Authors: Alicia Dean
She moved away from his taunting hand, sliding her mouth downward, over the little trail of dark, crisp hairs leading to his groin. She ran her tongue along the sides of his cock, cupping his balls in her hand, stroking them with her thumb as she tasted him.
“Good God,” he cried out. “I can’t take another—”
His words were cut off as she closed her mouth over his shaft, sliding up and down, in and out, taking the tip as far into her throat as she could. Pulling her mouth back, she used the point of her tongue to caress the ridge just under the head of his penis.
“Baby, please,” he nearly whimpered. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to explode.”
In answer, she increased the movement of her mouth, faster and tighter, closing her lips around him as she stroked.
His hands reached down and tightened in her hair, gently following along with the motions of her head. Abruptly, with a strangled groan, he tugged upward, directing her away from his penis.
“If you keep that up, I’ll come in your mouth.” The words were bitten out between gasps for air. “I want to be inside you when I do. I’ve dreamed of this for years.”
A slow, satisfied smile curved her mouth. Heady with the power she held over him, of his desire for her, she rose and nodded. “I’m all yours.”
He flipped her on her back, then slid on top of her, his eyes capturing hers as he braced a hand on either side of her head. “I can’t believe…this is…incredible,” he panted.
She gripped his shoulders, hungrily arching her hips upward, kneading the skin of his chest, his shoulders, enraptured with the feel of him…smooth, warm, alive.
He lowered his hips until she felt the tip of his erection prod her inner thighs. She opened to him on a sigh of bliss. He slipped his cock inside her, and she gasped his name on a cry. Then, he was filling her, stroking back and forth. Her inner folds clenched around him as he pumped harder and faster. Her eyes locked onto his, and a connection passed between them, breaching the chasm between her world and his. He represented death, yet never had anyone or anything made her feel so alive.
She clasped her hands on his tight buttocks, holding her to him as she ground against him, panting his name, her mind numb with the sensations jarring through her.
“Audra. Oh, Audra. I’m going to...”
“Yessss,” she hissed through gritted teeth.
Her heart swelled with emotion, with the wonder of the feel of him, the look in his eyes before his lids shuttered over them. She writhed beneath him, her insides tightening and spasming as friction built and his movements increased in tempo. The feel of her clit rubbing against him nearly drove her insane with the need to come again.
~*~
How many breaths did he have left? Dimitri had lost count, had no idea, but he pushed the tormenting thought aside. Now that he’d actually touched Audra’s velvety skin, kissed her perfect, soft lips, he couldn’t imagine never doing it again.
The feel of his cock draped in her warm, moist softness was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. The muscles in his shoulders bunched as he delved in, then out of her tight, wet heat, as he tried to drag the moment out, tried to control the urge to release his seed into her. It took all the will power he possessed to hold off…to make it last….just a little while longer, because he knew, this was it. This was all he would ever have of the exquisite creature writhing beneath him.
The pleasure on her lovely face filled his chest with lightness and bliss. Her hazel eyes shone with the inner beauty of her soul…with passion for him. He didn’t examine why someone as perfect as Audra could feel anything for an immoral being like him. No, he would simply bask in the wonder of it all. He would carry this moment with him through eternity, however long his eternity was to be. But now, every second of it would be wrought with the agony of knowing he would never have this again. Never have Audra again.
He was ashamed to feel the beginning of tears gather in his throat. What had she done to him? Never in his nearly three-hundred years had he so desperately missed being human. How could he go back to his torturous, spectral existence after touching and tasting her living, breathing essence?
He pushed the emotion aside, concentrating on the primal, animalistic pleasure of the climax he could no longer stave off. Blood roared through his system with the force of a tidal wave.
Please let this last forever…
He didn’t know to whom he was entreating, but he knew it was a useless request. He had this moment…this now…this…
Oh, Christ…
His body tensed. “Audra…I…” he clamped down on the words. He’d been about to say,
I love you.
But he wasn’t worthy of her love. What could he offer her except a future of living on the edge of something real? Nothing, that’s what. Instead, he moaned her name once more as his cock pulsed within her, the tremors growing, then subsiding, over and over, until they finally stilled.
In that instant, he finally knew perfect contentment…could almost believe he’d someday earn absolution. If someone like Audra could feel any sort of affection for him, then surely, all was not lost. He went limp, staying inside her, using his elbows to hold most of his weight. This was where he wanted to remain…eternally wrapped in Audra’s sweet body.
~*~
The sound of her name sliding off his lips incited her ecstasy to a near fever pitch. Teetering on the precipice of another orgasm, excited beyond all rational thought, she undulated her hips, rubbing her clitoris against his groin. The pressure built and pulsed, shooting through her nerve endings, into her veins, heating her blood as it rushed to her head. When she could stand it no longer, her own climax shuddered through her, eliciting small moans of delight as waves of pleasure crested over her, carrying her somewhere she couldn’t define, buoying her in its rocky turmoil, until it finally ebbed and she settled into the safe harbor of Dimitri’s warm, perspiration-slicked, body.
Satisfied lethargy stole through her limbs, leaving her weak and sated.
Dimitri groaned his contentment as he gazed down at her, wonder and joy dancing in his glorious eyes. Lowering his head, he placed a tender kiss on her lips, then rolled off her, staying close, pulling her into his body. “That was unbelievable,” he said breathlessly.
“Most definitely,” she agreed. She was chilly, but too relaxed to summon the energy to slide under the blankets. Instead, she snuggled into Dimitri’s warmth.
He turned his head to stare into her eyes, then looked down her body and ran a finger along a scar at the top of her rib cage. “I remember this. You were sixteen. You and your friends were swimming, jumping into Grand Lake from the cliffs. You miscalculated and hit against the jagged rocks. I nearly lost my mind. I wanted to rescue you.” His gaze rose back to hers. He frowned and shook his head. “What kind of reaper does that make me?”
An emotion frighteningly close to love tugged her insides, a tender ache resting along the edges of her heart. She felt the sting of hot tears. To think he’d been watching her all these years. Had witnessed so many moments in her life. A bond like nothing she’d ever known.
She smiled up at him. “It makes you a reaper with a touch of humanity.”
He grinned and kissed her softly. “You meant that as a compliment, but in our world, it’s not.” His expression turned solemn. “It’s almost time. I’ll turn back soon.”
She nodded and lifted her hand to his jaw line, letting it rest there, wanting to touch him for as long as she could. “Thank you.”
“For the sex or for Sadie?” he said, his mouth quirking in amusement.
“Both.”
He pulled her closer, brushing his hand along her hairline while she kept her touch on his face.
All too soon, she felt him fade beneath her palm. Despair opened like a chasm in the center of her chest. Was this what life with Dimitri would be like? An hour of companionship—of mind-blowing sex—then back to amorphous nothingness?
Yes, it was precisely what life with Dimitri would be like. But why was she worried about it anyway? He hadn’t said anything about a future. She hadn’t asked. She knew now that she loved him. That any future with Dimitri was better than no future at all. But he hadn’t said any more than that she was beautiful, special, and he’d wanted her for a long time. Not exactly the foundation for a lifetime of bliss.
“I’ll go now,” he said as he left her bed. “Sleep well.”
Suddenly freezing without his warmth, she slid beneath the blankets.
“Good night,” she whispered.
He winked, then disappeared through the wall. She snuggled down into the covers. She wouldn’t allow the hopelessness of the future to mar the contentment she felt now. Her night with Dimitri had been amazing. Sure, he couldn’t stay and cuddle with her, but over half the men in the world didn’t do that anyway.
She smiled at the thought and was just drifting into sleep when the ringing phone jarred her awake.
“Hello?” she said, sitting upright, not even bothering to look at the caller ID before she answered.
“Audra? Oh, God. Audra,” a distraught Riley screamed.
“What is it? What’s happened?”
Sadie? Had she died after all? Was this the consequence Dimitri mentioned? You can have her a few hours longer, but she’s still going to be snatched away?
“It’s Brent.” Riley was sobbing so hard Audra could barely understand her. “He’s dead, Audra. Brent is dead.”
Audra took Riley and Sadie to her house after Riley was released from the hospital. The car accident that took Brent’s life had left Riley with nothing more than a few scratches and a bump on the head. But Riley didn’t want to be alone in the house she’d shared with Brent. And Audra didn’t want her to be left alone with a head injury, regardless how minor.
Once Riley and Sadie were settled in the guest bedroom, Audra went to her own. She couldn’t get the image of Riley’s shell-shocked face out of her mind. The white bandage on her head, the pretty features haggard with agony and disbelief. Riley hadn’t cried once since that first hysterical phone call. Shock. The tears would come again. Anger would be in there somewhere. Audra would be with her during every stage of the process.
Audra had just changed into her sleep shirt when Dimitri appeared in her bedroom.
He stood near the window, his face partially in shadows. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“You know about Brent?”
He nodded.
“Are you the one who took him?”
“No. Not me. But I was afraid something like this would be the result.”
“Result of what?”
“Messing with fate.”
She frowned. Exhaustion and sadness made it difficult to think clearly, but realization dawned, and she stared at him in disbelief.
“Was that the consequence for sparing Sadie?” She stalked across the floor until she stood directly in front of him. “Did you make a trade?”
“It doesn’t work like that. Not exactly. It’s somewhat like the butterfly effect. One little alteration can set off a whole new chain of events.”
“Of course,” she said quietly. “Sadie’s parents went out to dinner that night, after you came to dance practice. If you’d taken Sadie—if Sadie had died that day—they wouldn’t have gone. Her father died because
she
didn’t.”
It all made sense in a tragic, nonsensical way. If Riley and Brent hadn’t gone to dinner that particular night, at that particular restaurant, at that particular time, then that particular drunk driver would never have careened into Brent’s side of the car, crushing him beyond recognition. Stealing his life. These were the consequences of Dimitri sparing Sadie’s life.
Ain’t that just a hoot?
Dimitri frowned and dropped his head. “I told you there would be consequences.”
But she’d never dreamed they would be of this magnitude. Grief made her lash out. “This is bullshit. I convince you to save a child so you take her father? What the fuck kind of trade off is that?”
“I didn’t take her father. It was fate.”
“But you knew. You knew he would die.”
“No. I knew something could happen, but I had no way of knowing what. I did as you asked, Audra. I told you, whatever happened was on you.”
The words landed like a punch to her gut. “You’re saying it’s my fault Brent’s dead?”
He stared at her, but didn’t respond.
Tears sprang to her eyes. She couldn’t even argue. He was right. It
was
her fault. He’d done as she asked. For her, he’d spared Sadie. As a result, the child lost her father.
She was so weary of this odd and dangerous world she’d been exposed to. Weary of reapers, even though she was pretty sure she’d fallen in love with one. She suddenly had no strength left to argue. No foundation for her rage.
“Let me ask you this,” Dimitri said. His eyes bore into hers, barely illuminated by the light coming in through the slit in the curtain. “Had you known this would be the result, would you have chosen for Sadie to perish?”
She couldn’t answer his question. But for a split second, she hated him for asking it.
“Please leave,” she choked out. He gave a slight nod. She watched him go, waiting until she was alone before breaking down in tears.
~*~
Sometime in the wee hours, Audra heard Riley sobbing. The sound was muffled, but since Audra hadn’t been able to sleep, she heard.
Did that mean Riley had heard her speaking to Dimitri? No. They’d kept their voices low, and Riley would surely have come in to investigate.
She rose from bed and found Riley in the kitchen, sitting at the table, her head in her hands, shoulders shaking violently.
“Riley, sweetheart. Come here.” Audra folded her friend in her arms, stroking her back and murmuring comforting words as she poured out her grief.
“I can’t sleep,” Riley said when she finally reigned in the tears. “I keep seeing Brent lying there, broken. I keep hearing the sounds of the crash.”
“Didn’t the doctor prescribe you sleeping pills?”
Riley nodded. “I didn’t get them filled.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t think it was fair. That I should be able to rest. After...after what happened to Brent.”
“Come on, that’s not right. You need your rest. Sadie needs you.” Audra gripped Riley’s hands in hers. “It won’t be selfish to find a little bit of peace, of escape.”
Riley gave a reluctant nod.
“Where’s your script? I’ll take it to the hospital pharmacy. They’re open twenty-four hours.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I do. I want to. It’s the only way either of us will get any sleep.” She smiled to soften the words and Riley managed a brief smile in return.
Audra drove to the hospital and parked in the visitor’s lot since she wouldn’t be long and didn’t want to bother with her employee garage key. Once she had the prescription, she headed back to her car. She hoped the pills would help Riley sleep. She needed to forget what happened, even for a little while.
As she reached the car, she experienced an odd sensation that something was wrong. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something felt...off.
She glanced around the nearly deserted lot but saw nothing. Shrugging it off to the effects of all that had happened lately, she thumbed the key fob and reached for the door.
The attack came from behind. She was standing one minute, the next, a blow slammed to the back of her shoulders, and she went down to her knees. She barely had time to notice the pain of her impact with the cement before she was grabbed from behind and hauled to her feet.
Her attacker whirled her around to face him, and her insides froze.
Scott.
He shoved her against the car and put his face inches from hers. “Finally. I been following you and I finally get my chance. You fucking cunt,” he spat. “It’s your fault. All your fault Maria’s gone. You destroyed my life.”
Audra’s insides quivered, the blow making her woozy. “My fault? You killed her, you insane piece of shit.”
He punched her in the jaw, and her head snapped back so hard, she thought it would sever from her neck. Pain exploded, far worse than the ache in her shoulders, or the sting in her knees.
He’s going to kill me
.
He killed his wife. He’d think nothing of killing me. It’s what he’s wanted all along.
Panic fueled her, and she tried to shove against him. He didn’t budge. She brought her knee up and jammed it into his groin. He grunted and doubled over. She pulled free and was about to run when his hand reached out and snatched her hair, jerking her nearly off her feet.
“Scott, no!” A young, male voice penetrated her consciousness. Audra turned her head as much as Scott’s grip would allow, finding Maria’s nephew, Joel, standing a few feet away, fists clenched, chest rising and falling. “Let her go. You killed Aunt Maria, you son of a bitch. I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”
“What are you going to do about it, you pussy?” Scott snarled.
Joel lunged toward him, and Scott released his hold on Audra. She stumbled to the ground, but gained her footing. Her gaze shot around the parking lot, to the entrance of the hospital, but no one was around. How could there be no one around?
She fumbled for her cell phone, hoping Joel could keep Scott occupied long enough for her to summon the police. Her trembling fingers latched on to the phone, but before she could retrieve it, she heard a shouted grunt. Her gaze flew to the two men. They seemed to be locked in a lover’s embrace, suspended, frozen in mid-motion. Then, she watched in horror as Joel slid to the ground, a knife protruding from his chest, eyes staring up at the night sky.
“No...” she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth to cover the sound.
Scott whirled toward her. His face was streaked with tears. The moon reflected in his eyes with an insane light.
“See what you did,” he sobbed. “Everyone I love is gone because of you.” He reached down and yanked the knife from his nephew’s chest. It made a popping, sucking sound that brought a wave of nausea to her throat.
He staggered toward her, and she dropped the phone, stumbling backward, a strangled cry wrenching from her throat.
He was almost upon her when a blur of darkness flew into his path. Scott halted, letting out a cry of surprise.
Dimitri stood between her and her attacker. Her relief turned to terror when she realized that Scott had seen him too. That meant this was the human Dimitri. The vulnerable, easy to kill Dimitri. And Scott had a knife.
She was afraid to cry out, afraid to distract Dimitri as the two men circled one another, Scott enraged and armed, Dimitri protective and weaponless.
“Come on, mother fucker,” Scott taunted. “I have nothing left to lose. First I do you, then the bitch. Her, though, I’m gonna fuck her in half before I kill her.”
Dimitri lunged and Scott brought the knife up. Audra yelped, her heart stalling as the knife hit its mark. Dimitri grabbed his side.
Blood poured from beneath his hand. The nurse in her knew a wound like that could be fatal. A lung might have been punctured. Dimitri would die, right here in front of her eyes.
Scott was moving in to aim another blow when Dimitri straightened, bringing a fist up into Scott’s chin. Scott reeled from the impact, staggering backward. Dimitri swayed, but stayed upright. Scott gripped the knife, thrusting outward, but Dimitri grabbed his hand, twisting. Audra heard the undeniable snap of bones breaking, then Scott’s howl rent though the night as the weapon clattered to the cement. Dimitri scooped the knife up and plunged it into Scott’s gut.
Audra gasped. Scott slid to the ground, then went still.
Dimitri turned to face her, doubling over, his hand cupped to his side. Red streams painted his clothing, the ground beneath him.
That’s a lot of blood
, she though dumbly, before rushing to him.
“Dimitri! Oh God, Dimitri. Hang in there. We’ll get you into the hospital. I’ll call for help.” She couldn’t think straight. She wasn’t sure if, this close to help, she should still dial 9-1-1. Could she get him inside in time?
She let him lean on her while she searched frantically for her phone. Wait, she’d dropped it earlier. It must still be around here somewhere.
“Hang on,” she whispered, easing Dimitri’s weight off her to lean him against her car. “I’m going to grab my phone. Call 9-1-1. Help will be here soon.”
“No. Can’t.”
“Can’t? Are you crazy? You’ll die.”
“I’ll be fine. Just help me into your car. Another forty-five minutes or so, and I’ll transform.”
“You might not live that long. I need to take you to the hospital.”
“Then what?” he panted. “We make it there, they’re treating me, the thousand breaths come to an end and I disappear right in front of their eyes?” He lurched around to the passenger side. “Just open the damn door.”
She slid into the driver’s seat. Searching for something to press against his wound, she dug a gym towel from her duffle in the back seat. She pressed the cloth against the wound, cringing when she saw the amount of blood it quickly absorbed.
“Dimitri, please.” Tears coursed down her cheeks, the terror of watching him die clawing at her chest. In spite of everything, in spite of what he was, she loved him. She might never be able to have him, but she couldn’t let him die. “Please, Dimitri. I can only do so much for you myself. Let me get you help.”
“If you did get help, what then? How would you explain me away?” He rested his head against the back of the seat. “I can’t put you in that position, Audra.”
“What?” Her voice rose in fury. “You’re going to die to keep me from explaining a tricky situation?”
He grinned, clenching his eyes shut for a moment, then said between gasps, “It would be a little more than a tricky situation. A lot of strange things have happened around you lately. Who knows what this would lead to?”
“But, you can’t—”
“Jesus Christ, woman. If you’ll shut up, I’ll breathe faster and turn sooner. No more arguments. Please.” He reached a hand out and she took it, closing her fingers over his. “No more crying, okay? Just hold my hand.”
Sniffing back tears, Audra held on, praying with each breath he took.
Dimitri can’t die, please don’t let him die.
How could she live with herself if he died saving her? How could she live with herself if he died at all?