Harlow…
I let myself sink, past the memories and the pain—down to where Nirvana waited—down to where the emerald glinted like a light to guide the way.
Come, he whispered. We’re waiting for you.
Four shadows hovered in the distance. The faint clip-clop of hooves echoed, but there were no towering shadows. No swish of a tail. No disease-ridden flesh to give me nightmares.
They stood on their own, four men hidden in long robes that swept the ground as they moved.
“Don’t you come any closer,” shaky words slipped from my lips.
Shaky voice. Shaky ground. The earth trembled as they took a step.
My heart gave a jolt as I threw out my hand, and slid my feet wider.
You’re safe here. The soft growl echoed. Nothing will hurt you. Not any one. Not any thing. We won’t allow it.
You are ours, another whispered and lifted his hand. Red glinted on his finger. We’ve been waiting.
I lifted my head to the darkness, waiting for that bright light to come. But there was no God. No savior. There was only silence. Only them, and they surged toward me like a dawning sun.
“Who the Hell are you?”
Green jewel flashed as he spoke. You know who we are.
My lips parted. Hate raged, until a soft caress across my lips stole my breath. Not a finger…I licked where the unseen touch had been, and felt the pressure once more.
Just like a kiss, soft, gentle.
My hands dropped to my sides as the kiss came again, taking my mouth slowly, forcefully. Hands went around my waist, bowing my spine, pulling me against him. But there was no him against me. There was nothing but darkness—nothing but the phantom feel of a kiss.
Soft lips smashed mine against my teeth, bruising, hurting. I wrenched my head to the side, breaking free, and sucked in the deep, masculine scent of his body.
My fingers trembled as I reached for my mouth. My lips pulsed, swelling from the assault.
Have you ever been touched? He whispered and those words were liquid lightning in my veins. Really touched, not just with your hands, and your lips…but with your mind.
Green sparkled on his finger as the horseman surged forward.
Have you, Harlow? Have you ever been bruised and broken and put together all at the same time? Have you ever been stripped…of your clothes…of your dignity, of everything you’ve ever known? And have you ever begged for more?
The brush of my lips. A touch of my neck. I flinched and stared into the dark, but the gloom held no answers. The touch came again, soft, seductive, leaving me weak and wanting.
Have you ever been needed the way a breath is needed? Have you ever been consumed—the way you consume me?
I stilled, closed my eyes as heat raced. My lips parted. A hard breath, urgent now…tearing from lungs, only to be stolen once more as lips brushed the corner of my mouth. Gentle, slow. A ghostly touch against my breast speared lightning through my body to settle between my thighs.
You make me feel, he whispered. You make me feel…no one does that, no one has ever done that.
The kiss again. My lips parted, warm breath snatched from my mouth. Fingers brushed my arms, my breasts, my thighs, a kiss at my neck that trailed along my shoulder…more than one, the thought tore free.
There was more than one touching me. Each one was different, one teasing, tickling, skimming the tips of his fingers along my arm. Another touched low—at my abdomen, lifting my shirt to kiss my navel. I knew what he wanted as his hands gripped my hips.
I knew what they all wanted.
Their ghostly hands explored, a finger trailed my cheek, others speared through the hair at the nape of my neck. Lips followed, skimming the base of my throat. Another kissed the rise of my breast over my heart.
Their touch is like…heaven. Taking, giving…making my knees shudder—making my will weak. Hard hands, soft hands, desperate, slow, all melted together. I was lost in their touch, consumed by their need.
Heat and desire collided in the dark.
It’s just a dream, my own words float to the surface. Just some crazy dream.
Open your eyes, Harlow, Pestilence whispered. See us…know us.
My lids cracked open, and the dream rushed in. A dull red light shone overhead. I was in the train station bathroom. I took a step backwards and kicked something small. It clattered, turning end over end until it came to rest against the toilet stall.
A needle…
A syringe.
But I wasn’t alone. They were with me. Shadows crammed the edges of the bathroom, and they moved, growing solid—taking form. They wanted me back there to the desperation and the desire. Back to where they could control me.
See us, Pestilence whispered and stepped out of the corner and into the light. The red light bathed him, washing his wide shoulders in the color of blood.
I can’t see his face, even when he stepped closer.
“What the Hell do you want from me?” The question filled the room and bounced from the tiled walls.
Protect you, love you. Use you, and be used by you.
The ring on his finger was murky and brown under the red emergency light. I knew my colors, knew the man that strode forward to cross the bathroom floor. I stumbled backwards, bare feet kicked the wall. My head smacked backwards, hitting the tiles with a hard thud.
Pain flared, tearing across my head like the jagged bolt of lightning. But he didn’t slow, lifting one arm to bar my escape. I was cornered, pushed against the wall. Four against one.
“Please, God,” I closed my eyes and whispered. “Give me a weapon. Help me fight.”
His breath was warm against my ear as he leaned in. You don’t need a weapon when you are one, Harlow.
I wanted to shut out his voice, his words…the hard feel of his body against mine.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” isn’t that how it goes? Panicked thoughts raced.
For thou art with me, Pestilence murmured. His voice tickled my ear, sending my heart racing. Those are the next words you’re looking for, I believe.
“Not real, not real. Just a dream. Come on, Harlow. Wake up. Wake up! It’s just a dream. Just a…”
His hand slipped from my neck to my shoulders, and then settled at the small of my back. I wrenched my eyes open as he moved against me, powerful and demanding, rocking his hips. An image surfaced…him…them, fingers touching, legs entwining. Flashes of blood and screams surfaced. Bloody screams, cruel screams—filled with anger and pain as Pestilence leaned closer. Soft lips skimmed mine, kissing in a line down the crest of my chin to the underside of my neck.
Heat bloomed, tearing through me like thunder.
My will shook, and the ground followed. In my head those perfect lips trailed along my body…while the others…