'Til Fear Do Us Part (A Grim Awakening Book 1)

by Michelle Gross

  When his lips grazed mine, I opened my eyes in surprise. This was what I've always wanted, my thoughts melted away and my eyes closed. I pressed my mouth harder into his. His hand found my back where he pressed me into him, I clung to him harder. He parted his mouth slightly, I repeated his movement and soon our tongues were meeting. I sighed in content.

  This was nice.

  But I wanted more. His hand went lower down my back. Hmm, I kept waiting for something, I wasn't sure what it was. I whimpered in frustration. He continued to kiss me, I opened my eyes. He was so breathtaking, his eyes were closed as he continued to rake his tongue in my mouth, but....

  What was missing?

  My brain scrambled. A voice filtered through the fog.

  “Wrong person, idiots. Change him!” A man roared, I blinked, breaking our kiss, confused. I looked around the room.

  “What's wrong?” he whispered, sounding out of breath.

  “What are you doing?” a deep rumbling voice came from the living room entrance. I jumped out of Ryan's lap in a hurry. I pulled down my shorts that were running up my crack and turned around. A huge man lurked slightly in the hallway, shadowed in the darkness, but I could see his eyes sweep over my body. My breath caught, the tall stranger noticed and I let the air escape my lips. I turned to Ryan, but he was gone.

  But my thoughts didn't let me get confused, my gaze shifted back to the man. For some reason, I felt different in his presence, his appearance alone seemed to draw out some strange feeling within me. My whole body heated as he stalked closer, his dark eyes moving through the darkness, roaming over my body. “I asked you a question,” his voice, both wicked and pure delight, tempted my ears. I wasn't sure whether to be afraid or just run into his arms. Both thoughts crossed my mind.

  “This is my house. Wh-what are you doing here?” I somehow managed to speak.

  “I know.” His hand grabbed the strap of my tank top. His curled one finger beneath the tiny strap. That one simple act caused a wave of pleasure to wash over my body. “I'm here now, what do you want me to do?” he asked huskily.

  I just looked up at him confused, unsure what he meant. “I don't know.” I wrinkled my nose at him. “Who are you?”

  He lowered his head, his chest moving into my face as he whispered into my ear, “You know who I am, Melanie.” The heat of his breath caressed my ear.

  His hands found my waist, pushing me back until my heels hit the bottom of the couch. I saw his cocky grin just as he caught me. He then twisted my body around, pressing my knees onto the couch. My head ended up pressed against the top cushion. His presence lurking behind me only seemed to fuel my excitement. He pressed against my backside and a shiver rippled through me.

  I didn't care about anything. Not even how wrong this was. Only he could make me feel like this. I turned my head to look at him. Desire washed over his features. Desire he had for me. I watched as his eyes roamed over my buttocks before reaching his hand out to do the exact same thing he had been doing with his eyes. I pressed my butt into his palm, instinctively. That caused him to smile, but I could only think of how big his hands were against me.

  “Melanie.” he moaned my name, his control slipping enough to see something tender beneath the surface. Between us. It disappeared before I got a chance to question it, his control sliding back into its place. In one swift jerk, my shorts were dropped to my knees. My face flushed with heat, I placed my head into the cushion, ashamed that I was burning with desire. Something pooled in my stomach, clenching my insides, making me want something I've never had. My head jerked back to him when I heard the sound of a zipper being tugged down. “What are you doing?” I asked, voice soft yet throaty.

  I knew what he was doing. Although I didn't care, I hadn't thought I'd lose my virginity in doggy style. I watched as he jerked his pants down. I wasn't brave enough to look down so I concentrated on his chest. Big and imposing behind me. More of the foreign pleasure moved between my thighs, I felt wet and achy down there. It was amazing. It was torture. “I'm going to fuck you from behind. Ease the ache you've caused between us”

  I nodded silently, unable to say anything back to such wicked words. I found myself whimpering, wishing he would hurry. My need for this stranger pushed all other thoughts from my mind. I jerked when I felt his t-shirt graze against my pale flesh. Even though our skin had yet to touch, the ache only grew more intense. I felt mad and out of control. The madness, I knew, was only the desire I had for him. “Please,” I whimpered, looking up to see his face. His hand went to my shoulder. He pushed me back against him until my face was pressed against his. The contact was amazing, such a simple touch left me in flames. He claimed my mouth and I felt myself melt into him, completely. I placed my hand back, grabbing his jaw. I wanted more. His hand slid over my stomach, flaring every nerve to life. His hand slid further down until he was pressing his fingers against my sex. He found my tiny bud and pressed against it.

  “Say my name.” He bit into my lips as he kissed me.

  I knew exactly who he was. I broke our kiss for the tiniest moment so that I could stare into the depth of his dark eyes. “Killian.” I replied softly, maybe even a little shy. He took his name on my lips and kissed me with fierce passion and I knew it was everything I craved. Everything I wanted.

  I came apart when his finger found my entrance and pressed inside.

  I woke to find Fear's hand stretching over my glowing abdomen. I shrieked and pushed him away causing myself to fall back onto the bed. I must had been floating again. My skin was glowing even brighter than it did the first time it happened. Fear growled. He gripped my arms as he began to take huge gulps of air, sucking in the glow from my body. I watched it travel off my skin and into his mouth. The goblins moved off the bed and cowered away from us. Fear held me firm. I looked as his mouth stretched abnormally in front of me taking in the glow. I watched him nervously. Was he really taking the Vessel? Something tugged at my heartstrings at the thought of losing it. His gripped tightened on my arms before he started coughing and choking. Soon the glow he had swallowed came flowing through the air back to me. He staggered backwards, grabbing his throat as if it burnt and looked to me accusingly.

  I looked down as the glow faded back into my skin. Fear came after me. He clamped his hands over my neck lifting me off the bed. I placed my hands over his trying to suck in air through my lungs. I couldn't. My throat burned and tightened. I clawed at his hands. I couldn't breathe, he was choking me! I tried reaching for his neck, but the more I tried the further his hands seemed to stretch me away from him. Were his arms growing longer? I couldn't think… my vision blurred and spots began to cloud my vision. I was dying...I had to do something. Panic raced along my veins. I didn't want to die.

  One of his hands left my neck, it was then that I was able to suck in a tiny bit of air. I gulped loudly and his gripped tightened once more. His free hand moved toward my chest—his sharp claws aimed. His hand shot out to my chest. I didn't have time to close my eyes. I was watching my own death. I was surprised when his hand went straight through me as if I were a ghost. Fear couldn't hide his surprise and his face grew more irritated as he took out his hand and tried again. The same thing happened. His hand moved through me. I didn't even feel it. He roared and threw me across the room. My body slammed against the rock wall almost hitting one of his mounts. I cried out as the pain raced through my body. It was hard to breathe. I laid on the floor, not wanting to move a muscle until the pain slowed into a dull ache. I slowly stood up.

  Fear was raging on the other side of the room. His hands in fists as he glared at me. Something was wrong. He couldn't get the Vessel. I smiled in triumph at him. It caused his anger to increase.

  His face seemed to warp for a moment, his teeth lengthened, and his blond hair turned jet black. Horns jutted out of his head before disappearing again. He sucked in a breath and calmed himself as if he were fighting to stay in one form. He finally managed to get himself under control.

  His
head snapped to the door as Molly walked in. She propped her arms against her chests as she looked at Fear. “The goblins informed me you failed to take the Vessel.”

  He stalked over to her. “The Vessel has taken with her.” She looked to me surprised.

  “And you've already tried to kill her?” she asked so immediately that I glared at her. My death was so easily talked about around here.

  The corners of his lips twitched, her question only fueled his anger once again. “It seems... it's protecting her.” He gritted the words out, his voice warped with fury and disappointment. That made sense. No wonder he was so upset. He tried to kill me but couldn't. Maybe I could survive somehow if the Vessel was keeping me safe.

  Molly didn't seem so upset—her expression was blank. “There's another problem.” She got his attention once again. When he finally looked back up to her she continued, “Grim was spotted on the outskirts of the Underworld. He won't be long now.”

  That made Fear smile. It was a smile I didn't like. “Excellent. We've been waiting.” He turned to me still smiling. I glared back. “Get our guest ready for our company,” he ordered Molly before walking out the door. She nodded as he left. ``

  Why did I have such an ominous feeling?

  Chapter Sixteen

  I was forced to wear a white silky dress that clung to my body. It brought out the curve of my hips that I never realized I had. I stared at my reflection in the mirror—at least my boobs were covered, but the round curve of them still pressed against the dress somehow made me feel exposed. I glared at Molly behind me through the mirror. Why was Fear dressing me up? I didn't understand the way his twisted mind worked. Just what was he planning?

  I noticed a hint of something in Molly's expression as she watched me. I studied her… what was it? Was it envy? Or longing? I decided I didn't care to bother with her thoughts. She was the blame just as much as he was. “Why do I have to play dress up?” I sighed, looking away from the mirror and at her.

  She let out a long sigh before answering, “Fear loves entertainment. Or games, more like. I'm afraid you are the entertainment.”

  I figured as much. I looked to her blood-stained clothes suddenly wondering. “Since you're not exactly a ghost anymore can't you change your clothes?” I asked. She responded immediately with a harsh growl, grabbing her blood-stained dress and crumbling it up in her tiny hands.

  “Bummer,” I nettled her. She looked as if she wanted to hurl something at me, but she took a deep breath and decided not to. Looked like I found something to aggravate her with. I had to make sure to bring it up around her more. It felt wrong to pick on a child, but she wasn't one. She was probably a lot older than me. Not to mention she was the reason I was here. She helped Fear although I didn't understand why. She seemed to hate him as much as I did.

  “No kidding,” she finally replied, twirling on her feet walking to the door. “Let's go.”

  I followed behind her as she led me back into the throne room. The red carpet was gone, replaced with a long rectangle table several feet in front of the throne. A red table cloth stretched over the entire length of the table—it was only when I was closer to the table that I noticed the cloth looked scaly. It tempted me to run my fingers across it; it was rough and bumpy.

  “Take a seat.” Molly pulled out a chair for me to sit at the far end of the table.

  “Are we eating?” I asked nervously. The idea of having to eat anything he offered made my stomach queasy. There was no way I was eating anything.

  “Who knows,” she grunted behind me before walking away. She disappeared into the dark shadows of the room. I sighed and looked around anxiously. Both dragon fountains still ran red. I noticed someone walking out of the shadows.

  Fear ditched his pants and shirt from earlier, replacing them with black and red kimono that lay open partly at the top exposing his pale skin. His chest was hairless—flawless even. “You look lovely for someone so evil,” I spat the words out. It only seemed to please him. He took a seat at the opposite end of the table from me. I was glad he chose to stay far away from me.

  “I see that you're wearing the gown I sent for you.” I rolled my eyes. As if he gave me a choice. He leaned down and looked underneath the table. I knew he was staring at my legs. I covered my bare knees with my hands not wanting him to see any part of me. “The dress belonged to one of my late wives. She was a lovely woman, that is,” his voice grew darker, “before I had to kill her for trying to escape.” I must have given him a wide-eyed looked because he tossed his head back and laughed. He was insane.

  I wasn’t sure if that was meant as a real threat or a way to frighten me more. I swallowed—my throat felt heavy and dry. I needed to calm down. Really… how was that possible? No, it was obvious he couldn't kill me like he planned or I would already be dead when he had tried earlier.

  With a snap of his fingers, servants started coming out with plates in their hand. I looked around wondering where they came from. I only saw the door to the bedroom. Maybe there were other doors lurking in the darkness? The lanterns weren't lit and the cave walls were covered in darkness. All that lit the room was some sort of light cast over the table. I wasn't sure where the light came from, it was just there. One of the servants had red skin, but other than that he looked normal. Another came out completely covered in hair, I couldn't even see a face. No eyes or ears, only a snout that stuck out through the long hair. I assumed that thing was a male since he wore the same attire as the red skinned male. His hair spilled out of a white shirt and hung over the top of his pants. It was gross. Two females came out and I had to look twice to make sure I was seeing right. One was red skinned, but the other female was half a horse. The top half of her was completely normal until I looked at her torso and saw the rest of her body shaped into a horse. Brown furry body, legs, hoofs, and a swaying tail hanging in the back.

  She slammed the plate down in front of me and I snapped my neck up to see her angry scowl. “Stop staring, it's rude.”

  I looked down quickly, feeling my face go hot. I didn't mean to offend her, but she was so strange to look at. “Don't mind her, Elise. She doesn't have your beauty.” He stared at her rump—expression full of lust. I was going to hurl.

  I hid the disgust from my face. She gave him a bright smile and winked. He eyed all of her up and down. “Shall I come to you tonight?” she asked, her voice full of hope and want.

  “I'll be waiting.” He tipped his head back at her with a smile before returning his focus on me. “Do you wish to join us?” He was staring directly at me. I wished he hadn't been, so that I could pretend that question hadn't been directed to me.

  “You make me sick,” I snarled.

  The hairy male guy, thing—whatever he was, began taking the lids off the dishes. I looked in horror—trying to keep my mouth from falling open as a hand started crawling toward me. I stood up. “Sit back down,” Fear ordered and the tone of his voice told me not to dare disobey. I slowly sat back down trying to inch away from the hand that was coming toward me.

  I noticed another dish was a tentacle still flopping around as if it was alive. The dish beside the tentacle almost looked normal despite the bright color of the meat and veggies. I had a feeling it wasn't anything I wanted to know about. I heard Fear across the table slurping on something. I heard a crunch. I cringed, but didn't dare look up to see what he was eating.

  The hand jumped in my lap and I tried to toss it off, but it kept latching onto my dress every time I did. I held my dress down as the hand tried to go underneath it—between my legs. A sick feeling shot in my stomach. “Leave it be. It’s your companion for tonight.” I shuddered. He looked amused. This was worse than being killed. This was exactly how he planned to torment me. I finally got a good grip on the hand and tossed it in the floor. I lifted my head up and glared at Fear. “Would you rather it be Grim's hand instead?” I ignored him knowing he was only trying to get a reaction from me. “Oh no?” he added, twirling his finger in the air while smi
ling. “Or better yet, it's Killian, right? The one you fancy?”

  “What are you getting at?” I clenched my teeth.

  “What? Are your feelings for Grim amusing to you as it is for me?” He tilted his chin up to mock me.

  “I could care less about him,” I answered. I felt a trickle of sweat coat my skin. Maybe I could believe my own lies if I kept repeating them.

  He shook his head. His razor-sharp nails waving back and forth in the air irritating the heck out of me as he moved his hand around in front of his face. “You lie. You care a great deal about the Reaper.”

  “I still don't know what you're talking about.” I squirmed in my chair, wishing this conversation would end. I didn't like how much Fear noticed. The hand was climbing my foot and I kicked it away.

  The red skinned female brought out two wine glasses and brought one to each of us. She poured something green in them. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

  “You can't lie to me, Melanie. I know everyone's fears and weaknesses. Especially yours, I feed on them.” He closed his eyes and licked his lips. “The fear you carry always smells so delectable.” He sniffed the air in front of him and my skin was a crawling. “You grow afraid of your feelings for Grim. You have no control over it. You feel shame and guilt when you think of the human boy,” he tilted his head in the air trying to remember something. “Ryan, that's his name. You feel guilty for having thoughts about Grim knowing the boy loves you.”

  “Enough!” I snapped. “You don't know anything.” But the voice in my head whispered, he knows everything.

  He only grinned. “No need to look at me like that.” The hand jumped back into my lap and I had to break our eye contact to fight with it. The hand was only causing my anger to boil over until I noticed the fork. I quickly grabbed the hand, placing it on the table then I picked up the fork and stabbed the sucker to the table. It wiggled and wormed, but I dug deeper into its flesh until it stopped moving. I sighed in some relief.