Chapter 19 - Brad
On the way home in the truck, I keep glancing over at Alisha just to make sure she’s real. I spent so much time worrying about her that now, I can’t make the feeling go away.
As if I know, deep down in my bones, that Grace is right…
The idea spooks me, but I still decide not to tell Alisha about the spirit. I could be scaring her for absolutely no reason. A few heat signatures and glowing rocks don’t mean the thing is going to be jumping out of its shallow grave anytime soon.
It might just go away. We have no evidence at all that it’s going to come back, and the old legends are of no use anymore. Maybe it just wants to go back to its rock and sleep.
When we get home, Alisha seems extremely tired, as if just the short drive has worn her out. I help her up the path, and I can tell she wants to do it on her own, but lets me hold her, anyway.
Like she’s afraid of falling.
“How about you rest up,” I say, gesturing to the living room. “I’ll start some dinner.”
“That sounds good,” she answers. “And I wouldn’t mind putting my feet up for a bit.”
“I could make some pasta, or—”
“Do we have any steak?”
“Yeah…I think so.” I give her a curious look. It’s unusual for you to eat a big chunk of meat.”
She shrugs. “I’m just extra hungry today. Maybe some eggs and bacon, too?”
“Okay,” I answer, laughing. “Fried potatoes and extra onion?”
“Oh, God, yes!” she chuckles. “You know the way to my heart.”
“I hope so,” I say.
Alisha blushes a little and kisses my cheek before going down the hall.
In the kitchen, I text almost everyone I know with the news that Alisha is safe. Messages come pouring back in immediately, showing me how much my support network cares about her and me.
As I flip the steaks and crisp the potatoes in oil, I have to admit I like the feeling of people looking out for me. It’s not something I’m used to, and it’s very different having people do it out of love rather than duty.
I’m serving up the plates when Alisha comes in, and to my surprise, she demolishes half her food within two short minutes.
I let out a low whistle. “Damn, you were hungry!”
“I know, and I’m not even done yet,” she says. “But do we have anything for dessert?”
“Probably,” I say, watching with fascination as she wolfs down the food. “I think I have some chocolate cake.”
“Oh, can we heat it up and put ice cream on top?”
“That sounds great,” I laugh. “What’s gotten into you?”
Alisha shifts her eyes away from me to look at her plate, and I feel an uncomfortable shiver run through me.
Is she lying about something?
Even though her body language screams deception, I can’t imagine what she could possibly be lying about.
What could consuming a mass of red meat and sweets possibly have to do with deception?
Even though an answer seems to tease at my brain, I can’t catch it, so I let it go.
We finish dinner and dessert, and the moment Alisha is through with her cake, her eyelids start to droop.
“Wow,” she says, yawning. “I’m really wiped out.”
“It must have been a hard few days for you,” I say. “Not knowing what you were going to do and trying to keep away from me.”
Alisha gives me a steady look. “I know it was worse on you,” she says. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Okay,” I reply. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No,” she answers. “I just want to go to bed.”
“That’s fine,” I answer. “I’ll stay on the couch.”
Alisha just gives me a steady look and nods, and I can tell that she’s relieved I already made the decision, so she doesn’t have to worry about sleeping beside me.
I don’t know what this is right now. Are we together? Are we not? I just don’t know.
Alisha goes upstairs, and I clean up the kitchen, listening with my wolf hearing as she puts herself to bed. As I head for the couch, I mentally check over every part of my house, making sure I’ve doubled-checked that every window and door is closed and locked.
When I lay down with a blanket over me, I immediately fall into an incredibly deep sleep.
Utter relief that Alisha is safe and back under my roof with me releases all the stress and tension of the past few days, and my mind drags my body straight down into a dreamless and silent abyss.
I’m only just barely aware of drifting in the blissful peace when far-off screams shatter the silence.
Fuck! It’s Alisha!
I’m halfway up the stairs before I even know what’s happening. I burst into the room and see her right in the middle of the bed, her eyes tightly closed as she writhes, slowly twisting the sheets into knots around her body.
“Alisha,” I say, approaching the bed. “It’s just a dream, baby. Wake up.”
“Please,” she mutters. “No.”
“Hey,” I say, louder, touching her shoulder. “Wake up, honey.”
She thrashes back and forth, sweat pouring from her forehead, making her long black hair stick to her face in damp tendrils.
“It’s coming,” she wails. “It’s coming—it is, it’s—”
I sit down on the bed and gather her up, wrapping her in my arms even though she feels stiff as a doll. I rock her back and forth until a great shudder runs through her, and she wakes, gasping and clawing at me.
“Brad?” she cries.
“Yes, I’m here,” I say quietly. “It was just a nightmare.”
“No, it’s not,” she whispers. “Grace told me they’re visions, and it could come true!”
“Shh,” I say, stroking her hair. “Even if it is true, there’s nothing you can do about it right now. Just calm down. Listen to my voice, try to breathe slowly.”
I rock her for a little longer until she relaxes against my chest. When she looks up, her beautiful red lips are only an inch from mine.
“Brad,” she whispers. Her sweet breath rushes across my face, and her scent engulfs me, heightened by the heat of her skin.
Holding myself still in that moment is the hardest thing I have ever done, but I refuse to move. If anything is going to happen, it will be her choice.
For a moment, the tension builds, and I prepare myself to let go of her and go back to the couch. But instead, Alisha wraps her arms around me and leans in, pressing her lips to mine.
Pleasure races through me, spreading from the red-hot touch of her lips and rushing to every inch of my body. Waves of goosebumps rise on my skin, and even though my blood runs hot with lust, I hold myself back.
Alisha turns to me, wrapping her legs around my waist as she settles on my lap. Her soft breasts push against my bare chest, her nipples hardening under the soft night shirt. She kisses me even more deeply, holding on to my shoulders and thrusting her hips towards me.
I hold back for as long as I can, tilting my head so she can kiss me deeply, exploring my mouth with her tongue. As she slides back and forth on my lap, I can feel her rubbing against my hard cock, and the intensity is so great, I almost feel dizzy.
“Alisha, I—”
“No,” she mutters, putting her fingers on my lips. “No. I don’t care. Not right now. I just want you with me…I want you inside me.”
My control breaks right there, and I grab her shoulders, shoving her onto the bed.
With one swift movement, I yank the loose nightshirt over her head, groaning when her naked body is revealed under me.
Immediately, I fall on her breasts, squeezing them and attacking her nipples with my lips and tongue.
Alisha arches under me, and I settle between her legs, rubbing my cock against her, feeling her pussy getting wet even through my sweat pants. I keep her pinned under my body as I caress her nipples, slowly changing the pressure from soft and gentle to hard and rough.
When she’s bucking under me, crying out in short, harsh gasps, I slip down, reaching around her hips and burying my face in her pussy. She screams, thrusting her hips back and forth as my tongue flicks through the slick, hot folds.
I move slowly, teasing the soft edges with my lips, wrapping my hands tightly around her thighs, and pinning her as I lightly caress her clit with the tip of my tongue.
Gently, I kiss it, teasing her with short, light touches.
I pull back for just one moment, feeling the anticipation rising in her as I slowly move my mouth back down.
She moans, a long, drawn-out sound as I slide my tongue between the plump, juicy outer lips and run the tip up to her clit, flicking at it until she shivers, then I clamp my lips around it and suck as hard as I can.
Alisha screams, her hands clawing wildly at the bed on either side of her body. I keep her pinned, punishing her clit with the flat of my tongue and sucking on it until I feel her trembling in my hands.
I slow down a little, following the rapid sound of her breathing. When she is panting in short, hard breaths, I wrap my lips around her clit and give her full pressure again. She goes absolutely wild under me, thrashing and screaming as an orgasm rages through her.
I let my tongue linger in long, slow licks as the climax rushes across her skin in waves of goosebumps, then slowly crawl up her body, wriggling out of my pants at the same time.
When I reach her face, I wait patiently for her to open her eyes before thrusting forward a little so she can feel my cock.
Her beautiful violet eyes look almost black in the dark, and her slow smile is the picture of contentment.
“Do you want this?” I murmur, shoving against her with the hard head of my cock. Even now, I’m ready for her to say no, and I’ll respect any boundary she wants to set.
“Yes,” she says, kissing me as she wraps her legs around me. “Fuck me.”
The sweetest words in the English language!
I brace my knees against the bed and put my hands above her shoulders, wriggling a little to feel the slick edges of her pussy against my cock. She writhes under me, and I start to enjoy myself with the teasing, letting my cock slide close to the opening, but not thrusting inside.
“For fuck’s sakes!” Alisha yells, reaching down between our bodies to grab my cock.
With one short shift of her hips, she guides me inside, and my cock sinks into her as far as it will go in one incredibly slow thrust. As her pussy clenches around me, Alisha wraps her arms and legs around my body, and I stay still for a moment, rocking my hips gently to feel the head of my cock nestled tightly in the furthest reaches of her body.
I know in this moment, no matter what else happens between us, that I have come home.