by A. C. Mason
“You were thinking about the creature, weren’t you?” Rowley sighed as he set down the glass and held out another green pill.
She could argue with him, but what good would that do? If she lied, he’d know. “Do you want us to have this conversation?” With a quick motion, she popped the medication in her mouth and downed the water.
“Yes.” He pushed back the curls from her face. “Tell me what you were thinking.”
Did Rowley believe himself better than Vaihan? Both had damaged her body. Vaihan hadn’t plotted to do so in order to keep her trapped in a relationship, though. “The creature” had tried everything in his power to protect her from the dark part of him that could hurt her.
“I was thinking about how I’ve ruined my chance with Vaihan.” No need to bother him with the details of her worries about him.
The vein in his neck grew visible. “I wish with all my heart that were true.” He kissed her mouth.
Leera withdrew from the embrace. “Why would you say a thing like that? I care about him.”
“You asked me to give you the truth. I agreed to provide you those truths that are mine alone to give. We must both adjust to what that much honesty between us will mean.” He passed his thumb beneath the contour of her eye. “Your color is returning.”
Leera rolled away from him. The faded tone of her skin had come as a surprise to her when she’d seen her reflection at the hospital.
“I know you weren’t ready last night for us to make love, but I’d be lying if I said I was sorry or that I regret what we shared.” He scooted next to her on the bed.
“Is that what you called what happened? Making love? At best, I’d say you fucked me.” Physical relief helped calm the edge in the air around them. Emotionally, the exchange had felt empty.
“Love isn’t always pretty. Sometimes it hurts.” He made contact with her spine, trailed a line with his index finger downward. “Last night, your life changed and there is no going back to how things were. I won’t let you.” Warm fingers slid over her bottom and he climbed in behind her. “Soon, I’m going to change the tide back in our favor, not the undead.” He kissed the back of her head while his other hand cupped her breast. His hard cock against her thigh told her where this was going. “Spread your legs for me.”
Not that she minded if doing so meant they didn’t need to speak. Leera lay on her back and parted her thighs.
Like a beast, he rose on all fours. He lowered his face to her folds and his tongue made contact with her clit. Electric shock shot through her body, and she raised her hips for more.
His erection pressed to his stomach above her. The smell of his arousal filled her breath. He pushed his tongue into her opening. The one thing she couldn’t take away from him was his abilities in bed. Unlike her, Rowley had many lovers at a young age, older women–desperate women, women in need of love. She didn’t want to think, just feel the way his body responded to the need of hers.
Precum beaded the tip of his penis. She took the shaft in hand and popped the head into her mouth. He groaned. A swirl of her tongue had him lifting her while rolling onto his back. Now on top, she glided her mouth along the length, taking him to the back of her throat.
Two thick fingers pressed to her labia, spreading her open. He suckled her clit. As she moved up and down, he moved in and out. Grunts, gasps, and moans bounced in the room.
As he sucked, slid in and out of and teased her sex, she lifted her hips in search of more. He pumped his cock into her mouth at an increased speed, drawing more fluid to the tip. One sharp grunt followed another. His hot breath blew on her folds. A gush of hot, salty cum spilled into her mouth, and she swallowed his release.
“Lee-lee,” he whispered to her pussy. The last of his orgasm filled her. “You always did have talented lips.” He kissed the tender flesh between her thighs. “I can’t remember the last time I was able to come that fast.”
Guess he was done.
Rowley reached over to his pants. “The doctor said you aren’t on birth control because of your condition.”
Sadness was a heavy lump in her throat. Jean never took issue withdrawing, despite having to finish himself off.
She nodded.
From his back pocket, Rowley removed a condom. “I won’t risk your health.” He kissed her temple, and removed the rubber from the packet.
Up until this very moment, she wouldn’t have thought he cared about what anyone else needed.
He rolled the latex down his shaft. “Are you going to rub your clit for me?” The head of his cock pressed to her opening, then with a few sharp pumps, he’d worked himself deep into her.
“Are you too spent to do the work?” she challenged.
“No. I find watching a woman touch her body sexually while I’m inside her an added turn-on. If you prefer to pinch and tease your nipples for me, I can stimulate your clit. I’m open to either.” He grinned. “Kiss me, I want to taste my cum on your lips.”
If he kept talking to her this way, she’d climax in no time.
He met her tongue and licked. “Mmm, we make a good mix.” He stopped mid stroke. His eyes held so much pain. “What?”
“I was just wondering about our child.”
A well of tears pooled, blurring her view. She pushed against his chest. “Get off me.”
Rowley grabbed hold of her wrists, stretched her arms overhead and pinned her beneath him. “I’m not allowed to think about the life we created? You’ve had fifteen years to come to grips with what happened, I only recently found out. You are being unreasonable.” With a sharp pump, he thrust his cock deep into her.
The weight of his body held her in place beneath him.
“You are going to come for me, Lee-lee.” He assaulted her nipple with his lips and sucked the sensitive peak.
If only he were wrong. The in and out motion of his thick shaft tugged the flesh of her nub and her wet labia slid along his penis.
A twirl of his tongue around her other nipple had her pushing it back into his mouth.
“Patience.”
She bucked her hips to meet his plunge and angled herself to accept more of him.
“Deeper, Lee-lee?”
“And harder.”
“You’d better be close. With a few more strokes I’m going to blow.”
His cock twitched inside her and pressed up to her womb, sending her over the edge. “Rowley.” Pleasure, heat and relief washed through her.
“Fuck, you are gorgeous when you come for me.” He withdrew, removed the condom, and stroked his cock. His every muscle tightened, even the sac of his balls. Cum poured out onto her belly. He kissed her midriff, coating his lips in his seed, and kissed her lips.
What had he meant when he’d said, Soon he’d change the tide back in their favor, not the undead? The one thing she could be sure of was, it couldn’t be good for anyone–living or undead.
Chapter 30
Vaihan sipped his Lagavulin Scotch with an ounce of pureed organs mixed in. A naked woman stood on her tippy toes, tied to the ceiling, blindfolded, with a headset over her ears. Her complexion reminded him of Leera’s, but lacked the warm yellow undertone. The silent humming of white noise eased the tension inside him. Since the incident with Leera, he’d been unable to get an erection or become aroused. How many undead suffered from erectile dysfunction? This didn’t happen to his kind. The “urge” came with a high libido. Neither the sight of the woman’s breasts, nor the pink folds between her legs woke the hunger. Not even rousing her to climax had done the trick. His mind was filled with the images and feel of Leera slipping to lifelessness in his arms.
The door behind him opened. The scent of velvet and cheap aftershave burned its way up his nostrils. “What do you want, Barton?”
“I want you to finish the job you were asked to do.” He leaned both hands on the back of chair next to him.
“Why on earth would I do that? The woman is unstable. If you haven’t caught wind of what has been going on the l
ast few days, let me recap. She nearly died. I’ve been suspended, and the president’s chief of staff asked me to resign so she doesn’t have to fire me.”
“All things you can recover from. Who do you have advising you? All you need to do is hold a press conference and boohoo about losing Elizabeth to cancer and how Leera is your first connection with a woman since. The public will be eating out of your hand.”
“Don’t speak of Elizabeth’s death as something I can use to further my ambitions.” Pimp daddy knew nothing about him, if he thought he’d do such a thing.
“Wouldn’t she want the best for you?” Barton cocked his brow.
Vaihan refused to speak of the matter any further. “I won’t use her.”
“That’s too bad. You’re going to force me to leak information to the press. We can’t have our star Ancient Undead benched for a little indiscretion with a basket case.”
Barton seemed intent on pissing him off this evening. “Don’t speak of Leera in that way.”
“Touchy, touchy. One moment you tell me she’s unstable, and the next you’re giving me a hard time for doing the same. I don’t get you. But with Leera slipping deeper into the world of a very dangerous man–Rowley McKie, maybe you couldn’t win her back. What do you care? She’s just an assignment, which you need to finish. It’s got to be eating away at McKie to know you touched his Lee-lee. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t asphyxiate her while fucking her at some point.”
Why couldn’t Barton shut up? “I’ll deal with the Leera situation my own way. She needs to know I won’t tolerate dangerous behavior.” Even though he was partly to blame. “As for getting my job back, I’ll be the one to speak of Elizabeth with the press.” The double-talk and games tired him. “Go away.”
“You’d better see someone about your inability to get it up. Leera seems into an extremely active sex life. I’m not sure how she’d take your lack of performance in bed.” He straightened upright.
Vaihan didn’t need the added implication that McKie was banging his woman.
Asshole.
“Pandora needs to be put back in her box.” Barton tossed a card on his lap. “Let’s hope you have better luck with ladies of the undead persuasion.” The flashy suit exited.
They weren’t his type. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have some fun.
* * * *
Vaihan leaned on the side of his car.
A greasy-haired, round male knocked on the side door of the aluminum-sided house across the street.
Snow cascaded down in large flakes, like those on a Christmas card. Another den with females trapped to be used for sex. An ancient using the helpless. His life was filled with mundane cycles. Cleaning out the trash was one he didn’t mind usually, however, he didn’t seem to be getting into it tonight.
Maybe he was missing something. An opportunity to set the mood. Where could he find a superhero costume? If he bought one, what would he pick? Something to confuse his target or an image that would reflect his dark inside. Body art? Scary marks. Body ink–designs on his skin that represented his sins. A tad dramatic. Not really his thing.
The arctic night bit into his hand as he slammed the trunk.
The individual inside would be greeted by the wrath of his pain, his bottled up loneliness and guilt. He squeezed his fingers into a fist, shoved them into his coat pockets and crossed the road.
As he arrived at the rear entrance, his quick pace slowed. He kicked the door in. No clever speeches. If he could muster it, a funny comment or two.
Theatrical, a tad. But he wasn’t in the mood to do the song and dance.
“I’m not in the head space to give chances, so any living who’d like to remain that way better get the fuck out. Now.”
Fat bastards hustled out of the rooms, pants in semi states of being pulled up. Necrophilia was rampant among middle aged, white obese human males. The women in those beds lay still like corpses.
Vaihan removed the sword from the case at the back of his coat. A whiff of another undead tickled his nostril all the way up. From the stench of her, she wasn’t eating cloned.
“Pandora, come out and play...”
A rare occasion for him to come upon a female of his kind. Why she’d choose to harm other women was beyond him. Though most of the females did. That was why they didn’t make it beyond the first fifty years. Their crimes where often aimed at children and women.
A bald headed, hourglass-figured individual stepped out of the shadows in front of him. “Do you even know how to play?” An Aussie.
“You’ll need to come closer to find out.” He stepped forward.
Her dark pupils widened as her blade’s edge met his. “Is that what you told the girl?” She tsked.
Her attempt to provoke him worked. “Women are all the same. Dead or alive. They all want a taste of poison. What’s your toxin of choice, dear?”
“Definitely not a do-gooder like you, Vaihan. Maybe, once, a long time ago, when the very mention of your name struck fear in the hearts of brave men. But not now. I suggest you stop fucking around with what you cannot have and cannot be to accept what you are.”
“I don’t want to be human.”
She laughed. “That isn’t what I meant. You’ll never be good, haven’t you figured that out yet? You were so good at being very naughty.”
It didn’t matter what he was. He wouldn’t let the dark side of him win out. Never again. “No matter what you say, I’m boxing you up.”
“And to think Gunari speaks so highly of you, but all I see is a scared little boy.” She narrowed the distance between them. Index finger to his skin, she traced a path along his jaw line to his neck. “With me, you could enjoy all the pleasure my body has to offer.”
There was a name he hadn’t heard in a long while. Though, not long enough. He grabbed her hand. “You aren’t my type.” Did that mean that Gunari was in Washington? And if so, why hadn’t he contacted him? That was bad news for anyone.
“You prefer the weak. What male doesn’t want a female to serve his needs?” She shrugged. “I can play meek. Oh, pleeease, save me.”
Under different circumstances this conversation might entertain him, but currently her efforts to mess with his head seemed ill timed.
Best he put an end to the discussion. Vaihan swept the blade through her neck.
Blood gushed from the open wound, as the head thumped to the floor and rolled away.
“I can’t believe you chopped my head off,” Pandora said. “I’m afraid that doesn’t bode well for the future of a relationship between us.”
“Is your plan to talk me to death?”
“You’re already dead.”
“My point exactly.”
Using the tip of his sword, he skewered her head into a large Ziploc freezer bag and sealed it for quiet. Though her lips were still moving, he dumped her into the garbage bag.
Chapter 31
Rowley held Leera’s hand as he guided her to the door. Loose curls framed her face. Her makeup accented her sultry eyes and lush lips. The door opened. A large musclehead gestured them in. “Welcome, Mr. McKie.”
Modern music played in the background. Not his speed. A good Johnny Cash tune would do, but chicks dug songs they could dance to.
Lips pressed to her ear, he inhaled. “You look edible and smell even better.” The scent of the toxin had finally faded and her smell had returned to peaches.
Tonight he’d test how open to his world she was. And Devin would provide the missing piece in their relationship.
Clay stood and held out his hand to Leera. “It’s an honor to meet you again. You are a true hero to us.” As he kissed the back of her hand, tears stood in the man’s eyes.
“It’s nice to see you again too.” The corners of her mouth trembled as she forced out a smile.
In his world, Leera was an icon. He’d warned her. Risking her life to discredit Vaihan Louchian–and the undead–and nearly losing hers in the process was the act of a martyr. “Wher
e could Leera get us something to drink?” Rowley didn’t want to subject her to discussion that might upset her.
“Through the French doors.” Clay pointed to the rear of the room. Two brunettes waved at him and smiled.
“An Irish whiskey?” A smirk tugged Leera’s mouth to one side.
She remembered, which sent warmth through him. “Neat, please.”
“I know.” With that, she strode out of the room.
“How is she holding up?” Clay turned to face him.
“Well, considering she hasn’t been able to go home. She was left a voice mail telling her she was fired.” Not that he intended to let her go back to work. That wasn’t the point.
“Is she in need of money?” Clay glanced at one of his men.
“No. She has no need to work.” Not ever. He’d make sure he saw to that. “Thank you for your concern.”
“How aware is she of the organization and our activities?”
Not very much. “Enough for the moment.”
“Did she do it willingly, or did you set her up?”
What did it matter? The outcome ensured Vaihan Louchian appeared to have an ax to grind against the President, which was step one of the plan. One more piece of the puzzle seen to. “You should never ask a man to answer a question he’d need to kill you for right after he provides you a response to it.” The threat was clear–avoid this line of questioning if he didn’t want to end up dead. “Have you seen Wyatt lately?”
“Point taken. I was asked to identify his remains.” He rubbed his head.
Leera returned with two glasses and Devin a few steps behind.
“Look who I ran into.” She held out his triple shot. “Greenore Cooley whiskey.”
The more time he spent with her, the more he loved her. “Just the way I like it. And what are you having?”
“An orgasm.” She winked.
One of the very few women able to satisfy his sexual appetite. “Hopefully the first of many tonight.” He pulled her to his body. “Devin, are you willing to see us both home as our designated driver?”
