Five Hearts Anthology

by Sandy Sullivan

  Plunging a finger, then two into her dripping wet slit, he stretched her moist walls. She thrashed beneath him, meeting every thrust inside.

  “You’re so fucking tight, Nissa,” he growled as he slid a third finger in and pressed firmly against her G-spot.

  Nissa arched her hips as she cried out his name.

  “Fuck, you’re an enchantress that’s bedeviled me. Come for me, Nissa.” His voice was husky, filled with his own need to pleasure her first. He continued his rhythmic rocking of his fingers inside her, her hips keeping time with him. Cries of delight slipped out of her gorgeous mouth as her release swept over her. Her inner muscles clamped down on his fingers, squeezing hard. As she came down, he slowly calmed his movement before easing his hand away. He traced his dripping fingers down and over her, flitting over her back entrance, curious to see her reaction. When he didn’t get any adverse response, he lightly pressed one finger against the tight hole, circling in a gentle and delicate touch. At first she flinched in reaction to his intrusion, but soon relaxed, moaning softly. Mikael watched in breathless anticipation as she arched up and slowly pressed herself against his finger.

  When she slid one hand down to her clit and began to rub, then slipped a couple fingers from her free hand into her pussy, urgency spiked through him. The seductive act relaxed the muscles in her ass allowing Mikael to ease another finger in, massaging the tight forbidden passage. The sight made his erection even harder, if that was possible. He was quickly losing control, unable to hold on much longer. The urge to take her now, fucking her senseless was damn strong.

  “Mikael,” she barely eked out in a breathless moan that revealed her approaching climax. “Please, I need you in me now.”

  Keeping his fingers tight in her ass, he leaned over her, kissing the pouty mouth, then sucked on her bottom lip, drawing it between his teeth. He released the kiss, withdrew his fingers from her ass and pushed her thighs wider with his knees. Her sable brown eyes widened and the pupils dilated, as she bit her bottom lip. The look made his cock quiver against her belly.

  She pushed her hips upward. “Now, Mikael. Please.”

  Taking a deep breath, slowly letting it out, he growled deep in his chest. His head was swimming from the rush of sensations. He’d shifted his hands and lowered to his elbows on either side of her. He leaned over and kissed her roughly, thrusting his tongue in her mouth so she could taste herself as he eased the tip of his steely shaft into her wet sheath.

  As he slowly pressed into her slippery opening, she gasped into his mouth. He thrust deep then pulled out, then in again stretching her one delicious inch at a time until his balls rested against her. As she squeezed her muscles around him, Mikael gripped her hips, angling her opening for greater penetration. Breathing hard, he stayed still for a moment, allowing her to adjust to his size. He reached forward, tracing his fingers up the sides of her body and cupped her breasts. She trembled beneath him from the sensation.

  He drew back and released one of her breasts. As he slid his hand under her ass, he lifted her to plunge deeper. She moaned as he eased his thick shaft in to impale her fully from the new angle. He went to draw back and she moaned, wrapping her legs around his waist. He drew back slowly, and then eased forward again. Getting a tighter grip on her hip, Mikael began to fuck her with long, hard strokes, keeping the pace steady while at the same time pushing his thumb into her ass.

  Her eyes drifted closed and her breaths came in uneven, small bursts. “Mikael, I’m coming.” Clinging to his shoulders as his thighs slammed into her, she let out a guttural shriek of pleasure.

  Back and forward, in and out, he stroked his rock-hard cock and she tightened her inner muscles around his hardness.

  Pulling out almost to the point where his cock would pull free, and then thrusting forward again, he plunged deep and fast with each succession. Mikael ran his thumb over her clit, causing Nissa to buck and grind her hips uncontrollably against him. Every nerve ending sparked electricity from the sensation of her wailing orgasm as the adrenaline rush exploded and mind-shattering joy rippled through him.

  “That’s it baby,” he coaxed with a husky tone of voice. “Keep creaming on my cock. Give it to me. Come for me, Nissa.”

  Intense spasms erupted as she climaxed, her inner muscles pressing around his cock, milking him to an orgasm. He increased the speed of each thrust until moments later he reached his peak.

  “Ahhh, fuck, Nissa,” he growled as a mind-numbing orgasm ripped through his body, his hips clenching in release. As he expelled his seed deep inside her hot pulsating cunt, his body trembled. A hiss of air escaped through clenched teeth as he slowed his pace, and then collapsed on top of her. The carnal passion was raw, animalistic, wickedly so unbelievable, he’d never experienced such an explosive feeling in his body, or heart. He sensed she never had either.

  Caressing her face with tender strokes, he slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her passionately. If this were a dream, he’d be happy for the rest of his life, right here, right now, never wanting to wake up.

  They made love three more times, through the afternoon, into evening and the last time in the early hours of morning before falling blissfully asleep, fully exhausted and sated.

  The next morning, he awakened early. He glanced over and saw Nissa still sound asleep. His heart thumped hard, his first thoughts were that he did dream making love with her. Brushing the long tresses back from her face, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. He smiled a contented smile. Falling in love shouldn’t be this easy, so profound, so fast. But, it was as if he’d known her all his life, waiting for her to come into it. If this is insanity, call me certifiable. No way she’s a ghost. She’s a hot, breathing, sexy woman. There has to be some explanation. She has to be related to the first Nissa Moore.

  Rising from the bed, he pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped on a T-shirt and quietly stepped out of the room. He was starving and sure she would be when she awakened. They had been so wrapped up in their passions yesterday; they barely ate enough to keep up their energy. He decided he’d fix her favorite—scrambled eggs, bacon and toast with strawberry jam. And a large pot of coffee!

  When he returned to the bedroom and opened the door carrying the tray with the food, she was standing with her back to him.

  “Well good morning, sleepyhead,” he said cheerfully as he placed the tray on the bed.

  “Nissa, are you all right?” he asked when she had not turned to respond to his greeting.

  Something on the floor, at her feet, caught his eye. Shit! The diary!

  She slowly turned to face him and he spied the picture of her and Edmond by the boat clenched in her hands. He noticed tears trickling from her eyes onto her cheeks. Raising her head, the frame slowly slipped from her grasp and crashed on the floor. “I’m dead. I remember everything.”

  The phone rang. He ignored it. With a couple quick strides he was before her, wrapping his arms around her.

  The phone rang again.

  His embrace began to collapse in, her body became translucent.

  “Nissa, no. Come back to me,” he cried out. “I love you.”

  The phone rang again as he stood watching her visage disappear before his eyes.

  Before the last of her faded, she spoke in a distant voice, “I love you Mikael. I will return. Wait for…”

  And then she vanished from view. He was alone and the phone rang again, this time he answered.

  “What!”

  “Sheriff? It’s Valberg. You okay?”

  “Sorry. Yes. No. What is it, deputy?”

  “Tom Berger did it, just like he said he would. He torched that damned boat and now we have a runaway fire on our hands. The fire department is working on getting it under control. I have Tom under arrest. Did I do the right thing, boss?”

  “The boat? He burned it? Is anything left of it?”

  “No, went up like matchwood along with all the dry grass it sat on.”

  “She’s gone and there’s no
way for her to come back,” Mikael murmured.

  “What boss? Who isn’t coming back? The Helga? I don’t think so. She’s nothing but a pile of charred wood and ash. She’s never coming back.”

  Chapter Six

  He woke in a cold sweat with his heart beating furiously. It happened every time Valentine’s Day drew near. The dream became more real, more intense during that time. His mind whirled, wondering if this February the fourteenth would be the year she returned. Every year for the past five he had waited for Nissa, but she never did return.

  Alone, in the Victorian home he finished remodeling three years ago, he settled into his position as Sheriff of Marneport and life became very easy. There was pain, an immense amount in the beginning when Nissa faded from his life, but over the years he adjusted. He spent the first couple years researching paranormal phenomena, and even hired a psychic at one point to help him communicate with the dead in hopes of contacting Nissa. That turned out to be a waste.

  During his waking moments, Mikael knew his life would never be the same. He carried an enormous weight of anger and resentment at circumstances he couldn’t control. The woman he loved was dead; the woman he made love to had been alive for those few brief hours. The memory would sustain him the rest of his life. A life taken away in the uncontrollable blink of an eye the second he had given his heart to her, and she’d disappeared taking that broken heart to wherever dead ghosts go. He had discussed that issue with the psychic in detail. Where do ghosts live? Somewhere in-between life and death? The psychic told him Nissa had unfinished business on this plane of existence, whatever the hell that meant. He was a logical thinking man, one that believed in what he could perceive with all his senses. To him, Nissa had been alive, not dead. His mind kept reliving each touch, kiss, and embrace. Every move he made, every misstep along the way, he’d regret leaving that photo and diary for her to find for the rest of his life.

  Finally, after five years of no reappearance, he gave up knowing all he’d ever have would be the memories of a kiss that tasted like the sea on her lips, the surrender of her body, and being lost forever in her heart. He’d be content with that.

  Today, he made the decision to move on, but knowing he’d never be able to love another, he’d put all his love and energy into work.

  * * * *

  “What day is it, Sherry?” the old man said, peering through rheumy eyes at the home health nurse.

  “Mister Larson,” the woman’s voice breached a tone of motherly chiding, “I told you earlier. It’s the fourteenth, Valentine’s Day to be exact.” She cocked her head and gave the patient a small smile. “Are you expecting something today? A valentine gift, perhaps? You know you can’t have chocolate or anything sweet.”

  “I don’t want candy. I wanted to know what day it was. Did it storm last night?” With the tips of his trembling and contorted fingers, he fidgeted along the light blanket covering his frail body. “Cranky old woman,” he murmured.

  “I heard that. Yes, we had a storm last night. A bad one. Now, you behave. My shift is almost over and your day nurse will be here any moment. Don’t be giving her a hard time either. I understand she is new with you. Alice took the day off to be with her husband for Valentine’s Day.”

  “Ah, another one I have to break in.”

  The nurse chuckled. “You’re too much. Now rest, I’ll get your breakfast.” She turned to leave and he grabbed her wrist.

  “No.” He struggled to get the word out. “Don’t leave me.” Gasping for more air to continue, his grip tightened. “I’m going today. She’s coming for me.”

  Placing her hand over his, she smiled and gently pulled from his embrace. “Mister Larson, you’re not going anywhere. Now, rest. I’ll be right back with your breakfast.”

  The doorbell chimed, three baritone dongs followed by two quick high pitched tings.

  “Ah, that must be your day nurse.” Nurse Sherry waddled off to answer the door. As she passed the bedroom door, she glanced over her shoulder to her patient and shook her head. “The old coot is losing it. Probably not long now,” she whispered walking away.

  A few minutes later, she returned accompanied by the day nurse.

  Keeping her voice low, she spoke with the new nurse. “I know this is your first day with Mister Larson. He’s not a real problem. Just maintain his pain meds and fluids. I have his breakfast ready on the stove, although he appears to be sleeping now. A few minutes ago he was grabbing my wrist and asking what day it was. The man is slipping fast, but he is eighty-six years old and has terminal cancer. I gave him his meds last at six and he won’t need another dose for a couple more hours. You can find any other instructions in the journal here.” Nurse Sherry pointed to the notebook on the dresser against the far wall of the twelve by twelve bedroom. “If you run into any problems, but I’m sure you won’t, you know to call the office.”

  “I’ll be fine. Mister Larson is in good hands with me. You have a good day.”

  The off-going nurse picked up her heavy wool coat slung across the upholstered chair, her tote bag and paperback book and departed.

  The young woman smiled and then glanced down at the older man. The gray hair on his head spiked in every direction. The lines on his face were deep and long, furrowing along his brow and around his eyes. His skin appeared translucent and thin, the pure shade of newly fallen snow. She sensed the flow of blood through the pale blue veins and watched the labored rise and fall of his ribs. The minutes ticked by as her breathing synchronized with his. Gradually, his breaths slowed. Then, they ceased.

  An instant later, a brilliant light burst through the closed door of the bedroom. The elderly man’s eyes popped open and glanced toward the woman standing beside the bed.

  “You finally came back, Nissa.”

  A smile stretched across her angelic visage. “Yes, Mikael. You waited for me. I said I would return for you.” She outstretched her arm, presenting an upturned palmed hand. “Come, my love. It is time to go.”

  Mikael pushed himself up into a sitting position. Locking his eyes on the vision before him, he became aware of the fact that his body was youthful, virile. The infirmities of age had fallen away. Trying to understand what just happened, he closed his eyes and then opened them again. He examined the new young him.

  The woman laughed. “Don’t worry, Mikael, it’s still you.”

  Taking in a deep breath, he placed a hand in the beautiful young woman’s before him, smiling as he did so.

  “Come, we have much to celebrate this Valentine’s Day, Mikael.”

  “You took so long to return, Nissa.”

  “Fifty years is less than the blink of an eye in the face of eternity.”

  As they walked toward the light, Mikael glanced over his shoulder at the shell of what used to be his body lying upon the hospital bed. Turning back, he focused on the woman in his embrace. “I love you, Nissa.”

  “And I you, Mikael. Now and forever, always.

  *THE END*

  Cupid’s Target

  By

  Dana Littlejohn

  Chapter One

  April Harding never considered herself a winter person. She didn’t like anything about the season. The wind was cold and cruel as it wreaked havoc on her skin and nails. The clothes you had to wear were heavy and usually dark and dreary. It was darker earlier and the bills were higher because you had to turn on the lights sooner and crank the heat to keep yourself warm.

  It was one of the coldest days they’d had in weeks. Against her better judgment, April had bundled herself up to brave the elements as a light snowfall attempted to dust her car. While she should be at home warming her frozen body by the fireplace, she was in fact on her way to the mall pondering what to wear to a Valentine’s Day party. She usually made it a priority to go out only to work or get food during this time of the year, successfully hibernating while waiting for spring thaw to occur impatiently, but those plans had been altered.

  “You can’t tell me that this
isn’t one of his most ludicrous ideas to date,” she grumbled.

  “Now April, you only think that because it’s cold and you have to be out in it. If Mr. Bowman had suggested this in June you wouldn’t have a problem with it at all,” a female voice chastised in her ear.

  “You are absolutely right, Margot. If it were June I wouldn’t have a problem with it. Driving would be easier, walking around searching for the right outfit would be much more pleasant and getting off early to do all that would be great, but it’s freaking February. When it’s a million degrees below zero out here it kind of sucks the fun out of shopping.”

  Margot giggled. “Okay, I’ll give you that. I know it’s a business function, but try to make the best out of it. It’s still a party, you know. Good food, free drinks, dancing…you know, a party.”

  April sputtered. “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize those words put together in that capacity.”

  Margot laughed as April turned the corner. April scanned the frozen looking parking lot for an open spot and clicked her teeth.

  “You should see this parking lot, Margot. It’s crazy out here. It’s not even rush hour yet. Did everybody get off early to go to the mall?”

  “Well, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, April. Those are most likely the last minute shoppers you’re running into.”

  April scoffed. Just like her boss decided they would attend the meet and greet downtown with several other visiting company at the last minute.

  “I have no business at this party,” she told her friend.

  “Someone has to be there to represent the company,” Margot reminded her.

  April spied an opening and headed for it. “Why can’t the old man go by himself?”