Immortally Yours (8 page)

She released him briefly to say, “Mmm…I’ve wanted to do this
for days.”

Before he could answer, she drew him deep into her mouth,
rolling her tongue around his shaft. After withdrawing, she tongued his slit. A
muffled moan let her know she was on the right track. She pumped the root of
his cock as she bobbed and sucked.

Eventually, he groaned and pulled her head away. “I can’t
take any more of that.”

“Wasn’t I doing it right?”

“You were doing it perfectly. That’s why I stopped you. It
might have resulted in an unexpected surprise.”

She grinned and in a low sultry voice she said, “I love
surprises.”

“Good.” He flipped her beneath him and bent over to devour
her breasts. She arched and moaned in bliss. Heat and desire shot straight to
her womb and her inner muscles clenched.

He was about to slide down and give her pussy the same oral
treat when she stopped him.

“I need you. Now,” she whispered furiously.

He crawled back up and nuzzled her neck. “Are you sure? I’d
like to return the favor.”

“Maybe next time. We have all night.”

He softly chuckled into her hair, then positioned himself
between her legs. She bent her knees and anticipated the glorious penetration
of his cock. Colin didn’t make her wait long. He drove into her wetness,
filling her completely.

“Ahhh…” She sighed out loud.

He began his rhythm like a slow lilt and let it build to a
staccato. As he hammered in and out of her, his pelvis rubbed against her clit.
Each time she lifted her hips to meet him, she felt a jolt of sheer pleasure.

“
Mon dieu
!” She grasped his back tighter as she built
toward her peak.

“Guess what?” He smiled at her.

“What?” She managed to answer.

“Surprise.” He pulled out and buried his face between her
legs.

Lizette screamed when his tongue touched her sensitive clit.
Her entire body jerked, out of her control, but he wrapped his arms around her
hips and held her down as he lapped and sucked without mercy.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, or how many
orgasms she had. She became vaguely aware the only sounds in the room were her
incoherent moaning attempt at his name and the wet sounds coming from between
her legs along with an occasional groan of pleasure from Colin.

She thought she was done until Colin reared up and thrust
inside her again. Her body went into one last spasm. Their fevered coupling
drove her over the edge and she tumbled, gratefully, from climax to satiation.

He bucked and grunted. Soon, he collapsed beside her,
panting.

“It was good, no?” she asked.

“It was very good, yes.” He grasped her hand and brought it to
his lips. After placing a gentle kiss on her palm, he let their arms drop.
“Thank you,” he whispered.

“
Merci beaucoup
.”

* * * * *

The next morning they awoke to the sound of the telephone
ringing.

“Damn, did I oversleep?” Colin bounded out of bed and grabbed
up the phone. A sleepy Lizette raised her head.

“Hello,” he barked into the receiver.

“Are you sitting down?” Vera asked.

“No. Should I? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’ll just come out
with it. There are naked photos of you on the internet.”

A shock wave hit him and he dropped onto the edge of the
bed. “That’s not possible. Are you sure it was me?”

Vera sighed. “I’m afraid so. It gets worse. One of your
patients called to cancel her appointment. She’s the one who discovered them
and said she wouldn’t be able to look you in the face without seeing those
pictures.”

“Oh no.”

“The pictures that show your face don’t show your—um—junk,
but there’s one from the back with you bending over…well, you’ll have to see
for yourself.”

“How could this possibly…” Suddenly, he knew. He whirled on
Lizette.

She sat up, the sheet fell to her waist baring her beautiful
breasts. Breasts he might never see again if what he suspected was true.

“Thanks for the advance warning, Vera. I’ll see you at work.”
He hung up.

“What’s wrong, Colin? Did somebody die?”

He hardened his expression and folded his arms. “Just my
career.”

She cocked her head and had the nerve to look puzzled.

“The photos you took. Why the hell would you post them on
the internet?”

She snapped to attention. “The internet? I didn’t.”

“You must have. Vera just called and said there are nude
photos of me there for anyone to see and you’re the only one who’s taken nude
photos of me since I was two years old and in the bathtub with my brother.”

She shook her head. “She must be mistaken. I didn’t do
anything with those pictures. I gave the camera to Hank. He said he’d put them
in a file on my desktop. I never told him to post them on the internet.”

“Hank?”

“From the pawn store.”

A stab of jealousy added to his fury. He’d seen the way the
pawn shop owner looked at her.

“You asked Hank to help you put my pictures on your
computer?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t know how.”

Had she paid him for his services? Or had she used her body
to get what she needed, as she always had in the past? He fisted his hands in
his hair. Anger boiled in his veins. “Holy Christ, Lizette. This is a
disaster.”

She scrambled out of bed. “Vera must have made a mistake.
Those pictures must be of someone else. I never posted them anywhere.”

“Somebody did. Did you give Hank your user name and
password?”

“I had to. He programmed them in for me.”

“Jesus Christ! Didn’t you suspect he might use his knowledge
to damage my reputation? You saw how he looked at you.”

“He wasn’t mad at you. He was mad at me because I wouldn’t
sleep with him.”

“How could you not know what he wanted from the get-go?
You’ve been trading favors with men all your long life.”

He stormed into the bathroom and washed up quickly. Then he
dressed in his regular business-casual work clothes and headed out the door.

Lizette ran after him. She had donned last night’s dress and
brushed her hair. “Where are you going?”

“To work.”

“What about me? Where am I supposed to go?”

“To hell,” he said through clenched teeth.

* * * * *

Lizette lay on her couch, heartbroken. She knew exactly why
she had avoided emotional entanglements all those years. It wasn’t only to
protect her secret and her hide when she moved on. She was protecting her
heart. Now she wanted to die more than ever, but, damn it all, that wasn’t an
option.

She had used her meager savings to hire a professional to
take down the pictures of Colin immediately but he still hadn’t forgiven her.
He wouldn’t come to the phone and Vera sounded utterly pissed off when Lizette
had called his office. She didn’t know if he was even getting her messages.

She hadn’t eaten in days and wasn’t hungry. The only time
she went out was to buy a few pints of ice cream because she’d heard it helped
ease the pain of a breakup but she’d hardly touched them.

So she was back to her lonely life, watching TV and avoiding
the world.

Only for some reason, the world refused to avoid her. It
seemed that no matter what program she was watching, special bulletins
interrupted each one. There was some kind of epidemic that had started in
Seattle and they were saying it was deadly. At first doctors had thought it was
a new strain of flu, but now didn’t know what it was. To her, though, the
symptoms sounded suspiciously like the plague that had wiped out her village.
Shivering, vomiting, white tongue, red eyes and weakness.

No one had come up with a vaccine yet, so the public was
cautioned to stay away from large groups and to wear masks if that wasn’t
possible. Lizette would go out and kiss every person in a crowded elevator if
she thought she could catch the disease and die. She felt dead inside anyway.

As she lay there wallowing in self-pity, her telephone rang.
She was tempted to ignore it, figuring it was just some stupid telemarketer,
but for some reason, she pried herself off the couch and answered it.

“’Allo?”

“Lizette, it’s Colin.”

Her heart leapt. Had he overcome his anger and decided to
forgive her?

“Colin!” She didn’t know what to say, so she simply waited.

“Let me just say this first—I’m not calling to get back
together.”

Her heart sank. She wanted to cry but controlled her voice
enough to say, “Then why?”

“This epidemic…I was thinking about your special immunity
and wondered if you’d be willing to offer your services to some researchers I
know. They’re desperate to find a cure or prophylactic vaccine.”

The word prophylactic reminded her of their wonderful sexual
escapades. Didn’t he know that just hearing his voice tortured her? How could
he use that word and expect her
not
to remember the wonderful nights she
spent in his arms? She trembled and wanted to burst into tears.

“Colin, I…” Her voice broke and she couldn’t finish her
sentence. A lump the size of Mount Rainier lodged in her throat.

His voice softened. “I know things didn’t end well between
us, but please don’t let that affect the greater good. A lot of lives could
depend on you.”

She wanted to bargain with him—offer herself up as a
research subject if he’d only forgive her and try to love her again. But she
knew he wouldn’t let her pressure him and she didn’t want to take has back as a
bribe.

“I…I want to know something first.”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Did what happened affect your career? Did any more of your
patients see the photos? I got rid of them as soon as I could.”

He was silent for a long time. She thought he wasn’t going
to answer her at all when he finally said, “Not that I know of, but I’ll never
be sure.”

Never.
God, how she hated that word. Never and always
seemed to be the life lessons she had to deal with, yet no one else did.

She had other questions. Maybe a change of subject wouldn’t
be a bad idea anyway.

“If they use my blood to make their vaccine, is there a
chance it will make people immortal like me? I wouldn’t want to put anyone
through—” Her voice broke again and this time she wept openly.

“Lizette…” Colin’s voice seemed to convey the sympathy he
offered when they first met. Then he surprised the hell out of her by following
her name with “sweetheart…”

Is he just trying to get me to do what he wants, or does
he still care for me?
He hadn’t called her
love,
his special pet
name for her, but it confused her nonetheless. Maybe if she did the noble thing
and cooperated, she’d have a chance to win him back.

She sniffed and dried her tears on a tissue. “I guess I can
help your friends.”

“Good. Great. I can pick you up and take you to their lab
right now if you’re ready.”

She sighed. “Give me enough time to take a shower and get
dressed.”

“Oh, no. Have you been staying in your bathrobe?”

How dare he?
Her pride wanted to deny it. But what good
would it do? He’d know she was lying. Instead she chose the only other option
and simply hung up the phone.

When I die, I’m going to leave my body to science
fiction.

Steven Wright

“Will you stay with me? I’m nervous.”

Colin hadn’t said much since picking her up. An
uncomfortable silence had hung between them the whole time he was driving her
to the research facility. He parked the vehicle and faced her, searching her
face for a clue to her motives. Her eyes spoke volumes. Yes, she looked nervous
but she also looked hopeful.

His instincts said to run—they also said to grab and kiss
her. Did he dare stay and give her false hope? Or was he worried that his
resolve would crumble and he’d give her a second chance?

“I don’t know, Lizette…”

She hung her head. “I understand.”

Did she? How could she know how hard this had been for him?
He’d wanted to call her a dozen times a day and had even reached for the phone
more than once. Seeing her now yanked his heartstrings like nothing else.

She needed him and he’d let her down as much as she’d
disappointed him. His guilt had eaten at him enough. Finally, he reached across
the bucket seats that felt like a chasm and massaged her shoulder.

It was the first time he’d touched her in two miserable
weeks. He meant the touch to comfort her, but she stiffened. A lock of hair
fell forward, hiding her eyes, but he saw her lower lip tremble.

“Lizette…” He didn’t know what else to say. Astounding
himself, he said, “All right. I’ll stay with you.”

She looked up at him and tears shimmered in her eyes. At
last she whispered, “Thank you.”

As they walked into the research facility together, he
wanted to take her hand. Something stopped him. She wasn’t reaching for his
hand or even looking at him. It seemed as if she had given up—and something
about that saddened him even more.

He opened and held the door for her. She gave him a weak
smile, then straightened her shoulders and strode in.

“I know this must be difficult for you. I really appreciate
your doing this.”

She didn’t say a word—just kept walking.

Colin reached out and laid a hand on her arm to stop her.
She spun to face him.

“My friends know about your immunity and have guaranteed me
they’ll honor your anonymity.”

She took a deep breath. “Thank you. You’re right, this is
hard. I hadn’t told a soul until I opened up to you and I almost walked out of
your office before our first meeting. I was afraid of being dissected like a
lab rat. Now here I am, walking into the lab.”

“I know,” he murmured.

“I should have worn something that opens in the front and
made it easier for the dissection.”

When he gazed at her, she was smirking. Her sense of humor
hadn’t deserted her. Colin shook his head. Man, when had he become such an
idiot? Why was he listening to Vera, who’d been badmouthing Lizette? She
obviously hadn’t liked Lizette from the start. He’d always suspected Vera was
secretly in love with him. That probably had something to do with the reason
she had cautioned him so vehemently against going back to Lizette.

Well, Brayer, what’s it gonna be? Listen to your
receptionist or listen to yourself?

He placed both hands on her arms and rubbed them gently.
“Lizette. About the photos. I may have made a mistake when I blamed you for
what happened.”

“
May
have?”

“Whoa, you aren’t free of blame here. You trusted someone
untrustworthy, though I’ll admit you couldn’t have known what he’d do. And I’m
glad you refused to sleep with him.”

He kicked at the linoleum floor. “I feel like a fool. I
should have known you’d never have let him get away with it if you knew what he
was doing. That’s not who you are. You probably didn’t even know he could do
what he did remotely.”

“That’s what I tried to tell you. And in case you were
wondering…you asked me not to show them to anyone and I didn’t. I just asked
him to tell me how to put the pictures in that private album. He must have
looked at them later.”

He let out a deep sigh. “I believe you.”

“But you still don’t want to get back together.”

“I didn’t…” He was going to say,
I didn’t say that,
but
he had. It was the first thing he’d said to her when he called and his cutting
words must have hurt her. “I didn’t mean it.”

She stared at him. “So you
do
want to get back
together?”

“I’m willing to give it another try if you are.”

She hesitated.

Crap. She probably doesn’t want to give me a chance to
hurt her again.
He waited anxiously for her to say something—anything.

“Let’s talk about it after they experiment on me. I already
have a lot on my mind.”

He nodded. He didn’t blame her for wanting to think it over.

“By the way, they aren’t going to dissect you or do
experiments on you. They’ll probably just take a few vials of blood. You know
that, don’t you?”

She chuckled. “Yes. I was just making things more dramatic.
Now, if the government gets a hold of me…”

“I’ll fight them off with a flagpole.”

She grinned. He took that as a good sign and swooped in to
kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Yes, the love is still alive.

* * * * *

Later that evening, Lizette lay sleeping in her hospital bed.
Colin sat in the chair next to her with his head in his hands. He’d had no idea
what bringing her here would put her through and he wouldn’t have asked for her
help if he had.

His beautiful Lizette had been cooperative with the blood
tests, but after that, the researchers did biopsies of various organs, took
tissue samples and bone marrow. He knew she was scared out of her wits. She had
never experienced western medicine in the twenty-first century. Never went to a
doctor or a dentist. Had never “gone under the knife” or even taken an
antibiotic.

The bone marrow sampling was the worst. They’d had to insert
a large needle right into her breastbone. The pain and fear must have been
excruciating. She had squeezed his hand so tightly he had lost circulation and,
after the procedure was over, his fingers were numb except for pins and
needles.

She’d tried not to cry, but tears leaked from the corners of
her eyes anyway. He had been so angry, he’d demanded they put her under for
anything else that might cause her so much as a pinch of pain or even anxiety.

Suddenly she stirred and he lifted his head. Her eyelashes
fluttered and he jumped to his feet. At last, her pretty blue eyes opened wide
and focused on him.

“Colin?”

“I’m here, love.”

“Is it over?”

He reached over the rails and stroked her arm. Thankfully,
the one closest to him didn’t have the IV.

“Yes, love. It’s all over. You were extremely brave for
doing this. I had no idea they’d ask so much of you.”

She sighed. “As long as it helps find a cure, it’ll be worth
it.”

“With all they put you through, they’d better cure cancer,
AIDS and every other disease known to man.”

She smiled. “It wasn’t that bad. I didn’t care for that bone
marrow thingy though.”

He grinned. She used the word “thingy” for every technical
term with which she was unfamiliar. In other words, she used it a lot.

“I’m very proud of you. I know it wasn’t easy.”

“So, are we good?” She gazed at him, hopefully.

Was that why she went through all this? To make it up to
him? To prove something to him? Of course not. She cared about others—maybe
more than she cared about herself.

He lifted her hand and kissed her palm. Hell, she had
nothing to prove. He loved everything about her.

“What did I do to deserve you?”

She turned her wrist and held his hand. “Nothing.”

He reared back and laughed. When he glanced at her again,
one side of her mouth was turned up.

“You’re right. But I’ll do more in the future.”

“That sounds promising.”

“I promise.”

* * * * *

Lizette crossed her apartment and answered the door, wondering
who it could be.

“Colin!” She stepped aside so he could enter. “It’s the
middle of the workday. Why are you here?”

“Two reasons.” He lifted her off her feet and kissed her.
When he set her down she was giggling.

“What was that for?”

“Because you’re a hero!”

She tipped her head. “I’m a what?”

“A hero. Or heroine. Whatever—you saved Seattle!”

“I did? You mean my blood, tissues, or whatever helped the
researchers create a vaccine?”

“Yes. All my afternoon patients canceled due to the
epidemic, but they’ll begin rescheduling now that they’ve developed a vaccine.”
He unzipped his jacket and strolled over to the couch. “It’s a shame no one
will know it was you who saved thousands of lives.”

She chuckled and joined him by the sofa. They plopped down
together. “It’s fine with me if no one knows. The government could still
dissect me.”

“Over my dead body. But, in a way, that’s the other reason I
came over.”

“You want to commit suicide and let your friends tell the
government about me?”

Colin snorted. “God, no. Listen, I think I came up with a
way we can stay together and keep from arousing suspicion.”

Lizette brightened. She heard the words “stay together” and
almost didn’t dare hope for more. “What do you mean?”

Colin took her hand and ran his thumb in circles over her
palm. She shivered.

“Oh, that feels good.”

“You know what else feels good?”

She gazed up at him slyly. “Yeah. I can think of a couple of
things.”

He chuckled. “Ah, a dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste.
But what I meant was that it feels good to be with you. It feels right.”

Confusion crowded out her sexual thoughts. “What are you
trying to say?”

He took a deep breath. “Well, I talked to a navy recruiter
yesterday and after thinking it over, I’m ready to ask you something.”

She hesitated. What did the navy have to do with her? She
was getting more confused by the minute.
Well, there’s only one way to find
out.
“Okay. Ask.”

“Will you wait for me while I go through basic training and
then follow me around the earth wherever I get stationed?”

She gasped. “You’re going to join the navy?”

“Only if you’ll go with me. It’s a way we can be together,
move frequently and I can keep a steady job.”

Lizette’s jaw almost hit the floor. It was a good thing he
kept talking, because she couldn’t form words.

“I’ll still be a psychiatrist. They’re needed on almost
every base and in every military hospital. The recruiter said I’d get to
request assignments and if they need someone in one of my choice locations,
we’d be stationed there for a few years.”

Finally, she found her voice and managed to ask an obvious
question. “And they’re just going to let me tag along?”

He slapped himself upside the head. “Jeez, I forgot to ask
you the most important question of all.”

Colin slid off the sofa and onto one knee. He grasped her
hand and looked deep into her eyes. “Lizette La Belle, will you marry me?”

“
Mon dieu
!” Her hand flew to her throat. “You forgot
that
question? That one tiny detail?”

He looked sheepish. “Not really. I just wanted to outline
the whole plan first, so you wouldn’t say no.”

She laughed. “How could I say no to the man I love more than
anything in the world?”

He leapt to his feet and pulled her up against his chest.
She threw her arms around his neck and slanted her lips, meeting his in a long,
deep kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, he asked, “So where would
you like to go first?”

“San Diego,” she said without hesitation.

He smiled. “Why San Diego?”

“Because I’m sick of all this friggin’ rain!”

Colin laughed and enveloped her in his arms. “Okay. I’ll
tell the recruiter to make San Diego our first choice.”

“I love you, Colin. Maybe someday they’ll find a cure for
me, so I won’t have to outlive you. I don’t think I could bear to lose you
again.”

“I don’t know what the future will bring. In the meantime, I
look forward to years and years of loving you. Someday people will think I’m
the luckiest guy alive to have such a hot young wife.”

“Or they’ll think I’m after your money.”

“I’ll be making a whole lot less money in the navy than I do
in the private sector. Anyhow, who cares what they think? All that matters is
what we think and I think I’m the luckiest bastard in the world.”

Lizette’s eyes rounded. “Your parents weren’t married?”

Colin reared back and laughed. “It’s just an expression.”

“Oh,” she said, embarrassed. “In that case, I’m the luckiest
bastard alive too.”

Chuckling, Colin lifted her in his arms and carried her to
the bedroom.

* * * * *

Colin’s hand trailed down her side as he nuzzled Lizette’s
neck, making her shiver. Candles flickered against the white wall, giving the
darkened room a soft glow.

“
Mon cher
…” she sighed.

Kissing his way down her collarbone, Colin paused only long
enough to murmur affirmations of his love. When he reached her breast, he
pulled her nipple into his mouth and sucked, greedily.

Her womb clenched, causing her to automatically arch and
moan. Lizette caressed his muscular back and shoulders. The more he sucked, the
more desperate she became. Her caresses became frantic. Her nails raked over
his back. The head of his erection brushed her thigh and she grasped it. He was
driving her crazy with lust and it was all she could do to keep from squeezing
him until it hurt.

She purposely gentled her touch and pulled on the shaft,
eliciting a groan of pleasure. He switched to her other breast and suckled that
one thoroughly too.