by Unknown
Chapter EIGHT
Desiring That Which Destroys
Mama was right, I had no other choice. Meekly going to the enemy like a lamb to slaughter was not my style. I was going to fight like hell and do everything within my power to ensure that I kicked that guy’s ass and made him sorry for ever even thinking about screwing with me or my friends.
We stayed there for a long while talking about what needed to happen over the next few days. Mama had made the most delicious gumbo I had ever had the pleasure of tasting, which said a lot when living in Louisiana. I like to think that it was Rhys’s freshly caught crawdads that set it apart. The dinner conversation had been minimal with everyone trying to keep the tone light despite the heavy dark cloud that was hanging over us all. After our conversation had finished, I went to my room, needing my own space to be alone and process everything that I had discovered. No pressure, right? If I didn’t beat the mystery man who had zombified Brad and possibly more of those Bacalou shadow creatures, then, not only will I be dead, but everyone could end up being enslaved or worse. Less than a week ago, I’d been thrust into the middle of a war I had known nothing about and for reasons I still had yet to discover. My ignorance was no free pass here. I knew that things wouldn’t be pretty and people would get hurt and such was war. And we were at war. I just wished we knew who it was against.
I’d been sitting on my bed alone for a while when I noticed that the day had passed in the flurry of excitement. Night had once again arrived. A shiver ran down my spine with the knowledge that it was exceedingly likely that more people would lose their lives that night. There was nothing I could do to save them, not out there in the middle of the swamp. Even if I were back in the city, I wouldn’t be a help to anyone. I had barely survived the Bacalou attack and my sphere of information was lacking on this subject. They could’ve been people I knew. That was the thought that kept echoing through my head, driving me insane. The room started feeling like the walls were closing in on me. I had never had an issue with claustrophobia before however, I was well on my way to a full blown panic. The need to get out became so overwhelming, that it drove me to my feet and towards the bedroom door in the blink of an eye.
Inching the door open slowly, I tried to avoid the telltale squeak of rusty hinges in desperate need of oil proved fruitless. The squeak that let loose from the hinges, just hung in the air and echoed through the small space, alerting anyone nearby to my presence. I stood there, just outside the bedroom door, frozen, listening intently for any signs of consciousness elsewhere in the house. Mama’s door remained closed across the narrow corridor with the even snoring to answer my question. She was deeply asleep. As gingerly as I could manage, I navigated my way down the short hall, hyper aware of the several loose boards that I had noticed over the last two days. Peeking at the worn and threadbare couch then around at the tiny expanse of the living room, I noticed something was off.
Rhys.
He was missing from his make shift bed where he had been sleeping during our stay.
Great.
My chance of getting outside for some fresh air and some peace and quiet were getting slimmer as I realized he wasn’t in the cabin. The space continued to grow smaller around me. My breaths came faster than they should have. No longer caring, I bolted for the door in a rapid, tip-toed sprint through the living room and kitchen, across the thirty feet separating me from the freedom of the great outdoors. Attempting to be as quiet as possible, I slowly turned the iron knob, trying to avoid jiggling and swung the door open. Once I heard the distinct click of the, I dashed through the entryway. It was best to treat my escape like a bandage- just do it fast.
I burst forth into the sticky night air to be welcomed by the singing cicadas and the crooning of the frogs. Being utterly unfamiliar with the swamp night life, I was rather surprised to find that it sounded like something out of Jurassic Park. It was incredibly loud and deathly silent at the same time in some kind of weird battle for dominance. It was silent in the sense that the lack of other human noise like that in New Orleans made me conscious of the deafening songs of wildlife that was either absent or overlooked back at home. But at least out here I could breathe. There wasn’t the stench of stale beer and filth that was so common along Bourbon Street or the mechanical aromas wafting from the barges and ships in the Mississippi River. Out here, the air was clean, crisp. It smelled like earth and wet vegetation, mixing to create something intoxicating. I filled my lungs to capacity with the heavy air, basking in the sweetness of the moment, remembering that this could be one of my last moments of freedom. Freedom to be myself, freedom to be alone and unsupervised, and the freedom to be vulnerable.
Tipping my head back, I gazed up at the night sky, watching the twinkling cosmos with wonder. The stars were so vast that I almost couldn’t believe it. You didn’t get to see things like that back in the cities, where the smog and light pollution drowns out all but the very few brightest stars. This was unbelievable.
“Wow,” I whispered to myself. It was barely audible.
A tear escaped down my cheek. It was bittersweet. There I was, staring at the most beautiful sight and all I could think was that I really wished my parents and Angie could be there with me to see it all. I just wished that I wasn’t so alone. They say that no man is an island but it sure seemed like this woman was one. Wanting just a moment more to allow myself to wallow in self-pity, I walked out to the rickety dock. To be completely honest, I wasn’t brave enough to perch myself on the edge and dangle my feet in the water. The recent memory of the extra large alligator came flooding back. Yeah, there were alligators out there, lots of them. Big ones, waiting in the dark for their chance at an easy meal.
I stood at the edge for a moment, looking out over the glassy calm waters wondering, was there another Bacalou out there waiting to pounce? Turning my thoughts back to myself, I realized that the entire ordeal had made me incredibly paranoid what with the constant feeling of being watched and thinking that someone was after me all the time. Hopefully soon, my life would calm down and find some semblance of normal. Would I have a life to live after this? Would facing the unknown be my last experience in this world? I hoped not. Decidedly, I needed something more. Walking back a few feet, I plopped down in the middle of the dock far enough away from the water’s edge to feel at least a modicum of safety.
“What have you gotten yourself into Maya?” I asked myself quietly. Speaking loudly out there felt like I was disturbing something holy, it just felt wrong to break the stillness of the night with my chatter.
The swamp was no less vibrant at night than during the day, although it was different. It was buzzing with a much different class of beings. These were creatures of the night, predators that stalked in the darkness and thrived by doing so. The old boards creaked behind me and the tiny hairs stood erect on my neck, sensing a presence, knowing that I was no longer alone. I twisted my neck with bated breath, to see what was there.
It was Rhys.
“What are you doing out here by yourself at night?” he asked gently, like I was a doe who was quick to spook.
“I could ask you the same question,” I stated pointedly.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Yeah, me neither. All of this is just overwhelming and I can’t seem to be able to make my brain shut off.” Well, okay, that was partially true. I wasn’t ready to admit that I needed time alone and he was impeding that. Being rude wasn’t going to get me anywhere and who knew, maybe I could use the company. He walked the distance separating us and settled down next to me. There we were, the two of us sitting cross-legged on a dock, in the heart of the Louisiana swampland.
The moon was high in the sky. It was quite late, but I was wide awake and every inch of me was buzzing next to this mesmerizing man. Noticing his beautifully, sculpted features against the moonlight couldn’t be helped. I gulped. Damn, he was handsome with his hair so thick that I just wanted to run my fingers through it. He looked up at me from under hooded ey
es. They were twinkling when the light caught them. He had that expression again, the same one he’d had just before he’d kissed me. It had burned me once already, left me hanging while he acted unaffected and then ignored me. The need to steel myself against his charm was ingrained within me. I didn’t want to see that rejection again, not by this gorgeous man that had been playing with my feelings since we had met that fateful night in the Spotted Cat.
“Look, I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry about earlier, about all of this actually. I just,” he paused. He was glanced around like he was uncomfortable before returning his beautiful, dark eyes back to me. “Freaked out a bit I guess. It was a real shitty thing to do to you. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that… or at all.” He was stumbling in his apology. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry that I hurt you and I was acting like a total jackass and I can promise you that I will try my hardest to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Can you forgive me?”
He felt sorry for me and that stung, but I didn’t need or want his pity. Desperate wasn’t my style and I wasn’t about to chase a man. I was stronger than that, yet I couldn’t help that my belly clenched at his words. Rhys was another man that I could add to the collection of men that I had wanted over the years but could never have. He sounded so sincere it almost hurt to watch him say the words, it was something I wanted to commit to memory. No other man, especially not Mike, had ever been so heartfelt and sincere in an apology to me before. And he seemed so hopeful that I knew I didn’t have a hope’s chance in hell of refusing his request. He was already forgiven.
“Thanks, but I get it. It was a mistake and that’s okay. And I forgive you, I really do, but I don’t want your pity. At least now we know where we stand with each other,” I said with a small reassuring smile, trying to let him know that I meant it as much as I could muster.
“Is that what you think? That I pity you? That I thought all of this was a mistake?” he said disbelievingly.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. I kept my chin tucked down while I played with a reed that had been growing up between the planks. A part of me wanted to pretend like I wasn’t here and hadn’t heard what he’d said to me. The other part, granted it was a much, much smaller part, was screaming at me that this was my chance! Being a coward was the route that I had unconsciously taken before he reached out and oh so gently took ahold of my chin. He tipped my head up and back a bit so I was staring him directly in the eye.
“No, I don’t pity you, Maya Thibodeau. In fact, I think you are an incredibly strong woman who has had more shit laid at her feet than most people do in a lifetime. You’ve handled yourself with more composure than I could have.”
I was biting my lip, a nervous habit, and he was leaning in only inches from my face to get his point across. His thumb ran from my chin, along my jaw and up my cheek. My heart was racing and his warm breath fanned over my face, enveloping me in his being. We were so close that I wouldn’t have to move much to touch his alluring lips. I hadn’t noticed it before, but if you really examined him closely, the thinnest of scars was just to the side of his chin. It gave him some character. Somehow, I thought of him as more rugged and manly because of it. Rhys scooted a couple inches in my direction, positioning himself comfortably towards me.
“As for that kiss, I don’t regret a single second of it.”
“Hold on, whaa…” I was cut off before I could finish my sentence when his lips crashed down on mine. My craving for him was stronger than my will power to stop myself. I decided I would allow myself this and to hell with what came after. Whatever it was, I would deal with. The walls that I had erected to keep him away and prevent him from seeing the damaged girl underneath, came crumbling down and through the dust, the only thing discernable was my want for him. He smelled earthy and manly with an undertone of sweat. The nightly noises of the insects and wildlife fell away. We were the only people in the world in that moment.
Turning to face him, I leaned into him. Twining my fingers into his hair, I pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. His thick muscled arms moved, and held me to him as I shifted to straddle his legs. The kiss was tentative at first, gentle explorations while we familiarized ourselves with each other. He traced the seam of my mouth with his ardent tongue, requesting entry, which I granted coyly. Taking control, he caressed my tongue with his own, tasting my lips in between. It was unyielding and smooth with just the perfect amount of pressure. He wasn’t pulling back or being hesitant in any way, so I threw caution to the wind.
A small moan rung in my throat. Electricity zinged and sparked its way down my spine. I was burning from the inside out, but I felt like I was floating on air and as light as a feather in his arms. I’d burn for him without a doubt. He laid us both back onto the small dock’s surface breaking apart for only a second. As he settled over top of me, he was staring down at me with ardent wanting. I was so excited that I was vibrating. My lace panties were well past saving, they were drenched. He leaned back down to me as I reached out for him. We crashed back together, grabbing at each other as if we were dying of thirst in a hot desert and the other was a glass of ice water. This was not the controlled kissing we had just shared. No, this was carnal; lust had clouded everything leaving us in a daze.
Rhys’s hand moved back to my face. His thumb traced over my jaw while the other moved to my side, firmly gripping my hip within his long slender fingers. The pressure increased against me as he ground his hips into me, letting me feel how much he wanted me. His tongue moved nimbly against my own. We were so hungry for each other that neither of us was ready to part for fear of losing ourselves and what we had in this moment. The sizzling feeling still coursed through me, urging me back towards Rhys. It wasn’t just the feeling of being incredibly turned on. No. This was different. I think it was my magic reaching out for his. Magic calling out to magic like some kind of evolutionary phenomena urging two of the same kind together.
He groaned into my mouth in an answer to the small sounds that had escaped from me. After several moments of devouring each other blissfully, we broke apart and stared at each other hungrily. The air between us sparked with the electrical tensions. I licked my lips to savor the taste of him. My swollen lips pulsated as I took in the world around me for the first time since the kiss began. It was so indescribably peaceful and the swamp glowed with the moonlight and the cosmos above.
“Maya…” Rhys whispered, sounding almost in pain. I could feel him rock hard against the flesh of my thigh through the coarse denim of his jeans as a stark contrast. He looked so desperate for my flesh. I knew without him needing to ask what he was asking. He was asking permission. No going back, no more wishy-washy, hot and cold behavior. He was asking for me to surrender myself to this, to us, for the night. I lowered my chin, giving consent without having to give voice to it. At that moment, I wasn’t sure I could’ve made a sound. A slow smile spread across his face before he dove back down to kiss me again.
Rhys’s hand moved from my hip, kneading my side and sliding under my white blouse. His deft hand worked its way up to my bra and filled his hand with my breast. He gave it a little squeeze before working its way around to my back. With a quick flick of his fingers, he had the bra clasp unlocked, freeing my breasts to his attentions. I quickly began to work the buttons of my blouse undone, needing him to be closer. Wanting to feel his warm body pressed against mine. My shirt lay wide open, exposing me completely to him and he didn’t disappoint. His eyes ate up every piece of me that he could see. Within seconds my bra and shirt lay in the dirt as Rhys latched his needy mouth to my nipples, alternating between the two. The ache between my legs was becoming too much and I squirmed trying to get as much friction as I could to help alleviate the need. I wouldn’t be able to last much longer; I would need him inside of me. His free hand worked the button on my jeans free and slid the zipper down and slid his hand between my flesh and the fabric. He worked his fingers, exploring my slippery folds as he found my swollen nub and circ
led it mercilessly.
“Uhhnnn,” I moaned loudly, no longer able to stay quiet as my pleasure ratcheted up further. His hands kept working over me and leaving me shaking and panting. I was so desperate for release that I decided to take matters into my own hands. I pushed Rhys up off of me and stood quickly. I rid myself of the troublesome jeans that stood between me and my finale.
Sliding my pants down my legs as seductively as I could, I eyed him. I wondered why I was the only one naked while my panties were finding their way to my pile of discarded clothes.
Tipping my chin towards Rhys, I let him know what I expected from him. “Your turn. Strip,” I said huskily.
He stood and pulled his grey t-shirt over his head in one move, tossing it to join my own clothes. This was the first time I’d gotten a clear view of the masterpiece beneath the layers. It was much better than the quick peeks of his taught abs when his shirt had shifted slightly. His stomach was toned. The outlines and indentations of his abs could be seen in the light being cast around the swamp. His chest had a smattering of dark hair on it with a trail leading down south past his waistband. He hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of his jeans, but paused for a moment to watch me as I stepped towards him completely bare. I reached out towards him and unsnapped his jeans before pushing them down over his hips. The bulge in his briefs was very prominent and I was pleased to see that I was having the same effect on him that he had on me.
Stepping back, I took in the whole picture and boy, was this man sexy as hell. He pulled off his briefs allowing his manhood to spring free and bob in time with his pulse in the night air. My cheeks heated and I lifted my eyes, not wanting to stare and take the risk of making things awkward between us. Deep down, I was fascinated and wanted to look at it all day.