Malina's Revenge (10 page)

“DON"T!” he growled. Never has one little word excited me so damn much. A shiver ran from the top of my head down to my toes. He sank to his knees between my legs, leering at me as his eyes locked on mine. Slowly, dear God so damn slowly, he started to unbutton my jeans and work them down my legs as I groaned, panted and squirmed, trying to make them come off faster. He finally pulled them off my feet. Good, I thought, denim gone, just panties left, don"t waste time with them.

“Just push them to the side” I groaned. “Uh-uh,” he said then I watched wide-eyed and more excited than I"d ever been in my life as he leaned down and tore them off with his teeth.
“Oh my God,” I moaned. We kept our eyes locked as he slid his right hand behind my lower back and grabbed my left hand, joining our scars. I was on the edge, I could feel it, just one small touch in the right place and I"d be there… for a VERY long time… And it happened. The moment he pulled me up, it happened. He pulled me onto his lap, easily entering me as my legs squeezed tightly around his torso and my mouth urgently found his. It happened… and, for me, it didn"t stop until morning.

I moaned as I looked at the clock. It was eight a.m. and I was definitely not ready to get up yet. I still felt spasms coursing through my body from what Matt had done to me the night before. Matt grinned as he rolled towards me and pressed his hand between my legs. I arched my back and moaned as another wave of pleasure hit me. There was no two ways about it. This clearly was not stopping any time soon. As soon as I could breathe again, I growled and pushed him onto his back. I climbed on top of him, happy as I easily discovered that he definitely wasn"t ready to stop either.

Four hours later, as I lay on my back gasping for air, I said,“Okay, I think I"m finally done.” Of course I had already said that at least half a dozen other times, so who knows if it was actually true. As I finally began to relax and slowly felt the shivers subside, I decided maybe it finally was true this time, and maybe I could function again. I looked over at Matt, lying with his hands across his stomach, his feet crossed, his eyes closed and a huge smug grin across his face. I rolled onto my elbow. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?” I said.

“Oh, a couple hundred times since last night,” he said.
“Not enough,” I said. “I love you, and you"re more than welcome to do that to me again,any time.”
“I love you, too,” he said, “but do what, honey?” He opened one eye and peaked over at me, smirking.
“You know
exactly
what,” I said as I playfully smacked him on the stomach, then I climbed out of bed and headed into the shower.
“Want company?” he called.
“Yes, but better not,” I said. “We both have too much work to do today.”
“Party pooper,” he said and I laughed. “Hun, don"t turn the water off when you"re done, just holler at me, okay?”
“Yep,” I said just as I noticed that Carlos had popped into my head.
‘Geez, Sarah. Way to make a point. Are you ever stopping?’
he thought.
‘Relax,’
I thought. „
I’ll meet you in the kitchen in ten minutes, okay?’
‘Okay,’
he thought and then he was gone. I was pleasantly surprised with myself as I realized that I hadn"t thought about him all night, not once, not since we had left the kitchen. I knew deep down that was because of Matt and what he had done to me, but I tried to tell myself that I had done it. That I was the one who had kept myself from thinking about him. That it was me keeping myself from thinking about what he might be doing when he was in my head. That I wasn"t kind of wondering (wishing) what it would be like to be in there with him. Yeah, I tried to tell myself that it was me that had stopped all those thoughts, but I knew the truth was that it was Matt who had done that. And so I still kept wondering: what the hell is wrong with me?
“Done,” I called to Matt. He appeared at the edge of the shower, swept me into his arms, pressing close against me, as he stepped in and I stepped out, passionately kissing me, then releasing me and ducking his head under the water with a huge grin on his face. I stood there, hesitating. I wanted so badly to jump back into the shower, but I knew that I had to go.
“Go,” he said, “I"ll be here when you getback.”
“Right here?” I said. “Looking exactly the same way you do right now?”
“Yep,” he grinned. A huge shiver ran the length of my body. I reached for a towel, dried off, quickly threw some clothes on and ran a comb through my hair. Dashing toward the door, I had to force myself past the tattered shreds of our clothes on the floor. If I stopped and looked, I knew I"d turn around and head back into the shower. I was in the kitchen thirty seconds later. Walking in and seeing Carlos" face didn"t change my mood nearly as much as I thought it might– another sign of denial.
“Morning,” I said as I headed to the fridge.
“Afternoon,” he grumbled.
“Okay, afternoon. And I"m really sorry I"m late,” I said. “Why so grumpy?”
Carlos glared at me.
“Oh,” I whispered. “Well, if you"d stayed out of my head, maybe you would havegotten some sleep.”
“I tried, Sarah. If I could, I would. I just can"t let you go. It"s too hard. It hurts too much,” he whispered.
I hesitated slightly as I grabbed four pints and popped them into the microwave. I handed him two as I sat down. “Thanks,” he muttered.
“Sure,” I said. I watched him as I drank. “I need my old friend Carlos back,” I whispered, “the one who could always put a smile on my face. The one who feels like my big brother, not the one that I havethese feelings for.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “I know, Sarah. I"m trying really hard here, but it"s going to take a little time. I"m working on it though, I"ve already called Stacy and asked her to send Tracy back tonight.” His volume dropped as he mumbled,“I might be in your head when I"m with her, but at least I"m trying.”
I quickly decided a change of subject would be good, for both of us.
‘Where are we going today?’
I thought, not wanting anyone to hear us.
‘A church basement in a village about fifteen miles from here. It’s pretty large and it’ll be a close match for the main hall, which is what I figured you were going for, right?’
he thought.
I nodded.
‘Right,’
I thought,
‘just us today, to make sure it will work and for me to go over the basics with you. Tomorrow we bring some of the others, okay? Crap, who’s working on the party?’
‘Relax, Missy’s all over it,’
he thought.
‘But Carlos,’
I thought,
‘she’s close with Ramon, what if she’s….?’
‘So what? She can still plan the party, right?’
he thought.
‘It’s not like she’s in on planning the fight. That’s the part we have to worry about.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’
I thought.
‘Are you ready to go?’
He nodded and stood up. We walked into the hall and ran into Matt, and my heart flip-flopped. I smiled, pleased that it was flip-flopping for the right person this time, then completely lost track of what I was supposed to be doing as he walked towards me with his hair still wet, his t-shirt straining to stay in one piece over his biceps and across his chest.
I barely heard Carlos say to Matt, “When she comes back to her senses, send her out to the courtyard, okay?”
Matt"s smile lit up his whole face. He nodded to Carlos and opened his arms as he reached me. I realized again how perfectly I fit inside them– they were made for me and I was made for them. I pulled his mouth to mine, kissing him with all the passion for him that filled my body. He pulled back, smiling, his eyes dancing. “Uhhh, honey?” he said. “Aren"t you the one who said that we have work to do right now?” I stared at him for a second, hesitating, enjoying the pull that I was fighting, the pull that got messed up for a little while but was back, back with a vengeance, back for good (I hoped). I groaned as I nodded, knowing the pain I was going to feel walking away from him. He walked me to the front door and kissed me one more time.
As I tried to catch my breath I whispered, “You"ll be waiting for me when I get back?”
He grinned and nodded. “Right where you left me. Just let me know when you"re on your way, okay?”
“I will,” I said. “I love you so much.”
“And I love you,” he said. I winced as I turned and walked into the courtyard.
“Are we flying again?” I said to Carlos. He nodded and held his hand out to me.
As we rose above the courtyard, he said, “Keep an eye out again, if we"re followed we"re done.”
“I will,” I said. He pulled me close again as we approached a small stone church on a hill above a tiny, mostly deserted, village. released me quickly this time. Landing softly, he And I never in a million years would have admitted that I was disappointed by that, but I was. I followed him up the steps and we walked inside.
“Señor Carlos,” the priest inside said as he rushed forward to meet us, “so nice to see you again… ahhh, and who is the muy bonita with you?”
“This is my… friend… Sarah,” said Carlos.
“Very nice to meet you SeñoritaSarah,” he said as he shook my hand.
“Very nice to meet you too,” I said.
“Monsignor, has the basement been prepared?” Carlos asked.
“Sí, Sí,” the priest replied. “It is cleared and readyfor you, please go right on down.”
“Gracias Monsignor,” Carlos said as he pressed a roll of cash into the priest"s hand.
We headed through the chapel to the hall and down the stairs to the basement. As soon as we were inside, I closed and locked the door.
“Okay,” Carlos grumbled, “how the hell do you want to do this?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him.
“What?” he said.
“You want to get it out?” I said.
“Get what out?” he said.
“Whatever is chapping your ass,” I said. “Because I can"t work with you like this.”
“Ahhh come on Sarah,” he groaned, “what more do you want from me? I"ve never done this before. I"ve never felt this way about anyone. I"m lost. I"m drowning. But I"m trying.” He sank down to the floor with his head in his hands. I went to him, pulling his hands away from his face.
“Carlos, you"ll get through this, we will get through this, and we"ll be better friends on the other side, I promise you,” I said.
He glared at me with fury, hunger and longing in his eyes. “How can you possibly know that?” he growled. “I am barely in control here and I hate that. This is tearing me apart, Sarah, and you don"t even give a shit.” He squeezed his eyes shut, instantly regretting his words, but it was too late.
“I don"t give a shit?” I yelled. “I don"t give a shit? How dare you, you son of a bitch. This is tearing me up just as much as it is you, and you know that. I"m a married woman. And I love my husband so much. Yet here I am wanting another man. Sex with Matt couldn"t be any better, yet here I am wanting desperately to sleep with you. This is killing me, Carlos, but I don"t get to go to my room at night and break down like you do. At least you get that. I don"t get to break down, ever.”
“Break down!” he yelled. “Screw you, Sarah. I"m breaking down because I know you"re in there screwing him all night. And the guilt I feel for wishing it was me is unbearable. He"s my best friend, Sarah. What kind of man am I for letting this happen?”
I decided I had to try a different tactic. One that I knew wasn"t true, but I wanted to try to make him believe that it was– it would be easier on both of us if he did.
“Carlos,” I said, “it"s not me that you want.”
I had no time to react to his fury. He growled and pounced on me, pressing his body down hard onto mine. I felt every muscle. I felt every bulge. I felt everything– and, God help me, I liked it. “Does this feel like someone who doesn"t want you?” he growled. “I"m stronger than you, maybe I"ll just take what I want right now.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and started to bring his mouth down to mine, but he stopped when he heard me whisper, “You could, Carlos, but you won"t. You won"t because I"d never forgive you if you did. I"d hate you. And you"d never forgive yourself. So you could, but you won"t. Because you love me. And I love you.”
Then I watched as the fury on his face slowly changed to overwhelming pain.
“Of course I won"t,” he groaned as he rolled off of me and onto his back. “I could never hurt you like that. But, God, Sarah, this hurts so much. It hurts so much to stop and it hurts so much to fight it.”
“I know it does, believe me, I know. I had never felt such a strong attraction to someone until I met Matt. That was amazing. It was overwhelming. But this? This is so much stronger. This is so strong that I don"t know how I"m going to keep resisting you. Right now, I want you more than I"ve ever wanted anybody or anything in my life. But it"s wrong, Carlos,” I said as I rolled next to him and rested my head on his shoulder and draped my arm across his stomach. “We can"t do this. And you need to trust me, though, when I tell you it"s not me you want. Not really. You just want something that you can"t have. I know it doesn"t feel like that right now, but someday I"ll show you. As soon as all this fighting is over, I promise I"ll help you see what"s truly in your heart.”
“What if you"re wrong though?” he whispered. “What if you"re wrong and it is you I want?”
Dear God, don"t make me think about that. Not now. Not yet, I thought. Of course I was wrong, I knew that. But I had to do everything I could to make this right, including convincing Carlos of something that I knew in my heart wasn"t true.
“I don"t know,” I said. “I guess we"ll cross that bridge if we come to it. But we"ll have to cross it without ruining anything and without anyone getting hurt. Who knows, we figured out how to make a vampire, maybe we can figure out how to clone me.”
He stared at me for a minute. “Thanks,” he whispered as he reached over and cupped his hand on my cheek.
“For what?” I said.
“For being the strong one,” he said.
I pulled his hand down to my mouth and kissed his palm. “You"re the strong one.” I said. “You just don"t know it yet.”
I sat up and smacked him on the stomach. “Ready to work now?” I said.
He nodded and jumped up. “You bet. Direct me, oh Great Director,” he grinned.
I smiled at the brief glimpse of the old Carlos. “Dork,” I said laughing as I pointed around the room, “we need to think of the room as a clock. 12 o"clock is always the wall behind me, the wall with the big table that we all sit at. Whether you"re facing it or have your back to it that is always 12 o"clock. The opposite wall is always 6 o"clock, over here is 3 o"clock, there is 9 o"clock, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11. Got it?”
“Got it,” he said.
“Good, okay, now when I say Carlos – 1, where are you going to punch?”
“Uh, here,” he said as his hand swung around.
“Right, but you"re going to have to react much faster. Ready?” I said and he nodded.
“12, 4, 7, 3, 2,” I said, watching him. “Better, but let"s go faster.”
We spent the next hour like that, until his reactions happened in the blink of an eye.
“Okay,” I said, “now, turn around.”
“Turn around?” he groaned.
“You have to be able to do this from every direction, Carlos, you know that,” I said.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, “just give me a second to think.”
I did just that, giving him one second. “2, 7, 8, 6, 11,” I said. “Not bad, let"s go again. 3, 7, 9, 10, 1.” On and on, over and over we went, until he could react instantly no matter which direction he was facing. We concentrated hard, making sure we got it right. But we also laughed hysterically when he messed up.
“Just learning how to walk?” I laughed when he was so far off he was going in the opposite directions from where he was supposed to be.
“Don"t laugh at me, Sarah. You"ll damage my fragile ego.”
“Fragile ego? Hah! Your ego is so huge it could use getting knocked down a notch or two,” I teased.
He dashed over and wrapped me in an innocent, playful hug. “Is somebody on a serious power trip? I"m thinking you"re in need of a beat down,” he joked. He squeezed me tighter and pretended to smack me. I laughed and tried to squirm out of his arms. Suddenly I shifted and his hand was across my chest. My heart sputtered and this was no longer playful rough-housing between friends. This was foreplay. And I didn"t want it to stop.
“Carlos,” I whispered.
“I know, Sarah. I know,” he whispered as his hand slowly pulled across my breasts and went back to his side. He looked at me with so much sadness and longing that I had to look away. “I can"t, Carlos. I"m sorry, but I just can"t.”
“It"s okay, Sarah. I don"t want you to. Well, I do, but I don"t,” he said.
I turned back to him. “Back to work?” I said.
He nodded. “Yep, back to work.”
And work we did, for another few hours. We buried ourselves in it so deep that I lost track of time. Eventually, he sank down to the floor. “I"m exhausted Sarah,” he said.