by LJ Swallow
"What the hell are you talking about, Vee?"
I walk towards him. “The day after I fooled around with the guys in the snow, you said we were going to talk, so talk.”
“Whoa. Okay.” Ewan pushes hair from his face. “Are you pissed off with me over what just happened with Seth? Sorry, but I just can’t trust him, and I wish you’d open your eyes.”
“No.” I take a ragged breath. “Not that.”
“Then what? Why this sudden change in attitude? You seemed relaxed and happy around us before.”
The words spill from my mouth before I can stop them. “Do you want to destroy me?"
Ewan steps back and looks at me as if I've punched him in the face. "What?" His voice is low, barely a whisper. "What the fuck makes you think I want to... Vee, that's insane.”
"Is it? You told me from the start I'd cause problems. You've seen and told me how I come between you all."
"Wrong. We all fight sometimes. There're parts of each of us that could destroy our group, but we deal with conflict." He wipes a hand across his face. "It bloody hurts you saying this to me, Vee. I'm trying to protect you."
"What from? You think because I have this connection to all of you that I'll become too strong and kill you all?”
“Where’s this crazy come from?” His mouth parts. “It’s him, isn’t it? Seth! The fucking devious... He’s gone too far.”
As Ewan spins to leave, I call out, “The things he said weren’t lies, Ewan.”
The awkward tension following us recently switches, and an angry undercurrent starts as our words harshen.
“What things?” He turns back to me.
“You and Xander want me gone. Destroyed. You don’t trust me.” All of Seth’s words rush out, at the same time reinforcing in my mind one thing: Seth wasn’t lying.
“No. He is lying. I have never said that. It’s the opposite of what I want.” He attempts to take my arm, and I step back.
“How can he lie? I would know!” I choke on the words, and the realisation Seth could be right. That I’m dangerous. That they don’t trust me.
“Vee. How could I want to destroy you? I love you.”
I begin to tell him he’s lying, but can’t. The confusion and hurt on Ewan’s face isn’t a lie, and neither is his admission. I don’t move when he approaches me and holds my face hard in both large palms. Tears well in my eyes, building with the confusion causing the pressure in my head.
His breaths come in short bursts as he studies my face. “I can give you bullshit excuses about being scared what might happen to the five of us if we had sex, but that’s not the only reason.” His hands are rough against my skin, his words spoken in a desperate earnestness. “You told me you didn’t want to feel anything. You’d pulled all these emotions I was struggling to deal with out of me, then threw them back in my face. I thought you hurt me that evening, but saying these things now is worse, Vee... How can you think this?”
A tear escapes my eye and trails onto Ewan’s hand. He looks at his fingers in alarm. “I don’t know how Seth has managed to lie to you, but he has. Believe me.”
My throat thickens and head pounds because the words coming from Ewan’s mouth aren’t lies either. What the fuck is happening here? His face holds a truth I wish I’d never doubted. Did I doubt myself and that’s why I believed Seth?
“Then we need to find out how Seth could lie to me.”
“Oh yeah, wait until I get my hands on that fucker.”
I wipe my face with the back of a hand and smile weakly. “Not now, Ewan. We need to talk. We’ve left it long enough.”
Ewan slides his hand into my hair, thumb circling the nape of my neck and sending a shiver through me. "I don't want to destroy you, Vee. I want to love you—to have you love me. But for the first time the future frightens me, and it’s holding me back."
“Why?”
“Because you came from nowhere, what happens if you leave once you’ve fulfilled whatever you’re here to do? I couldn’t cope if...” He inhales sharply and rests his forehead on mine. “If you left again, you would tear me apart. It would destroy me.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper.
Ewan tightens his grip on my hair, forehead still on mine. We’re together, but he’s still so far, no longer looking into my eyes. “How can you be sure?”
I pull away and move his face, forcing him to look at me. “Because the four of you complete me, and I don’t just mean because of the powers. We’re stronger together, and I’m stronger because of you all. I love you deeply, Ewan. This between us all is so much more than supernatural connections. You guys will do anything to keep me safe, and I will kill anybody who tries to come between us.”
His eyes widen. “Whoa. Vee.”
The words shock me too, but they’re wired into me somehow.
“You’d do the same, for any of us,” I reply.
“I guess.”
I shake my head at his hesitancy. “It’s too late for anybody to do anything now. How could they destroy someone who holds every single power each Horseman has? Why else would people search for me and want to stop me being with you?””
Ewan’s eyes meet mine, and we share the same thought. Do I? Because I don’t share Heath’s life-giving, and I’ve never experienced Ewan’s. I don’t think my computer skills are the power he shares with me.
We both know there’s only one way we can discover if I can.
“I belong here, with all of you. I’m part of you all, and nothing could ever tear us apart now we’re together. Nothing.”
Ewan runs his finger along my cheek, his concerned eyes darkening with an intent that flips my stomach. All I want is his lips and his hands on me, to be in his arms tonight and feel the love he told me he’s holding back. Forget Seth. Forget demons. Forget the craziness outside this room. Right now, this needs to be about us.
“I can prove everything I’m telling you, Vee,” he says hoarsely. “I want to so fucking much.”
Ewan’s eyes burn with a new fervour, and I move my mouth to reach his. He responds with a sudden and engulfing kiss, his tongue parting my lips as he kisses me deeply.
The intense passion overtakes me in seconds, and I grip his head so he can’t pull away. Ewan doesn’t need persuading, kissing me harder, scruff scratching my cheek. His taste and scent intoxicate me, and I shake as he circles his arms around my waist, holding me to him. I tear my mouth away to catch my breath, and Ewan shifts his attention to my neck, kissing and nipping my skin.
His hands slide along my leg, pushing beneath my dress until he reaches my ass, and digs his fingers into the skin as holds my hips against his. His arousal pushes against me, and the ache between my legs grows at his touch. The movement of his lips on mine travels into every nerve ending, my body aching for him. Ewan pushes my dress higher, and right now all I want us the flimsy material between us gone.
I reach behind me, attempting to pull at the zip and failing. Ewan rests his head on my shoulder, hot breath against my face as he pushes my hand away to pull. He tugs but the zip doesn't move, then pulls harder.
“Don't tear my dress! I need this for tomorrow.”
“Fine.” In a swift movement, Ewan seizes hold of me and pushes backwards so I fall onto the bed, my hair splaying across the sheets.
The crumpled sheets are cool against my hot skin as Ewan presses himself onto me, and his cotton shirt brushes my peaked nipples. I can’t move, as our limbs tangle and mouths lock. He kneels and settles between my legs, pushing my dress to my waist, and himself against me. As Ewan’s mouth hungrily claims mine, his hands move to my leg again, but this time when he pushes his hand up my thigh, he doesn't stop. The rough passion shocks and arouse me, as he gives in to his lust.
Beneath his hands and mouth, I disintegrate into pleasure, digging my nails into Ewan’s back to keep myself grounded, trembling. I shuffle backwards onto the bed and pull Ewan by the shirt, wanting his body covering mine. He slides his hand to the zip
again, and as he pulls hard, I hear the material rip.
“Ewan!”
“Don’t care.” He pulls the straps down my shoulders and nips my skin from my earlobe to my neck as he pushes the material down exposing my breasts swelling against my lace bra. With both hands he yanks at the material, watching with heavy breaths as he reveals more of my skin. I wriggle so he can pull away my dress. He looks down, and heat grazes my skin as he strokes my belly, teasingly playing with the edge of my panties soaking up the sight of me.
“I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to see you naked.” Before I can catch my breath, he pulls at my panties too, dragging them from my legs to the floor, my bra following shortly after.
Ewan stands and grabs his shirt between the shoulder blades, the powerful muscles in his arms flexing as he does. I inhale sharply as I take in the sight of him; at the tattoos, I ached to trace with my fingers; the broad chest he's held me against in the past. As I stare, he kicks off his shoes and unbuttons his trousers, eyes on mine, and they drop to the floor next to his shirt.
Wow. Ewan. Naked. Finally. Six-foot-plus of solid muscle, ink etched across his arms and torso. The dim light from the small lamp highlights every inch of his sculpted physique, from the contours of his chest and tight abs to the powerful arms and shoulders.
I barely get a chance to soak in the sight before Ewan kneels on the floor. He reaches out a hand and runs his hands across my skin, tracing the mount of my breasts, rough thumb brushing my nipples. Mouth parted, breath coming quicker, Ewan watches as he maps my skin with his fingertips. I tense, anticipating his touch as he runs his fingers along my belly and downwards.
Without a word, Ewan drags me roughly toward him by the ankles. He parts my legs, and he kisses his way from my calf upwards, his stubbled cheek rough against my thigh. Strong hands slide beneath my ass and pull me upwards, and I jolt at the sensation as his tongue slides along my flesh.
I grip the edge of the sheets and bite back the groan as Ewan teases me with soft strokes of his tongue. Ever since that first night in the kitchen, I’ve dreamed of being with Ewan again. The frustration built from wanting his hands and mouth on me finally releases as the pleasure coils deep inside and the shaking intensifies. In moments, he has me spiralling high; and when Ewan slips a finger inside me again, I fight against crying out.
The pressure builds, and I can’t decide whether to move my shaking self away or give in to the inevitable. The choice isn’t mine, as Ewan holds me to him, his fingers digging into my backside as he moves his fingers and tongue harder. Shivers run along my spine over and over as he sucks on my clit, and his scruff scrapes against me as he moves his face against my sensitive flesh. I let go, pushing into him, and grasping his hair as I chase the stars. They blind me as the orgasm hits; sudden and intense.
When I open them again, Ewan’s arms are either side of me, as he looks down, eyes burning with a passion to match mine. His smile grows as he looks down at the panting mess he’s made of me. He wipes his face with the back of his hand and sits on his haunches, chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Are we good?" he asks, voice hoarse.
"What?" Realisation dawns. "Ewan! Are you avoiding sex with me still?"
Ewan takes a shuddering breath and laughs. He’s bloody teasing me. I launch myself forward and, taking him by surprise, Ewan falls backwards onto the carpet. The sheets from the bed drop to the floor next to us. I straddle him, his cock pushing against my stomach instead. I mash my mouth with his, gripping his head in both hands. The distraction works, and he moves his hand from the floor to hold my face and kiss me back, sinking onto the carpet. He stops and holds my cheeks, eyes searching my face.
"Let go, Ewan," I say. "You always promised me next time you wouldn't hold back."
“No way am I holding back. Not with you like that. Fuck, Vee.” He pants out the words as I slide him against my slick pussy.
Ewan lets go of my hair and in a swift move tips me over onto the sheets covering the carpet. I gasp as my back hits the floor. Pinioning my hands back over my head with one hand, he pushes my legs open with his knee. All I’m aware of is the tip of him resting against my sensitive flesh, and I shift my hips, desperate for Ewan to fill me.
Something passes between us as his darkened gaze meets mine; the understanding that we’re about to cross a line and we don’t know where we’ll be once we do. I open my mouth to tell him not to stop, and not to be pulled back by doubts.
But Ewan’s beyond thinking.
I gasp as he thrusts into me hard then stops, kissing me again, and forcing my mouth open to accept his tongue. I grip his shoulders, fingers digging into the knotted muscle, and lock my legs around his waist; I fit tightly around him but want him closer. Ewan pulls his head away and takes a deep breath. He withdraws slowly, watching my face as he runs his fingers along my lips.
“You feel so fucking good,” he says, voice hoarse.
Ewan pushes into me again and again, faster and faster, lust darkening his expression, eyes combing every inch of me as he maintains the rhythm. The ebbing pleasure resurges and I wrap my legs around Ewan’s hips, matching his movements. He rocks his hips against me driving us closer to what we both reach out for.
Mouth parted and eyes closed, Ewan gathers pace, reaching for his release too. The lightning trips along my spine again and into my limbs once more, shocking me back to the black behind my eyes.
I knew something would happen once I fell away from myself and into this moment with Ewan. But this is different to the other guys: light doesn't blind us; there's no lightbulb shattering; no channelled emotions. The disease and infection Ewan feared he'd create doesn’t happen.
Yet with Ewan, something greater takes hold.
Ewan stares down at me in concern as I gasp for breath, the orgasm still shaking through but joined by something stronger. A new power courses through my veins, burning across my skin. A stinging sensation coils around my body, beginning in the centre of my chest, and grips me with a pain I resist and relish at the same time.
As my pleasure-blackened senses sharpen and the ache intensifies. I cry out, shaking and the perspiration growing from the pain. The room seems to shrink, and I’m pulled into myself, away from the world, away from Ewan, as the constricting room suffocates me.
I stare upwards into a blurred world, and no longer see Ewan’s face.
“Vee?” Ewan’s voice is distant and not part of my world.
I push him, and he moves away from me. The room shimmers and a void resembling a night sky with no stars, forms in the corner of the room. I shuffle back on the bed, convinced the shadows will swallow me.
“Ewan!”
As I stare into the black, a pinprick of light forms in the centre of the void, growing larger and rushing closer until a huge ball of blinding light breaks through. I scream as the pure energy flies across the room and hits me in the chest.
The pain immediately stops, and my trembling body jerks before a new power rushes in. I close my eyes and images flood into my mind. A darkness covers the sky, the world around me on fire, acrid smoke filling my lungs. I suck in a huge breath as, in my vision, I turn in a slow circle and stare at the eerie silence in the destruction around me. This is a city. Or it was. Buildings no longer stand, people no longer walk by. Everything is lost in a thick smoky haze.
The outline of a dark figure stands nearby, made from the same starless void where the light that hit me came from. He holds a body in his hands and tosses it to one side as if it were a doll and I cry out. The Four Horsemen lie on the ground, at his feet.
I snap my eyes open in terror and grip at Ewan’s hand, who’s speaking but I can’t hear a word. Even holding him doesn’t ground me, I’m in this room but no longer feel as if I’m here.
I shudder at the sense that, somewhere in the world, this evil exists and is ready to unleash. A new impetus to destroy everything inhuman in the world overwhelms and pulls me away from the human, physical love and passion I just
shared.
Nothing else can fight through the two thoughts in my head.
I need to leave.
I have to find who I saw and stop the horror he intends to bring.
22
EWAN
Vee pulls away and grabs clothes slung over a nearby chair, almost falling over as she pulls her jeans on. I prop myself up on the bed, and stare in disbelief as she closes me out.
"Vee?"
She ignores me as she pulls on and fastens her bra, then grabs a shirt.
"What's wrong?" I sit. "What happened? Let's talk." I reach out to her, but she shirks away.
I fucking knew this would happen. Nobody listened when I said our union would change her. That giving in to the all-consuming need for sex with Vee, to give my heart and soul to her would transform the girl she is into something else.
The incredible, mind-shattering moment we looked into each other’s eyes, and I saw my love reflected in hers, dropped away as they filled with terror. At first, I thought I’d hurt her, and then she filled me with fear something was in the room with us.
The only thing I could see was the girl I love struggling. Lost. In pain.
And now this.
"I need to go." Her voice is low, different, and when Vee looks around it's as if she sees right through me.
"Go where? Back to the party?"
She reaches for a hairband from the desk and snaps her hair back into a high ponytail. "I need a knife. Where are they?”
"For what? Vee, what the hell is wrong?"
Holding her temples with her forefingers, Vee stares straight ahead. "Actually, it's okay. I don't need one."
I jump from the bed and drag my jeans on too, as Vee opens the room door. "Look, wait for—"
The door slams behind her before I can slip my boots on to follow.
What the hell?
What the fuck have I done?
Is this my worst fears realised?
Jacket half-on, I stagger from the room, boots half-laced, desperate to catch up with her before she does god knows what. I picture her rampaging through the house, singling out anybody she feels is a threat and hurting them.