Page 3 of Smoke the Enemy

With my ankles locked around his back and my arms wrapped around his neck, he places his hands on my bottom and carries me as he makes his way across the sandy beach to the shore.

“What are we doing here?” My voice breaks and sounds hoarse from my crying fit on the back of the bike. He doesn’t answer, just continues balancing us through the uneven sand. “Have you come to drown me and let my body drift out to sea?” I’m only partly joking. Sort of. A small part of me is also scared. He gives me no answer. His face gives nothing away either. Great. My first time at the beach will actually be my last time. He continues walking straight for the water. When I feel the waves splash against us, panic begins to set in. I try to claw away from him like a cat. “Let go of me! Let me go!”

But he doesn’t. He only tightens his grip. The salty air and crash of the waves in the darkness only heightens my fears. Nobody is around. Who will hear my screams? Soren takes my legs and roughly pushes them off of him. My feet land in the cold ocean and I hiss as the saltwater stings my open wounds. Instead of removing my arms next, he gently places his hands on my hips and holds me to him as the waves push and pull against our bodies. The water level is to my knees, but it still has enough force to cause me to lose my balance a little. However, Soren’s hands are there to ensure I remain upright. His lock is solid as the waves maintain a steady rhythm against us.

“The salt will help heal you…in more ways than one.”

Soren takes my chin and I stare up at him. The moonlight reflecting off his eyes, which look almost black out here.We’re standing upright, our chests pressed together. So much has happened in a mere few hours, yet now it’s as if time has slowed down. The waves seem to move in slow motion, and I can barely hear them over my own heartbeat in my ears.

“What?” I lick the saltwater from my lips and sniffle. “What are you talking about? Why are we out here? You’re holding me so gently now, which is a stark contrast from jerking my legs off of you a second ago.” I’m so, so very tired. I want all of this to just be over.

“Your feet. The saltwater will clean and help them heal.”

A hysterical laugh escapes me. “We’re out here to clean my feet? Have you heard of Neosporin and bandages?” I cackle like a maniac. Tears begin to fall, but I continue to laugh. Because why not? This is beyond insane. “I thought you were bringing me out here to drown me! But we’re just here to clean my feet!”

Soren gently places my head against his shoulder and shushes me while stroking my hair. The gesture is so out of character for him, this tenderness. He reminds me of the boy wearing the mask I talked to in the bedroom on that fateful Halloween night. A part of me wonders what triggers his drastic change in moods. Either way I accept the comfort. I’m an emotional wreck. I’d been strong for so long, trying to protect myself by not fully acknowledging what all was happening — but seeing Alex, it broke my façade. Finding my roommate dead in our dorm room was traumatic, but seeing the ghost from my past that I’ve been running from… it triggered me.

Waves crash against our bodies. I shiver against the cold water as he continues to keep us upright. “What’s going on, Soren? Give me straight answers. It’s just us out here.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can!” I push away from him and scream. “I want answers. I’m goinginsane.Can’t you see that? Literally every facet of my life is in chaos. I’m losing it, Soren.” I curse as tears start bubbling over. “Is that the plan? To drive me completely mentally insane because mission accomplished. You’ve achieved the ultimate mind fuck.” A hard wave lands against me, dousing me in water from the waist down, and I almost fall.

Soren grabs me by the back of the neck and brings my face closer to his. “I’ve never heard you use such language, Little Mouse. I didn’t think you were capable of such vulgar words.”

I press my lips in a thin line and speak through clenched teeth. “You’d be surprised.”

“I like it.” His other arm snakes around my body and presses me into him. His chest rises and falls against me. “Beg me to fuck you.” Even in the dim moonlight I can see his eyes sparkle with lust.

After everything that’s been going on, he’s ready tophysicallyget it on. W-o-w. “You’reinsane. You are fucking delusional.”

He groans. “There’s my little church mouse using bad words again. God, it’s hot when you sayfuck.”

“You’re absolutely psychotic.”

His hold on my neck tightens. “You bet your pretty little ass I am. Now, beg me to fuck you.”

“No. You’re trying to drive me right to the edge of insanity with you. How about you go fuck yourself?”

He smiles and it should be terrifying, but I find myself panting at the sight of his tongue running along his teeth. I’m out here in the middle of the night, on the beach, physically trapped in his hold, yet I’m not feeling terror. I think my brain has finally broken. I’ve snapped. What else could it be? My stalker ex has returned, there was another murder tonight, and the man holding me as his captive right now just admitted to being a psycho.

Soren’s eyes are focused on mine as he speaks. “I’ll answer one question. Any question you want, if you just speak those little words to me.” My mouth opens, but I close it when his grip becomes painful and he gives my head a tiny shake. “But say the words I want to hear with how badly you want to know the answer to your question.”

He wants me to be convincing. He wants me to actually beg for him to fuck me. I hate how my stomach tightens. A year ago I would’ve been disgusted, outraged by such a request. The vulgar language alone would’ve offended me. I’m blushing, but this time it’s not from embarrassment, but desire. I’m wet from the heat building inside of me that also has nothing to do with the saltwater. A bigger wave crashes against my back, and the cold water trails down, sending shivers along the way. Between Soren’s words, his grip, and the cold water, my nipples are painfully hard. I swallow and with the next wave, I allow it to push me against Soren’s solid chest. I’ve gone from being a meek quiet mouse, church and school were my life, to this person I almost don’t recognize any longer. The most I’d ever done before the Carmichaels came into my life was kiss — maybe a little heavy petting. Now I’m here about to beg a man to fuck me right here on the beach. A person can change a lot in a year, apparently.

Another change in me is that I won’t continue to be a bystander. I want answers. I want to be included and filled in on what’s happening.

“You answer my question first.”

“Ask.” His jaw tics and he looks almost angry. But I’ve come to learn Soren, he isn’t angry… he’s hungry. He’s ready to eat me alive. I stare into his beautiful face. Now that I know both brothers, there’s no mistaking the two. Steffan is charming and classically handsome. His twin, Soren, is dangerously gorgeous. Both equally as addicting. Darkness rolls off of him. If I’m not careful, I could drown in him, which would be far more deadly than being crushed under the weight of these black waters. But I want to. I want to get lost in the abyss. Like a small child who wants to play in the water but doesn’t know how to swim. That’s exactly how I feel with Soren. I’m diving into the deep end with no life jacket.

“Is Alex part of… whatever organization you’re in? Was he telling the truth?”

“That’s two questions.”

I huff. “Is Alex a part of your Brotherhood?”

“Yes.” Soren’s nostrils flare but he doesn’t speak anymore. I still don’t know what this means for us. But it’s Soren who is holding me now, steady and firm as the unforgiving ocean tosses us about. He did chase after me, so I have hope that this means he’s on my side, and not on Alex’s.

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