Incest/Taboo Body of Water

We burst into the house later that night and I struggled to quiet Angela's shrill laughter. I wrapped an arm around her waist when she stumbled while trying to remove her stilettos. She sagged against me and I managed to drag her as far as the living room. I left her on the couch with a blanket pulled over her body.

I walked upstairs and my pulse pounded as I recalled the strange events of the night. After meeting that stranger in the bar, I'd cooled down in seconds. Within an hour, I'd convinced myself I'd imagined the whole thing.

He was just some guy who bumped into me. He held onto me to keep me from falling over. I was unbalanced on those ridiculous shoes.

It sounded reasonable and so I accepted it.

As I reached the second floor, I was aware of a second heartbeat down the hall. I bit my lip and tiptoed to Harlowe's door. I'd never gone to him in his room but I told myself he wouldn't mind. Something had been roiling within me all night and I couldn't put my finger on it. An hour in Harlowe's arms would help.

I slipped into his dark room after tapping on the door. As I made my way to his bed, I removed the tight red top and the little black skirt. I shook my hair loose, ignoring the pins falling like rain against my shoulders. Then I removed my underwear, shuddering as I peeled the damp fabric from my swollen and sensitive skin. I reached for his bed covers and knelt on the edge of the bed, leaning over him.

"Harlowe." I ran my hand up his arm. I tickled the skin behind his ear, where I knew he was most sensitive.

He came awake with a jolt and I giggled behind my hand as he looked up at me in surprise. "Nerina? What are you doing here?"

I stretched out next to him. "I wanted to see you."

"I thought you and Ang went out."

"We just got home. You want me to let you to sleep?" This I asked as I ran a hand through the coarse hair covering his chest. I felt him shiver as my palm slipped lower, teasing the crisp hair above his burgeoning member.

"No," he ground out in a hoarse tone as his hands closed around my waist.

His surprise over my late night appearance was short-lived. He responded to my touch and pressed his head back against his pillow as I followed my touch with kisses. When I took him into my mouth, he groaned.

"Nerina," he hissed my name from behind clenched teeth.

I felt his hands tunnel into my hair, yanking the few pins I'd missed. The sting was minimal and I was too intent on my task to notice. I licked him, tasting his salty essence as I cupped his testicles and massaged them. He thrust into my mouth and I took him in deeper, sucking on him. I didn't usually enjoy this but it seemed I was not myself tonight.

I was more than aware of his pounding heartbeat, the twitching of his muscles as he held himself back from spewing into my mouth. He wanted what I wanted, to empty himself inside of my body.

So I did something else I didn't normally do.

I released him from my mouth with a final suction of my lips, making him gasp in surprise. Then I knelt above him, straddling his thighs. His hands closed on my hips, lifting me. He was such an experienced lover, he knew what I wanted. I was more aware than ever of my body's responses. It was less forced, more intense, even though it still didn't reach quite deep enough to make me ignite.

I lifted myself at his urging and circled his engorged member with my fingers. I rubbed my swollen flesh against the tip, wetting it, and gave a happy sigh as I brushed it over my sensitive nub. Then he was hauling me down, forcing himself up and into me. I rocked on him, taking him deep inside and moaned, as I should, as he thrust up into me.

Harlowe groaned, his fingers digging into my hips and I felt his thighs lift against my bottom as he moved. He was frantic for me and I sensed that he wouldn't last long. I touched myself, holding my fingers on either side of his plunging member. His eyes snapped open and he watched my hand between us. His breathing was ragged as I squeezed his cock every time he pulled out of me.

When my fingers were coated with my juices, I moved higher, circling that hub of nerves above our joining. I stroked, biting my lip as my own touch brought more sensations up from deep inside. I tipped my head back and closed my eyes, conjuring an unfamiliar face to mind.

Sweat dotted my upper lip and I pushed down hard on Harlowe. He grunted from the impact but continued to thrust into me. I drifted from the present as I called up images of golden eyes and overwhelming heat. I rocked against his cock, rubbed myself furiously and gasped as I ran headlong into a climax.

I wasn't certain but I think I cried out. A moment later, Harlowe's hands squeezed and I felt the warm slosh as he emptied himself inside of me.

You'd better be using birth control, a deep, masculine voice intruded through my orgasmic haze.

Of course I am. I was too annoyed at the intrusion to realize that I was speaking to myself. I'm a modern woman. I've been on the pill for years.

Later, as I drifted to sleep with Harlowe snoring against my shoulder, I told myself inner conversations were ridiculous.

No one reads minds. I yawned. Or talks to themselves during sex.

This time the dream made me uncomfortable.

I was drowning, instead of flowing with the current. I opened my mouth, sucking in more water, and my arms flailed on either side of me.

This isn't right.

Always before, the water had just become part of me, and I of it. We'd roll together, pushing and floating like a breeze.

This time, unseen hands clutched my ankles, yanking hard. I bobbed with my head above water, sucking in hot, sticky fumes. My eyes blinked open but I caught only the barest glimpse of rolling steam before being hauled under again.

I kicked, frantic for another breath of air and opened my mouth on a cry as my foot kicked a rock.

I was in the shallows, ground just beneath me. I stopped struggling and flattened my feet, touching down. As I straightened, my head rose above the surface. I sucked in air and blinked the water out of my eyes. This time I saw more of the spreading steam crossing the water.

You mustn't. A familiar voice rolled towards me from the cloud of steam.

What?

But I wasn't to be given an answer.

I was upended and fell beneath the water. The ground dropped away this time as I tried to stand up and I was left waving my arms like a shipwrecked human.

Something had me in a firm hold and I could no longer kick my legs. The water rushed into my mouth and up my nose. My ears exploded as water filled them and I felt panic, real, unadulterated panic settle in.

This isn't right. I'm not supposed to drown. It shouldn't be possible.

Strange thoughts, adding to my panic.

Black waves closed around me and then, for a long time, nothing.

In the morning, Angela was the first to wake. Then, as the saying goes, the cat was out of the bag. When she didn't find me in my own room, she hurried to Harlowe's in a panic, thinking I'd gone out again, or perhaps not come home with her. She found us wrapped naked together, breathing hard from our early morning session and screamed before running out of the room.

Harlowe and I shared a guilty laugh before I got up and crossed the hall to my own room. I was working a brush through the tangled mass of hair when Angela burst into my room.

"All right." She scowled at me as she slammed the door behind her. "Explain."

"What's to explain?" I gave her a weak smile in the mirror. "Harlowe and I slept together."

"You've got to be kidding me. I find you guys naked and sweaty and that's all you can say?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared. She had dark circles under her eyes from the mascara she hadn't washed off last night. To be fair, I looked much the same, just with messy hair thrown in for good measure. "How long has this been going on?"

"What makes you think it's been going on for longer than one night?"

"Oh, please," she scoffed and waved a hand in my direction. "You hardly had anything to drink last night, Rina. You're not the type of girl to fuck the nearest available man."

I winced at her crass words. "Why are you so upset?"

She didn't answer and I turned to face her. She'd moved from the doorway to sit on the edge of my bed. When her face lifted, I saw a wounded look in her eyes.

"I thought we were friends, Rina."

"You know we are." I walked over and sat down beside her.

"Then why didn't you tell me you were in a relationship? I wouldn't have dragged you out last night if I'd known you were already spoken for."

I laughed before I could help it. "First of all, I'm not spoken for. What Harlowe and I have...it's not what you think. We're just..." I paused, waving a hand in front of me as I searched for the right word. Lovers? No, too intimate. Fuck buddies? Too cold. "Consenting adults. Second, even if I was taken, I'd still be able to go out with my best friend."

Angela didn't look convinced but she didn't seem as upset as before. "I just don't know why you guys didn't tell me."

I shrugged. Perhaps we should have but it had been going on for so long, neither of us considered it an issue. At first, there'd been some awkwardness over him sneaking to and from my room. Then the awkwardness had passed and it had just become part of a routine. Maybe I'd feel guilty if it was more than it was. That I didn't love him made our relationship inconsequential.

"We didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable." Discussing my unattached feelings for Harlowe wouldn't change things at this point.

"Hmm, you were probably right to keep it a secret." Angela turned to me with a smile. "If I'd known you guys were sneaking around, I might have felt compelled to chaperone more strictly."

I smiled, glad she was making a joke.

"Anyway, I should be relieved it's not serious."

"Why?"

"Well, I saw you talking to that guy last night and when I saw you with Harlowe this morning, my first thought was 'how could she flirt with another man while she's with Harlowe?'"

I started at her mention of a guy at the club and the memories washed over me. I felt heat suffuse my face and neck as I called his face to mind.

"I still can't believe he was there," Angela said, bringing me back to the present."

"What?" I felt confused and more than a little off-balance. "What do you mean?"

Angela gave me a funny look. "That guy you were talking to? He's the owner of the Firehall."

My eyes widened and I gaped at her. "You're kidding. Do you know what his name is?"

"Of course. You mean he didn't tell you himself?"

No, but he pulled my name from my mind. I shook my head.

"Well, he was only talking to you for a minute."

Again, I was dumbfounded. A minute? It had felt like hours. "What's his name?"

Angela grinned at me. "You really don't know?"

"No. Tell me."

"How funny. You were talking to him and you don't even know who he is."

"Ang! Please, just tell me his name."

Her smile drooped but she obliged. "Aedan McKay. He owns several nightclubs downtown but I've heard he spends most of his time at the Firehall."

I didn't hear anything else she said. I heard his name and the rest of her words faded, becoming background noise.

Aedan. Aedan McKay. I know you, Aedan.

You do.

The responding words sent a shiver up my spine and I must have made some noise because Angela stopped talking to give me a strange look.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I whispered, afraid that if I spoke any louder, I'd forget it all again. "I think I just...I'm just tired."

Angela grinned and nodded as she patted my leg. "I'll bet. Harlowe must have tuckered you out last night."

Harlowe? Who the hell cares about Harlowe? Then I felt ashamed. No matter what I felt, or however strange I felt, Harlowe was a dear friend. He deserved better than me.

"I don't think I can keep sleeping with Harlowe."

Angela's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Why not?"

"It's not fair to him." As I said it, I realized it was the truth. "Or me. We both deserve the chance to be with people we truly care for."

"You don't care for Harlowe?"

"Not in that way. He's a great guy and good in bed, but I don't love him."

Angela nodded like she understood. Then her mouth turned down in a frown and she stood up from the bed. "I hope things don't get awkward if you hurt him."

I smiled. "I won't hurt him. This was only a convenience thing for both of us. Especially him. It's easier to come home to a warm body than to seek one out."

Interesting choice of words.

The thought pushed into my head and I frowned, aware of the fact that it wasn't mine.

"All the same, I'd hate to see either of you get hurt." Angela paused as she opened my bedroom door. "I think I'm hungry. You want to go out for breakfast? I'll see if Harlowe wants to come too."

I smiled at her effort to keep us together, the same happy family we'd been for years. "I'm up for breakfast. Let me shower and I'll be ready in half an hour."

"Sounds good." She left me alone.

Aedan. I rolled the name over and over in my head. It was familiar and yet it wasn't. I'd never heard his name before this morning but I felt as if I knew it.

Aedan.

Don't summon me unless you mean it.

I shuddered and told myself it was only my imagination. Then I got up and went to shower.

Monday rolled around all too soon and it didn't launch me into a productive week as it normally did. I walked into my office on time and tried to start my computer. It whirred and loaded and then died, with the screen going white.

"What the hell...?" I reached down to push the restart button. The tower was on a little wooden stand on the floor and my leg rested against it.

I waited and sipped my coffee as the computer shut down, then clicked back on. My desktop came on screen and as I moved the mouse to open my email, it froze. Scowling, I hit 'escape' and 'control, alt, delete.' Still nothing. Another few seconds passed and the screen went white again.

"Oh, for crying out loud."

I picked up the phone and dialed the IT department. No one answered but I left a message, urging someone to come to my office as soon as possible.

With a sigh, I wandered out to the showroom, deciding to get a jump on samples for my first client that morning. I went to the kitchen section first, pulling down rows of countertop sample chips and a board filled with brass and pewter handles. As I arranged the samples on the large table in the center of the showroom, the main door opened and in walked the most exotic looking man I'd ever seen.

He was tall and lithe, moving with an almost feline grace. His skin was the dark mocha of the Middle East and his hair was black. Without seeing him close up, I knew his eyes were dark brown, like muddy waters. As he came closer, I saw that his charcoal suit was custom made, tailored to his lean form. He wore no tie, only a crisp green shirt that complimented his skin tone perfectly. He grinned at me when he was only a few feet away and I rocked back on my heels.

It was the same sort of smile Aedan had given me the other night and it unsettled me. Instead of feeling hot, and feeling sweat trail down my back, I felt my chest squeeze. I tried to draw in air and couldn't. It brought the memory of my dream back in a rush and I paled, feeling the panic rise in my throat.

Just as suddenly as the feeling had come, it was gone. Air rushed into my lungs and I made a choking noise as I resumed breathing.

"Are you all right?" the man asked, his voice faintly accented. It was a raspy voice, like sand washing over rocks and I shivered. "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Of course not." I was glad when my voice didn't crack. "Welcome to Landbourne's design center. Did you have a meeting with someone today?" I knew the receptionist out front was often late and sometimes people came into the showroom for assistance.

"No. No meeting," he replied. "I came to see you."

"Me? Why? Do we know each other?"

He moved closer to me, circling the sample table and stopping a few feet from my left side. "We've not been introduced." He gave me a crooked smile. "Recently, that is."

Something in his tone stirred something inside of me. I swallowed, feeling my mouth go dry. I didn't thirst, not like I had with Aedan, but it was a strange feeling, nonetheless.

"I-I'm s-sorry," I stuttered and flinched as he moved closer. It was the same sort of non-movement Aedan had done the other night. If this guy had not been of Middle-Eastern descent, I'd have thought they were related.

The open smile on his face dimmed and I had the sense that perhaps he knew my thoughts, as Aedan had.

"Not in the same way," he murmured, standing practically on top on me now.

How did he get so close? I swallowed around the thickness in my throat. Then I frowned, recalling his words. "What do you mean?"

"I am not the same as he is."

I sucked in a breath and clenched my hands into fists. This can't be happening. This isn't real. No way can he read my mind like Aedan.

Then he was touching me, his dark hand cupping my cheek and I smelled something on him; something musky and heavy. It was intoxicating. Aedan's nearness had made me burn, but this man's close proximity made me feel wondrously full and heavy.

"Yes." His breath stirred against my cheek. The smell was overpowering then, thick and moist like a rainforest. "You can feel it, can't you, my nymph."

What a strange endearment. I rested my head in his hand.

His other hand came up to rest on my other cheek and his scent swirled all around me. I fell my body sag and slouch closer to him. The blood in my veins slowed and I felt light-headed, still not pulling enough air into my lungs.

I want to feel you around me. His thoughts washed through me, unbidden. As with Aedan, I didn't try to listen; they just came to me. I yearn for your moisture, your sweet dew.

The words, so intimately sexual, should have made me blush. I felt so full, like he was already invading my body.

Yesss...

His mouth touched mine and I felt my chest constrict. I panicked. Lifting my hands, I shoved against his chest, hard. He stumbled back a step, shocked and for a moment, I saw something darker cross his chocolate-colored eyes. Then the calm exterior was back and he was smiling at me.

"I'm sorry if I startled you."

"Who are you?" My voice sounded harsh even to my own ears.

He cocked his head to one side as he studied me, the smile playing around his full lips. They'd felt odd against my own. I pushed the thought away as I tried to focus on him.

"You know me."

I laughed, the sound ragged in the empty showroom. "I wish I did."

His eyes narrowed and I felt more than a little uncomfortable under his gaze. He was standing very close to me again, his musky scent permeating my senses. "You know me."

I ordered breathlessly, struggling to keep from pressing myself against his firm body. And it was firm; I'd felt the solidity of his chest and familiar moisture dotted my panties the longer he stood before me. "Tell me your name."

"Which one?"

I gaped at him. Was he serious? "The one you answer to."

"In this life, I'm called Avanindra."

"Ava- I'm sorry, what was it?"

He chuckled and my body pulsed with sudden, aching need. As if he knew what he'd just done to me, he moved closer. His arms closed around my back and I felt him open a palm over the swell of my bottom. I shuddered and braced myself against his chest.

This is all happening way too fast.

I turned my head to avoid his kiss. I don't know how I knew he was going to kiss me again. I just knew his lips were descending and I wanted to not feel that choking sensation again.

You want my kiss. I can feel your longing.

Longing. That was a good word for what I felt. Longing, and a desperate curiosity.

Again, he chuckled and this time the sound vibrated through both of us. A moan escaped from my lips and he opened his mouth on my neck. His musky, spicy scent filled my nose and his tongue rasped over my throat. Moisture gathered between my thighs and I moaned again.

I wasn't choking this time but his scent, his presence under my hands and around my body was cloying. Somehow, it didn't frighten me. I wanted to feel him close around me and I wanted to close my body around his. Desperate, passionate need flared and my knees quivered.

Yesss... the hissing thought slid through my mind and I shuddered, biting down hard on my lower lip.

I want...I will have you...

Please. This time it was my mind crying out with desire. I'd never begged in my life but this man, this exotic, dark-skinned man was wearing me down with a suddenness that should have terrified me.

His laughter turned wicked and I felt his arms tighten around me. Before I knew what was happening, he lifted me, resting me on the sample table. He was just tall enough that his groin pushed against my crotch as I balanced on the edge. I slapped a hand back to brace myself as his mouth glided down my throat to my collarbone. Countertop and paint samples scattered to the floor, the sound dulled by the steady, slow thud of blood in my ears.

What is this? How are you doing this to me? I gave up on denying the connection between our minds.

I know what it is you want. I can give you what you desire, what you've always desired.

What is that? I don't even know what's missing.

And I didn't. I wasn't a slut, sleeping with a different guy every week, but I also wasn't a lily-white virgin. I'd had lovers before Harlowe. Though all of them had drawn forth the appropriate physical reactions, I'd never been...wowed.

Now, twice in three days, I was being turned inside out by two complete strangers.

Avanindra lifted his head and his dark eyes bored into mine. I gasped, sucking in more of his deep, sweet scent. It made my throat feel tight but I couldn't stop inhaling him. It was exhilarating.

I'm no stranger to you, Nerina.

Aren't you? We've never met.

Yes, we have. You will remember.

How?

His slow exhalation was coupled with the push of his hips against mine. You must give yourself to me. Then you will know.

We don't know each other this way. The thought startled me and from the scowl that sullied his features, it displeased him as well.

Then he dropped his head and his teeth scraped over my collarbone before he began to suck. His scent swirled up around me and I gasped for breath, inhaling and exhaling in short bursts. The lack of oxygen heightened my awareness of what was happening and I moaned as he pushed his hand up my skirt.

In the next second, he was shoving the crotch of my panties aside and I felt his strong fingers parting my folds. I was soaking, aching for his touch and came with stars bursting behind my eyelids as he stroked me. He stroked again, faster, and thrust his fingers inside of me.

Still, I couldn't get quite enough air. My vision was swimming with stars and I gazed down in a stupor as his dark head lowered. He gripped my knees and yanked my legs apart. His head dipped between my thighs and I felt his thick tongue pushing at my entrance, pulsing against me. I came hard again, shoving more countertop samples to the floor as I flopped back, rocking with need.

Just as suddenly as he'd stirred my body, he was moving back.

His hands straightened my skirt and his lips hovered for the barest of seconds over my mouth, drowning me in his earthy scent again. Then he was moving away, giving me space and my breath back. I dropped my feet to the floor and tried to stand upright.

"I must go." His mouth was curled into a smirk and as I watched, the tip of his pink tongue darted out, lapping a spot of moisture at the corner of his mouth.

I felt the motion like a tug deep in my gut. I took a step towards him before I was even aware I'd wanted to move. But he was backing away from me.

"Wait. Why are you going?"

"Your co-workers are approaching. I didn't think you'd want to be caught with a client between your legs."

"A client?" I was confused and thought that I could care less what anyone thought about him being between my legs.

"Yes, client. I've just bought a house from Landbourne Homes. I can't wait until our first appointment."

Then he was gone. I was left standing next to the messy sample table for a long time, wondering what in the hell had just happened. I shook my head, feeling the absence of the exotic man like a missing finger. I swallowed, my throat no longer feeling thick and constricted. I felt his love bites on my skin and I felt the twitching remnants of the orgasms he'd just given me.

Finally, a blush stained my cheeks, cold reality stealing back over me.

Had I really been willing to fuck a stranger in the middle of the showroom? When, at any time, one of my colleagues could have walked in and found us?

Yes...

The word echoed in my head and I squeezed my thighs together. I hurried from the open space and rushed to the restroom to fix myself; if such a thing were even possible anymore.

The dream altered entirely and irrevocably.

I was in a dark, dank forest. I could hear water rushing over rocks in the distance but as I rotated in place, I couldn't get any sense of direction.

The shrub in front of me stirred and I froze on the spot, my blood running cold. I was aware then of how cold I was, how naked. I shifted on my feet and longed to feel the tingle of sweat under my arms so that I'd know warmth again.

I felt something strange brush against me then and knew it was a finger of steam. I turned towards it but it vanished, dissipated as quickly as it had formed. I felt it disappear and sobbed, the sound a harsh echo in the jungle.

Then the bushes stirred again, coupled with a menacing rumble.

I whirled, tried to run but couldn't. My legs didn't obey, couldn't work in this place. I felt my panic rising in my throat like bile and I fought it down. Panic would not get me to the stream I heard.

I wanted water like nothing I'd ever wanted before.

The rumble sounded behind me and I looked back - why did I look back? - stumbling over a root that appeared in front of me. I felt a heavy weight descend upon me, a familiar, dizzying scent of musky spices sweeping over me. I rolled, felt fur brush my thighs and opened my mouth on a silent scream as I met the yellow eyes of a tiger.

It growled and its pink tongue rasped against my neck. The stroke lifted my top layer of skin. I shrieked in pain and tried to get away. The tiger was too heavy and I felt its claws pierce the skin of my hips. I froze, less than eager to have the beast rip me apart.

Again, that deep rumble that I now recognized as a laugh.

You want me to rip you apart. And I shall.

As the thoughts whispered through my panicked mind, the tiger's pink tongue scraped over my body. It moved lower, its claws pushing in and out of me as it moved. I felt his tongue on my breasts, tightening my nipples to hard little nubs. Then he tasted my stomach, tickling my belly button, before moving lower. My legs parted and then he was tasting me.

Yesss...

The hiss had me arching my back and I felt searing pain as the tiger tongued me. It ripped more and more skin with each pass of his tongue and I felt no pleasure.

The sound of running water intruded on my senses and I twisted my neck, straining to see.

Then I did.

There, through the thick, dark foliage, the brightest glimpse of a waterfall. My eyes filled with tears and the scraping of the tiger's tongue and teeth over my tender flesh faded.

As always, the water seeped into me, became one with me and then, nothing.

When I woke on Tuesday morning, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. My body felt raw, abused. I feared for the first time that the dream had been real.

Throwing my covers back, I came to a decision. There was one person who might be able to answer some questions and I might know where to find him. My stomach lurched at the thought of standing in Aedan's presence again but when I thought of the alternative, waiting for Avanindra to spring himself on me again, a little sweat was a welcome choice.

I showered, ran fingers through my wet hair and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I hurried from the house, unsure if I disturbed my roommates. Indeed, I cared little if they were even home. Too much was happening in my head to worry about waking my roommates.

I drove through the early morning rush and thanked the heavens for giving me a parking lot to park in at the Firehall. The front door was locked, of course, leaving me standing like a jerk on the sidewalk.

Aedan? I sent his name out as a question, wondering if I was too far gone for saving. After all, sane people don't try to communicate telepathically with complete strangers.

We aren't strangers, came the responding thought.

I just about collapsed with relief when the heavy deadbolt on the club door slid open. Then Aedan was standing before me, making me feel that aching tingle all over in an instant.

"Aedan." I reached for him without thinking.

But he backed away from me, a startled and frightened look on his handsome face. I let my hands fall to my sides, stung more than I had a right to be.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, Nerina." His hand closed on my shoulder and heat exploded from that point outward. "I'm sorry. You just caught me by surprise, that's all."

He pulled me inside. Before he closed and locked the big door, he glanced outside, up and down either side of the street. Then I was alone inside the Firehall with him, sweating profusely.

He turned to face me. "Why are you here?"

Again, I felt the sting of rejection and tears clogged my throat. "I don't know."

"I'm sorry. Come with me." He took me by the elbow and led me through the dim, silent club.

We climbed the stairs to an office tucked in the back corner of the second floor loft. He shut the office door behind us and guided me to a chair, sitting down in front of me.

"Are you well?"

I didn't know what to say at first. This concern was at odds with his earlier rejection. He shook his head and reached for my hand. I let him take it, savoring the warmth that spread through my entire body from that one point of contact. "Forgive me, Nerina, for making you think I don't want to see you. I'm shocked. You didn't seem to know me the other night and I didn't want to rush you."

"Rush me?" I laughed. "I don't even know what you're talking about."

He watched me with warm golden eyes and I felt some of the tension drain from my body.

"Before I met you, I'd never felt this way." My stark honesty startled me. "Then I was at work yesterday and this man came in." I recalled a brown face with dark eyes and a shudder rippled through my body.

Aedan's hand tightened on mine and I was drawn back to the present, to his office. At the fierce look in his eyes, I felt my muscles tense in fear.

"No, don't be afraid," he whispered. "You've never feared me and you won't start now."

His words were firm and I believed him no matter how confused I was over his familiar use of the past tense.

"Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

I shook my head and shrugged one shoulder. What, indeed. "Everything. I'm so confused and I feel like I'm not myself anymore."

"And you think I can tell you who you are?"

"You seem to know me. You make me feel like I know you."

He smirked, the smile drawing more sweat to the surface of my skin. I swallowed and shifted closer to him. I inhaled, curious if his scent was anything like Avanindra's. It wasn't, not quite. The effect was similar, dissolving me into heady lust and making my blood pound.

No. That's different. Aedan makes my blood rush, not slow.

"That's true," he murmured.

I blinked, surprised but I didn't pull away. He sighed, more of his scent washing over me. I shuddered and closed my eyes, savoring it. It was tangy, acidic instead of spicy. It singed my skin and left a strange taste on my tongue.

He smells like a match being struck. I wrinkled my nose as his deep chuckle rolled between us.

"You used to tell me you liked the smell."

I opened my eyes to see his amused expression.

"I told you I liked the smell of a lit match?"

"Not just a lit match. Steel on flint, wood smoke, brimstone. You used to tell me how much you loved the taste." His scent wafted back and forth with each breath he took. "You said you could drink me in for hours."

His words stirred something deep inside of me. I didn't know if it was lust or remembrance but it didn't hurt.

"So we did know each other. Like, in a past life?"

He frowned and straightened. The look on his face was one of distress and he shook his head, his fingers flexing around mine. "I wish you knew how much this hurts."

"What? What hurts?"

"You, being so close. I can't do anything unless you remember."

"Why?" The question that was really burning a hole through my mind was, what do you want to do to me?

His eyes flashed back to my face and that devilish grin had me sucking in a breath. I would do to you whatever you asked of me.

"How do you do that?" I felt sweat trickle down between my shoulder blades.

"Do what?"

"Read my mind. Speak to my mind."

"It's just something we can do. It's like...an involuntary action, like breathing or blinking."

"Who is we? You and I?"

There was the barest hesitation before he answered me, enough that I felt doubt form heavy in my gut. "Yes. We can read each other's minds, speak internally."

I shook my head. "This is so surreal. I just met you."

His fingers squeezed my hand. "You know me. Please, Nerina, try to remember."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to remember. I'm sorry but this doesn't make any sense."

"You feel that you do know me, don't you?"

"Yes." My eyes flicked back and forth across his face. His features, so handsome, looked as familiar to me as my own. I just couldn't place them. I knew I should be able to figure out when and where we'd met before but it was impossible. It was like I hit a wall each time I tried.

"I know you, Nerina." He leaned close enough that he was all I could see; his strong, masculine features, his fiery, golden eyes. I inhaled his scent again and found that I did indeed like it; the musky, acidic taste stirred something inside of me.

"Please, remember me."

I did try then, really tried. I strained, sweat dripping down the sides of my face as I stared into his eyes. I felt resistance, felt pinpricks behind my eyes as I pushed harder. I just couldn't connect.

I gasped, all but falling into his arms. "I'm so sorry."

Aedan held me, his lips burning a path across my forehead. I clung to him, my weak arms circling his broad shoulders. I breathed him in, gasping as his arms tightened around me. I felt myself drawn into his lap and his mouth opened over mine.

As his tongue slid along the seam of my lips, I shuddered, recalling my encounter at work the previous morning.

"What is it?"

"A man came to me at work yesterday." I looked up into Aedan's face. "He said he knew me as well."

His arms tensed around my body and his eyes turned cold. "Did you know him?"

I blinked and started to shake my head 'no,' when something occurred to me. "I knew him, like I know you. I...he felt familiar, but I couldn't think of when I'd met him."

He relaxed a bit but I could still see the tension in his eyes. "What did he tell you?"

"He said that I would remember him." I wondered if I should blush at my next words. "He was going to make love to me and he said that then I'd know him."

Aedan tipped his head back and let out a bellow of rage. I scrambled off his lap and watched in stunned disbelief as his eyes turned a blazing red, whites and all. I put my hands to my face as I watched his hair burst into flames.

This isn't real. I backed away, sweat beading all over my skin. It's so hot in here. So hot...

I was panting, my body pulsing as Aedan flared up in front of me. I peeked through my fingers, entranced by the transformation taking place.

I should be frightened. I gasped and winced as the hot air in the room singed my throat. But I'm not.

You should be! Aedan's voice in my head was angry and I pressed myself against the wall.

I'm not. How can I be?

I met his burning gaze and my knees quivered. I saw a mist rising up from my feet and glanced down with a gasp.

I was steaming.

It was painless, not making me feel afraid.

You should be afraid! Aedan's tormented, angry voice broke through again and I shook my head.

My body was pulsing with each wave of heat that rolled off of Aedan. I looked into his red eyes and bit back a moan.

I'm not afraid.

The steam rose from my feet, licked at my core and rose to block my view of Aedan. I could still feel him.

I remember...
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