Shadows of Deception: Necromancer Chronicles (Erotic Fantasy) Book 2 Read online

  Her eyes widened a little, then softened, her voice cracked a bit as she said it back, “I love you too Vinnie…”

  Chapter 5 – Hope

  I looked fruitlessly at my phone again. It had been all day and part of the night. Robbie still hadn’t texted me back. Maybe he turned his phone off, or is really busy? Maybe… I didn’t see how he could be pissed at me enough to ignore me for not saying goodbye. After all, he didn’t see my freak out the night before, he was sleeping.

  But worrying about this didn’t mean I loved him, he was just my best friend… who happened to make my body sing. I blew out a breath and tried to center myself again. I’d been trying to meditate, but events of the day kept creeping up on me. I was simply trying to calm myself now. I’d given up on my shield because I was too distracted.

  Calming my emotions and gaining focus were my goals, so I wouldn’t lose concentration when distracted in battle. Sadly, right now was the perfect time for this kind of work. I frowned, I was becoming neurotic. Thinking about Ron scared me. What twenty two year old woman with a healthy sex drive gets scared about going to the beach with a hot, sweet, and strong guy?

  Crap, I tried to get back into the mindset for meditation again…

  Maybe part of the problem was Vinnie and Kristi so obviously in love, even if they haven’t said it yet. It made me feel left behind. My brother used to be more relationship averse than I ever was. It seemed obvious to me I was at the point I needed to deal with my issue. I had never worried about it so much before. I knew all the bullshit about all you should fear is fear itself, but really, how is that helpful in the least.

  Fuck! I can’t concentrate.

  I needed a change of venue. I got up and threw on a bikini and grabbed a towel. I was a young woman, not a girl anymore. Still, with people chasing me and trying to kill me I had the presence of mind to let my dad know where I was going via ghost-mail and teleported out of the house.

  It was still sunny out at six pm in Honolulu and the beach was still full of people, mostly tourists. I found an empty spot and lay down to soak in some sun. I was a bit lonely and wondered if I shouldn’t have grabbed Claudia on the way out. Claudia was a party girl, and was always good for a cheering up.

  Still, the hot sun on my back, the slightly warm but still cooling breeze, and the sound of the ocean was starting to work its magic. Slowly I felt the tension drain out of me as my muscles relaxed.

  A deep male voice said politely, “Do you mind?” as a small blanket spread out next to me.

  I opened my mouth to say no, but he started to lay down before I could answer him. That kind of pissed me off. So much for calm and relaxed…

  “Why did you bother to ask? I don’t by the way.”

  He laughed, “I wasn’t talking to you.”

  I opened my eyes and squinted in the sunlight. He was about twenty five, messy light brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a strong jaw and a natural smile. Below that he was… cut, defined. He was very attractive. I looked around and didn’t see anyone else and raised an eyebrow.

  My mouth dropped open when he nodded at Bree and Tammy standing off to the side.

  He winked, “They were standing right where my blanket is now, just being polite.”

  I couldn’t detect an aura at all, so I let my energy out a little, still nothing.

  I opened my mouth to ask but realized that was probably rude, so closed it. I didn’t even know him. He might have been a god in the looks department but I wasn’t one to swoon at a pretty face, I was surrounded with them growing up. Well, not just a pretty face. Plus, between Ron and Robbie the last thing I needed was another guy.

  I closed my eyes and got back to enjoying the sun…

  “So what brings you out here today?”

  Ok, I tried to enjoy the sun.

  I opened my eyes and looked around, he laughed.

  “No, this time I was talking to you,” he said mirthfully.

  I pointed up at the sun and closed my eyes, feeling half amused and half annoyed.

  He said in that same laughing tone, “I’m Rafe, how about you, and your friends. I can see them, but I can’t hear them.”

  I sighed, “Hope. The one that looks protective is Bree, the one staring at you like you’re a tasty snack is Tammy.”

  He laughed and Tammy glared at me. I shrugged back the best I could while lying on my stomach. It wasn’t as if Rafe could fail to notice.

  He breathed out, “Well Hope, it’s nice to meet you. Good name.”

  After some silence his voice broke through my attempted relaxation again.

  “I came to say hi because I couldn’t help but notice a few things. You’re a good person Hope. I might come back and visit again if I’m welcome. Really though, you need to hear this and I’m afraid you won’t take it well.”

  I opened my eyes and squinted at him, what was he saying?

  I frowned, “You’re spying on me?”

  He shrugged, “I was, I’m done now though, so I thought I’d say hi, and goodbye for now. People are curious about you where I come from, weren’t quite what to make of you.”

  I felt a chill run down my spine, “Who… what are you.”

  He smiled, “You should already know what I am. I gave you enough hints, who else can see ghosts but can’t talk to them? Anyway, back to the point. You need to tell your mother your fears, she can help you. I know you’re all independent, but sometimes a girl needs her mother, no matter her age.”

  I was too flabbergasted to get angry at his unsolicited advice, not to mention the spying. He must have a huge set of balls. Then of course the obvious hit me, my mom could see ghosts.

  I shrank back, “You’re an angel? I thought they didn’t come here anymore.”

  My anger finally surged when I realized how weak my voice just sounded. Still, I didn’t feel threatened by him at all, it was just the oddity of the situation.

  He nodded, “Be at peace, I mean you no harm. Sorry for the trick of hiding my aura, and before you say it, yes she can, she just doesn’t know how despite how old she is.”

  I narrowed my eyes, “Rafe? Or Rafael?”

  He grinned, “Maybe, but not the one from your holy book, it’s a common name where I come from, like John or Mary is here. But please, call me Rafe. Don’t be surprised if you see me again.”

  I wanted to yell at him to stop when he stood and walked away. I wanted to know why he had watched me and if he had spied on Vinnie too. But I held my tongue. I ignored his advice, for now, and laid my head back down to try and relax. I wondered too, if he was done spying, what possible reason could he have for coming back and seeing me?

  I managed to get enough sun, front and back, for a nice tan. I stayed another few hours for a luau, drank a bit, and enjoyed the music. Rafe had been a mystery, and an annoying one. But it hadn’t ruined my mood and I had a good time. It was about five am when I got back to the house. Ray raised an eyebrow in his wolf form when I walked past him wearing a bikini and a bunch of lays around my neck.

  It had been something I needed, though on the whole I preferred not to be alone, but every once in a while…

  When Rafe had given me his advice I had no intentions of following it, yet I found myself seeking out my mother. I knocked and entered her bedroom, dad was off somewhere. I sat down and just started talking, before I knew it I was sobbing in her arms. What was with that?

  She asked, “So, you are afraid of grief, so you never love? Would you like to see what made it bearable to me?”

  I nodded and she stood me up, and led me to her bathroom and we stood in front of the mirror.

  She said simply, “You do. Family. I’ve been married over forty times during the last six thousand years. It would be hard for me to say it was worth it, just for the joy of loving for that lifetime. It was hard. What kept me going though was family. Did you know you have a great niece in Seattle? She was a little spitfire when she was your age, and the time I spent in Seattle, before I moved to Illinois, was som
ething I will treasure.

  “Family is as permanent as I am. I still have nine other family lines out there, outside of our own family and Ginnie in Seattle. Trust me Hope, it was worth every moment. I lived in the moment when I had a husband, lived in his love, but when he passed on, I still had the family, and healing. Healing others always healed my heart too. I’m not saying it will be easy, it will hurt, but life is joyful as well daughter, don’t hide yourself away from life. Don’t let fear sour the moment you’re in, the joy of life.”

  Most of what she said I had already told myself many times, but the family part was new. Family would be a continuation and a further joy of the mate that had come to his end. It wasn’t surprising it was a new outlook. I hadn’t even considered the idea of having a child yet.

  Still, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Perhaps I would try, I knew I was already headed that way anyway, this just made it a little less terrifying.

  I was positive it would hurt. After all, my mom meeting an immortal mate and having kids that she wouldn’t have to outlive had been the reason I was named Hope…

  I jumped in the shower and washed off the sand and sweat from Hawaii, just in time to put on a different bikini and head to a different beach. My mother owned a small private island in the Caribbean that had some hot springs and a nice cove for swimming right on the beach. There were no buildings on it, or food vendors. We had what we took with us and nothing else. It was a retreat from the real world, a pristine place hidden away.

  It was also a great place to throw a party…

  I told myself I was going to have a great time with everyone, including Ron, and not get all panicky. It was mostly working. Tanya hadn’t come, I wondered if she was still freaking out about yesterday. From what I could tell Vinnie didn’t mind at all, him and Kristi were never very far apart.

  We were lying on the beach after a swim enjoying a cold one when Ron moved toward me and sat even closer, our skin kept brushing against the other’s and it felt kind of nice. I was nervous, but that was an improvement over the boxed in suffocating feeling I would have felt yesterday. Had I mentioned we were all naked for the most part?

  He took my hand and pulled me over against him. I resisted a moment, but then burrowed into his side and placed a palm on his chest and looked up. He was staring down at me with a very intense look in his eyes, his head lowered slowly, giving me a chance to balk. Instead I stretched myself up to meet him. For a moment I couldn’t believe I was kissing Ron, I’d been running from his crush on me for years.

  Why the hell had he waited for me for so long? Why had I waited?

  I cut off that line of thinking and deepened the kiss, running my hand across his chest, tracing the lines of his muscles with my fingertips. I started to feel my core grow warmer, a slight moisture building up and my body melted against his aggressively. His hands felt so good on my skin, as he traced the curves of my body, teasingly brushing the bottom of my breasts as he explored my body. I pushed him down lightly with my hand and was about to get on top of him when I remembered we were still on the beach, in front of everyone. I blushed and broke the kiss.

  Ron said breathlessly, “Wow.”

  I smiled at that.

  Okay, so what he said wasn’t profound, but I really liked the effect I’d had on him. His muscles weren’t the only hard part on his body now, Ron was gifted. I wrapped him in my power and we appeared next to a small and shallow pool higher up in the rocks than the main spring. It was only a couple of feet deep, but it was very private.

  We kissed, necked, and explored each other for quite a while. I was more than ready.

  I purred in his ear, “Take me Ron, please.”

  He picked me up and lowered me down onto his lap my legs straddling his. He pulled me into a kiss while I reached down to line things up. I stretched my body down trying to take him in but he held me effortlessly and I whimpered in need at the teasing brushes against my labia.

  I broke the kiss and glared at him, he lowered me a little with a twinkle in his eyes. I gasped as the tip popped between my labia and just inside my pleasure.

  He looked me right in the eyes and said, “Do you want this? Beg me for it.”

  My eyes widened, what happened to sweet shy Ron and who was this guy? I also realized I was very turned on. I was an independent woman everywhere else, but I loved to be a submissive woman in bed. Not demeaned, or embarrassed, simply submissive.

  I moved forward and kissed him while grinding my hips, his tip popped out and grazed my clit causing me to gasp in his mouth. I moved again and he slid back inside. He was still holding all my weight in his arms, waiting for my response, it was driving me crazy.

  I said sultrily in his ear, “Please fuck me. Stuff that fat cock up my tiny tight wet hole. Please Ron, please fuck me,” my voice was soft and submissive at the end, perhaps even a little desperate. I wasn’t sure if he was playing a game, but I know I had meant every word of it.

  He kissed me hungrily and lowered me down slowly. My core was on fire, I could feel every small bump and vein against the smooth silky and very sensitive labia and the tight walls of my wet sheath. When he lowered me all the way I felt so full. After a moment of getting used to his invader, I ground against him with my hips, trying to hit all the right places.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled my body back just enough to guide his attention, and his mouth, to my achingly tight nipples. I gasped when he sucked one in and he started pushing up as I ground down. One of his hands ran down my back and gripped one of my ass cheeks while the other held me at the top of my neck, on my back.

  Then he started to pound up into me from below, like a jack hammer. He grabbed my hair and pulled me against him.

  He said in a deep voice, “You like it like this don’t you, getting fucked hard and fast.”

  I nodded against his neck, I couldn’t speak. It was too intense, my core was burning hot and I rose to my height quickly, unable to do more than whimper and moan between breathless gasps of pleasure. My core spun and coiled tightly as the pleasure became too much to bear.

  I exploded in bliss, my body continued to bounce as he slammed up into me again and again, my core tightened around him, I couldn’t move though, couldn’t breathe. All I could do was ride out the intensity of it all. It was a moment of ecstasy that felt like it would never end. But of course… it did. My body trembled as I regained control and took a breath.

  He slowed down at that point, he still hadn’t cum but he was probably tired, he was going very fast and hard for a long time. I kissed him softly and he slowed more. I started to grind, taking over the pace. This felt good too, amazing actually in the afterglow of my orgasm. I could feel another building up in me as I rode him. I did my best to tighten up when I rose and milked his manhood, and to release when I lowered myself back down and ground into him.

  He seemed to be enjoying it.

  I smiled and kissed him, realizing how much I was enjoying this interlude so to speak. I had never really enjoyed going slow before, and absurd or not, I had an epiphany while fucking Ron. I never enjoyed slow sex because it seemed more intimate, fucking hard and fast all the time, every time, had just been another way to run from love.

  Of course, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t still enjoy it, or even prefer it. I wasn’t lying when I said I was submissive in bed, I wanted a strong man to take charge of me and my body.

  I whispered in Ron’s ear seductively, “Can you do something for me?”

  He said, “Anything.”

  I grinned and said in a pleading voice, “Bend me over the wall of the hot spring. Please fuck me hard from behind until you fill me up with sticky stuff. Please… I need it in me… bad.”

  It was strange, as I said that I wasn’t sure if I was trying to get what I wanted, or to give him something I thought he wanted. Maybe both. He didn’t hesitate. He picked me up and bent me over the wall, while I was kneeling in the shallow water. He pushed in without warning, hard and fast and ne
ver stopped. He grabbed the end of my long hair and pulled back.

  “That’s it, that’s what I need,” I said breathlessly.

  It didn’t take him long after I started bucking back against him, my back arched and my ass as high as I could get it. I smiled in pleasure as I felt him expand in me. When he started to fill me I took over and bucked back against him. I gasped right before I tipped over the edge for the second time.

  Time distorted as I was taken by bliss.

  I just laid there for a minute, my head resting on my forearms as I caught my breath. He pulled out and I turned around. He took my hand and pulled me onto his lap, sinking to the bottom of the hot springs. It was just deep enough to cover my legs.

  I kissed his lips, then his neck and nuzzled my face into his neck as he pulled my body tightly against his. I wasn’t sure where this was going. I was still afraid, but at least I wasn’t paralyzed by it anymore.

  We cleaned up as well as we could in the hot spring. I was sure we still smelled like sex, but we weren’t sweaty or sticky any longer. I took his hand and we teleported back to the beach. I noticed my brother and best friend weren’t in sight. I grabbed a beer for myself and one for Ron and we sat together just staring out in the ocean.

  Ray and Claudia were playing in the shallows in their wolf forms again. It seemed strange to me they didn’t have a lover with them today. I had been gone from home too long and wondered what was up with the normally randy pair. Still, that was a curiosity I’d have felt odd asking about so would have to suffer in ignorance.

  Eventually my brother and Kristi came back looking very satisfied. We stayed and relaxed chatting until early afternoon when we called it a day. I was sure we were going to have to train another two hours today, we had a long way to go before we could hit with any accuracy on a consistent basis. We cleaned and packed, no litter allowed on mom’s island. She had a sword of light, so we didn’t argue.

  I had called it correctly, as soon as we got back dad dragged off Kristi and mom sent us to the backyard. Not that I was complaining, I was looking forward to it. I concentrated and got my shield going before we even got out the door because my parents were not above an ambush. It got harder as the ghosts weaved and cut back the other way. We had to not only concentrate on changing the direction of our magic grenade, we also had to change the timing for when it blinked into limbo. Also the timing was different on how long it needed to stay there depending on if they were coming at us, away from us, or to the side. On top of all that we still had to maintain our shields.