Page 43 of Eternal

I’m pissing Declan off on purpose. Challenging him like I don’t know how that will end.

“You could say that.” He dips his thumbs in his pockets, watching me.

But the moment I open my mouth to respond, the door swings open behind Declan, and a girl walks in. She’s vaguely familiar, so she must go to our school, but I don’t know her name. Her dark-red hair is tied back, and her eyes match her blue maxi dress.

“What is this?” I glance back at Declan, and my stomach plummets.

Declan doesn’t answer right away. He turns and walks across his bedroom to a chair in the corner. Spinning, he sinks into it, his cold gaze landing on me.

“You’re going to accept what you and I are to each other, Teal. Whether you like it or not. You’ll admit you’re mine in every way. And when you do, I’ll give you what you refuse to admit you want.”

“What is that?” I cross my arms over my chest. “You think I want to have sex with you?”

“I think you want answers.” He grips the arms of the chair. “I think you want something you know only I can give you. Admit what we are, and you can have me.”

“Like you’re some kind of reward.”

“I’m not.” His tone is harsh, and it sends a tingle down my spine. “But relationships are about trust, and until we have that, you aren’t fully mine.”

“I don’t trust you.” I roll my shoulders back in defiance. “And I don’t want anything from you.”

He hums. An evil, dark glare lights up his eyes.

“We’ll see about that. All you have to do is say stop, Tealene.” Then his gaze flicks to the other girl. “Come here.”

13

Kneel

Teal

“Cora, kneel.”

Declan’s instructions are direct. Precise. They send a shiver up my spine and remind me we’re all at this madman’s mercy.

He overtakes the room with two words, and she obeys the same way anyone probably would. Because when Declan demands control of the room, he has it.

Cora walks over to where Declan is sitting, kneeling before him. But he isn’t watching her. His eyes are on me.

He’s testing me.

Tempting me.

Whatever game this is, he has me hating him as much as I hate myself for standing here now. My feet are frozen in place when I should have run from his bedroom the moment he sat down.

My gaze moves to Cora on her knees for him, and I wonder if Declan has fucked her in the past. I wouldn’t doubt it. She’s following his instructions like it’s any other day with Declan Pierce.

“Anything on your mind, Teal?” Declan asks me.

His hands casually rest on the arms of the chair, and he’s relaxed. A hint of a smile climbs the corner of his mouth, and it’s so unholy it’s beautiful.

He’s cut straight from my nightmares, so why does his torture feel like my home?

I clench my teeth and shake my head, refusing to bow down to him.

This relationship is fake. He forced me into it, and I’m not letting him think he’s getting to me. Whatever he’s doing means nothing because I’m not really his.

His possessiveness and his kiss are all part of his elaborate game. The only reason he’s pushing me now is to get a reaction. He wants me to stop whatever he’s about to make Cora do in an effort to force me to show my hand. He wants to provoke me to prove how weak I am.

---