Page 84 of Malice
“Focus, Meredith,” I chastised myself as I stood tall in mountain pose before swan-diving into a terrible forward fold.
Every pang of discomfort pulled my focus and let more thoughts in.
Lilith’s continued silence. Asher and the resistance he was apparently leading. Whether the horsemen had been successful. Whether another demon attack was incoming. If Andi and Cole were still alive.
“Fuck it,” I grumbled before settling myself on the plush carpet and getting into a cross-legged position. If yoga wasn’t working, maybe some meditation would.
Shoving all the intrusive thoughts out of my mind, I focused instead on counting my breaths. I pictured each inhale filling the now empty space in my mind, cleansing and purifying, while each exhale would send the thoughts further away. It wasn’t a perfect metaphor, but it was working better than yoga.
The quiet room afforded me tranquility, my breaths now soft and slow rather than loud and purposeful. In their place, I heard the wind in the trees outside, the leaves rustling, and the gentle crunch of gravel under someone’s feet.
“There you are, love. I’ve been missing you.” A voice I hadn’t heard for the better part of a week floated through my head.
“Luc?” I whispered, unable to open my eyes to see if he was really there.
A tickle at my ear preceded his crooned response. “I love the sound of my name on your lips.”
I tried to turn my head, but I couldn’t get my body to respond. I knew I wasn’t asleep. I could feel myself sitting in the middle of my room, my tailbone a little sore from the lack of padding beneath it and my legs and arms heavy in their resting position, but I couldn’t move.
“Why can’t I see you? Am I dreaming?”
“Just a little daydream. About me, as it should be. You must’ve missed me too. Me and all the fun we have together.” Fingers brushed my throat and trailed down until they traced my collarbone. “It’s been ages since our last chat. What have you been up to?”
“Oh, you know, just trying to survive the end of the world. No big deal.”
“With your four guardians keeping you sequestered like a princess in a tower, I’m sure that hasn’t been so hard.”
Memories of the demon attack whipped through my mind. “You’d be surprised.”
“Your mind is buzzing with stressful energy, darling.”
“What can I say? It’s a stressful time.”
Warm breath, followed by soft lips on my neck, made me shiver. Damn, my fantasies were good.
“You know how to decompress, don’t you? Release some of that oxytocin your body craves.”
An orgasm would be pretty nice right now. Sometimes a girl just needed to take care of herself.
What happened to the meditation, Merri?
As soon as the thought registered, it dissipated, sort of like ink in water.
“I guess I could be persuaded,” I murmured as strong fingers worked at the knots in my neck and shoulders. Everything felt so real, I’d have sworn Luc was in the room with me. But that was impossible. He was a creation of my imagination. A beautiful one.
“Let me have you, love. I’ll make you feel so good you’ll forget all your troubles.” Teeth sank into my earlobe, the bright pain making me yelp in surprise, but a flood of arousal followed.
“Mmm, Luc.” It was all I could do to get the soft moan out.
I expected another kiss or caress, but instead a hard shove tipped me backwards. My eyes snapped open as I caught myself before I fell. Luc was gone, my daydream rudely interrupted, and a very familiar shadow man loomed over me.
“Grim! What the hell was that for?”
Grim
I satin the morning room with my chair facing the large windows, but I wasn’t watching the world outside. I was focused on what my shadow saw: Merri meditating in her room, her eyes closed, hair piled on her head in a messy bun, shoulders tense even though she was attempting to harness inner peace.
I’d taken to watching over her whenever she was alone, telling myself it was for her own good, but that wasn’t entirely true. She had become something I craved. I knew my obsession with her was bordering on unhealthy, if it wasn’t fully there already. But I couldn’t find it in myself to care. Merri was mine. Mine to watch over. Mine to protect. Mine to... well.
