by Kyla Riley
Conn pulled out his wallet and knelt down beside the drunken man that lay there half asleep on the ground. “I am so sorry to have hurt you, but I thank you for bringing me back,” Conn whispered and got out several large bills, tucking them into his hand. “I am grateful for you and hope you can get yourself some food.”
Reaching over to the pile of trash nearby, Conn grabbed two t-shirts off the top. No one will help him get home or aid him if he is undressed or covered in blood. One of the shirts he used to clean up the blood off his chest and mouth, the other he slipped on over his head, wincing at the stench. His words to Holly came back to haunt him as he walked out of the alleyway to get a cab ride home.
Regret is a horrible thing to live with and something that takes forever to shake… Sometimes I crave an ordinary world, a regular life but then I wouldn’t have the memories I do cherish… Conn had told Holly his deepest fears and dreams in a moment of weakness. He would never forget the way Daphne looked at him just before he faded away into nothingness. The love in her eyes was overwhelming and he felt like he’d finally found his home, in her.
Conn wanted what his brother had, a normal life with the woman he loved. He wanted Daphne for his own but feared hurting her during a moment of weakness. Just that possible chance of him hurting her would haunt him forever.
He would always regret having to let the woman he loved go… it would decimate him. A single pale red tear ran down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away. Losing her would mean that she would be able to live out the rest of her days without him, safely.
11
6 months later…
It was Monday again and Daphne knew what that meant. Another silent token to let her know that Conn was still alive – somewhere out there. Every Monday since his disappearance started out the same way with flowers delivered at almost the exact same time. It was tender, sweet and in no way, shape, or form a substitute for him.
And it just royally pissed her off.
The sheer terror Daphne had felt as she had hidden crouched in her apartment waiting from some stark raving maniac to arrive and rip out her throat had been atrocious – and she told Niall that when he arrived. He told her how dangerous Conn could be and four hours later, she realized that as Conn’s brother- Niall should be helping him…not her. He thought he would smugly swoop in to save her, save the day, and instead she had let him have it verbally.
“You should be out there looking for him, not here protecting me!”
“Well… you are welcome that we arrived as quickly as we did!”
“Get outta my place and find my man… now!”
“We are doing you a favor by being here to try to bring him down; you don’t know what he is capable of…”
“So, you think he could have killed them all in London too? Do you two watch the news together?” she snarled, pointing between Holly and Niall. “Hmm? Do you? You know what is out there- death and depravity. Do you know what Conn brought to me? Peace, love and a sense of belonging. I need him to come back… I want him to know he is safe to come here when he needs me,” Daphne said tearfully before collapsing onto a nearby chair and putting her head in her hands.
Holly walked over and hugged Daphne, ordering Niall out into the night to find his brother, Conn. Late the next afternoon was when a text came through on Holly and Niall’s cell phones.
Safe
Conn was safe and okay, but Daphne was not. He didn’t reach out to her and she had his number written down on a piece of paper in her jewelry box. Part of her was tempted to text him and another part was hurt, torn… scared. She was frightened that she would open herself up to him again and he would leave, abandoning her once more. Isn’t that what he had done six months ago?
He disappeared and never returned.
No ‘wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am’ or ‘it’s not me, it’s you’ speech. Nothing… and the silence was deafening. Actually, it wasn’t complete silence from him- oh no! No, he had to remind her every Monday morning that he cared enough to think of her by sending flowers, but not enough to contact her or include a card. It was a mere pittance of a gesture at best and she hated it.
Picking up this week’s bouquet, Daphne took a deep breath in of the fragrant aroma of the lilies he’d sent this week…again, sans card… and promptly pitched them in the trash can just like she’d done every Monday.
She couldn’t look at the flowers each day that she came in to work. It destroyed her emotionally and mentally knowing that he was out there somewhere thinking of her but wouldn’t share the same space, the same air, once again.
* * *
“I can’t believe I am your errand boy. You know she still trashes them every single time. You could buy the cheap flowers if your woman is going to give them the Hefty-treatment,” Brion said comically into the cell phone.
Conn sighed heavily and slumped his shoulders. He couldn’t go to her because he was unstable and frightened he would hurt her. Every night in his dreams, he thought of her- dreamt of her smile and the way her eyes sparkled when she talked with him about his past.
“Look, I love you brother more than anyone else but we are risking both of our safety by being in the same vicinity together. I had no idea this would be a six-month fiasco when you asked me to deliver flowers to her for a few weeks. Six months dude!”
“I know, but I just can’t…” Conn began and Brion interrupted him.
“Stop. I have heard this song and dance about twenty-four times over the last six months. You are scared you are going to hurt her- I get it. I feel it, so I understand the fear. Something is going to happen to her but I don’t know what, so instead of being scared that you are going to hurt her – what if you are protecting her?”
“From what?” Conn growled and felt the red haze build in his vision as he came close to losing control. He knew he was a powder-keg and his brother’s words just lit the fuse. “No one will hurt my woman and live.”
“See? Channel that shit and use it, buddy,” Brion taunted. “Go see her, tell her you love her and protect her from whatever is coming down the road. Meanwhile, you and I can distance ourselves so we don’t get mowed down by some drunk driver or freak accident. I’m sorry but after a thousand years, I prefer to experience everything I can and you can’t do that if you are holed up in a hospital or morgue. Now, I am going back to L. A. to do my thing – you go do yours.”
Staring at the phone, Conn knew his brother was right. Brion had a gift for sensing things and if he said something was going to happen to Daphne- he wanted to be there to protect her. He needed time to talk to her, explain and hope she would understand or forgive him. Gathering his courage, Conn fished out a few more objects from his box of collectibles and hoped he could use something to break the ice if she was as upset as Brion suggested.
* * *
“I suggest you focus your readings on chapters twelve, thirteen and fourteen. The paper you will be turning in for a test grade at the end of the semester must be at least four pages typed minimum. Anything less than that will result in a zero. The text Friday will be on those chapters – hint, hint- please do your research on the Molly Maguires… there may or may not be a bonus question on the test,” Daphne said with a smile as the students got to their feet and began exiting the classroom. Even though they were college students and grown adults, she still thought of them as her children to teach.
Straightening her papers on her desk, Daphne noticed out of the corner of her eye that someone was still standing there in the class. Raising her head, she almost asked if they needed something and saw it was Conn. He stood there looking even more gorgeous than she remembered and holding a bunch of red roses just like the first set he’d given her months ago.
“What do you want?” she said bluntly, fighting back the urge to run up to him and hug him.
“I wanted to talk. Do you have another class?”
“I should lie and tell you that I do,” Daphne began and then faltered. “But I don’t. Let’s go t
alk in my office.”
“Okay, but first things first,” Conn began and she thought he was going to walk up and kiss her, but instead he came up to the desk and tossed the flowers in the trash.
“What the… oh,” she started and then had the good graces to blush heatedly before picking them up out of the refuse bin. “Not those. Okay?”
“Why?”
“Because you brought them yourself this time,” she said softly and waved him into her office adjoining her classroom, locking the doors behind them so they weren’t interrupted. Daphne walked over to her desk and put the roses in the vase he’d originally given her. She’d kept it simply because she’d never been given roses from a man before, especially not one she cared for.
“How have you been?”
“Awful.”
“You look good.”
“You’re breathtaking, my little goddess.”
“I don’t know if I am your anything, Conn.”
He stood up at her words and took a step towards where she stood. Daphne immediately backed away, watching him. His hands fell to his side and she had a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“You are my everything, Daphne,” he whispered and she glanced at him to see the pained look in his eyes.
“You can’t do this to me, Conn. You can’t be here, be all lovey-dovey with me and make me want you…and then nothing. Literally nothing. Where were you? I thought I was losing my mind or high on something. I mean, you disappeared at one of the most vulnerable moments I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve never let anyone touch me like that before and…”
Conn crossed the room in the blink of an eye and Daphne was in his arms before she knew what was happening. His lips were on hers and her knees buckled as she felt that rush of desire flood through her body at his taste. God, she missed him! She had craved him, wanted his touch and missed his intensity. His hands were everywhere and searching under her clothing in no time flat.
“Conn…” she breathed softly, cradling his head to her breasts as he touched her. She needed this connection with him more than she ever realized. It wasn’t just physical – it was emotional and spiritual. She knew it sounded hokey, even to her, but there was just a sense of belonging in his arms.
“Daphne, do you want me to leave? I will do anything you ask to have you in my life again. I’ve missed you so much,” he breathed, getting to his feet and looking down at her. He laced his fingers with hers and held her hand on his chest.
“Just don’t love me and leave me again. Stay and make me whole,” she beckoned. “Let me shut the blinds so we don’t have an audience because I don’t think I am going to make it home until we take care of something.”
“Unfinished business,” Conn said huskily with a knowing smile. Daphne nodded and blushed. She felt like such an idiot being so angry at him and knew he better have a damn good reason for avoiding her or there wouldn’t be a second chance, no matter how good things were with them.
Turning around towards Conn, she unbuttoned her shirt and lay it across her desk. His hands were clenching at his sides as if he welcomed her taunting him. He removed his own shirt and put it next to hers.
“No more,” he whispered and grabbed her, his lips claiming hers. As they kissed, she felt him hiking up her skirt and then felt her panties tear. Yanking her mouth from his, she glanced down to see the torn lace underwear in his fist and the satisfied smile on his face.
“You are mine and I will always be yours,” he uttered in a deep voice. Nodding silently, she knew she was putty in his hands and he would see to her pleasure before his own. Daphne undid his belt and unfastened his slacks only to see the intensity in his eyes grow. The rusty brown color of his eyes became a heavy, deep shade of red that made her grow a little alarmed. Conn twirled his fist in her hair and turned her around as his pants dropped. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she felt him kiss the back of her neck, just under the nape of her hair line. His other hand caressed the cheek of her bottom and lifted her leg up onto the chair.
“There will never be anyone else for us. You are my everything, my very soul,” he pledged, his hand sliding from the curve of her hip to her torso. “I would give my life to you, for you. Do you trust me?”
“I do,” she breathed intimately as she felt the heat of his erection against her nether regions, searching and then sliding into her. The sheer pain and pleasure were incredible and frightening at the same time. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to move but it was like they were on the same wave-length now.
He pulled her hair taut, forcing her to arch backwards against him as his other hand cupped her breasts. His body retreated and drove itself into her, causing her breath to catch at the heated invasion he was causing. She could hear him whispering sweet nothings to her, beckoning her to love him and give herself to him with each thrust. She couldn’t speak. The pleasure was building so high that she felt like something in her was ready to snap or break.
And it did.
Her orgasm was nothing like what she’d ever experienced before when she had touched herself privately. Her whole body shuddered and pushed against him in an effort to have him deeper in her than before. He wasn’t just making love now, this was a wild union between the two of them.
If she thought that Conn was intense before, it was nothing like the man that was claiming her now. His body was quivering in a rush of pleasure as he surged up and sank his teeth into her shoulder at the same time that his body exploded into hers with a spurt of warmth in her womb. Instead of being frightened, the feeling of his teeth and his cock swelling just before he came, threw her body into another fit of pleasure making her moan match his own muffled one where his mouth was clinging to her skin.
There were several moments of silence as he released her shoulder and licked the wound he’d created. His body was still erect as he held her against him for several moments, kissing her tenderly along her neck, cheek and ear. Daphne could swear that their hearts were beating in unison, but maybe that was just her own pulse doing double-time from the adrenaline and pleasure she’d just taken with him.
“Conn?”
“Mhhph?” he said playfully against her shoulder as he licked her once again. She liked this side of him, it was as if she could feel the tension seep away from him completely.
“Sweetie, we still need to talk,” she reminded him, hating to kill the mood. He was still holding her against him in a heck of a hug. It was like they were spooning but standing upright.
“I like that you call me your sweetie,” he murmured. “I am so sorry that I missed out on that months ago and kept you from your enjoyment. It will never happen again. I will always be with you and protect you.”
“You aren’t making sense,” she giggled, feeling him nose her again behind her ear. He gave a big huff and snorted playfully. “Protect me from what?”
“Brion said that something was going to happen and I could either protect you or be the cause of it.”
“What?” Daphne said, yanking herself from his arms. The separation between their two bodies was almost painful and she couldn’t help but look down at his member. It was slick with his seed and her response to him- another issue they needed to talk about. Pregnancy? Was it possible between them because she wasn’t on the pill and having a man screwing her in her office was nowhere near on the agenda?
“Brion, your brother, said something was going to happen? Was he threatening me?”
“No, he would never,” Conn growled. “No one will threaten my woman.”
“About that? Bumping-uglies one time does not make me your woman except for the five minutes it takes.”
“It takes longer than five minutes! I have no problem spending all night pleasuring my woman.”
“Conn, listen…”
“I like it better when you call me sweetie…” he said with a huff and crossed his arms, looking at the floor in frustration. Daphne couldn’t help but laugh. Here he was nearly naked in her office, his pants around his ank
les and acting like a child.
“Sweetie,” she said chuckling amusedly. “We need to focus on the important things. Your brother said something was going to happen – what? Am I going to win the lottery? Stub my toe? You don’t just give out weird voo-doo predictions.”
“It’s not voo-doo. We call it the Sight back home in Scotland.”
“Okay, whatever it is-it would be great if it was a bit more specific.”
“You don’t have to worry because I won’t leave your side.”
“Except unless you decide to disappear again. What was up with that anyways? Do you know how messed up that is to a girl’s psyche… leaving her spread-eagle on the couch? That really hurts the ego.”
“At least you came. I had to wait six months for my release.”
“This isn’t a competition and you waited six months to return- so it’s your own damn fault.” Daphne jerked down her skirt and stabbed her arms through the sleeve of her shirt in frustration. “I wanted to talk about this and all you can think about is getting off.”
“No, honestly all I can think about is having you spread-eagle again and tasting you. I missed you Daphne and we will do all the talking you need, but at home in bed.”
“You are slick, you know that?” she muttered, looking up at him. He knew just exactly how to deflate her when she got all worked up and angry.
“In more ways than one,” he teased, pointing at his now erect member. “Let’s go home. I’ve got an urge to take a shower with the most beautiful woman I know.”
“That better be me.”
“There will never be anyone else for me.”
12
The chemistry was strong between Conn and Daphne, spending hours upon hours in bed talking or making love. The desire to touch her or see her smile had always been there, but there was something missing, something she was holding back from him. She listened intently while he told her of his past and the curse. He could tell that she believed him only because she’d seen it all with her own eyes but there was a rift there between them.
