Unholy Union, page 19
Ash stared at her. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “Not Maria Winton?”
“That was it. Maria Winton-Randall.”
Ash sat on the edge of the bed hard, as if his knees had given out. “She’s alive?
Healthy? Sane?”
“She got married right after you dropped her as a client.”
“Are you sure? Are you absolutely positive?”
“I looked her up along with all the rest on the Internet. I trust Harris, but it wasn’t enough just to be told about all the women you were the agent for. I kept hoping he was wrong, that I was wrong, that you weren’t going to kill me.” Elaine’s chest hitched as she fought back a sob. Once she’d seen the truth for herself, she had run to Father Thomas. And that had ended in debacle.
Yet there he stood, her guilt-ridden, pain-filled priest. Still glaring at Ash. Still determined to save her.
But for what? So I can go insane? I can’t live without Ash. I can’t. Whatever strength Maria Winton-Randall possessed to get through the pain of his loss, I don’t have it.
“Randall.” Ash’s voice was soft with wonder. “She must have married Steve Randall.
That was the man I possessed to get to her.”
His eyes were alight with sudden hope and something else. After a moment, Elaine realized what it was. Unspeakable joy, the kind of happiness that comes after redemption from what one thought was lost forever.
Thomas looked thunderstruck. “You must have left something of yourself in him, something she could hold onto to keep her sane but doesn’t feed on her life.”
Tears streamed down Ash’s face. He broke down and sobbed, his words coming between harsh caws of emotion. It was awhile before he could speak again. “I left her so I wouldn’t have to watch her die. I knew it was cruel, but I couldn’t bear to see it happen. She was so sweet, so smart, and so talented.”
“You loved her too.” Elaine’s eyes leaked tears to see the profound effect the news had on Ash.
“She’s a lot like you. There are a bare handful of women who shined brighter than the rest I’ve known. Maria was one. You’re another.”
Elaine’s body was beginning to recover, but she could still do little more than wave her arms weakly. She ached to hold Ash as he wept. He pulled her into his lap, cuddling her close to his chest.
Thomas’ relief was obvious. His shoulders drooped, and he didn’t even protest their embrace. “That’s it then. You can let Elaine go, Ash. Now that you know it’s possible, you have to.”
Ash glared at him. “And let her sleep with this chunk of alcohol-soaked homeless meat I took over?” He pounded his thigh as if to punish the body hosting him.
Thomas shook his head. “Not him. You possessed me once already.”
Elaine stared. Her heart thudded painfully. Don’t be stupid, Elaine. He’s got his calling, and it doesn’t include you. He made that clear.
Still, she couldn’t keep from saying his name, an ocean of longing in the one word.
“Thomas?”
He smiled at her. He put the crucifix on the bedside table, and pulled the collar from his neck. It dropped from his fingers to land on the plush carpeted floor. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize this. I’m sorry I hurt you, and made you think I don’t want you. Forgive me, Elaine.”
“Are you sure?” She couldn’t face him rejecting her again. It would kill her as assuredly as Ash’s love.
Thomas took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded. “James is right. I’m not meant for the priesthood. I’m meant to be a husband at the side of the woman I love.” He bent and kissed Elaine’s forehead. Then his lips settled over hers, and he drank her in like a man drowning of thirst.
Elaine forced her grudging arms to wrap around his shoulders. He lifted her from Ash’s lap, folding her into his arms. His jacket was scratchy against her bare skin, but she didn’t care.
Thomas loved and wanted her, and she was going to live.
But that meant she’d lose the other man she loved.
Ash’s voice interrupted them. “My possession of you was very brief.”
Thomas pulled his mouth from hers, and they stared at the incubus. Ash’s expression was hopeful but guarded. He continued, “There’s no telling how long I’d have to share your body to make it work.”
Thomas nodded. “However long it takes without killing Elaine.”
Elaine was frightened for him. No way he was letting Ash back in. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
Thomas smiled down on her. “You don’t have to.” He turned back to Ash. “How much longer does she have?”
Ash considered. “Feeding as little as possible, perhaps four weeks. We’ll have to err on the side of caution though. I’ll leave you after three weeks, stay close by in case it doesn’t take so if she starts to break down, I can repossess you.” He grimaced. “This could turn into a hell of a juggling act.”
Elaine couldn’t let go of her fear for Thomas’ sake. “You can’t rush into this. We don’t know enough about what could happen to you after such a long possession.”
Thomas stroked her hair. “I know I love you. You’re worth any risk, Elaine.” He skewered Ash with a sudden glare. “The question is does Ash love you enough to eventually let you go?”
Ash stood and pulled his clothes on. “I do. I’d give anything to save her life.”
As soon as Ash was dressed, Thomas laid Elaine on the bed. She clung to him in terror, but he pushed her arms away. In her weakened state, it wasn’t hard for him to do. “It’s all right, sweetheart. He really loves you and that will keep him from harming me.” He straightened and faced Ash.
“Now?” Ash asked.
“I retain control. You are only invited in for Elaine’s peace of mind.”
Ash nodded. “But perhaps if she wants to see me from time to time?” When Thomas stiffened, he added, “When this is done, when you can support her, I’ll leave her life forever.
Surely you can spare us a few moments in these last few weeks.”
“We’ll see.” Thomas gritted his teeth.
Ash nodded. “I guess that will have to do.”
Suddenly, his body seemed to deflate a little, and black mist oozed from his skin. Evan Denmire stood for an instant in Ash’s expensive clothes, swaying gently before collapsing to the floor.
The black cloud drifted lazily towards Thomas, surrounded him, and then settled over him. Elaine heard his sharp intake of breath, and she forced herself to a sitting position. The black disappeared, soaking into Thomas as if he was a sponge.
“Thomas?” she whispered, fear thick in her throat.
“I’m here,” he answered, looking at her. A tentative smile touched his lips. “We’re both here. It’s a strange thing to have another mind in my head.”
He gathered her in his arms, his normally warm body cool, no doubt from Ash’s influence. Thomas kissed her with a strange blend of the demon’s assurance and his own awkward eagerness. Elaine moaned to feel them both there in the same beautiful body. Thomas’
tongue swept into her mouth, and moisture crept from her womanhood. The first time Ash had possessed the priest, he’d left so soon. She hadn’t had a real opportunity to enjoy them both making love to her at once. She pushed at Thomas’ jacket, impatient to feel him naked against her skin.
A low groan brought them back to their surroundings. Thomas looked at the man on the floor and stood. “Before we go any further, let me hand this poor wretch over to Harris.”
“Harris is here?” Elaine finally rediscovered her sense of humiliation and reached for the bed sheets to cover her nakedness. She liked being watched, but the potential for Harris to see her exposed and vulnerable was just plain creepy.
Thomas approached Evan Denmire who peered up at him with confusion. The priest— make that former priest, Elaine amended—gripped the slowly blinking man under the armpits, pulling him to his feet. “Let me see you walk, sir. Your friend is waiting outside to take care of you.”
He half-dragged half-carried the dazed creature to the door. When he opened it, Elaine heard Harris’ glad cry. “Evan! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, man!”
After a quick whispered consultation, Thomas came back into the room, closing the door behind him. He stood at the bedside, smiling down on Elaine. “So, here we are.”
“Are you sure you’re all right, Thomas?” she asked. She held her hand out to him.
He took it, sitting next to her. “We’ll be fine as long as you’re safe. Happy endings for all.” Thomas winced. “Well, Ash says it’s more of a bittersweet ending for him since he has to give you up in the end. But that would have happened anyway, and it’s much better that you live out your full life.” Thomas paused once more, as if listening. “He’s got an agent in mind for you to take over your contract. Now that you have a long writing career ahead of you, he wants to know you’ll be taken care of. And stay away from the Morningstar agency. You don’t want to make any deals with them.” He frowned. “He’s hiding something about that place from me.”
“Leave him some secrets, Thomas. I’m sure he’ll do the same for you.”
Thomas suddenly barked laughter. “You know, I hate to admit it, but I’m actually grateful to the infernal bastard. If he hadn’t shown up in your life, I’d still be admiring you from afar.” His eyes filled with sudden tears. “I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
He leaned forward for another one of those sweetly eager, knowingly masterful kisses.
Elaine clutched at him, the warmth in her belly effervescent like sparkling wine. Thomas lowered her, his big strong body covering hers.
A happy ending indeed, Elaine thought as his kiss hardened, bruising her lips with passion. Her only sadness was she couldn’t keep both men she loved forever.
Chapter Twenty Three
Spring had always been Elaine’s favorite time of year. The moment the first tulips raised their heads above the recently frozen ground, she felt the shackles of the dead, cold winter fall away, giving new life and hope to the world. It was only fitting she and Thomas married as soon as winter blew its last frigid breath.
The ceremony had been properly reserved with all the gravity a traditional Catholic service afforded. The reception was appropriately raucous to make up for it, fueled by the free bar. Even Harris hit the dance floor, a bottle of Killian’s in one meaty hand while he shook his ample rear in a terrifyingly hilarious moment of lost reserve. Thomas laughed until tears poured down his cheeks.
Father James pecked Elaine on the cheek as he made his way towards the rented hall’s door. She flung her arms around his neck. “Thank you for everything, Father.”
“It’s my very great pleasure. I’m so happy for both of you.” His eyes twinkled with pleasure at her effusive embrace. “There were some days I despaired of this moment ever happening.”
Elaine nodded. She’d come close to death twice during the past few months, her desperate need for Ash bringing her to the brink. Hospitalized several times for anorexia, she recalled all too well the one night she swam to dazed consciousness to hear James giving her last rites.
But feeling her mind break apart during the weeks of Ash’s trial separations as they tested her ability to live without him had been even worse. The all-consuming need for him had left her screaming and pulling out handfuls of hair in the end, forcing Thomas to accept repossession twice more until enough of Ash’s essence had permeated his body to sustain Elaine’s cravings. It had taken almost four months of torment that pushed both Thomas and Elaine to their limits.
Only love kept them going; Elaine’s love for Thomas and the promise of a life with him, and Thomas and Ash’s love for her fighting back madness and death over and over.
Thomas joined Elaine and Father James, his smile bright as he too hugged the priest.
“What’s this I hear about you leaving the area?” he chastised the older man.
James nodded. “There’s a fine retirement home for priests in Syracuse. I’m afraid Malone is just too exciting for this old man.”
A twinge of sadness touched Thomas’ smile, but it was a far cry from his old, brooding expression. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for everything.”
James patted his cheek paternally. “Be happy, Thomas. That’s all I want for you both.”
He left, a piece of wrapped wedding cake tucked in his pocket. Elaine and Thomas attended to their guests, accepting congratulations and well wishes. Elaine noticed her new husband checked the time as often as she did, apparently just as impatient to start the honeymoon.
“Harris.” Elaine grinned at the very mellow expression of her friend.
“Hey, Curtis. Nope, not Curtis. Wait, don’t tell me.” He mused drunkenly before the right name slipped from his pursed lips. “Donegal. Your name is now Elaine Donegal.”
“That’s me,” she laughed. “Are you having a good time?”
“Oh, that I am. Open bar equals good time, you know.” He peered at her, looking her up and down in her custom Vera Wang gown. “You’re putting on a little weight, dear. If you’re not careful you’ll no longer be in danger of slipping through the floorboards.”
“I’m almost back in the triple digits. I understand congratulations are in order for you as well. When does the book come out?”
For a wonder, gruff, tough Harris grinned fit to split his face. “Six months.”
Thomas, hovering nearby, walked up to clap his hand to the other man’s back. “I heard you’re being touted as the next Stephen King.”
Harris shrugged, his radiant grin going to aw-shucks mode. “No one is the next Stephen King, but writing about demons beats tracking down cheating spouses and covering the garden club.”
Elaine glanced at Zeke, chatting up her dear friend Jeannie, who’d been there the night Ash had made himself known at the bar. “Poor Zeke. He can’t keep a reporter these days.”
Harris snorted. “Are you kidding? Since two of his writers have signed major publishing deals, he’s got freelancers beating down his door. Congrats on hitting the bestseller list, by the way,” he added, remembering in his alcohol-induced haze Elaine’s success. “You deserved it.
Hell of a great read. I’m looking forward to the next one.”
“Thanks.” It was her turn to do the aw-shucks look, but it was tempered by the knowledge that her publisher had rushed the first book out, riding the publicity of her desperate health crisis. The book had shot to the bestseller list at breathtaking speed. Now that Elaine was on the road to recovery, she wondered if her next book, due out in a year, would fair half as well.
Looking at her new husband, she realized with some surprise it didn’t matter whether she sold another book in her entire life. Not only was she going to live, she was going to live with this man, a man who’d dared everything for her. The epiphany shook her very soul.
Thomas wrapped his arm around her. “If we’re going to sneak out, now’s the time,” he said in a low voice.
Harris winked and raised his empty beer bottle to them. He boomed, “Enjoy the honeymoon, kids. See you on the bestseller list, Curtis – oops, I mean Mrs. Donegal.”
Making exaggerated shushing noises, Thomas lead a giggling Elaine out of the hall.
A slight chill greeted them outside the hall, a cool reminder that the difficult winter wasn’t so far behind them. Elaine and Thomas barely noticed as they approached the stretch limousine. Their driver, a slight, middle-aged man looking natty in his uniform, hurried to open their door for them.
“To the city, sir?” he asked Thomas.
“Yes. You know the hotel?”
“Yes sir.”
It had been Ash’s wedding gift to them; the most opulent suite overlooking New York’s Central Park, reservations at the priciest spa and impossible-to-get tickets to Broadway’s two hottest shows. The package containing the details of their honeymoon had arrived two weeks earlier. It was the first they’d heard from him in weeks, but there’d not even been a personal message in the bundle. Elaine had been a little hurt by that, but she acknowledged it was perhaps for the best. Ash was out of her life now, and the sooner she got used to the loss, the better.
The driver got behind the wheel and started the car. Thomas found the switch to close the tinted divider between them and the front seat. It buzzed up.
As he saw to their privacy, Thomas whispered, “We have a long ride ahead of us.
Whatever shall we do to amuse ourselves?”
Elaine shivered with anticipation at the tone in his voice. “I’m sure we’ll think of something.” A quick glance to check on things made her frown. “Thomas, you didn’t put the divider all the way up.”
It was just low enough to let Elaine see the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Thomas grinned at her as he put his arms around her. She felt him unbuttoning the row of buttons down her gown’s back. “Ash shared how much you enjoy being watched.”
Her eyes widened. His fingers worked quickly, freeing buttons so he could pull the bodice of the dress down to her waist. He kissed her, his hands closing over the cups of her bra, grasping hard at her breasts.
Elaine’s lower body clenched with excitement. Would Thomas really indulge her favorite fantasy? As his lips left hers, she whispered, “This isn’t very priestly of you, my love.
How much of himself did Ash leave in you?”
“A good bit, I think. More than any of us anticipated. Before I became a priest I would have enjoyed the thought of being watched, but not the act. Now a lot more things are possible.
Things I wouldn’t have done before.”
“Are you okay with that?”
He grimaced. “I know I’ve been altered by holding Ash in my body. But it’s those traces of him that keep you sane and with me.” He stroked her cheek. “You’re worth the sacrifice, Elaine. Never doubt that.”
Thomas unclasped her bra, freeing her breasts. He stroked the soft mounds, his eyes watching her nipples harden under his care. “Ash shared quite a few naughty suggestions he thought you’d like.” He slapped one breast, and Elaine’s breath caught at the sting. The small pain brought her senses alive, turning her insides liquid with heat. And then her guts quaked as he gathered her thin wrists in one strong hand, holding them behind her back and leaving her helpless. Elaine licked her lips and sat quiescent, waiting to see what he’d do next.
