Promise

by Yolanda Sfetsos

  “Oh, Damon,” she whispered, curving her spine upwards. “Don’t stop.”

  Ulric felt as if a dagger had punctured his heart. She’d called him by another man’s name. Did this mean she’d already had sex with him?

  “Alex,” he repeated. “It’s me.”

  She didn’t wake up. Instead, she licked her lips and pressed her eyes tighter. As if she wasn’t ready to wake up, and instead wanted to remain in what she believed was a dream.

  That’s fine with me. Ulric leaned down, wrapping his teeth around her nipple. Even through the flimsy fabric of her top, he was able to feel her puckered skin. His cock was beyond help. If he didn’t penetrate her soon, he was going to burst at the seams.

  She groaned but was still not entirely awake.

  Ulric let her nipple slip from between his teeth and lowered the sheet along her body. She was still wearing her underwear, but it wouldn’t stop him. He opened his palm and ran it over the mound between her legs, until she writhed at the soft and slow movements.

  He wanted to rip her underwear off and dip his tongue inside her, but how could he? I can’t do this. How could he put his tongue on any part of her when he’d lapped up blood and torn into flesh? It seemed obscene.

  “Damon, kiss me,” she whispered.

  For all he knew, she could be having a wet dream about this Damon guy. As much as he hated him for being the one Alex now wanted, Ulric couldn’t leave just yet. He turned to face her, rose along her body, and pushed her hair away from her face. When she lifted her body off the mattress and wrapped her arms around his neck, Ulric stiffened but leaned into her when she lay back down.

  Alex stuck her tongue into his mouth, kissing him the way she always did in the bedroom. With so much desire, she never managed to disappoint. She pulled back, breathing into his mouth, one hand now wrapped tightly around his erection and already tugging him.

  “Oh,” she panted. “Touch me with your magic.”

  He pressed his palm against her chest, forgetting about all the thoughts keeping him from kissing her in the first place.

  She kissed him again, rubbing him harder. “Gee, what have you been eating, Damon?”

  “It’s not Damon.” He felt so close to coming already, he wished he’d kept silent and not interrupted her flow.

  Her eyes snapped open, and she dropped her hand.

  For a moment, they stared at each other. Almost as if things were rolling around inside her head, until everything made some sort of sense.

  “Ulric? What the hell are you doing here?” She looked around the room. “You can’t be in Eden.”

  Eden? So that’s where they were. He’d never heard of it, yet it sounded so familiar. Why?

  For a second, Ulric wondered if it was better to just let her believe this was all a dream and take advantage of the fact, but what good would that do? She obviously didn’t want him, anymore. He’d heard the disappointment in her voice.

  She’d found someone else to amuse her in bed, and she’d forgotten all about him.

  “I’m here because of you.”

  “Where’s Damon?”

  He growled into her mouth. “You should’ve listened to me back on Anteris. Why didn’t you stay with me? I had to be with you. Don’t you understand how much I want you?”

  “I don’t know what you mean!”

  “Have you already forgotten what happened on Anteris? What I said to you?”

  Alex sat up so fast, she head-butted him. “Dammit!”

  Ulric recoiled. He jumped off the side of the bed before he did something he would regret. He didn’t want to hurt her, but with the instability this place had on him, maybe he wouldn’t be able to stop himself.

  She wiped her mouth, then rubbed her forehead. “What the hell is that disgusting taste in your mouth?”

  “Alex.” He backed away from her. Every new reaction, every new word out of her mouth, wounded him a little bit more. It made him realize she didn’t want him in her life. That’s probably why she’d left his room in such a hurry after his admission of love. Why hadn’t he been able to see it, then?

  Maybe because you’re a fucking idiot!

  Her brown eyes glistened, as if something had suddenly dawned on her. “No way. It can’t be. Ulric, tell me it wasn’t you!”

  “What wasn’t me?” he whispered, now standing very close to the window.

  “Tell me you didn’t kill those people.” She stared at him with wide, horror-filled eyes. “Oh, shit. You left my key there, didn’t you?”

  He didn’t reply.

  “I forgot it in your room, but you managed to…I don’t understand any of this. Did you want these people to blame me for the murders?”

  “No, I would never do that to you!”

  “Then, what do you want from me, Ulric?”

  “I just want your love. That’s all.” I sound like a pathetic moron. He heard shuffling outside the door, as if someone was approaching.

  Ulric took another step back and realized the moon hadn’t completely faded yet, probably determined to touch him one last time.

  Without taking his eyes off the woman who was slowly tearing him up inside, and unable to do anything to stop the effects of the satellite, fur rushed out of his pores and covered his entire body.

  Within seconds, he’d become a monster in front of her.

  “What the hell?”

  He couldn’t stand the terror and disgust in her eyes. He needed to get away. As he turned and leaped out the window, he heard Alex yell one last thing: “No!”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Alex, what’s going on?” Damon asked, charging into the room.

  She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the open window.

  Ulric had just been inside this room. She’d kissed him, touched him, even spoke to him. Then, he’d turned into…something. The man she’d known for several years now had changed into some sort of furry beast before jumping out the window.

  What the hell is going on? Now, she had more questions than answers. Since the moment she’d crashed into this planet, everything had been shrouded with confusion, and now she had to add Ulric to the mix. I can’t believe he’s here! How is that even possible?

  She licked her lips and regretted it instantly. The horrid taste of blood and gore made her gag. Nausea rolled around inside her stomach, making her queasy.

  Ignoring Damon’s concerned face, she jumped out of bed and ran into the adjoining bathroom. She threw up in the toilet, letting all the confusion and sickness seep out of her at the same time.

  As screwed up as everything was, she needed to put it into some sort of order. She had to make real sense out of all the pieces, which started to fit together the moment she found Ulric naked on the bed with her.

  When she was sure there was nothing left to throw up, she straightened and flushed. Then, she headed for the sink to clean her hands, as well as rinsed her mouth out several times. Luckily, she’d dumped her toiletries bag in here earlier, so she quickly brushed her teeth before rinsing with mouthwash.

  She found it strange that the locals could so casually refer to Eden as a village, giving the impression of a rural place, yet their indoor plumbing was as sophisticated as it was in cities. This place was full of contradictions.

  “Alex…”

  How the hell did Ulric get to this damn planet? There was only one way it could have happened, and she didn’t like it one bit.

  She hit the edge of the sink with an open palm. “Shit!”

  “Alex, are you okay in there?”

  The bathroom door was still open, but she appreciated Damon staying outside. She wasn’t ready for him just yet. Not having to actually see Damon at the moment made it a little easier to deal with this. Only a little.

  “Yeah, I’m o
kay.” She unwrapped the moist bandage from around her hand and flinched. She’d forgotten to take it off before cleaning her hands. The skin looked tender and red. It hadn’t scabbed over yet, but it looked bruised. She couldn’t remember if it actually looked worse than when Damon had cleaned it out.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What made you scream before?”

  “I had a bad dream,” she lied. Her dream hadn’t been bad at all. She’d recalled the night her father helped her change her life for the better. It’s what happened after the dream, when she’d slid into a dreamless sleep—and then woke up to find a man who never left Anteris—that was driving her insane. She’d been so convinced Damon had sneaked into her room to surprise her, and instead had found Ulric.

  She couldn’t keep her hands from shaking. Did I really see him turn into some sort of animal?

  Alex shook her head. As ridiculous as it sounded, she was positive she had. One second, he was backing away from her, and the next he literally changed right before her eyes. Of course, realizing her choker was found at the scene of a vicious crime now made total sense, but how could she tell Damon any of this without rousing suspicion?

  She hadn’t invited Ulric to come along for a ride on Promise, and he sure as hell hadn’t been hiding in one of Sackor’s barrels. Yet, she’d inadvertently caused those violent deaths. Ulric had somehow stowed away on her ship, and she hadn’t even detected him.

  Ulric is turning into a monster and killing people because of me.

  “Are you okay, now?” Damon asked.

  “Yeah, I just need to take a quick shower. That’s all.” She doubted a shower would cleanse away all the grime she felt internally, but she needed to wash Ulric’s touch off her skin.

  How could she be so disgusted by a man whom she’d craved for so long?

  Alex sighed. That wasn’t important right now. She was determined to have a nice, warm shower and take the time she needed to sort through a few things.

  Then, she’d do the only thing that would totally erase the chills from her body—seduce Damon.

  * * * *

  Damon didn’t chase Alex into the bathroom. He could take a hint and knew she wanted to be alone right now. Whatever dream she’d woken up from had obviously affected her so much that she needed to be totally alone.

  When the water started up, he headed for the armchair with his armload of hardback books. He paused when he noticed Alex’s bag sitting on the seat. He could clearly see a picture tucked into the mesh pocket at the front but decided not to touch it. He didn’t want to disturb her things, didn’t want to pry. She might be keeping some things from him, but he refused to find them out by spying on her. Not like Elroy was determined to do.

  As Damon headed for the bed, with the light of day now filtering in through the large window behind him, he noticed a patch of dirt and leaves on the tiled floor. When he leaned over, it became obvious that they were actually half-made footprints leading to the bed.

  Damon placed the four books he hoped to find answers from at the foot of the bed and inspected the sheets. There, he found several dark patches as well. “Levi!”

  He ran into the room. “Yes, Damon?”

  “Did anyone come into this room while I was gone?”

  He looked away, shaking his head. “No, I stood by the door the whole time, and no one approached.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Okay, thanks. You can go home. I’ll stay here, now.”

  “What happened to her this time?” Levi asked.

  “Bad dream.”

  Without saying anything else, Levi lowered his head and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Damon had no idea what was going on, but he was sure someone had come into this room. He trusted Levi when he claimed he hadn’t seen or heard anything, but that didn’t change the facts. Judging by Alex’s reaction, he was sure something strange had happened. She didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who scared easily or ran away from her problems. Yet, he could feel her tension from here.

  What happened to her?

  He decided it was best to grab his books and read about men who turned into animals. After all, even if the only explanations he found were old folktales and myths, at least it would give him somewhere to start. From his experience, a lot of myths were more truth than story.

  Damon glanced at the thin book right on the bottom: Priestess & Goddess.

  He hadn’t intended to grab this one, but what Alex had pointed out about Aleena bothered him for some reason. Why hadn’t he ever thought to question who their Priestess worshipped, if anyone? Who were the population of Eden secretly devoted to, through her? Maybe, he never bothered to ask, because everything was so efficiently run. The problems in Eden were minimal. The population of 700 all lived in harmony and managed to produce one generation of offspring after another. This was as close to utopia as anyone could get, so why would he dispute it?

  It wasn’t until Alex appeared in his life that he started to challenge anything around him. This society was all he’d known. His whole life’s memories were made on this beautiful part of the planet, led by the strong and caring Priestess Aleena.

  He’d been the only one to roam outside the walls and discover every inch of the planet, returning to report his findings to the Priestess. Sometimes, he took others with him, and they didn’t come back because of the birds or the lake, but no one ever went out without him. They couldn’t.

  Every new experience had helped carve him from a curious boy into a man hungry to learn more and see new things. He’d always secretly wanted to learn why he was different.

  Every time he looked in the mirror, he wondered why he wasn’t blonde-haired and blue-eyed like everyone else. Still, it hadn’t been enough to make him question anything.

  Not until Alex came along and he’d felt a small well of magic within her. He’d been positive he was just an anomaly. He simply believed he looked physically different, because the gift of magic and his constant use of the arcane had somehow altered him. An idea he’d discussed many times with Aleena, and she’d reinforced.

  Yet, Alex wasn’t blonde, and even though her skin was darker than the others on this planet, it still wasn’t as dark as his.

  Somehow, I think Alex holds the key to my true origins.

  After the library, he’d passed by the latest crime scene and had been saddened and repelled by the violent emotions he’d sensed. Whoever was terrorizing the population wanted to get a message across, and the fact that something belonging to Alex had been dumped next to what little was left of the bodies had to be a clue. After all, hadn’t he also found a wound on her hand he couldn’t heal? He’d felt the dark energy radiating off it, as if something were embedded beneath her skin and was sending signals out to someone.

  Maybe everything Alex remained tight-lipped about was what they needed to investigate in order to find their killer. He’d do this his way, though, because he still believed her to be innocent. Someone was using her as a pawn in a much larger game. He was sure of it.

  Damon rolled his shoulders.

  As much as he knew he needed sleep, he couldn’t bring himself to rest right now. So, he closed his eyes and spent a few minutes drawing strength from the arcane, just enough to give him the stamina he needed to survive another sleepless day. It flowed from the warm air around him, creeping in through his fingertips and extending until he felt it stir the energy his body craved deep within him.

  He opened his eyes, grabbed his books from the bed, and dropped them onto the storage rectangle pressed against the end of the bed. He decided to start his research with the obvious choice: Werewolves and the Moon.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Alex felt as clean as she was going to get.

  She hadn
’t come to any conclusions about a single thing, except that she now knew exactly who was stalking the residents of this bizarre ‘village’. Still, she had no intention of speaking about it with anyone. Not even Damon. If any of this got out, who knew what Elroy would try to do to her? He might lock her up and throw away the key.

  There was only one thing to do. She had to find a way off this rock. If it meant trying to fix the ship herself—as improbable as that was—then, she was prepared to at least try.

  In the meantime, there was a very attractive man waiting in the room.

  With so many things throwing her off track and making her feel as if she’d lost total control of her life, the only thing that would help keep her sane would be to finish what they’d started. All the flirting, teasing, and innuendo would end. Right now.

  She walked into the room completely naked and gave her hips an extra sway, loving the way the ends of her wet, curly hair touched the tops of her shoulders. Beads of water dripped from the ends and down her back.

  “Is everything okay?” As soon as Damon looked up, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. The look in his eyes confirmed she’d already succeeded in her seduction.

  “I feel a lot better, now, thanks. Is that what you’re asking?” She released a quick breath. She’d decided to let every thought go for now, so she could concentrate on the one thing always guaranteed to make her forget all of her troubles. For a while, all she wanted to do was feel Damon’s body next to hers.

  “I can see that.” He put his book aside, as his green gaze swept over her—from head to toe, and then back up.

  She put her hands on her hips. “What’re you reading?”

  “It’s not important.” He stood up. “What’s important is that you’re okay.”

  She couldn’t help but smile as she slowly made her way toward him, and he didn’t move—remained as still as a statue. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. Such an innocent gesture was ruined when one of her nipples grazed his bare chest. Still, she made a move to step back.