Born of Darkness. Rita Vetere
her naked in the glow of the lamplight, standing with her legs slightly apart and her hands on her hips, the pendant sparkling between her breasts, caused him to have an immediate and rock-hard erection.
“That wasn’t playing fair,” she said, her voice husky.
He moved to her, encircling her with his arms, and ran his hands over the soft skin of her back, still moist from the bathwater.
“What wasn’t fair?” he asked, slipping his tongue between her lips and pulling her closer.
“In the bathroom. You ran out before I could return the favor,” she said, between his kisses.
“In the bathroom?” he asked, absentmindedly. God, she was beautiful. And she was making him so hot.
“Yes, the bathroom… while I was blindfolded? You liked doing that, huh?” she teased.
He pulled away to look into her hazel eyes, and removed his clothes. He had no idea what she was talking about, but whatever it was would have to wait. Once naked, he lifted her up, and she wrapped her long legs around his waist. He carried Lilli to the bed, and began to gently massage her stomach while brushing his lips against hers, then moved down to lightly lap at her nipples. He mounted her, unable to wait, nuzzling at her neck, and found her wet and ready for him. A tiny moan of pleasure rode on her feathery breath as he entered her.
In the dimly lit room, a thin, silvery mist began to pour out of the pendant Lilli wore, drifting lazily in the air around them. Wispy tendrils of haze gathered together and settled around Charlie like a shroud, but Lilli’s eyes remained closed and Charlie was too caught up in emotion to worry about it. As he entered her again, Charlie felt a sudden jolt from behind, as if he was being pushed. Something passed straight through him with rapid force, sending him crashing forward on top of Lilli.
“Charlie! Ow, what—”
In the next instant, Charlie felt himself yanked up and was sent flying backward across the room. He cried out in surprise before he went slamming into the wall next to the balcony doors. When his head connected with the stone wall, he experienced a split second of blinding pain, then everything went black.
* * * *
Lilli screamed. Immediately, she tried to get off the bed to go to him, but she was stunned to find herself helpless to move, pinned down by a heavy weight. Now, she did see the mist, swirling and eddying in front of her. She watched, mesmerized, as the white haze coagulated into the form of a man, towering over her.
Unreality washed over her as the face of a dark angel suddenly loomed in front of her own. Disoriented, and stunned by the sheer beauty of the man, Lilli did not immediately react. Hair like black silk floated around the man’s ethereal face. His broad shoulders and massive chest blocked her vision. As he straddled her, his strange ebony eyes, ringed in gold, were intently focused on her own. His stare seemed to exude a heat that spread quickly through her, eliciting an arousal such as she’d never experienced. Her concern for Charlie disappeared as she became helplessly swept up in the strange fever that all but consumed her. By the time the apparition mounted her, her need for him was so intense she pulled him hungrily toward her. As she was drawn into the vortex of the apparition’s charisma, she heard a deep whisper that seemed to come from everywhere, and nowhere but her own mind.
I have awakened. Love me, for I am as one starved.
She heard herself moan deeply as his hands roamed over her body, his touch igniting instant fire in its tracks. She could not stop herself from raking her fingers through the man’s flowing hair, wrapping herself around him tightly, as lust awakened every part of her body. When he finally rammed into her, she exploded in a succession of orgasms that rocked her to the core.
From a dim recess of her mind, she heard the echo of a woman’s voice. Resist him, break from his spell. A vague question formed as to who had just spoken, but it slipped away as the incredibly erotic pull of the dark-haired angel continued to envelop her.
After what seemed like an eternity, she felt him shudder deeply. A sigh escaped him, and he stilled inside her.
He looked directly into her eyes, as if marking her. Almost immediately, he began to disintegrate, gradually dissipating into strands of white mist, until finally nothing remained of him but his darkly-shining eyes. Eyes that suddenly appeared black as hell and ringed in fire. Then, they too disappeared.
The instant he vanished, whatever spell she’d been under broke. The mist in the room dissipated, and she spotted Charlie, propped up against the wall, blood running from the corner of his mouth and nose. His eyes were open, but vacant, and a cold rush of dread ran through her at the sight of him. She tried to scream, but the mewling sound that came out was no more than the cry of a weak kitten. “Oh, God. Charlie.”
She jumped up, almost falling off the bed in her hurry to get to him. His head was tilted back, his open eyes staring at the ceiling.
“Help! Somebody help us,” she cried, finding her voice. Charlie did not appear to be breathing. She searched frantically for a pulse, and found none.
The hot, sticky fluid running down the inside of her leg went unheeded. Lilli screamed again, louder this time. She shook Charlie, calling his name. All the while, a terrible instinct rose up, assuring her she needn’t bother, Charlie was quite dead. Lilli grabbed his shirt from the floor where he had dropped it earlier and yanked it on as she ran out into the hallway, screaming for help.
Chapter 2
An hysterical Lilli had been trying for over an hour to convince the stern-looking police official, who had arrived shortly after Khalid had summoned him, that her recounting of the strange events leading up to Charlie’s death was the truth.
He thinks I’m crazy, I can tell by the way he’s looking at me. Christ, and who wouldn’t? She could hardly believe her own words as they tumbled incoherently out of her mouth. A man, she told him, had appeared to her after Charlie had gone flying across the room. A man who had sexually assaulted her and then disappeared into thin air afterward.
“I know how this must sound, but it’s the truth, I swear,” she insisted stubbornly between bursts of tears.
“With respect, I must ask you,” said the official, “did you or your husband obtain hashish during your stay? Tourists are often approached by the local dealers. If you were under the influence—”
“No” she said, feeling her anger rise. “We don’t use drugs, and we didn’t buy any.”
“I see.” He seemed to be studying her intently. “And did you make any effort to resist this man who ‘appeared’ in your room?”
She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment at the question as she remembered how consumed by lust she’d been in the man’s presence. “I, I think he may have done something to me, hypnotized me somehow,” she stammered. “I didn’t feel like I was in control of myself.” Her head, which had begun to throb dully a half hour ago, exploded into a migraine. She felt hot, feverish, and sick to her stomach.
“Please,” she asked, “I need to speak with the embassy. I want to go home. I want to take my husband home.” She burst into tears again, which only caused the pounding at her temples to increase.
“A message has been left with night staff at the embassy on your behalf. The building opens at eight. Someone will likely be in touch with you then.”
Khalid poked his head in to announce that the call she had asked him to place to her sister, Dora, had been made, and she could use the telephone in the office. She felt the officer’s eyes on her as she walked unsteadily around the desk and quickly picked up the handset. “Dora? Oh, God, Dora,” she said, erupting into tears again. “Something terrible’s happened.”
* * * *
In the early hours of the morning, back in the suite where Charlie’s body had lain until a short time ago, Lilli pulled the bedding closer around her, shivering uncontrollably. She