Silverfall

by Raven de Hart

  The release was so great. I collapsed against him, against his hard body. The movement of his chest made me bob up and down.

  I had to force myself to move, to pull out of him. I peeled away the condom, tied it, and tossed it in the trash. When I reached over for Leon’s cock, he was already jacking off fast and hard, his whole body shaking from it. I couldn’t stop watching. The movement of his foreskin covering and then revealing the purplish head. He even had scars on his dick. Tiny scratches of pure white skin.

  His balls tightened up, and white shot out of his cock. It landed on his thighs, his chest, and in his pubes. Five spurts, six.

  He sighed when he finished. His body slumped down, losing all tension. He laughed, shaking again.

  “I forgot how good that felt.”

  I had to laugh too. “You forgot that sex felt good?”

  “Not sex. Getting fucked.” He sat up, grinning. Somehow, his smile looked even bigger than usual. “It’s been a little while since I’ve bottomed.”

  I climbed up and curled against him. “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve topped too.” I ran my fingertip through his cum and swirled it across his chest. “Thank you for not insisting on topping or leaving or anything.”

  “Believe me. It was my pleasure.” He lay down and kissed my cheek. Then he kissed it again. And again, a trail from cheek to lips. He pulled back just a bit and whispered, his hot breath washing across my mouth and cheeks. “Hopefully next time, we’ll have more time too.” He winked and kissed me again. “Assuming there’s going to be a next time.”

  There it was. Not a one-night stand. I relaxed even more. Tension I hadn’t even realized was there vanished. There was some level of commitment there. Enough commitment that we’d end up in bed again.

  “I think I can arrange a next time. Just give me your number.”

  He wrapped an arm around me and curled up, conforming to my body. “I’ll give it to you in the morning.”

  In the morning. He was staying.

  * * * *

  I woke up alone. My heart just plummeted straight out of me. Had he sneaked out in the middle of the night? Why? Was it that bad? Or had the unicorn come and gotten him?

  Because giant unicorns could totally get into the building, climb the stairs, and open my door without a damned person taking the slightest notice. Completely plausible.

  I got up, tying the sheet around my waist. “Leon?”

  “In the kitchen.”

  He stayed. He was here in the morning. Perfect. Nothing had gone wrong. I had to struggle pretty hard to keep from just running right in there and having a morning make-out session. Better than coffee. But I managed to act like a relatively normal human being.

  Until I saw the breakfast he’d dished up. That’s when I noticed the slight haze of smoke filling the apartment. In my panic, I must have missed it. But I don’t know how. It was…bad. Bad was an appropriate word. So was thick. Blinding. Choking even, once I got out of the bedroom.

  I sat at the table across from Leon. He shook his head. “I thought I’d try being romantic. Apparently, I forgot that I can barely boil water unsupervised.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine. Just a little jarring to look at.” I grabbed the least black-looking thing set out on the table. Potatoes? Most likely. I didn’t have much variety in my pantry. I managed to not make too bad of a face when I put it in my mouth. But it was way too salty on top of being burned. “I appreciate it. But I normally don’t eat on work days. I have to go back to bed soon, anyway.”

  “You can tell me it’s nasty, you know. It’s not going to hurt my feelings.”

  I contemplated keeping up the charade, taking another bite. But all my good reasoning told me to stop even considering it. The kinder I was, the more of it I had to eat.

  “Yeah. It’s a little step in the wrong direction flavorwise. Could you maybe get me a glass of water?”

  “I can try. But I make no promises as to the quality.” He made a hell of a show out of it, swaying his hips back and forth with each step, bending and stretching to get the glass. His jeans rode low, exposing the top of his ass and the top of his bush when he turned around. Maybe he couldn’t cook, but he could damn sure heat up a kitchen.

  He delivered the full glass with a kiss on the back of my hand. “Unfortunately, I must away.”

  “Are you one of those Ren Faire people?” I kind of hoped so. It would be an excuse to maybe see him in tights.

  “Nope.” He winked. “Just a student of romance in need of a shirt.” He gave me another peck on the cheek and darted off to the bedroom.

  I slammed back the water while he was gone. That, he managed not to screw up.

  He walked back out, buttoning his shirt. “I wish I could stay longer, but I have some stuff I have to do for my aunt today.”

  “That’s fine.” I grabbed a pen and held it poised above my forearm. “Just give me your number, and I’ll call you the next time I have a day off.”

  “Yeah. Right.” He reached into his pocket and then stared at his phone. Didn’t press any buttons, just stared it at. Only a few seconds but still. It was one of those old clamshells. How complicated could it really be?

  I cleared my throat. No response. “Is it dead?”

  His head jerked up. “What? No. I was just…I got a little spacey.” He flipped it open, pressed a few beeping buttons, and then handed me the phone. “There you go.”

  I scrawled out the digits on my skin and then handed back his cell. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah.” He gave me that smile. A real one, big and toothy. Or he was really good at faking, or just didn’t know how to smile any other way. He brushed his hand across my cheek. “Don’t worry about anything. Just text me or call me or something so I can get your number too.”

  “On it.” I swatted his butt as he walked over to the door. “I’ll see you later?”

  It was definitely a question. He was acting weird the morning after sex. After great sex, so far as I was concerned, but maybe mediocre for him. I needed to know.

  He stopped in the doorway, turned around, and nodded. “I think we can count on crossing paths again.” He blew me a kiss—no one had done that to me since the third grade—and winked. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  And he left. I really wanted to believe him, believe that he wouldn’t just leave me sitting around, waiting for him to call. I jogged to my bedroom, pulled the knockoff Blackberry out of my pants pocket, and texted him my name. Now he had no excuse. He had my number. I added his too, hoping I’d get to use it.

  Really hoping.

  I had to move past that. I had other things to do. Those things weren’t nearly as pleasurable as the things I’d done the night before but still important. I flipped through my contacts down to Terry and shot him a message too.

  Thanks for last night. Coffee?

  K. There in ten.

  I went back to the kitchen and started poking through the charred piles Leon had made, looking for anything salvageable. The search was totally pointless, though. He’d managed to cook everything all the way through. I couldn’t even quite tell what some of it was other than inedible. So I picked it up and scraped all of it into the garbage can. I’d have to settle for toast.

  * * * *

  Part of me regretted thanking Terry. He certainly wasn’t being humble about his part in my success. Yeah. That was a nice way of saying he was acting like a smug jackass, but I figured he’d earned the right to brag. He was sort of instrumental in me hooking up with Leon…who still hadn’t texted me back. I tried really hard not to be needy and not to expect a text so soon. But I wanted to hear from him. A lot. Just to know that he was actually going to keep the lines of communication open.

  “Tony.” Terry grabbed my head under the chin and lifted it. “You’re not praising me sufficiently.” Yeah. Smug jackass. “That’s the tenth time you’ve checked your phone in the last minute.”

  “I’m sorry.” I set it down but not out of reach. O
r out of sight. “I’m just kind of expecting a text or something from Leon.”

  “Oh, Leon. You mean the guy you met at the club I took you to and then had wild, sweaty butt sex with?”

  “Yes, all hail, all praise. Terry’s the greatest.” I gave a mock bow. “Would you like me to kiss your feet?”

  “No, that won’t be necessary. I’m not into that kinky shit.”

  My phone buzzed, and I was on it before it even finished. I couldn’t stop myself smiling: it was him.

  When do you get off tonight?

  I turned halfway around and hunched over my phone. No point even trying to hide how focused I was on the text. Terry probably knew anyway.

  7 AM.

  After a few seconds, my phone buzzed again. I glanced up at Terry. I was kind of ignoring him after I invited him over. But he didn’t look particularly bothered. Not that he ever did. But he wasn’t exactly quiet when he was annoyed, either.

  I clicked open Leon’s message.

  See you at 7.

  “Already got a second date.” I turned back around and set my phone on the table. “I’d say that’s a pretty decent turnaround.”

  Terry shrugged. “I’ve managed better before.”

  “Of course you have. Just let me have my moment.” I reached across the table and slapped him on the shoulder. “Bitch.”

  He nodded. “Damn straight. But I’m the bitch who deserves credit for this.”

  “Partial credit and that’s it. I’d like to think my skills in the sack had something to do with it.”

  “Acceptable, I guess.” He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “So, when’s your big date? Or did you, like, forget that you worked tonight?”

  “It’s after I get off in the morning. Not everyone is as devil-may-care as you when it comes to basic responsibilities and shit.”

  “I’m not the one working a dead-end stocking job.” He stretched his arms up high above his head, then stood, grabbed his coffee, and tossed it back in one gulp. “I’ll let you get your beauty sleep. Lord only knows what’s in store for you on this date.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged and moved toward the door. “You normally don’t have sex until the third date. You’re messing with the very laws of nature. No one could possibly say what happens.”

  “I thought you were a pioneer in that territory.”

  “Your sex life and mine? Apples and kumquats, Tony.”

  He left the apartment without saying anything else. I locked the door after him and then went back to my bedroom. This excited, I didn’t know how much rest I’d really be able to get, but I had to try. I wouldn’t be getting much chance to nap after work.

  Chapter Four

  I wiped the sweat from my forehead after I cleared the second pallet of stock. Just one left for the night. But it was a nasty one with all kinds of little items that belonged in all kinds of aisles. It had to have been one of the new people from the back. I made a note to complain to Dana, my manager. Not that it would do any good, but it’d make me feel better.

  I turned and looked out the big windows in the front. I wished I hadn’t as soon as I did it. The impossible stood across the street, giant and silver. Of course there was no one around. Just like there hadn’t been last time. As far as I knew, the only other person who’d ever seen Silver was dead. Not a good omen for me. I tried—and failed—to keep calm. I didn’t know why he’d waited so long to kill me, but I could be pretty sure the damned unicorn would do it sooner or later.

  Silver swiveled his head from side to side, following the turn of his ears. His horn gleamed under the streetlights, a streak of pale brightness from his forehead out to the sharp point. Metallic hooves beat against the pavement, glinting. His tail swished back and forth behind him. Silver was a good name. As good of a name as any I had to work with. If he was real. Hell, it was a good name even if he wasn’t.

  He was definitely not just a hallucination. I couldn’t really pretend anymore. I knew Silver was real. Which meant unicorns were real. Which meant that the pallet from hell was looking a lot better. At least it didn’t kill anyone or break all the rules of common sense like Silver.

  Fuck. I’d named it. It was going to be a part of my life now. Just like getting that stray dog to answer to Louie when I was nine. That dog stayed with me for seven years after that. I definitely didn’t want Silver sticking around that long.

  Of course, if the alternative was death, I’d happily take a pet unicorn.

  I turned around and headed back for my pallet to figure out the best strategy of attack. But I couldn’t resist a glance over my shoulder, back out the window, and back across the street. I didn’t see Silver anywhere, but he had to be there. Or around, at least. I wasn’t about to count him out for the night. Not at all.

  I should have been shocked about the whole thing. I knew that. I kept seeing a unicorn. But already, he felt like an old issue. Still terrifying but something I almost expected. My old, gray unicorn, stalking around and ready to kill me any second.

  Fucking great.

  * * * *

  I punched my time card, slipped it into the slot, and then headed straight toward the front. The first real wave of customers for the morning was just trickling through the doorway. Mostly blue hairs mixed in with men and women in business suits and the occasional hungover idiot with sunglasses and messed-up hair. Part of me really wanted to greet the hungover customers. Loudly. But I decided to be nice. Besides, I wanted to get out front where I’d be good and visible for Leon.

  I shouldn’t have worried, though. As I was walking out the door, I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder. I jumped and then turned around to see Leon’s big, horsey smile.

  “Did I scare you?”

  “Yes.” I wrapped an arm around his waist. Standing next to him made me feel short. Most guys made me feel short but Leon especially. I’d never really dated a tall guy. I couldn’t say that anymore. This was a date, right? Two dates meant dating. I was sticking with that.

  Leon’s smile fell. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to startle you.”

  “It’s fine. I’d say you don’t have to apologize, but I liked that one.” I patted my cheek where his warm, rough lips had touched me.

  “Well, I have more.”

  We headed out the door and onto the sidewalk. I let him lead. It didn’t really matter to me where we ended up. I doubted it would be a bad time. If nothing else, I’d have Leon as eye candy. Even the worst bad date could be saved by that.

  We turned right. I didn’t really know this area of town, but I couldn’t imagine there were any restaurants or anything. Everything in sight was either a store, a crappy apartment, or trash. Nothing even relatively appetizing. Good date or bad date, my curiosity made me ask.

  “So, what’s the plan?”

  He shot me a half-cocked smile and a wink. “What? You don’t trust me?”

  “Of course I do. I’m just…” I glanced around me. It still didn’t look like anywhere there could be a restaurant. Or a food truck. Or a freaking street cart. Things weren’t looking any better as we went farther. The buildings were tight together. I wasn’t claustrophobic as far as I knew, but it still made me nervous. “Like, are you taking me back to your place?”

  “No. It’s a proper date. Out in public, I promise. No funny business.” He squeezed me tight to his side. “Unless you ask.”

  Around another corner onto a much more open road. Much cleaner too, thank God. Tension floated out of my body. This was a familiar street again, full of restaurants and cafes.

  “I didn’t know you could get here that way.”

  “Yeah. You pick up some shortcuts working security. I’ve had to chase down more than a few suspicious characters, depending on the client and the day.” He stopped in front of probably the smallest, dingiest door on the whole street. I’d never been close enough to read the name before, but even standing right next to it, I could b
arely make out the fading yellow letters: PAOLO’S.

  Leon held the door open and gestured me inside. “Get ready for the best damn Italian this side of Sicily. The food is fucking excellent too.”

  “What?” Honestly? I was stunned. I’d never, in all the years I’d lived out here, seen anyone even go into this place. I’d thought they were shut down. Of course, maybe they were and this whole thing was a trap to kill me. Because that’s totally likely.

  Leon didn’t explain anything. He just grabbed me by the wrist and led me inside. When the door closed, it was so dark I could barely see anything other than the floating orange orbs of lightbulbs. Once my eyes adjusted, I could make out a handful of round tables with two chairs apiece, each adorned with a bud vase and a single red chrysanthemum.

  Leon spun me around to face the host’s station. The man behind it…well, he didn’t make me feel very tall, either. He had a couple of inches on Leon, but not the muscle. Just long and thin. He had dark tawny deep-set eyes and a sharp, curving nose. Strands of gray ran through his sleek black hair, catching the subtle light. High cheekbones, a strong chin, and dressed in a red button-down and slacks.

  Leon laughed and patted me on the back. “See? The best Italian this side of Sicily.” He reached across the podium and bowed his head to the man. “Paolo.”

  Paolo returned the gesture. As they lifted their heads, his dark eyes flitted over to me. It seemed strange, but I let it go.

  “I’ll see if I can find you a table, Leon.” His voice was red wine. Cheap red wine but still darker and more elegant than mine or than Leon’s.

  Paolo led us into the restaurant. Leon didn’t have any trouble keeping up, but I was halfway jogging. Stupid short legs. Thank God it was a tiny restaurant. Otherwise I’d have to worry about working up a sweat before we got to the table, and I already felt unclassy enough here.

  I’d expected something simple, something I could wear my work clothes to. Not…this. Paolo’s decor was a bit out-of-date, but it was still a sit-down kind of place.