by Luna Carrol
She pointed the gun back at Callaway. “But you are."
His eyes widened. “Oh, you're going to regret this."
He's right. She will. Colin told her that she always needed saving. If she did this ... she'd be back with Colin. No. She wouldn't enjoy it this time.
She placed one hand to her forehead. She couldn't think. She would regret it this time. This time she wouldn't end up on the train with Colin.
Callaway stepped too close.
"No. You're a sicko. Stay away from me."
"I'm the sicko?” He pointed to himself and smiled for everyone to see. “You're the one with the gun."
"You're the one with the strange little rope in your pocket."
He stopped mid-step.
"Yeah. The same kind you killed your lover with, I'm assuming. Let's ask your ex-wife, shall we?"
His eyes narrowed. “You're crazy."
"Am I?” She took a step back and away from Callaway.
Just then the police entered the store—two men, armed with guns.
Callaway smiled. “You'll be going away for a very long time now. I guess I'll have to ask someone else out."
Oh God no. He would kill someone else! He was sick! Colin said it himself. It's a sickness of the soul.
"Put the gun down!” one of the policemen yelled, but she didn't look at him.
Donnes couldn't look anywhere but at the man before her. He would keep killing. If she didn't kill him, he would kill some other woman—maybe a woman like her. A woman who was stressed, reaching out to anyone for help, looking for a hero. That woman would find no hero. She would find a monster. Funny how her definition of monster no longer included the undead. It now consisted of a very living man.
Living—that's something that she wasn't anymore. It didn't matter what she did here. She died before even entering this store. She had to do something to make it all right.
She pulled the trigger.
Everything happened so slowly like a movie put on slow motion. A policeman fired. She dropped her gun. Callaway fell to the floor. Someone screamed. She closed her eyes.
Chapter Fifteen
A constant buzzing noise caused her to stir. Blinking, she found herself sitting on a bench. She rubbed her sore neck while looking around.
She sat on a bench on a sidewalk. Looking up she read a brown pylon. Written in white “McPherson Square Station” struck her as amazing. “How the hell did I...?"
She looked to the man beside her. His head bobbed again. Yuck! He smelled of whiskey or some other strong drink. A bum was sleeping on this bench!
"Hey,” she spoke to him.
No response.
She stood and watched all the people coming and going. Some hurried and others seemed not to care at all. Where should she go now? She read the pylon again.
"Guess I can go anywhere."
Walking to the tunnel leading down, she made her way to the down escalator. Even though no one saw her, she still stood to the right. Habit. She smiled. She wouldn't be caught dead standing on the left side of the escalator. Everyone knew to stand on the left side would get a few nasty comments.
She walked across the hexagon shaped tiled floor. No need to stop for the faregates now. She watched person after person slide their farecards in the slot, and remembering that the gates were no problem with Patricia, she smiled and stepped through them. Nope. No need to worry about that anymore.
She walked to the edge of the platform. “I'm back in the Metro. It's where it all started."
Looking down the line, she heard a familiar whistle echo through the tunnel. She saw the steam encased front of the locomotive barreling down the line. The number thirteen caused her to smile.
Stepping back, she waited until the train came to a stop.
Colin stood in the doorway, a look of utter confusion plastered on his face.
She smiled, sighed, and waited.
"All aboard."
After looking around to see if she would be the only one, she stepped on board. He never lowered a stool for her this time.
The passenger car looked just as it had the first time.
"What are you doing here?"
She spun around to face Colin. “Aren't you glad to see me?"
"I..."
She wrapped her arms around him before thinking. “I'm back. That's all that matters."
He slid her arms off of him. “What are you doing here?"
Patricia told her. She had a soul he wanted before, but she had no soul now. There were no other stops for her, right? This had to be her final destination. It had to be.
"Excuse me. I believe you can find your way around."
She watched as he left the car. He just walked away as if she meant nothing to him. Numb, she walked to an upholstered bench and sat down.
She watched the landscape change from winter, to spring, to summer. How long did that take? An hour?
The passenger car opened, and Colin entered again.
She glanced his way and back to the window.
He cleared his throat. “Seems that you're here to stay."
"I know."
"And that's why you're here to stay."
She looked at him. She was here because she wanted to be here. They both understood that now.
"The engineer has informed me that you're replacing Patricia."
"Does that make you happy?"
He turned to face the door but extended his hand.
Silently, she took his hand.
They entered his private car once more. Colin closed the door and stood facing it for a long moment.
The room was just as she remembered it—warm and inviting. It was not at all like any other room on the train. “I love this room. Cozy, ya know?"
He grabbed her arm and turned her back around to face him. “What am I to do with you?"
"I..."
"You know what I am.” He was so stern. He really had no reason to be. She just wanted to be with him.
"I know. Patricia told me that you really feel nothing for me. That it was only my soul you hungered for."
A small lifting of his brow. “But you came back anyway?"
She shrugged.
"How did you get back here? No one ever has. Not the same train anyway."
"There's more than one train like this?” That was just an odd thought—hidden trains of dead people. Okay those whistles heard over lone plains are now creepy for reasons other than the eerie sound.
"That explains why you got this train."
"Huh?"
"Like opening the doors on this train and getting what you expect,” he explained. “You knew to expect this train, so this is the train you got."
"But I didn't know the first time."
"No one ever does.” He inhaled the scent of her hair. “I prefer this rich brown to your dyed version."
She smiled. “Me, too."
"So, how did you get back?” He sunk his hand deep in her hair.
"I didn't hate killing Callaway again.” She traced his mustache lightly with her fingertips.
He chuckled. “You damned yourself to an eternity of serving this train all because you hated your boss?"
"He was a psycho. He was going to strangle and kill more women. He said so."
"He's gone forever now."
"How can that be if I just killed him? Won't he show up here again?"
"No. You went back in time, but Callaway can't return here. Like I said, no one ever returned here until you. Callaway's time on my train is over. He more than likely, and rightly so, expects something far worse this time."
"So people get what they expect when they die?” That was so simple. Christians expected Hell. Hindus expected reincarnation. No one was wrong.
"Some get surprised. Thinking they lived better than they did or worse, but Callaway will get what he expects."
"Oh, you sound so sure of that,” she spoke close to his lips. So close to kissing, her stomach churned with butterflies.
; "I'm a very decisive man, remember?"
"Prove it. Seems you changed your mind last time."
His brows rose. “I didn't want to kill you."
She chuckled. “Sounds like a macho thing to say.” She lowered her voice comically. “I could have killed you with my lovemaking."
His wicked grin, she would never tire of that. “Take off your clothes, Donnice."
Turning he sat in one of the two winged back chairs. An all too familiar smile formed on his lips. “I like to watch, and you don't want me to undress you. You remember that, don't you?"
Donnes smiled and turned her back to him. Removing her brown suit jacket, she dropped it. Unbuttoning and removing her white blouse, she dropped it to fall on top of the jacket. Smiling back over her shoulder, she lowered one of her bra straps.
She paused. “What if I change my mind this time?"
"You want me to undress you?” A playful grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"No. I mean what if I decide not to make love to you."
"You won't."
"Oh?"
He gestured with his chin. “Off with it, woman. I'm tired of seeing that hideous outfit on you. I will have to make sure you get other clothing.” He winked. “Something with a lot of laces and tight fitting. Hmm. Maybe a new corset."
She giggled and dropped her bra. “Maybe some high heels, too, while you're at it."
Colin grunted. “That goes without saying."
She unbuttoned her pants then slowly unzipped them. Shaking her hair out fully, she could only hope that Colin found her attractive as she tried her best to look seductive for him.
When he approached her, he ran his fingers through her thick hair. “Don't mess it up again by trying to dye it."
"It's just brown."
"No. It's rich and gorgeous like dark chocolate."
She smiled as Colin's embrace from behind prevented her from turning around. “You're so warm to me now. I noticed that the last time we were together. You don't seem as cold."
"To the living we seem dead and cold, but to each other we're warm."
"To each other? Then, I'm like you now?"
He nodded. “Never to fully die and never fully living."
"Why did you feel warm to me last time?"
"You had already decided in your mind where you wanted to be. I didn't fully comprehend that.” His hands slid up and cupped her breasts.
"Then, I'll feed like you do?"
"I'll be here to help you. I can feed you until you are comfortable with it. Soon, you'll see that we provide a service as much as satisfying our basic need to feed."
Closing her eyes, she leaned back against him. The huge brass buttons on his stiff uniform created a thrilling sensation against her smooth skin. She couldn't focus on the negative things now. Not while the man she wanted more than anything held her naked breasts and spoke softly against her neck.
"You're not going to leave me this time, are you Colin?"
He kissed her neck after pushing the weight of her hair to one side. “I'm not, and you're never leaving me again."
Donnes moaned as he slid his hand into her opened pants. His fingertips swirled just inside her tightly closed sex long enough to gather moisture. Raising his hand, he smeared her liquid over her nipples slowly, watching over her shoulder.
"No. I'm not ever going to leave you again, Donnice.” He chuckled. “And you can't ever leave me."
Turning, she wrapped her hands around his head. “I'll never want to."
"That's why you confused me so, Donnice. That's why I never knew when your stop would approach."
She closed her eyes as his hand lowered to her throbbing pussy. Her cravings increased with each tiny flick of his middle finger. “Why?"
"You didn't really want to leave, did you?"
She opened her eyes just enough to peer through her lashes. “No, Colin. I didn't want to leave you."
His expression shifted before her eyes—pleased, confused, and finally surrender. “I'll never understand how you could find a dead man so desirable that you would give him all eternity."
"You know women desire you.” She lifted onto her toes.
His gaze lowered to the pert breasts at his chest. “Not enough to last forever."
"Maybe no one else sees you the way I do."
"And how is that?” His mouth lowered to one brazen nipple.
Sucking and pulling, she found it hard to concentrate on anything other than what his mouth did to her.
"Mine."
He paused long enough to tell her she had stunned him. Lifting her, he wrapped her legs around his waist. That heavy and unforgiving uniform slid in between her spread legs. Moaning she allowed her soft and slick sex to sample the wool of his uniform, settling on the very noticeable ridge outline of his cock.
"You want it that bad?"
She licked the corner of her mouth. “Am I that easy to read?"
Pushing her back against the wall, he ground against her, pulling a low, drawn out moan from her throat. “Is this what you wanted?"
"Yes, Colin.” Closing her eyes, she bit the inside of her cheek. “You have no idea."
A surprisingly tender kiss as he embraced her caught her off guard. He slipped his arms up her back and walked her to the bed. “I think I have an idea."
Laying her on the bed, he stood and removed his clothing. Twisting her arms above her head, she twisted the bedspread in an effort to ease her cravings for his touch. Soon, writhing in impatience, she looked for him.
"I could watch you move all night.” His fingertips trailed so tenderly across her lower stomach it could have been a breeze.
With a smile, she bent her knees and spread her sex while covering it with her hands. “Just watch?"
His hands followed hers as a grin spread across his mouth. “If you move your hands now, I will be forced to watch."
She grinned but kept her hands still. “I'm torn as to what to do now."
He laughed. “Then by all means, let me be the decisive one. Move your hands for me."
Grasping her mound, she cupped it fully. Moving her feet outward, she rose to meet her hands. She couldn't look at his dark eyes without feeling the heat of that stare.
"Move them."
Easing her fingers between her sex's moist lips she rolled her hips and pushed two fingers deep within her moist channel. The slick sheath needed so much more. Her thumb ground the clit in an attempt to ease the need but resulted in a greater hunger.
Colin growled as he pulled her hands away.
"Hey, I thought you would be frozen."
"I'm making a decision.” He covered her body and kissed her. Thrusting deep in her, she forgot everything else.
Donnes wrapped her legs around his waist and whimpered with each powerful thrust. He filled her again and again with thrusts that signified his need. After a few more thrusts, Colin pulled her legs higher and placed them on his shoulders. Turning his head to the side, he bit her calf just hard enough to feel good. Those teeth scraping her flesh, but not breaking it, sent shivers through her.
"Colin!” Her slick muscles tightened; her ass pushed higher. An intense release caused her to buck against him.
"Damn, Donnice, you feel good.” His voice melted in her ears. One final thrust and he stilled, moaning low and deep.
Pulling her legs to one side, he eased down on the bed beside her. His heavy breathing and sweaty chest were impossible to resist, so Donnes snuggled up beside him.
"Just like I thought it would be.” She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly.
"Where you're concerned, I never know what to expect.” Colin kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder protectively.
THE END
Encouraged by her mother, Luna Carrol began writing and story telling at the early age of ten. Add the creative atmosphere of an understanding mother and a grandmother that believes in home remedies and “things not seen” to a love of history and classic liter
ature, Luna was destined to find comfort in the pages of books. No longer satisfied by reading the stories of others, Luna strives to write stories that are original and thought provoking as well as romantic.
After her attempt at the practical by receiving a degree as a Paralegal, Luna returned to the university and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in Social Studies Education, which she laughs and calls a History degree with employment possibilities. Now she spends her days teaching History and Language Arts and her nights writing. She enjoys finding new ways to write about history and famous legends, as well as exploring the darker aspects of the human psyche. The one thing she doesn't want to write is a predictable tale.
Ms. Carrol is published with Tease Publishing and Midnight Showcase. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and serves as the Published Author Network liaison for her local chapter; Carolina Romance Writers in North Carolina.
Luna's upcoming releases with Tease:
Tarot Series: The Death Card; Mine. Heart and Soul.
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Visit www.teasepublishingllc.com for information on additional titles by this and other authors.