Talia_Sleeping Beauty Retold Read online

  I bet she’d keep me busy moving the furniture in her bedroom the whole night. Everybody knows Adva stays far away from men.

  I laugh. “I’m busy tonight.”

  “Busy plotting how to kiss more lipstick off Talia’s lips?” Her voice is part serious part coated with humour.

  “You always poke your nose into other people’s affairs, Adva.”

  “This is my job as a grandmother.” She loops her arm through mine as we saunter towards the clubhouse. “Talia needs a good husband, Micah.”

  “All the girls will need husbands soon.”

  “All the girls except Talia need to say bye-bye to that tyrant who’s their father.”

  I erupt into laughter. “Kadmiel is just trying to keep them alive.”

  “Yeah, really? If he could, he would forbid them to grow up. But returning to the main point of our conversation.” She stops and looks up at me. “Take Talia as yours. She’s come of age. She’s ready.”

  “I need to speak to Kadmiel first. He’s my president.”

  “So you’re not denying that you have feelings for my granddaughter?”

  “You old witch—“

  “I just want to know the facts.” She rises on her tiptoes, pulling my arm down and planting a kiss on my cheek. “Take Talia without being permitted. Kadmiel won’t allow you to take her any time this millennium.”

  “I need to think about it.”

  “Just a piece of advice from a friend.”

  She walks off.

  I stay outside the clubhouse for a few minutes, wondering what just happened. Am I really thinking about marrying my Talia?

  I am. I’m her only chance for some normality in life.

  What if she was like her sisters? What if she had a choice in life?

  She doesn’t. I feel like my stomach is filling with something cold and slimy. I’m Talia’s only choice. Does that make me a good or a bad man? Or just a lonely old man who wants a woman by his side?

  I’m more than six hundred years old. I feel old even though I don’t age and I look about twenty-five in human terms.

  I’m lonely as hell and it gets worse with each year that passes. I want to love as passionately as Kadmiel loves his wife. I envy him sometimes. I want kids. I want boring life problems.

  I step into the building that’s been my home for all these years. My eyes meet Kadmiel’s grey ones from across the room and I feel like I’m violating the peace of his family.

  I drop into the couch beside my president. He hands me a bottle of beer, contentment written on his face. Rive must be sleeping upstairs, totally exhausted. Kadmiel usually comes down to have a snack and goes back to her at once. He’ll have beer with us once or twice a month. Right, he has a family, and we haven’t.

  “The spells are okay?” he asks.

  “Each in a perfect condition.”

  He looks over his shoulder. We’re the only occupants of the room.

  “Theo and I had a chat,” he starts.

  “About this new recipe for moonshine?”

  “No.” Kadmiel takes a sip of his beer. “He came to ask me for Talia’s hand in marriage.”

  I whistle. “Really?” Rage creeps into my veins like venom.

  Chapter 3

  Micah

  “I told that motherfucker to stay away from my little girl,” Kadmiel says. “I’ll fucking smash him if he lays his hands on my daughter.” He nods several times. “You wouldn’t like an old git to touch your little daughter, would you?”

  “I have no daughters—“

  “They are my little girls. No man will ever touch them.”

  I don’t comment. Instead, we drink beer in silence.

  Theo walks in, shaking off dry leaves.

  “No demon activity?” Kadmiel asks.

  “Nope,” Theo says. “Just owls, deer, and foxes. I’ll grab something to eat and clear off.”

  “Rive left some sandwiches in the fridge,” Kadmiel says.

  Theo nods and goes to the kitchen through the door next to the flank of the bar counter.

  Talia

  I wake up and feel like my heart is dying. Dense velvety darkness layers the room. My throat is dry. My stomach twists and flutters. I get up, grab my kimono robe and put it on, replacing my dress. The ghosts’ whispers bang against my brain like stones.

  “Shut up,” I moan. “Shut up for once.”

  I need Micah more than ever. I want him to embrace me and make me feel normal.

  I walk out of my bedroom and go along the arched corridor illuminated by the candles placed in niches. The coldness from the floor penetrates my naked feet. Two metal pillars rise in front of me as always. I touch each of them and reach the stairs. The male voices drift up to me as I go downstairs to the bar. As I enter it, three pairs of eyes glance at me.

  “Looking for something?” Dad says.

  “I just wanted a glass of orange juice,” I say.

  “So why won’t you take it from the kitchen upstairs?” Dad says.

  “Dad,” I groan.

  He’s right to be honest. We use the kitchen by the bar only during our family celebrations. The two fridges there are always stuffed with some sandwiches and drinks though.

  “What?” Dad turns his face to Micah who’s sitting beside him. “The girls are like fleas. Wherever you are they’re there with you.”

  Theo lifts himself from the couch and hurries behind the bar to pour me a glass of juice.

  I drop into the couch between my dad and Micah.

  God, how badly I want to kiss Micah again. I stare at his profile, drinking in every detail. Theo hands me the glass and winks at me then sits in the armchair. Our glances meet and heaviness sits on my chest. Theo is so caring with me. Silently caring, and he’s waiting patiently.

  His grey brooding eyes burn like a hail cloud. He threads his fingers through his short black hair and flashes me a smile. His skin glows like white marble.

  “Drink your juice and go to bed,” Dad says.

  “I’m an adult,” I snap. “I can sit at the bar if I fancy.”

  “Since when?” Dad tosses my hair then leans over me and kisses the top of my head.

  “Dad.” I shove his arm away and sip my juice.

  “I’ll walk you to your bedroom,” Micah says.

  “And lock her up,” Dad says, “so she won’t wander round the clubhouse.”

  Micah salutes him and we rise to our feet.

  “I should go patrolling,” Theo says as Dad bows his head.

  I pull forward and go first as Micah follows closely behind me. My skin prickles. My body burns, pleading for his touch.

  I stop in front of the door and turn to face him.

  “Thank you for walking me to my bedroom,” I say.

  Micah chuckles and shakes his head. “You should rest. You’ll be very tired tomorrow.”

  “Today. It’s after midnight.”

  “Today.”

  I step back and pull the door handle. The door creaks open.

  “See you later,” I say, turning my face to him. My heart is thumping in my ears.

  “See you later, baby girl.”

  My heart sinks. He doesn’t want to kiss me again.

  I drop my head and sigh. As I turn around to enter my bedroom, a hand shoves me inside and travels to the back of my neck. The door slams shut. Two hands turn me abruptly and I sway as a hot hungry mouth covers mine.

  “I can’t stay,” Micah says into my mouth.

  “I know.”

  We move towards the bed as his arms wrap around me, and his mouth devours mine, hot and wet. Stars twirl in my head. His tongue takes possession of my mouth. His tongue fucks my mouth. I fall onto the bed and Micah’s on top of me. His lips move down and he plants kisses along the side of my neck. His hand touches my breast and he squeezes it.

  “I have to go, Talia.”

  “I know.”

  My ankles cross over his back as my hands dive under his t-shirt and I run them up and down
the scars left after his angel wings were chopped off.

  He shivers under my touch as his masculine smell wakes something primal inside me.

  “Talia,” he rasps into my ear.

  His lips are on mine again as his muscular frame crushes mine. He rubs his erection against my crotch.

  My skin tingles. My pussy pulses with need. I feel my arousal wetting my panties.

  Micah pulls himself up. “Sleep.”

  “Okay.” My mind is in a daze.

  Micah clears his throat. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  “Today.”

  “Today.”

  “Okay.”

  “Sweet dreams, baby girl.”

  I watch him sneak out of the bedroom. As he closes the door behind him, I cover my face with my palms.

  I’m deliriously happy.

  Then I’m scared like never before.

  I roll in bed and fall asleep as the day is about to dawn. The first sun’s rays slide over my face, tearing me out of my dream and I open my eyes.

  Thoughts bombard my head.

  He kissed me. He touched me.

  My lips are still burning from his kisses. That means I’m a woman to him.

  I crawl off the bed, my mind filled with euphoria, but the ghosts’ voices seep into my head, taking away my good mood.

  “Shut up,” I growl as the smell of graveyard envelops me—moss, rot, old bones.

  He broke my legs.

  I don’t want to live.

  I don’t want to die.

  The rough whispers drill into my brain like nails.

  I step into the shower cabin, brushing my teeth at the same time. My surroundings turn grey. The water from the showerhead warms my body, but the ghosts’ presence lowers the temperature, causing my mouth to let out a cloud of vapour. A hand clutches my shoulder. An icy cold hand. My eyes travel to it. The hand is partially covered in decay, black nails dissecting; the rest of the skin is tinged with yellowish pallor and marked by purple spots. My body stiffens as my eyes travel higher to meet two hollow universes that once were a woman’s eyes. Her dead lips don’t move, but her voice resounds in my mind like a warning.

  “Stay away from Micah.”

  A primal scream leaves my mouth as my wings appear on my back.

  Micah

  A soft sound comes to my ears then two creaks follow. I turn off the water in the shower cabin and grab the towel then slip into my jeans. Kicking the bathroom door open, I step out into my bedroom and my eyes travel to the form trembling on my bed.

  “Talia,” I say both in surprise and in anger.

  She’s fucking naked. Water’s dripping from her hair as her wings barely cover her curves.

  “She...” Her voice trembles as the muscles of her neck tense up.

  Her hands rise dramatically and she tries to say something but struggles to articulate it.

  “Calm down, baby girl.” I approach my wardrobe and take one of my t-shirts out. “Pull it on.” I throw the t-shirt at her.

  Talia hides her wings and I look at her naked body as she pulls the t-shirt on. She’s slim, but curvy in all the right places, just as I imagined. Her breasts are large, topped with pink areolas, nipples erect.

  Her breasts plead for me to kiss them and suck them.

  I’ve never seen a female angel, but Talia must be the most unique of them all.

  “So,” I start.

  “She...”

  “The ghost?”

  Talia nods and sits on her heels. “She looked horrible, all decaying and cold and she smelled of graveyard.”

  I perch on the edge of the bed and Talia clings to me, her body shivering against mine. I’m stunned.

  No—

  I’m so hard my mind gets blurry.

  I need to compose myself. “She’s gone, baby girl.”

  Talia softens against me.

  As my haziness wears off a bit, I push her gently away and lay my hands on her shoulders. “You shouldn’t sneak into my bedroom like this, Talia.”

  She shouldn’t tempt me like this, not until I figure out how to deal with Kadmiel and Theo. I owe my president my respect.

  “I thought...” Tears trickle down her cheeks.

  “Alright. Forget it.”

  “Can I stay here with you for a moment?”

  “I have some business to do today.” I’m going to sell some moonshine to earn money for the club.

  “You said—“

  “I said we’d talk. And we will.”

  Not now though. She’s too naked, too irresistible, too distracting. I’m an animal driven by an elemental instinct around her.

  We need to talk about Theo and about us. I almost fucked her in the night. We need to talk about this so I need to have a cool head.

  “Can someone else do the business?” she shrieks. “Stay with me.”

  “What about Theo? He’s off today. Maybe he could stay with you?” I can’t help it but anger seeps into my voice at the sound of his name rolling off my tongue.

  Talia nods at me, her face stripped of emotion, which pisses me off. My chest feels like a real fire has seized it from the inside. I think this is what jealousy feels like. Funny, I’ve never been jealous.

  “Theo wants to marry you,” I say abruptly.

  “I—“

  “Is there something between you and him?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “You should have told me so I wouldn’t have laid my hands on my friend’s woman.”

  “I’m not Theo’s woman.” She stiffens, her eyes fixed on mine. “I’m just pregnant with him.”

  I feel like I’m speeding down into a chasm as her words hammer in my head. Then rage erupts inside of me and floods every molecule of my being.

  “You’re fucking what?” I jump off the bed.

  “Three weeks pregnant.”

  “You turned eighteen only four months ago.”

  “It happened just once. I was really upset and he… he…”

  Talia

  Three weeks earlier.

  The ghosts’ whispers torment me so much I throw up. Their laments are bombarding my brain like stones. Hurting my brain like stones—he chopped off my fingers, he clawed my eye out, he raped me, she strangled me, she put four bullets into my heart.

  I grab my head in both my hands and find myself in the boys’ kitchen.

  “Talia,” Theo says from behind me.

  I start sobbing. “I can’t… I can’t… Help me.”

  “Micah is on a business trip.” His arms wrap around me from behind. “What can I do for you, sweetheart?”

  “Help me, please.”

  He drops into the chair and pulls me onto his lap, stroking my head and my back. He whispers soothing words, warm words and his energy fills me, envelops me like a shawl.

  “They endured horrible things,” I gasp.

  “I know.”

  His palm is on my cheek. His lips brush against my temple. Hot. Distracting. And I need to be distracted so much.

  Then his lips are on mine.

  I don’t protest.

  I take this relief he’s offered me and I stop thinking.

  Chapter 4

  Micah

  “Get out of my room.” It just pours out of me.

  “Micah,” she shrieks.

  “Get out.”

  A loud banging on the door makes me look over my shoulder.

  “Fuck off whoever you are,” I roar.

  The door handle screeches, and a tall figure walks in. My glance meets Theo’s.

  “You still owe me one grand, motherfucker,” Theo growls then turns his head and locks his eyes on Talia.

  We freeze for a split second. The atmosphere in the room thickens as he sweeps his eyes over Talia then over me. Talia manages a desperate sigh as our internal warriors awake. No words are necessary. No emotions are allowed. Our primal instincts clash then our bodies clench. We tumble towards the window and outside, breaking the glass. I feel weightless for a second
then my back hits the ground. The impact knocks the air out of my lungs. Theo’s body crushes mine and blackness covers my vision. His hand grabs my throat and I know this is a fight to the death.

  There is no me. There’s the instinct of a killer, cold precision, perfect motion.

  We roll on the grassy ground and I escape Theo’s grip. We jump to our feet and clash again.

  Talia

  I run as fast as I can. With my hand sliding against the railing, I jump down the metal stairs that fall from the balcony to the ground. I’m like a gazelle. My heart pounds in my chest. As my feet touch the concrete in front of the boys’ part of the clubhouse, my eyes travel to Micah and Theo standing opposite each other on the grass. I cover my mouth with my hand as they clash.

  It’s all my fault.

  I know nobody will come to separate them.

  The air is thick with the primal energy of Theo’s and Micah’s warriors. The unchangeable sizzles. The unstoppable whips me. They’ve made their choices and my dad will respect that.

  Two warriors. One honourable fight. Only one will stay alive. My angel knows that.

  I can only watch.

  Their violent growls rip my heart apart.

  The world around them stops and turns quiet. There are only the sounds of punches, sweeps, and kicks. A perfect dance of brutality. Blood splashing like scarlet poison. Two ultimate predators. Broken fingers, bleeding noses, swollen eyes.

  An arm broken. Micah’s. Then Theo’s.

  I turn and hide my face in my hands.

  The sound of the torn tissues courses through me like a cold arrow.

  One of them is dead. I can hear his final breath then just the memory of it is still wheezing in my mind.

  A hand grips my shoulder and turns me. My glance meets Micah’s. He raises his other hand and hooks the back of my neck.

  “I take you,” he rasps, blood spurting from his nose.

  The coldness in his voice scares me to death.

  “I take you as my wife,” he growls, guarding his broken arm. “You are mine.”

  I bend as a wail comes out of my mouth, but Micah pulls me up and the violent blaze in his eyes makes me fall silent. Then I feel it. It’s the chain strangling my being and making Micah and me become one. The others start to gather around us and my eyes travel to Theo’s body lying on the ground in a pond of blood. His throat is ripped out, eyes wide, limbs thrown in grotesque positions.