Demons

by Beth Abbott

  “I think it sounds skanky.” Megan pulled a face.

  “You probably would.” Evan shrugged. “I’m just pointing out that there’s a market for it, and she could have made a fortune.”

  “It might surprise you to know that she’s actually a lovely girl.” Megan huffed. “All you boys ever saw was her chest, but she spent all of her free time helping her mum at the community centre. She used to help her run events for the pensioners, bingo, tea-dances, that sort of thing. I think after she had her kids she went back to re-train as a youth counsellor.”

  “Tracey has kids?” Evan had lost touch with so many schoolfriends, he found it amazing that Megan knew where they all were, and what they were doing now.

  “Yeah, she married one of the Hopkins brothers… Ray or Simon, I can’t remember which.” Megan nodded. “They have twins, one of each. They’d be about eight or nine now, I guess.”

  “How do you keep in touch with what’s been going on back home?” Evan shook his head. “Is this a Facebook thing?”

  Megan scowled, giving him a good idea what she thought of social media.

  “Not likely.” She visibly shuddered. “I have a few friends’ groups that started life through emails. Some of them progressed to WhatsApp, but not all. One of the girls I was in nursing school with married the oldest of the Tyler’s that used to live opposite St Alban’s church. She does a bi-monthly newsletter with all the gossip and noteworthy events.”

  Evan smiled.

  “Women are so much better at this sort of thing.” He pointed out. “I’m a member of one WhatsApp group from my army days. It’s got about forty active members, and is called, ‘D is for Dickhead’.”

  “What?” Megan laughed. “There’s a story there, I’m sure. What does D usually stand for?”

  Evan grinned.

  “I was part of a unit in the military known as Delta Company.” He explained. “D for Delta became ‘D is for Dickhead’, but only to insiders.”

  Megan stared at him for a few seconds.

  “Delta Company isn’t the name of a standard unit, is it?” She observed, rather than asked. “What were you doing in Delta Company? If you can tell me, that is?”

  “Delta Company was one of a four company unit, although only two ever existed at one time.” He explained. “Alpha and Bravo Companies existed up until about twelve years ago, which is where the Alpha Company Security firm I work for sprang from. JT, Luke, Danny, Matt, Drew, Tony, Thomas, and Marcus all came from Alpha Company. JT was the Captain, and he, Luke, Danny and Matt had the idea to set up the company, but because they all got out over about a two or three-year period, JT and Danny were the first to get out and they got the company up and running. Luke and Matt were always directors, but they only started working full-time for the business when their military service was completed.”

  “Matt is the guy who runs the operation in Birmingham, right?” Megan frowned. “How come he’s on his own up here?”

  “He was the last to get out of the military, and the only one that was already married with a kid.” Evan explained. “He and his wife, Suzy, are from this area anyway, and she’d gone several years with only her mum as support, so she didn’t really want to up sticks and move to London when he finally came home. Alpha already had contracts that extended up into the Midlands, so the guys were happy for Matt to work from up here. Of course, that soon turned into a full satellite office, and has done so well that another couple of directors are soon going to be moving up from London to help Matt cope with the growth. He’s done brilliantly up here, by all accounts, especially with the football club contracts.”

  Megan nodded, obviously knowing a bit about Matt through Robbie.

  “What about the other companies?” She asked. “You said only two existed at a time.”

  “Yeah, well, the guys from Alpha and Bravo Companies had been in the team together for years, some of them switching between the two, like Tony. There wasn’t a rivalry or anything like that, and they often trained together when they weren’t on missions, the same as Charlie and Delta did later on. They sometimes worked together as one big team but could just as easily be in two different parts of the world.” Evan explained. “Anyway, they had quite a few people leave in a short space of time following a few significant losses, and the overall feeling was that the Alpha and Bravo names should be retired, and new companies set up. That’s where Charlie and Delta came from. They wanted to honour the tradition of Alpha and Bravo but not have to try and live up to anything other than the standard of excellence. We got to set our own records and write our own history.”

  “So, like I said, not regular army.” Megan guessed.

  “No, not regular.” Evan smiled. “Everyone thinks of the SAS and SBS when they think of British Special Forces. They’re the best in the world at what they do, without a doubt, especially the covert stuff. They blend in like nobody else. We were part of a different set-up, with slightly different objectives. We weren’t necessarily there to blend in, which, if you saw the guys from Alpha Company you’d realise. They’re all roughly the same size as me or even bigger, like Matt, Drew and Danny.”

  “Where did you serve?” Megan asked, obviously giving her curiosity free reign for the first time.

  “Afghanistan, Iraq, parts of East and West Africa, South America.” Evan shrugged. “All over Europe, Russia, China. Not too many places we haven’t been to, really.”

  “And did you get out on your own timetable?” Megan pressed. “You weren’t invalided out, or anything like that?”

  “Are you asking whether I got injured?” Evan smiled. “Why Megan, I didn’t think you still cared.”

  “It was just a question, Evan.” She scowled at him. “Don’t read more into it than is there.”

  “I got snagged a few times.” Evan shrugged, touching his temple, and turning to show her a few more marks on the back of his neck. “Shrapnel from an IED caught me here. Got a bullet hole in my side that left me hospitalised for a week in Somalia. Now, if ever your patients complain about the NHS, offer them a week in a makeshift African clinic. That would soon shut them up.”

  As he turned back around, Evan glanced at Megan and noticed how pale she’d gone.

  “How can you joke about it?” She whispered, and he noticed her eyes were bright with tears.

  “Hey, it’s Ok.” Evan slipped off his chair and knelt in front of her, his head still almost level with hers. “I joke about it because I can. I’m still here to make jokes. Lots of others aren’t, so I reckon I owe it to them to keep things in perspective.”

  Megan stared at him for long seconds before lifting her hand to his face to turn it, so she could get a closer look at his scars.

  “I suppose you think they make you look badass.” She murmured, touching the blemishes on his neck as a single tear leaked out of the corner of her eye.

  Evan watched it roll down her cheek before lifting his hand to gently wipe it away.

  “I thought the extra muscle and the permanent snarl made me look badass.” He said quietly. “But if you’re saying the scars add to the whole image, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Megan’s eyes shot back to his and for a second, he thought she was going to slap him down. Well, his ego, anyway.

  “You haven’t changed at all, have you.” She whispered. “You’re the most mercurial man I ever knew. Deadly serious the one second, joking around the next.”

  “I was being deadly serious.” Evan protested. “I think I look extremely badass, with or without the scars. You just haven’t had the chance to appreciate the whole package without the clothes. You’re still remembering me from ten years ago.”

  He kept half a smile on his face, but inside his stomach was churning.

  He was throwing out an invitation disguised as a joke, and he had no idea how Megan would react.

  “I’m not blind, Evan.” She didn’t move, her hand still on his neck. “I can see exactly how different you are from ten years ago.”<
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  Evan rested his hand on her knee.

  “I’m not blind, either.” He murmured. “You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. And you’re still the only woman who’s ever owned my heart.”

  He almost held his breath as he watched her take in his words, not knowing if she’d throw them back in his face.

  “You left me.” Megan whispered, frowning.

  “I tried to protect you. I loved you.” He shook his head. “I always have. I still do.”

  He watched another tear leak out, and another. Tears were good, weren’t they? They meant she still cared.

  He leaned towards her and wrapped his hands gently around her face, wiping the tears away with his thumbs.

  “I love you, Megan.” He repeated. “I’ll never stop.”

  He felt her hand tighten around his neck at the same moment he realised she was leaning toward him, taking it as the invitation he’d never thought she’d give him again.

  He leaned towards her as she fell forward, and when his lips found hers, Evan thought his heart would burst.

  For the first few seconds they gripped each other tightly, as the kiss exploded with passion, the likes of which he couldn’t ever remember experiencing before.

  There was something familiar about kissing Megan, and something new and exhilarating at the same time.

  He slipped his hands down over her shoulders, and when they reached around her back, he tugged her forward, so she slid off the chair onto his lap.

  Evan sat back on his heels as she sat astride him, and he gentled the kiss, so he could explore her better.

  Megan wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and she held him tightly as her head angled to settle into the kiss, her lips opening as his tongue set off on a mission of exploration.

  He could taste the wine on her lips, and even though it was non-alcoholic, it left him feeling intoxicated.

  He slipped his tongue past her teeth, and when Megan responded, sucking and teasing it, Evan could feel his erection straining for release.

  The kiss seemed endless, and Megan seemed to be as caught up in it as he was. Evan knew the moment she felt his straining erection through the soft material of her onesie, and he’d feared she’d react badly to it, as though he was only trying to get laid.

  Instead she pulled him closer, forcing her hips into him so that his shaft was rubbing against her mound.

  It was a struggle not to grind into her, and Evan forced his attention not to stray to his groin, instead keeping it firmly on the kiss. Even so, he was getting perilously close to losing control.

  Megan’s lips were so soft, never leaving his, and they never let up the constant pressure, while their tongues duelled for control. Or was it just for pleasure?

  When he finally couldn’t manage without a gulp of oxygen, Evan tore his mouth from hers while he changed position.

  “I love you, so much.” He whispered before sucking on her bottom lip. “I always have.”

  He watched as Megan opened her eyes to stare at him, and noticed that they were cloudy, probably filled with the same combination of lust and pent up emotion that he was feeling.

  Her hands unlocked from behind his neck and ran back over his shoulders until they rested on his chest, and for a split-second Evan feared he’d broken the spell.

  But instead of pulling away, Megan’s fingers moved to his throat where she started unbuttoning his shirt.

  Evan swallowed hard, not wanting to anticipate how far she was going to take this. She might just be planning on checking out his scar from the bullet wound.

  He studied her as she watched her hands work over the buttons, and when they were all undone, she pushed the two sides of his shirt apart, so she could see his muscled chest.

  She lay her hands on his pectoral muscles, as though she’d never seen them before. Well, she hadn’t, not really. They were a product of his dedication to fitness over the last ten years.

  He placed his hand over her right hand and slid it down, so that it rested over his heart, which was thumping erratically.

  “Feel that, Meg.” He murmured. “That’s what you do to me. You churn me up and turn me inside out. You always did.”

  He could feel his heart thumping through both their hands, so he knew that Megan would feel it.

  She stared at his chest for a second longer before her eyes returned to his.

  Slowly she lifted her hands from his chest and reached up to take hold of the zipper of her onesie.

  As she pulled it down slowly to reveal the swell of her breasts, cupped in a black lace bra, Evan groaned, almost in pain.

  “Please don’t torment me if you’re just gonna throw me out.” He begged. “I know I deserve the punishment, but I’m pleading with you… tell me now if you’re gonna say no once we’re naked.”

  Megan let go of the zipper with it level with her belly button.

  Evan glanced down and noticed it was pierced, and his mouth literally watered.

  Megan’s hands suddenly moved again, and Evan realised they were unfastening the button on his trousers.

  “Oh, God.” He breathed. She wasn’t saying no!

  He suddenly remembered their surroundings, realising that he couldn’t just take her on the floor in her kitchen.

  “Bedroom?” He asked, giving her another chance to come to her senses.

  Her nod was all it took, and he placed his hands under her backside and lifted her off the floor as he stood up.

  Megan immediately wrapped her legs around his hips, and he walked them out into the hallway as she devoured his lips.

  It didn’t take a genius to find his way to her bedroom, and he was relieved to find she owned a king-size bed. Worshipping her on a single would have been way too awkward.

  As he moved to the bed, Evan leaned one knee on the mattress, so he could place her gently on her back, her head and shoulders propped up on a dozen fluffy cushions.

  Neither one of them had bothered turning the light on, leaving the only illumination coming from the hallway, but it was enough that he could see every inch of her body and notice the expression of anticipation on her face.

  Evan stepped back, shrugging the shirt from his shoulders and throwing it onto the chair next to him.

  He kicked off his shoes, and quickly reached down to shed his socks.

  When he stood up again, Megan had lifted herself onto her elbows to get a better view, but as it pulled the onesie apart, giving him a spectacular view of her beautiful breasts, Evan was so distracted he barely had time to realise he was putting on a show for her.

  He reached for the waistband of his trousers, forgetting that the button was already unfastened. He pulled the zipper down slowly, not wanting to injure himself, and let the trousers drop to the floor at his feet.

  Without bothering to retrieve them, he slipped his hands inside his boxer briefs and slid them down, carefully releasing his throbbing erection before letting them drop.

  He kicked both garments to one side, so he could stand in front of Megan in all his glory, his eyes never leaving her face, watching her eyes roam over him with undisguised appreciation.

  Before he could move towards her, Megan reached for the zipper of her onesie and lowered it fully, so that he just got a glimpse of her matching black lace panties.

  She sat up straighter, so she could shrug the garment off her shoulders, and Evan swallowed hard as she pulled the sleeves off, pushing her breasts together as she moved.

  With her top half uncovered except for a thin lace bra, she lay back and started to wriggle the onesie down.

  Evan took this as his opportunity to step forward, and as she lifted her hips, he slowly tugged the garment down her legs, throwing it on the floor somewhere behind him.

  Seeing her in front of him wearing two tiny pieces of black lace, Evan could hardly believe where he was.

  He’d had a thousand, make that ten thousand dreams of having Megan laid out in front of him like this, but never in his wildest
dreams had he ever dared to think it would happen again.

  Megan lifted her shoulders and reached behind her to unfasten her bra, but when she would have peeled it off, he stopped her.

  “Don’t. Please.” He stepped forward, in between her thighs, pushing her legs apart gently as he placed a knee on the mattress, inches from her sex.

  He reached up and took the straps on her shoulders, carefully sliding them down to free her arms, so the material covering her breasts stayed in place.

  Evan slid his hands down her arms to her hands, linking his fingers with hers, before lifting them and placing them gently on the mattress above her head.

  “Don’t move.” He breathed, leaning back to look at her.

  Megan stayed exactly where he’d placed her, and Evan took his time staring at every inch of her.

  “Perfection.” He murmured, noticing her eyes widen and her nostrils flare.

  He leaned forward again, placing a hand on either side of her, and lowered himself until he could take a nipple into his mouth.

  Even through the lace, he could feel the tightness of the bud between his lips, and Megan’s groan as she arched her back had his cock jerking, slapping against her stomach.

  He lifted his head a little, and this time bit the lace with his teeth, pulling the garment down slowly to reveal both breasts.

  He dropped it on the bed before turning back to give the other breast some attention, this time laving the nipple with his tongue before sucking it into his mouth.

  When Megan again arched her back, he took the nipple between his teeth, biting down gently as he sucked hard.

  He took her other nipple between his finger and thumb and twisted it, gauging when the pinch from his fingers matched the pressure from his teeth, and sucking hard while the fingers from his free hand squeezed the breast being assaulted by his mouth.

  He wasn’t entirely sure what was turning him on more, the gasps of pleasure coming from Megan’s slightly swollen lips, or the way his shaft was occasionally rubbing on the lace covering her sex.

  When he started to fear he would lose control altogether, he dragged his lips from her breasts and kissed up and around her neck, finishing with a punishing assault on her mouth.