Oh… his name is Lucian? What a devil's name. And this woman that looks the same like him, what a match. Oh maybe they where lovers, just this devil looks like he betrayed her. I thought within as I dragged my skirt up, my breathing now calm with sweat beading on my face. The cold night air was a shock to my senses, a sudden reminder of where I was and what I'd just done. I felt dirty, exposed, and a white-hot fury was building inside me. How could I have let this happen?
I turned, my eyes catching him as he was straightening his rumpled trousers. The look on his face wasn't one of embarrassment or shame. It was one of pure, unadulterated relief. And that look broke something inside me. I have been used by this stranger. My hand flew up, and my palm landed on his cheek with a sharp slap that echoed in the quiet night. "You filthy man! How dare you lured me to this!" I was already loosing it. This Lucian made me feel less of myself!
He didn't flinch. He just looked at me, with his golden eyes unblinking, as if he deserved whatever hitting I gave him. He took the slap like a king receiving a compliment, like he deserved it so badly, and that really raised a bile in me. I wanted to run him over if I could for making me stoop so low, to get laid in an open space, in a hospital parking lot no less. Making feel like a whore with no shame.
But the woman came and stood in between us, her eyes shooting daggers at me. "You seduce him and you're playing a victim? How dare you!" she spat, her voice were like a poisonous hiss.
Oh, these people are making me lose it. I was lured to this and she wants to blame me? I was about to give her my own piece, to tell her that I was no seductress, that I had been a victim of some supernatural force I didn't understand. But before I could get a word out, Lucian said with his eyes still on me, "Mira, stay out of this!"
I rolled my eyes away from him, not wanting to get involved with his spell again, because another heat was radiating from within me. But it wasn't the heat of desire this time. It was the heat of pure, unadulterated rage. I felt like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.
"Tell me why, Lucian," Mira said as she turned and looked at him, but his eyes were on something else, me. He wasn't even looking at her, as if she never existed at all. Her voice was filled with a desperate, heartbroken plea, but a whisper, not quite audible to me, escaped her lips: "Why should it be someone like her?"
Only if she knew I never wanted something so scary like him, she would keep her mouth shut. I never wanted to feel this kind of pull, this kind of power, this kind of dangerous desire. I just wanted my quiet life back.
Mira went towards Lucian, her fingers gently touching his cheek where my hand had left a red mark. I watched, a knot forming in my stomach, as she used her thumb to trace his lips. The sight of her touching him, of him letting her, made me want to choke in irritation. It was like watching a snake coil around its prey. She said gently, but with a shock in her voice, "Lucian, you're bleeding."
A thin line of crimson was visible on his lower lip, a result of my slap on his cheek. I watched, my heart thudding, as he took her hand off from his lips as if he was scared I might get annoyed. It was a small gesture, but it was enough to make me even more angry. I don't care how you lived your life, man, I hate you.
I slammed my van door shut. The loud thud echoed in the silence, a physical manifestation of the storm raging inside me. I moved out quietly, trying to move towards the reception area. The need to put distance between myself and this man, this devil, was all I could think about.
But as I was walking away, I heard Lucian say something, his voice low and urgent, in response to what Mira had just said, as he took her hand off from his mouth. "Stop it, Mira, it will heal… You know it will heal fast."
Heal faster? From a torn lip. Is he not a human?