The Light Who Shines (26 page)

Bluebell Kildare: May 30, 2022, Red Ages

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know,
Jack is pulling me out of the water, and I vaguely discern a towel being wrapped
around my body.

“Blue, wake up. Blue, you have to wake up.”

I look up at him, puzzled, and ask, “What are you doing here?”

Jack carries me to the sofa and growls, “Blue, you’re
covered in bruises. Who did this to you? If it was Michael Radskif I’ll kill
him. I’ll twist his bloody little neck.”

I start to shake my head, but pain splinters through it, so
I say, “Schmidt. In the alley. Varg got him good, though.” Then I close my
eyes.

Jack shakes me again. “Blue, you can’t sleep. You were hit
on the head pretty bad. You could have a concussion. You have lumps on your
head and a bloody one in back.” I lift my hand to the back of my head, and sure
enough, I feel a huge, tender lump.

“Must have been when he slammed me against the brick wall,”
I mumble.

Jack growls again, low and savagely. He props me up on the
sofa and orders me, “Don’t move. Don’t go to sleep.”

He goes into the bathroom. I lever my right eyelid open. I
order my left one to open too, but it doesn’t comply. It feels swollen shut. But
one eye is all it takes to see Jack return with his face in a black, murderous
rage. He snarls, and his fangs descend, “Your clothes are torn, and I smell his
filthy hands all over them.”

I see trouble coming. “Jack,” I say, “no death by bloodlust.
Promise me.”

Jack says nothing but holds his mouth in a grim line. He pushes
me down on the sofa and starts feeling all over my body and smelling me.

“Jack,” I shriek, and push at his shoulders. “What are you
doing?”

“Lie still,” he demands. “I’m checking for internal
injuries. I can smell if a blood vessel burst.”

“Oh, okay.” I’m not sure why this is okay, but it sounds
reasonable, and I’m in no position to argue.

When he’s done examining me, he says, “No burst blood
vessels, and he didn’t rape you. Varg got to him in time.” He sounds hugely relieved.

I slap Jack’s arm and glare at him with one eye. “I know
that, you big dolt! You could have just asked.”

Jack says, “We should take you to the hospital.”

“No!” I protest.

I’m embarrassed enough as it is, being an Inspector and
letting that sleazeball get to me. I don’t need to advertise it.

Jack sits down next to me and asks, “Do you want me to give
you my blood? It would heal you completely.”

I still for a moment at the offer, then say cautiously,
“Won’t that turn me into a Vampire?”

“No, over half of your blood would need to be replaced with Vampire
blood to turn you. A small amount of blood will heal you completely. Have you
ever taken Vampire blood before?”

I answer softly, “No.”

He says, “Well, then it wouldn’t harm you, but over time
even if you get many small donations of blood, some of that blood stays in you
and eventually you will turn. It doesn’t have to be one big donation at once.
So you should be cautious.”

I think about it a minute and then say, “No. I don’t want to
risk it. My injuries are not that bad.”

Jack frowns and says, “Well, I don’t smell any internal
bleeding. If you stay awake and let me put ice on your injuries, it should be
okay.”

With relief, I say, “Deal.”

Jack orders me again, “Stay awake,” and he steps toward the
kitchen.

He comes back a moment later with two bags of frozen peas
and two towels. He wraps the bags in the towels and places one on the lump on
the back of my head and the other over my eyes.

“Blue,” he says, “I want you to count out loud for me so I
know you’re awake. You have to count for five minutes.”

For crying out loud! He is such a fussbudget. All I want is
to go to sleep, but instead my head is freezing, and he wants me to count. I
start counting. “One, two, three…”

I try to sit up, but my gut protests. “Jack, there is no way
I’m counting for five minutes with my eyes closed without falling asleep. I’ll
tell you what, how about I put the frozen peas on my left eye, the one that is
swollen shut, and look at you with the right eye so you know I’m awake. You
tell me when five minutes are over and I’ll switch.”

Jack sighs but agrees.

We do this for about thirty minutes, switching eyes, until I
put the now-soggy frozen pea bag down and say, “That’s enough. I can open both
eyes now, so that is a big improvement. Besides, my brain is about to freeze.”

Now I can also see that the towel is not covering me very
well. I move to stand up, and I get dizzy.

“What are you doing?”

“I need my robe,” I say. “It’s on the hook in the bedroom.”

Jack retrieves it for me.

“Would you help me up slowly?”

Jack easily lifts me up and carries me to the end of the
sofa, setting me down on the arm. Then he holds the robe open for me so I can
slip my arms in it. I drop the towel and close the robe while Jack averts his
gaze.

Suddenly I’m freezing, and I start to shiver. “Jack, I’m
cold. Would you mind terribly making some tea?’

“Of course,” he says. He helps me into sitting position on
the sofa once again. Then he leaves me for a few minutes, returning with a
large mug of tea that he sets on the coffee table. I gratefully take the mug in
my hands and savor the warmth. I glance up at him.

“Don’t you have to be at work today?”

Jack says, “There is nothing going on today that can’t
wait.”

I look down into the depths of my tea again and ask, “How
did you know something happened, anyway?”

Jack sits next to me. “Michael called me when he finished
the job. You didn’t show up at the office, so I called you. You didn’t answer
your phone, so I came over.”

“Oh,” I say. “I heard the phone, but I was trying to scrub the
feel of his slimy hands off me.” I grimace. “I couldn’t stop. I’m sorry. I
didn’t mean to make you come over here.”

I shiver, partly from being cold and partly at the thought
of Schmidt’s hands on me. Jack puts his arms around me and pulls me back to his
chest.

I lean my head on his shoulder and say, “Mmm. This is nice. You’re
warm like a radiator.”

Jack starts rubbing my arms vigorously to stimulate my
circulation. He moves up to my shoulders, and I think again how nice it is. His
hands are wiping the memory of Schmidt away. I shiver again. Jack moves his
hands down to my hips and kneads the muscle there. His arms are around me, and
I feel nested in his warmth. I don’t know when it happens, but suddenly I
realize his arm movements have turned sensual. I turn my head so I can see him.
I lightly kiss his neck. Jack stills and stops touching me.

“No, please don’t stop,” I say. “You’re erasing the feel of
him. I don’t want to remember him touching me.”

Jack turns his eyes to me. They burn green, and his mouth
twists in fury.

Jack Tanner: May 30, 2022, Red Ages

Blue murmurs to me, “No, please don’t stop. You’re erasing
the feel of him. I don’t want to remember him touching me.”

I think about her remembering Schmidt’s hands on her body,
and it brings a rage so black and so deep my vision tunnels. I feel her kiss my
neck again, and her soft lips bring me back. Her aura’s white light shimmers
softly about her. My throat catches at the loveliness. I look at her bruised
face and swollen eyelids, and through it all, her soft eyes gaze at me tenderly.
This woman endlessly surprises me with her capacity for kindness.

I kiss the side of Blue’s head and move my hands over her
hips again. She settles back against me and sighs. She winces a bit when I
glide my hands up to her sides, so I skim over the area. I move to her arms
again and caress her in slow, warm strokes. Her lips part, and I can see her
nipples pebble under her robe. I kiss the top of her hair and breathe in her scent.
She smells fresh and clean and Blue. Like no one else smells.

I lightly skim over her breasts, and her nipples rise even
further. Jesus Christ, she is so responsive to me. I rub lightly back and forth
over her taut peaks through the fabric. Blue rolls her head, and her lips part
even more. I drink in the look of her moist lips with their rounded edges. She
lightly bites her bottom lip unconsciously. I dip my head down and pull her
earlobe into my mouth, gently tugging. Blue moans, and I harden even more at
the sound. God, I want this woman. But this is not about me right now.

I grasp her hips and pull her back against me tightly,
reaching my hands around her and flicking both of her peaked nipples with my
thumbs. Blue opens her eyes, and I see tenderness, complete trust, and raw
wanting.

“Are you sure?” I whisper in her ear.

Blue keeps her gaze firmly on mine and nods. “Please,” she
says softly.

She completely undoes me with her soft plea. My heart
tightens as I realize I’ve never felt more for a woman.

I untie her robe and slip my hands inside to slowly explore
every curve and dip of her body. My hands memorize her breasts, softly circling
and teasing her. She arches her back slightly but winces and drops back down.

“Lie still,” I whisper. “I’ll do all the work.”

I draw circles around her nipples until they are tight and
swollen, then I roll them slowly and tenderly between my fingers, watching
their color deepen. Blue’s eyes close, and her lips part again as her breaths
come in little puffs. Looking down, I see her beautiful, pale skin beneath my
hands and the rosy tips of her breasts between my fingers. Suddenly the air fills
with her womanly nectar, and a feeling of utter satisfaction fills me. I
breathe her scent deep into my lungs, hungry for a taste.

I control myself and pull her more tightly against me until
I feel her bottom pressed firmly against my shaft, nestling me. I suckle lightly
on her ear some more, tasting her salty skin. The scent of her rich blood flows
so close to my mouth, tantalizing me. Blue turns to me and steals a kiss. I tease
her lower lip tenderly, careful to avoid her swollen upper lip. Then I move my
mouth away and kiss the top of her head, afraid of hurting her.

I take turns gently pinching both nipples with one hand, and
I slip my other hand between her thighs, softly teasing her dark curls. When
Blue shifts her hips toward my hand, I slide my fingers in deeper, slipping
over her slick flesh. I thrill in the lushness of her soft, wet skin. Lightly, I
tug at her thighs, and she opens up to my hand like petals to the sun. I can
see the dark, curly hair between her parted thighs glistening with moisture. I watch,
riveted, as I dip two fingers between her creases into her wet, pink folds. Blue
jerks her hips up toward me. She is so warm and open to me, but I hesitate a
moment, holding still. Then, slowly, I move my fingers up and down, caressing
her swollen womanhood.

Blue groans and her mouth opens wider, searching for me like
a hungry bird. She kisses my neck and my jaw, all that she can reach. She
hungrily kisses and sucks on my skin, apparently no longer feeling the pain of
her swollen lip. I move my fingers deftly over her silky flesh, and she opens
up more, lifting her hips to me. I find her bud and gently stroke it.

A shudder and a soft moan escapes from Blue’s mouth as she
thrashes her head. I keep rubbing and circling, spreading her honey all over her
beautiful little clit.

Blue is moaning and chanting now. “Oh God, don’t stop.”

I feel her muscles tightening in her thighs and her flesh
becoming taunt under my fingers. I am so hard that I’m pulsing and gently
rocking against her. My desire courses through my veins, and every glance at
her, at any part of her, fuels that desire. She is so beautiful, this woman I
hold in my arms. I wrap my left arm around her and pull her firmly against my throbbing
shaft. Then I move on to her breasts once more, going back and forth between
her nipples with my left hand, nibbling her ear, while I caress her sweet
center of pleasure all the while.

I feel the tension in her body continue to rise. Her moaning
and chanting is coming at a frantic pace. She starts searching for my lips
again with hers. I tilt my neck to give her access. I fill her mouth with my tongue
and stroke more firmly on her bud as she tightens her thighs around my hands. I
keep stroking as she clenches around my fingers, tightening and releasing in a
beautiful rhythm, coming in glorious waves.

At that moment she opens her eyes and looks at me. Her striking
blue eyes seem to pierce right to my soul, and at the same time I see the beautiful
light of her aura spread out in a bright burst. Her light fills the room and
flashes, setting it ablaze, going well beyond the walls. It covers me and sifts
through me and fills me with her essence. It is too much. The look of her eyes,
the smell of her arousal, the scent of her blood, the sight of her body, the
feel of her warm liquid flesh clasping my hand, the tenderness of her lips, the
caress of her soul, the joy of her light.

I am so filled with her being, my control shatters. I shake
and jerk underneath her as my body explodes and my mind fills with the
brilliant light of a million points of pleasure, all centered around Blue. Each
point of pleasure is a little light in my mind rising up through the dark sky,
joining together, collectively creating enough light to glow like a small
bright sun. Then the points of light burst outwards again and disperse and
drift slowly back down leaving streaming trails behind them. As we float back
to Earth I am so happy to feel Blue in my arms, trembling like a fine string
instrument, just as I tremble with her.

I am truly shaken to the core of my being. I’ve never felt
anything so wondrous in all of my centuries. I kiss her head reverently, and
she kisses my neck gently. Then she closes her eyes. I whisper, “No sleeping,
Blue.”

She opens her eyes again, smiles at me, and sighs happily. “Let
me close my eyes for a few minutes. I’ll hum a little so you know I’m awake.”

She hums a sweet little tune, a lullaby, I think.

I watch her lying in my arms, and my view of the room and
the world starts to open a little. Her tea sits there, cold by now. Her broken
books still sit stacked on the floor by her bookcase. My eyes drift back to
her, still lying against my chest, wrapped in my arms with her robe spread out
to her sides.

I murmur against her head, “When you came, your aura shot a
light so bright it filled the room.”

I frown. I see my aura, a deep blue, tinged with the black
smut of Lilith’s mark, mingling with her beautiful, blue-white light. A wave of
self-disgust rolls through me. I can’t believe I am letting my smut mix with
her beautiful light. Suddenly all the joy seeps out of me. I should not have
done this. She is the most pure thing I have ever seen or felt, and I am poisoned.

Blue stops humming, so I look down, and her eyes seem
troubled.

She says in a stronger voice, “Jack, I want to get up now. I
think I’m okay to move around.”

I gently help her to sitting position and then pull her up.
She closes her robe tightly around her middle and says, “I think my ribs are
bruised, but not broken.”

“I checked already. They’re not broken.”

She walks around a little and looks at me with puzzled eyes.
She heads to the bathroom, and I hear water running.

When she returns she says, “I’m good. I think I want to see
Maud.”

She walks to the bedroom and starts pulling clothes out of
her closet. She ignores me completely and pulls on her underwear and bra, some
loose jeans, and a t-shirt. She sits down and tries to lean over to tie her
sneakers but winces. Then she slips on some flip-flops instead and grabs her
purse and keys.

“Blue,” I say, “should you really be going anywhere right
now?”

Blue looks at me with a hard, bright light in her eyes. She
says, “I’m fine. I’m bruised and sore, but I’ll survive.”

Then she lifts her chin to me and says softly, “And I’ll
never remember Schmidt again after what you did to me.”

Somehow she does not seem relieved by this. She calls Varg
and walks out the door, leaving me standing in the middle of her living room,
wondering what in the Plane of Fire just happened!