Envious Deception

by Katie Keller-Nieman

  I tugged my clothes off and slipped my shower sandals on before turning the water knob to ice cold. I needed the cool water to ease my burning anger before I did something stupid like go back and attack Ashley. What she’d done was bad, but not that terrible, considering it didn’t do more than cause a brief conversation on the topic. Most of my anger was truly meant for Aurora and all the horrible things she had done to me under the guise of friendship.

  Five weeks.

  I breathed in and out slowly to calm myself, like I was doing freaking Lamaze or something. My head felt like it was splitting open. I ducked under the cold water to ease the burning that now plagued my head. Water cascaded down my face, and I ran my hands through my wet hair, tracing along the scars where the doctors had cut my head open. It was a bad habit. Every once in a while, I irrationally feared that the skin might open up. The more I touched them, the more I felt phantom pains of when my head had been healing. Not long after I had told Eric this, he became amazing at detecting them, always instinctively avoiding the scars when brushing his hands through my hair.

  I leaned against the slick tile wall, trying to force myself to relax. We have the books. Everything will be fine. Aurora’s not a problem anymore. We have a deal.

  We still had to make the trade, though, and keep the books safe until then. Otherwise, no deal.

  I thought about what Aurora had said about how Eric’s death was my fault, that I was to blame each time. It was completely ridiculous, but she had said the same thing to Eric in the wine cellar. That she was trying to save him from me. That I had killed him. Why would she say that? Did she truly believe it? Was it possibly true?

  Of course it isn’t.

  My face dropped into my hands and I shook my head, water splattering the tile from my hair. In my latest vision, Eric had been trying to tell me something. About magic? About Aurora?

  No. Not her. He hadn’t had the scar on his face. He’d only met her after that.

  I shook my head again, regretting following his change of subject that night. I wished I had just asked. He’d seemed so disappointed by my reaction to the mention of magic.

  After my cold shower, I went directly to Eric’s room. I knocked and waited, hair still dripping wet. He swung the door open, but his look of excitement faded instantly. “You showered already? What about our run?”

  “We’re still running,” I said with a leading glance down at my running shorts and t-shirt. “I just needed to cool off,” I muttered, slipping past him. I tossed my bag to the floor by his bed. His roommate looked groggy as he checked his email at his computer.

  “Hi, Lucas,” I said in a long drawn out sigh, earning no response as usual. His silence was becoming a game to me. Usually I’d torment him with a one-sided conversation until he put his headphones on, but I just didn’t have the motivation today. I had used all my venom on Ashley.

  “You can’t go out with a wet head. You’ll get sick again,” Eric grumbled. He pulled a towel from his dresser and tossed it on my head.

  I giggled as the world went dark and Eric’s hands carefully massaged the towel through my damp locks. “It’s getting long now,” I said happily. Pretty soon I’d have a decent-sized ponytail.

  “Did you get into it with Ashley?” Eric asked.

  “Sort of.”

  I hated that I had gained and lost another friend so quickly, but that was just my life. I needed to cut out the bad before it grew into a nasty fungus like Aurora. I could only have so many frenemies.

  It wasn’t long before Eric and I were outside and running. It was much warmer than usual for this time of year, but the air still had that crisp autumn feel. The brisk air felt good against my warm skin as we glided along, feet falling softly to the sidewalk in steady beats. I was getting good at running, now able to continue on a little further. I was beginning to find a nice pace for myself.

  We had a usual route. It took us through a neighborhood of nice houses, the kind of place where children played in the street without fear of being hit by cars. We would then enter the park and take the running trails there. They guided us to a main street with little shops and a cafe. Our first few times out, we would stop there to share a muffin and a coffee, then walk home. But not for weeks now. I had wanted to keep going.

  We continued on until the shops at our side fell away to forest, and we slowed to a walk. Normally, we would cross the street and cut through the supermarket parking lot to get to the neighborhoods where we started out, but not today. I took Eric by the hand and led him into the woods.

  “Where are we going?” he asked curiously.

  “I don’t know,” I answered in a huff, catching my breath from our run. My skin felt hot, and a bead of sweat rolled from my hairline down my jaw.

  I hopped over a fallen branch and landed in a soft padding of spongy moss. The forest was beautiful. Not like the pristine woods of the park, but full of life; real earthy beauty. Like the woods around Eric’s house. There were big trees, small wild bushes, mushrooms in all shapes and sizes, and fallen, decaying limbs. It smelled wonderful. I loved autumn, and the smell of the forest reminded me of my cottage. Orange, red, and brown leaves covered the ground in thick layers, and light filtered through the bare branches overhead, brightening the ground in beautiful patterns of light. A rabbit scampered into the underbrush in our path, disappearing under the piles of decomposing leaves.

  “Doesn’t it smell good here?” I asked.

  Eric chuckled with amusement. “You’re definitely a country girl. Know that?”

  I grinned as I pulled him along, brushing my opposite hand along the bow of a pine tree. The long needles tickled my palm. “It’s so quiet,” I said. “Peaceful.” Like we’re the only people in the world.

  I stopped at an oak tree and pressed my hand against the rough bark. I followed the grooves with my fingertips.

  Eric stepped closer, and I could feel the heat from his body lick at my back. He combed the ends of my hair, prying strands from my sticky neck, and his lips brushed against my sweat-slicked skin, kissing my neck sweetly. He loved doing that, taking me by surprise with his kiss. His arms coiled around my waist, and I leaned back against him. He smelled intoxicating after a light run. Masculine and sensual.

  I turned in his embrace, seeking his lips. Our kisses were wet and salty. His fist curled around my damp t-shirt, and he used it to tug me closer. My hands slipped under his. I groped his sticky, hot skin. My back pressed against the tree. He held me in place against the trunk, his body flush against mine. His skin radiated heat like a furnace.

  I wanted to keep touching him, to explore what was still so new to us, but I moved my hands away. I wanted to see what he’d do with me. Finding the books had rekindled a deep passion within him. What had been a modest campfire a month ago now burned like a wildfire, and I wanted it to consume me.

  The feel of the rough bark behind me heightened my awareness of every warm, soft touch from Eric. In between was something animalistic. It was the force that held me in place while his lips worshiped my skin. His hands trembled from withholding the urge to grab and squeeze me. Instead, they wandered, dipping under my clothing, tempting me to let loose like him, to unleash my own animal needs.

  His hands roughly skimmed my rib cage, lifting my shirt. He pulled it over my head, leaving behind my thin, black sports bra. His hands were wild, squeezing and groping my breasts while he sucked at my neck.

  “God, I want to taste you,” he moaned in my ear, trailing his kisses up my neck and across my cheek to my mouth.

  His lips on mine was pure magic. Nothing else existed, and I had no mind or sense to hold back any longer. I couldn’t. My arms wrapped tight around his shoulders, grabbing at his neck, trying desperately to pull him even closer. Bark chips rained over our feet. Nothing mattered but how we felt and touched each other.

  Tree bark scraped against my back as my knees bent and we slowly made our way to the ground. Eric rolled to his back, tugging me on top of him. He lifted t
he waistband of my bra and lifted his mouth to my exposed skin. He kissed, nipped, and licked, nearly driving me mad with desire. He sucked on my tender skin and the feeling wrought a tremor through me.

  His hand ventured to my shorts, slipping easily up the leg and past my panties.

  Leaves crunched and twigs snapped as we rolled on the forest floor. I pulled off his heavy, wet t-shirt, and tossed it into a bare bush. I needed to get at his exercise-warmed skin. My lips dragged over his sticky chest, tongue tasting the salt on his skin. We were both on fire-first from the run and now from the kisses.

  Eric cradled my head, protecting me from a hard cluster of roots covered with fallen leaves. Tucked between large, wiry bushes, we were quickly losing control and weren’t even trying to rein it back. Lilacs, I noticed. They were wild lilac bushes netting over us. I loved lilacs.

  His body pressed over mine. A molten shiver coursed through my body, consuming me. It felt like there was something wild inside of me, panting and pacing, just waiting to break free.

  His hard body pressed against me through my thin shorts. Our hearts thundered. My fist closed around a cluster of dry leaves, crushing them to pixie dust.

  My body ached for him. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to have him.

  Now.

  There was no going back, no stopping. Not even a thought to. It was like a dream from long ago, a desire I’d had, and it was finally coming to fruition.

  I roughly yanked his gym shorts down, desperate for more. He pushed my shorts and panties out of his way. He moved gently, as if afraid of hurting me, but I had no patience or need for that. I demandingly pulled him closer.

  We moved together and the world disappeared. I was consumed by the moment-consumed by him. He was all that I could think about, all that I could notice or understand. My body was acting on instinct, my inhibitions gone. Some other Cassandra had taken my place.

  I latched onto him, clinging to his sticky back. Waves of pleasure swept through me. I gripped him tighter and barely touched the ground as he held my back, arms braced under me. My body felt like it was on fire, and my cheeks burned red with desire. Hot and wanting, we moved in a quick, frenzied rhythm. My foot reached up, pushing against the tree. My sneaker tread tore at the tree bark, raining tiny wood chips down on us.

  Our tongues tangled as if in battle between our open mouths, lips gliding and locked to each other. Salty, sweet, and so damn hot.

  A chill breeze swept over us, tempering the heat radiating from our skin, but it felt invigorating as it mixed the earthy scent of fall and the musky scent of our sweaty bodies.

  Much like two nights ago, I felt the culmination of our touch building within me. Spiraling and coiling like a spring. Tightening until I felt I could no longer stand it, but I never wanted it to stop.

  I felt feverish, wincing and squealing as the pressure built within me. And then it burst free. Like an ocean tide, the feeling swept me away. I cried out against Eric’s mouth, gripping him harder, short fingernails biting into his back. He groaned deep in his throat. The agonizing, beautiful wave intensified, blasting though my body in delicious spasms until I could no longer hold him tight.

  I collapsed weakly beneath him as the feeling began to dissipate, leaving me breathless in wonder over how something could feel so torturously fantastic. Eric was heavy on top of me, breathing wildly. He kissed my cheek, keeping his soft lips planted there, panting heavily in my ear. I kissed his shoulder, my lips brushing his skin as gently as a feather. My numb hands found his waist and stroked softly along the dip of his spine. Our hearts beat wildly in our chests, slowly calming from the rush.

  When his face lifted, he was flushed, his eyes soft and enticing. Loving and a deep, clear blue. I studied the bright flecks in his eyes as they roamed over my face.

  I began to giggle spontaneously. He smiled that sexy shy grin of his, the expression warming my heart even more. We felt so connected, so in tune with each other in the silent moments after. I loved it.

  “That was unexpected,” he said softly.

  “Gotta keep you on your toes,” I answered with a rosy grin.

  Eric kissed my lips slowly, savoring the soft feel.

  A twig snapped in the distance.

  The sudden sound broke our kiss, and my fluttering heart skipped a beat. Leaves crunched and crinkled, the sounds steadily growing closer. Footsteps…

  Eric looked into the trees and I followed his gaze, stretching to get a better view around the bushes. There was a man walking through the woods not far from us. I couldn’t see his face, but I was mortified.

  I snatched Eric’s shirt from the bush to cover anything visible. Eric brought a finger to my lips, shushing me silently as his eyes tracked the man. I didn’t dare breathe. My cheeks burned, and I buried my face in Eric’s side. Please don’t notice us, please… The walker carried a shopping bag and was probably cutting through from the supermarket to the outlying neighborhoods. I didn’t know this person. His glance drifted close to us as he approached. Closer still. My breath hitched. Eric was an immobile force above me, still as a statue.

  My heart thudded when the stranger’s eyes fell upon us. I tensed with the urge to dump Eric off of me and run into shameful hiding. At least… I thought he was looking at us, but his eyes seemed to look through us.

  He kept walking, expression bored as he shuffled along at a lazy pace. A squirrel chased another along a tree branch overhead, and the sound drew his attention away. He seemed completely unaware of our presence as he passed by and out of sight.

  Eric looked back to me, and I crushed myself into him.

  “I thought for sure he would have seen us,” I whispered.

  “Nah. The bushes were in the way,” he assured me.

  I tugged nervously at my clothes, making sure they were all perfectly in place, feeling near to tears. I covered my crimson face with my hands in embarrassment.

  “It’s okay,” Eric reassured me softly.

  “That was terrible timing,” I moaned. What was wrong with me? Attacking my boyfriend out in the open? In the woods? For someone who was once so concerned about public displays of affection, I had certainly gotten over it.

  Eric laughed lightly. “I thought it was pretty good timing. One minute different and he would have heard everything.”

  My face grew redder. “Was I loud?” I asked, glancing sheepishly at him through my fingers. He was kneeling before me, smiling softly and taking in everything about me from the flush in my cheeks to the leaves tangled in my hair.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You are so cute. Don’t worry. He didn’t see or hear anything. Next time, we’ll just have to go deeper into the woods. Find a cave, maybe. Or take the more traditional route and go someplace with four walls and no pedestrians. Doesn’t have to be, though. I’m up for anything. Apparently,” he joked.

  I laughed tensely and slowly lowered my hands from my face.

  “I love you,” he reminded me, gently prodding me from my cocoon.

  I leaned into his arms and coiled myself around him. “I love you. Forever.”

  He released a sigh, sending my hair aflutter. He combed leaves and twigs from my mussed locks.

  “Are you cold?”

  “Not with you wrapped around me,” I whispered, seductively gliding my lips against his skin with each word.

  “Don’t tell me you’re ready to go again, because I’ll need a minute.”

  “No. Four walls from now on.” I heard a note of disappointment in my voice, and it surprised me.

  I reached for our shirts and flicked the leaves and twigs from them before handing his over. Once they were in place, he leaned against the tree. Clumps of roots twisted, poking through the leaves at either side of us like a secret nest. I leaned my back against his chest and settled into the space between his legs. One of his arms wrapped around me, keeping me warm. The other found my hand, and his fingers laced through mine.

  “I really do love you,” I said, my words
coming across as more of a plea.

  “I really love you, too,” he said back emphatically, giving my hand a tight squeeze and pressing a kiss to my hair.

  “I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

  “I know,” he agreed in a disappointed tone. He wanted the opposite for us, for me to be able to turn off my love and kill him if Aurora took him over. We both knew that I could never, which made Aurora’s excuse for attacking me make so little sense. It was the same reason she had commanded Eric to kill me in the past. Because she knew I wouldn’t harm him. There were still so many questions since visiting her. More, actually.

  “What are you thinking?” Eric asked knowingly.

  “Would you mind another memory?”

  “Of meeting Aurora?” he grumbled. “I’d rather remember meeting you,” he whispered sweetly in my ear.

  I smiled. “That won’t help us. This will. Five weeks,” I reminded him.

  Almost immediately, I felt the buzz of a memory pulse up my arm from his hand.

  “How do you do that?” I asked. “It’s become so easy for you.”

  “I don’t know. It just is. When you ask, it comes to me.” He hesitated before adding, “I’ve kinda started having dreams.”

  “Dream memories?” I inquired, shifting in his embrace to get a look at his face.

  “I think so. I can’t remember much once I wake up, but… it stays with me. The impression, I guess. I can’t make sense of it, though.”

  I settled back into his arms, wondering how the change had come about. He was having memories without me? But couldn’t remember? How was it possible?

  “Are you ready?” he asked, giving my hand a little shake as a reminder.

  “Yeah.”

  1204, ERIC

  I whipped my blade skillfully. Light glinted as it cut through the air in graceful patterns, a fanfare of dramatic flourishes meant only to impress and amaze. I drew my arm back, taking the attack stance that Heodred had taught me. He laughed heartily at my ostentatious display.