"Fighting did help and I'd continue until the very last breath left my lungs. Maybe even after that too..."
Silhouettes in the Sunset
A few days passed.
The waves never stopped crashing onto the white beach and the racket around us didn't die down until much later. I was all too grateful for the loud noise and the crowds of people in the beginning. Safety in numbers is what they always say.
The blue ocean sparkled in the sun and the tides rode along with the surfers as they enthusiastically raced back to the shore, eager to catch the next 'big' one. Sonya's loud speaker blared hit after hit and the sound of classic and new beats filled our happy spot on the beach. Sonya kept her book close to her side, but she didn't get very far. The warmth was too inviting and she kept falling asleep under the big umbrella.
Trita tapped her foot and her fingers to the rhythm of the music and every now and then she glanced around, looking for prey. I shook my head at her efforts. She knew how to get what she wanted. I had a feeling I was going to lose our little bet.
The sun sank a little further, but still shone brightly. There were a few clouds on the horizon; it looked like someone had taken a long roll of cotton and spread it across, laying it flat against the sky.
It had been three nights since Death and I'd met.
My eyes kept darting to the sides with paranoia. I was still half-and-half expecting him to jump up from behind a rock and drag me down to the Underworld or whatever, but the past three days were rather uneventful.
Did I dream that night? No... It was too real. The evidence was faded on my arms?
Whenever we arrived at our regular beach spot, I quickly stripped down to my bikini and ran for the ocean. Sonya and Trita were happy to see me smile again. If only they knew I was simply trying to hide my bruised body from them. If I laid on the beach too long in a long-sleeved shirt, they'd tell me to take it off to tan. No way was I doing that.
The marks had faded really quickly; much quicker than I thought they would, but it was too big of a risk still. I had no lies for those kinds of questions.
I dived into the water, the coldness taking me by surprise. My fever died down.
After my encounter with him, I'd been getting hot-flashes. They came and went as they pleased and at first I was really worried, but now, I just wanted them gone.
I'd decided to deal with all of this shit calmly- like I knew I could. It didn't help I cried or became depressed, but fighting did help and I'd continue until the very last breath left my lungs. Maybe even after that too...
I've always been a fighter, why stop now?
The sun was setting and I stopped a yawn from escaping my mouth. Time to head back to Sonya's house. I carefully stood up, dripping with salt water and shivered from the sudden cold breeze.
I felt like my long swim did my body good.
I wish I could say the same for my mind.
A guy around my age passed by me and shot me a friendly smile. I returned it, but with less enthusiasm. I picked up my towel and walked the other way, towards Trita and Sonya. Cute guy, but if I wanted a distraction, I'd get one, but if I'm not in the mood for one at the moment, then what's the point?
He's cute. But Thanatos is- Shit.
Fever's back...
Just stop thinking about him! Is that so hard?
I let out a small sigh and slowly walked up the beach. The light was changing to a beautiful orange hue. Sonya was finally at the end of her book. She'd been complaining about not having time to read it, but seems she's the lazy one.
"Aren't you freezing?" Trita asked as I neared them.
"A bit." I laughed and sat down next to her on the sandy beach with my wet bum.
"I think I burnt my face..." Trita patted her cheek with two fingers and I brought my hand up to feel it too. It was a bit hot to the touch. "Maybe... When's the last time you put sunblock on?"
"I can't remember?" Trita grimaced and I shot her a look; "Rita..."
"I know, I know!" She pulled a face and covered her head with her towel, even though most of the dangerous sunlight was already gone. "I'm an idiot."
I giggled and leaned back, extending my arms behind me and placing my palms on the warm sand. "How's the book now?"
Sonya sighed and her eyebrows knotted together. "I wouldn't know. That idiot keeps asking me stupid questions."
"Oh, please," Trita scoffed and flicked a cheesy chip into her mouth, "You've been secretly checking out that guy with the red board-shorts for over an hour. I'm not the distraction."
"Have not!" Sonya's eyes widened with surprise at having been found out. She blushed as if Trita had shouted it to the whole beach. "I'm on page 450!"
"For how long now?" I asked, causing Trita to burst out laughing.
Sonya rolled her eyes and fell back down, covering her face with the thick book. I gently pinched her thigh and snickered as she yelped and slapped my hand away. Trita flicked another chip into her mouth and turned onto her stomach. She folded her hands under her chin and closed her eyes.
"So what are we doing tonight?" I tightened my hold on my towel and shifted my eyes to the shimmering ocean.
The sun was heading down. The time for tanning was up, but Trita didn't mind. She could lie on the beach for hours on end. I didn't mind either- I loved sunsets. They were the best time of the day.
Sonya lazily checked her phone; "It's ten to six. What do you guys wanna do?"
Trita shrugged; "How about we check out that new restaurant? I heard they have cocktail specials."
"Sure." Sonya smiled; "I'm hungry anyway."
"Sounds good." It really did. I smiled happily. "We could go at around seven? Maybe we should phone and make a reservation?"
A crowed place and something to make me tired; other than the sleeping pill I plan on taking later.
A distraction!
I wasn't ready to face him again. If I even had to? 'To welcome you.' What did he mean by that? Welcome me to what? To where?
Sonya sat up and closed her book. "Alrighty! I'll phone when we get home. Which should be in about ten minutes, Trita."
"Spoil sport..." Trita said as she flicked a spray of sand in Sonya's direction.
I grinned at Trita, but a sudden familiar melody caught my attention. The ice-cream cart's bell. "Hey, is that ice-cream?"
Trita leaned her weight onto her elbows and listened; her head tilted to the side. Sonya carefully sat up straighter and a small smile spread across her face. She knew the sound before the small, white cart appeared from atop of the hill.
"Yes!" Trita grinned and sat up as I shifted my weight to the side to get a better view of the old man pushing the cart down the sandy hill; his brown eyes sunken and tired. I instantly felt a pang of guilt. The poor old man had probably been in the sun the whole day, selling ice-cream and standing on his feet.
I hastily pulled out my wallet from my beach bag and grabbed a few notes. As I stood up, Trita handed me her money, her arm stretching from the relaxed position to catch my attention. "If you'd be so kind..."
"Double-chocolate swirl?" I asked, my eyebrow raised. Trita eagerly nodded her head and gave a pleading smile. "Yes, ma'am. Sons?" I switched my eyes to Sonya. She looked up at me and smiled, "No, thanks. I'm good."
"Don't you two dare ditch me!" I yelled jokingly at them and raced to catch the old man before he started to walk away.
"Depends whether or not you take too long- I'm not the patient type." Trita said and winked.
"I'll eat your ice-cream!" I laughed while I rolled my eyes and jogged off to the cart. It was a bit further away now. The old man may have looked withered, but he sure as hell moved fast.
I reached the cart and waited patiently for the guy in front of me to finish his turn. He had dark brown hair and a muscled back. I tapped my foot on the sand and pulled the beach towel tighter around my shoulders.
The sun was nearly at the line where the sea and sky met. The sky was filled with orange, light purple and pink. I examined the clouds a bit, my mind distracted.
I turned my calm gaze back to the boy as he finished up his order. He turned around and his eyes landed on me. I gave a small, polite smile, but his initial reaction made me scrunch up my nose. His brown eyes looked me up and down and subconsciously, a sly smile spread across his face.
I scoffed. As if...
I took a step forward, clearly showing my lack of interest and unfolded the money. The young man noticeably got the message; the frown on my face only became more intimidating. He carefully walked off, his ego bruised before he even had a chance to try.
The old man chuckled. "Good to see some young women still have taste these days."
I was shocked at first. His voice was so familiar. Somehow aged with a hint of wisdom, but other than that, the base of the voice sounded so very memorable.
I smiled, unable to control a strange urge to chuckle. Was my fever getting worse again? I could feel the heat burn up to my temples. "I'm sure he meant nothing by it." I said politely.
The old man smiled. "What can I get you, angel?"
Angel...
A chill shot up my arms. Strange. "Can I please get a double-chocolate swirl and a-"
"Let me guess..." The old man spoke over me, interrupting my order. His eyebrows were raised in a cunning way. A dreadful feeling bubbled up into my stomach. "Vanilla and almond crunch?"
I swallowed softly, but tried to smile politely. "Um...Yeah."
I had nothing to say. What could I say? It was a bloody good guess.
I refused to look any deeper into the situation. I was done chasing shadows for the day. I was tired and exhausted by my own paranoia.
"Thank you." I waited for him to get the order, but he didn't move; instead just continued to stare at me. I felt very uncomfortable.
"That's ten each." The old man made a move with his hand, indicating for me to hand over the money. I couldn't help but shudder as the tremor of disgust raced up my back as his eyes filled with desire. I handed over the money, careful not to touch his hand.
I looked down at our hands, but made the mistake of lingering too long. In the blink of an eye, the old man's hand shot out, ensnaring mine in his strong grasp. I gasped, but honesty I wasn't as shocked as I thought I'd be.
When I looked up, my hand wasn't being held by the old man, but by Death.
"Thanatos!" I growled and pulled my hand back, but he held on while he smiled menacingly. The old man-image was gone and he was back to looking like lust himself. His eyes were covered by his hood and his leather armour was pitch-black and dripping with power.
My throat was thick with unused screams. I wanted to call for someone, but I refused to satisfy his sick appetite for my fear.
His voice was back to normal, wholly and utterly dripping with sex-appeal. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to not accept candy from strangers?"
"You're such an asshole." I sucked in a delicious breath of his scent. Everything about him came through now. His pitch black cloak was draped across the white sand, creating a mesmerizing contrast and his tanned skin shone in the orange light. I couldn't help but notice how enticing he looked while being bathed in the dying light.
My hand felt crushed in his large hand and I wanted to kick myself for being so stupid. The moment I'd picked up that there was something off about his voice, I should've run.
I didn't run and I have a horrible feeling I know why. Part of me was fascinated by him.
"Leave me alone!" I snarled at him and tried to struggle my hand free from his warm grip.
"Oh, you know you don't mean that, angel."
I thanked the heaven's that there was a rather wide cart wedged in between us. It gave me a great deal of will-power and perspective I otherwise wouldn't have had if I were to stand so close to him again.
His hand didn't budge from around mine. "You like holding my hand." He was teasing me again.
"Let me guess, no one can see you and they can't see me struggling?" I asked as I looked around for some kind of help.
His laugh was like a sinful song; full of lust, fire and promising fun. "Oh, someone's getting clever..."
I scoffed, but really felt like crying my eyes out. What chance did I have against a god that could erase me from the picture? Literally.
"Just leave me alone. Please!"
His other hand shot out like a cobra and grabbed my shoulder. I let out a shrill yelp from the shot of pain and tried to jump back, out of his grasp, but he was too strong and kept me pressed to the cart. "One wrong move and you can kiss your friends goodbye."
I sucked in a heavy breath and lifted my eyes to his. "Just tell me what you want!"
"Now why would I do that?"
"Why? Because, you asshole, I don't like being stalked by Death all day long! Leave me alone! What could you possibly want from me?"
Thanatos moved his hand from my shoulder and down to my waist. His whole body was practically leaning over the cart. His touch made my eyes fog over, but I fought against the appeal.
He purred; "Move the cart and I'll show you."
I clenched my jaw and scoffed silently; but my legs felt like giving away. His husky voice made me sweat in all the right places.
"Stay away from me." It was a forceful whisper, but his smile didn't falter. Instead, it grew, exposing his sharp canines again. It seems they only came out when he wanted them to. I gulped, my throat dry with fear.
"Move the cart- or I will."
I clenched my teeth and bit back a sob. He will not see me cry. "What do you want with me and stop avoiding the question. Why are you here, Death?"
He continued to smile, unfazed with my tone; "Call me Thanatos. Death is so formal and we're friends, aren't we?"
"You must be joking?"
He laughed and slowly, his hand moved from my waist up to my shoulder, trailing along my arm. I shivered from his touch, making him smile deeper. With his other hand he moved the cart from between us and pushed it to the side.
The once sweet bell chimed in abandonment. I froze, unsure of what to do next.
Or rather, I knew what to do- I should be running away.
But I that's not what I wanted to do.
I wanted to kiss him into the sand and wipe that sexy grin from his evil face.
His growl shook me from his swaying hips. As he moved closer, I moved back. "Tell me, my sweet. How's the pain?"
I glared daggers at his face. How dare he mock me? With a quick duck, I swung past him and back to the cart; his eyes followed my movements with annoyance.
"What did you do to me after you- you drugged me?" I wasn't sure you could call it drugging? His abilities were far from normal and I was frightened by how much I didn't know about him. Imagine everything he could do that I had no idea of.
His laugh was cocky and far too arrogant. I pushed the cart in front of me and stepped back. His smile grew into a skew smirk, full of superiority. "Don't fret, darling. I didn't dishonour you, if that's what you're concerned about."
I sighed internally. That was a good thing to hear, if it was true.
"Oh, it's true." His confidence was a real turn on. His sexy strides shook me into a trance. I continued to watch him move back to me, my eyes glued to his pleasing frame. It was like watching a beautiful black snake move closer to its prey.
You couldn't shake your eyes from it, no matter how dangerously intimidating it was. Unfortunately, a little too late, I realised that I was the prey...
His hand gripped the soft towel that covered my once-bruised body. A jolt of shock shot through me as he ripped it off and threw it on the sandy beach. I tried to cover myself, but soon realised it was of no use.
His eyes were intoxicated by my bare, tanned skin and I felt a blush creep up my neck. I rolled my eyes in dismay as a sexy growl echoed from his lips and crossed my arms over my chest, looking away. Thanatos was completely unashamed of his desire as he swiftly moved to my side and gently trailed a finger down my back.
I shivered as it stopped above my ass and with a forceful tug; he gripped my hip and pulled it against his.
"Pervert..." I said; my voice husky and full of confusion. Too many emotions were running through my mind and the more I tried to push them back, the more they came rushing up to the surface.
Thanatos chuckled confidently. "Oh, angel! You hurt me with your words! Let's be honest..."
With a quick swirl, he turned me around to face him; his face too close for comfort and his lips hungry for a taste. "Who could possibly resist you? Certainly not me."
"Please..." I pleaded one last time, "I'll do anything; just tell me why you're doing this. I don't understand?"
I regretted the words before they left my mouth.
Suddenly, his hand shot out and grabbed my neck. I instinctively kicked my leg out, but his reflexes were much quicker and he stopped it in mid-air.
Thanatos swiftly let me leg go and, in a heartbeat, I was pressed up against him, his face in my wet, salty hair. "Oh, I love it when you beg, Aurora..."
I'd accidentally let the beast escape from its cage.
He spoke my name with such tenderness, but his voice was full of wicked suggestion. I tried to pry his fingers from my neck and from around my waist, but it was no use. He was locked on tight.
"Be careful..." His tempting lips were next to my ear, his husky whisper full of unfulfilled cravings; "Don't make promises you won't want to keep. I have many things I'd like to do to you."
I gasped at his candid words.
"None of them as innocent as you pretend to be."
I could feel the blush travel up to my cheeks and I tried desperately to keep my eyes closed and my lips tightly pressed down as he placed his hood-covered forehead against mine.
"You're sick." I listened as he laughed. I could only imagine what he had in mind for our next meeting.
Oh... I'm already thinking of seeing him again.
I've lost it. More than I thought I have.
"Don't worry, angel. I've simply come to warn you of something."
I stiffened in his arms. I struggled against him as his hand on my waist moved a bit up to push me more into him.
With a scoff I said; "You know, I was serious when I told you to fuck off."
"Nasty! I like it..." He purred sexily.
His hand glided down and squeezed my butt-cheek. I growled and tried to shake him off.
"I wouldn't move so rapidly against me, darling. You're stirring something up that's best left alone."
I blushed, but this time it covered all of my face. With one simple sentence he made me feel completely and utterly dim-witted. I froze and tried to lean back, but his body refused to let any space come between us.
Another growl ripped past my ear. This one more focused than the last. "Stay away from any other man. Do you understand?" Thanatos' voice was rough and commanding. I didn't dare refuse his order or shoot back a retort. I know when it's useless to fight and when you're better off just going along with something out of your control. The sooner I agreed- the sooner he'd leave me be. His forceful tone made him all the more intimidating.
I slowly nodded my head and kept my eyes as cold as ice and totally emotionless. His possessiveness made me melt deeper into his arms.
This side of him I couldn't comprehend.
He didn't smile. "Good."
I looked down and tried to keep the tears from piling up.
I refused to cry. Not here. Not now. Not in front of him.
Unexpectedly, a gentle hand caressed my cheek and delicately lifted my chin. Thanatos' hand compassionately wiped away a rolling tear and without a word, he leaned in until his lips were directly in front of mine.
I sucked in a breath and tasted the familiar minty scent. "Remember, I'm always watching you. I'm always there."
I tried to push back the tears, because frankly, this was all wrong and too much too handle for anyone, but the fire and disgust in my eyes burned like the sun. Death grinned, but it wasn't a wicked smile, it was almost endearing. Like he admired my strength.
"I'm all you need." His forbidden mint tongue played across my bottom lips as he leaned in for a kiss. As if he hadn't punished me enough. His lust clear to see and easy to feel as he nipped onto my lip. It was obvious to me that he was having difficulty in controlling himself, seeing as his hands kept trying to snake around my chest and thighs, but every now and then he'd come to his senses and fight the urge to taint me even more than he already has.
I couldn't decide whether or not to be grateful or disappointed.
Both seemed appropriate.
Thanatos' teasing ended abruptly and as he pulled back, I could feel the restraint rolling off his body. He wanted to continue, but was afraid of what he'd do if he did...
Again; the disappointment and gratefulness settle in.
His hand touched my cheek one last time and I tried to push away, but found myself frozen by his maddening touch.
"You're mine, Aurora. Whether you like it or not."
For the first time after we've met, I felt alive.
"Too dark
Too dark to see
And I can't feel my fingers anymore
I don't think you can save my life again
Cause tonight destiny is at my door
Knocking on my door..."
–Dark voices, Era
*****
Don't know if any of you've noticed but every title has a reference to a shade of red... ;D