"We
can't do this anymore," she spoke, her eyes looking
at the floor as his hands brushed her hair away from her
pale face. "Are you afraid of who might find out or
just afraid of me?" his german accent laid thick on
his voice as he posed the question to her, his hands finding
their way to the buttons of her shirt. "You have a
wife and a child on the way and I have Epic. It's not good
anymore...we only hurt people." "Since when did
you start caring about who we hurt?" Loeki asked, his
hands falling back to his sides at he stepped away to look
at her. Ana's gaze rose now, the features of his face coming
into view as his navy eyes pierced her with his questions.
"Since a child became involved. I never wanted to hurt
anyone in the first place," she replied quietly, moving
away from him. Loeki leaned against the window of the small
hotel room, his dark clothing masking him against the shadows.
"Raynee betrayed me and she betrayed you. As far as
I am concerned, the bitch gets what she deserves,"
he spoke, his words echoing cruely into the air. Ana gazed
at him a moment, wrapping her arms around her body as she
sat on the soft bed, "Then why do you stay with her?"
Loeki turned away, his hands laying against the cool window
sill as he hung his head in thought, "I don't want
to talk, Ana." "No Loeki, I want to know how you
can stay with a woman that you claim has betrayed you so
badly. How can you share her bed, how can you pretend to
love her child?" she asked, her words coming forth
more defiantly than she had intended. Anger rising in his
blood, he smashed his hand through the window before turning
to look at her. The cool night air blew in past them, rustling
the curtains around his tall frame. "I don't want to
talk about Raynee! I don't want to talk about the baby or
Epic! I came here for one thing, the one thing that has
kept me from thinking about my feelings or emotions these
past two years! Can we..." he shook his head, calming
the boiling frustration beneath his surface, "Can we
just not talk for one damn night?" She stared at him
silently, the shock in her body shown on her youthful face.
"I can't anymore, Loeki. I think I need to go now..."
she stated, standing and walking to the door as she buttoned
her shirt and grabbed for her jacket. Loeki advanced upon
her quickly, grabbing her arm as he pinned her back against
the wall. "I can't let you leave," he whispered,
his lips trailing gently along her neck. "You can't
make me stay," she replied, her body begining to visably
tremble against his touch. The blood from his hand dripped
softly onto the white shirt she wore, staining it crimson.
Her breathing became shallow, almost forced as she fought
to free herself from his grasp. "Loeki...please..."
she felt herself falling into him, fighting the urge to
give in yet again. "I could easily take what I wanted
from you, Ana," he began, pulling her body against
him as he wrapped her long legs around his waist, "No
one will hear you scream and no one will believe you. You've
been having an affair with me this long, who would think
that I would rape you now?" His words whispered hard
against her skin as his hand worked at her pants to free
them from her slender waist. "Loeki, I said stop!"
she yelled pushing hard at him as she slipped to the floor.
"Stop?" A wicked smile spread across his lips
as he pulled her to a stand, "I can't just stop...what
fun would I have then?" "You would have the satisfaction
of knowing that you didn't just rape yet another woman in
your life and that you weren't betraying your wife who obviously
loves you," she snapped, her anger finally boiling
to the surface. He stared at her for a long moment, allowing
her to pass away from his body as the tense silence in the
air grew heavily. "Ana.." "Don't." she
spoke hard, cutting his words off. "Fine, have it your
way," he replied, grabbing her by the throat and pulling
her to the bed. Tossing her upon it, he climbed on top of
her as his navy eyes gazed into her own. "You are the
only reason I come here, the only reason I stay in this
God forsaken city and now you want nothing to do with me
because the little voice in your head has finally caught
up with you. It doesn't work like this Ana...you and I are
connected." His lips found their way to her neck once
more as she winced, his touch much rougher than before.
Pushing him away, she met only with resistance, "Loeki,
get off me!" She yelled, slapping the back of her hand
across his jaw. Backing away, he touched the blood that
now trickled from the small cuts along his face. His eyes
grew dark, heavy with frustration and rage, "That wasn't
nice..." Loeki grabbed her wrists, pinning her hands
over her head as he sat on her hips. Finding no real escape,
Ana raised her head quickly butting it against his with
as much force as she could manage. Disoriented, Loeki released
his grasp and fell to his side, holding his head in pain.
Seeing her chance, she ran from the room with her jacket
still in hand.
"Damnit!"
she yelled, holding her hand as she backed away from the
window. A small burn was present on her palm, the skin marred
by the spiteful rays of the departing sun. "Raynee?
Are you ok?" She turned quickly, hearing the voice
from behind. Hiding her wounded hand behind her back, she
stared carefully at Sabine as she descended the last few
steps, "I am fine, go back to bed." "But
I heard you yell..." "Sabine, I am fine. Leave
me alone, she snapped, turning her back on the young woman
as she studied her hand. "You're not fine Raynee, I
can see how Loeki's departure has affected you. You don't
eat, you don't sleep...it's almost like you will yourself
to die over him," she replied, laying her hand along
Raynee's exposed shoulder. Shrugging the touch from her
skin, she turned to finally face Sabine, "Loeki does
not rule my life, nor will any man who should cross my path.
If you don't find my routine suitable, then maybe you should
find another home." Sabine stared at her as Raynee
brushed past, pouring herself a glass of water. "I'm
sorry...I didn't mean to upset you..." "You didn't
upset me, I just want to be alone for awhile," she
replied, taking short sips from the glass. The cool water
splashed against her lips, her mouth thirsting for more.
"It's been weeks, Raynee...Maybe you should consider
the fact that your husband is not returning," Sabine
began, her words searching for the right tone of sympathetic
wondering that she felt they deserved. Instead, Raynee found
them to be simply one more annoying question. "I find
that to be none of your business. Now, if you don't mind,
I believe I would like to be alone." Taking the hint,
Sabine left the older woman to her thoughts and retreated
back into her quiet bedroom at the end of the second floor.
Her hand still burning painfully, Raynee dipped it into
the glass of water as she leaned back onto the couch. She
closed her eyes for a brief moment before the slamming of
the front doors jolted her from her relaxed state. "Darling,
I'm home.." Loeki called out loudly, a wicked smile
spread across his lips. "Could you yell any louder!?"
she snapped, her hand quickly drawing away from the glass
of water to lay quivering in her lap. "Touchy..."
Loeki smirked, calmly hanging his coat as he stopped to
look at her a moment. *She squeezed her hand shut, her eyes
wanting to wince through the unbearable pain, but her body
forced them to remain open. She watched as Loeki lit a cigarette,
inhaling slowly as he seemed to drift in and out of reality.
Her pale eyes focused on the blood stains that adorned his
face and clothing, his look more disheveled than usual.
"I thought you had left," she began softly, remaining
calm though her emotions rose quickly by the second, "I
had your things packed and moved to the third floor. I could
not bare them in our bedroom any longer." His eyes
seemed to focus quickly as she spoke, his head turning slightly
as he took in each word. "Did you not recieve my message?
I told Sabine I would not be gone long and as I had promised,
I made it back for the birth," he replied. "And
where, may I ask, have you been all this time?" Loeki
stared at her for a long moment, the guilt he felt so heavily
now masked behind his soft navy eyes. He forced a smile
for her, his body trembling slightly just beneath the skin,
"On business, love. Just...business." He walked
away from her, climbing the staircase quickly. Raynee sat
in the quiet darkness, tears streaming along her pale cheeks.
She knew that he was lying, yet she had let him go again.
Ana stood in front of the mirror, the round lump on her
forehead standing out like a purple egg. She brushed her
hair lightly across it, wincing in pain. Her wrists bore
black bruises, the same that laid across her neck and legs.
Sighing heavily, she walked towards the large couch that
sat alone in the dark room and laid across it, hoping to
just be left alone for the night. Her eyes closed for a
few moments until they opened quickly in the realization
that she was alone. She stood and walked around the mansion
slowly, looking into each room with caution before proceeding
to the next. She found no one still, her heart racing with
the suspicions that quickly arose in her mind. Grabbing
her coat, she threw it around her arms as she walked from
the house and down the road. She pushed through the old
iron gates, venturing to the one place she had dared not
travel for so long. Her hand reached out shakily, knocking
gently against the solid wood of the door. She stepped back,
her emerald eyes drifting down as she waited for an answer.
"Raynee, I know this is the last person you want to
see and you are last on my list, trust me. But..."
her words fell short as her eyes drifted upwards, laying
across Loeki's grinning face. She stumbled backwards, stammering
on the words caught in the back of her throat. "Go
on..but what?" he asked with a delighted tone in his
voice, "But, you were just wondering where her husband
was because you made a mistake and you're sorry, so you
have come to apologize. Am I close?" Ana's eyes quickly
narrowed as she fought to keep her clenched fists at her
sides. "Go to hell, Loeki. I came here looking for
Epic." "Well, obviously he isn't here. Shall I
show you inside?" he stood aside, allowing her entrance
into the mansion. She stayed put, her body shaking lightly
against the cool wind that blew past them. "I'll pass.
Shouldn't you be upstairs with your wife right now living
your perfect little fantasy?" "Fantasy?"
he chuckled, shaking his head slowly, "Darling, if
this was my fantasy, my perfect little wife would have already
been dead and I wouldn't have to suffer with her night after
night." "Then why do you?" she posed the
question, waiting for his reaction. Loeki thought a moment,
his eyes growing a cold blue as he rubbed his chin, "Because
of my child." His reply was not what Ana had expected,
but she did not show her surprise. Instead, she pressed
him further, "Loeki, since when have you ever cared
for someone other than yourself?" She chuckled slightly,
delighting herself in the fact of how easily she could taunt
him. "I care about you, don't I?" he smirked,
stepping closer to where she stood. Ana's arms wrapped tightly
around her, her eyes drifting away from his face, "No
Loeki, you care about power, money and sex. You don't care
for anyone. In fact, I believe you are only with Raynee
so that you can get to her money, maybe even home."
Her eyes lifted now, a new defiance seen burning inside.
Loeki stared at her, a hand running through his mess of
hair as he sighed lightly. "You're right Ana, I do
like power and what man doesn't enjoy sex? But what makes
you think I would live this nightmare just to get ahold
of a few million dollars and a mansion that has already
been remodeled once?" She leaned against a wooden post
as he spoke, her mind running quickly as his words sunk
into her. "A few million?" she chuckled hard,
covering her mouth and shaking her head slightly, "Then
obviously you know nothing about your wife. Really Loeki,
I thought you would have done a little research before marrying
her." "What are you talking about?" he asked
calmly, controling his frustration as best he could. "I'm
talking about the fact that Raynee has more than just a
few million stashed away. You don't think she got away with
nothing after two marriages and a tryst with Darkmoore,
do you?" He rolled his hand, waiting for her to continue
as he crossed his arms over his chest lightly. "When
Raynee killed her first husband, she got away with all of
his money. It was a nice chunk that allowed her and Morph
to move back to the states and buy this mansion. Her marriage
to that idiot Faron resulted in a nice sum as well when
they finally divorced. Then, between the many boyfriends
and milkmen, Raynee had a little fun with Darkmoore. He
paid for her time and she accepted. Thus, your wife has
quite the little stash somewhere. I'm not sure if Morpheus
even knows where it is," she replied with a small sigh,
rolling her eyes.
"That's very...interesting," Loeki said, stepping
towards her as he pushed himself away from the door frame,
"I'll be sure to bring that up at our next family dinner."
Ana smirked, turning away from Loeki as she stretched, "You
do that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be getting
home." "What about Epic?" "What about
him?" she asked quickly. Loeki shook his head, looking
past her into the vast land of the mansion grounds, "I
thought you came here to look for him was all." "I
did, but obviously he is not here, so he will return sooner
or later. Besides, why should I stay? Although I find this
conversation enlightening, I'm sure we both have better
things we could be doing," she replied, stepping off
the porch and planting her feet firmly on the hard pavement
of the driveway. Loeki nodded, watching as Ana disappeared
into the thick darkness that had begun to surround them.
He stepped inside and closed the door quietly, looking at
Raynee as she slept on the couch. He smiled gently to himself,
stepping closer to her before kneeling and touching her
stomach gently. His fingertips ran under the smooth material
of her shirt, caressing her skin lightly. He smiled once
more, but pulled himself away and stood. Saddness filled
his navy eyes as he fought with the new sense of guilt he
felt. He shook his head slightly, sighing softly into the
darkness of the room. He had lied to Ana and himself, blaming
Raynee for all of the things he had pushed her to do. Giving
himself a reason to feel good about his affair, allowing
himself to betray her. He clenched his fists, growing angry
at how easily he had come to manipulate his own feelings.
Loeki pondered in the darkness while she slept, staring
at her from a distant chair where he now sat. He caressed
her image in his mind, turning over the thoughts that arose
until he had come to a conclusion. He loved Raynee...
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