An Eternity of Eclipse (23 page)

“Because of the unforgivable sins you bestowed upon your family,” he answered, staring at my hands while I anxiously played with the soju bottle. The pouring rain picked up as smoke continued to stream from his cigarette. “Killing your own blood is a very heinous crime. For a human being to do that, it must mean that your soul is very sadistic. This type of soul is very powerful to have, and what Demon wouldn’t want to acquire such a sadistic soul?”

As if the reminder of my sins enraged the Heavens, thunder boomed above, shaking the world below it.

I was quiet for a long time, simply playing with my empty soju bottle. The pitter-pattering of the rain, the orchestra of voices, and the sound of thunder continued to surround us, inundating us with their noises until my voice disturbed the chaos.

“Were you there the night it happened?”

A puzzled look troubled his beautiful face. Eclipse stared at me in curiosity as he allowed a stream of smoke to slip away from his lips. He rested his hand on the table, tapped the cigarette butt to allow the ashes to sprinkle onto the floor, and then looked at me with persevering confusion. “There for what?”

“The night it happened,” I clarified. The icy wind whipped through my hair and ate at the warmth of my body. Lips quivering from the blast of chills, I said, “The night I killed my family. Were you there?”

He shook his head after my elaboration. “I didn’t even know of your existence until after it occurred.”

“Was I possessed?” The desperation to exonerate myself from this horrible crime came out more quickly than I thought it would. “Did something else make me do it?”

I barely finished my question before he firmly answered, “No.”

“How do you know?” I challenged at once. I didn’t care about my family, but I didn’t want this type of crime to hang over me, to remind me of what a monster I was and why I suddenly had Demons after me. I was still desperate to clear myself. Since I was now pulled into a world where Demons existed, then there must be a possibility that one of them possessed me. That could be the reason why I couldn’t remember anything . . . because it obviously wasn’t me who executed the killings.

“What if a Demon possessed me and made me do all those horrible things?” I insisted with an earnest voice. My mind churned with the possibilities. “What if some Demon possessed me and that Demon was the one who killed my family? That’s possible, right? I mean, I’ve heard of it happening to other people. Why couldn’t that be the same for me? It could’ve happened to me too, right?”

There was no ignoring the anguish in my voice, and I knew Eclipse caught all of it. He understood my desperation to distance myself from this crime, but he also didn’t want to lie to me and give me false hope.

“It’s not possible, Gracie,” he whispered tenderly, his eyes on me gentle.

“Why?”

“Because then I would know,” he said with conviction. “That’s one of the powers Demons are gifted with. It is inherent in our blood. We know all the sins committed by a human being. All I have to do is think of your name and all the sins you committed will come to me. That’s how I know about your little art show with the Lamborghini, that’s how I know about the homeless man, and that’s how I know about the murders . . . because they are sins that
you
committed—sins that are embedded in the very fibers that make up your existence. I was not there the night you killed your family, but I know that you killed them because that very sin is embedded in you. There was no possession, no persuasion from Demons, and no misunderstanding. It was you and only you that night.”

The aggravation inside me mounted. I couldn’t accept his answer. I just couldn’t. Especially not when there were so many gaps in my memories. “Why can’t I remember what happened that night then?”

“I don’t know,” he said with a light shrug. “You were very young. Maybe you were traumatized? The human mind can be very self-preserving when it needs to be. Denial seems to be everyone’s best friend in this world. Perhaps even as a young child, you knew that denial was the only thing that would help you stay sane and help you survive into your adult years. There are a lot of reasons why you can’t remember, but none of it will absolve you from what happened—”

“Let’s go back to you turning into a human being,” I interrupted at once, too irritated that he was not giving me the answer I wanted. I no longer wanted to talk about me. I wanted to talk about him. “Why would you vanish into thin air after you become human and die?”

Eclipse miserably stared at the cigarette that was slowly dying out in his hands. “If I become human,” he began slowly, “then it is likely that all the sins I committed will catch up to me. Humans are created to live, yet for me, I will be created to die. If a human dies, then their soul will go elsewhere—be it Heaven or Hell. However, if a Demon dies, even in human form, then they will vanish for the rest of eternity. Their existence will never come again.”

“What a gruesome fate,” I whispered after the enormity of his words weighed in my mind.

I looked at him, and for the first time since he had made an appearance in my life, I saw fear and uncertainty pulse within his eyes. As humans, we were raised to expect death. We may fear it, but we know that we cannot escape it and we accept it as part of the cycle of life. But for someone like Eclipse—a Demon who was born with the gift of immortality—he was created to defy death, to outlive death. For him, dying without any chance of being resurrected was not scary. It was terrifying.

An eternity was all that he had ever known. Eclipse could never handle a mere lifetime.

Eclipse must have seen the pity in my eyes because a cool mask immediately shrouded his face. Fear no longer existed for him. He was, once again, the Demon of Lust—a Demon so powerful that fear and weakness did not exist for him. Had I not witnessed his fleeting fear firsthand, it would be difficult for me to believe that a Demon like himself could ever be spooked.

“Yes,” he went on with an easygoing voice. “For someone who has been spoiled by the ages, this is a fate that I would very much like to avoid.” He smiled, pouring me soju while gazing at me with hope in his eyes. “If only someone could save me, right?”

I threw him a blank look. I was not impressed with his quick progression from confiding in me to trying to take my soul away. “You’re not getting my soul.”

Eclipse showcased a pout that was truly award-worthy. “Even after hearing about my dilemma, you still won’t give a poor Demon a bone and help me out?”

“Do I look like a saint to you?” I asked critically, drinking my soju. I empathized with him, but I wasn’t stupid and I definitely wasn’t charitable. I was still territorial over my soul, and a dead Demon or not, nothing was powerful enough to convince me to give up something as precious as my soul. “I know I may appear nice and soft-spoken, but I hurt people because I find entertainment in it. I like to revel in their misery, and I apparently killed my entire family when I was six. I think all of that shows that I’m not exactly a morally just girl.”

Eclipse favored me with a breathtaking grin. Instead of appearing disgusted with all that I listed, he appeared proud. “You’re so sadistic, Gracie.”

I was aware that he meant it as a compliment, but I didn’t take it as such. I only felt shame and disappointment in myself. Regardless, I didn’t let this show on my face. I didn’t like to outwardly show people my true emotions. Since Eclipse was closed off with me, I planned on giving him the same courtesy.

After concluding that I was as stubborn as ever to keep my soul, Eclipse sighed to himself and buried his face into his hands. Like a child, he cutely murmured, “My life hangs in the hands of a naïve little minx who can’t accept a good thing when it flashes in front of her eyes. I don’t believe this.” Another bitter groan emitted from him. “Fuck my life.”

Before I could help myself, a ghost of a smile formed on my lips. Eclipse’s behavior was very heartwarming. He looked just like an innocent little boy. If I were not such a sadistic soul, I would have given him my soul right then and there. However, seeing as I was a sadistic girl, I found myself enjoying his misery all too much. I turned away from him to keep myself from smiling. Although I was a vicious person, I did not want to be openly rude either. Demon or not, Eclipse should have some privacy while misery overtook him.

I surveyed the outdoor restaurant that was still bopping with people. My face lit up when I saw something that caught my superficial eyes.

“Oh, that workout outfit is cute,” I commented thoughtlessly, watching as a girl walked under the tent with her boyfriend by her side. She was dressed in an adorable purple velour workout pants and a black velour hoodie. Although I was absolutely miserable with my own state of affairs, a girl could always appreciate cute clothes.

Eclipse pulled his face from his hands and followed the direction of my gaze. He assessed the girl’s outfit before he turned back to me. Mindlessly, he said, “That two-piece, pink spandex outfit you always wear is much better lookin–”

He shut his mouth upon seeing the shocked wrath in my eyes.

I could feel my blood boil as his words flowed over me.

I owned a hot pink spandex workout bra and spandex shorts. It was easily the most provocative outfit I owned. I only wore it in the privacy of my own bedroom while I practiced my yoga moves. Never once had I worn it outside. For a long time, I couldn’t understand how Eclipse could have seen it. My eyes widened. Unless . . .

“How do you know about my spandex two-piece?” I incited carefully, my voice soft yet filled with foreboding venom.

A guilty expression marred his face as my unforgiving gaze on him became stronger.

Smiling uncomfortably, Eclipse gave me his innocent puppy dog eyes. “I,” he cleared his throat. “I may have popped in on you while you were doing the downward-facing dog pose the other night. In an effort to not bother you, I may have just sat there with my invisibility cloak on and watched as you did a little yoga. You know,” he hastened to add, “so I could learn a few moves.”

“In other words,” I corrected lividly, “you popped in, saw my butt hiked in the air, decided to remain invisible, and basically enjoyed the ‘view’ as I did all those stretchy moves with my unsuspecting body?”

Eclipse was getting ready to shake his head. However, when he saw the blazing fire in my eyes, he then nodded guiltily. He offered me an apologetic smile. Charm started to radiate from him like the rays from the sun.

“Isn’t it more important that I didn’t ruin the tranquility by making my presence known?” he provided charismatically. “Shouldn’t I be rewarded for not bothering you? Hell, you have no idea how much I had to restrain myself to keep from running over to you, making myself known, and doing some ‘yoga’ with you as well.”

“Did you only watch once or did you watch often?”

He didn’t say anything. His inability to maintain eye contact told me that he knew the answer to this question would be the one to mark his execution.

“Eclipse,” I grounded out, rage brimming in my eyes.

Upon seeing that I wasn’t letting this go, he quietly admitted, “I may have made a habit of it once or twice.”

“A habit of it once or twi—”

I fisted my hands together and recalled all those nights where I was wearing the spandex hot-pink shorts. It was one thing to have Eclipse make himself invisible to everyone but me when we first met (making me look crazy in the process whenever he conversed with me). It was another thing entirely to take advantage of me and help himself to provocative views of my body in weird angles. He went too far this time.

I stood up from my table and backed away from him. I could feel the splatters of rain hitting my back as I slowly inched out of the tent.

“Bloody hell, are you kidding me?” he breathed out. Eclipse got up and made an effort to use his charms on me. “Gracie, don’t be like this. Are you really angry at me over this?”

My reply was the demure flipping of the middle finger, the splashing of lukewarm noodles on his face, and last words that garnered the attention of the diners surrounding us before I ran off in anger.

“Go back to Hell and stay there, you perverted chain-smoking-Ashtray!”

"I’ve waited a lifetime for him to sweep me off my feet . . ."
16:
OinkOink

When I woke up the next day, I was still angry.

Untrusting of my depraved “Guardian” Demon, I went about the day as on guard as I had ever been. When I got ready to leave for Sanctuary, I took it upon myself to grab my comforter, drape it over my head, and stand with it veiling over me while I struggled to put on my white cashmere sweater and jeans.

My vigilant eyes swam over my living room as I walked out of my apartment. When I didn’t catch sight of Eclipse, I didn’t bother to count my blessings—I just got the hell out of there. Eclipse wasn’t the type of Demon who would feel guilty for pissing me off. He was going to materialize soon and time was of the essence. If I wanted to successfully ditch him today, then I would have to use this opportune moment.

With anxiousness plaguing my body, I hurried down to the waiting cab. I was in the backseat of the car, ready to slam the door shut to make my escape when a hand caught the door in mid-slam. The hand easily pulled the door open, leaving me to simmer in fury once I made eye contact with the one who dared to foil my exit plan.

Staring down at me with amusement on his face was none other than Eclipse.

I glowered at him, resentment coursing over me as I measured his atypical appearance.

There was a lit cigarette between his lips and an irresistible smile across his face. In lieu of dressing up in his usual “professionally suave” attire, Eclipse wore an ordinary outfit that could easily pass him off as any other human. He was dressed ordinarily enough, but the simplicity of this outfit did not appear so “normal” on him. The casual black shirt he wore wrapped beautifully around his upper body. The fabric of the garment hugged his physique appreciatively, showcasing snippets of the scintillating muscles buried beneath it. Even the casual jeans he wore aided in giving him more of a “rugged and dangerous” appearance that was once concealed by his usual business attire. In essence, whatever his typical formal apparel hid, this casual outfit showed off in the most extravagant of ways.

I swallowed convulsively.

My goodness, he looked like a Sex God wearing civilian clothes. I was ashamed to admit that even in my irritated state, all I could do was stare in wonder.

“Teacup,” his sexy voice drawled, pulling me out of my web of sexually frustrated thoughts. With his dark eyes smiling at me, he nonchalantly said, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to ditch me.”

Right at that instant, while I was inundated with his charms and when I could feel an impending nosebleed hit my nostrils, I was reminded of my enduring dislike for him and his overall shadiness. I hadn’t forgotten how angry I was at him the previous night. I was damn well ready to continue with the hate.

I narrowed my eyes. I was not going to let him get in the car with me. Hell no.

“Go, sir! Go!” I screamed, scaring the chubby old driver.

The cab driver glared at us, judging us like we were one of those annoying couples having a lovers’ quarrel. Dread engulfed me at the thought. I couldn’t have him make that mistake and let Eclipse in.

Drumming on his shoulder for added emphasis, I dramatically said, “This guy is a wacko! If you value your life, step on the gas and let’s haul ass!”

Worry speared through the old man’s eyes at my urgent words. He was ready to adhere to my warning when Eclipse’s voice bounced into the scene.

Unaffected by the fact that I had pretty much broadcasted to our audience that he was a psycho, Eclipse maintained his composure and used my insanity against me.

“Gracie, are you still pissed off because I didn’t want to play with the handcuffs last night? Oh baby-cakes, please don’t leave me for this. I’m sorry. I’m still a bit shy when it comes to that creepy stuff. But if you really want to do it, then I’ll do it for you. I’ll play with the handcuffs, I’ll play with the whips and chains, and I’ll even try all those weird sex positions you wanted to try. I can be kinky if you really want that. I’ll try anything to make you happy.” A sly smile kissed his lips before he submissively added, “Please . . .
Mistress Hwang
. Please give me another chance. I will gladly be your sex slave and live to serve all your weird, kinky S&M fantasies if you don’t leave me.”

My jaw was hung down the entire time Eclipse sang those pearls of lies to the universe. He was an incredible actor. If I weren’t the one he was spreading lies about, then I would’ve believed that he was in a relationship with a sex-crazed girl who was ready to dump her sweet and innocent boyfriend. He was
so
convincing that when I locked eyes with the cab driver, who was now gazing at me with a mixture of horror and revulsion through the rearview mirror, I knew I had lost to Eclipse.

“Sorry for wasting your time, sir,” I apologized just as the old man very judgmentally said, “I think it is best if you and your willing-to-be-kinky boyfriend stepped away from my cab. You kids these days are sick—
sick
.”

Giving him a bow of mortification, I shamefully bounced off my seat and got out of the cab. I didn’t even get a chance to close the door before the cab driver stepped on the gas pedal and sped off, immersing himself and his still-opened-door cab into the fast moving traffic. All that was left behind was the scent of burnt tires and the fog of humiliation that hovered over me.

“You freak, you freak of nature!” I shouted at Eclipse, ready to take out all my anger on the origin of all the evil that had befallen my life. I glowered at him, utterly red in the face. As he casually smoked his cigarette, I replayed all that he said in my mind and found myself losing it. “How could you say all those things?” I placed an outraged hand on my chest. I could barely talk through my strained voice. “
I’m
the one who’s afraid of handcuffs, whips, chains, and weird sex positions!”

Eclipse offered me a doting smile that seemed to brighten the otherwise overcast day. He was not the least bit sorry that he had embarrassed me. As my ponytail swayed in the cool morning wind, he reached out and tucked a loose bang behind my ear.

“I’m sure we can work it out so that you won’t be afraid of them when I finally get you into bed, Teacup,” he crooned suggestively, his dark eyes glittering with sensual promise.

“Dream on,” I snarled, jerking my head away from his reach.

A sly grin graced his face. “If only you knew the things I do to you in my dreams, Gracie.”

“Really?” I incited tersely, my eyes sharpening like knives. “You’re
really
going to throw sexual innuendos at me after our altercation last night?”

Once I reminded him of the less-than-pretty parting words I gave him the night prior, Eclipse’s carefree demeanor faltered.

“Okay, Gracie. You’re right,” he launched tactfully, gazing into my eyes with an expression that mirrored a puppy begging for pardon. “I thought about what you said. It was completely fucked up of me to pop out of nowhere and spy on you while I was invisible. At first, I didn’t understand why you were so pissed off. I realized later that you weren’t completely mad about my little voyeurism; it was more because I had the audacity to make myself invisible to you of all people. It’s not fair for me to take advantage of you with my powers. You have every right to be angry with me. With that said, I know what I did was wrong now. I promise that it won’t happen again—I will never make myself invisible to you ever again. You have my word on that.” He gave me an innocent smile. Hell, even the smoke slithering away from his lips looked angelic. “I hope that you can accept my sincere apology and that we can move forward from here.”

I blinked at him in silence. I was utterly floored that he had not only managed to apologize—something I could guess that the Prince of Hell didn’t partake in too often—but also managed to hit the bull’s eye on the specific reason why I was so angry.

“How did you know the exact reason why I was so pissed?” I couldn’t help but ask. I was furious at him for being shady and having his fun with staring at my butt, but I was angrier at the fact that he made himself invisible to me of all people. It was a silly reason that even eluded my understanding. How did he know? “Guys are usually clueless.”

“I know a thing or two about pleasuring women,” he replied modestly. “Being perceptive and telling a woman that she’s right when she’s wrong is a big factor that comes with making women happy.”

Ice-cold glaciers formed in my eyes. That jerk. He just ruined a perfectly nice apology with that offensive addendum.

A snarl escaped my throat. “So your apology is insincere?”

“I didn’t say that,” he hastily added once he heard the hostility in my voice. “I am sorry that it upset you. In the interest of not wanting to upset you like that again, I do not plan on ever repeating this mistake.”

I folded my arms and raised a questioning brow at him. “How do I know if you’re even telling the truth?”

“You don’t,” he responded with a light shrug, “but I
am
telling you the truth. Next time, if I pop in and see you doing yoga, then I’m just going to visibly stand there and talk to you while I watch and enjoy the show.”

I scoffed at his reply. Shortly after, my eyes enlarged into the size of baseballs when a troubling thought assaulted me. I recalled all those two-second showers I took after having the Demon come into my life. I once foolishly believed that Eclipse was respectful enough to give me some semblance of privacy. Now that I thought about it, if he was shady enough to be invisible while watching me do yoga, then it was possible he’d be shady enough to peek in on me while I was in the shower as well.

Horror threatened to seep out of my gaping eyes. “Did you ever ‘pop in’ while I was showering, taking a bath, or changing?”

Eclipse’s lips drew up into a lazy and self-mocking smile. A resentful stream of smoke—one that could arguably mirror his sexual frustration—swam out from his mouth.

“Teasing myself while watching you stretch your gorgeous little body is one thing, but actually putting myself in a predicament where I’m teased with the sight of your naked body is a completely different thing. I already have a hard time restraining myself when you’re fully clothed. I’m not stupid enough to tease myself with a sight of you completely naked unless I get to wrap my own naked body around yours. Your body still can’t handle what I want to offer you. As long as that’s the case, I’m going to do all that I can to avoid temptation.” A bitter muscle leapt in his strong jaw. “So, to answer your question,
no
. I did not ‘pop in’ while you were showering, taking a bath, or changing. If anything, I try to stay far away.”

I blew a sigh of relief, and he smirked at this.

“I should tell you though,” he slyly added, “the longer you prolong becoming a Demon and the longer you torture me with the wait, the longer I will keep you in my bed after the conversion occurs.” He had a faraway look in his eyes at the thought. “I look forward to showing you the same exquisite torture that you’ve shown me.”

I rolled my eyes at his quick metamorphosis from being an apologetic suitor to the goal-oriented Demon I had always known him to be.

Alas, the cunning Demon played his last apology card by pulling one final trick out of his sleeve. Eclipse turned away from me and abruptly clapped his hands. On cue, whimpering sounds could be heard as a little furry leg peeked out from the corner of the building beside us.

With white fur that looked as soft as feathers, big watery black eyes, and a body so small that it could fit in a teacup, the Maltese puppy slowly tiptoed away from the corner. Soft whining continued to stream from its little body as it gazed up at the world around it.

“My apology,” Eclipse said proudly. Behind him, the puppy stared around confusingly, clearly flummoxed with its new surroundings. “I hear that human guys are supposed to give gifts if they pissed their girl off. I’m hoping this little guy will help get me back into your good graces.”

More whimpering came from the puppy before its big expressive black eyes settled on mine. At once, its confused eyes illumed with love and adoration. As if already knowing that it belonged to me, the puppy bounced over to me in excitement, its white fur dancing in the wind while it barked incessantly.

“Arf! Arf! Arf!”

I stared at the puppy as it ran past Eclipse and stopped at my feet. It hopped on my black strappy heels and nuzzled against me, its silky soft fur caressing the skin of my feet. I could feel my annoyance and distaste for the puppy commence as its high-pitched barking goaded my ears.

How annoying . . .

A peculiar thing about me that you should know: I don’t like cute, furry animals. Anything typically seen as cute, fluffy, and adorable—I do not like. I hate puppies, I hate kittens, I hate baby koala bears, I hate bunnies—the list goes on. The only animals I adore are reptiles, certain species of bugs, spiders, and pigs. This adorable pup was far from the usual lethal serpent that I’d admire and I didn’t feel the need to hide this from Eclipse.

My un-amused eyes connected with his.