“Are you ready to tell me how and why it is you came to be here?” he asked me in a gentle way and I knew it was so I wouldn’t worry about telling him. After all, he could no doubt imagine what a difficult story it would be to tell. So, I nodded and after first pushing the covers back, I put my hand in his after he stood from the bed. Then I followed him to the sunken living space and took a seat, shifting sideways so that I could face him as he too sat down.
“Just take your time,” he said after I released a sigh wondering where on earth I would start explaining any of this.
“Time…seems like such a funny word now,” I said, more to myself and he gave me a small smile before asking,
“Would it make it easier if I were to ask you questions?”
“No lie detector tricks?” At this he laughed and held up his hands before putting them to his thighs saying,
“I promise they will stay right here, for I have no need not to trust you now.” I gave him a small laugh in return.
“Alright, I think I could do that.”
“How did you get here and from which time did you travel?”
“I used the Janus Gate, the one that powers the rest and after seeing you in my dreams from this time, it…well I thought of you and it brought me here.” He looked surprised for a moment and then said,
“So, you believe it was fated to be this way because you saw me in your dreams?” I nodded and then told him,
“I do, for why else would I dream of the man I loved from nearly two thousand years earlier?” Now this really shocked him to the point that he looked as I usually did when faced with the impossible. I swear his mouth almost dropped and I tried not to laugh trying to put myself in his shoes. What would I have done if faced with a Draven from the future in some kind of silver space suit telling me of flying cars and super computers that get implanted into your mind. Okay, so this was going to be a long night that was for sure.
“Two thousand years?!” I placed a hand on his arm and said,
“I am from the 21st century.” His next question nearly broke my heart.
“No…no, please…please don’t tell me that I had to wait another two thousand years before I met you.” I scooted closer and placed my forehead to the top of his arm and muttered,
“I am sorry to tell you this but I only met you when I was twenty-three and now I am twenty-five.” Hearing this he closed his eyes as if in pain and I could imagine finding out that decade after decade millennia after millennia, and still nothing, was depressing enough. But then knowing that was what faced you in waiting, well then it was nothing short of torturous.
“Then I find myself thankful that fate brought you to me now, for many lifetimes in waiting will no longer face me,” he said and I winced without thinking about it but he surprised me when he said in such an easy manner,
“You are planning on leaving me, little lamb?” I swallowed hard and tried to speak,
“I… well I…um you see…” His laughter stopped my lame attempt at explaining.
“I am not angry, for I doubt I have changed enough not to be as demanding as I am now…ah, but that look tells me something different,” he said cutting himself off and shaking his head a little before confirming his suspicions.
“I know nothing of this back in your time, do I?”
“Okay, so no but technically you can’t get angry with me because I didn’t…umm, why are you laughing?” Suddenly his booming laughter cut me off.
“Because if you ever think me foolish enough to be angry with you doing something that brought you to me sooner, then I fear you have lost your beautiful mind to the realms of madness.” Well I had to give him that.
“No, I find myself thankful indeed that I knew nothing of your plans and only thankful that Ranka found you as she did, bringing my lost lamb home to me,” he added and I found myself amazed that he seemed to be taking this so well, which was why I had to ask him,
“So, you’re not worried about me trying to get back to my own time?” His grin told me enough but his words only confirmed it.
“Why would I be for there is no way for you to return?” he told me and my heart dropped.
“What do you mean?”
“There is no Janus gate of which you speak, as it has not yet been discovered in this time,” he told me and now I knew why he seemed in such good spirits…I was trapped.
“But there are gates…right?” I asked him and after giving me a small pitying smile, he told me,
“There is but one, the Black Gate, but that only works in the mortal realm.” I didn’t know how to feel about this as he didn’t know what I had brought with me and was yet to find back in the desert.
“I will not lie and tell you that I am sorry, for I now look forward to an eternal life waking up to meet the rising sun with you in my arms.” Hearing this what could I say. Hell, I was even tempted to say what was so wrong with being faced with all those lifetimes ahead of me with Draven by my side. But of course, it did beg the question that when I came to the point of being conceived, what then? Would there then be two of me in the world or would I simply disappear as though I had never been born?
Besides it was a moot point as I would never stop trying to get home, not when I had three people with me who all had loved ones back in my time and a prophecy to fulfil. But this wasn’t something I needed to explain to Draven.
“But, I have to ask, why did you risk your life in doing so?”
“The Oracle sent me back here,” I told him and he didn’t look as surprised as I would have thought but he did want to know why, which put me in a difficult position.
“I don’t really know but she told me it was all part of the prophecy and that I would know my purpose when I got here and found you.” Hearing this he looked thoughtful for a moment as if he too was trying to find the reasons for himself, other than what he gained in finding me sooner.
“Then why did you hide yourself from me…your true self?” Okay, once again I found myself having to bend the truth, as what could I say. That I wanted to make a baby with him from this time because he refused to give me a baby in my own time as he knew it would be the cause of my death! Umm…no, didn’t think so. So instead I went with something a little more cryptic and less…should we say, doomsday, stabby, stabby.
“Because the Oracle told me that as soon as you knew who I was that I would have failed.” Okay, so it was nearly true as no-one knew how Draven would have reacted to any of this. For the first time during this conversation, Draven had heard something he didn’t like.
“And you believe this to be true?” he asked and I shrugged my shoulders and said,
“I feel as if I don’t know anything anymore but as you know, the Oracle cannot lie,” I replied making his frown deepen and it was when he was looking down, that he finally noticed something. He suddenly picked up my arm and lifted it, bringing it closer to him.
“What are you…?” My question trailed off when I saw him pushing up my sleeve and I froze when I realised something. Pip had been hiding my scars all this time, as well as my soul to no doubt to save me from lying about how they came to be. I couldn’t say that I blamed her given the extent of my lying capabilities, as it was probably on the same level of a child with a stolen cookie behind it’s back telling a parent that they didn’t do it.
He pushed my wide sleeve all the way up baring all my scars on one arm and I suddenly felt like crying. It had been so long that I had been bothered about them, as being next to Draven from my own time, just felt as though they had long ago faded. But like this, I felt painfully naked and I dreaded the next question out of Draven’s mouth.
“Who did this to you and why was it hidden from me?!” He sounded angry and I tried to tug my arm out of his hold but he wouldn’t let me.
“Please…don’t do this to me,” I asked him, trying to keep the emotional vibrations from my voice, a voice that told him how vulnerable I was.
“Ssshh calm now, I am not angry with you,” h
e told me pulling me closer and gently caressing over my scars, trying to sooth my fears.
“I need to understand, did you think showing them would have made you less beautiful to me, for you have to know now that nothing could accomplish such an impossible task.” I gave him a small smile of thanks for his kind words and to be honest I hadn’t even given it a thought. Of course, I had wondered why he hadn’t seen them but then knowing that Pip was masking who I was from him, then I just thought that would have had something to do with it. Obviously, I had been right.
“It isn’t that but more the difficult story that follows,” I told him honestly and he must have taken note of the way I looked down at both my arms, because the next thing I knew he was taking the other one in his hands.
“I…no, please, you don’t need to…” My pleas went unheard as he started to push back the sleeve on the other arm.
“Oh, my precious girl, tell me who this did to you and please tell me that they are no longer allowed to breathe free air.” I took a deep breath and knew I couldn’t get away from it any longer. Pip had saved me from telling the painful story up until now but knowing Draven as well as I did, then finding out was top of the list of his next obsession. It didn’t matter what era he lived in, it was the same in any time, for if it was something to do with me, then just like the Draven back then, he would do everything in his power to find out what happened.
So, I took a deep breath and told him the painful truth,
“I did this to myself,” I told him, shocking him enough to drop my arms. I had to admit the rash reaction stung but not as much as his words,
“You tried to end your life?!” I closed my eyes and swallowed hard the hateful lump that felt as if I was choking on my own past.
“No…I did not!” I almost snarled the words at him and my reaction must have surprised him. I decided I needed to put space between us, so I shifted a few seat spaces down and lowered my head in my hands just to try and find the right words.
“It will be all right Nāzanin, you can…”
“Keira, my name is Keira and have no fear my Lord, for you are the only man who ever called me it,” I told him and hated the bitter tone that laced it.
“I care little for such right now, for nothing is more important to me than you and clearly you are in pain, a feeling I have forced upon you and for that I am sorry,” he said sincerely and got up and walked over to me so that he could then kneel in front of me. Then he took my hands in his as I raised my head to look at him and I watched a King on his knees start to kiss each of my scars. It was such a profound sight that it took my breath away!
“I would rather not know how they came to be if it causes you such distress in telling me, for they would never dampen the love I have for you, as that fire burns eternally.” Hearing this I couldn’t have stopped my reaction for the life of me as I threw myself into him locking my hands around his neck.
“You don’t know what that means to me!” I whispered fiercely in his ear and then suddenly, holding him wasn’t enough. So, I started kissing him, feeling as though if I didn’t I would self-combust with the love I felt overflowing for him. Like this it felt so natural, no longer having to hide and being free to do and say whatever I wanted, as he knew this was the real me.
“By the Gods woman, you know not what it is you do to me!” Draven said, his voice thick with lust. I smiled against his neck before I continued to kiss along it, sucking and nipping at him. At the same time, I ground myself against the erection I could feel and because it wasn’t enough I reached down between us so that I could take his length in my hand. The sound of his groan was like music signalling a green light and I knew I had to have him, right then and there. It took me back to that day we nearly made love for the first time like this, only to find ourselves being interrupted by his dog, one that was no doubt now locked out of our room for fear of the same thing.
“I need you.” I told him and this was all he needed before he tore up my long kaftan, along with ripping his sarong off. Once we were free of our restrictions he pulled my legs apart and surged up into me making me cry out. He held on to the back of my neck, anchoring himself to me and I held on to his shoulders as I arched back. The scorching intensity became overwhelming and I found myself scratching at his back, raking my nails along his skin as the building orgasm felt as though it would consume me whole.
“I have to taste you!” he told me applying pressure to my neck in a way that had me baring my neck to him in submission. After this he took no time at all before he had me under his dominating hold and I cried out as I felt his fangs biting down into my flesh. The second he took that first pull of my blood I was plunged into a sea of sensations that had me drowning in pleasure. I came so hard that I felt almost blinded from it and I felt my core fluttering around his length as he continued to thrust into me, over and over again.
Then he tore his fangs from my neck and with my blood still dripping from his lips he looked down at me. The sight was dangerously erotic and my eyes widened at the dark and horrifying beauty of it all. Then he yanked me to him hard and my surprised cry ended in his mouth as he took control. My own blood burst across my tongue and together we experienced the carnal taste together.
“Mine!” He pulled back enough to snarl at me before taking my bottom lip in between his teeth and then sucking it hard, making me moan out. It was as if he knew how addicted I became to feeling that tinge of pain morph into a pleasure of the likes I had never known before him. It was like making love to a wild beast that knew no bounds and the sexual thrill of it only managed to drive me higher when chasing my release…something I quickly found again when he took a nipple into his mouth and feasted upon it.
“YES, YES! Don’t stop! I…I...need to come!” I shouted as I tugged at his hair, something that made him growl around my heaving breast. The sound vibrated around my nipple and he bit down harder just as he slammed into me one last time and I came again like a rocket, weeping my release down his length as I quivered around him.
This was enough for him to find his own orgasm, and he let go of his bounty as he tensed back, roaring at the ceiling with his head thrown back. The sight had my insides clenching around him as I felt him bathing my channel with his cum as he pumped into me. It had been rough, hard and beautifully erotic in this moment of raw pleasure. My head fell forward on his chest as I was barely able to find the strength to keep it up. I panted, dragging air into my lungs and I felt him hold the back of my head to his chest as if he too took comfort in it being there.
“Did I hurt you, for I fear I lost my head?” he asked me softly and I lifted my head up, feeling as though my hair must have looked like an untamed lion’s mane around my face. The daft, happy grin I gave him was obviously enough to tell him that I had enjoyed myself. He gave me such a tender smile in return as he pushed all my unruly hair back from my face.
“You look so beautiful right in this moment that I fear it would cause me pain to gaze upon you if I was not still nestled inside your tight little body.” Hearing this I blushed and he ran the backs of his fingers across my burning cheeks. Then his eyes narrowed on my lips and he placed a gentle fingertip to them.
“I was too rough,” he told me as if scorning himself. I felt the sting and smiled, as I realised he must have bitten them too, only I had been too deep in the throes of passion to care about the aftermath. I had only thought of the pleasure the pain brought me at the time which was why I grinned at him now and stopped him when he went to bite his own finger, no doubt to heal me.
“No, I want to remember and every time I lick my lips and feel the sting, I will get wet thinking about what you did to me,” I told him shamelessly and his eyes widened in astonishment. I watched as a range of emotions flicked in his eyes until purple heat was the last one to remain.
“And I in turn with think of how my cock has found its eternal home when seated in your tight sheath whenever I see you biting that pretty, red lip of yours…one I very much enjoyed a
busing, along with other parts of your beautiful body,” he told me caressing my very red and bloody nipple. I shuddered against him at the sting, and his eyes flamed brighter when he felt my inner muscles throb around his length, one still hard and buried deep.
Needless to say, we quickly found euphoria together shortly after for the third time that night.
“How did we first meet?” His question came many minutes after our next round of the sex triathlon, which events included, front, back and me riding him like I was back on his horse! We were back in bed together and I was still coming down from my sexual high when he asked this question.
“Well, I’d just moved to the area to live with my sister.”
“And what of your parents?” he asked and I couldn’t help but smile as the tables had obviously turned considering I was usually the one asking all the questions.
“My parents stayed in England,” I told him and almost laughed at the strange look of confusion he gave me.
“I know not of this England.”
“It’s what you now call Britannia, I believe in this time it is ruled by the Romans,” I said and he nodded, now knowing where I came from.
“That explains the pale skin, for I believe their weather to be quite cold, yes?” I smiled and said laughing,
“And very wet, which is very similar to where I met you.” Hearing this interested him greatly.
“It was not in Parthia I take it.” I laughed again and told him,
“No, think less sun and more snow…we met in a place named Evergreen Falls in a country called America and somewhere that won’t be discovered yet for quite some time.”
“And how did I meet you in this new land I wonder?” he asked pulling me closer and picking up one of my hands so that he could play with my fingers.
“Well, you were my boss…I worked for you, as a…um…a server.” I told him, trying to explain it better when I saw his confused look as he clearly didn’t know what the word ‘boss’ meant.