Born Again (7 page)

He slid his erection deep inside her from behind. She was
swollen and slippery, obviously anticipating this since he bathed her. He
wanted to growl deep inside, but he couldn’t allow himself that luxury. It was
too close to the full moon, he’d lose control.

He kept his strokes slow and measured, not wanting her to
know how frantic he became during this time of the month.

Sara moaned and tried to thrust back at him, encouraging him
to move faster. He held her hips still in his palms and rocked even more slowly
into her.

“Shh, baby, just enjoy,” he murmured near her ear.

When she held still, he rewarded her by tracing her clitoris
with his large fingers. They parted a trail through her silky soft, feminine
flesh and when he grasped the bud with his thumb and forefinger, she exploded,
grinding her hard nipples against the shower tiles.

She quivered against him while he let himself release into
her fully, possessively. His throbbing cock emptied itself with a burst
followed by quick jerks and he sucked on the side of her neck.

He gently pulled from her body and turned her to the spray,
allowing the water to gently massage any sore muscles on her legs. He disposed
of the condom then soaped them each again and then rinsed.

Flipping off the water, he grabbed for the thick, fluffy
towels and wrapped her first. She was soft and dazed and he felt smug
satisfaction that he could give her that much pleasure.

He wrapped his own towel across his hips. His hotter body
temperature would dry him off in a few minutes, but he wanted her comfortable
first.

Rubbing her gently, he steered her toward the dressing
counter. “Dry your hair. I’ll make breakfast,” he said, kissing the shell of
her ear and making her quiver in her sensitive state.

He left the steamy bathroom to make breakfast with the towel
still around his hips.

Sara dried her hair as fast as she could, since she had a
hot man in her kitchen fixing breakfast for her. She left the bathroom fifteen
minutes later and dressed quickly, finding Beau setting plates on the table.

“Mmm, pancakes. My favorite, how did you know?” she said
after quickly kissing him.

“Wild guess,” he said wryly. “I myself find them disgusting.
I have bacon, sausage and eggs.”

“What’s on the agenda for today?”

“I have a conference call at four, so I’ll head home later. Then
I’ll pick you up for the theater at six, okay?”

“Lovely.” She grinned and bit into her breakfast.

It was hard when he left for his phone call and Sara
realized it was those pesky abilities poking through. She ought to do a reading
when he left to see what she could learn, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

She felt devastated when he left her apartment and her place
suddenly seemed empty and lonely.

Maybe that was it. His presence warmed and enlivened her
life and now it was back the way it had been previously.

But not for long, she consoled herself. He’d be back in a
few hours and tomorrow she had Aric. This might just work out after all.

She sat down to read the paper and noticed in the weather
section that the skies were finally clear. And it was close to a full moon.

Why in the world would she care about that? Sara’s heart
raced as she realized she consciously sought out the knowledge of when the full
moon arrived. She’d never cared before and she had no reason to care now.

The thoughts scared and comforted her, in a strange way,
like she was grateful for the full coming. Such odd, conflicting emotions had
her once again glancing at her tarot cards.

And deciding against them.

For the first time in her life, she felt uneasy with her
abilities.

Sara finished dressing and headed toward the kitchen to wait
for Beau. Their date was wonderful the night before and she looked forward to
the theater with him tonight. And then, tomorrow was her night with Aric and
Raphael and Francesca. A night of steamy, erotic, hot and heavy sex that she
was looking forward to. Not that she didn’t look forward to sex with Beau, but
there was no way he’d join in on a foursome.

A soft knock at the door sounded and Sara opened it to find
Aric instead of Beau.

“Hi,” she greeted, raising her face for a kiss. “This is a
surprise. Come in, I’ll fix a glass of wine.”

Something gleamed in his eyes before he stepped over the
threshold. He followed her into the kitchen, where she poured two glasses of
wine.

“Aren’t you going out with Beau tonight?” he asked.

“Yes. He’ll be here in twenty minutes or so.” She smoothed
her soft green gown with her fingers. “I think I may be overdressed.”

“You always look lovely.”

“Thank you. Now, what’s the real reason you’re here?”

“I just wanted to see how you felt about Francesca and Rafe
now that we’ve gotten so…close.”

“I’m fine. Francesca and I have become friends. I really
like her, Aric,” she said, her face turned up earnestly. “I don’t have a lot of
friends, but I know I’m going to be sad when they leave for Romania again.”

“They return quite frequently.”

“So she said, but still…”

He laughed at her distress. “Come here, let me comfort you.”

She went willingly into his arms and he rested his chin on
her head. He twined a lock of her hair between his finger and she smelled the
clean scent of her lemon shampoo. She wondered if he could smell it, too.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

She’d left the front door slightly ajar and Beau stood in
the doorframe, his face dark and glowering.

“Beau,” Aric said.

Beau entered the apartment, a tight scowl on his face.

“Beau,” Sara cajoled, a hand on his arm. “It’s nothing,
really.”

“What is he doing here?”

“You can ask me. I’m standing right here.”

“I did ask you, asshole.”

They were in each other’s faces.

“Stop it,” Sara said. “Beau, Aric just stopped by for a
second. He knew I was going out with you.”

“Did you still plan to go out with me?”

Her jaw dropped. “Of course I did.”

“Let her be,” Aric commanded and Beau’s face darkened. “I
merely stopped by to check on her.”

Beau was angry enough to strike out at Aric and now that she
thought of it, Aric didn’t look so calm himself. The same violence was there
under his polished façade, as if he itched for a fight as much as Beau did.

Did she never learn? She attracted violence and that was why
she’d always stayed away from permanent relationships, preferring instead short
casual flings. How could she have forgotten that in these heavenly few days?

“Wait,” Sara said. “Maybe,” she said slowly, “maybe this isn’t
working out after all. This relationship, I mean. I think the two of you need
to leave, give me some time alone to think.”

“Sara,” Aric started, but she interrupted.

“No, really.”

“What about the theater?” Beau asked.

“I’m sorry. I’ll have a miserable time, so I’m sorry you
wasted the tickets.”

“You said you’d come over tomorrow after work,” Aric
reminded her.

“I’m canceling. Both of you, please leave.”

Beau was about to say something else, but when Aric saw the
look on her face, he cut him off. “No, let her be. She’s right, she does need
time. Let’s leave. You and I need to have a few words alone anyway.”

Sara locked her door behind them and walked into her
bedroom, where she sobbed as she undressed. It was great while it lasted. But
how could she have been so stupid? To have pushed such a simple fact of how she
bred violence to the back of her mind. It was why she was alone and always had
been. Not only did she have the weird ability to feel things, but she seemed to
attract and nurture the violence in people. Maybe she should have picked one
man from the beginning instead of trying for them both. Still, who knows what
would have happened?

It was hard to breathe around the lump in her throat and her
eyes felt sore and swollen with the tears she’d shed. Her beautiful green gown
was hanging in the closet and she’d only worn it for half an hour. Still, that
gorgeous dress would always remind her of Aric, for that was the gown she’d
brought from his place.

She knew what she had to do. The good times were over. It
couldn’t go past this point.

Sara curled into the middle of the bed, naked and alone, a
torrent of hot tears trailing down her cheeks. Silent, this time, because her
sobs were done.

* * * * *

The next day wasn’t much better. Her eyes were red-rimmed
and during the midmorning, Sara confided to a coworker that she had man
troubles.

“I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone. Is it someone I
know?” Kelly asked.

“Well, it’s Beau Piersen.”

There was a roar behind her and a red-faced Mike appeared.

“You’ve been seeing Beau? My Beau?” Mike shrieked.

Sara felt her face redden. “He’s not yours, Mike,” she said,
her voice low, trying to quiet him. It didn’t work. He was such a drama queen.

“You knew how I felt about him! And now just to piss him off
by cheating on him with that other guy,” he yelled. He stomped toward her, as
close as physically possible without touching and because he was taller, he
peered down at her.

Intimidation.

By a gay man.

“Guess what, Mike? I have a vagina. That’s what Beau wants
and you don’t have it, so back off.” She punctuated her words with a shove
against his bony, underdeveloped chest and he took an involuntary step
backward.

Thankfully, it was during the slow time before the
dinnertime customers arrived, because the constant babble of voices was
steadily rising in volume.

“You can’t move in on his territory,” Louise from the
cleaning crew yelled.

“Just ‘cause he said Beau was his doesn’t mean he is,”
someone else yelled back.

“Is everyone here forgetting the fact that Beau’s not gay?”
Sara asked and the room exploded.

The steady roar of voices was ear-splitting and too much to
catch all at once.

Thankfully, the calming force of Mrs. Alizo entered the
room. “What is going on here?” she snapped. “Back to work, all of you.”

The room cleared until only Sara and Mike remained.

“Is this over Mr. Pierson?” Mrs. Alizo asked, her formal
tone reminding them both that Beau was a customer.

“That tramp stole him from me!” Mike whined, his voice
high-pitched.

“He was never yours to steal,” Sara reminded calmly.

“While I don’t approve of an employee dating a customer,
especially one of my biggest accounts,” Mrs. Alizo said with a glare toward
Sara, “I must agree. Mr. Pierson is a grown man able to make his own decisions
and obviously he chose. Now, I’m going to offer you both the rest of the day
off, so you can go home and cool down. I expect you both to return for your
next scheduled shift and I expect professionalism at all times.” Her voice rose
with the last sentence and this time she glared at Mike.

Mike stormed off and Mrs. Alizo turned to Sara. Her face had
gentled somewhat as she took in Sara’s pale skin and her trembling hands. She
could afford to be gentler now that Mike was gone.

“Relax, my dear. It’ll be fine. Enjoy the rest of your day
while you have it.”

“Thanks,” Sara said automatically and went to retrieve her
purse.

This had turned into a crappy day. Tension with the guys, a
fight with Mike at work, maybe she could just relax in the tub.

And if those damn guys hadn’t been fighting with each other,
she could have called one of them up to spend the rest of the day with her. Instead,
her extracurricular activities were over.

Sara arrived home to a ringing telephone which delivered its
last ring as she unlocked the door. She kicked off her shoes and went over to
the old-fashioned, box-caller ID.

Twenty-five numbers were stored. As she flipped through
them, she saw that there were actually two callers.

Beau and Aric.

Over and over, even as she checked, the phone rang yet
again.

The answering machine wouldn’t pick up. The green light that
usually blipped on it was steady, indicating it was full. It took at least an
hour’s worth of messages to fill it.

She sighed and decided to leave it alone for now. Then she
reached out and unplugged the phone from the wall, stilling its constant
ringing.

Pouring herself a glass of wine, she headed into the
bathroom, where she lit candles around the tub. Then she dimmed the lights and
slowly undressed.

She peered at herself in the mirror. High, firm breasts
perfectly rounded, with pink nipples. Nipples that poked hard as pebbles while
she watched. Francesca was right, she did have beautiful breasts. Long legs, curvy
hips. A waist that dipped into an hourglass shape. Flat belly and a narrow
strip of red hair she kept waxed for convenience.

Stepping into the tub, she sank into the fragrant steam,
feeling her muscles almost immediately relax and loosen. She polished off her
wine, feeling slightly dizzy from the combination of alcohol and the heat of
her tub.

The bathroom door burst open to reveal both Beau and Aric.

“You are not answering your phone,” Aric accused.

At the same time, Beau said, “I was worried about you,
dammit.”

“Tell me you guys didn’t break my front door,” Sara said, in
an uncaring tone of voice.

“You left it unlocked.”

Sara sighed. It was very possible. She’d been frazzled when
she got home. “Do you two think you can play nice and wait in the bedroom for
me? The bathroom’s a little crowded.”

Neither man answered, both aware finally that she lay naked
in a tub of clear water.

“Or would you rather I just got out now with you both
watching?”

“No. We’ll wait for you,” Aric said and Sara knew he didn’t
want her getting out of the tub with Beau watching.

The bathroom seemed larger when they left. She drained the
tub and left her hair curling in a carefree knot on the top of her head. She
slipped into a bathrobe, naked underneath and followed them into the bedroom,
where one sat stiffly on her bed and the other sat in her vanity chair.

She’d deliberately tied her robe loosely and the two folds
parted, nearly but not quite exposing her breasts.

Twin sets of pale eyes followed the exposure. One pair blue,
the other green.

“So tell me,” Sara said. “What is so damned important that
neither of you could wait until my bath was done?”

Beau started. “I’m your mate, Sara—”

And Aric’s eyes flashed fire. “You were meant to be with me
throughout eternity.”

Both men were suddenly quiet. Aric looked like he regretted
his outburst, as though there was something he didn’t want her to know.

“Explain,” Sara said curtly. “Ever since I’ve known you two,
I’ve heard cryptic little sentences here and there. Eternity. Mate.”

“You were my wife once,” Aric said.

“What?”

“My wife,” he reiterated.

Beau growled, “But my mate.”

“What the hell are you guys talking about?” Sara asked,
bewildered.

“Another lifetime. Yours,” said Beau slowly. “Aric and I are
immortal. You refused to be turned werewolf to share my immortality. We met
Aric, who was to turn you vampire instead. The bastard stole you from me.”

“She wanted me. Forever. It was why she insisted on
marriage.”

Oh God. Her heart beat frantically, about to jump from her
chest. They were insane and they were in her apartment. One believed he was a
vampire and one thought he was werewolf. They’d slept with her and even now,
she wanted to jump them again.

Sara took a step toward the door of the bedroom on her shaky
legs. Neither man noticed, they were too busy arguing about past lifetimes and
Sara being scared out of her wits.

She bolted. Out the bedroom door she flew, narrowly missing hitting
her shoulder on the doorjamb. Turning into the hallway, she ran for the front
door, catching her thigh on a side table.

Still she ran and had just reached the doorknob when she was
caught from behind.

Falling to the floor, she was tackled in a mess of arms and
legs, panting and fighting. Kicking and screaming, until a large hand clamped
over her mouth to keep her quiet.

“Hold still, Sara,” growled Beau, from beneath her.

“Stop fighting us,” whispered Aric and the message got into
her confused brain somehow. She stilled, her body frozen in calm shock.

“You bastard,” muttered Beau. “You’ve had her blood.”

“Her blood remembers me from centuries ago,” Aric said. “Don’t
lose her again.”

She was picked up bodily by Aric and she heard the click as
the front door was locked behind them. They made their way back to the bedroom.
He laid her gently on the bed, where she came out of her trance.

Her robe had parted, exposing a full breast tipped with a
tantalizing puckered nipple, hard and tingling from her trance.

Lust exploded in Aric and his fangs distended. Sara stared
in disbelief. They weren’t crazy. She was.

“Cover yourself, Sara,” Beau said harshly.

She moved to close the robe, but one word from Aric stopped
her.

“No.” His voice was carefully definitive as if he took extra
care because words seemed difficult with the fangs distended.

She froze and watched him. The fangs were sexy, California
bright and his pale eyes blazed. Reaching out, he cupped a breast and she heard
Beau as he hissed behind her.

She moaned, closing her eyes and basking in the comfort she
needed right now. She leaned her forehead forward and rested it on Aric’s
shoulder, letting him fondle her.