Smothered

By Elliett Earhart

Cam doesn't think her life could get any worse. Being decieved by Eric was more than she could handle. But Eric's betrayal doesn't just effect her, it effects him too. They both try to get away from Declan but are surprised when everything is not how it seems. Upon arriving home, Cam is trying to deal with the strained relationship between her and Seth and it all becomes much more strained when Cam doesn't know if she can trust him. Cam tries to get help from Stephan in dealing with her black outs and wants to figure out what is so special about her that makes one of the most powerful demon's alive want her to love him and the other wants her dead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elliett Earhart
• Release date: Oct 13, 2013

Book preview

Smothered

Elliett Earhart

Books by Elliett Earhart

Suppressed Saga

Suppressed

Smothered

Smoldering

Smashed

Copyright © 2012 Elliett Earhart

Smashwords Edition

Smothered is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

No matter how hard you try to suppress

Your true feelings, it’s still always there,

Hidden under the surface;

But the harder you try the more it smothers you

Until you feel like you can’t breathe…

Chapter 1

Staring down at my half eaten dinner, I started to wonder when it was my life got this way. The answer to that question was somewhere in this mansion of an apartment building – and his name was Eric. It was only a guess that I was in an apartment building. I hadn’t been allowed outside since I arrive here. I think I had been here two weeks. I really didn’t know anymore – the days all bled together. Eric hadn’t shown his face since he brought me here. I had a feeling Declan was keeping him away from me. This little fact didn’t bother me one bit. I was glad he was staying away. If I saw him, I would probably kill him…or at least try to.

Eric was the least of my worries, though. The man sitting next to me was my worst fear come to life. That should have been what I was dwelling on right now, but for some reason I couldn’t help but think about college and how I was supposed to be graduating in May. Well, it didn’t look like I would be graduating anymore. Four long years at BU and it was all for nothing. All because of Eric.

Declan’s thick Irish accented spoke beside me. What’s on your mind, Camron? His accent and his looks were the only thing appealing about him. His attitude and heavy right hand made me look past his thousand year old good looks and see him for what he really was. A demon straight from the pits of Hell.

Nothing, I was just thinking about school. I poked my chicken with a fork and suppressed the sigh that wanted to come out.

Declan’s fire hot hand reached forward, grabbing a hold of mine. I cringed inside, trying not to show how much I was disgusted by it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hide the flush that came to my cheeks. If he held on any longer I was going to have a heat stroke.

We’ll send you to school somewhere around here if it makes you feel better. He squeezed my hand gently before letting go.

There would be no point in starting somewhere else. I only had two months left in Boston. I bit my lip and peered up at him behind my eye lashes hoping he would take it in consideration to let me go back and finish the school year.

We talked about this, he said sternly.

I quickly gave up my argument in fear he would hit me. My ears were still ringing from the fight we had last night. At least this time he didn’t leave any bruises or busted lips. I was pretty much used to the beatings by now. It was my own mouth that got me in trouble most of the time. You’d think I would learn to shut up, seeing as every time I screamed at him he would smack me.

Just forget I said anything. I gave him a small smile and took a sip of my wine.

How are your headaches?

I cleared my throat uncomfortably. Better. I haven’t had one in a few days.

You didn’t tell me you fainted once because of them.

I was suddenly fuming inside. The only way he could know that I fainted would be because Eric told him.

I attempted to blow off the question. It was only once and Eric thought it might be because I was so stressed out at the time.

Are you still mad at Eric?

I almost choked on my wine at the question.

I’d rather not talk about Eric right now.

"So you are still mad," he concluded.

I spoke rather blandly, Trust me, it’s nothing new. I’ve always hated Eric. Even before now.

Declan watched me carefully. Even though I wasn’t looking at him I could feel his eyes on me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him lean forward, folding his hands under his chin. And why do you hate Eric?

My breath caught in my throat and I suddenly felt faint. Fainter than I did from his touch

I opened my mouth but no sound came out.

Camron, tell me why you hate him.

I – umm –

Just then, one of the tall, meaty body guards, who I came to know as Finn, walked in from the door across the room and interrupted me. Sir, Grayson is here to see you.

Oh thank God. I let out the breath I had been holding and loosened the grip I had on my wine glass.

We’ll continue this conversation later. He slid back his chair to stand up. I nodded with a small smile as he leaned down and kissed my cheek. The second the door closed I let out another shaky breath.

After a solid week of trying to escape this hell I came to the conclusion that things might go better if I was compliant. A small part of me hoped that if I acted the way he wanted then maybe he would let me go, or at least be a little lenient with me so it would give me a chance to make my escape. Two weeks wasn’t that long but it felt like forever. I had tried every way of escaping I could think of. Unfortunately, there was no way out. All the windows were Plexiglas and nailed shut. I figured out that all the extra precautions weren’t because of me but because of the war between Declan and his brother, Xander. Apparently it was a rough and bloody war. This didn’t make me feel any safer about being here. But there was one thing I did know. He had no plans on killing me. That, in my opinion, was a plus.

Then there was the other part of me hoping that maybe Seth might realize I was gone and come looking for me. But then again, he might not, seeing as we broke up right before I left. If he hadn’t come for me in two weeks then there was little to no chance he was coming at all. Even if he did come, I doubt he would be a match against the fifty or so demons that were scattered throughout the place. I had a feeling there wasn’t just demons in here, though. Sometimes at night I heard things. Screaming, fighting, and a few times the lights had flickered. Given the man that was accompanying this place, and all the other extra precautions on the house, I highly doubt he would let the wiring go bad.

When I first got here I thought I would find out a little information on why I was even here to begin with. I quickly learned that no one was keen on giving me any details. I still didn’t know why I was here. The only clue I had was what Declan said to me the first night I was here. You will love me and you will share your power with me. What he said did nothing but confuse me even more. I was human, I had no power whatsoever. Apparently he didn’t think so because I was still here.

Sometimes I thought that Declan was bipolar. At times he would be very, very nice; so nice it was hard to stomach. It was like he was trying really hard to get me to love him. Several times he had bought me jewelry and I did nothing but throw it back in his face. I told him I wasn’t going to be bought and treated like a hooker.

Then there were the times when he was disturbingly mean. But, like I said before, it was mostly my fault. He only hit me or yelled at me when I would try to escape or mouth off to him. In my opinion, he should expect it. He was the one who was holding me against my will after all.

I threw my napkin from my lap on the table as stood up from my chair. There was another door behind me that lead out of the massive dining room. I decided to leave out that one so I wouldn’t accidently run into Declan.

The hallways were lit by dim candelabra looking lights. There was a long, red rug that traveled the length of the hallway. I looked down each end of the hall and let out a breath of relief when I saw there was no one around, not even the guards. There was usually at least one guard in each hallway, and trust me when I say that’s a lot of guards. The luxury apartment building was five stories high. I hadn’t seen all of the rooms in the building but knew there had to be close to fifty. The only floors I saw were the top two and the only time I got outside was one time in the dead of night when I made it out to the roof. I had gotten about five steps out the roof door only to be tackled by two guards. That night I got a black eye.

I traveled up the wide ornate staircase that led to the fifth floor. After going down yet another long hallway, I rounded the corner and stopped dead. Eric was sitting on the floor with his back to my bedroom door. His black hair looked as if he had run his hand through it about eight hundred times. Nothing else about him looked different though. He was in a grey t-shirt, faded jeans, and his Tim’s.

I was on the verge of turning back around and going back to the dining room. Dealing with Declan would be a whole hell of a lot better than dealing with Eric. My heart sped up when he suddenly lifted his head and looked right at me with his bright green eyes.

Cam, he started to get up and walk towards me. I took a couple steps back causing him to stop. Can you talk to me for a minute? he pleaded.

No, I wasn’t going to talk to him. I hadn’t seen him in two weeks and was perfectly fine with keeping it that way.

Go away, Eric. I tried my make my voice strong but it came out shaky instead.

No, I want to explain –

Explain? You have nothing to explain to me. There’s nothing you can say that will make me feel any better. I have to sit here day after day and let him kiss me, touch me, beat me, and there’s nothing I can do about it. And it’s all because of you.

His eyes dulled out as he looked down. The last time he saw me I was being dragged kicking and screaming by two bodyguards into my bedroom. I remember the pained look he had in his eyes when it happened, and right now, I was seeing it again. It looked as if it had never left. He still looked like he was on the verge of breaking down. His black hair was all disheveled and he hadn’t shaved in a while.

Cam, I’m so sorry.

I was trying hard not to cry but the obvious pain in his voice made the tears come. I wanted to be tough and express how angry I was but all I could think about in this moment was how could he do this to me?

At seeing me cry Eric rushed forward and pulled me into a bone crushing hug. I automatically wrapped my arms around his neck and cried into his chest, forgetting for a split second that I was livid with him.

How could you do this to me?

I felt his breath on my ear. I’m going to get you out of here. I promise.

I quickly pushed myself away from him. Make up your damn mind! First you bring me here against my will and now you say you’re going to get me out?

I never wanted to hurt you.

Hurt me? You haven’t hurt me, you’ve torn me apart!

He brushed the side of my face with his hand and it caused my heart to pick up. I had to do it. I didn’t have a choice.

I shook my head slowly. You always have a choice.

His hand fell away from my face as he looked down again. Can I come see you tonight?

Why?

So I can talk to you. There some things I need to tell you.

The last time you told me you had to tell me something you ended up chloroforming me, I spat out.

Pain shot through his eyes again. Please? All I want to do is talk.

It wasn’t like him not to have a smart comment back to me. I knew he really was torn up inside, so against my better judgment, I agreed. Fine. But I won’t promise to be civil.

There was a hint of a smile on his face. I wouldn’t expect you to be.

I shook my head again. I can’t believe you did this to me.

He shook his head too. I wish I never would have done it.

I glanced up at him, my eyes narrowing in on his. And I wish I never would have met you.

I didn’t get a chance to see his reaction because someone cleared their throat from beside us. We both turned and saw Declan standing near the corner of the wall watching us both with amusement.

Does this little meeting mean you don’t hate him anymore?

No, that will never change. I replied in a low voice but knew he heard every word.

Mmm, the tips of his fingers slowly grazed his chin. There was something playing in his eyes that I couldn’t decipher. He was so closed off I could never tell what he was thinking. In a way he kind of reminded me of myself. Closed off, suppressed. I never showed my feelings to anyone. It was one of my many flaws.

You should go to sleep, Camron. I need to have a talk with Eric. His eyes stayed on Eric the whole time he spoke and I felt a little concerned. Was he going to hurt Eric? Had he hurt Eric? I don’t know why I even cared.

I nodded slightly, forcing a small smile on my face. Goodnight.

Declan gave me a smile in return before I turned back to Eric, who was looking down at me. Our eyes met for a split second before I made my way to my room.

My room was beautiful and very elegant like it was right out of the eighteenth century. It had become blatantly boring, though. After spending most of my waking hours in here, some of the beautifulness had dulled out. The long sheer white curtains hung limply in front of the window. I wanted nothing more than to be able to open the windows and let them blow freely. The only circulation of air I got was by the fan that hung from the ceiling. The best thing about the room was the floor to ceiling bookshelf. Most of the books were dull but there were a few romance and mystery novels that caught my eye. Reading had become my one and only pleasure in this house. It was what I filled my hours with when there was nothing to do – which was most of the time.

I grabbed up my latest read, Farewell My Lovely, and lay back in my crème colored chaise lounge. My encounter with Eric was still fresh in my mind and the urge to cry was just as strong. If I started now I would never be able to stop. The feeling was strange to me because I barely ever cried. I was usually tough as nails.

I started on my book and only got through one chapter before I nodded off to sleep. My usual nightmares came back to me. The blue eyes were replaced by a pair of cold, grey ones, but the green eyes were just as prominent as before. They flickered with fire and hatred. Most people wouldn’t consider these nightmares, but to me they were because of what they represented: the demons that were now entwined in my life permanently and would never go away.

I awoke suddenly to a quiet knock at my door. My eyes blinked a few times and I rubbed them before hesitantly getting up to answer it. Eric was standing there waiting.

I’m surprised you even answered.

I sleepily rolled my eyes and locked the door behind him. He sat down in the chaise lounge I was just occupying. Having nowhere else to sit, I plopped down at the edge of the bed. I wanted to get this conversation over with as fast as I could. I had a feeling we were going to delve deep into things and there were certain parts I was trying to avoid.

I sighed heavily, So what did you want to talk to me about?

I wanted to tell you the truth.

The truth about what? I swallowed hard and waited for him to answer. I thought I wanted to