by Nicola Rose
He seemed to be physically straining with effort, as if finishing a workout, his face a crumpled picture of anguish, eyes burning with desire. Veins popped out along his forehead, his teeth gritted. My whole body cried out for him. His touch was icy cold, and yet somehow it warmed me, set my body on fire, burning with an aching need.
I began to pray that he would bend me over right there and fuck me. I doubted anyone would even find that shocking back on South Padre, I’d already seen masses of people engaged in public sex acts.
“There’s a time and a place for that,” he said through a tight smile, breaking the moment.
“For what?” I asked breathlessly, struggling to regain some composure.
“For public fucking. Before that, I’d rather we go private and you give me my own personal show? I’ve seen what you can do on a stage.” He stepped to the side and gave my ass a firm slap, hard enough to make me jump. “And that’s just to get you started on the pink ass I owe you.”
Zac told me to wait and he disappeared for ten minutes, returning with a helmet for me. He sat astride his bike and waited for me to join him, looking like a retro sex-machine in his leathers and white t-shirt.
By the time we got back to the island it was late into the night. He pulled up at my motel, and I was about ready to burst with excitement after hours on the bike just thinking about what would happen when he came inside.
I’d just swung my leg off the bike when another pulled up beside us in a blazing hurry, gravel crunching and spraying as it skidded to a stop. The rider wasn’t wearing a helmet. He nodded at me, then Zac. Cute, yet sexy face, straggly surfer-esque blonde hair. I’d seen him lots of times before, always at Zac’s side, but he’d never acknowledged me.
Zac stared hard at him. Surfer guy stared back. I stared from one to the other, wondering if they were actually going to speak.
“I’m really sorry, Jess,” Zac sighed. “I can’t stay. There’s something I need to deal with.”
“You can’t be serious? You’re going to run off on me again? What’s so important? Another beach party? And who the hell is this, anyway?”
I stared hatred into the surfer-twat through squinted eyes, and he held out his hand.
“Leon,” he declared, smiling, as if the introduction made it all okay.
I shook it half-heartedly and returned my glare to Zac. He didn’t say anything, just gave me an apologetic smile of his own. His jaw was set tight, grinding his teeth. As fucking usual. Someone should give him an Oscar for the dramatic expressions.
“There’s so much explaining that you owe me. I have so many doubts that I can’t even keep track of which ones are the most important. But right now, the biggest issue is that you’re a complete asswipe,” I said.
“This motel is trash,” he replied. “There are much better ones on the North, I’ll find you one.”
“What?! What the fuck are you on?”
“You’re in danger. I need time to think.”
He shook his head and slipped away into the night. Again.
Motherfucker.
13
Zac
“Alexander is dead blood. He’s crossed a line. I’m taking him down,” I stormed, slamming my fist clear through a table. The cabinet and chairs were already broken, laying about in pieces, thanks to the rage that I couldn’t hold in check. Leon stood in front of the giant TV on the wall, self-assigned protector of it, lest I smash that too and deny him of his stupid racing games.
“Why would he try to kill her like that?” Leon asked.
“Because if he took her then I’d find out. He was trying to cover his tracks by making it a random event off the island. Or maybe just to fuck with me, I don’t know.”
“But why would he want to kill her in the first place?”
Selena’s face flashed under my eyelids. Why indeed. Because he wants to take everything from me.
“Because of her damned crazy aura,” I replied. “He’s threatened by her, by not knowing what she is. He thinks she’s involved in the attacks on us. Whoever that is, they set fire to his bar, too.”
“You don’t agree she’s involved? You must admit, it seems a bit of a coincidence that she’s arrived now,” Ruben said from across the room.
“She doesn’t even know what she is. She’s not part of it. A simple scan of her thoughts on me can make that clear,” I said.
“Not if she’s got the ability to control the thoughts she puts out. What if she’s stopping you seeing? What if you’re too wrapped up in the spell cast by her sweet pussy that you can’t see it?” Ruben sneered.
I lunged for him. He sidestepped and spun round, ready for the next attempt. Leon got between us, an impatient look on his face.
“Or,” Ruben added over Leon’s shoulder. “What if you end up being the one that kills her? Alex tried to do you a favour. We all know that if you continue on this path then you’re going to lose it and take her out. Then what?”
“You doubt my strength?” I asked Leon, slowly turning to meet the eyes of the other members of my Cell in the room.
They’re weak, all of them. They all doubt you. Don’t tolerate their insubordination.
“Of course not,” Leon said. “I mean. I don’t know. This has never happened before. You’ve never been challenged this way. You’re different.”
They all sat around, eyes lowered. The sitting room was vast, yet it felt claustrophobic at that moment. It was hard enough battling the duelling forces inside my own head; I didn’t need fights breaking out with my men over it, too.
“She’s different, but you’re going to have to trust me. I admit, I don’t know who she is, but I know that I need her. And right now she’s not safe. I want one man shadowing her at all times when I’m not with her. Leon, sort that out for me.” I held my position and resisted the urge to pace up and down. Or to break something else. Maybe Ruben’s face…
Leon nodded in reply, just as a shrill giggle contaminated my ears from the adjoining room. A handful of drunken ladies were shrieking in excitement at being in our mansion, waiting for the boys to come and play. Their mindless chatter threatened to make me explode. I rubbed my temples, concentrating, clearing the external noise.
“Why are there girls here? You’re partying under our current threat, like nothing is wrong, then you have the nerve to come in here and challenge me?!” I yelled.
Punish them.
Ruben huffed in the corner, itching to let it out. I wished he would go someplace else. Disappear with his ponytail and ridiculous clothes and attitude, away from my Cell. I could banish him, but that would really upset his sister, Eva. And that was a whole other argument for another time.
I stared, waiting for him to acknowledge me. “Come on, Ruben. Don’t go shy on me now. For someone who doesn’t give a damn about me, or our way of life, you’ve sure been showing a lot of attention to Jess.”
“I care about Eva. What affects her, affects me.”
“She can take care of herself.”
“You’re mistaken.”
“Because of the one time she needed you? I was a different person then. She’s moved on from it, why can’t you?”
“If anything happens to her while she’s under your leadership, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”
“You and me both,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“OK, boys, there’s only so much of this bullshit I can sit and listen to,” Eva rose up and walked over to stand beside me, confirming her allegiance. “We’ve been here before. If it wasn’t Jess, or the recent attacks, it would be something else, Ruben. You’ll always find stuff to fight about. Just leave it. Please.”
The attacks. The dead vampires. As if Jess’s arrival alone didn’t give me enough to deal with. I had someone targeting us and the Bael threatening to come deal with it. Now my brother was trying to kill said girl, who had wandered onto my island, all sweetness and sass, with an aura that made her appear like an angel, and a scent that made me want to set th
e devil loose to devour her.
My guys were right to be worried. I had no useful information on what was going on, who was killing us. There was a weird, fuzzy energy around the dead vampires, blurring any scents or clues. They thought I was going to screw up and allow more of us to get killed, because my mind was elsewhere and not where it should be.
Or that Jess would undo my restraint and I’d go on a savage island rampage, uprooting our little life we have here. Or that worse still, Alexander would find a way to use all this emotion in me to his advantage and force me to activate the Legacy, which would probably tear me away from the Cell forever.
“I heard Romeo got killed. They’re picking off Alex’s Cell, too,” Leon commented.
“No, that was Alexander’s own work. Romeo messed up letting that missing girl escape. He paid the price, Alexander made an example of him.”
Ruben stormed past. That’s right. Leave before you become one of my examples.
“Time to get dirty, ladies,” he said in the room next door.
“Anyone else want to challenge me? Or you want to go let off steam, too?” I asked.
Everyone vacated the room in a split second, and I begrudgingly followed them through to the party. A couple of girls glued themselves to me with speed almost as impressive as my own. One of them smelled pretty good. Nothing close to Jess, but enough to make me uneasy with need. She started rubbing my dick which didn’t help.
I let them touch me for a while, without reciprocating. What was the point? I didn’t want to touch them. I wanted to touch the one girl that I couldn’t. After a while they gave up and trotted over to Leon, who was busy making out with another two already.
Leaving them to it, I marched down the hallway. Eva emerged from the basement, wiping blood from her lips. She put a petite hand on my shoulder and pulled me close.
“She doesn’t look like Selena, doesn’t smell like her, or act like her, and yet Selena is all I can think about when I look at her,” I sighed. “What I did to Selena… I can’t let that happen again. Not to Jess.”
“You’re not that man anymore,” she replied, rubbing my shoulder.
“If I don’t destroy her, then Alexander will. He’s still the same man. He’ll take her from me. History will repeat. I can’t keep her safe, there are too many dangers in this world. And I can’t take the pain of losing another love, it would push me back into darkness. They’re right, this is a mistake. I need to drive her off the island before it’s too late.”
“Sshhhh,” she whispered, running a blood stained finger along my lip until I shuddered. “Don’t stress it, baby. I trust you. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. You’ll handle it… all of it. But you can’t go near her without getting a fix first. You’re too hungry. Go fill your boots.”
She slapped my ass playfully and I continued past her, down the basement steps.
14
Jess
Funny how the sight of a mere piece of paper can make you fill with instant rage, but that’s precisely what happened when I saw the white sheet fluttering on my Ducati. People leaving flyers under your car wipers is one thing, but touching my baby and taping it to the seat?! That’s taking the piss.
I ripped it away and went to screw it up, when the writing caught my eye,
YOU’RE PLAYING WITH FIRE… LEAVE BEFORE YOU ARE BURNED
Written in scrawling red letters above an advert for a firefighter vacancy out of state.
What the hell? I mounted the bike and sped up the street, hesitating at the junction before taking the turn towards Anna’s apartment. It was Sunday, she should be home, she always had Sunday off and then rotated her other days.
“What do you think this means?” I shoved the paper into her hands as soon as she opened the door.
Before she had a chance to reply I was ranting, “Zac used those words with me the other night after poker. He said I liked playing with fire. Who did this? Was it him trying to be funny? I thought the games were over?”
Anna didn’t say anything, she shifted about not looking at me, so I carried on, “He was weird last night. One of his twatty friends pulled him away and he ditched me for the hundredth time, saying he needed to think. Then he does this? Where the fuck are his balls hiding? He couldn’t tell me to my face? He blows hot and cold every five fucking minutes—”
“Have you tried talking to him, instead of speculating?” Anna offered.
“I can’t. I have such an uneasy feeling about this. I’ve been feeling sick from the moment I found it.”
I marched up and down her apartment and tripped over a pair of massive Doc Martens boots. I muttered further obscenities as I picked them up, noticing that they sure as hell were not Anna’s. She gestured to the bedroom.
“I have a guest,” she said under her breath.
“Right,” I replied briskly. “Sorry, I’ll leave you guys.”
As I was saying the words a man I vaguely recognised came through and took his boots from my hands. I’d definitely seen him around the island. He had an appearance you didn’t forget. Hard face, thick black beard, dressed head-to-toe in black. Attractive, but rough around the edges.
“Don’t worry,” he said, his voice deep and commanding. “My work here is done…for now.” He gave Anna a wink and then returned his gaze to me, smiling for a while until Anna sniffed to break the silence. He turned and kissed her for a long time while I stood waiting, not knowing where to look.
“Thanks, Anna, I’ll call you,” he finally broke the kiss and left us standing there, contemplating each other in silence.
“I’ll put the kettle on, shall I?” she asked, as she ambled into the kitchen. “Go on, I know you don’t want to talk about me and William. Carry on.”
“Fuck it!” I yelled instantly. “He thinks I like playing games?! At least I don’t do stupid shit like this. I should have known, all those bimbos hanging around him. He probably plays with a different woman each week and then gets bored. Well, I have completely run out of fucks. Zero left. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me like this. He can go to hell.” And with that, I threw myself down on the sofa in protest.
“Did you get any answers about the bungee jump incident, or just suck his face off all night?” she asked, playing with her hair, which had a distinctly ruffled just-fucked look about it.
“Not really. I have a million unanswered questions, to be honest.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“I know, I know. I should walk away. But there’s this magnetism. I can’t help it. I can’t get him out of my head.”
“Well, I’m writing to the company and issuing a formal complaint. Whatever happened, it was messed up. The police need to be involved,” she said, casting me a sideways look as if too afraid to face me full on with this news.
“I understand, you’re right. Do what you need to.”
We settled into another awkward silence, flicking through TV stations. The hours passed slowly. Evening approached and I was adamant I didn’t want to go out and bump into him, so we continued to sit, bored and uneasy.
When the shrill ring of my phone went off we nearly leapt from our skin. I ought to change the tone to something more subtle.
“What?” I snapped.
“I was hoping I’d have seen you at the beach by now. You are coming out tonight?” Zac replied.
“Is this a joke? What is wrong with you? Do you have some sort of multiple personality disorder?” My voice rose with each word.
A quiet pause stretched out.
“I see. I know you think I’ve done something bad, but I haven’t,” he said, calm as ever. That was bullshit, I could picture the completely not-calm body language he always had going on. He might have good control over his voice, but his body told a different story.
“How do you know if you didn’t do it, Jackass?”
“It’s pretty obvious by your mood.”
“You can’t say you didn’t do it, if you don’t know what IT is.”
He sighed heavily, “Please, Jess, come to the beach and talk to me. I’ll explain.”
“Thanks for coming,” he offered. His face was so beautiful, it wasn’t fair. My heart threatened to rip open at any moment. If this was the end, before we even began… well, I didn’t know how I was supposed to deal with that. How could I have fallen for him so hard? I didn’t even know him.
“Anna practically handcuffed me to try and stop me.” I focussed on the ground, not daring to get sucked into those eyes, not this time.
“Someone’s trying to separate us.”
“Really,” I replied flatly.
He didn’t respond, so in the end I had to look at him. “Who? One of your ex-lovers or dirty groupies jealous of me?”
“I don’t know who did it.”
“So how do you know what it even is? I haven’t told you what happened.”
“No.”
“No?” Could he ever give a straight answer? Oh god. It was his wife, wasn’t it? I bet he was married and playing me, and now she’d found out.
“I’m not that sort of guy.”
“Why do I feel like you answer my thoughts?”
His mouth set in a line and his fingers rapped on the bar. We had somehow made our way to MoJoe’s whilst talking, without me even noticing until now. Danny was there, watching with a weird mix of disgust and longing on his face. Oh hell. Had he left the note? Or even Anna? No, no way.
“How open-minded are you?” Zac asked.
“Enough to try anything once,” I winked at him automatically, which made me furious at myself. I was supposed to be angry with him and yet, as usual, it was diminishing fast under the scrutiny of that deep hazel gaze. Don’t look at him.