Death Love Lust: A Naughty Bedtime Story Anthology

by Aurelia Fray

  "If they are they won't be for long," Than commented. At first, Claire thought she meant that their injuries would be too severe to survive, but then she realized that she meant the myth, the Devil's Dozen. Thirteen women, with eleven already dead. That left just the two of them.

  The firefighters went to call for backup. No one noticed the two survivors.

  "My car...my phone...now I'm gonna die. What a fucking day!" she said. "This...this can't be a coincidence. The accident could, but not this."

  Than gently lifted her off the ground. "You're okay?"

  Claire nodded. "But I'm stranded ‘til the Grim Reaper comes for me."

  Than gave her a wan smile. "My place is within walking distance from here. You can use my phone to call someone to come get you."

  "We have to walk in this deluge?" Claire sighed. "How'd you get here dry if you walked?"

  "My umbrella is under there, unfortunately," Than said. "Come on. We don't want to get pneumonia on top of everything." Without thinking, she grabbed Claire's hand and led her down the street. They turned onto Temple, and a row of upscale apartments. Claire kept looking behind them, as if a hooded skeleton would be following them like on Scooby-Doo.

  Claire followed Than to her apartment, which was large and open, a studio. Surprisingly, it was sparsely furnished. The only "dark" things apparent were on the coffee table: black candles, roses of the deepest blood red and fake human skulls. The sheets on the bed were vampire-chic, scarlet and black satin.

  "We're soaked to the bone," Than commented. She opened a walk-in closet and said, "I should have something you can change into so you don't catch cold." After a minute she came out of the closet with something filmy and black in her hand. "This is all I have that might fit you. What are you, a two or something?"

  "A four," Claire said, looking at the thin, velvety nightdress she'd been handed.

  "If you need a hair dryer, go ahead. It's plugged in by the vanity over there," Than pointed and then went into the bathroom to change.

  Claire shimmied out of her sopping wet clothes and put them in a plastic bag so they didn't ruin Than's carpet. Her bra and panties were also wet. She was glad she wasn't as big busted as Than or else she'd be in a pickle without a bra! The dress hung loose, like something Galadriel might have worn in Middle Earth. It was pretty, though.

  Claire tried not thinking about how Than was naked in the next room, or how easy it would be for her hostess to come out and simply slide her soft fingers under the borrowed dress... She felt awful. She'd just watched eleven people die and, if rumor was to be believed, she and Than were next on the list. This was not a time to think about sex! But she thought about it anyway.

  Than exited the bathroom, her hair still damp and her soft body encased in tiny black silk shorts and a red silk top with the entire back made of black lace. Really, she had nothing else to wear but that? Claire thought, incredulous.

  Than stopped at the kitchen counter and poured two glasses of red wine. She handed one to Claire, saying, "I don't know about you, but I need this." She went into the bathroom and brought out a waterlogged cell phone. "This is ruined. Damn rain. You can use my laptop to email someone if you want. I only have this phone."

  Claire took a long drink of wine. "I don't live far. As soon as the rain stops I'll book a cab online. Thanks."

  Than waved it off. "Sit, please. Can I get you anything?"

  "More wine?" Claire laughed a little. Than gave them both another glass and Claire asked, "Do you think we're going to die tonight?"

  "I don't know," she said. "If you were going to die, would you really want to spend the time you've got left dwelling on that fact? I wouldn't."

  "Well, no," Claire said, blushing.

  "What would you want to do?" Than asked.

  Claire shook her head. "Does it matter? What about you?"

  Than smiled. "You."

  "Excuse me?"

  Than laughed, a rich sound. "You asked me what I'd like to do before I die. I said I'd like to do you.” Her eyes widened and she gave a surprisingly girlish giggle. “Oh, don't tell me I read you wrong! I thought I felt something there before everyone started dying."

  "No, you're right. I guess I read you wrong. I didn't think...you know." Claire's blush deepened. "I almost echoed your answer when you asked me what I'd like to do."

  "You know, many people have connected sex with death. Seems fitting, don't you think?" Than stood up from the couch and put the glass on the kitchen table. She turned back to Claire. Reaching down, she brushed the blonde locks away from her neck, planting wet kisses from her shoulder to behind her ear.

  Claire sighed appreciably. Thunder rumbled loudly and the lights flickered. Than moved away, lit the candles in the coffee table and turned off the lights. The rim flickered with golden candlelight, reflecting in Than's dark eyes. The taller woman leaned back in and yanked Claire to her feet.

  Claire reached up and pressed her bare lips to Than's scarlet ones. She reached behind Than, running her hands over her shoulders and into her hair, which was as soft as silk.

  Than dipped Claire's head back to better reach her mouth. Her tongue slipped between Claire's lips; she tasted like wine and chocolate. "You taste like innocence," she whispered into Claire's ear before going back to her mouth.

  Her cold hand slipped down Claire's back, caressing her bare bottom and then squeezing it. Without any panties, the sensation was tripled and she gasped into Than's mouth. Her fingers made their way to the straps on Claire's dress, softly tugging them down and exposing her small, round breasts. Claire's hips were so thin it dropped straight down to the floor, leaving her bare to Than's hungry eyes.

  "So beautiful," she murmured, quickly laying Claire on her back on the comforter. Her hands, still cool to the touch, caressed her from her neck to her hips. Goosebumps pricked along her skin, turning her nipples hard.

  She reached up to the edge of Than's shirt and felt her soft, pliant skin. Than lifted it off, unwilling at that moment to let Claire get up, revealing a body that made Marilyn Monroe look like dog food. Her hips and bottom were barely covered by her tiny shorts, and Claire was itching to get them off of her.

  She went to remove them, but Than pushed her hand away. "Impatient little thing, aren't you?"

  "With a woman as beautiful as you I am," Claire said honestly. Than gave her a soft smile as her hand, in contrast, roughly pinched her breast, sending tingles of pleasure straight down. Than felt her shiver and increased the pressure.

  To counteract the pain her long, black-lacquered nails were causing, she gently kissed Claire's face, bit her ear and then began to move down her neck, sucking and licking the soft skin. Contrary to her cold skin, Than's mouth was a hot lava pit of desire.

  Claire was extremely experienced and it usually took more than a wet tongue and sharp nails to get her to this point of arousal, but Than was some sort of sex genius. She knew just what to do to drive her absolutely wild.

  Than's free hand made its way down, relishing the soft skin beneath her, over Claire's stomach and hips. Claire shivered like a teenager as the hand moved lower, skirting her core and teasing her thighs and back to her hips.

  "Don't be a tease," Claire groaned, gripping her wrist.

  "I'm just taking my time," Than replied, bending her head down and taking a pink nipple in her teeth. Claire wrapped her arms around Than, feeling soft skin and tugging on her silken hair. Her hands moved lower as Than worried one nipple and then the other, slowly trying to get her shorts off.

  They were finally down her hips, leaving her in silky black panties. Claire moved and rolled Than onto her back, raven hair spreading on the red sheets. She smirked up at her, as if to say, "Impress me."

  Claire reached and massaged her large breasts, leaning down and licking her nipples like a cat, sucking on them. Whoever said anything more than a mouthful was wasted was one wrong son of a bitch, she thought. She put pressure from her knee between Than's legs, causing necessary friction, and
was rewarded by a little moan.

  "And you call me a tease." She tugged Claire down, kissing her roughly. Claire giggled, kissing back and moving her knee a little. She started kissing down Than's body, tasting the salt of her sweat. She teased the edge of her panties, and over the fabric.

  Than raised her hips to allow Claire to take her panties off. But instead of letting her inside, Than flipped her over again and held her hands over her head with one strong hand. She slipped a finger between Claire's legs, feeling how wet she already was.

  Claire let out an appreciative sigh, arching her hips to give Than better access as she added a second finger. Than kept up a steady pace, just enough to keep Claire aroused but not enough to finish it; it was much too early for that!

  Than loosened her grip on Claire's wrists and the slight blonde flipped her back over, kissing her from her lips, down her neck, over her breasts and down her flat stomach. The brunette let out a small moue, encouraging Claire to keep going. Her lips were soft, sweet and gentle, kissing Than's thighs and her hands kneading at her hips.

  "If you're going to keep teasing me, Claire, you might as well get out of the bed," Than said, her voice strained from being aroused and not relieved.

  Claire's fingers just brushed Than's wetness. "Patience is a virtue." She kissed closer, making her partner shiver.

  "I have none," Than replied.

  "Poor baby." Claire laughed and then, quite literally, let her tongue do the talking. She wasn't a stranger to one night stands, and knew that if a girl invited her home only knowing her first name, she wasn't interested in playing around.

  It was like electric shocks sent through Than's body with every lick and every flick of her tongue. Than was a bit of a control freak in bed, but this time she was content to be pleasured.

  Claire added her fingers to the mix, moving in time with her tongue. Hearing the gasps and little moans from Than was music to her ears. She brought Than to the brink, and then paused, moving so that she was able to face Than, with her fingers still inside of her.

  She kissed her violently, and Than could feel her own wetness on Claire's lips. Claire changed her fingers' pace as she kissed Than, feeling the woman's gasps in her mouth. Claire sucked on her neck while the woman breathed, "That's it...keep going..."

  Than’s climax hit with a force she hadn't felt in many years. She'd been much younger the last time anyone made her come that hard and that fast.

  Her cries turned Claire on more than anything else, and she felt a smug satisfaction that she made this calm, cool woman lose control so violently.

  Than smirked up at her, dark eyes hazy with lust. Claire felt like she could drown in those black pools. Faster than she thought was humanly possible Claire was flipped onto her stomach, her behind in the air. Than leaned over her, her lush breasts brushing her back. She licked and nibbled Claire's earlobe, which drove her crazy.

  Bracing her body with one hand, she let her other hand spread Claire's legs wider and slipped between them. Claire couldn't breathe at the intense pressure that was put on her. In contrast to the pounding between her legs, Than kept kissing her neck and ears softly.

  "Ah, fuck, Than," she gasped out, digging her nails into the sheets.

  "What? Tell me what you want," Than whispered in her ear.

  Claire moaned. "Finish it, please! I can't hold on anymore."

  Than chuckled. "Since you said 'please'." Increasing her pressure and speed, she felt Claire contract around her fingers, screaming out her name as she came, hard. She felt boneless and yet could go at it again if Than demanded it.

  Than turned Claire around, and Claire cuddled up against her. Than stroked her blonde locks with one hand, and a smooth hip with the other.

  "Don't do that," Claire murmured as her hands went up to her breast. "I'm exhausted after just once."

  Than smiled but felt an empty hole inside. She knew what must come. The Devil's Dozen never failed, and Claire was going to die before midnight hit. Getting attached to a dead woman wasn't a good idea.

  Claire was thinking along those same lines, wishing she'd met Than sooner. When she said as much, Than replied, "No, you don't wish that." Claire sat up, surprised.

  "What do you mean?" she asked.

  Than looked desolate. "I'm poison. You'll see."

  Claire checked the clock. "I don't think I'll have time to see. We're both going to die in forty minutes, apparently."

  Than suddenly rolled her over, kissing her as if she was trying to kiss away death, make time stop, something. Anything so the end didn't have to happen.

  "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice thick with tears. "I don't want to do this, but I have no choice."

  Claire opened her eyes and her breath caught in her throat, making her unable to scream as she wanted to.

  Than's eyes, formerly as dark as night, were all white, no pupils or color apparent. There were hollows in her cheeks, making her look at once terrifying and beautiful. Her skin was ice, and there was an energy crackling from her skin and hair.

  Claire tried to speak, but couldn't. Terror had rendered her silent.

  "There were thirteen women in that gas station. That didn't include me. Had you been paying attention, you would've counted fourteen," she said, her voice actually sounding regretful. "I'm sorry, but your fate is sealed. I can only hope that your soul goes to Heaven rather than Hell."

  Claire started crying silent tears, unable to quite grasp what was going on. Than...Than was the Grim Reaper? She kissed Claire's forehead, and Claire finally let out a shriek of fear.

  "Please, don't! Than..."

  Than waved a hand, and Claire's voice died away. A little perk of being an angel, even an outcast angel like her. "Etiam in morte, superest amor[1]," she whispered. She moved a hand again, and Claire found herself unable to move at all.

  The depictions of the Grim Reaper were grossly exaggerated. Than wore black, yes, but she wasn't a skeleton and she didn't carry a scythe. Instead, she used her nails and she didn't cut into bodies, she cut into souls.

  Claire watched her nails on one hand elongate, and Than stabbed all five of them into her chest, a sharp pain running through her nerves, and yet she could not scream. There was no blood as Than pulled her nails back out of her flesh, but there was something Claire couldn't see: her soul, filmy white with a pulsing pink center.

  Than looked down at Claire, whose blue eyes were glassy and blank. Claire was no longer in there. What she now held in her hands was Claire, her essence and her life.

  When God had created her, she had been nervous and jittery about taking lives so wantonly, and had especially hated these nights, when thirteen women would have to be sacrificed. She never understood this event and never had, but it hurt her very core to do this. Sure, she didn't have to sleep with them, but every year she inevitably found a lovely lady she wanted to show pleasure to before certain death, and every year she mourned the deaths she had caused.

  The soul in her hands was fluttering, wanting to escape. Than knew her orders, knew that Michael, her superior, would kill her if she didn't do what she was told, but how could she take this lively soul and possibly send it to Hell.

  She was the Angel of Death, and death is what she had always brought. Turning back to Claire's corpse, she opened her mouth with her lips and let some of her own essence flow into her body, while she kept the soul inside her very heart, safe from escaping.

  Claire's eyes lit up, white, and Than grinned.

  The Angel of Death had instead created a new life, a new Reaper.

  SOUL STEALER

  Jenn Nixon

  She possesses me. She is the evil that infects the night. I’m her reaper, finding those worthy of her consumption. This is how she feeds. This is how she survives. Perhaps this is my sentence. For what crime, I know not. All that I am is what she allows me to be. Until the curse is broken, I’m her servant, stealing souls so that I too may live.

  “Kole,” Lilith beckons me to her chamber nestled benea
th the natural world. It’s dark, cold, and unforgiving. It exists everywhere, nowhere.

  I go to her. Her ashen gray skin glows in the dim light of the candles surrounding her throne. Blood-red eyes sear through me. When I meet her gaze, I’m powerless to disobey.

  “The night has promise. I feel a stirring in the city of London. Fetch me a soul, darker than the last.” The sheer robe tugs her voluptuous curves as she shifts seductively in the ram-horned throne.

  “By your wish, master.”

  “Make it two, one of each.”

  Male and female she means. Shuddering, I retreat from her chamber. The frigid stone passage leading to my cell contains the imprints of the souls I’ve taken for the demon. Thousands dust the walls. They forever remain to remind me what I’ve become, all that I’ve done.

  Stalking souls requires no modern weaponry. I have the Talisman of Dark Souls to call upon when I reap. Lilith cannot touch it, only controls he who wields it. She cannot succumb to its power either. Perhaps she has no soul to steal.

  With the talisman, I can transport to the bleakest parts of the natural world. I hate these places as much as Lilith and her prison, but it is the only way I can escape her, even for mere moments. The cursed charm seeks out evil, places heavy with despair, but tonight I heed Lilith’s orders, materializing in a bustling human city.

  The dank alleyway drips with rain. Broken glass, puddles of urine, refuse from the human world clutters my steps. It’d be simpler to strip souls from human prisons, but Lilith requires them fresh, for they have more energy.

  Humans move past me, oblivious to my presence. I breathe them in to determine the nature of their souls. Most shine with light, peaceful, calming, ordinary. Absorbing even a hint of good forces sickness into my body for I cannot touch the light while cursed. However, it never takes long to find souls crusted with black. They run amok across the Earth.

  Evil draws me from the alley. Taverns, bookshops, and eateries stir with nighttime patrons. I weave through the crowd, paying no mind to all around me. Everything in the natural world comes to me in shades of gray. I couldn’t admire their beauty even if I wished to.