Maddening (Cursed Superheroes #2)

I waver, questioning what the right answer is. But when I come up blank, I decide to go with the truth. “Yeah.”


He stares at me for an unnerving amount of time, to the point where I become fairly sure he’s going to say no. But then he shrugs. “Fine, if you must.”

I attempt not to get too overly eager as I reach forward and line my palm to his chest. But the instant my hand touches him, my heart starts to beat wildly. My legs begin to tremble as I run my hands over him, moving from the top of his chest to his abs. Then I trail my fingers across his collarbone, his chest, his stomach, all the way to the bottom of his shirt. When I reach the top of his waistband, my knuckles graze his skin. I shiver from the connection and repeat the movement again and again…

“Heartley,” Caspian growls out, sounding in pain. “I think you need to…” His words fade as I let my fingers wander underneath the waistband of his jeans.

I have no clue what I’m doing or why I’m doing it. All I know is that it feels so good, like my body is starved and finally getting a tiny taste of food for the very first time. And I want more.

My hands travel further downward…

“I don’t even know what I’m doing…” My dazed voice sounds so foreign. “Should I stop—”

His lips abruptly come down on mine so hard I swear I’m going to have a bruise. As quickly as the kiss began, though, he pulls back. His eyes are wild and filled with a hunger I can’t comprehend, but the sight makes my stomach twist in the strangest, most wonderful way.

“Oh my God, you’re driving me crazy, which is saying a lot,” he growls and then crashes his lips against mine again.

I groan as he bites my bottom lip and then parts my lips with his tongue. Never, ever have I felt anything like this. The blistering heat, the crazed frenzy, the hammering of my heart, the desire blazing through me. I want more. Crave more.

I open my mouth and reach for him, preparing to devour him the same way he’s devouring me. But then my body chills, as if someone doused me with ice water. From in the house somewhere, a clock chimes twelve.

“Happy birthday to me,” I mumble then kiss Caspian.

“I’m so sorry, Heartley,” Caspian whispers, his voice sounding so far away.

I jerk back and catch a glimpse of unfamiliar dark red eyes staring at me before pain rips through my body.

“I’m not going to give this one up so easily,” a voice hisses. “If you try to take her, I’ll come for her. Over and over again.”

I hear Caspian shout something, but his words echo away as everything goes black.





Chapter 8





Pain tears through my body, like vines ripping apart my flesh as I tumble into unconsciousness. I try to clasp onto reality, but every time my fingers reach the light, the pain becomes too overwhelming. So much pain. I can barely process anything else. The slamming of fists, a boot getting kicked into my side, hitting the floor…. Red eyes… Those goddamn eyes are burning a hole through me. Then the pain changes, shifts, into something different but almost equally as painful. Needles getting jabbed into my arms, hands slamming against my chest, my stomach being torn open…

Why is this happening to me…

The pain… It hurts so bad…

Be strong. For the briefest moment, I swear I can hear Caspian’s voice through my thoughts.

Caspian, are you there?

Silence is my only answer. And pain. So much pain.

I want to pass out. I want to scream. But I don’t have that much control over my body. Tears burn in my eyes as I continue to tumble into an abyss. And I wonder if I’ll ever quit falling.





Chapter 9





When I open my eyes again, I’m lying in a comfy bed with a mountain of pillows under my head and a velvet blanket pulled over me. For the wildest moment—and probably because of the pillows—I wonder if I’m in my cage and that I dreamt the whole Caspian/pain thing up. But when I sit up and look around, I quickly realize the four dark red walls, black tile floor, and dresser in the corner don’t belong to my bedroom. Plus, there are no bars surrounding me.

“Where the heck am I?” I mutter, scratching my head. “And how did I get here?”