1

The Mortal

He thrust deeper inside me, but I felt he couldn’t be deep enough. He was faster, but he wasn’t fast enough. That’s how much I came to crave him; I felt open and flayed beneath him, yet I pulled him closer, digging my nails into his shoulders, drawing blood. He didn’t stop, and I couldn’t breathe. Every time I struggled, I begged him to break me. 

This all-consuming desire made me cry and beg, yet…yet I…”Of God!,” I cried. 

The furious, violent encounter lasted for hours before I came undone; every fiber of my body was ablaze with his essence.

He didn’t pull away. He loomed over me, his hand on my face while I looked at him. My heart warred with conflict, and I frowned. His face was familiar, but there were changes I had just started to notice.

“Choose now, give in or lose everything,” he whispered, his words brushing against my lips. I touched the defined line of his jaw, tracing it with a feeling buried deep inside me. This was the face of my stepfather. “Your mother, your dear fiancé.”

“I…” Words had no place as his possessive eyes didn’t give me permission to blink. He had my hands pinned over my head and my body angled for his pleasure. He was still hard and stretching me. A breathy moan left me as he thrust again.

“You can keep them,” he whispered in my ear. “No one has to know…” His words were deep, falling like a sin from his lips.

—-------------------

Six months ago.

I was on cloud nine. My long-time boyfriend, David, had just proposed to me, and now we were engaged. I had plans for the future, and I was happy.

David pulled me into his apartment and kissed me. I tried to put more pressure into it, wanting him to press harder, but he only pulled away. His smile was as beaming as I felt in the moment.

“Are you sure, Mira?”

David, always the gentleman. I smiled. “David White, I want you.”

Besides, if not now, then when? There was no reason to hold back anymore. He pulled me closer playfully. I giggled, and when he pressed to me again—

The phone rang, and I stopped, looking at the bag that fell on the platform. David groaned into my neck. “Let it be. Forget about it.”

I was tempted. I had waited a long time. My heart finally felt secure taking the next step with David, but the phone rang again.

“Ah, let me see who it is,” I said. I pulled myself from his arms and kissed his cheek. “If it is a client or someone, I will—” My heart jumped into my throat as I saw the message from my mom.

“Edward has been in an accident. He is in ICU. Come home!!!”

This… for a moment, I froze. Edward Harrington was my stepfather. I thought about him giving me a gift card on the first Christmas we spent together, then his always pleasant smile, and my mother’s adoring look—the time I saw her happy after a long time.

How was Mom?

I jolted up, threw my phone in my purse, and looked at David.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I have to go!” I said. I explained to him while I changed out of the green dress I had worn for our date. Thank God I had some casual clothes here.

“Alright, call me when you get there,” David said as he helped me pack. We moved around the room, bumping into each other twice.

“Thanks, I will,” I gave him a quick kiss and was out of the door without looking back.

—--------------------------------------------------

My mother cried in my arms the moment I reached the hospital. Edward, my stepfather, was ten years younger than my mother and ten years older than me. It never bothered me because he made my mother happy, and he took care of her well. When I went to college, I felt assured in his presence beside my mother, but now, seeing her like that, I felt helpless.

Edward was in a coma, and the doctors were not sure if he would wake up. Though everything seemed stable, they couldn’t predict when he would regain consciousness. I tried to calm my mother and assure her that I would be with her every step of the way.

Edward was a lively guy with light brown hair and green eyes. A handsome face, but now he was thin and pale, looking almost at death’s door on the hospital bed, with tubes and machines attached to him that even I couldn’t name.

It was hard to make my mother go home and rest. She had never left Edward’s side since he came here. But she looked tired and stressed, so I had to insist. I promised her I would stay by his side until she came back.

That night, a storm started. Thank God I received my mom’s text that she was home safely. I tried to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. After long hours, the rain finally seemed to stop, and I dozed off—almost—when thunder ripped open the sky, and I woke up startled, my heart pounding in my chest. For a second, everything went dark. All the machines shut down. My heart jumped into my mouth as I rushed toward Edward. After a second, something sparked, the lights came back on, and I saw something like a shadow crawl up Edward’s arm. I blinked.

“Nurse!” I shouted and pressed the button. The heart monitor went flat. Oh my God! I covered my mouth, eyes wide, frozen. Something like a shadow crawled up his arm, under his skin. His veins were darkening.

“Edward!” I gasped. I touched his arm, and the machines lurched into life again. The heart monitor went wild. My hand went to his chest, right where his heart was. Why was no one coming? Any sound from me got trapped in my throat.

Edward’s eyes snapped open, and he grabbed my wrist tightly. “Ah!” I yelped. His gaze met mine; his green eyes were darker than I remembered.

“Edward—”

“Who are you?”

—------------------

The doctors said he had amnesia. Mother was devastated but grateful he was alive, but I felt a chill down my spine whenever I looked at my wrist—his fingerprints pressed into my skin. He was different. Did amnesia change a person’s personality?

We were allowed to visit, but the only thing I could do was sit in the corner and watch my mother try to make conversation with Edward, her husband who looked at her like a stranger. He still had a gash on his angular nose. It was odd—I remembered him being a lot tanner than he looked now. He was pale. The wound on his nose looked harsh, yet he was handsome and alluring. I choked as the thought crossed my mind. What the hell!

“Dear, are you alright?”

I took a few deep breaths to get rid of my coughing fit. I nodded, covering my mouth. In a bid not to meet her eyes, mine landed on the dark green ones of my stepfather. My breath hitched; heat rose at the back of my neck. I looked away.

“I am fine. I’ll just go and… yeah.”

I looked everywhere but at him, but as I stepped out, I felt his gaze. The hairs rose on the back of my neck, and I turned. Our gazes met. Curiosity was in his eyes, and my breath shuddered. I quickly shut the door behind me and didn’t stop until I found the restroom and locked it.

I let out a breath. His green eyes—I remembered them being lighter before. Now they were the darkest shade, and the color deepened when he looked at me. I shivered; goosebumps rose over me. The ringing in my ears felt like warning bells. I clutched the knob in my hand, the cool metal against my heated skin, and squeezed my eyes shut.

His stoic face and dark gaze burned behind my eyelids as I tried to find a rational reason for my reaction. I opened my eyes and looked down at the engagement ring on my left hand. The diamond looked dim in the low restroom light. I breathed out, trying to collect myself. There was no reason to feel this out of my depth.

—---------------------

The Demon

The sweet face and the red lips. Untainted deep brown eyes—they had never seen anything wrong. She ran the moment our eyes met, the prey recognizing the predator.