by CJ England
“Life was good. We weren’t rich, but we had what we needed to be happy.”
He fought the urge to take her into his arms when her eyes darkened.
“One night, a gang of men came in. It was after closing time, and I was in the kitchen with Aidan cleaning up. Mother was out in the front with Father putting the chairs up so she could mop. Father tried to tell them we were closed but they just laughed at him. They shut and locked the door behind them.” Aithne swallowed.
“Aidan and I came to the door just in time to see one of the men attack my father. But instead of hitting him, he picked him up and threw him against the wall. Then to our horror and shock, he bit him, right on the neck.”
Her eyes gazed out over the bright sparkling city. “I can remember my mother screaming. Blood was everywhere, and when the man looked up, we saw he had fangs instead of teeth.”
“Aithne, my God.” He stared at her, horrified. Were all of her family, vampires?
She went on quickly. “Aidan picked me up and tossed me in a nearby closet. One we kept the money in, so it wasn’t easily seen. He told me not to say a word, no matter what I heard. I fought him, but he locked me in.” Her green eyes glistened with tears.
“He got back in time to see Father beheaded, so the vampires could more easily feed. Our mother was on the floor, her clothes in tatters, still screaming as the remaining vampires feasted on her. Aidan picked up a chair and broke it over one of the vampire’s heads. Of course it didn’t stop them.”
She wiped away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. “He fought them. Actually killed two, before they overwhelmed him.” She closed her eyes and shuddered. “I could hear him shouting at them. Telling them they were beasts and monsters. Then, I heard the leader say he was too impressive a human to kill. They needed a man of his strength in their flock. So they didn’t finish him off, they decided to turn him instead.”
Milcham’s guts were churning with a mixture of guilt and anguish for her. To hear all of that going on, and not be able to do anything? “Assai, I’m so sorry.”
She didn’t hear him, her thoughts back in the painful past. “When he awoke later and found out what they’d done, he was sickened. I could hear him screaming at them, hating them for their actions. When they left, he refused to go with them. Aidan was strong enough, even from the beginning, to defy them. He told them he would rather be dead like his family then be monsters like them.”
Aithne took a deep breath and looked up at him. “They were angry. Apparently it isn’t good form to refuse your sire anything. So they tied him up and left him behind.”
“They never found you?”
She shook her head. “Aidan kept them so busy they didn’t look for anyone else. I sat in that cupboard for almost two days listening to them kill and torture my family.”
His heart broke again for her. “How did you get out?”
Aithne’s face went white. “When they left, they didn’t just walk away. Aidan had to pay for refusing them. So they bound and gagged him and left him in the bar.” Her eyes blinked back more tears.
“Then they set the place on fire.”
“Sweet Yahweh, no!” Milcham breathed.
“I smelled the smoke and was able to kick my way out of the cupboard. The whole building was on fire.” Remembered horror reflected in her eyes. “Flames were everywhere. I crawled on my hands and knees out into the front of the bar and found Aidan, unconscious. I untied him and…to this day, I don’t know how I did it, but I pulled him out the backdoor and out of the fire.”
“The vampires?”
She shook her head. “Long gone. They figured he was as good as dead, so they didn’t stick around for the show. People came to help, but it was no use. Everything burned in the fire, even my parents’ bodies.”
Suddenly, Milcham remembered her face when he’d told her about how she would have to die in the fire to be with him for eternity. The fact she’d trusted him and agreed to go with him, gnawed at his gut. He swallowed back the sickness he felt. “No wonder you had reservations about becoming immortal. You’d have to go into the fire.”
Aithne nodded bleakly. “When my gypsy tent went up around me, I was paralyzed in fright. I couldn’t believe it was happening again. You saved me and I thought it was all over. No more fire worries.” Her lips trembled. “Then you told me about what I would need to do. And I’m still frightened.”
He pushed back the instinctive need to soothe her. He had to find out everything. “What happened after the fire in your home?”
“Aidan was so ill. Being turned isn’t easy, and because he hated the creature he’d become, I had to watch him every minute so he wouldn’t suicide by walking out into the sunlight. I knew he was starving, but he refused to eat anything.” She laughed sadly. “We were living in our barn, and he wouldn’t even go near the horses, because he was afraid of what he might do.”
She walked over and stood by the edge of the rooftop. “I knew we couldn’t stay in town. People would wonder about Aidan and his strange behavior. But he was so weak he couldn’t even sit a horse. Finally, I took matters into my own hands.”
Aithne stared back at Milcham. “He was my brother and he was dying. I couldn’t let that happen. He’d protected me from those monsters and in doing so, became one himself. I owed him everything.”
“Go on.”
“When he was lying asleep, so weak from lack of nourishment he couldn’t fight me, I slashed my wrist and held it to his mouth. He still fought me, but his nature took over after he tasted the blood. He fed.” She smiled grimly. “Afterwards, he was furious with me. He had wanted to die. But I wanted him to live more. I talked him into letting me be his food source until we found the creatures that had killed our parents, and done this to him. Then…if he wanted to die, I’d let him.”
“And did he? Find those monsters, I mean?”
Emerald eyes glowed. “Yes. It took us several years, but after we left Sonora , we tracked down and killed them all.” She smiled again. “By that time, Aidan was used to being a vampire. He still refused to feed on anything else, so we just kept going as we were. It wasn’t until several years later, we realized there were benefits to me as well.”
“Immortality?”
She nodded. “When I was his familiar, I didn’t age, just as Dawn doesn’t now. I also have quicker reflexes, am stronger, and my senses are still acute. I still have a few of those gifts.”
Milcham’s mind snapped back to her last statement. “Where did you say you lived?”
“It was a small town, in the mountains of California . Sonora .”
Realization stabbed through him like a pointed spear, piercing his heart. “This was in the summer, just before it got cool again.”
Her eyes widened. “Yes…it was the end of August. I remember the raspberries were ripe. How did you know?”
He groaned and closed his eyes. To him it was as clear as if it had happened yesterday. He remembered walking past the remains of a burned down building. Someone had told him it had been a bar, and the owners had died in the fire. It was just after that he’d felt the call. Anger and sorrow warred within him.
Going to Aithne, he trapped her face in his large hands. Fearful green eyes looked up at him. “I was there.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Remember how I told you there was one other time I felt that special pull I now feel with you?”
She nodded.
“Sonora was where I felt it. I was there just a few days after the fire. I knew you were close, but as I searched for you, the feeling just up and disappeared, like it never was. I thought at the time the Ancient One was fooling me, but now I see it was more than that. The feeling disappeared when you became Aidan’s familiar.”
Aithne grabbed at his wrists. “Are you telling me Satan deliberately killed my family and made my brother a vampire, so I would do what I did and be taken out of your reach?”
Milcham bent and put his fo
rehead to hers in an unconscious mirroring of what Aidan had done earlier. “I don’t know if it was deliberate, or not, Assai. But what I do know is evil forced you to make a decision you never should have had to make, and by doing so, I lost you.” Grief filled his voice. “A hundred years wasted.”
Aithne felt stunned. “Are you sure? I can’t believe it.”
“I have never forgotten that day or that feeling. When I first met you, I felt it again, but because I disregarded it the first time, I didn’t think it meant anything, the second. Now I know it was you…both times.”
“Oh my, God.”
He sighed and pulled her into his arms. “It means you were always meant to be my soulmate, Aithne. You should have told me about Aidan and your past, just like I should have told you about being the Phoenix , but in the end, it changes nothing.”
“About, what Aidan and I were to each other… It’s a bond that will never be broken.”
“It is not an easy thing for me to accept. As you said, I’m not used to shades of grey. But this I do know. Your brother saved your life. Perhaps, the Ancient One sent those men to kill you, knowing I was on my way. Aidan kept you alive for me then and through the years until we found each other again. I may be slow, but I’m not stupid. Yahweh has offered you to me twice. The first time you were snatched away from me, and this time, although the enemy has tried again, I will not allow it. I won’t let you go.”
She buried her face into his shirt. “I love you so much. I’m sorry for being such a coward.”
“I forgive you, Assai. I love you, too. I will not throw this gift away. Not after I have searched for you for so long.”
He bent his head and kissed her, groaning as her lips parted eagerly for him. She tasted so delicious; he was suddenly ravenous for her. His tongue dove deep into her mouth, touching each nerve ending and sending his spinning out of control. His whole body tightened when she teased his lips with her own.
His heartbeat raced as she melted against him. He cursed himself for even considering putting her aside. She belonged to him, heart and soul and would until the end of eternity.
Aithne gasped and clutched him to her. All the anger and hurt of before disappeared. They’d both been wrong, but that was behind them now. Now…all they had to think about was how much they loved each other.
She could feel his body grow even hotter under her hands. It was like he had a fever and she was the cause. His heat warmed her, making her ache deep inside. She craved his touch like a drunkard craved drink. She sent a grateful prayer up to heaven he’d forgiven her, her fear and stupidity. She moaned when his hand moved up her silken thigh. “Milcham…”
“I find that I don’t want to wait for our nice hotel bed,” he murmured. “I wish to put my seal on you. I want you to walk back into that room with the look of a woman well pleasured.”
Her face turned pink at the thought. “Here? On the roof?”
He smiled slowly. “I have something even more interesting in mind.”
She stared at him a moment, and then smiling, she slid her arms around his neck. “Really? Just what do you have planned?”
“Hold on.”
Chapter Eighteen
Aithne’s eyes widened as he suddenly burst into flame. His eyes met hers and she took a deep breath, knowing somehow he was testing her. She lifted her chin and nodded. His eyes glowed even hotter and then without warning, he shot up into the sky.
She gave a shriek and held on tightly to him. He grinned down at her, his head and body still in human form, while his arms had changed to powerful luminescent wings of fire.
“What are you doing?” she cried. Glancing down, she saw the city retreating below.
Milcham laughed. “I have always wanted to do this. I have heard about a mile high club we can join.”
Her eyes widened. “We can’t go that high!”
He bent and kissed her. “No Assai…but we can pretend.” He dipped and twirled, laughing as she shrieked out his name. “I will keep you safe, Aithne. Even if you were to fall, I would catch you.”
“I don’t want to fall!”
“Then hold on to me. You know, I will never let you go.”
Getting into the spirit of things, she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
She wriggled against him. “I hope we are high enough. Anyone below can see right up this short skirt.”
Milcham frowned for a moment then chuckled. “People on the ground will think we are two birds, high in the sky, and it’s a good thing. That short skirt is now up around your waist. I wish I could touch you, but…”
“You just keep flying,” Aithne said quickly. “Just tell me what to do.”
His eyes glowed hotter. “Unsnap the crotch of your corset set. Then undo my trousers.”
She rolled her eyes. “One handed?”
His mouth quirked into a smug smile. “I happen to know you are very good one handed.”
Aithne giggled. Holding on tightly to his strong neck, she eased her hand down between their bodies. She could feel his muscles contract in his chest as his great wings beat rhythmically to keep them aloft. She met his eyes as she slowly undid his belt and unsnapped the top snap of his suit trousers.
“You were supposed to do yours,” he muttered hoarsely.
“I will,” she promised him. “I just want to play a moment, first.” Carefully, she unzipped him and slipped her hand inside. His heartfelt groan made her smile, and the sudden faster flapping of his wings was proof he wasn’t unaffected.
Gently, she pulled his cock free of his pants, stroking it until it was hard and throbbing. Small beads of pre-cum would appear, but then were swept away by the wind. She knew only a few hard pumps would signal the end, so she kept her strokes even and slow. Up and down, up and down, with a hard squeeze when she reached the base.
It wasn’t long before his hips were jerking against her, and his panting breaths could be heard, even over the beating of his wings. “For the love of God,” he groaned as she squeezed him again. “I can’t take any more.
“I would think you should say…for the love of me,” she whispered in his ear. “Do you love me, Milcham?”
He gave a little growl, and then twisted slightly, so she was lying more on top of him. “You are my everything, Assai. I want to be with you forever. I love you.” He kissed her then, his mouth pressing against hers with all the love he had stored up inside of him. “Join our bodies…now! I want to be inside of you.”
Breathlessly, she nodded and unsnapped the clasp at the crotch of her corset. It immediately sprang apart, exposing her damp folds to the coolness of the night wind. She gripped his throbbing length in her hand and guided the head of his penis into her wet channel. They both moaned at the feeling.
Milcham’s body was already red hot. His inner flame had been kept dampened, but when his cock slid inside her silken heat, he lost control and immediately they were enveloped in an even brighter cocoon of flame.
Aithne cried out, but didn’t pull away. Instead, she dropped her head to his chest and wrapping her legs even tighter, brought him deep inside of her. He could feel her clenching around him and his fire built even hotter.
Bending his head, he caught her lips in a desperate hungry kiss as their bodies moved in rhythm together. He pumped in and out of her in hard, heated motions that fanned the flame in both of them. Motions that matched the beating of his wings, so each thrust went deeper and deeper, into her trembling body.
She moaned into his mouth, sucking lovingly on his tongue. He stopped breathing when he felt her quim clench down hard on his pulsing shaft. He could feel the beginnings of her climax, and his own rose to meet her. He pumped wildly, forgetting everything but the ensuing pleasure of their bodies.
They both exploded together, a firework of red, orange and yellow fire in their minds. They both shuddered and shook. Aithne cried out his name as she spasmed in his arms. Unthinkingly, he wrapped his wings around her
as his own orgasm overwhelmed him.
Without the beating of his strong wings, they plummeted from the sky, a scarlet-gold ball of light tumbling to earth. It took several long moments for Milcham to realize what he’d done, and then he shouted into Aithne’s ear. “Assai…hold on tight to me!”
Once he felt her gripping his neck again, he opened up his wings, grunting at the effort of breaking their fall. He heard her give a muffled cry of fear. As if in slow motion, the ground rose up to meet them. His wings beat hard, filling with air as he put the brakes on their descent, slowly regaining control. Once he had them completely stopped, he kissed the top of Aithne’s head and flew them back up high enough so they were just a shadow in the sky.
“I am sorry. Forgive me.”
Aithne shivered in his arms. “I guess we won’t do that again!”
“I didn’t think I would lose total control.” Milcham shook his head. “I should know better. Each time I touch you, I am lost to everything else.”
“I think we should stay grounded, next time,” she agreed.
He kissed her again. “But it was wonderful.”
She giggled. “It was. One to remember, that’s for sure.”
He laughed and flew lower. “I think we have had enough of the mile high club for one evening.”
Aithne gazed out over the brightly lit city. “It is beautiful up here.”
His eyes twinkled. “If you can promise not to stick your hands in my pants next time, I’ll take you up once more before we leave.”
“I think I can agree to that, if you take care of me elsewhere,” she said with a sultry look. “But until then…where to now?”
Milcham came to rest on the top of the gallery roof. “Back to the party. I know you want to spend time with your brother.” He closed his eyes and morphed back fully human. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her gently. “And I have some apologies to make.”
She wrinkled her nose at him as she slid down his body to stand before him. “As Aidan said, he made the same mistake I did. He won’t be too hard on you.”
Milcham shook his head and stepped back to set his clothes to right. “I bet Dawn didn’t threaten to kill him.” He handed her a handkerchief.