Forever After (Post Apocalyptic Romance Boxed Set)

by Rose Francis

  “Oh?” She perked up a bit, muttering quietly, “Maybe the plans changed, then. How did you find her?”

  Putting his hand at the back of her neck as they walked together, he remarked harshly, “Don’t ask me questions when you haven’t answered mine to my satisfaction yet.” He shot her a brief look to show he meant it.

  She jumped a bit, and he could feel her pulse quicken in her neck. “She used to be! Yes! Once we were chosen, she and I sought to convert people, but the group grew stagnant and it became harder to find followers, so she sent me off to convince people!”

  His hand gripping the back of her neck gave a rough sort of massaging motion briefly in reward. “Tell me about your sister. What’s she like. Everything.” That last word punctuated with authority.

  “I don’t know, she’s always been bossy. She’s good at leading people. She believes, unequivocally, in the righteousness of the gods.” She thought a few more moments before she continued. “I don’t know. I’m glad she’s alright, I guess,” she admitted.

  Thinking this over he said, “She’s a very... persuasive woman... isn’t she?” He still didn’t know what had happened with Adrianna to make him such a buffoon, but he was determined not to return to that same simpering behaviour. Especially not with Celia about to see it.

  “She’s been blessed,” she agreed, looking up at him a bit skeptically. “Is that why you came to get me? Because of her?”

  Immediately he gave a derisive, “No. I had planned to take you long before I even met her,” he stated definitively, hand still on her neck and shoulders.

  Softening at her worry, he asked, “You’re troubled that she’ll be there, aren’t you?”

  “Of course I am.” She frowned, her head dropping a bit. “Fuck, I don’t mind being treated like dirt, but I hate being treated like dirt because everyone’s too busy falling over her. There’s a difference.”

  His hard, dark hand rubbed at her neck in a more relieving fashion. “Good,” he stated, clarifying afterwards. “Your sister’s good stock,” he said in a roundabout compliment to Celia herself, “but I don’t want her thinking she can run the show, understand?”

  He looked down to the woman as they walked, studying her for her reaction.

  She nodded, but continued to seem troubled. “It’s just... she’s been blessed. You know?” She looked up at him, searching his eyes. “She can make you do things you don’t want to really do. Or even if you do want to...” She trailed off, shaking her head. “She’s been blessed.”

  His brow furrowed at this and he wetted his lips. Some of the pieces falling into place. “Celia, I chose you first,” he stated firmly. “You should be above Adrianna in my harem by rights, as long as you can give more and better children.” He was playing with something strange here, he could feel, but he wanted to probe the woman for information to help. “With your help, maybe I can undo that advantage of hers, huh?”

  He looked down to her, hoping she’d be of some use here. If her sister really did have some strange “blessing,” it could destroy everything he worked for. Ruin all his plans with Tia. Because he knew he wouldn’t be able to abandon Adrianna. Even now, so far away, he couldn’t think of it.

  “How do you undo something done by the gods?” she posed, her eyes falling downwards. It was only now that he realized just how fragile her faith was, yet she stayed by his side, her feet a bit heavier against the underbrush.

  “She can’t make you do something you’d never, ever do,” she said in earnest, taking in a deep breath, “but everything else is fair game. As long as she has her talisman, and there’s no way to get it.” He’d never noticed a talisman, even when he had undressed her.

  His heart seemed to stop, and he paused, pulling Celia aside behind an outcropping of rocks and brush. Sitting himself down, he pulled the woman into his lap, his thick arms about her. He held her tightly, too tightly really, though he knew she’d appreciate that more than gentleness. “The gods reward those of strength, Celia.” His voice gravelly and rough, determined. “What they gave your sister, they’ll gladly let slip away if we prove stronger.” He looked to her, his dark gaze so piercing.

  Her lips quirked, and he could tell she was smitten.

  “I can help you,” she purred, her entire body and her backpack pressing against him. “I’ve looked into it. There’s a spell that can show you invisible things. I was able to try it out a couple months ago.”

  His own full lips spread into a wide grin at the woman, eating up her mischievous delight. Raising a hand up to her face, he rubbed her cheek and chin roughly, raising a thumb to fondle her lower lip hard, husking out his words with such harsh authority. “Do this with me, and I’ll make you the pride of my harem, Celia.”

  Leaning in, his nose touching her face, he muttered roughly, “I’ll give you such opportunities to taste vengeance on your sister... nothing to ruin her potential as a breeder, but oh... you’ll get such privileges.”

  She met him and took a breath. “But there’s a problem,” she murmured, seeming a bit sad about having to tell him that.

  He pulled back a bit at that and asked gruffly, “What? It can still be done, can’t it?”

  “It can, it’s just kind of going to be a bitch,” she sighed, her head pressing against his. “You know how she is. It’s hard to resist her. Impossible to lie to her. She doesn’t know about the spell, but we’ll have to act fast so that she won’t get suspicious. She’ll know you brought me, even if you lie, and after that we’ll both be under her thrall,” she sneered. “So we’ll have to be certain.”

  Pausing, he gave a nod, “She already knows you’re coming. I told her.” He narrowed his eyes in irritation. “You know how it is.” Mulling it over, he said, “We need a plan. Do you know where she keeps this talisman? Or would she have any reason to be concerned you’d try to do this to her?”

  “She has no idea I even know she has it, but she has ways of finding out. Hence... we have to act fast. I think she usually keeps it around her wrist, but it’s hard to tell. It kind of... exists in the same plane as the gods, so it’s there but not really. I found a way to call it back into our world temporarily and then it can be claimed or destroyed. Ah, takes a special fire to destroy it, but we can deal with that after.”

  Nodding, he looked to her with narrowed eyes. “Don’t try to claim it for yourself,” he warned. “You’re my favourite now, but if you take it and try to use it against me... well, it’ll only be a matter of time before the tables turn again and your sister takes it back and you won’t be able to look to me for help. Got it?” He leaned in, gritting his teeth as if angry. “You’re mine,” he asserted, nearly crushing her petite body in his grasp.

  “Why would I want that power over you?” She whimpered through his grasp, the thought obviously never having occurred to her. The way her face contorted was absolutely adorable, a mixture of confusion and lust.

  He couldn’t help but smile at that sincerity. This woman lived to be his, he realized. He gave her a harsh kiss and rubbed his dark thumb back against her cheek roughly. “I trust you,” he said.

  Back to business, he asked in rapid succession, “How fast can you cast this spell? How long will it last? I could feel your sister’s influence still over me a long ways away, Celia.”

  “It takes about a minute to cast, but I’ll have to be near her. Like, pretty close, so it’s going to be hard. You’ll have to distract her. Hopefully she’ll be concentrating so hard on you it won’t be so hard. I know she doesn’t act like it, but it takes a lot of power for her to do what she does.

  “Can you feel it now?”

  He shook his head, “No,” he stated firmly. “It wore down by the time I was at the thick of the forest near my place. Just a faint tickling of a sensation by that point,” he said. “So it’d need to last at least an hour,” he stated.

  She nodded, looking a bit thoughtful. “And how long was she able to do this?”

  “Most of a day and into the night,
” he confessed with some irritation. Looking down to her, he stated, “You have to be able to do this, Celia. Prove you’re the stronger sister for me. That I made the right choice by picking you.” He stroked his hand roughly back over her cheek and hair repeatedly.

  She inhaled and then nodded, a smile creeping to her lips. “If this doesn’t work, well, we’ll just have to look at other options.” She nuzzled into him, whispering softly, “She’s blessed by the old ones, but so are we.”

  He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her harder. “When we’ve done this, I’ll tie your sister down and let you rub her face in our superiority, Celia. You’ll get to see the look on her face as she learns who is the more blessed of you two.”

  She laughed, sounding gleeful. “Mmm. I was made to belong to you, wasn’t I, Leon,” she purred, her voice still low. “How far are we?”

  He stood up, lifting the woman with ease and putting her feet to the ground. “A few more hours,” he stated, “but I wanted you to know everything first, so we could come up with a plan.” He began to walk again, arm still around Celia’s back. “I’ll warn you when we have to cast the spell. So be ready,” he commanded.

  She seemed stronger to him now, as though she had been inflated and made larger, just by virtue of his belief in her. Strangely enough, she began singing softly under her breath, something so similar to her sister, though it had no effect on him other than the beautiful melancholy the foreign tune held.

  That thought made him smile, and he rubbed her neck and shoulder again in that harsh but reassuring manner.

  Since the fall he’d come to accept a lot of bizarre things about reality, though even a few days ago he’d not have bought into a sorceress working some magic on him. Now? He knew it to be true, and had already plotted how to fight it.

  Chapter 28

  They walked mostly in silence as their shadows shifted and shortened underneath the forest leaves. Celia remained close to him, her hand and arm brushing against his lightly as she trekked, not at all complaining about the distance nor what she was about to do.

  She was a small woman, but she claimed to contain power beyond reason of this world, and her determination was visible in the set of her jaw and the focus of her eyes.

  Leon had spent the rest of the walk quietly preparing himself mentally. The world had changed, and he felt he had a grasp on it. These new developments, however, shook that belief.

  Coming to a stop near the edge of the forest, he turned and rested his large palms upon Celia’s shoulders. He had to bend a knee to meet her gaze a little. “It’s time,” he said. “I’m entrusting you with a lot here.” His hands gripped her so firmly, almost painfully so, it might’ve been a threat to any other woman. “Don’t let me down,” he ended firmly.

  She glowed at his compliment, her shoulders squaring slightly as she hummed a few chords, singing a short song that sounded to be a lullaby. When it ended, it felt as if she’d sung the whole thing, but only a few moments had passed. The bird flying above them had only managed to head a few yards south, and her hand stroked his cheek lightly.

  “A good luck token,” she murmured, beginning to walk once more.

  He could feel a strange tingling in his body, almost as though it were coated with something, but it was hard to determine.

  Something had changed, he knew it, but he couldn’t see what just yet. Though one thing he did understand was his growing fondness for the strange little woman. If she pulled this off, he’d owe her, and more than that he was just coming to like her even.

  Moving on, he kept ahead of her, asking one final question. “Your sister has no reason to suspect anything like this of you, does she? She wouldn’t bend you to her will magically because she’d have no need to, I’d imagine it’d be a waste of her power.” He looked down to her, hopeful about the answer.

  “We have a strange relationship,” she agreed. “She sent me out to do her bidding. I’ve failed. I don’t know how that will impact things.” She spoke so confidently, however, and glanced at him one final time. “Don’t worry.”

  He nodded to her and squeezed her shoulder again. “I’m not. I just need all the information,” he asserted. “Let’s hurry on, I’m eager to get this over with.” That wasn’t the whole truth. He was eager to see Adrianna again, he realized. The feeling only growing now.

  The closer they moved, the faster his footfalls became until they were nearly sprinting. An unfamiliar smile was on Celia’s face, and their bags struck noisily off their backs and hips as they approached the hidden entrance.

  The feeling was the same, for him. That desire, that burning need to be with her, his headache only growing the closer he got to her as though it were forcing him on.

  He cleared the way to the passage, and only a deep seated concern for Adrianna let him take the time to conceal the entrance way properly again after entering. He grasped the back of Celia’s neck, not wanting her to leave, though logically he knew she wouldn’t. But this was his gift for Adrianna! What she wanted returned to her. He had to deliver her promptly, he thought as he headed up that final basement tunnel before coming to his grand home.

  Adrianna’s face softened with a smile upon the sight of the two of them, and she seemed to him a goddess, all light and radiance. Her black hair was in her customary ponytail, and she had been distracting herself with a deck of playing cards. Her see-through blouse and tight black skirt had been washed and they looked brand new against her slender, perfect form.

  “You’ve returned,” she mused happily, moving over to Celia and embracing the younger woman. Celia’s arms wrapped around her sister’s body as if she had missed her terribly, more than words could possibly say, especially as she began to sob for joy.

  Leon dropped his backpack full of supplies to the ground and watched Adrianna with such reverence. “I did exactly as you wished,” he stated, his husky voice awed by the sight of her. She was so exquisite! “I hope you’re pleased.” And he did. He really did.

  Adrianna’s hand stroked along Celia’s ponytail as the younger woman sobbed, her wide eyes up and glossy at her sister. “They wouldn’t listen to me. They deny the old ones their rights.” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Shhh, shhh,” Adrianna murmured, forcing Celia’s face to remain up toward her. “There’s no need of that. It was my failure. I shouldn’t have expected you to be able to handle such a simple task,” she cooed. Her tone was not condescending, only sympathetic.

  Celia blinked her eyes, her lower lip trembling. “I thought I had something with Leon but then you got him better.”

  Leon couldn’t help but nod and affirm. “You did, Adrianna. You’re so much more... convincing,” he said, his dark eyes alight with adoration for the stunning woman. How he wanted to please her.

  He began to shed his outside things, taking off his trench coat and vest. “I’ve brought fresh food for you,” he said. “I hope you didn’t tire of the things I had here.”

  “Not at all.” She wrapped her arm around Celia’s slender shoulders, guiding the girl back to Leon, both of them watching as he silently worshipped the elder sister.

  “You see, Celia, this is where my talent lies. We just need to find where yours lies,” she purred.

  His outdoor things shed, he stood before the two in just his pants, boots and sweater, still smiling dreamily at the elder sister. “She’s very good and dedicated to breeding you more followers,” he stated in pure honesty and eagerness to please.

  Celia inhaled, just slightly, staring at Leon through her glassy eyes. A half smile approached her lips as nodded to Adrianna. “It is not much, but it’s true. If only I’d been a male I could be more efficient,” she mused.

  Adrianna pet her sister as though she were a cat. “How interesting,” she agreed, her hand slipping from the shoulders as she moved forward to Leon. “You’re dismissed.” She looked over her shoulder at Celia, her eyes growing cruel. “Head somewhere else and get lost. This place is big enough fo
r it.”

  The girl shuddered, but did as instructed, her eyes scanning over the large place as she made her way south, disappearing from their sights.

  “I’m glad you did as I instructed,” Adrianna purred.

  Her mild little compliment made his face beam. He never appeared happier than to hear her approve of him. “Thank you, Adrianna,” he husked. “I never wanted anything more than I do to make you happy,” he confessed, looking as if he wanted to touch her badly, but wouldn’t dare without her approval. “And I can make you happy, I swear it.” His eyes full and round as he watched this perfect woman.

  “You must be very tired,” she murmured, and suddenly he felt exhausted. “We should take you to bed.” She took his hand, already leading him toward their “shared” room, her boots clicking on the cement flooring and echoing off the walls.

  His whole body felt like leaden weight, and it took all he had to follow her so obediently. But he did, of course he did. He would expel the last of his energy to tread in her trail, to admire her slender, beautiful form as he did her bidding.

  She was quite comfortable in his home now, though she had changed almost nothing about it. There were no new decorations, and aside from the cards, it seemed almost entirely untouched, except for the bedroom. There, candles burned brightly, the blankets strewn in a strange manner, ridged around the edges so that the centre was free of the comforters. It looked almost like a bird’s nest, and she bid him to undress before her once more.

  The room smelled strange, like burnt oils, but he couldn’t see the source.

  Pulling his sweater up over his head was so difficult, the man, for all his ripped, bulging muscles carved in ebon flesh, could barely lift them so far. As his belt came undone and he disrobed as ordered, he said wearily, “I’m sorry Adrianna, I feel so exhausted... I wanted to be able to serve you better.” The disappointment at his own failing thick on his voice as he peeled away his pants, standing before in all his nude glory. Oh, his shoulders slumped a little from weariness, but he was as masculinely gorgeous as ever, so strong and powerful, his extremely large organ so thick and veiny, full and rigid at the sight of her, of course. No amount of exhaustion could change that, he realized.