“Good evening, Yves. I’m afraid Gavin isn’t here.”
“I know. He sent to me help with your make-up and hair.”
“I prefer to wear it up.”
“I can put it up. Here, let me zip that for you.”
Her fingers zip it closed before I can stop her. I know she saw the scars but she doesn’t say anything and I needed the help. I couldn’t reach it myself. I sit at the vanity and I let a teenager make me over. She talks and talks but I don’t mind. I enjoy listening to her. She puts so many pins in my hair that I’ll be digging them out for a month. I have to admit, it looks pretty pinned up on top of my head like this.
“You have great hair. I love your hair.”
I’m surprised and embarrassed. I’m not the one that people complimented.
“Thank you.”
“Gavin is going to be fighting the men off you tonight,” she says tying my mask in place. It covers most of my face and makes my shiny, purple lips stand out. I should wipe it off.
“You look like royalty.”
“You haven’t been around royalty if you think they look like me.”
“Yes, I have. Our family knows everybody. We have royalty here tonight.”
Yves drives me up to the ballroom in an old jeep where she leaves me without a goodnight. I look down at the knife in my gloved hands. It’s my best knife. Gavin said I should offer a gift. I had nothing else to give. My father gave me this after I saved Caroline’s son from a rabid fox. People are looking at me. I knew I should’ve wiped the stuff off my lips. I look around the crowd of beautiful strangers and I realize why I stand out. I’m the only one wearing black. I stand out in the crush of bright colors and shiny sequins. I look plain. I felt beautiful a minute ago. I see Douglas surrounded by a group of important looking men. I walk up to him and I tap him on the shoulder. I pause. I get that chill again. The warning is like a voice in my head.
“She has a knife!” One of the men exclaims.
“Happy birthday.” I hand it to Douglas.
“This is for me?” He’s surprised.
“A gift.” I explain. “For your birthday.” The men are watching me with interest.
“It’s a good knife. Thank you.”
“You are welcome. Goodnight.” I can make my escape.
“You look lovely tonight, Miss Duma. Dance with me.” My host isn’t asking.
“Oh, no. I don’t dance.”
“It’s easy.” O’Malley doesn’t take no for an answer. His arm is already around my waist and he’s leading me out to join the other dancers. I look around nervously. Where in the hell is Gavin?
“Please, I can’t dance. I never learned.”
“You are doing fine.”
I step on his feet and stumble over my own. He catches me. I feel like an idiot but I follow his lead and manage to finish the dance without breaking my neck. I curtsy after.
“Who are you?”
“No one.” I walk away. That was the worst. I sit down at the bar to wait for Gavin and drink. I start with a whisky. I drink it fast and the next one too. It gives me courage.
“Are you alone?”
“No. I’m waiting for someone.”
“I’ll have what she’s having.” The man sits down anyway.
“What’s your name?”
“Duma.”
“Victor.” We shake hands. He offers me a cigarette that I refuse.
“Who are you here with?”
“Gavin.”
“I heard he had a woman here. I didn’t believe it. What are you doing with my little cousin? He isn’t man enough for a woman like you.” He fingers the neck of my dress.
“How would you know? Do you know me?”
“No, but I have eyes. You are too serious for him. He likes dumb women that he can keep distracted with pretty things. You don’t seem like his type.”
The cousin is attractive I guess. I turn away to scan the room for Gavin again.
“He isn’t coming. Gavin never comes to these things. I bet he told you to meet him here.”
I feel silly. How did he know that? Because his family knows him better than I do. I down my whiskey and stand up. I’m leaving. He stands up too.
“It was nice meeting you.” I walk away. His hand reaches out and grabs my arm. I stiffen like he slapped me. How dare he? I knock his hand away with my fist. He laughs.
“I suggest you keep it to yourself if you don’t want me to break it off.” I warn him.
“See what I mean? You are a vicious little thing. Do you want to get out of here?”
“Fuck off.”
He follows me like I’m teasing him or being coy. If he touches me again, I’ll shoot him. I stop in my tracks. Something’s not right. I am restricted in my fancy black dress. I look around the room. I don’t know any of these people so none would stand out. None are looking at me. Except him. The tall, fair haired man staring at me across the room. I get cold and tingly again as I stare back. He is easily the most beautiful man that I will ever see. Another one of Gavin’s relations. I turn away first and walk across the smooth floor toward the exit. Why was that man staring at me like that? He was staring at me like he knows me and I should know him. Victor is still behind me.
“Hey, wait up. Why are you leaving? I didn’t mean to run you off. Stay, I’ll sit with you until Gavin shows up. I promise to be on my best behavior.”
I don’t want to wait for Gavin. I don’t trust any of these people and that man makes me nervous. I can see his blue eyes with mine closed. His eyes are so damn blue. A blue so pure and so true that it is not meant for the human realm. They are bluer than anything I’ve ever seen before, even the sea down below. Thinking about them makes me want to look again. I should be ashamed of myself. He could be a killer or Gavin’s brother. What’s wrong with me? Why do I get the feeling he’s still watching me? I drown the crazy notion in alcohol. Victor isn’t really a bad person. He’s a womanizer and a shameless flirt. He wasn’t lying. Gavin stands me up like a nerd on prom night. I leave the party while I can still walk. I don’t have a date or a ride back to my house. I walk off into the dark jungle alone because commoners are scary people and the dark terrifies them. I pick up my dress and run in my old boots. I should go back to the main house or hunt Gavin down in his lab but I don’t need any more excitement. I relax when my boots sink into sand. I can see the house down the beach. I pause to look out over the dark ocean. It smells tangy and looks small and peaceful when the sun is down.
“You are almost beautiful in the moonlight.”
I reach for a knife that isn’t in my boot. Goddamn it. I gave it to Douglas.
“Don’t make any sudden moves and I won’t. Neither of us wants to die tonight.”
“What do you want?”
It’s the fair-haired man. He looks out of place on the empty beach in his tuxedo. We look like a fancy couple. I look around for more people who might be lurking. How did he get here?
“I’m alone.” He says watching me.
“Gavin isn’t here.”
“I’m not here for the boy. I’m here for you. Don’t fuck with me, witch.”
“You are mistaken. I’m not the person you are looking for, I promise you.”
“How many men have you tempted to their deaths with your innocent act and beautiful, brown eyes? I saw you tonight pretending to be some shy innocent for the human men. You’re good. I give you that. You have me half-believing it myself.”
“I am a married woman. I told you, you’ve made a mistake.”
“You married the boy? Why didn’t I hear of it?”
“The boy? What boy? Gavin isn’t a boy and no, I’m married to another man.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself for seducing a child while you’re married. He can’t be thirty years old.”
“I’m twenty-five.”
He laughs at me. The bastard laughs at me like I’m the one making outrageous accusations.
“That’s what you tell them. Ho
w old are you really? You can’t be a day under a hundred.”
I make my move and hope for the best. The stranger slams into me from behind tackling me to the ground. I’m stunned but I fight anyway. He sits on my chest pinning my hands above me.
“Get off me, damn you. I’m not who you think I am. I don’t know you.”
“I know what you are. You have the humans fooled but not me. Who sent you here?”
“I told you, I’m here with—”
“Gavin? Yes, I heard. Who else are you fucking? A slut like you can’t be satisfied with one lover. I know the Antonovs, are you their pet? Do they pass you around?”
“I’ve only been with my husband and Gavin.”
“A beautiful witch like you? I don’t believe you. Your heart is racing and I can smell your pussy getting wet for me right now.” He grins when I blush. I am wet and my heart is racing. I don’t know him but I can’t help myself. I want him and I don’t know why. He’s been watching me. He is the one who gave me chills and made me feel afraid.
“What do you want from me? I have no money.” His eyes are still blue in the dark.
“Money? I don’t want your money. Maybe I’ll take what you give to the humans.”
His dick gets hard as he says it. Oh, God. He’s going to rape me. I might let him like a slut.
“Don’t look so nervous. You know that our kind attracts. If I hurt you, you’ll love it.”
“Let me go.” I have to put up some kind of resistance. This isn’t right.
“You don’t want me to let you go. Not before I fuck you first.” He says stretching out on top of me. I do want him to fuck me. I want this irresistible stranger to fuck me right now.
“No.” I protest again but I’m not pushing him off. I can’t push him away. My hands feel tied. I don’t want him to stop. I want to see him naked and feel him naked.
“Yes.” He kisses me hard as he pulls my beautiful dress up around my hips. I say no again as I reach up and bury my fingers in his hair. I raise my knees so I can feel him rubbing against me. What am I doing? This isn’t me. I would never. I can’t stop. If he doesn’t stop, he’s going to fuck me on this beach. The stranger paws at my panties. I’m not wearing any. He kisses me harder. I should stop him when he goes down on me and eats my pussy. I don’t. I let him do it and I enjoy it. The stranger grabs my hair roughly.
“Spread your fucking legs, Witch. I want to fuck you.” He frees his dick and rubs it over me. I’m so wet. It feels so good. He smells so good. “Another slut witch, like I suspected.” The stranger shoves his dick into me. Oh fuck. I cry out. Stop, wait, I need a second. My mouth is stuck in an o. I wasn’t ready.
“Close your mouth and take it, slut. It’s not that big. Maybe it is, take it anyway. You weren’t lying, were you? I just busted your little pussy wide open. I can smell your blood. Don’t cry, or cry. I don’t care, I am going to cum regardless.” The stranger fucks me harder. He’s killing me. What am I doing? I am being a whore to a mad man and he’s breaking me inside. His tongue dips between my lips and strokes in time with his hips. He’s hurting me. I kiss him back with a fever I’ve never felt before. I am under his spell and I like it here.
“I like the way you fuck me back. I’m going to put it in your mouth after I come. You are going to lick it clean like a good whore. You’re cumming already. What kind of whore lasts a minute?”
I can’t help it. I haven’t been fucked hard in a long time. I don’t know his name when I want to yell it. I am cumming on him and I don’t even know his name. Whore. Slut. Jezebel. I wrap my legs around him. The stranger fucks me ruthlessly before he finally cums. He stands up dragging me to my knees by my hair. I cry out.
“I have your blood on my dick, witch. Lick it off. Suck it clean. My date is waiting for me.” He shoves his dick in my mouth. My scalp hurts like my pussy. The corners of my mouth are stretched to their limits. I suck his dick like clean like he told me to. I want to please him so he will fuck me again. He shoves me away from him and fixes his clothes. He brushes the sand off his suit the best he can before looking at me again. I am in a trance when he snatches my mask away. The man looks down at my face for the longest time. I hold my breath.
“That’s a nasty scar, witch. You aren’t so beautiful after all.”
He turns and leaves me in the sand with is cum on my thighs. I feel a loss that I can’t explain when the stranger walks away. Oh, my God. What did I do? Why did I enjoy it so much? Why do I want to call him back and ask him to stay and fuck me after he used me the way he did? Because the nasty girl inside of me liked it. No, she loved it. The man was crazy. He thinks I’m a witch. He felt like the witch. I am bewitched. He fucked me so damn good. I run my fingertip through his cum and rub it between my fingers. It wasn’t a dream. “You aren’t so beautiful after all.” That’s what he said when he saw my face. Maybe it’s a good thing that he didn’t see my body. The stranger thinks I’m ugly. If I was prettier would he want to see me again? I don’t know. All I know is I want to see him again. That’s how I end up in surgery.
“Darling, this is my cousin, Tamera. She’s going to reconstruct your breasts. My cousin, Orion and his wife, Sharonda, are plastic surgeons. This is my cousin, Gwen. She’s an ER doctor. They volunteered to help me. Stacy is my cousin Jimmy’s wife, you already know her. She’s a nurse and she is going to assist.”
“Thank you.” I say to them all. Their eyes soften in appreciation.
“You don’t have to thank us. We’re all family here.” Sharonda says patting my hand. “A friend of Gavin’s is a friend of ours. Just relax and count backwards from ten.”
“Ten, nine, eight—”
I wake up two days later in a hospital bed wrapped like a mummy. I’m stiff and the pain makes my heart want to quit. I cry out. It hurts so bad.
“I know it hurts. It will be better in a few minutes.” Gavin is standing beside the bed inserting a needle into my I.V. I feel the warm rush of a miracle flooding my veins and chase away the pain. The pain is unbearable. It leaves me weak and whimpering. He smooths back my wild hair and kisses the bandage wrapped around my face.
“It will hurt like this for a while but I’m not going anywhere. I’m here, Duma.”
I squeeze his hand and I wish he was Judea. What did I do? I had myself butchered for vanity. I had pounds of skin cut away. The church will accuse me of all kinds of devilry if I show up without the cut on my face. Judea would be furious if he saw me laid up like this. He would never let me do something like this. He would flat out forbid it. The recovery is so slow and painful that I wonder if it was worth it. Two weeks after the surgery I am still useless to myself and to my son. I lie in bed sewed together like a rag doll. I did this to myself for vanity. I did this to be pretty. Judea would say I was already pretty because he loves me for who I am and not what I look like. I wanted to stop obsessing over my body and my face. I am still obsessing over it. I’m not sure what I’m doing. I am not responsible enough to be on my own. Things like this happen. This is a good thing, right? I need someone to tell me it is because I am not so sure. A weaker woman would scream right now. I stop thinking. I stop everything and blink at the beautiful man standing over my bed.
Chapter Thirty-four
Even through my tears I can see he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Something makes me wary of the stranger today. Why is he here? Why is he staring at me like this?
“I apologize, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He puts a cold hand to my forehead like he’s checking for a fever. His smile makes my eyes widen. I’m torn between being deathly afraid and wildly attracted to him. The hairs all over my body stand up. Why do I get the feeling he isn’t here with good intentions? Something about him makes me want to reach for my gun even after he fucked me. He isn’t natural. My lips part on their own. He belongs in an old painting or in the imagination. Not beside my hospital bed. What does he want from me? Who sent him? Douglas? He is either a gift from heaven or a curse from hell. His t
ouch makes me tingle all over. He is no man. I can feel it deep down in the dark side of me. This beautiful creature is evil. His darkness is hot oil on my skin. I didn’t see or hear a thing when he came in here and I pride myself on my hunting skills. Because, he didn’t come through the door.
“Are you a doctor too?” I speak to make sure he’s real while praying that he isn’t.
“I am no doctor.” He seems amused by the idea. My stomach drops. What a smile. What a man. An irresistible man. I don’t care anymore.
“What do you want?” I get it over with.
“I’m here to kill you.”
I believe him. My eyes water as I look up at my beautiful angel of death. I have a son.
“Kill me. Just make sure my son gets home to his father in Texas. Do it now while he isn’t here.”
His eyes flicker in surprise before they regard me suspiciously.
“Why do you want to die, witch?”
“Because I don’t want to hurt anymore. My heart can’t take it. I don’t want to go on.” I say letting the tears fall. “I’m so tired.”
He wipes his fingertip through my tears before tasting them. The color in the stranger’s iris’ is moving. I swear it. The blue is moving like the ripples in the sea. I get chills again. I’m afraid. What if I’m not dreaming? What if he’s serious?
“They’re real tears.” He says like he can taste my pain. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”
“My name is Dumani.”
“Are you alone, Dumani? Who protected you?”
“Gavin Ant—”
“I asked around and I found out a few things. The boy stole you. Who shelters your kind? Are there more like you?”
“Women? Saints? What do you mean my kind?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, witch.”
“Stop calling me that. I am no witch.”
“You believe your own words, don’t you? What kind of witch falls in love with humans and cries real tears? Why aren’t you burning villages and stealing children?”
The poor thing is daft. “Are you related to Gavin?” I ask carefully. This is why we sleep with guns under our pillows at home.
The Doomsday Papers Page 36
