The Company of Darkness (8 page)

Need.
 

Need consumed his every waking thought.  As time went on, for Ash could now feel the passage of time, he caught glimpses of his lady love.  Pieces of odd conversation, the random scent of her skin…  Once he saw her smile as clearly as if he had eyes of his own.  They were all tainted by the presence of the reaper, but once Ash understood that any contact he had with Cady was to be through his host, he stopped fighting it and accepted the man’s thoughts.  This left far too many hours with only Ethan’s ramblings for company, but Ash was rewarded by a growing awareness of the reaper’s actions, especially when Cady drew near. 

Half torn between keeping his presence a secret for fear he’d be silenced and clamoring to make himself heard, it turned out to be a moot point as Ethan gave no sign that he knew Ash was present in any form.  The more time he spent connected to the world, all Ash could think about was the growing need to be with her again.  She was in his blood – if he had blood – did he have blood?  Ah, the exquisite pleasures of blood...  The desire to see her, to touch her… to simply be near her overwhelmed his senses, overriding thoughts of anything else with raw, aching need. 

He must know the taste of her love again. 

* * *

Ethan hated waiting.  Patience was a virtue he’d learned by necessity for his job, but it never came to him naturally.  Now, robbed of the outlet while the Company left him sitting idle, he had little to occupy his days.  There was only so much time a man could spend training his body.  Every time he picked up a pencil he inevitably found himself sketching her well loved features.  Watching movies held little appeal.  All he could think of was how much more enjoyable it’d be with Cady by his side. 

He had to see her again, to touch her, to be near her.  It was almost as if she’d gotten under his skin somehow since they’d taken their physical relationship to the next level.  She was in his blood. 

It scared him.

It wasn’t like him to become so obsessive over a woman.  Over anything.  And so he distanced himself from Cady until he could understand it, his analytical mind turning the puzzle over until the edges of the design came into view.  It must be love – that was the only thing he could come up with.  And he couldn’t allow the emotion to weaken him and take unnecessary chances, no matter how much his heart screamed otherwise. 

Ethan continued to hold her at arm’s length, only allowing her to come over every few days.  Refraining from calling and texting her at all hours of the day and night when she filled his thoughts.  He sought to control his behavior the way the Company had taught him to. 

Recognizing that aberration in behavior did nothing to change it though, and the need built within him until it became unbearable and Ethan found himself sitting on the fire escape outside her window one night.  Instead of making himself known, he watched as she got ready for bed, donning an oversized t-shirt that looked familiar.  Was it his?  She must have snuck it out of his apartment the last time she’d come over, the sly minx. 

Cady sat at the mirrored dressing table, pulling her glorious hair free to spill down her back.  The brush sang through her hair, crackling with static electricity that made it seem like it had a life of its own.  The urge to wrap a length of it around his hand and pull her to him was almost too much to bear, and he gripped the window casement tight enough to make it creak.

The sound drew her notice and Cady screamed, the look in her eye telling Ethan that she hadn’t recognized him right away.  The light outside was poor and he must have looked like little more than a sinister shape in the shadows.  “It’s me,” he whispered, leaning into the light, only to duck down an instant before her brother stormed into view. 

“What the hell?” Ian demanded with a scowl once he noticed she was all alone.  “It sounded like you were being murdered in here.”

Cady’s gaze flicked to the window and back again.  “I um… Jesus,” she swallowed, a hand resting above her heart.  “I saw a spider and it freaked me out.  I’m sorry.”

His entire stance shifted, no longer angry, but annoyed nonetheless.  “A spider?  Where?”

“Over there, by the baseboard, behind the door.”

Ian bent to one knee, peering at the corner intently and Cady flashed Ethan a thumbs up sign with a wide grin.  “Where?  I don’t see anything.”

“Well duh, it’s gone
now
.  I’m probably going to feel crawly all night.”  She itched at her neck, convincingly enough for Ethan’s skin to prickle from where he watched outside.

“Alright, call me if you see it again, but don’t scream for God’s sake.”  Ian let out a long breath, his eyes surveying the room before lighting on the window.  “And you should close your window at night.”

“I’ve been told that before,” she murmured, standing in place for long moments before padding to the window where he waited.  “What are you doing here?” Cady whispered, and Ethan lost his train of thought for a moment as her pure, clean scent enveloped him.

“Sorry, I had to see you,” he mumbled, trying to resist the urge to pull her out onto the fire escape and into his arms.

“Why, is something wrong?”

“No, I just… I missed you, I guess.”

She smiled, touched by the sentiment.  “I missed you too, but you could’ve called first.  You scared me half to death, and Ian almost saw you.”

“I wasn’t thinking,” he frowned.  Since when did that ever happen? 

“Come on in.”

“Are you sure?”  Ethan hesitated, only because he was overcome by the urge to press her back onto the bed plainly visible in the background.  But at her light touch on his arm, he gave in to her sweetness. 

“Of course, it’s fine, he’s probably watching TV.”  She stepped away from the window to give him room and he vaulted in on silent feet.  “As long as we’re quiet, we should be okay.”

His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her close to inhale her delectable scent.  “What if I’m not in the mood to be quiet?” he rumbled against her neck. 

“Then my brother might burst in here at any moment,” she pointed out, even as her head tilted to one side to give him better access to the smooth column of her throat. 

“Maybe I don’t care.”  He walked her back to the bed, tumbling her down onto its softness with a creak of springs and pressing into her heat. 

“Let me at least lock the door then,” she protested, but he wouldn’t let her up, not yet.  He had to taste her first. 

“In a minute.”  His lips closed over hers, swallowing her protest in a deep kiss.  She was so soft, so sweet.  So perfectly made for his hands, he couldn’t stop touching her.  His hand slid up her thigh, delighted to find no barrier as it settled on the curve of her ass under the oversized t-shirt she wore. 

“Wow, you really did miss me,” she gasped when he moved on to nibble the underside of her jaw, working back to the tender skin behind her ear.  Her hand brushed against the bulge in his jeans and he groaned, grinding into her hip. 

He had to have her.  He had to possess her.  

Kissing lower, his teeth scraped over the pucker of nipple visible through the thin t-shirt even as his hand slid around to part her damp curls.  The shiver she gave at his touch made his lips curve against her breast
. 
Her thighs parted, wanting more, and he had no intention of disappointing her.   Fingers flicking over her slick heat, he sucked hard at her breast through the material, and a low, breathy moan escaped her throat.  She was hot and ready for him, and he lost no time fumbling with his jeans. 

Ian’s deep voice came through the door.  “Hey, are you okay in there?” 

“Um… yeah,” Cady squeaked, scooting out from under him, pausing halfway between the bed and the door, her eyes wild.  “I’m just ah… having a little private time, so…”  Her eyes squinted shut as if she wished she could take that back. 

“Oh.”  It was clear from his tone that Ian not only caught on to her meaning, but wished she could take it back as well.  “I’m going out,” he said brusquely, his footsteps fading rapidly. 

“K, later bro,” she called out, tiptoeing up to the door to lock it, and Ethan followed close on her heels, pressing her up against the door from behind the moment the lock was turned.  “Shh, he’ll hear you,” she whispered, as they could both hear Ian moving around in the living room, getting ready to leave. 

“You’re the loud one,” he rumbled at her ear, reaching around to cup a breast in each hand, pinching and rolling the nipples that puckered to full attention at his touch.  It was like she was a drug and he was hopelessly addicted, unable to wait even a few minutes until her brother was gone and they had the all clear to do whatever they wanted.  He captured her mouth for a searing kiss, but it was awkward from where he stood, so he broke the kiss to press open mouthed kisses to her neck, her shoulder, her ear, anything he could reach.  His hands delved lower, pulling up the hem of the t-shirt he was starting to hate for the way it came between them.  His knee parted her legs, stroking her tender folds from behind with one hand while he freed himself with the other. 

“Tell me that you want me,” he breathed, rubbing the head of his cock against her slick opening. 

“I want you,” she gasped, legs already starting to tremble from the position he held her in as she went up on her tiptoes to accommodate his height. 

He wrapped the length of her hair around his fist like he’d wanted to when he first saw her, pulling her head to one side.  “Tell me that you love me,” he demanded, ears straining for the one sound that would give him permission to bury himself deep inside of her. 

“I love you,” she whispered, eyes drifting shut as she gave herself over to the moment.  The apartment door banged shut as Ian left and Ethan wasted no time, taking her deep and hard on the first stroke. 

She was his.

His knees dipped as he rocked into her, teeth scraping over her shoulder as he trapped her against the door with his body.  Her hands reached back to grasp at him, and he could tell she was frustrated by the lack of control she had, even as it drove him to move harder and faster, catching a frenzied rhythm. 

“Wait… ” she gasped, trying to catch her breath. “Slow down or I won’t get there with you.”

Just one more thrust, he told himself, again and again, one more and I’ll stop, I’ll give her what she needs, but his hold on her hair only tightened, a feral growl of pleasure issuing from his throat as he grew closer to completion. 

“Oww, that hurts.” 

The squeak of true discomfort cut through the haze of pleasure and Ethan instantly stilled, his fingers releasing the tangle of hair.  “I’m sorry…” he murmured, appalled at his lack of control.

“Hey, it’s okay.”  She arched her back to twist around and pull him close for a kiss.  “Don’t stop, just slow down some, make it last.” 

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, pulling out to turn her around and give her a tender kiss.  “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Yeah well, it was hot and all, but a little tough on the hair,” she grinned, reaching up to rub her scalp. 

“I’m sorry,” he said again, pulling her hand down to kiss the back of it, lips trailing across her petal soft skin.  All of a sudden it became a moral imperative to make it up to her, and his hand trailed lower to find her neglected nub, his thumb swirling over it in firm circles. 

“That’s more like it,” she smiled, catching her lip between her teeth as her head fell back against the door.  She raised one leg to wrap around his waist, opening herself to him and in the next instant he slid back into her welcoming warmth, his fingers never breaking rhythm.  This time he went slow, drawing his strokes out to maximize her pleasure even as he fought to control the urge to take her hard and fast.  Her breath began to come in rapid pants, telling him what she liked and what angle drove her wild.  Her leg tightened around him trying to drive him faster as the pressure between them built, but he took a perverse delight in taking her maddeningly slowly, torturing them both with pleasure.    

“You’re killing me,” she gasped, one hand holding tight to his shoulder, the other braced against the wall. 

“It’s my turn.”  He smiled to feel her quiver and clench around him as her body danced on the edge and then she arched under his touch, head thrown back in perfect ecstasy.   He captured her cries of release with a deep kiss, drinking them in as he lost that tenuous thread of control.  His hands shifted to lift her higher, fully supporting her weight against the door as the wildness reclaimed him, surging into her faster and deeper while she shuddered around him again and again.  A haze of pleasure and need that consumed him above all else had descended over him.  He was lost, hopelessly lost and drowning in her tight embrace. 

He came in a rush of blinding heat that left his veins humming with pleasure and deeply satisfied on a level he couldn’t understand.  No longer able to maintain the kiss, he buried his head at her neck, shaken to the core with the sweet violence of their passion.  It felt like he lost all of his hard won control the instant she was near.  When had that happened? 

Carefully, he disengaged himself, setting her gently down on shaky legs.  “Are you alright?  I didn’t hurt you, did I?”  Those last few moments of taking her had faded to a blur in his memory, and he wasn’t entirely sure her cries had all been of passion rather than pain.