Jack-O-Lantern: Dark Desire

by Lacey Savage

  “Heidi is in need of a protector -- a man who will rescue her from the insistent, lustful demands of the beast. I will be that protector!” he announced to the screaming audience. “I will save her from her catastrophic fate!”

  A shuddering roar echoed from within the casket. The sides of the heavy casket bulged outward, as though someone was trying to force them open from within.

  Fuck.

  He was out of time. The real demon would be coming for his sacrifice, and Luke didn’t have a moment to lose.

  Clenching his hands into fists, he murmured the words of the incantation that would make him, Heidi, and the coffin disappear from the stage. If everything worked the way he intended, they’d be safely transported into a pocket of space. There, time wouldn’t flow as it did on Earth, but he had no illusions that the demon wouldn’t find them.

  There wasn’t a place in the Universe the demon couldn’t penetrate with its otherworldly evil. Luke only hoped to have enough time to do what he had to -- and he hoped Heidi would make it easy on both of them.

  As the last of the spell drifted from his lips, a gust of air whooshed around him. He knew what should happen, but the reality of his body vanishing still took him by surprise.

  He concentrated on sweeping the coffin and himself off the earthly constraints of the planet. For one fleeting moment, the world stood still. His heart pounded so hard against his ribcage, he feared it would break right out of his chest.

  And then it was over. The air around him felt thick and heavy, impossibly dark. He knew they’d arrived at their destination.

  Now came the hard part.

  Allowing himself a small sigh, Luke willed his ghostly form to slide into the coffin with Heidi, grateful he’d thought to ask for the largest casket that could be found.

  There was enough room for two people inside, perhaps more, but that didn’t mean she was comfortable. And yet, he knew he couldn’t release her from her confining prison. There was nothing to release her to. If she as much as stepped foot out of the casket, she’d tumble through time and space for all eternity. Not even Luke’s magic could prevent that from happening. His magic, however, could ensure her safety inside the coffin, for as long as he needed her there.

  He couldn’t see her, but the breath hitched his throat as he slid over her. He could feel every inch of her delicious body, from the high, firm breasts, to her slender arms and long legs. He could even feel the coarse material of the sling that supported her broken arm, and a knot formed in his stomach.

  He remembered the silky fall of rich red hair that tumbled in soft waves around her shoulders, the blazing green eyes, the way her lower lip had trembled when he’d forced her into the box. Gods, she was so stunningly beautiful, it took his breath away. And she was pure.

  The demon would have been pleased with her.

  Luke’s cock throbbed. Though his body was as ethereal as a spirit’s, his senses had stayed with him. He could touch her, feel every subtle shift and trembling shudder as her body responded to his caress.

  He couldn’t help himself. Trailing his palms over her ribcage, he cupped her breasts. Her nipples hardened beneath his touch and he tweaked them both between his thumbs and forefingers through the thin material of her T-shirt.

  Heidi whimpered. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

  Luke clenched his jaw to stifle a raw groan. If he spoke, she’d be able to hear him. He’d have to say something soon, though, no matter how much he wanted to put this off. Heidi would have to come to terms with what was happening to her.

  She squirmed when he slid the fingers of his left hand beneath the hem of her long, wet skirt. Her breath came in harsh, ragged gasps, warming his face. He pushed her thin panties aside and nudged the soft mound of curls with his fingertips.

  “Oh, God,” Heidi mewled softly, her words barely words at all. “What’s happening?”

  “Sssh… don’t be frightened,” he soothed, his voice sounding strange and echoey in this far-away cavern of time and space.

  “Luke?”

  He swallowed hard, the rest of his words dissipating on a sigh. How could he tell her that he was about to take something from her she’d guarded her entire life? Would she even believe him? More importantly, would she let him? And what would he do if she didn’t?

  Though he understood better than anyone just how real the threat was, the entire situation sounded absurd, even to him. Yet he knew that the only way to save her was to make sure that when it came for her, the demon would no longer find her suitable for its foul needs. And there was only one way to do that.

  Luke had to take her virginity.

  Chapter Three

  A swarm of dragonflies had settled in Heidi’s stomach, pounding with their relentless fluttering wings at the lower portion of her belly. The heat of their efforts spread lower, pulsing against her pussy as Luke’s lazily questing fingers slid expertly through the seeping wetness that had gathered there.

  Hopelessly, Heidi tried to press her knees together and deny him access to the traitorous part of her that screamed for his touch.

  “Don’t fight me, sweetheart. This will go a lot smoother if you let me pleasure you.”

  Heidi’s pulse thundered in her ears. She fought to push him off her, but there was nothing for her to press against. No body, no solid form at all. Just his smooth, sexy voice and his soul-shattering touch. How could she fight an unseen foe?

  “What will? Why can’t I see you? And what are you going to do to me?”

  She heard him release a deep breath, as though he struggled with inner foes of his own. After what seemed to Heidi like an eternity, hands gripped her inner thighs and thrust her legs open. “I’m going to give you pleasure like you’ve never known before.”

  “Oh.” Squeezing her eyelids shut, Heidi bit down hard on her lower lip, tasting blood. He’d ignored her question about her inability to see or feel him in any real way, but he’d answered the most important question of all.

  He meant to fuck her.

  She clenched her muscles and fought to remain still and passive, knowing that with every second that passed, she wouldn’t be able to resist him.

  Besides, what could she really say that wouldn’t sound like an outright lie? Sure, the entire scenario was terrifying. He’d locked her in a coffin, for Pete’s sake! Yet her awakening, trembling body told her in no uncertain terms just how much she wanted this. She’d wanted it since the moment she’d seen him, looking so incredibly gorgeous in that stupid vampire cape. And that had been before she’d known he was capable of real magic.

  A groan of despair slid from her lips. Damn! What if through his talent he was also able to tell she was a virgin? She’d be mortified if he figured out just how foreign this was to her. Inexperienced thirty-year olds weren’t a turn on to a man like him. They were pathetic.

  She gulped hard and ground her teeth to keep from moaning. She wasn’t a prude, but she was nothing like her adventurous sister, either. Bianca could have any man she wanted, and had, since she hit puberty.

  It wasn’t like Heidi hadn’t wanted to have sex. She had -- plenty of times. It was simply that she’d always been too busy. School had come first, and besides, high school boys could barely hold their end of a conversation. How could she trust them to hold the key to her pleasure in their inept, fumbling hands?

  In med school, between late night study sessions, endless classes and lab work, there’d been no time for dating, and one-night stands seemed so… impersonal. She’d studied anatomy. She knew the human body inside and out, and she knew how to pleasure herself. But as old-fashioned and ridiculous as it sounded, sex had always seemed sacred to her.

  She’d wanted it to mean something; something more than a release of body fluids and a fleeting moment of mutual pleasure.

  So here she was, a few weeks past thirty and lying in a coffin with a man she couldn’t see between her legs, his fingers spreading her labia apart, his tongue --

  “Oh, God!”


  His tongue!

  Covering her pussy with his mouth, Luke delved inside the slick folds. Embarrassed, Heidi tried to lift her knees and push him off, but as before, she held nothing but air in her hands.

  His low chuckle grazed her skin, and she felt her nipples harden beneath the raw sex appeal of the sound.

  “I can taste your readiness, Heidi. I know you want this as much as I want to give it to you.”

  Heidi’s heart fluttered. He sounded so sincere; it made a lump form in her throat. How many nights had she dreamed about what it would be like to finally give in to her ever-growing lust and feel the pleasure of a real man in her bed? Well, this wasn’t exactly her bed and Luke wasn’t quite real, but did that make it any less enjoyable?

  Her cunt burned and throbbed, begging for more of the silky soft feel of his tongue. Still, she couldn’t help asking, “Do you do to this to all the women who take part in your act?”

  She stiffened, waiting for his reply. She desperately hoped he’d say no, yet everything seemed too well planned, too perfect for this to have been the first time for him.

  “There have been other women in my acts, yes.”

  A muscle in Heidi’s throat jerked convulsively and she swallowed hard. She shook her head, knowing she was being foolish. Sex didn’t mean anything. People did it all the time and they didn’t question every single thing about the act, or about their partners. Why couldn’t she do the same? “I see,” she whispered.

  “I’ve never been with any of those women.” Luke slid the tip of his finger over her clit and she raised her hips off the velvet lining in response.

  She wanted to believe him, but her senses told her otherwise. Any man who took advantage of a woman in this manner couldn’t be trusted. The depth of her situation washed over her in wave after wave of sudden terror. That’s exactly what he was doing. Taking advantage of her.

  She was trapped in a coffin -- a coffin, for Pete’s sake! -- with a man intent on doing terrible, wondrous things to her body. And there didn’t seem to be a damn thing she could do about it.

  Her nipples beaded as jagged shivers wrenched their way through her. Luke blew a breath over the wetness at the apex of her thighs, amplifying the tremors. His mouth was so close to her cunt, she could almost feel its ghostly presence. Instinctively, she wiggled her ass and nudged her pussy closer to where she figured his head would be if she could see it.

  He chuckled. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.”

  The arrogance in his voice was infuriating, and for a moment, Heidi forgot to be afraid. “Listen here, you egotistical son of a bitch. I want nothing to do with your --” She gasped as he flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue and thrust a finger deep in her pussy. “Oh, fuck!”

  “Fucking you is exactly what I had in mind,” he whispered, and the words sent a chill of terror and apprehension down her spine.

  Creamy juices seeped from her pussy, coating his finger. She hated the way her inexperienced body responded to him, yet she knew that the harder she fought him, the more impossible it would be to resist when he finally took what he wanted from her.

  She could ask him to stop. The thought crashed like lightning through her mind as her inner muscles clenched around his finger, pulling him deeper. She was sure he’d stop if she asked him to.

  He would… wouldn’t he?

  Trembling, Heidi arched her back, pushing her mound closer to his mouth. As though knowing just what she needed, Luke’s tongue circled her clit, making her tense limbs quiver in anticipation.

  The words were on the tip of her tongue, just waiting to be spoken. One word, and he’d have to do as she commanded. Just one word…

  His finger stopped its movements within her body, and his tongue ceased its flicking motion.

  “No!” The scream was wrenched from her throat, and Heidi shuddered. Well, that was the word all right, but not the way she’d expected to say it.

  “Tell me what you want,” Luke whispered.

  “I want…”

  “Yes?” He curved his index finger and she gasped as it touched a tender spot against the wall of her pussy. Every nerve ending in her body tingled and heat sizzled the tender flesh between her legs.

  “I want to come,” she admitted in defeat. “I want you to make me come.”

  He didn’t waste another moment. Molding his mouth to her cunt, he sucked, licked and teased the swollen lips, then gently nudged her clit with a feather-light touch. His finger moved in and out of her with terse, practiced motions, the tip nudging that unbearable pleasure spot as it thrust deep inside her. The strength of his thrusts sent shock waves of sensation spiraling through every inch of her body.

  He feasted on her pussy until Heidi was half mad with the pleasure of it. Her cries came out freely now; she couldn’t have stopped them even if she’d wanted to. If the lid of the casket opened right at that very moment, she wouldn’t have cared.

  Her orgasm peaked, her release bringing her to the edge of delirium. She’d brought herself to climax before, but every one of those times it had been a steady rise followed by a brief shudder. This time, when it came, the orgasm jolted her entire body, making her scream. It crested through her nerve endings, making her writhe against Luke’s face, bringing with it spasm after spasm of delicious, unending agony.

  She lay back, spent, feeling the pulsing pleasure between her legs ebb into the dull throb of thorough satisfaction.

  “That was… unbelievable,” she whispered.

  Though she couldn’t see him, she felt Luke lift himself over her body. His erection nudged her thigh, hot and hard and sleek. Terror zinged down her spine, jolting her out of her euphoric reverie.

  “It’s only going to get better.”

  Chapter Four

  Like an addict who couldn’t get enough of his chosen drug, Luke’s hand quested among the dark curls covering Heidi’s sweet, sexy mound and twirled the short hair around his fingertips. Her wetness slicked his skin, and her scent slid into him with every breath, hardening his already stiff cock, making him grit his teeth to keep from plunging into her.

  “Why are you doing this?” Heidi’s voice quivered, and the sound of that uncertainty sent an aching bolt straight to his heart.

  Because I have to save you from a demon intent on doing God-knows what to that sensual, innocent body of yours before devouring you whole.

  “Because I want to,” he said instead, his breath hitching in his throat.

  He shifted slightly so the tip of his cock nudged her inner thigh, close enough to her pussy to slide in easily if he as much as thrust his hips forward. The self-control necessary to keep from doing just that threatened to slip at the merest hint of her willingness to have him inside her.

  “But I can’t see you.” She whimpered, the sound coming out as barely a squeal. “I don’t even know you.”

  Luke had anticipated her protests. He’d known she’d be frightened of him and what he had to do to her, but he hadn’t expected her fear to affect him so much. Lying on top of her, feeling her soft, pliant body mold to his, he wanted nothing better than to take her in his arms and make sweet, passionate love to her in a bright room, where they could see every inch of one another and he could teach her the many pleasures of the flesh.

  “Your body knows me,” he said, flicking her clit lightly, teasing it with the tip of his thumb.

  “My body doesn’t have a clue what it wants.” Despite the harsh words, Luke felt the shiver of arousal that ran through her and warmed her skin. He doubled his efforts, his light caress turning fevered, demanding.

  “You’re wrong.” He breathed deeply, and the scent of her musky readiness caught in his throat. “Every inch of you wants this. And you need it more than you’ll ever know.”

  He couldn’t see her, but he imagined her frown bringing down her smooth, dark red eyelashes over her brilliant green eyes, her full pink lips pursing in concentration. “I don’t understand.”

  Of course she didn’t. Nor could
he possibly hope to explain it to her in time, and even if he found a way to tell her about the demon and her impending doom, she wouldn’t believe him anyway.

  “You don’t need to.” It was enough that he understood. For almost a year, the demon had held up its end of the bargain, but the cost it demanded had become harder and harder to bear.

  Luke had never been particularly good at magic. Sleight of hand tricks and various minor gags he could manage, but the more intricate, complex tricks, those that would result in his own show and his name in lights were beyond his reach. Still, he’d practiced until his fingers turned numb, until he could shuffle a deck of cards backwards and forwards in less than ten seconds with his eyes closed. He vowed he’d practice night and day for the rest of his life if that’s what it took to follow in the footsteps of his idols: David Copperfield, Penn and Teller, Lance Burton.

  And then there would be him. Luke Howard. Magician.

  One night, a well-rehearsed trick he’d performed a hundred times had backfired. The words he’d made up and uttered on a whim turned out to be more than a babble of syllables he’d randomly strung together. They were powerful, and real, with the power to summon a demon from the depths of the underworld.

  The demon had taken one look at Luke and realized just how easily it could get what it wanted. The deal was simple: Luke would gain the ability to perform magic beyond his wildest dreams with the ease of a snap of his fingers, in return for one trick that involved an audience member.

  It should have seemed odd to Luke at the time, but it hadn’t. He’d only focused on the promise of true magic. The rest had been irrelevant, a mere buzzing hum to his overexcited senses. He’d gleefully agreed, and eleven women had met their end on the claws and cock of the beast.

  Because of him.

  He’d tried to put an end to it as soon as he learned of the demon’s true intentions, but by then it had been too little, too late. No amount of pleading, groveling or bargaining had worked. He’d offered to give back his powers, to never practice magic again. And he’d done it. He’d stopped performing tricks, but the magic followed him everywhere. Every time he went to light a candle, the flame would burst from the wick before he touched the match to it. Doors opened at his approach. Electronic equipment came to life, and he could change channels on his TV with only a thought.