More Than Darkness
40
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clasclass=MsoNormal>This is a crossover smutty story featuring the character of
Tess/Salida ie Tess' Voice in Neon
More Than Eyes Alone Can See, and
Merrie's OUATIM fic on ff.net, Darkness Rising. This
story will make some sense, probably, if you read it without having read either
of our stories, but it'll make a hell of a lot more if you just read them.
They're all worth reading, we promise. Anyway, on with the show.
Rated for what has happened, and what might happen.
ourselves. On with the story.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeffrey parked in an upscale shopping district, coming
around the car to help Salida out like the gentleman he wasn’t.
“You remember when
you once told you liked to see me all in black, vixen?” he asked as she looked
around. “Something about how it made my
skin look like ivory or something like that?
You said you’d make me wear it only if you had a dress so we’d
match. I wasn’t entirely open to that
idea, but I figure since I’m already dressed for the occasion today – not that
I’ll wear this later – I’d give you the chance.
That’s what I want to buy you, vixen.
A black dress so we’ll match again.
Well, that and a few other things, but that’s the only clothing I intend
on buying you. Unless you need fucking
accessories that is.”
She didnant ant a
dress. That wasn’t the mood she was
flirt, and arouse, and play. “All I need
for us to match is something
black. It doesn’t need to be a dress,”
she murmured, looking around the posh surroundings.
Jeffrey raised an
eyebrow at that. They had just been
about to enter the boutique where he had bought her other dresses, but he
didn’t enter at her words. “Do you not
want a dress? Because I might be willing
to fucking compromise if I like your other options.”
“I was thinking
more along the line of really tight leather pants,” she said blithely.
“Uh huh.
wry grin. “Hmm . . . maybe
That could be fucking sexy,” he said, his grin turning wicked.
planning on wearing tonight though.”
She grinned slyly,
using a single finger to trace patterns on his chest.
lips. “Perhaps the plan needs to be
revised. You know that bar that was just
a few blocks over from our hotel? The
one that always had live music in the evenings?”
“Yeah . . . I know
it, vixen. Why?” he asked warily.
“I’ll meet you
thereseveseven,” she purred, kissing his jaw.
“We’ll play a little game. A bit
of cat and mouse if you will.”
“What do you mean,
you’ll fucking meet me there at seven? Where
are you going?”
“Jeffrey. . .” she
playfully whined. “I want to play.
first.”
“Oh.
with a wicked smirk. “Alright fine.
do today first.”
“Good.
“Of course you
don’t,” Jeffrey said with more than a hint of smugness, leaning over to kiss
her forehead. “Come on.
it’s not going to be a dress, then I’ll move on to the next item on my list.”
“And what’s that?”
she asked as he pulled her down the street.
“I intend to charm
you, vixen,” he said with a smirk.
“I thought we’d
been over this already,” she mock sighed.
“What can I
say? I’m a slow learner and fucking
stubborn on top of it,” Jeffrey said with a smirk, leading her down the street
towards the jewelry store where he had done all of his business.
know who would.
“Oh, I have nothing
against jewelry,” she quipped. “It’s
your dubious ‘charms’ I’m doubting.”
“Dubious
charms? You wound me, vixen.
regarding you.”
“You know, lying
will get you nothing at all, lover.”
“I wasn’t lying,
vixen. Only . . . telling the truth a
bit moreativatively.”
“You were lying
through your teeth,” she replied as he ushered her into a small building.
“My teeth had nothing
to do with it,” Jeffrey muttered offhandedly as they were greeted by the same
woman who had helped him the first time.
It was only when he saw her give Salida a curious frown that he realized
his mistake. Sands and Aida must have
come in here to get the fucking ring that rested on his right ring finger.
They think kitty and I are married, vixen.”
“Mr. Sands!
greeted him warmly, waiting for an explanation as to who the woman was on his
arm.
“Hello,” Salida
said, untangling herself from Jeffrey.
“My name is Salida. I’m one of
his in-laws.”
“A pleasure to meet
you, Salida,” the jeweler said, offering her a hand.
professional. “Now, may I help you?”
“I’m looking for
some charms for a charm bracelet,” Jeffrey said.
felt it would be prudent to ask.”
“Ah yes, charm
bracelets are lovely. We do have a small
selection of charms, and if you don’t find what you’re looking for I’ll be more
than happy to recommend another store.”
“Thank you,”
Jeffrey said, following Jules’ lead as she directed him to the case where they
kept the charms.
“If there’s
anything else you need, please don't hesitate to ask.”
help another customer.
Salida
inappropriately burst into a fit of giggles.
“I should have told her I was your mistress,” she teased.
“I’m very glad you
fucking didn’t, vixen,” he said with a smirk.
“I have neither the time nor the fucking inclination to find another
jewelry store in this city. I like this
one and the staff is at least competent.”
“But it would have
been fun,” she sighed, looking at the display case.
“If you want to
pick, you’re more than welcome to, vixen.
I have a few in mind, but I want to know what
you want as well.”
“I like the sun
one,” she said, pointing. It was tiny
and had a miniature face etched in its middle.
The rays were bent wire that tangled and crossed over each other,
forming a feathery corona.
“Of course you do,
vixen,” Jeffrey said with a smile. “You
and the sun. Do you like any of the
others?” He had already seen one he
wanted to get her, and if that was the only one she liked then he’d call the
clerk over and they’d be finished.
“Umm . . . the
turtle one.” Hidden in one corner of the
case, there was a verdigris-stained sea turtle about the size of her little
fingernail. It appealed to her for some
reason.
Jeffrey followed
her gaze and saw the turtle. He didn’t
really understood what she liked about it, but that didn’t matter.
“No. “Alright then,” he “Did you find any Jeffrey “Very nice choices,
said, giving her a small smile. “Prepare
to be charmed,” he smirked at that and motd Jud Jules back over before she
could respond.
you wanted?” Jules asked pleasantly.
nodded. “I’ll take the sun one, that
turtle one over there, and the little eight-ball in
the front here.”
Mr. Sands. If you come with me, I’ll
ring these up for you.” Jules removed
the selected charms from the case, led Jeffrey and Salida over to the counter
wherffreffrey paid – making his signature as much like Sands’ as he could.
no mind. As they walked from the store,
Jeffrey handed the bag with the charms into them to Salida and kissed her on
the cheek, not caring if Jules saw or not at the moment.
She nodded.
her wrist.< sty style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Why’d you get the eight
ball?” she asked, wondering if he was sentimental enough to get it for the same
reason it’d caught her eye.
“It reminded me of
our innuendo laden first game of pool.
Well, that and our christening of the new pool table at the house,”
Jeffrey said with a smirk as he began to slowly put on the charms he had
bought. It was still hard with only one
good hand, but he was getting better at working around that.
“I knew there was a
softy somewhere underneath that homicidal exterior,” she teased, leaning in for
a lingering kiss.
“Yeah well, don’t
tell anyone,” Jeffrey said with a smile as they pulled
away. “It’ll ruin my reputation.”
“Good.
back. And your tail.”
“Maybe,” he
allowed. He didn’t really think such a
thing was possible; there were just some things the police or whoever didn’t
let go of, and murder was one of them.
But he didn’t want to spoil the mood by sharing these thoughts, so he
kept silent.
She kissed him
again, then leaned her head against his shoulder.
“Did you want me to
buy you the skirt or whatever you’re going to wear tonight, or did you want to
surprise me?”
“I want to surprise
you. I like surprising you.”
“I know you do,
vixen. Alright.
seven. It’s a little past four now.
on your own, I’ll leave you to it. Will
I see you back at home?”
“That would ruin
the surprise,” she murmured into his neck.
“I’ll manage. Bring the car with
you tonight though.”
“Alright.”
knife. “Did you need any money?”
“No.
investments. The rent is paid, and I’ve
put some away, so I can splurge.” She
kissed him again. “I’m going to miss
you.”
“I’ll miss you too,
vixen,” he said, running a hand down her cheek.
“But I’ll see you in a few hours.
Have fun. I promise I won’t stand
you up,” he said with a wicked smirk, rising from the bench.
beat the shit out of me for doing so.”
******************************
******************************
At
Salida was at a pool table in the back of the bar called “The Jazz Pit.”
playing, ignoring the leers of her male opponents, and glancing at the door
every time it opened. Jeffrey wasn’t
here yet, but she was alright.
dared touch. She was feeling dangerous
tonight and they seemed to feel that.
Not to mention they were all still sober enough to know better than to
test a woman in four-inch spiked boots.
Jeffrey pulled up
in front of the café and cursed. He was
late. He had spent a good fifteen
fucking minutes trying to tie his goddamn tie before Aida finally grew
irritated either by his loud string of curses or his unwillingness to ask Sands
for help – he wasn’t sure which – that she finally just tied it for him.
even attaching the red rosebud to his lapel, but his battle with the tie had
still managed to make him late.
He re-buttoned his
black suit coat, got out of the car, and walked into the café, drawing more
than a few stares from the people gathered there.
looking for her, and his heart leapt up into his throat as he saw her.
and confidence as he could manage.
The m had had
started, making it harder to notice when the door opened and closed, but Salida
knew she had company when the men around her straightened and leaned on their
pool cues, a subtle hint that the visitor was something of a threat.
she smirked, leaning down even lower, grinning as the leather of her skirt
pulled tight over her rear. She’d won
over a hundred and fifty bucks already, and was in the process of beating
another one of her opponents – the real reason they didn’t want her to leave
and the reason she was going to. If they
wanted to keep their money, they should know better than to gamble.
Jeffrey just took a
moment to appreciate the dark goddess in front of him.
giving her opponent an apprising stare before hiding a smirk to see that his
wife was mopping the floor with him. He
knew she held the room enthralled, but he noticed that no one dared approach
her. This was more than likely due to
the air of danger coming off of her like heat.
Jeffrey found it intoxicating and only wanted her more.
before making a move, however. For now
he was content to just watch.
better, than the next woman. Aiming
carefully, she sent the cue ball hurtling towards the ‘Communist red’ ball,
grinning as it disappeared into a pocket.
it was never more true than now. He
watched her sink shot after shot, supremely confident in her game and herself,
and he thanked whoever might be listening that she was his.
Salida could feel
her husband’s eyes or, ar, and she had to hide a grin.
Her eyes flickered up and met his over the table and she winked.
Jeffrey couldn’t
help but grin back as he leaned against a convenient pillar and watch her act
the pool shark. Her opponent didn’t have
a chance, and it looked as if he were beginning to realize that.
over the wink she had sent his way, and he could only grin back, feeling like a
fucking king.
She finished off
her current opponent in a matter of minutes, gleefully collecting her money
from him. He and a few of his buddies
didn’t seem too pleased, but Salida wasn’t worried.
himself was behind her.
“Any other takers?”
she asked the room in general, her charm bracelet softly tinkling as she leaned
on her pool cue. “Anyone else want to be
drained dry?”
“Drained dry, she
says. Litvixevixen’s got a smart
mouth. Maybe someone should show her up,
huh boys?” Jeffrey directed to the gathered men.
what to think, but the man she had just beaten and his friends nodded
vigorously. “And fuck, being drained dry
might not be all that bad,” he said with a wicked smirk.
the vacant chairs and grabbed a free pool cue.
“I’m betting you’re a ball breaker, so why don’t you go first.”
“Just hold on
there,” she said, raising her chin and throwing her shoulders back.
the rose froe lae lapel, sniffing delicately before tucking it behind her
ear. “I’ve been getting fifty dollars a
head from these guys. For some reason I
think you can afford ever so much more.”
“I’m certain I could
afford whatever you dish out. And what’s
better, I’m willing. What are your
stakes, vixen? Give it to me straight.”
She looked him up
and down, an appraising and calculating look in her eyes.
“She can’t pay
that,” a gruff voice whispered behind them, and she turned to glare in the
general direction it’d come from.
“Oh I don’t
know. Look at her outfit.
leer. “She can afford it.
another arrangement.”
at that.
“If we had to
resort to that arrangement,” she
mocked him, “you’d still end up owing me
money.”
“Perhaps,” Jeffrey
allowed. “But I can think of far worse
people to own money to, sugarbutt.
So. Do we have a deal or not?”
“I don’t know . . .
you look like a rich guy, and I’ve heard they ask for the strangest things.” Then she
shrugged. “But since I’m going to win
anyway, I don’t see the harm in it.”
“You’ll have to
tell me all about the strange things, later sugarbutt.
“Unfounded?” she
asked as she reached into her blouse and pulled a wad of money out from between
her breasts. “I have $150 dollars here
that says otherwise.”
“$150 dollars from
people that aren’t me, vixen,” Jeffrey said with a smirk after taking a long
moment to unabashedly admire her breasts.
“And what makes you
different?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“If I’m not mistaken, one man comes equipped
with the same abilities as another.”
“That’s not
necessarily so, vixen. But even so, some
men are just better at using those abilities
than others. I happen to be one of those
men,” he said, casually chalking the end of his cue.
“Really?
“You’re just not
looking at it from the right angle.”
“And what would the
right angle be?” she drawled, racking the balls.
“Looking up from
beneath,” he drawled in return. He was
enjoying the hell out of himself. He had
truly missed this. And what was better,
no man in the room had a clhat hat was really going on and that none of them
even had a chance with her tonight.
Jeffrey didn’t know if he could beat her, but he knew irregardless he’d
get that chance.
“And if I like
looking down from the top?” She snagged
the chalk from his hand and started rubbing it suggestively over the end of her
cue while maintaining eye contact.
“It’s even longer
from that point of view,” he responded, casually wiping his fingers free of the
blue chalk dust.
“I say you’re full
of bullshit,” she said in a blatant challenge.
Jeffrey raised an
eyebrow at that. “Put your money where
your mouth is, sweetness, and commence with the ball breaking.”
She rolled her
eyes, then rolled her hips as she walked over to the pool table.
and making quite a show of it – she struck.
Two striped balls and a solid went into three different pockets and shernedrned to Jeffrey smugly. “What was it
you were saying?”
“That I love
playing solids,” he said with a smirk.
“Excuse me, luv. I’ve got to beat
someone at pool.” With this blithe
comment he proceeded to three of his own in succession without pause before
missing the last with a muttered curse.
“Looks like it’s your turn.”
“Thank you,” she
murmured, pushing him out of the way and brushing against his groin at the same
time. “Pardon me.”
four more in before missing.
'> “You’re pardoned,”
Jeffrey said wryly, not commenting on her dirty little trick and setting out to
win this fucking pool game. He managed
to get two more solids before doing the worst thing imaginable at this
point-scratching. “Ah fuck,” he muttered
under his breath. He’d really wanted to
beat her too. With nothing left to hit
but the eight-ball, she would fucking win for sure.
“Aww . . . you’re
going to be a good sport about this, aren’t you?” she asked, getting into
position to hit her last ball.
Unfortunately, Jeffrey’s was behind it.
There was no way to get to hers.
hard and sent both balls into the pocket.
“Looks like both
balls got off . . . the table,” she said innocently.
“Looks like,”
Jeffrey agreed with a grin. “So what is
that, a draw? How do you want to play
this, vixen?”
“I’m all for
letting it lie. Other than of course you
owe me.”
“How do you figure,
sugarbutt?” Jeffrey asked, taking his cue in hand and leaning causally against
the pool table.
“I finished us both
off.” She grinned and tossed her hair
back over her shoulder.
Jeffrey grinned in “Then I get to “Miserable,” style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I wouldn’t mind having you at my feet.” “Would you “Should have “I don’t recall you
return. “That you did.
you, vixen?” he asked wryly. “Say I left
my wallet at home.
collect in another way.” She glanced at
him, her eyes lingering around his midsection.
“How are you at shining shoes?”
Jeffrey responded with a grin, letting her look.
now? Well, I’ve always been a quick
study.”
studied pool more. Now if you’ll excuse me.
. .” She turned to find another victim.
doing better, just getting to the end faster, vixen.
“We tied because I
decided we were going to.”
“We tied because
there was noer oer option. That’s not
winning.”
“Then you don’t owe
me anything and I don’t owe you anything.”
She turned again, wanting to egg her husband on.
“What fun is
that? Best two out three.
“That’s
alright. Besides, you don’t have the
money to pay the stakes.”
“That may be.
thing val value. I can see my flower
already caught your fancy,” he said with a smirk noting the rosebud in her
hair. “It looks better on you,” the last
was whispered softly, as he slipped out of their game a little and truly spoke
his mind. He recovered in less than a
second, but the slip had still been made.
“Really?” she
drawled, setting down her cue and walking towards a small table.
“I think I can
mange that, sweetness. If not, I can
always challenge the bartender to a match of pool.
are,” he teased, setting his cue aside and holding out a hand for her to move
to the vacant table where he had laid his coat.
“You got a name?”
she asked, taking his hand. “Or should I
just call you ‘the man who lost’?”
“You can call me
whatever you want, sugarbutt,” he drawled with a sm lea leading her to the
table.
“How ‘bout Tiny
Tim?” she asked, taking a seat. The
smirk on her lips was purely evil.
“Whatever you like,
vixen. You’re the one that’s going to be
screaming it, so it makes no difference to me.”
He gave her his own evil smirk.
“You’re awful
self-confident, aren't you?”
“I have no reason
not to be,” he said with a smirk.
“And why would you
say something like that?”
“Because it’s the
truth,” he said with a shrug, taking his own seat after putting his jacket back
on but leaving it unbuttoned.
“You’re full of it,
Stranger. But I’ll let it slide.”
“Ever consider that
maybe it’s just the truth? But
whatever. Fuck it.
a smirk. It didn’t really matter what
she ordered. He would have the bartender
leave out the alcohol regardless.
“Virgin margarita,
please.”
“You
be right back,” Jeffrey said with a smirk, rising from his chair and moving
about the crowded bar to get her drinks.
He returned a few minutes later with a margarita for her and a martini
for himself, complete with olive. He was
in the mood for a change. “There you
go. Enjoy.”
They finished their
drinks, making meaningless small talk the entire time.
impatient, and she loved it. She loved
having that power over him. And she wasn’t
done by a long shot.
Grinning
innocently, she stood. “Be right back,”
she murmured. “Got to visit the ladies
room.” As she turned to leave though, he
grabbed her arm. “Yes?” she asked,
turning back to him.
“I’m impatient as
you very well fucking know, vixen, so I didn’t want to wait any longer to give
you this.” He placed a very small key in
her palm.
to let the game drop for a moment.
“A key, vixen,” he
said with a smirk.
“For what?”
“Portable
restraints.” His smirk widened into a
wicked grin.
“
she gave him was disbelieving.
The look he
responded with was filled with innocence.
“I did give you the key,
vixen.”
“Why portable if
we’re going home?”
“Who says I’m
taking you home. I hardly know you,” he
said with a wry smirk.
“Then I’m not going
to need this, am I?” she smirked back, tossing the key to him.
Jeffrey’s eyes
followed Salida as she headed towards the back of the room, noticing small
things. He smirked when he saw the
number of male heads – some of those were accompanying female heads – that
turned to watch her pass. She ignored
all of them; the sway in her step was purely fom.
her ring finger.
She disappeared
into the back, having had to squeeze through a group of men blocking the
door. Jeffrey watched them, more out of
habit than anything else, but when one of the men nodded to the others and went
down the same corridor Salida had, he got nervous.
Rising from his
chair, he set out after her, not liking what he was seeing.
burst in on Salida in a bathroom stall they could laugh about it together.
He had more than a
little difficulty pushing his way through the crowd, and was just about to pull
his knife or gun on someone when it opened up and let him pass.
bathroom to find his wife.
The bathroom had
only one very confused elderly lady in it.
Other than that, it was empty.
Turning around, he saw the door to the fire escape close.
Now he really was
fucking worried. He raced to the fire
escape, pushing anyone who got in his way aside violently.
feel it. Fuck, if they hurt vixen there won’t be anything left of them.
He pushed the fire
escape door open viciously, and came upon a scene; his wife was currently
holding her own against two young men who were clearly out for the money she’d
won. He moved to interfere, but
something in her eyes kept him glued to the spot and watching.
Somewhere along the
line, Salida had come to realize that she was fighting for her life.
first place, she wouldn’t have had to do this.
But she hadn’t. And now she was
fighting two men, both bigger and heavier than her, and she could only think
about seeing them dead.
One charged her,
and she sidestepped, tripping him and herself in the process.
like a stone. She twisted an ankle and
fell to the ground. The other man
charged her, with a third having appeared out of nowhere.
Jeffrey had given her, and attacked. Her
first swipe caught him in the leg – he went down with a cry of pain.
reached for her throat.thuk as the knife
that was still in her hand slid into his chest.
Jeffrey watched the
whole tableau take place with a curious mixture of both lust and
wonderment. He was no longer afraid for
her, it was clear was was taking care of herself.
bastards who even dared to touch her,
but he would let her fight this battle alone.n stn style='mso-spacerun:yes'>
He was too enthralled not too.
Jeffrey let out a
soft moan as she pulled away from the man she had just killed.
and now she truly was a dark
goddess. Her arms and neck were covered
in spattered blood and he couldn’t remember having been more turned on the
sight of her before. He moved to lay a
gentle hand on her shoulder, not wanting to startle her.
She half-spun,
still running on adrenaline, but managed to drop the knife before she could
stab him too. “They were going to hurt
your children,” she panted, looking down at the dead man.
“They couldn’t even
touch you,” he drawled, desperate to touch her to, to kiss her, to fuck her
right in this fucking alley. “My black
goddess,” he almost moaned.
Breathing deeply,
she took a good look at her husband and felt herself flush.
hands were practically trembling. Then
she looked around at her surroundings; at the trash, the garbage cans, the dead
man, the man who was unconscious . . . who was stirring.
“We have to go,”
she whispered urgently. “That man’s ndeaddead.”
“You could change
that. Or I could,” Jeffrey murmured, not
taking his eyes off of her.
“He never saw
you. Let’s just go.”
“But he saw you,
vixen. He can identify you.
see her hesitation. “I’ll kill him if
you don’t want to.”
Jeffrey was
right. The man was a threat.
walking slowly towards her still stunned assailant.
he would do this for her. But she’d
started it and she wanted to clean up her own messes.
slid the blade between the man’s ribs.
He twitched a few times before going still.
and wiped the blood on his shirt.
“We have to go,”
she murmured, walking back to her husband, her pace picking up.
are.”
Jeffrey go
lit
little light-headed he was so fucking horny now.
torturous things to every nerve in his fucking body.
the fucking raging hard-on I’ve got right now, don’t worry,” he said with a
weak smirk. “The car’s around
front. Take my jacket, you’re fucking
covered in blood. Not that I mind, but
it tends to draw unwanted fucking attention.”
She shuddered and
took his jacket. She was going to say something
more when the door into the alley burst open.
They had no choice;
they ran. They were outnumbered and
fleeing the scene of a murder. They
didn’t stop running until they had reached the Porsche and then the car did
their running for them.
himself to take note of his surroundings and slow the fuck down a little.
“Jeffrey,” she said
softly and urgently. “We need to stop
somewhere. It’s drying on me.
Jeffrey only
nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
He pulled into the first motel he saw, not too cheap, but a far cry from
the hotels he usually stayed at. He
honestly didn’t care. He only wanted to
get someplace with a flat service and privacy – for her sake – and take her
right then and there.
He turned off the
car and locked it up when she got out on the other side before walking inside
the main office and up to the front desk.
“Do you charge by
the hour or the night?” he asked the clerk bluntly.
“Hour,” the small,
badly groomed man said. He didn’t look
up from his porn magazine.
Jeffrey reached
into Salida’s shirt and pulled out the wad of cash she keptweetween her breasts
and laid it on the desk. “How much will
this get me?”
The clerk looked at
them, goggled Salida’s breasts, then turned his attention back to Jeffrey.
thirty bucks an hour.”
Salida almost
protested, butidedided the need to get clean was stronger than the need for her
money. He could pay her back later.
took the key from the greasy clerk, and then she forced him to walk quickly to their
room.
Jeffrey wasted no
time in pressing her up against the wall of the room after the door had been
shut and locked behind them. “My
beautiful fucking black goddess,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss her neck,
not caring that was was covered in dried blood.
He wanted her and he didn’t want to wait.
far her husband’s homicidal tendencies went.
But she was covered in blood, and it was starting to make her skin itch,
and all she wanted to do was get clean.
“Jeffrey,” she protested softly, pushing at his shoulders.
“Don’t, vixen,” he
practically pleaded with her.
“Stay. God, I fucking want you,”
he moved in to kiss her again, his hands moving over her body with rough
passion.
“Jeffrey. . .”
roaming all over. It felt so good.
Don’t stop.
“You’re fucking
beautiful. Bathed in blood,” he
murmured, deepening the kiss on her neck; the taste of blood – even if the
still in control part of him knew it wasn’t hers – sending a jolt of arousal
through his body like a fucking lightening bolt.
kneading them with urgency and desire.
“You’re going to
catch something,” she breathed, pushing his mouth away from her neck.
“I don’t care,” he
responded. He truly didn’t.
lap up her blood like a giant fucking cat if it fed the fire of arousal that
was doing its best to consume him.
“You’ll give it to
me, so stop,” she commanded, putting a bit more force into her hands.
“I don’t want
to. I want you.
vixen. I don’t want to stop.
She rolled her eyes
and reached one hand into his jacket pocket.
“Wanna play?” she asked, snapping one bracelet around his left wrist.
“Later vixen.
brushed against his throbbing arousal.
“Like this,” he finished breathlessly.
“Now,” she
insisted, pushing him backwards until he fell into a chair.
handcuffs through the back of the chair and fastened the other bracelet around
his other wrist.
Moving back in
front of him, she looked at him, then turned to go into the bathroom.
Jeffrey roared in
lust and frustration, pulling at the handcuffs with all his strength.
cool metal digging into the skin of his wrists for his troubles.
chair and let out a mixture of a moan and a whimper and shut his eyes tightly,
praying that she would fucking come back soon.
Salida left the
bathroom door open in case he wanted to watch, then stripped off her
shirt. Miraculously, her skirt and shoes
avoided any blood, but her shirt was a total loss.
shoulders, and neck were covered with blood splatters.
Sighing, she turned
on the faucet, turning the hot water tab on full blast before turning away to
look for a wash cloth. Finding one, she
ran it under the water and started scrubbing.
He heard the water
running and knew that she had left the door open for him to look, but he
couldn’t. Looking upon her now would be
more torture than he could stand at the moment so he kept the same posi;
h;
head thrown back and eyes screwed shut as he whimpered again.
Salida dropped the
first washclintointo the trash and reached for the hand towel, wetting it
before resuming her scrubbing. She had
to get clean. She had to.
A good ten minutes
later, she came out of the bathroom, dressed in bra, skirt, and boots.
face was flushed.
Jeffrey dared to
look. His breath caught in his throat
and he felt himself twitch just at the fucking sight of her.
I fucking lose what little control I have left.”
could still manage a coherent sentence or two.
She looked at him,
clearly weighing his words, before stalking over, her head held high.
his, forcing him to open his mouth and accept her.
Jeffrey accepted
hiss iss hungrily, taking anything and everything she was giving him.
but still they didn’t budge. He kissed
her until he was breathless, and then he kissed her some more.
Salida pulled away
suddenly, her eyes burning into his before her mouth traced a path up his jaw,
to his ear, down his neck. . . Her body
moved as her mouth did, until she was standing behind him.
Her kisses were
bliss and far too sweet, but not enough.
Not nearly enough. Each one
served to bring him to the brink and push him away from it in turn.
the rising swells waiting for that one good wave that would shatter it to
pieces. “Vixen,” he moaned, not quite up
to anything else at the moment.
And then his hands
were free and he was able to grab her and throw her on the small bed, which had
clearly seen better days.
He didn’t
care. It was there, it was flat, and he
was tired of waiting. He attacked her
neck with a passionate ferocity, his right hand moving up to cup her breast as
he leaned on his side slightly to support his weight as he moved above
her. He kissed everything he could
without thought or direction. He simply
men she had killeoverovered in their blood, leaving him even harder than he
currently was which was quite a feat under the circumstances.
Salida accepted him
without any protests or complaints. Now
that she was clean, she could allow herself to be comforted.
it’d come down to them or her, there had been no question.
have to do that again, but she wasn’t going to feel guilty either.
Jeffrey’s one free
hand found its way in-between her legs as his head moved down to kiss the
contour of a breast. He would have taken
off his clothing and fucked her then – he was certainly more than ready – but
he couldn’t stop touching her long enough to do so.
lust hazed mind long. Nothing did.
As Jeffrey’s mouth
wandered down her neck, Salida found herself staring up at the ceiling as her
husband practically assaulted her. The
euphoria from their previous game had started to melt away as soon as she’d
been attacked in the alley, and while this was all fine and good, she missed
the feeling of power she’d had earlier.
It wasn’t until
Jeffrey incoherently mumbled something into her neck that she got an idea.
she pulled his head up to meet her gaze./spa/span>He resisted at first, wanting to continue his path of
she murmured, “Talk to me, Jeffrey.”
“Don’t want to,”
Jeffrey responded with a frown, moving to attack her neck once more.
asked, more than a hint of exasperation in his voice.
“Not that kind of
talk,” she murmured, raising her head to place a soft, sucking kiss under his
chin. “Talk to me.”
What she was asking
for slowly made itself clear in his lust-addled brain.
blood. God seeing you,” he took a
shuddering breath. “Seeing you kill. .
. I wanted you then and there, still
covered in blood and beautiful. '> Such
strength and power. I wanted to taste
that power. I still do.
taste the flavor of your kill. I wanted
for you to use that knife on me. I
didn’t care where. I wanted to see it
flash silver then red as it was covered in blood.
“No,” she
whispered. “I didn’t like it.
but I don’t get the same euphoria from killing that you do.
life. Just yours.
simply by wearing a short skirt, I feel invincible.
Dominating.” Her hands started to
slowly travel up and down his ribs. “And
the only thing better than seeing you like this is hearing it.
Jeffrey saw her
hesitation over her killing and changed tack.
A curious emotion passed over him when he learned that she didn't get
the same thrill from killing that he did.
Was it disappointment? He didn’t
know, and he didn’t really care at the moment.
“Oh vixen. You had me by the
fucking balls from the moment I walked in that fucking place and saw you.
health. Covering just enough to show off
fucking everything.
you. Every man in that fucking place
wanted you vixen. But you paid them no
fucking mind. You’re mine, vixen.
all the fucking power in the world over me.”
“I bought that
skirt for you,” she murmured, finally allowing her eyes to move from his and
start caressing his face. “I knew you’d
like it. Now kiss me and remind me why I
came back to you.”
Jeffrey kissed her
hungrily without hesitation. The raging
lust that was currently controlling him hadn’t even cooled while he had
spoken. He was just as fucking hard and
horny now as he had been after watching her kill.
pull away, he begin speaking softly once more.
“You fucking came back to me because I will love you more than anything
else on this fucking earth. I would do
anything for you, Salida.” He kissed her
again.
She moaned, and let
her hands wander. Wrapping one hand in
his tie, she made sure he wouldn’t wander from her lips again, while her other
hand slipped between them to loosen his belt.
It took a minute or two, but she managed to finally get it undone.
were a bit easier to open. Not bothering
to push them down, she simply worked her hand inside his boxers.
her hand. With a wicked grin, she
wrapped her fingers tightly around it and squeezed.
Jeffrey managed to
pull away from her mouth just enough to let out a breathy moan against her
cheek before she moved to recapture his lips.
It was very fucking hard to concentrate on anything while she squeezed, but he was certainly fucking
trying. The kiss they shared grew even
more passionate as he looked for an outlet to his growing arousal.
again to moan once more, unable to stop himself, but each time he resumed the
kiss afterwards with just a little bit more wild passion than before.
both literally and figuratively, and he couldn’t think of a better place to be
at the moment.
Letting him go for
a moment, she grabbed his wandering right hand and put it on the hem of her
skirt, a clear order for him to get it out of the way so they could proceed
further. Jeffrey’s little declaration
had been blissfulree ree of any sort of “you’re the mother of my children”
talk, and she felt liberated. She was
slowly adjusting to the fact that she was soon to be a mother, but she would
never adjust to Jeffrey seeing her as only
a mother. All she wanted was to belong
to her husband, and he’d said she was his, but he had yet to totally claim her.
And she was
starting to grow impatient.
Jeffrey was
thrusting into her even before he became totally aware that he had managed to
move all impeding clothing out of the way.
he more so than she was – all the necessary clothing had been moved aside and
now they were one and nothing else mattered.
With the first
thrust he had already thrown himself into the struggle of keeping himself calm
and even enough so that he didn’t hurt her.
He wanted the pain and the violence himself, but not for her.
left to keep the bruises and blood from her body he would give it up without a
second thought.
“Oh, lover,” she
sighed, wrapping her booted legs around the small of his back and digging her
nails into his shoulders. Her head
rolled on the thin pillow as he started to methodically fuck her.
his body inside of hers, and his hot breath rushing over her cheek.
“Vixen,” he drawled
in return, his voice low and a bit hoarse as his breathing and thrusting
increased their tempo in tandem. He was
far past the threshold between making love to her and fucking her; this was
something wild and passionate, and not without love, but not gentle enough to
be called anything else but fucking. He
was also reaching the point where it became harder and harder to control the
ferocity of his thrusts. He wanted to
bury himself into her hard and fast. He
wanted to see her covered in blood once more.
Jeffrey faltered a
bit at that thought, his face furrowing into a frown.
before he decided she looked good in red blood rather than clothing and made
her to look that way. His control
slipped. “No, don’t.
Stop,” he said almost too soft to hear.
He needed a moment to find his bearings; to dismiss the blood-soaked
images from his eyes. To tell himself –
and make himself believe it – that he didn’t want to see her covered in blood,
that seeing her flushed and sweaty was enough.
But the image of her covered in her victims’ blood wouldn’t leave.
and with every swell of pleasure that image sharpened and some twisted part of
his brain seized upon that and made him want to see it again.
beckoning him to where she lay with a single blood-soaked finger.
macabre tableau, her hands leaving bloodied imprints upon the skin of his back
as she pulled at him. Licking her clean
in long, languid strokes.
The psychotic
screamed for the blood. The husband
pushed away from her. “Just . . . oh
fuck . . . give me a minute, vixen,” he whispered pleadingly, not daring to
look into eyes. He didn’t want to see
the hurt and confusion there. He placed
a hand over his eyes and shut them tight, his body heaving for breath as he
willed the images away.
of the hilt on his belt and threw it across the room where it stuck deep into
the wall, out of his reach.
“Jeffrey?” she
asked, more than a little worried.
“What’s wrong?” Very slowly she
moved towards him, only to be thrown back, hitting the headboard with enough
strength to make it slam against the wall, but not hard enough to really hurt.
“Don’t,” he
hissed. “Just . . . stay away from me,
vixen. I’m not fucking safe.
He needed to put some distance between the two of them.
Scrambling off of the bed he retreated into the bathroom and stood in
front of the sink, turning the water on and cupping his good hand under it to
bring the cold water up to his face. It
didn’t really help, but he didn’t know what else to do.
sighed. “We can go home if you want to,
lover,” she called gently. “We don’t
have to do this.”
Jeffrey moved to
stand at the bathroom doorway, but didn’t many any closer.
vixen. And I don’t want to go home.
working right now, I’ll end up hurting you.
And I can’t . . . I won’t do
that.”
“Can I do anything
to help?” she asked softly as she pd thd the blankets closer to her.
Jeffrey just shook
his head slowly and kept shaking it.
“No. I don’t, I don’t know what’s
wrong. I’everever felt like this
before. Not around you.”
low in his throat as his face paled dramatically; she was covered in
blood. When her mouth opened, blood ran
out from the corners. When she blinked,
blood ran down her cheeks like tears.
“Oh god,” Jeffrey moaned to himself as he shut his eyes tightly.
horrible image assaulted his senses, or that he knew for a fact that it wasn’t
real but that he was seeing it anyway.
She was growing
alarmed now. “Jeffrey?
What’s happening?”
“I don’t-I don’t
know, vixen.” He dared opening his eyes
again; the same gruesome visage lay in front of him.
you? Cause that’s what I fucking see,
vixen. Blood everywhere.”
her hair and staining the sheets.
Everything looked so real. He
could practically smell its coppery scene in the air.
himself, willing the image away. It
didn’t leave.
“No,” she whispered
bewilderedly. “No, I’m not
bleeding. I’m fine.
“Not to me, not
right now you don’t. I see you covered
in blood. I can see the stains of it
soaking through the sheets. I can almost
hear the dripping over there,” he pointed to a spot on the floor next to the
bed, “where it’s collecting from the sheet hanging off of the bed.
“It’s not,” she
whispered, moving until she was five feet from the doorway to the
bathroom. “My skin is whole, tanned . .
. I have a small mole on my left bicep, a tiny one right above my right
ast.ast. My wedding ring is etched into
the skin of my left ring finger. There’s
a small scar on my right calf from where I cut myself on some wire a few years
ago – almost a perfect crescent of paler skin.
The only things on my body that are red are my toe nails and finger
nails – because I painted them – and my lips, because you’ve been kissing them.
Jeffrey shut his
eyes tight and tried to focus on the things she had told him about in his
mind. He knew her skin.
scars; he had memorized them all. He
tried to picture them as they were, not as his fractured brain was insisting
they looked. After a long minute he
hesitantly opened one eye to look at her.
The blood was gone. “Oh holy
fuck,” he sighed in relief, leaning back against the walt ket keeping his eyes
fixed upon her form as if he were afraid the blood would return.
“See?” she
murmured, letting the blanket drop. “I’m
just fine.”
“I never really
doubted that you were, vixen. '> It’s me
who’s not. I have no fucking idea what
just happened.”
“Com’ere,” she
whispered, holding out her arms.
Jeffrey hesitated,
examining his emotions, and moved over to her when he decided he was more
worried about what had just happened than anything else at the moment.
up to good old fashioned, gut-wrenching fear, it seemed.
“Shh,” she
breathed, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her temple against the head
he rested against her shoulder. His arms
contracted, squeezing her against him tightly.
“It’s alright,” she assured him, placing small kisses on his scalp.
“I already knew it
wasn’t real, vixen,” he whispered. “But
I couldn’t stop seeing it. It was what I
thought I wanted to see, why I backed away from you.
“I don’t like
this,” she murmured.
another personally pop out of his head, and now you’re seeing things.
“It’s not the first
time that I’ve seen things. It wasn’t .
. . like that, but it happened one other time,” Jeffrey muttered in
return. “And no, it’s not fucking
good. But I don’t . . . I don’t know
what to do about it, vixen.”
“We’ll figure
something out . . . together. Let’s just
get out of here.”
“If that’s what you
want,” Jeffrey didn’t move away from her quite yet.
arms.
“I want to be with
you, but not here. Not in a bed where
whores take their clients. We’ll wait
until you’re ready, but then lets go home.”
“I’m sorry.
done. “And I shouldn’t have taken your
money like that. I’ll pay you
back.” He moved away from her
reluctantly and began straightening his clothing, trying to return some normalcy
to his world.
“Don’t worry.
clean. And the money doesn’t
matter. What do I need it for?
ask.” She walked back over to him and
stroked his face gently.
Jeffrey gave her a
weak smile before pulling away slowly and walking over to where his knife was
embedded into the wall. With a grunt of
effort he yanked it out and handed it to her, still not trusting himself with
it.
She tucked it into
the top of her right boot. Jeffrey
obviously wanted he kee keep it away from him, and if they were going to be in
the car, that was as far away as she could get it.
******************************
******************************
Jeffrey moved through
the house silently, leaving nothing behind except the passing of air in his
wake. He had discarded his suit coat on
the couch as he had passed by, but he hadn’t stopped.
any fucking alcohol in the house, so he would be stuck with water.
throat. And a fucking aspirin the size
of a bowling ball might wouldn’t be unwelcome either.
he asked softly, acknowledging her presence at his elbow for the first time
since they had entered the house.
“We’ve got some
upstairs in the bathroom. I don’t know
if Grant has some stored away somewhere else.”
It hurt that he was ignoring her, but she understood it at the same
time. He was still trying to find his
equilibrium. She’d been doing the same
thing when she’d asked him to stay in Hawaii.
Jeffrey nodded his
thanks and went to the sink to fill a glass with water.
and spoke softly. “I’m sorry.
“I understand,” she
whispered, trying to smile at him. Then
she turned her face away and murmured, “We’re both tired.
“I fucked
everything up,” he said with a grim smile.
“All you wanted was a night without all the rest of the shit we
routinely go through, and I fucked it up.
I’m sorry, vixen,” he said softly, looking down into his glass of
water. He didn’t really have a headache,
yet, but he could feel a monster of one coming on after the onset of his little
. . . hallucination or whatever the fuck it had been.
“You didn’t wreck
it. I had the night I wanted.
very much, and I got to be treated like the sexy, vibrant woman that I now
remember he sees me as. I don’t need sex
for the night to be perfect.” She
slipped her arm through his and led him upstairs.
it really will be the perfect night.”
Jeffrey gave her a
small smile. “Then I’ll do my best to
meet your request, vixen,” he said softly as they entered the bedroom.
with a bottle of aspirin. Shaking out a
pair of pills, she handed them to him and after nodding his thanks he knocked
them both back with a swallow of water.
He then moved to set the glass on the nightstand and sat on the bed to
wait for his wife as she put the aspirin away.
Coming back into
the bedroom, she sat down on the bed next to him and started unlacing her
boots. It took awhile – the boots came
up to her knees – but she was patient enough to do it without pulling out the
knife and cutting them all off. Then she
stood and stripped off her skirt and bra.
Not turning to look and see if Jeffrey was watching or not, she pulled
on some pajamas and returned to the bed.
With hands that
belied the true state of his emotions as they trembled, Jeffrey untied his
shoes with the slow deliberation he had grown used to in the long weeks his
hand had been in the cast. Once that was
finished he undid his belt and pulled off his pants, grabbing them at the cuffs
and letting them hang straight on the pleats so he could fold them.
the fucking fancy clothes he and Sands consistently wore didn’t mean he didn’t
know how to take care of them. He just
generally didn’t care. Now, he hung up
his silk sure and suit pants with a casual grace to take his mind off the
troublesome events of the evening. Once
he no longer had an excuse not to join her, he crawled under the covers and
willed himself to stop trembling.
“Goodnight, vixen. I love you,”
he whispered as he lay back on the bed.
She rolled onto her
side so she could rest her head against his shoulder.
single finger to make him face her. “And
whatever is going on, I’m not about to go anywhere.”
“I know,” he said,
giving her a half smile. “I just wish I
knew what was going on, that’s all. I
don’t like not knowing. It . . . worries
me.” He could feel the headache looming
over him, about to descend despite the aspirin.
It didn’t look like he was going to fall asleep before it fucking
struck.
“Alright,” he
agreed softly, doing as he was told.
Propping herself up
on one elbow, Salida felt a strange wave of tenderness swamp her.
and concerned. She’d do anything to make
that go away.
Very quietly, she
started to sing. “You’re my beautiful
melody/No querido estas
feel your love calling for me/De amor, de
quiero/You’re my Spanish lullaby.”
feel who is my love /I can feel your love calling for me/Of love, of
want/You’re my Spanish lullaby.
Jeffrey was dimly
aware of someone singing, he wasn’t quite awake enough to recognize the voice,
he only knew that it was someone familiar and comforting.
steal over him, at peace with the soft voice still echoing in his ears.
******************************
******************************
Sheldon opened up his eyes slowly and closed them with a
soft moan. He didn’t want to get up and
go to school. Sure, once he got there he
enjoyed almost every bit of it, especially getting out of the house for awhile,
but he never enjoyed the waking up in the morning.
Sheldon immediately flung himself out of bed, trying to get away from
this strange woman. Where was he?
slide down it, scared and alone, not knowing what to do.
but he knew he would get yelled at if he cried, so he kept his tears to
himself.
Disturbed by her
husband’s sudden exit from the bed, Salida murmured something impolite in
Spanish and then flung out one arm to search the bed, slowly coming more and
more awake. Her husband was nowhere to
be found.
With a groan she
opened her eyes, for a moment seeing nothing more interesting than the
pillow. What’s going on? she asked herself before the events of the night
before came rushing back to her. When
they did, she bolted upright in the bed, looking around.
wall, looking more disturbed than she'd ever seen him.
“Jeffrey, what’s
wrong?” she asked, all the tension she’d lost during the night, rushing back to
her body.
“Who-who are you?”
Sheldon stuttered in a trembling voice, not moving from his place against the
wall. “Where am I?” he added, the second
question using up most of the bravery he was holding on in the face of this
strange woman.
Salida’s eyebrows
snapped together in a frown. Looking
around she saw it was just before seven.
“Jeffrey, it’s too early for this, so don’t start.
“Back to bed?”
Sheldon squeaked, his eyes darting from her to the empty space on the bed she
was gesturing to. “That’s not my bed,
ma’am, and my name’s not Jeffrey,” he said in a small voice, trying his best to
be polite despite his circumstances. He
then looked down and saw he was clad in nothing but his underwear and made an
embarrassed little noise and frantically searched for something to cover
himself with. “This has to be a dream,”
he murmured to himself with a bit of hysteria.
“Wake up, Sheldon. Just wake
up!” When he glanced over at Salida and
saw that she had not faded away like the remnants of a nightmare, he let out a
little moan and continued his search for clothing.
as he pulled on the shirt and suit pants Jeffrey had discarded the night
before.
“Sheldon?”
the bedroom door, threw it open violently, then yelled at the top of her lungs,
“Grant! Get your sorry ass in here and
deal with your husband’s mess before I fucking clue him in!”
doorjamb and pinned Sheldon with another glare.
Sheldon couldn’t
remember having ever been so scared in his life before.
for many nights to come, he was sure of it.
Her blue eyes were like ice and her tongue surely spit fire like a
dragon. He whimpered.
disturb you. I’m sorry.”
still he held them back.
“Stop whimpering,”
she muttered. “I’m not going to fucking
touch you.” Then she muttered to
herself, “Where the fuck is Grant?” Then
she solved the problem by once more turning and practically screaming, “Grant!”
Aida heard the
summons the second time. She’d been in
the shower the first time Salida had called her, and so wasn’t prepared for
what had happened.
Dressed in clean
pajamas, she walked out of her bedroom and down the hall, slowing when she saw
the look on Salida’s face. “What is it?”
“Didn’t you fucking
hear me?” Salida asked, her voice low and dangerous.
mine with him, and now I’m stuck with some fucking cry-baby!”
Sheldon could hear her. “You know him,
you fucking deal with this.”
She then pushed her
way past Aida and disappeared down the stairs.
Aida looked after her for a moment, then cautiously entered the
room. “Sheldon?”
Sheldon let out
another whimper and brought up his hands to clasp over his ears, willing
himself to wake up. This had to be a
nightmare. It couldn’t be real.
house, away from the banshee or witch or whatever the woman was that had yelled
at him. He had to get away from her.
“Sheldon?
And I’m going to kill Salida.
as well. Why couldn’t she be more
understanding? “I’m not going to hurt
you, Sheldon, and I won’t let her er.”er.”
Moving slowly, she rested two fingers on the back of his wrist and
waited for him to react.
Sheldon flinched
away from her touch at first but then something clicked in his head and he
opened his eyes to look at her. “Aida,”
he moaned, leaning over to bury his face in her shoulder.
have sleepwalked here,” she murmured, stroking his head.
“But this isn’t my
house! Where are my parents?
frantically. “And who is Jeffrey?
“It’s alright,” she
calmed him. “It’s nothing you need to
worry about. Trust me, alright?”
Sheldon pulled back
to look at her with wide eyes as if he wanted to argue, but he calmed
minutely. I trust you, Aida,” he said softly, looking
away from her gaze.
“Good.”
They sat in silence
for a few minutes until Sheldon – albeit reluctantly – pulled away.
handling of him. “Are you hungry?
Sheldon nodded
hesitantly. “Will . . . that woman be
there?” he asked in a small voice.
“Maybe.
You’re safe with me.”
“She was . . .
unkind. I didn’t do anything to her, I
promise,” Sheldon tried to assure her.
“I don’t know why she was so angry with me.
“I know you
didn’t. Salida is just a crank at the
moment. She’s mad at everyone.”
Sheldon. “Com’on, I’ll make you some
breakfast.”
Sheldon took it and
rose to his feet next to her. If he was aware that he was taller than she was,
or even in the body of a grown man for that matter, he gave no sign.
Aida led the way
downstairs, going slowly so he had time to absorb his surroundings.
going straight to his master just as he always did.
murmured, “You can pick him up, Sheldon.
He obviously wants you to.”
“I’ve never had a
cat before. Will he bite?” Sheldon asked
cautiously, reaching a hand down to pet the small kitten tentatively.
against Sheldon’s hand, causing him to let out a delighted little laugh.
smile. “Maybe I can convince Mother and
Father to let me have one when I get home.”
Aida smiled,
although to Sheldon it seemed sad.
“Perhaps,” she replied before once again turning around and leading the
way to the kitchen.
The kitchen where
Salida was seated on the counter eating corn flakes with banana slices.
when she saw him.
Salida just barely
managed not to slam her bowl on to the counter when the pair came into view,
but the effort cost her. In a less than
civil tone, she hissed at Aida, “So?”
Sheldon just
watched as Aida’s shoulders slumped. Was
she going to leave? In a fit of barely
concealed panic, he squeezed the cat in his hands tight enough to make it
protest, although it started purring again when he relaxed his hold.
Aida on the other
hand suddenly felt enervated, but she wasn’t going to let Salida scare
Sheldon. “Sheldon and I came down for
some breakfast, Salida. Would you like
to join us?”
Salida slid off the
counter, breakfast forgotten. “What’s
wrong, Grant? Is Sands too much for
you? Do you enjoy having him gone?
Because every second that he is, the chance that he won’t come back
grows. And I happen to actually love my husband,
and want him to come back.
are fucking going to show up.”
“Salida –”
“Shut the fuck up,
Grant. If you’re too spineless to do what
has to be done, I’ll fucking do it.”
Pushing Aida aside, Salida stalked towards her prey.
what’s going on, Sheldon?”
could. “It’s because you’re a fucking
k–”
She didn’t get to
finish because Aida spun her around and slapped her across the face, then drug
her out of the kitchen.
Sheldon didn’t know
what to do. He didn’t know what was
going on. He didn’t know what the mean
woman had been about to say to him, and he didn’t know if he wanted to
know. He could hear loud yelling coming
from the other room as he took a seat at the table, trying not to listen to
it. He focused on the cat’s purring and
once more held back tears ae moe morning’s events.
and licked his hand gently. Sheldon
wondered what the cat’s name was –”
His name is Obsidian. And he
should learn to recognize his masters better.
word, but the voice went on as if he hadn’t heard.
is my fucking cat. I didn’t see you
going to pet him when you got back from fucking Hawaii.
for a second. I think we’re scaring the
kid.
Who the fuck cares. He’s a
liability, Sands. He’s proof that you’re
fucking getting worse. You know that,
right? I don’t care if you’re insane –
it furthers my existence, why would I? – but you have to fucking keep control.
“Aida?” Sheldon
called out fearfully, letting go of Obsidian on his lap to hold the sides of
his head. “What’s going on?”
The arguing in the
other room came to an abrupt stop. There
was a flurry of whispers, and then two sets of footsteps; one went away, one
came towards him. Aida was the one who
appeared.
“What is it,
Sheldon? What’s wrong?”
“You’d didn’t . . .
you didn’t hear it?” Sheldon asked with a frown.
That’s fucking odd. Kitty?
fucking speaking inside of . . . Sheldon’s head, you fucking idiot.
Sheldon began
shaking his head minutely, an utterly bereft look on his face.
They use bad words. They’re
scaring me, Aida.”
She closed her eyes
as if in defeat and looked down at her lap.
“Sheldon, you told me once that you have imaginary friends, right?”
“Yeah,” Sheldon
said slowly
To the kid you’re fucking imaginary too, you fucking prick.
“And that sometimes
they talk back?”
“Sometimes.
rest of time while that fucking kid runs my body –
shit out of you Sands. At least it’ll
give me a goal.
How was she
supposed to explain this? How?
Taking a deep breath,
Aida took Sheldon’s hands in hers.
“Sheldon, I’m going to tell you something that might be hard for you to
understand, alright?”
“Alright,” Sheldon
said with a frown.
Sheldon, just listen to what she has to say, alright?
Sheldon just nodded
in response to Sands’ question.
Aida opened and
closed her mouth several times as she tried to decide how to say what she
needed to. Finally she stood and pulled
Sheldon to his feet with her. “Sheldon,
I want you to look at me. Is there
anything odd that you notice?”
He frowned, not
understanding what she was asking.
“You’re shorter
than I am,” Sheldon said with a frown at the implications.
“I’m twenty-eight,
Sheldon. And you’re twenty-seven.”
his hands – hands that almost dwarfed hers – tightly, as if to lend her
support.
“What?
She’s not playing tricks on you kid.
head. Like me.
Fuck. Sands, how could you make
up this fucking kid in the first place?
I think I’m fucking insulted. And
what did you need him for when you’ve got me?
neither of you existed. So shut the fuck
up before Sheldon has a fucking stroke or something and kills us all.
“No, it’s not
true. It can’t be true.
I want to go home. I want to go
back to my parents. I don’t care about
books or school or cats anymore. I just
want to go home.”
“What do you mean
my home’s not there anymore? Where is
it?”
Sheldon’s hands
were gripping hers enough to hurt, to make her bones creak and ache, but she
said nothing. “Your home burned down ten
years ago, Sheldon.” Tears pricked her
eyes at the pain she was causing. “Your
parents were inside. They died.
perhaps you’re the last bit of goodness he has.”
Sheldon made a low
keening now in the back of his throat before growing utterly silent.
“He’s gone
kitty. Or at least, not here.
saying ‘not true,’ over and over again,” Jeffrey said suddenly, letting go of
Aida’s hands.
“You had to do it,
Aida,” Sands whispered. “You didn’t have
a choice.”
“You two didn’t
help,” she said, backing away. “You two
and Salida. If he hurts, then you hurt,
and I was trying to stop that.”
“He couldn’t
fucking stay, kitty. He was just a
kid. He would get us all caught by the
fucking cops. And then where would we
fucking be?”
“I appreciate you
trying to help, Aida, but there’s nothing you could have done.”
“I don’t believe
that. He’s a part of you.
you that you refuse to admit to.” Aida
was trembling.
“I suppose that
makes me the hard, caustic, cocky, psychopathic part, huh kitty?” Jeffrey asked
coldly.
Sands ignored
him. “He won’t survive in this world,
Aida. You must know that.”
“If you had treated
him like a child –”
“He
just a hair ahead of Sands.
“He
like you’re both bastards!” She ran from
the room.
Sands chased after
her. He wasn’t really fucking mad, but
he wasn’t going to let her run out like that either.
going on. Jeffrey was right.
done something wrong. He hadn’t hurt
Sheldon, he hadn’t really done anything to him.
Salida came out of
her bedroom before Sands could get to his and Aida’s.
leaning against the wall.
“Yes the
scowl. He was really pissed off at
Salida for some reason, but he didn’t know what it was.
“He’s still fucking
up there, vixen, but I don’t think he’s going to be fucking bugging us
anymore. Kitty told him the fucking
truth about, well everything.” Jeffrey
was feeling some of the same resentment that Sands was for the same
inexplicable reasons, but it didn’t last when confronted with his wife whom he
loved. He didn’t give a shit about some
dumb kid.
“Good.
morning. Then miss Goody-Two-shoes
decided he needed to bedleddled.” Salida
rolled her eyes.
“Don’t fucking call
her that. She did what she thought was
right,” Sands hissed. He didn’t agree
with Aida’s actions, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to stand against her with
Salida.
“He didn’t fucking
needed to be coddled. He needed a smack
to the back of the head into reality,” Jeffrey muttered.
“Your wife’s
bleeding heart is going to get us all into trouble,” Salida replied, ignoring
Jeffrey’s comment.
A part of Sands
agreed, but he wasn’t going to tell Salida that.
“While you’re at
it, tell her to grow a spine.” Salida
disappeared back inside her room before Sands could reply.
Sands growled in
irritation at Salida’s comment but made his way down to his and Aida’s room
without going after her. He stopped in
front of the closed door and opened it slowly, peeking his head inside.
It’s me. Your bastard of a
husband. We need to talk,” he said
softly, moving into the room.
She ignored
him. Aida was curled up in an
overstuffed leather armchair, book in hand and her eyes fixed out the window.
Sands sighed and
moved to take a seat upon the bed, looking over at her turned head.
softly. “I don’t know why you care so
much. Sheldon isn’t a kid, he’s not an
innocent, he’s not even real, Aida. He’s
a f a fucking sign that I’m more cracked than I thought I was.
“I refuse to
believe that,” she murmured, not turning to look at him.
He’s who you were. If I could. .
.” she trailed off.
“If you could what,
Aida? Sheldon’s not me.
similarities, but he is not me.
He’s not who I was any more than Jeffrey is who I am now.”
“Were you scared of
your parents when you were very young?” she asked softly, ignoring his
arguments.
Sands
hesitated. “Every kid’s scared of their
parents in one way or another, Aida.
That doesn’t mean anything.”
“What were your
favorite books to read?”
“Why are you asking
me this?” Sands asked with a frown.
“Just answer the
question, please.”
“I liked . . .
plays. Shakespeare mostly.
“Which plays?
“Everyone likes Hamlet,
Aida. I liked Macbeth too.
“Did you ever like
gardening?”
“No, I fucking
hated it,” Sands said with a scowl, not wanting to answer any more
questions. “You’re trying to find out
just how close I match up to your precious little Sheldon, aren’t you? Stop
it. He’s not me.
“There wasn’t
queried softly.
Sands thought back
to times in the garden, helping his mother tend to her beautiful rose
bushes. It was one of the few happy
memories of childhood he still remembered.
“What does it matter? There are
no gardens anymore. They’re all
overgrown and dead now.”
“It matters because
I want to know.”
“Fine.
gardens. Happy now?
was? How like Sheldon I am?” he asked
coldly. “Did he tell you I had hardly
any friends growing up? That my family
always spoke about me behind my back?
‘Poor little Sheldon,’ they’d say.
‘He always was a rather disturbed individual as a child, you know.
wanting to play with the other children.
And ynow now what his teachers said?
They said he started fights in school.
Can you imagine that?’ Well, can
you?” his voice was like ice, and his eyes were like black chips of coal.
“He said he didn’t
get along with anyone, that he had lots of imaginary friends who talked to him,
and it seemed like the only teacher he liked was the one that ran the
library.” He was pissed at her, but Aida
couldn’t give up the hope that somehow Sheldon would help her heal Sands.
“Well isn’t that
special? I’m glad you two got so
close. Did you want to talk to him
now? I’m sure if I tried really hard I
could drag him kicking and screaming out of the pit he's dug himself into.
idea that he murdered his own fucking parents.
I can’t imagine why.”
“Sands,” she
started, finally getting out of the chair.
“His hurts are yours. If I can
lay those to rest, doesn’t that affect you in the slightest?”
“No.
You can’t fucking change anything.
You can’t change me by learning more about the child I was.
“I don’t want to
cure you,” she whispered. “I just want
to take away some of your pain. But
then again, perhaps you’ve gotten so used to it that you don’t even know you
hurt anymore.”
“Thanks so much,
Doctor Aida. Your psychoanalyses are
always appreciated,” he said dryly.
She looked at him,
shook her head, then left the room. If
he couldn’t take things seriously or without abusing withwith guilt, then she
wasn’t going to bother continuing the conversation.
Sands cursed loudly
and threw something against the wall. He
didn’t know what it’d been, only that it made a crash satisfying enough to
return his rage back to the cool fire rather than the raging inferno it had
been. With calm precision, he stripped
off his dirty clothes and made his way into the bathroom to take a shower.
want his wife to join him.
When he finally
stepped out of the nearly scalding shower almost an hour later, his skin tinted
pink and raw, he pulled on his usual severe ironically clerical black and made
his way downstairs. He didn’t want to
talk to anyone, but he hadn’t had fucking breakfast or dinner last night it
seemed, and he was fucking ravenous.
“Aida left,” Salida
informed him from the couch, where she was engaged in a black and white
movie. “She took the car.
and she’d be back later.”
“Fine.
his way into the kitchen to have a bowl of fucking cereal at least.
back porch to have a fucking cigarette.
He didn’t care that Aida had left.
Really. It was better this
way. The current mood he was in would
only lead to more fucking arguments. And
he didn’t need any fucking more of those right now.
“Sheldon?
cloud of smoke above his head and tapping the ash off of the end of the
cigarette on the porch.
There was no answer
for a long minute. “It’s true, isn’t
it? Mother and Father are gone.
Sands sighed.
“Ten years, Aida
said. Who . . . who are you?
asked softly. “You’re one of them,
aren’t you? One of the voices?”
Are you real? Is the other one
real? Are none of us real?”
“It doesn’t
matter. I begin to lose track of what’s
real myself from time to time,” Sands said with a small smile.
he couldn’t help it. Maybe Aida was
right. Maybe he really was a part of
him.
“Am I really a
liability? I think I know what that word
means. It means a danger, right?
“I don’t know,”
Sands said honestly.
“I don’t want to
be, sir. I didn’t mean any harm.
“I don’t either,
but it looks like I’m stuck with you now,” Sands said with a resigned
sigh. “You’re what, seven right?” Sands
asked, taking another drag on his cigarette without thought.
es'> “Yes, sir,” Sheldon
said between coughs.
“Sorry about that,”
Sands said, snubbing his cigarette out on the step.
“How-how do you
know about that?” Sheldon asked with wide eyes.
it.”
“No, they
haven’t. Will they?” Sheldon asked
hesitantly with a hint of worry in his voice.
Aloysius was a ratty stuffed rabbit he had kept since he’d been
little. He could no longer remember who
he’d gotten it from, only that it was his.
Father hadn’t wanted him to keep it.
He said that stuffed animals were for babies.
been able to get rid of the rabbit.
“It doesn’t
matter,” Sands said softly. “Listen, you
don’t have to be afraid alright? No one
will hurt you.”
“Not even the mean
woman?”
“Mean woman?
actually hurt you.”
“I think I scared
her. But she scared me too.”
“Don’t worry about
her.”
“Thank you, sir,”
Sheldon said with a small smile.
“Call me Sands,
kid,” Sands wit with a sigh.
That’s when Salida Sands rolled his She flipped him off “Oh fuck you too,” A few long minutes “I’ll fucking tell “I think you should Sands scowled at Sheldon didn’t “Sheldon listen “That’s why I “Probably,” Sands “I wasn’t scared of “She’s very angry,” “You kind of get “Is Aida really “Yeah, well sunrise Sheldooddeodded. “Will you . . . tell me more Sands sighed. ****************************** When Aida came home Setting her purse Sands looked up as “Hello, Aida,” “To visit a “What kind of a “Oh . . . hi, “Stop calling me Sands cursed, told “We’d had enough “You didn’stensten Because you’re being damn hostile about it, “Fine. “Sands?” Sands didn't hear “No, you’rt Sands just looked “I’m here, vixen,” She wrapped her Jeffrey hugged her “I was asleep with “Shh, I’m here now, “But you can’t “It doesn’t “Jeffrey,” she “I never should “No,” she agreed, “Definitely The back of her “Did you mean that “Both.” “I know. “Much better,” she “I need you more,” As her answer, she After answering her She moved her head “You’re trying to “I . . . I get to Jeffrey nodded in Salida forced her Jeffrey was vaguely It was the feeling Her hips gyrated It was only after “I know.” “One can only “This is nice,” she “Mmm, it is,” he “Tell me,” she “What do you mean, “You didn’t want to “Because I k
you
you’d come back to me,” he murmured.
appeared on the back porch. “Oh my
fucking goodness,” she muttered, glaring at them both.
Sands.” With another glare, she stalked
off and sat down next to a flower bed, violently ripping weeds out from among
the flowers.
eyes at that. “What the fuck was I
supposed to do?” he called out to her.
“It’s not like I can fucking get rid of him!”
Salida’s voice.
over her shoulder, not pausing for a moment.
Sands muttered, lighting another cigarette and bringing it to his lips in
irritation. He was tempted to blow a
smoke ring in her direction just to be spiteful, but he wouldn’t lower himself
to such petty revenge.
later, Salida turned on her heels and asked Sands maliciously, “So when are you
going to tell your tagalong that the woman he’s so fond of is your wife?
him, sunrise. You may be surprised to
know this, but I don’t have any intention of sweetening the fucking truth for
him. I just don’t want him doing
something fucking crazy that causes me more headaches than I’ve already got.”
tell him now,” she said conversationally.
“Let’s see how he responds to finding out his friend is his wife.
wife. But it should be good for a few
laughs.”
her, but wasn’t in the mood to fucking argue.
“Fine. You want me to fucking
tell him, I’ll fucking tell him.
Sheldon?” he called out, bringing the ‘young boy’ to the foreground of
his mind.
speak up with Salida around, but Sands could tell he was there.
up. Aida aly toy told you that I’m
twenty-seven. That’s correct.
I are married. She’s my wife, Sheldon.
scared her,” Sheldon said after a very long pause.
said with a shrug, somewhat surprised that Sheldon seemed to be taking this so
well.
you. I was scared for Jeffrey,” Salida
said caustically. “I don’t know you, I
don’t want to know you, and I
certainly don’t care about you.” Having
said that, Salida went back into the house, slamming at least one door in her
wake.
Sheldon said with a frown.
used to it.”
your wife?” Sands held up his right hand
with the wedding band on it.spanspan>“I thought
wedding rings were supposed to be on your left hand?” Sheldon asked cautiously.
and Jeffrey were technically married first and therefore took my left ring
finger. You can’t see it very well
through the cast, but there’s a tattoo of a ring there.”
about what happened?”
you nightmares.”
******************************
a few hours later, dragging herself into the house by nothing more than the
knowledge that she couldn’t sleep in the car, she found her husband talking to
himself on the couch. Or perhaps he
wasn’t. She couldn’t tell.
on a small table that had been moved into the entryway, and ignoring the quiet
hiss that came from Des who was hiding in a nearby doorway, she straightened her
shoulders as much as she could. She
didn’t want to unnecessarily worry her husband, and she didn’t want to fight.
the door slammed shut and saw Aida standing there, looking weary but trying to
hide it. “Hello, Aida,” he said softly,
looking down at the content black kitten at his side rather than meeting her
eyes. In talking to Sheldon, he hadn’t
really sat and thought about how he felt about her leaving.
what to feel.
Sheldon echoed with a small smile.
“Where did you go?”
friend. Why are you repeating
yourself?” She was so weary that she
didn’t even consider the answers to her question.
friend? Like a boyfriend?” Sheldon
giggled at the notion before frowning.
“But I thought Mr. Sands said you and he were married?” Sheldon asked
with confusion while Sands stiffened, not saying a word.
Sheldon. No, I went to see Maria.
I used to belong to.”
Mr. Sands,” Sands muttered under his breath.
“Fine. You went to visit a
friend. Good for you,” Sands grumbled,
not looking at her, still petting Obsidian.
me,” she quietly informed her husband, before making her slow way up the
stairs.
Sheldon to leave him alone for a while – a request that was met with much
better response from him than had he asked Jeffrey – and hurried up to the
stairs and followed her into their shared bedroom.
. You left.
words by that time,” she murmured, pulling a light blanket out of the closet.
to any of my fucking arguments against Sheldon and you know it.
well just let him do whatever the fuck he wants, right?
away. He had all kinds of questions that
I took the liberty of answering. I mean
why not? If he’s going to be a member of
the fucking household he’d better be up to speed right?”
began to realize more and more just what a predicament he was in, and began to
have less and less control over it. With
the arrival of Sheldon, just a bit more of the control he kept over his own mind
was lost. A little bit more was doled
out among his . . . personalities, and he could feel the loss.
himself, moving to sit down on the bed before he fell down.
and I don’t have the energy to do anything other than sleep.”
within reach.
to his feet and walking towards the door.
He needed someplace quiet and alone to collect his thoughts, and this
wasn’t it.
herself.
her. He was too lost within his own
thoughts to be aware of anything else.
again within his own head to hopefully keep everyone else in there with him at
bay. It seemed to be working so far.
around her.
lt
leaving,” she said just as slowly. “Not
like this. I know this mood.
If you want quiet, go away and let me tao Jeo Jeffrey.”
at her for a long moment. Going away and
letting her talk to Jeffrey would mean giving up even more control than he
could probably spare at the moment, but he didn't care any longer.
letting Jeffrey take over.
Jeffrey said softly, giving her a deliberate look.
arms around his middle and hugged him tightly.
“I’ve missed you.”
back without hesitation. “I’m sorry,
vixen. I’ve missed you too.
that fucking kid this morning. Sands is
one thing, but the kid. . . . I’m
fucking sorry.”
my head on your chest . . . and then you were gone.
coming back.”
vixen. I’m not going anywhere.”
promise me that,” she whispered into his shirt.
“You can’t control it. Hell,
Sands can’t even control it anymore.”
matter. We’ll work this out, vixen.
that I’ll always be here, just like you can’t really promise me the same
either, but I tell you this: I won’t fucking leave without a fight.
away, vixen,” he murmured into her hair.
murmured, dragging her lips along the length of his neck.
have left,” he whispered in return with a smirk, following her back to bed
without hesitation.
still pulling at him, at his shirt, at the buttons on his shirt.
not. There are far better ways to spend
time.” His hands moved up to return the
favor, removing every scrap of clothing he could as she pulled him towards the
bed.
knees hit the bed and she fell, pulling Jeffrey after her.
bared breasts, almost as soft as the lips that were tugging at her ear.
panted, “I think I’m hot.”
literally, or figuratively vixen?” he asked between kisses.
her left breast. “But with an emphasis
on . . . on physically.”
wave, enveloping me,” he murmured, trailing his tongue slowly in the valley of
her breasts while teasing her left nipple in-between his fingers.
and removed her last items of clothing so that she lay naked and beautiful on
top of the sheets. “Better?” he asked
with a grin as he removed his belt and undid his pants.
the pants going with them. “Because I
certainly am,” he added, moving back to her again, clad in nothing more than
skin, tattoos, and the cast on his left hand.
sighed, stretching her body under his, trying to lengthen herself so more of
them touched. “God, I need you so bad,
lover.”
he returned, positioning himself so that the length of his arousal rubbed
against her wet heat. “You’re fucking
beautiful, vixen. So sexy as you wait
for me. Are you ready for me?
are.” He rubbed himself against her
again, not able to stop a moan from escaping his lips as he teased her.
was fucking ready.
thrust her hips upwards and trapped him inside her.
a triumphant smirk on her face.
moan with one of his own at the sudden contact, he smirked wryly at her as his
hips began moving in time to hers without thought.<
st
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “That was a dirty trick, vixen.
want.” He smirked again and leaned down
to kiss her neck and ears with passionate randomness as his thrusts’ pace
quickened.
away in irritation. Jeffrey was
persistent in his desire to be aimless though, so she eventually had to grab
him by the ears to bring him to her lips.
She kissed him, dominating his mouth within seconds, as her hands
scrabbled at the bedspread. She wanted
so badly to reverse their positions, to be on top, to be able to look down at
what she did to him, but Jeffrey was being obstinate and refusing to share.
turn the tables on me, aren’t you, vixen?” he asked with a smirk when he was
finally able to pull away from the kiss.
“Well fucking forget about it.
It’s not going to happen. I like
you right where you are, thank you very much.”
He punctuated his words with a few deep thrusts that left them both
moaning.
be on top . . . next,” she whimpered in time to the grueling pace he’d
set. To tell the truth, she was quickly
getting to the point where she didn’t really care.
the humid air that was stirred by the ecit cit movement of their bodies, and
the lust curling deep in her belly.
response to her question before he could stop himself.
suddenly near. It hadn ton too fucking
long since they’d shared this level of intimacy.
going to let anything stand in his way today.
eyes to open and Jeffrey’s face away from her neck.
it with her eyes, to watch the emotions move over his face.
aware of what she wanted when she pulled his head back to look at him, and had
no choice but to oblige her. It was that
knowledge that she cared to see him come and the look of purely feminine pride
she would have afterwards that finally pushed him over the edge and into his
release. He wanted to throw his head
back and moan as he came into her, but something kept him facing her; her hand
on the back of his head preventing him, perhaps.
his hands moved without thought over her body.
of Jeffrey’s scalding release that sent Salida over the edge.
she fought to keep her eyes open, not remembering why it was important, only that it was.
against his furiously, her inner muscles pulling at him ruthlessly, demanding
everything he had to offer.
she had milked him dry of everything he could give her that his orgasm finally
ended and he slumped on the bed just to the left of her, their bodies still
joined. He let out a happy sigh of
contentment as his flushed face made contact with the cool sheets, and absently
kissed the bare shoulder that was in front of his nose.
falling to the bed. “If this is what
happens every time Sands needs some time alone, I think I’ll be a very content
wife.”
hope,”freyfrey said with a lazy grin. A
part of him was informing him that he should probably be concerned at Sands’
actions, but he ignored it. Nothing
mattered right now but Salida.
murmured, as she looked up at him out of what could only be accurately
described as bedroom eyes. “Being here
like this. I don’t think I've felt more
. . . peaceful . . . for a long time.”
agreed in a lazy drawl. He moved up a
hand to play across her skin purely because he could.
body, chasing drops of sweat across her skin.
“I’m . . . content.” He felt complied to share this realization with her
for some reason.
murmured. “Tell me what you were
thinking the night I left. That first
night.”
vixen?” he mumbled iner ser shoulder, his hand still moving across her body
with lazy precision.
let me go, but you did. Why?
than ever that I would come back?”
so sure?” she pressed, genuinely wanting to know.
“Because you were
mine, vixen. It’s as simple as
that. I knew you were mine and I knew
you would come back. You’re still mine.”
“But if I left now
–”
“You’re not going
to,” he said, steel in his voice. “And
if you fucking did, I’d hunt you down and make you mine again, vixen.”
“Fine, then what
were you thinking du tha that last hour we had together before I had to leave?”
“I don’t recall
being able to form a great deal of coherent fucking thoughts, vixen,” he said
wryly.
“Jeffrey. . .” she whined,
pushing at him as if upset. “I want to
know.”
Jeffrey
sighed. “I was thinking that I was the
luckiest fucking bastard on earth to have met you.
I’d rather shoot myself than wake back up to reality.
“I wanted to know,”
she replied quietly. “I don’t know why.”
“It doesn’t
matter. Ask me whatever you like,
vixen. I may not always have an ar
fr
for you, but I’ll try.” He paused a
moment, considering. “What were
“I was terrified,”
she said plainly. “Terrified that I’d
never see you again, that I’d dreamt up the whole thing out of the loneliness I
always felt, that Tess would find out.
Although, the threat of being drugged out of existence was still worth
being with you for even a night. If it
had happened. I wasn’t sure.
. as emotionally inept as I . . . fall in love?
So quickly?
imagining you. You were so incredibly
perfect, so in tune with me. But I knew
I’d risk everything to find out if you were real.
face in her hands. “You are.”
“Last time I
checked, yeah,” Jeffrey said with a smile, letting her hold him.
of course perfect in every way, but he held back.
cshedshed. He looked into her eyes and
saw such love and beauty staring back at him that it took his breath away.
gasped.
“I know.”
Jeffrey blinked at
her. “You’re hungry?” he repeated
incredulously.
She nodded.
But if you bring it to me in bed, I won’t get dressed.”
“That’s a fucking
incentive if I’ve ever heard one. What
would you like, vixen?”
“Anything.
“Apple, peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese and tomato juice.
think I find at least some of that. Wish
me luck and I’ll be right back.” He gave
her a lingering kiss before he slipped out of bed, pulled on his boxers as a
grudging afterthought. “Anything else?”
he turned and asked just as he was about to head out the door and downstairs to
scrounge up her order.
“Pretzels?”
“Pretzels, got
it. Anything else?”
of these things – he had heard how pregnant women got unusual cravings – he
would just keep his mouth shut and get her whatever the hell she wanted.
“I don’t think
so.” She smilpolopologetically.
Jeffrey gave her a
reassuring grin in return. “Don’t worry
about it, vixen. All you’re asking for
is food. That’s easy.
a damn good try, but no promises.”
“Too cold,” she
teased. “I’m fine in my little bed.”
“Let me know if you
change your mind,” he responded in return.
“The sun however, that may be a little trickier.”
“You got it for me
already,” she reminded him, holding up the wrist with the charm bracelet.
“I did indeed.
downstairs into the kitchen. “Hmm, what
did she want again? Apples, peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese, and pretzels.
Oh, and tomato juice.” He
continued mumbling to himself in much the same manner as he slowly but surely –
and luckily – found everything that she had wanted.
sandwiches to feed them both no matter how hungry she might be; licking the
knife he used clean afterwards, sliced up a few apples and spread them out on a
plate surrounded by a generous dollop of peanut butter, sliced cheese on yet
another plate, and pulled a V8 out of the refrigerator.
and peanut butter and jelly – and held the can of tomato juice in the other
hand, praying that he didn’t fucking drop anything.
watching the precariously balanced plates closely.
“Your meal is
served, wife,” he called out, walking into the bedroom and unburdening himself
of his load by setting each plate down on the bed, handing the can of juice to
her, and climbing back into bed next to her.
“Enjoy.”
“Want your tip?”
she asked, looking at him innocently.
“It’s only fair,”
he responded with a matching look of innocence.
“Alright.”
his ear, and then she whispered, “Don’t talk to strangers.”
Jeffrey rolled his
eyes at that. “Not a very good tip,
vixen. If I followed that, how would I
have met you?”
“But you have met me,
so you don’t need to talk to strangers anymore.”
“And what if they
talk to me? What do I do then?” he
asked, grabbing a half a sandwich from the plate.
“Shoot them?”
“Hmm,” Jeffrey
mused, chewing a bite of his sandwich.
He had been about to take another when his hand froze mid-way.
before Sands himself was looking over at her.
“What?
I didn’t . . . I didn’t mean to be here.
I don’t want to be here. I just
want quiet, can you give me quiet?” Sands asked her, his eyes pleading.
happening around him. His control had
slipped, and he had yet to take a hold of it again.
“Sands?” Salida
asked, just a little concerned. All the
same, she pulled the sheet up around her shoulders.
“I don’t know.
All different. I’m not sure who's
in control. No one is.”
“
woman’s first name for the first time.
“Go talk to Aida. I sure as hell
see a difference between all of you. She
probably does too.”
“She didn’t want
to. Talk.
Needs her rest. She’s sick, you
know?”
“Yes, I did know
that. But she . . . she loves you.
talk, do you?” She didn’t like the blank
look on Sands’ face at all. “Go listen
to your wife sleep.”
“What if she “Sands, your wife “Will you? “Go find Aida, Sands nodded. His wife was asleep Sands didn’t
doesn’t wake up? Ever?”
was healthy enough to bitch-slap me this morning,” Salida grumbled.
you? Are you mine or someone
else’s? It’s all very confusing,” he
muttered, dropping the sandwich back on the plate absently pushing himself off
of the bed.
Sands. It’s the door on the right at the
end of the hall.” In the state he was
in, she wasn’t sure he’d even remember that.
Salida,” he frowned at his confusion and made his way out the door and down the
hall in what could accurately be described as a slow kind of shuffle.
he mumbled to himself softly. He managed
tod whd what he thought was the right door – it seemed familiar, or at least,
he thought it did – and he went in.
“Aida? I’m supposed to find you,”
he mumbled.
on the bed, her mouth turned down in an unhappy frown.
for a single arm, which was flung over his side of the bed as if in invitation
to join her.
hesitate to accept her unspoken invitation.
He moved across the room slowly, trying to remember if this is what he
should be doing or not. She was his
wife, wasn’t she? The lines that
separated him from everyone else had become horribly blurred.
as belonging to something that was his as he laid down next to her, and he
decided that that would have to be enough.
He held on to that scent desperately until it was the only thing he
thought about. Thinking about nothing at
all was better than trying to think everything at once.
her scent and listening to her breathe.
He was quiet, and warm, and safe.
That was enough for now. The rest
would be dealt with later.