God, her legs felt like jello, the only thing holding her up was Blaise. She couldn’t run away from the feeling that if she didn’t stop soon her clothes would be all over the floor.
Blaise ran his handsup and down her hips, itching to reach for her zipper, but he didn’t. No, no, too fast. Too fast indeed, maybe he was intoxicated or maybe it was the feeling of recklessness running through him that made him want to do serious damage.
Plunder….
What the fuck is wrong with you?
The question alone made him pull his lips away from Maras and press his forehead against hers as he took a deep breath. His heartbeat slowed just a little bit as he closed his eyes and breathed in and out softly.
To Mara, the fleeting moment was surreal, what had happened to the two of them in the span of a few short minutes? Had lust taken over, the very things that she had been able to keep at bay because she detested them? She them in Alec’s eyes, lust laden eyes that sought to strip her of every inch of fabric that she wore. He had been that way since the day he realized that he could fulfill all of his carnal needs by burying into the warmth of a woman.
Whats wrong with me?
A crashing wave of regret activated her sense of reason, her sense of responsibility and she sighed outloud at the grave mistake she had been just a few minutes and clothes from making. Blaise’s hands fell away from her hips and hung limp, knuckles brushing up against the smooth door as he did so. Neither one of them tore apart completely, they were too consumed and dazed by what had passed just moments before. Together they stood, breathing in and breathing out, her fists pressed against his soft chest, his nose touching hers and her eyes fluttering.
“I’m sorry.”
For what?
His chapped lips mumbled incoherent words as he attempted to put what he had felt in words, nothing much came out, but at least he tried. She shuddered and took her hands away from the soft fabric of his costume and bent her head to the side, his nose swept against her cheek, surprisingly cold.
Why had she come anyway? Was it really for Andrea, or was it for her to see him?
And now that she’d seen him, now that she’d touched this stranger, what now?
She didn’t know, and the mystery frightened her more than Alecs probing eyes. She was frightened in the Truth that stood before her, Blaise.
What would she tell her daughters years from now when they asked her how it felt to kiss? She would push a strand of loose hair out of her eyes and take a deep breath. Lies would form on her tongue even as the truth played like a cinema in her mind. She would think, strange, inviting, exciting, the sweetest form of wine, fermented grapes with a tinge of bitter reality. Kissing for her, was the audacious equivalent of sex to her. She would tell the girls, you shouldn’t do it too young, or carelessly, or with the first guy who tells you that you’re pretty. Then she would think it again, but the strangest kisses are often the most beautiful.
“Damn,” The words unconsciously slipped from her lips as she moved under Blaise, pressing a hand against his rib softly to push him away so that she could get out. He budged, slowly, her warmness gone from his body as she struggled to gain control of her sanity, of her emotions.
Who would have thought that something so innocent would have left her with so much shame, and him with so much remorse? Her head hung limp as she bent over pressing her hands flat against her ears as she struggled to tune out the humming noise in her ears, a sort of buzzing that began as soon as the last of his touch left her, “You alright?”
Mara shook her head, heat filled her body, pulsing as the humming intensified. What was it? This feeling?
“Whats going on?” The gesture of holding her hands to her ears proved to be futile, a pang something like a cramp but much more intense overtook her. She grabbed at her belly, arms folded around her abdomen as she bent over and the wolf within howled in pain.
Holy sh-
Blaise rushed over just before she fell to the ground, he dropped slowly to the soft floor with her and pressed her soft body to his as she let out a string of moans. He couldn’t feel the battle within her, two creatures ripping each other apart as she struggled to breathe. Her eyes fluttered spastically and her body began to seize in a horrendous way. Blaise pressed his palm against her forehead, and ripped away, at the touch of searing heat.
What the hell?
If he didn’t know, then she didn’t either, but wherever his mind was hers was a million miles away. She lost coherency, her sight, her hearing as a thin film of opaque white colored her iris. Her body convulsed all the more hands flying, clutching, grabbing at whatever it could find. Blaise shook just as her head tugged at red coat he wore, ripping as she pulled and screamed.
What the fuck…
But that wasn’t the scary part, no that happened as she squirmed in his arms. Hair sprung from under her skin, sprigs of grey and black grew from under her skin spreading across like a five o’clock shadow. Her eyes as they fluttered switched back and forth between white and amber.
“NICK!”
Apparently he was a bad kisser.
“Mara,” her Grandma sighed in irritation, “Sit up, shoulders straight. Have you learned nothing?”
She scowled within, her fingers curling into fists and fingernails digging in her palm under the table as she sat up, ramrod straight. The old lady should have stayed home in her loathsome cabin with her dozen or so cats that walked around as if they owned the place.
All for Alec, precious Alec.
“Yes, Grandma,” Cynthia, the greying lady with the high cheeks and blazing eyes bristiled at ‘Grandma’, she however kept this under her control, for the sake of Alec.
Whose idea was it to have a family dinner anyway?
After the week that Mara had she wasn’t up to it, she especially wasn’t up to Cynthia’s bad attitude and superior behavior. Blood, that was there only connection and yet it was the strongest, water, nor color could take that away. Mara was her colored Granddaughter.
Alec sensed the tension that brewed between the two women as his eyes darted from Mara to Cynthia. It was common knowledge that Cynthia blamed Anya’s death on Mara, such a union, an unholy union between a Were and Human could only beget disaster. Though it wasn’t her fault, she blamed her. The elder woman had loved Anya, greatly and she had been the apple of her eye. They were so alike, her and her daughter, her death hardened her heart and the hatred spewed out in Mara’s direction.
“Ahem,” Alec cleared his throat and smiled at Cynthia, “Thank you so much for the dinner invitation. The steak, is absolutely delicious.”
Tastes like shit.
If Mara had heard his thought then she would have happily and thankfully agreed. She could barely chew, each bit she had taken had been swallowed down whole and she feared that it would come back up in the same way way it had went down. The only good thing about the dinner was the homemade lemonade, and that was only because Aunt Clarisse had prepared it.
Cynthia beamed as she held up a forkful to her dainty painted mouth, “Thank you Alec, Mara should have done this a long time ago. Leave to me, an old lady to get something done.”
Clarisse held back the urge to roll her eyes at her mother, she was simply unbearable. Why had she come? To wreak havoc in her humble little home and trash the very things that had taken years to create? Who was she, this old woman with more moxy and attitude then all of the Devereux women put together?
She knew one thing and she knew it well, if that old lady thought for a minute she could do whatever to her house then she had another thing coming. Clarisse would not stand for it, no she would not tolerate her mother’s high and mighty views. If she thought that she would get away with anything she’d might as well make the trek back home with her husband.
“Mom,” her fork clinked against the ceramic bowl as allowed a drop of over cooked rice to fall back in, “Where’s Dad?”
He would have made everything better, he made nearly everything tolerable, “He wasn’t feeling well, so I decided to come alone.”
Well that was the end of that conversation, her tone dripped in finality as she gave Alec one more glance before taking a bit of the rubbery steak.
His eyes slid over her bare thighs as her head bent and her fingers scribbled words on the writing pad she balanced on her lap. The old woman, the elder Cynthia had left just moments before he trekked up the staircase to where Mara hid. Rafe and Clarisse stayed below snickering over the dinner they had just attempted to eat, it was simple for him to get away with going upstairs. To everyone he was fond, he was sweet and he was perfect.
Mara didn’t sense him, her eyes instead were focused on the hastily scrawled words. The poem, it made no sense to her even though she had written it herself. She erased and found new words, but it still seemed flat as if it needed something more, something better. The gentle wind slid through her open window and brushed against her bar shoulders, the blondish brown hairs stood up as she shivered. Thought the breeze was cool, the night was warm and she was completely justified in wearing shorts and a tank top.
“Hey,”
She let out a quick breath at the sight of Alec’s face, “What do you want?” The question came out harsher than she wanted it to, but the fact remained the same, she wanted to know. He always wanted something.
He took a couple of steps, a few until he was there a few feet away from her, “Just came up to say hi, that’s it.”
“Well….bye.”
Feisty.
His lips curled at the thought and his eyes penetrated her a little bit deeper. The girl from a couple days ago hadn’t been enough for him, she’d been something to play with, a mere toy to quench his thirst for the time being. He hadn’t lied when he told Mara that he thirsted for her, the young girl would be just enough for him, he could spell it in her blood. There was something about her, a secret he knew only too well, one day she would realize they were meant to be together, but until then he would respect her wishes. With a bow of his head and yet another dazzling smile he left her room and padded down the stairs softly one at a time.
The next few days blurred one into another with Mara avoiding Blaise as much as possible. She was embarrassed about a multitude of things, for one she had unashamedly made out with him in someone else’s room and then she had morphed into this freak like creature only his mother could rid her of. So far he hadn’t bothered her, so it was a surprise when he caught her in the dead of night as she took out the trash and hummed a soft tune to herself.
“Hey…” He breathed, hands deep within his pockets as he looked from her face to his shoes and then back. She stood there, chilled slightly from the cold air lapping at her bare legs and exposed neck, she held the bag of garbage in her hand, heavy and stinking.
“H-hi.” Her cheeks reddened as she realized how ridiculous she must’ve looked, she moved then quickly lifting the lid to the massive black plastic garbage can as she set the heavily trashed bag within and closed it with an audible bang. Blaise stood where he was moving his hands from his pockets to the pouch on his grey hoodie. She hadn’t slept much and he could tell from the circles growing underneath her eyes and her hair was as unruly as ever.
“Can we talk?”
She cast a furtive glance behind her at the old house and bit her lip, it wouldn’t be long before Clarisse went to bed and Rafe went out for his nightly binges. Mara figured it would be safe to take a chance if they walked away from her home.
“Do you need a coat or something?” Blaise laughed.
She didn’t dare to go back house, she would just have to take her chances and wander out with him, cold or not, “It doesn’t matter. Lets go somewhere else.”
Taylor flinched at the familiar breath on her neck and shrank into the shadows, she knew it was a bad idea to be out at night, but she had so badly wanted to see Seraphina. What for? She couldn’t say anything, instead she went over the latest gossip circulating around the university about Arya and some guy she had hooked up with behind the bleachers.
“Missed me?”
She shivered and pulled her coat closer as she picked up her speed and moved between the trees, but he caught her anyway. “Tay, where are you going?”
“Home.” She whimpered. She couldn’t help it, not with Alec around.
He chuckled as he pulled her closer, gently this time, “Why? We should have some fun.”
Fun, more like sex. He smelled her fear and it excited him to a crazed level, the beast within howled for release, but he would release it in a different way.
Strangely she fell for his soft voice and she almost forgot….
“Take your jeans off.”
“I really have to go….my dad—“
“I’ll take care of him.”
What warped situation had she gotten herself into? Had he not threatened her life the last time she saw him? Then what was she doing closing her eyes and submitting to his will. Taylor shook her head, “No.” But even as she spoke his hands hidden by the shadow of the trees and the night eased her button loose. One hand glided in as he pressed her bottom to his groin and went into her underwear, she gave a sharp cry, one mingled with pain, embarrassment and the involuntary sigh of pleasure.
Within an hour he’d had his fill of the girl and he left her there slumped against a tree naked and unconscious.