“I’ll only be a few minutes.” She went to get out of the car.
“Can we come in?” Selma asked, her voice was deceptively soft.
They wanted to come inside her house, where the shadows of the past lived like a ghost waiting to attack her if she wasn’t diligent. They would disturb the fantasy that resided within the walls. How would she ever be normal again if she let these strangers who looked so normal on the outside but hummed with power on the inside into her house?
“Of course.” Such little words with big meanings. She was being silly; there was nothing strange about her, her house or her life. “Come in, it’s been a while since I’ve had company.” It felt like forever now that she was thinking about it. She couldn’t remember the last time someone other than her daughter and grandson visited. If there was any visiting to be done, she went to the other person’s house. With a shrug of her shoulders, she opened the door and let her new friends…acquaintances in.
She walked through the front door almost expecting something to jump out at her but everything was just like she left it. She gave a sigh of relief and then a small laugh.
“You can wait here.” She brought them into the living room. It was beautiful and formal with a sofa and chairs that were plush and thick. Her furnishings were family heirlooms. Every generation had the furniture restored by a professional.
Her furniture sparkled in a beautiful rose-colored palette. It was one her mother picked out when she inherited the furniture. Sara never had the heart or the desire to have it redesigned into something more pleasing to her. Most days she stayed away from this room.
Sara turned to go to her bedroom. Every step she took felt like walking through quicksand. It clung to her making it hard for her to lift her feet. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think the house was trying to keep her. Preposterous, this is what happened when she dealt with people she didn’t know. It was imperative that she stick to her small circle of friends. Now that she was getting older, there were many people out to take advantage of her. What was she thinking? How could she leave her house? It provided all the protection she needed.
“It’s okay,” she assured the house nothing would happen to her. She packed a couple of bags and hurried to the living room. The women took in her wild eyed look and followed her to the door.
She locked up and made sure her alarm was on before she tried to take a deep breath on the porch. The overwhelming need to run back inside almost crushed her.
“It’s all right Sara; you’re going to be fine.” Selma came along one side of her taking her arm, and Paige walked on the other side of her.
“Why don’t we take my SUV and leave your car,” Selma said as she helped her into the front seat.
Sara wondered briefly how Selma’s SUV ended up in front of her house. In the end, it wasn’t important. In her mind, she was too busy refusing to turn around in the seat and claw at the material as she screamed take me home. She knew that wasn’t normal, so she resisted with everything inside of her.
Chapter Six
The bed and breakfast looked inviting; it had a wide front porch that beckoned her to come and stay a while. Relax, it whispered, and let your hair down. Her house had never whispered to her of comfort. Sara took several deep breaths feeling like she could breathe here. There were wide open areas with trees in the background. A shimmer of shame went up her spine when she thought maybe she liked this place better than her home. She pushed it away; she’d be home soon enough, but for now she wanted to enjoy this time.
Sara got out of the SUV and went around back to retrieve her bags. She was painfully aware of Colun sitting on the porch. If she looked at Colun, he would come and take her bags, so she kept her eyes downward. She didn’t want him to think she needed him, for any reason. I know what he could do for us, that errant voice in her head spoke. She ignored it. He couldn’t do anything for her. He was as crazy as that monster, and she wanted to stay away from him.
“Can I help you with your bags?”
She looked up to see him watching her. Somehow he had managed to come up behind her without making a sound.
“Selma asked me to stay a few days. I have to take these to the room she is letting me use.”
“I’ll take them, Sara.” He took her three bags lifting them like they were empty. Before he turned to leave, he leaned over and kissed her temple.
It was such a platonic kiss after the one he gave her in the parking lot. Still, the kiss touched her, made her heart ache. Within it, she saw a glimpse of what she spent a lifetime looking for. Why him, why now?
“Let me show you to your room.” Selma led her inside the bed and breakfast to a foyer with a desk on the right side. She went to sign in and saw the last name on the register was Taya Clark. They were having a slow season, no wonder she had an extra bed for Sara to use.
She signed her name and followed Selma up the stairs. Selma led her to a room at the end of the hall.
“You’ll like this room. Taya’s parents were the last to stay in here. So the room is flavored with their love.”
“Did they go back home?”
“Hardly,” Selma gave a chuckle. “They bought a house in Newburg. It was a new listing that just happened to become available. It’s rather close to the Uroms. Those are Mckayla’s grandparents; the four of them have become thick as thieves. I’m waiting for Taya to announce any day that she’s pregnant. I think I caught her mother checking Taya’s medicine cabinet to make sure she’s not on contraceptives.”
Sara laughed a full out I’m happy to be talking to you laugh.
“I understand how her mother feels. For a while, I thought Annie would never give me a grandchild.” Sadness slashed at her heart as thoughts of Mark made her miss him even more. “My grandson, Mark, lives in New York with his family. I only get to see him when Annie gets a chance to come for a visit. Why have I been so reluctant to leave my house?” The last she whispered to herself.
“Dinner will be at seven today. After the eventful afternoon we had, I decided to push it back an hour. I also want to feed the others first.”
“The others?”
“The guests, we’re about to be overrun with them.”
“Maybe I should come back when it’s less crowded.”
“No, you’re meant to be here. Get settled in and I’ll see you at dinner.”
“About dinner.”
“Sara, take a look in the full-length mirror in the bedroom. It’s one of those mirrors that won’t allow you to lie to yourself. See you at dinner.”
Sara watched as the door closed behind Selma before she got mad. Why was it that everyone thought they knew what was best for her? She’d lived this life for sixty years. She knew what was best for her. Taking her suitcases into the bedroom, she noted the blue walls with the accents of silver. She liked them, but her favorite color was hunter green. She could never figure out why she liked it, but she did.
It didn’t take her long to put her clothes away. Up until now, she resisted the mirror that was beside the vanity. Her feet moved like they had a will of their own and she went to stand in front of it. Again she admired the gray pinstripe pants she was wearing with the cuffs at the bottom and the pink shirt that set off the outfit. She had changed into the heels before she left her house, and they just looked hot on her feet. Guys would fight over her in this outfit. Only one guy came to mind; he was tall with impossibly wide shoulders and his kiss made her melt. She fanned herself and tried to stop panting at the thought. Her fingers itched and fire went through her veins. He was the first male to affect her like this.
Do you look just as good with your clothes off? Her treacherous brain was playing tricks with her. She looked like a fat goldfish. Why remind her? Take your clothes off and have a look. No, a little voice protested inside her head. She hated that voice; it was the voice that told her to forgive Jim when, in her anger, she wanted to see him staked outside naked with honey poured all over his cock. A lure for the fire ants to
come and take a bite. Instead, she had followed what she thought was the voice of reason and forgave him. Then she tried harder to please him and watched as he laughed at her before he walked through that door for the last time. Yeah, she hated that voice, so she started undressing. When was the right time to face your life, good or bad? Anytime before you died. This was her time.
She kept her eyes off the mirror while she stripped out of her clothes. Now she was standing there in her bra, embarrassed that it was plain white. When had she decided that when you got old, you needed to act old? It had crept up on her with silent feet and tackled her to the ground without her knowing. She pulled the bra off and promised herself she would wear some of the ones she bought last time she went shopping. As far as her panties went, she didn’t even give herself time to consider how ugly they were. She simply started a burn now pile with them.
Her eyes were closed tightly as she straightened her body and moved her head to be able to see directly into the mirror, now all she had to do was open her eyes.
“You can do this, Sara. You’re strong and brave. You can do this, Sara.”
She opened her eyes, and it was like somebody removed the blinders she’d been wearing for years. She took a long hard look at her body before she crumpled onto the floor allowing her body to shake as the tears fell. She hadn’t cried when Jim left her. Nor had she cried when he spread those rumors about her. She kept her head up and her shoulders stiff through everything that had happened in her life. She managed to keep her eyes dry when her mom died although she wanted to cry for months about that one. But what she saw in the mirror cut her to the core. She wasn’t skinny and beautiful; she wasn’t even a fat goldfish. Instead, she was a female from a third world country who had been denied food and she didn’t say that lightly because her heart went out to those people. She said it because she needed the harshness of truth if she was going to change and she was going to change.
The words she said to Colun came back to haunt her now that she had a new picture of herself. It wasn’t going to happen overnight. Her one saving grace, she thought as she stood in front of the mirror again, was her addiction to exercise. There wasn’t skin pulling away from her body. She may be too thin but she at least had muscle. All she needed to do was gain a few pounds, fill out a little, and she’d be hot, hot. She’d settle for pretty.
Turning, she went through the things she brought with her. Soon she had a never wear again pile and a you’ll do for now pile. It was a beginning. She went into the bathroom and decided to take a bath. She sank into the deep tub allowing the hot water to surround her. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and dreamed of Colun worshipping her body like it looked right now and then worshipping it in the future when it filled out. Her mouth opened letting a sigh of bliss escape.
*~*~*~*
Sara walked down the stairs determined to explore a little before dinner. The pictures displayed along the staircase caught her eye; they were beautiful and a wonderful compliment to the elegant stairway.
Once she reached the bottom, she could hear loud voices and peeped into the dining room. It held the guests Selma talked about; she knew they weren’t family because she didn’t recognize one of them. The women didn’t vibrate with that unseen power. Except for the one in the shadows. No matter how Sara tried to get a good look at her she couldn’t, but she knew she was female by her hands. They were just too delicate to belong to a male.
Retreating, she looked at the guest book; there were at least ten names under hers. Selma was right when she said they were about to get slammed. She stepped out onto the porch, it was empty; she nodded to herself now was the perfect time to take that walk. She picked a random direction and walked, enjoying the blooms that still clung to the ground and the green leaves on the tree. It was beautiful, before long she found herself in a gazebo. Memories of the one she loved to play in as a child came back. Not tired, she began to walk further until she felt slimy. It was as though she walked into a swamp oozing slime, and it was all over her skin. Swamps weren’t common in this part of Pennsylvania that helpful voice, the one she hated, reminded her.
She stopped although the voice told her to walk on. She was on the borderline of safety and danger; she could feel it like a live wire against her skin. If she walked any further, crossed over the barrier, she would be at its mercy.
She refused to take one more step towards the barrier.
Chapter Seven
The monster that she convinced herself was a dream conjured up by bad food stepped out of a grouping of trees. It hovered above the ground never touching the beautiful grass or the flowers spread under its feet.
“I must admit,” it said when it was too close to her. “You’re smarter than you look.”
It was so close she knew it could almost reach out and touch her, but the barrier was still sending ‘do not cross’ feelings through her body, protecting her.
“If we’re admitting things, then I need to admit that you're more idiotic than you look.” It thought it would smile at her, play nice and she would cross the barrier. Idiot. In its hands was death, that’s what it liked, and she could see it written across its cruel and gruesome face.
“You will come to me. You won’t have a choice.” It moved back just a little and began to weave its hands in front of its body capturing her gaze as its fingers moved and a darkness more tranquil than the night danced around it.
“I’ve been watching you, Sara. You never leave that house. It protects you and controls you at the same time. It defeated me every time I tried to invade, but now you're alone, vulnerable, and mine.”
She shivered at its summation of her house; it felt right. Her house protected her, but it also controlled her. Kept her captive even when she wanted to spread her wings.
“Come to me, Sara,” it whispered, its voice low and seductive. “You want this, Sara; you were born to belong to me. The others who used you, abused you, siphoning off your strength a little at a time, couldn’t handle you. None of those males could handle the house that kept you alive when you should have died. Look at you, Sara; you’re death walking. Let me finish you off, give you what you want, need. The ultimate bliss of pain, the ultimate sacrifice of your life for mine. Come to me, Sara, it’s time to die.”
Die. The word beat around her brain. Why was she holding onto life? Was it to see her daughter or grandchild one more time? Was it for one more chance to kiss Colun? She should have been dead years ago, but she refused to die even when she heard the word echoing through her heart, and now she was faced with the chance once again. She should run to death with outstretched arms like it was the lover she never knew.
But she wouldn’t because she learned too much today. She no longer cared what society thought or the women who always seemed just a little better than her, with their perfect houses and perfect husbands. Her body such as it was, still belonged to her. Her life could still be changed, molded, rearranged, age didn’t matter, nothing mattered until death knocked on her door and claimed her as his willing victim. That’s when everything stopped, when change was no longer an option. She wouldn’t be dying today. She just needed to know how to defeat the monster before her.
It’s magic…was that the right word for it? Whatever it was doing was reaching for her, unfolding around her, making it impossible for her to move. Once the spell it was weaving was at full force, she wouldn’t be able to resist. How was she going to get out of this mess? At that moment she wished she had the protection of her house. Then the control of the house felt like a noose around her neck, and she knew she was never going back there.
“I need power,” she whispered to herself. She looked deep within her to find banks of power that slumbered but wouldn’t be able to save her. Then she saw it, a slow burning ember of power not hers but available to be used. She grabbed it, followed it to the source, and drew on it much like she thought sorcerers or witches from old movies would draw on power.
She imagined it like a cloak and wrapped herse
lf in it. The power throbbed around her. Lighting the blood in her veins. She felt alive and high at the same time. She smiled at him, mess with me now.
“Power surrounds you, old power the kind my people and I thought no longer existed. I want that power; with it, I could be invincible. Come to me.”
She walked to him not because he commanded her but because she knew she was safe. It, the monster that wasn’t her imagination, grabbed at her and howled with pain as the cloak she wore burned its hand beyond recognition.
She could kill it or at least her cloak could, but she didn’t know how to harness the power she was borrowing. So she did the next best thing, she walked closer to her nightmare knowing the closer she was the more the cloak would reach out to it to try and kill. The monster that threatened her backed away.
“I’ll be back for you. You won’t always have that power to protect you.”
It left, and Sara knew it was right. Even now the cloak was delving deep into her mind, looking at the areas she marked do not disturb a long time ago. She staggered back over the dividing line so that when she passed out she would be in the safety zone.
The power she collected around her was demanding she let it in and bare her soul to it. It would have nothing but the truth, but all she had to offer were the lies of a lifetime and innuendos of things that might have been if fear hadn’t been her constant friend.
She walked until she saw the bed and breakfast then she collapsed because the power that saved her was now killing her.
*~*~*~*
“Colun!” Gabe screamed, already racing out of his room to the top of the step. He heard Colun’s footsteps as he passed by his door. When Colun fell, he heard it loud and clear. He was halfway out of the room as he raised the alarm.
Colun was out cold; his skin was pasty while his heartbeat was erratic and he fought for every breath he took.
Colun's Passion (Alien Mates Book Four 4) Page 4
