My Invisible Lover

by Jamie Athelstan

  “I have the power of language,” Jesse explained. He’d lost a little of his cockiness to lay things out in a matter-of-fact way. “It means I can use words as weapons, or tools. I speak every language in the world, including the dead ones, and if I ever came across a new one, I would pick it up instantly. Like, say, if I came across an undiscovered tribe living in isolation.”

  “Does that happen often?” Jada asked. She felt comfortable being as sassy as she wanted to be around Aliss and Jesse; they clearly had a playful vibe going on already.

  “It’s not as rare as you would think,” Jesse replied, flashing her his bright white teeth. “Mostly, though, I use it to get us into hospitals and get Aliss where she needs to be. And, just occasionally, to get us out of sticky situations.”

  “So, how does it work?” Jada frowned. “You just know the right words to say or something?”

  “Maybe it’s better if I show you,” Jesse said.

  He held out a hand to get the attention of a waitress, as Luke sunk down into his seat and covered his face with a hand. “Here we go,” he muttered, as if deeply embarrassed.

  “Hi,” Jesse said, grinning at the waitress as she came over. “Listen, would you be able to make my girlfriend here a banana milkshake with rum and cream? Thanks.”

  “We don’t serve alcohol,” the waitress said flatly, her pencil hovering unused over a white order pad.

  “Well, I know that,” Jesse said. “But she really wants one. It would be the right thing to do.”

  “We don’t have any rum on the premises,” the waitress protested, looking sideways at the kitchen.

  “Oh, that’s alright,” Jesse said. “We don’t mind waiting while you go out and get some. We’re not going to make a fuss about that.”

  “Okay,” the waitress said, quickly scribbling something down on her pad and walking away.

  “You are the worst,” Luke groaned, trying to hide again as the waitress headed to a coat rack in the back of the diner and hung up her apron.

  Jesse grinned. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “But we do save people on the side. We deserve a bit of fun, right?”

  “I don’t get it,” Jada frowned. “How did that demonstrate anything? The request was perfectly reasonable.”

  Jesse laughed with glee. “No, it wasn’t,” he said. “I just happened to persuade you at the same time I was persuading her.”

  Jada shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment to try and understand. “I still don’t get it,” she said.

  Aliss and Jesse both laughed at her, and then Jesse leaned forward to look into her eyes. “Listen to me,” he said. “I just asked her to break the rules and risk her job. I asked her to leave her shift, go outside, and buy something that she isn’t legally allowed to bring onto the premises. And she’s doing it.”

  Jada’s mind started to clear as if a heavy fog was lifting. She glanced around, and saw the waitress outside the window, heading to a car. “Oh, shit,” she muttered.

  “She gets it,” Aliss crowed. She and Jesse seemed to be having a real whale of a time.

  “Alright, demonstration over,” Luke said, sitting up in his seat. “I kind of feel like we should leave now.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Jesse said, shaking his head. “We’re still waiting for an order.”

  Luke sighed and settled deeper into his seat as if resigned to the situation.

  Jada was struggling a little to decide what she thought of it. The demonstrations she had been given before – Aliss' healing, and Luke's disappearing – had been harmless. The only risk had been someone else noticing what was going on. This time, though, Jesse was potentially getting someone in trouble. And since it was on her behalf, she felt at least partially responsible.

  It was an uncomfortable feeling. She shifted about and looked over at the kitchen. A large man with a red face kept looking around the inside of the diner and scowling; she guessed that he was probably the owner and that he was wondering where his waitress had got to.

  “She might lose her job,” she breathed, almost without meaning to.

  Jesse shook his head quickly, getting up from his seat. “I’ll square it with the owner,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

  “He was just playing,” Aliss smiled, as they all watched him saunter over to the kitchen window. “He’s a sweetie, really.”

  Luke sighed as if relieved, and Jada glanced at him. So, he had been as taken in as she was. They all watched in silence as Jesse talked with the owner until he broke out in a smile and began nodding vigorously. Jesse nodded to him a final time and then returned to the table.

  “See? All good,” Jesse said. “I convinced him that she was out on an essential customer service mission and that it was for the good of his business. I even suggested she deserves a pay bump.”

  “Thanks,” Jada said, feeling like it had all been for her benefit.

  “I wouldn’t have left without doing it, anyway,” Jesse said, his eyes twinkling.

  “Anyway, all that aside,” Aliss said, flicking her hair over one shoulder and leaning forward. “We actually asked you out here so we could talk to you about something.”

  This was addressed to Luke, not Jada; he sat up a little straighter at the attention. “What’s going on?” he asked. From his face, Jada guessed he had the same thought she was: that Garrett might have caused some trouble somewhere else.

  “Well, Jesse and I are heading out on a road trip soon,” Aliss said. She was smiling, and it was clear that this was good news – not bad. Jada allowed herself to relax just a little.

  “We’ve kind of done this area, you know? Been around every hospital a couple of times, and if we stay too much longer, someone will notice all the miraculous recoveries,” Jesse said.

  “So, we’re heading out for a bit of a longer trip than normal. We probably won’t be home to visit our families for six months or so,” Aliss continued. “We figured we’d make it a bit of a holiday as well as a mission.”

  “And that means having some fun,” Jesse took over smoothly. He pointed at Luke, grinning. “And that means bringing some bros.”

  “You want me to come along with you?” Luke asked. He looked momentarily excited; then his gaze slid sideways to Jada, and he hesitated.

  “You don’t have to decide right away,” Aliss said. “But we’re heading out tomorrow. It’s kind of a last-minute plan, you know?”

  “Right,” Luke said, looking down at his hands on the tabletop. “I, uh. Thanks, guys. I think I need some time to make up my mind.”

  “I know it’s not easy to get out of work when you have a normal life,” Aliss said, in a way that struck Jada as half apologetic and half fake. “Otherwise we would have invited you, too, Jada.”

  “Thanks,” Jada murmured, watching Luke. He seemed split by indecision. “I don’t mind if you go.”

  Luke looked up at her in surprise, taken aback for a moment. He searched her face for a moment; Jada tried to give him a reassuring smile.

  “You know what?” he said, suddenly. “I’ve actually made my decision.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “I’m staying here with Jada,” Luke said, reaching for her hand with a warm smile. “I want to give this a real chance to turn into something, you know? We deserve that.”

  Aliss made a cooing noise, and Jesse chuckled. “Fair enough,” he said. “You lovebirds be sure to keep in touch, though. We’re not going to the other side of the moon.”

  “Of course,” Luke nodded, grinning now that the tension was gone. “And in six months’ time, we’re going to have the mother of all catch-ups.”

  Their talk turned less serious after that. Apparently, there were a lot of inside jokes and references that the three shared from their history together, and more than once Jada felt like she had been cast adrift. But Luke would make sure to reach for her hand and pull her back into the conversation, and in the end, she was a little sad when they all decided it was time to go. Not before Aliss had finished her alcoholi
c milkshake, of course.

  Luke took her hand as they left the diner, and Jada turned to him with a small smile. It was wonderful, that feeling of newness; the fresh thrill of a relationship that was just beginning. Acting like a couple in front of other people. It wasn’t like they’d had The Talk about where their romance was going, but Jada could feel it growing between them – and with gestures like this, Luke proved that he was feeling it too.

  They headed back to her apartment, the scene of their crimes for the last few days. The place was a mess – they had too much to do in bed to think about clearing up between their snatched meals and quick visits to the grocery store – and Jada had work in the morning.

  “Oh, god,” she groaned, looking around at the mess.

  “Sorry,” said Luke, scratching the back of his neck with one hand. He looked guilty, in a very cute way. “I’ll help you clean up.”

  “How generous,” Jada teased, hitting him in the arm gently with a cushion that had somehow landed on the floor. “Since you helped me make all this mess.”

  Luke flushed a little, his mouth dropping into a downcast line. “I should have thought about cleaning up as we went,” he said. “It was rude of me just to leave everything in your home like this.”

  Jada laughed and slipped her arms around his neck. “I’m only teasing,” she said. “It’s fine. Now, before we start, I just want to check – you don’t have any friends with magical cleaning powers, do you?”

  Luke laughed back at her, the tension easing out of his face. “Sorry,” he shrugged. “As far as I know, personal body powers only. Nothing that can extend out to other objects.”

  “Well, that’s important to know,” Jada said and sighed. “And also, a serious bummer, because now we have to clean it up ourselves.”

  Luke looked around at the ransacked apartment and grinned. “I’ll have a reward waiting for you when we finish,” he said.

  “Ooh,” Jada said, raising her eyebrows. That was all the incentive she needed.

  They got to work quickly, putting away clothes, washing up dishes, and tidying empty food packets into the bin. A few hours passed, but then it was done.

  Jada half-collapsed onto the sofa, gazing at her now-tidy apartment. “Thank god that’s over,” she said. “I hate trying to organize everything. I mean, I like having it organized. But the hassle…”

  Luke flopped down beside her, giving her a satisfied grin. “Now it’s done,” he said. “Don’t you want to claim your reward?”

  “I think I should be rewarding you,” Jada said, almost purring at him. She had been waiting for this, and her body was ready too. She could barely hold herself back from simply leaping on him. “You did decide to stay with me instead of going on a major road trip adventure with your friends, after all.”

  “Huh,” Luke said, cocking his head. “I guess I do deserve a reward, at that.”

  Jada gave up on holding back. Lifting her knee onto the cushions, she swung around quickly so that she was straddling him in a seated position. Her face was just slightly above his, and she leaned down to wrap her arms around his neck. “What kind of reward did you have in mind?” she asked. Her voice was low and inviting.

  Luke’s mouth enveloped hers in a deep kiss, and sparks of fire danced through her belly. She wondered if she would ever be able to get bored of doing this. His hands slipped down around her waist and lower, his fingers encircling her ass and lifting her slightly.

  She couldn’t take it any longer. She practically ripped off his shirt, then discarded hers just as quickly. She needed skin on skin, the kind of contact that could only be done without clothing in the way.

  Luke responded, shifting his hips around so that he could unbuckle his belt and shuck his jeans out of the way. Though it was tough to do elegantly, Jada twisted her body around so that she could lose the clothing on the lower half of her body, shedding everything until she was naked over him.

  Even with his underwear still in the way, she could see that he was waiting for her. She groaned and ground her body against his – breasts against his upper chest, arms wrapped around his neck, and her wetness pushing against his hardness until neither of them could bear it any longer.

  With a quick motion, Luke lifted her into the air on his hips so that he could throw his underwear on the floor. Jada gasped as the last piece of uncovered skin made contact, the thought of him inside her already driving her mad.

  There was no need for a preamble, no need to wait around. Their desire had been foreplay enough. Both of them were straining, the lust coursing through them enough to tantalize but not to satisfy. Jada took a single moment to carefully position herself and then eased herself down.

  As he slowly slipped inside her, Jada gasped at the fullness and the intensity of the sensations. It was never not a surprise, even when she expected it. It was almost as if she couldn’t believe he could feel this big inside of her, that she could never imagine taking him all in. Luke groaned low, under his breath, and closed his eyes as she finally sat completely on his lap.

  They both drank the sensation in for a moment, but not for long. Soon they were moving against one another furiously, Jada pushing up with her thighs as Luke moved his hips up and down in time. After a short while, he locked his hands around her hips and stood from the couch suddenly, carrying her whole weight on his body.

  The lack of support pushed Jada down as far as she could go, and she moaned at just how far in he reached. It was a kind of heaven. Bliss met with an aching desire for even more, a kind of pleasure that was so intense it was painful. Luke lifted her up and down with his arms, showing off his strength. Jada clung desperately to his muscled shoulders, unable to do anything else.

  He carried her through to the bedroom and laid her down on top of the covers, leaning over her, never missing a beat in the rhythm between them. He grinned at the look on her face and then laughed, a raw sound of joy and pleasure and effort and strain and thrust harder to make her gasp out loud.

  Luke leaned down to capture her lips in a passionate kiss, then straightened up. “I have an idea,” he said. “Do you trust me?”

  Jada nodded wordlessly, not trusting her voice at that moment. He felt good inside of her. But then, much to her disappointment, he suddenly pulled out and away. Jada made a mewling noise in the back of her throat, anxious for that wonderful sensation to come back.

  “Trust me. Stay there,” Luke reminded her with a grin, backing out of the room. She watched him go. Her eyes were inevitably drawn to the hard rod swaying in front of him with each step. She needed it. She didn’t want it to leave.

  Jada lay in a new silence, still panting slightly to regain her breath, training her eyes on the doorway and waiting for him to come back. She was thinking about reaching down and touching herself, keeping the fire burning. How long was he going to be gone for?

  Then, she had almost the shock of her life. Without warning, without any kind of indication whatsoever, something was inside of her. She could feel it, hard and yet soft, perfectly fitted to her. She knew what it was without having to ask. But still – there was something about this – something that scared her – that made her think of Garrett.

  “Luke?” she said, out loud, suddenly afraid.

  “Yeah, baby,” he replied, thrusting hard and deep inside of her.

  The worry was gone. She knew it was him. But this was still strange – feeling him, even seeing her own body react to him, but with no other indication he was there at all. His hands were suddenly on her breasts, kneading the flesh and circling up to tease her nipples. Jada wasn’t sure what to think. Did she like this? It was a little exciting, to be sure, and different from anything she had ever experienced. But that night with Garrett –

  Jada cried out, unable to stop herself. Luke was thrusting with new vigor, and she could feel him swelling inside of her, growing impossibly larger. His hands gripped her hips tightly and held her in place, and she felt how much he was enjoying it. He was panting now, loudly, a
low groan escaping with each breath.

  He was enjoying this. And the feeling of him getting harder and hotter and closer made her enjoy it, too. Jada groaned and writhed as he thrust with what felt like interminable determination, each inward stroke taking her closer and closer to her edge. Everything else that had been in her mind was swept away. The sensation was too much to allow anything else in.

  Then Luke cried out, an animalistic cry without words, a sound of triumph and pleasure and raw power. She felt him juddering against her, the last thrusts sending hot fluid inside of her, pushing maddeningly close on her limits. Just a little bit more –

  Luke pulled out, drops of liquid spattering against her inner thigh and sliding down over her ass as he did so. He was panting with something close to exhaustion, visible now – when had that happened? – And shining with sweat. He looked down, caught her eye, and grinned.

  “You look disappointed, babe,” he said, a teasing note in his voice. He eased himself down onto the bed next to her, lying on his side while she stayed on her back. “You thought I was just going to leave you like that, didn’t you?”

  Without warning, he thrust two fingers up inside of her, and Jada closed her eyes for a moment in the sheer pleasure of the feeling. He continued to move, faster than he ever could when his whole body was involved, his fingers slipping in and out in a furious rhythm. Jada felt a great wave building inside of her, building and building, and she closed her eyes again.

  Luke paused for a moment – an awful moment in which she momentarily thought he was stopping – and then a third finger joined the others, filling her up almost completely. It was enough. It only took a matter of seconds for Luke’s fingers to work the wave up to breaking point, and it crashed down, drenching her in absolute ecstasy.