it itches too. A deep, terrible itch beneath the surface that you can never scratch."
Tears prick the corners of your eyes as your laughter breaks into incoherent pleading as the sensation crawled down your arms, into your chest, wrapping around your spine like ice.
"It feels unbearable, doesnt it?" He went on gently. "That delicious, crawling torment. Two agonies woven together...tickling and itching, tearing you apart from the inside out."
Merrit took his time, dragging each nail along every trembling digit until tears were spilling down flushed cheeks, and the panic in your eyes turned desperate. Then his hands spread wide over each palm, his fingers splaying to cover every nerve-rich inch of skin.
The scratching began.
Harder this time. Faster. His nails raked in perfect, relentless rhythm, dragging across every tender spot at once. The effect was devastating.
The itching sensation magnified until it felt like a living thing beneath the skin. No matter how you thrashed or begged, there was no relief...only more and more and more.
Merrit leaned in close, his breath hot against your ear. "Do you see now, my love?" He whispered. "I can scratch as much as I'd like..." His nails dug in harder. "...and it will tickle. The itch never abating. Not for a single, blessed second."
At last, his touch slowed. Not mercy, just a languid tease, barely-there strokes that kept the itching alive just beneath the skin. He kissed the center of each palm, as though sealing his claim.
"Never forget, petal...even the smallest part of you is mine to torment."
A broken sob filled the chamber as his shadows tightened, preparing you for whatever new cruelty he would bring next.
He lifted his hands slowly, deliberately, letting you see them, letting dread coil like a living thing in your stomach.
"Do you know what happens to those who lie to me, my love?" His voice is calm, low and smooth, but beneath it was a current of rage he could not longer fully hide. "They forget themselves. They forget who they belong to...and they suffer for it."
The shadows adjusted with a sudden, violent pull, jerling yiur body higher until you were stretched so tight it almost hurt. Your chest was thrust forward, your arms straining above your head, every trembling breath making the delicate ridges of your ribs stand out.
There was no tenderness this time. No slow, teasing build-up.
Merrits nails slammed into your ribs with vicious precision, clawing deep in the tender seams between each fragile bone.
It was catastrophic, your body exploding into motion, thrashing wildly as a scream was ripped from your throat so raw, it barely sounded human.
Your back arched, head snapping back, but Merrits shadows held you immovable, a helpless marionette in his hands.
"NOOOO! GOD'S, NO! PLEASE! PLEASE!"
"Oh, listen to you," Merrit crooned, soft poison dripping from his tone beneath the sound of your hysteria. "Every note of it mine, just as it should be." His fingers dug harder, faster, his entire focus consumed by your writhing, trembling form. "Unbearable, isn't it love? I hope it is."
Merrits hands moved with terrifying mastery, switching between sharp, deep motions and cruel, fluttering strokes that left you screaming.
One moment his thumbs pressed mercilessly into the narrow spaces between ribs, wringing gutteral sobs from you. The next, his nails danced light as whispers, the sudden shift leaving you gasping and incoherent.
"Too much?" He asked softly, almost tenderly, his dimples deepening as his villainous smile grew. "I want it to be too much. I want you to drown in this."
He began to count, slow and methodical, his voice sickeningly sweet over the sound of your shrieks.
"One..."
His nails raked brutally over the topmost rib, making you jolt so hard the shadows strained to hold you.
"Two..."
A cruel pinch between two ribs wrung out another wild, sobbing scream.
"Three..."
He suddenly spidered all ten fingers in a frenzy, the chaotic motion shredding what little control you had left.
You were gone now, wrecked beyond words. Your voice gave out entirely, leaving only whimpers and gasps and broken sobs as your body twisted weakly in the shadows.
Merrit finally stilled, his hands coming to rest lightly on your trembling sides. The sudden gentleness was somehow worse, a moching echo of intimacy.
He tilted your face up, forcing you to meet his midnight gaze through your tears. "Say it," he whispered, his voice as sweet as a lovers caress. "Tell me who you belong to."
"I-I belong to you." You gasped, barely audible. "Please, Merrit, please..."
His smile deepened, devastating and disarming all at once. "Yes," he murmured, brushing a kiss over your tear stained cheek. "You belong to me. Not to him. Never him."
Then his fingertips dug in again, savage, merciless as he hissed in your ear, "let this lesson carve itself into your very bones."
Your scream was swallowed by the living darkness of his realm as Merrit drove you past every limit, loving you in the only language he knew; torment and possession.
Merrit
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Jacob
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Nick
The Glen was quiet and golden in the late afternoon light, a soft breeze stirring the tall grass. You were sitting with Jacob beneath a willow tree, your laughter floating between you as he gently traced patterns along your arm. It was peaceful, warm, a moment of safety wrapped in his tenderness.
Jacob's light brown hair glimmered in the sun as he leaned closer, a soft smile on his lips. "You seem happier today," he murmured. "Whats got you so..."
The air shifted.
It wasn't a sound so much as a sensation; a weight pressing down on the glen. Jacob's head snapped up, his body instantly tense, protective. You followed his gaze and saw Merrit emerging from the shadow of the trees.
He looked calm. Too calm.
His midnight-blue eyes were unreadable, his face a perfect mask of serenity. His black shirt clung to his tall frame, sleeves rolled just enough to reveal his elegant, pale wrists. His hands were tucked casually in his pockets as though this were a social call, but there was an unmistakable storm that poised exterior.
"Petal," he said smoothly, his deep British accent carried on the wind. "Come with me."
Your heart skipped. There was something...off. Merrit was always intense, but this calmness felt very wrong, like a predator lying in wait.
Jacob sensed it too. His jaw tightened. He rose slowly, placing himself between you and Merrit.
"She's safe here," Jacob said evenly, though there was a warning edge to his voice. "Whatevers going on, we can..."
Merrits gaze flicked to him, then back to you. A small, deceptively warm smile curved his lips, dimples flashing briefly. "I only came to collect what's mine."
"Merrit," Jacob's tone was sharper now. "What's happened?"
Merrit tilted his head, still perfectly composed. "Oh, nothing at all." He replied smoothly. "It's simply that my girl has been wandering...somewhere she shouldn't. With someone she shouldn't."
His eyes locked on yours, dark and piercing. You felt heat rise to your cheeks, guilt and fear warring inside you.
Jacob's brow furrowed as realization dawned. "This is about Nick, isn't it?"
Something dangerous flickered behind Merrits calm exterior. His hands slid slowly from his pockets. "Step aside, brother."
"No." Jacob said firmly, his guardian wings shimmering faintly at his back. "Not until you explain yourself."
Merrits dimples showed again, but this time the smile was ice-cold. "Very well. I'll show you."
Before you could move, Merrit pressed forward; too fast for the human eye. Jacob barely had time to raise his arms before he was knocked to the ground. Then Merrit struck, not with fists, but his hands diving straight for Jacob's ribs.
Jacob gasped, laughter bursting out of him involuntarily. "Merrit...haha! Stop...wait, stop! This isn't...ahh...fair!"
Merrits expression remained eerily calm, almost tender as his fingers dug mercilessly into Jacob's sides.
"Oh, I think its perfectly fair," Merrit murmured, his voice low and silken. "You've been far too comfortable lately, haven't you? Lounging here with my girl while I..." His hands shot under Jacob's arms, wriggling expertly. "...deal with things you can't even begin to comprehend."
Jacob's laughter rose to a scream, his body arching against the grass as he tried to shove Merrit away.
"STOHOHOHOHOP! MERRIT, PLEASE!" He howled, kicking wildly.
But Merrit didn't stop. If anything, his movements grew slower, more deliberate, the kind of teasing, methodical tickling that broke his victims down completely. He shifted to Jacob's abs, spidering lightly over sensitive muscle, a cruel half-smile curving his lips.
"You'll forgive me, won't you love?" Merrit said, glancing at you without breaking rhythm. His voice remained soft, but his eyes were full of barely contained fury. "It's just that I hate to be interrupted when I've come to claim what's mine."
Jacobs laughter had dissolved into breathless pleading, his face flushed red.
"P-Please, Merrit! Nohoho more! She...she didn't...Ahahahaha...do anything wrong!"
Merrit leaned down, his breath against his younger brothers ear as his fingers never faltered. "Oh, Jacob," he purred darkly. "You have no idea what she's been doing."
Jacobs eyes suddenly met yours; wild, desperate, full of warning. "Run!" He practically screamed, his voice breaking through the glen like a thunderclap.
You didn't think, you moved.
Your feet hit the earth hard, grass whipping at your calves as you sprinted across the open meadow. Your lungs burned immediately, but you didn't dare look back. Behind you, Jacobs laughter exploded, ragged and uncontrollable.
"NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! MERRIT, STOP! PLEASE!"
The sound twisted your heart. His laughter was desperate, agonized and mixed with furious shouts. You could hear the scuffle of bodies, Merrits low, cruel murmur threading between Jacobs pleas. Every note of it urged you forward, faster...faster until the trees swallowed you whole.
The forest was darker here, ivy climbing up the trunks like black veins. Your pulse thundered through your ears as you tore through the undergrowth, dodging branches, your breath coming in sharp, pulled gasps. You didn't even know where you were going...only away, anywhere away from Merrits wrath and Jacobs unending laughter.
Ahead was a hollowed out old tree, its trunk split wide and draped with thick, trailing ivy like a natural curtain. A hiding place. You dove inside, dropping to your knees, curling yourself tight in the damp, earthy space. Ivy brushed over your hair as it fell back into place, cloaking you from view.
For a moment, all you could hear was your own panting breath. Then, faintly, the sounds of Merrit and Jacob reached you again. Jacobs voice cracked with hysterical laughter, the kind that was already hoarse from exhaustion.
Merrits voice followed, low and maddeningly calm. "Oh, come now brother. You can take so much more than this. Can't you?"
A soft rhythmic sound; the unmistakable sound of tickling fingers finding new territory, carried through the forest air. Jacobs response was pure hysteria.
You clapped a hand over your mouth, trying to smother your own breath. Every instinct screamed at you to run farther, but you knew better. Merrits shadows would move faster than you ever could. You'd seen the way Merrit had looked at you when he spoke of Nick. He knew.
The forest went quiet. So suddenly, it was wrong. Jacobs laughter; constant, chaotic, had vanished. No pleading. No thrashing. Just silence.
Your breath hitched, a small choked sound escaping despite your hand pressed tightly over your lips. You strained to hear anything, anything through the ivy curtain.
A faint crunch of footsteps on leaves. Slow. Deliberate. Coming closer.
"Petal..." Merrits voice was a whisper of smoke and shadow, far too close for comfort. "You ran so well." A pause. Then, almost tenderly, "Do you know how much I love when you run?"
Your entire body went rigid in the hollow tree.
He was hunting you.
His footsteps were almost soundless now, brushing softly over the leaves outside your hiding place. Each slow, measured step was like a toll bell, announcing your fate.
"My love..." Merrits deep voice coiled through the ivy curtain, achingly gentle, unbearably calm. "Such a clever little thing, aren't you? Tucking yourself away, so quiet, so still. I might almost believe you were gone..."
He was right there.
A pause.
Silence so complete it made your skin prickle.
And then...Merrits voice, right at the opening of the hollow, low and devastating. "...But you forget, my love. I always find you."
The ivy tore aside in one swift motion. You gasped, scrambling backward, but there was nowhere to go. His long, pale arm shot in like a viper, curling into the front of your dress.
With effortless strength, he yanked you out and into the open air. You stumbled, feet barely finding purchase before he spun you, pinning your back to his chest. His scent; dark, rich, unmistakably him, enveloped you as one arm clamped around your waist in a single, unyielding grip.
"There you are," Merrit murmured, his lips brushing your neck. His voice was so soft, so gentle, it made your blood fun cold. "I must admit, you made this quite...thrilling for me."
You struggled, shaking your head, but he only tightened his hold, tilting your chin up with his free hand so you were forced to meet his gaze.
His expression was affectionate, but it was too perfect, like a mask stretched over something wild and dangerous.
"Merrit," you whispered, breathless. "I...please, just listen to me..."
"Oh, I've been listening, petal." His lips curled into a slow, deceptive smile, dimples appearing. "I've been listening to you in your sleep. Listening to you whispering his name."
Your heart plummeted. He knew.
Merrits breath feathered against your cheek as he went on, voice darkening. "Nick." The name was a curse on his tongue. "My brother, who is no brother at all. A shadow I warned you to never free. And yet...you dream of him."
He nuzzled his nose along your jaw, sweet and intimate. "And what's worse...you enjoy it."
He kissed your temple softly, as though soothing you. And then his voice dropped to a silken threat. "Do you know what happens now?"
Before you could answer, there was a sharp, pained sound somewhere behind you, a groan that could only mean Jacob. Your head whipped toward it, but Merrits hands tightened on your chin, forcing your gaze back to him.
"Don't worry about our dear, sweet Jacob," he whispered. "He'll be...busy for a while."
As if on cue, a faint burst of wild laughter echoed through the trees, raw and panicked. "MERRIT! STAHAHAHAP! PLEHEHEHEASE!"
Your stomach dropped. Jacob was still being tickled by Merrits shadows. Still at his mercy.
Merrits smile turned cruel as he heard it. "See? Everyone is exactly where they belong."
The world dissolved in an instant. Shadow and starlight swallowed the glen in a blink. The air around you shimmered like molten glass. The ground vanished beneath your feet. Then it was completely gone. When your vision cleared, you were surrounded by velvet blackness. Merrits private realm.
Behind you, a door slammed shut of its own accord with a deep, echoing boom. There was no escape here.
Merrits hands moved slowly, almost worshipful as they slid along your sides. His touch was so gentle you might have thought it tender, but his midnight-blue eyes betrayed him; smoldering with jealous possession, and the promise of retribution.
You trembled as your clothing began to fall away under his expert touch. He took his time, never rushing, never tearing. Instead, he treated each piece as though undressing you was apart of the punishment itself; each slow reveal a calculated act of power.
The shadows in the room stirred. They slithered from the walls like living ribbons, smooth and cold as they wrapped around your wrists and ankles. You gasped as they lifted you off the ground, stretching you into a perfect display of helplessness.
He approached slowly, his steps deliberate, his hands flexed at his sides, elegant and pale, his long fingers itching to touch you.
"You ran from me," he murmured, voice as deep and dark as night. "You hid. And worse..." His eyes flickered with shadowy heat. "...you laughed for him."
And then he dropped gracefully to his knees.
The moment startled you, panic flashing in your chest. Merrit rarely knelt for anything, and the sight of him crouched at your bound feet was somehow more frightening than if he'd towered over you.
His hands slid along your ankles, encircling them reverantly. "Such delicate little things," he said softly, almost too himself. "They carried you when you fled...now they'll keep you right here."
You tried to yank your feet back but the shadows only tightened, forcing you perfectly still.
"Merrit, please." You tried reasoning with him, even though you couldn't hide the desperation there. "Don't touch me there, I'm begging you. I'll do anything, just not...please...dont..."
His smirk deepened. "Oh, I know," he murmured. "Thats why it must be here."
His head lowered, and you gasped when you felt the heat of his breath against your skin. He pressed a slow kiss to the arch of your left foot, then another to the ball of your right, feather-soft and maddeningly tender.
For a moment, there was only stillness.
Then his tongue came into play, tracing a languid line beneath your toes.
A strangled sound burst from you...your entire body arched violently in the air, the shadows holding you in a living vice.
He hummed in satisfaction at your reaction, his tongue circling lazily while his hands rested against your ankles. His teeth grazed the delicate skin, followed by a series of slow, teasing kisses.
His fingers joined in, nails scratching lightly across your sole in intricate, swirling patterns.
You broke instantly, giggling and thrashing, words tumbling from your lips in a flood of panicked begging.
"Stop, please stop! I can't bear it, please, I'll be good, I'll do anything, just no more...please, Merrit, please!"
"Anything," he echoed, his dimples appeared as he looked up at you through dark lashes, his expression a blend of devotion and cruelty. "Anything...and yet you gave him everything in your dreams."
His mouth returned to your foot, this time sucking the tender pad beneath your toes while his nails spidered along your heel. You laughed until your throat was raw, every muscle quaking with the effort to escape.
Your toes curled desperately, trying to hide, but he pried them apart, relentless. He dragged the tip of his tongue between each trembling digit, while his fingernails teased the arch in agonizing little scratches.
"Please! God's, please! I swear I'll never...just stop! Stop!"
He gave a dark, quiet laugh, licking one last slow stripe up the center of your foot before finally standing. You sagged in the shadows, trembling, every nerve in your body on fire.
You barely caught your breath before Merrits attention turned elsewhere. You expected him to move upward slowly, to trace a predictable path of torment across your body. Instead, he reaches up, and the shadows holding you shifted violently, jerking your arms higher above your head. Your shoulders strained with the sudden motion as your hands were forced open, palms spread wide and vulnerable.
He caught your trembling wrists in his cool, steady hands, holding them still as his thumbs brushed lightly over the center of your palms. It sent a shock of sensation throughout your body.
"You don't realize how delicate this place is, do you?" He observed, his tone sweet, but laced with dark intent. "There are thousands of nerve endings here. Some of the most sensitive on the human body."
His nails descend in one, measured, deliberate drag across your open palms.
The sensation was immediate, overwhelming. You shrieked, body shaking as though you'd been shocked. There was no escape of the feeling that spread like wildfire through your entire nervous system.
"It doesn't just tickle," Merrit explained calmly, his voice maddeningly steady while your body thrashed and jerked. "No, here..." His nails traced tiny patterns over the tender skin, circling, swirling, never rushing. "...here it itches too. A deep, terrible itch beneath the surface that you can never scratch."
Tears prick the corners of your eyes as your laughter breaks into incoherent pleading as the sensation crawled down your arms, into your chest, wrapping around your spine like ice.
"It feels unbearable, doesnt it?" He went on gently. "That delicious, crawling torment. Two agonies woven together...tickling and itching, tearing you apart from the inside out."
Merrit took his time, dragging each nail along every trembling digit until tears were spilling down flushed cheeks, and the panic in your eyes turned desperate. Then his hands spread wide over each palm, his fingers splaying to cover every nerve-rich inch of skin.
The scratching began.
Harder this time. Faster. His nails raked in perfect, relentless rhythm, dragging across every tender spot at once. The effect was devastating.
The itching sensation magnified until it felt like a living thing beneath the skin. No matter how you thrashed or begged, there was no relief...only more and more and more.
Merrit leaned in close, his breath hot against your ear. "Do you see now, my love?" He whispered. "I can scratch as much as I'd like..." His nails dug in harder. "...and it will tickle. The itch never abating. Not for a single, blessed second."
At last, his touch slowed. Not mercy, just a languid tease, barely-there strokes that kept the itching alive just beneath the skin. He kissed the center of each palm, as though sealing his claim.
"Never forget, petal...even the smallest part of you is mine to torment."
A broken sob filled the chamber as his shadows tightened, preparing you for whatever new cruelty he would bring next.
He lifted his hands slowly, deliberately, letting you see them, letting dread coil like a living thing in your stomach.
"Do you know what happens to those who lie to me, my love?" His voice is calm, low and smooth, but beneath it was a current of rage he could not longer fully hide. "They forget themselves. They forget who they belong to...and they suffer for it."
The shadows adjusted with a sudden, violent pull, jerling yiur body higher until you were stretched so tight it almost hurt. Your chest was thrust forward, your arms straining above your head, every trembling breath making the delicate ridges of your ribs stand out.
There was no tenderness this time. No slow, teasing build-up.
Merrits nails slammed into your ribs with vicious precision, clawing deep in the tender seams between each fragile bone.
It was catastrophic, your body exploding into motion, thrashing wildly as a scream was ripped from your throat so raw, it barely sounded human.
Your back arched, head snapping back, but Merrits shadows held you immovable, a helpless marionette in his hands.
"NOOOO! GOD'S, NO! PLEASE! PLEASE!"
"Oh, listen to you," Merrit crooned, soft poison dripping from his tone beneath the sound of your hysteria. "Every note of it mine, just as it should be." His fingers dug harder, faster, his entire focus consumed by your writhing, trembling form. "Unbearable, isn't it love? I hope it is."
Merrits hands moved with terrifying mastery, switching between sharp, deep motions and cruel, fluttering strokes that left you screaming.
One moment his thumbs pressed mercilessly into the narrow spaces between ribs, wringing gutteral sobs from you. The next, his nails danced light as whispers, the sudden shift leaving you gasping and incoherent.
"Too much?" He asked softly, almost tenderly, his dimples deepening as his villainous smile grew. "I want it to be too much. I want you to drown in this."
He began to count, slow and methodical, his voice sickeningly sweet over the sound of your shrieks.
"One..."
His nails raked brutally over the topmost rib, making you jolt so hard the shadows strained to hold you.
"Two..."
A cruel pinch between two ribs wrung out another wild, sobbing scream.
"Three..."
He suddenly spidered all ten fingers in a frenzy, the chaotic motion shredding what little control you had left.
You were gone now, wrecked beyond words. Your voice gave out entirely, leaving only whimpers and gasps and broken sobs as your body twisted weakly in the shadows.
Merrit finally stilled, his hands coming to rest lightly on your trembling sides. The sudden gentleness was somehow worse, a moching echo of intimacy.
He tilted your face up, forcing you to meet his midnight gaze through your tears. "Say it," he whispered, his voice as sweet as a lovers caress. "Tell me who you belong to."
"I-I belong to you." You gasped, barely audible. "Please, Merrit, please..."
His smile deepened, devastating and disarming all at once. "Yes," he murmured, brushing a kiss over your tear stained cheek. "You belong to me. Not to him. Never him."
Then his fingertips dug in again, savage, merciless as he hissed in your ear, "let this lesson carve itself into your very bones."
Your scream was swallowed by the living darkness of his realm as Merrit drove you past every limit, loving you in the only language he knew; torment and possession.
