by Alex Dafney
I run my hand down her side, my hand lingering at the hem of her shirt. She lowers her hands down my back, reaching the hem of my T-shirt and pulling it up. I pull back from her, grabbing the collar of my shirt from behind with one hand and ripping it off. Eri grips her shirt, pulling it up and jerking it over her head, throwing it to the ground.
My lips crash back to hers. Both of us in a frenzy. Her hand lowers between us, cupping over the bulge in my jeans and I groan against her lips. Pulling back slightly I look into her green eyes. “Are you sure about this?” Her lip lifts on one side. “Never been so unsure of anything in my life.” Grabbing the back of my neck she pulls my lips back to hers.
I lie on my back, gazing up at the ceiling with the biggest, goofiest grin on my face. Eri is sprawled across my chest, her hair fanned out around us as I run my fingertips along her spine. “That was incredible.” She mutters lazily, causing me to chuckle.
It was incredible though. Hands down, the best sex of my life. It was like each of us knew how to send the other to that next level before we both crashed into a high like no other. “What’s your last name?” She lifts her head, turning to me with a small smile. “I don’t have one.”
I draw my brows together in confusion. She shrugs the best she can in her position. “I don’t have a last name. I make one up for situations like tonight, but I was never given a proper last name.” She pushes herself off my chest, bringing the sheet around to cover her breasts. She looks away from me, focusing on something on the desk.
“It’s why I said we could only be friends. My life belongs to the Division and has since I was a teenager.” She looks back to me, a sad smile on her lips. “People like me don’t have lasting relationships. They don’t settle down with one person and live a normal life.” I sit up, reaching for her and lifting her to straddle my hips before resting back on the pillow and gazing into her eyes. “Why?”
She sighs lightly, trailing her fingers softly over the mark on my hip. “I’ve never stayed in one place more than a few months. I go where I’m told, when I’m told to do so. I protect the normal population from the things of their nightmares.” I pinch my eyes closed. “You protect them from people like me.”
I feel her lips against my temple, slowly trailing down the side of my face, and stopping just under my ear. “You’re not going to transform, Ashley. We’ll figure this out. Together.” Her warm breath against my ear has all the blood rushing to my lower half. She pulls herself off me, smiling down at me with a seductive look. Keeping her legs locked around me she slowly lowers herself onto me. My eyes rolling back as she does. Nothing has ever felt more perfect, and I don’t think it ever will again.
We lie in the dark hotel room facing each other. Our hands clasped between us, my other swung over her side and her leg between mine. We’ve been talking about everything and nothing for the past few hours in between enjoying each other’s bodies. She lets out a heavy sigh as she closes her eyes. “Shit.”
When she opens her eyes, mine widen in surprise. Her green eyes glow between us. “What is it? Why are your eyes glowing?” She pushes herself to sitting, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. “Demon.” I sit up quickly, flinging the sheet off me as I stand from the bed, trying to find my clothes in the disheveled pile of clothing on the floor. I pull my jeans up quickly, spinning around to find her pulling the black corset over her head.
My dick instantly begins to harden at the sight. “You stay here. I’ll be back soon.” I push down my attraction to her, shaking my head swiftly as I reach for my crumpled shirt on the floor. “No way. I’m not letting you go out there alone.” She looks over to me as she pulls the bow and arrows from the bag on the desk. One eyebrow raised and a ‘really’ look on her face.
I let out a sigh, placing my hands on my hips and glaring at her. “You can’t go out into the night, alone.” She stares at me, pulling the side of her lip in with her teeth. “You’re right. I can’t leave you alone.” I roll my eyes as I shove my feet in my worn tennis shoes. That’s not what I meant, but.
I stand behind her as she pulls the door to the hotel room open. We both stumble backward as the Demon stands just behind the door in a long black cloak. Her red eyes landing on me with a wicked smile on her face. My head begins to ache lightly at first, but with each passing second it becomes more intense. “Phase two, my child.”
I grip my hands to the side of my head as the pain worsens. Closing my eyes, I stumble backwards, my knees giving way and crashing to the floor. “Ashley. Listen to me.” I feel Eri’s hands on my arms, rubbing gently as my head pounds with every heartbeat. The pain is so intense I feel myself loosing consciousness.
I fall to my side on the floor, my eyes squeezed close. “I’m here, Ash. Just stay with me.” Her hands run along my arms gently. Her sheer touch making me feel better. I slowly open my eyes just as a burning pain sears along my hip. I reach down, pulling my jeans down to look at my mark. The colors in the middle circle swirl. As it stops the circle becomes completely black.
Looking up to Eri I know she saw it as well. Her eyes are sad, and her lips pulled down at the corners. Her eyes lift to mine. “You’re transforming.” I lie back on the floor that probably hasn’t been properly cleaned in a decade, covering my face with my hands. How the hell are we going to stop this?
Chapter Eight
I wake up the next morning in the queen size hotel bed, the sun streaming through the window. I tilt my head slightly, looking at Eri who has her head on my chest, her eyes closed, and her long hair fanned over me. A smile pulls onto my lips as I watch her back rise and fall with her breaths.
After my episode last night, she had closed the hotel door, locked it and turned to me. She offered her hand down to me and helped me from the ground before stripping the leather outfit from her body and taking me to bed. We didn’t have sex. She fucking made love to me. Soft and sweet and full of emotion.
My smile widens as I recall the night before. I reach my hand up, brushing her hair from her face. “Eri. We need to get going.” She groans in response, not opening her eyes. Wrapping her arm that’s draped around my waist tighter as she shifts her leg to rest on mine. “Five more minutes.” She mumbles sleepily.
I chuckle lightly, placing my arm behind my head. If she wants five more minutes of this, I’ll be happy to oblige her.
After showering, together, we both walk out of the hotel room with bags in hand in our matching Canada T-shirt’s. I slide into the driver’s seat as she opens the passenger door, throwing her bag to the back seat before sitting. I reach across the small console, grabbing her hand and lacing our fingers, resting them on her leg. “Where to?”
She gives me a bright smile. “We need to grab a phone so I can call Ori.” I nod as I shift the car in gear, pulling out of the tiny hotel parking lot. We drive a few miles before spotting a gas station. I pull the car up to a pump, putting it in park and shutting it off. “You know this thing will go over thirty.” I look over to her with a scowl to which she laughs before flinging the door open and stepping out of the car.
“Fill her up. I’ll grab us a burner phone while I’m inside.” I shake my head slightly as I lift the gas lever and insert it in the car. The only reason I’ve been going slowly is because of our conversation on the plane. She likes to be in control, but she did let me drive. I look over my shoulder, seeing her through the glass windows inside the store.
I watch as she smiles brightly at the attendant behind the counter. It suddenly hits me. She let me drive because she trusts me. I take a deep breath, blowing it out slowly as her eyes find mine through the window. My heart rate picks up as I stare at her. She’s the woman of my dreams. My dream girl. The pump clicks behind me and I turn to it. Lifting the lever from the car I replace it on the pump.
I slide back in the driver’s seat, my mind heavier than when I got out. We have to figure this out. I can’t lose this woman. The passenger door swings open and she lowers herself inside. A bag in her hands. I
glance at the bag in her lap then up to her eyes. “What’s in the bag?”
She gives me a shrug as she pulls the bag open, peeking inside. “Travel snacks. I can’t go on a road trip without my favorite junk food.” I let out a laugh as I start the car, putting it in gear and pulling out of the parking lot onto the two-lane black top. I watch from the corner of my eye as she begins pulling things from the bag on her lap.
“I have chips, donuts, candy, jerky, and everything in between.” She looks over to me with a grin as I hit the accelerator of the car. “What will it be for breakfast?” I chuckle lightly, shaking my head at our breakfast options. “Chips sound good.” I see her smile instantly turn to a frown. Knowing that’s what she was going to choose for herself. “I mean donuts. That sounds great.”
Her lip pulls up ever so slightly as she pulls a bag of chips and the donuts from the bag, showing them to me. I nod in agreement as she rips the packages open. I glance down at the digital speedometer, realizing I’m doing almost a hundred miles per hour. I back off the accelerator, not wanting this trip to end too soon just as she offers me a donut. Popping the whole thing in my mouth with her fingers she giggles.
I chew slowly on the chocolate morsel as the car slows to a still fast eighty miles per hour. “How far is it to your friends?” She pulls open the bag of chips, taking one out and offering it to me. I open my mouth as she slips it in, her finger grazing my lip ever so slightly and turning me on. “It’s about two hours.” I watch her from the corner of my eye as she licks her finger.
I let out an audible moan as she places her finger in her mouth, sucking the sweet and salty from her fingertip. She looks at me from the corner of her eye, before turning her full gaze to me. “Pull over.” Her low, husky voice has me asking no questions as I slow the car, pulling to the side of the road.
I barely have the car in park before she’s climbing over the console, straddling my lap. My dick strains between us in my day-old jeans as she leans toward me, cupping her hands on my cheeks. “I don’t understand this need I have for you.” Her lips crash onto mine, her tongue trailing across my lower lip. I open my mouth, unable to control this need I have for her.
My smile is wide as I pull back onto the two-lane road. Eri thrusts the bag of chips my way. “You can have the chips.” I wave my hand toward her, knowing that’s the snack she really wants. “You take them. I’ll have the donuts.” She crosses her legs beneath her in the seat, casually pulling chips from the bag and popping them in her mouth.
We spend the next hour and a half flirting, talking, and driving down the same road. “Slow down. The turn is somewhere on the right.” I pull my foot from the accelerator, searching for a road to turn on. There’s nothing in sight other than tress. “Uh. Are you sure?” She glances over at me with her eyebrow raised, a smug look on her face. “Just slow down so I can find our turn.”
I slow the car to a snail’s pace, still wondering where the hell she thinks we’re going to be turning on this desolate portion of roadway. “There!” She points toward the side of the road. I sweep my eyes along the line of trees, not seeing a single place to where we could potentially turn. “Stop! You’re going to pass it.”
I stop the car in the middle of the road. Not that it matters. We haven’t passed a single car during our entire trip. “The rock. Turn into the rock.” I look over at her with a look on my face that purely reads she’s lost her damn mind. She huffs, folding her arms over her chest. “Just turn there.”
I slowly start forward, turning at the rock, knowing this is going to do some damage to the bumper of the car. “It’s your car.” I wait for the sound of the rock hitting the bumper. My eyes widening as the hood of the car disappears behind the trees. “What the hell?” I mutter as we begin to move through the trees as if it’s water. A winding, narrow road appears before us as we slowly move through the mirage.
I look back over my shoulder, seeing the two-lane blacktop we just pulled from. “How is that possible?” I look over to Eri who shrugs slightly. “Some type of spell. Honestly, I don’t know too much about how the witches work, but they’ve always helped when I needed it.” I face back forward, driving slowly down the road.
“Any warnings before I walk into a house full of witches?” She chuckles lowly next to me. “I’m glad you reminded me. Firstly, don’t call any of them witches. This coven likes to be referred to as Enchantresses. Second, they like men. A lot. Don’t let yourself be alone with any of them. They will use their spells for their own… entertainment.”
I feel her looking at me from the corner of her eye. “I mean, you can if you want to. You’re a single man and they’re single woman.” My brows draw together slightly as I take in her words. I slow the car to a stop, turning to look at her as she stares out the passenger window. “I don’t want to be with anyone else, Eri.”
She glances over to my slowly, her eyes finding mine with an emotionless look on her face. I reach across the console of the car, placing my hand on hers that rests in her lap. “Apparently, I’ve been presumptuous, but I thought last night was the start of something. A start for us.” She looks away from me, turning her head back to look out the window. “Ive already told you. There can never be an us.”
She lets out a long sigh, bringing her eyes back to mine. I can see the sadness in her beautiful green eyes. “I just deserted the Division. I’ll be on the run from now until they catch me. You have a life to get back to, and I intend to do everything I can to help you do just that.” Her lips lift at the corner into a smile, but I can tell it’s for show.
I remove my hand from hers, pushing the gear shift of the car into park and leaning across the console, placing my hand on her cheek. Her eyes close, a shallow sigh escaping between her lips. “It doesn’t have to be like that. We’ll figure this out, then we’ll figure out your situation with the Division.” Her eyes open slowly, her head shaking ever so gently.
“People like me don’t have this.” She reaches her hand up, placing it atop of my hand that rests on her cheek. “When, not if, the Division finds me, I’ll likely be imprisoned for a few years for my insubordination. At my release I’ll be to the age when I’m expected to breed with another Stalker to produce the next generation.” She shrugs her shoulders lightly, still staring into my eyes. “Even if I wanted to choose you, I can’t. I stopped having a choice when I joined the Division.”
I search her eyes with my own. Her eyes are sad. Sad and lonely. I push forward the few inches between us, placing my lips to hers gently. At this moment there is nothing in this world I won’t do to bring joy to her eyes. I pull back slightly, resting my forehead against hers. “Just say you’ll be with me. We’ll figure it out.” I watch her eyes close, her head dropping down.
“I’ll be with you. For now.” Her words come out as a whisper. I place a kiss to her forehead, pulling back slowly and letting my hand slide from her cheek as I give her a smile. “For now, is fine. I’ll take what I can get.” She rolls her eyes at my cheesy line. I reach for her hand, lacing our fingers together to rest on the console after putting the car in drive and beginning our slow pace down the road.
“Just for the record, I think I’m more afraid of meeting these Enchantresses than I am of heights.” I’m rewarded with a laugh. Music to my ears. “You should be.” The trees begin to give way in front of us, a large, three-story plantation style home coming into view on top of a hill. I pull the car up just in front of the tall steps to the grand, white porch that wraps around the house.
Eri starts to pull her hand from mine, but I grip it tightly, forcing her to look over at me. “Don’t leave me alone. Please.” She chuckles as she leans across our clasped hands to place a kiss on my lips. “I won’t. Promise.” She pulls back giving me that bright smile that I’ve come to love.
We step out of the car at the same time, closing our doors. I walk around the front of the car, stepping to her side and reaching for her hand between us. She curls her fingers with mine, giving a little sq
ueeze before we make our way up the massive set of steps.
Standing in front of the red, double doors, Eri lifts her hand, knocking lightly. “Don’t let go of my hand.” She whispers. I roll my eyes. Like I was going to drop her hand as we walked into a house full of witches. The door slowly opens. I wait for someone to appear, only to be left looking into the pitch-black room.
“I’m Eridanus. I’m here to speak with Eldora.” The door slams closed in our faces, causing me to take a step back. Eri jerks my hand, pulling me back to her side. “What the-“ My words are cut off as the door opens again. A slender woman stands in the doorway in a flowing white dress that touches the floor. Her hair is as black as night and reaches her waist.
“Eridanus. It’s been a while.” Her dark eyes stay trained on Eri’s green ones, no show of emotion on her face. “It has. It’s good to see you too.” The corner of the woman’s lip twitches into a smile as she steps forward, stepping right into Eri’s personal space. I watch as the two women stare at each other. “What do I owe the honor of your visit?”
Eri grips my hand tightly between us. “I need your help, Eldora.” She takes a step back, turning her gaze up to me. “I see you’ve brought me a plaything for my troubles.” She steps right up to me, her breasts pressed against my chest. Eri’s fingernails curl into my palm as Eldora reaches her hand up, trailing her long, black fingernail along my jawline.
“He’s not your plaything.” She cocks her head, looking over to Eri at my side, her nail still on my chin. Her lips twitch into a half smirk as she slides her fingernail from my chin to my chest. “Do you have a claim on him?” Her fingernail travels lower between my pecs, toward my navel, lower still.
Eri’s fingernails are digging into my palm at a painful level now as she glares at this woman. Eldora’s nail travels lower still, stopping within an inch of my waist band as I hold my breath, not sure what else to do. Her lips pull up in a devious smile as she keeps her eyes locked on Eri’s. “You cannot claim him, can you?”