Dangerous Lovers

by Becca Vincenza

  Clenching her fists and pushing herself to her feet, she slowly made her way on shaking legs to the rear of the building, in search of a shower. In truth, she couldn’t wait to get the stink washed off of her.

  Locating a locker room of sorts, she found stacks of neatly folded clothing. Everything was black and nondescript. There were form fitting pants, shirts and jackets. She searched through the piles and found what she thought would fit and headed for the shower stall. Stripping down, she ripped everything off until she got to the elastic layer that covered her right leg from thigh to ankle. Carefully rolling it down, she stepped out of it and limped to the shower.

  Turning the water on hot, she let it cascade over her head and down her body. Fumbling around for the body wash, she squeezed a generous amount into the palm of her hand and made a sudsy lather, vigorously rubbing herself with the bubbles. She repeated the process. When she was satisfied that the offensive odor had been rinsed away, she began to unbraid her thick hair. As the water fell over her, she massaged shampoo into her hair and washed the grime of the last few days away. As she was finishing, the tears she had pushed away forced their way through. What a mess her life had become!

  Tommy, where the fuck are you? You better not have pulled anything stupid because if you have, I’ll kill you myself when I find you, I swear to God!

  Liasare dried herself with a fluffy towel she had found and then wrapped her hair in it. She then began the painstaking process of putting the wrap back on her leg. As she did it, she reminded herself why she was here, of what Tommy had done for her after the accident.

  Grabbing her pack, she found her toothbrush and scrubbed her teeth twice. Now she felt like a human again. It took her a few long minutes to brush the tangled mass hanging down her back. She wanted to braid it, but would have to wait until it was dry.

  As Liasare made her way back toward the front of the building, she heard voices. One, she knew, belonged to Jurek. She’d recognize that deep, rich voice anywhere. Not wanting to be the center of attention, she stood on the outskirts of the group.

  Her wish held no ground where Jurek was concerned.

  “Come here Davidson,” he commanded.

  She raised her brow at him but before she could comment, another man standing next to Jurek said, “Welcome Brownie. Nice of you to join us.”

  “I have a name and it’s not Brownie,” Liasare sputtered.

  “Davidson!” Jurek flicked his fingers at her, indicating she go to him.

  She huffed and headed his way. “What?”

  Jurek leaned in to her and sniffed!

  “Much better,” he declared, his lips turning up.

  “Uh! You are so rude!”

  “You have no idea,” he smirked.

  “Jurek, does Brownie smell bad?”

  “Stop calling me that. My name is Liasare Davidson and I expect you to call me by my name dammit.” She crossed her arms and tapped her toe on the floor.

  “Well, I like the name Brownie and I shall continue to call you that.”

  “Like hell you will!” Without thinking she spun around and fully intended to jab her elbow into the solar plexus of the asshat who goaded her.

  There was one huge problem with this scenario, however. Liasare was unaware of the power Jurek and Tak wielded. Their mere touch could cause blinding pain in an individual and send them into a cascade of events ranging from seizures to painful spasms that would render the individual incapable of anything. Tak, caught off guard by her movement, didn’t have time to mute his powers.

  When Liasare’s elbow connected with him, she felt an intense wave of burning heat hit her arm and then surge through her body, discharging like a bolt of lightning. She let out a blood-curdling scream as the currents raced through her but she couldn’t pull herself free of the tortuous thing that bound her. Her body was on fire, scorching from within, tied to this vicious inferno that gripped her within its talons.

  In the distance she heard voices yelling when suddenly the pain ceased and she lost all muscle control and dropped to the ground like a useless rag doll.

  Liasare’s body was twisted at an awkward angle, but try as she might, she was powerless to move a muscle. She tried to swallow, but she couldn’t even manage that. As she thought the worst of the pain had passed, her body began violently seizing, as her muscles appeared to rebel over what they had recently experienced. The spasms eventually passed, leaving her nauseous and trembling. She curled up into a ball, hoping against hope that she wouldn’t hurl again. Luckily for her, only bile remained in her stomach, as she heaved.

  She felt a hand on her arm and looked to see Jurek next to her. She cringed and tried to pull away from him, fearing a repeat of what she had just endured.

  “Am I a-b-about to d-d-die?” she stuttered.

  “No. Be still and it will pass.”

  “C-c-can’t,” she said, still shivering severely.

  Jurek reached for her again and she tried to crawl from him.

  “P-p-please d-d-don’t.”

  “I won’t hurt you,” he growled.

  He turned toward the others in the room and commanded them to leave.

  Turning back to Liasare, he picked her up and carried her to the back where he laid her down on a cot. Then he placed his hand on her forehead. Immediately she felt a soothing warmth spreading throughout her body. It began at her head and traveled down to her core. The pain dissolved and a peace settled over her. She took several deep breaths but the warmth began to take on a different edge, more like a burning. Liasare felt Jurek’s breath against her cheek and the warmth began to move lower and eventually centered on the apex of her thighs. It began to intensify as she looked into his eyes and she saw them change again to that magnificent silver. Her breath quickened and she placed her hand over his, locking it in place, daring him to move it. The silver in his eyes brightened as the warmth between her legs began to burn until it burst forth, shattering into brilliance.

  She moaned and closed her eyes as she tried to understand what had just happened to her. Jurek tried to move his hand but she still tightly gripped it.

  Sweet mother of all sex gods, I’m pretty sure I just had my first orgasm.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing to me?” She tried to cover her embarrassment.

  “Your language is deplorable and if I recall correctly, you quite enjoyed it,” he replied smugly.

  “Oh, you would say that, asshat. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t talk much less move. You all but forced yourself on me!”

  “Excuse me? You’re the one who clamped down on my hand. As a matter of fact, you still have a death grip on me. I couldn’t move if I wanted to. Afraid I’ll take it away from you Davidson?”

  “Of all the...” Liasare realized he was right. She was squeezing the hell out of his hand, and had been for quite some time. Her face immediately flamed with heat as she released him and turned away. She jerked herself away from his reach.

  “What the hell are you? How was that even possible? What even happened anyway?”

  “You had an orgasm Liasare.”

  She swung her fist at him saying, “I realize that. But I’ve never had an orgasm from someone touching my forehead, Jurek! And what happened to me when I hit that jerk who kept calling me ‘Brownie?’”

  “Our touch is different from other’s Liasare. It can cause pain, as you experienced when you hit Tak, or it can cause pleasure of varying degrees. I did not intend for you to climax from my touch, although I’m not sorry you did. You appear to be unusually sensitive to our touch. Your reaction to Tak was quite extraordinary.”

  “I would call it something completely different and I hope to never experience it again.”

  “Each time you touch one of us, it will become easier. It won’t necessarily be pleasant, but your body will not react as harshly.”

  “What are you?”

  “I’ve already told you...none of your business.”

  “Oh, that’s really ni
ce. I’m supposed to sit back and allow you to blindly lead me around and be satisfied with that answer?”

  “Let me just say that we are all very powerful. We are next to impossible to destroy.”

  “Great! That’s just excellent,” Liasare said sarcastically.

  “I have saved your life twice now. Why the sarcasm?”

  “Twice?”

  “Yes, the night you stabbed the Xanthian. That was me.”

  “Shit.”

  “Quit swearing so much. It isn’t ladylike.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes, seriously.”

  “Great! Not only is he bossy as hell, he’s a damn prude.” Liasare shook her head and looked away.

  “Okay, this is a tad awkward here now.”

  “How so?”

  “Are you for real? Did you not just see me spaz out, throw up again, and then have a fucking orgasm by you putting your hand on my head. What part of this whole situation isn’t awkward?”

  Jurek shrugged. “It could be worse. You could be dead right now. If we don’t do something about your looks, you may end up that way.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  He extended his hand to her and helped her off the cot.

  “Those Xanthians I killed in the club were last seen with you. There are security cameras all over the place. People saw you. Those vids will be scanned and they’ll be looking for you. So now, you need to alter your appearance.”

  “Fuck me!”

  “And for the love of the gods would you stop using such foul language?”

  “What are you? The language police? Forget it. I’ll use whatever language I want. Get used to it!”

  Jurek groaned and gave her a hard look. “I believe you’re going to be more trouble than you’re worth. It’s late. Get some sleep. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

  Liasare started to give him a nasty retort, but he flashed out of the room, robbing her of the opportunity. She dropped onto the cot and lost the urge to argue for she was fast asleep in less than a minute.

  ***

  Liasare slipped out of the warehouse early the next morning. She made her way into town and then headed back to the old Dillsworth area to hang out for the rest of the day. Getting away from Jurek was high on her list of priorities. While she felt he afforded her some kind of protection, he and his men also scared the living crap out of her. She felt every bit as unsafe around them as she did on the streets of Center City. What kind of power did they wield if their mere touch could send her into painful spasms, like the ones she experienced yesterday? Geez, with those kinds of friends, who needed enemies?

  Time crept by so slowly; Liasare felt like a month had passed by the time the afternoon sun began making its descent across the sky. It was early fall and soon the nights would be getting longer. She wasn’t sure if this was a good or a bad thing. Gathering her things together, she headed to town.

  Not having eaten since yesterday, she found the first diner she could score a seat in and grabbed a quick bite to eat. Her funds were diminishing so she was going to have to figure a way to come up with some lunch money, and the sooner the better.

  “What’ll it be hon?” the waitress asked.

  “I’ll have the BLT on toast and some ice water please.”

  Liasare spied a plate of saltines on the table, so she snatched a handful and stuffed them in her bag.

  Her food arrived and she downed it in several bites. She wasn’t sure if what she had just eaten was truly bacon, lettuce and tomato, for it tasted nothing like it, but she was ravenous and didn’t care. Her stomach wasn’t really satisfied, but it would have to do for now. Scrimping on money was the only way she could stretch her dollars.

  Another tour of the clubs was on her agenda for tonight. Gah, this was lonely. How she wished she could find Tommy and get out of this hellhole. Shandro was right. This place was disgusting. If she survived this ordeal, she’d be thrilled never to have to set foot in another club for the rest of her life.

  ***

  Shoving her way through the crowd, she reached the bar and got in line to order her drink. The music was pulsing in her ears, and bodies were gyrating on the dance floor. She did a quick eye scan of the crowd, locating the Xanthians. She wanted to avoid them and she wasn’t taking any chances tonight.

  “What can I get you?” the bartender yelled.

  “Beer please,” she yelled back.

  “Xanthian or Earth?”

  “Earth.”

  He handed it to her and she hunted a place to perch. Luckily, someone got up from the end of the bar so she dashed to snatch the empty seat. Propping herself up, she inspected the crowd. A young woman came up next to her and Liasare struck up a conversation.

  “Do you come here a lot?”

  “Yeah, it’s my usual hangout. You’re new here aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, it’s my first time.”

  “Welcome. It’s a pretty cool place, good music, good crowd.”

  “Hey, have you ever seen him?” Liasare pulled out the picture of Tommy and handed it to the girl.

  “Oh, that’s Tommy. He used to come in here all the time. Before...”

  “Before what?”

  “Before...” she stopped talking and her eyes did a quick dart around the room.

  “Yes?”

  “Nothing. Before nothing. Forget I said anything.”

  “No! Please, you have to tell me. I’ve been looking for him. He’s my brother and he’s disappeared.”

  She gave me a sad look and nodded. “He won’t be coming back. I’m sorry.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Look, I gotta go,” she headed out the door. Liasare tried to follow her, but had no success. “Damn!” she cursed aloud.

  Turning around, Liasare headed back to the bar. Her seat had been taken and her beer cleared away. She elbowed her way through the throng of people, her mood sour. She wanted one little break. She couldn’t understand how her brother could vanish and no one could tell her a thing.

  Lost as she was in her thoughts, a vile smell invaded her nostrils. She felt her arms being clasped and then a voice said, “Well, look who we have here. Isn’t this the girl from the security vids, Brot?”

  “I believe it is.”

  The urge to violently puke hit Liasare, but she forced it back down. She couldn’t afford to lose her lunch because she didn’t have the money to replace it.

  “Let’s go,” they said as they started dragging her toward the door. Her teleporter was in her pocket so she would have to get her hand in there. She tried to jerk away, which gave her enough leeway to reach her teleporter. She tapped the control panel and dematerialized out of their grasp.

  When she regained form, she was on a dark deserted street, but she had no idea where she was. Her eyes darted about maniacally and her skin grew clammy. She knew she was not safe, and needed to leave this place. Growling suddenly erupted behind her, followed by a series of guttural screams. Her hands shook so fiercely she could barely touch the screen of her teleporter. When she did, she ended up back at the bar, and took off running.

  Now in full-blown panic mode, Liasare’s blood pounded in her throat. She only knew one thing and that was she must get away from this place. Not knowing or caring if she’d been followed, she ran to the only place she knew she would be safe and that was back to Jurek’s warehouse.

  Liasare couldn’t bring herself to walk through the door. Still furiously gulping air, she attempted unsuccessfully to calm herself. She stared at the obscure, darkened entrance and backed away, losing her nerve. How had she ever thought she could waltz in there? He’d probably kill her.

  Darting back across the street, she hid behind a large trashcan, eyeing the entrance. Simply being close to it brought her a sense of security. She couldn’t say why, it just did. At last her breathing eased and the panic that overwhelmed her began to subside. What a fool she had been. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her teleporter an
d programmed it for a safe location. Wherever she had gone, she had no desire to return there. There was something deadly there, and it was killing people. She remembered the sounds of those screams and she shuddered.

  Lying back against the building, she closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to get the burning sensation from unshed tears to cease.

  “Get up,” he said, kicking her foot.

  Shit! She never heard him approaching. What were these people?

  Grabbing her arm, he jerked her to her feet. “Spying on us now, Brownie?”

  “No, I uh, I...” she couldn’t finish as he dragged her inside.

  “Look who I found nosing around outside,” Tak announced to everyone and he pulled her along behind him.

  All eyes were upon her as her cheeks burned with shame.

  “What the hell were you doing out there Davidson?” Jurek barked.

  “Nothing! I wasn’t nosing around. I was across the street.”

  “Why?” he demanded.

  “Because I ... er ... I ...”

  “You what? Do tell. And it better be good.”

  “I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” she mumbled.

  Jurek came forward and walked a circle around her, sniffing. “You smell like Xanthians. I swear if you’ve led them here, you will die.”

  “I ... I ... they were trying to take me away and I broke away from them.” Her heart jumped into her throat and her mouth was suddenly dry, making it impossible to swallow.

  “That’s impossible. You couldn’t escape them. Humans are too slow.”

  “I teleported.” She fisted her hands so tightly her nails cut into her palms.

  “Fine. Then what brings you here?” he growled.

  “I ... something scared me out there. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “Whoop-tee-fucking-do. You got scared. Get used to it. This is Earth. Year 2030. Occupied by Xanthians and other undesirables. Get over it already or go home,” he scowled.

  “I teleported someplace by accident and there was something there that was killing people. I heard awful screaming,” her voice was bordering on hysteria.