Exton

Krak-a-BOOM!

One ten-billionth of a second later, the skies open up and dump the Atlantic Ocean in my lap. Which isn't all that bad - I've been cold and wet before, I will be again - but I'm halfway between the caretaker's cottage and the cemetery entrance, and Eira is with me. We've been taking a little stroll, chatting with ghosts, letting Eira get used to her powers in a nice leisurely fashion. She's still a little freaked by it, I think... especially when we run across one of the residents who died a more than usually gruesome death. All in all, she's been holding up well...

In seconds we're soaked to the skin - hell, maybe to the bone. The shock of the cold water drives the breath from us for a moment, then we're running, stumbling blindly through the rain, back to the cottage, slipping in mud, splashing through ankle-deep puddles... I fumble with the keys for a week and then we're inside, shivering, gasping for breath, wiping water out of our eyes... We make a fine pair of scarecrows.

"Go grab a shower. I'll find a robe for you."

"The hell with that." She draws me down for a kiss. "Go turn on the electric blanket, then join me."

"You sure?"

"Don't be silly." She reaches up to touch my face. "Hurry."

When I get back, she's kicked off her shoes and shucked the denim jacket, leaving her in jeans and a scoop-neck tee, both soaked through. She gives me one look, then unzips the jeans and shoves them down, steps out of them; the tee follows. All that remains is a tiny pair of mint-green bikini panties. She looks back over her shoulder at me. "Are you going to take off your clothes, or do I have to do it for you?" I kick off my shoes and socks, tug my shirt over my head and let it drop. Eira watches with a half-smile as I drop my pants, then she peels her panties off and tosses them to me. "Trade ya." I shove my briefs down and toss them to her. She lets them fall while she sets the shower, her golden hair hanging halfway to her ass. She's got all the right curves in all the right places, but she doesn't have that anorexic look many women strive for; there's plenty to grab hold of and hang on to. She steps into the shower and holds the curtain for me. I follow her and she drops the curtain.

The heat wraps around me, then Eira steps into my arms and our lips meet. The kiss is slow and hungry, tongues twisting and tangling, skin against skin... Eira's hand finds my ass, pulls me tighter, devouring my mouth, grinding against me.... We're panting when the kiss breaks... she turns and reaches for the soap, then she proceeds to lather me up everywhere and I do mean everywhere. She kisses me again, then pushes me into the water and rinses me just as thoroughly. Then shampoo - I don't do conditioner - and then we're kissing again.

When I can breathe again, she hands me the soap with a smile. "Your turn."

I follow her lead and lather her up thoroughly, missing nothing, then rinse and go for the shampoo. Her hair's a lot longer and thicker than mine, so it takes longer. When we're done, the water is starting to cool down, so I shut it down and we step out of the shower. We towel each other dry, then move to the bedroom. The electric blanket has done its thing, so we slip beneath the covers and snuggle close.

"Mmmmm... this feels good. What say we just spend the day in bed?"

"That would be nice, but I'm pretty sure my resistance wouldn't survive."

She gives a lazy laugh. "Jack, you are such a doofus. Why would you think I'd want you to resist?" She stretches like a big cat, fitting her body to mine and kisses me tenderly.

I sigh. "Eira... look, I haven't exactly been a monk all these years, but I haven't had a real relationship in more than sixty years. I mean, you know about Patti, and you know about that one time with K'thyri. There was no commitment either time... hell, if anything, Ky is committed to her full-time lovers. I haven't known you very long, but you don't strike me as the kind for casual sex."

She sighs, biting her lip. "Well... I've done the occasional one-night stand when I knew that was all it was going to be... I think everyone does now and then... but no, it's not really my preference. Are you saying it's yours?"

I sigh. "Call it how I stay sane. Look, Eira, I'm effectively immortal. That makes me pretty much unique. Let's say I meet someone special and we set up housekeeping, either by getting married or something less formal. I'm going to live forever, or damn near it; she's going to live a normal human lifetime and then die. When that happens, all the emotion I have invested in her..." I break off to meet her eyes. "I don't have the consolation of thinking that I'll join her soon. All I have are memories of someone that I loved and lost, that I'll never see again. Every day I have to live with that... Peter couldn't have known just how effective his curse would turn out to be."

She's quiet for a long time. Finally she speaks, eyes downcast. "Yeah... I can see that..." Her eyes meet mine again. "But if you cut yourself off from pain, don't you cut yourself off from everything good, too?"

"Not everything... we have this, here and now, which is pretty nice; but in terms of anything lasting, you might be right." I sigh heavily. "You might consider, though... I've tried it both ways. There are empty places in me that can never be filled - places that are just as raw now as the day those people were ripped out of my life."

She's silent again, digesting that. Then: "I want to be with you, Jack - but I don't want to be one of your girls."

"Yeah. Now you can see why I don't date much."

"Yeah." She throws the covers back. "Maybe you should turn the blanket off, I'm melting here."

I reach behind me to flip the switch. "Sure you're not just trying to seduce me?"

"That, too. Is it working?"

I let my eyes feast on the golden goddess who - through some divine clerical error - shares my bed. "Yeah... it's working."

Her eyes sparkle mischievously. "I think we need to even things up..." - and with that she throws the covers off me. "There," she says softly. "Now you can seduce me, too."

I snort a laugh. "As if."

"Now why would you think that? You've got a nice body... it's obvious you work outside, you still have a bit of tan left from the summer... and you have the kind of build that comes from hard work, not from a gym. Nice cock, too, and looking at you like this makes me want to push you back and climb on... I hope we can work out our differences soon, Jack, because I really do want to fuck you."

"I want you, too - but I'm not sure I can offer you what you need. I won't be your lover under false pretenses."

"That just makes you more attractive, you know... that we can be lying here naked, and I just told you I want to fuck you, and you won't lie to me. You're a very special guy, Jack Stone...." Then she reaches for me and we're kissing, bodies pressed close....