A Hollow Cry (After Life Book 1)

by Bee Douglas

  “Then why do it?”

  Slipping my hands around the thin span of her waist, I pull her as close as I can. “I told you, I won't allow your light to be put out. I won’t allow you to be tainted, especially not by the likes of me.”

  Nora reaches her hands up. She traces the skin along my hairline and down the edge of my jaw. “You aren’t going to taint me, Kane. If anything, you’ve been, and will continue to be, the reason I stay sane through all of this.” She places a silencing finger over my lips. “I have darkness in me. It’s in my blood. I have to stop fighting it. I’m a Banshee. That’s not going to change.”

  “I’ll help you as much as I can. I promised you that.”

  “I know,” she whispers. “I know you will. That’s why I can’t shake these feelings. I think our darkness is the same. That’s why our demons are drawn to one another - they play well together.”

  “You shouldn’t want me,” I say once more.

  “I know. And I don't.” Her lips brush against mine. “I need you, Kane. I need you to help me.”

  I’m not going to fight it anymore. I can’t. The hold she has on me is too strong. I don’t know how it happened or when it started, I probably never will. All I do know is that from the moment my lips press against hers, any reluctance I have dissipates. Kissing her feels like the first taste of water after years in a desert. Nora’s something I never knew I wanted, but I’ll be damned if I ever go without her again.

  “Kane.”

  The way she breathes my name teases at any restraint I have left. Her fingers toy with the hair at the nape of my neck, pulling me closer. Her kiss is sweet, just like her. My teeth nip at her bottom lip, drawing out a quiet sound that sends a current down my spine.

  Pulling away, I find it hard to breathe. My fingers dig into her sides hard enough that I fear bruises will form. “Nora, we need to stop.”

  She shakes her head. “No. That’s the last thing we need to do.”

  “You’re upset. You aren’t thinking rashly. Come tomorrow, you’ll regret this.”

  Nora pulls away with a scowl pasted on her face. “You don’t know what I’m thinking. Hell, I barely know what I’m thinking anymore.” Nora’s inner fire sparks a flame. “But what I do know is that you help me to not overthink. You make all this darkness not seem so bad.” She reaches down, skimming my chest and abdomen, landing on the growing bulge in my pants. “Look at me and tell me you haven’t about it - about us?”

  I stare at her. Those eyes looking deep inside me. Nora has become everything I think about. Her safety. Her happiness. Her.

  Pulling her hands away, she grabs at the hem of the shirt she wears, sliding it up over her body. Nora’s absolutely beautiful. But standing in front of me in nothing but a pair of cotton panties? My mouth waters.

  Nora’s hair hangs low, standing stark against her creamy skin. The pink tips of her nipples tighten little by little. I reach out, running my thumb over the swell of her breast, causing gooseflesh to form.

  “Beautiful,” I mutter. The flush of Nora’s cheeks travels down to her chest. She captures her bottom lips between her teeth. Fuck. “I need you to tell me.” I don’t know if the plea is for her sake or mine. “There’s no going back from this. Once I start, I won’t be able to stop.” Locking eyes with her, my personal siren, I can see the need swimming in her eyes. “I don’t have that kind of control when it comes to you.” My voice cracks; from lust or fear, the world will never know.

  “Please?”

  A throaty growl rips out, snapping lose the last bit of control I have. I kiss her. It’s rough and animalistic. And yet, she meets me with an urgency of her own. Guiding her, Nora sinks to the bed the moment the backs of her knees hit the mattress. She uses her arms to scoot to the middle.

  “Look at you.” My voice is heavy with need. I have to touch her - to taste her. Crawling over her, I brush her lips with own, and then travel lower. Her pulse quickens under my touch. As I take a nipple in my mouth, teasing the other between my fingers, a sharp gasp slips from her. My name a ghost of a whisper on her lips. Moving over to her other breast, I look up. Nora’s eyes are squeezed tight, savoring the feeling.

  The muscles of her stomach tenses as I move lower, kissing the patch of skin about her belly button. She locks eyes with me as I pull down the waistband of her simple panties. Her breath hitches as I push them down her legs and slowly kiss back up from heel to thigh.

  “Kane,” Nora whispers. A husky sound that pulls my attention away from my perusal. “It-It’s been a while.”

  I shake my head, running my fingers over her bare core. “I guess we have a lot to make up for.”

  I don’t let her reply or let any secondhand thoughts cloud her pleasure. Moving my mouth over her, Nora moans, pushing her head back into the mattress. Using my tongue, I delve deeper into her core, drawing out as many noises and moans as I can. Her thighs shake. Her nails dig into the sheets, bunching them in her hands. Feeling her release nearing, I slip a finger inside, coaxing her even more. And with a final hollowing suck over her bundle of nerves, Nora’s orgasm spirals away from her. She begs for mercy as her pleasure takes over. I hold her steady as she rides out the last waves of her release.

  Kissing my way up her lax body, I make sure to kiss those perfectly budded nipples. Nora smiles a lazy, satisfied grin.

  “You okay?”

  She nods. I run my fingers through the mess of hair sprawled out around her. A fantasy I’ve dreamt more times than I can count. The way she feels, tastes... it’s my own Heaven.

  “Good,” I say, kissing and drinking her in, “because I don’t plan on stopping until I am the only thing haunting your thoughts.”

  23

  Nora

  Afternoon light cascades in the vast windows of Kane’s bedroom. While he and I were wrapped up in one another, completely absorbed in the moment, the world outside kept moving along. Night turned to day as we explored one another, finally giving in.

  I didn’t expect last night to happen. To be honest, if anyone would’ve asked me how I pictured my day going, ending up in Kane’s bed would not have been in that agenda. Then again, killing a woman wouldn’t have topped the charts either. And yet, here I am: head lying on his chest, our legs entangled in the sheets.

  I dropped all of my reservations, pushed aside any lingering inhibitions, and confided in him. After leaving the abandoned warehouse, my body had been numb. And when I woke up, sheer terror pulsed through my veins. Images formed into a panoramic nightmare in my head. It didn’t take long for me to piece together that I was in my bed at the apartment. But the weight of loneliness wasn’t going to allow me to forget the way that woman’s face had looked. Kane rushed into the room mere seconds after I called out his name. I decided right then and there that I couldn’t hold out on the growing feelings anymore. Not while I was also battling my caged mind. No matter if they were reciprocated, I needed him to know. I needed to get off my chest that he never leaves my mind. The way my body instantly sought him out for comfort. No matter how erratically he made my heart beat, Kane calmed the constant race of my thoughts.

  As a person, Kane’s a piece of work. He’s moody and intimidating. But a naked Kane is a work of art. His skin is smooth like marble. His muscles form mountains and valleys; his hips cut with deep indents. Even with the scars covering his body, he’s perfect.

  Better yet, Kane’s completely sinful. He knows it too.

  Every time he touched me, whether with his hands or mouth, he left a searing trail. My body ignited with lust. He had me quaking long before he finally thrust himself inside of me. It had been years since I had sex, but that didn’t unnerve him. He took care of every need, every unspoken desire. He eased himself on me with a tantalizing pursuit, coaxing out every mind-blowing orgasm.

  And then he did it again.

  And again.

  Even in the late hours, Kane was insatiable. No matter how much he took, it was as if he couldn’t get enough. His hunger was a
ddicting, and it was the distraction I needed.

  Yvette had shown me just a bit of the power that flows through my veins. A monster lying in wait. For years, I busted my ass, worked myself to the bone. And at the end of the day, it didn’t make a difference. This entire time I’ve been fearing never being enough or not pushing myself harder. Little did I know, underneath it all, is a lethal beast. And even then, after finding out that I’m a Banshee, a bringer of Death, I kept going back to the fact that I would have to kill another human. But what Kane has been trying to teach me, and what Yvette forcefully made me understand, is that I have such an unyielding power. A power strong enough to overtake another life. Once tamed, I’ll be able to rid the world of people who had condemned their own souls. From murderers to pedophiles to conmen, people that had their chance, and yet, sold their soul to the little devils running around.

  “What’s going on down there?” Kane asks, pulling me from my thoughts. Looking up at him, his hand swipes the hair away from my face. “What’s running through your head?”

  Swallowing my guilt, I tell him, “I think I’m going to be okay.” He doesn’t need to know that I’m coming to terms with my inevitable murderess status.

  “Of course you are.”

  “No,” I sigh, leaning up. Kane’s eyes dart downward as the sheet pulls away and exposes my naked breasts. It’s an act that would normally make me shy, but not now - not with him, “I mean it. Once I get the hang of this whole condemning voice, as long as I’m making somewhat of a positive impact, I don’t think it will bother me as much as I thought.”

  He pushes himself up to lean against the headboard. “How do you figure?”

  “I have to come to terms with this. For Hannah’s sake and for my own.”

  Kane’s eyes roam over my face. His words are steady and careful as he speaks. “You are aware that not every person you hand over to Death is going to be some condemned asshole, right? That some innocent stranger could fall under your little spell and lose their life as well?”

  My mouth dries. “Yes.” I run my fingers over the ridges of his stomach, skating over a scar on his ribs. “Those will be the days that I will need help with the processing and the accepting.”

  “Distraction?” he teases. Heat floods my cheeks, which makes him laugh. “Anything you need.”

  Leaning down, I press my lips to his. His hand tightens around my thigh as I nip at his bottom lip. A predatory growl rumbles from his chest.

  “Tell me about these.” I pull away slowly, tracing over a starburst like scar.

  A shadow flashes behind his eyes. “That’s a story for another time.”

  “Then tell me about this,” I argue, running a hand down the back of his shoulder.

  Rising from the center of his lower back and reaching up to his shoulders is an enormous tattoo of a bird. Its wings fade into flames with extremely intricate details.

  “It’s a drunken mistake.” He blows the question off, trailing kisses along my shoulder.

  “Why a bird?”

  He lets out a frustrated sigh and leans back against the headboard. He tucks his arm behind his head and stares at me, grinding his teeth together. “It’s a phoenix. There was a time that I thought redemption was possible. That whatever I did in my past life couldn’t have been that bad if they were willing to send me back out into the world.”

  “You don’t think there’s still hope?”

  He laughs. The sound is sharp and crude as he rolls his eyes. “Hope is just another four letter word mortals have come to idolize. Luck. Love. It’s all bullshit.”

  Confusion and shock washes over me. “You don’t believe in love?”

  “You should know me well enough by now to know that I don’t.”

  Kane doesn’t believe in love. As much as it shouldn’t, it takes me by surprise. Even someone as dark and damaged as him, it never crossed my mind that the idea of love is lost to him. Love. Something powerful enough to not only start wars, but end them as well.

  “Don’t do that, Nora,” he says. “Don’t romanticize this.”

  “I didn’t realize asking a simple question meant I’m day dreaming of heart and flowers all of a sudden.”

  Pulling free the one sheet, I wrap it around me and climb out of bed. I don’t turn around when Kane calls my name. He can read me well, and I don’t want him to see the odd combination of anger, frustration, and disappointment I’m feeling. I escape to the bathroom, quickly shutting the door and turning the shower on. But before I could drop the sheet and step inside, Kane pushes the door open.

  “Don’t walk away from me, Nora.” It isn’t anger in his voice. There’s no rage either. “I can’t believe in love when I’ve seen men walk away from stable marriages for one night of sin.” He closes the space between us, taking my face in his hands, kissing me gently. “I can’t give you that. All I can give you is right here, right now.” He sucks in my bottom lip, causing an unbearable heat to pool between my thighs. “Can you accept that?”

  Wrapping my arms around him, I pull Kane as close as I can. “Yes,” I breathe, sinking back into his kiss. His hands slide down my sides, cupping my ass as he lifts me up. The heat from the water is the next thing I feel. After that? Heaven.

  ...

  I fell asleep sometime later. My body completely relaxed to the point that I was able to drift off. Kane’s bedroom became our own little oasis. All of our cares and worries vanished within these four walls. So when the sound of hollering and shattering glass wakes me up, saying that I was startled didn’t give the word enough justice.

  I sit up, the sheets pooling around my waist. The echoes of men’s voices make their way down the hall. I quickly get out of bed, grabbing clothes of Kane’s to change into. By the time I run down the length of the hallway, two men are fighting one another on the ground. Kane punches a man under his weight, throwing one blow after another.

  “Stop it!” I screech.

  The two of them freeze. Except, it’s not my voice that makes them stop. It’s the vibrations that seem to shake the entire building. It would cause more weariness from me if a brawl wasn’t breaking out in the hall.

  Kane rushes over, forgetting the bruised body on the floor. His eyes dart over the entire length of my body. “Are you okay?”

  I nod, touching the cut on his cheek. “What’s going on?”

  “This her?” the other man asks as he gets to his feet. He’s burly with thick arms and a wide chest. He’s fit, but nothing like the toned body I had in bed just hours before.

  The sight of Willow stepping out from behind a wall is another thing that takes me by surprise. Her arms are crossed over her chest while a bored expression is plastered on her face. “Now will you calm the fuck down, Briggs?” she questions the other man.

  “Willow? What are you doing here?” The man’s eyes narrow in my direction. “What’s going on?”

  The man, Briggs, whips his head around to where Willow stands. “You knew all along?”

  “I had my suspicions,” she shrugs.

  “And you didn’t think to tell me about any of this?”

  “So you could make an ass out of yourself sooner? No, I didn't.”

  Even under the thickness of his beard, I can make out the way his jaw clenched down. He points to me as he abrasively says, “We could have prevented this.”

  Kane’s body tenses under my touch. I bite out, “Who the fuck are you?”

  “It doesn’t concern you.”

  “Excuse me?” The subtle pressure on my wrist keeps me grounded. “Walking in here and saying that sure as Hell makes it my business. On top of it, you woke me up from my nap. Now tell me, who are you?”

  His laugh is sour. “All of this,” he gestures around the room, “is far too much for you to wrap your head around. Just let it go, human.”

  “You’re one of the Accursed,” I say, savoring the shocked expression that takes over this face, “like Willow. You’re out to get Kane, Royce, and all the other Reapers.” />
  “I’m not out to get anybody.”

  “I think it’s time you leave, Briggs.” Kane takes a step in front of me. The cut on his face is now a mere scratch along his skin. “And understand that you are not welcome in my home. If you step inside again, I will end you.” There’s the menacing Reaper.

  Before Briggs can say anything else, Willow places a hand on his shoulder and points to the elevator. “Just go. And since you thought following me was such a good idea, you can wait and drive me home.” The bearded man casts a daggering glare in my direction before walking to the elevator, accepting his dismissal. As he disappears behind the closing doors, Willow lets out a groan. “I’m sorry about this, Kane. I didn’t realize he followed me.”

  “You need to keep your pet on a leash,” he says, making the corners of her mouth twitch.

  “Easier said than done.” She nods in my direction.

  Kane finally loosens the grip he has on me. “You can’t tame a fire’s flame.”

  “I’ll give you that.”

  I only met Willow once before. She’d been wearing a range of black, just as she’s today. Not the grunge look Raina had going. No. This is fierce. Paired with an angelic face, she is a walking contradiction, just like her soul.

  “Thank you for stopping by and giving me a heads up.”

  Again, she shrugs. “Just keep your head down and your eyes open.” She then walks over and presses the button. “I’ll do my best to keep it calm, but don’t get your hopes up. Sorry about your nap, Nora.”

  Once the doors close behind her, I turn to Kane. His sullen expression mortars over the cracks I made in his stone wall. “What was that about?”

  Running a hand over his face, he says, “Things are about to get a bit more Hellish around here.”

  24

  Kane

  Nora turns every which way in front of the mirror, taking in the way she looks. Its dresses like these that make want to thank Luna, but at the same time, warn her never to buy anything like this again. It’s made out of a silver material that shimmers in the light. The way the thin fabric moves like water over her curves has me on edge. My hands yearn to reach out and touch her. But if I do, I know I won’t stop and that pretty lipstick will be smeared across her face - the dress in tatters.