Hunger

by Lillie J. Roberts

  Next Madame Katrina bowed her head. “The spirits are leaving us.” But her gaze drifted in my direction. “Are you sure there’s no one you wish to speak with? You seemed to have questions, doubts?”

  Smirking, I shook my head, happy to keep my thoughts with myself as well as any of my dearly departed, and there was more than a few. “Not right now, Madame, but I might take you up on the offer another time.”

  She nodded and whispered to her ghosts, thanking them for their visit. She gazed up at our group who, all but one, held their breath. “The spirits have left us.” Then she stood and led us from the table and into the adjacent room. With a flick of her wrist, the candles there extinguished and began to burn with wavering light in the next. We sat on big cushions thrown randomly around the room. I leaned my elbow into the cushion’s plushness, and I had to wonder what would come next from our would-be psychic. The mystic had somehow wandered in amongst us. She would be considered a gypsy in another place, a witch in another time. All of my times.

  Then one by one, she stared into our palms, reading our life stories. Again there was laughter at the silliness. We gaffed and made fun of each other as the evening grew longer.

  When she requested my right hand, then stretched out her own, capturing mine, placing her hand over it. “Ah … the doubter. What’s your name? Hmmm, let’s see what we have.” She grinned, disarmingly, her eyes brimming with amusement. She rubbed my chilled flesh between her hands.

  “May I call you Katrina?” I smiled with my own delight.

  “You may.” She bobbed her head.

  “I’m Ben, Benedict Draco.” I shook her hand, her fingers long and shapely. A delicate fragrance of sunshine stirred from her, twitching at my nose.

  My undead heart wanted to thud to life and with my dark glasses in place, my gaze roamed over her. Hungrily and to my astonishment, with wonderment.

  My natural reaction was to pull my hand back, but with a glance at her face and the block of my gentle probing, I found myself fascinated. This woman was different from all others in my modern memory. Instead, I found myself leaning over my palm as if it were a stranger’s and wishing it were more. A vision of her naked, wrapped in my arms as our bodies fused, came to me and for the first time in a long time, I knew I had to have her. Knew I’d be visiting the channeler of ghosts and teller of fortunes again.

  As if reading my thoughts, she pinked with a smile and rubbed my palm. “I can see this is going to be interesting.”

  If nothing else, she reeled my mind.

  Chapter Thirteen

  This woman, so unlike any I’d met before, squinted at me; a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth. “I promise I don’t bite.” She squeezed my hand, her laughter tinkled in the air. “Really.”

  I swallowed back my response that I might, and loosened my grip. She captivated me, with the honesty in her eyes, the firmness with which she held my hand, with her strength and personal sense of her own being. My beast came to life along with my heart.

  Instead of releasing my hand, she turned my palm up to face her, gazing long and hard. “My, what a long lifeline you have.” The tip of her index finger grazed my palm, scraping it with her fingernail, and I found it to be the most erotic of touches. With the light rake of the tip of her finger, chill flesh burst along my arm. Her brunette locks fell forward as she dipped her head lower to gaze deeper into my life, her hair gliding over my already sensitive flesh.

  “See, it starts here,” her fingernail scratched the mound of flesh surrounding my thumb, and I caught my breath, “and doesn’t end. Instead it meets your wrist and continues just a little. Wow, I’ve never seen anything like this.” Her finger traced the crease of my thumb, rubbed the pulse point of my wrist where the end of my lifeline rested. I closed my eyes. My beast rubbed against my flesh, like a pleased pet, and excitement touched my inner core. Hunger, of more than one nature, burst to life.

  “You’re very lucky.” She beamed, showing little laugh lines, her oceanic blue eyes shining. Her smile tugged at things in my body, things a simple touch should not have affected.

  “What else can the great and powerful Katrina tell me?” I inquired, as my heart found a new reason to hammer my ribs.

  “Your heart line, the depth of your ability to love, is deep and wide.” She placed her fingertip at the edge of my palm and followed its length as it wrapped around my little finger. “See how deeply the crease goes.” Her full red lips lifted and my eyes refused to leave them. “My, you must be a great lover.” She chuckled. “Your heart is waiting for your one true love.” When our gazes met, she flushed. “Although intimacy finds you often, love rarely comes to you.” Her eyes held a sadness at her words.

  I drew my hand away, I’d learned enough. But Madame Katrina tugged it back, her fingers brushing over my cool flesh. “I’m only showing you what your palm is willing to reveal. And besides, this is all for fun, isn’t it?” She lifted her eyebrows, wrinkling her forehead. It was a simple question, one without an easy answer and I decided to play along. Katrina was merely human after all. She couldn’t know my real secrets, could she?

  “You’re very intuitive, Madame Katrina, please tell me more.” My beast was suddenly wide awake, purring with desire.

  She ignored my words, her eyes focusing deep into my life, and she let her finger follow another line that traveled the length of my hand. “Here is your fate line, the line of your destiny.” The tip of her sculpted index fingernail rested beneath my middle finger, and traced the line which curved slightly, before meeting my life line and continuing up my wrist. “Your fate was decided long ago. Your soul is old, searching for a home.” She frowned as she glanced up into my eyes, not understanding. Then her shoulders lifted in a delicate shrug, and I found myself drunk on her words, so close to the truth of my life.

  “This line shows the destiny of your life.” She abraded the small of my palm. “This little curve … See how it doesn’t flow straight and true?” She showed me my palm and I dutifully gazed at the strange, foreign flesh. “This means for a time, someone or something else controlled your life.” She stared into my eyes as I peered back through the foggy safety of my sunglasses before following her eyes back down to my palm. “But it straightens itself out again. You regained control of your destiny.” She followed it to the pulse point on my wrist causing it to throb to life. “It flows into your lifeline meaning you’re strong and prosperous.”

  She flipped my hand over, skimmed her fingers over the skin causing the top of my hand to tingle. “Mmmm, smooth on this side, but calluses show on the other. At one time, you worked with your hands, a laborer, but you’ve gained … refinement.” She giggled. “That’s sounds so odd, but I can’t think of another way to say it.” She sought my gaze once more. “You’re quite a puzzle, and so old, such knowledge here,” she said flexing my fingers back, eyes again drawn to my hand. “And you’re very adaptable. You’ve had to adjust to your surroundings to find your true course.” She glanced up, her fragrant hair sliding over the flesh on my arm, goose bumps bursting anew. “I can only imagine what it all says about its owner?”

  Finally, she released my hand. “You know, it’s just for fun. It doesn’t have to mean anything.” But she had seen into my life, knew the direction I had chosen and would continue to follow. My beast rolled just a little. Tonight, it wanted to taste her, hold her, mate with her. And I wanted to let it.

  As the others trooped from the psychic’s residence, I pulled her aside and whispered in her ear, “Would it be all right to call you later?” She was a beautiful woman, maybe five years older than my apparent age.

  “I’d love to learn more about you.” Her eyes showed her bemusement. “Maybe we can talk some more about your life.” She brushed her lips across my cheek, and with a slight turn, I feathered my lips against hers instead.

  Heat flowed through my body as I left with the others. I wanted to spend a little of my time getting to know this woman with the extraordinary senses bath
ed in the scent of sunshine. It was a need that I either couldn’t denied or didn’t want to refuse.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maybe it was the times, but I was fascinated by the freedom. The lack of inhibitions, the easy way the young seemed to have with each other, an unexpected openness. Katrina was something different and I wanted to discover her too. She would have been bohemian in an early time, and still was.

  As the night deepened to past the midnight hour, everyone started to go their separate ways, and I returned to the home of Madame Katrina. Unable to help myself, drawn by unseen forces to the woman who reminded me of the sun. I stopped before her home, wondering if I should knock or retreat to the safety of our sun-protected rooms. As I stood there, Katrina flung the door wide open and stared at me. I hadn’t sensed she was at the door. Her thoughts remained closed, her shields too strong, and I couldn’t tell if this was on purpose or unintentional. She was a blank slate.

  “Well, are you coming in or not?” she questioned, her sharp blue eyes dancing with amusement. Hearing the laughter in her voice loosened my vocal cords.

  “May as well, I’ve come all the way back.” My hooded eyes scanned hers, and I allowed her to lead me.

  “Can I get you anything? I have a semi-nice wine?” We went further into her home. Reaching out, I caught her hand, bringing her to a halt.

  “What? Is there something wrong?” she asked with curiosity.

  “How did you do what you did? How do you know me so well?” Pulling her back to me, I gazed into her eyes, but she appeared artless, without deception. I wanted to know this woman, understand her gift, reason my way either away from her unique sight, or into her liberating presence. She freed a part of me I hadn’t known existed anymore, the ability to question.

  “Here,” she said pointing to the cushions piled on the floor, “sit, and I’ll tell you about myself.”

  She continued through the house turning off lights and locking doors. I watched, captivated, as her long colorful skirt swished across the bare floors. The sound of her bare feet slapping the wooden floorboards as she moved throughout the house. She seemed to be a throwback from a simpler time, proved by the soft music playing in the background. The Beatles She Loves You, came to my ears. Finally, she returned and again candles were the only light. The shadows thickened, and I imagined her spirits wandering in and out of her home, tracking her visitor, one with the creatures of the night. My hand reached out to her, and she sat down beside me.

  She spoke with the quiet music as her scenery. “I could tell when you came into the room you were a nonbeliever, and if I was going to convince you, I’d have to show you some truths.” She smiled to take away any sting from her words.

  She was right, I’d seen a lot in my long life, but wonderment still existed, the proof sat before me.

  She pulled my palm to her once more and gazed into its depths. “My family is strong in psychic ability. Some call us witches.” She scrunched her freckle covered nose and laughed. “My perceptions are strong. I like bringing peace and understanding, even to the unbelievers.” She released my hand. “Now, tell me why you’re curious?”

  Since it was my turn to tell a little about myself, I started with recent history. “Your reading was on the mark. I have been governed by a force I hope is contained. But it’s always there, waiting to take over, if I’m not cautious.”

  Even saying the words brought my beast to attention and it rubbed itself against my flesh. My gaze traveled around the room until it found her face again. “My family has very long lives, so that’s true too. When I was younger, I worked hard. Physical labor was a way of life. Time changes us, makes us into what it needs us to be.” My gaze lingered on her soft berry colored lips as I brushed a few stray strands of fragrant hair from them. Without ever knowing I was going to do it, I leaned in and captured her ripened lips with mine.

  “What else can you see about me?” I whispered against the warmth of her lips even as I kissed her again, tension building between us. I took a deep breath and leaned away.

  “Hmmm.” She licked her lips and I watched her tongue swipe across them. “Let’s see … I still sense an oldness, like an ancient soul.” She pulled back and inhaled deeply. “Antiquity clings to you.” She giggled and reached up to gently tug my head toward hers. She met my lips with her own and passion flamed. “I can’t quite place you, Ben Draco. There’s definitely something different about you.” Her sparkling eyes tried to see into the depths of mine. “I think you might be fun to figure out.”

  For the vampire, lovers are easily found, but this woman was somehow different. It had been so long since I wanted to spend time with another person, to know them. So many years since I trusted myself to spend more than a night in warm arms. Humans are fragile, easily broken. It was a bargain I’d made with myself, a promise, not to become attached.

  Quickly, she leaned in and stole another soft kiss. “Now, let me tell you something about yourself, and I don’t even need your palm.” As I glanced down, she eased back into the cushions, her scented hair fanning around her. “You don’t take chances, you’re almost always on your guard. Yet you’re here with me.” She studied my face, her brow wrinkled.

  My fingers brushed across the lines, smoothing them out then they drifted to cup her cheek. “You’re different from any woman I’ve met in a long time, one of a kind. I think it might be fun to figure you out too.”

  “Why, thank you, Mr. Draco, what a sweet thing to say … I think.” She twisted her head to plant a kiss inside my palm. Then she turned to me. “Tell me, why the sunglasses even in the dark?”

  Ah, something she couldn’t divine. “My eyes are sensitive to the light as is my skin, a rare medical condition that plagues my family. Seldom do I see the sun, but I remember its amazing heat and its perfume on a hot summer’s day.” I leaned away. “You remind me of that warmth. The bouquet of the baking sun clings to you.” She made me want to glory in the sun’s presence once again. “Do the sunglasses bother you?”

  “No, it adds to your mystery.”

  She made me feel as if I could share my secrets. But that couldn’t happen, not unless I planned to keep her.

  “So, Ben, are you spending the night?” she asked as she fingered the buttons along the edge of my shirt and the first one popped open. Her fingers fluttered over my sensitive flesh and it rippled under her light touch.

  Leaning in to taste her lips one more time, I whispered against them, “I’d love to.”

  I gathered her in my arms and pulled her close, my nose buried in the fragrance of her sun-drenched hair, streaks of blond and copper. The perfume lingered around her—so long since I’d beheld it. My heart pounded as my beast scented her flesh, begging for release, and I forced its eagerness back.

  She stood holding out her hand to me, and I laced my fingers with hers as she guided me to her bedroom. The lamps were draped in vibrant reds and blues creating shadows of varying colors, reflecting the soft light. In one corner sat a rocking chair chocked with stuffed animals, with a large well-worn teddy bear at its center. The music changed to something softer, indistinguishable.

  She reached over to extinguish the light, and I trapped her lips with a kiss, letting my hands wander over her skin. I didn’t need lights to see her flesh, the glow of her body, the heat of her skin. She clung to me, letting her head fall back as my teeth raked the tender length of her neck, breathing in her essence. Everything about her screamed of the sun, something I’d long missed and thought I’d pushed from my memory.

  She turned her back to me and slipped her gypsy’s blouse over her head, tousling her curls. Her long, colorful skirt rasped my pant leg, but at that moment, I swore it was naked flesh. The golden highlights in her wavy, brunette hair shimmered and danced in the moonlight, recreating the gleam of reflected sunlight, and I gloried in it. Reaching out, I tugged her back against my chest, letting my fingers run up and down her arms, over dainty shoulders, then down to cup her breasts, each touch a ca
ress. My fingers peeked beneath the delicate lacy covering, and she moaned with renewed need.

  “You’re a wonder to behold, Katrina,” I whispered, nibbling on her earlobe. My hands moved down the length of her skirt, gathering it in silky folds, rubbing the soft fabric along the smooth flesh of her thighs. Each stroke of the fabric like a spark of electricity.

  “You even speak with an oldness,” she said with a sigh.

  I found the skirt’s clasp and it slid down to form a colorful pool on the floor, only her lacy panties and bra remaining. The beauty of humanity never ceased to amaze me, my gaze became eager, my hunger deepened. My lips worked their way lower, my nimble fingers moved aside the lace to stroke the warm skin beneath with a whisper of a touch, gooseflesh bursting fresh. I was jealous of the vampire then, not knowing if this heat was for me or for the vampire essence drawing in its prey as it screamed sexual desire.

  With heat blazing in her eyes, she turned to me, pulling me into a fiery kiss as she worked the buttons of my shirt. I pulled my sunglasses away. Her bedroom’s light dimmed, no need for my eyes to hide. She pushed the shirt from my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. I tugged the thong holding my hair in place, and her fingers ran through its length. My jeans joined her skirt, revealing the nakedness of my pale body.

  She ran her clever hands over my muscles causing them to tighten. She stepped closer until the lace of her bra tickled my chest, my body hardening in response. “Touch me, Ben. Let me know you.”

  Hearing her words seared a flash of passion through my body. My heart hammered and my head spun, dizzied, lost to desire. I wanted nothing more than to claim her as my own, mark her. Mine.

  My arms curled around her waist, bringing her closer. She sighed, running her fingers through my hair, drawing it to her face and inhaling. A shiver stole through me. Katrina enticed me, and I wanted more.

  “You’re making me crazy. Come, finish undressing for me.” With my heart pounding and my pulse throbbing, I released her to ease back into the plumpness of her bed. She stood before me, rapid shaking breaths almost forcing her to spill over the fragile lace of her delicate undergarments. My body grew harder with need, my breaths harsh in exquisite pain.