Tortured Soul

by Julia Laque

  Barefoot, she walked to him and put her hand on his chest. Adam flinched and his eyes shot open. They stared at one another the way only they knew how, with intensity unlike any other and irrevocable love.

  Adam’s heated blue gaze moved to her hand on his chest. He covered it with his own, squeezing it gently to his heart.

  Evangeline rose up on her toes and leaned in to place her lips on his and his breath caught before he broke contact.

  “I can’t. You’re…I’m not…good. God, Evangeline, you deserve so much more.” He reached up to cup her face in his hands. “You are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and a shit like me shouldn’t even be in the same room with you.”

  Evangeline shook her head slowly. “But we are in the same room and you, Adam, are the most beautiful man I have ever seen.”

  He gaped at her as her tears began to fall in earnest now and she went on, her throat tight, her voice heavy.

  “I know I have to leave…”

  Adam’s face contorted again and his jaw flexed.

  “But, I can’t leave without telling you…I’m in love with you.”

  “Jesus.” Adam groaned and pulled her to him. His lips crushed hers painfully, tasting her salty tears as they moved wildly together, clutching anything they could get their hands on. The kiss became feverish, consumed in passion, hurt, love, pain…

  They both felt the instant the kiss turned into something else. Evangeline moaned against his mouth and reached down to his jeans, unbuckling, unzipping…

  He pulled back again, gripping her wrists. “Oh God, baby, don’t.” Adam was panting hard, his breath caressing her skin.

  Evangeline freed her wrist and nodded at him. Taking his hands, she pulled them around her waist, then slipped her hand down his briefs and grasped his arousal. Her mouth found a perfect crevice at his throat and her lips moved hungrily over his skin.

  Adam shuddered and cried out. “Baby, please.” He begged, lax under her ministrations. “Are you sure about this?”

  Evangeline’s hand pumped slowly up and down in his pants, loving the way his face strained with intensity. She reached up to kiss his mouth. “I’ve never been more certain about anything else in my entire life.”

  Adam trembled again at her touch. “If we don’t stop now, I won’t be able to later.”

  Evangeline looked at him. “Good.” And then she stepped back and pulled her camisole over her head, revealing her breasts.

  Adam’s eyes flashed yellow and he pounced with a growl.

  ****

  His body was on fire.

  Evangeline stood before him, topless. He could stare at her perfect breasts forever.

  They were impeccably round, with the sweetest nipples pointed straight at him.

  He didn’t waste any time, but made his move.

  She was his and he was going to have every inch of her.

  Adam kissed her roughly, molding her lips to his as he picked her up and carried her to the couch. He sat her down with her back to the cushions and knelt down in between her legs on the old sheepskin.

  Evangeline moved her hands all over him as she kissed him back. She reached down to lift his shirt off and he leaned back for half a second to get rid of the damn thing before coming back to her. This time he reached for her breasts. He held one in his right hand, rubbing his thumb over the nipple as he flicked the other with his tongue. Her raspy moans did crazy things to him.

  He couldn’t believe he was right here, with Evangeline, kissing her, touching her, licking her…

  He had to have more. Suddenly, Adam felt the greed of a possessed man. He reached down to the waist of her pants and without losing the grip of his mouth on her nipple, he eased her flimsy pants off.

  His woman was going commando.

  “Jesus Christ.” Adam looked up at her. She must have seen something in his gaze, because her eyes widened briefly and then she smiled. Evangeline reached for him and kissed him fiercely, arching her back off the cushions, grabbing his hips, pulling him further between her thighs. She grinded against his jeans and even through the denim, Adam felt how hot and wet she was.

  Coming up, he captured her tiny waist with his hands, and watched her face, breasts, and torso writhe before him as he pushed himself on her.

  “Adam, please.” Evangeline’s sweet voice moaned. “I need you inside me.” She grabbed at his forearms now, her head thrown back above the cushions.

  “I know, babe. Soon.” Adam didn’t know where to look. Her head was back, but she was staring at him from beneath her lowered lids. It was sexy as hell. If he slipped inside her now, he was going to come in half a second. He had to make this last.

  Adam leaned over her and kissed her full lips softly now before making his tour down her luscious body. He made sure to pay homage to her two beautiful orbs before traveling down to her flat stomach. As he worked his way down, he wrapped both arms around her two toned thighs, positioning her just the way he wanted.

  He sat down on his haunches and gazed at his delicious prize.

  “Oh, baby.” He moaned.

  Adam tried to control himself as he lowered himself between her legs, but it was no use. He went in like a madman, tongue out and slipping through her folds to penetrate as deep as he could.

  Evangeline cried out and jerked her shoulders back, lifting her hips to him. Her nails dug into his skin on his arms where they remained securely fastened around her thighs, moving them in the direction he needed them to go.

  He continued on, roaming his tongue along her slick sex until he found what he was looking for. Once his mouth discovered her perfect jewel, it didn’t let go. He sucked it and Evangeline shuddered, her moans growing louder, then Adam flicked his tongue rapidly, making her scream. He felt her body spasm as she climaxed.

  Adam savored every taste of her before coming back up. He came down and fastened his mouth on her breast as he unbuttoned his jeans.

  A tiny sense of reality crept into his mind as he released himself right against her sweet sex and he paused. Adam laid his head to the side on her chest, hugging her hips to him.

  “Adam?”

  He was silent for a long time before he spoke. She felt so perfect in his arms. “Evangeline, are you sure—”

  She cut him off and brought his head up an inch before hers. “Yes. Adam, I love you.” Evangeline’s voice is what killed him. He felt how much she loved him in the way she spoke. “I don’t want to think about anything else tonight. I just want it to be you and me.”

  His heart swelled and he kissed her gently. When he pulled back, his eyes seared hers. “I love you, Evangeline. God, I love you more than anything in this world.”

  As he kissed her with all the love he possessed, he slipped himself inside her, stretching her, filling her up with all of him. Her eyes closed as she moaned, “Oh God, Adam.”

  It was all he needed. He began to move slowly, and then his body overcame him, his movements becoming faster.

  Evangeline was tight and wet around him. It took every ounce of control he had not to find release. He’d waited so long to have her, he wasn’t going to finish yet.

  Adam kept moving inside her, his thighs working hard as they slammed against the couch. He leaned back slightly to watch their body’s union as he pumped in and out of her sweet flesh. Lifting his head to look at her, a low growl escaped him. Her olive eyes were half closed and her lips were swollen and moist from their kissing. Her head pulled back against the cushion and she gasped through short breaths, “I’m coming! I’m—”

  He lost it.

  Wrapping her legs around his waist, Adam reached up to grab the back of the sofa and drove into her with increasing force, finding his own release. He heard his deep moans mingle with hers. His hips slowed as he spilled himself in her hot core, his body shuddering as he came down.

  It was a good thing they were in the middle of the woods because their moans would have startled any neighbor.

  Adam slumped on top of he
r, trying to ease the pounding in his chest. Evangeline’s hands came up to massage his head softly, sending chills down his spine.

  He didn’t want to let her go. Fuck, he was still inside her. How in God’s name could he live without…

  A thought came to him just then, and he sat up. “Are you on something?” he asked.

  She looked at him. “What do you mean, like birth control?” Evangeline was still lying back, looking sated and gorgeous. “I take the pill.”

  “Ah. Ok.” Adam nodded, breathlessly. “You know I’m safe, right? Weres don’t get diseases.”

  “I know.” Caressing his face now, she gazed at him with such love he felt his chest constrict.

  Another fucking thought crept into his wheel-turning head. “Why are you on the pill?” His face was serious now as he thought about Hot Pants on the bridge by her house.

  She smiled at his frown and smoothed the crease between his brows with her thumb. “To prevent pregnancy…”

  “Who the—” Adam’s furious tone began, but she cut him off.

  “In the event I actually have sex,” she soothed.

  Before he could stop himself, he blurted, “What about your guy on the bridge?”

  Evangeline looked at him for a moment. “That was you? In the woods?”

  Adam clamped his mouth shut sheepishly.

  Smirking, she shook her head at him. “I didn’t sleep with Richard, if that’s what you’re thinking, but it’s always good to be prepared.”

  The fact she hadn’t slept with the guy only slightly eased his anxiety. He came up and zipped his pants. Evangeline gave him a worried look, but then he lay down on the couch and brought her on top of him. He reached over behind him to grab a knitted throw and wrapped it around her.

  “You were with someone once.” It wasn’t a question. She obviously was not a virgin. It didn’t matter to him, but his sick jealous side had to know who he or they were.

  Evangeline looked down at his chest. “Yes, but do you really want—”

  “Yes,” he said simply.

  She nodded and thought for a moment, then shrugged. “It was about two years ago, when I was in college. We dated for a few months. I thought I was in love and so…we did.”

  Adam was watching her carefully. “What happened?”

  Evangeline shook her head and her soft hair tickled his chest. “I don’t know. He disappeared.”

  Adam looked incredulous. “He ditched you?”

  Casting him an exasperated look, she answered, “Yes, and thanks for putting it lightly. He ditched me. There.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just hard to believe. Were you hurt?”

  Evangeline thought for a moment as if she were solving a math problem in her head. “You know, I wasn’t as upset as everyone thought I should be. I guess I really wasn’t in love with him. It was probably just a crush.”

  The thought of Evangeline with some faceless man set his blood to boiling. He wasn’t stupid. He knew women didn’t always wait till they were married to seal the deal. Hell, he lived through the seventies, but times were even faster now. He just had to remember Evangeline loved him.

  But, she wasn’t exactly his.

  Adam played with a tendril of her hair, avoiding eye contact. There was something about the night he’d taken her from her room bugging the hell out of him. “You said you just met Cyrus the other night, right.”

  She looked at him. “Yeah.”

  Cautiously, he went on. “If something happened between the two of you…you could tell me.”

  “Adam!”

  Looking her straight in the face, he said in an even tone. “You called out his name.”

  Evangeline stiffened in his arms. “What?”

  Adam remembered the night he’d slipped into her bedroom. There was a moment he’d just stood there, mesmerized by her and then, she’d called out Cyrus’ name.

  That’s when he’d pulled her out of the bed, roughly. It had bugged him she was dreaming about him. “The night I took you, you were asleep…dreaming about him.” The words coming out of his mouth felt like venom on his tongue. “You were moaning and you kept calling out his name.”

  Adam watched as it all came back to her. He couldn’t believe he was getting all riled up over a dream, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “It wasn’t a good dream, Adam. It was more like a nightmare.”

  He watched her carefully.

  Evangeline kissed his chest and looked him in the eye. “I could never feel that way about him.”

  Adam continued playing with her hair as he mulled it over.

  “Um…Adam, unless you grabbed my pills before you flung me out the window, I really don’t think Cyrus or my past relationships matter at the moment.”

  Looking at her, he could tell she was trying to lighten the mood by changing the subject.

  She smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll double up when I get home. Besides, werewolves are only fertile during the moon heat, so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

  Nodding, he said nothing. Stupid reality was bursting in on their sweet moment and he knew where the conversation was headed.

  “What can I do?” Adam’s calm voice moments before disappeared. He was all business now.

  Evangeline frowned at his chest, wringing her hands between his pectorals. She knew what he was asking and she didn’t want to talk about it, but it was inevitable. She took a deep breath. “There’s nothing you can do. He won’t—”

  “Beg him!”

  She looked up and their eyes locked.

  “Please, Evangeline. I can’t take you back knowing I’ll be taking you to him.” Adam’s hands were holding her tightly to him. “I can pay him back every cent. He can’t…”

  Evangeline was shaking her head. “The money doesn’t matter to him. He wants me and God knows what he’ll do to my family.”

  “Then I’ll kill him.” Something in his voice shocked Evangeline.

  “No.” Her eyes were wide on his. “You wouldn’t do that to your pack and you know it. I know you love me and I know how much you hate him, but your pack will have to face the consequences if Cyrus is killed.”

  She was right and he knew it. They only had this moment to share and he did not want to spend it arguing with her about some motherfucker.

  He came up and lifted her off the couch with him, carrying her to the bedroom.

  He had to take her back, but Adam wasn’t going to let her go until he had to.

  She was his, body and soul, and he was going to savor every moment.

  Chapter Eleven

  Evangeline woke with a start. It was still dark outside and the cabin was as silent as a grave. The only light was the soft, low glow of the waxing moon.

  She felt strong arms around her and Adam's chest at her back. As secure as she was just then she'd never felt more alone in her life.

  This is not going to last, she thought.

  This sweet moment they were sharing would soon end. He was returning her around three in the morning so she could slip inside her house unnoticed.

  She was returning to her family and to her mess of a life, or what was left of her life as it was no longer her own.

  Evangeline tried to imagine living the rest of her life with Cyrus Stewart as her husband and the empty feeling growing inside her became painful. A tear slipped down her cheek and disappeared in her hair. She couldn't picture it at all. Adam’s face always replaced Cyrus'. How on earth was she going to live without Adam?

  Now she understood the sappy my heart is breaking quote. Her heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces. If she was depressed before, it did not compare to the despair she now felt over losing Adam.

  They had become so unbelievably close in such a short amount of time, but it felt as though they had loved a lifetime's worth.

  She felt Adam stiffen behind her and knew he was feeling the terrible pain she was silently going through. His arms squeezed tighter around her and he buried his face in her hair.<
br />
  "Please don't cry, babe." Adam's soft whisper made her cry harder.

  Evangeline turned into his arms and hugged him fiercely to her. "I don't know if I can do this," she sobbed. "I know I have to, but the thought of never seeing you again kills me."

  Adam held her, not saying a word. She knew he was fighting to control himself.

  There was no solution for them; no solution would bring them any happiness or contentment. It was out of their control. It was as if they were puppets and the Vampire King of North America held the strings.

  Evangeline looked up and their gazes met. There were so many unspoken words between them.

  "We should go," she said suddenly. "The longer I stay, the harder this is going to be."

  They got up and dressed in silence. Neither one of them made eye contact as they readied themselves for the journey home.

  They made their way out the door and Evangeline was startled as Adam lifted her in his arms. He smiled boyishly at her and her heart tightened, cutting off the ability to breathe. “Next time, I’ll grab shoes for you too,” he joked in a small voice and nodded at her bare feet.

  She held on to him tightly as he took off at a steady run and she managed to take a last glance at the cabin, which, at first, had been her prison and had quickly become their sanctuary.

  They didn’t break the silence until they were close to her home. The trip back was longer than it had been a few days ago. He wasn’t running at a fast pace, but more of a jog. She didn’t know where exactly they were, but she knew they had to be close and anxiety laced through her once more.

  Evangeline’s head had been tucked in the crook of his neck, but their impending end made her panic and she had to look at him.

  She didn’t need supernatural powers to sense Adam’s nervousness. His face was set in stone and the pain in his eyes made her shatter and she began to tremble.

  Adam finally looked at her and his face softened somewhat.

  “Please,” she whispered as the tremors ran through her body and the tears spilled from her eyes, knowing he felt exactly what she needed.