The Beloved
by
M D Gray
Laughing Owl Publishing, Inc.
Copyright © 1998 By M.D. Gray. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from Laughing Owl Publication, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and review.
This is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Other names, characters and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, as are those fictionalized events and incidents which involve real persons and did not occur or are set in the future.
FIRST EDITION First Printing, 1998
Cover art and design: Laughing Owl Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 0-9659701-4-0
Chapter One
Shona turned restlessly in her sleep, the soft cotton nightgown she wore twisting up between her thighs. In the way of dreaming, she knew she was asleep, but couldn’t awaken to stop the nightmare that was forming in the corners of her mind. She didn’t want to submit to the baneful apparition leaning over her in the darkness of her dream. A warning burned in her belly.
She turned her face away from the elegant hands that stroked her hair. His fingertips lingered with delicate insistence over her lips. She tasted the familiar acrid flavor his flesh left on her mouth. She was captive to his assault and at the mercy of her own desire. It was terrifying.
Deliciously so.
"I know what you want." The whispered promise held all her shrouded desires in the spaces between his words.
The flame in her lamp guttered and almost winked out as he bent closer to her, so near that his breath warmed her throat. A red gemstone hung from a leather thong around his neck. She stared at it, mesmerized by the pulsing light deep within the jewel.
"Do not deny yourself." He pinned her wrists to the bed. "Cease your struggle. You are The Beloved. When you allow yourself to remember, you will be fulfilled."
"Let me go!" She struggled against his strength. But the memories filled her, parting the curtains that shielded her mind.
Solitude and loneliness had kept her armored for so long; were they still valid defenses?
He laughed softly, as though hearing her unspoken thought. Then he pressed down with a quick, gentle insistence upon her arms, and Shona forgot her displeasure at the invasive touch. It was futile to deny his knowledge of her; it was an intimate, breathing entity.
"I know what you want, Beloved. Let me show you the pathway to paradise."
The voice was tender and protective, evoking a primal response from her. Restraint was impossible.
"This?" he murmured hoarsely. "Ah, yes. And this."
Shona lifted her arms to embrace him and then, quicker than thought could take her, they were in that other wide bed that had hosted so many pleasures of love in the past. He was part of that urgent, hungry history; his face mirroring the sensuality of the carved gargoyles on her old oak armoire.
She had trusted him once, thrilled to his voice and his touch. It had led to tragedy. But he was here, now. Through the strength of his passion, he had found her again. This time it might be different. This time, perhaps, there was no darkness to fight. Shona relaxed, opening herself to the forbidden intimacy of gratification and unspoken taboo.
A primitive urgency forced her downward in a deep spiral of sensation that claimed her over and over again in a rush of heat. Her eyelids fluttered. She moaned, still unwilling to accept the pleasure invading her body. The assault was insidious. She was corrupted by her own craving.
"You are mine, you are The Beloved. Never doubt it. You are bound to me through all time." His voice was soft and purposeful.
His warmth entered her with stabbing insistence. He was hot, so hot, his phallus against her flesh red hot in its penetration. It drenched her womb with its need. Cold, he was freezing her inside. The wetness between her legs crystallized into fiery teardrops of ice. Despair took possession of her as she touched the dark passion he had created.
"You will never be alone again. I shall be with you always."
Shona tried to force a denial from her lips, but they would not obey her. She was terrified to open her eyes, to see the face of the creature that used her, manipulating her will and turning her cloaked secrets to its own needs.
This is not what I want. Mother of God, help me.
Moisture cascaded across her face, rivulets of fire, merciless and glacial. Her eyelashes crusted over in it, even as his kiss scorched her lips. She would die here in this moment, suspended between the worlds of paradise and pain.
Ah, but he was the world, and more. So much more. She had waited so long. She was weary of waiting. Eternity seemed a shallow description of her isolation. This, no matter the cost, was real. Was now.
The edges of reason blurred as Shona considered her alternatives. Love versus integrity. But her will was quagmired in the confusion he used to cover himself. What was named compulsion in the waking world might masquerade as deliverance in another one. At the end of life, the inevitable struggle against death always resulted in surrender.
She was so tired of struggling.
Minute wings flapped in the darkness over her bed. The gargoyles descended from atop the armoire to cover her. Their tiny tongues and teeth devoured her inflamed body. Shona writhed from the agonizing pleasure. Tiny hands invaded her secret places, pressing, pulling, torturing her with tiny pinches and tender slaps.
Her body arched in a frenzy of pain and exaltation.
²
Shona Seton shivered, fingering the red bead necklace around her throat, but her discomfort had nothing to do with the weather. She frowned at the small fire burning in the corner fireplace. Somehow it failed to provide the cheerful attitude she couldn’t find in herself. The Creole cottage was homey enough, with Aunt Syd’s little touches of antique lace at the windows and slick chintz slipcovers on the overstuffed furniture. It should have been a welcoming home. It had been, once. She and her aunt had bought it together, decorated it and planned to live happily ever after.
But that was when Aunt Syd was still alive to look up with a sparkle in her tiny blue eyes and wave her visitors inside for scotch and scones.
For the hundredth time, Shona wished she had the gumption to say no to her aunt’s friends. Well meaning though the members of the occult study group were, this party was the last thing Shona needed to get her mind off her grief and the unsettling dreams that had begun shortly after the funeral. She shuddered, remembering the nightmarish rape scene her dreams had played out last night.
For the second time in as many weeks.
Shona stared out the window, absently noting the play of wind in the oleander bush outside the house. Either she was being stalked by something horrifying or she was losing her mind. Neither choice was particularly comforting.
Aunt Syd would disagree, of course. She would say, "Hell, honey, get your ass in gear. Get on with your life and let the past deal with the past."
That’s what Aunt Syd would say if she were still around to nag. Her tricky heart had given out in the middle of a tour for psychic archaeologists in Cozumel.
"This is all your fault, you selfish old thing." Shona addressed her own brown eyes, reflected in the mirror of the antique hall tree, but it was her aunt she was really chastising.
She stepped back into the living room and rearranged several crystal wineglasses on a silver tray. Then, hands on her hips, ear cocked for the doorbell which would announce the first arrivals, Shona addressed her aunt again. "You should be here beside me, telling me all the terrible past life secrets of your guests. I’ll never, ever forgive you."
She wiped away a faint trace of perspiration from her forehead and smoothed her perfectly brushed long brown hair. "If you hadn’t made such a dramatic exit, I wouldn’t be here right now." No, her conscience mocked, you’d be sitting here alone tonight feeling sorry for yourself instead of celebrating your engagement.
She stared down at the twinkling diamond ring on her left hand. It meant so much more than just an announcement of a legal union. Once she and Adam were married, she wouldn’t be alone anymore. And perhaps her nightly battles against the unseen but all too real visitor would stop.
"I’m not sure I should be celebrating anything," Shona shook her head. "But I do have to stop talking to myself and get some control back."
She’d become adept at switching her thoughts from Aunt Syd to less upsetting topics. She had graduated from the initial anger at death, and now was only occasionally ambushed by grief. The man who came to tempt and torment her dreams at night was a different matter.
During the day, at her office, it was easy for Shona to lose herself in union negotiations and the legalese confusion involved in international contracts. The problem came when she arrived home, unlocked the front door and walked through the silent, waiting rooms.
She was an adult, she reminded herself, twenty-four years old and well schooled at adapting to unpleasant circumstances. She knew how to cope with loss and loneliness. You just got up, tucked in your shirt and kept going. That’s what she had done when Brent broke their engagement. It worked then, though she had needed the help of a good therapist to teach her the technique and help her climb out of her depression. It would work now.
She was stronger now. And Adam was here this weekend. His presence would help her get through the interminable evening stretching before her. As long as she didn’t dwell on the dubious whirlwind engagement to a man she barely knew. Her nightmare had no life here under the bright lights of her living room, in the party atmosphere she had created to introduce Adam to her friends.
Shona made a last minute inspection of the living room. The fresh odors of lemon scented furniture polish and herbal potpourri battled each other for dominance. The state of the house would never have met her aunt’s standards for housekeeping, but really, it served Syd right for leaving so abruptly. A choking sensation rose in Shona’s throat but she turned it into a cough as the doorbell rang.
April Shaw and two of the other female members of Syd’s study group stood shivering on the doorstep. Shona opened the door and welcomed them into the house.
"Hurry, take this," April said as she thrust a still warm glass casserole dish into Shona’s hands. Aunt Syd had generously referred to April as a vamp. She was intelligent enough, but hid it under a veneer of careless sophistication. Her favorite game was collecting. It could be people or objects, but usually it was men.
"This smells great," Shona said, and wrinkled her nose inquisitively. "Jambalaya?"
"I raided Mom’s freezer for the shrimp," April said and grinned as she hurried into the foyer.
The other girls, the Gee sisters, followed, shedding their coats on the hall tree before turning to offer condolences.
"Mrs. Seton was such an inspiration to all of us," said Linda Gee, the only licensed palm reader in Mobile. "She was definitely in touch with her higher self, in rapport with her guides and angels. You must be very sad at losing her."
"But you’re probably ecstatic over marrying Adam Yardley," Lisa interjected, her brown eyes blinking nervously. "Anyone would be."
"Um, yes indeed," Shona answered, and gritted her teeth against further response. There was no need to get involved in a discussion of mysticism and moronics. Just try to get through the night without hurting anyone’s feelings, she admonished herself. She gave Lisa a determined smile.
The doorbell rang again, and April turned.
"I’ll take that to the kitchen," she retrieved the casserole from Shona. "Lisa and Linda forgot to bring their covered dishes so I hope Cheryl and Ken remember."
"Let’s send them a telepathic message," suggested Lisa.
Linda giggled, flipping her long blonde hair back over her shoulder. Shona shuddered before opening the door again. The study group was the oldest ongoing class on the occult in conservative Old South Mobile. Founded in the late forties, it had been Aunt Syd’s passion. Many of the members walked right on the edge of Shona’s tolerance, but she had enough in common with them to maintain contact with the group. Too much in common for her peace of mind.
Ken and Cheryl Brady stood on the doorstep, smiling at her. Of all her aunt’s strange friends, the Bradys were the nicest. Shona welcomed them with genuine pleasure. They were grieving with her. She buried her face in Cheryl’s ample shoulder for a moment, squeezing back the tears that had been threatening her off and on all day.
"I know this is hard for you," Cheryl whispered in Shona’s ear. "But at least you have Adam. Syd wanted so much for you two to be together."
"She was a schemer, that’s for sure." Shona smiled dutifully and turned to shake Ken’s hand. "Thanks for coming to support me." She didn’t look forward to the evening at all, with everyone staring at Adam and her, assessing their relationship. Having Ken and Cheryl there would add a measure of comfort.
Another burst of giggles issued from the living room and Ken’s lanky body slumped. His alert brown eyes, framed by wire glasses with thick lenses, took on a resigned look.
"Linda, right?" At Shona’s nod, he sighed. "I’ll never understand what Sydney saw in her." He stared down at the bowl of fruit salad in his hands.
"She saw possibilities," Cheryl said. Her short curly black hair was immaculately done and amethyst crystal earrings dangled almost to her shoulders. She patted Ken on the arm. "She had faith in Linda. Sydney was attuned to many things the rest of us weren’t able to see."
"In this particular case, I’m beginning to believe she saw hallucinations," Shona said darkly.
She led them inside and helped the Bradys place their dish with the other potluck offerings in the kitchen. As soon as they were settled near the fireplace in the formal living room, the doorbell rang again.
Why did I ever agree to this? Shona wondered again, but she opened the door with a brilliant smile to welcome yet another of her aunt’s eccentric friends.
Only it wasn’t one of the regular group. A tall blond man dressed in faded jeans and a gray corduroy jacket stood on the stoop. And he was smiling at her as though he could read her thoughts.
"Hello sweetheart," he said in a warm voice, and reached out his arms to pull her close to him. "I imagined this through the entire flight down here. Actually, I imagined you naked and waiting for me."
Her face grew hot and she half turned, to see if any of the other guests had heard his outrageous greeting. "Adam, someone might hear you."
"So? I’m not ashamed for them to know how much I want you. I made love to you in my mind a thousand times during the flight. My God, but you feel good. Kiss me, Shona."
Shona tilted her head back to stare at him, fascinated with the flecks of emerald in his otherwise light green eyes. A thrill ran through her at the touch of his flesh against hers.
"It has to be karma," Shona murmured, increasing the tightness of their embrace. "We must have been together before. Some other time and place."
Adam slid his hands down her arms. "I’d remember," he said, squeezing her hands. "If you had been part of my past, lady, I’d never have let you go. And now you have no alternative. From this moment, my love, I’m claiming space in your mind and your heart and your body."
Their relationship had been her salvation after her aunt died, cementing the sense of continuity that her belief in rebirth offered. Adam wasn’t quite sold on reincarnation and karma. But the sense of déjà vu was all around them. How could he not feel it?
He waited for her to speak, his eyebrows raised.
"Still playing the part of the scientific hypnotherapist?" Shona asked at last, her heart racing with the incomprehensible happiness of seeing him again.
He nodded and smiled again. "That’s me. Old unconvinced."
She came to with a start, and shook her head. It was the same as before; one smile from him and all her apprehensions over their quick engagement disappeared. The sexual affinity was undeniable, along with the mental telepathy they experienced whenever they were in close contact.
"Come in, you must be freezing." Shona stood back, holding the door open for him.
"Sweetheart, wait just a minute. I need to tell you something."
"What is it?" Instinct told her she wasn’t going to like hearing whatever his news was. She began to twist the fabric of her multicolored gypsy skirt, but she kept her eyes focused on Adam’s face.
"I have to leave again in the morning. A case in Dallas just came up." He pressed her hand to his heart. "It’s a big one, Shona. Investigators from the Psi Research Center will be there. They asked for me personally."
"Oh, Adam, no." Disappointment flared through her. "I’ve been looking forward to this weekend so much."
"So have I. You have no idea." He bent his head to nip playfully at her earlobe. "This is where I always begin making love to you in my mind, you know. Right here." His tongue traced the inside of her ear, and tiny chill bumps ran down the left side of her body. "It’s an apocalyptic prophecy, Shona. I have to go. You could come with me. You met in Philadelphia."
She shook her head. "I can’t. I have an early meeting on Monday."
"Then let’s not worry about it. I’ll come right back. It’ll only be a few days, I promise."
She didn’t answer, not trusting herself to be gracious. His work was important to him. But they’d had so little time together. She planned on this weekend to help her reconcile the physical aspects of their relationship into an ordinary, everyday love affair.
"We have tonight," he said, with that uncanny way he had of reading her thoughts. "And I intend to take my time pleasing you. But now, let’s go meet your friends." Adam glanced into the living room and the expression on his tanned face broadened.
"Ken, it’s great to see you again," he said and shook the other man’s hand. He looked over Ken’s shoulders at Linda and Lisa and gave them that charming smile. "Ladies."
Cheryl stepped forward and gave Adam a hug.
"Hello, Adam. We're thrilled you made it back to be here for the engagement party."
Adam handed his coat to Shona, then turned toward the living room. His dimpled smile elicited another round of giggles from Linda, which made Shona wince. Adam shook the girl’s hand in a congenial manner and then turned to look at Shona.
"On the telephone this morning, Cheryl told me you’ve been having trouble sleeping lately. Is it anything other than just the stress of the past few weeks?"
Before Shona could ask just what Cheryl told him, April swept back into the room. She wore a jade green caftan that pooled in little ripples around the glittery gold boots on her feet. Large silver bracelets jangled as she extended her hand. It was totally inappropriate clothing for the middle of December, but the redhead’s flowing elegance made it interesting and exotic.
"I'm April." She pushed her way between Lisa and Linda and held her hand out to him. "And we're all willing to be hypnotized tonight, if you have the time."
"April!" Cheryl shook her head. "Adam isn't here to work. He's here to get to know you all. He’s going to be part of the family."
"Well, maybe he can just educate us about what he does, then." April wound her arm through Adam's and tilted her head to one side. Her long copper-colored hair fell gracefully against her cheek. "It must be fascinating."
Shona watched as April maneuvered Adam to the large recliner beside the hearth. The girl sank down on the floor next to him, then arranged herself artfully on an oriental floor cushion.
Ken and Cheryl sat down on a sofa, relaxing in the warmth and comfort of the room.
"What a night," Ken said. "I checked the weather forecast before we left home, and they're saying this cold front may last for several hours yet. There could be a lot of rain with it, so we may be the only ones here tonight."
"I hope it moves through quickly," Shona said. "But we're all safe and cozy here. I'll just get the wine and scones, and we can begin our meeting. April," she shot a glance at the seductive young woman, "how about getting Ken some scotch?"
April shrugged one shoulder at Adam as she rose. "Don't start without me," she teased, tossing her hair back from her face.
The kitchen was quiet as Shona and April prepared the refreshments. Ice clinked against glass as April poured Ken’s drink. Then she turned to stare at Shona.
"Have you been to see that therapist Cheryl recommended yet?"
"Thanks for asking, April. I’m touched by your concern." Shona lifted the tray of scones and started for the door.
"You really don’t want to let it go too long, Shona. You may start seeing ghosts at any moment. Or have you kept taking those antidepressants after all?" April’s smile was sweet as she swept into the hallway.
It wasn’t the first time Shona wondered at the redhead’s talent for setting her teeth on edge. She followed April into the living room and set the tray down on the coffee table in front of Adam. He offered to open the wine and April handed him the corkscrew, her fingers lingering in his palm just a moment longer than necessary.
Shona sat on the rattan settee near the bay window. She didn't blame April for flirting with Adam. He was an attractive diversion for any woman. But this was one game April was not going to win. A tightness settled into Shona’s chest as she watched the other girl at work. Not this time. And I’m not going to let her know she’s getting to me.
Shona turned toward Adam, taking advantage of his courteous preoccupation with Ken's discourse on the weather. It was a good opportunity to study the man she had agreed to marry.
For so young a man, Adam's face held a disconcerting hint of mystery. It was the face of someone who had lived a long, long time, with tiny character lines evident in the furrows of his forehead and around the corners of his eyes. Shona's eyes lingered on his full, expressive mouth and the dimple in his right cheek. It was a strong face, but the most striking thing about the man was his air of control and aloofness. He must have been taught at an early age to barricade himself from other sensitives. He was only thirty, but his presence was that of a much older person.
She raised her glance to his light green eyes and froze in embarrassment as he returned her gaze with a knowing smile. The intimacy between them was still so new, the emotions so fragile, that sometimes she wondered if it was real. Two months ago he had walked into the lobby of an Atlanta hotel and changed her life. Yet she had no idea who he really was, other than the most fascinating man she’d ever met.
After a few minutes of surface chatter, Cheryl took charge of the small group with an easy air of confidence. "If we’re all ready now, let's take a few moments to go within to that small, quiet place in the inner depths of our beings. Close your eyes and breathe deeply and fully, and feel yourself relax. Let go of all the tensions of the day, breathe in light and love and beauty."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Cheryl murmured, "Let us send loving energy to our dear friend Sydney, who has gone before us into that other realm. She will always be part of our group although she is no longer with us in physical form."
"Light and love to Sydney," the group answered, and sat quietly for a few minutes.
Shona glanced around the room at the calm faces of her aunt’s friends. There was nothing mocking in their sincerity; all were focused on the memory of Sydney and wishing her well on her journey into the life beyond.
"Thank you," Cheryl whispered, and then, not breaking the flow of quiet, powerful energy, "now let us create an image of love and happiness for Shona and Adam in their forthcoming marriage. May all blessings be theirs."
Adam stared across the room at his fiancée. Incredible as it seemed, in just over a month, Shona would be his wife. Her Aunt Sydney had orchestrated the whole thing, setting them up at a UFO conference barely eight weeks ago. Meeting those two women was a definite stroke of destiny, although he didn’t accept the idea of soulmates as Shona did. It was a tantalizing bonus to his trip south, though. More than enough excuse to move to Mobile, Alabama from Chicago.
Adam quirked the corner of his mouth, and congratulated himself. Shona was intelligent, sensitive and quite beautiful, in a madonna-like way, with that long dark hair and the large brown eyes under delicately arched brows. Gazing at her in a group like this, no one would ever guess the fire that lay just beneath the demure appearance.
His forehead furrowed as he remembered Cheryl's hesitant words during their earlier conversation about Shona's troubling dreams. He could offer to help with hypnosis, but it would be best if she asked for assistance. And remember, my friend, he chided himself, she needs your friendship as much as she needs your love.
Perhaps their engagement had been too hasty. Somehow he had to convince her that their relationship would be enhanced by the sexual desire they had for each other. The other things that defined a union, like trust and friendship, were there too. But the physical attraction between him and Shona was so strong that it overwhelmed everything else.
Sometimes Adam almost felt overshadowed by the passion that erupted between them, someone else was controlling his thoughts and senses. It swept them both along into bed that very first night. He proposed the next morning, still burning from the fire that surged through him when she moaned in his arms.
Adam allowed himself to admire Shona's slender form, the ethereal floating skirt she wore, the long artistic fingers in her lap, and the gentle tilt to her head. There was something familiar about his desire for Shona Seton, along with a disturbing sense of wrongness about the red necklace she was wearing. For some reason, the beads nagged at the back of his mind, eliciting a nagging headache. Just thank your guardian angel and stop second guessing everything, Yardley. He closed his eyes at last and joined the meditation.
²
Only a few glowing embers remained in the hearth. The party had ended with good wishes and hugs, and scads of dirty wineglasses. Shona lay back in the club chair and slipped off her shoes.
It hadn’t been so bad after all, she admitted. These people had loved her aunt and they wanted only the best for Shona and Adam. Except maybe April, who was still curled up on the sofa. She twirled her glass in her hands, casting an occasional sly glance toward Adam.
Shona took a scone and bit off a small piece of it. She knew April was deliberately prolonging the evening. But what she also knew, and April could only guess, was where Adam would be spending the night.
Here.
In Shona’s own bed this time, where she could immerse herself in the warmth of his catlike sensuality. And afterwards, perhaps, she would be able to sleep in his arms, unhaunted.
She frowned. The trouble began after that first night with him. After making love over and over in a feverish craving, she awakened with the uncanny knowledge that she belonged to him and there was no escape.
The dreams had not begun until after she slept with Adam. The necklace at her throat warmed her fingers as she played with the red beads. Perhaps Adam was connected with her nightmares.
"Do you believe in fate, Adam?" April asked into the silence. "Do you believe you and Shona are soulmates?"
Adam raised a glass of wine to his lips and drank deeply before answering.
"That depends on what your definition is of those things. I certainly believe that we have turning points in our lives where the choices we make determine our fates. As for soulmates," he winked at Shona, "I guess all my ideas about that changed when I met Shona."
"My psychic guide told me recently that my soulmate was about to enter my life. I just wondered if bells went off when you met Shona." April teased her bottom lip with her teeth. "If Shona hadn’t snapped you up when she met you, I might have thought you were my soulmate, Adam. I must admit to a little pang when I saw you tonight."
She smiled at Shona. "No offense."
"Of course not," Shona said. "And anyway, Adam doesn’t go in much for readings and spirit guide information." She looked up at Adam, reminding herself of the intangible tie between them. No amount of teasing from April could alter that. There was some sort of psychic bond, whether Adam admitted it aloud or not.
Adam reached for the iron poker next to the fireplace. "It’s been my experience that people who claim to have channeled information are just delivering their own brand of wisdom under the popular umbrella of all things angelic." He stirred the ashes and embers into a small bed, then replaced the poker. He turned to look at Shona.
April interrupted the intimate glance, her voice raised. "Are you saying that psychic channels are lying to people? That they're not really channels at all?" She stood up, the green caftan rippling dramatically around her as she challenged Adam.
He shook his head. "It’s just a theory, April. In fact, the study I’m doing right now is to see whether there's a difference in the way a guide communicates when the subject is in a natural trance state as opposed to the hypnotic state."
April went over to him and hooked her arm through his. "Maybe I could be one of your subjects. Would you like to hypnotize me, Adam?"
Not in this lifetime, he wanted to say. Another time, before Shona, playing with April might have been interesting. She was dangerous material now, though. Adam looked at his fiancée, who sat watching him with a calm expression. He could almost see the flames beginning to ignite in her mind. She was just waiting to see how he would handle April.
"You never know what will happen," he said at last. "But now, April, Shona and I have a lot of plans to settle. Unfortunately, I have a plane to catch tomorrow morning. Do you mind if we call it a night?"
April stepped back. "Oh, how dense of me. Of course Shona wants to be alone with you. I would." She bent down to pick up her bag from the lamp table. "Will you walk me out to my car, Adam?"
He smiled, resigned to the flirtation. "Certainly."
Shona followed them to the door. "Good night April. Thanks for coming."
"Wouldn’t have missed it," the redhead replied as Adam helped her into her coat. "Good night, Shona. And congratulations on your catch."
Shona locked the kitchen door and then ran some water over the dishes in the sink. She knew Adam was being a polite host, but still she stiffened when the front door closed a few minutes later. Her connection to Adam was a tangible living thing, and April did have a way of getting to her. The other girl was the same age as Shona, but sometimes she displayed the social skills of a child.
"Did you make it back with your honor intact?" she asked lightly.
Adam came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "I took my armor and my shield with me. Besides, I’ve been waiting for this moment all night." He nuzzled her neck with his roughened cheek. "In honor of my resistance, might I trouble my lady with the favor of a merci?"
"A merci?" she repeated, turning in his arms. She ran one finger over his lips.
"In the Middle Ages, ladies would reward their champions by allowing a kiss," Adam put his mouth on the side of her neck. "Like this."
His lips opened and his tongue worked in hot tiny circles over her skin. A low growl issued from his throat, and instinctively, Shona arched her neck, giving him more access. His teeth grazed her flesh and she pulled away, pushing against his chest to steady herself.
"If you go on kissing me like that we won’t get around to those matters you told April we have to settle. Oh, Adam, I thought we’d have the whole weekend to talk and be together."
He breathed rapidly, his light green eyes holding her gaze. Then he exhaled in a rush and shook his head as though to clear it.
"We’ll have lots of weekends," he assured her. "And this is one of those matters, the most important one of all. Merci, m’lady."
He took her hand and led her out into the hall, then quickly up the stairway. "Which is your room, beloved?"
The breath caught in her throat. She pointed to the door. "There."
Adam turned the doorknob and then lifted her into his arms. "Here it begins, Shona. This is where it becomes real. All the rest was just a prologue. Tonight I put my brand on you. An invisible one that only we will know about. For all time."
"Be careful of the vows you make," she warned, even as she was conscious of her body readying for him. "They may follow you into the future."
"You already belong to me," he said, setting her gently on the bed. "Tonight will seal it. Here in your bed, in your home, with the blessing of your friends. I’m going to take my time with you," he vowed. "Over and over and over."
He sounded so strange, she thought. She raised up on one elbow, watching as he undressed. He was already aroused, standing there over her. His strangely colored eyes shone in the muted light from her stained glass boudoir lamp. She was suddenly frightened, aware that she was alone in the house with a man she had only known a couple of months. Her fingers sought the reassurance of the red necklace.
"I don’t understand any of this, Adam. We don’t even know each other, not really. It’s only been a little over six weeks and what time we’ve had together we’ve spent in bed in strange cities and cold motels. What is happening to us?"
The smile on his lips was almost cunning as he answered her, his voice deeper than usual, and with a resonance that made her shiver.
"You called it karma before. What difference does it make how we spend our time together? I can’t think of a better way to get to know each other. Do you want me, Shona?"
She lay back and raised her arms to him. "Yes."
He took her clothing from her with gentle hands, his breath quickening as the soft flesh underneath was revealed. Her nipples hardened in the coolness of the room and Adam bent forward, taking one of the tiny mauve colored buds into his mouth.
He entered her body in a swift motion that brought her screaming to release bare moments after their contact. When Shona lay still at last under his hardness, he captured her eyes with his own, probing her mind and soul with his desire.
"All of you," he whispered, as she stared back up into his face. "Every thought, every want, every tiny corner of you. Forever."
It was uncannily akin to her nightmare and she wanted to push him away, to separate her body from his possession of it. And yet… and yet, it wasn’t a dream. This was real. This was now. It was Adam’s love she was surrendering to, not some faceless despoiler from the depths of her fears.
Even as Adam began to melt into her embrace, Shona recognized the strangely erotic ripples of fear that tinged the edges of her passion. But she needed him so much. Needed not to be alone.
She opened her lips, inviting his tongue inside her moist warmth. And as he kissed her, she murmured her agreement into his mouth.
"Forever."