by Alex Lux
I wondered what evil lurked in our future, plotting to pull us from our happiness.
Shrugging off the morbid, I tilted my fiancée's face up and kissed her softly, deepening it as her fingers dug into my arms. My hand slid down her shoulder, falling to her soft breasts.
She pushed herself into me, then pulled back and captured my hand with hers. "People can see us, you know."
Through the glass, a little boy stared up from his car with big eyes. Oops. "Sorry, love. I just can't help myself."
"Are you enjoying the ride?"
I watched Seattle spin around me. "Yes. But I'd enjoy anything with you by my side."
"You're full of romantic words tonight, aren't you?"
"Only for you. I just want to get past the solstice so we can set a date for our wedding, and I can make you mine for good." And then maybe this perpetual fear in my gut will go away.
"Me too. But, I'm already yours for good. No paper will change that."
When the ride stopped after three cycles around the wheel, I didn't want to get out. In here we could make our own world and pretend the rest didn't exist. Once we stepped out, reality would, once again, rule.
Rose went first, tripping over the lip of the floor in her heels.
I caught her around the waist and steadied her as I walked out. "You okay?"
She flushed pink. "Yes. This outfit was Ocean's idea, naturally. I don't walk well in heels."
"I hadn't noticed. I swear." I held up the sign of the Boy Scouts in mock seriousness.
"Liar." She pushed her shoe back on her foot and stood up. "Okay, you ready to eat?"
"Always. Where to?"
We walked back to the car hand in hand, not wanting the seafood fare that lined the sidewalk by the Ferris wheel.
I opened her door and admired her legs as her skirt rode up her thigh when she got in.
She saw me watching and flashed more skin. "How about we go back to that Italian place from our first date? Maybe we can recreate a better ending?"
Like one that didn't involve her getting scared, running away and nearly being raped. Just remembering that night, the bastards who attacked her with a knife, blood trickling down her arm, made the wolf inside of me fight to come out. But this time, his fight was weak. My eyes didn't shift, and my senses stayed as dim as the average human. Heart pounding, hands shaking, I closed her door and tried to compose myself as I walked around the car to the driver's side. I slid in, steadying my breath. "Sure, we can go there."
She tilted her head toward me. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, love. Just don't want anyone to hurt you ever again."
"Good." She smiled. "I'm on board with that plan. Now feed me!"
Her playfulness boosted my spirits, and we drove to the restaurant with flirtatious teasing and banter.
The host recognized us from our last visit and showed us to the same table we'd had before. He lit a candle in the center and told us our server would be with us shortly.
Rose shrugged out of her coat and draped it on the chair behind her, revealing her sexy blouse that dipped to show enough cleavage to make me hard again.
I groaned. "You know you're entirely too distracting for us to be in public right now."
"You have to feed me before taking advantage of me. I require sustenance."
I sighed. "If I must. Wouldn't want the lady to expire from too much amorous attention."
Our server, a young man who paid a little too much attention to Rose, came to take our order. If he kept looking at her like that I was going to have to ask Rose to put her coat back on before I beat the guy.
Music played softly in the background, and I reached to hold Rose's hand over the table. "Are you having a nice night? You have a little worry line on your forehead."
She smiled, replacing worry with laugh lines. "Just thinking about Tammy and Jasmine and Mother. Hoping it's all okay."
"I have my cell on. They'd call if something happened. Relax."
Taking a deep breath, she made a show of doing just that, but I could still see the stress in her shoulders.
Our food arrived, and we talked about our families while we ate.
In between bites of meatballs, Rose looked up from her plate. "What was your childhood like? Were you like little puppies running around?"
I laughed, choking on a piece of chicken. "No. Well, maybe. We learned to shift at a young age, so Tammy, Dean and I would run around in wolf form for fun. We've always lived in our current house, so we had plenty of room to roam. Of course we had strict rules about going off property, for fear a human would hunt us. One time we tested the boundaries, sneaking under a fence on the north corner of our land. The three of us, still wolves, ran through the neighbor’s yard, so excited to be free and explore the dangerous world." I took a sip of water and continued. "The owner, having heard our howling on other nights, had set traps. Dean got caught in one and immediately turned back to his human form. They couldn't have been more than ten years old, and I was twelve. Tammy and I nearly died of panic. We pried the trap off of his foot and got him back to Dad, who fixed him up with rose ointment, but he still has a faint scar around his ankle from that day. We never disobeyed again, I'll tell you that. It was the most scared any of us had ever been."
"Until now." She said it under her breath, but I could see the grief in her eyes.
"We were kids, with kid problems. Now we're adults. Our problems grew with us. That's not your fault." Even if you think it is. Why does every conversation lead back to the depressing? "What about you? Were you and Ocean always so tight? You seem very different to be so close."
"She and I met in kindergarten when I first used my power. She knew, and didn't tell. Her family joined our coven, and we've been best friends ever since. We're different, yes, but we compliment each other, too."
A sad silence filled the space between us.
Rose played with the food on her plate. "Tell me about your travels. Where did you go while you wandered the country on your motorcycle?"
"I went just about everywhere. I kept thinking that if I could just find the place I belong, I'd be happy. New York was fun. The city is always awake and alive. Vegas is the same way, though a very different feel. The Midwest is much slower and more boring. But it's quiet and gives you time to think. In the last several months I'd been primarily on the west coast, traveling through California to Oregon." The song in the background shifted, and a sad soprano cried her sorrows into the music in Italian.
"Did you find that place you belong?"
I sat back, thinking how best to explain. "Turns out, I had it backwards. It's not a place I was looking for. It's a person. Home is about people. My home is wherever you are."
"I think that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." She cleared her throat and pushed her empty plate aside to reach for me. "My coven has always been my family, but I never fit in, never belonged. Still, it felt more solid than being out in the world on my own, but with you and your family, I finally feel like I've found home."
My heart pounded as I looked into the eyes of the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. "I'm glad you're happy. You deserve to be happy."
The server came to take our empty plates, but we didn't break eye contact. When he brought the check, I paid it and looked back at Rose. "What do you want to do next?"
She grinned in a way I'd come to recognize as naughty, and I felt her bare foot slide up my leg and rub against my cock. "I'm sure we can think of something."
SIX
My Black and Deep Desires
ROSE
Stars, hide your fires!
Let not light see my black and deep desires.
— William Shakespeare, Macbeth
"CLOSE YOUR EYES," I told Derek, as we stood just outside our bedroom.
He grinned and closed them. "Didn't we already play this game?"
"Nope. This is a new game." I peeked into our room to make sure Ocean had set everything up as instructed, then pulled him in b
ehind me. "Okay, open them."
At least a hundred candles of varying shapes and sizes lit up the space, casting shadows on the walls and filling the area with the scent of vanilla spice. Fresh rose petals adorned our black velvet comforter on our King-sized canopy bed. Instrumental music played softly in the background. Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries sat on our dresser next to the purple rose from the Druid's rose bush Derek had given me the day he proposed. It never wilted, never changed. A perfect rose forever, and the last one we had now that the rose bush had been stolen.
Before either of us could fall into any morbid thoughts, I pulled my pink silk top off over my head. I heard his intake of breath as he admired the red and black bra I'd worn for the occasion. Unzipping the skirt at the side, I let it slide down to my feet and kicked it off, standing before him in the matching panties and garter belt.
I poured us each a glass of champagne and handed him one. "A toast. To us and our future."
We clinked glasses, our eyes never leaving each other's. Heat built between us. Desire pooled in my belly, sending waves of need through my core. I pressed against him with the length of my body, rubbing my free hand against his cock as I sipped the champagne. We kissed, the taste of our drinks still on our tongues, his lips soft but demanding.
A stray shadow of my power zapped through me and into Derek, causing him to spill his drink down his shirt.
I backed up, my eyes wide and hands shaking. "Are you hurt? What just happened?"
"I'm fine. I'm not sure what that was, but I swear I'm fine." He looked down as his wet shirt and peeled it off. "Let me just go rinse off." He kissed me again. "Don't move. I want to pick up where we left off."
He went to the bathroom, and I heard the shower running. Images of his body, naked and wet, filled my mind. He said he was fine, and I didn't feel like my power had fed. While it was true that my power had been growing, needing more pain to feed it, I didn't seem out of control or a danger to him.
With my mind made up, I put my champagne flute down, slipped off my shoes and joined Derek in the bathroom.
I could see his outline through the fogged up glass shower door, including his hard on, still prominent despite the interruption. Opening the door, I stepped into the shower, lingerie and all, before he could say anything. As the hot water poured over me, the sheer fabric clung to my skin. "Mind if I join you?"
His body tensed, muscles flexing, as he studied me. "Damn, woman, what are you trying to do to me?"
Kneeling, I took his cock into my mouth to show him exactly what I was trying to do to him.
I'd gotten better at deep-throating him, my gag reflex no longer so sensitive, so I took him as deeply as I could, swirling my tongue around his tip as I used my hand to tease his balls and stroke his base.
His fingers dug into my hair, pulling hard enough that the pain kept my powers happy.
He groaned and pulled out of me. "I need you."
Pushing me against the shower wall, my back to him, he ripped off my panties and used his knee to spread my legs. My pussy throbbed with unmet desire as he pressed his body to mine, pulling my hips back until I was bent at the waist.
His fingers dug into my skin as he impaled me with his cock.
Once again pain and pleasure fought each other as the length and width of him stretched me with so much speed and force.
I bit my lip and resisted the instinct to pull back, instead thrusting my hips against his to take him in deeper.
His arms wound around me, finding my hard nipples through my bra and pinching them.
Our rhythm increased, bodies pounding against each other until it felt like my body would split in two. When my power swelled, hungry again, Derek pulled on my hair, forcing me back as he fucked me.
With his other hand he reached around me and spread the lips of my pussy, fingering my clit as he pounded me from behind. The pain, the stimulation, the thrusts of his cock, all took over, making me shiver and push against him and ache until the pressure built and exploded in us both.
My body shook, and my legs collapsed under me. He caught me up in his arms, turning me to face him and kissing me.
The shower went cold as we stood together, holding each other, unable to let go.
He couldn't see my tears mingling with the water, tears of joy and fear and some other, unnamable emotion. To love someone this much, to give myself so completely to him, meant opening up myself to more pain than I would ever be able to handle if something happened to him.
The sounds of night filtered through our window, an orchestra of crickets and the howling wind of winter claiming my attention as Derek slept soundly beside me.
With a racing mind, I left behind the warmth of his body and bed and slipped into sweats and slippers. Without turning on the lights, I made my way to the library and prepared for a night of research.
My night with Derek left me with mixed feelings. While I loved every moment with him, I feared myself and my power. The pain had added to the pleasure, but if this escalated, I wasn't sure how much more I'd be able to take before I lost that delicate balance.
We needed answers, or I feared for what might come.
Tammy hadn't returned yet with her group, but we knew they were closing in on the trail, so we didn't worry. The rest of the house had settled in for the night, but I couldn't sleep. I needed to learn more about my powers, about my demon side. If I ever hoped to bring back Dean and save the family I'd grown to love, I had to find something that would help me.
Head bent over book, time passed as I skimmed pages, reading about various demons.
I glanced up when the library door creaked open.
Ocean stood there in yoga pants and a long cotton shirt, her hair pulled into a messy bun. "Why are you still up? Didn't your date go well?"
I bookmarked my page and closed the book. "Better than well. It was perfect. I just needed to stay busy, you know?"
She nodded and sat next to me, grabbing a book for herself. "I'll help."
After another hour of searching, I found something potentially useful. "Ocean, look at this." I pointed to the page I was reading. "It's a Cambion. They're the offspring of an Incubus and human woman. This is what I am."
It made me sick to think about. The book described a creature born with the need to entice their victims into sexual activity with evil intentions. "Toward what end? Is it to drain their souls? Is that why I can do what I do? Why my power works the way it does?"
Ocean put her hand on mine. "Rose, this isn't you. First of all, you weren't born to a human woman. You were born to a witch. There's a difference. We have to factor that in. While you are most definitely as beautiful as they describe here—"
"Yeah, right."
She glared at me. "As I was saying. While you are beautiful, you would never hurt anyone deliberately, and you're certainly not trying to lure Derek into evil. The witch in you is strong. It's the one blessing of having the mother you have."
I slammed the book shut, frustrated at how little we understood about any of this.
She pulled the large codex from my hands and opened it back up. "Let's see what we can find out about Daddy dearest, shall we?" Searching through the book, she stopped at a page labeled Incubus and started reading. "An Incubus is a demon in the male form who seeks to have sexual intercourse with women while a Succubus is the female counterpart. An Incubus attracts women with its powers and seeks to impregnate them with a demon. Repeated intercourse with an Incubus may result in health issues and even death."
Ocean raised an eyebrow. "Sound like anyone we know?"
"Blake. You think he's an Incubus?" I thought about the night in my cottage, how close I'd come to having sex with him. How my powers didn't affect him like everyone else.
"He certainly had every woman in community ready to bend over for him."
I nudged her with my shoulder. "You're vile, you know that?"
Her eyes widened in mock innocence. "Who? Me? It's true and you know it. Wha
t's astonishing is that he didn't sleep with any of us. He only ever wanted you."
Could a demon actually fall in love? Had his feelings for me been real? I didn't know what to do with that information. Just separating the Blake I'd known my whole life, the one who'd utterly betrayed me, with the demon Blake who hadn't exactly been loyal, but had saved my life, was hard enough. Now, to weigh in the fact that he might have gone against his own nature to be with me—it shook up everything I thought I knew about this whole situation.
"If he'd been in love with me, for real, why did he betray me?" I held onto my anger and the reason behind it, my only defense against emotions I didn't want to feel. I wasn't in love with him, couldn't be. I loved Derek too much for anything or anyone else to come close to touching that. But I cared for him, and I hated that I did. I hated that I cared more for the demon Blake than I ever had for the human Blake.
We both looked up as the library door opened, revealing Jasmine standing there rubbing her eyes. "What are you guys doing in here? It's the middle of the night."
I covered the book with my hand. "What are you doing up?"
"Had to pee. Saw the light." She sat down in the chair opposite of us at the table and pulled the codex toward her.
"Hey, rude much?" I tried to grab the book back, but she'd already seen the page.
"Is this what your demon half is?" Jasmine looked much more awake now, her eyes no longer heavy with sleep.
"Yes." I hated to admit it, but the time for secrets was over.
"So you're a Cambion. That kinda makes sense, I guess."
It was my turn to be surprised. "How do you know so much about demons?"
"Mother's been teaching me about them. Has been for awhile."
Ocean huffed. "And it didn't occur to you to mention this, oh, I don't know, immediately?"
