An Eternity of Dead Sun (An Eternity of Eclipse Novel Book 2) by Con Template Page B

straightforward nature, Eclipse did not deem it necessary to ignore the obvious.
    “You’re afraid of me,” he stated knowingly.
    Desperate to hold onto some semblance of a façade, I performed my due diligence and shook my head to lie to him.
    Eclipse smiled warily, seeing straight through my act. “We may not have known each other for very long, but I know when you’re uncomfortable around me, Gracie. Judging by how stiff you are, you could rival a steel rod for its job.” His gentle eyes peered down at me, urging me to be upfront. “You’re afraid of me and what took place tonight.”
    “A little,” I finally admitted. There was no point in avoiding the truth when he was so adamant on confronting it. I shifted fearfully before saying, “I . . . I’ve had a man three times my size nearly choke me to death when I was six. I’ve had a man twice my size stab me over and over again a couple of days ago, but none of that can equate to the pain I experienced when I felt my body dying. That’s really scary to me. It’s terrifying to know how fragile I am when compared to someone of your . . . caliber.”
    “I get that,” Eclipse whispered, his eyes expressing empathy. A shadow of confliction flittered across his face. For a Prince who was accustomed to millions kneeling before him in fear, I could see that he didn’t fully understand why my fear affected him so much. Frustrated muscles tensed in his body. After another moment of gently appraising me, he quietly added, “Do not be afraid of me. I could wipe out an entire city with the blink of an eye and drown a nation at my will, but the last person I’ll ever hurt is you.”
    I smiled hesitantly, numbly accepting his words. I was his “soul mate.” His existence was dependent upon mine; of course I was the last person he would hurt.
    “I know. I’ll be fine,” I assured, truly meaning it. Once I slept through it, I would be fine. I had experienced worse in my little over twenty years of existence. This near-death episode with Eclipse was simply another impediment that I would overcome.
    Upon hearing this, Eclipse smirked dryly to himself. He glanced down at me as only a child would when he realized that his playtime with his favorite toy was about to become more limited.
    “From now on it’s going to be even harder to get you to fool around with me, isn’t it?”
    I peered up at him, and for the first time that night, I cracked a genuine smile. It was difficult to be melodramatic, especially when you had a sexually charged Demon sitting next to you, more concerned about “fooling around” with you rather than his own injury.
    “I made a pact with myself to resist you at all costs,” I admitted to him in a matter-of-fact tone.
    His eyes widened disbelievingly.
    “Bloody hell,” he breathed out, his handsome face taut with outraged misery. He had the expression of someone contemplating suicide. “I was doing such a good job of warming you up and prepping you for our future marathon too.”
    My cheeks turned beet red at his frank words. There was sexual frustration undulating in every word he spoke, and it was enough to conjure up inappropriate images in my mind. Paralyzed with speechlessness, I just gaped at him with a reddening face.
    “Awkward . . .” commented two terribly uncomfortable voices a few seconds later.
    Eclipse and I turned from one another and faced Phix and Demon Girl. They were staring uneasily at us, no doubt feeling uncomfortable that we were having such an open conversation in front of them. My face reddened even further. I wanted to kill myself. I couldn’t believe two Demons had witnessed our dysfunctional and sexually frustrated relationship. This was so embarrassing.
    Relinquishing his focus from me and his newly foiled plan to “warm me up,” Eclipse rested his now embittered attention on the two Demons. Although they had been very helpful in mending our wounds, they had yet to explain themselves. And in Eclipse’s