Never Kiss A Bad Boy: A Bad Boy Secret Baby Romance by Lauren Wood (87)

DESIRED BY BIKER

Derrick Jonas slowed down as the figure grew closer in the distance.  It was a nasty night out, hell if he wasn’t trying to get away so badly he wouldn’t even be out on a night like this.  The rain was coming down in folds, as if the skies had opened up and a bucket was being poured down to earth.  Why was this person out on the side of the road on a night like this?  Derrick wasn’t positive until he was almost stopped and about 20 feet from the figure that it was actually a person and not simply a figment of his imagination.

“What are you doing out here?”  He said, looking at the soaked figure in front of him.  Her hair was long and brown; it was wet, hanging over her eyes.  Derrick looked closer at her, he barely could make out her dark brown eyes, but he saw fear in them.             

“Hey, are you okay?”  He asked her, walking towards her now that he had parked his bike.

She looked up finally, realizing there was another person with her now.  Derrick saw a small spark of fear in her eyes, and she began to back up.

“I’m not going to hurt you.  It’s okay.  Come on; let’s get out of this weather.”  He waited to move toward her though. 

It took a few minutes before she seemed to decide he was okay.  But she didn’t move towards him, instead her shoulders slumped in and she began to fall forward.  Derrick moved quickly to make sure she didn’t fall, grabbing her a second before she sunk into the wet floor of the waiting ground.   He picked her up and carried her to his bike. 

“Look I’m going to need you to hang onto me so you don’t fall off.”  He looked into her eyes, waiting for some kind of response that she understood.  She shook her head, but he wasn’t sure, so instead of putting her behind him, he placed her in front of him.

Derrick started up the bike, hoping that there was some shelter coming up soon.  This girl looked soaked to death, and scared along with it.  There was a little part of his mind screaming out, don’t take her anywhere, leave her there, let whatever will happen, happen.

It was the good guy in him that won out in the end though, the one that had been hidden for many years now.  But there was no way he would be able to continue down the road, leaving this helpless young woman there, without help, or shelter.

As he drove his mind kicked into overdrive, and he began to wonder.  The questions came at him with a force so great; he almost had to yell out for them to stop.  Who is she?  Why is she out there near the forest, on the side of the road?  What is she so scared about?  Too many questions and no time to ask them, at least not right now, maybe later.

He saw the hotel come out of the tapestry of rain as he got a few miles up the road.  Derrick began to pull over and felt the girl tense up a bit.  “I have to stop; it is too dangerous to drive right now.”  The rain had begun to come down even harder in the past few seconds.  Derrick knew his bike well enough, and his skills to know that there was no way that what he was doing was safe.

The girl shook her head in response.  Derrick pulled in and got off the bike, then lifted her, setting her on the ground.  She stood on her own, though a bit precariously.  He wrapped his arm around her slight frame and felt her body tremble. 

“Come on; let’s get out of the rain and cold.”  He pulled her towards the restaurant that was beside the hotel.  Even though he really wanted a bed and some much needed sleep, he knew this girl would think he was trying to do something bad to her.

The waitress placed them near the back of the restaurant, which was perfect for Derrick.  He loved being out of the way, away from where he could easily be spotted.  When the waitress came back for their order, Derrick got them both some coffee.  The girl looked like she needed something to help warm up her body, and Derrick knew that and the caffeine were something he would be able to handle as well.

“So you want to tell me what you were doing out there?”  Derrick said looking into the dark brown eyes of his unknown guest.

As she sat there, he studied her more closely.  Her face was nice, but she wasn’t striking, however, there was a strange pull in his body.  Her mouth was small and pleasant; it was also a bit crooked.  There were many contradictions to her.  A mixture of beauty, and something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on.  At least that was the only thing Derrick could compare how she looked. 

Maybe she had been hit in the past, and those were old scars that had healed, leaving a permanent mark on her skin, and her soul.  But Derrick still waited for her to answer, until that point it was all just guesses.

Her voice was so low when she started talking Derrick almost missed it.  Thought it was the music playing from the juke box, or anything else, except her voice.

“He left me there.  He said he was done with me once and for all, that I would never see him again.”  Tears began to stream down her face.  She stopped talking and just looked as the tears rolled; there was no sound with the tears though. 

Derrick knew that state, it was one where you had cried so much about an event that you had no emotion left, but the tears just wouldn’t stop.  He wished he could hug her, comfort her even, but knew it would be too forward.

Instead Derrick looked down at the table and allowed his mind to float back to the time in his life that had been normal.  It seemed like a lifetime ago, even though it had only been a few years.  Those years he had been happy, living a normal life, one that had him smiling each and every morning he woke up.  He would gladly go back to those days, but they were too far away now. 

It hit him like it did every time he would think back, the pain and anguish was always quick to replace the feeling of happiness he would first feel when he thought back.  Now it was a mixture of shame, anger, grief, depression, and a bit more anger in the mix.

Had he done it differently, would he be where he was right now?  It was part of the overall process of his grieving during this memory.  He thought he had considered every option there was in this situation, but maybe the right one hadn’t come to his mind yet.  So he would scour every recess of his mind to think of the other things that he might have done all those years ago. 

What would he do with that new plan though?  It wasn’t like he could turn back time and go to that one fatal night.  No so why did he do it each and every time?  Derrick often chastised himself about this type of thinking, but he would never change the pattern.  Each time he would do this to himself, each and every step was the same, however, that didn’t mean he ever stopped it.

If he sat long enough he could see her long brown hair flowing behind her as they rode in the car.  She was so beautiful, so much of his heart belonged to her, that after all this time just the memory of her would make it ache.  Tears threatened to escape from his eyes, but he would stop them.  It had been too long; he shouldn’t even waste his time on this.  But he had to do it.

She had turned to smile at him and say something; he had looked over at her too.  Taken his eyes off the road, only for a split second, but that had been long enough.  Derrick tried to turn the memory off, stop it; he didn’t want to see anymore. 

He cleared his mind, and looked up at the girl sitting across from him.  He wondered what her story was, why had this guy simply left her on the side of the road.

Derrick took a deep breath in, trying to stop the memory that was trying to push the way to the front of his mind.  He couldn’t do it right now, there was no way.  He wasn’t ready to live the rest of that night, not right here, not now.  It took him several minutes to compose himself enough that he could look up at her once again.

He looked up and saw her brown eyes, shinning, and staring right at him.  She was studying him, he felt raw and open, like she could see into his inner core.  He felt a blast of quick shame, and looked down to shake his head once again. 

There weren’t many people who would ever see that part of him, in fact he couldn’t think of one.  But he had not been paying attention.  Had wanted to give her the time she needed to think of her pain, relive her past.  Derrick had taken too long in his own past though, and she had finished hers.  After all it was much fresher for her, it had happened recently, today even. 

I know how this feels, Derrick thought to himself.  Maybe I can help her.  But he knew he shouldn’t do it.  Instead he should simply pay for her coffee, give her a few dollars and leave her there.  She would eventually find her way back to wherever she was from.  It really wasn’t his problem, and he should just stay out of it.

But he looked back up at her, and saw the flash of pain in her eyes.  Was it for him or for her?  He wasn’t sure.  But he saw the compassion that also came across her eyes.  It had been so long since he had seen that look.  It made him tingle inside.  The good guy in him won the battle at that very moment.  He wouldn’t be able to walk away and ever live with himself.  It would be too much on what already weighed deeply on his soul.

“What is your name?”  He asked her.  Finally bringing his mind around enough that he could focus on the reality of what was in front of him.

“Mackenzie, Mac for short.”  She said.

Derrick studied Mac a bit closer.  He still saw a little bit of fear in her eyes, but not near as much, now that they were inside.    “That’s an odd nickname for a girl.”

“I grew up with three brothers and they treated me like a boy too.  So needless to say they gave me a boy’s name.  It stuck through the years, and I’m so used to it I never changed it.

“Why were you out on the road?”  Derrick asked, trying to not push her too quickly. Hoping he could learn enough about her that he would know he was making the right choice.

She looked down for a second, he knew that look, it was the one where you were trying to consider what parts of a story to share, and what to hold back.  He watched her take a deep breath, and look up.  It had been his turn to study, he knew how to read people well, he had always known, but had gotten much better at it in these past years.

“I wanted too much from him.  He wasn’t willing to give it, he’s a bad man.  He really is, but I thought I could change him.  I should have listened, should have stopped pushing.  But I didn’t learn.  It was too much, too far, and he had enough of me.”  Mac said her eyes glazed over; Derrick was sure she was reliving the event.

“But why did he leave you on the road?”  Derrick asked. 

“I told him I wanted to get married.  If he didn’t marry me I was done with him.  I couldn’t do it anymore.”  Mac sighed.

Derrick looked down, anger flooded his body.  “That’s not a reason to leave you in the rain.”

“He’s not a good man.  I already said that.  I knew it for many months now.  But I thought I could change him.”  Mac stated.  “But I guess it’s true you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

“I’m sorry.  I don’t know what to say.”  Derrick stated honestly.  He was never one who had lied much in the past.  So he found it difficult to know what to say to this young girl right now. 

Mac began sobbing suddenly.  “I don’t know what I’m going to do.  Where will I go?  I have nothing left.”  She looked down at her hands, which she clinched, open and shut repeatedly.

Derrick took a deep breath in; he wasn’t sure what to do.  He could offer her pass with him on his bike?  But he didn’t need to invite another person into his life.  He did so much better alone.  His life wasn’t something that was normal.  He never stayed in one place for too long.

He looked up at Mac and she was still crying her tears flowing down her cheeks.  It broke his heart to see those tears, even though he didn’t know her.  But she really looked so helpless, so small, so scared at that second.

“I guess you could go along with me for a bit.  Decide somewhere you want to go and stay there.  That’s really all I can offer.”  Derrick stated, trying to make it sound like a bad decision for her to make.  After all, if she was the one who refused, he wasn’t to blame from there.  He had offered, and she had declined.  That would soothe his soul a bit for the moment.

“Really, but you don’t know me.”  Mac said, her eyes showing a glimmer of hope.

“Yes.”  Derrick said slowly.  Wishing he could just take the offer back.  But the truth of the matter was deep inside he was too soft.  Always had been especially when it came to the fairer sex, he was easy to manipulate.

“I have a little bit of money, so I can pay you some.  If I can go to the bank, I have some more.”  Mac said.  Her eyes seeming to get brighter as she thought about the offer that had come from him, and that she was going to now agree too.

“That’s fine.”  He said.

“Where are we going?”  She asked.

“Honestly I hadn’t thought about yet.  I normally just go until I feel like stopping.”  Derrick answered.

“Hmm, well that’s okay.”  She said her eyes began to get a wistful look.  One that said she had always dreamed of having this type of adventure.

“Are you hungry?”  Derrick finally asked.  His stomach had growled to let him know that he hadn’t fed it today.

“A little bit, but I don’t know if I can eat.”  She said.

Derrick called the waitress over who took their order.  He got them both a hamburger.  Her a single, and for him a triple cheeseburger. He was ravenous when he really thought about it.  As soon as the food came he dove in and ate it quickly.  There was no small talk; he was thinking to himself, asking himself, why he had invited her to go with him.

It was something that he didn’t care to fully analyze though at the moment.  Instead he just thought about her, the one from the past.  She had broken his heart so badly, had almost made him loose everything.  No, correction, he had lost everything that night.

He let his mind float back to the past once again.  It was that night, he was in the car, and they were coming home from a wonderful night out.  He was so in love with her, thought she had loved him too.  He had been a fool, for how long had she been dishonest with him.  How long had he thought she was another person?

Anger flashed in his mind.  He looked at her in his mind once again; there was the smile, the words she had begun to say.  He had looked up at her, waiting for her sweet voice to come forward.

Derrick heard the scream like it was happening right at that moment.  “Look out.”  She had yelled.

He looked up, it was too late.  The car was already on top of them, his victims, the two he had killed that night.  He could see their faces just as well as he could see hers.  They were burned into his memory for ever more.  The mother and her little boy, he had only been two.  It killed him to remember it now.  It had been an accident.  But had he not have looked over at her, they would still be alive right now, maybe.

If that hadn’t been enough though the aftermath was worse, it had crushed his world.  Derrick had jumped out trying to help them.  He couldn’t do anything, they were dead, and he knew it.  She had looked at him, the way, it had been horrible. 

“Why?”  She had asked him.  Like he had done it on purpose, when she knew damn well he wasn’t that way at all.

“It was an accident.  You were talking to me.”  He had stated to her.

“Oh you’re blaming this on me?  You killed them, not me.  You’ve been drinking, you are a drunk, and you know that, you’ll go to jail” 

He had been shocked by her words.  His mouth had to have fallen open.  For one thing, Derrick rarely drank.  Sure he had one at dinner, one single beer, but they had been down two hours ago.  That wasn’t even in his system anymore.  What was she talking about?  Maybe she was simply in shock.  No, she told the police when they showed up that Derrick needed to be tested, he had been drinking.

Thankfully, the tests had shown that he didn’t even have any alcohol left in his system.  But she had crushed him, shown him that she would never be the type of female that would give him what he needed, support.

When they finally left the scene of the crime, they hadn’t talked.  They had driven back to their apartment, Derrick had gone and packed his bags, and he was gone.  He could remember her words as he packed up his things.  They had been hateful words, not the words of a female that could have ever loved him.  Surely, she might come around.  But he had left and never got a call from her again.  It had been a month later when he left; the small town was no place for him to live anymore.  She had gone around and said all kinds of bad things about him.  People would look at him with hate in his eyes.  He had lost his job, and all his friends.  Derrick had found out the hard way that he had never had a true friend in that town that month.  He had never looked back, and never let another person close to him. 

Derrick had to wonder if he would have messed up and married her, what would have happened?  Would she have faked her love for him even longer?  It had been during that month of waiting he had found out much more about her than he needed to know.  She had been seeing other guys, at least one, and had been playing Derrick all along. 

He planned on never letting another person that close to him again.  So why had he let Mac come with him, or at least ask her.  His mind screamed, no she’s coming with you remember.  Oh shit, he had agreed to it.

“Are you okay?”  She asked him when he looked up.

“Yes, sorry just memories from long ago, something I need to leave alone.”  Derrick answered.

“I know those, I have many of my own.”  She smiled. 

The smile changed her face, made her beautiful, stunningly beautiful even.  Derrick had taken a deep intake of breath at that moment. 

“What?”  She asked him.

“Nothing, just you looked so different when you smiled.” 

Mac blushed her face taking on several shades of red.  “Thank you.”

“You ready to go?”  Derrick stood up. 

“Sure.  Do you mind if I go to the bathroom first?”  She asked.

“Oh, go ahead.  I’ll pay the bill and wait for you.” 

She ran off to the restroom.  A part of his mind yelled, run, get out now.  Leave her, go by yourself, she’s trouble.  But his body didn’t run, instead it went to pay the bill and he stood there looking at the flyers in the front of the restaurant.  One’s that advertised all the fun things a family needed to do if they visited this area.

He picked up a flyer. 

“That’s a beautiful resort; you and your misses should check it out.”  The waitress said.

He looked up at her, then back at the flyer.  It read Pocono’s Wood Resort.  “Maybe we will thanks.”

“It’s only a few miles up the road now.”  She added.

“Thanks.”  Derrick went back to staring at the flyer.  It looked like a beautiful location. But more romantic than what he really wanted.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to go there.”  Mac walked up on him.

Derrick stood there, the waitress smiling at him, and Mac looking over the flyer.  “Let’s go.”  He walked out the door with her trailing behind him

Hopping on his bike, he pulled onto the road, the rain was much lighter.  It hadn’t stopped, but he could at least drive in this type of weather.  He opened up the storage on his bike, and pulled out the extra rain protection he had.  “It will be quite big on you, but you won’t be soaked any worse on the ride.”

“Thank you.”  She smiled and put the gear on. She swam in it.  Derrick chuckled looking at her.  “You look like a little kid wearing their parent’s clothes.”

“It’s not my fault the man who rescued me is ten times taller than me.”  She laughed.

Derrick laughed even harder at her comment.  She was really quite small, maybe 5’ 4” tall, compared to his 6’ 4”.  A foot shouldn’t seem like so much, but it was because she looked   so small in his gear.

They got on the bike and drove off, without thinking his bike led the way to the resort.  Why?  He didn’t want it, but when she had said she always wanted to go, he had been convinced.  Maybe his heart was trying to tell him something.  He knew he was lonely, knew he needed human contact.  But he didn’t want to take the chance again.  The last one had hurt him too much.

So many people had rubbed it in his face that she had told them he was really nothing to him.  That she knew she could do better, and would never be satisfied with him.  Why had she said those things?

Derrick wondered sometimes if they had simply been hurting him for the two he had killed on accident.  Why were people suddenly so mean to him?  He knew he hadn’t grown up in the small town, but had truly felt they had accepted him as their own.  It hadn’t just been her in the long run that had turned their backs on him.  It had been them all, but he had to blame her and himself for that situation.

Mac saw them pull into the resort and Derrick could hear a squeal of delight from her.  She sounded like a child who had gotten a treat when they thought there was no hope.  It was delightful to his ears, the sound of pure happiness.

Derrick smiled; he loved the sound of happiness.  It had been entirely too long for him.  He felt better about the choice instantly.  Going to the office he paid and got the keys for one of the cabins.

He drove over to where the desk clerk had told him to go.  As they pulled up she made the sound again.  It made him warm inside to hear it.  It was so honest, so truthful. 

Grabbing his things off the bike, he helped her off and they went inside.  He opened the door and she flew past him.  “Oh my goodness, it’s beautiful.”  She turned and smiled at him.

Derrick felt a warmth go through his body.  It wasn’t a feeling he had in sometime.  He smiled at her.  The happiness he felt emanate from her body was nice. 

He turned around and grabbed the bag.  “You can have the bedroom, I’ll take the couch.”

“Really, you’re too big to get a good night of sleep on that small couch.  I’ll sleep there.”  She answered.

“Okay.”  He really just wanted to take a shower, maybe start a fire, warm up a bit and get some sleep.  He looked over at the firewood and decided he would start it then take a shower. 

She watched him intently as he went to fixing the fire.  He could feel her eyes on him.  But he didn’t turn around; he could tell she wanted to find out more about him.  It was like a sixth sense. 

“So what is your story?”  She asked him when he kept working on the fire and wouldn’t turn around.

Derrick sighed, he shoulders heaved, it wasn’t a story he wanted to share with her.  But the words started to come out of him even so.  He heard the story play out to her, saw the images of that night and the month after.  Derrick didn’t even realize that Mac was in the room as he began to tell the story.  As he kept talking it felt better though it didn’t hurt as much, giving voice to it really seemed to help.  But he was scared to look at her as he told the part of the mother and child he had hit.

Derrick heard her make a small shocked sound.  He felt the shame of the accident come over him again.  He didn’t want to continue but did anyway, it wouldn’t stop.  He just kept talking the story weaving the past to her.  He didn’t look up at her when he finished, just waited for her to tell him how bad of a person he was, after all that was what everyone in town had said to him.

“It wasn’t your fault.  Really, you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it.”  She said.

Derrick looked up at her; Mac could clearly see the pain that haunted him from that night.  He was sure that if he ever got over those deaths it would be a miracle.

“I know, but maybe had I not looked at her.  Not been so enchanted by her lies, they would still be alive.  Or if I hadn’t have had that one beer.”  Derrick stated.

“No, things happen in life for a reason.  I firmly believe that.  Tim left me for a stupid reason, and it hurt.  But you know what?  It made me realize that I didn’t really love him.  I was just settling with him, I thought he was the best I could do, that I would never find another person.  She was sleeping around on you, what kind of relationship could you have?”  Mac said.

“I know this, but that doesn’t make the rest of it any better, any easier.  The whole town, my friends, or who I thought were my friends.”  Derrick stated.

“You need to let it go, you’ll never be happy as long as your hanging on to the past.  You really need to forgive yourself.”  Mac said.

Derrick looked at her.  “I don’t know if I can.  The kid was only two; he had such a long life ahead of him.”

“What if he would have turned out to be a serial killer?  You may have saved hundreds of people in the future.”  Mac pointed out.

Derrick sat down, he had never really thought of it that way.  It was too hard to consider such a young kid turning out so bad.  But he guessed it might have happened. 

“Really you should consider just letting go of the pain.  You can still feel bad about what happened, but that doesn’t mean that you have to feel the guilt every day.”

Derrick listened to her.  Maybe she was right.  But how could this young girl who had just recently been thrown out of a car by a man she had wanted to marry be so positive?  He found it hard to imagine that she would have thought so positive about life.

“How do I move past it?”  He asked, not waiting for her to answer, he got up and headed off to take a shower.  He had spied a look at her face and could tell that she had been thinking of other things, not his situation, but perhaps her own.

As Derrick walked away he didn’t notice Mac and the look on her face, it was one of sadness, like her world was crashing down on her.  She had to chuckle really, like her world was crashing down, she thought?  No, the fact was that her world had crashed around her feet, and quite quickly. 

She thought back to the moments before she had first been in the pouring rain on the side of the road.  Mac had been feeling discontent for some time now with Mike.  Mike Jonas, a real asshole, a guy who she swore she couldn’t live without, at least that had been before.  Now she was faced with the knowledge that he hadn’t really held her heart, no, she hadn’t really loved him.  She had simply been afraid of being alone.  She thought about Derrick, she had always fallen quick and hard for men in the past.  Derrick was a nice looking man, tall, muscular, his dark brown hair was cut in a neat tight style.  He wasn’t the type of man that you would think road a motorcycle.   He honestly looked more like a business man, well the leather chaps he had been wearing when they first met were not what a business person would wear.  But once they had gotten into the room, or actually cabin, he had taken those off, and it transformed him quite a bit.

Mac heard the shower turn on in the other room, and wanted to get up and sneak a peek at Derrick.  She was almost positive that the body under his close was well put together.  With tight muscles, maybe a bit of fat, but nothing much, you know that little pouch that some men get that eat a bit more than they should.  Mac let her mind slip to other parts of Derrick’s body quickly.  She blushed a bright red quickly.  With a sharp intake of breath, she focused on the fire once again.

Mike, how would she live without him?  She really had very little money, and couldn’t indefinitely go on the road with a man, especially one she didn’t even know. 

Mac heard the shower go off and turned to the fire, she didn’t even have clothes to change into if she took a shower.  But she desperately could use the warm water to wash over her chilled body.  The fire helped a bit, but as her situation hit her harder, she realized Mike would destroy all of her things.  So even if she could talk Derrick into going to their old place, she wouldn’t be able to save anything.

Derrick walked out, his hair a mess, no shirt covering his upper body; some tight jeans on his lower half.  He was a very nice looking man.  “Hey I know you don’t have anything to wear, but here is a shirt that you can wear.  Why don’t you go warm up in the shower, after that the fire will be able to full get rid of the chill from the rain.”

Mac smiled, got up and grabbed the shirt.  Her fingers lightly touched his as she grabbed the shirt.  She felt a sharp electric jolt.  Mac turned red, as the memory of what she had thought about a few minutes ago came back to her mind.

Turning on the water, she stepped under the warm stream; it washed over her, cleansing her mind and body.  Derrick had left his shampoo and body washes in the bathroom for her to use.  She inhaled the scents as she washed her body.  Mac wished that she could stop falling for men so quickly.  But she felt her body react to the thought of the man who was in the other room, probably lying in front of the fire with no shirt on.

Derrick sat by the fire, the warmth felt much better now that he was clean.  He thought back to what Mac had said about moving on, he knew he would have too.  But, the pain she had caused with her betrayal.  She had been his first and only serious relationship.  He had given her everything.  Why?  He felt so stupid right now.  The shame of knowing the whole town had seen her with the other men.  The fact he had been blind to it.  Worse yet the fact that the accident was something he would have to always live with.

He heard a noise and looked up, there was Mac.  Her brown hair flowing around her shoulders, the shirt coming just above her knees, she looked beautiful.  Derrick knew it had been a long time since he had human contact, more than three years now, and his body came alive without much thought.

He tried to quickly think of anything else but how she looked in his shirt, but his mind wouldn’t let him move past it.  His body continued to react; he adjusted himself to make it less obvious that he really enjoyed what he saw.  This was not the type of night he wanted to have.  Sure sex was just that, but he knew that this girl was fragile, she was off limits.

Shortly after she got out, he made a quick excuse and went to the bedroom.  No better way to avoid a mistake than simply heading to bed.  Mac watched him walk away, Derrick saw a bit of disappointment in her eyes, or maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part.  What guy wouldn’t like a girl to want to make love to them so bad they would throw themselves at him?  But Derrick really wasn’t like this; instead he would like to know a female first.  Strike that Derrick thought I never want to be in love again.  As he tried to force himself to sleep his mind was trying to talk him into going to her and taking what he wanted, even if he had to lie to get it.  Derrick instead forced his body to stay, and eventually he slept.

The next morning his nose was assaulted by the best smell he had had the pleasure to have in quite some time.  He sniffed in the air, and then figured he was simply dreaming.  After all they didn’t have any ingredients; at least he couldn’t imagine the cabin coming fully stocked.  But he swore as his body came more awake that he could hear the bacon sizzling, and smell the fat of the meat that was one of his favorites.  There was also the smell of eggs, pancakes, toast, and coffee.

He walked out to the kitchen to find it wasn’t a dream.  “It smells great!”  He said, scaring Mac.

“Oh my goodness.”  She screamed and jumped in the air.  “I didn’t hear you.”

“I’m sorry.”  He chuckled.  “Where did the food come from?” 

“There is a little store around the bend of the road.  I walked and got a few things with the bit of money I had left.  It’s the least I can do; after all you didn’t need to help me out.”  She smiled.

It was genuine he could tell.  Derrick smiled back at her.  For some reason he had felt a bit better when he woke up this morning.  He wasn’t sure if it was part of the process of getting better, or it was just a good day.

“I’m sorry I went to bed so quickly last night.  I was really tired I had been driving for hours by the time I found you.”  Derrick said as he sat down and looked at the delicious plate of food Mac sat down in front of him.

“It’s okay; really I had a lot of things to think about.  You know I had told you to move on, but I’ve been holding on to so many things through the years.  So I finally had to let it all go.”  Mac sighed.

“Do you want to talk about them?”  Derrick offered.  Though again he wasn’t sure if he could help her or not.  His wounds after all were only beginning to heal, and he had resisted for so long the healing, would it be quick?  He didn’t know, but he really hoped.

“No, not right now, maybe later.”  She smiled.  She took a seat across the table from him. 

Derrick inhaled the food, it was delicious.  “Wow this is really good!”  He complimented her.

“Thank you.”  She turned a bright red color.

“You’re really beautiful when you smile, or turn red.”  Derrick said, the words coming out of him before he knew what he was saying.  But it was too late.  That loneliness was a killer, his body wanted the human contact, but his mind still fought it.

Mac just looked at him, not sure what to say.  Her heart fluttered, and she wanted to believe the words.  But so many times in the past she would read into these types of things and fall for the wrong guy.  Mike had been the perfect example.  But he had freely taken what she offered, however, he wasn’t willing to give all of himself.

As she studied him, he looked down at his coffee.  The tension was in the room; he had caused it, and had no idea how to stop it.  Derrick really hadn’t meant to say it, well he had thought it, and it was true.  But he hated to show those inner feelings. 

Mac got up and grabbed his plate, took it to the sink, and brought back the coffee pot, and poured him more coffee. 

“Thanks.”  Derrick said. 

After she had finished up the dishes, she went into the other room.  Stepping out onto the porch she took a deep breath of the sweet air.  The green was all over, and she really wanted to explore.  Mac figured after she finished her coffee she would take a short hike.  The time with herself in the woods might help to clear her mind, or she hoped it would.

Walking off towards a trail, Mac went in search of peace of mind.   No thought of going inside and telling Derrick she was walking.

Derrick sat in the kitchen for some time.  He was trying to think of why his mind was making him say the things he had.  Searching his mind, he had to admit he was sad and lonely; he missed being involved with another person. 

He didn’t know how long she had been gone, hadn’t even realized she had gone off on her own.  Derrick didn’t know if she was aware of the dangers of the woods, or anything.  His mind went to the fear of something happening to her.

But should he go and look for her?  Which way had she gone?  He knew none of this.  So he didn’t want to out in the opposite way she might have gone.  Instead he tried to think of anything else, but Mac kept coming to his mind.  Derrick watched as the time slowly ticked by, soon it was two hours she had been sitting outside, waiting for her to show back up on the porch.

What if she got lost?  He thought panic filled his mind immediately.  What if she fell over a cliff?  What if she was out there hurt?  He couldn’t do anything to help her.  Not a single thing and he felt helpless.  Derrick paced around the front of the cabin, going in and out of the front door, watching for Mac, and getting more and more nervous as the time slipped by and he watched the sun getting lower in the sky.

As his agitation got stronger and the sun got lower, he finally considered once again going out to look for Mac.  But where would he start?

Just as he was considering which trial to follow, he heard some movement behind him. He turned to see Mac walking through the woods, there were leaves stuck in her hair.  He ran over to her.

“What happened, are you okay?  Where have you been?  Are you hurt?”  Derrick asked in rapid fire.  He pulled some of the leaves out of her hair.

“I’m sorry; I got out by this beautiful waterfall and just got lost in time.  It was so nice, amazing.”  Mac said, still seeming to be able to see the view in her mind, her eyes were clouded.

Derrick took a deep breath, letting out a huge sigh. 

“You want to come see it?”  Mac asked.

“I don’t think we have time today, the sun will be going down soon, and I don’t want to get lost in the woods.” 

Mac shrugged her shoulders.  She had been shocked when she had walked into the opening by the cabin to see Derrick there.  He had been facing away from her, but she could tell he was tense.  Mac hadn’t realized he had been worried about her though.  All the thoughts she had gotten straight in the afternoon quickly slipped out of her mind. 

She had made some progress and reined in her feelings for Derrick, or those feelings she thought she might have.  To be honest, Mac wasn’t sure if she trusted her heart or head anymore when it came to men. 

Instead of staying outside and facing Derrick and her feelings though she went inside, she didn't want to think about it.  She had gotten a few other things when shopping and wanted to cook a nice meal for them.

As he walked her go into the cabin Derrick about kicked himself.  What a fool you are, he thought in his mind.  Why did you just act like a husband whose wife was missing?  Derrick thought about disappearing from the camp, going off into the woods, riding his bike away from her and all these feelings that he didn’t want.  But instead he sat down on the front porch and watched as the sun slowly slipped into the sky, and the stars came out. 

“Hey are you hungry?”  Mac interrupted his thoughts.

Derrick looked over at her.  His heart started to beat a little quicker as he thought of earlier when he couldn’t find her.  He shook his head, knowing this was not what he wanted, but wasn’t sure how to fight it.  “Yes.”  He said standing up to go inside.

As he walked into the house he smelled what he guessed was meatloaf.  Entering the kitchen he saw a feast on the table.  His mouth watered, his stomach growled loudly in appreciation of the smells and waiting for the food to hit it.

He sat down and looked at the meal.  “You did a great job, it smells wonderful.”

“Thank you.”  She smiled.  It felt good for a man to say nice things to her.

Though Derrick wanted to shovel the food into his mouth quickly, he took his time and savored each and every bit.  Mac listened to him eat; the noises he made were clearly because he was enjoying the meal.  She smiled as she heard the little sighs and moans.

“This is one of the best meatloaf’s I’ve ever had.”  Derrick said as he took another huge piece of it.

“It’s my grandmother’s recipe.  I always loved it when I was growing up.”  Mac smiled.

“My compliments to the chef, your guy was dumb to let you go.”  Derrick said as he put another bite into his mouth. 

Mac turned red, not sure how to respond to the comment.  Mike had never complimented her on anything she had cooked.  Not once in the months they had been together had he even made a sound of pleasure when he put some food she had slaved over into his mouth.  But Derrick was loud, and complimented her several times; she continued to hear sighs and moans of pleasure as he ate more and more. 

Finally, Derrick pushed himself away from the table.  “I have to stop eating; I’m going to bust open if I don’t!”

Mac laughed.  Derrick started to laugh too. 

“Thank you very much, you didn’t have to cook that all, but I’m sure happy that you did.”  Derrick said patting his stomach.

“It’s the least I could do.  Really you have helped me out so much.”  Mac admitted.

“But you said you had very little money.  Please don’t spend it all on me.”

Mac smiled at him.  He was so different from anyone in her past, and especially from Mike.  They were polar opposites.  Derrick was clearly a very caring man, and one who liked to show how much he appreciated other people’s efforts.

“Would you like me to start a fire again?”  Derrick asked.

“Oh that sounds nice, it was really nice falling asleep and hearing the fire crackling.”  Mac stated.

Derrick went outside to grab some more of the firewood that he had cut that afternoon as he waited for her to show up.  As he did that Mac was in the kitchen cleaning up after the meal.  She smiled as she worked, and her mind floated into a fantasy of what it would be like to be Derrick’s wife.

Mac stopped for a second, and knew that all of her talking to herself today about getting attached to him had been worthless.  Here she was imagining that she was his wife, and she didn’t even know his last name.

After she finished the dishes and composing herself she went to the living room to see the fire roaring.  She went to sit over on the rug in front of the fire, trying to sit far enough away from him that she wouldn’t be tempted to touch him.

They sat quietly, both of them stealing looks at the other one.  Derrick completely petrified to ever get involved again.  Mac afraid she was simply letting herself slip into love much too quickly once again.

“I’m sorry if I scared you today, I really hadn’t realized how long I had been gone.”  Mac finally said.

“I didn’t know if you had gotten lost or hurt.”  Derrick looked at her; Mac could see the truthfulness of the worry in his eyes. 

“Next time I’ll let you know I’m going, or you can go with me.  I think you’ll really like this waterfall.”  Mac stated.

“Sure we can go tomorrow.”  Derrick answered.

“I marked the path though; I grew up in the woods.  Not these woods, but we always knew how to make sure we would make it home.”  Mac told him and explained a bit more about how her brothers had shown her at an early age how to mark her path.

“That was very smart of them.”  Derrick said.

Derrick listened intently to her stories of growing up near the woods in Maryland, and some of the funniest stories he had ever heard.  Soon his eyes were watering he was laughing so hard, his stomach hurt and Mac was also crying tears of laughter.

“Though I would love to stay up later I think I’ll go to bed.  After all we do have a hike to go on tomorrow.”  Derrick stood up and headed into the bedroom.

Mac watched him walk away.  This had been the first time in years she had told stories of her childhood.  Mike had never been interested to hear them; in fact none of the men she had dated in the past had ever even asked her about growing up.  Mac shook her head in wonderment as to how she could ever have let so many men value her so little.

Falling asleep she listened to the fire and enjoyed the fact that Derrick had seemed so much different from the men of her past, again she wished she could be his wife.  But knew it was much too quick to think this way.  Again she didn’t even know his last name.  It reminded her of the Carrie Underwood song, “Last Name”, that had been so popular at one time, and she swore if a man would go for it that song would be her life.

The next morning he was up first, and she walked into the kitchen to see him making them both breakfast.  Something Mike would never have considered.  He was below doing that type of thing. 

Mac walked in from the back of him, and stood watching Derrick.  It shocked her quite a bit.  This big guy moving around the kitchen like he owned it, he was comfortable, and she could tell he knew what he was doing.  She saw chocolate chip pancakes being flipped with a precision she had only seen from seasoned chefs.  Mac had to wonder if that was what this man did for a living.  She smiled picturing him with the white outfit of chefs, or maybe just an apron with nothing underneath.

As if he could feel her eyes on him Derrick turned around to see Mac; she was just staring at him, honestly it made him happy, but embarrassed as well.

“Hey I figured I was up first so I would whip up a little bit of breakfast.”  Derrick smiled.

Mac look at the plate full of pancakes that was already cooked, it was enough to feed a football team of high school boys.  “It smells delicious, but I don’t think I’ll be able to eat that much!”

Derrick laughed, “I didn’t pay enough attention to the measurements I was using.” 

Mac sat down and gladly took the plate that was loaded with enough pancakes to feed her for a week!  She dug in and was welcomed with the warm chocolate melting in her mouth, mixing with the pancake mix and syrup.  “This is delicious, it’s not like any other chocolate chip pancake I’ve ever had.”  She said honestly, licking her lips and putting another bit into her mouth.

Derrick smiled as he watched her eat.  “It’s an old family recipe, but my grandma used to make it for about 10 of us at a time.  Thus the reason we have so many of them! “

He sat down with a plate that had a ton of food on it as well.  He had poured them both coffees; it was some of his favorite coffee.  “I hope you like the coffee, I order this online and this is my last bit until I find a new location to stay for a bit.” 

She took a sip of the hot warm liquid and was surprised at the complexity of flavors she tasted.  “Oh my, it goes with the pancakes perfectly.  I love the slight hint of chocolate to it.” 

“I know it is Peet’s coffee, the best in the states!”  Derrick answered.

Mac kept eating until she knew that no more food could fit into her body.  She looked at her plate shocked to see she had actually finished almost all of it.  “I can’t eat like that every day I’ll weigh 300 pounds!”  She laughed.

Derrick looked at her, and smiled.  “But you wouldn’t look bad with some extra weight on you either, you are pretty skinny.” 

Mac turned red, and looked down at the floor.  Really he had complimented her so many times in the little amount of time they knew each other; she wasn’t sure what to say.  Thank you was all she could finally come up with.

“So after I do the dishes, we’ll go for that hike, okay?”  Derrick asked.

“I can do the dishes if you want.”  Mac offered.

“You can help me if you want.  We’ll get it done quicker if both of us do them.” 

“Sure.”  Mac agreed.

They went to cleaning the kitchen up in a peaceful silence.  Not a silence that either of them felt was awkward, but it was normal.  To both of them it felt as if they had known each other for years.  This seemed so natural to be with the other person, the kitchen was done before they realized and they went to get ready for their hike.

“Do you remember how long it was?  I’ll get some water to take along with us.”  Derrick asked.

“Maybe a couple of miles, really not too far, I just happened to sit around and enjoy the scenery for most of the day!”  Mac stated.

Derrick did a few things, packed a backpack and told Mac he was ready.  She hadn’t seemed him pack the bag, so she didn’t know why he needed it.  She would have carried water it was no big deal!

They headed out to the trial and Mac led the way, using the markers she had left the day before.  It was about 2 and a half miles and Derrick saw one of the most beautiful sites in the world he had ever seen.  The waterfall was amazing, but seeing Mac next to the site was even more wonderful.  He saw a huge smile on her face, and could see the peace in her eyes as she viewed this site. 

Derrick had always loved the outdoors too, and had wanted for the longest time to live in a cabin away from the world.  If he could he would find a location where he could just block himself off from the world.  But he looked at Mac and wondered if she would go with him.  Really she lit up the area.  Even when she had been quiet when he first picked her up on the side of the road Derrick felt better with her by him.  She hadn’t held on tightly but enough that he felt the touch of another person.  He liked her touch, and had to wonder what a more intimate touch from her would feel like. 

Was it the beauty of the area?  The loneliness that covered his life, or maybe it was just Mac, there was something about her.  He looked at her and knew that she was special.  It had been forever since he had any of the thoughts he had when he was around her.  He felt like there might actually be some kind of future for him in this world, if Mac was with him.  He didn’t even know her well, but he could tell she was unique.

“This is really beautiful isn’t it?”  Mac turned to Derrick and asked.

“Yes you are, and so is the waterfall.”  Derrick stated.

Mac looked at him, wondering if he was just messing with her, was she just hearing what she wished to hear, or had he actually said that?  Mac looked back at the water, and had an idea.  “Hey you want to go to the bottom, maybe there is a nice little spot where we can sit and enjoy the day.”

“Let’s go.”  Derrick said pointing to the trial and letting her lead the way.  “Let me know if you want some water by the way.”

“Sure let me get a little sip really quick.” Mac said, as she waited for him to hand her the drink.

Taking a sip, she felt the wetness of the water, it tasted great.  She hadn’t realized she had been quite so thirsty, or maybe it was nerves.

Derrick watched her as she led the way once they started down the trail again.  She was fantastic.  A bit of a tomboy, now that he saw her outside, but when they were in the cabin, and when he first met her, he would never guess her to be like this.  Hell he would never had guessed she grew up in the woods.  He smiled; she was the type of girl he had always fantasized about.  One who wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty, but cleaned up like a model.

The trail to the bottom twisted and turned quite a bit, and there were a few spots where the trail was dangerously narrow.  But Mac kept leading the way, sometimes she would stop to check out the different ways they could go, and see which looked safer. 

Finally, they got to the bottom and the pool the waterfall landed in was amazingly blue.  It was clear and they could see the bottom of the pool.  Before he knew what was going on she had snuck up beside him and pushed him into the water. 

“What the?”  Was all he got out before he was in the water.  He laughed hard, and told her.  “You have a choice, you can come in the easy way or we can do it the hard way!” 

Mac looked at his face, and laughed.  “You would have to catch me first, and I’m out here, not in the water where I might move slower!”  She stuck her tongue out as to say come and get me.

Before she realized it he was on top of her.  “What?  How did you move so quickly?” 

He held her above him, she didn’t struggle, and she knew it wasn’t worth it.  He was a monster compared to her.  The fact that he had caught her before she could even move had shocked her.  But in his arms she felt no fear, only security, she knew that Derrick would not hurt her.  She laid back into his arms a bit more. 

Derrick looked down into her face and eyes.  He saw the peace that he felt over her body and his as well.  It seemed natural to him to have her in his arms.  She was light , so light in his arms.  He looked at her lips, he wanted nothing more to kiss them. 

Mac could see the telltale look in his eyes, or so she hoped.  Because her next move would all depend on if she had read them right or not.  She leaned up and kissed him lightly on his lips.  It was just a small little kiss, but  she hoped it let him know everything he needed to know.

Derrick felt her lips lightly touch his and felt the kiss, it was over before he wanted it  to end.  He lowered his mouth to hers, and took her over.  He thrust his tongue into  her mouth, not invading it but exploring it lightly.  He didn’t try to overpower her at all, but he wanted her  to feel his passion.

Mac could feel it, there was a connection between them, not just her imagination.  The kiss he gave her left no doubt.  It was a sweet probing of her mouth on his part, and she did the same, pushing her tongue to meet his.  Their tongues danced for a few minutes, and they both pulled back. 

Derrick looked down at her, afraid but excited.  He really was burned by his ex, and she popped up quickly in his mind to torture him.  “Really you think she would ever want you?  I didn’t and you threw yourself at me for a while.  You thought I wanted you, maybe you are just thinking she wants you right now.”  Her voice sounded off in his mind. 

Mac could see the conflict of emotions going over his face.  She touched the side of her face with her fingertips.  It worked she grabbed his attention.  Instead of saying anything though, she put her mouth on his again, and kissed him intensely.  She didn’t want sex, no she just wanted to let him know that he was something special to her.  As she pulled her mouth from his, she could see the fire in his eyes. 

“I don’t know what I can offer you, I’m broken, and I don’t know how long it will take to fix myself.”  Derrick said looking down at her, he had walked into the water, but was still holding her close.  He didn’t want to lose the contact of her skin on his, it felt so nice, so odd after so long without a person.

“Everyone is broken in all honesty, in one way or another.  Maybe not by  someone else, but there could be a part of their past that haunts them through the years, and makes  them feel they are unlovable even.  But you have  to realize that there may be someone who will help you feel better as you fix those broken parts of you.”  Mac said.

“You are so beautiful, and such a good person.  What if I’m not a nice guy when you get to know me?  I don’t want to be hurt again, I can’t take it.”

“Love is always a gamble, you will never find it if you don’t give yourself to another person.  You either throw the dice, or you hold them close and never find someone.  Me?  Well I’m willing to take a chance to find another person who will love me like I love them.  If it’s you, this would be great.  I think there is a good chance, and you know what?  I’m very willing to take that chance.  The ball is in your court though, I can’t force you into this.  I learned my lesson if you love someone you can’t make them love you no matter what, if they don’t at the start.”  Mac said, the whole time thinking of the past mistakes she had made, but willing to try it with Derrick.

Derrick looked at her.  “You know I’ve not stayed in a place more than a month for the past 3 years.  I don’t want to drag you around and never give you a home.  A place where if we want we can grow a family, have memories that will last a lifetime, even have our grandchildren visit there one day.”

“So why can’t we find this?  We just have to find a place where we feel is home.  I can work, you can get a job.  We start together, we help and support each other .  That is after all what love is all about.”  Mac said.

“Why not, why shouldn’t we try it.  Like you said, it may work, but if we really want it we can make it last.  We can have it all, everything and we can build it together.”  Derrick stated.  “Maybe we can even get married, I think I would like that a lot.”

Mac stopped and smiled.  “Are you asking me to marry you right now?” 

Derrick shrugged his shoulders as if to say why not? 

Mac smiled and laughed.  “Well one thing is I don’t even know your last name.  I mean it can’t be anything to messed up that will make me sound funny.  You know if there is a guy out there who has a last name like Roni, well could you imagine that , my name would be Mac Roni.”  All I need is the middle initial A and it would be perfect.”  Mel laughed hard, so did Derrick.

“You really are something else.  I swear you have made me feel so alive, and I barely know you.  My last name is Jonas.”

“Oh are you related to the band members?”  Mac joked.

“No sorry to say.” 

“Okay so Mac Jonas, not bad at all.  I could get used to that.”  She pulled herself up on his shoulders and kissed him.

“So it’s acceptable  to you?”  Derrick laughed.

Mac gave him another kiss to show him how acceptable it was to her. 

Derrick hugged her closely.  “So let’s go find a place to get married.  I’ll get you a ring in one of the towns around here, find the justice of the peace office and then it will be done!”

“Seriously, you want to do it now?”  Mac asked, shocked, she had thought it was part joking on his side.

“No I’m serious I don’t want to let this go.  You really do make me feel great.  There is something about you that I want to keep around.  We can wait until tomorrow, but I want to tell you I want to wait to make love to you until we are married.  I want us to be husband and wife first, then we can do more.”

Mac looked at him, it was like he could see deep inside of her mind, and it was what she had always wanted.  A guy who was more about being morally correct instead of one who didn’t want to make a commitment to get her body.

She smiled up to him.  “I will be more than happy to be Mrs. Mac Jonas, it will make me very proud.”

Derrick kissed and hugged her.  He looked around at the scenery.  He had never really been in Pennsylvania, but he could see them finding a cabin in this area, having woods surrounding their property.  Kids who could learn to play in the woods from their mother.  He smiled, she really would and had already changed his life around.   He couldn’t wait until they were husband and wife!

THE END

KISS BY THE FORBIDDEN VAMPIRE

The light of the moon rippled on the surface of the black water as Nera kneeled by the river bank and washed her clothes.   The water was cool on her white skin, and she enjoyed the sensation and the low bubbling, sloshing noises as she dipped the clothes and took them back out. 

When she was finished washing, she beat the garments with loud slapping against a large stone in the riverbank to get the heaviest of the water out of them.  She would hang them to dry as much as possible in the night air and then tomorrow she would have to find somewhere that would see the sun but from where they were unlikely to be stolen from.  She slapped the clothes down hard once more, but suddenly she was aware within the loud smacking noise there was another noise, something moving nearby.  She turned to face the oncoming threat too late, and she was bundled to the ground by two heavy men who carried a net between them.  There was nowhere for her to go, and she was quickly wrapped up in the net until she felt so constricted that she could not move.

“Got her,” one of the men laughed triumphantly.

“What are you doing?” Nera demanded angrily.

“Be quiet,” the man said, “You are going to start a new life in the court of His Majesty, Crown Prince Hassan.”

“What are you talking about?” she spat at him.  The two men laughed and ignored her.

“Bring up the wagon,” the second one called out to someone unseen.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked as they lifted her and bundled her into the bed of a tired looking wooden wagon that was dragged to where she was by an older looking man with sad eyes, whom Nera took for a slave straight away, and in doing so felt she knew the fate these men had in mind for her.  They didn’t answer her.  She struggled against the ropes and threads of the netting but seemed only to become more entangled and enraged. 

They traveled overland and soon met up with some more men with wagons.  In each wagon, there was a woman, sometimes more than one, lying or sitting and sad.  Some were in netting like her, and some showed the bruises of resistance on their arms or faces.  None of the women would return her gaze, and none of the men would answer her questions; they would look at her appreciatively and say something like, “The Prince will be happy with this one!”

It was clear that all of the women were attractive and would be used for the personal pleasure of the Court.  This was not a new occurrence, but it had been a while since she had heard about it, and never this far from the Capital. 

Nera looked around as they moved into some sort of caravan and saw that they were taking the coast road. No doubt there would be a boat waiting for them at the harbor and then it would be a few days in the crossing of the sea.  If she didn’t escape before they put her on the boat she wouldn’t be able to try again until they landed- and over there she would have no idea of the land or how to get back home.

At the ship, they were all loaded on as they had been on the wagon.  Nera’s net was torn slightly as she was carried aboard but it was such a small rip, and in a place that made it almost impossible for her to get at that she didn’t get excited about it.  They were all put in a large hold with burning lanterns hanging from wooden beams and from hooks hanging from the ceiling.  It was so bright in there that it hurt her eyes in contrast to the darkness of the night outside.  Some of the women were crying, but no one said anything to their captors.

A stocky man with a whip coiled at his hip came into the hold and looked over them all.

“Very good haul,” he said salaciously, “His Majesty will be pleased.”  Then to the assembled women he said, “You should all be very proud of yourselves.  You have been deemed to be the most beautiful women in your region.  The great honor or becoming part of Crown Prince Hassan’s harem will now be yours!”  He spoke as though he expected a ringing round of applause, and she laughed at the silence that greeted him instead.  He looked over them all once more and then left.

One of the men who had captured Nera then came forward and said loudly,

“You now have a few days to reverse your sleeping patterns!  You will not sleep tonight but will be permitted a few hours come sun up.”

“What is this?” Nera found her voice say before she had any control over it.  The man looked at her and walked over.  “Prince Hassan likes to sleep during the day, so from now on you too will like to sleep during the day.”  He pointed a dirty stubby finger at her, and she was afraid of saying anything more to him.

“What will he do to us?” another woman called out, the fear evident in her trembling voice.

“Shut up!” the man barked at her, “You are not permitted to speak!” 

Nera looked at the woman who had spoken and saw her convulse in tears.  Some of the other women looked about to one another in confusion, but Nera knew what she had been so fearful about.  She had heard the rumors of the Prince’s appetite for human blood; something that up to this very moment Nera had believed for even a moment.  She had always thought this was some propagandist story to scare his rivals and enemies, but, now they were putting these women on a sleeping during the day routine she was not so sure.  Could it be that the Vampire of folk tales and stories actually existed?

The crossing took several harsh days, and there were many times when the wind was up, and the boat would toss and tilt in the squall so much that Nera feared she would never see dry land again.  When not killing themselves with work to keep the boat afloat the crew used all of their time into adapting us to the reversed routine that we would now be living.  It wasn’t hard to stay awake with the level of fearful adrenaline that ran through all of the women’s veins, but there were severe punishments meted out for those who did not sleep when the sun could be seen through the boards above us.  One woman was thrown overboard as a lesson to the rest of them, but Nera thought this act had the hallmarks of something planned and staged- that they had brought one extra woman on board just so as to make an example of her to scare the rest of them.

They were fed decently enough and were given plenty to drink and twice a day, or should that be night, they were all paraded around the deck to get both exercise for their stiffened limbs and muscles and for some fresh air.  They were, after all, going to the Harem of the Crown Prince and had to be in the best condition possible for this position. 

Finally land was reached.  Those who were asleep were woken by the bustling cacophony of the dock they had arrived at.  There was a market just inland, and they could hear the hawkers yelling and the general bustling sounds of barter and trade.    They could see that the sun was shining outside, and its heat seemed to permeate the wood around them, and they all ached to stand up and be allowed to walk on dry land once more.  It was a wish that was to go unfulfilled as it soon became apparent that they would not be leaving the ship until night fall.

“You should all be sleeping now!” the lead guard roared at us from the door above them.   Nera went to the hull and looked out through the cracks at the town.  It was not a big place, but it was very busy- the people must come from the surrounding areas to use the market here she thought.  That could be to her advantage if she were to escape, there would be many people travelling the roads at the end of the market and it would give her more opportunity to escape. She could only hope she would be able to undo her binds in time.  She set about this task and all afternoon she sweated in her labours as she ground the ropes against the edge of the wooden ribs of the hull.  It was very slow progress, and she seemed to be doing more damage to the wood than to the rope but by evening fall she could feel a slight loosening at her wrists and she knew her work had not been in vain.

When it was full dark, the lead guard appeared with some minions who lighted the lamps about the hold.  The sounds of horses and carts being readied filtered in from the land.

“I’ve been in this business for a long time,” the guard said, “And I know all the tricks so it would be in your best interest not to try to pull anything.”  He looked about him menacingly.  “Tie them all up with fresh rope!” he called out to his men, and he laughed heartily.  Nera’s head sank with the wasted effort of her afternoon, and her spirits sank to their lowest ebb yet.  She looked quickly around the room, and she saw that there was no way she was going to be able to escape with all the guards around and the layout of the boat was against her too.  She sat resignedly as she was retied; she would have to escape at some other time. 

They walked through the dark in a single file of five caged carts with five guards around each carriage and some men both fore and aft of the convoy.  Nera looked up to the high mountains where they headed, the blue night and the light of the moon made everything seems so clear and sharp.  They could see the Royal Palace for many hours before they finally came to a magnificent stone bridge that held high over a deep chasm.  At the end of the bridge was the rough, thick wood of the drawbridge that was open to their arrival. 

Despite her misgivings and abject fury at her abduction, even Nera could not help but be impressed with the high towers and walls of the palace.  It was like nothing she had ever seen, or even dreamed of before.  She could only imagine how amazing it must look in daylight.  She looked down deep below and saw that without the drawbridge been down there was absolutely no means of either entry or escape.  This was going to be even more difficult than she imagined. 

A guard walking along beside her pointed to the highest tower from which light emitted even at this very late hour and said,

“That will be your new home.”  He smiled with a sneering twist on his face as she looked up at it.  She didn’t have long to look up, however, as the ear shattering creak of the drawbridge being pulled back up called all of their attention to them.  Nera looked through the gap as it dwindled and wondered would she ever see the outside world again.

The cages came to a halt inside a great hall that was well lit and had comfortable looking cushions and sofas all the way around the four walls.  The walls themselves were draped with woven images of war and the victories of the Sultan.  It was an impressive room, and there was the pleasant smell of food coming from somewhere very nearby. 

As the women were looking about the room they all failed to notice that the guards had not entered this room and were now gone, the doors closed behind them.  A woman appeared from a side door and came up and looked over the cages.  She was not old but not young either, and she had a regal air though it was clear she was not part of the Royal House.  She clapped her hands loudly and five young women came scurrying in and opened the locks of the cages.  None of the women in cages dared to move, but Nera was very interested in this new development.  She fancied herself in a fight with a man and now that there were only women to contend with here she felt her confidence grow once more. 

“Don’t be shy girls,” the woman said, “This is your new home, come out and enjoy the sofas and the hot food we have prepared for you.”  She was smiling as she spoke, but it seemed pasted on and none of the women moved.  “I know that you have not had a pleasant journey here,” she spoke up again, “But, that is over now, and you will be looked after here well from now on.  We must have you in the best possible condition for meeting His Highness.”  She clapped her hands again and more girls came out with small tables and set them with steaming dishes of various hot foods and drinks.  The sight and smell of these things did at last being to draw the women out of the  cages, but Nera was last leave, using her time in there to see as much of the room and the people who worked there as possible.

The next two days were spent, as the woman had said, in the comfort of this great room.  The woman were taken in twos and bathed and clothed in fine silken garments.  They ate well and were promised a good life here once they did anything asked of them by the Crown Prince.  Nera went along with everything she was asked to do.  She could see through small windows that guards littered the area outside and should she try to escape now that would be as far as she would get.  The bathing pools were in a room that was closed in completely, and the only door led back into the great hall.    She heard some of the women who had come here with her ask the servant girls if any of the rumours about the Crown Prince were true, but the girls would only laugh as though the women were being ridiculous and continued on with their work.  They were still kept to the night time routine, however. 

On the morning of the second day, the head woman came to them and said,

“You have all done well here, and I hope that you will be happy.  Tonight you will be presented to His Highness so I suggest you all do your level best to sleep as well as you can today so as to be fresh and alert for this great honour.”  The women looked to one another nervously, but a couple actually smiled; these were the younger ones who were naïve enough to be indoctrinated in this place already.   Nera lay down on her comfortable pillow, she would be well rested, up there was the place where she was going to have to find a way to escape.  She had to, or else she would be here forever.

That evening they were all roused and fed a light warm meal and then bathed once more and dressed.  Their faces were adorned and made up and their hair put into various styles of ringlets, curls, waves, plats and pony-tails.   They were led as one unit across the heavily guarded courtyard and entered the main palace.  Nera was surprised as to just how many soldiers there were in the compound and she wondered where they all slept.  The women were ushered along corridors of cool marble floors and then came to a high stairs that spiralled up and up almost as far as they could see. 

“Follow at my pace,” the lead woman said, “We don’t want anyone huffing and puffing when we get up there.”  She led them in an agonisingly slow ascent of the stairs that took almost half an hour.  At the top of the stairs, there was a small antechamber, and they were told to wait here while the woman went inside.  Nera had looked behind them as they came up the stairs and saw that men had been stationed at the bottom of the stairs after them.

The woman came back and told them all to follow her.  “Do not look to your right as you enter the Crown Prince’s entertainment room,” She warned them, and her voice was grave enough that she didn’t need to say anything more.  The doors opened and music from with started as though this were some great military procession.  The women walked in single file into the room, following the lead woman’s steps and gestures as best they could and none of them daring to look at where they all felt the eyes of the Crown Prince on them.  None that was until the last woman came in.  Nera couldn’t help but turn her eyes slightly to see this person whom they had all come to entertain.  He was very white, but also very beautiful and she saw that he wore no shirt, and his body was well muscled and broad.  He was hairless and scrupulously clean, and she had never seen a male specimen like him before.  She looked away just in time as she felt his eyes fall on her.  Her heart raced at the closeness of punishment and also in attraction to him.  His face lingered in her minds eye for a moment, and she saw his red lips and blue-grey eyes, the small beard he wore solely on his chin and his shoulder length jet black and shining hair, curled and ruffled looking.  She couldn’t help herself from imagining his holding her against his thick chest with his strong arms.

She looked around the rest of the room, and she could see that there were a lot of people there.  A band was playing music, and she could see there were jugglers and other kinds of entertainers lying in wait for their turn to impress the Royal.  Many women littered the seats and large rugs spread about.  Nera noticed that these women looked upon the new ones with great curiosity and, it was odd but, she felt a lustful hunger.  Some men sat about in small groups or with women and Nera thought that these must be the Prince’s friends. 

The lead woman came to a halt and instructed with her hands for all the women under her charge to stop and face the Prince in a line.  Nera was last to stop, and she turned and looked to the handsome Royal once more.  He looked them all over but seemed to look at her longer than the others, or was this just in her imagination?  He sat back in his chair and nodded to the lead woman.  She bowed and then stood in front of the women.

“You have done well,” she said with a smile.  “Do whatever any man here asks you,” she went on, “His Highness may be around to talk to you as he chooses.”  With that, she turned once more and bowed to the throne and then left the room, by the way, they had come in. 

The new woman stood in a huddle in the middle of the room not knowing what to do with themselves.  Soon a few of the men came over and began to talk to them as they looked lasciviously over them.  When one came over to talk to Nera, the band suddenly stopped, and all eyes turned to the Prince.

“Everyone except the new girls can leave!” he said.  It sounded more like a suggestion than an order, but every single person in the room made their way to the door straight away after bowing to him.    Nera couldn’t help but be impressed with the total control he had over all of these people. 

When the room was finally devoid of everyone save the new women, the Prince stood up and walked towards them.  They cowered into a huddle, and Nera felt them all jostle against her.  She stood there implacably near the back waiting to see what would happen.

“You do not need to fear me,” he said in a softer than expected voice.  “As you have seen this evening I treat my guests in this room well.”  He looked at them one at a time; a full body look at this time.  “When I look at you tell me your name,” he said.  He looked from woman to woman, and they all answered falteringly.  Finally, he came eye to eye with Nera. 

“I am Susan,” she said.  No one else had yet asked her name and if she was going to escape she did not want people looking for her under her real name.  His eyes flickered as though in delight when she spoke, and he smiled at her, a wicked smile as though they shared some private joke. 

He stepped back from the women and faced away from them looking around the room.

“You may have heard things about me,” he said in a louder voice, “Things that you may have even been afraid of,” he said this part with a slight chuckle, “But,” he held a finger in the air, “Everlasting life is nothing to be frightened of!” he said.  He turned swiftly back to them, and they saw that his features had changed and hardened, and there were ridges on his face that were not there before.  His teeth had become elongated and sharpened, and he smiled a malicious smile at them.  The women screamed, even Nera, and he feinted towards them and sent them scurrying in all directions. 

Nera watched in horror as the women around her tried the door and looked to climb out windows but to no avail.  The door was locked, and she already knew that they were far too high up for a speedy escape through a window.  The Prince skulked about laughing as he watched his terrified and flitted prey and then he moved with great speed after them.

One by one he took hold of them in his strong arms and bit deep into their throats with those two long teeth.  Shrieks of fear and pain rang out and when he pulled away from them and let the lifeless bodies of them fall to the floor there would be flecks of blood from both his mouth and their wounds that splattered on the stone slabbed floor.  Some of the women fainted and made his task all the easier. 

Nera waited until he had his back to her and was plunging into another woman and then fled to a balcony that stood out from the tower and looked out over the tops of the nearby mountains.  She knew that she was not going to be able to get out of the tower from there, but she saw it as the only chance for a place to hide.  She came out into the warm night, and she hid from the sight of the room inside.  She looked around, but there was nowhere to go.  It was a flat outcropping and a sheer drop of a few hundred feet below.  All she could do was stand there and hope that he would have forgotten about her by the time he was through with everyone else. 

The last of the crying and screams died down, and no more feet slapped and skittered across the stone floor within the tower.  She stood there and listened.  All she could hear was the howling of the wind in the great chasm below her.  She looked down, and it was so far that she couldn’t see the bottom.  There was nothing in sight she could jump to, and only the curved flatness of the tower walls offered themselves to scale.  She dared not even breathe.

A long time passed, and there was no more noise.  How long could she stay out here?  The idea came to her that he would not be able to come out here once the sun began to rise- if that old legend was true; for there was no doubt now that the vampire stories had been true.

“You should come in from there,” his voice said, “You’ll catch a cold with so few clothes on.”  She froze in terror.  She looked down once more, but there was no escape; even if it water all the way down there it was still far enough down to kill her if she tried to jump.  She waited for a few moments and then walked calmly back inside.  “Susan,” he said with a smile.  He was back to his normal handsome face again, and to look at him you would have no idea of what he had just done to all of the prone bodies that lay about the room.  Nera looked at them; she felt like weeping, but she didn’t want him to see this.  “Don’t worry about them,” he said, “They will all wake up much happier than they were before.”

“So they will be like you now?” she asked.  She had heard all of this stuff about vampires for years but when you don’t know if the things actually exist you also don’t know how much of the folklore is real either.   He nodded.

“You should join us,” he smiled at her, she saw him look her body over appreciatively.  “It is a good life.”  She saw her way to stay human, to not have to fear the light of day, and though it repulsed her, she had no choice.  She took a step closer to him.

“I can offer you more as a hot body than a cold one,” she said and reaching up she undid the clasp at the back of her neck and let the flowing gown she wore drop the floor at her feet.  She stood there naked before him.  She knew how good her body looked; she had always had men after her all her life, since puberty, and this was why she had thought herself to fight.  She had large but firm breasts, and her abdomen was toned but not lined with muscle.  Her pubic hair was in a tidy triangle, and her legs were tanned and smooth and shiny.  He looked at her, and she saw his penis come to life in his loose pants and against her better morals she knew that she wanted it, to touch it, to feel it within her body. 

“You make a compelling case,” he smiled taking another step closer to her.  The look of lust in his eyes was like nothing she had ever seen; it was like all his sexual cravings and intentions were reflected in them, and she knew what he wanted her to do.  She knelt down and put her palms to the cold floor and crawled over to him seductively like an animal.  When she got to his feet, she ran a hand up his leg and brushed against his thick member.  He looked down and smiled at her.  She went higher and rubbed her hands over his rippled abdomen and onto his chest.  She had never felt a body like this before; it was like he had been hewn from stone.  She planted light kisses on his abdomen, and she felt his hand run through her hair.  Despite herself she found that she was attracted to him, and it was like this was a voluntary action on her part and not something she was doing purely to save her life.         

She pulled herself up to her feet and pushed her lips roughly to his.  His kiss was soft and his lips full; there was no thought in her mind that this mouth had been recently filled with the blood of those women strewn about them.  She felt his hands on her hips, and his grip was tender yet firm.  He lightly ran up over the hips and held her waist.  With a sudden and silent lift, she was in the air, and he carried her across the room to one of the large cushions that were spread around the great tower.  He lifted her as though she weighed nothing, and his arms did not tremble even in the slightest.  She had never known a man with such strength, and it stirred something deep and tribal within her that she was unaware had even been there.  It was as she was suddenly intoxicated by him, and she pressed her lips all the more firmly against his. 

The Prince dropped her on the cushion and smiled down at her.  She wanted him, and she pulled at him to come down to her.  He resisted for a moment but then dropped beside her and lay on top of her.  She could feel him through his pants, and she tugged at the band of them until they were halfway down the back of his thighs.  He lifted her and pulled down the front, and she could feel him kick the garment off.  He looked deep into her eyes, and she could see something from far away in him like he was not there at that moment.  She gasped as she felt him go inside of her for the first time and gripped her fingernails deep into his back.  He didn’t flinch at all.

They made love for a time, Nera becoming as far away as he was in her passionate desire.  She had never once in her life felt like she did with the Prince; she couldn’t believe that she didn’t even know his name, first name that is. She lay in his arms afterwards, and she felt safe now.

“Are there more like you?” she asked.

“I don’t know.  I meet one of my kind, from time to time, and we know one another instantly, but there is no country or community where we reside that I know of.”

“What will these women feel when they wake up?” she asked looking around the floor. 

“They will be confused and frightened at first, but I will calm them and show them all the new things that they can do now.  After that, they will be happy here.”

“What will they be able to do?” she asked.  He pulled his pants back on and stood up,

“This,” he said.  He lifted from the ground with an elegant grace and hovered there for a few moments before flying to the balcony.  He went out over the edge where the huge drop was underneath him and smiled to her.  She got up and conscious of her nakedness now, picked up her clothes and covered herself, went to the platform and looked down.  She was amazed at this feat.  She had never heard of this before, had not thought it possible, and yet here it was right before his very eyes.

He came back in and landed beside her.

“Are you sure you would not like to be able to do that?” he asked smiling.  She turned from him, afraid once more of what he might to her. 

“I’m not ready,” she said.  She was trembling.

“Then I think it is time you left for tonight,” he said putting a hand on her shoulder, “It will not be a pretty sight when these women begin to wake, and you may be in danger.”

“From them?” she snorted, she had not come up against a woman yet who she was afraid of, and she had seen all of these here all the way from her home country and saw nothing to fear in the slightest from them.

“They will have strength that you can only dream of once they become like me,” he said.  She recalled how he had lifted her like she was nothing. 

“Where should I go?” she asked.

“Just back down the stairs, a guard will show you back to your quarters,” he said indicating the door she had come in originally.  She walked towards it, confused and scared now.  The effects of her lust had worn off, and she was very much aware of the blood and gore on the floors and walls everywhere.  Was this what was in store for her tonight when she was sent back up here?   “By the way,” he called after her.  She turned to look at him.  “What is your real name?”

“Nera,” she said, not bothering to keep up the pretence any longer.  “What’s yours?” she asked.  He smiled warmly at her like she was a bold child.

“Your Highness,” he said.  He made a motion to the large doors, and she heard the bolts and lock from the other side crackle open. 

That night Nera was the only woman of her shipmates who slept back in the quarters.  The servant girls and the lead woman seemed surprised to see her come back.  They showed her where she would be sleeping and left her alone.  Morning broke not long after she lay down, and she knew she would have trouble sleeping today.  Images of what she had seen and heard kept coming back to her; everything had seemed so violent and crazy, but then when she looked at the bigger picture she knew that those women were now able to fly, and no man would ever be able to hurt them again.  She fell asleep after a long time to the sounds of the marching soldiers in the courtyard outside. 

That evening she was lead up once more to the tower.  She was the only woman this time, and there was no introduction, the door was opened, and she was told to go inside.  Like the previous day, there were many people there tonight and musicians played loudly.   A few people glanced in her direction, but no one lingered on her for long.  The Crown Prince was not on his throne as the day before and on the first inspection about the room she could not see him.  What she did she, however, was a much more overtly sexual tone than the night before.  It was much more in keeping with her former ideas of a harem, except that all of the women were not kept for just the royal himself. 

Men, she was unsure if they too were vampires or not, cavorted with women in dimed corners and on the large cushions.  She suddenly felt very cheap at her own antics the previous evening, but she told herself quickly that she had no choice.  As she looked around and moved further into the room she became aware of eyes on her, and she looked and saw a man staring over at her.  He was sitting alone, and he smiled at her and beckoned for her to come over to him.  She could see the lascivious desire in his eyes, but he was not the kind of man she would ever deign to offer herself to.   She looked away and pretended she had not seen him. 

“Girl!” she heard him call out, and she started to walk in the opposite direction.  “Girl!” this time the voice was much louder and carried an angry tone.  She could see that other people were looking at her, but she still pretended that she did know it was she who was being addressed.  She made her was towards the balcony as it was the only place in the room that was not visible from everywhere else.  “How dare you ignore me and walk away,” she heard his voice now, and it was clear that he was striding after her.  Without looking back, she quickened her pace; she had no idea what she was going to do once she got the balcony- she just hoped that he would give up by then and leave her alone. 

Just as she reached the platform that jutted out of the tower and looked over that immense chasm, she felt his hand on her upper arm, and she was spun around violently.  The man’s vicious snarling face was in hers and she felt his hot spittle as he shouted at her, “You are aware that I was calling you over, and you insult me by not doing as I wish?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” she stammered.  She played the helpless woman in moment like this to keep a man’s guard down, but as she spoke she wondered what would happen if she were o shoe this man off the precipice to the ground below?       

“Don’t lie to me, I will use you first and then see that you are punished sufficiently for your disobedience,” he said and he turned and started to pull her back to where he had been sitting.  Her instinct kicked in, and she dropped to the ground and with a powerful swipe she took his legs from under him.  He let go of her as he fell, and his body sounded a heavy thud on impact with the stone floor.  She leapt back to a standing position.  He sat up and held his back in pain.  He looked at her with such malevolence that she was sure that he would try to kill her once he regained his feet. 

At that moment, however, a thunderous and mirthful laugh came from within the tower.  Both of them looked and saw that it was the Crown Prince coming out to them.  The man scurried to his feet and then bowed fawningly, but Nera just stood there waiting to see what was going to happen. 

“You have been insulted Saleem?” he asked the man with a smile.

“Yes, Your Highness,” he replied.

“And you want this girl to be punished?”

“Yes, Majesty.”

  The Prince looked to Nera,

“You refused to do his bidding?”  She nodded, “And you then put him on the floor?”

“He was hurting me,” she said defiantly.  At this, the Crown Prince burst out laughing.  Nera saw that the man looked at her nervously and then back to the Prince.  He stood there looking at the two of them as his laughter subsided and then said to the man,

“Saleem, you may punish her as you see fit,” and then turning to her said, “You woman, can do what you want to resist this punishment.” 

Saleem stood up and looked at her.  He was clearly very embarrassed and angry that the choice he was given was to either drop the affair or engage in a possible fight with a woman.  His cheeks were flush, and he didn’t do or say anything for a few moments.  At last he said to her,

“Come inside with me and there will be no punishment,” he sighed; his tone and manner are indicating that he was doing her a great favour.

“I will not,” she said, She saw the Prince’s eyes light up at this, and an even broader smile festooned his face.  Saleem looked to him and then wearily made a move towards her.  Nera was too fast for him, and she dipped and landed a solid kick to his ribs that doubled him over.  He was back up in a flash of anger, and he lunged at her with a feral roar, she could see his teeth bared, and his hands splayed to grab hold of her. She dropped to the ground and rolled at his feet sending him tripping over her towards the edge of the ledge. She had not intended, but she knew from his momentum that he was not going to be able to stop himself from going over the edge.  She made a grab for his leg to stop this happening, but she missed him.  His cries echoed out loudly as he fell the long and fatal way to whatever surface lay below in the darkness.          

Nera looked up at the Prince with renewed fear in her eyes.  He was looking at her too, but there didn’t seem to be any anger in his face. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she said.  For the first time, she noticed that a large crowd had gathered behind the Prince and all looked at her eagerly.

“I know,” he said.  Than clapping his hand said, “Everyone save my special women may go now.”  Like the previous evening, there was an immediate clearance of the room.  The only difference this time was that almost all of the women remained.  She went to leave herself but he shook his head no, and she stayed.   Of those women, she could see from where she was she recognised several whom she thought only last night she had seen murdered.  They looked paler but also much more confident and somehow more beautiful. 

“I expect you had a lot to think about today?” the Prince said to her stepping over to the edge and looking down. 

“About what?” she asked.

“About how long you can avoid the inevitable, or if even still want to avoid it.”  The other women were all coming out onto the balcony now, and they made a large semi circle around her.  She was completely hemmed in, and there was nowhere for her to go but over the edge like Saleem. 

“What if I decided I don’t want it?” she asked, more stalling for time than actual interest.

“I wanted you to see this,” he said. He made a circular motion with his hand, and the women started to walk towards her.  Nera bent into a fighting pose- she was not going to go down without a fight, but none of the women came near her.  Instead, they began to lift from the floor and float out into the night just as the Prince had done the night before.  Nera watched in amazement as they one by one flitted off in different directions until she could see none of them anymore, and she and the Prince were alone on the balcony.

“Where are they going?” she asked.  He shrugged his shoulders,

“Wherever they want,” he said.  “Some will seek out men; others food and some will just go where they have never been before or do things they never could before. They are free to do whatever pleases them.”

“And they come back?”

“They have to; they are bound to me.”  She felt him take a step closer behind her and then she felt his hands on her shoulders.  She shivered but it was not at his touch, but his hands made her realise how cold she was. 

“Wouldn’t you like to be bound to me?”  She turned and looked at him, their eyes locking and for a moment it felt like words had no sense to them.  He took her hands, and she enjoyed the feel of his fingers on hers.

“Is that the only way to be bound to you?” she asked.

“So far,” he replied.  She looked at his lips, and she wanted to kiss them.  She felt that same swoon of the previous night, as though she were no longer in control of her body or her faculties.  She leaned her head against his chest

“What do you do with all of these women?” she asked; she was surprised to find she was already jealous of them. 

“Whatever I wish,” he said letting go of her hands and putting his arms around her, pulling her into him.  “I’m not trying to take anything from you Nera; I’m offering to give to you.”  His words sounded sonorous and true, but something nagged at her despite her clouded mind.  There was something powerful she would lose if she gave in to him, but what that was eluded her.  When she tried to think what it was, it melted into the creases of her mind, and all she could think about was having this ability to fly.  Could it be that she was just dreaming all of this; that she would wake up soon beside the river where she washed her clothes. 

“Why don’t you just force me like you did the others?” she asked.

“I don’t want to force you, I feel something deeper with you, something that somehow seems ancient, I can’t understand or explain it.”  He was breathless as he spoke, and she wondered if he was under the same fog as she was.  She kissed him.  The kiss felt more than those of the previous night, all of the fear and self protective aura were no longer present, and it was like a first kiss, where fireworks went off and neither wanted this moment to end.  She leaned into him to lead them back inside the tower and over to one of the cushions. 

Their lovemaking this night was a much more tender and probing affair than the previous lust and survival driven tryst.  Their naked bodies intertwined and they explored each other’s curves and dips tenderly and longingly.  There was no manic thrusting or arching, and it was so incredible.  She felt the stone body on her own strong one, and it was a much more satisfying night for all of this newness. 

Afterwards, they lay in silence for a long time.  The mist began to life from her, and she suddenly remembered what it was that a life like his would deprive her of- sunlight!  The simplicity of feeling the sun on her skin and face; the warmth of it.  This was something no one would ever willingly give up.  She knew that no matter what feelings, or whatever it was that grew so rapidly in her for this man, she was going to have to go back to her original plan of escape.  There was n way she could become a creature of the night and give up ever seeing the world bathed in the sun again.

“When you go to bed today I want you to think deeply about what I am offering you,” he said to her.  “It doesn’t have to be as you saw with the other women; there need not be any violence.  I only do that to keep myself fresh in the event of war, so that my killing skills remain honed.”   She kissed him on the neck,

“I will,” she said as her eyes scanned the higher reaches of the tower looking for some weakness she could exploit in her escape bid. 

Instead of thinking about submitting to his will, as the Crown Prince had asked, she instead spent the time she was awake going over possible escape plans in her head.  She decided that there was no way she was going to be able to escape from the tower.  She would have to try from her living quarters during the day.  The problem here was the whole rest of the palace ran on daylight hours like the rest of the world and the place was crawling with soldiers all the time.  Add in the giant drawbridge that would need to be down to facilitate her escape and she had a real conundrum on her hands.  She felt her eyelids droop, and she knew sleep was close at hand.  In this twilight between sleep and waking an idea came to her, an idea that made all the sense in the world.  It could work, she was sure of it.  All she would have to do would be to remember it when she woke up again later on.  Her tired brain promised her it would remember anything she wanted so long as she let it sleep for a while.  Her eyelids came down, and that was it.  She was asleep.      

That evening she was shown up to the tower once more.  As with previous times, she entered a busy room, and she wondered why it was that she was sent up much later than everyone else who was there.  Upon entering the great room, her memory had indeed failed her, and her idea from earlier was as if it had never occurred to her.  However, upon seeing the Crown Prince, she recalled every thought she’d had in those moments before sleep engulfed her.  He saw her and nodded.  She bowed and indicated with her eyes that she would like to speak to him. He dismissed those people who surrounded him and beckoned her over. 

“How are you this evening Nera?” he asked pleasantly. 

“Very good,” she replied. 

“Have you come to me with a decision?”

“I have come to you with a request Your Highness.” He looked intrigued.

“Go on?” he said.  She looked about to be sure that no one was listening and whispered.

“Can you take me flying?  To see my home one more time as I am?”  He looked dubious of her request.

“You wish to speak to someone there?” he asked suspiciously.

“No, only to see it one more time.  I have no family there.”  He still looked doubtful, “I want to experience the flight for myself,” she added.  He thought about her request for a few moments and then said to her,

“I will decide later; for now have some food and drink and relax.  I have some acrobats from the far east for our entertainment tonight.”

Nera did this, seated at his side.  The acrobats were very entertaining, and she was stunned by some of the feats they pulled off.  She watched the Prince drink and saw that the wine was affecting his as it would any normal man.  She decided she could use this to her advantage and she topped up his goblet at every opportunity. 

Some of his friends came and sat, and they told stories that he found very funny.  After one of these he leaned over to Nera and said,

“I will grant you your wish tonight, but then you must keep your end of the bargain tonight.  No tricks or any more stalling.”

“Thank you,” she said nodding in agreement to his terms.  His eyes sparkled as he looked at her, and she saw that it made him happy to please her. 

It was late when he cleared the room on this night, and that was exactly what she had wanted.  The drink had dulled him and made time go by ever faster.  It also gave him, as it did with all men, a heightened sense of what he could achieve.  She knew how far away her home was, and no matter how fast he flew she felt there was no way he would be able to get back here by sunup.

The Prince took her hand and gave her a shawl to put on over her clothes.

“We don’t want you getting cold,” he smiled.  They walked out to the balcony and looked out over the land.  It was such a clear night, and everything was bathed in moonlight and looked magical.  He had a look of pride on his face, as though he had made this landscape himself and was not just part of a dynasty that controlled it. 

Nera was nervous about flying; though she knew it was her one chance of escape, she also had no idea what it would be like to be soaring unnaturally high above the ground.  What if she fell?  Would he try to save her, or would he be content to see her fall?  She looked to him again, and the look in his eyes said that he would save her if she fell.  A pang of regret poured through her.  She had never met anyone who had made her feel the way she did in his presence, but she just couldn’t sacrifice her life to those feelings.   

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” she nodded nervously.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “I will make sure you are safe.  Take my hand.” She did as she was bid.  “This is the start of a new life for you and I.  I have found in you something I never thought possible,” he said looking into her eyes and stroking her hand.  She trembled with anticipation before him.  He lifted her in his strong arms and then eased gently from the ledge. 

She shut her eyes against her expectation that she would plummet to the world, but the easy feeling of the light wind on her skin had her open them again and she wondered at the feeling and the things she was seeing.  He flew so fast and yet it was so smooth.  He held her in front of his chest like she weighed nothing at all.  Down below the mountains soon gave way to flat lands and then to the sea.  She recalled some of the places from her forced march to this strange country and she pondered if those same men were in some other part of the Kingdom now rounding up women in same way to take to be part of the Royal house. 

They hit landfall in her home territory about an hour after they left, and she guided him to the small village she had called home for the last ten years.  Though she had never liked the place and had planned to leave, she found that she was stung by fondness and nostalgia for this place on seeing it and being there once more.  There was no one about, but she knew who lived in every dwelling and what they must have been up to her absence.  She pointed out her own house and said to the Prince,

“Can we go inside?”

“Won’t there be someone there?” he asked.

“No, I lived alone.”  He swooped down and landed at the doorway and set her on her feet on the ground. 

“Thank you,” she said to him.  She pushed open the door and looked inside.  She knew there wouldn’t be anyone there, but there was always the chance that someone knew what had happened to her and had usurped her home and would be sleeping there right now.  But instead all was quiet and as she had left it.  He stepped in behind and she watched as he took the place in.  She saw his eyes settle on her bed, and he smiled at her.  She smiled back and kissed him and led him to it.

This was the first time she had ever made love in her own bed, and again it was so amazing with him and she lost herself so deeply in his presence that she almost gave up her plan and was willing to settle for his offer.  But, she managed to hold her resolve, and it was with a heavy heart that his final thrusts against her spent him, and he flopped down panting on top of her. 

The alcohol had tired him and with the exertion of the flight and then the lovemaking he soon drifted into a light slumber beside her.  Nera lay there as quiet as she could be and let the minutes tick by.  She closed her own eyes in the vain hope that she too would fall asleep, but she was so scared that the pounding of her heart would wake him that she couldn’t relax.  She looked out at the sky, and she was sure that she could see the first hints of a change of light in the heavens.  He stirred suddenly and looked about the room.

“Where am I?” he asked groggily.

“My home,” Nera said.  He looked at her and saw who it was that he shared a bed with smiled at her and kissed her on the shoulders.

“We better get going,” he said as he rose,”How long did I sleep for?”

“Only a moment,” she lied.  He nodded but didn’t seem to think anything of it.  They dressed, and he took her back outside.

“You will be able to come back here any night you want to, now that you know the way,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” she said.

They retook to the skies and not a single person that she was aware of had known that she had been back home, and with the Crown Prince no less.  They were only in the air a few minutes when she thought she saw the first looks of concern on his face as she looked at the horizon.

“Hold on, I’m going to go a little faster this time,” he said.  If he was worried his voice didn’t betray it, but why else would he be speeding up if not to get home before the sun rose?  She clasped her hands around his neck, and he set off much faster than before.  The raging sea below then became a blur, and she had to close her watering eyes to the sharp wind that greeted them from time to time.  When she could open them, she was sure that there was a change in the light in the sky.  She looked at his face, and now she was sure she could see panic and fear in him.  His body sweated and his breaths were more laboured.

“I shouldn’t have taken you out so late!” he scolded himself.

“What’s wrong?” she asked playing the innocent.  He didn’t answer, and she thought it was because he didn’t have the breath to say anything more. 

Nera looked ahead, and it soon became clear to her that they were flying easy.  There was an unmistakable sheen of light that rounded the horizon and was the dawn trying to rise up over the land.  She saw that he saw it too, and he steeled himself to a renewed effort to get home before that happened.  He flew lower as the approached the higher lands so as to remain in their shadows but on this morning the dawn seemed to come at a rate she had never experienced before and the land lit up around them as the sun showed her the world.   

He was in a full panic now, but they were in sight of the tower.  The rays of the sun came over her, and she heard him cry out in pain as they struck him also.  He used the high mountains and the building of the palace for cover but there was no avoiding the light at places and each time he would scream in pain as he crossed the shafts of light.

Nera looked, and the hole that was the balcony of the tower zoomed at them and they both went flipping to the ground as he landed with speed.  She sat up dazed and saw that the women from the night before were all back sitting around the room.  Each of them rose at the spectacle, and she saw some run to the howling Prince.  She stood up and looked in his direction.  This was not what she had hoped for; she wanted to be out over land when he faltered so that she could escape.

The women were huddled around him in concern, but Nera could not see him.

“You!” his voice suddenly roared out as he sprang from their envelopment.  “You tried to kill me?” he said snarling at her and pointing an accusing finger.  The skin on his body looked very badly burned, and his eyes were black with anger. 

“Me?” she said, “What did I do?” she asked playing her role again.

“You know what you tried to do.  I should have gone with my gut and said no when you first asked me this evening!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Your Majesty,” she said backing away towards the balcony.  The other women flocked around her in a wide circle now, some of them going behind her blocking her from the outside.

Nera knew that she was cornered now and that he probably only wanted to kill her outright now instead of making her like the rest of the women here.  She took one last look at him, sad at what might have been had he not been the creature he was. 

“I can’t give up my life for the one you want me to live” she called out to him as she turned and ran for the balcony.  There were a few women there who were poised to stop here; she shoe the smallest one and crashed into her with all her might, force enough that it sent both of them tumbling to the light outside and falling rapidly to the earth below.  Her only hope was that this crying and burning creature would be able to arrest both of their falls before the ground, and the body of Saleem rose up to finish them both.  They spiralled and fell in the morning sunlight down and down and down.  

THE END