Love Lies Dying (22 page)

The gazebo they were married in was not as large as this one, but on that day it was his whole world. They had been so happy then, kissing under the gazebo in the gardens just outside Parkhurst. They had been married in the full-blown heat of summer and neither of them had sweated so much in their lives. Family and friends had swarmed all around them, making the stifling heat even more unbearable. He remembered Helen saying that she hoped someone had given them an air-conditioner as a wedding present.

John smiled as he stood and stared out at the tennis court.

So happy then.

But this was totally different. There was no heat surrounding him now. In fact, it was the opposite. He had begun to shiver.

Oh, Helen,
he thought.
I hope you’re okay. Hang in there. I’m coming for you.

He walked down the steps of the gazebo and took one last look around him.

I’ve got to get back,
he thought.
Zoe will wonder what’s happened to me.

As he walked towards the path to take him back to the church, something caught his eye.

He turned his head sharply to the right and took two steps backwards.

At the end of the tennis court, just past the tree-line, he spotted something at ground level shining in the darkness. Slowly, he turned and walked towards it. As he came closer, he could tell the security lights were reflecting off the metal surface of the object.

When he was just five feet away, he realised what it was.

It was a large metal cross, half-buried in the ground.

Seventeen

John stared at the cross and a chill sliced up his body.

He couldn’t work out why it affected him so deeply. After all, he was standing in a churchyard. But perhaps it was the sight of another metal cross next to the one he had seen, and one next to
that,
which had caused him the chill.

He turned his head from side to side and realised there was a whole row of crosses bordering the edge of the old tennis court.

And directly in the middle of them was another path.

Weighing the options of whether to follow the path or go straight back to the church, John decided that five minutes more outside making sure everything was okay was worth it.

He stepped over the crosses and onto the path.

As he walked he realised that the path was lined with metal crosses on both sides. They were all evenly spaced apart, one every four feet. Some still stood erect, while others had toppled over and were lying on the ground.

No one’s been looking after this part of the churchyard for a long time,
John thought.
Not like the gazebo in the tennis court.

The further down the path he walked, the darker it became. The lights from the tennis court could just penetrate this far.

His mind continually demanded he turn around and head back for the church. Just as he was about to do just that, the path terminated at an old iron gate in a half-standing wire fence. The gate was rusted and had fallen off its hinges. John had to lift it out of his way to continue.

As his eyes became accustomed to the half-light in the area, John could easily make out where he was.

The small metal crosses gave way to large stone ones which sat atop concrete graves. He surveyed the area and could count over two dozen graves, most with stone crosses, but some with wooden ones and others with gravestones as well. The graves were arranged in two semi-circles, both facing the gateway John had just entered.

The earth smelled different here and the air seemed dank. John rubbed his arms to keep himself warm as he peered around the crosses and headstones, looking for anyone who could be hiding amongst them.

Everything looked darkly charred, but he wasn’t sure if that was a trick of his mind or whether the earth around the cemetery was actually burnt. He bent down and ran his hand over the dirt nearby. It came away black and sticky.

While he knelt, John’s eyes focussed on six small mounds of earth directly in front of him. These mounds formed a third semi-circle in the cemetery, but none of these had headstones or crosses.

And they looked freshly dug.

“Fox’s business associates?” John mumbled. “I wonder…”

Near the mounds were what looked like deep tyre marks. John reached out slowly to touch the closest one.

 And then the lights went out.

The twilight that surrounded the cemetery now turned into pitch black. John stood and rubbed his hand on the back of his jeans before turning around and stretching out his hands to feel for the gate.

This is the last place you want to be in the dark and with no flashlight,
he thought.

After finding the gate, he slowly made his way back up the path, occasionally walking into the metal crosses as he went. At least the crosses served as a directional device and allowed him to stay on the path.

Gotta keep calm and make it back safely,
he thought.
Because if I don’t I’ll lose it completely.

He reached the tennis court after what seemed like an eternity. The floodlights reactivated as he approached and the whole area was again brilliantly lit. Not wanting to be side-tracked again, John marched straight across the court and continued up the other path to the church.

Enough of this,
he thought.
I can check it all out again when the sun rises.

The area around the church was dark as he approached, but as he stepped from the path, the church security lights activated once more.

His eyes swung from side to side and he continued to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. He found nothing.

The smell of smoke was stronger now and John could see it rising above the chimney.

He reached the church door, opened it and stepped inside.

Safe!

The warmth hit him immediately, in stark contrast to the cold night air outside. Gone was the cold and stale air of the church. Instead, it was filled with the crackling sounds of an open fire and a slightly smoky smell. The chill John had been feeling dissipated immediately as he closed the door behind him.

He turned and stared into the church.

Zoe was lying on the floor next to the fireplace.

Naked.

Her body was stretched out along the floor. The light from the fire danced across her stomach and legs, and reflected in the diamond snug in her belly button. She looked warm and tender and the dancing flames made her body look alive even though she was quite still.

Zoe was lying parallel with the fireplace and wall. John could see her legs, stomach and breasts, but that was all. The rest of her body was hidden from view.

Her legs were spread wide apart, giving John an excellent view of her vagina once again. He felt himself growing hard as his eyes ran up her legs to her thighs and then beyond.

She never gives up,
he thought.

The shadows from the flames danced over her hairless mound and made it come alive, almost beckoning for him to come inside. In the heat of the church and with the firelight, he felt tempted.

It would be so easy,
he thought.

John shook his head and smirked.

No one would know…

“Steady,” he muttered to himself.

The diamond shone in the light and reflected into his eyes as he took a step towards her. The closer he came to her, the more he could see and his eyes worked their way up past her belly button to her breasts.

Even though he had committed the sight of her naked body to memory, he was once again amazed at how beautiful she was. He let his eyes roam her peaks and valleys as he stood just out of reach of her.

She wants you,
he thought.
She’s lying there naked waiting for you to take her. To
fuck
her. This could be your last chance. DO IT!

John shook his head hard, as if to be rid of his thoughts.

“You make a very tempting offer,” he said as he smiled.

Zoe didn’t reply.

John smile disappeared. “Zoe?”

No answer.

John took a step closer. Now he could see all of her.

Her head was turned away from him and her eyes were closed.

“Zoe?”

She didn’t move.

John kneeled down to her and touched her shoulder. It was hot and sweaty.

“Zoe?” He shook her.

She didn’t react.

“Zoe!” he called louder and shook her more.

Suddenly, she jerked awake and let out a short scream.

John pulled backwards, a yell escaping from his lips too. Their voices combined and echoed around the church.

She turned to face him, a strange half-scared half-happy expression on her face.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said.

“Yeah,” John replied. “I thought something had happened.”

Zoe sat up and stretched her arms above her head. Her breasts jiggled as she did so.

“Nah,” she said. “Nothing happening here without you around. I must’ve fallen asleep.”

“Looks like it.”

“The fire was so nice and warm and everything. And I guess I was tired.”

“It’s alright,” John replied, rubbing her bare shoulder.

“Sorry if I gave you a shock,” she said.

“That’s okay.”

“I got myself ready for you, but when you didn’t come back as quickly as I thought, I must’ve just fallen asleep.”

“Ready for me?”

“Yeah,” she giggled. “You know.”

“I do?” John replied.

Zoe turned over and sat on her knees. “Come on, Johnny,” she said. “Stop playing hard to get. You can drop the game now. We’re out here, just the two of us, no one for miles around. I’ve got the fire going. It’s hot in here. Hot and sticky. So take your clothes off and let’s
fuck
.”

“Zoe, I’ve already told you –”

“I know, I know.” She crawled up to him and placed a hand on his pulsing groin. “But no one’s going to find us out here. And Mister Cock down there is alive and kicking and just waiting to blow off some steam.”

She began unzipping his jeans with one hand and pushing him onto his back with her other.

“Zoe, no!” John was unbalanced and found himself falling onto the floor. As soon as his back hit the floorboards she was on top of him. Her breath was hot and wet as she kissed his mouth hard. Her tongue darted inside and pushed to the back of his throat. Her breathing was loud, fast and heavy and filled his mouth too.

As one hand ripped open his shirt and rubbed his chest, the other reached down into his underwear. His cock was set free and it bobbed up out of his jeans. Then it was enclosed in Zoe’s sweaty hand. She pumped away, making him more erect and ready to explode.

“I told you,” she whispered into his mouth. “You wanted this.”

John shook his head from side to side.

“Yes, you do,” she said. Her teeth clamped down on his bottom lip and bit hard.

John let out a cry of pain as he felt blood flow into his mouth.

“That’s it,” she whispered as her tongue licked at the blood pooling along his teeth and inside his mouth. “Bleed for me. Bleed for Zoe. Bleed for me and
fuck
me.”

“Stop it,” John tried to say, but it came out in a muffled whimper.

“
Do it,
” she moaned. “Let yourself go. I know you
want
to. And I want your cock inside me now.”

The hand rubbing his chest turned into a claw as she raked her fingernails across him. The nails dug in deep and hard and John could feel the grooves forming and the blood running.

Her other hand tightened on his cock and then ran down the shaft to his balls. Before he knew it, she was squeezing hard.

John froze and stopped struggling.

“Now,” she whispered as she moved her mouth to his ear. “Are you going to be a good boy?”

John nodded.

She bit his earlobe.

“Promise?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

She sat up and straddled him. She had his blood smeared on her chin and across her breasts. Her buttocks touched the tip of his pulsing cock.

“I thought you’d see it my way,” she smiled down at him. “I only want to say thank you for all you’ve done.”

John licked at the tear in his lip. The blood was still oozing.

He shook his head.

“I’ve told you,” he said in a low voice. “You
don’t
have to.”

She pouted, “But I
want
to.”

“I know. But you have to understand, Zoe. I really like you and I think highly of you. Doing this, saying thanks by forcing me to have sex with you will only cheapen the way I feel about you. I like you as a
person,
not because we can have good sex together.”

Her face fell and emotions danced across it with the shadows of the flames.  "Remember I said you were beautiful?" he continued. "I meant that. And you said that meant the world to you."

She nodded and her bottom lip started to quiver.

“It did,” she whispered.

"So don’t spoil it. Don’t spoil the relationship we already have as friends."

She looked deep into his eyes for a few seconds and then sighed.

There was a long silence between them.

John held his breath. There was little else he could do. She held the upper hand.

Finally, Zoe climbed from him to stand staring at the fire.

"I’m sorry," she whispered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Don’t be,” John replied as he re-buttoned his shirt. He took a second to glance at the five long rake marks across his chest. They looked deep and ugly. The blood was trickling down his chest and stomach. He used his shirt to staunch the flow.

Quickly, he pulled up his jeans.

“I just feel that you’re doing all this for me and I want to pay you back in some way.”

“Well, that’s
not
the way,” he said as he stood and walked across to stand beside her near the fire. For the first time he noticed the small bandage across the top of her left buttock.