Page 100 of The Eternal Mirror
Suddenly, it’s spewing out money like crazy—everywhere. I look around in panic, but so far, no one has noticed, and it’s still spewing.
“Grab some,” I whisper.
I crouch down and scoop up handfuls of notes, which disappear as I shove them into my pocket. Khaosti does the same, but there’s still more coming, and people are starting to look our way. I guess I’ve got enough for a bikini and a couple of cocktails.
“Bank of Earth, you’ve done your bit—
Now shut your mouth and stop this shit.”
“Let’s go,” I whisper, reaching for where I think Khaosti is. He grabs my hand, and we’re running. This time we don’t wait for the doorman; we just bolt through the door and race down the beach. I’m laughing like a madwoman. We make it back to our little hiding place, and I make us visible again.
“Oh Gods, that was fun. I am so going to be a bank robber if I ever come back to Earth.” I pull the money out of my pockets and pile it on the sand. Khaosti does the same. There’s a lot. I smooth it out and count it up—over three thousand dollars.
Do I feel guilty?
Hell no. I saved Earth from Lucifer; they owe me something.
“Let’s go party.”
We decide to leave the scene of our crime and head down the beach. I spot a small beach boutique and leave Khaosti outside while I go in and buy us some beach-friendly gear. I never hadmuch money when I lived on Earth; I had to think about every penny I spent. So, this is crazy wild. I get beach towels, sunglasses, sunscreen, a pink and orange bikini for me with a matching sarong, blue and gold swim shorts for Khaosti, flip-flops, and two huge beach bags to carry all our stuff. At the last minute, I pick up a little ankle bracelet made of tiny shells and seed pearls—a souvenir. And a postcard for Josh.
I pay with my stolen cash, and outside, we both change. Khaosti looks pretty hot in his shorts; he has the most amazing muscles and a lean, almost concave belly, and the broadest chest with long, long legs.
Just wow.
I don’t look bad in my bikini and sarong either. At least the look in Khaosti’s eyes says I’m pretty hot myself.
And half an hour later, my vision has come true. We’ve left the big hotels and the scores of tourists behind and found a quiet stretch of beach with a small beach bar featuring a thatched roof and sun loungers right at the ocean’s edge.
We both have cocktails, compliments of the smiling barman—complete with umbrellas. Mine tastes like mango and sin. Khaosti’s smells like pineapple and blood orange.
We clink coconuts.
“To temporary delusions,” I say.
“To good ideas,” he replies. “Thank you for this.”
We drink more cocktails, lime and juniper, while sitting on the sand, toes buried, the water licking close. After a while, we wander down the shoreline. He lifts me and twirls me into thesurf. I shriek. He laughs. I kiss him because I can, and because here—now—none of it feels heavy. None of it feels real.
No gods. No mirrors. No fates.
Just salt and skin and something dangerously close to joy. We don’t talk about anything important. In fact, we hardly talk at all.
We lie down on the warm sand, side by side, bodies damp and salty and warmed by the sun, his hand brushing mine. And I doze, at peace. When I open my eyes, darkness has fallen and Khaos is sitting beside me, staring out at the ocean. The sea is calm, the bar is closed, and the people have gone. Even the bond is quiet, at peace. This is what life should be like.
I study his face. I could stay like this. Forever.
He gets to his feet and holds out his hand, and together we walk into the sea. He turns me to face him, tangles his hand in my hair, lowers his head, and his mouth takes mine; I open beneath him and his tongue thrusts inside, all warm wet velvet, that tastes like Khaos with a hint of lime and salt, and I can’t get enough. My body yearns for him. I’ve held him at a distance for too long; now I’m burning with a need even the whole Pacific Ocean can’t cool.
Only Khaosti.
I don’t break the kiss as I rest my hands on his shoulders and wrap my legs around his hips. I can feel the burning length of his erection.
He moves a hand between us, and then he’s pushing inside me, so big, filling me, and my whole body tingles and pulsates. I release my hold of his shoulders and let myself float free, the warmwater enveloping me as Khaos holds my hips and thrusts languidly inside. It’s like time no longer exists, and we make love forever.
I don’t want to come, because I don’t want to end this. But pleasure is building inside me, spiraling out from the point our bodies are joined, suffusing me with heat and pleasure that builds and builds until it has nowhere to go but outward, and I come with a small scream that is swallowed by the vastness of the ocean.
And I lie like that for an age, floating, just anchored by Khaosti, staring at the sky as the stars come out.
