Chapter 36
For the next 2 hours, Mark dominated his wife in every possible way, keeping her from touching him, taking complete control. He thoroughly fucked her the way she wanted, begged, craved and Brooklynn enjoyed every second of it. That was more like it! This is what their honeymoon should've been like. The animal inside of him had come out and left fingerprint bruises on her hips, thighs, and Brooklynn was pretty certain her pussy was bruised or broken. It was deliciously achy between her thighs as they both came down from their intense sexual high. She was sprawled on the bed, trying not to pass out and he simply watched her, his own heart thundering against his chest and in his ears. Lovemaking was all well and fine, she enjoyed being soft with him, but sometimes, like now, a woman just had to be thoroughly pounded and controlled in the bedroom by her man.
"I love you so much, Mark." She murmured, stroking his face and chest with sparkling amber orbs.
"I love you too, Brooklynn." She hadn't cum that hard for him in… well, if he were being honest, and he didn't want to because it was quite a blow to his already damaged ego, in years. Brooklynn always got off, he knew she did, but not like THAT. He had been both royally screwing this up and missing out for these last years. "I'm an idiot…"
He sighed, running a hand down his sweat-soaked face, popping an eye open to look at her. She looked good and fucked properly, hair haphazard, skin reddened and drenched in sweat. She had bite marks, bruises, all of it… Mark smirked slightly.
"No you're not, stop that."
Brooklynn pushed herself up to softly brush her lips against his and caressed his face, knowing they would be hitting the road later than Steve and Trish. Both needed a shower BADLY. There was no way they were driving for 12 hours, or however long, after the extensive workout they just had without showering first.
"I should've been honest with you. Don't get me wrong, I love how soft and tender you are with me. Making love and taking our time to feel and explore isn't an issue. I just…I wanted that fire and passion back we once had, and I never want you to be afraid to show a different side of yourself to me. I love all of you, every piece, got it?"
"Yeah, woman, I got it," He grumbled good-naturedly, rolling his emerald green eyes down at her and snorted when she slapped him again. "That the best you got, Brooklynn?" He teased huskily. Idiot. She was talking about both of Us.
NOW he was going to sleep. Taker didn't have eyes to roll, but he was still rolling them, even as he drifted off.
"Come on, let's grab a shower and then a bit of sleep before we go." They had time for a power nap, Brooklynn looked like she needed it. She looked… exhausted, actually.
Four hours later, they were on the road for their trip with Brooklynn snuggled against Mark's side and his arm around her. Steve and Trish were 2 hours ahead of them, so they wouldn't be able to meet up with them. They assured Brooklynn and Mark the kids would be in separate rooms since Steve splurged for a suite with multiple rooms for the night. It was nice being alone with Mark for a change and spending time with him. Brooklynn felt as if she was reconnected with him, the same way she did Taker, which splintered her heart even more because she couldn't choose between them.
A knock sounded at Claira's door later that night, followed by opening it and smiled at her sheepish looking boyfriend. "Can't sleep?"
"Not really, no. Looks like you're having the same problem." Seth padded over to her, wearing red pajama bottoms and a white beater, his shoulder-length curly black hair hanging down.
"Did Trish and Steve let you in here?"
He smirked devilishly, sliding a finger down her cheek to her lips. "They're fast asleep, beautiful."
Actually, they were out cold, thanks to a sleeping spell that wouldn't wake them until morning.
"I-I see…"
Claira swallowed hard, feeling nervous all of a sudden and watched Seth join her in bed, his dark chocolate eyes not leaving her for a second. Why did she get butterflies in her stomach whenever she stared into his eyes? There was so much intensity and heat between them, she felt as though she might explode and accepted a soft kiss from him.
"Do it, boy, claim what is yours…"
Seth deepened the kiss, not realizing they were being watched by the very same dark entity that had watched Brooklynn and Taker. "Claira, I love you…" He murmured huskily, guiding them both to lay down on the bed and pulled her leg to drape over his, wanting her close to him.
Claira had to catch her breath, nodding. "I know. I love you too, Seth." As much as a 16-year-old could love, anyway.
"So let me prove it…" His mouth trailed down her jaw to her neck, rolling them to where he hovered over her and let her feel his erection. "I know you're scared, I am too, but we love each other and people who love each other have sex. I'm a virgin just like you…" He watched her cheeks tinge pink, smiling. "Please Claira, I want you so fucking bad, baby…"
It was tempting, especially with Trish and Steve fast asleep. Her boyfriend was sexy and confident, even being a virgin, but…once again, something was holding her back. "I want you too, but…"
"But what?"
Claira shook her head, pushing him back a little to where she could sit up and regain her bearings. "I told you I'm not ready…please don't push this on me…" Pressuring her wouldn't get him between her legs any faster, at least with his dick.
Seth sighed heavily, wondering if they'd get another opportunity like this where they were completely alone and scrubbed a hand down his face. "I'm not trying to pressure you, Claira…" At the same time, he could only eat her pussy so much and be sucked off so much before wanting actual sex. "Are you afraid I'll leave you if we have sex?"
"No…" Maybe. A little. She didn't know.
"Then what is holding you back from doing this with me?"
"I'm just not ready." Claira couldn't explain the feeling of DREAD that washed over her every time sex was brought up. "I love you and I enjoy being with you, Seth, but…sex isn't happening. I'm sorry…"
Nodding, Seth knew better than to push the topic with her and sat back on his haunches, not believing how stubborn she was being about this. "Alright…I think I should go back to my room then. You're too tempting…and I don't wanna push you into something you're not ready for." He kissed her again softly, tenderly, and reluctantly pulled away. "Get some sleep, see you in the morning, beautiful." He left the room, scowling darkly and stalked back to his own, not believing what a cock tease his girlfriend was.
Letting out a slow, shaky breath, Claira got up and moved to deadbolt her door. She had waited until he was hopefully out of hearing, not wanting to offend him, but there would not be a repeat of that. She wanted Seth sure, but… just not THAT, not right NOW. Even while her young, hormonally confused body was screaming at her for IT, there was this quiet but firm voice in the back of her head telling her not to do it. She didn't know why, but that voice, it was reassuring, if not stern, and she followed it.
It was probably a very good thing Claira had traveled with Trish and Steve because otherwise, she'd hear her mother screaming. Mark had gotten the message loud and clear, not disappointing and given her exactly what she wanted. He even throttled her, just like Taker, making her pussy gush for him, surrendering her body to him in every way. Mark had put up a sound barrier or else the police would've been called from how loud they were, though there was nothing to be done about the headboard smacking the wall harshly during their session. The best part was Mark had started it this time, not giving her much of a choice and there were zero complaints from her. Now if they did sex this rough constantly, it would be an issue, but at least there wouldn't be strictly soft lovemaking for the next half of their lives either.
A flash of light brought Brooklynn back to that garden, the same one she had met Julia in and this time her sister was waiting for her. "Julia…"
"Brooklynn…" They embraced tightly and she pulled back, frowning. "Claira's in trouble, my sister."
"What?" That was the LAST thing Brooklynn expected to hear. "What do you mean?"
"The darkness…I still don't know what it is, but…I know what it wants. It wants your daughter. Claira. She's in trouble and you must protect her. If you don't…something terrible will be unleashed on this world."
"But what does Claira have to do with this?"
"Claira is the KEY to everything, Brooklynn." Julia needed her to understand, taking Brooklynn's hands in hers to squeeze them. "She is the key. That's all I know. The darkness that's coming wants her…needs her…"
Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest now, seeing the urgency and fear in her twin's golden-brown eyes. "I-I don't…Claira is the key because of her powers or…?"
Julia nodded, tears burning her eyes. "She is a rare child gifted with two different powers, Brooklynn. Do you understand? She is RARE and PURE. You must protect her, you, Mark and Undertaker."
Her eyes widened upon hearing that. "But how did you…?"
Julia smiled sadly, caressing her sister's face with the back of her hand. "Just because I'm not always here doesn't mean I don't see what's going on. I know what you've been doing, and I understand why you haven't told Mark the truth. You love them both. And they love you just as much. Undertaker has…changed, because of you. Because you've opened yourself up to him and he will protect you and Claira. They both will."
Tears poured out of Brooklynn's eyes. "I don't know what to do, Julia. I don't know how to choose between them, or if I even can…I'm so lost and I love them both the same. How do I decide? Taker wants to take over Mark's body permanently and I can't lose Mark again. But I can't lose Taker either, which is why I've been protecting him. Tell me what to do."
"Oh sister, I can't tell you what to do about that. I wish I had all the answers, but I don't. You will figure it out. You will find out who you can live with and who you can't live without." She winced, pulling back and sighed heavily, looking up at the sky. "I have to go now. Remember what I said – protect Claira. She is the key."
"No, Julia please don't go! I have so many questions and I'm so confused, I don't know what to do anymore! Please come back!"
"I will be back in time…goodbye for now, Brooklynn…" Julia vanished, the garden scenery going with it and Brooklynn was in pitch black darkness, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Jesus Christ son, you eat as much as I do."
It was probably a good thing Mark had slipped him some extra money. At the time, Steve had been confused, Mark had laughed and said wait until meal times. Claira ate like a horse, she had a metabolism most women would kill for. Seth ate like three goddamn racehorses fresh off the track.
"He's a growing boy, Uncle Steve." Claira laughed. The rest of her night, she had slept like she was dead. The incident from last night had faded into just another heated memory.
"I'm sorry." Seth apologized, looking embarrassed.
"Steve… be nice, you eat like you're starving all the time too." Trish scolded gently, sipping her tea.
Brooklynn didn't get any more sleep after that dream and had been up since the crack of dawn, sitting out on the balcony trying to make sense of Julia's warning. What did she mean by Claira being the key to everything? The key to the darkness? That was very unsettling, and she had to talk to Mark/Taker about this. Hopefully, Taker hadn't gone completely dormant because this was something he NEEDED to know. Around 8 AM, Mark finally stirred out of a restful slumber and Brooklynn turned her head to look at him, so much worry and concern in her eyes.
"Good, you're up. Go do your business and then we REALLY need to talk. Do you want coffee? I want coffee. I'm gonna get some coffee." She might've been on a caffeine high right now to keep herself awake, her words all coming out in a rush and stood up from the bed to make another pot of coffee.
Mark didn't let her get very far, waking up almost instantly because Brooklynn didn't usually act like a hummingbird spaz first thing in the morning. He pulled her right back into the bed with him, trapping her beneath a massive thigh. "What's going on?" He demanded, his voice husky from just waking up, but still alert. "You're aura is all over the goddamn place, what happened?"
"I-It wasn't you…it wasn't you. It's not you the darkness is after, whatever this thing is." Brooklynn had been holding back tears and couldn't do it any longer, true fear swimming in her golden eyes. "It's Claira. Julia came to me again last night and told me the darkness is after Claira. She's…she's the key to everything…and we have to protect her. She couldn't tell me anything more than that, only that Claira is in danger. So we need to get to her before something bad happens…" Trish and Steve wouldn't be able to stop the danger either because they're powers were all in the mind. "It was targeting her this whole time and I didn't know it…"
"Are you absolutely certain? Because this wouldn't be the first time a spirit, or demon, has toyed with you and misled you. We're not panicking Claira unless we know for a fact. I can ward her for protection. Or Mickie can. Why hasn't Trish had a vision? She always has visions. Or John and his automatic writing. It sounds like you're the only one being shown things. By Julia. Why not the others? They would have heard whispers at the very least. Like Randy.
Brooklynn's head was spinning because she couldn't tell who was who right now, pushing Mark off her. He moved willingly or else she'd still be pinned beneath him, tearing a shaky hand through her hair. Truth be told, Brooklynn had the same thought at first, but why would the darkness, or whatever this was coming after them, warn her and tell her what to do?
Protect Claira, trust your instincts, trust yourself… "We're keeping our daughter with us from now on. She is not traveling with anyone else except us and…you need to give her back her powers, Mark." Taker would agree with that and he could help her hone those skills since she knew he was awake again. Her fear and aura must've woken him from his dormant state. She held her hand up before he could protest. "And you need to give her a Familiar. She needs protection while at school. I don't know what this thing is, but…I'm trusting my instincts and they're telling me Claira is in trouble." Actually, she'd been feeling that way for quite a while and had no idea why. "If you want to find the 'cure' after this is settled, and the darkness is destroyed, fine. But right now, her powers could be the very fucking thing that saves her life. As for the others, I have no idea why they haven't sensed anything. Maybe this thing has a protection on it to prevent you or Mickie or anyone in the circle from sensing its presence." That was a huge possibility. "Julia told me that, if we don't stop this, if we don't protect Claira, something terrible will be unleashed on this world. It isn't just us at stake – this is the WORLD at stake. This is serious…like Nemesis serious."
"You don't just GIVE a Familiar. They CHOOSE you. And finding one like this isn't going to happen. I'll Unbind her powers, but she's not trained and you have to consider that it may be her powers that destroy everything in a fit of fear or temper. Like you're having right now." Right now both personalities were kind of merged and it was weird, uncomfortable; Taker didn't like it. "It takes YEARS of training."
"Then how are we supposed to protect her? We can't keep her out of school for this! So, unless we find this darkness and destroy it before Spring Break ends, we're SUNK!" Brooklynn felt lightheaded suddenly, swaying and touched her forehead, feeling Mark catch her before she hit the floor. Caffeine crash. "Fuck…"
Brooklynn hadn't eaten anything with all the coffee she had consumed and now her body was starting to reject it. Stress and worry combined with it…she bolted to the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet before vomiting, tears streaming down her cheeks. Putting a protection spell on Claira while at school would NOT stop this darkness, she knew it, especially if this thing couldn't be sensed by any of the circle.
Taker had asserted himself and was behind her. He watched as she heaved her guts out, frowning and waited until Brooklynn had cleaned herself up before waving a hand. "Sleep." When she dropped, he caught her, carrying her out to the bed. He'd let Mark drive today.
Brooklynn wasn't going to have panic attacks in the car, not happening. Mark made a call to Steve, alerting him that he needed to be a bit more cautious, pop into heads of everyone new that came their way. Also, he asked him to check in with Trish, see if anything new had popped up on her vision. They'd deal with this when they joined up with the circle, which wasn't much longer.