Paige’s eyes blazed with anger. “He’s talking about Vick like he’s a cow or a pasta bowl!
“Stop it, Paige.” He reached over to shake her, “If you let him rile you up then you won’t be able to think clearly enough to defeat him. Don’t let your love for Vick defeat you.”
She nodded her head, he was right. They needed to find a way out, but how? There was no way they could drive through this. Who knew how many other vehicles were stranded in this white cloud of doom.
“How do we get out of this?”
“I’m working on it.”
“I have your friends, I will kill them one at a time until you turn yourself over to me and I do believe I will start with the boy.”
She turned and reached for the door handle. This time Cal stopped her.
“Think, Paige! If he had them, especially Vick, why would he need you? He could feed from any of them except Joaquin. In fact if he had them, Joaquin would be keeping him from the others. So either way you giving yourself up would be foolish.”
“I’m waiting, Paige will you come out like a good human feed bag or will you make me destroy your friends?”
“Go to hell,” she flung the words out as if they burned.
“I’ve been there, it’s really not a bad place. You humans give such cozy places a bad reputation. Maybe I will give you the grand tour when you’re mine. Now come out of the car, I want a taste of what I will be getting when you lose the battle. Just a little taste, Paige. I promise not make you serve me until I own your soul. After that, well I can’t wait to see you on your knees deep throating me.”
His laughter crept up her spine leaving cold tingles of dread in its wake.
“I will die before I ever serve you.”
“No, Paige, but you will wish you were dead.”
A blast hit their car turning it around in a dizzying circle making the contents of her stomach revolt and try to crawl up her throat.
When the car settled the passenger door was open. The only thing keeping Paige in the car was her seatbelt.
“What do we do?” She looked at Cal hoping for a miracle.”
“We get out, Paige, and we fight.”
“If we lose?”
“We die trying.”
“Remind me to work on your uplifting speeches in times of need later.”
“I will.”
Paige undid her seat belt and climbed out the car while Cal did the same.
“I’m here, now what?”
There was no response as the white at her feet began to thicken.
“I don’t think so.” Paige climbed onto the hood of the car working her way over it to stand next to Cal. “We’re a team! It’s both of us or neither of us.”
“Don’t worry, I plan to eat from both of you.”
The white gathered quickly. Cal picked her up and walked to where it was thinner. The Sudir appeared in front of them.
“What do you think you can do in here? This is my world and you’re just the animals caught in my trap.” His hand shot out incasing them in a clear bubble that separated them. “You never had a chance.”
Paige beat on the material surrounding her having a faint sense of Déjà vu. How would she get out of it this time?
The Sudir walked over to her and caressed the outside of the bubble she was in.
“Dinner, made all the more fragrant by the killing rage of your mate. His inability to protect you amuses me. You could have come to me, I would have treated you so much better. Maybe not, at least I would have protected my food source.”
“The same way you protected Vick?”
The Sudir let out a screech, his teeth becoming sharp like small daggers in his mouth. Paige recoiled away from the front of the bubble.
“Does my form disgust you, Paige? Get over it, soon I will sink my teeth deep into you making you my captive for as long as I like. Your life, your very existence will be in my hands.”
His four arms raised emitting a black substance from his hands, it undulated as if it were in water, slowly creeping towards her.
Paige sent up a prayer that somehow the bubble she was in would save her. The closer she looked at the substance the more it reminded her of the poison injected into her from the birds in the bonding trials. Had the Sudir managed to infiltrate the soul bonding trials? If he had, what else could he do? Was it feasible to actually defeat him?
That small part of Paige that scared her the most reared its ugly head whispering there was no hope. She worked hard in school and on her job to stop the voices that advocated for her defeat. The ones that encouraged her to give up. Now that same voice was telling her there was no hope.
Paige’s mind closed down as fear took over. She rubbed her ring needing one more solid connection with Cal before it was all torn away from her. Her eyes were wide and hazy as they began to dull. ‘Give in Paige, there is no hope. All who enter here are defeated before the battle begins.’ The thought multiplied in her head invading her brain and killing any chances she had of escape.
She slumped to the ground as the bubble was surrounded in the blackness the Sudir was emitting. She watched as it began to eat through the material coming closer to her. Soon it would surround her, enfold her in its darkness. She would lose herself to it for all eternity.
Just as she closed her eyes ready to surrender in defeat, there was a spark in her belly. The ring she was rubbing warmed up. ‘There’s always a way out.’ An errant thought ran through her head burrowing a hole directly to her brain.
“How?”
“You have to fight, look for it.”
“I can’t,” was she going crazy? She was taking to herself now? This didn’t sound like her inner voice, she rubbed the ring harder. Could Cal’s mother really be helping her?
A red hot poker scoured her brain driving into the center and twisting, leaving her screaming in pain.
“You can do it!” The thought was inside the poker infesting her brain with the need to fight.
Unable to ignore the urge to fight, she stiffly stood to her feet. The poker spread pain through her nervous systems stroking each nerve to alertness. Her body demanded she end the pain and prevent any more from coming their way.
She wobbled on her feet before catching her balance. If only she could think straight, with the fire in her brain she seemed to believe she could do anything or at least die trying. Yes, that is what she would do; she would once again defeat that part of her that wanted her to believe she couldn’t achieve. She would die, but at least she would be free. She gave a mental goodbye to Cal wishing he could hear it and faced off against the poison that was coming for her.
She had no better name for the black slime so she would call it poison. Not knowing what else to do, she began to build a white light around her. It’s what Cal had done when they soul bonded. It started at her feet and slowly encircled her moving up her body. The warmth of the ring infused itself into the light. She watched as the poison came together reinforcing itself.
It attacked before the light could fully engulfed her. The poison spread over her hammering at her defenses. It would attack her one unprotected area and swarm to infiltrate her there. The intensity of it touching her skin as it pierced her protective barriers of cloth made her stagger on her feet.
She fought back directing the light with her thought encircling the poison making a stand. Shouting as she killed it that she would not be a victim of the Sudir’s.
Knowing life as she knew it was over, she took every bit of essence she was born with and drove it like a hammering fist into the poison. She fell wishing she could have kissed Cal one last time.
Chapter Twenty Six
‘I’ve been here before.’ Paige turned to look at the barren landscape covering the hillside that sloped downward leading to the cave. Now that she was no longer living, she was free to admit the cave scared her.
Was this the next plane? If it was, where was Cal? He told her he would be there with her. Did he lie? Or maybe he didn
’t die? She felt a pang in her moment of jealousy. She was glad he wasn’t dead, but she didn’t like the thought of another woman in his life.
She walked back into the part of the cave that held the gold sword. When she reached it she laid underneath it looking up in wonder. It was no longer attached securely to the ceiling. It was dangling precariously, any moment something would shake the cave and it would fall. Closing her eyes she fell asleep. Even on a different plane her body cried out for rest.
“Paige?”
A warm voice caressed her ear making her shiver. She ignored it and went deeper into her fog like sleep.
“Sunshine, wake up for me.”
Was that Cal? What was he doing here? Didn’t he understand that she had graciously given up her life so he would have a chance to meet someone new and live and love for a life time? She flinched away from the image of him with someone and climbed deeper into her fog like state.
“I won’t leave you, Paige. If you don’t wake up I’m coming to find you, where ever you have retreated to?”
The male was infuriating at times. Didn’t he understand she just wanted to rest for eternity? Obviously not because he kept talking, his voice coming closer and closer. Giving up with the air of a child conceding defeat, she tried to open her eyes. Why wouldn’t they open? ‘You’re dead,’ whispered the voice of reason.
How could he want her to come back from death? Yet it seemed that was what he was demanding. His voice was getting louder; he actually had the nerve to yell at her.
“Wake up, Paige it’s time to stop playing dead!”
Playing dead and was he shaking her lifeless body? Well that was just crude. She would just have to come back and tell him.
Her eyes popped opened. “Stop yelling at me! Can’t you see I’m dead? Let me stay dead in peace.”
It was the sight of everyone looking down on her as Cal held her in his arms that made her rethink opening her eyes. It was the sound of laughter that made her rethink her dead theory.
“I’m not dead, am I?” They just laughed harder.
Nope, she was alive and would be hearing about this for years to come. She groaned and shut her eyes again as she felt Cal stand with her.
“We’ll meet you back at the house,” he said before gently putting her in the car.
She felt the engine start and the car begin to move gently.
“You can open those beautiful eyes now, we’re alone.”
“What happened?”
“You defeated the Sudir.”
“But how?” She opened her eyes to look at him, her brow was drawn together with worry lines. “How did I do it, Cal? I don’t think I managed to do it on my own.”
“You had a little help. Remember that large cup of hot chocolate Selma insisted we all drink?”
She nodded her head yes and waved a hand encouraging him to go on.
“There are certain groups of aliens that can enhance food. The hot chocolate was enhanced. Whoever drank it would have a better ability to use their own talents. So in the end it was all you, the drink simply took down some of the barriers standing in the way of your talents.”
“I think the ring helped me too, Cal. Although I wouldn’t mind getting more of that hot chocolate.
“What happened with the ring?”
“There’s a warmth that goes through me, I feel even more a part of you now that I am wearing it. It’s like I can feel a stream of love coming from the ring. Almost like your mother is approving of me and I can feel how much she loved you. I felt it combine with my talents making me stronger. Just one more nail in the coffin of me being not being simply human.”
“I’m thankful you’re not. If you were I would have never met you, been given a chance to soul bond with you. I would have never seen you overcome incredible odds and still manage to be seated next to my side right now. I’m glad you’re mine, Paige.”
She looked at him and smiled; she’d been given another chance. There was one thing she refused to think about when she was sure she’d died. How she felt about him glowed in her heart, but she hadn’t found the courage yet to tell him. It followed her to the grave she had been positive she was in, but now things were different. She had another chance to tell him, this time she wouldn’t blow it.
“I can’t believe we made it out of their alive. Did he have everyone else?”
“No, we pulled out first so we were ahead of them. He only had us.”
“You were right.”
He nodded keeping his eyes on the road. She took her hand and placed it on his thigh.
“Do you at times wish the woman you soul bonded with didn’t come with as much baggage as I do?”
“You know what I wish, Paige? I wish that you loved me enough to trust me. That’s asking a lot, it hasn’t even been two weeks. How can you love someone in that amount of time? Funny thing, though, I love you. I trust you. I never doubted your ability to take care of yourself. Do I want to be your hero? Hell yeah! But it’s more important to me that you can defend yourself all the times I am not or can’t be present than it is for me to appear larger than life in your eyes. If only you could be yourself instead of wanting to impress me all the time. I really love you just like you are, flaws and all.”
Paige’s throat worked as tears silently streamed down her face and her hand convulsed on his thigh.
The drive home was in silence.
*~*~*~*
Paige sat crossed legged on the bed. She could pace the floor but she’d been there done that already. Pacing hadn’t helped and if she was honest, sitting on the bed while Cal lost himself in the television set in the other room wasn’t helping either. She felt alone. She hadn’t had that feeling in a while and hadn’t realized how happy she was until she lost it. For the first time she truly felt isolated from Cal. Why? Because she was afraid to be vulnerable. To let down her guard meant risking the possibility of being hurt. It also meant risking the possibility of being deliriously happy.
Interesting, both of those possibilities scared her to death. Getting up she went to the bathroom, a shower was in order. If she was about to present herself as a sacrificial lamb she should at least be clean. She grabbed for the apple scented soap she knew Cal loved. When she entered a store selling different scented bath soaps, she was tempted to pick up some. Instead, she found herself picking up different apple scents. She grabbed a green apple that he would love in the spring time and a wicked smelling candy apple one. She allowed the different scents to go through her mind keeping her from focusing on what was coming.
After toweling off, she picked up one of her bags and placed it on her bed. She never thought she would ever buy something like this. When she walked into the lingerie store only to find they carried more risqué selections in the back, she couldn’t resist.
Looking through the contents of her shopping bag, she began to wonder what Cal would like. Finally she decided to start small and go from there. She chose a beautiful underwear set conveniently missing the cloth to hold her nipples and a pair of crotchless panties. Taking a deep breath, knowing he loved her and wouldn’t ridicule her, she turned to look in the mirror. Her nipples peeked from the cloth making her smile and her pussy lips were on display. She walked into the main room before she lost her confidence.
Walking over to the television, she turned it off before turning to see the lust in his eyes. She smiled feeling more confident as she swayed her hips allowing her breast to bounce as she walked over to him.
“Paige,” he choked out her name as his eyes widened.
“Shh…” she placed a finger to his lips. “I’m in charge now,”
She dropped a kiss to his lips deepening it as he opened his mouth. His unique flavor burst over her tongue. It was masculine with hints of wildness and a distinct bite of sharpness from his Matra side. She could lose herself for all eternity in his hypnotic kisses.
Pulling herself away, she placed small bites on the thick column of his neck while she rubbed her hard nipples o
ver the softness of his shirt. She mewled in frustration wanting to feel her nipples against the silk of his skin. Moving away from the taste of his neck, she began unbuttoning his shirt. She made quick work of tugging it off before she rubbed her nipples against him again drawing a low ragged moan from his lips.
“You drive me crazy, Paige.”
She gave him a low sexy chuckle before fastening her lips around a nipple. She feasted on it, sucking and licking as his hips bucked underneath her. One hand found his other nipple tweaking it, pinching it, making it hard.
“When you touch my body, Sunshine, I light up like the fourth of July fireworks. A heat I’ve never known streams through my body making me desire your next touch more than I desire my next breath.”
Paige threw him a sensual smile before she licked downward taking her time to play with his belly button, tickling it and causing him to squirm.
“Pants.” Her voice was guttural.
He lifted his sexy hips discarding both pants and boxers as she stood back and took in his heat with her eyes. He spread his legs and watched as she knelt between them.
“I’ve been waiting for this.”
She reached out with her tongue and licked the bead of pre-cum adorning the tip of his cock. He wanted her. His arousal, his smell all called to her. She needed him, had to have him deep in her throat.
She closed her eyes as his taste registered on her tongue. Wider than his kiss, more masculine, it spread through her mouth dancing on her taste buds. The taste of him overwhelmed her. Her mouth begged for another lick.
She looked up into his eyes. It was now or never. Did she have what it took to drop her defenses completely?
Chapter Twenty Seven
Flashes came back to her of Cal patiently explaining what would happen after he removed his darn wraparound sunglasses. How he stood against the mantle talking to her. He calmed her when she was sure disaster waited for her around the corner. If she couldn’t be vulnerable with him, it would never happen with anyone.
Soul-Bonded to the Alien Page 17