by J. E. Taylor
Naomi had rolled with it, even in Denver. Even with the building frustration of not being able to touch, she handled it better than I did.
I, on the other hand, resorted to the equivalent of a two-year-old’s belligerent rant.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” I muttered and pulled the computer back onto my lap, putting the answer to my question aside and focusing back on the web design.
Chapter Twenty-Two - Damian
The results of the day’s programming pleased me and I stretched, cracking my knuckles and shaking the cold ache out of my fingers. After I saved the program, I glanced at the clock on the toolbar. It was almost five and I glanced at the dark phone next to me.
Michael hadn’t checked in and I punched in my passcode, sending off a quick text to see if he was okay. Now that the sun had set, I packed up the computer and grabbed my duffel bag, hauling it over my shoulder.
Before I reached the door, my phone buzzed. I glanced at the text and exhaled. The relief swept through my tight muscles like an infusion of blood. They had just boarded a bus headed for Hartford and someone would need to pick them up around two in the morning.
I shot off a text saying that I’d pick them up at the bus station and pocketed my phone. When I stepped into the house, I glanced at the L-shaped open concept kitchen and family room. Valerie sat on the couch with an array of books open; she didn’t look up from scribbling on her note pad until I crossed the room.
When she raised her gaze, she nodded toward the hallway.
“She is still asleep.”
I bit my lip and looked at the hallway for a second. “Your uncle wouldn’t happen to have driving gloves, would he?”
Dimples appeared in her cheeks. “I have no idea, but, I’m glad you’re starting to think outside the box.” Valerie leaned over and rummaged in the bag at her feet. She sat up with a package of micro-thin latex surgical gloves and handed them to me. “I can get more at the hospital tomorrow, so...enjoy,” she said and grinned.
I rolled my eyes, but I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to get creative and I took the box, heading down the hallway she nodded toward.
“The last bedroom on the left,” she called as I rounded the corner.
I didn’t need to be told where Naomi was in the house. I could smell her sweet scent the minute I opened the garage door. Quietly, I entered the room and set my bags down, closing the door behind me. Naomi didn’t stir and I stared at her curled up on her side with her hand under her cheek, looking more like a child than the sexy woman I married.
The scratch of the gloves against the cardboard sounded like sandpaper against wood and I winced, praying she wouldn’t wake. I wanted to surprise her, wake her with something pleasurable for a change. Just the thought of it made my heart rate rise along with something much lower. A wicked grin formed on my lips and I slunk across the room, slipping one glove on and then the next, trying to not snap the latex.
The minute I lifted the covers, she rolled on her back, muttering in her sleep, but I caught my name on her exhale and I wanted to kiss her sweet lips, but I refrained, settling for running my gloved finger over them instead. Initially, she let out a soft purr, but then her eyes flew open, darting around the room until they landed on me.
I lifted my hand into her field of vision. “Medical gloves.”
She stared at the latex for a moment and then at me, the smile gaining traction as she pulled my fingers back to her lips. She sucked on my index finger in a way that made me long for her mouth and I almost said to hell with it all, but I stayed put, relishing the tightness of my jeans at this particular moment.
I ran my fingers down her neck, stopping over the strong pulse, intrigued at just how much I could feel with the gloves on and for the first time since she collapsed in the snow, I understood what she had said about creativity. While this wasn’t quite the same level as skin on skin, it was close and I knew I had the talent to make her wetter than the ocean.
As my hand trailed lower, stopping to explore each ample breast, her grin widened.
“You have a pair of those gloves for me?” she whispered.
I shook my head. “Tonight it’s just about you,” I answered and I stopped just short of her clit, teasing her in a way that was just as powerful as my mouth used to be. The roll of her eyes and the quickening of her breath guided me and I slid my gloved fingers over her clit, back and forth, like playing a particularly complex sting of chords and she replied with a musical moan that thrilled every nerve in my body.
Flush filled her cheeks, deepening to blooming roses the closer she got to orgasm. Music filled the house and I chuckled.
“I guess you were being a little too loud,” I whispered with a chuckle.
She just grinned and her eyes rolled back in her head. Her back arched and her hand grabbed the sheet, balling it in her fist. Now, I had seen her cum before, but this time, her entire body trembled with the strength of it, reminding me of that first night when she had nearly drenched the bed she was so wet.
And her moan, god her moan almost sent me over the edge, but the lack of sensation when I slid my fingers into her slick canal tempered it. If I continued, I just might throw caution to the wind, so I backed off when her body relaxed and her pants softened. I pulled away, despite her whine of protest, and rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling, trying to gain control.
Before I could even catch my breath, Naomi swung her leg over me and smiled as she settled right on top of my throbbing cock. The jeans provided a layer of protection between us and when she circled her hips, I closed my eyes.
“God, Naomi,” I whispered. My gloved hands grabbed her waist, guiding her motion and the friction it created started the spark in my soul, turning it into a burning need. The way she moved, grinding into me in that slow circular motion drove me over the edge.
As soon as my muscles relaxed, I opened my eyes, meeting her gaze.
“I love you,” I whispered and pulled my hands away from her.
She smiled and climbed off me, curling up on the bed until her stomach growled. “I guess I should get up and eat something,” she said, stretching like a cat.
“I should too, but I need a shower before I go hunting.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” She patted my shirt-clad chest and rolled out of bed. I watched her dress before I got up and headed for the shower.
For the first time since Lilith’s visit, I actually felt like myself and I smiled under the warm spray. Naomi had been right, there were ways to get creative and still feed the fire of our passion.
It still wasn’t quite as satisfying as making love to my wife, but it was enough. For now.
When I walked out into the living room, dressed in my jeans and Naomi’s favorite bomber jacket, both she and Valerie gave me a cursory glance before going back to flipping pages in a book in the kitchen.
“What are you two doing?” I asked
“Trying to figure out what we want to make for dinner,” Valerie said and glanced at me. “Sometimes cooking can be fun, but most of the time it’s just a pain in the ass.”
“You want some fresh venison?”
Valerie bit her lip and Naomi’s eyebrows rose in contemplation.
“You really shouldn’t go out just yet,” Valerie said.
“I have to eat,” I replied, stressing the point. She may have had Michael as a mentor over the last five years, but he didn’t understand the cravings that came with the virus. If I didn’t eat tonight, I wasn’t sure I could go a full day in the basement without stressing.
“Why don’t you take a look at the room downstairs. If you want to trade up the mattress, feel free, but I’m not sure you’re going to want to.”
“I’ll do that later,” I said and started toward the door.
“Michael said not to let you go out until he got back,” Valerie challenged.
“I’m picking him up at the train station in Hartford at two.”
“No. I’ll pick the
m up,” Valerie said.
Irritation snaked over my skin and I glared at her. “Am I a prisoner here?”
Valerie laughed. “If that’s the way you want to look at it...”
I crossed my arms and met Naomi’s amused gaze.
“What?”
“I’m sorry, but your expression is priceless.”
“If I don’t eat...”
“Just go check out downstairs,” Valerie said, her voice filled with the same level of exasperation as her face.
I don’t know what made me hesitate but Naomi pointed toward the door just to the right of the hallway leading to our bedroom. I rolled my eyes and stalked toward the door, nearly ripping it off the hinges in my aggravation. The stairway leading down looked like every other old New England basement, with barren wooden stairs leading into a dark and grey concrete cellar. I glanced over my shoulder and Naomi nodded for me to continue.
Skeptical, I climbed down the surprisingly solid staircase. Lights turned on and I glanced over my shoulder. Valerie and Naomi crowded in the doorway, gauging my reaction. I stepped to the cold floor and glanced at the small space. The furnace sat on the far wall below a small window that I guessed faced the south. When I stepped closer, I squinted, almost laughing out loud. The window, while probably working was painted with a deep blue, so no sun would penetrate it, but I’m sure when light hit it during the day, it probably emitted a pleasant blue across the room. A massive electrical panel sat on the wall below the staircase and I followed the pipes from the furnace and the wires from the panel along the ceiling where they disappeared into the wall almost three feet from the end of the stairs.
The cellar I stood in covered a ten foot by ten foot square, which was a fraction of the blueprint of the house and I glanced up the stairs at Valerie.
“Where’s the rest?” I waved at the small space.
They traded a grin and pointed to the generator panel next to the staircase.
I flipped open the panel and along with the generator switches was a separate keypad. I bit my lip and looked up the stairwell again. The nod I got from Naomi confirmed the passcode and I punched my favorite four digit code.
The slow creak of the wall caught my attention and the concrete at the base of the stairs slid inward. I hadn’t even seen the break in the concrete and I studied the construction, smiling at the ingenuity. The concrete seams bubbled inward, hiding the cut block. Several seams covered the walls at the same four foot intervals, so this set up wasn’t immediately identifiable. I stepped into the catacomb of rooms they built and let out a whistle.
Michael had said it was small.
His sense of space is truly fucked up, because just this single room was monstrous and I couldn’t imagine what lay beyond.
I scanned the room in awe, ignoring the shuffle behind me. The opening dropped me into a massive great room that I guessed was roughly three-thousand square feet. The section to my left was an open concept office, with a great mahogany desk and all the modern gadgets laid out across the immaculate desk blotter, including a slick laptop that probably cost three times the one in my bag upstairs. Across from the office space was a large screen television with a plush, leather multi-section couch facing it.
But my gaze was drawn to the wall beyond the office. A full mural of an ocean-side beach. I crossed to it and ran my fingers along the peaks of the breaking waves and scanned the scene all the way to the ceiling. I turned, glancing at the entire expanse of the room and my eyebrows rose. The vibrant blue of an afternoon sky, broken by fluffy clouds covered the ceiling, highlighted by randomly placed recessed lights. I dropped my gaze to Valerie and pointed to the fake sky.
“My idea,” she said with a wide grin.
My gaze dropped to the kitchenette at the opposite side of the room. But the little tiled alcove wasn’t what caught my attention and got my saliva glands running over. The clear glass refrigerator revealed a half dozen blood bags and before I was aware, my feet started moving across the plush sand-toned carpet.
As I passed Valerie and Naomi, I met Valerie’s gaze and nodded toward the refrigerator.
“Michael,” Valerie said as if that explained it.
“Really,” I didn’t wait for her to answer. Instead, I stopped in front of the display and opened the door, pulling out a bag before the hunger overwhelmed me. Once I drained every drop of blood from the bag, I opened the cabinet under the sink and smiled. A lined garbage can sat exactly where I would have put it and I tossed the empty in the trash.
I closed my eyes and let the blood run through my system. I shivered as it cooled me from my core out. That was one of the drawbacks of bagged blood, while it rejuvenated me, it left a distinct chill that would take hours to shake.
I turned back to the spacious room and I took everything in, stopping my inspection of the living space at the ornately crafted pool table with felt the color of the ceiling. I picked up one of the balls, studying the unique details before rolling it toward the corner pocket. It rolled true and before it plunked into the pocket I turned back to the two of them gawking at me from the doorway.
“So do you like it?” Valerie asked.
I chuckled and ran my gaze from one side of the room to the other and back to her. “What’s not to like,” I said and spread my arms out. “It’s amazing.”
“We haven’t seen everything,” Naomi said and pointed toward the hallway.
“By all means.” I waved her forward and she didn’t hesitate but Valerie hung back.
“Aren’t you going to give us the grand tour?”
“No. I think you two should explore. Besides, I’ve got to cook something for dinner, so...” She looked at her watch. “If you could bring her back to reality in a half hour, I should have our dinner all set.”
“Will do,” I said and Valerie disappeared back up the stairs.
I followed the curve of the hall and found two closed doors facing each other. I had no idea if Naomi slipped into one or the other or if she continued down the short hallway that dipped down a staircase. I sniffed the air and caught her scent, continuing down the hall instead of exploring either room.
The staircase descended to a small platform and another keypad. The door was still open, so I imagined Naomi had ventured into the darkness beyond. I blinked, letting my eyes adjust and took a step.
“Boo!”
The sudden volume in the small space gave me a start and I spun, the growl already purring in the back of my throat until her laughter followed.
“Jesus, Naomi,” I whispered and stepped back, gaining control over the sudden shadow mentality that almost took over.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but I couldn’t help it.”
“I would think by now you’d know not to jump out of dark corners at me,” I said trying to sound stern, but the fact that she actually got my heart pumping pulled a smile to the corners of my lips.
The light from her cell illuminated her grin and then she nodded toward the opening of the rough-round tunnel. “What do you suppose is down that way?”
I rubbed my chin contemplating the direction and then shook my head.
“Michael said there weren’t any underground tunnels.”
“He also said the place down here was small,” she said and I actually laughed.
“You think?” I stopped and looked into the blackness.
“Only one way to find out,” she said and started into the darkness with only the light from her cell as the guide.
Chapter Twenty-Three - Damian
We stood staring at the wall of dirt blocking the end of the last pipe. Naomi’s phone winked out and a moment later the light returned.
“I guess Michael was serious when he said they didn’t do the underground tunnels,” Naomi said.
I bit my lip, contemplating, mentally calculating the distance. If memory served me correctly, we were very close to where my original tunnel system dropped us under the garage. I turned and looked into the darkness behind me, rubbing my forehead where
I had clocked a jut in the ceiling. Naomi had found that hysterical, her lovely five-foot-five form just waltzed right under the outcrop without touching the ceiling, the seven inch difference in height benefitting her for a change.
My guess was that outcrop was the foundation for the fence. If so, this was where my original doorway was that led to the inside of the garage. I spun back toward the dirt and started digging with my hands.
“What are you doing?”
“This is the remains of the original tunnel to the garage. I’m betting he didn’t know what to do when he hit the steel door. Especially with the angel hex.”
After three handfuls of dirt, my fingers hit the solid barrier and I grinned. “I’m surprised this door didn’t blow inward from the blast,” I mumbled as I uncovered more of the solid steel. The top half of the door was intact, but as I made my way lower, the metal became more deformed, like a boulder hit the center and bent it inward.
It took close to a half hour to uncover the doorway and I stepped back, aiming Naomi’s phone at the door. The outer edges seemed to be fine, but the center was bent inward and I exchanged a glance with Naomi before I stepped forward and felt along the edges.
The latch was stuck and I sighed. I’d need a wheel barrow to clean up the mess and I’d need a crowbar to pry open the door. I had time. Naomi’s stomach rumbled in the dark and I chuckled. I had forgotten Valerie’s instructions.
“I’ll get the rest of this later, we need to get you back so you can eat,” I said, wiping my dirty hands on my thighs.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll have the rest of the night and all day tomorrow to clean this up and get this section reinforced before I open that door.”
“Reinforced?”
I met her gaze. “This could collapse and I’d venture to guess, we’re at least eight feet below the grass. That’s a lot of dirt and we don’t want that falling on our heads.”
I pressed my lips together to stop the smile that wanted to form at Naomi’s worried glance and her hasty retreat. I followed, trying to study the construction of the tunnel, but the lack of light made any close inspection impossible. I’d have to bring a more illuminating light down when I returned. I knew the concrete cylinders were normally used for water channels and these looked dry enough, so it was obvious nothing was getting through the seams. I just wanted to make sure if I opened the steel door, it wouldn’t do anything to disrupt the landscaping.
