Page 1 of The Bloodfeather Promise
Prologue
‘Cause I can’t let you go.
You make me remember
when I find you at last,
My wild bloodfeather.
~Greyson Finch
It is an unwritten rule of the universe that Love does not play fair. It can be a real bitch.
Most people would say that’s not true. They repeat the typical platitudes. It makes life worth living. Without it, there is nothing. With it, everything is possible. The Beatles probably said it best.
All you need is Love. Love is all you need.
In a perfect world, this is may be true, but my world is far from perfect.
Love probably makes the world go ‘round, but lust brings it to a screeching halt. Because let’s be honest here, lust, that physical attraction, drives all emotions in the beginning of a relationship. And, for me, only lust matters. Love…that shit is messy and painful. Something I have no patience for. Something I do not want or need. Something I sure as hell am not searching for.
Love will take you down in a heartbeat when you aren’t looking. You don’t think so? Well, let me lay out the following facts. Just so you understand where I’m coming from.
Love dances on both sides of the same coin. Possessive and affectionate. Hateful. Tender. Horrifyingly ugly and terrifyingly beautiful. Strawberry-tinged kisses mask the danger so well you never notice the knives plunging into your back. It’s an insidious drug, oozing into the cracks and crevices of your soul, fighting recklessly for dominance. It plays on your sympathies. Plots and schemes for attention. Whispers secrets in your ear. Then, like a jealous lover, shouts your own for the world to hear. The ultimate assailant, it sneaks in. Strangling even the hardest heart until you finally drop to your knees, begging for mercy.
Once you’ve been twisted by it, Love inflicts its greatest cruelty. It turns away from your tortured existence. Forgets it was once part of your life. Shatters relationships. Destroys people. Transforms them into monsters. Or worse, pathetic creatures deserving of small mercies.
Family and friends may lose themselves in those dark depths, but I am much smarter than that. I’ll never be swept into that world of madness. My own heart remains hidden behind a firewall of music, drugs, and alcohol. I’m immune. Untouchable. Alone.
Thenshecomes along. And she fucks everything up.
Wanna know who brings my walls tumbling down?
Emerson Jane Banner.
She is the love of my life.
She wants me as badly as I want her.
She despises me.
See? Love does not play fair.
I know… I know. It’s crazy as hell that I never get her name the night our love story begins. But I know this. What throws us together is neither pretty nor romantic. There are no singing birds. No swirls of hearts and flowers. No sliding down rainbows like we’re in a Disney fairytale. Far from it. With Emerson and me, it’s debauched. And selfish. Real. Hot. It is a busted-up blowjob, a brawl, a bloody nose, and a break-up that establishes the shaky cornerstones of our relationship.
I don’t stand a chance in hell against this girl. A single taste cements my addiction. Indulgent, lushly decadent, that first hit launches me, sends me flying high until I’m as desperate as a junkie. Everything about her is brutally glorious, inescapable, and powerful. I fall hard and fast. Because my girl,fuck,my girl is a Cat Five hurricane with ocean blue eyes and soft, peachy-pink stained lips. She’s sweet. Smart. Sexy. Dangerous.
Love wraps me tight, but it’s just a satin ribbon holding back a ravenous wolf. This fragile leash loops around my soul, the other end held by a girl with no inkling of her power.
Emerson. Jane. Banner.
My destruction.
My obsession.
My sweet, wicked salvation.
Beyond all reason. Beyond all thought. Beyond all that is sane and good in this world, I worship her. Adore her. And, on a night I do not remember, Love has its revenge. Once a carefully constructed fortress, my heart crumbles like a castle made of sand. I fall to my knees. I fall for her. My innocent Emerson.
My wild bloodfeather.
