Soon, both of his hands and mouth were moving across my body, caressing and teasing my most sensitive spots, until I shuddered in ecstasy. Then he removed his own clothing and grasped my hand. “Touch me,” he whispered, placing my hand on his chest.
His entire body was hard and muscular. When I reached down below and touched between his legs, he let out a strangled growl.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as he pushed me away.
He shook his head and then spread my legs open. “I have to have you… right now,” he said, pushing inside of me.
I wrapped my hips around his and moaned as he took me over the edge once more.
“May I?” he asked as he kissed the junction just above my shoulder.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He opened his mouth and sunk his teeth into my neck, but there was no pain. For some reason, it only added to the ecstasy of his lovemaking, and soon he was unable to hold back.
“Nikki,” he groaned, shuddering in pleasure inside of me. “God, I love you.”
I stared up into his smoldering eyes and smiled. “I love you, too.”
Just then, the bedroom door burst open and I heard a loud blast. Before I knew what was happening, Ethan’s body slumped on top of me, pinning me underneath.
“Ethan!” I screamed, overwhelmed by the smell of blood and the fact he wasn’t moving. Not at all.
“Got one of them,” cackled an old man holding a shot gun. “Teach ‘em for breaking in and sinning in our house.”
In a flash, I shot out of bed and held the stranger up in the air by his throat. “What have you done?” I growled in rage.
The old man stared at me in horror, his watery brown eyes bulging out of his head as I began to squeeze the arteries in his neck.
“Let him go!” Hollered another man, standing in the doorway, his eyes full of shock. “Or I’ll shoot!”
I glared at the guy, who looked like a younger version of the one I was choking. “I don’t think so.”
“Bitch, leave him be.”
Something inside of me snapped as my eyes jumped back to Ethan’s body. I wanted both men to pay.
“Killers,” I choked, flinging the old man at his son. They both fell backwards to the floor and I advanced towards them.
“Shoot her,” hollered the old man, trying to scramble away.
Before they could even blink, I had both of their guns and they were staring at me in horror.
“Run, Gabriel,” barked the old man.
I grabbed the old man and surprising even myself, snapped his neck like a twig.
“Dad!” screamed the younger man, rushing towards us as I dropped his father.
“Stop!” I demanded, still stunned that I’d actually killed another human being so efforetlessly.
But Gabriel grabbed me and punched me in the face, knocking me to the ground. “Demon!” he yelled. “I’m going to send you back to hell!”
“No!” I choked, standing up as he grabbed for his gun. I was faster, however, and seconds later, I had him down on the bed.
He screamed and tried pushing me away as I lowered my mouth to his neck. I sunk my teeth into his skin and began to drain the life out of him. Soon, he lay limp and I was able to finally relax my hold, savoring the sweet, tangy flavor of his blood. I felt the familiar heat spreading throughout my body and my thoughts returned, once again, to Ethan.
Ethan.
I could see him out of the corner of my eye and I began to choke on the other man’s blood. I pushed him away and moved closer to Ethan.
“No,” I moaned, staring in horror at the damage the bullet had inflicted on his head. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I studied him. I knew he could recover from wounds, but this seemed beyond any kind of resurrection. I held his face to my chest and sobbed, hoping beyond hope for some kind of a miracle.
We stayed that way for a long time and his skin grew so cool that I tried wrapping my body around him to offer heat. When that didn’t work, I tore open my wrist and pushed it towards his mouth, hoping it would somehow draw him out and that maybe he’d miraculously wake up. But he didn’t respond to that, either.
“Come back to me,” I wept, touching his face with my fingertips. “Please come back to me.”
I held him in my arms for what seemed like hours. When the sun went down and he still didn’t wake up, I realized in horror that he really wasn’t coming back.
Releasing a ragged sigh, I went into the closet and found a large pair of overalls and a white T-shirt. They practically fell off of my small frame, but I had no other choice.
“I will always love you, Ethan,” I whispered somberly, kissing his cheek, wishing he’d suddenly raise his head and give me one of his sexy little smiles. But he didn’t even twitch.
As a last resort, I ripped a piece of fabric from his shirt, tore open the old man’s throat and dipped it inside, smothering it with blood. I then pushed part of the wet fabric into Ethan’s mouth and let it rest there. It was a hopeless gesture, but I didn’t know what else to do.
I walked to the door and turned back to look at him, one last time. “Goodbye,” I whispered, before I eventually walked out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-nine