What She Needs
It took only seconds for the feelings Bryony had for her boss to disappear under a flood of horror. She stared at the man she had known for a full year, worked beside, and lusted after countless hours. She had no idea why he was being so violent.
"Deke! Let him go!" She moved closer, trying to get Deke’s attention. Maybe she could save the poor man.
"Don't come closer, Bryony."
She froze. Deke didn't sound like that, his voice, was . . . wrong. She shuddered and stepped closer, unwilling to stand aside and watch someone die. Whatever was going on, Deke was a good man, not a killer. The man dangling from his hand was turning blue as he clawed at Deke's fingers digging into his neck. The man hissed something, and then Deke's fingers tightened on the man's throat.
"No!"
There was a sharp crack. Bryony screamed, her hands coming up to her mouth, but she couldn't look away as the man's head tilted sideways and the life in his eyes flowed away. Deke let him go, pulling something out of his hands as the body fell to hit the concrete with a thud.
"Oh god," Bryony whispered. "No." Her hands were shaking as she pressed them to her lips. Quiet, if she was quiet, she could back away. She took one step. When Deke didn't stop her she took another. She was breathing in small gasps muffled by her hands. She couldn't control it or the way her heart was pounding. Seeing her chance as Deke’s hands felt every inch of the object he had taken, she risked another step, darting a glance to the left where her car was around the corner.
"Ow!" Her heel caught in a crack and her ankle twisted just as she turned to make a run for it. She fell to her knees on the concrete, throwing out her hands to catch herself before she could hit her face first on the oil stained surface.
Deke was there in front of her before she could hit. She suddenly found herself in the place she had fantasized endlessly about... his arms. His chest was a hard as it looked under his shirt and it was seemingly effortless when he scooped up her legs and stood up cradling her. Caught between her body's reaction and her fear she went still.
"Are you okay?" His voice was still distorted, but it was his eyes that she couldn't drag her gaze away from. She had never seen his eyes before; he kept them hidden behind dark sunglasses because he was blind. He didn't look like he was blind now as he ran his eyes over her face and down her body.
He blinked and the teal light that shone from those almond shaped eyes dimmed and then flared bright again. His pupils were tiny but they moved up and down as he looked at her.
"Bryony?"
She trembled as she tried to break out of whatever trance he held her in. This wasn't real, it couldn't be. It had to be a dream.
"Bryony?" Deke sounded worried. One hand came up to brush her coal dark hair out of her face, and she flinched.
She whimpered and closed her eyes. "Don't."
Dreams weren't real but this one felt like it was. She was afraid of death, even in her sleep. Especially in her sleep; there were endless plots from horror movies about the dangers of dying while you were dreaming. She didn't know you could feel pain in dreams though, and her knees and ankle were throbbing with every frantic beat of her heart. What if he put that hand on her throat; cut off her air and squeezed until . . ..
"Shh . . . whatever you're thinking, stop," he ordered. "I would never hurt you. I was trying to save you."
Bryony suddenly snorted. "From a panhandler?" Her heartbeat was slowing though, calming. Her breathing calmed as well.
Those glowing orbs filled her sight and she felt her mind begin to blank and drift. Her blinks got slower and slower. Suddenly, she stiffened and then her body jerked. Blinking rapidly, she stared with wide eyes around the parking garage and then at her boss who was holding her in his arms beside her car.
"Deke! Oh my god, what happened?"
"You slipped and fell on your way to your car. Luckily I was only a minute behind you and heard it. Don't move around too much, I think you twisted your ankle and bumped your head."
Now that he had mentioned it, her ankle was throbbing and she winced as she put a hand on the side of her head. "My knees hurt too." Her knees were skinned but she was more concerned about the long stretch of thigh exposed by the way Deke was holding her. Thank god he couldn't see it. She blushed and tugged at her skirt.
Deke had a small smile on his face but it faded into a serious expression.
"What?" Bryony tried not to focus on how good he smelled or how easily he carried her five and a half foot body. Whatever he was thinking, it wasn't about how sexy she was. Even if he couldn't see her, she had a rapidly swelling ankle, skinned knees, and was acting like a dope. He probably thought it was from the head wound when really it was just how overwhelmed she was by his closeness.
She liked Deke too much for her own good since he was her boss. He kept her and everyone else who came around the office at arm's length though, so she had never thought she'd be in his arms, even like this. In the year she had known him, she'd had plenty of fantasies about it though.
"Bryony?"
She blinked. "Oh. Sorry. I was just, umm . . .." She stopped, biting her lip and then giving him a small smile. "Maybe I hit my head harder than I think," she offered as an excuse for her momentary daydreaming.
"Well in that case, you shouldn't be alone tonight. You could have a concussion, not to mention your left ankle is probably way too swollen to walk on. Let me take you home, and I'll stay with you. You can be the eyes, and I'll be the feet."
Bryony's mouth dropped open. "You want to stay the night?" She blushed. "Oh, I mean, not stay the night, like stay the night in my bed, stay the night but . . . Oh god, I’ll shut up now." She was such an idiot!
"I'd be honored if you would trust me to stay with you." Deke had a small smile on his face. Too bad she couldn’t see his eyes hidden behind his glasses. His head turned a little at something he must have heard, though when she listened she couldn't hear anything.
"We should go now."
Bryony guided him as he set her gently into her seat and she fished her keys out of her pocket. As he walked around the car he paused. When he got in the front passenger seat he held out her purse.
"I think this is yours."
"Thanks." Bryony hadn't even thought about her missing purse. She drove home quietly, not sure of how to talk to Deke outside of work. To cover the silence she flipped on the radio and let the sound fill the small space. She pulled into her driveway twenty minutes later.
"Well, this is it."
Bryony lived in a small duplex but the driveway on the other side was empty.
"It's not much, but its home. Right now I have the place to myself, no nosy neighbors since the last one moved. I like having the privacy."
She glanced at Deke out of the corner of her eye, wondering if he'd get the hint. Somewhere on the ride home she'd decided that this might be her one chance with him. She'd never seen him outside of work before and who know when she would again? She might end up needing a new job, but life was short. She needed to seize the opportunity to get to know him better while she had the chance.
"Oh. That's good."
She couldn't tell what he meant by that. Maybe he needed a bigger hint. She opened the door. Deke's grabbed her arm.
"Where do you think you're going? You're the eyes, I'm the legs, remember?"
He got out of the car and moved around to her side. She let him lift her out of the car and snuggled into his chest with one arm around his neck. He smelled so good; she drowned in his spicy scent and let one hand toy with the buttons of his shirt. When her fingers touched the warm skin at his throat his steps faltered but he kept walking toward the front door as she guided him.
His head turned as she unlocked it, like he was checking the shadows. Maybe he was getting a sense for the area. She had seen him do it before. It was strange, but he was spooky good at knowing where things were even when he couldn’t see them.
She turned the handle and the door slowly opened. "We can go inside now."
His face turned down at her. Before he could move, she stretched her head up and brushed her lips against his. His arms tightened around her as she did it again. His lips were warm and soft and when he moved them back against hers she tightened her arm around his neck.
"We should go in," he said against her mouth.
She took her hint one step farther. "My bedroom is straight ahead. There is nothing in your way." She felt him pause. Maybe she shouldn't have said that.
Stepping inside and shutting the door with his foot, he shifted her body so that they were chest to chest, and pressed her hard against it. He held her injured ankle carefully but his erection ground against her core as he claimed her mouth. She wrapped her other leg around his hip and rocked against him as he devoured her mouth. She sucked on his tongue hungrily.
He pulled back and buried his face in her neck, sucking hard and then licking and nipping the spot. She moaned at the way it sent shivers down her spine. Her hips rocked and he shuddered.
"We shouldn't. It's not safe."
Bryony smiled, he was such a caring man. "My head is fine, it doesn't even hurt."
One hand trailed down between their bodies and popped the button on his pants. She reached in and touched the tip of his erection, sliding her hand down his shaft and then back up.
"I want you, Deke. I need you inside me."
The next thing Bryony knew, she was falling backward onto her bed. Deke pulled off his shirt and pants and suddenly he was naked. He was firmly muscled and his erection jutted out in front of him. A dark tattoo with strange symbols covered one shoulder and traced down his arm. She kicked off her heels.
He climbed on the bed and knelt beside her, his hands brushing the hair from her face. He drew her up and kissed her. Bryony couldn't believe how good it was, how incredible his hands felt on her body as he removed her clothes. He traced the lace of her bra and then bent down, sucking her nipple through the sheer fabric. His mouth moved down to her skirt, his tongue tracing a hot wet line down farther to her core as he pulled her skirt and panties off in one move.
She looked down at him, staring hungrily. He'd taken off his glasses but kept his eyes shut as he moved between her thighs. She arched her body as he licked her folds and then drew her sensitive bud into his mouth, pulling hard.
"Oh god, Deke!" Her hands clenched in his hair.
He licked her as his hands roamed, rubbing her thighs and hips and the moving up to tweak the tips of her breasts. His touch was soft as he caressed her breasts. She felt his tongue enter her and her body tightened; he slipped one hand down and slid two fingers back and forth across her clit hard and fast. Pleasure exploding as she cried out and shuddered. Her hands on his head tugged him up.
She could taste her climax on his lips as he kissed her. Cradled between her thighs, his erection slid against her. She made a hungry sound and shifted so that the head was pressing against her opening.
"Oh god Bryony," Deke groaned as the tip went in. "We shouldn't . . . I shouldn't--"
"You should. I need you inside me, Deke. I want you." She rocked her hips and took him in a little bit more.
His head went to her neck and he bit down on the spot he made earlier. Her head fell back against the pillows as his arms tightened around her.
"I need you too, baby. I shouldn't, it's not right, but gods" he moaned, nuzzling her ear, "I have to."
She felt a wave of pleasure from the endearment, hoping it meant something, but that pleasure dimmed in the ecstasy she felt as he pushed his hips forward and slid all the way inside. He pulled back and moved forward again, his hips working as he took over their movements.
Her hands roamed over his back and then down to his ass, pulling him closer as she gave into his rhythm. Her body ached as he thrust home again and again until all she could do was hold on. "Deke!"
Deke was panting, his muscles rippling. He moaned. "So close."
He leaned down, burying his tongue in her mouth as one hand slipped between their bodies. He rubbed her clit in small circles as he thrust faster. Bryony felt his control slip right as the first wave of a fiery orgasm took her breath and let it out in a sharp cry. His voice joined hers as he froze above her, their hips locked together as they shared a shattering climax.
It was a few minutes before Bryony could do more than breathe as Deke cradled her as they recovered. He seemed to get his breath back faster than she did and his fingers traced the skin of her stomach.
"That was amazing.” She looked up at him. He had his eyes closed but he smiled.
"It was." He leaned over and kissed her gently. Bryony shivered and then her stomach growled.
"Oh!" She felt her face heat up. One side of Deke's mouth went up in a lopsided grin.
She looked at the clock. Eight p.m. "Sorry, we missed dinner. Do you want to order in some Chinese?"
"That sounds good."
She pulled the phone and a menu out of the nightstand. "I like to eat in bed sometimes," she explained. His mouth nipped at her shoulder.
"Me too."
Bryony felt a flush sweep through her at his words. She ducked her head a little in embarrassment but couldn't help but grin.
While waiting for their order Deke put his pants on, checking for his wallet. Bryony felt strange lying there naked when he had clothes on so she got her robe.
When the doorbell rang he got up to get it.
"That was fast," Bryony said, “usually it takes at least a half hour."
Deke paused with his hand on the door knob suddenly the door flew open. Two men rushed in and attacked Deke. Bryony screamed.
"Now you're going to die, freak!" They both held long knives.
Bryony knocked the phone off the nightstand when she reached for it in panic. She got up and then fell to the floor with a cry of pain. One of the men turned, then began coming for her.
"Deke!"
A strange teal light filled the room.
Bryony scooted back, reaching for something to fight off the man coming for her. She didn't have much of a chance but she wasn't going to just let him stab her with that knife. Deke roared as the man he was fighting slid his knife into his side but it didn't slow him down as he grabbed the man's head and snapped his neck.
"Stay away from her!"
"Your bitch is going to die with you, freak."
Deke rushed the man just before he reached Bryony, knocking him away. She huddled against the bed in fear as they struggled, trying to kill each other. The man cut Deke across his chest, making him hiss.
Deke grunted, the rolled his hips, turning them over and over. When they stopped against the dead man, Deke let go of the knife and lay still suddenly.
The attacker lunged up to bring his knife down, but Deke moved faster. He grabbed the blade still wet with his blood from the dead man and shoved it up into his opponent’s chest. Bryony was glad she couldn't see his face when he let out a horrible groan and then slid off Deke to fall to the floor, his heart pierced.
Deke cried out when he tried to go to her, falling back onto the floor. Bryony suddenly felt her memories from earlier came back. The whole incident at the parking garage, Deke's eyes, the dead man . . . who looked a lot like these men, actually.
"Oh my god! What is going on Deke? We have to call the cops!" She rushed over to him and put her hands on the wound in his side. The blood was covering his tattoo and his skin was hot against her palm.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "You can't call the cops. Please."
"Why shouldn't I?"
He opened his eyes and the teal light she remembered from the parking garage washed over her. His tattoo began to glow under her hands. "I'm not human, Bryony. These men were trying to kill me because of that. I know I shouldn't have come here with you after I took your memories, but I couldn't leave the city without being with you at least once."
She looked down, tears filling her eyes. "You were going to leave me?" she asked in a whisper.
"I don't want to, but I'm not a man; I can't be what you need. My life is filled with danger you don't understand."
Bryony shook her head. Deke pulled her hands away from his wounds and she gasped. They were gone, disappeared as if they'd never been there. If his side wasn't covered in blood she'd never have known he'd been injured at all.
He really wasn't human. The look on his face as he made her face him told her that he expected her to pull away.
"I don't need to understand right now. I need you to tell me that you won't leave me behind. I'll go with you; I don't care that you're not human. You are the best man I have ever known."
One of his hands came up and pushed her hair out of her face. "Are you sure? There is so much you don't know."
"I'll find out, with you. Just don't ever leave me."
"I won't baby, I won't."
