Meredith sat up in bed, strands of faded purple hair hanging in her face as she looked around groggily. Something heavy pressed her hips to the surface of the mattress. She glanced down at the defined blue muscle holding her in place. She stared at it in confusion, her brain struggling to waken, and wondered how she got in bed with a man. One painted like a smurf, at that.
Not that she was complaining about the view. She always did admire a man’s strong forearm and bicep. She didn’t know how it got there. It wasn’t like her to fall into bed with a strange man, especially not since... she didn’t remember. Her mind was still stuck in the shadows of her dreams
She’d been running through the mist, and voices had been speaking to her from all sides. Voices that promised to do terrible things to her. She’d run, but she hadn’t been fast enough, nor had she been able to run far enough to escape them. They taunted her, and then clawed hands grabbed her...
A piercing scream tore from her throat as she struggled against the grip of whoever held her. An old-fashioned iron lantern glowed beside the bed... or was that light coming from her?
Meredith choked, her breath refusing to move through her lungs, as she wrestled with the shadow creature that held her. She wanted to leave. To run away from the strange light and her captor. How had he found her in the mist? How had he captured her?
Twisting violently, her elbow slammed into the firm body lying behind her. She felt no sign of life from him, not a breath drawn or a heartbeat. All she felt was the intense heat radiating from him as assuredly as the ghost light that covered her. She attempted to swat it away but as her terror grew it became brighter. Undeterred, lost in the labyrinth of her fractured mind caught in the dreamscape, she fought, striking out with her arms and legs.
A deep breath rattled behind her, the sound eerie in a room silent outside of her own frantic breaths and her pulse beating in her head.
The arm around her tightened with a growl, the voice so deep that it seemed to surround her. Then she was flipped onto her back. Bile rushed up in her panic, her eyes, unfocused, flicked around the room. All she could discern was a shadowy silhouette of a horned monster leaning over her.
His hand touched her face, tracing the line of her jaw in a familiar manner. Instinctively she began to relax, her pulse slowing. Her breath shuddered out of her as he murmured, his deep voice soothing though she didn’t understand what he said. Once she ceased struggling, he switched seamlessly into English.
“Do not fear, your spirit returned. You are well now.”
“Who?”
His hand stroked comfortingly over her head, his fingers sliding through her hair, gently unknotting the tangles he encountered. Her breath shuddered out of her, her entire body shaking from the slowly released tension.
“You are safe, Meredith. I am here with you.”
At the sound of her name on his lips, her memory rushed back to her. Her body convulsed and her mouth fell open as the mists concealing her mind blasted away with a burst of light, and the horrors of all she witnessed flashed before her eyes. Charu wrapped his arms around her and held her to him, taking the brunt of her violent spasms until at last she went lax.
Lying her on the sheet, his eyes trailed over her in a gentle caress. Meredith lifted a hand and dragged her fingertips from his cheekbone to the perfect line of his full lips. He turned his head and pressed a kiss into her palm. She closed her eyes gratefully, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“Charu,” she whispered, his name washing through her like a balm. “What happened?”
“The ill spirits overtook you when you weakened yourself to such extremes.” He glanced morosely at the lamp on the nightstand. “I had hoped that the lamp would protect you, but it was unable to fight against the invasion of your mind when you were so completely lost to it.”
She closed her eyes and laughed. “This crazy shit that’s wrong with me... it’s getting worse isn’t it?”
Silence stretched between them. Meredith opened her eyes and looked at him. He was frowning at her, an air of sadness about him. It pained her to see it. She reached up and smoothed his brow with her fingertips. A sigh escaped his lips.
“You came too close to entering the house of death by your reckless expenditure. It has hastened your deterioration. I brought you into the healing sleep with me, but even that didn’t spare you.”
“The lamp...”
“The mortal body was never meant to serve as a conduit for its power. You nearly killed yourself when you fed the substance of your spirit into it. You should have left as I bade.”
A dry chuckle left her on her next exhale.
“Leave... and then what? The power of the lamp was burning through me, calling to me to attack that thing, whatever it was. I accidentally came into contact with it in the woods. I tripped over it,” she admitted. “Besides I couldn’t leave you to fight it alone. I had to do something... anything.”
“The acila wanted you. It was a creature of the lauchume; I am certain. It was not your place to interfere,” he growled. Anger and frustration strained his features.
He was angry. Well, she was angry now too. She glared at him as she pushed herself up further on the bed and poked him in the chest, the muscle so thick that her finger didn’t even make an impression. She gawked for a second before leveling him with her most withering look.
“This is my world, not yours. You belong to Aites. You’re here because they broke through your gate, not because this has anything to do with you or your kind. It’s great you’re helping, but your purpose here is no greater than every one of us who fight for our lives every day. This is our world, and we have all the right to protect it however we’re able.”
“Your kind are weak. What can you do against the wulkwos and their pets? What can your blade do?” he reminded her with a snort.
“Probably nothing at all,” she agreed. “But still, we will always try to fight and will never give up because that’s who we are. No one has the right to say it’s not our place to do so.”
He stood and snarled down at her.
“I do not care what the other humans do. You are mine and I will not allow you to risk yourself. I will not allow the lauchume to have you.”
She stuttered in surprise, her eyes widening as her arms crossed over her chest to ward herself against a wave of vulnerability. She’d felt scared before with Charu, that terror that came with the unknown. She’d felt awed and overwhelmed by him. She’d felt empathy. She’d even felt the burn of desire, but she always had a handle on herself. She was with him by choice. She’d never allowed anyone to ever become possessive of her, not trusting anyone else with her wellbeing, and yet he was striking a claim that penetrated all her defenses.
“I belong to no man,” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly with uncertainty.
His lips twitched and he stepped away, allowing distance between them.
“It is fortunate then that I am not a man. I am a male who keeps and protects what is his. You gave yourself into my care. You clawed your way into my being when I was content and harmonious in myself.” He leaned forward into her space, his lips skimming the column of her neck. “Know this... in all the eons, never have I desired until there was you.”
His fangs nipped the delicate skin there, sending lust surging through her.
“Now that I have you, I will never let you go.”
“The madness...”
“I will be your guide to bring you back whenever you succumb, to remind you of who you are. My female, my light, my Meredith.”
Her hand came forward and gripped the dark hair hanging down from its binding. She tugged it, gently drawing him forward.
“You won’t let me die alone?”
“In one form or another, I swear I will be with you when you draw your last breath. I swear it.”
She searched his face. Finding nothing but honesty there, she wrapped her fingers around one of his horns and drew him forward, aware of the low groan that rumbled
from him at the contact of her skin upon his.
She wanted that. She wanted every bit of his desire, to feel him driven by it as much as it drove her. Meredith watched as the red glow of his eyes intensified, the centers whiting out just seconds before his head dipped and his mouth claimed hers.
Charu’s arm curled behind her head, his fingers twining through her hair, pulling her head back to deepen the kiss. His tongue plunged into her mouth, sweeping away the last of her barriers between them.
Heat sprung deep within her, a pool of living flame roaring with intensity, feeding ecstasy through her veins and into her belly. Her leggings and panties soaked through as his fingers became bolder as they stroked exposed skin and slid over the top of her clothing. His fingers teased her breasts, stroking the curve of the mounded flesh and dipping down to flick and pluck at her nipples. There was nothing between them but the thin T-shirt she wore, since she’d abandoned wearing a bra a long time ago in favor of comfort.
Moaning, Meredith arched her back and pressed insistently against him, her belly grinding against the rigid length of his arousal. Its considerable girth prodded at her, slipping lower. She gasped against his lips as his questing sex nudged against her covered crotch. He growled at the barrier of clothing between them that interrupted the culmination of their mutual desire.
A sharp whistle broke through the fog of their lust and Charu pulled away, leaving Meredith confused as the sound grew louder and more distressed. Charu ignored it, his eyes staring down at her, his thumb brushing her bottom lip thoughtfully.
“You make it so easy for me to lose myself, the entire purpose of my being, in you. What witchery do you possess to hold such power over me?”
She shook her head.
“I have no power at all, outside of what your lamp has provided.”
His laughter brushed over her body like a hundred butterfly wings caressing her flesh.
“I beg to differ. The lamp only magnified the spark that existed within. You are a marvel to me, Meredith. I just do not know if you are a gift given by the blessed ones, or one set before me by the tricksters so that they might see me fall before they steal you away from me.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she insisted.
“You are not,” he agreed. “Now allow me to take care of you. The kettle is ready. I found some packaged noodles that might be agreeable for you.”
“Can’t go wrong with ramen,” she said with a sigh, reluctant for their moment to end. But he’d obviously switched gears into caregiver mode with the shout of the kettle. She wasn’t going to let it get away from her quite so easily. The next time couldn’t come soon enough if she had her way. “Bring on the noodles.”
Chapter 19
Meredith tried not to be ungrateful as she slurped the disgusting hot and spicy shrimp cup of noodles that looked like they had been sitting in storage for years before Charu dug it out. The last few months had taught her that food was food and to be appreciated whenever it was available. That didn’t make it any less disgusting.
She couldn’t imagine what target demographic it had been made for. Who the hell wanted to set their mouth on fire when they were eating noodles?
Well, who besides Charu? She eyed the male sitting across from her eating with obvious relish. It seemed he’d abandoned all of his previous reluctance to eat human food. One eye kept watch on her to make sure she was eating, while the rest of his focus was fully involved in the activity of slurping up mouthfuls of noodles.
Poking at the noodles, all she could see were the disgusting tentacles of the creature from the chasm. Her skin crawled and her appetite withered at the thought. Sighing she pushed the Styrofoam cup away.
Charu paused, a fork full of noodles halfway to his mouth, and frowned at her.
“Eat.”
She made a face.
“I can’t. Not only is it hot enough to remove every sense of feeling from my tongue, after that thing we saw, the noodles just remind me of its tentacles. I can’t eat it without making myself physically ill.”
His head cocked with curiosity.
“The acila does not accurately resemble the noodles, and the heat is pleasant, but if you find it distressing, I will find something else...”
He rose from the seat and she flushed with guilt.
“No, don’t trouble yourself, please. It may take me a while to recover my appetite anyway after everything that’s happened recently. Stress does funny things to my stomach.”
He regarded her in his steely sort of way before lowering himself back into his seat. Now both of his eyes were fixed on her as he ate, as if watching for any sign that she might truly be hungry. His sharp, predatory eyes never missed anything, that was for sure.
She sat awkwardly as he finished eating, fidgeting every so often with the length of hair she’d braided out of nervous habit. She was on edge and distinctly uncomfortable with her inability to help the way her body tingled and warmed under his perusal. No doubt he was aware of it given the way his nostrils flared, and the burning white centers of his eyes seemed to expand as the minutes ticked on.
The sexual tension between them had thickened and Meredith felt an increasing need to alleviate it. Despite his claims to have never known desire, he could easily have a wife or someone that had a claim on his attentions. She didn’t know if she could bear being a mortal fling like some sad retelling of a myth.
“So, is there a Mrs. Gatekeeper waiting for you to return?”
His lips quirked and she hastened to cover her embarrassment.
“I mean, everyone needs that someone special to take care of the whips and chains...”
Her cheeks heated furiously, and she sank into her seat, biting her tongue to silence the wayward organ. Now she sounded like a BDSM ad.
His laugh sent a shiver up her skin and he grinned down at her. Even seated at the table he seemed to tower over her.
“No.”
Her lips twitched with the need to return his easy smile.
“Do your kind even do that? I know the wulkwos do, but is that common?”
He nodded.
“We do, most times. We do not form pair bonds like humans seem to with the intent to breed families. We are not organic beings and do not breed unless the occasion rises that a new being is intended by fate to arise, but we do form bonds when we are inclined to do so.”
“And you have not.”
“I have not,” he agreed. His gaze swept over her. “You carry no signs of a male. Were you mated?”
She coughed around a laugh.
“Uh, no. I had plenty of less permanent propositions and took them up on their offers when I felt like it, but nothing ever really came out of them long-term.”
“You do not love?”
“Um, well, sure I love. There are all kinds of love. There were plenty of times I thought I loved a guy, but it faded after time. I guess that’s obvious since I never married anyone.”
She laughed, trying to adopt the nonchalant air of a grown woman of the world who didn’t need a man to be happy, but even that sounded hollow to her ears. No, she didn’t need a man to be happy, but she couldn’t deny that a loving relationship with someone was something missing from her life.
“I am pleased that no other male holds claim to you.”
Licking her lips, she looked him over carefully.
“Right now, I’m not sure that anyone would be able to compare to you.”
His smile widened and a dangerous glint entered his expression.
“None ever will.”
The promise in that statement drove the breath from her lungs and she felt lightheaded. Did he mean what she thought he meant? She was human, mortal... How would that even work?
“I’m human. I will age and die.”
His eyebrows arched in an arrogant way that suggested he had considered all that already.
“As you once pointed out, it is not all you are, Meredith. Your mortal flesh will age, and I will still desire you th
e same, and when your spirit leaves it will never be more beautiful to me. I will not let you travel among the other souls to your rest but will keep your spirit by my side, even if it violates all the laws of Aites. I will never give you up.” He paused, his brow lowering. “I do not understand love, but I do know want. I desire you by my side. It is selfish, but there is nothing else in all the time I’ve existed that I’ve truly wanted for myself. I will not deny myself when I’ve discovered you in the world.”
She laughed nervously.
“You don’t know me, though. How can you be so sure?”
“Humans find their mates by social engagement, yes? By discovering if their desires and passions are compatible. This is unnecessary for me. I see the true you, and my entire being shifts to align with you, seeking that perfect union. We are not fickle like humanity, who rely on emotions and changeable pleasures. Our bonds are eternal. I see the real you, and so desire to tie you to me. I desire eternity, and even that will not be enough to know you and who you would be as the ages pass.”
She shook her head and offered him a sad smile.
“I’m not sure how much faith I can put in that, or if I can believe in something that transcends time. I’m human with those fickle human emotions you speak of. I’m not so certain you will find anything more with me, so I don’t know if I can promise it.”
He inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“It will please me to accept what you can give... for now.”
He was a male determined to get what he wanted, but for now at least he was willing to meet her halfway. It frightened on a primal level, knowing that in a fashion she’d surrender something of herself to him, but she also knew that her time in the world wouldn’t be long, and as time passed it would be one caught in her own madness.
Did she want to give up a taste of happiness that was offered to her right now?
It was no longer a matter of just being alone. It was something more that called to her.
“Okay,” she said, her eyes meeting the chaos of his gaze. “I will accept you on those terms.”
A savage smile lit his face and he stood, the chair crashing to the floor. She barely had time to take a breath when he was at her side, pulling her into his arms. She felt weightless as he swung her into his embrace, high against his chest and he abandoned the table, walking back to the bedroom with a determined stride.
Havoc of Souls Page 14
