Evigheden

by S King

  “Were you able to do Christmas before all of this happened?” I asked, looking around the woods.

  “Meaning?”

  “Exchanging gifts with your parents, Karina, Lovett.”

  Ok so I spat on her former fiancé’s name, but I still didn’t like the kid. Even if he would’ve made a better match for her, circumstantially speaking.

  She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, considering the question carefully before answering, “I did with Karina, yes. What about you?”

  I nodded, looking over my shoulder toward the direction we had come from. The city lights were drowned out and nearly disappeared from view given the distance we had cleared. For the night we were going to be fine…I hoped.

  “I did, Dristan insisted on it. He’s a major fan for the holiday.”

  Finally, she smirked and pushed her hair from her face, “I could tell that.”

  Returning her smirk, I dropped my bag in a patch of clear ground and nodded to the tree alcove that had yet to gain snow in its hidden shelter. If she didn’t want to sleep in the tent, then she could easily tuck her smaller body into the hollow space without getting cramped.

  She nodded but didn’t say anything as I started building the tent and fire for the few hours, we would be asleep. As I worked, I took notice of her stretching her back and staring off in the distance.

  My heart bled for the woman leaning against the tree, but I didn’t know what to say or how to make her feel better. Besides, now really wasn’t the time to tell her about my little run in with Lovett or dishing out my side of the sordid story otherwise known as our lives. I’d tell her later, I swore to myself.

  It had only taken me a good twenty minutes to get everything set up and the fire really going. Thanks to Dristan being the over prepared jerk he was, he packed Luminous and I separate boxed lunches complete with caffeine.

  By the time we had finished eating and were sated enough to have a clear mind, I was left to my own thoughts. Adjusting myself on my side of the tent, I felt the box in my breast pocket begin to burn a hole in my chest. There had been so many things I wanted to tell her, needed to tell her but when the opportunity presented itself, I opted for the safer route.

  “Here,” I said, shoving the small box into her hand and raked my fingers through my hair as I stared into the flames of the fire.

  “Where’d you find the time to go shopping?” She raised a brow at the gun metal gray wrapping paper as she considered the present.

  I shrugged, shifting against my side of the tent again, “I had Dristan pick something up before our escape into oblivion.” I glanced at her and swallowed my anxiety toward what she’d find in the box. Hell, I didn’t even know what was in the box so both of us were going to be surprised.

  Luminous smiled, the glow from the fire lighting her face up, “so, really this is a present from both of you?”

  “More or less,” I nodded to the small box, “open it and find out.”

  Just when I thought she was going to refuse, she reached behind her and pulled out her own small, gold wrapped box and shoved it into my hands. Between the two of us, the level of nervous anxiety spiked in the tent to unbearable levels.

  I raised a brow at her, the same way she had done to me and held the long thin box, “Karina pick this up?”

  “More or less.” She didn’t meet my eyes as she started to slowly peel back the paper and lift the lid on the box.

  “Oh Demir.” She breathed, a fresh round of tears springing to her eyes as she stared at the gift my best friend had picked up.

  Lifting the necklace out of the box, she smiled at the platinum chain with the rare red diamonds spelling out her name while a rose gold whip encased the italicized letters.

  “I’m going to feel incredibly stupid if you tell me you don’t wear jewelry,” I mumbled as I raked my fingers through my hair again.

  She simply stared at the necklace watching the glow from the flames bounce off the diamonds. Luminous had never been one to go speechless; she had made a career on her quick comebacks and snarky comments. So, to see her at a loss for words was like flying through the clouds for me.

  “Luminous?” Her silence was making me nervous.

  Like my voice was an alarm for her, those normally harsh eyes shifted to me.

  “Do you like it?”

  There had only been a handful of times when I’d been truly caught off guard and, in this moment, right now. Between the look in her shining eyes and what she did next had made the top of my list. Slowly, she put the necklace on and adjusted the chain before throwing herself at me.

  Out of instinct, I caught her without thinking twice; we stared at each other for a tense moment, before I tangled my fingers in her ridiculously soft hair and pulled her to me.

  Our lips fused together in a hungry dance as our hands ripped and pulled at each other’s clothing. Tonight we were going to do things right; no masks, no hidden motives, nothing to stop us.

  I pulled her shirt over her head after she pushed my leather coat from my shoulders and reversed the positions. Looking down at her, I wanted to speak my truth. Telling her all the secrets that haunted my mind would eliminate any secrets between us. I needed to tell her.

  “What’s wrong?” She stopped reaching for my shirt and frowned. “Demir?”

  “I need to tell you something,” I couldn’t bring myself to get off her and felt my muscles tense with anticipation for the fight headed my way as soon as she heard what I had to say.

  “Can it wait?” She asked, driving her point home as she loosened the buckle on my belt and unbuttoned my pants.

  Not really, I had wanted—needed to say. But the carnal side of me took over and put a steel lock on my vocal cords. Kissing her again, I negotiated with myself; I would tell her everything afterwards. For now, however, I was going to relish in the feeling of making Luminous River mine, if only for a moment.

  She kicked her pants and underwear off, wrapping her legs around me as I positioned myself between her legs. Her fingers softly trailed down my jaw line while her eyes traced every plane on my face as if I were going to disappear if she didn’t touch my face.

  “We can stop, if you—” I started saying before she pulled me to her in yet another hungry kiss.

  Well ixnay on the stop, I entered her slowly and had to grit my teeth. Like the last time, I had to still inside her to allow her walls to adjust to my size. She was tight, but that didn’t stop her from locking me to her with her legs as they came around my waist.

  Slowly, teasingly I pulled out of her and pushed back in relishing in the feel of her body, the look on her face. This moment was one I’d never forget and prayed she felt the same way.

  All my life, I had been wanting something. Something to call my own, something to smile at me the way Luminous did. Something…like this.

  Chapter 19 Realization and Dashed Hopes

  I awoke unable to move; sleep paralysis was always a bitch and one of my oldest friends. After certain nightmares, I always had one of these episodes. Unable to move, unable to force my body to come back online.

  The only thing I could do was stare at the ceiling—or in this case, the top of the tent and wait for the episode to pass. I wasn’t one to cry or freak out when I couldn’t move, I simply tried to busy my mind on anything else excluding the obvious.

  Last night had been its own bittersweet nightmare within and of itself. Saying goodbye to Karina, my parents, fighting for my life during the day, getting healed by Slade—Gold’s personal healer and of course, probably my favorite part, sleeping with Demir.

  Sure, I had felt guilty when I opened the velvet box to find the platinum chain that now rested against my collar. All I had gotten Demir was a simple silver dagger with three simple words engraved in the blade. Evigheden, thank you.

  His mother was from Denmark and very rarely spoke English, so I had gotten the bright idea to thank Demir Losett by telling him on the blade of the dagger I was eternally grateful to eve
rything he had done for me. Saving me from the initial wrath of the courts and sticking beside me when things got really hairy, those weren’t anything to sneeze at and I would be the ultimate bitch if I didn’t show my gratitude in some form or another.

  Finally, my body came back on line, allowing me to take a deep breath and close my eyes. The sun was at high-noon and the fire had died somewhere in the early hours of the night. After our little tryst in the tent, Demir had suggested we remain naked to keep the warmth between our bodies at a tolerable enough level to get some sleep. In truth, the opportunity had allowed me to get a full view of the man I had sworn to hell and high heavens I was going to hate for the rest of my life.

  I tuned over slightly, looking at Demir’s sleeping face and took in every detail of the man who had brought me so much hate, love, giddiness, like and friendship. His strong jawline was shadowed by his trimmed beard, his cheek bones sharp. Long lashes fanned out covering the dark crescent moons that hugged his under eyes. A slight pinch to his brow told me he could wake up at any minute should I—or anyone else—make the wrong move in disturbing his sleep. His full lips were pouting and slightly swollen thanks to the cold. The rest of him was just as much of a sight to see, but I kept my eyes on his face.

  If I were being honest with myself, I knew there was no other man for me. We were one in the same and yet complete opposites at the same time. He was calm and calculated, I was fiery and impulsive. He was a sea before a storm, I was a damn hurricane. Still, we knew how to place our priorities in each other and our guards; we knew the importance of such a short life and still, we took chances.

  “Why are you staring at me?” His sleepy voice, husky from his dreams broke through my analysis of how we had gotten to this position.

  I smirked, closing my eyes for a moment, “I wanted to see what the strong and capable Demir Losett looked like when he was relaxing.”

  “And did you find your answer?”

  “Somewhat,” I stretched my back, feeling the aches of my body from the past week’s fights come crashing into my muscles.

  “I need coffee,” he grumbled as his arm found its way across my waist and pulled me to him. He still hadn’t opened his eyes and made no move to shift in the sleeping bag.

  I scrubbed my hands over my face and sighed, “and how are we supposed to get the caffeine without being killed?”

  I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t agree with him. Coffee sounded as good as a scalding shower right now, but given the circumstances, I didn’t know if either were in the equation.

  His thumb idly ran up the length of my spine as he found himself lost in thought. “There’s a town another ten miles away from here. If we leave in the next five minutes, we could get to a motel before check in closes.”

  I made a noncommittal noise in my throat and relaxed into his touch. Walking ten miles in the snow and against the blistering wind wasn’t my idea of a necessity. However, the need for caffeine was extremely strong and a tempting dare.

  “Will I need to carry you again?” He asked, taking note of my silence.

  I smirked, remembering my outburst when that Gold Guard member had attacked me yesterday, “no, that was a onetime occasion.”

  “Is that so?”

  “It is.”

  He grunted, falling silent for a second before asking me in that sexy, sleepy voice of his, “what the fuck is macaroon?”

  “What?” Was he still sleeping?

  He sighed into my hair and flicked his free wrist above my head. “You kept going on about something called a macaroon. What is it?”

  I must’ve really been gone if I started saying I wanted the French pastry made to shatter teeth.

  “It’s just a little French cookie thing.” I explained.

  “Hm,” he grunted again and rubbed his forehead in my back before sighing.

  I rubbed my eyes, “I guess we should go then, huh?”

  He nodded, still not moving or bothering to show me those dull gold-silver eyes of his. He really was a beautiful man.

  The callouses on his hands rubbed my back softly as we continued to lay there, but my mind kept reverting back to the night one of the guards blew up Demir’s house.

  I had wanted to tell him the truth, tell him about why we were the way we were. Maybe it would clear away our shadows and put water under the bridge for us, but for whatever reason I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. Not to mention, I kept refusing to believe Lovett’s claim about Demir knowing everything before me. There was no way. None.

  “Ok,” he finally said and rolled over onto his back as he opened his eyes, “let’s go.”

  I smirked, getting out of the sleeping bag first. Our clothes had been tossed, thrown and otherwise lost in our haste last night to get naked. Naturally, I only found my shirt and bra, his pants and shirt but the remainder of our garments were somewhere beneath us. When I had found my underwear and had gotten halfway dressed, I caught sight of the scars lining his back.

  Some were smooth while others were jagged like a chainsaw had been taken to the once smooth flesh that covered his muscles. Reaching my hand out, I felt his muscles tense under my touch.

  “I did this to you?” I asked in a whisper.

  I knew my whip could do damage but nothing like this. Then again, the leather had razor wire embedded in its braids and I’d be an idiot to think the thing did minimal damage when it connected with my target. Especially when I was the one forcing the thing to do my bidding.

  “Not all of them.”

  “But a majority?”

  “More or less.”

  I recoiled, not liking the fact he was still able to care for me in the way he did after what I had done to him. How could anyone care for someone in the way he had for me after being scared like that?

  Averting my eyes, the tent fell silent as we finished getting dressed. It had only taken us thirty minutes to get dressed, break down the tent, and ruin any evidence of us being here before we were trudging through the snow yet again with little conversation filling the space.

  During the time it took us to get to the edge of the town, I had waged a war with myself internally to tell him I was sorry for the scars and explain to him just what I had found out from the judges and scientists. But even as we stood on top of the mountain, looking down at the quaint town, the only thing that came from my mouth was a simple, foolish statement.

  “Have you ever seen something so beautiful you want to cry?”

  “No,” he said flatly and sighed in boredom as he scanned the streets. “There might be some rouge guard members sifting through town, so we need to be careful.”

  I nodded, not bothering to comment one way or the other. He wasn’t in the mood for any lighthearted conversation or simple questions. For what reason? I had yet to figure out.

  By the time we were able to get down the mountain without slipping and breaking our necks, the stars were out and sparkling of the possibilities the night could bring.

  True to his word, Demir found a dodgy motel that offered a serious heating unit and suitable shower for the night. Well, at least that was one plus in the game we had been playing since we woke up this afternoon.

  Demir dropped our bags on the floor and nodded to the bathroom, “ladies first.”

  It was hard not smirk at his classic line; he had always offered me the first go whenever we were facing each other. Whether it be in a dark alley or a field, he always gave me the first strike. Granted, that was more due to the fact he wanted to see which direction I would strike from first.

  I nodded and mumbled a thanks before slipping into the bathroom with my bag over my shoulder. After I closed the door, I pressed my back to the thick barrier and stared at the popcorn ceiling. I needed to tell him the truth, tonight. There would be no way this was going to work if I didn’t. Yet and still, there was something in my gut telling me to keep my mouth shut and see if this thing panned out the way I was hoping it would. With both of us alive and not having to face the
threat of death following us around every corner.

  §§§§§

  “What’s a secret you haven’t told anyone?” Demir handed me a bowl of rice with beef liver sitting on top of the round scoop and went back to doctoring his own food.

  I thanked him quietly and chewed on my lip as I adjusted the chop sticks in my hand.

  We had ordered Chinese from a drab little restaurant a few blocks over and were sitting cross-legged on the single king size bed, eating by candlelight, too afraid to sit close to the windows or door.

  Twisting my mouth, I shrugged, “I have nightmares sometimes.”

  He stared at me for a moment, narrowing his eyes, “you’re not telling me something.”

  “No, I mean, I have nightmares and sometimes when I wake up, I can’t move.” I shrugged again, avoiding his gaze.

  “Sleep paralysis?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why haven’t you told someone?”

  I smirked, pushing my hair out of the way as I moved around the meat, “every time I wake up, nobody is ever there to tell me it’s ok. It’s nothing more than a bad dream so why would I need someone there? It does no good to tell anyone my problems if they’re not going to be there when I have an episode.”

  “Everyone needs someone, Luminous.”

  “Oh yeah?” I finally looked at him and raised a brow, “tell me, Demir Losett, who is there for you when your monsters come to haunt you? Who’s there for you when your nightmares become too much to handle, hm?”

  He stared at me, before smirking at me, “touché, Lumi.”

  “Exactly,” I matched his smirk and finally, found my appetite.

  Something crossed over his face as he watched me. What the hell was he thinking about? I could see the ghosts dancing across his face, as if he were internally struggling with something.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He opened his mouth to say something when the first explosion shook the other end of the building. We stared at each other, knowing what the reason was behind the explosion.