
Packing UpHannah Beckham
All rights reserved.Copyright ©2007 Hannah Beckham
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ISBN: 978-1-59596-717-6Formats Available:HTML, Adobe PDF,MobiPocket, Microsoft ReaderPublisher:Changeling Press LLCPO Box 1046Martinsburg, WV 25402-1046www.ChangelingPress.comEditor: Connie AlbertsCover Artist: Reneé George
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Packing Up
Hannah Beckham
Maya Eddings is being stalked. Which, normally, wouldn't be a problem. She's six feet tall, a black belt in tae kwon do, proficient with handguns, and has two uniquely paranormal boyfriends. Unfortunately, her stalker is of the hard-to-kill variety. It moves like a ghost, can possess the people she loves, and bullets whiz right through it.
Now, her incubic lover, Stephen Daniels, won't let her out of his sight, not even to pee, while her Lycan lover, Matt Brewer, has a simpler, albeit less appealing solution -- he wants to change Maya into a werewolf, giving her a fighting chance against this new foe in her life, and tying Maya to Matt until death do they part. The upside, as long as Matt and Stephen are fighting with Maya, and for her, they're not fighting each other.
To uncover the truth about the dark entity after her, Maya discovers an even darker truth about herself. And while she would rather shoot herself than lose her independence or turn wolfy, as the stalker closes in, she may be out of options.
The tension in the grocery store oozed like a palpable fog. Maya Eddings' empathic abilities were amped and ramped. Problem was, it seemed like half the crowd wanted to hurt her client. Which made it really difficult to hone in on immediate threats.
"Attention shoppers, don't miss Conrad Gentry at the front of the store. He'll be signing bats all afternoon. All money goes to the MDA," came an older woman's voice over the intercom. "And we have a blue light special on hamburger in the meat department. Thank you."
The "all afternoon" comment reminded Maya she was up way earlier than she liked. She spoke into her headset. "Eyes open, boys." Jack Simon, her partner, answered affirmative. Neely Davidson, their newest employee and an ex-Kansas City police officer, grunted. He was their third employee since Tyler Jackson had quit after they'd come up against a sorceress.
Some people didn't deal well with supernatural happenings. If Maya had to guesstimate, she'd say that was about ninety-five percent of society. Neely seemed competent enough, if not a bit antisocial. Maya hoped he worked out.
Conrad Gentry, a major league pitcher and her client, stood behind a table signing baseball bats for fans, adults and children. The man was tall, taller than Maya, something she could appreciate since she stood six feet barefoot. He'd insisted Maya not use a gun because of the kids. Noble, but stupid.
She itched her thigh where the 9mm usually rested. Even with a black belt in tae kwon do, she felt naked and vulnerable without her piece. Hell, she didn't even like to go to the bathroom without it.
"Price check on double maxi thin pads at checkout nine," another voice over the intercom resounded. There were a few sniggering laughs from children and a couple of men. The women around the signing area were appalled. How embarrassing.
Gentry ignored the chatter altogether. He'd been the baseball wonder of Kansas City for the past three years. Leading the league in hits, and had a better than normal pitching average, but he'd tanked in his last game. Rumors abounded he'd thrown the game as a gambling debt payoff. He'd been getting a series of death threats ever since. That was why he'd hired Maya and Jack to watch his back during his promotional appearance.
The baseball player tapped her hand. Maya turned to him.
"It's going okay, don't you think?" His eyes were a beautiful, deep blue. He blinked, and she could feel how much he wanted to be reassured. And Maya also sensed his serious crush on her.
Cute, but no. Before she could open her mouth, Jack shouted, "Maya, look out!"
A large man with a really bad mullet (was there any other kind?) had grabbed a bat from the table. Her hand went for her gun, which, unfortunately, she didn't have.
"Jeezus!" Too late to stop the downward swing of the Louisville Slugger, Maya threw herself over Conrad Gentry as his assailant brought the bat down onto her back.
"Asshole!" the thug yelled. "I lost my life savings because of you!"
Maya managed to turn around just as he swung the bat back down toward her. She threw her arm up and felt the bone in her forearm crack when the hard wood impacted.
"That does it." She kicked out with her spiked boot, nailing the culprit in the shin. He dropped to his knees and she kicked again, this time hitting his groin with the mother of all nut busters. He doubled over, hands holding his package, before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.
Rolling off Gentry, Maya cradled her arm. "Stupid son of a bitch."
Jack ran up to her and helped her from the floor. "You okay?"
Neely rolled the unconscious perpetrator onto his stomach and put him in cuffs.
"No." She winced, feeling the bone creak. The arm looked deformed, already starting to swell. "Where the hell were you?" The pain became increasingly intense as the adrenaline waned.
"I'm sorry. The guy came out of nowhere. Besides, you're the one who usually knows when something bad is about to go down, even when no one else is clued in."
Jack was referring to Maya's empathic ability to read emotions. For some reason, her mind hadn't focused in on the guy with the bat. The guy who definitely looked a whole lot less threatening in a heap on the floor. "It doesn't matter. You call the cops?"
"I'm sure someone did." Jack helped Conrad from the floor.
Not that it had any bearing on her taking the job, but Conrad was innocent. The rumors were just that -- rumors. When he'd first come to her about the job, she'd read it in his emotions. No guilt, no remorse, he was just anxious. And stressed.
The tall, muscularly built pitcher dusted his clothes, staring in awe at Maya. "You saved my life, Ms. Eddings."
"That's my job. Though, if you want my services again, I wear a gun." She tried to laugh, but a sharp pain on her right side stopped her. "Damn, I think he cracked some ribs."
Gentry reached out to steady Maya, but she moved away from him.
He smoothed back his slick, short-cropped brown hair. "You need to go to the hospital and get checked out."
"Yeah, Maya. I'll take you," Jack said as cops and paramedics filed into the grocery store.
Maya nodded to them. "I'll catch a ride with the medics. You and Neely stay, finish up the signing, then get Gentry home. He's had a rough afternoon."
The baseball player smiled. "You're one tough chick. I'll give you that. I'll write Jack the check for your services. You just take care of yourself. Thanks again."
"It's what I do." As the paramedics put her on the gurney, she gave one last directive to Jack. "Call Stephen, will you? He worries."
"Should I call Matt too?"
"Yeah, might as well."
When they rolled her out, Maya heard Conrad Gentry ask Jack, "Who are Stephen and Matt?"
"Her boyfriends," Jack answered.
"Whew, man." Conrad whistled. "What a woman." Strangely enough, she not only felt his wonderment, she could have sworn she heard his voice in her head saying, "No wonder she's not interested in me."
You've no idea, my friend, Maya thought as they pushed her out the sliding front door and into the ambulance.
Good drugs. They'd given her some really good drugs on the way to the hospital. She felt like she was floating, lighter than air. The paramedics, two husky men, were in the back of the ambulance with her. Monitoring her vitals, checking her oxygen saturation, and thinking what nice boobs she had. Maya giggled. Definitely good drugs.
Lately, she'd been picking up random thoughts, along with emotions. It disturbed her to some extent. She wasn't sure how she liked being able to read minds. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it seemed attached to feelings of lust. The new ability could have had something to do with Stephen Daniels, her part-incubus lover. Or maybe a combination of Stephen and Matt Brewer, her lycanthrope lover.
Since the three of them began sleeping together on a regular basis, Maya felt changed. Different. Faster, stronger, able to heal more quickly -- not the bionic woman, but there were definite perks outside of having two gorgeous men wanting her undivided attention.
A warm sensation crept through her body. Stephen and Matt, Matt and Stephen. Good drugs. Everything felt dreamlike. Maya. Her name. Sexy, sensuous, dark. Maya Eddings, the voice in her head spoke again.
"Yes," she whispered, the word coming out in a sigh.
"Did she say something?" one of the paramedics asked.
"It sounded like it," the other one added. "She's really out of it, so no telling."
Invisible hands slid over her flesh, starting at her ankles, slipping up her shins, calves, lingering for a moment over her hips as she raised them to meet the touch.
"That's nice," she mumbled. The hands were heated, hot tub temperature, as they continued up her abdomen, her breasts... "So nice."
"Hey, Sal. Is she..." She could hear alarm in the first medic's voice.
Sal chuckled. "She's not feeling any pain, that's for sure."
No pain. No pain.
"Her heart rate is increasing, along with her blood pressure." That was Sal.
The invisible hands caressed her shoulders, massaging the tiny aches gently.
"Yes," she murmured again. She should have been alarmed. It would have been smart to be alarmed, but between the pain medicine and the warm hands, she just felt really, really relaxed... and horny.
"Her respirations are dropping. Oh, man, I think she's crashing."
She didn't know who was crashing, and frankly, she didn't care. She just wished they'd be quiet and let her enjoy --
"Ms. Eddings? Can you hear me?" Someone rubbed their knuckles hard over the middle of her chest. "Blood pressure fifty over thirty. We're losing her."
Join me. She couldn't respond verbally any more, but inside she was nodding in agreement. She felt really good, peaceful, and warm.
"Her pulse is thready. She's stopped breathing."
Poor woman, whoever she was.
Join me, Maya. The voice soothed her. Forever.
Hard plastic formed around her nose and mouth. She barely felt the whoosh of air being pumped into her lungs as a hungry mouth took hers in a kiss. She wished the extra hands pushing on her chest would just stop, and WHAM, electricity zinged into her body. No, the voice said. We must join.
WHAM, again. The pulse, much more powerful than the last, made it really hard to concentrate. Bursts of light and color enveloped her as she floated upward toward a dark shadow waiting, its arms held out.
Come to me.
Maya turned back once. A woman lay on a gurney, a mask and bag over her mouth, her shirt torn open with leads trailing to a machine. The two paramedics frantically worked on her. The scene was wrong. Really wrong.
Why won't you join? the voice asked.
Looking back to the dark shadow, she wanted to listen to him, to comply. But the figure on the gurney drew her back. There was just something so familiar. The right arm of the woman rested in a splint. The medics were shouting, but Maya couldn't hear them any more.
WHAM.
She tried to cry out, to make the jolting shocks stop, but she couldn't make a sound. Stephen and Matt, Matt and Stephen. She wanted them, needed them. Nothing made sense. She needed them to help her make sense.
You need me.
I need them. I need to go back. Maya turned from the shadow, swimming through the mist, floating above the body.
No! the voice cried out.
Confusion surrounded her. The shadow reached for her, but Maya escaped its grasp.
WHAM. Pain exploded through her.
"I've got a pulse!" Sal said excitedly.
Air poured into Maya's lungs and she sat up, coughing, sputtering, rubbing her sore chest. "Fuck, Christ. Fuck." With her right hand, she grabbed the nearest paramedic and yanked him down to her face. "What did you give me?"
"I... I'm not sure what you mean?"
"Pain medicine." Her throat felt raw and dry.
"You want more pain medicine?"
"No, idiot. I want to know what the fuck you gave me."
"Just Percocet." He tried to pull away, but she kept her grip tight.
"Never again. Here me?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She patted his face, the five o'clock shadow brushing against her palm. "Good boy."
"I swear to God, if you try to come anywhere near me with that shot, I'm going to shove it up your ass."
The nurse looked appropriately frightened as she backed out of the curtain surrounding Maya's bed. She'd already told the doctor she wasn't about to take any more pain medicine. She'd cope. He'd insisted she take the shot so he could set her arm. She'd insisted he'd have trouble seeing patients with a broken jaw. Still, the doctor had made a last-ditch attempt with Nurse Good-n-Ready. "Asshole."
"Maya?" The curtain rolled back and Stephen appeared. "Oh, God, Maya." Relief flooded his face. "You scared the shit out of me."
Maya felt the blood rush from her and she did something very rare for her. She started to cry. Once the tears started, it became near impossible to stop. Stephen quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest.
"I'm not crying."
"I know."
"I hate crying."
"I know." He kissed Maya's forehead, worry furrowing his brow. "I don't know what I would've done..."
"I'm fine." She could tell he wasn't convinced. "Honestly. If the damn doctor would just get in here to do his job."
"The doc said he wouldn't set your arm without some kind of local."
"The doc can kiss my lily white ass."
"It is."
"It's what?"
"Lily white." He helped Maya get back on the hospital bed. "Now, be a good girl. Get the local, and your arm set, so we can get the hell out of here."
"Matt wouldn't make me do it." She was pouting. No doubt about it, but she didn't care.
"Yeah, he'd probably just call Isy. She'd love to torture you." He blinked, slowly, his thick lashes closing over his gorgeous green eyes.
"So not funny." Isy, also known as Isadora Brewer, also known as Matt's mother, had been an emergency room nurse before she married Matt's father and became a lycanthrope. She didn't like Maya, but the two had finally come to an understanding. Don't hurt Matt and they would get along fine.
"Besides, if you let the doctor take care of you, I know of a 9mm handgun just dying to be in your hands."
She brightened. "You brought it."
"Out in the car." He must've seen the severe disappointment on her face, because he added, "I couldn't exactly have brought it into the hospital, babe. They have metal detectors and all."
"I get it." Even with the pain still throbbing in her right arm, she inadvertently tried to move it to where her gun normally rested. The pain intensified. "Shit."
"I don't give a flying fuck if you only allow one visitor at a time! I'm going in to see her!" a voice roared out in the lobby.
Matt. Maya's heart jumped a beat. She pulled at Stephen's sleeve. "Tell them to let him in."
The curtain parted and a nurse came in. "There's a guy out here --"
"Let him in, for Christ's sake."
"I'm afraid it's against hospital policy to have two visitors in the emergency area. It's the rules."
"Rules schmools." Maya felt desperate. "Let him come in."
"It's okay." Stephen squeezed her shoulder. "I'll go."
"No!" She grabbed his hand with her left. "Please," she said to the nurse. "Let them both stay with me. I'll even... I'll even let the doctor give me whatever he wants. Please."
The nurse cocked her eyebrow. Thinking. Maya could feel the internal struggle inside the blonde bimbette. On one hand, she could make Maya's life harder by not allowing both men to come in. Jealous bitch. Or she could make her own life easier by letting the guys in and getting Maya out of the hospital more quickly. Decisions. Decisions.
"Well?"
Rolling her eyes, the nurse put her fist on her hip. "I'll have to clear it with the doctor. But... I think it'll be fine."
A flood of relief swept through Maya. She couldn't count how many times her life had been in danger, how many times she'd brushed against death, but this had been the first time death brushed back. It scared her. So instead of being snotty, she merely lowered her gaze. "Thank you."
"Uh-hum." Nurse Good-n-Ready shook her head and left the area.
Maya didn't give the woman another thought. "I need you both."
"I know." He stroked his fingers across her jaw line.
She shivered. "I'm in pain and all I can think about is tearing your clothes off."
"Is that a bad thing?"
Shrugging, Maya eased down off the bed. As tall as she was, she still had to tiptoe to kiss Stephen. His tongue slipped past her lips, running along her teeth. She opened for him, devouring his mouth with her own. The pain in her ribs and arm lulled to a dull ache under the heaviness of his lust.
Matt pulled back the curtain. "Are you all right?"
Dropping back down on her heels, Maya broke from the kiss and turned to her lycan lover. She smiled, holding out her left hand to him. "I am now."
Without hesitation, he took it. "I'm sorry it took so long to get here. I had my cell phone off. I was taking pictures of a cheating husband for one of the firm's clients. I didn't get the message until I got back to the truck." He propped his head against her shoulder. "They tell me you stopped breathing..." His voice choked up.
Maya caressed his face. "I'm fine now, honest. Just a broken arm and cracked ribs. I'm going to be okay."
Stephen and Matt both had an arm around her, tense with the need to touch her. Matt's body felt so warm against her, his full lips red and flushed. She ached to kiss him. Dipping her head, she brushed her mouth against his. He responded with hunger and need. Leaning over, Stephen kissed her neck. Soft kisses, meant to be reassuring, but her body reacted with more than comfort.
Moving in closer to Stephen, she ignored her slinged arm, and pressed her lower body against his. His cock pushed against her hip, thick and hard with desire. Slick heat swelled her pussy until she didn't care where she was anymore.
Matt moved behind her, still kissing her as his hand slid up her side to her breast. She moaned into his mouth. Stephen's fingers dipped down under her hospital gown, slipping along the band of her panties.
"Oh, I like the gown. Easy access." The tip of Stephen's forefinger grazed against her clit.
"Oh, shit," she groaned. Closing her eyes, Maya leaned her head back against Matt. He moved away from her mouth, lifting her off the floor. The lycan laid her across the hospital bed. He was careful, so careful. She looked up at his face. His eyes had already shifted to amber. The strain showed. He was fighting his wolf, working at being gentle, so scared to do her more harm.
Stephen leaned between her legs, his teeth tugging at her sodden panties. His green eyes were hungry with lust, but also... worry. She'd been scared, but in that moment, she realized they were afraid as well. They needed to touch her, to make certain she was real and whole. Lifting her legs, the incubus took her panties off. He placed one leg over his shoulder. The glide of his tongue along the slick, swollen fold of her pussy rushed instant warmth to her lower stomach.
Matt nibbled her ear, working his way to her neck. His hands massaged her breasts, kneading their way down her abdomen. She lifted her hips to meet his fingers as they slid over her clit.
Stephen's tongue delved into her channel while Matt manipulated her inflamed button. The lycan kissed down her chest, sliding the gown up so he could get to her nipples. He laved the sensitive tips, his teeth scraping the tightly drawn nubs. Maya moaned. She felt alive. Alive and on fire. "You feel so good. You both feel so fucking good."
Stephen inserted his finger into her pussy, then another. His mouth covered Matt's finger, his tongue snaking around to her clitoris as both men worked together to bring her pleasure. Matt took his hand away and rubbed her slick juices across her nipples, as Stephen sucked her into his mouth, milking her until she cried out for more.
Matt's hand joined the incubus', his fingers sliding into her channel, both of them finger fucking her as her hips rose and fell with their thrusts. Her pussy clenched, and the pressure inside bubbled. "I'm going to come," she panted. Their thrusting, licking, sucking, nibbling. It all became more insistent. Urgent.
"Oh, God. God. Ahh!" Her whole body bucked forward, but the men, her men, were relentless. She cried out again. "Fuck!" Her thighs squeezed involuntarily, trapping Stephen's face between her legs. She grabbed Matt's head, holding it tight against her breast as he bit, gently but firm.
Their fingers continued working in and out of her, rubbing against the bundle of skin just inside her canal. They brought her to climax once more, and she jerked against the spasms, moaning through the rapture.
Matt and Stephen gently kissed her sensitive areas when a loud clang sounded. Maya scrambled up on the bed, while Matt and Stephen jerked upright in response. The blonde nurse stood in front of the curtain. Dumbfounded.
Maya pulled the hospital gown down with her good arm, covering herself as best she could. Stephen's face glistened, wet with her juices, and he grinned at the nurse, unashamed.
The crash had been the casting kit she'd dropped on the floor upon entering. "Wow, I think you just broke about a dozen hospital regulations." The nurse's nipples stood erect, pushing through her peach scrub top. "I'm definitely jealous." She shook her head. "The doctor will be here shortly. I'll just go get a new kit."
Maya, Matt, and Stephen stared numbly at the closed curtain for a moment. "That was embarrassing," Maya finally said, more than a little mortified.
"Ya think?" Matt grinned. "At least I'm not a junior partner in a big fancy architect firm. Something like a three-way in the emergency room could really make for bad publicity."
"They don't care what kind of deviant I am, as long as I keep cranking out the designs, wolf breath."
Maya groaned. "I can't take you guys anywhere."
Ignoring Maya completely, Matt directed his comment to Stephen. "True. I guess they don't care who you're screwing as long as your clients are good and screwed as well, demon boy."
Maya frowned at her men. "Hey. I better be the only one getting screwed around here." That didn't come out right.
Stephen and Matt were still laughing when the fidgety-fudgety old doctor got there. "Well, Ms. Eddings. I hear you're ready to be reasonable."
"If you call being blackmailed into taking a shot against my will reasonable, then yeah, I'm all about the reasonable." Maya sighed, wishing she had her gun. Then she'd show the doctor reasonable. Okay, she probably wouldn't shoot him, but giving him a barrel enema seemed like a good plan.
He looked on the floor in front of the hospital bed. A strange expression came over his face. "Why are there underwear on the floor, Nurse Jenkins?" the doctor asked as he readied the syringe.
The nurse blushed, and Maya thought she'd drop the equipment again. She cleared her throat and glared at Maya. "I have no idea, Doctor."
There hadn't been much they could do about her ribs, and the truth was, they didn't really hurt. Not like they should've. Even the bruising on her back had all but disappeared. The cast on her right forearm, however, bugged the shit out of Maya. Which was why she sat on the sofa in her apartment with a chopstick, trying to scratch the impossible itch about four inches down under the plaster and gauze.
Stephen took her chopstick away. "Stop that." Matt had gone back to work, but Stephen took the day off to baby sit.
Maya glared at him, then down at her pork lo mein. "How am I supposed to eat now?"
"If you can't keep shit out of your cast, you're going to be eating with your fingers."
"How'd you like me to break your fingers? Then we'll see how well you eat with them."
"All I need is my mouth, babe." He wiggled his eyebrows.
"I've got your babe..." Although she said it halfheartedly. Because, really, he could do some fantastic eating with his mouth. "You know, it's a good thing you're cute."
"Yep." He stripped off his shirt, throwing it in the laundry basket near the hallway.
"You want to wash my clothes?"
"I could." He disappeared for a moment in the bathroom. Maya heard the water turn on. When Stephen reappeared, he said, "But I'd rather wash you."
"I can wash myself."
"Nonsense. The doctor said you had to keep your cast dry. It'll be easier if you let me help." He dragged a hand down his firm, hard, deliciously sculpted chest until it rested on his abdomen.
Maya's body reacted instantly. "Somehow, I don't think anything would stay dry around you."
"Here's the plan." Stephen picked her up from the couch.
"My legs aren't broken, you know."
"Shush. I'll give you a nice hot bath, and then we'll take care of whatever stays wet afterward."
Now how could a girl argue with that kind of logic? The warm water enveloped her skin, easing aches and pains she didn't even realize she had. Maya hung her right forearm over the edge, keeping the plaster dry like a good little patient. Stephen soaped up her puffball shower watchamacallit with vanilla body wash. Maya's favorite. "Lean forward."
He worked the soft scrubber in circles over her neck, shoulders, and down her back. After, he scooped water with his left hand, rinsing the creamy suds from her skin. "Wow, you do that great."
"I'm a man of many talents." He lifted her chin until she looked into his eyes. "Lean back, now."
Smoothing the puffball across her chest, under her arms, he leaned in and kissed her. "You had me very worried."
"I'm fine. Really." She wished she could take his sadness. "I know how to take care of myself."
"Do you?" A hint of anger tinged his words. "I wish you had a different job."
"Like a school teacher?" She shook her head, then relaxed back into the tub as he washed down her stomach. Maya had been a high school English teacher in her not so distant past. She'd hated almost every minute of the job. "I've gone that route before. Besides, I really like my work. It's exciting."
"There are other ways, much more pleasurable ways of getting excited." His voice grew heavy, and Maya recognized the lust. His pheromones were always present, but he could secrete more whenever he wanted, and at the moment, he wanted.
"Fuckin' A." Her skin buzzed with desire. "The flesh is weak."
Stephen grinned. "Thank God. Huh?" His hand went between her legs, the slight roughness of the shower aid brushing against her pussy.
"You're preaching to the choir, babe." Maya grabbed the back of his head with her left hand, pulling Stephen into a kiss. He tugged his jeans off, and it didn't take long for the rest of him to join her in the tub.
Water sloshed onto the floor as he worked his knees between her legs. Not much room for two, so Stephen pulled her up onto his thighs. She straddled his rigid cock, sinking down on top of him. "You're so hard and ready. Feels so good inside me, so good."
She braced her casted arm against the back wall of the tub, as she held his face to her chest with her left hand. She rocked forward, her knees pressing hard onto the porcelain floor of the bath. Stephen's rhythm joined her own. He had a way of making her feel every glorious inch of him, and making her come. God, how he could make her come. Over and over.
He placed his hands on her buttocks, lifting her as he slid slowly in and out of her pussy. The head of his cock brushed all the right places. She raised her breast to his mouth. He took her taut nipple between his lips, sucking hard. Hard enough to hurt. Just the way she liked it. "Yes."
She ground her clit against his pelvis, relinquishing all control. Her pants and moans echoed off the bathroom walls.
"I want to come," Stephen said through gritted teeth. "I want to come in you so bad."
His passion triggered her orgasm. "Oh, God, yes. Yes!" Maya threw her head back as she rocked her hips forward, waves of pleasure riding her entire system.
She stared at Stephen, his face determined as he quickened his thrusts, until... "Ahh!" His eyes squeezed shut as he trembled and shook.
He eased Maya down into the water, still between her legs. She gazed at his face, studying every splendid feature. "You're wonderful," she whispered.
"Thank you." He grinned, kissing her cheek.
Around them, the room began to darken. At first, Maya thought it was the afterglow of a really great orgasm causing her vision to dim. But the darkness began to swirl, like one of those sci-fi black hole thingies she'd seen on The Learning Channel. "Stephen?"
The darkness sunk into his back, her incubus lover absorbing the entity like a sponge. His eyes filled with liquid black, the expression on his face softening. "It's time," he said, his voice vacant of its usual charm.
Almost afraid to ask, she did anyway. "Time for what?"
"To join." Stephen's arms slipped under Maya's legs and he lifted, causing the upper part of her body, including her head, to drop under the water level.
Water poured into her mouth, burning her throat when she tried to scream. She kicked her legs, but he was too strong. Frantically, she reached out to the edges of the tub, but the angle he had put her in made it impossible to get her head up. She stopped struggling and opened her eyes. Through the water she could see Stephen, his eyes still black as shiny tar. A perfect calm came over Maya as she pulled her arms into the water.
Are you ready? the voice asked.
It was the same voice she'd heard when she'd flat lined in the ambulance. No, she answered. Her lungs burned, and ached. What little breath she managed to hold, she knew wouldn't last much longer. Digging her elbows down, she pushed until her nose crested the surface.
Whatever held possession of Stephen cocked its head sideways, looking confused. It leaned forward. In that moment, Maya lashed out with her casted arm, smashing Stephen across the bridge of his nose. His head snapped back for a moment, blood gushing from the force of the blow. He loosened his grip on her thighs, and gasping for breath, she scrambled up, pulling herself onto the ledge of the tub.
He grabbed Maya, trying to pull her back. "Stop. Stephen." She knew it wasn't him anymore, but she hoped somewhere inside, her lover was there, fighting as hard as she was. She hit the linoleum floor on her left shoulder, kicking at any part of his body she could hit. "Oh, fuck!" Where was her gun when she needed it? In the living room, of course.
She managed to free her ankle from his grasp, thank God for soapy hands, and she crawled like her life depended on it, which it did, out of the bathroom. She stood when she hit the carpet in the hallway, running naked to her coffee table to reach her weapon. Turning, she took the safety off and chambered a round. Waiting. Watching. Nothing.
Cautiously, she stalked down the hall. "Stephen?" Again, nothing.
Peeking around the open door, she expected a full on surprise attack, but still, nothing happened. She peered toward the tub. Stephen's lanky legs perched at angles from the surface of the water, and as she stepped inside the door, gun carefully aimed and fully loaded, Maya saw him, slumped down, his head under the water, his body unmoving. "Oh, no. No."
She slid across the floor, dropped to her knees and pulled him out. He wasn't breathing. "Stephen? Stephen!" Her alarm echoed against the walls.
"Breathe, goddammit!" She yanked him out onto the floor, turning him on his stomach and pushing hard against his back. Water slushed from his mouth, and when it stopped coming, she turned him over and performed CPR. Tears streaked her face as she worked for twenty minutes, worn out, unable to get his heart started. "Stephen?" she whispered his name. Anguish, grief, disbelief -- they overwhelmed her senses as she collapsed into a fetal position next to her dead lover, who turned out not to be so impossible to kill.
"Maya," Stephen said hoarsely. She turned her head and watched in sheer amazement as his chest rose and fell with breath. He blinked, his eyes green again like emerald jewels.
Reaching out, she ran her thumb against his lower lip, then slapped him hard across the face.
"Ow!" he snapped sharply. "What the hell?"
"That's for scaring the shit out of me!" She grabbed his face and kissed him fiercely. "And that's for being alive." All in all, it'd been one tough fucking day.
"Do you know your door's unlocked?" A woman's voice sounded in the hallway. Paula, Stephen's sister and Maya's best friend. "Is anyone home? I just stopped in to check on you..." She appeared in the doorway of the bathroom and her mouth dropped open. "Holy crap!" She ran up the hallway with a loud "Ewww!"
Maya and Stephen looked at each other and shook their heads. "We'll be out in a minute," Maya called.
"Take your time," Paula answered back. "It'll take me a moment to mentally scrub your naked bodies from my eyes."
Stephen rolled his eyes. "We better get dressed."
"We need to talk about what just happened."
"I agree, but with Paula here, it'll have to wait."
He was right; with Paula there, they couldn't discuss the new whacked out shit in her life. Their life, since it affected Stephen as well. Paula didn't know that Stephen was part incubus.
Paula Daniels lived in the world of humans that believed paranormals were just fun fiction. Stephen's family worked very hard to keep the dirty little family secret that in every other generation a lusty pheromone-secreting demon would be born. Only the men were privy, while the women were kept blissfully unaware. Maya had almost told her once, but Paula's fragility about normal everyday life kept her from revealing the truth.
Really, how could she tell someone who had to be put on suicide watch over a hangnail that her brother was an incubus, and werewolves and other weird creatures truly existed? Maya didn't want the responsibility. She loved Paula. They'd been best friends since junior high, but there were some things friendship would only carry so far.
After dressing, Stephen followed Maya from the bedroom, buttoning his shirt while she towel dried her hair. Maya threw the towel on the couch beside Paula, working really hard at avoiding eye contact. "You recover yet?"
"Look, I know you two are dating. But it doesn't mean I enjoy seeing you naked and wallowing on a wet bathroom floor."
"Uh, my apartment. Hello?" Maya flopped down next to her and patted Paula's leg. "Besides, we weren't wallowing. We were just..."
The sandy blonde woman threw her hands up over her ears. "I can't hear you, la, la, la."
"Baby."
"Slut."
"Takes one to know one."
"Well." Paula grinned. "True."
Stephen threw his hands up over his ears. "I can't hear you, la, la, la."
Paula picked up the towel and threw it at him. "Shut up! Like you have any room to talk, Mr. Revolving Door." Her eyes widened. She turned sharply to Maya. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I mean, his door hasn't... Oh, man, I'm a jerk."
Maya laughed. "It's okay. Really. Your brother's a slut, also. It runs in the family, apparently."
Giving Maya a stern look, Stephen said, "My door hasn't revolved in a while. So both of you can just shut up."
For a moment, they were all quiet. Maya picked at her wet crumbling cast during the awkward silence.
Stephen grimaced. "We were supposed to keep that dry."
"Shit happens." Maya went into the kitchen and pulled a pair of boning shears from her knife drawer and began cutting the cast off.
"What are you doing?" Stephen joined her, watching with fascination. "We're going to have to get you a new one, you know."
"That's why I stopped by!" Paula exclaimed. "I ran into, uh, Jack down at the No Place and he told me you'd gotten hurt on the job today. Are you all right?"
No Place was one of the local bars in Kansas City. Before Maya started dating two men, she used to frequent it regularly with Jack. The beer was cheap and the music kickin', but it was a dive. Not Paula's usual hangout.
"I'm fine. Actually." And she realized the pain in her forearm had pretty much disappeared, along with her rib and back pain. Just weird. "Better than fine." The cast lay split open on the counter. Maya wiggled her fingers and twisted and flexed her wrist and forearm. It seemed during the whole black cloud of death incident, she'd miraculously healed. Double weird.
Stephen put his arm around Paula's shoulder. "I think Maya needs some rest, sis. Maybe you could come back tomorrow?"
Paula looked decidedly disappointed, but Maya didn't know for sure because she'd thrown up her empathic blocks the moment she felt the strong disgust rolling off her best friend after the whole naked in the bathroom incident. Paula felt strongly -- about a lot of things.
Ducking under her brother's arm, Paula walked around the counter and hugged Maya. "Okay, I can take a hint. I'll see you tomorrow? I'll even bring coffee and donuts?"
Maya smiled and squeezed her friend back. "How can I resist an offer like that?"
"It's settled then. Tomorrow."
"Not too early."
Paula snorted. "Who you talking to? I know better than to show up before noon."
"You really do know me."
The blonde beamed. Trouble was, her friend really didn't know her. Not anymore. Not since Maya started keeping secrets from her. A fact that ate away at Maya, inside and out.
"Love you, brother," Paula said to Stephen.
"Love you more." He leaned over and kissed his sister's cheek then walked her to the door.
"Do you know what's going on? Do you remember any of what happened?" Maya paced back and forth, wearing a line in the plush carpet of the bedroom.
"I remember it all too well. It was bad, really bad. I was completely aware of everything, but I didn't have any control. It was like being a puppet with a brain."
"Did you get any sense of whatever it was that took you over?"
"Nothing, unfortunately. One minute I was inside you feeling nothing but exquisite bliss, then the next minute my body is trying to kill you." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I have to tell you. I'm freaking out."
"Tell me about it." She sat down next to him on the bed. "Uhm, there's something else."
"Yeah?"
"It's not the first time I've... uh... encountered this thing, or whatever it is. When I was in the ambulance, it came to me when I died."
Stephen reacted with alarm. "Before or after."
"I... I'm not sure. I'd just put it off to an out of body, don't go into the light sort of thing, but now..."
"Something's trying to kill you, Maya."
So much for stating the obvious. "Ya think?"
"Don't be a wise ass. I'm not in any mood."
"You're in a mood all right." She scratched her arm. "Do you think it's got something to do with a sorcerer?" Maya hated even saying it. Damn magic users were becoming the bane of her existence.
Stephen shook his head. "I don't think so. Magic feels different to me. It's like ants crawling lightly all over my skin when someone's using. With this, I felt nothing. Literally nothing."
"Why now? What the hell did I do to piss whatever this thing is off? This thing, this creature, it's tried to take me out now, twice in one day. That's pretty friggin' persistent."
"What's tried to take you out twice in one day?" Matt stepped into the room, his brow narrowed with anger.
As with Paula, Maya hadn't heard anyone come into the apartment. "I have really got to get a jingle bell or something for the front door." Maya didn't want to tell Matt about the entity. He could overreact at times, and she was too tired and too weary to deal with the drama.
Stephen leaned forward. "Some sort of shadow creature tried to kill Maya today. Twice apparently."
Thank you, Mr. Tattletale. "Yeah, that about sums it up." She glared at Stephen. He glared back. She fought the impulse to stick out her tongue.
Matt roared. "What the fuck! How come I'm just hearing about this now? You should have called me."
"And you'd have done what exactly? Gone all fur ball and chewed the dark cloud of doom to death?"
The skin on Matt's body rippled where he wasn't covered in clothing. His eyes went from bright blue to amber. He snarled. "I swear, Maya. Sometimes..."
"What? You want to kill me yourself?"
"Sometimes I regret loving you. You're a dangerous woman."
Now she was pissed. "You can get the hell out of my life anytime you want, Matthew Brewer. I think I've told you that on more than one occasion. I. Don't. Need. You." But she did. She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.
"Fine!" he shouted.
Maya stood up and got in his face. "Fine!"
"Okay then."
"Okay."
"I'm going!"
"Get out!"
The next few moments were filled with moans and groans as their lips met in a frantic kiss, hands traveling over each other's bodies. Maya pulled Matt's black T-shirt off, wanting and needing to touch his skin, to be pressed against the heat of his beast. His tongue danced against hers, his teeth grazing her lips. Under her fingers, she felt his muscles shifting, changing -- hair growing rapidly, spreading across his flesh. She opened her eyes.
Matt had turned, shifted. But instead of looking like he normally did when he turned full-on furry, his face remained almost human. Almost. He pushed her back onto the bed. She grabbed Stephen's arm, who up until this point had done nothing. And his next action was completely unexpected. He kissed her, then pulled her to him so that he was behind her. He wrapped his hands around her front, effectively locking her arms down tight.
"No, no, no." This was not happening.
Matt undid his jeans, kicking them off onto the floor. He stalked toward the bed, erect and covered in black fur. "This is the only way I know how to protect you," he growled.
"Not like this." She tried to pull away from Stephen, to get off the bed, but he held her firm. "Stephen, help me."
"I am helping." He sounded as determined as Matt. "You're human, Maya. At least if you were lycan, you'd have a fighting chance at survival. I've never seen anything like this creature, but I do know stopping it from killing you is going to be next to impossible."
"I don't want to be a werewolf, goddammit. If you force me, I'll hate you both. I swear to God, I'll hate you."
Stopping at the edge of the bed, Matt roared his frustration again. "I can't lose you!"
Kicking out with her legs, she threw her head back, smashing Stephen in the face. It had to hurt, but he kept his grip. "You do this, you both lose."
So much physically stronger than she, Stephen held her tight. "At least you'll be alive."
"You don't know that. We don't even know what this thing is. It might be able to kill you both. Besides, I said no!" Maya crossed her legs. Her pants were still on and as long as she could keep it that way, she had hope.
Matt clenched his hands into fists. "Let her go."
Stephen closed his eyes. Reluctantly he released her. For the moment, it was over. "I want you both to leave." Her throat felt raw, tight. She wanted to cry, but not with them around. "Get out. Get the fuck out now!"
Stephen tried to reach out to Maya, but she jerked away. "Don't touch me. Don't you dare." She buried her face in the pillow until she heard the bedroom door close behind them.
\*
"It was a bad idea, Matt." Stephen scratched his head. Guilt, worry, anger and fear all pulsed through him at once. As a lust demon, they were strange emotions. He couldn't believe what he'd just done. Almost done.
"Don't blame this all on me. You went along with it, so you must've thought it was a good idea at the time."
When the darkness had swallowed him, taking over his body, he'd never felt so out of control. "Whatever this thing is that's trying to kill her, it's strong. Really powerful. I'm scared for her."
"You're scared for yourself, demon. Admit it, without Maya you're back to a string of one-night stands."
He focused his anger on Matt, leaping at him, tackling the lycan to the floor. "I was willing to let her become your mate. I love her."
Matt didn't fight him. "You think I don't? I've given up any hope of having a true bond to be with her."
"No, you haven't. You're just biding time, wishing against wish that she'll someday see the light and let you change her." The look on Matt's face when he said it showed the truth of Stephen's words. He rolled off of Matt. "She's not going to let us help her, not in the way you want. She's tough. Probably the toughest human I've ever met. She thinks she can handle anything that comes her way. And even though she doesn't want our brand of help, somehow, we have to protect her."
"Agreed." Matt nodded, sitting up.
"This thing, it possessed me. Completely took over and tried to drown her. So, until we know what it is and how to stop it, we can't leave her alone, or be alone with her. Both of us need to be with her constantly, so that if one of us is taken over the other can step in."
"What if it can possess us both at the same time?"
It was a valid question, one to which Stephen had no answer. "Well, let's just hope it can't." Now, to convince Maya.
"I know someone who might have a clue about this, whatever it is." Matt pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
"Who are you calling?"
"My mom."
Just great. "I don't think..."
Matt held up a hand. "Hey, Mom? Yeah, it's me. I need to talk to the shamus. Can you arrange a meeting?"
"I'm going to go check on Maya. Hopefully, she's calmed down."
Matt followed him down the hall, finishing the conversation with the last person Maya would want involved. He clicked the phone shut as they approached the door. "Should we knock?" Matt whispered.
Stephen rapped lightly with his knuckles. Maya didn't answer. He knocked louder. "Screw it. If she shoots me, she shoots me." He opened the door, Matt right behind him. "Coward."
"You'll heal faster."
Maya was sprawled on the bed, her pillow covering her face.
"Maya." Stephen and Matt looked at each other. "She's not moving."
"Oh, God. No." Matt ran to the bed, throwing the pillow off her head. "Maya!"
Her eyes snapped open, her hand coming up, finger on the trigger of her 9mm. Alert, she aimed around the room. "What? What?"
"You're okay." His voice choked.
"Cripes. Yeah, I'm okay. No thanks to you bozos. You woke me from a perfectly sound sleep. Thank you very much."
Matt buried his face against her shoulder, his fingers stroking through Maya's hair. She dropped her gun on the floor. "Might as well be a paperweight as much good as it's done me lately." Maya patted Matt's shoulder. "It's all right," she soothed. "I'm fine. Jeezus."
"We were wrong before and we're sorry," Stephen said.
"Damn right you are." She lay back, pulling Matt with her. "Two of the sorriest sons-of-bitches I've ever seen. I just don't understand why every time something goes to shit you want to force me to change."
"At least you're not screaming at us to get out again. Progress." Matt nuzzled against her chest.
Stephen rubbed his hands together. "We've made a decision. Until we can figure out what's going on, we're sticking with you. We're not going to let you be alone. So you sleep, we're there. You eat, we're there. You..."
"Take a dump?"
"We're there. Got it?" He crawled up next to Maya on the opposite side of Matt. "We may not be able to keep it from coming, but it's better than doing nothing."
A relieved sigh escaped her lips. "Good, because I don't think I can handle this alone."
Matt kissed her neck. "You won't have to."
"Great." She pressed her lips to Matt's forehead while smoothing Stephen's hair. "But, we're going to set down some ground rules. You are both physically stronger than I am, and I'm not going to go around worrying about fighting you while fighting this ghost."
"I say..." Stephen stretched, then slid his hands up her stomach. "It's time for makeup sex." He wiggled his eyebrows. "How about it?"
"Horn dog."
"He's the dog. I'm the demon."
"Not much of a demon," Matt grumbled. "Can't do much besides incite lust and heal."
"Don't forget he can grow parts back," Maya pointed out.
"I consider that part of the healing thing." Matt's hand traveled above Stephen's, cupping Maya's right breast.
"I don't think I agreed to anything here." Her insides were agreeable though, wholeheartedly. Even under the worst circumstances, she wanted them. Both of them, constantly and obsessively. Not that she'd admit it to either man. She moved her arms behind her head. Besides, she still felt a little angry and betrayed. "Stand up."
They looked at her, confused.
"I'm talking to the two of you. No arguments. Stand up."
Surprisingly, they obliged. Guilt at work there, no doubt. She wasn't above using it.
"Take off your clothes."
Stephen readily began stripping, while Matt looked slightly embarrassed.
"Come on, now. Strip for me." She half-grinned, biting her lower lip. "I've had a rotten day, and it'll make me feel better. You want to make me feel better, don't you?"
Matt rolled his eyes. "Evil." But he pulled his shirt up over his head and began to unbutton his jeans.
"Slowly," Maya said. "Move closer together so I can see you both properly."
Within moments, both men were down to their underwear, Matt in flannel boxers, Stephen in silk briefs. "Lovely."
Matt nervously ran his hand across his chest. "You're having a go at us, aren't you?"
Side by side, Stephen was several inches taller than Matt, but not nearly as broad. His build was that of a swimmer, long waist and legs, wide shoulders, sleek muscles leading in deep V cuts down under the fabric of his briefs, his skin smooth and flawless. Matt on the other hand, stood wide, like a barbarian, thickly corded muscles, not as defined, more rugged, stocky. His arms were nearly as thick as his thighs, coarse black hair covering his chest.
Maya sighed, taking them both in, beautiful, handsome. "Not yet, but I plan to," she eventually answered. "Now hush. No talking."
She wanted some control, because the whole day up until this point had been out of her hands. Getting up from the bed, she walked around them, admiring their bodies. She went to Matt first. He was the more insecure of the two, and Stephen would understand, whereas if she took the incubus first, Matt's feelings would be hurt. Besides, if she'd learned nothing, she knew that Stephen liked to watch.
She knelt before Matt, her face level with his groin. He moaned, his shorts tenting before she even touched him. She blew across the flannel and watched his cock jerk to the left under the soft breeze. Instead of taking down the boxers, she parted the fly, and grasped his cock in her right hand. The thick shaft pulsed against her palm.
Matt shifted, uncomfortable. She held him firm, her left hand sliding up Stephen's thigh to the large bulging shaft under his briefs. She caressed his balls while taking Matt's cock into her mouth. Sucking the lycan's cock was a pleasure, the feel of the silky skin slipping past her teeth, sliding over her tongue.
She peered up and to the left, satisfied with the look of hungry passion on Stephen's face as he watched her. Groping for the waistband of the silk briefs, she pulled Stephen's underwear to his thighs. His shaft, longer than Matt's but not as thick, felt warm in her hand. She rolled her thumb across the tip, smearing pre-come.
"Ahh," came his sigh.
Matt's hand worked through her hair, pulling, pushing as she licked and sucked him, swallowing hard on his cock. She pulled Stephen closer, until the head of his cock brushed against her cheek. Slipping off Matt, she took Stephen into her mouth, giving him the same attention she'd given to the lycan.
She gazed up at Matt, his hand still fisting her hair. His eyes were closed, as if shutting away everything but Maya. She didn't want him to ignore Stephen, to pretend he wasn't there. She slipped the tip of his cock into her mouth, alongside the incubus'. Matt opened his eyes, heat pouring from his gaze.
Since returning from the Ozarks, the three of them hadn't slept together as a threesome often. The whole thing still made Matt uneasy. Maya slid both cocks between her lips, then licked each tip. She stood in front of both men and shed her clothing. She placed a hand on Stephen's cheek, then the other on Matt's.
Turning to Matt, she said, "I want you to eat my pussy, while..." She turned to Stephen. "...you fuck me." She'd never been so bold with her request, usually just happy to go along with whatever the men in her life wanted to do, but after the day she'd had, she decided life was too short not to ask for what she wanted.
Both men blinked. Stephen looked confounded. "But I..."
She put her finger to his lips. "I know you do. Which is why I want Matt to do it. He always gets to fuck, while you get to suck. It'll be a nice change of pace, don't you think? Besides, I'm not really feeling all that trusting right now."
Matt's face turned red. "I do have some control, you know."
"Yeah, that of a six-week-old puppy. Are we really going to fight? Or are you guys going to make me come?"
"Fine," Matt grumbled.
Maya turned with Matt, him facing her, her facing the bed. Stephen came up behind, his hands dragging along her hips, the sides of her thighs, then inside her thighs. He slid his finger into her pussy. "So hot and wet," he whispered against her neck.
Matt kissed down her chest, taking each of her nipples into his mouth, tugging with his teeth, tightening them before moving down to her abdomen. He pressed his tongue against the folds of her sex, then slipped it through, teasing her clit with his mouth. She moaned, leaning forward, spreading her legs for Stephen to take her from behind. With Matt licking her clit, flicking the tip of his tongue, if Stephen didn't hurry she'd come without him.
"Get in me. Now."
In one fluid motion, he impaled her, hard. Almost angrily. Fantastically. She cried out. Usually so gentle, Stephen thrust inside her, his hips undulating at a frantic pace. His fingers splayed across her ass, spreading her cheeks as his thumb played over her anus. She felt Matt's teeth graze her clit, then bite down. Not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough she'd be feeling it later.
She whimpered. Her skin danced with a million nerve endings firing all at once. "Is this how you want it, Maya?" Stephen's voice was thick, guttural.
"Yes," she told him. "Yes. Hard and quick. Alive."
He pumped his cock in and out, using her hips as handles, slamming her against him. She held Matt's face tight to her pussy, unwilling to let him slip off. Every part of her tightened, and when it released, the orgasm flooded her body as she shuddered forward. Even in the throes, Stephen was unrelenting, thrust after mighty thrust. She screamed when the second orgasm hit unexpectedly and she let Matt go.
Staring down into his face, she saw his eyes were reddened, teary -- his expression ghosted and weary. But Stephen's constant stroke made it hard for her to concentrate. Matt pulled himself up onto the bed. He looked nearly shattered, and suddenly the need to comfort him took over. "Stephen," she panted. "Stop. Stop."
He stopped. He didn't pull out of her. But he stopped. She moved forward and off his cock, slumping to the floor in front of Matt.
Stephen spoke first. "Are you happy now? Do you feel better?"
"No." She buried her face in her hands. "Why are you so angry? I thought you wanted..."
"To be treated like a sex toy, no batteries required?"
"I didn't..."
"Didn't you? I'm a lust demon, Maya. I know what it's like to use and be used with no regard to feelings or emotions."
"There were feelings, emotions."
"Really? Look at Matt. Sometimes I think I care more about his feelings than you do."
Stephen's words cut through her. She'd been punishing them, both of them, with sex, of all things. "I'm sorry. You're right." Maya crawled up onto the bed. "Matt." He moved up next to her and she cuddled in against his back.
Stephen sat on the edge of the bed, turned away from Maya. "I have to be more to you than just sex. I can't be with you thinking that's all there is between us."
"You know I love you. Both of you." Maya fought to hold back the tears threatening to spill.
"Do we?" Matt asked.
She kissed the back of his neck. "Yeah, you do. I'm just so angry about today. Every part of it. I took it out on you guys. That's what people do to the people they love, but I won't again. I promise." She rubbed her toes against Stephen's back. "Can we just lie here together? Sleep a little. I'm so tired."
Stephen nodded, then lay down behind her. Three naked bodies pressed together for comfort and reassurance.
"Do you guys still love me?" She nearly choked on the question.
"Yes," they said, almost in unison.
She sighed heavily as Matt's hand came back, resting over her hip, and Stephen wrapped his arm around her waist. It didn't take long for sleep to come.
Maya woke up alone in bed. Not alone in the room, however, because Stephen and Matt were both dressed -- Matt sitting in the corner chair, and Stephen staring out the window. "Coffee," she muttered sleepily.
Stephen pulled the curtain open, flooding the room with daylight. "Not yet. We were waiting for you to wake up."
"Oh, that." Yep, she'd forgotten for a single moment that her life was in danger. A pair of jeans, clean underwear, and a shirt were laid out neatly at the foot of the bed. Stephen. He liked to do stuff like that for her. Seeing the clothes, neatly folded, made her feel a little better. Hopefully he'd forgiven her a little since the night before.
"Best hurry. Paula will be here soon."
Paula, dear Lord in Heaven. She'd forgotten about her coffee and donut date. "She doesn't know that I'm dating both of you."
Matt finally looked up at her. "Is that what we're all doing? Dating?"
Maya sighed and started dressing. "What would you call it?"
"Combat," Matt said.
"I never said you had to be a part of this. Part of my life."
Matt stood up and opened the bedroom door. "And that's what kills me." He gestured to the hallway. "After you."
Stephen put his arm around her as they walked into the living room. "Sometimes, babe, you need to learn how to keep your mouth shut."
"Whatever." Let Matt sulk. It's what he'd done best since they'd gotten together more than three years ago.
While the men busied themselves, making coffee, straightening the counters, and avoiding her, Maya flipped through the seventy channels of crap on her television. Three times. She turned off the TV. Nervously twirling her thumbs, she formulated discussion after discussion about how she would explain Matt's presence to Paula. Nothing sounded plausible.
Paula arrived shortly, bearing gifts -- double espresso, mocha chai latte, and a box of raised, glazed, deliciously fattening donuts. Maya could feel disappointment from her friend almost immediately and she put her empathic blocks in place.
Paula frowned, her full lower lip jutting in a slight pout. "I thought it would just be the two of us. You know. A girl's afternoon."
"Well..." Maya took the espresso and stuffed a donut in her mouth, buying time to think.
Stephen to the rescue. "We're just helping out so Maya can get some rest."
"Hmm." Paula was unconvinced. "I can help her out. Why don't you guys take off? You both have jobs, right? Go to them."
"Maya's not the only bossy chick around here," Matt groused.
Paula's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"
Maya could feel the hackles rising. "Uhm, maybe you both should just find something to do, like maybe across the hall in Matt's apartment?" Inside she pleaded, begging them to relent this one time. They both stared at her like she was crazy. "Fine!"
She stuffed the rest of the donut in her mouth and grabbed Paula's hand.
"Where are we going?"
"To the bedroom," Maya said. She glared at Stephen and Matt. "Alone."
Slamming the door behind her, she sat down on the bed. Paula sat down next to her. "Tell me what's going on, hon."
"Nothing." Talk about reverting to five-year-old status.
"I've been seeing someone," Paula said.
Yay, a non-Maya's life is fucked up subject! "Really? Tell me about him."
"What makes you think it's a him?"
Maya turned sharply toward her friend. "No fucking way."
Paula laughed. "Made you look."
"Wench." She lightly punched Paula's arm. "That was just mean."
Paula raised an eyebrow. "But funny."
"Yeah, that too. So, seriously, you're seeing a guy?"
"For about three months now."
"I can't believe you haven't told me!"
"Really, when have I gotten to see you lately, Maya? You're a very busy woman. Hard to reach. Etcetera." She took Maya's hand. "I've wanted to tell you dozens of times."
"Well, tell me about him. What's his name? Is he cute? Good in bed? Give already."
"Jack."
"Jack who?"
"Jack Simon."
"My Jack?"
"I like to think of him as my Jack, but yeah, him."
Shocked. She felt genuinely shocked. "But you're not his type."
"Well, thanks a lot, Maya. Jeezus."
"I only meant..." Jack liked big women. Not tall, he wasn't tall himself, only 5'6", but he liked them pleasantly plump, and Paula was anything but. "God, I'm so happy for you!" She hugged Paula, quickly trying to undo the damage of her big mouth.
"Thank you." The woman beamed from ear to ear. And it dawned on Maya, this was the happiest she'd seen her friend in a long time.
"So, how's he in bed?"
"Maya!"
"What, I'm curious. I can't help it." She laughed.
"Like a hydraulic jackhammer. Powerful, strong, and can go all night long."
"Oh. My. God!"
They giggled like schoolgirls. It felt great talking about stuff not involving life or death. A really good distraction.
"I've been dying to tell you. I just wanted to wait until I was sure about Jack."
"So, you're sure, huh?"
"It's incredible, Maya. I can't even tell you how long it's been since I've been with a man who can't keep his hands off me. He's so nice, always wanting to do stuff for me." She sighed, sweetly, happily. That lasted a second before she turned serious. "I guess you would know what I'm talking about considering you have two guys at your beck and call."
Fan-fucking-tastic. She'd wanted to avoid this conversation. She batted her eyelashes innocently. "Why, Paula, whatever do you mean?"
"I know you're seeing both my brother and Matthew Brewer, even if they hadn't both been here when I showed up. I am dating Jack after all."
Mental note: Kill Jack. "I... well, it's hard to explain. Besides, when did my love life become the hot topic of conversation?"
"Oh, about the time you started doing two guys at once." Paula threw up her hands. "Being honest here."
"Fine. I guess there's nothing to say then. You already know." Her voice sounded sullen, even to her own ears.
"You're not just using him, right? I don't think I could take that."
"No. I love him, Paula. Seriously, love him."
"If you're using the 'L' word, it has to be serious. But then, I don't understand why you're doing Matt."
"I'm not doing Matt." Exhaling noisily, she ran her fingers through her short brown hair. "I... I love him too."
Paula snorted. "Greedy much?" She shook her head. "Can you really call what you're doing love? I don't want to lecture you..."
"Then don't."
"But."
"There's always a but." Maya rolled her eyes.
"Love requires sacrifice. It doesn't seem to me that you've sacrificed anything."
Only privacy and sanity. "And what big sacrifices have you made? Give me a break." The conversation was pissing her off. Maya understood Paula just wanted to look out for her little brother, but come on. "Stephen's a big boy. He can handle himself and his heart."
"You say you love him. Fine. I know I love him. He's my flesh and blood, Maya. I don't mind your sexual antics. I know you don't equate sex with emotion for the most part, but I see the way he looks at you. He's completely smitten."
"Smitten?" She nearly laughed.
Paula blushed. "Sorry, watched some old movies with Jack last night. You know what I mean, though. I've never seen him act like this with anyone. Ever.
"And Matt. My Lord, woman. The man looks miserable. Is it love to keep them both dangling, both of them knowing the other is having sex with you? I can't believe they can stand being in the same room with each other, let alone be okay about sharing you in bed."
Maya felt her gut clench and her emotional guard fell. "Well..."
Paula's shock, disgust, horror, and fascination poured over Maya like hot oil. "Oh, no. You're literally having sex with both of them, aren't you? Like a total threesome thing? But I thought..."
"They don't have sex with each other, if that's what you're thinking." Try as she might, Maya couldn't get her mental shields back in place. The strong emotions were overwhelming, and she could hear the whispers of Paula's frantic thoughts bouncing in her brain. Maya grabbed her head. "Stop, please. Just stop."
"I haven't said anything."
The black cloud formed along the ceiling, again swirling into a vortex. "Paula, get out!" Maya pushed her friend off the bed, scrambling to the side where she'd dropped her pistol.
"What is it?" The black fog moved quickly, entering Paula, her green eyes turning liquid black.
Maya held her gun up. "Don't." She couldn't shoot. Not her best friend. Her human friend. Someone who wouldn't survive the damage. Panic gripped her tightly. Her hand shook, but she carefully kept her finger off the trigger.
Paula, or whatever possessed her, looked confused. "Why won't you join?"
At least it was talking, not trying to kill her. Yet. "I'm more a loner than a joiner. Sorry."
"You must join."
"If you're here for Jerry's Kids, I gave at the office."
Its eyes narrowed. "I don't understand."
"You and me both." The thing referred to itself as I. "What are you? Why are you trying to kill me?"
"You must join."
"You keep saying that, but I don't understand. Is this some sort of weird sci-fi, 'I am the borg, I must assimilate' sort of thing?"
"Assimilate. To absorb. To take in. Yes. You understand."
"No, I don't. I really friggin' don't." It took a step toward her, and Maya stepped back. "Stop. I don't want to hurt you." Amendment. She wanted to hurt it, just not Paula in the process.
"Your body must cease. You must assimilate."
"Stephen! Matt!" She needed the boys to come to her rescue, and now.
"They cannot hear you."
"What did you do to them?"
"Nothing. They await on the other side of the door."
Maya wondered the extent of the entity's power. "Did you do something to keep them from hearing what's going on in this room?"
"Yes." It stepped forward again. "You must join."
This had gone way beyond Star Trek weird and had stepped into the world of Dr. Who. Maybe it would be okay to give Paula a flesh wound. Something in the arm, or leg. She could survive that, right? But there was always a chance of hitting an artery, and Stephen would be pissed either way. Wait. The thing had said the guys were on the other side of the door. They couldn't hear, but they were there. Maya wondered if they could feel.
She moved her arm a bit to the left, aimed her 9mm and fired right through the door. Matt shouted, "Goddammit!" They burst through the door, splintering it down the middle. "What the fuck? You nearly took my nose off!"
Paula's back was to them, and Maya had resumed pointing her weapon at the woman. Stephen stepped forward. "Maya?"
"It's in Paula. Help me. I don't want to hurt her."
Matt wrapped his arms around Paula. The darkness moved from her body to his. He let her go, his blue eyes filled with inky blackness. The small blonde woman collapsed to the floor. Matt snarled, razor sharp claws held ready. Maya shot him in the shoulder. He leapt through the air at her before she could get off another round, but he was tackled mid-air by Stephen, as they rolled across the bed. When Stephen stood up, his eyes were black. He came around the bed at her.
Even stunned, Maya shot him four times. Eight rounds, only three left. "Shit!" Matt came roaring across the bed. Fully furred, he sunk his teeth into Stephen's shoulder. The blackness oozed backwards into the lycan and Stephen drooped in its mouth. Shooting wasn't going to help. Nothing would. They couldn't stop the creature. It would just keep going until Maya either killed everyone she loved, or let it kill her. So, she dropped the gun, closed her eyes, stilled her mind, and waited for death.
After a few moments of waiting, she opened her eyes. Matt, Stephen, and Paula lay in heaps on the floor, and the darkness had gone. Maya leaned against the wall and slid down until her knees touched her chest. She had resolved herself for death, and death went away. There was no comfort in the thought. It meant the entity was unpredictable, wanting to kill her one moment, then fleeing the next. Well, she wouldn't punch a gift horse in the mouth, but still.
The thing had body-hopped through the three most important people in her life as if it were a knife and they were butter. But why hadn't it jumped into Maya? It seemed if it could possess and control a body, the easiest solution would be to jump into Maya and use the 9mm to blow her brains out. Suicide by proxy. No muss, no fuss. So much for Ockham's Razor.
She didn't feel like crying. Not this time. She did, however, feel like screaming. So, she screamed. And screamed. Then screamed again. It didn't make her feel better. "Shit."
She moved to Matt and Stephen, both of them healing already, breathing just fine. They looked sweet, like sleeping little boys. She checked Paula next. Same. Breathing, peaceful.
Because she didn't know what to do next, she called Jack.
Jack sat on the couch with Paula cradled in his arms. She hadn't woken yet, but she was talking in her sleep. A good sign, right? Matt and Stephen were cleaning up in the bathroom, because while they'd healed, dried blood could be a bitch to scrub off. Jack had brought Neely along, and the ex-cop was happily whistling as he shampooed the carpet in her bedroom with a steam cleaner.
"You're good at that."
He grunted. "I like housework."
That surprised her. Not so much that he liked housework, but more the fact that he'd admit it. "Thanks for coming."
"You are surrounded by freaky shit."
Strange response, but she took it. "Yep. That'd be me. I'm just going to go check on everyone."
Neely grunted again. A man of few words.
In the bathroom, Matt and Stephen stood shirtless, both with washcloths, wiping the blood from their chests. Matt didn't have any on his back, but Stephen had a large area on his shoulder where the bullet had exited and Matt had bitten him. "You guys okay?" She took the incubus' wet cloth and used it on his back.
"Yeah," Matt said. "You?"
They'd already gone through the formalities of asking earlier, but the constant reassurance was nice. They both touched her, stroking her shoulders, her arms, comforting. "I feel like the favorite pet."
Stephen smiled. "You are."
Maya snapped her fingers. "Now is not the time for pussy metaphors."
"Matthew?" a voice called from the front room. Woman. Prissy. Snooty. Isy.
"Dear God of all that is sweet and good, what the hell is your mother doing here?" Maya whispered harshly.
"Be out in a minute, Mom." He glared at Maya.
"I'm getting a cowbell for that door if it's the last thing I do." She was tired of people coming and going, well, mostly coming, without her being aware of it.
"Don't be ridiculous, dear." Isy poked her head into the bathroom. She saw the bloodstained washcloths. "Oh, my. What happened?" Then she caught a whiff of Stephen. "Oh, my."
Maya recognized the look. "Close the door. Matt. Close the door." Isy was getting a dose of Stephen's good ju-ju juice, aka sex pheromones, and lycan plus ju-ju made for some really bad mojo. Isy's eyes were already shifting as she licked her lips, body shaking with lust.
Matt tried to push her out, but Isy wasn't having it. She pushed back with the strength of a momma bitch in heat. She reached out for Stephen, but Maya stepped between them. "I'm going to snap you like a rag doll if you don't get out of my way. I want him." Isy growled to make her point. She swatted at Maya, who ducked, and her hand came in contact with the incubus' chest.
Then things got crazy. "Stop her!" Maya yelled. Matt grabbed her around the waist as Isy wered out -- fur, snout, teeth, and all.
Then it got even worse. "Isadora?" Duncan Brewer's voice came down the hall. When he saw Matt trying to tackle his wife out of the room, he decided to come on down and join the party.
Maya yanked Stephen to the floor while the lycan trio grappled in the doorway. "Crawl," she told him. Stephen nodded and they slipped past the distracted wolves. Jack and Neely came running to see the commotion. "On my say, I'll grab Matt, you guys shove them in." Them being Isy and Duncan.
She stood up, grabbed Matt's arm, and yelled, "Now!" Neely, Jack, and Stephen (even though it probably wasn't a great idea) shoved at the were-couple who went tumbling toward the tub. She slammed the door between them.
"Man the door," she ordered Matt. "You," she pointed at Stephen. "Go next door until they settle down."
"What do you want us to do, boss?" Neely already had his .38 pulled.
"If they get through the door, shoot them."
"You're not going to shoot my parents," Matt said while trying to keep the door from coming off the hinges.
Damn it, she'd already had one door ruined. "They'll survive."
"Not the point."
"Fine!" She turned to Neely and mouthed the words, "Shoot them."
He nodded his affirmative.
Soon, the two lycans quit beating at the door, and god-awful noises could be heard from within. A howl, a growl, a screeching moan. "What the hell is going on in there?"
Matt looked haunted. "You do not want to know."
Oh. Yuck. Sex! They were having sex in her bathroom. At least it'd be over soon, right? Wrong. Twenty minutes later, their songs of passion were driving a migraine into Maya's head. She left the hall and went into the living area. An old woman sat on the couch. Paula was in the chair across from her, staring numbly ahead, unaware of the commotion.
The old woman cackled. "Ah, lycanthropes. They are vigorous creatures are they not?"
"Yeah, they are. Who are you?"
Even her wrinkles looked surprised. "I'm the shamus."
"And that means?" Maya noticed that her left eye was milky in color, while the right was a dark brown. Her wrinkled skin was bronze, resembling cracked leather, and her hair, while tidy in a bun, was snow white.
A howl resounded through the apartment and neither the shamus nor Paula reacted, but it startled the bejeezus out of Maya. Staring at Paula, she worried. The blank stare, no reaction -- what if the thing had scrambled her brain?
"Your friend is fine. She's simply catatonic for the moment related to post-traumatic stress."
"So you're a head shrink?"
"Of a type. I did actually study psychology in my youth. But women were allowed so little in ways of employment back then. It was sheer folly on my part, but I don't regret the time I spent."
"Who are you again?"
"The shamus, my dear. Do pay attention."
Okay, it was like getting scolded by her third grade teacher. "Assuming I knew what a shamus was, why are you here?"
"Matthew Brewer. He asked his mother to arrange a meeting with me. I haven't been to the city in such a long time, I thought it would be a hoot."
Maya laughed. "A hoot, huh?" She heard crashes from the bathroom and grimaced. "I think my sink just hit the floor."
"Vigorous." The old woman fought to keep the smile off her face, but she couldn't keep it out of her voice.
"You're enjoying all this, aren't you?"
"Oh, why not." She clapped her arthritic hands together. "I'm old. And this is the most entertainment I've had in a while. Your incubus is quite good looking, by the way. Very handsome."
"How did you know?"
"I've got eyes, dear."
"I mean about him being an incubus. You're not lycan, or you'd have followed him to the apartment across the way."
"That. Well, as I've told you..."
"I know, you're the shamus." She was waiting for the Twilight Zone music to begin, and Rod Sterling to come out from behind the curtain.
Series of grunts and groans ensued. Maya tried to block them from her mind. Thinking of Isy having sex, ewww, her ponytail hair extension thing-a-ma-jig bouncing up and down. Yikes.
The shamus leaned forward. "Why don't you tell me about this possessing ghost of yours while they're finishing? It may take your mind off the unpleasantness you feel about their impromptu coitus."
Who talked like that? "Is that why Matt wanted to see you? About the... entity?"
"That's a start. Yes. That's why he wanted me to come. I'm an expert in the realms of paranormal. Better yet, instead of telling me, why don't you show me?" She held her hands out for Maya to take.
Reluctantly, Maya accepted. As soon as their palms connected, the entire series of events revolving around the darkness flashed through Maya's head like a slide show. It was uncomfortable, but not painful. And it was as if she were watching it as a bystander, not someone involved. Detached. It was what she imagined a Vulcan mind-meld might feel like. Live long and prosper, and all that good jazz.
When the old woman let her hands go, she breathed heavily and slumped back onto the couch. "Strange. Yes. Peculiar."
"Do you know what it is?"
"Not exactly. No. But it's familiar."
Isy, Duncan, and Matt chose that moment to come down the hallway. Neely and Jack followed them close behind. Neely still had his gun drawn. Matt narrowed his eyes at Maya. "Can you tell this guy at ease, already?"
"It's okay, Neely. Good man."
He grunted and turned back toward the bedroom. Maya could only assume he was going to finish the cleaning job.
Isy primped her hair, smoothing her squirrel's tail, aka the hairpiece, and clearing her throat uncomfortably. "That was... unsettling."
Duncan, for the big, bad wolf that he was, looked wholly satisfied. Eww! again.
Maya rubbed her chin. "Would you like a smoke?"
"No, thank you. I don't indulge," Isy answered.
"Kidding."
"I don't do that either." She took Duncan's arm. "You all talk with the shamus. We're going to go sightseeing." She winked at Maya as she passed. "Tell Stephen it's safe to come back now." On her way out the door, Duncan in hand, Isy had an extra dip in her step. More boot knocking would ensue, of that Maya was certain. But at least, thank heavens, it wouldn't be in her apartment.
As the door closed behind them, Maya sighed. "What a disaster."
Matt became defensive. "You're a disaster."
She was too tired to fight. "Yep. That too. I can't believe your parents had sex in my apartment. And loudly, I might add."
"Tell me about it. There are some things a child should never know about his mother."
"Like the fact that she screams fuck me harder when she's getting ready to orgasm," Jack interjected.
Matt snarled. "Yeah, exactly like that. Thanks for the reminder."
Watching Jack, his arm around Paula, stroking her hair, she realized how very human he could be. "How come you didn't tell me you were dating her?"
"Because it's none of your business."
Wow. "Fair enough. I think you should take her back to your apartment. It's not safe around me."
Jack helped Paula to stand. Then he picked her up, cradling the blonde in his arms. "It never is."
So much for a warm fuzzy moment. Neely came out of the back winding the steam cleaner cord up around his arm as he pushed the machine. "Done." He gestured to Jack. "Ride?"
"Sure." Jack looked at Maya. "Don't die."
"Okay." She smiled, tight-lipped. Such touching concern, she didn't know what to do with herself. "Can you knock on the apartment across the way? Just to let Stephen know it's safe to come back."
He nodded, and the three of them left.
Matt took the old woman's hand. Kneeling, he kissed her gnarled knuckles. "Hello, shamus."
She nodded. "Matthew. Always such a good boy." Stephen walked in. She looked at him wistfully with her good eye. "Ah, the incubus returns. If I were eighty years younger, you'd be in trouble, young man."
Stephen grinned. "I bet I would."
Touching. Not. "Stephen, the shamus -- shamus, Stephen."
"I know who she is, Maya. I'm not a complete dope."
No, apparently, Maya was the only dope around there. "Well, excuse me. I was trying to be polite."
"It's all right, my dear. You're all on edge and sniping at each other won't help. Come sit, all of you."
Good little kids that they were, they did as she told them. Maya sat between Stephen and Matt on the couch, while the old woman perched in the chair opposite them.
"Where are your people from, girl?"
People? "My parents? They live about an hour east of Kansas City. Haven't talked to them since I was fifteen, but I've been told they still live there."
"You were adopted."
Maya knew she was adopted, but the old gal sounded like she knew it as fact also. "How do you..."
"I know things, Maya. If you can accept that, it'll make the whole process easier."
Matt and Stephen both took her hands. They sensed her vulnerability. To not be wanted by her biological parents, then again rejected by the parents who chose her, it's the sort of thing that does major damage to the psyche. "Why not? I can read emotions. Why can't you know? Makes perfect sense." But it didn't. Not really.
"You use your humor as a weapon. A defense mechanism. You believe that if you make yourself hard, inside and out, nothing and no one can hurt you."
Third rate pop psychology. "Try telling me something helpful."
Matt squeezed her hand in warning.
What? Was the old woman going to limp across the coffee table and gum her arm to death? Jeez. "Look, I've had a very bad two days. I apologize if I sound snippy, but something has tried to kill me three times, and it's the way I feel. Snippy."
"Twice."
"Huh?"
"It's only tried to actually kill you twice. The first time, you'd already died."
Maya coughed. "Semantics."
"Truth, my girl."
Maya coughed again. "Bullshit."
The old woman narrowed her brow, all humor gone from her face. Her milky eye began to swirl and sparkle. "I grow tired of your smart mouth. If you weren't such an interesting specimen, I'd leave you to your fate."
Interesting? A specimen? Something to pickle in a jar? Is that what the shamus thought she was? Maya didn't care how much her eye went all creepy and such, she wasn't going to let some old fart treat her like a science experiment. "I've had enough."
"Shut up, Maya. Enough already." Stephen's tone was bitter, angry. "For fuck sake. You may not give a shit about what's going on, but we do. Or have you forgotten that the thing has to come through us to get to you? Do you even care?"
Unexpected. "I..."
Matt's turn. "I'm sick of your crap. Goddamn. Anytime someone tries to help you, you chew their head off, or worse yet, shoot them. You want to chase us away? Is that the deal?"
Again, unexpected. And a little mean. "I have..."
"We do everything we can to be with you. To make you happy so you'll give just an ounce of your attention, but you can't even do this? Just sit and listen. God! And you call us idiots." Stephen.
"I'm out of here," Matt said, suddenly standing. "I can't do this anymore. You coming, Stephen?"
Stephen looked at Maya and shook his head. "Yeah, I'm coming."
The front door slammed behind them. Maya felt dumbstruck. Suddenly numb. "Happy now?"
The shamus wearily watched her. "Are you?"
"Do I look happy?"
"No, but isn't that what you wanted? To drive them away."
"I wanted to drive you away."
"Are you sure? I'm still here, while the men in your life have gone."
"Why is that?"
"Because I wanted to talk to you alone." She leaned forward in the chair, her widow's hump becoming more prominent. "I want you to listen."
Maya sighed, rubbing at the pain forming between her eyes. "So talk."
"You think it's a what?" Maya asked. The old gal had a serious Brothers Grimm complex. Gory fairy tales that didn't end well.
"They were called the Astrallu. It's where the name astral came when people talked of spirits. Ghosts. They were a people destined for great things, but they all but vanished over the last century."
Maya huffed. "The only thing I'm destined for is a purse sale at Macy's." Actually, shopping sounded really good at the moment.
"I'm not saying you are Astrallu. I'm not saying you aren't. I'm just saying, it's a good probability."
"So these people, these Astrallu, why are they targeting me?" The question of the week.
"I don't think anything is targeting you, as you say. I think you are Astrallu and the entity is your astral half."
"How is that even possible?"
"You're an empath, Maya. A lot of people would say that's impossible. The uncertainty lies in the timing. According to legend, Astrallu were joined at puberty. You are beyond that time in your life."
"Thanks for pointing out how old I am."
"Let me put it in terms you can understand. You attract supernatural and paranormal creatures like a bug light. No human can do that. You read human emotions, and lately you've been able to read thoughts. You heal with the rapidity of something inhuman. And all this evidence doesn't make you wonder? Consider the possibilities, my dear."
"I'm human." Maya sniffed. She'd been human her whole life -- she didn't want to be anything else.
"Partially. I agree. I think that's why your astral has developed so late in life."
"Again with my age?" She was a thirty-something now, and feeling every year of it.
"I think your near death experience is what manifested the astral in the first place. If you hadn't died for those few minutes, you might have lived out your life never knowing."
"So, the gist. Be killed. If I'm Astrallu, I evolve into some supernatural life form and live. If I'm not, well, 'sorry 'bout your bad luck, Maya. See you in the next life?' That's what you're telling me?" She wanted Stephen and Matt. She needed them to help her make sense of the situation. "What about becoming a lycan? Sorcerers can do it and change what they are. Can I?" She couldn't believe she was even considering the possibility.
"No. You are exceptional, Maya. I've only met one other of your kind. The Astrallu are all but extinct. If you are Astrallu, you can only be what you are. Your biology allows for nothing else."
"So, if you're right, this black cloud hanging over my head is my own making?"
"Yes. I think it occurs when you completely open your abilities to the world around you. When you're blocking your abilities, you block the astral."
Hope. "Great. All I have to do is keep my shields up all the time. Actually, this makes complete sense. The first time it happened, I was doped up, too loopy to guard. The second time was with Stephen, and since I can't read much from him anyhow, I never bother to block, and the third time, Paula caught me off my game."
"This is a lot to digest, my dear. And I'm tired. I'm old. And I need a nap."
"Take my bed," Maya offered. She wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.
After getting the shamus settled into bed, Maya poured herself a cup of coffee and made a package of instant butter grits. Her comfort food. She could do this. If all she had to do was block her empathic abilities, then she'd learn to do it twenty-four/seven. It would keep her off the supernatural train, while keeping the people she loved safe.
Matt and Stephen. Stephen and Matt. With everything that had happened, she wondered if Paula wasn't right. Was she selfish? Not willing to sacrifice for love? She couldn't choose between them. Wouldn't. She'd rather be alone than have to pick one man over the other. It might not be fair, but that's how she felt.
Realistically though, could she live without her ability? It had been an inherent part of her being for most of her life. No. She could handle doing without -- a far better choice than the alternative. She resisted the impulse to run out of the apartment and across the hall.
For like two whole seconds.
Within moments, she was knocking on Matt's door. It opened with the chain lock still attached. Matt stared at her. "It's gone. The thing's gone. We're safe." Not the most romantic opening line, and not entirely true. But she panicked.
"I can't talk to you right now, Maya. I'm glad you're safe. Really. But I need space." Matt fought the urge to take Maya in his arms and hold her. If she stood in front of him much longer, he wouldn't be able to stop himself. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"I miss you. I miss Stephen."
He missed her as well. Stephen was completely miserable. It had surprised the hell out of the lycan when Stephen agreed to leave with him. "We're not crutches, Maya."
If the truth be told, he liked Stephen. In a brotherly way, the way polygamists had sister-wives, the incubus had sort of become his brother-husband. Sharing in the responsibility and care that went into loving Maya Eddings. But she needed to learn they weren't the only ones responsible for making the relationship work.
That was the reason he'd opened the door. The incubus would crumble, hell, he was having difficulty not caving in. Maya's magnificence made him want to jump through hoops, roll over, and play dead. Anything to be with her, to touch her, to smell her skin. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. His cock stiffened and he closed the door between them.
He heard Maya slide down the door. She was crying. His heart wrenched in his chest. Stephen came up behind him.
"I want to let her in, Matt." The incubus sounded lost, as lost as Matt felt.
"Me too." He shook his head. "We can't. She doesn't see us as real. Can't you see?"
"I think she's been punished enough, don't you? Do you want to be just one more person in her life that's supposed to love her, but abandons her all the same? I can't. I can't do that. Not to Maya."
"Is this an unconditional love speech?"
"Nothing's unconditional, Matt. I don't want her to stop loving me, even if I'll always love her more. I can live with what she has to give. Can you?"
Loving her constantly and more than she could possibly love back -- it was a tall order for any man. Let alone a lycanthrope. Matt slid the chain from the lock, opened the door, and both men helped Maya to her feet. "Come in," he said.
Maya wiped at her eyes. "Will you guys ever forgive me?" She felt desperate. She hated being so needy. It was such a girl move.
Stephen slipped behind her, his hands smoothing down her arms. "Can you just let us love you?"
She leaned into his shoulder. "Yes."
Matt slid his hand up her shirt. "I want you so bad it hurts."
They were in pain, both of them, so much in pain. And Maya could only blame herself. "I'm here." She kissed his mouth, sucking his lower lip as his hands worked her jeans.
Stephen reached around the front of her and tugged her shirt over her head and pealed off her jeans. He unsnapped the bra next. His fingers caressed her breasts, rolling her nipples, tugging. She moaned against Matt's mouth, then broke from the kiss. She turned in their arms, on tiptoe, naked, she pulled Stephen's face to hers, thrusting her tongue between his teeth. Matt's hands, Stephen's hands, wonderful, large hands rubbed over her body, massaging all her doubts and worries into oblivion.
Her pussy -- wet, heated -- pulsed under their touch. The warmth of their bodies made her sweat, their skin sliding with wicked friction against the moisture. Matt's fingers slipped between her thighs, Stephen's found her clit. They worked her, front and back.
"So hot," Stephen murmured.
"So wet," Matt added.
Stephen kissed his way down her neck, her breasts, her stomach, his tongue stopping to twirl and tease her belly button. He slipped the length between the folds of her pussy, flicking against her clit until she panted. Matt held her up under her arms, nearly lifting her from the floor. He was naked. She didn't know when that happened. His cock pressed against her ass, hard. Rock hard. So good.
She rocked back onto him, aching to be filled. Matt lifted her arm, his fingers trailing sensually down her side, while Stephen's teeth grazed against her swollen clit. "I need you to fuck me. Please fuck me."
Matt lifted her from the floor and turned her on his shoulder. She laughed with joy, grabbing Stephen's hand and dragging him from the floor as her lycan carried her caveman style to the bedroom. He held her up until Stephen was naked and lying on the bed, his shaft solid and thick. Ready.
She crawled up the incubus' thighs, straddling his cock. She held the length and slid her pussy down over it. Biting her lower lip, she leaned forward, making room for Matt. Stephen slowly rocked his hips, stroking his cock inside her. Matt's fingers were lubed, not that she needed it, as they stroked the skin of her opening, stretching her wider, his fingers sliding against Stephen's cock, thrusting with her.
Stephen's thumbs played against her clit, drumming. "Oh, God!" she cried out. The orgasm hit without warning, her hips jerking forward, as pleasure took her.
When the spasms subsided, Matt pressed his cock against her. He growled, low and throaty as he pushed the tip past the opening, sliding his shaft in next to Stephen's. It felt so tight, the smallest amount of burning pain, as both men fucked her pussy. Matt's finger slipped into her ass as he thrust, carefully, keeping pace with Stephen.
"Yes," Maya panted. Having them both inside her made her feel complete. Whole. "Fuck me harder," she screamed as the pressure of another orgasm began to build. "Oh, God. Yes."
Matt howled as he pumped his hips against her ass. Stephen rocked his groin faster, grunting, groaning, sweat beading on his forehead. "Maya!" he cried out, his body shuddering beneath her. His climax triggered her own, and her body quaked under the ecstasy. Matt pumped hard four more times, then moaned loudly as he shook against her back, both of them coming hard inside her.
After a few moments of blissful silence, they all rolled to the left. And Maya began to sob. Love made you weak. Love could damage. That's what she'd been told in the past. But all she felt was joy, and that's why she cried. Both men wrapped their arms around her, holding her tightly. "Don't let me go. Never let me go." She meant it metaphorically, of course. Because eventually she'd have to get up to pee.
"We've got you," Matt said.
"We're not going anywhere." Stephen kissed her brow.
"I didn't realize. I... I haven't been fair. To either of you. Is it wrong to love you both the way I do?"
"I used to think so." Matt stroked her hair. "But, now. Hell, Maya, I don't think one man could handle you all by himself." He grinned now.
Stephen laughed. "From your lips, brother." The incubus' mood turned mischievous. "I never realized how much you and Isy had in common."
Matt growled.
Maya turned in Stephen's arms. "You've got to be kidding, right?"
"Fuck me harder!" he mocked. Matt smacked him in the back of the head. "Ow."
"Mean." Maya grimaced. "Mean and hateful." But dear Lord, it was true!
Even Matt began to chuckle. "I'm going to have nightmares. I know it."
Maya smiled. "Okay, you all can let me up now."
Matt grasped her arm. "I thought you just said..."
"When a girl's got to pee, a girl has to pee."
He let her go and flopped back on the bed. She turned once before leaving the bedroom to admire both their gloriously naked bodies. In that second, she felt happiness. Sheer unadulterated happiness. Then the black cloud of death descended. Right into Matt.
The panic turned in Maya as she fought to throw up her blocks. She'd let them slip. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Matt, all black tarry eyed, stood from the bed. Stephen grabbed him and the darkness shifted. Maya did the only thing she could. Run. She ran straight through the apartment, out into the hallway. If she could just get to her place before...
"Hey, boss." Neely strolled out of the elevator. He didn't even seem shocked that she was naked. As a matter of fact, he ignored it altogether. "I left my house key in your bedroom."
"Run," she yelled at him. She moved to her door. It was locked. She felt for her keys, but since they were in her jeans pocket, crumpled in a pile on Matt's floor... she banged on the door.
Stephen stepped out into the hallway. His eyes inky black. "Join me."
Neely pulled his gun. "Should I shoot him?"
Matt came stumbling out next. He tried to drag Stephen back into the apartment, but the darkness shifted again. Stop thinking. Stop feeling. But she couldn't. She'd opened the floodgates and the water was coming, whether she liked it or not.
Matt turned to her, black fur glistening. "Join me."
"Do you want me to shoot him?" Neely, ever being helpful.
It wouldn't end. Never. "Shoot me," she ordered the ex-cop.
He raised an eyebrow.
"No!" Stephen yelled. He kicked out, knocking the lycan to the ground. Again, the astral jumped into the incubus.
Maya looked at both her men. "I love you." She turned to Neely, pounding her fist against her chest. "Now, shoot me, goddammit. That's an order."
"You're the boss." He aimed his .38 and the last thing that Maya felt was the explosion of pain in her brain as the bullet hit her square between the eyes.
The blinding pain left Maya almost instantly. A sense of perfect peace settled through her, although it really wasn't her anymore. Or was it? She floated above her body, the astral right above her. She wondered why she didn't feel the separation from her flesh. Kind of a letdown, really. Something like death should have more pow or kick to it. Instead, it was like... moving on.
Join me, it called out.
It had left Stephen as soon as Neely shot her. She looked at the darkness. I can't believe he shot me in the head.
Lingering for a moment, she worried for her guys, who were wracked with grief as they held her lifeless body. She didn't really believe she'd make it back to them. Not now.
Join me.
Wow, you're impatient. Funny enough, she felt relaxed. No more anxiety over the future. No more angst about the past. I'm ready.
The astral floated down, melting into her spirit. Even though she didn't have a physical body, the blending tingled. It felt pleasant. Safe. Its color began to change, she changed. Her spirit had been white, and while white and black generally make gray, in Maya's case, her spirit turned bright pink. Man, I hate pink. The astral was silent. No longer separate from her.
She waited for whatever would come next. But nothing happened. She looked down again. Neely had pulled out his cell phone. Either Jack, or 911. If Maya had to guess, she'd say he was calling Jack. Matt and Stephen looked miserable. She longed to comfort them.
Something finally began to happen. She was being sucked, like a vacuum. Finally, I'm moving into the light! But, there was no light. Only darkness. And the weightlessness went away. She felt heavy, solid, like being encased in stone. Oh no, I'm going to hell, for fuck sake.
"Maya." She heard her name being called. "Oh, God. Maya!"
Great, they knew her in hell by name.
"Can you hear me? Open your eyes, babe," another voice came.
Babe? Who in hell would call her babe?
She blinked. And there was light. Sitting up, she sucked in a deep breath, coughing and sputtering as her lungs grew used to taking air again. "Jeezus," she wheezed. Miracle of miracles, she'd somehow made it back into her body.
"Never mind," Neely said into the phone. He flipped it closed. "Like I said before. Freaky shit. Forget the keys, boss. I'll stay at a friend's house tonight."
It was the most she'd ever heard him say in one sitting. Then she remembered -- he'd shot her between the eyes! Quickly, her fingers went to her forehead where she should have had a massive hole. Excellently enough, the skin felt smooth -- not even tacky from blood. "Holy fuck, that hurt."
"Yeah, getting shot doesn't feel so hot, does it?" Matt grabbed her into a bear hug.
Stephen wiped the wetness from his cheeks. "Downright sucks."
"What happened? I mean, how did I come back?"
"You lit up like a pink neon sign, then bang, the bullet popped out, the hole closed in your forehead and your heart started beating," Stephen said. "Your eyes are still glowing sort of a hot pink."
"Crap, I hope that goes away," she complained. "I really do hate pink."
The neighbor lady from 34A popped her head out her door. She wore curlers and a plastic cap. She gasped when she saw the three of them in a naked heap in the hallway floor. "I'm calling the cops if you hooligans don't keep it down."
"Sorry, Ms. Ventri." Maya laughed.
The woman shook her head in disgust, and went back into her apartment. What Ms. Ventri didn't know was Maya had heard every lustful thought the woman had as she scoped out Matt's gorgeous naked body.
Maya pinched Matt's ass. "She is so crushing on you."
"How about we handle one crush at a time?" Stephen kissed her hard on the lips.
"Another Maya sandwich. I can deal with that." She heard their thoughts as well. All the questions, the worries, concerns. They were both content to wait until later to find out, needing to have her again, to prove she was real. She could live with that. As they helped her from the ground, she realized her ass felt warm and wet. "Crap."
Stephen and Matt stopped to look at her.
"Guess I don't have to pee anymore. We'd better hit the shower first, boys." She stared at the wet spot on the carpet. "I wonder if Neely would bring his steam cleaner back over."
"Come on," Stephen said. "Let's go inside." They put their arms around her and the three of them went back to Matt's apartment.
Paula recovered from the catatonic state. Jack stayed mad at Maya for nearly a week. They'd been friends for a long time, but Paula being in danger almost changed all that. It made Maya feel good. It meant Jack loved Paula. Not bad.
Isy and Duncan stayed for a few days, and Maya took Duncan out to lunch one afternoon so Isy could go see Michael, Matt's exiled brother. His wife Jenny was finally showing now that she'd entered the second trimester of her pregnancy, and Maya had been only too happy to be a part of the reunion.
Matt, Maya, and Stephen agreed to get a house together. One big happy family. Maya's evolution had taken them all by storm, and while she wasn't sure what it meant, she felt grateful she wouldn't have to find out on her own. Matt and Stephen needed her. But she needed them in her life just as much, or more.
Three weeks after the "joining," as the shamus had called it, Maya felt as if she were finally getting some control back in her life. Like she ever had any. But at least she had gone back to work. Conrad Gentry hired Maya for another signing. Jack took the front of the bookstore. No Nonsense Neely, as she'd taken to calling him, walked the mid-section. He had stuck with the security agency, and Maya was grateful. The ex-cop was a mixture of antisocial with a hint of psychotic, but Maya could deal, considering nothing seemed to faze him.
Maya, as always, stayed close to the client. She brought the 9mm along. It was tucked safely in her shoulder holster under her leather jacket. Conrad had insisted it stay concealed. Didn't want to freak out the kiddies. In truth, Maya had developed a few more unique abilities since her evolution which made the gun almost unnecessary. She didn't care. The cold hard steel made her feel better. Like an adult binky.
The atmosphere was less hostile than the last time, but there were still a few stray idiots holding a grudge. And as a result of her newly developed senses, she could hear them, hear them all. Even better yet, she'd learned to filter their thoughts and emotions so she knew exactly who to watch.
So, this time, when an angry fan stepped up, prepared to do damage, Maya held out her hand. She could feel the warm tingling sensation flow through her arm. A thin thread of energy flowed from her fingertips, something only she could see. A hot pink invisible lasso -- eat your heart out, Wonder Woman -- which she wrapped around the man, watching as his body absorbed the thread.
The man's eyes turned bright bunny pink. She forced her will into the astral energy. He turned around and walked away. Just like she'd made him do. When he stepped out the door, she brought her hand back to her side and he stood outside in front of the store window looking dazed and confused.
"That's right, sucker," she muttered under her breath. "I'm Maya Eddings, and it'll be a sorry ass day if you run into me again. I'm tough. I'm the epitome of bitch in heels. And I am Astrallu." Whatever the hell that meant. And she did want to know, but she'd figure it out as she went along. For now, she was kicking ass and taking names. It felt good. Walking Tall good. And if the bad guys didn't like it, they could pack their shit up and get the fuck out of her city.
"Did you say something?" Conrad asked.
I am woman. Hear me roar. She smiled at Gentry. "Nah, nothing. It's going good, eh? Lots of fans."
"Real good. Thanks again, Maya."
"That's my job."
Hannah Beckham
Hannah Beckham is ready to be fitted for her own straightjacket and a magical stay in the rubber room. After a stint in the Army, Hannah found writing a great way to escape the insanity that is her life. She likes tough heroines with a sense of humor, and heroes who are hunkishly supernatural and a little damaged. She's always up for email. Readers can write her at hannah@hannahbeckham.com or visit her website at www.hannahbeckham.com.

