The First Male (39 page)

“Impressive, isn't it?” Simon nodded. “Would you like a drink?”

“Certainly. Surprise me.” Eli moved over to the bar and began mixing various liquids together. He clanked ice cubes in a glass and poured a clear concoction over the cubes, which made cracking sounds the moment they came in contact with the beverage.

“Here, try this.” Simon moved over to him and brought the drink to his nose, smelling it before he sipped.

“What is it?”

“You said surprise you. Try it.”

Reluctantly, Simon took a sip and immediately felt his knees buckle. He felt as if he was drinking hellfire. A burning sensation moved down his entire body, igniting every cell.

“Don't worry, brother. You'll get used to it.” Simon watched Eli take a gulp. Not to be outdone, Simon took another sip and winced.

Simon moved to a globe of the earth that sat on a stand in the corner. The globe was the size of a huge beach ball. Simon put his hand on it and made it spin.

“This will be our world,” Eli said. Simon faked a smile and half-listened to Eli ramble on about being kings and their reign.

“I wanna have some fun,” Simon said, putting an end to Eli's incessant rant about power and glory.

Eli smiled sinisterly. “You sure about that?” Simon nodded as Eli set down his drink. “Let's try something. Here, take my hand.”
Happily, Simon set down his drink next to Eli's and took his hand. He instantly felt a wave of emotions from Eli. He felt his ambition and his lust and his hatred and even his jealousy—jealously directed at Simon. Simon smiled as Eli spun the globe again.

“All right, Brother. Concentrate,” Eli said as the globe slowed. Simon felt his body tingle. With his index finger, Eli slowly touched the globe when it stopped circling. Immediately, Simon heard a great noise and saw ripples in the waters off the island of Japan. Rising from the globe were the screams of thousands of people.

“What did we just do?” Simon asked in confusion.

“I wanted to test our strength.”

“I don't understand.”

“We just caused an earthquake, which will trigger a tsunami. Many will die,” Eli said, nonchalantly.

Simon was in awe. “I can hear them scream. I can feel them.”

“Wonderful, isn't it? If we can do that, imagine what we'll be able to do after we ascend.”

Simon spun the globe again. “Let's see what else we can do.” He grabbed Eli's hand and when the globe stopped he touched an area near Joplin, Missouri. Again, they heard screams, but not the sound of the earth moving. Terrified screams echoed across the room like faint whispers, but there was power in their terror. Simon breathed deeply, trying to inhale all of their fear.

“What did you do?” Eli asked delightfully.

Simon looked at him slowly and smiled. “Tornadoes. Lots of tornadoes.”

Eli stepped away from the globe and strolled around the room. “There's nothing we can't do together. We will be invincible.”

“I'm bored now. Let's do something else.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Something . . . fun.”

“Follow me,” Eli said with a wink. He moved quickly out of the room and down the hallway, taking a different set of stairs to reach the bottom level. They walked to the back and took another set of golden stairs that winded down into the basement.

“Are you ready for this?” Eli asked, with a wink.

“That depends on what it is.”

“Put your hand on the door.”

“What?”

“Just do it. Trust me.” Simon watched Eli place his palm against the door and shudder, as if in extreme pleasure. Curiously, Simon placed his hand against the door and immediately felt a surge of heat race through his body. The feeling ignited a ravenous sexual desire that overwhelmed him and buckled his knees. Quickly, Eli grabbed Simon around the waist to keep him from falling.

The doors to the room flung open and the sweet funky smell of sex hit him like a tidal wave. Simon looked into the room, which was pitch-black, like he was staring into vast nothingness; yet, he knew that it was far from empty. He could hear a faint hissing emanating from the void, an enchanting hissing sound that beckoned him forward. He looked at Eli who had already started unbuttoning his shirt.

“Let the games begin,” Eli said as he removed the rest of his clothing. He winked at Simon and stepped into the room, disappearing into the blackness. Slowly, Simon removed all of his clothes and stepped into the dark, completely naked.

When he entered the dark, a mass of naked bodies slowly came into view; bodies writhing around each other, hot flesh melding into hot flesh. Simon felt hands and fingers touching him as he moved through the room. The sound of the orgy of bodies slapping
against each other was almost more than Simon could stand. Finally, he stopped in what he thought was the center of the room and looked around for Eli. Within seconds, he was surrounded by indistinguishable nakedness that finally brought him to his knees.

Hours later, after they had spent their sexual energy and finished ravaging the bodies of their willing consorts, Simon and Eli lay in the center of a pile of naked bodies, exhausted. The room was dark and the leftover smell of sex was thick. Simon smiled to himself as he thought of the ways in which he had unleashed upon them. His sexual storm tore through crowd, blurring the lines between pleasure and pain. His experience had been awesome and they had begged for him. Never—not even with Brooke—had he experienced such vast and endless pleasure. Here—wherever he was—all of his senses were magnified in ways that defied his imagination. In this room, the slightest touch from anyone ignited a flame in him that demanded immediate attention. He blasted through the room, all flesh and brawn, touching and licking and kissing and grabbing and pounding.

Simon stood up and began to walk through the dark room. He was spent, fully used up from his experiences, but he wanted to soak in a tub. He hoped he could recall how to get to Eli's room; this castle was gigantic.

As he moved through the room, trying not to disturb anyone, he suddenly felt queasy and he struggled for breath. Instantly, he dropped to his knees and instinctively drew his hands to his throat. He heard a faint sound and at first he thought it was a hiss, but it wasn't. This time, he could hear words; like someone chanting.

He struggled to speak, to repeat the words out loud, but his voice was a whisper. “Ties . . . bind . . . tight . . . night.”

“Simon,” Eli called out. Suddenly, Eli was upon him, his hands pressing on Simon's shoulder. “What is it, brother? What's wrong?”

“I . . . I . . . don't know. Can't breathe. Help me.” Eli tried to remove Simon's hands from his throat, but when he did, Simon let out a screech that tore through the room, causing the shadows to cry out in horrific pain. The force of his yell even caused Eli to stumble back a few steps.

“Simon!” Eli screamed in a panic.

“Ties . . . bind . . . .ties . . . bind,” Simon managed to say before he lost consciousness and vanished.

C
HAPTER
26

B
rooke slid the curtain to the side, grabbed a towel and stepped cautiously out of the shower. The plush mauve bath mat felt good underneath her feet, soft; like cotton candy. She wrapped the teal-colored towel around her body and stepped in front of the mirror, wiping the condensation away with her hand. Her cheeks were still rosy and her blue eyes, pale. The soothing water that rained down on her from the hot shower couldn't mitigate the sting from the tears that burned her eyes.

She couldn't deny what was painfully obvious; she was lonely. And, the loneliness that she felt was fierce, unlike anything she had ever experienced. It felt alive, like a determined energy that attached itself to her like a Siamese twin. As soon as she parted ways with Simon, she noticed it; the emptiness had been immediate, a hollow feeling that stayed with her, no matter where she went or what she did. It had only been a few days without Simon, but with each passing hour, her loneliness became more acute. She
felt
it; it was heavy like bricks, weighing her down. Sometimes, when the hour was late and the air was still, she even thought she
saw
it, as if loneliness was an entity that could be seen. Sometimes, she saw something hazy huddling in a corner of her bedroom; or, at other times, she noticed something almost imperceptible perched high on a tree branch outside her window, peering at her; almost torturing her, never letting her forget that the loneliest place in
the world is often near someone you cannot have. There were at least a hundred times when she thought about calling Simon, but she didn't; she couldn't, in spite of the pull he had on her.

She reached down and grabbed her pink brush off the sink and ran it through her wet hair. She stroked absentmindedly, hoping it would relax her and take her mind off Simon. Even in his absence, he took up so much space in her world. She closed her eyes briefly and took a long, deliberate breath. When she opened them, she screamed and dropped the hairbrush when she saw something in the mirror scurry and disappear into the depths of the bedroom behind her.

Quickly, she turned around and faced the bedroom, her chest heaving as she rested her back against the sink. She stood absolutely still for several extended seconds before deciding to move.

“Get it together, Brooke,” she said to herself. “Get it together.” This wasn't the first time she had seen or heard something unusual since her split with Simon; being alone took some getting used to.

She moved away from her mirror and stepped into her silent room, slowly. She looked around, but didn't see anything or anyone; yet, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She felt something; a presence. And, she smelled something sweet, like cologne; Simon's cologne.

She was not alone.

“Simon?” she called out nervously. Her wispy voice fluttered through the room. She toddled over to the closet and pulled open the door, half-hoping that Simon would be there, playing some silly game; however, instead of Simon, she was greeted only by her designer wardrobe. She closed the door, suddenly feeling silly at her paranoia.

When she turned around and faced her queen-sized bed, the mattress was indented, as if someone was sitting there.

She screamed and rushed toward the door to her room, trying to escape, but felt massive hands grab her waist and push her against the wall. She was held there, her hands pinned above her head. Her body squirmed as she struggled to break free, but she didn't know what she was fighting; she couldn't see anything. She tried to scream again but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out; her voice, stolen by the entity. The only sound that could be heard was the rapid beat of her heart pounding ferociously in her chest.

The towel unwrapped itself from her body and fell to her feet. She continued to fight, trying to free herself, but then she felt warm hands caress her thighs and fingers flick against her damp nipples. Invisible lips kissed and sucked on her neck in a way that only Simon knew; her breathing quickened, burrowing deeply into a space that hadn't been touched in days. Her legs parted, not of her own doing, but by whatever force held her. She didn't want to submit to its will; her instinct told her to keep fighting, but her body betrayed her.

Fingers that she could not see inched themselves up her inner thigh; they moved torturously slow, allowing the anticipation to build. Her body quaked, shuddering with eagerness. A warm mouth covered her left nipple—the most sensitive one—at the same time fingers parted her. Her knees buckled and she winced with pleasure as she was rigorously explored.

She felt the fingers pull out of her and a lustful part of her wanted to beg for more, but she had no voice. Then, her legs parted wider and she was entered by a force that immediately brought her close to orgasm. She was pleasured just the way she liked it, the way her body craved, with deep, even strokes that filled her; her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She felt a wave of pleasure so great that she forgot she was being fucked by an
unknown force. She didn't feel afraid; this wasn't the touch of a stranger, but the familiar touch of a lover deeply in tune with the nuances of her body.

She felt the tension rising in her body; the pleasure was so great that she would have collapsed had it not been for the force that held her in place. Her entire body jolted violently as wave, after wave, after wave of pleasure covered her.

Then, she was released and she slid down the wall and sat on the floor, trying to catch her breath.

Moments later, Brooke opened her eyes and was startled by the fact that she was laying on the floor near the door of her room, naked. She panicked, feeling as if she had lost her wits and she quickly looked around the room, grabbing the towel at her feet, using it to cover her flesh. She didn't know whether or not she was asleep or awake, but she was moist and tender in places that concerned her. Had she been sexed? She couldn't be sure. The sensation she had earlier, that a presence was in the room with her, was gone; now, she felt completely alone. She tightly clutched the towel that covered her body.