Page 31 of In My Closet

Settling his forehead against mine, he locked his promising eyes full of adoration and devotion onto me. "I vow on my soul that I will always do right by you, remain by your side no matter what, for better or worse, rich or poor, in sickness and health, all until death." His words resonated into my soul as his gaze penetrated it.

"Valphan," I whispered with a tremble in my voice. "I never expected a demon roommate, nor did I imagine the demon lurking in my closet would someday be my soulmate. But I would never want to change a thing about how things have unfolded in my life. I'll admit to you now that I really enjoyed your little closet creeping sooner than I admitted to you before. Knowing that you are always there watching over me makes me feel safe and sound, and your shadowy touches were always so soothing to me, even if I liked to argue otherwise."

Smiling happily, I tightened my hands around his. "Sometimes I can't believe we're soulmates, but I will never take this gift from the world for granted. You are my forever as I am yours, and I can't wait to see how the rest of our life together unfolds." Brushing my thumbs over his fuzzy knuckles, I grin up at him. "The story of our life is going to be the best creation we ever write, and it will be the story that only we will ever enjoy."

Fighting back tears so my makeup wouldn't be ruined, I chewed my bottom lip for a moment before finishing my vows. "Every second with you will forever be the best time of my life, and I can't wait to spend forever with you. You are always there for me, and even though I may slack in the housework department, I swear I will make it up by spoiling you with so much affection and gratitude that your tail will fall off from all the wagging. I will always cherish you and everything we have now and will create in the time to come. I will be with you every step of eternity, for better or worse, rich or poor, in sickness and health, until death."

We firmly held each other's hands and looked at Aesophedus to continue the ceremony.

The shadow king looked between us for a second before continuing. "Once two souls are intertwined and bound, there is no going back. Do you two understand this?" Aesophedus looked at each of us sternly for confirmation before continuing. "Are you both here of your own free will? No coercion or blackmail from anyone?" And again, he waited for a positive answer from both of us before continuing.

Then, his gaze went to the small crowd, all of whom had nothing but big smiles on their faces as they eyed us with pure joy. "Is there anyone here who objects to this? Speak now or stay forever silent." His question rang through the air, and it was met with no objection of any sort.

After a slow look around the crowd, Aesophedus returned his gaze to me and Valphan. "I will ask you two again: are you absolutely certain? There is no undoing once your souls are bound." He wasn't doubting us; the question was the ceremony's formality and process.

"Yes, I am certain. I am choosing to bind my soul with Valphan's out of my own free will and sound mind even after knowing the end result." I replied to Aesophedus with a proud smile.

Without hesitation, Valphan spoke up right after me. "I have never been more certain of anything in my life, and I can't wait for forever with my little blessing." To further sweeten his words, he brought my hand up and kissed the back of it.

Much like Stella and Kastoron's ceremony, Aesophedus proceeded to procure an ancient dagger and pierced a small area of our chests.

Now, Stella did warn me that it sucked, but holy hell, it hurt like a mother fucking bitch to have my soul ripped out of my body! I nearly threw up and passed out with how much I clammed up from the pain! I mean, thankfully, I didn't because I don't know how I'd live that embarrassment down.

More fortunately, the rest of our celebration went off without a single hitch. Soon, night fell upon us, and the after-party came and went, leaving me Valphan to round back to our home as bound soulmates.

However, instead of venturing inside to our marriage bed to consummate everything, I ended up being dragged around back by Valphan. "Fawny? What?" My grunt cut my words off from Valphan, throwing me to the ground at the edge of the wooded area in the backyard.

Standing menacingly above me, he grinned down at me with the most unhinged grin full of teeth. "Sixty seconds." Reaching down, he grabbed the train of my dress and ripped it, turning my long dress to below my knees. "Run."

Wide-eyed, I scrambled to my feet, slowly backing away from Valphan with a racing heart. "W-wait? Tonight?" My breath trembled with excitement and nervousness as our conversations about having our first chase raced through my mind.

"Safe-word?" His voice gained a growl to it as he slowly advanced with heavy steps.

"Gate." I got it out in a single breath before spinning around and hightailing it away.

The adrenaline coursing through my body made me want to scream and yell out of fear and excitement about what was to come. I knew when the moment happened, then it would be intense, but I never imagined it to be this much of a rush to run from my demon lover—and we've barely started!

A roar shook and echoed through the thick, sparse wooded area, spurring my aching feet to pound against the uneven ground faster. I knew I stood no chance against him, and honestly, it was pointless for me to run, but the thrill of this blood-pumping excitement was what I wanted. No matter how much of a lazy-ass I was, the prospect of a chase through the woods to get fucked to oblivion by my demon mate gave me the perfect jolt.

"I can smell and taste your fear and excitement in the air, cupcake!"

My heart nearly froze at his growling words that sounded like they came from every direction. I didn't know which way to go! Breathing heavily, I whipped around randomly, weaving through the foliage randomly to deter him for a few seconds longer.

"You can run all you want, little blessing, but I can hear every breath from your body, every step of your feet, every beat of that racing heart of yours, and more importantly, every jingle and jangle of those beads." His voice cackled with a howl, chilling my whole body to the bone.

Cold air sliced at my airway with every inhale as I pushed my protestant body forward despite the outcome. I couldn't stop running from him now if I wanted because my instincts held the reins.

Then, everything came to a shrieking halt. "Gotcha!" Valphan's face moved from my periphery to my front side in a millisecond, causing me to slam into him.

I had screamed so loud that I was sure anyone within a ten-mile radius could hear me loud and clear, and my throat ached from the rawness at which I shrieked.

Instinctively, my hands and feet flew at him, kicking, punching, clawing, and even biting him as he forced my body back up against a large tree, where he trapped me with his massive one. "My sweet blessing, all ready for me to consume and break." His hot breath washed over my ear and neck, making me shiver and whimper as I struggled uselessly against him.

A winded grunt slammed into me from Valphan, slamming me against the tree, momentarily dazing me enough for him to restrain me with his shadow tentacles. With my wrists bound above my head and legs spread wide up in the air, I could no longer fight Valphan, and he was free to shred the rest of my clothing off until I was stark naked.

"Valphan, wait! I'm not ready to take you fully yet!" The startling sight of his painfully swollen cock, all throbbing and leaking precum, was a bucket of iced water to my face. I mean, I didn't even care or know when he stripped, but it was probably when he chased me just now.

Another of my screams—this time smaller and shorter—ripped through the air from the sudden smack to my cunt from his heavy cock after he slapped it with his huge hand. My breath hitched from the sudden jerk of my face, forcing me to look at him as he held his glistening hand accusingly in my face. "Liar. Look at how much you drenched my hand from a single slap."

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