Masked Indulgence

by Michelle Love

  A wary look came into her eyes, and suddenly he was scared she would run away. “I mean, I know that sounds … I’m not a weirdo, I promise.”

  “Isn’t that what a weirdo would say?” But she smiled suddenly and a weight lifted from him.

  “I suppose it is,” he said. “Okay then … I’m totally fucking weird.”

  “Me too.”

  “Bet you’re not.”

  “Bet I can out-weird you.”

  “Challenge accepted,” he laughed. He nodded towards his house. “What do you say?”

  He waved the pan of mulled wine at her, but she shook her head. “I don’t drink, thanks. I’ll take a cold soda pop if you have one.”

  He snagged a Coke from the refrigerator and handed it to her. “That stuff will rot your teeth.”

  “That stuff will rot your liver,” she shot back at him straight away.

  He touched her glass with his. “Touché.”

  “So,” she looked at his dad’s study, her eyes running over the spines of the many, many books on the shelves. “You live here alone?”

  “I prefer it. You like to read?”

  She nodded, and he smiled. “Me too. You can borrow anything you want.”

  He sensed her relax slightly and she got up to study the titles. He noticed her lingering over his father’s paranormal section. “You believe in that stuff?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.” She ran a gentle finger down the spine of one thick volume. The Encyclopedia of Finnish Mythology and Lore. His dad’s favorite. He nodded at it.

  “Take a look, if you want.”

  She hesitated and then pulled the hefty volume from the shelf. She underestimated its weight and tottered back; Doruk darted forward and steadied her, one hand under the book, the other on her back.

  “Thanks,” she said in a gruff voice. She didn’t step away from his touch; rather she appeared comforted by it. He left his hand where it was as they set the book down and opened it. Loose leaf pieces of paper fluttered out of the front of the book, and Doruk gathered them up, shoving them to the side.

  “My dad made copious notes,” he said with a wry grin, “of things he thought he might have seen in the woods out there. Well, actually, anywhere we went. Family holidays were always near “places of interest” where there had been sightings of ghouls and ghosties.” He chuckled, but he noticed her eyes slide to the stack of abandoned papers. “Seriously, they are little more than “possible sighting of large black creatures.” When pressed how large, he would admit that they were the size of the common house cat.”

  Her mouth hitched up on one side and she half-laughed. “We all see what we want to see, sometimes.” She turned the pages of the book, running her finger over the notes in the margins. “Where’s your dad now? Your mom?”

  “They died.”

  “I’m sorry.” She looked up at him, and he stared into her large silver eyes, noting again how strangely light they were. Her skin was an olive color, her hair dark and short, sticking up all over the place.

  “Thanks. They were my best friends. Do you live with family?”

  She shook her head. “Not anymore. Long story.”

  “I’ve time if you want to talk about it.”

  She smiled and shook her head, finally moving, so he had to drop his hand. “Maybe some other time.”

  He was disappointed. “You’re not going so soon?”

  She hesitated then relented. “If you don’t mind my company, I’ll stay for a while. I don’t know many people here.”

  He smiled. “Please stay. I swear I’m not a crazy—not in the scary way, anyway. I see you every night, and I don’t know, I always feel like we could be friends, that you’d get me. Does that sound crazy?”

  Lilith squinted into the middle distance, obviously considering. “No, actually. I’ve seen you … I thought you looked lonely. I’m lonely sometimes.”

  Doruk smiled. “Then you’ll stay?”

  They talked, watched trashy TV, and ate Doruk’s food— Lilith thought he was a fine cook; Doruk rolled his eyes and blushed. They talked about him—nineteen and might never have worked at a proper job. Lilith teased him about that until he cried laughing, but then her face was serious.

  “It’s a nice position to be in, but what is your passion? What would you want to do?”

  Doruk smiled. “Write. I just want to write.”

  “About?”

  A shadow fell across his face. “That’s just it. I don’t know.” He looked over at the book they’d been studying earlier. “Maybe continuing my dad’s work.”

  Lilith looked away, and she seemed to be struggling with something then, “What if it was all real? The stories, the sightings … what if you could see it for yourself? Would you be freaked out?”

  “I’ve thought about that, and I’d like to think I’d be cool, just accept it. But who knows? I might cry like a baby and pee myself.”

  Lilith burst out laughing. “Gross.”

  “How about you?”

  It was as if he could see her physically withdraw from him as he asked the question and he felt a jolt of fear shoot through him. She shrugged and said nothing.

  “Where do you go at night?” He rushed the question, regretting it instantly.

  She was silent, her face impassive. “Just for a walk.”

  He couldn’t stop now. “Why? I mean, it’s dark, you’re alone?”

  “I just do.”

  Shit. Now he’d blown it. “I’m sorry. I just care.”

  She turned those silver eyes on him. “Don’t. It’s too dangerous to care.”

  She stayed until just after one.am. then he walked her to the door. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

  She nodded. “Thank you for the nice evening, Doruk. And the food.”

  “Come back again soon. I mean it.”

  She hesitated then, smiling, stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “I’ll think about it.”

  He opened the door to let a rush of freezing air swept in. He shivered, but Lilith didn’t seem to care. “Goodnight, Doruk.”

  “Goodnight, friend. Christmas Peace.”

  “Christmas Peace to you.”

  And she was gone. Doruk closed the door, feeling as if his heart had just vacated the house. It’s too dangerous to care.

  Too late, Doruk thought sadly. It’s way too late.

  Lilith made sure Doruk wasn’t watching when she doubled back and made her way to the rail station. She would be early tonight, but she didn’t care. She needed to see if her secret love was real, that she wasn’t having some sort of fever dream, hadn’t been having it for months.

  At the rail station, all was dark. She slipped down to her usual place at the far end of the station and into the utter blackness there. She felt him first, his cold arms around her.

  “You are early …” To another’s ears, his words would seem muddled, not human at all, but over the months she had come to learn them. She closed her eyes as his lips found her neck.

  “I could not wait, my love.” The sensations running through her body made her begin to sing. His hands would sink below her clothes so that she felt his touch on bare skin all over her body. It made her shiver with desire. He said nothing more but continued his strange sexual dance around her. Lilith usually kept her eyes closed after the first touch, but when she felt his cold fingers slide between her legs she gasped and opened her eyes. He swayed in front of her.

  “You are ready, my love.” His eyes glowed white, the color of moons. “You have reached womanhood.”

  No, no, I’m not ready … but she found she was unable to speak as he made love to her and soon she was moaning with pleasure as he took her virginity slowly and masterfully.

  How can this be? He’s not human … but she was lost, overwhelmed by him, his presence.

  Afterward, she walked home, past Doruk’s house, but didn’t even glance at it. How could she have wondered if there was something more than him, her ghostly lover, for her? She belon
ged entirely to him, to that world of darkness.

  She paid no heed to the trail of blood she left behind her.

  Doruk waited two days, enduring Christmas Day alone, then Boxing Day. He didn’t see Lilith and didn’t know where she lived so he couldn’t go to her home and seek her out. His heart ached with the need to be near her.

  He felt sadness at the thought that she might be avoiding him. He hoped not. God, he so hoped not.

  He waited that night at his window, and sure enough, tonight, she passed by at her usual time. He darted out of the house and called out to her. For a moment, he thought she might not turn around. Then she looked at him.

  “Hello, Doruk.”

  He smiled. “I missed you.”

  He expected her to roll her eyes, tease him. Then she smiled. To him, it was as if dawn had broken. She walked slowly back to him, and to his utter shock, she pressed her mouth to his.

  “Invite me inside, Doruk,” she whispered. And stammering, he did just that.

  She took his hand and led him up his stairs, only hesitating, looking at him with a question in her eyes. Doruk, his mind whirling, nodded to the room at the end of the hallway and she walked on, her little hand still in his.

  In his bedroom, she turned to face him. Her eyes were different tonight, even more silver, almost like ice, but the smile on her face was sensual and genuine. “I’ve been thinking about you,”she said softly, “and I think we need to stop pretending.”

  “Pretending what?” His breath caught in his chest.

  “Pretending we could ever be just friends, Doruk.”

  In one fluid movement, she pulled her sweater over her head. She wore nothing beneath, and Doruk swallowed hard, his penis beginning to respond at the sight of her pale body, the small breasts. Lilith saw his nervousness and smiled, picking up one of his hands and placing it over her breast. “Doruk, it’s okay.”

  Doruk shook his head and tore his hand away. “I don’t know, I don’t know … this is everything I wanted, Lilith, but I don’t understand … this is so sudden.”

  “We both of us don’t live by anyone else’s rules,” she said softly. “Why shouldn’t we give into our desires?”

  There was something in her tone, something that made Doruk’s senses tingle. I’m being recruited … He pushed the thought away—that was madness. The girl he liked was standing topless in front of him, and he was questioning it?

  He stepped closer and peeled his own T-shirt off, shivering slightly in the chill of the night. Lilith smiled, placing her hands flat on his chest, tilting her head up for a kiss.

  Doruk’s mouth was on hers again; she tasted sweet and cold, like a soda pop, but her tongue was warm against his as they kissed. His hands found her breasts and this time, he cupped them in his palms, feeling the nipples harden against his skin. She was thin—very thin—and he felt protective of her fragile frame as they undressed fully and lay down on the bed. He ran his hand down her body, from her shoulder to her hip. He could feel her shoulder bones, her ribs, and her pelvis bone jutting out from her pale, almost blue now, skin.

  Lilith pulled him on top of her and put her hand down on his cock, stroking it gently as it thickened and swelled. Doruk shuddered with pleasure at her touch, and as she guided him inside her warm, wet sex, his desire took over, and they made love slowly. They oriented around each other, slightly awkwardly at first, and then as they found a rhythm, they both sighed with relief, smiling at each other as if thankful that their coupling seemed natural and not awkward.

  Afterward, they lay in each other’s arms, and Doruk stroked her face. He grinned at her. “I was just going to ask if you wanted to come in for some food and play a board game or something. But I have to say; I liked your idea a whole lot better.”

  Lilith kissed him gently. “I’m glad.”

  “It was a bit of a surprise.”

  She chuckled. “I swear, Doruk, it wasn’t until I saw you that I knew it was the right thing to do. We’re not children, either of us. When I left the other night, at first, I just thought—good, I have someone to play with, dream with. Kid’s stuff. Then I was made to realize … I’m not a child. I’m not sure I ever have been.” She looked at him, her eyes soft. “And I felt the same thing coming from you. As if we were thrust into being adults, so that’s the role we have to play now.”

  Doruk felt a little sting of regret. “You mean, this was a test of that?”

  “No. I wanted to do it. I thought you did?”

  He relaxed. “Yes.”

  They lay in silence for a while then Lilith got up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  The disappointment returned. “You’re going?”

  “I have to.”

  Doruk was a little irritated—almost jealous. “To go wherever you go at night?”

  “Yes.”

  He sat up, watching her dress. “Are you meeting someone?”

  She didn’t answer that, just leaned over him and kissed him.

  “I will come to see you soon, I promise.”

  She left the room, and Doruk scrambled to follow her downstairs. At the door, he stopped her and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I think I’m in love with you, Lilith.”

  Lilith hugged him briefly. “We’ll see.”

  She touched his cheek, moved away from him, and disappeared into the night.

  At some point along the way, he had stopped caring that she knew he was following her. After the night’s events, he had decided that was permission enough for him.

  He stayed way back, but he could see by the constant half-turn of her head that she was aware of him, that she was giving her permission to follow. He thought he could see the uplift of her cheek, that she was smiling.

  She strode into the rail station. His face creased in confusion, he slowed his pace. He stopped at the door and peered around. An empty ticket office. Snakes of unease slithered around his body. His footfalls echoed around the hall. At the far end, a gate, ajar. As he neared it, a soft melody reached his ears.

  She was singing.

  He gripped the metal bars as the song curled its way into his mind, into his soul. Waves of pleasure.

  Without thinking he moved towards her, the music drawing him in and in.

  Then he saw it. The creature. The daemon. It hovered in front of Lilith, its hands around her throat.

  Oh god … Doruk tried to move, tried to reach out to her. The creature’s attention was now fixed upon him and he saw its mouth open, wide, a gaping maw of razor sharp fangs.

  No. No, it could not be … his father’s books, all his work, had told him simply that this creature did not exist in Finland—it was the demon that haunted the east of Europe; it had never strayed this far west. And yet …

  Frozen, he watched as the creature’s ice-white eyes, rimmed with red, fixed on his own with a half-amused look, and his lethal jaws clamped around Lilith’s tender white throat.

  No, please, not my love … but Doruk couldn’t move, couldn’t speak.

  Lilith felt the teeth sink into her throat and she smiled. This was what she came for every night, the feasting and the harvesting that left her lightheaded and dizzy but also euphoric. The initial slice of teeth into flesh was agonizing, but it lasted but a scintilla of time, then the joy would flood through her. Tonight was different, however. She had the lasting glow of the love making with Doruk in her veins, and her ghostly love seemed to sense this.

  “You have done well, my love,” he hissed in that strange tongue, “you have brought me new blood …” His essence was different tonight too, more potent as it flowed into her blood. Something in her was changing … changing … and finally Lilith realized she had been tricked this whole time. No, no, this isn’t fair, please …

  Her last mortal thought was a plea to her still human lover to run … run …

  Doruk saw her turn, and he moved closer still, mouth open to declare his love again.

  The moment he looked into her eyes, he knew.
The daemon hovered behind her, a terrifying rictus on his face, and now Doruk understood. Revenge. His father’s investigations had uncovered an underworld that did not want to be uncovered and this, this, was their revenge.

  “You unspeakable monster,” he whispered to the creature. They had taken his parents, and now, they had taken his new love. Lilith stared at him, her eyes snow white. Dead. The mark of the daemon was still on her throat; blood soaked her clothes, her skin paler than the moon. He couldn’t look away from her.

  Her ice cold fingers snaked around his throat, and he now began to hum, a melody not of love but of unimaginable pain. And yet, the love he felt built and built, saturating every cell of his being until it was all consuming. “Lilith, oh, my Lilith!” He screamed into the void of the night.

  Lilith’s kiss was sweet and cold, colder than the grave.

  The ancient station master took no notice of the young man’s corpse as he coughed his way onto duty. Night ghouls, he called them.

  The ones who came.

  The End

  The Iceman Cometh Book 6

  On location in Seattle, the cast and crew of a successful television show hold their Christmas party at a popular local coffee house which has become their regular haunt. The show’s handsome male lead, Sasha Eisley, and the coffee house’s pretty owner, Emeli Tuscany, have become good friends throughout the filming process and now the sexual chemistry between them is palpable.

  As the gathering begins to dissipate, Sasha and Emeli linger, not wanting to be apart on this evening of all evenings … Christmas Eve. Soon, the evening turns passionate, and Sasha and Emeli return to her apartment above the coffee house to make love and spend the night together.

  But soon their night is disturbed by a terrifying intruder and both Sasha and Emeli wonder if they’ll make it through Christmas Day alive …

  “I can officially proclaim … it is snowing,” Dave Borg, the second male lead of Happenstance, announced to the party as he stood at the doorway of the coffeehouse.