179. Spacebound

Warning: nudity, adult situations, reader discretion advised

Bridgeport, present day...

Glass pieces flew all around her as she made her descent from the tenth floor. She was usually afraid of heights, but now, only instinct drove her.

People screamed and cars screeched all around her as she hit the ground.

“Wolf!” A little boy screamed, causing mayhem on the sidewalk as everyone scrambled to get away from her.

Eloise stood frozen for a long spell, looking for the quickest route to take her away from the city center. Her eyes found a familiar figure instead.

It was Katie. By the looks of the shopping bag in her hand, she’d just come back from a shopping trip.

Eloise approached her, thinking if she could just get Katie to look into her eyes she’d see it was her. And maybe she’d call for help. Maybe she’d let Devon know she was in trouble, trapped in a body of a wolf somehow.

But the scared look in her friend’s eyes quickly changed her mind. Eloise let out a long, chilling howl before she ran off as fast as her four legs would carry her, away from the shops and the nightclubs, away from all the fear and confusion…

Katie had no idea what had just happened. One minute she was walking along, merrily minding her own business, and the next a beautiful dark brown wolf was staring at her like she was its dinner or something.

The whole incident was bizarre. This was Bridgeport, a concrete jungle, dense with skyscrapers and people full of shitty attitudes. Wolves didn’t belong here.

“No, it was just a dog,” she told herself over and over as she trudged home.

She was still shaking when she got home, and when she saw William Thornton waiting outside her door with a bouquet of red roses, she burst into tears of relief. She’d never been so glad to see a familiar face.

“Hey what’s wrong? What happened?” Thornton took her in his arms and squashed her tightly to him.

“I just saw a wolf, it looked like it wanted to attack me,” she cried hysterically on his chest.

“It was probably a dog,”  Thornton assured her. He was glad she couldn’t see his face; otherwise she would have seen just how intrigued he was by her announcement. He made a mental note to contact Zahara ASAP. If Katie was right about the wolf, then life for their Vampire community had certainly grown complicated in a matter of seconds.

“Why are you here?” Katie asked as she untangled herself from his embrace.

“I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d say hello,”  Thornton smiled at her.

“Okay, hello,” Katie waved shyly at him, feeling like a world class idiot. This was the second time she’d done this, cried in his arms. She had to get her shit together.

“These are for you,” Thornton placed the flowers in her hands. They didn’t look so fresh now; he’d squashed them along with her when he was comforting her.

“Thank you, they are beautiful.”

 A weird silence accompanied her smile.  Thornton stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared at her. Katie stared back, but she couldn’t keep up with the heat from his eyes, she blushed and looked away.

“I should go,” he told her at last. Katie nodded and watched him walk away. But just as he was about to close the lift, she stopped him.

“Would you like to stay, have dinner with me?”

“I thought you didn’t want to have to dinner me?” William stepped out of the lift; his light brown eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Well, I can make an exception just this once. After all you did come all the way here just to say hello to me. The least I can do is feed you.” She didn’t realize just how loaded the last part of her statement was till she saw the amused smirk on his face.

“No, I mean. Not feed you feed you-I mean- Ugh!” She threw up her hands in an ‘I give up’ gesture, and this made Thornton laugh even harder. She in turn laughed right along with him.

Soon their laughter died down, and the tense silence returned. He was standing so close to her now Katie could smell him; she closed her eyes and breathed in deep, filling her lungs with his scent, imprinting it in her memory.

When she opened her eyes again and found him staring at her with such intensity, all she could do was sigh and flick her tongue over her lips. Her simple reflex to ease off her sudden anxiety seemed to be his undoing, Thornton joined their lips, stirring feelings of yearning in her, feelings she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Her shopping bag and flowers met the floor. Thornton pulled away from her long enough to lift her in his arms and push her against the wall; driven by pure instinct she wrapped her legs around his waist, and eagerly brought her face to his to kiss him once more.

“Get a room you two!” Katie could vaguely make out a drunken female voice in the background.

“She’s right you know. We can get arrested for public indecency,” Thornton smiled on her lips. She loved the sensation, loved the feel of his hair on her fingertips. She loved everything about this moment.

Katie reluctantly untangled her legs from his waist and he gently set her down.

She unlocked the door and walked inside while he collected their mess from the hallway.

“Make yourself at home. It’s not much,” she waved at her living room when he walked in, hating herself for sounding apologetic and ashamed of her tiny apartment.

Thornton ignored her comment as he closed the space between them. Katie stepped back to block his advances.

“What are we doing?” She asked. She was back to her senses now.

“I’m not into games, Katie. I want you and you know you want me too,” Thornton replied. The hooded, lustful look was still there, in his eyes, but now it was mirrored by a scary seriousness she had never seen before.

“You run the whole vampire community and I write songs.  What do you want from me? Why are you wasting your time with me?”

“Do you think of yourself so unworthy of my time?” Thornton demanded. He was getting very angry very quickly.

“It’s not that. I mean let’s face it, we are worlds apart.”

“So?”  Thornton fired back.

“So we will never work,” Katie cried.

“We will never work if you don’t give us a chance.” He reached for her and held her firmly to him.

“I can’t. I’m sorry,” Katie shook her head and watched her tears fall on his chest.

Without one more word, Thornton pulled away.

“It’s not you,” she tried to explain, but he brushed her off.

“Don’t insult me!” He told her coldly as he approached the door.

Just as he was about to slip of out she stopped him again. “Don’t go.”

Thornton stood still for some time, thinking and debating with himself. When he’d finally made up his mind he turned to face her.

“Make up your mind, Katie. You can’t blow hot and cold. It doesn’t work that way!”

“I know. I’m sorry. I want you to stay.”

“Why?” Thornton asked.

“I realized now as you were heading for the door that I’ve been living in the past for too long, it’s time I put my ghosts behind me,” she replied truthfully.

Thornton appreciated her honesty. He held out his hand.  Katie took it and led him to the couch.

She closed the curtains, lit the candle on the coffee table, and turned off the lights.

She sat beside him and placed her head on his shoulder and he played with her hand while she told him about Sean Riley, her first love, and all her fears and insecurities.

She told him about her relationships in the past and how she always sabotaged them because the very thought of committing herself to someone scared the hell out of her. But it wasn’t that she didn’t want to commit, because she did. She just didn’t want to get attached to another person, only to lose them. She didn’t want to put herself out there only to end up in a similar space, renting a different apartment because it was the only link she had to the person she’d lost.

Thornton suddenly took her in his arms; the idea was to comfort her. Somehow though their kiss lingered and intensified. But he broke it off before it spiraled out of control; he’d never take advantage of her, especially when she was feeling so vulnerable.

Katie though had different ideas on how their evening should end, or rather how their morning should start. From the dusky glow beyond her windows she could tell it was early dawn.

She reached for Thornton again and kissed him. He, too, lost his head the moment she sat on his lap and slowly undressed him, dropping light kisses on his jaw line and neck.

The domineering male that he was couldn’t sit back and allow himself to be dominated; he brought her head down and sealed their lips in a possessive kiss, all the while undressing her.

Katie whimpered softly, her voice hoarse with lust, as he caressed every contour of her body, driving her wild with yearning, he knew where to touch and how to do it too.

She eagerly peeled off the rest of his clothes, miraculously, without a lot of maneuvering on his part, they joined her underwear on the floor. She gasped, and licked her lips when she finally released him from the confines of his underwear. He really was the most enticing man she’d ever seen.

“Katie.” Thornton’s deep groans as she ran her hands up and down his turgid length told her she was on to something, and she grew more confident with each caress.

“I want you,” Thornton growled on her neck.

Sparks of desire shot through her body as she anticipated the moment when they’d finally be one, but for now she was happy to just stare at him. And stroke him. And tease him. Before long though, that too, was no longer enough. She had to have him, be one with him. She needed him as much he yearned for her.

“NOW,” she moaned at last when his fingers gently parted and found her molten centre. With skillful precision he slowly entered her, sending tiny waves of pleasure rippling throughout her body.

As she moved over him, rocking her hips with his, enjoying the sensation of his deep thrusts, Katie threw her head back and moaned his name.  She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, allowing him deeper entry.

He felt so damn good inside of her. And she told him this. His answering grunt as he drove them to fulfillment was music to her ears…