He pulls out and drives in again. This time it feels good. So, so good. I raise my hips to get more of him.
As he begins pumping into me, he works my breasts free from the top of my dress and bends his body to take my nipple in his mouth. The sensation sparks a delicious contraction deep in my belly.
Oh, God. Where has this man been all my life? I throw my head back, moaning in ecstasy. I know that from this moment on, there will never be another.
Macarius’s pace begins to quicken, and he returns to my lips, kissing me deeply, panting in time to my own quick breaths. We touch, we pant, we move like hungry animals, and all the while I see more images of him and me. We are in different places and times, yet he always looks at me the same way. So much love and sorrow in those eyes.
Before I realize it, the sweet, sweet pressure builds and then…I explode. My body lights up with sinful contractions as he presses the weight of his long frame into my juncture, spilling his warm seed inside me. I grab fistfuls of soft sheets as the wave of pleasure racks my body until I’m left a quivering heap.
He collapses on top of me, and I can hardly breathe, but I don’t care. Feeling him inside me, our bodies together, is like no other sensation I’ve ever experienced.
“God, I missed you,” he whispers into my hair. “I can’t believe I found you.”
“You came to the ball looking for me?” I murmur.
“No. I was there to kill a woman. A very bad woman who murdered her husband for his fortune. I was taking my leave when I spotted you across the room.”
I freeze in shock.
“What? Have you forgotten that part, too?” he asks.
I blink up at the white ceiling dancing with licks of orange from the fireplace. “Yes.”
He sighs and withdraws, rolling over onto his back beside me. “Well, let me remind you, then. I was cursed by your father, who killed you because we made love and he believed it would displease the gods. He sentenced me to an eternity of reliving his torment. Giving in to the curse—killing—is the only thing that provides me a moment of peace from the darkness gnawing at my soul.”
As Macarius speaks, my own mind shows me the horrific memories. It is frightening and amazing all at once.
He continues, “But we were in love, so before you died, you used your gifts to bind your soul to mine. You said that you would find me and free me.”
Gifts. Yes, I have gifts. I can heal broken bones and take away sickness. My people thought I was some manner of demigod.
I sit up and gasp. “I remember now. I remember everything.”
“Good. Because I need you to free me from this curse, Evelyn. I cannot stand it any longer.”
Oh Lord. It all hits me in one fell swoop. The suffering he has endured over thousands of years, my search for him over many lifetimes.
“I am not sure I know how.” I only recall that moment of my death and wanting to save him with all my soul.
He grabs me and pulls me down to his lips. “You simply need a little more reminding.” He kisses me again, and I feel my body giving in to my need for him. We spend the night making up for lost time, and I can only think of how happy I am. I must find a way to save this beautiful man.
At first light, I dress and slip out of his home while he remains asleep, a vision of male perfection. It is a long walk back to my house on the other side of town, but I am fortunate enough to see a cab passing. The driver takes one look at me and shakes his head. He thinks I’m a whore of some sort, but money is money, so he brings me home.
I slip in through the servants’ entrance in the back of our respectable Victorian-style house, ignoring the whispers and giggles of the staff. I couldn’t care less.
“Tell the footman to ready the carriage,” I bark out in a hurry.
Our maid, Bessy, gives me a look, and I know what she is thinking. It’s early in the morning, and I have no chaperone. I am up to no good.
She’s right.
I go up to my room, throw on my daily outing dress—blue with white trim—my heavy black wool coat, and a black hat. I don’t want to be noticed on the street.
I grab the bit of gold coins I have hidden underneath my chest of drawers, knowing that what I am about to do is insane. I am about to make a deal with the devil, but there is nothing I won’t do to save Macarius.
I rush out of the house and into the awaiting carriage. I slide open the little window to speak to my driver. “Take me to the dark house.”