Page 17 of The Bell’s Toll (Wanderlust Emporium Presents, Season One)

I know that running from Raziel would mean either death to someone I love or even a repeat of the last time. And though my body has no problem with that consequence, my mental state wouldn’t survive it.

He looks away from me, those dark brown eyes gazing down at the female singer on the stage. “We will see.”

I’ll take it. It’s a lot different from the hell no I was getting.

Half an hour later, and I’m stuffed. I was right, I couldn’t eat all the food they brought, but I sure did give it a try. Everything was delicious.

I was now leaning back against the chair listening to Raziel tell me about the time he almost got beheaded for sleeping with a pharaoh’s wife.

“I can’t believe you took his jewels,” I swipe at my eyes, wiping the mirth from my laughter away.

“I deserved some type of reward after all of that.”

“You fucked his wife and daughter, Razzy.”

He shrugs. “And neither of them deserved it.”

I can’t help but laugh. Hearing the shenanigans this man has gotten into has had me dying laughing.

“You should’ve never been let loose. You are a menace.” I toss my head back and laugh.

Once the laughter dies down, I find his gaze on me.

“You are so fucking beautiful.” His words suck the air out of my lungs.

My face flushes. I imagine if I had my mother’s lighter complexion, I’d be red as a tomato. I shy away from the intensity in his stare.

The singer on stage sings the first line of Etta James’ A Sunday Kind of Love.

“Oh my goodness, I love this song,” I say, swaying to her beautiful voice.

Beside me, Raziel stands to his feet. He tugs at his black jacket before holding out a hand toward me.

“Dance with me, Beauty.”

My heart does that stutter thing where it skips a beat and then beats overtime. I look up into those dark brown eyes.

“Girl, don’t do it. Don’t you take that hand,” my brain is telling me.

However, I don’t listen. My hand is out, and in his palm before I can even finish that thought.

He pulls me to my feet and steps closer. He places his free hand on my waist and pulls me even further into him. I place my free hand on his shoulder and, as if his feet were created to float, he sways me to the music.

This close up, I can see everything about him. I notice his eyes aren’t completely dark brown, there are bits of gold flecks in his irises. A small, thin scar cuts through his forehead. And his nose isn’t as straight as I initially thought. All those small details make him even more gorgeous.

For as intensely as I’m staring at him, he’s been doing the same with me. When those dark eyes flash down to my lips, I run my tongue over my bottom one.

I have thought about his lips on mine since he stood in the middle of my wedding demanding a debt be paid. My heart pounds. The vibration moves from my chest, down to my belly, until it lands between my thighs.

His eyes shut and he groans as his teeth sink into his bottom lip. “She’s calling me, Beauty.”

His voice seems to make the heartbeat between my legs beat harder. I want to fight this feeling, but the pull to give in is so intense. When those eyes pop back open, they are pitch black. I swallow. I should be afraid, but fear is the last thing I’m feeling.

The hand he has on my waist slowly moves down my hip to my thigh.

When his fingertips brush the hem of my dress, my breath catches.

With his eyes planted on me, he slowly moves his hand under my dress, around to my ass.

From the way we are standing, no one below us can see where his hand is. Yet still I look around nervously.

“Eyes on me, Beauty,” he growls. I look back at him. “No one is paying attention to us.”

This time when I look out at everyone around us, I notice that he’s right. Not even Erazel, whose back is to us. I won’t lie like the thought of people seeing what he’s doing to me doesn’t turn me on even more.

Raziel’s hand grips my ass causing my dress to lift in the back.

His warm palm moves over my butt cheek down to the apex of my thighs.

When he moves the seat of my panties out of the way, my face heats at how wet I am.

He hisses when he feels my essence and rubs his fingers through my folds.

I widened my legs, giving him more access.

He dips his long fingers into my hot center. I shut my eyes and lean my head back. I swear this man has magic in his touch. He stirs my pot with his digits. Even with the woman on stage singing, I can still hear the smacking of my sex. My grip tightens on his shoulder.

“Your fat little pussy is hot and wet for me,” he growls as he moves his fingers in and out of me like he’s fucking me.

A gasp slips from between my lips. He plants a kiss on my collarbone as he takes his soaking wet fingers from my center and rubs them over my nub.

My lips part. I want to tell him to taste me again, the way he had the day I tried to escape. Just the memory of how he devoured me has me whimpering.

“I can smell your desire,” he says into my ear while his fingers still work their magic. “I know what you want. All you have to do is ask.”

Again, my tongue runs over my lips. I’m panting like I’ve run a race. My orgasm is building, causing my legs to shake.

“Raziel,” his name comes out like a plea.

He speeds up the rhythm in his fingers, staring down at me with a grin. “Ask.” He damn near growls. “Ask me to eat that tasty pussy again, Nasiah.”

My goodness, I almost come with just him speaking the words.

My hips move trying to catch the orgasm that is bubbling up in me.

I once again look around to see if anyone is watching.

The woman from earlier with the red hair is looking at me.

Her eyes are jet black, and there is a smile on her face.

I wait for the shame or embarrassment to hit me, but it doesn’t. I just get wetter.

Raziel groans. “Fuck, Beauty. Tell me you want it.” There is a bit of desperation in his voice.

I open my mouth to do exactly what he is asking, but the moment I do, I remember why I can’t.

“No, I can’t,” I cry out, pushing out of his arms. My breathing is ragged, and my body feels as if I’m coming down from a high fever. I tug at the hem of my dress, pulling it back down over my ass.

“Stop this,” Raziel barks, running his hands through his hair. He paces in front of me. “You belong to me.”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t. You stole me.”

He snarls as he takes a step toward me. “I can’t steal what is rightfully mine. You’ve been mine since you were an infant.”

“You may have saved my life and combined our destinies, but I don’t belong to you. You haven’t earned me. I’m his,” I shout the last words, hoping that the volume will match the conviction.

I wasn’t necessarily angry at Raziel. I was madder at myself. How could I allow a man that isn’t my fiancé to touch me so intimately? I can excuse the first time. I told him no, but this time I nearly begged him for it.

Raziel goes completely still before my eyes. Nothing on him moves. Slowly, like a roll of thunder clouds, heavy dark smoke starts to hover over him. The smoke is so thick that I lose sight of him.

The music stops, and all eyes are now on us. Everyone in the room looks nervous. I start to feel as though I might be in danger.

The moment I take a step back from Raziel, his hand reaches out of the smoke and latches on to me. The smoke then wraps around me, engulfing me in darkness. It’s ice cold inside the dark. But I can see him more clearly now. Those black eyes seem to glow.

“You think you belong to that piece of shit?” his voice is raspy and deep. “I will show you what you mean to him.”

Before I could object or say anything, my stomach did that dropping thing like I’m on a rollercoaster. The room spins shortly, but it’s over quickly. When the smoke clears, I realize I’m in an apartment. One I know well.

“Jamieson,” I whisper his name. I’m in his apartment.

I take off for the bedroom. The moment I get to the door, it disappears in front of me and I’m now standing inside the bedroom. However, as soon as I enter, I want to leave.

Standing at the foot of the bed, I watch my fiancé make love to my sister. Her nails dig into his back as he moves his hips between her legs. It’s clear they can’t see me. Because neither of them has looked up or heard me enter.

“Yes, Jamie.” Rochelle moans. “Don’t stop. I love you.”

With every word she speaks, more of my heart breaks. He doesn’t stop. He continues to fuck her the way that he once did me.

“Shit, Ro, you feel so good,” he grunts as he finishes inside her.

Tears roll down my cheeks. As much as I want to say something or even turn away, I can’t stop watching the two of them.

J pulls out, no condom, and sits on the edge of the bed. “I still haven’t heard anything else from Siah. You think that asshole hurt her?”

The fact that he just finished fucking my sister and still has the audacity to ask her about me hurts me more.

Rochelle sits up in the bed, her face scrunched up in hatred. “What if he did? J, look, this is our opportunity. We don’t have to hide our love anymore. My sister is gone. We can be together finally.”

When he turns to her, there is anger pinching his brows. “What the fuck are you talking about? Nasiah is my wife.”

“The wedding didn’t go through. The marriage license isn’t signed.” She gets to her knees and crawls over to him, placing her hand on his back. “Baby, I understood why you were committed to her before, but you don’t have to do this now. We can be together.”

He snatches away from her and climbs to his feet. Bending, he picks up his boxers off the ground and steps into them before pulling them up.

“I told you, what we have is fun. I care about you, and your pussy is top tier, Ro, but Nasiah is my baby. She is my future.”

Rochelle scoffs. “Your baby? Your baby with the dry pussy and the lack of skills. She can barely make you cum.”