by Phil Price
“You have great tits Bab,” he said as he started to kiss her neck roughly. Beth closed her eyes, her hand pulling his bald pate into her dark curls. A warm feeling was seeping through her stomach, settling between her legs. She knew this feeling, albeit not very well.
His hand trailed down her dress, along her legs to her knees. She felt his hands part her legs. His touch was urgent and impatient. She opened them, allowing his hand to travel north, along her thighs until his fingers were between her legs. They probed, no finesse or care. They were trying to find a way in. “What are these?” he said, breathless.
“They’re me tights!”
“What are you wearing tights for Bab?” He sounded annoyed.
“It’s cold out there. I want to keep my legs warm.”
“Do you not own any stockings?”
“No. Why are you going to buy me a pair?” she asked keenly.
“Bab. I’ll buy you a hundred pairs. As long as you always wear them for me. It makes it easier.” She knew what he meant.
“Does your wife wear them for you?”
He looked at her, a sour expression on his face. “We don’t do that kind of thing anymore Bab. I’ve told you what she’s like. She’ll be sprawled out on the sofa now pissed out of her head with a bottle of Prosecco next to her. She doesn’t love me, she just loves my money. I’ve had it with her. As soon as the New Year is over I’m going to divorce her.”
“What about the children?” she asked.
“I’ll sort that out. Anyway. Let’s not talk about her. I am here with you. I want to be with you Beth.” He was about to kiss her when he noticed the mist outside. His window was open slightly, the cool night air seeping in.
“What?” she said, noticing his frown.
“Look at the fog. There was none of it a minute ago. Now I can’t see shit.” He looked about the car, baffled by the occurrence. “Hmm. It’s gone colder too,” he said as he buzzed his window closed. The few tendrils of mist that made it through the window cooled the back of his neck. He cast it from his mind as his thoughts floated back to the girl sat next to him. He kissed her again, his hand moving back between her legs. He was breathing heavily as he nuzzled her neck. He found the spot he was looking for.
“Oh Jay. Oh, that’s nice. Right there. Oh my God!” She was flushed. Her head pressed into the seat rest. Her eyes opened as she heard the fabric of her tights rip. Hungry fingers finding their target. “Oh God. Oh yeah. Jay. Yeah Baby, that’s nice.”
“You like that Bab? Shall I keep going?”
“Please Jay. Don’t stop,” she said, her breathing ragged. His finger slid inside her, making her open her eyes. She looked through the windscreen at a pair of yellow eyes staring back. She screamed, the noise deafening in the confines of the car.
Jay shot back, hitting his head on the driver’s window. “What’s up? Did I hurt you?” Her eyes were wide and feverish.
“There’s something out there? I just saw it.” She was breathing rapidly, almost hyperventilating. Jay looked outside at the dark misty night.
He could see nothing. “Probably just kids. Do you want me to take a look?” she nodded dumbly, her face stricken. He looked at the digital clock on his dash. Ten o’clock. Bit late for kids, he thought as he opened the door. Climbing out, he walked around his BMW, scanning the nearby bushes for anyone. They were alone. He could hear Beth’s breathing slowing from inside the car. He suddenly realised how cold it was. It had dropped several degrees since he’d jumped in his car twenty minutes before. A far-off sound echoed across the hills. He looked about himself as the sound drifted by.
“You hear that Jay?” Beth said from inside the car. He could see her fidgeting in her seat.
“Yes, I heard it. It sounded like a whale call. Like the ones you hear on those relaxation tapes. Strange? There’s no one out here though Bab.” He made his way back inside, slamming the door shut with a meaty thunk. “You okay? I think we’re alone. I tell you what. I’ll lock the doors. That will stop the whales from getting us.” She laughed at his quip, feeling better that he had gone outside to check. He’s so brave, she thought as she leaned over, kissing him passionately. Their teeth clashed and tongues entwined as their mouths came together. She broke away, panting. He smiled at her. “Wow. Where did that come from?” He was fully aroused by her kiss. His eyes flicked down to his lap, flicking back to lock eyes with her. Beth’s hand slid clumsily up his thigh until she was rubbing his hardness through the material of his expensive trousers. She wasn’t adept at this art, but he didn’t seem to care. He positioned himself against the car door, facing her as she stroked and cajoled him. “Oh, now that’s nice, Bab. Don’t stop.”
“Do you like that Jay?” she asked, fishing for a compliment. He nodded slowly, hoping for more. He got his wish as his trousers were unzipped. She reached inside, fiddling momentarily with the button on his underwear. He exhaled. Closing his eyes when she drew him out of his trousers, gripping him firmly. Her hand started moving up and down, gradually speeding up until Jay was writhing in pleasure in his seat. His one hand was pushed against the ceiling, the other around the headrest as Beth continued to pleasure him.
“Oh Bab. Wank me faster. Do you wanna suck it?” Jay said breathlessly. He felt her shift position as she continued to cajole him until something else was gripping him. His eyes opened wide as she took him deep into her mouth. He looked down at the top of her head as it gently bobbed in his lap. “Fuckin hell Beth! Oh that’s nice.” He heard her mutter something unintelligible as she continued. She began using her mouth and hand at the same time, looking up at him, her eyes almost smouldering.
“Am I doing it right Jay? I’ve only ever seen it done in porn movies.”
“Oh God Yes. But careful Bab. I don’t want to cum just yet. I want to feel your body on top of mine.” She smiled, reaching down between her legs. Jay heard the tear of nylon as she made a hole in her underwear big enough for what they needed.
A sound outside made her look passed his gaze. “You hear that? Sounded like something hit your car.”
He wasn’t paying attention to anything but her. “What! My car’s fine. No one’s out there. Relax.” Beth moved over, climbing on top of Jay as he quickly tugged his trousers down to his ankles. She grabbed hold of his hardness, guiding it inside her. Slowly sinking down on top of him she let out a small gasp as he filled her warm body.
“Oh God!” She exclaimed, her body tensing.
Jay thought he’d hurt her as she cried out. “Are you alright?” he said in a genuinely concerned tone.
Her breathing was loud in his ear. “Fine. It’s my first time Jay. I’ve only ever used my fingers before this. I’m good though, I think,” she said as she tentatively started to move back and forth. Beth gradually increased the tempo as the pain dissipated. Her breathing became urgent as the pleasure inside her built. Her breasts were pushed into his face, her head bouncing off the ceiling as she started to ride him more urgently. He reached down, pulling her thighs in rhythm with her movements. They were too lost to hear the bump from outside. The tentative pull on the door handle went unnoticed. The car was rocking now as Beth’s gyrations were becoming more and more forceful
“Oh Beth,” Jay breathed. “You’re gonna make me cum in a minute. Do you want me to?” Another bump on the car from outside caught Jay’s attention, making him look to his left.
“Please Jay. I’m close too. Why don’t we both cum together. That would be so romantic,” she said, her voice scratchy and hoarse. She started bouncing in his lap, getting herself ready for the home straight. His hands pulled and pushed her thighs as her tempo and the friction intensified, her moans becoming louder and louder in the confines of the car.
A loud thump on the bonnet caused Jay to look past Beth’s shoulder. He froze in his seat. A pair of eyes were looking back at him through the windscreen. Yellow, feral eyes. Even in the mist, Jay could make out the features clearly. The face was grey with dirty stained teeth poking out
from under the lips. Jay’s eye’s opened wider as the figure smiled at him. “NOOOOOOOO!” he screamed as the window next to him shattered into a thousand pieces. Beth’s orgasm was cut short as two hands pulled her roughly through the window. She hit the ground, the wind expelled from her lungs. She lay motionless, looking up at a set of smiling yellow eyes peering down at her.
Jay sat in his seat, frozen with fear. His hard-on rapidly deflating as his brain tried to take in what was happening. Before he could move, the passenger door was ripped from its hinges. He looked across the car, his eyes wide with terror as a pair of hands grabbed his arm, dragging him out into the night. Karaa threw him across the car park, tearing his clothing. He floundered on the wet gravel, unable to see much in the thick fog. He climbed to his feet, tugging his trousers up as she approached. His mouth hung open in astonishment as he saw her striding towards him. Her long blond hair framed a white face. Her fangs were wickedly curved, almost dripping in anticipation of his blood. Her eyes yellow, tinged with red.
“Oh my God,” Jay said, before taking flight towards the golf course, a long wail piercing the darkness. He was in good shape. He played squash twice a week and ran when he found the time. He would give anyone a run for their money in a race, except Karaa. As he reached the fence that divided the car park from the golf course she was on him. Pinning him against a large tree she ripped his shirt open to expose the flesh underneath. She was primed for the kill when she stopped, sniffing him. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as something in his scent repelled her. He smelt sour. She didn’t know that it was a combination of cologne and a sexually transmitted disease that made him unappealing. He sensed an opportunity, lashing out with a punch to her jaw. Two of his knuckles shattered as he connected with her grey skin. He screamed again as she grabbed the back of his neck, smashing his face into the tree trunk. His scream died in the night as it echoed across the golf course. Karaa pulled him back from the bark before slamming his face into it once more. His head shattered, sending chunks of brain, blood, and flesh flying into the grass all around her. She let go of the back of his neck, his lifeless body slumping to the floor. Karaa, former chieftain of the Eastern Cravens, stood magnificent in the moonlight. She looked down at the pitiful human and smiled. Holding her head to the stars she shrieked the war cry that was still locked in her subconscious. Her turning had not eradicated all of her former self. She walked back to Eddie and the girl as her cry echoed around the Lickey Hills.
“Tranquillo,” Eddie said as he lifted Beth to her feet. Her breathing was shallow, her pulse racing as the vampire pushed her against the bonnet of the car. He locked eyes with her, smiling as he saw he visibly relax. He could smell her. It was a heady mix of perfume, blood, and sex. Eddie was almost dribbling as his hands lifted her dress up over her waist. Beth let it happen, lost in his eyes. She felt like she was floating on the wind as she started to sway on her heels. Guzman gently laid her across the bonnet, taking care to make her comfortable. She looked up at the clear sky, seeing far off stars shimmering down at her. She felt at peace, a gasp escaping her lips as Eddie sunk his teeth into her thigh. Beth was almost euphoric as Karaa licked her face before turning her head to one side. She gasped again as the vampire bit into her neck, helping Eddie drain her of her human life. No thoughts of Jay or her parents clouded Beth’s mind as she slipped from the world. Her last thought was of a large forest, covered in mist, welcoming her like an old friend.
Eighteen
Jake’s phone started playing a tune at nine o’clock Boxing Day morning. He fumbled around the bedside table, unplugging the phone from its charger. “Yeah,” he croaked.
“Jake Stevenson?” a familiar voice said.
Jake opened is bleary eyes. “Yeah,” he said pulling himself into a sitting position.
“It’s Tony Oakes. Merry Christmas.”
Jake grabbed the sports bottle next to the bed, taking a long suck of cool orange squash. His fuzzy brain coming online immediately. “Tony. It’s nine a.m. on Boxing Day. What’s up?”
“What do you know about Eduardo Guzman?”
Jake almost jumped out of bed. Katherine stirred next to him, turning over, murmuring in her sleep. “Why do you ask?” Jake said, thinking rapidly.
“The murder up the Beacon Hill last year. The hooker and the taxi driver. Forensics pulled the print of one Eduardo Guzman from one of the deceased. Ring any bells?”
“Yeah. Daz ran it through the database, then through Interpol if my memory serves me right.” He paused, remembering his best friend and brother-in-law. He felt a pang of sadness, remembering finding him dead on his lounge floor. He’d been beaten to death, his skull caved in by Elias. He thought about Daz often, still trying to come to terms with his death. He wished he was still around. He’d have loved Katherine and Alicia. “The print came back a dead end. The results said it came from this Guzman character, who’d disappeared in the Caribbean sixty-odd years ago. As soon as the Chief heard that he discounted it as an error. Why?”
There was a pause on the line. It felt like Oakes was weighing something up. “I don’t like you Stevenson. I thought you were involved with the goings on in Rednal and up the Lickeys. I thought you were hiding something. Looking back, I was wrong. I know that now. I’m still not your biggest fan, but I need some information. What happened after the lead went cold?” Jake made a snap decision. Lying would not be an option. So, he decided not to lie. He also decided not to give Oakes the whole truth either.
“Daz did a bit of digging, with me going off on a wild goose chase for him. That ended with Daz being killed. The guy got away remember. I take it he was never seen again?”
“Mr Smeets vanished into thin air. It’s almost as if he hopped into a parallel dimension.”
Jake’s fist gripped the phone, wondering just where the conversation was heading. “Why are you asking me this now?”
“We’ve had another attack. Up the Lickeys, by the duck pond. One man dead at the scene. And a young woman missing.”
“Jesus!” Jake said, waking Katherine up. She sat up looking at him, mouthing if he was okay. He nodded. A concerned look etched on his face. She got out of bed, shuffling out onto the landing.
The silence was broken by Oakes. “Looks like a local guy was having a bit of fun with one of his office juniors. Her bag was in his car. A Beth Ruston. Nineteen years old. The guy is a Jay Miles. Forty-four years old, married with two kids. The door to his BMW was half ripped off, similar to the taxi drivers up the Beacon Hill. He was found a hundred yards from the car. His head had been repeatedly smashed into a tree. Not much left of it. Pretty grizzly, even for me. We found Guzman’s prints on the car door, which now begs the question, who is this guy. You say he vanished sixty years ago?”
“Yes. Just after his twenty-first birthday. So why is an eighty-year old man killing random people half a world away from where he grew up?”
“Good question. The print must be correct. The first attack, yes, I’d have agreed with the Chief. But two attacks, with similar outcomes and locations makes me believe that it’s all linked. We need to find this Guzman, whoever he is, and however old he might be. Do you have any information that might help me Jake?” He used his name, trying to coax him into helping.
Jake knew how it worked. What could he tell him? That Guzman is a vampire, living in a parallel universe. Jake knew that he had to play dumb in order to make this go away. “I can’t help you Tony. Nothing ever came back on this guy. Whether or not Guzman knows Smeets is anyone’s guess. And Smeets vanished as you put it. I’m not sure what can be done, unless you can find Smeets.” There was silence on the line. Just a faint crackle could be heard by both men as thoughts ran through their respective minds.
“ Okay, Stevenson. I know it was a long shot. Where are you living now by the way?” The question was direct. Oakes was exploring all avenues.
“Tintagel. North Cornwall. Do you know it?”
“Never been to Cornwall. What are you doing down there
for work?”
“I’m still doing the same thing. There is a steady flow of work down here, more than I thought. I can choose the jobs I want. No stress. It’s almost the perfect life.”
“Are you with anyone?” Another direct question. Jake imagined Oakes on the other end of the phone with a pen and pad, scrawling the information down as he received it.
“Yes I’m with someone. We’ve just had a little girl.” Shit, Jake thought. That was too much information.
“A little girl you say.” Oakes did the maths. “That means you would have been with her last year?” Jake’s brain was in overdrive, trying hard not to raise any suspicion. Sweat started to pepper his brow.
“Yeah. We met online. We were kinda getting serious back then but lived apart. We made the decision to give it a go. So we moved down to Cornwall.”
“Online huh. Well it’s all the rage these days I guess. So where is the lucky lady from?”
Jake had a cold feeling of dread collecting in his gut. His next step was tentative. “Scotland.”
“A northern lass. Congratulations with the baby by the way.”
“Thanks. We’re delighted.”
“What’s your good lady’s name?” Jake’s stomach plunged once more.
“Err Katherine. Why?”
“Katherine......?” Oakes asked, pressing for information.
“I think Katherine is enough for you Tony. My private life is just that. Private. Don’t take that the wrong way. I had a tough few years up in Brum. I’m down here to make a fresh start.”
“No offence taken. I may be in touch again soon. Talking of vanishing into thin air. I’m still not sure if it was you who tussled with one of my officers up the Lickey’s last year. The mystery man gave him the slip. The officer said the guy just disappeared. That wasn’t you was it Jake?”
