by Andrea Allen
“Hello?”
“Chels,” I say, now smiling and breathing much easier. “You sound like you’re in bed.”
“I—I am. I’m not feeling well.”
“I just had the worst experience with my family in my life.”
“I’m sorry, Mary.”
“I need to see you. I’m already on my way to your place.”
“Oh, no. Don’t come here. I don’t even have the strength to get up right now. Just…go home. Rest on it perhaps.”
“You don’t want me to come by?”
“I would, but I’m just not feeling too well. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Wait, Chels.”
She hangs up. I throw my phone into the passenger seat. Great. No one to speak to. No one to vent to. No one, but myself. I begin to wonder if what Scott had said was true. I can barely remember life before him, so it really must not have been so great. But the pain and trouble he put me through, it must have been a much better life for me before him, wasn’t there?
Without another place to go in mind to ease my mind, I decide to head to Artimus’. I could hope that whatever plans he had yesterday, are finished. And hopefully, he not be upset that I pop up so soon. I mean, he did say I can visit anytime and just not last night. Now, it is a different night, so…he shouldn’t mind.
I GPS his house and as I get close, I notice that all his lights are on. He is certainly home and has as many lights on as if he were throwing a party. I turn off the GPS and begin to turn into his long driveway. I look up ahead and see a black car out front. It isn’t anything I could picture him driving. It’s kind of old. I would have thought if he did have cars then it’d be a bunch of old-school mint-condition classics or something. Corvettes and Lambos. Mustangs and T20s. Something like that. But as I pull up to park next to the vehicle, I begin to think to myself. He doesn’t have a garage, and perhaps he doesn’t need to drive. I look over at the vehicle as I pass it and the dent in the rear of the car sends both confusion and heartbreak within me.
Chels? That can’t be her car. I park next to the car and hop out. As I make my way up the steps of his house, the door opens. Artimus stands there dressed in black pants and of course, a white button-up.
“Mary.”
“I would have called, but you never left me with a number.”
He nods his head.
“Whose car is that?”
“Hi…Mary.”
I look over Artimus’ shoulder and what I feared the most has happened.
“Chels…”
Chapter 7
It already bothers me that Chels is here. What bothers me more is that she’s half naked, standing in her lingerie.
“Artimus?”
“Mary. Please don’t—“
“What the hell are you doing here, Chels?! You don’t answer my calls or texts, nor show up at work, and then when you finally answer, you say you are sick and not to come over, but come to find out, you are over here, sleeping with him?! After I’ve told you how much I liked him? You’d do this behind my back?!”
“Mary, I didn’t—”
“You didn’t mean to? Was that what you were going to say?”
“Mary, do understand that nothing—”
“Understand what, Artimus? That you slept with my best friend?! I trusted you! I liked you and wanted to be with you! Is this what you’ve been doing when you said you had been ‘booked’ for the night?”
“Mary,” he says, raising his hands in defense. “I don’t understand why—”
“You don’t understand why I’m upset? Really? You’re sleeping with—”
“I don’t understand why you think it’s something more than what it actually is.”
I silence myself and stare at them both. I begin to shake my head.
“You—” I begin to say. “I’m sorry, I thought we had established some form of entitlement…” I say, nodding my head. “Entitlement.” I turn back and head towards my car.
“Mary!” Chels calls after me.
I get into my car and slam the door. As a cry builds within me, I pull out of his driveway and floor it onto the street. I speed through Times Square, swerve between cars, taxis, and buses, and make my way back home. If I can’t trust my best friend, then who can I trust? She was the only person I had that kept me going. Not my family, not my ex-husband, not my boss, not my job. Just her. I met Artimus and just before I seen a happy life ahead of me, Chels took it away. I’m tired of people taking things from me.
I pop open a bottle of wine and immediately begin to drink. With each gulp, it gets better. Easier to get down. I drink and drink and down the bottle until it’s practically gone. I stumble a bit, and when I think of Chels and Artimus, I throw the bottle at the kitchen wall. It shatters and scrambles into chunks of glass, onto the floor.
“That whore.”
I stare at the glass, and a salvation incubates my thoughts. I don’t have to live like this. I don’t have to keep myself feeling like some burden to everyone; Feeling as though I don’t belong with my family; Feeling as though I don’t deserve any friends; Feeling as though…I don’t deserve to be loved.
I stumble towards the broken glass and small pieces cut into the bottom of my feet. I bend over and shuffle through them with my fingertips for the perfect piece. I find it and I find a smile. I struggle to stand and make my way to the kitchen sink. I stare out the window and into the cold winter night. The snow falls along the trees in my backyard, and someone stands between them, staring back at me. I shake my head.
I peer into my wrist, then look at the broken piece of glass in my hand. I hold the edge of the glass to my wrist and though my vision blurs, perhaps it doesn’t matter where I can begin to cut. I press the point of the glass harder against my wrist. Just when I’m about to break skin, a hand is then atop of mine. It takes the glass and turns me around by the shoulders.
“What are you doing, Mary?”
“Artimus, what are, what are you, you doing in my house?”
“You are drunk,” he says.
“Ha-ha, not that forget what happen, you and Chels. You two,” I say, pointing a finger and shaking my head. “Hurt me.”
“Mary, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Chels was naked…Naked!”
“She was…but I was not the one who removed her garments.”
“What? What does that even mean?”
“I invited Chels over to learn more about you. Chels thought I invited her for something different. Something more. I wanted to know if you are truly the person you have shown me you are.”
I try to gather my thoughts, but it keeps trying to slip because of the wine.
“But…I saw Chels naked, and you looked so—”
“Pressured. I knew she was your best friend. She did confirm how great of a person you are…and how hurt. But…then she started to drink quite a bit and get very friendly. I denied her because my feelings are with you. She started taking her clothes off and I forbade it. I knew it was you before you knocked on the door. I told you I’ll see you coming before you can see me…I didn’t lay a finger on your best friend. I haven’t felt this way about anyone in quite a long time, Mary.”
I take a deep breath and stare into his eyes. He seems more serious than I could imagine.
“But…how do I know you are telling the truth?”
My phone begins to ring. Artimus looks down at my phone as I hold it in my hand.
“Answer it. Hear her out.”
I exhale deeply and answer the call. I place it to my ear, but I refrain from saying anything. As she talks, I stare at Artimus.
“Mary…I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m so sorry. I had been drinking and it really took over me and he’s just so—you already know…I don’t need to say it. But I’m sorry. It really wasn’t his fault. I came onto him, but he refused. All he talked about was you.”
“I’ve heard.”
“Do you forgive me?” she asks.
“In due time, Chels. M
aybe I will.”
I hang up the phone, and the buzzkill kicks in.
“You—want me?” I ask him.
“Yes.”
“But…you can’t…And I shouldn’t want you.”
“Why can’t it be?”
“Because…I’m a human and you’re a … vampire. We have different lives.”
“I can adjust to yours,” he says.
“No, I can’t do that to you.”
“But I want to be with you.”
I smile as he caresses my cheek.
“Do you really want to go back to a job you hate? How long until your family accepts you? How long until your ex-husband begins to stalk you and ruin you?”
He’s right—about everything. I love to write, but I hate my job because of my boss and co-workers, and now, ex-best friend. My family has been treating me this way for years, practically since my younger brother was born. My only excuse for them would be that maybe they never wanted a daughter. My ex-husband, already, it’s barely been a week, has shown up to my house just to tell me I was nothing before meeting him. But here stands someone who cares. Someone honest and faithful who wants to be with me.
“How could we do this? How could we make this work?”
Artimus steps forward. “I’ll change you.”
Goosebumps spread across my skin. “Change me? But then I’ll be like—”
“You wouldn’t have to kill anybody. I’ve never killed anyone. I feed and let them go. It’s just that, they tend to find their way right back to me and want the same for their lives. I just so happen to run into people who are unhappy and give them what they want. A freedom. A different life…But you, you seem to be the unhappiest.”
I wipe my face from tears and nod my head.
“How would I just—disappear from this life I have?”
“You were going to kill yourself.”
“Yes,” I say, looking down.
“I’ll make it look like an accident. I’ll burn this place down and they’ll believe you were inside. Your best friend will naturally confirm it. You were just on the phone with her. I believe she’s on her way now. She could be the one to find this place to ash.”
His plan is far too great to deny belief. I nod my head.
“Change me…”
Artimus steps forward and holds my face in his hands. He begins to kiss my lips, then works his way down to my clavicle and up my neck. I toss my head back as he removes some of the hair away from the side of my neck.
“This will hurt.”
“Do it.”
He bites into my neck and agony escapes my throat. I fight beneath him, but he keeps me locked in his arms. As he drinks, the pain from the bite begins to go away and so does my consciousness.
Momentarily, I see him looking into my face, my vision a bit blurry. He begins to fumble through a few things in the house. I then hear him click the stove on. He walks back over to me, and I find myself in his arms again, taking us to the door.
“Artimus,” I say, weakly.
“Shush. The venom will be working soon enough. You should sleep, Mary.”
I look around and he walks down the driveway, cradling me in his arms. Momentarily, I hear a loud bang and a rush of red and orange light surrounds us. I smell fire, but feel the cold of the winter snow. I’m drifting from the ground, and as I’m in and out of consciousness, below us, I see the Atlantic waters.
***“Mary…Mary…Mary, wake up.”
I open my eyes and find myself lying on cement, however, the clouds seem much closer to me than they should be. I clench my aching jaw and look up into Artimus’ face.
“Mary. You’re beautiful. You are changed.”
“It…it hurts.”
He smiles softly as he brings me to my feet.
“It will pass with time.”
“Where are we, Artimus? What are we standing on?”
“The Eiffel Tower.”
“What?” I head over to the railing and look around the scenic view from our vanishing point. If my heart could beat, I’m sure it would be pounding against my chest.
“Welcome to Paris, Mary, and Merry Christmas.”
THE END
Bonus 15 of 30
Ménages des Freres (Threesome of Brothers)
Description
In public life, Richard and Aaron share a billion-dollar enterprise in Manhattan. They have been stepbrothers and best friends for nearly twenty years now and have shared plenty of women who can't resist their big bucks and great looks. They have become accustomed to having the same women in their private life as doms. But when Aria, a childhood friend of theirs, shows back up in town, this is one woman neither wants to share. She is a firecracker and has been featured in both men's wet dreams from a young age. The problem is, she likes both of them too. Her appearance soon sets the two up against each other until they are forced to come together to save her from an ex she came home to escape.
Chapter 1
***Richard***
I ran my fingers through my dirty blonde hair as I knocked back a lite beer. My eyes kept drifting to the double French doors that led out to the large backyard where I, my family and my friends were gathered for Sunday football. It was always a tradition if the Giants were still in the running for us all to gather at the home I grew up in.
But this time was going to be a little different, at least I thought so. I had gotten a phone call out of the blue, a couple of weeks before, from a girl that my stepbrother and I used to hang out with when we were kids. Her name was Aria, and if my memory served me right, she was the most stunningly beautiful person in the entire world. That’s at least how I felt when I was thirteen.
She was supposed to be back in town. So, I had invited her to come to the party, hoping to finally spark something up between us. But deep down, I knew Aaron, my stepbrother, was going to be out to get her for himself as well.
"What has you on edge?" Aaron asked, slapping me playfully on the back. Aaron had always been the athletic one, the hot one, the outgoing one, with his ripped, tan body and dark hair. I had always been seen as the smart one and the nice one, though I had grown into my looks a bit as I got older.
In adulthood, our brotherly dynamic worked well for us. We had been able to start up a multibillion dollar company together. Aaron handled the schmoozing while I took care of the finances and the great ideas. It was perfect. Aaron had been a built-in business partner and best friend, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be a little competitive with him.
"Nothing at all," I responded, not wanting to give away anything. "I think I just need another beer. How’s our team doing?" I asked ,reaching down to pull another can out of the cooler. Billionaire or not, nothing beat the refreshing taste and manliness of a can of cheap beer.
"They're barely hanging onto their lead. It's nearly the end of the first quarter. I'm holding out for them though," Aaron said, boxing the air with enthusiasm. He was always moving and laughing; a playful guy that couldn’t help but get you in the mood for a party.
But when Aaron stopped, his eyes glued in the direction of the door, I knew just what it must mean. I forgot all about the just opened beer in my hand and the game, when I turned to face her.
She had just come out into the yard, and she was greeting our parents in the distance with her bright smile. She was even more perfect than I had expected.
Her hair was still long and wavy and the color of the deepest, darkest night. It had a great contrast to her pale skin which looked as delicate as porcelain like the sun had never touched it. A red sun dress hugged her curvy body tightly, and she walked with the air of royalty, slow and purposeful, as she greeted everyone at the party as if she had never left town after junior college.
I hoped my jaw wasn’t on the floor as she came toward me, her amber eyes glowing with anticipation.
She came right up to me and wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace. I quickly set my beer down and recovered from the shock of her touch and returned t
he hug. I wonder how smooth I looked to my brother now. I was the first one she came to see.
"Thank you for inviting me," she whispered in my ear with her bell of a voice, having to get up on her tip toes to reach me. I smiled at her as she pulled away, and I knew at that moment more than ever that I had to make her mine.
Chapter 2
***Aaron***
I watched in annoyance as my little brother put his hands on the woman I had been obsessed with since I was eight years old and couldn’t believe he hadn’t mentioned that she would be coming to the party. I hadn't seen her in more than five years now, and until this moment, when I saw her walk into my parents' backyard, I thought I had lost her forever.
"Aaron?" she asked, pulling away from my brother and turning her amber eyes on me. She was one of those women who sounded and looked sultry without trying. In fact, she was the hottest damn thing around, but she had no idea. She had always been oblivious to her own beauty.
"Aria, it's been too long," I told her with my bright white smile. I made sure to flex as I reached for a hug from her as well, but I couldn’t help but notice she didn’t hug me as tightly or for long as my brother. He would pay for that later. Ten years ago, he would have been no competition for me, but his ownership in half our multibillion dollar company and his blonde hair and blue eyes which he finally grew into with a little muscle had landed him as many women as me in adulthood. It hadn’t bothered me until now, though, as the woman who I needed to be my future somehow was standing between us.
Aria squeezed my muscles playfully and I played it up. "I see someone still works out," she commented flirtatiously. "Oh, how I’ve missed the both of you," she added with a sigh, looking back and forth between us.
If this was any other woman, I knew how my brother and I would settle the debate. The two of us had a not so well kept secret among the nighttime community of Manhattan; we were prolific doms who often shared our sub women, doubling their pleasure. If it was anyone but Aria, we would take her back to our lair and both have our way with her and see whose name she called out first, but I couldn’t let that happen. Aria was different. She was the star in every wet dream I'd had since I discovered masturbation and the female body. I couldn’t bare to share her; not unless she got down on her knees and begged me to. I was deathly afraid that one day, she just might.
