Chapter 9: Desire and Despair 2

"Did you have to go that far, Raphael?"

It may implicate one of the guards or even the maids."

"Oh great, she didn't forget that name. I'm dawned already, how much worse can my punishment get for simply borrowing the name of one of the Untainted?"he thought, holding out her hand to the bed, letting the blood from the cut he had made with his little finger drip onto the bed.

"What's the fun in it all if it doesn't come out that way... I mean, what's the fun in coming this far?"

"You want them to fight among themselves?"

"You aren't entirely clueless as you seem sometimes?" He scattered the bed, rumpled the sheets and tore out a piece of cloth from the hem of her dress and left it hanging loosely by the foot of the giant bed.

"Now hurry, I made a deal with the devil and I wouldn't want to give up my dashing looks and this magnificent body of mine for anything in the world. Of course, not even for me."

"Why is he a bad mixed of evil and clownish humour?"she thought, staring from the sides of her eyes.

"That I can't hear your thoughts doesn't mean I can't make it out. Your face screams your mind out loud, so unless you would want to attend to it anytime soon, don't even try to go saucy on me."

"It's not my fault you can't hear my thoughts," she threw back at him with equal tempo, and then it sank in slowly, " wolves don't read minds. What are you?"

They met him playing a sad tone on a bamboo crafted flute and having followed it, they came upon the wide bare space unusual for the nature of the woods around and the encroaching forest that boldly mapped out Marcus' wolf empire.

The moment she caught sight of him, lazily leaning against a tree stump, like a brooding king, seeking to be one with nature, her feet got stuck, and the rhythm of her heart accelerated but with a longing fall of a woman before her lover, lips parted with no resistance but the desire to be envelope by his arms and drowned in that embrace. The fire was igniting slowly with the passage of time, drowning her worries and left her bare to be mesmerized by the soothing tune he played. She felt him calling but when she opened her lips, a soft moan escaped the confines of her lips and birthed life to something deeply seated inside him as he clung onto the flute with much pressure than at first, trying to keep still and catching the struggle, Raphael withdrew from her side but she barely noticed and when he had gone a little way off, he stamped his feet, feeling cheated, " not even a thank you."

"Well, you are welcome. Ahhh!"he stamped again but this time, he managed to keep still as a crack cut through like an earthquake.

Like a flash, he bolted to where she was still standing and catching her waist before she could fall, having been caught unaware and startled.

"Sky...."

"I'm here. I'm here, and I'm not leaving .

You can hold me now as long as you want. Kiss me until you have had your fill and let me tore around your body."

"Somehow, I knew it has always been you. Your perfume is like a freshly plucked rose, and the scent of sweet wine...but what took you so long? I always got tired of waiting all those while."

"I'm sorry."

"And Raphael... where is he?"

"Let him be. He has done his part of the deal."

"What deal exactly?"

"Don't think about that, think about us. Just you and I."

She smiled and sinking into his arms, she pulled away the next moment.

"What's...."

"Nikki! We need to go home this moment,"she said excitedly, tugging his jacket, avoiding his eyes.

Hexed to her, and smiling, he took her hand," is there a reason why?"

"Today is our birthday. Nikki and I. We share the same date and year and besides my granny, we both lost our parents the same night, fifteen years ago.

We always had dinner together. It has been our little ritual and I can not leave her alone tonight."

"I was thinking it's going to take much longer before you realized that, and when were you hoping to tell me?"

" I'm sorry," she said and bit her lower lips, and before she could release it, he caught her lips and parted them, feeling hungry yet he was gentle, feeling an inexplicable restraints, like shackles, clasped on his emotions, restraining the feeling to tear her open and drink to his feel. And when he released her lips, she reached out, unsatisfied, meeting his gaze the first time that evening, and suddenly without that shame that had hovered around her earlier, she caught him by the shirt and Drew him down lower, forcefully claiming his lips and then they heard a cough behind them.

"Really? Huh?

You have been gone for so long and here I'm almost about spending my birthday... our birthday alone and the first thing you do when you reached the door is to have your fill of his love. Without a single thought about me."

Scared to the bones as she ranted on, the duo stood still like children being reprimanded by their mother in total submission and as strange as it felt to him, Sky felt bound to take her full rebuke, and feeling deeply sorry, he apologized to her.

"It won't happen again."

"What?"the two girls screamed at him and Bella kicked him before heading inside.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"You said everything wrong. Now get in before I push you in myself."

The evening was yet to be far spent when Raphael returned with a bouquet and gifts for Nikki, almost the same time Sky's gifts arrived, delivered by a post boy.

But while they were yet in the room, laughing into the cover of night, Vincent Dagama pushed the door open, and almost immediately, the silver chains fell on Raphael and Sky, with a single voice groaning from the burning chain.