Wrenching Fate (14 page)

“Can I come back in a few minutes?” Akasha’s voice trembled. The air was so thick with tension it was hard to breathe. “I need time to collect myself.”

Silas nodded and sat on the bed. His voice still held a husky edge, making her legs weak. “Just be sure that you indeed return. You declared you would let me feed from you before a witness. You cannot go back on it.”

Biting her lip at the finality of his words, Akasha walked quickly to her room and threw open her closet door. She had to turn on the light and go to the very back before she found what she was looking for. Minutes later, she smoothed her hands down the black velvet dress that Beau prodded her to buy on their first shopping expedition.

It felt soft and feminine and horribly unfamiliar. Akasha had never before seen the right moment to wear it.

This moment slapped her in the face as the right time. She would let down all her barriers for Silas. To her, wearing a dress for him delivered the message that she was willing to trust him not to do anything awful to her.

After carefully putting on makeup, following Xochitl’s and Aurora’s hints from memory, she took one last look in the mirror, and left the room.

When she knocked on his “bedroom” door, Silas opened it and the stunned look on his face might have been funny if this wasn’t such a cataclysmic time in her life.

His eyes drank her in like she was something delicious and forbidden. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered as he took her hand and led her to the bed. “I can’t bespell you, as you seem to be immune, but I will do my best to be gentle.”

Akasha trembled as she sat, ruining her attempt at nonchalance. “Silas? Promise me you won’t hate me for what you see.”

He looked at her in surprise before tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. “Akasha, I could never hate you.”

The vampire placed a chaste kiss on her cheek before brushing her mass of ebony curls away from her neck. “Are you ready?”

His eyes glowed with hungry fire. For a moment her heart pounded in her throat as she realized what he was and what he was going to do to her. Base instincts told her to flee, but there was no turning back now.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Silas lowered his mouth to her neck, and she shivered in delight at the sensation. Then there was sharp pain as his fangs pierced her flesh before she floated away into oblivion.

***

As Akasha’s sweet blood flowed into his mouth, Silas saw her life and emotions flash before his eyes.

He saw her parents murdered by uniformed men.

He saw her recover from her mute shock. He saw her flee from the abusive zealot and take to living on the streets.

He saw her sharing food with other homeless people until a prostitute warned her to leave after the local pimp noticed her.

He saw Max, the grizzled retired biker who became a second father to her
. He saw him teach her how to fix cars and give her his late wife’s biker jacket.

He felt her heartbreak when Max
was arrested.

But the last thing he saw chilled his bones and churned his stomach.

Akasha jumped at the rumble of an approaching car. Her shoulders tensed beneath the straps of her backpack as she was bathed in the glow of the headlights…so exposed.

“Hey Hon, wanna ride?” the driver called.

“No thanks, I’m going home.” She cringed but continued walking.

The door opened. Akasha quickened her pace. A gun clicked.

“Drop the bag and come here,” the man growled as he stepped out of the car, his pistol trained on her with one hand, the other scratching his sagging gut. “Run, and I’ll blow your fuckin’ head off.”

Oh shit Oh shit Oh shit
, she thought as her backpack thudded on the ground. Her feet dragged her closer to the beast brandishing metallic death.

“You’re a pretty little thing.” He scratched his stubbly chin. “Too bad this has to be quick. Pull down your pants.”

Oh shit Oh shit OH SHIT!
Max had warned her about this… what men wanted and the lengths some would go to get it.

“I mean it! Right fuckin’ off!” His greasy fingers grabbed her, digging into her flesh as he slammed her against the car.

Akasha bit her lip and with trembling hands, fumbled with the button on her jeans. The barrel of the gun glared at her with its one dark eye. The man ordered her to bend over the hood of the car. Hot metal beneath her palms was sharp contrast to the cold hard steel of the gun pressing into the back of her skull.

Moments later, something else pressed against her, driving in, splitting her apart. Akasha screamed and he slapped her with his free hand, making her ears ring with the blow. The bastard thrust into her mercilessly; pain exploded throughout her body. She bit her tongue hard, tasting blood as her mind screamed:
Not fair!

If it weren’t for that pathetic gun, she could overpower him in a heartbeat. Snap his neck with a flick of her wrist. But though she was strong, she doubted she was bulletproof. She bled just as easy as anyone else did.

So Akasha bore the violation with clenched teeth, her fingertips denting the Cadillac’s hood, projecting her mind away from the pain, towards anticipation of the end.

With a final grunt, the man removed himself from her. The gun left her head. Akasha waited. When she heard the rustle of his pants being pulled up, she whipped around. Her fist connected with his wrist, snapping the bone in his arm, and the gun sailed off.

Akasha flew at him, howling with rage, punching, kicking, and screaming. She threw him against the car, slamming him repeatedly against the door. He sank to the ground. She buried her hands in his greasy hair and bashed his head against the asphalt.

Over and over again and it still wasn’t enough, never enough. She screamed and bashed, screamed and bashed until the man’s head came apart in her hands. The sensation jerked her out of her fervor like an M-80 exploding inside her skull.

What she held in her hands felt like goulash mixed with shards of ceramic.

Squelch
…A hunk of brain hit the pavement.

Her mother’s voice sang in her memory:
Humpty dumpty sat on a wall… Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...

Akasha scrambled to her feet and vomited in the ditch. When she was reduced to dry heaves, she looked at the blood on her hands, back at the corpse, then back at her hands.

“I killed him,” she whispered with no remorse. All she felt was terror of being caught and thrown in prison. As she scooped up her dusty backpack her eyes darted to the Cadillac. She had to get out of here.

On the passenger floorboard was a bottle of tequila. Whenever she thought of what she’d done, she took a big slug. The road blurred in her vision, but she kept driving until the car sputtered and died.

She stumbled out of the car and threw up again, drunk and still in shock. Her body screamed for her to lie down, but she changed her bloodstained clothes, burned them, and kept walking. She had to get away.

Hours later, a police officer stopped her. By sunrise, she was still in the interrogation room, clinging to the lie that she’d run away from abusive parents in California. Thankfully, they appeared to believe her.

The officer sighed. “I’m sorry, but we have to track down your parents. It’s policy. I’m sure you’ve been reported missing, so soon I’ll have the information I need. I hoped you’d be a good girl and save us both the time.” The lady cop smiled smugly and left. What a bitch.

Akasha was sent to a transitional group home. After a few months the police gave up the search for the fictitious parents. She was never connected with the murder. The state assigned her a social security number and after some education tests, Mrs. Kenzie enrolled her as a freshman in high school. All forms said she was fourteen.

“But I told you I’m sixteen,” she had protested.

The caseworker’s sweet smile was sickening in its falseness. “You look younger. Of course, if you just tell us who your parents are, we could look up your birth certificate and this will all be sorted out.”

Akasha didn’t budge and eventually she was forgotten by the state authorities, a dirty secret swept under the rug. She endured the loneliness of the group home until Silas swooped into her life like a dark angel and changed everything. And through him she discovered an emotion long forgotten: Love.

Silas reverently lowered Akasha to the bed, gazing down at her in wonder.
She loves me!
He could scarcely believe a precious creature like her could love a monster, but he’d experienced the proof through her eyes and thoughts. His brows knit in a frown as he noticed the pallor of her delicate skin, remembering how much blood he’d taken. He bit his wrist and pressed it to her mouth.

“Drink, but only a little or you’ll become like me,” he commanded.

Slowly her lashes lifted and she obeyed. Her mouth on his skin was a symphony of pleasure. Too soon, Akasha pulled away, color instantly returned to her cheeks. “Wow. I feel like I just had two of Xochitl’s Red Bulls.”

He managed a smile. “The effect of our blood never ceases to amaze me.”

Unable to hold back any longer, Silas pulled her onto his lap and whispered, “Oh Akasha, you were so brave.”

The tears came slowly at first. Akasha tried to blink them back, but they trickled faster down her cheeks, burning her eyes. She gave up the fight and buried her face deeper into his chest, body racked with choking sobs.

Silas held her tight, stroking her hair just as he had in visions. He knew now that she hadn’t cried since she was a child, and it was excruciatingly difficult for her.

***

It felt good to cry Akasha realized, and clung to the vampire she loved, warm and safe in his arms. The feeling was surprisingly cleansing and she never wanted to let it go. When the tears finally stopped, she dared to look up at Silas. His eyes shone down at her, so green, like the forest in the springtime. A silken lock of his hair caressed her cheek. He was so beautiful…it almost hurt to look at him.

“Silas,” she gasped, remembering his confession the night she learned his secret.
I held you in my arms. You were crying.
“Your vision!”

“Yes,” he said simply and kissed the tears from her face. The soft brush of his lips made her flesh sing with awareness. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. I love you, Akasha,” he whispered, and covered her mouth with his before she could reply.

Akasha took a shaky breath as more tears nearly came from his declaration. She’d been so afraid that if he knew the truth about her, the things she’d done, he’d be disgusted. His kiss deepened and she forgot all else as her body filled with heat. A whimper escaped her and she tangled her hands in his hair, returning the kiss with all the passion in her being.

She broke away and raised a hand to his cheek, pleading eyes meeting his. “Please, Silas, make love to me. Show me it isn’t all bad.”

Silas’s eyes widened and his hard form stiffened in her arms. “Are you certain you want me to do this?”

“Yes! I love you, Silas. Now please, make it not hurt anymore, make the shame go away.” Akasha met his gaze which was suddenly hard to read. “You want me, don’t you?” A kernel of doubt sprouted in her stomach.

The vampire’s eyes glowed green fire. His gaze was like a caress, gently touching every inch of her body, making her shiver.

“Oh yes,” he said softly. “I want you very much. But after all I’ve seen I do not wish for you to change your mind later and turn to me with accusing eyes. I have endured your mistrust long enough.”

Akasha bit her lip, guilt mingling with her desire. “I won’t, I swear.”

Silas regarded her seriously. “This is what you want then?” He caressed her cheek as if she were something infinitely precious to him.

She nodded and fought the urge to lower her eyes.

“Then kiss me, Akasha.”

Heart pounding, she slowly leaned forward to touch her lips against his. She kissed him feather light at first, then increasing the pressure as she reached up to stroke his hair. Electric tremors of pleasure reverberated through her being, causing her head to swim with dizziness. But her efforts were rewarded as Silas’s arms wrapped around her body, pulling her tight against him. Tentatively, her tongue darted out to taste him.

His embrace grew powerful and deliciously crushing. The kiss became more fervent as he laid her on the soft bed. Akasha tangled her hands in his midnight hair and reveled in the feel of his weight on top of her. Silas kissed her until her lips were swollen and tingly, but still he did not stop.

He rolled with her on the bed until she was on top of him. Akasha sucked in a breath at the feel of his hardness pressing against her core. His hands stroked her hair and caressed her body until she was ready to growl in impatience for him to satisfy her aching need.

Silas pulled her back up to a sitting position. For a moment she thought he’d changed his mind, but then he was grabbing her dress, pulling it off, and a new, gentler fear came. Now he would see her naked. No man had seen her naked, not even her rapist.

After he removed her bra, he stared hungrily at her breasts for an endless moment, eyes aflame. Heat rose to her cheeks.

The spell broke and was replaced with another as he removed his shirt. Her breath caught as her gaze rested on his bare chest. It was broad and magnificent. Tentatively, she touched him. His skin was warm from her blood. She shivered, remembering his mouth on her throat.

Silas took her in his arms again and the heat and softness of his bare skin against hers brought another gasp of excitement.

“Soft,” he whispered. “So beautiful.”

His hands grazed up and down her back. Goosebumps rose on her arms. Silas buried his face in her neck, kissing and nibbling until she trembled.

He lay her back down and his mouth trailed down to her shoulders, above her heart and finally to her breasts. He cupped them in his hands and covered them with feathery kisses before laving them with his tongue in slow, lazy circles, drawing a moan from her lips before he reached her nipples. These he sucked and nibbled until they were hard, throbbing and her breath came in sharp pants.

Silas shifted on the bed to kiss her belly. It tickled and Akasha bit back a giggle. He removed her panties and gently caressed her legs while kissing her pelvis, then moved his mouth lower.

He isn’t!
Her mind shouted.

But he was.

Akasha cried out at the electric sensation of his tongue flicking across her core. It seemed to grow and swell until every nerve ending in her body concentrated in that long dormant place. She thrashed and moaned on the bed.

Someone was gasping, “Please… Please!” and she realized it was her.

Silas pulled her back up into a sitting position, only now he was naked and her legs were on either side of him… and his cock pressed against her wet center with no barriers. She’d never been so aware of that part of her before. It was hot and slick and tingly. She arched her hips against him and almost whimpered as ravenous need tore through her. The vampire gripped her shoulders and forced her to meet his burning gaze.

“Akasha,” he hissed with barely checked savagery. “If ye want me tae stop, ye had better tell me now.”

She could feel him throbbing between her thighs. “Don’t you dare stop.”

He grabbed her ass and raised her. She looked down at his huge cock and felt a twinge of nervousness
.
But it was too late. Silas lowered her upon his shaft until, inch by thrilling inch, she was impaled. Devastating pleasure coursed through her until she was overwhelmed by the fullness within.

But it was only the beginning. His lips crushed against hers, his tongue thrusting into her mouth as he slowly moved her hips up and down. Her trepidation receded as her body became a pulsating, writhing thing.

Akasha clung to him and began to rock her hips against him, catching a rhythm as the fire within her roared and built. His hands clenched her body tighter, moving her faster. A strange feeling crept up on her, building up to a hot pressure. The intensity became too much to bear. This must be the climax she had so often read about. The sensation was so potent and wild, it was almost frightening.

Silas seemed to sense her anxiety. “Go with it, my love,” he whispered and thrust into her harder, making her cry out.

He nibbled at her neck and held her tight, still keeping the quickening tempo of their locked bodies. The incredible sensations built and built and then… Akasha exploded. The very molecules of her body burst into incandescent electrical pulses.

She started to fall back into her body when Silas gripped her and growled. He quivered inside her and she was filled with a scalding heat that made her dissolve into liquid tremors.

They fell on the bed and remained locked together for what seemed an eternity.

“Holy… shit,” Akasha panted, throat raw. “That was… that was…” She floundered for words as her cheeks grew hot.

Silas smiled and kissed her tenderly. “Many people over centuries have called it the ‘little death.’”

I can see why,
she tried to say, but no words came out. She was still shaking, still feeling the aftershocks of her initiation to carnal pleasure. He seemed to understand and pulled the covers over them and held her until her shivers subsided and her eyelids grew heavy.

Before sleep claimed her, a thought washed over her with drowning impact:
Where do we go from here?