ELIJAH
In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs man’s suffering. – Friedrich Nietzsche
Run, little rabbit, run.
Soft laughter shook my shoulders as I strolled through the woods. The sun had set over an hour ago and the little scared woman I was chasing down was disoriented and tired.
Like the others, she'd chosen the well traveled path rather than wading through the areas of underbrush and bushes that prevented easy passage. Sadly, if she had chosen the road less traveled, she could have escaped my grasp, made it to the edges of the woods that spilled out onto the lonesome roads that would have led her back to town.
I shook my head at the humor of it. Too afraid of what could be crawling in those bushes, my prey always ran the direction I wanted them to go, always fell for the trap I had cleared out and set months before.
In the distance, I could hear the night animals scurrying about, their bellies empty and their mouths drooling in thought of what smaller creature they could overpower for their meal. I knew the feeling, my mouth was watering just the same.
I found Eunice crouching beneath a tree within walking distance of the cabin I kept specially prepared for ceremonies such as this. I liked to think of it as a transfer of power from the weak to the strong, as a transformation that pushed my mission forward as I laid each individual trap.
I was so close to ending this particular game, beginning a new one, that the anticipation was a fevered pulse just beneath the skin.
A twig snapped beneath my shoe and Eunice glanced up, fear and exhaustion battling for superiority behind her eyes.
"Are you done running?"
Her chest heaved with labored breath, her dress dirty where she'd fallen down several times after tripping over a random root or other obstacle. The relief she felt for no longer being alone in the woods was palpable.
"Y-you followed me?"
Squatting down, I grinned. "Did you think I'd leave you alone? I just wanted to see how strong your faith was. Considering how far you ran, I would say it's as strong as ever. Most people give up long before this point."
"Can we go back now?" she asked, a tremor in her words. "I don't like it out here."
I ran the tip of my finger down her jawline. "I have something a little more private in mind. It's closer, too. I know you must be tired."
She nodded her head and I nodded mine with her, smiling to see a spark of wary trust light her gaze. She hadn't eaten in days and now she'd just been run to ground. Her exhausted mind was a beautiful thing.
Offering her a hand, I helped her to her feet as I stood to my full height. We'd barely traveled a few steps before I slipped my arm around her waist to assist her over the rough terrain.
"Can I ask you something, Eunice?"
Her voice was as quiet as a mouse. "Yes."
"What made you decide to become a nun?"
She turned to look at me, almost tripping over a root in the process. I caught her weight easily before she fell.
"I don't know. I think because I wanted my life to have a higher purpose."
"You felt a calling?"
"Yeah. I did."
"And based on the calling you felt, you ended up here?" I paused, letting that thought sink in. "I guess the Lord works in mysterious ways, doesn't he?"
The cabin came in to view, the candles inside flickering through the windows. Richard was always quick when I sent him ahead to prepare the inside. "Here we are. A respite from the dark woods."
"I don't like this place," she insisted. "I just want to go home. Please," she begged, "please let me go home."
My hand locked over her hip, my mouth watering at the fear evident in her voice. "I'm sorry, Eunice. But you have a higher purpose. One I'll enjoy much more than you."
With one quick move, I opened the door to shove her inside, slamming it closed behind me as she ran to the other side of the cabin in an attempt to place distance between us.
Exhaustion overtook her before long.
"We can make this easy or difficult, Eunice," my lips pulled into a grin, "and since I prefer difficult to easy, I'm fine with either choice."
I stepped closer, she stepped back. The dance began.
"Stay away from me," she screamed, her eyes darting between the religious ornaments strewn throughout the room and me. It didn't take a genius to figure out what I intended, but still there was surprise in her eyes.
Canting my head to the side, I laughed softly. "Who will stop me? Who is powerful enough to keep you safe now that I have you here?"
Another step. "Will your God help you, Eunice? Will he come down from his mighty perch to rescue a woman bound to him alone?" My laughter grew louder. "You people really need to learn that there is nothing between you and the predators who take advantage of your delusions."
"I thought you were a devout man. I thought - what you said -" Her thoughts were scattering, her tongue unable to squeak out a full sentence as truth dawned on her in all its glorious light.
Eunice's back hit a wall as I moved closer, her body sliding down to its knees as I came within reach.
"Now isn't that a pretty sight? Did you want to wrap those gorgeous lips around my cock before I force it in your body?" A slight shrug of my shoulder. "Again, I'm fine either way."
Tears slipped from her eyes as I squatted down in front of her. I would say I pitied the poor creature, but then I'd just be lying. The fucking whore deserved what she was going to get. They all did.
"You know," I said, conversationally and without concern for what I divulged. Eunice, here, wouldn't have the ability to run and tell. "It amazes me to see how easily you all fall for the fairy tales and pretty lies told by generations. You deny yourselves the pleasures of this world because you believe, you actually believe, there is something waiting on the other side."
My hand struck out, locking her jaw in its grip. "Look at me when I'm talking to you."
Her gaze returned to mine.
"Thank you. Don't you know it's rude not to pay attention?"
"Please..."
Rolling my eyes, I released her face. "Please, please, please," I mocked with a dry, remorseless voice. "Stop your begging. It's pathetic."
"Let me explain this in a manner you might understand, Sister. You are a whore for the Almighty God, and my dear creature, in this house, I am that God. So you will do as you're told, or so help you, I'll show you my irrefutable power."
"Please," she wailed.
"You're boring me. Let's find another word to use, shall we?"
Her mouth opened and closed, her eyes working quickly to blink away her tears. Reaching out, I caught one on my finger and brought it to my mouth.
Her expression was horrified.
"Tastes sweet," I said on a laugh. "Make me another."
Oh, and how she did. So many tears were pouring and all I could do was wait out the storm, enjoy the terror and anticipate the enjoyment to come.
I tapped my palm against her cheek when it became obvious this woman wouldn't stop her crying. "That was a warning tap," I explained when she finally lifted her red rimmed eyes to mine. "The next one might sting a little."
Eunice froze. She opened her mouth to beg again, but I placed a finger over her lips and shook my head. "I'd be real careful what you say next. If I hear please, or stop, or any of those ridiculous words that waste our time, I'll make sure this hurts. The only thing I want to know is whether this will be difficult or easy. It's one word, Eunice. So pick one."
Slowly, I pulled my hand back, locking her stare with mine as she made up that pretty little scrambled mind of hers.
"Choose," I reminded her.
Her lip quivered. Her eyes blinked away a few more tears. Her body trembled where it kneeled on the floor. And finally - fucking finally - she opened her mouth to say, "Easy."
I sneered, but shrugged the disappointment away. "If you insist."
Pushing up to my feet, I offered my hand because I was nothing if not a gentleman. She was hesitant to take it, but eventually fell in line.
Giving her distance, I stepped back and jut my chin in her direction. "I think you know what to do with that dress."
More tears. More whimpering. But finally, she reached for the buttons that ran the length from her neck to her waist. One by one they slipped open, each one revealing more of the pale skin beneath, the side swells of her breasts and the smooth plane of her abdomen. How this woman had decided to give that body up to God was beyond me. It was much too succulent to hide away beneath the tent of her habit.
Once the buttons were unclasped, she stopped, unsure what to do. I arched a brow in question. "I don't really need to explain what should happen now, do I?"
Those beautiful eyes narrowed in hatred. A low whistle blew from my mouth. "Now, that's an expression after my own heart." A grin stretched my lips. "Why don't you show me some teeth, too?"
Her expression fell.
"I'm waiting." I crooned. "The suspense is killing me."
If she wasn't careful, she'd die of dehydration with the amount of tears still spilling from her eyes. It wasn't that bad. I wasn't beating her or tearing into her flesh. I wasn't even screaming at her or anything of the sort. I’d given her a choice, hadn't I?
The dress slipped from her shoulders and I sat silently praising whatever God she wanted to believe existed.
"You, my lovely creature, are divine."
Pale skin stretched across, so pure and white, she resembled a porcelain doll. Her breasts were a decent handful, not too small, not to large. And even for a woman who had sworn herself off of sex, she kept her hair well trimmed, and her legs shaved as smooth as they were long.
"On the platform. Lie on your back and spread those beautiful legs apart."
"I - please -"
Cupping my ear with my hand, I teased, "What was that? I can't be sure, but it sounded like you just used a word I already told you was off limits."
My head angled to the platform where it sat in front of the fire. "I'll make it good, Eunice. I can promise you I have plenty of experience."
"You're a monster!"
"And you're a spoiled little brat who didn't think to check under her bed before tucking in at night, so do what the fuck I told you to do before I stop believing you really want this to be easy."
I had to hand it to her, when she got mad, she showed a level of strength I thought impossible for her.
Eunice didn't just walk to the table, she marched to it, her hands clenched at her sides and that perfectly round ass moving in ways that made me sway where I stood. Hopping up onto the platform, she leveled me with one more angry glare before lying back, lifting her feet to the edge of the platform and spreading her legs apart.
Halle-fucking-lujah.
Curious, I strode over and ran the tip of my finger between her legs. My brow arched again, my eyes studying the resolute expression on her face before I asked, "What's with the change, Eunice? Have you decided that you want this after all?"
"My God will see to your destruction. Do your worst, demon!"
A bark of laughter escaped my lips. "Oh, sweetheart, this is only the fun part. The worst comes later."
I dropped down before she could answer, my fingers parting the pink flesh between her legs before my tongue flicked out for a taste. Her legs trembled at the sides of my head, but she didn't kick out or cry, didn't do anything at all until I suckled on that sweet spot. The moan that crawled up her throat was music to my ears.
Dragging my tongue lower, I pushed it inside and kept a slow rhythm until the trembling in her legs became more pronounced. A wet musk blossomed against my lips, her body's reaction surprising considering how little I'd actually done. I knew this wouldn't push her to that edge so easily, and curious whether she was truly chaste or just pretending, I pulled my tongue away to slip a finger inside. My eyes closed to feel how tight she was.
"Oh, my dear girl, you are the real thing, aren't you? Truly a whore for the Almighty."
Standing to my full height I continued exploring that tight hole as I watched her face, studied the expression that flirted across her features as she closed her eyes.
"You may not have fucked a man in your life, but I suspect you let some little boy play with you before. Tell me the truth, Eunice. I'll keep your secrets."
Her hips bucked as my hand pulled away, her breasts swollen and large; the tips tight peaks just begging to be licked and bit, squeezed and nibbled.
Leaning over her, I brushed her breasts with my chest as I barely touched my lips to hers. Speaking against her mouth, I whispered, "Here, baby girl, taste how sweet you are." My mouth took control of hers, my brows rising up my forehead when she bit my tongue in response.
I always liked a woman who played rough.
Pulling away, I unbuckled my pants and ordered, "Get down off the platform, turn the fuck around, and bend over. You just turned me on."
Her expression still stern with rebellion, she did as she was told, her mouth moving to whisper a quiet prayer to a God I knew wouldn’t help her.
Once my cock was free, I slipped it between her legs. Sliding the length along the dampened skin as I reached to play with her clit. Another moan escaped her lips, a remarkable sound that told me she was human beneath the veneer of the devout. They all were once they had to face their own bodily functions.
"I know you like it, Eunice. There's nothing wrong with that. Just let go to it, beautiful."
Her prayer grew louder, her rebellion making me lose all doubt that she was the perfect person for the purpose I had in mind for her.
Unable to take the cravings of my own body, I gripped my hands to her hips, positioned my cock at her entrance and said, "Pray harder, Eunice, let's see how long you can form words before I make your lungs cry out."
My cock slid inside her, the tight space a blessing to be had, and after crying out from the first time she'd felt a man's touch inside, she fought to pray again.
I laughed, my hips pausing as I absorbed the pleasure of wet heat, the slickness of two bodies combined in the most exquisite of sins. Fornication was the cherry placed atop the sundae created by the Devil himself.
My voice gritty with lust, I laughed and said, "Pray louder, Sister. Because I can promise you, your God isn't listening."
My hips pulled back and thrust in again, my head falling back as her voice broke over the words she spoke to her Lord.
I was talking to him myself as I thanked the Almighty for the treasure he’d bestowed upon me.