Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set

by Multiple Authors

  I open the shower screen, grab my towelling robe and put it on before stepping out straight into the face of a young guy.

  "Holy fuck! Who are you?" I shout.

  He says nothing. His hair is black and wet, plastered to his ears and forehead, and there’s mud smearing his bluish skin. The dull eyes looking back at me express nothing. He smiles slowly as he reaches forward, the skin ragged on his bleeding fingers. I stumble backward.

  "Alek!" I scream as the man pushes me against the wall.

  The guy appraises me with what I can only presume is hunger as he yanks at my arms; instinctively, I’ve crossed them over my chest, knowing what he wants. His cold hands hurt my cooling skin.

  "Let me have some. You have so much," he whispers.

  "No! Get away from me!"

  Alek’s footsteps climbing the stairs stir a tiny amount of relief. "Rose?"

  "There’s one in here! A Shade!"

  The door rattles but I locked it when I came in. The sound of something heavy hitting the door follows, then Alek swearing.

  The guy ignores him and grabs my hair, slamming my head against the wall. Dazed, I stumble and reach an arm out to the sink. He seizes his opportunity and twists me around, throwing me to the floor.

  Alek throws himself against the door a couple more times then stops. "I can’t get in! Rose, you’re stronger than the Shade!"

  The guy’s grey-green eyes stare through me as he leans forward, placing a palm on my chest. My heart thumps toward his palm, and pain assaults my chest as if he’s gouging into me. I can’t speak anymore; Alek’s voice fades into the familiar fog growing.

  "Rose! It’s a Shade and you're Between. Just…"

  I don’t hear because the guy lifts my head and hits it on the floor, the ringing in my ears dulling Alek’s voice further. I choke for breath through the pain and the grey. I have to fight back, and now I know I can.

  Summoning the energy I just took from Alek, the energy he’s stealing, I jerk my body and twist away from him. I grab a potted fern from the windowsill and crash it over his head; the pot breaks, scattering soil across the room. I’ve never been a violent person, but this is survival. He shrieks at me and his hand disconnects from my chest.

  "You could at least have asked me nicely," I say and grab him by the neck. His eyes widen; they’re brighter than they were thanks to my energy he’s taken already.

  "How do I do it, Alek?" I call.

  The Shade shakes his head at me in fear, clawing at my hands.

  "From his mouth. Kiss him," Alek calls back.

  "What the hell? No!"

  "A Kiss-of-life kiss. In reverse!" he yells.

  I rub my lips together; the thought of putting my mouth on the Shade’s turns my stomach. Before my fogged brain catches up, and before his struggling results in getting the upper hand, I lock my mouth on his. The Shade’s mouth is as cold as his fingers, harder than skin and I breathe in the air coming from him.

  However, it’s not air but something else. The energy doesn’t go into my lungs but jolts my heart, soothing the pain he caused. I grip his shoulders as he struggles fixing my gaze on a crack in the orange tiles behind so I don’t have to think about what I’m doing. Energy courses through my body, filling the spaces where he took it. The Shade’s struggling stops and his image shimmers in front of me, my grip loosening as he morphs into a paper-thin image.

  He fades completely and as the brightness of daylight returns I sink back against the wall, shaking.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Water drips down my face from my damp hair and I lick the drop away. It tastes metallic; this isn’t water. I touch my forehead where the Shade slammed it against the wall then stare at the blood staining my fingers. The wound doesn’t hurt when I should be in a lot of pain and there’s a faint glow to my hand.

  "Rose?" Alek’s panicked voice filters into my shock.

  "He’s gone."

  I should be exhausted, or at least in pain after the fight. The last time a Shade attacked me, I disappeared into the fog. This time I sent him away. How did I not know I could do this? I expected weakness after the fight and injury, but I easily push myself to my feet. I unlock the door.

  "You’re bleeding. And glowing…" Alek breathes heavily, the exertion of trying to knock the door down apparent in his slackened stance.

  "And you look ill. That was me, wasn’t it? I didn’t realise what I’d do…"

  Alek leans against the wall. "Yeah. I wanted a Shade to get my energy back but looks like you got there first."

  "Got there first? It attacked me!"

  He rubs his eyes. "Maybe there are more Shades around; something weird is going on. I'm worried about Lizzie; she should be home by now."

  "Maybe she went out for the evening?"

  "Maybe." He looks doubtful. "I need to look for her but I can’t. I’m a danger. I need to wait for a Shade to come through."

  "A danger? To who?"

  "People. Why do you think I don’t leave the house much? I live here so I can feed off the Shades who come through. If I - we - don’t feed off them, we have to take the energy from humans."

  "Like a vampire takes blood..."

  "Exactly."

  "Isn't feeding off Shades dangerous? Shades can take your energy if they attack you first."

  "So, you think killing humans is better?" he asks wearily.

  "Killing? But you said..."

  "Like the Shades do to us; if we're desperate, we can take all the human's energy at once."

  Like a vampire.

  Alek slumps onto the top step and rests his head on the wall.

  "I’m sorry I did this to you," I say

  He fixes me with a tired smile. "Yeah, felt good though. Well, up until the point you got carried away." Even as my face heats, I’m relieved he’s back to teasing me; at least he’s still Alek. "Because there are no Shades and I don't want to be a threat, I'll sleep it off."

  Fear greater than when the Shade attacked washes over. "But you can’t sleep, Alek. I remember you freaking out when I wanted to, after I was attacked. You told me we go somewhere?"

  He sighs. "I’ve been there before, and I can get back again. I can find some energy when I’m over there."

  The invisible band around my chest tightens. "Me. Take some back from me. I have more than I need because I took some from the Shade as well as from you."

  A muscle twitches in Alek’s face. "Oh, no, no I can’t."

  "Why?"

  "Because I won’t stop."

  "You will. I’ll stop you."

  He laughs at me in a way that irritates, patronising like the old Alek. "You wouldn’t know how."

  Alek pulls himself up and walks into his room. Is he too proud? The old Alek arrogance stopping him using the easy option? I follow him. His room is larger than mine, with an unmade bed; the blue duvet scrunched and clothes hung over a wardrobe door. The room smells of him, leather and spice. Alek sits on the edge of the bed and looks round at me in surprise.

  "Rose. Go away." He slumps forward, head in his hands.

  "You’re scaring me," I say quietly, perching on the bed next to him.

  "Why?"

  "What if you go and don't come back? What do I do?" My voice cracks, and so does my wall against this whole situation. The realisation that this house and Alek are fixtures of my life terrifies me. Without him, I’m alone with what I am. This house holds Alek and now the walls surround me, too. Unless he comes with me, I can’t leave.

  Tears push into my eyes and when Alek notices, he touches my cheek. Energy jolts across my face, but not as strong as before and his fingers are cooler. Now that I'm closer, his pallid skin is more apparent, and I know now Alek's worse than he's admitting.

  "I won't go, Rose. I told you, I've waited a long time to find someone else like me. I'm okay, I'll come back."

  "No!" I grip his hand, curling my fingers tightly around his. "I just got attacked by something and it could happen again! I'm scared, Alek; you've dra
gged me into this confusing reality, and you're going to leave me?"

  Where our hands touch, the buzzing sensation begins, travelling along my arm. I snatch my hand away, aware this is coming from Alek again.

  "I'm taking more from you, aren't I?" I say, hoarsely. "Will this happen every time we touch?"

  "I don't know, I haven't got this close to another one of us before." He inhales, and his breath is shallower.

  "You gave me energy! Take from me!" I repeat, panic rising.

  "I don't know..." He runs his hands into his hair and grips. "What if I take too much?"

  "I said I won't let you!"

  Alek turns to me, his face paler. "You're probably right, but I don't want to risk..."

  I'm not sure if it's desperation for him to stay, the desire re-triggered by our touch a few moments ago or just frustration with Alek, but I grab his face and lock my mouth on his.

  Alek attempts to move his head from my hands but doesn’t have the strength or control. The moment my lips spark on his, I crave taking more and getting the high back I had earlier. I can’t. I focus my mind on letting go of control, yielding to the Alek who could realistically hurt me. The thought of losing him and being alone in this crazy new reality is harder than the thought he might send me to another unknown world of shadows by draining my energy. I won’t let that happen.

  As I play these thoughts across my mind, I’m jolted by the switch in the dynamic between us; the flowing energy changes direction. Alek finally responds, his soft lips hardening with a devouring kiss. I want to gasp for air, but I couldn’t take my mouth off his if I wanted to. Even though the power flows away from me to him, I’m still charged with the explosion of sensation where our skin touches. Alek unfastens my robe and pulls me on to his knee, arms circling my waist. The touch of his fingertips on my sensitive skin feels as if he’s placed them on the nerves beneath. In response, I drag his T-shirt over his head and push my naked breasts against him. The touches from the last time we were physical, mouth on mouth, fingertips on skin triggered something unusual; however, this is one of those occasions where the word ‘mind-blowing’ fits. When my hardening nipples touch his bare chest, a switch flicks, coursing white-hot heat through my whole body. He inhales sharply, gripping my hips. I pull my mouth away and rest my head on his, the heat between our skins melding us.

  "Do this," I say to him. "Take what you need."

  His fingers dig deeper into my waist, and I know he’s not giving in. The world retreats and the only thing that matters now is Alek. His touch. His kisses. All of him.

  Alek shifts beneath me, his arousal evident between his jeans and my nakedness. I run a finger among his defined abs, tracing the pattern downwards until I reach the button of his jeans with shaking fingers. Maybe I don’t need to do this to give him what he needs, but I have never craved sex with someone so much in my life. Ever. It’s as if I can’t let him go until he’s satisfied what he’s woken in me by doing so little. Within the centre of myself is an overwhelming need to be surrounded by and consumed by this man, even though the Rose I left outside the door would never want someone like Alek.

  "Rose," he growls and moves suddenly to tip me onto the bed.

  Alek helps me unbutton his jeans and kicks them onto the floor. Roughly, Alek pulls the edge of my robe to one side and nips my shoulder. His teeth against my skin ramps up the surge of need, and I grab his hair and drag his face back to mine. Alek’s hot breath hovers against my mouth for a moment, and in frustration, I tug his lip into my mouth and bite. Too hard. He winces and makes a sound low in his throat before thrusting his tongue into my mouth. The bright energy sears behind my closed eyes, and the flow back to Alek feels as good as when I took it from him. As long as my skin touches his and his hands are on me, he can take what he wants. All of me.

  Alek grabs my arms and pins them over my head, continuing his devouring kiss. I weaken as the light inside is consumed by Alek pressing his mouth to me. I wait for him to touch me, to slide his hand toward the wet heat between my legs, to explore my breasts with his mouth; instead we remain locked in this weird kiss. I wriggle against him, partly because I’m frustrated by need and partly because I’m dizzying as the light between us fades.

  Tearing my mouth away, I twist my face to one side. "Alek. Stop. Now."

  Alek ignores me, but I expected this. He releases my hands and grabs my face, attempting to lock his mouth back on mine. Hands now free, I hold his head away and look into his dark eyes. He’s unfocused, elsewhere. Our breathing matches, hot and heavy, and his heart pounds against mine.

  "Alek!" I tug at his curls, pulling him back to our version of reality.

  He blinks as if returning to the room and touches his mouth. With a slow smile, he sits back a moment and traces his gaze along my naked breasts.

  "That felt fucking awesome," he says, breathing heavily. "You know what else I think would feel fucking awesome?" Alek hitches one of my legs around his hip and presses himself against me. "What do you think? See how we go with more than kisses?”

  I lace my hands around his neck and pull him closer, our eyes meeting in understanding, hot breath mingling the way our energy did. The pale has gone from his face and lips; the Alek spark is back.

  “I stopped,” he whispers and grins.

  “I hope not,” I say.

  “What? I had to. You didn’t want me to take too much…” He pauses and catches my meaning. “Oh, okay, so you do want to try more than kisses?”

  “What do you think?” I ask.

  Something remains crackling in the air between us, the remnants of the kiss we shared heightening both of our arousals. Stroking my hair from my eyes in a strangely-affectionate gesture, Alek kisses my cheeks and lips. He moves a hand along my side and cups my breast in his hand, stroking a finger across my hardened nipple.

  “What do I think? I think this is going to be the best sex of your life,” he says, the heat in his gaze matching that of our skin.

  I open my mouth to protest at his arrogance, but then he looks back to me, pausing. For the first time ever, I see an unguarded Alek. In his eyes is a part of his soul I think is long-hidden, a need to connect with someone. He let his guard down once when I took his energy; in return, I put my trust in him not to take everything from me. Even though I know we’ll always struggle with each other, the weird bond between us has an unspoken trust and a connection that won’t be broken easily.

  And I’m sure the promise behind his words is not only conceited but also correct.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I wake in an empty bed, but the sheets next to me are warm. The sun filters through the thin, brown curtains and I try to figure out what time it is. My bathrobe lies forlornly on the floor where I threw it yesterday evening. The air in the room is cool but noticeably warmer than the chill, which came with the Shades.

  Has Alek gone? His leather jacket slung over the chair answers my question; he never goes anywhere without it.

  I lie back down and stretch like a cat, buzzing with the after-effects of sex with Alek. Heavy footsteps approach and he appears in the doorway, hair mussed, in sweatpants and carrying mugs.

  I should be used to seeing the muscled definition of his torso, but that doesn’t stop me staring appreciatively now. "Is that coffee? I thought you only drank beer?"

  He rolls his eyes at me and sits on the bed. "Here you go, Casper."

  I smack him on the back of the head and he rubs his hair. "I swear, you had better stop calling me that or there’s trouble for you."

  Alek sets the mugs on the floor and leans over, rubbing a thumb along my cheek. "Trouble like earlier?"

  The touch triggers the want to climb back on top of him. Marvelling at my restraint, I move my face from his touch. "Next time, I’ll be taking, not giving."

  "Soon, I hope."

  He’s shirtless and I run my finger from his neck to his abs, my eyes fixed on his the whole time. I enjoy how he shivers slightly and the restraint when he closes hi
s eyes against me. He has colour back; the lips I used to fantasise about that have touched almost every part of my body are no longer white.

  "Maybe."

  He stopped last night before he drained too much from me. There’s a delicate balance between what we can give and take, and I suspect it will take a while to work out. That’s if we work out. Alek opens his eyes again then pushes his mouth onto mine without a word. The strength of his kiss and the hand pressed in the small of my back against the hard planes of his naked chest rewind me straight back to last night. As Alek’s mouth closes around mine and my pebbling nipples brush against the warmth of his chest, I’m aware being held by Alek is as powerful as the energy itself. There’s a comfort in being anchored to someone else in the maelstrom surrounding us.

  Aware we’ll be pulled back into part of that maelstrom, I place both hands between us and push him away by the chest.

  "I have a shift in a few hours," I say.

  Alek releases me and passes my robe from the floor. "I guess you’d better put some clothes on then."

  I shrug the robe on and tie the belt. "Can we leave?" I blurt. "I don't like living here; it scares me."

  Alek regards me over his mug. "We? That was a bit sudden." I open my mouth to clarify then spot the teasing smirk. "I can’t leave."

  "Why?"

  "Because I’m dangerous, I told you. This house is a focal point for Shades, a ready food source. If I leave, I leave my food source. I don’t want to hurt people." He drinks. "Besides, I’ve lived here a long time. And I mean a long time."

  "So, how come I can be around people?"

  "You don’t need much energy yet; you’re new and still have some of your own energy left. Once you use it up, you’ll be more like me."

  "So, you’re older and need more?" He nods. "How long have you been here?"

  "About twenty years since I died." He catches my look. "Correct, we don’t age."