Page 59 of Eternal

My eyebrows pinch as I stare at the swirl of color. “Lick what?”

He applies pressure to the back of my neck so my face is right up against the painting. The heatof his chest burns against my back as he lowers his mouth to my ear. “Lick.”

I always thought Declan Pierce was the worst of the worst, but as I stick my tongue out at his command, I realize I’m no better because I keep falling for him.

He pushes my face forward, flattening my tongue to the painting and holding me there.

“Taste that?” He growls in my ear. “Taste those fucking lies on your tongue? Or are you too busy tasting our cum?”

Declan releases me, hopping off the bed.

It takes me a moment to pull back and process that I can still taste where he wiped our release on the paint. I turn, dropping to sit on the mattress, and watch him walk across the room.

He’s pissed, and not in aDeclan Pierce is always an assholekind of way. He’s genuinely mad at me for what I said.

“This isn’t real, Declan.” I shake my head, climbing off the bed and grabbing my outfit. “We can fake a whole relationship and be loyal to each other during that process. But we can’t pretend it actually means anything.”

My hands are shaking as I button my pants and reach for my shirt.

“Define real.” Declan spins around, leaning against his desk, watching me slip my shirt overhead. “Your cum decorating my room is real, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes…” I mumble.

“You begging me to let you come was real?”

“Declan—”

“Shut the fuck up, Teal.” He storms over to me, and instinctively, I step back. “You can disconnect from your family and your friends. You can disconnect from your heart or your fucking head to survive the day. But this—”

He grabs my jaw hard and tips my head back.

“This is fucking real. What I do to you is real. How youwant itis real. Last night wasn’t a lapse in judgment. It was you admitting you’re just as fucked-up as I am, and you don’t know how to process that. We made a deal. You’re mine. So start fucking acting like it. You agreed to this, and I’m getting really tired of you pretending that you didn’t.” He releases my jaw and steps back, fire as hot as the pit of hell in his eyes.

“I agreed to it because you made me.” It’s nearly a whisper.

The room quiets, and we’re both breathing so hard I can’t figure out what we’re arguing about anymore.

“You manipulated me.” I shake my head. “Even last night with Cora… It’s all a game to you, and games don’t last forever. Besides, it’s not like either of us actually wanted this.”

His jaw tenses.

“Right?” My eyebrows pinch, and for the first time, I can’t read Declan’s face. “Right, Declan?”

“You’re good at that, aren’t you?” He reaches up to wipe his thumb over my lower lip. “Telling yourself whatever you need to hear so you don’t have to actually feel shit. It must be nice.”

“You know nothing about what I do and don’t feel.”

He pulls back. “Neither do you, seeing as you’ve spent your whole fucking life high just to get through it.”

The second his words come out, something cracks in my chest, and I’m reminded of who I’m dealing with.

“Fuck you, Declan.” I pull away, grabbing my purse, and storm out of the room.

All my life, everyone around me has called me crazy. It’s been repeated so much I stopped trying to fight it. But as awful as Declan is, he was one of the few people who never made me feel weak because of that.

Until now.

I half expect him to stop me, but he doesn’t, and I don’t breathe again until the door to his room slams behind me, and I’m free of him. Even if I know it’s not for long.

---