by Paula Mabbel
“Kyan, how did you know? How did you know I was being hurt? How did you really figure out where I lived? Why were you watching me? Why do I feel like you're always watching me?”
Kyan laughed that same, all-consuming laugh, and it washed over her like warm ocean water on a sunny day. He leaned forward against the window sill of the booth, his breath slightly steaming up the glass as he spoke.
“I am always watching you, Annika. I have been, for months. I was out one night, hunt... walking. And I saw you in this booth. You looked so lonely, so sad. I tried to put you out of my mind. I've tried to put you out of my mind every night since. But I couldn't. Does that frighten you?”
Annika knew it should. She knew it deep in her bones. It was strange that this man she'd barely spoken to, this man whose last name she didn't even know, had been following her. And yet, it brought her an odd sort of comfort, knowing that all the time, Kyan had been watching out for her.
“No, it doesn't. It should, but it doesn't. Why me, though?”
Kyan reached up and pressed a large hand against the window of the booth. Annika felt her stomach flip-flop as she pressed her own hand against the other side of glass. The size difference was enormous, and yet, Annika loved the way Kyan made her feel so small. She could almost feel the heat of his skin, seeping through the window. It made her tingle in a way she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Kyan leaned closer, his voice drifting through the glass like honeyed wine,
“Why not you, Annika?” Her name was poetry on his lips.
Annika took a deep breath, and touched her fingers to her neck. She felt a strange sort of love for Kyan in that moment, in the knowledge that he had rescued her, that he had been protecting her. The words escaped her lips before she knew she was saying them.
“Come over tonight? I'll make us a late dinner. We can talk... more.”
There was a pain in Kyan's eyes, as if he were struggling with inner demons, demons that were pulling him in another direction. He looked behind him, and all around, keeping guard even in his moment of struggle. But then, as quickly as his mood had changed, he came back to Annika, to the present.
“Yes. I have somewhere to be, so I shouldn't, but yes. I'll meet you back here, at midnight.”
It wasn't a question. Annika was just about to ask him if he was sure he wanted to meet tonight when Kyan disappeared into the shadows.
She couldn't understand how it was he kept disappearing so damn quickly. One minute he was there, and the next, poof. It was like he was a magician.
*****
Annika was just locking up the movie theater, when she could have sworn she heard the howling of wolves in the distance. She scrunched up her nose in confusion; wolves were not a native species to Maryville. The woods that surrounded the city were mostly free of four-legged wildlife, but especially wolves.
Annika tried to put the sound of her mind as she checked her watch. It was a few minutes after midnight, and she didn't see Kyan anywhere, or feel his watchful eyes upon her. Rather than allow her usual doubts to get the better of her, she smiled softly to herself and began walking toward home. She knew, somehow, that Kyan would catch up with her. Annika was almost at the door to her building when her suspicions proved true; Kyan was already walking toward her from the other side of the street.
“I'm sorry I was late. I got, held up,” he said with a sly smile.
Annika chuckled at his strange word play. She'd never met such a man before, one with so many secrets. But for some reason, it made her even more intrigued by him. Annika tilted her head toward the door and grinned, gesturing for Kyan to follow her inside. When she opened her apartment door, her cat Monica rushed over to greet her, with a quick snuggle around her ankles. Suddenly, as soon as Monica caught sight of Kyan, she scurried to the corner of the room, and began hissing hysterically. Annika tilted her head, and cursed at the cat.
“She never does that. Crazy cat loves everyone. I'm sorry, Kyan.”
Kyan shrugged, but he kept his distance from Monica, staying as far away as he could, as the cat eyed him suspiciously. Annika set about gathering a few things to make pasta, while Kyan made himself comfortable on one of the bar stools, and watched as she flittered around the kitchen.
“You like cooking?”
Annika laughed, “Well, enough. But I don't often get the chance to cook for anyone but myself.”
Kyan leaned forward on the bar, and Annika found herself again distracted by the way the muscles in his arms rippled, making his tattoos come alive. She lost track of what she was doing for a moment, and almost dropped a pot of water to the floor. Kyan chuckled and gestured to the wine rack.
“Can I pour us a couple of glasses?”
Annika nodded and began chopping tomatoes and herbs for sauce. She knew Kyan was watching every move she made, but she was watching him too, the smooth way he seemed to complete every task, how he moved with such measured grace. Even when he handed her the glass of wine, he did it rhythmically, like a dance.
A few sips of the heady chianti gave her the courage to keep asking her questions, even as Kyan sat there silently, with a small smile.
“So, Kyan... do you have a last name? You know so much about me, but I don't know anything about you.”
Kyan began to spin circles on the bar stool, like a child playing out of boredom. His hair was a split second behind him as he twirled, which made look like a hipster tornado. Annika couldn't help but giggle. When he finally stopped spinning, his eyes were twinkling with mischief.
“Randall. My name is Kyan Randall.”
Annika spun her hand at him, indicating she wanted more information.
Kyan sighed. “I'm 28. I'm from Colorado. I have six brothers. My dad is Navajo. My mom is from New Zealand. And I really, really like you, Annika.”
Annika felt her face run hot. She wasn't used to compliments, especially from men who looked like Kyan. She didn't know what to say, so she said the only thing she could think of.
“I really like you too, Kyan.”
Kyan smiled and stood up from the stool. He walked over to the stove and stood next to Annika, taking a spoon from the jar on the counter and helping her stir the sauce. The kitchen hummed with electricity as they made dinner, drank wine, and made small talk about their lives. Kyan avoided as many personal questions as he could, instead pushing Annika for stories about her childhood, her father, and her job.
She'd never thought of herself as particularly interesting, but the way Kyan was looking at her, you would have thought she was the most fascinating woman on the planet. It made her lightheaded, just the way he was looking at her. Any time they so much as brushed up against each other in the small kitchen, she thought she might spontaneously combust.
They sat down on Annika's couch to eat, more anxious for comfort than what was proper. However, it didn't take long for Annika to notice that Kyan wasn't actually eating anything. He was mostly just poking at the food, and pushing it around the plate. It was making her worry that she'd done something wrong.
“Do you not like it? Too much oregano?”
Kyan smiled softly. “No, it's delicious. Really. I'm just... more of a meat kind of guy, I guess.”
Kyan set down his fork with a look of frustration, and took Annika's plate away from her. For a second, she was about to object, but then she saw how serious he'd become.
“Damn you, Annika. Damn you. I swore I would never fall in love, never let myself do it. But then I saw you. In an instant, I imagined a life with you I never thought I could have, and now I don't ever want to live any other way.”
Annika was speechless. She'd never had anyone make any kind of grand gesture before, let alone one so strangely beautiful. She didn't even have time to respond before she realized something was about to happen, something she didn't even know she wanted until right that very moment.
In an instant, Kyan was on Annika, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and lifting her high into the air. Annika str
addled her legs around Kyan's strong stomach and wrapped her arms as tight as she could around shoulders. Kyan felt himself become dizzy with the desire to taste each and every morsel of Annika's delicious body.
Annika slid her hands up under Kyan's shirt and lifted it over his head. She felt every curve of his muscled chest, was surprised to see the tattoo of his arm spread from his bicep up and onto his pecs. Flowers, and leaves, the most beautiful woodland scene, like something out of a master painter's imagination.
“You're so beautiful,” she whispered.
Kyan reached up and brushed Annika's hair away from her eyes.
“Nowhere near as beautiful as you, my gorgeous girl.”
Annika couldn't take her eyes off of every inch of Kyan's torso, his perfect shoulders, his gorgeously sculpted collarbone. She couldn't help herself; she kissed her way across his warm, pale skin, savoring his strange, musky smell. It was like an intoxicant and she couldn't get enough of him.
Annika savored the sensation of Kyan's skin underneath her fingertips, the way his body seemed to tremble at her touch. With a look of absolute adoration filling his twinkling green eyes, Kyan carried Annika to her bed, and laid her down gently on her side, so they were face to face. She ran her small hands through the length of Kyan's long brown hair, melting in to him with every new sensation.
Kyan reached over and slid Annika's turtleneck delicately over her head, careful not to hurt her, then her jeans. With Annika laid bare in front of him, wearing only her pale pink lace bra, he stopped to take in every inch of her. Annika couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Kyan let his hands explore her luscious curves, her soft breasts, the slope of her ass. He found it all so beautiful, as if he were analyzing a painting.
“You're the most perfect thing I've ever seen. I can't stop looking at you,” he whispered.
Annika had never known what it felt like to be fully adored, and she wanted more of it. She leaned in to him for a kiss, letting her tongue explore each inch of his warm mouth, her nails digging into the hard muscles of his back. They were pressed against each other, the heat of their flesh feeding off one another.
Annika's heart pounded like a drum as Kyan reached up and wrapped his fingers around the sensitive skin of her breasts. Annika's breath became pulsated, her veins coursing with passion at the sensation of Kyan's unwavering hardness against her thighs.
Annika kissed Kyan's collarbone and shoulder, hungry for the taste of him, starving for just a drop of his glorious perspiration. His strong arms held her aloft, he hands gripping her curvaceous ass, holding as tight as he could without hurting her. With one quick movement, he rolled Annika on to her back, and held her arms above her head, restricting her movement. Her body thrilled from the lack of power, from Kyan's power over her.
“Be still, my darling. Let me take care of you.”
Her whole body writhed at the collection of sensations that Kyan was infliction upon her: His hands rolling across her stomach, the satin of the comforter, drifting across her back, the smell of Kyan's skin filling the whole room. She felt everything, every movement; Kyan kissing and nibbling the soft flesh of her thighs, digging his fingers into the delicate flesh of her ass. Every time his rigid firmness drifting across her skin, it was like a lightening bolt through her body.
“Kyan, why me? Please... Tell me,” Annika stumbled out through a haze of desire.
Kyan looked up at her, his eyes boring a hole right through her.
“Because no matter how hard I fought, the minute I saw you I knew... you were the one I was fated for,” he growled seductively.
Annika couldn't control the moan that escaped her lips. Even his words were like a drug, and she needed more. She was aware of everything now. Kyan reached up and snatched away her bra, as if it weren't even clasped shut. His large, strong hands cupped the downy softness of her breasts as his lips kissed down her stomach.
Kyan lingered seductively over her underwear, but skipped by them, leaving Annika desperate for release. He let his lips graze the sensitive skin of her legs as his other hand traced across her calf. Annika felt as if she was becoming drunk with mad desire, her mind dizzy with it. She wanted every bit of him, inside of her, all over her, around her. She wanted to feel every part of him, and it was driving her crazy that she couldn't touch him.
Kyan could feel her hunger, and finally acquiesced to her need.
“Do I keep going?” he whispered.
She squirmed under his touch. “Yes, please. I beg you. I need you,” she cried out.
In one delicate movement, he inched off her panties, and rolled up next to her, kissing her with all of his passion, outlining her lips with the tip of his tongue. Annika was so distracted by the feel of Kyan's mouth on her own, she didn't even notice as he let one hand drift down her body, and then down to her pussy, where he slipped two long fingers deep inside her warmth.
Annika's body rose and fell with every twitch of his skillful fingers, as his thumb pressed expertly against her clit. She felt the first wave of an orgasm overtaking her. Annika had never been touched with such cunning before, with such a luscious and unbridled knowledge of what her body needed. She was beginning to feel desperate for the ultimate release.
Yet, Kyan wasn't done playing with Annika, not yet. With a wolfen smile, he pulled his hand away from her pussy, licking her delicious taste from his fingertips as Annika watched, enamored. Kyan enjoyed the look of pleasured pain on her face as he teased her, his beard drifting over her skin, making her shiver.
Kyan moaned softly as he ran his tongue slowly over each facet of her body: her shoulders, her arms, fingers, collarbone, each breast, pausing only to suck fervently on her erect nipples, then in zig-zags down her belly, and finally burying his nose in the soft curls between her legs. Kyan barraged her with luscious flicks of his tongue. He explored her inside and out, providing Annika with a delirious rapture she had never known.
She undulated underneath Kyan, fighting the oncoming deluge of her orgasm, but losing. She began begging, desperate, hungry with the desire to feel Kyan inside of her.
“Kyan, I want you. I beg you. I want you to fuck me. Please, do it...”
Kyan raised his eyes to meet Annika's, his face echoing her own need. But he was still toying with her, controlling her, and he wanted her to fully submit to him.
“Tell me how badly, Annika. Tell me, baby.”
Annika lifted her head, fought against the pain she was feeling in her neck, tried to focus on the pleasure instead. The combination of the two gave her a strange sort of surge in her sex. She whispered out,
“I want you now, only you. Forever you. Please Kyan. I need you.”
Kyan was up the length of her body in one felt swoop, his rigid cock sliding against her leg as he moved. His movements were lightening, rolls of thunder, and with a passionate kiss, Kyan slid the length of his long, hard cock inside of her. Annika wasn't a virgin, but never before had a man felt so perfect inside of her, as if he were meant, only for her. Every throb, every movement of his long, exquisite cock in her welcoming pussy, brought on another rush of euphoria.
As Kyan drifted in and out of her, all of Annika's self-consciousness, all of her fear over the way she looked, disappeared in a wave of pure love. Kyan took her in with nothing but adoration, and he couldn't stop touching her, every part of her. She saw herself through his eyes, and she felt more beautiful than she had in her entire life. Annika felt her own orgasm washing over her, and Kyan knew he wasn't far behind. As his hair drifted across Annika's face, he whispered softly in her ear,
“I'm coming. Come with me. Now.”
With one final thrust, Kyan and Annika exploded in a tidal wave of ecstasy. Kyan's deep voice growling in pleasure only amplified Annika's orgasm. Her whole body descended into shivers, as Kyan collapsed on top of her, the sweat of their pleasure becoming one, as their bodies were.
Annika couldn't explain
it, but she couldn't even get a word out. All she could do was whisper, “I love you,” before she fell into a deep sleep, her head settled softly on Kyan's soft muscular chest. Kyan listened to Annika's breathing as she drifted off. Before he fell asleep himself, he sighed in her ear,
“You're mine, Annika. Forever and always.”
*****
When Annika woke up, the afternoon sun was pouring in through the picture windows in her apartment, letting her know she'd probably slept a little too late. At first, she had no idea what had happened. But then, she felt a soreness in her muscles, and dizziness behind her eyes that brought the whole previous night rushing back to her.
Kyan...
Annika sat up in a daze, her eyes blurry from too much sleep. She looked all around her apartment, but there wasn't a trace of Kyan anywhere. Annika jumped up from her bed and slipped on her robe, hoping she might find Kyan in the bathroom, but there was no sign of him there either. All she found was Monica, hiding in the bathtub, looking far more stressed out than usual.