Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 159050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 795(@200wpm)___ 636(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 795(@200wpm)___ 636(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
“I never wanted all that much,” Elliot’s voice kept breaking down, and he had to rub his eyes time and time again. “If he could only focus on me, I could put up with a lot. I’m so sick and tired of being alone.”
William reached out for Elliot, but instead of resting on Elliot’s shoulder, his hand went straight into Elliot’s arm, photoshopped out by unknown laws of physics. The only trace of touch was a cool sensation in Elliot’s bones, but that was gone the moment William pulled his hand away, visibly distressed.
“You should not sell yourself so cheaply. If he cannot accept you the way you are, then he is not worthy of your affection.”
Elliot sighed in frustration when he was about to reach out for William’s hand, only to remember he couldn’t grasp it. They were forever sentenced to live without each other’s touch, even if it so clearly was fate that brought them together in this unlikely place.
“Would it be rude of me if I stayed here for a while?” He looked into William’s blue eyes, amazed at just how full of life they were. “I’ve been fascinated with you for years, Mr. Fane. I never thought we’d actually… meet.”
William stepped closer, and despite him having no physical form, Elliot could almost sense the scent of a masculine body. He shuddered, looking straight into the blue eyes that were so completely focused on him.
“Please. It is not an easy thing to confess, but... I’ve been lonely for so long. And then you came here. It was as if something changed in the air. I followed your voice when you called. I wanted to follow your voice.”
Elliot swallowed, and despite the chill in his bones, he couldn’t look away. “No one has ever summoned you before, have they? No one’s ever wanted you back.” The understanding of that fact made Elliot ache for William despite all the despicable things William had done to others. “It must have been so depressing in your day to want men and always face nothing but rejection. Even from the one man who had claimed to want you back.”
Pain flashed through William’s features, and he looked away, as if the memory was too much to bear in front of another. “I’ve known nothing but rejection, Elliot. My father knew of me, and he could never forgive my mother she hadn’t given him another heir.”
Elliot nodded eagerly and stepped away only to sit down on his bag. He could bring the mattress from his room later, or the chair from next door, at the moment occupied by the dead woman in black, but for now he didn’t want to leave William’s sight. Not when Elliot was finally learning more about him.
“Would you tell me more about that? Knight never wanted to listen.”
“No need to talk about that man in my presence. I confess I always found his greed for men and women quite distasteful,” William said and sat on the floor next to Elliot. Even now, after weeks since he’d first called for William in this room, the reality of his presence was difficult to fathom.
“It’s fine to want both genders, but I can’t be one of many people. Is it too much to want to be The One for that special person?” Elliot wrapped himself in the scarf Knight had bought for him at the mall. It was the softest item Elliot had ever owned, made of some kind of expensive wool. His heart didn’t ache any less, but it was refreshing to feel free to talk to someone this way about his feelings.
A brief touch of cold tapped against his chin, and then William was leaning closer, exposing Elliot’s face to the nonexistent touch of ghostly lips. He could feel no pressure, as if William both was there, attempting to kiss him, and yet, wasn’t.
“Damnation,” hissed William, turning away and hugging himself with those graceful arms. “There is no day or night when I don’t wish Laurent Mercier to die a horrible death for putting me through all this sorrow!”
Elliot’s lips parted, and for a long moment he just stared at the sharp jawline and neck.
William Fane liked him back.
William Fane had tried to kiss him.
“He was hanged. Do you… excuse me for the silly question, but, do you ever meet his ghost?”
William scowled. “I wish I could torment him for all eternity, but no. Ghosts rarely stay behind, even in this old house. There needs to be a... set of special conditions for this to happen.”
“Is it because you never found love, even though you desperately wanted to?” Elliot’s breath caught in his throat when he thought about the pain of being trapped for so many years without any hope for finding that special man.
William’s mouth twitched. “No, my dear boy. It is because of this place. It doesn’t belong to this world, and the creature that reigns supreme within these walls bestows gifts on those he deems worthy. I came into an arrangement with him, you see. And so I am now bound to this house forever.”