MURMUR
A Preternatural PNW Novel, 4
Olivia R. Burton
Copyright © 2017
Veruca could have sworn she’d left Finn in the car outside the small-town convenience store, but now that’s she’d come back with snacks and drinks, he was nowhere to be found.
It didn’t surprise her, really. Her sexy, blue-eyed Irishman wasn’t that reliable on his best day, and today was just supposed to be a leisurely drive toward nowhere in particular. It was something they enjoyed every so often, though Finn did occasionally clutch his seat a little too hard when Veruca took sharp, coastal turns. They’d headed east, away from the coast, though, so her driving couldn’t have been blamed for his disappearance.
She sighed, tossed the snacks into the passenger seat, locked up the car, and headed toward the small city center they’d passed on the way in. Finn had probably seen a wild hare or a good-looking old lady or even just a happy dog and wandered off. It wasn’t the first time he’d misplaced himself chasing tail. Veruca figured she’d find him in the park hovering over some octogenarian or golden retriever who was just happy to have his attention.
The town was nice, cozy, and vibrant, with flowers and cottages, intimate stores with the registers so close to the door you had to give a hearty hello to the proprietor as you entered. Veruca appreciated the close-knit feel of community, though it wouldn’t have been a place she’d have wanted to stay permanently. She liked her privacy, if only because small towns weren’t known for their tolerance, and if anyone around had found out she worked directly for the Prince of Hell and that Finn could raise the dead, they might have tried to run both of them right off their turf.
She made it to the center of the main park, looking around at the lush, summer foliage, hoping to spot Finn’s lanky form and soft black hair, but had no such luck. He wasn’t running free at the dog park she’d passed, hadn’t hustled up to charm the pack of elderly lady speed-walkers making their way around the small lake, and wasn’t chatting up the twenty-something running the bicycle-powered ice cream cart. At a loss, Veruca sighed, took a seat on a sun-warmed bench at the edge of the trail, and closed her dark eyes.
Finn had been nothing but trouble since they’d met, causing her more injuries and inconvenience than all of the decades in which she’d been collecting souls bound for the underworld. She considered his presence a gift, even despite all that, and found that she’d fallen in deeper love with him than with anyone else. He was a constant source of happiness, surprise, laughter, and excitement.
Since that excitement had come in the form of losing track of him more than once, she’d used her power over souls to exchange a little portion of his with a little portion of hers. They’d be connected for life, always being able to sense one another and find one another, no matter how thick the fog of life may have gotten.
Knowing his location was a simple thing, once she concentrated, following the magical golden thread that linked the two of them across any distance. It wasn’t tangible, probably wasn’t really perceptible to anyone, maybe not even to another soul-reading Reaper, but it was how she had come to think of their connection. Finn’s soul, through the chaos that was the town full of people, animals, insects, and invisible, magical creatures that didn’t show themselves to the human world, hummed quietly at the far edge of the park, within a group of other souls, all of them human.
Human, but tainted, Veruca realized, popping to her feet before she had even opened her eyes.
Finn wasn’t that far, she knew. If she just pushed herself, jogging through the rest of the park, she could make it to him before he was taken too far, assuming he was being taken at all. She didn’t really have any reason to assume Finn was in danger, though her entire history with him was probably enough to suggest such a thing. If yet another powerful woman from his past had discovered his whereabouts there was a good chance she was going to show up, nab Finn, and steal off into the night.
Or mid-afternoon as the case may be.
Pushing herself wasn’t difficult, as Veruca had the time and money to keep herself in excellent shape, and she made it to the far parking lot just as Finn was being trussed up like a rodeo calf and shoved into the back of a mini-van. The thing looked like it had seen its share of soccer games and track meets, which made the whole situation even more ridiculous. Veruca could see the surprise in Finn’s eyes for just a split second before his face was covered by a hood. Then the van door slid shut, just barely missing his left ankle.
“Shit,” Veruca swore, picking up speed just as the van did the same, swerving around a woman and her poodle as they tried to cross the parking lot. “Shit!”
Knowing it wouldn’t stop them, but doing it anyway, Veruca hurled herself into a full on run, hoping she could at least catch sight of the license plate for long enough to memorize it before it got out of sight. She could track Finn via their connection, sure, but she hadn’t gotten to be a well-known Reaper by being lazy about research. Being able to look up who or what had Finn before busting in to rescue his skinny butt would come in handy, and she knew from experience she’d need every advantage if she was going to get him back in one piece.
The van sped away too fast for her to get a picture, but she managed a make, model, and the first three digits on the plate. Swearing under her breath in Spanish as she gave up the chase, she unlocked her phone, noted down what she’d seen, and stuffed the thing back in her purse.
“You okay?”
Veruca whirled on the woman behind her, knowing she wouldn’t have been shocked to find her so close if she hadn’t been so focused on Finn and the getaway vehicle.
“Yeah, are you?” Veruca looked down at the poodle, noting absently that, while her official name was Greta, Baby had been more lovingly knit into the tapestry of her soul. It was a touching picture, Veruca thought, enjoying the sweetness of the human-pet bond, even despite the situation. “I saw that jackass almost hit you.”
“Yeah, Greta here saved my bacon,” the woman said, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe it. “I was tugging her, but she wouldn’t let me cross. I think I got part of the plate, but it was going so fast, I only managed the last few numbers. I doubt the cops can do anything at any rate.”
“Can I have the numbers?” Veruca asked, thanking her lucky stars for Baby and her owner’s not-so-keen observational skills. “Maybe if we both file a complaint they’ll be more likely to check things out.”
“Oh, good idea,” the woman said. “You got a notepad or anything?”
****
Getting the address had been simple enough, considering the connections Veruca had across the human world and beyond. Belial had made sure his top agents would never be stymied in soul collecting by someone under contract running scared. The address led her to an unassuming home in an unassuming neighborhood, but the owner of the van wasn’t there and Veruca could see from the lack of souls that no one else was either.
Parking her car down the street, she jogged up, slipped in through the side gate and pulled out a lock-picking set Finn had given her for their one-year anniversary, hoping the skills he’d attempted to teach her had stuck. Most of their lessons had ended in him unlocking her bra and her unlocking his pants, but surely something useful had stuck.
Doing a little recon to see if the inside of the house boasted any surveillance cameras or alarm panels, she grinned when nothing showed itself. Not that she wouldn’t have been able to handle a little B&E charge, but causing the police to show up and detain her from finding Finn wasn’t on her To-Do list.
It surprised her a little when the door to the garage clicked open on her first try, and she pushed inside, shutting it silently behind her. The garage yielded nothing helpful, so she looked around, found the door to the house unlocked, and let herself in.
Things got interesting real fast, and she had to stop just inside the doorway to really look around at what she was seeing.
It should have looked like a normal, suburban family home, with a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter, a basket of laundry on the couch, and a fridge full of mail and family notes. It had all that, as well as a sheen of dust on the television, month-old dates on the bills on the freezer, and a dining room wall that had been covered in demonic art, scraps of scribbled gibberish, and a table littered in occult books.
“Well,” Veruca said with a sigh. “This isn’t what one wishes to find when investigating a kidnapper.”
She picked through the books, scanning covers, pleased to see that half the books were garbage written by plain humans who knew nothing of the true occult. The others had tidbits of information that either came close to legitimate or were outright correct, and Veruca wondered why they’d been allowed to put such information out into the world.
Thinking she’d have to ask Belial about it some time, she shut the one that had been at the bottom of the stack and moved on to look through the rest of the papers hoping for a clue as to where the person or people who’d lived in the house had gone. The dust and the rottenness of the apples on the counter led her to believe they’d left a while ago, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of where they’d gone.
Further perusal of the information spread across the wall, however, did yield something useful.
“Hijoeputa,” she swore with a shake of her head. “Are you idiots serious?”
****
“Veruca, how nice to hear from you. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I need some information,” Veruca sighed into the phone. “Finn’s been taken.”
“Finn?” Belial asked, sarcasm searing through his voice. “That fine, responsible young man? I can’t imagine a more unlikely scenario.”
Veruca only grumbled, knowing he was teasing, but also being reminded that her reputation since she’d taken up with Finn had been slightly changed. It wasn’t entirely for the worse, of course. There were those who were aware of Finn’s troubles staying safe, but at least they’d also heard of Veruca’s tenacity and ruthlessness in getting him back.
“It’s not really his fault this time,” she said after a moment, knowing that may not even be completely true. Who could know what Finn had said to attract the attention of demon worshippers in a small town? “We stopped for snacks, and Finn disappeared while I was in the store. I tracked him across a park and found him being tied up and stuffed into the back of some minivan.”
“Father of a past conquest caught up to him?” Belial asked, a smirk in his tone.
“Demon worshippers interested in human sacrifice.”
“Depending on the father, the situations could be very similar.”
Veruca sighed again, leaning her head back against the seat. “No one’s been at the house—I tracked the van to its owner—for some time, and I found no sign of where they’ve gone to, but my guess is somewhere no one will notice candles, black robes, screaming, and chanting. I’m hoping you can put me in touch with the demon.”
“Hoping to turn the tables on the kidnappers?”
“No, I can track Finn on my own, but once I get there it would be nice to have someone more impressive than I to explain to them—however harshly is necessary—that demon worshipping is no summer hobby.”
“You don’t want to call the police? They won’t believe the demon part, but they can make sure anyone involved is too busy holding tight to the soap in the shower to do any summoning or sacrificing.”
“Finn hasn’t been gone for more than an hour, so I can’t report him missing. And even if I said I witnessed him being taken, I’d have a hard time explaining how to know where to find him. Scary demon with scary powers would be a little more immediately effective, don’t you think?”
“True. Did you catch a name for which demon you need to borrow?”
“I did, though it’s not someone I’ve heard of. I can assume from the name it’s an older one, hopefully one from your early days?”
“Do your best with the pronunciation. I’m sure I can work it out.”
“Kikimoya?” Veruca said, hazarding a guess based on the phonetic way she’d seen written on a few of the pages scattered about the dining room table.
“That’s … correct,” Belial said, hesitation in his tone. Veruca’s heart seized a bit.
“Why? What’s—the scribbled notes said the creature is related to wealth and prosperity.”
“Not exactly,” Belial said, before breaking out into quiet laughter. “Kikimoya is … ah, she’s associated with dough, but not the kind I’m assuming your wayward kidnappers are thinking. She’s usually called in to broker deals associated with home and family life, but often she was brought in to help with sustenance in the past. Things associated with the hearth, baking bread, canning—the comfort of having food was a big issue once upon a time, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
“So Finn’s been kidnapped in the pursuit of the perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookie?” Veruca balked.
Belial chuckled.
“Well … I doubt they realized that’s who they’re aiming to impress. It’s likely the prosperity part they’ve latched onto. Depending on where they’re getting their information, who knows what’s been translated or passed around by word of mouth. She deals with more modern home issues these days. Out of control family life? Kiki can fix that, for a price. Look, she’s not usually busy. I’ll have her meet you, just tell me where and when.”
“How the hell did these idiots get—never mind.” Veruca sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Finn’s about an hour away from me. I’ll get an exact location and pass it along. Sorry to have to bother you with this.”
“Not at all,” Belial said. “At the very least you and your man are a constant source of entertainment.”
****
Kiki was waiting where Veruca had specified, though she doubted anyone else pulling up to park along the side of the road knew there was an eight-foot tall demon in dark robes waiting in the waning sunlight. She was an impressive sight, even without taking into account the height, and Veruca could see that she hadn’t bothered to modernize her look at all, even though she probably could have.
Some of the demons Veruca had dealt with had been made by Belial himself, blessed with powers as mere fae spawn, humans born with some sort of magic and later invited into the fold. Others seemed to be as old as Hell itself, inhuman as they came, usually lacking in social graces and insisting on difficult tasks and intense vetting before a human was allowed to stand in their presence.
Kiki looked to be the latter, Veruca thought as she climbed out of the car.
Her form was feminine, in as much as a scarecrow’s body could have gender. Her skin was rough, like hay bundled into the shape of a woman, with a long beak of a face and narrow slits for eyes at the sides of her head. The robes she wore were heavy, but tied tightly by a simple rope at her waist, and revealed bird-like talons for feet.
She crossed the dirt to Veruca, nodding hello and speaking through her bundled-straw beak.
“Good day. Belial said you’ve requested my help with some followers.” Her voice was pleasant, deep but still womanly.
“Yes, have you felt their call at all? Supposedly they believe you require some sort of sacrifice to be summoned.”
Kiki waved her monstrous hand dismissively. “No such precautions are in place. My reputation is mishandled through much of the human world, though I admit some of that is my own design. Now, you’ve said you have an underling in danger?”
“Yes—well, not an underling. My lover, Finn. They—I believe, according to the literature spread around the home of the person responsible for taking him—intend to sacrifice him in your honor.”
“Unnecessary, though I can admire the effort involved. Shall we be on our way?”
“Yes. They’re not too deep into the woods.”
“Please, I will follow.”
Perhaps being trailed through the crowded forest in falling dusk by a monstrous demon would be considered uncomfortable to some, but Veruca had been in much stranger situations. They moved easily, despite the terrain, and Veruca found she was glad she’d pulled up her thick, dark hair and changed out of her revealing sundress and into something practical. Finn would still be in loose pants and a t-shirt, but she had hope they’d have been stained by nothing more dire than dirt and forest grime.
So help the people who aimed to make Finn bleed, Veruca thought, feeling her insides go hot at the mere idea.
“They’re close,” Veruca said, pointing in the direction she could sense the group. Finn was a beacon among the other souls, his a shimmering gold net woven tightly around his heart. All but one of the others lacked the vibrancy of his essence, not only because of their distance from Veruca but because they had each made such poor choices in life. Many things could stain a soul, but in Veruca’s experience, nothing did so faster than a lack of compassion and eager decisions to treat others poorly.
From the look of these people, they’d been a bundle of bad choices and rude comments.
“Yes, I spy them. How shall we proceed?” Kiki asked. Veruca considered her options.
“Can you see what they’re doing? I can see their souls, but not their exact actions. Is Finn hurt?”
“He does not appear so. They’ve tied him to a tree and stripped him naked. He does not look distressed.”
“No, Finn’s rarely bothered by being naked.” Veruca sighed, shaking her head. Even in the darkening evening and bound to scratchy bark, Finn would choose to look on the bright side of the situation. Considering he was surrounded by a gaggle of women with names like Karen and Cynthia who ranged in age from thirty-seven to forty-nine, his own exposed genitals would be the last thing he was worried about.
The first thing he was thinking about, but the last thing he was worried about.
****
Finn had no idea what was going on, but that hadn’t stopped him from enjoying himself.
The afternoon had started off well, with an aimless drive alongside the love of his life and the promise of adventure and eventually cuddles at some unknown B&B. Even when he’d been waiting patiently in the car for Veruca to bring back snacks and he’d spotted an older lady looking lost at the end of the block his mood hadn’t dipped. Aiming to help her, he’d gotten out, jogged over, and offered his services along with a generous dose of his bottomless charm.
She’d been so pleased at the sight of him—not an unusual reaction, in Finn’s experience—that she’d practically fawned at his eagerness to help look for her little dog, Data. Data was a puppy, she’d said, easily distracted, excitable as could be and barely big enough to properly fit his collar. It wasn’t the first time she’d been left holding an empty lead, searching for her little friend and hoping a dashing stranger would step in.
They’d gone through the park, chatting all the way, and Finn had kept a bead on Veruca’s essence, the tug of it in his heart and the glow of it behind his eyes. Sensing souls was an entirely new sensation to him, one he probably wouldn’t have been comfortable with if it hadn’t specifically been Veruca’s soul bound to his.
He couldn’t sense her feelings or mood or anything like he knew some special people with bits of fairy blood could do, but he could tell how she moved and if she’d started running or acting erratic. He’d have known she was worried for him and gone back to assure her he was safe.
He and the woman—Gloria, she’d said her name was—had ended up at the opposite end of the sun-dappled park, entirely at a loss as to Data’s location, but still happily chatting about this and that. Gloria had stopped them both at the edge of a crosswalk, regaling him with tales of how she’d come to adopt Data, how she had plans to teach him all sorts of fun tricks, and Finn had mostly been paying attention.
Veruca was closing in on him now, he’d realized, curiosity and a little bit of worry edging in on his happy mood when her speed had increased and she’d started jogging. He’d spotted her just before darkness had descended, hands had gripped him, and he’d been dragged into the back of a cozy car and driven away from his love at an unreasonable speed and along an unpredictable course.
Still, many turns, slows, and stops later, he could hear only the voices of women around him. Usually, Finn knew ladies like the back of his hand. If there was anything he could talk himself out of—or into, he knew from experience—it was the arms of a dozen women at once.
They’d shushed him on the drive, though, ignoring his questions and posing some of their own.
“Do you think she saw my face?”
“Do you think she knew him?”
“Do you think she caught the license plate?”
“Do you think we can stop for something to eat?”
“Can’t you shut up about food for, like, ten minutes, Linda?”
Finn felt sort of bad for Linda, and not only just because his own stomach was growling. Veruca had stopped for snacks for a reason, after all. Neither of them had eaten since breakfast.
Unknown destination aside, the drive was mostly pleasant, if Finn didn’t think too hard on the fact that he’d ended up bound and cramped and unable to get a word in edgewise. They’d traveled for a long while, and Finn had passed the last chunk of the time in silence, judging the situation by the idle chatter of his captors. They didn’t sound like maniacs or murderers. Cynthia and Fabi were talking about their kids, Linda had gotten a pack of some crunchy snack that had eased her grumpiness, and Karen spent most of the drive humming along to the Oldies station, at least until the signal bad gone bad and they’d turned it off.
Great, Finn thought as they road had changed from smooth cement to pinging gravel. Now I can’t get “Love Potion no. 9” out of my head.
Once they’d hauled him out of the car and collectively dragged him through pine-scented underbrush and dirt, things had improved. Sure, they’d tied him to a tree and cut off his clothes, but he couldn’t blame them for that. Finn knew he was a fine specimen, and plenty of people had eagerly gone to great lengths to get him naked.
The tree part confused him, but they’d been very nice once they’d take off the hood, offering him fresh fruits and cooing over his perfection. One of them—Finn couldn’t be sure behind the papier mâché masks they were wearing, but it sounded like Cynthia—had even given him a lovely sponge bath, paying special attention to certain very enjoyable parts of him. Then Karen had scolded her for her dedication to cleanliness, and she’d hurried to finish.
Finn had tried to explain to them both that they were all welcome to clean him, that he could be a very dirty boy after all, but Karen wasn’t swayed.
All the while, Veruca had been making her way closer, though she’d stalled once or twice. Finn reasoned that she was probably gathering weapons or an army or something to make sure she was fully ready to take on whatever situation she might find him in. He understood her worry, of course. His past had caught up with them both twice, and Veruca was nothing if not smart enough to learn from mistakes, even if they were Finn’s and not her own.
He hoped she didn’t bust in guns blazing, since it sounded like these women were strange but not terribly dangerous. Linda was expecting, it turned out, and seemed the most nervous about the whole ordeal. Karen appeared to be in charge, thought she and Fabi had clashed a few times on whether an actual hierarchy had been decided. They were doing this collectively, after all, and no one was getting more out of it than anyone else.
Even if Karen had snidely pointed out that it was her van and her life on the line if they were caught.
Caught doing what, Finn wasn’t sure, but they’d gagged him as Veruca had slowed from a driving speed to a walking speed and then paused for a few minutes. He could probably persuade her not to press charges if he’d just be given the chance to talk to her once she got close enough. He hadn’t been hurt, really, and Cynthia’s sponge bath had been a treat.
Even being tied up didn’t bother him. Finn rather liked being tied up, especially when naked and surrounded by women.
“You got the goblet and the athame?” Karen asked, pulling Finn’s attention away from Veruca’s approach. He knew that word, he thought, but he couldn’t place it. Goblet was a no-brainer. He was Irish, after all, and knew goblets were what wine was occasionally sipped from. Athame, however, was a word he couldn’t get a handle on. Familiar, but not quite clear in his mind’s eye. Probably something related to the goblet, he reasoned, hoping it was a brand of liquor he’d heard of once or indulged in to the point of forgetting.
That’d be nice, he thought, considering the cooling temperatures and the fact that the sun was being blocked out by the falling night and the swaying trees. It wasn’t yet chilly enough for there to be any shrinkage to worry about, but a little nip of some bourbon or whiskey would help his mood in any case.
When he saw the knife, he jolted, remembering what athame was and realizing that there would be no goblet offered up, no wine passing his lips.
****
Veruca watched Kiki close in, impressed by the way she moved through the forest without seeming to disturb it. She was corporeal, had an actual form in the human world, and yet she seemed to dematerialize rather than actually bumping a leaf or displacing the dirt. There was an ease to her movement that was less physical and more attitude as well, though Veruca had learned that came with the confidence of being a powerful demon.
Night had descended further, which made Kiki’s approach less noticeable to the gaggle of women grouped nervously around Finn with their backs to the fire. They stood in a half circle, holding hands and chanting. To Veruca it sounded like nonsense, but she was far enough away that even if had been some proper language, she likely wouldn’t have been able to recognize much of it.
The demon approached from the opposite side of the fire, stopping at the edge of it, close enough that any mortal would have been forced to worry about her robes being chewed into ash.
Finn noticed her first, his pale blue eyes wide, the muscles along his swimmer’s-build body tensing visibly even in the low light.
“Uh, ladies,” Finn said, loud enough that Veruca could hear him from her position. Taking that as her cue, she pushed up from her spot crouched in the brush and headed around the edge of the clearing the would-be coven had claimed, aiming to cut Finn down while Kiki dealt with her flummoxed followers.
There would be no bloodshed, as far as Veruca had suggested, but she could see enough darkness tainting the souls of the women that she wouldn’t have minded if Kiki felt the need to defend herself or even proposition some of the women into signing over their souls for whatever it was she could offer. Maybe Veruca would end up seeing many of the ladies again in a few years, when their contracts were up and it was time to collect their souls.
Screams and yelps filled the inky evening as the women turned and found Kiki towering menacingly over their fire. She lifted one arm slowly, curling her fingers loosely until she was pointing at the group, still eerily silent. One of the women, the one whose soul was not only pure, but also joined at her middle by the newly formed essence of a fetus, stumbled back from the others, whimpering twice, before turning and cowering behind a low pile of bags and clothing.
“What the hell?” a woman named Fabi cried, starting a chorus of questions dominated by fear but pierced here and there by outrage. Veruca let them chatter nervously as Kiki continued to point rather than explain her presence. By the time Veruca got to Finn the quiet had taken over again, and she was forced to hold her switchblade close so the snikt of it unfolding wouldn’t alert the women to her presence.
“My love,” Finn whispered, just this side of quietly. “I missed you.”
“Shh,” Veruca warned, crouching to work at the rope that held both his ankles in place at the base of the trunk.
“I knew you’d come for me,” Finn said, failing once again to whisper properly. Two of the women turned, distracted from Kiki’s presence by Finn’s inability to be stealthy.
“Hey!” Julie whined. “They’re trying to take the sacrifice!”
“Sacrifice?” Finn cried, nearly drowned out by Karen’s protest. She launched herself forward, producing a blade of her own from somewhere in her robes, running full-tilt toward Kiki. Rolling her eyes, Veruca let the woman be, still focused on rescuing Finn, though she could hear Linda mumbling to herself in disbelief, off to the right.
“Careful,” Finn warned, calling her attention to Julie closing in and giving Veruca enough time to roll out of the way of the awkward kick aimed at her face. Her training took over, letting her hop to her feet before the unskilled housewife had even realized her kick had completely missed. Holding her short blade out, Veruca bared her teeth, darting forward and swiping loosely. She didn’t want to do any true harm, but her experience had taught her that usually regular people would react to a swift attack by simply running off rather than retaliating.
Julie only scoffed, having produced a blade of her own from somewhere. Veruca dodged, forced to evade as a basic steak knife arced through the air clumsily in front of her face. The fact that the woman had reacted to Veruca’s attacks with such rage should have been surprising, but the darkness of her soul—and the fact that she’d knowingly signed up for human sacrifice—let Veruca know Julie was far from regular.
The scene further into the clearing was just as chaotic, Kiki dodging the rest of the coven as they went at her with kitchen tools of their own. Many had brought knives in various shapes and sizes, but Fabi had thought something blunter would do the job and was swinging a heavy meat tenderizer ruthlessly toward Kiki’s mid-section. She was too short to do damage much further up.
Still dodging, Veruca watched Julie’s movements, hoping for some sort of opening, but certain that patience and caution would serve her better than jumping in and trying to get under the woman’s non-existent guard. It was probably the first time Julie had ever properly fought anyone, but Veruca knew that blind confidence with a blade could still do a fair amount of damage.
Sure she could see the girl tiring and losing her balance, Veruca leaned left, aiming to crouch down and under a swipe before coming up and socking her fist straight into Julie’s nose. The girl stumbled and got lucky, however, and Veruca felt the serrated edge slice into the back of her forearm, burning as blood spurted.
“Coño de madre,” she spat. She hadn’t grown up in Venezuela, but her parents had, all the way until Belial had plucked the whole family out of the unstable country and plopped them into new identities in the States. Veruca had picked up on some of their less than savory terms, even though she knew they probably hadn’t meant to impart those particular pockets of the Spanish language.
Continuing her assault, now fueled by pain as well as frustration and worry for Finn, Veruca drove forward, kicking her leg out and right into Julie’s stomach. The housewife grunted, losing her footing and hold of her knife. Following through, Veruca shifted enough to do what she’d been trying to do before being sliced open. Julie fell to her face in the dirt, stunned from the punch, if not completely knocked out.
Leaving her injury unchecked, Veruca rushed back to Finn, knowing she only had another moment or two of work to get his legs free.
“Veruca?” Finn demanded, worried, his head swiveling back and forth as he tried to see around the tree to make sure she was okay.
“I’m fine,” she said, hoping he didn’t worry about the panting edge to her voice. It was only partly from the effort of fighting the girl, and mostly from outrage at the situation.
“Is your friend okay?” Finn asked, before sighing with relief when his ankles were unbound.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Veruca said, sparing a glance for the demon as she went to work on the rope holding Finn’s midsection against the rough bark.
“She’s got about three knives sticking out of her. Are you sure?”
“She’s a demon, darling.”
“Oh, right then.”
Sawing as quickly as she could, Veruca looked up from the fraying nylon to examine how Kiki was handling the clumsy coven. Sure enough, she’d been penetrated thrice: in the thigh, abdomen, and, perplexingly, the left foot. The women hadn’t given up, though, still swiping with their remaining weapons, even if those weapons were just fists and feet.
When one of the women turned and noticed that Veruca had succeeded in cutting down the rope that was chafing Finn’s belly, she shrieked, ripped off her mask, and charged. Veruca swore, poised in an instant to take Fabi’s assault head on, dodging the mallet aimed squarely for her face, but only barely.
“Reaper,” Kiki called out, a growl of frustration edging her tone. “Your suggestion that I avoid harm is most vexatious.”
“Fuck it,” Veruca called back, crying out when the rough side of the tenderizer licked by her face and scraped down against her collarbone. The pain was intense, almost as bad as having her forearm sliced open, and she wondered if the weight of the thing alone had fractured her clavicle. Rage seared through her mind and, without thinking, she jerked forward, flipped the grip on the blade in her one fully useable hand, and stabbed it right into her attacker’s shoulder. Fabi yowled, dropping the weapon as a spasm ran down to her fingertips.
Veruca watched her collapse to the ground, bleeding into the dirt.
“Do what you have to do,” Veruca called out to Kiki, once she was sure Fabi was down for the count, her one good arm ruined by the blade embedded in her flesh.
Kiki wasted no time, though she ignored the women still attacking her and focused her magic on the one coven member who’d just split off to run yowling toward Veruca and Finn.
Moments before Tamara could attack Veruca, the woman seized, crumpling to the ground as if she’d merely tripped and lost her balance. Startled by the appearance of a corpse with a mysteriously broken neck, Fabi screeched and tried to shuffle awkwardly in the other direction. Veruca sneered, pointing loosely with her injured arm.
“I just wanted my boyfriend back and now look what you’ve done. You lunatics.”
****
Finn was wiggling, though he didn’t really mean to be. The situation had gone from confusing to terrifying, and he couldn’t control himself. Veruca had come to save him and he had every confidence she would succeed, but the demon across the clearing didn’t seem to be faring so well and Finn was pretty sure he’d spied blood dripping down Veruca’s arm when she’d moved to start cutting through the rope at his right wrist.
Furthermore, something had changed at the edge of his perception, and he wasn’t entirely sure what it was, even though it felt thrillingly familiar.
Finn had only truly discovered his necromancy when he’d met Veruca and she’d put him under the tutelage of a demon who’d aimed to whip him into shape. Prior to that, his power to raise the dead had been a scary accident that he’d run from in every way, shape, and form. Since training and learning to better harness the ability, though, he’d gotten to recognize the delicate ins and outs.
When he felt the slither of his magic perk up, it confused him. He knew the feeling of blood on dead flesh, knew the impatience to mean that, should he choose, he could send his necromancy forth and raise a zombie. What confused him, however, was the fact that he wasn’t bleeding. Never before had the touch of someone else’s blood connected him to a corpse.
Though, he reasoned as Veruca freed his right hand and went to work on his left, never before had a portion of his soul been sewn with love into the heart of another.
The coven split again, two of them noticing Finn was nearly free and breaking off from their attack on the demon. It was just in time, too, though he was sure they hadn’t realized that by running they’d narrowly avoided a dangerous attack. The creature, which looked like some sort of sexy, bird-faced scarecrow, swept her rough and robed arms toward the fire at their feet and made it explode outward in a scalding rush.
Finn didn’t wait for the two who’d escaped to get any closer before letting his eager and impatient magic run free.
The zombie was on her feet in an instant, quicker than Finn had ever raised a corpse before. Seeing through the eyes of another always threw him off for a second at first, but he didn’t pause to catch his bearings before directing her with a flick of his fingers to circle the tree he was tied to and put herself between Veruca and the incoming women.
“Oh my God!” one of the ladies yelped, skidding to a stop. The other—Gretchen, Finn was pretty sure—didn’t stop, but he’d assumed from the determination in her stomping that she was too far gone to care that her friend’s head was bent at a right angle.
His zombie’s attacks were clumsy, but luckily so were Gretchen’s. The living and the dead struggled, hitting, failing to block, stumbling when a punch landed anywhere delicate. Finn couldn’t feel pain, but it was still disorienting to watch through a zombie’s eyes as knuckles flew at his face—especially when the view he got of it all was sideways and wobbly.
“The knife, darling,” Veruca insisted, reminding him that there was a weapon within reach. Luckily for his delicate stomach, Fabi had already pulled the thing out of her shoulder—a poor choice on her part, judging by the fresh flow of blood she was failing to staunch.
Finn didn’t want to hurt Gretchen, but she was proving much more dangerous that he’d anticipated. She’d managed to embed her own blade in the zombie’s chest, pinning its hand to its breast and rendering it useless. Certain the zombie was no longer a threat, Gretchen turned her attention to Veruca, who’d hunkered down again to work on Finn’s ropes and didn’t seem to have noticed that Gretchen was eyeballing her.
“Bollix,” Finn grumbled, throwing his zombie to the side and scrabbling for the bloody weapon. All things considered, Finn could suss out what the lesser of two evils would be, and it wasn’t to let the love of his life get beaten senseless by some twit. Some twit in baggy robes who’d made fun of poor Linda when she’d finished the snacks she’d been given and hoped wistfully for more.
Gretchen avoided the zombie’s attack, but only by a hair, and Finn felt the knife get caught on the edge of her robe. Both Gretchen and the zombie struggled, focusing for a few moments on getting the knife free. Realizing it was a futile effort, Finn let the thing go and flung the zombie forward, tackling Gretchen to the ground and pressing a cooling hand to her throat, figuring he could pin her down and keep her from doing any more harm.
“There,” Veruca said as Finn felt the last of his bonds break. “Let’s go.”
“But your friend,” Finn argued, before stumbling a bit as his necromancy seemed to tear out of his chest and rush forward into the hearts of the fresh corpses spread around the fire. “Whoa.”
“Darling?” Veruca asked, clinging to him, obviously worried that he seemed to be losing his footing. “Are you okay?”
“Just—corpses,” he mumbled, shaking his head and hoping he could pull his magic back from the chests of the bodies it so desperately wanted to control. Necromancy was an excitable magic, which shouldn’t have surprised Finn, given how excitable he was himself. He, too, liked to slip inside the bodies of others and enjoy himself.
“I feel them,” Veruca said, rubbing his back. “But you don’t need to raise them. Kiki’s got the rest of these putas handled.”
“Language, my love,” Finn mumbled, throwing her a grin and a wink, ignoring for the moment the fact that she was favoring her left side. She chuckled, leading him away from the fray as he concentrated on corralling his power. The zombie was still throttling Gretchen, but he was going to leave her to that for a while, not wanting to risk the girl getting up.
The other woman who’d rushed them, a younger-sounding woman Finn couldn’t identify, was no threat as she stood stiffly, repeating, “oh my God,” at the sight at her feet. Served her right, Finn figured. What sort of a person joins a coven and tries to stab a hapless bystander?
Other than her horrified whispering, the night had fallen silent, Finn realized. Just as quickly as the women had started screaming and swearing, they’d gone quiet. For many of them, the reason was obvious, but the rest didn’t seem dead, just injured. As he twisted to survey the damage done, he heard Karen moan and whimper. She was curled in a ball, hands pressed to her belly, her exposed skin looking gruesome in the firelight.
“Hear this, humans,” Kiki announced, her voice booming and making Finn yelp. “Your attempts at summoning me were a pathetic failure. Should you attempt any such actions again, those of you who have survived will greatly regret ever trying to sacrifice another living being.”
“Sacrifice?”
Finn whipped around at the cry of shock, trying to figure out where it had come from.
“Yes, human,” Kiki boomed, focusing on the darkness beyond where Finn had been bound. “Sacrifice.”
“They were going to sacrifice someone?”
Veruca patted Finn on the shoulder, stepping away from him and toward a patch of bushes near a large rock. Reaching her hand out, she wiggled her fingers.
“Come on, get up.”
Hesitantly, a hand came up, taking Veruca’s offer and grunting as she got to her feet. Her mask had gotten knocked off at some point, and Finn was pleasantly surprised to see that Linda looked just as he’d figured from her voice: a little plump, blonde, and, for the moment at least, terrified.
“I didn’t know they were going to sacrifice someone!” she insisted, holding her hands out as if warding off an attack. Veruca just stood close to her, watching her intently, before turning to Kiki.
“Her soul is pure. I have no reason to doubt her.”
“I didn’t know!” she repeated, looking frantically around the clearing, before pointing to Karen. “She said she was summoning Kikimoya! Nothing about killing anyone.”
“They didn’t give you a rundown or anything? Just dragged you to the forest and expected you’d be okay with murder?” Finn asked, not sure he could be as trusting as Veruca. He liked Linda, but suddenly knowing that she’d been palling around with women who’d been trying to eighty-six him made him doubt the opinion of her he’d originally formed.
“Yes! I swear, they didn’t tell me. I heard about it through a friend of a friend—that sort of thing. I met Karen and told her I was interested in what they were doing.”
“In sacrificing me?” Finn demanded, suddenly wishing he’d set his zombie on her as well as Gretchen.
“Definitely not! They needed a thirteenth for the ritual—not that I knew what they were doing. I mean, Karen told me they were in a bind and that they needed someone else to help summon Kikimoya, but sacrifice? No way! I figured we’d dance naked in the woods, maybe eat some blessed bread and chant. I was just starting to figure something might be wrong when you showed up. You have to believe me!”
“I am Kikimoya,” Kiki said, moving closer, gliding through the dirt and over the bodies of the women she killed. Finn squinted in the dark, wondering why it looked as though she’d passed through them rather than step over. “You hoped to stand in my presence?”
“Yes,” Linda said, before wincing. “I think. You’re … not exactly what I thought you’d be.”
“What did you think she’d be?” Veruca asked, a touch of amusement in her tone. Finn shuffled closer to her as Kiki approached. He was sure the demon wouldn’t hurt him, but she was imposing, especially with the fire at her back, her face obscured by night, and the knives sticking out at all angles. He was sure Linda would cave at the sight of her and tell the truth, if she hadn’t already. Finn could relate to her story, though. He’d been fooled into going along with all manner of crazy schemes just by failing to ask the right questions of the right people himself.
“I did—I was—um. I studied mythology in college?” Linda swallowed, her gaze glued to Kiki as the demon came to a stop within arm’s reach. “And you’re—well, I’m pregnant. My first. She’s—it’s a girl. I hoped—I mean, I heard you can be—that is, I want to make sure she’s healthy, that she grows up well. They were talking about prosperity.”
“Your assumptions were correct. I have power over the home and hearth. Perhaps you would like to discuss what I can do for you?” Kiki said, before lowering gaze to Linda’s belly. “Or rather, for the unborn babe. She seems to have some sort of birth defect, yes? A heart murmur? Something so minor is absolutely within my purview to fix. For a price.”
Finn couldn’t be sure, since she didn’t really have a human mouth and all, but she sounded pleased.
“Fix? What—you can do that?” Linda squeaked, her hands clutching her belly. Veruca patted her shoulder, but before they could speak, a gurgling sound pulled their attention to the left. Finn realized he’d left his corpse with her hand around Gretchen’s throat and she had gotten a little overzealous.
“Oops,” he mumbled, shaking his head and pulling the zombie up and off. Gretchen coughed, moaned, and rolled onto her side, the fight gone out of her. Figuring his work was done, Finn took a deep breath, focused all his might on his magic, and pulled it out of the body. It crumpled to the ground, making Linda yip in shock.
“Come,” Kiki said, holding her massive hand out to the mother-to-be. “Let us take our leave of this unpleasant scene and discuss the health of your family.”
“I don’t really—” Linda squeaked, refusing to take the demon’s hand. Swallowing hard, she shook her head, at a loss for words.
“We can either leave you here with your friends, or you can go with Kikimoya,” Veruca said, before shrugging once. “I guarantee they won’t be giving you a ride home, however. I’ve slashed Karen’s tires. And she’s in no shape to drive.”
“I can’t go with you?” Linda asked, her eyes straying to Veruca’s bloody arm. “Or … well…”
“I promise no harm will come to you,” Kiki said quietly. Finn couldn’t truly be sure she was telling the truth, but he believed her. She didn’t seem all bad, even considering that she’d burned several women to death and knocked others out with her giant, awkward fists.
“I don’t … I mean … am I dreaming?”
“Yes,” Finn said, stepping in to take her hands in his and rub his thumbs over her knuckles. “It’s all a dream, and things will be fine. Could someone as sexy as me exist in real life? Come now, love, go with the nice monster, discuss your future, and make sure to tell your husband all about this when you wake up. You can laugh and laugh over the silly dreams you’ve had. Pregnancy, am I right?”
Linda nodded shallowly, letting Finn slide her hand into Kiki’s, before disappearing with the demon. Finn sighed.
“Well, that was an adventure.”
“Come, darling. Belial will likely send minions to deal with all this, and we need to get you cleaned up.”
“They already cleaned me pretty good,” Finn said, gently wrapping his arm around Veruca’s shoulders, wincing when his palm pressed against cooling blood. “I think you can use some pampering, however. Come on, my love. I’ll get you into a warm bath and then tuck you into a nice, comfy bed.”
****
Finn stepped out of the hotel bathroom wearing only a towel, confused when he didn’t see Veruca anywhere within view. He’d left her stretched out on the bed, resting and waiting for someone to come help with her wounds. She hadn’t said if it was going to be a healer or a proper, human doctor, but he knew either way the person would be in Belial’s pocket in some way.
The prospect of company was the only reason Finn had closed the bathroom door for his shower, and the only reason he wasn’t still naked. He didn’t mind some stranger getting a gander at his goodies, but Veruca frowned on the distraction his physique often caused and he could respect that.
“My love?” he called, peering around the bedroom door and into the small sitting area. Veruca was alone, healed and whole, though still wearing her bloody clothes. She held her phone to her ear, wiggled her fingers his way in greeting, and then nodded.
“Yes, tell him thanks. No, Finn’s fine. I’m looking at him right now, actually. He got out of there without a scratch.” She paused a moment, smiled and laughed quietly. “I know. All right, I’ll keep an eye out. Bye.”
Looking up to meet Finn’s gaze, she widened her smile, set her phone on the ugly little coffee table, and then got to her feet.
“Was that B?” Finn asked, leaning against the doorjamb. “Calling to give an update on Linda?”
“Linda?” Veruca shook her head absently. “Right. She struck a deal with Kiki—not for her soul, you don’t have to worry.”
“That’s something at least. She got home okay?”
“She’d have to, in order to fulfill her end of the bargain.”
“Hmm,” was all Finn could say to that. Veruca smiled, sensing his discomfort and changing the subject slightly.
“Belial says hi.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure that’s all he’s said. Nothing mentioned about the situation at all, no blaming me for your injury, questioning my place in your life, or complimenting how fabulous I look in this towel right now with my wet hair all tousled?”
“Nope, none of that at all,” Veruca said as she stepped close, reaching up to do as he’d mentioned and wiggle her fingers through his dark locks. “You do look really good, though I can’t say how B would have known such a thing from over the phone.”
“I’m sure your tone conveyed it.” Finn sniffed, as if her doubting his suggestion was slightly insulting. “The hunger in your eyes was audible, my love.”
“Is that so? How exactly do I sound when I hunger for you?”
“About like you sound now,” Finn whispered against her lips, capturing them for a quick kiss, before wrapping his arms around her and caressing her back, even though he knew the dirt from her shirt would probably stick to his dewy skin. “Throaty, a little desperate for my touch.”
“Well, then all means,” Veruca whispered, scraping her nails down his back and leaning in, pushing him back toward the bedroom. “Satiate me.”
Unable to help himself, Finn took her mouth fiercely, lost in the lust he felt for her. He joked about her desperation for him, but so often it was he who felt unable to keep from touching her. She was kind, generous, the smartest woman he’d ever met, and so beautiful he could barely stand to be in her presence without longing for her. Even tied to a tree for half the evening, stripped bare and surrounded by other women, his primary thoughts had been with Veruca.
It was hard not to think about her, harder still since their souls had been joined. She was always there, a soft, warm glow in his chest, a comforting knowledge that he’d always have someone, even if he was physically alone. She’d go away here and there, on secret business that Belial had asked her to take care of, but they were still connected.
They always would be, and the knowledge of that lifted him up, making him feel impossibly loved and important. To have a woman as incredible as Veruca simply want him near would have been a gift. But to know she adored him enough to give such an intimate part of her heart, that was beyond anything he ever could have dreamed of back in his days running from enemies on both sides of the law.
He felt his knees hit the bed as she broke the kiss and slid her hands around to press against his chest and put distance between the two of them. Detesting the cool air at his front, he tried to tighten his grip and pull her back in, but she resisted, pushing him hard until he lost his footing and landed upon the bed, looking up at her.
Longing for her.
She smiled down at him, admiring him quietly before she lifted her hand to her mouth, rubbing her thumb gently along her bottom lip as if she were thinking something a little naughty and wasn’t sure she wanted to admit to him what it was.
Giddy for the idea of naughty, especially after the unpleasant day they’d had, Finn sat up, rubbing his hands down her hips, then back around to cup her perfect backside.
“What are you thinking? What do you hunger for, my love?”
“I was thinking,” she said, cupping his face gently, before sliding her hands down along his shoulders, past his elbows, and back around to grip his hands. “How good you looked tied up and naked today, darling. It’s a shame it had to be the first time I’ve ever see you bound and vulnerable, and doubly shameful that you let some other woman put you in such a vulnerable position.”
“It certainly isn’t the first time I’ve been tied up, but I can promise you I’ve never before wanted it as much as I do right now. I’m not sure we have the proper materials, but I’m willing to pretend.” Waggling his eyebrows, Finn popped up just enough to kiss Veruca, before scrambling back across the bed, slipping his fingers behind the intricate metal in the headboard, and grabbing hold. “Oh—oh, please! I’m so vulnerable, dear lady! Surely someone as noble as you wouldn’t take advantage of a man in such a sad and—oh wait.”
Realizing he’d forgotten a step, Finn shifted, canting his hips so he could pull the towel off and toss it aside, before splaying himself out on the bed and grasping the metal again.
“Surely a lady as beautiful and noble as yourself wouldn’t have your way with a defenseless and exposed gentleman!”
Veruca laughed, the delight in her eyes exciting him more than even the prospect of being tied up and knowing she could do anything she wanted to him with her perfect body.
“I can’t promise I’m much of a lady,” she purred, backing out into the sitting area again, and grabbing something off the chair, tucking it behind her. “You’re a very enticing man, and my willpower will only stretch so far. Just looking at you, it’s hard to control myself from doing all sorts of naughty things. Like making sure you stay just where I want you, for instance.”
As she stepped up next to him, she slid a pile of purple, satin ribbon out from where she’d hidden it, dangling it in front of his face.
“I’ll stay—or go—anywhere you want, but a little insurance certainly can’t hurt.”
“That’s what I like to hear from my captives,” Veruca said, leaning close to tie the ribbon around his wrist, and secure him to the bedpost. Excitement was electric, running through Finn’s entire body and making him feel lit up, a little high, and most definitely dumber than usual. Such was the state he was often in when it came to Veruca, but even being brainless was okay, at least around her. She’d never take advantage of his stupidity, only of his body and only in ways he knew from experience he’d enjoy.
Instead of circling the bed to bind his other wrist, Veruca climbed onto the mattress, straddling his belly and leaning toward his wrist. This put her spectacular and ample bosom right in his face, and he found himself biting his lips to keep from leaning in and nuzzling the pillowy softness offered. She wouldn’t have minded, he reasoned, but he was rather liking the fact that she was in charge. Holding back from indulging himself, letting her have the chance to order him first to do so, only heightened the titillation.
So fixated on the movement of her breasts in his face, he barely even noticed when she finished tying him up. Suddenly she was sliding back, pressing herself against his erection and making him moan, before she got to her feet at the end of the bed.
“Now that you’re sure to be a good boy and stay put, I’m gonna get ready for you, clean myself up a bit. I’m very dirty, you see.”
“I see,” he murmured, still fuzzy from the softness of her sliding against his hardened manhood.
She disrobed as she moved toward the bathroom, leaving him alone and wanting, watching her hips as she moved. Leaving the door to the bathroom open, she twisted the shower on, finished shedding her clothing, and then turned back to give him a small smile before reaching up to pull the pins out of her hair. Just watching her was a treat, admiring the way her form looked across the space between them, feeling the bit of her soul melting his heart.
When she stepped under the spray and sighed, Finn moaned again, helpless against the feelings she stirred in him. It wasn’t all arousal with Veruca, though, at the moment, that was paramount above all others. Love heated him, made him burn for her in a way he’d never felt before. Prior to stumbling on her perfection, he’d been with a great many partners, had enjoyed a lot of sex with a lot of different personalities and body types. But Veruca, beauty aside, made him yearn.
She turned to face him, catching his eye as she tilted her head back to let the water douse her head, and he let her hold his gaze, even as her hands lifted from her sides to caress her belly, move delicately up between her pert breasts, and rub the steamy water across her shoulders and down her front. His attention wanted to shift, but she kept her eyes on his, making sure his focus stuck where she wanted it. There was a little torture in that, but it only made Finn want her more, only seemed to make the throbbing at his core more intense.
When she finally did come to him and let him inside her, he was sure he’d be undone in moments.
She went for the shampoo first, lathering up her hair sensually, closing her eyes against the feeling, keeping herself facing him so he could admire the contours of her body, the soft tan of her skin, and fantasize about what he wanted to do to her should she allow him free of his bonds. More than anyone else he’d been with, she knew how to drive him crazy, and he loved that about her. Everything with Veruca was an adventure, a wild romp through lust that kept him eager and frenzied for her.
Suds dripped down her front, over the mounds of her breasts, under the curves of them and down her belly. To his delight, she let her hands glide downward through the lather, one pausing to pinch her nipple, the other dipping between her legs. Her dark eyes opened again, demanding his gaze as she teased herself, rubbing the delicate folds he longed to taste. He obeyed her silent order, vibrating at the willpower it took not to peek lower. When she let out a long, wavering sound of passion, her head tipping back as her eyes fluttered closed, Finn gave in and dropped his gaze to watch her pleasure herself.
He feared he might go over before she even stepped out of the shower, his hunger for her so overwhelming he could barely stand it. Wiggling his hips, biting his lip as hard as he dared, he fought the waves rolling through him, knowing she was just getting started. Soon, he promised himself, soon she’ll come to you and soothe away the pangs of untamed lust.
Raking his gaze across her form, he enjoyed the way her body responded to her own touch, knowing he’d inspired the same feelings in her many times and hoping she’d let him do so again. Her nipples were hard, her breath quick, her thighs tense. His eyes lingered there, and he wanted nothing but to sink between her legs. Any part of him would do, he thought, knowing he’d enjoy it equally if she asked him to dive deep with his tongue or with his cock. Anything that would make her moan was enough for him.
“My love,” he whimpered as she slid her hand out from the warmth he so greatly craved, and up her wet skin to sink into the soapy lather atop her head. Eyes still closed, she massaged her scalp, washing out the shampoo, swaying ever so slightly in the spray, her lips quirked as if she were enjoying a soft song playing in the background. Her slow movements drove him wild, making him fight against the ties she’d left at his wrists. She’d done a thorough job, however, and short of forcing his wrists free with more struggling than he was willing to manage, he knew he was stuck.
“Please,” he cried, not sure he’d managed to raise his voice above the sound of the spray. She opened her eyes at his call, smiling at him and giving a quick wink to let him know she’d heard. Rubbing herself down one last time, she twisted off the shower, stepped out into the bathroom, and grabbed a towel off the rack. Like she had in the misty warmth, she took her time, turning her backside to him as she shimmied the towel over her hair and body.
Anticipation nearly blinded him, speeding up his breath, forcing small, insatiable whimpers through his lips as she stepped briefly out of view. He heard the towel hit the ground, dreaded the few seconds of silence that followed, and then moaned when she stepped through the doorway once again. She’d piled her dark hair above her hear head in a complicated knot that left her exquisite jawline and delicate throat bare.
“Now, darling,” she said, her voice low and throaty. “It’s your turn.”
****
Veruca paused at the edge of the bed, admiring Finn’s taut and aroused body. Her own body wanted him, as it always did. Even the slow orgasm she’d given herself in the shower had been mostly for his benefit. There was nothing like his touch, nothing like the way he made her feel, both inside and out. Her thoughts were swirling with ideas for how she would take him, scattered images of mounting him, scratching his belly as she rode him until they both cried out and lost themselves to pleasure.
He’d been through a lot that day, however, and she figured he deserved a treat, more than just a quick shimmy of her hips and the smooth glide of his cock between her thighs. The need in his eyes was familiar, a frenzy of wanting she enjoyed knowing she’d caused.
“What shall we do first?” she wondered aloud, trailing her finger down his thigh, over his knee, and to the tip of his big toe as she circled to the foot of the bed. Refusing to meet his gaze, she looked him over again from this angle, enjoying the paleness of his skin, the flushed heat at his middle. She climbed onto the bed, tucking her knees between his before bowing to lay a kiss at his thigh. His body jolted at the touch, his head tilting back to expose his throat as he growled a cuss word out into the air. She chuckled against his skin, kissing softly and delicately inward until she reached the tip of his erection. Lightly, she licked a line from the base of him to the tip and then, greedily, she sucked him into her mouth.
He cried out again, wordlessly this time, lifting his pelvis to press himself as deeply inside as he could manage. She sucked hard as his hips gave out, dropping back to the bed, tugging him roughly through her lips. Without giving him a chance to decide what he wanted, or what his body couldn’t help but do, she pushed forth again, keeping the seal of her lips tight, working her tongue over him in her best efforts to drive him crazy.
She knew the risks as she danced on the edge of his passion, aware that her little show in the shower and the intimate ways in which she knew his desires could cause him to spill immediately, but she didn’t care. There were other ways to pleasure each other, even if she used her wits and skills and energetic tongue to thoroughly exhaust his cock.
He didn’t go over, however, even as she reached up, scraping her nails across his delicate flesh, even as she moaned, letting her lips vibrate around him. There was a moment, she thought, when she’d slid her hands below her chin to tease his sensitive sac that she was sure he’d been about to let go, but he managed to control himself.
Bracing herself on the bed, she slid back, licking her lips as she got fully to her knees, smiling down at him. A few seconds passed where he was quiet, lost, overwhelmed, before he opened his heavy eyes and met her gaze.
“My love,” he whispered gruffly, “you unravel me. Every time, no matter what. You’re the light of my whole life, and any second I can’t have you feels like chaos. I need you fiercely.”
“Then you shall have me,” Veruca said, bowing to crawl up the bed to take his mouth. Fiercely, yes, she thought as he kissed her. There was such passion between them it bordered on dangerous, an all-consuming, mindless craving that would never be fully sated. This close, their souls seemed to meld into one, glowing at the core of her consciousness, making her feel as though she couldn’t get close enough to match the intensity of that connection.
“I want you, Finn,” she mumbled against his lips, moving to glide him inside, gasping when he thrust upward to meet her. “Every moment, every breath, every thought, all about you. Always and forever.”
“My love,” he breathed, barely making a sound as he fought against the bonds above his head, finally settling on gripping the headboard and using it as an anchor. “My true one and only, my Veruca.”
He was so fast at first, hammering into her with all the intensity she’d built up inside him up until that point. She kissed him savagely, gripping his shoulders hard enough to bruise, biting his lips, matching his rough sounds with overwhelmed cries of her own. When he sheathed himself inside her and paused, however, she found her own hips reacting without her permission, swaying in an attempt to keep up the delicious feeling of fucking.
“My love,” Finn croaked, barely above a whisper. “My delight, my perfect partner, my savior, let me taste you. Let me pleasure you, please.”
“Your existence is my pleasure,” Veruca whispered back, caressing his face, kissing along his jaw to nibble his ear, even as she continued the slow roll of her hips, grinding against him in an attempt to coax an orgasm out of both of them. It wasn’t entirely a conscious act, which was part of what she loved about joining with Finn. Her entire life had been full of thought, calculation, deliberate action, never letting herself be entirely exposed or entirely carefree.
With Finn, she could shut down her canny mind and just feel.
“I exist to satisfy you, my love. It is my greatest accomplishment every time. Would you like me to beg?” Finn’s pause made Veruca open her eyes, sliding her gaze to match his. He watched her intently, the fire in his expression making her bite her lip, overwhelmed. “Just say the word, untie me, and I’ll drop to my knees, begging you to let me taste you, to delight in burying myself between your thighs, gripping your excellent ass, and serving only you.”
“Oh, Finn,” Veruca moaned, quivering at his words. Licking her lips, deciding she wanted nothing more in that moment than to let him have his wish, she pulled away, letting him slip out of her teasingly slow. His eyes shut, his lips parting as he cursed under his breath, and she watched his stunning face for as long as she could as she moved up his body.
The second the heat of her was near, he pressed close, finding her clit with his tongue, enveloping her with his full lips, and she swore harshly. She came in an instant, gripping the headboard above his hands and holding on for dear life. Even as her middle roiled with pleasure, Finn didn’t let up, his agile mouth working her toward another crest of satisfaction.
Her nipples were hard, begging to be touched, but she couldn’t release her hold on the metal. Every muscle in her body wanted to clench, to tighten in preparation for another release, and it was a few moments before she was able to even breathe, let alone tease herself.
“Finn,” she breathed, her voice ragged. “Finn, Finn.” Repeating his name over and over, she bowed back, squeezing her breast for a hot second before shifting to pinch her nipple and tug, imagining it was Finn’s fingers. Without realizing, it, she started rocking over him, her entire mind focused on feeling, nothing running through her head except the sensations of sex.
The twin thrills of his actions and hers built in her a massive monument to their partnership, an overwhelming obelisk that speared through her middle, rooted firmly at his mouth and ending in lightning at the tip of her breast. She felt as if she were full and everything in her needed to release or she might lose herself altogether and become, as he’d described it, unraveled.
Her orgasm was silent this time, folding her forward, forcing the breath out of her chest as she leaned her flushed forehead against the chilly metal of the bedframe. Squeezing his cheeks with her thighs, she panted, desperate to catch her breath. A few moments passed in silence, in stillness as Finn took the cue from her to let up, and then Veruca reached over, tugging on the satin she’d so expertly tied, freeing Finn from his bonds. As she slid back, his grin was revealed, eager and aroused. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes a little mad, and he let her groin meet his before he let go of the headboard.
“You’re beautiful,” Finn said, pushing up to cup her cheeks and pull her close into a quick kiss. “Clever, caring, fun, and amazing.” Following through, he nudged her back onto the bed, adjusting them both so he was leaning over her, kissing down her jaw, dappling affection across her chest, and finally closing his lips around her nipple. He kept himself separate from her, holding his slim body above her on the bed, teasing her nipple gently, before gliding his hand over her thigh and cupping her wetness.
A moment passed where Veruca simply sighed, pleased, as he teased her breasts. Without warning, Finn changed the sexual pace again.
“Now,” he growled against her chest, before pulling back and up, gripping her hips roughly and yanking her close. Waiting until she opened her eyes to meet his, he held her gaze, took his perfect cock in his hand, and guided himself until he could push inside her to the base. As she’d done to him earlier, he made it known with his expression he expected her to keep the eye contact, to watch the intensity in his expression as he slid back and thrust forward again.
It was tough, not letting her eyes shut, not tipping her head back against the pleasure. Her body wanted to bow back, her muscles wanted to clench, but she resisted, giving him the control. He watched her as he held on to her hips, driving himself into her again and again. Lips parted, he moaned lightly, his eyes widening a touch, breath quickening.
“Veruca,” he whispered, before repeating her name louder, and leaning forward over her. Quick, determined, he hooked her legs over her shoulders, leaned in close, and braced himself on the bed, still holding her gaze. She could tell from the slack expression on his incredible face that he was closing in on having his own orgasm.
“Yes,” she purred, wanting to come with him. Feeling his cock pulse inside was a treat, especially with him so close. He was perfection for every one of her senses, from the smell of his freshly cleaned skin gone slightly salty with sweat, to the heat of him along her flesh. He whimpered quietly, and she watched his eyes squeeze shut as his rhythm stuttered, his hands squeezing the sheets by her shoulders.
When he exploded inside her, she cried out, reaching up to grip his wrists and squeeze, the climax ripping through her, making her buck as if she could force him deeper inside. They moaned together, trailing off into fitful breaths. Finn swore after a moment, a laugh rounding out the end of it as if he just couldn’t believe his luck, and Veruca grinned at the sound. Her head fell to the side, her cheek pressed against the soft sheets, though the rest of her body stayed tense, basking in the still crashing waves of pleasure scalding her body.
They lay quiet and calm for a bit, the only sounds in the room the hum of the air conditioner and their contented breathing. Finally, after an eternity of happiness had settled around them, Finn leaned in close and whispered, “I love you.”
“Forever,” she murmured back, full to the brim with love for him.
The End
www.oliviarburton.blogspot.com