A Bride Worth Billions (20 page)

“And now is when you kiss me?” I whispered as he brought his lips close.

“Shhh...You’re ruining the moment,” he said as my lips met his and I moaned instantly upon contact moving closer to meld my body against his own.  His lips moved over mine softly at first and then he groaned and pulled me closer as if he couldn’t get enough of me, assaulting my lips with his own, pushing his tongue into my mouth, exploring me impatiently, all while he held my head steady, catching my sighs and moans against his lips.

When he was done he reluctantly let his hand fall from my hair and then he tweaked my chin, “I’m looking forward to us,” was all he said as he turned around and walked out the kitchen, leaving me standing there at the counter, clutching the beer that was still in my hand, a hand that now shook in the aftermath of Elias’s passion.

In Public

“You hit like a girl,” Elias said standing back watching me swing the bat as the balls came zooming towards me.

“Thank you,” I retorted and he laughed.

“I’m being an ass.  I know.  I can’t help it sometimes.”

“No kidding,” I said not cutting him any slack.  We had been dating now for two months and it had to be the most wonderful if not frustrating two months of my life.  He was the perfect boyfriend if I could call him that.  Thoughtful, doting, sexy, adventurous, so that was the wonderful part.  He respected my opinions, treated me well and I enjoyed our sarcastic banter.  The frustrating part was our sex life or I should say our lack of a sex life.  As he mentioned that first night, we hadn’t just jumped into bed together.  We had spent these past two months getting to know each other.  He hadn’t once invited me back to his place for anything more than a drink and my attempts to get him back to my place to get him in bed always ended with him lightly swatting me on the butt and telling me to be a good girl and then he would stroll out the door. 

It was driving me crazy, but at the same time I thought it was sweet that he was genuinely interested in me and not in just sex.  But as I studied him from beneath my lashes, I realized that he was the type of guy who sex came easy to.  I’m sure he could have any woman he wanted, but for now he wanted me, all of me it seemed, and strangely enough, I wanted him to have it.

Spreading my legs and sinking down a little, I tried to perfect my form as the next ball came hurling at me and I hit it!

“I hit it! I got it! I got it!” I said bouncing up and down.  I ran to Elias, kissed his mouth and then kept jumping up and down.  He shook his head and then started bouncing up and down with me, revealing his goofy nature under that tough exterior as he high-fived me when we were both calm again and said, “Good job.  It only took about twenty tries, but good job nevertheless.”

I looked at him and stuck my tongue out at him, “You’re not funny.”

“I’m hilarious and if you stick your tongue at me again, the fun in this batting cage will go from rated PG to rated X.”

I couldn’t resist and stuck my tongue out at him.  He lunged for me and I ran off giggling and screaming out the batting cage door.  Elias easily caught up with me and picked me up, carrying me as if I weighed close to nothing.  He tossed me over his shoulder and I squealed as he started to spin with me in his arms.

“Put me down! Oh my God, Elias put me down!” I screamed laughing.  He finally obeyed and plopped me down gently on the ground, butt first.

“You’re so lucky I can’t properly defend myself,” I said giving him a pretend angry glare.  He ignored it and reached for my hands, pulling me up.  He then kissed the back of each one, before wrapping his arm around my waist. 

“So what’s next, hon?” he asked as we walked towards his car together, silence all around us. 

I leaned over and whispered in his ear boldly, “I don’t know. Maybe sex?”

His gaze was heated as he studied me carefully and said, “Your wish is my command.”

It was late and the parking lot was empty, only Elias’s car remained.  I didn’t know how much longer Elias could wait, but I wanted him right there and now.  Apparently he felt the same way because we didn’t make it inside the car.  He backed me up against the hood and picked me up, shoving my maxi skirt up my thighs and pushing my panties to the side.  Without hesitating, he stuck a finger inside me, while kissing my neck and using his other hand to free one of my breasts from the constraint of the tank top I wore.  I thrust my hips against his hand, wishing his finger to go deeper, as my wet sex clenched around it, throbbing, wanting more.  I would have come then, but Elias pulled away his finger and instead began to unbutton his pants.  He freed his sex and I greedily grabbed it, admiring the length of it, rubbing my hand up and down his warm shaft.

He slid my hips to the edge of the hood of the car and I guided his member inside of me, wrapping my legs around Elias’s waist as I laid my body back against the hood of the car.  And in that position, Elias began to pump in and out of me.  Apparently we both didn’t care that someone could spot us at any moment.  I was too lost in the delicious sensations of Elias’s sex pushing and stretching my own to care about anything else.  And as he bent down to close his mouth over my exposed nipple, I came screaming his name.  And when he placed a hand between our bodies and kept sucking my nipples as he played with my clit and thrust into me, I came again.

“Elias!” I screamed and he covered my mouth with his own, before plunging into me one last time, his heat spilling inside me as he groaned in ecstasy.  We stayed there for what felt like forever, getting our breathing under control.  I lazily stroked Elias’s shoulders and he kissed my eyelids, my cheeks and finally my lips.  He placed his forehead on mine and said, “That was great, but maybe we should take this somewhere else before we get arrested.”

I giggled and then nodded, missing his warmth already as he pulled away and then out of me.

“Come on my love, let me get you safely home.”
My love
, beautiful words I thought, as I slid my hand in his, trustingly.

Secrets

The next day, Elias met up with me for a movie.  He was joking with me about my inclination to cover my eyes through all the scary parts when something or rather someone caught my eye.

I couldn’t speak as I stared at the man leaning against his car, watching us from across the street.  I would know that face anywhere I thought, by body going still as I stared back at him.  He didn’t look alarmed at all as he slowly took off his shades, winked at me and got in his car and drove off.

My heartbeat was racing suddenly and I felt faint.  From a distance, I could hear Elias calling my name over and over.  Finally distraught, he shook my shoulder.

“Skylar, what is it?”

I opened my mouth and nothing came out.  I tried again and failed.  Finally, making eye contact, I cleared my throat and said, “Elias, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“What is it?” he said concerned, “Does it have to do with that dude who was watching us?”

I nodded, “We need to talk.”

“I’m listening.”

“No.  Not here. Let’s go back to your place.” I could tell from the look on his face that he wanted to question me further, but there was nothing more that I wanted to say, at least not out in public.

He didn’t say a word as we climbed into his car and we still didn’t talk until we were safely inside his house.  He placed his keys on the table of his ultramodern home and said, “Now talk.”

I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest, not meeting Elias’ eyes.  “That man you saw was my ex-boyfriend, Josh.”  I took another breath before I could continue and then looked at Elias head on, “And I helped him kill someone.”

“Explain,” was all he said.  His voice didn’t register any surprise nor shock.  He looked impassive.

“I met this guy, Josh, when I was young and stupid, just seventeen.  I ran away from home.”

“This was just after your parents died?”

“Yes, but it’s no excuse.  At first things started off okay.  He was nice to me, made me feel special.  He filled in that void that I had after my parents’ deaths.” I stopped, tears forming and I impatiently swiped at them as they fell.  Elias made no move to comfort me; he just stood there waiting for me to continue.

“I thought he was a nice guy, he was into running cons though.  It was intriguing at first and I asked him to be a part of it.  We ran small time cons at different casinos.   I thought they were harmless, but then he approached me about another con.  He wanted me to get close to this guy, to sleep with him,” I admitted. “Malcolm was his name, some millionaire.  Josh wanted me to make him trust me so that we could get access to his money.”

I gulped and turned away, “So I did it.”  I closed my eyes at the memory and wiped away at the fresh tears before continuing, eyes still closed.  “And Malcolm gave me access to everything and I quickly turned it over to Josh.  I didn’t know it at the time, but Malcolm was married. And his wife found out about me.  I guess I was her breaking point.  One of many affairs, but I was the last straw.  She took her own life.”  I was crying now, feeling like the lowest of low.  “I don’t know how she found out about me, but I saw her name in the paper.  She took a bunch of pills shortly after confronting me when I came out of Malcolm’s apartment one evening.  I had no idea he was married. He was just our mark and I can’t forgive myself.  I don’t deserve to be forgiven.  I turned myself into a whore and ruined someone’s life and marriage, all for money.” 

I started to sob and I felt Elias’s eyes on me.

“So you didn’t kill her?”

“Weren’t you listening?” I cried, “She killed herself after confronting me!”

Elias said calmly, “But did you hold a gun to her head and force her to take those pills?”

“No, but I might as well have.”

Elias shook his head, “If anyone is at fault, it’s her husband for not disclosing that he was married.  He must have known his wife was in a fragile mental state, but yet he still cheated on her.  Yeah, you were wrong for running a con, but you can’t blame yourself for someone else’s death unless you took their lives directly.  And trust me, the guilt you’re feeling now would be compounded a thousand times if that were the case.  I lost count of how many people I’ve killed for little more reason than just following orders.”

“But you’re military,” I said defending him.

“A life is a life, Skylar, even when I was wearing a uniform that gave me the right to take life from another without repercussions.”

He moved to sit next to me and I slid over to accommodate him.

“So what happened?”

“I turned myself in, got off with just a few years of house arrest. It’s not even on my record anymore and he got ten years.   I turned him in too.   Apparently he’s out early.” 

He was about to respond when he jumped on top of me in a lightning fast move and shoved me to the ground.  As I tumbled to the ground, I felt something whizz by my ear and the lamp on the opposite end table shattered in a hundreds of pieces. 

“What’s going on?” I squeaked out and then I heard them, bullet after bullet as it pierced the quiet night of Elias’ neighborhood.

“I think Josh has found us.” I watched Elias stand up as Josh kicked at the bullet ridden door, easily kicking it in and stepping inside the living room, a gun in each hand.

“I want the girl, lover boy.”  Josh said and I wanted to vomit.

Calmly, Elias replied, “You can’t have her.”

“Have it your way,” Josh said pointing the guns at Elias.  He opened fire and I screamed the whole time as Elias’s body became shredded by the bullets and he hit the floor.  Blood poured out from every surface and then I saw Elias’s body jerk and suddenly he was back up.  Josh stepped back, looking afraid and confused simultaneously.  Elias then pulled at his shirt and I noticed chest hair there where before there hadn’t been and before I could say a word, his body began twisting and jerking.  His skin pulled back and his muscles shifted.  His face contorted and where a nose used to be, a snout formed.  His jawline then elongated making room for long, deadly looking canines and I willed my body to run as Elias became a creature out of a horror movie and Josh opened fire again, while screaming in fear. 

I watched screaming as well as the creature that had once been Elias knocked the gun out of Josh’s hand and then picked Josh up and slammed him into a wall.  He then did it again and again until Josh’s body appeared lifeless and limp.

I watched the event in stunned horror and then when the monster looked back at me, I began to scream hysterically and he leaped over the couch and plastered a hand across my mouth.

And slowly he began to shift again, turning back into Elias in what seemed to be milliseconds and then I promptly fainted.

“Skylar? Skylar? Wake up, sweetie. Wake up.”  I stirred as the voice called my name and I realized that it was Mrs. Steward.  I blinked up at her confused.

“Hi, honey,” she said and then I saw Mr. Steward as well, making repairs to the wall.  I was immediately puzzled, wondering what they were both doing there.

And then I looked up and saw Elias, picking bullets out of his side and I was about to faint again when Mrs. Steward caught me and pinched my face.  “Oh no you don’t! Stay alert! No more fainting.”

“Elias is a.....a....oh God...he’s not human!” I stuttered attempting to stand up. 

“Yes, I know my dear. Neither are we.”  Mrs. Steward said as if she were talking to a young child who understood very little. 

I looked toward Mr. Steward who was humming as he finished fixing the wall where Elias had thrown Josh’s body repeatedly.  He smiled at me. 

I shook my head, “What is this some sort of sick joke?”

“Obviously not, dear.  You don’t see any of us laughing.”

I stared, “No. No. This can’t be. A whole family of...of...” I stuttered unable to finish my sentence. 

“Werewolves?” they all said simultaneously.

“I’m afraid we are exactly that.” Mrs. Steward said. 

“That’s impossible,” I responded and then I looked at Elias who was finally done picking bullets out of his chest as if bullets were a minor annoyance and I shook my head. 

“Is Josh dead?” I asked unsure what else to say. 

“I wish.  We left him under a bridge.  He’ll be fine.”

I gulped, “How long have I been out?”

“About an hour.”

“You saved my life,” I said to Elias.  He nodded.

“Thank you,” I said reaching out my hand and as he took it, I said, “Now it’s your turn to explain.”