Twist (Siren Publishing Allure) (14 page)

“I already said yes.” Lana had a suspicion that he hadn’t been completely truthful about his medical problems, but this was worse than she had imagined. The concept that he might die in five years sent shivers of grief though her mind, but she was glad that he was being honest. The revelation gave her a clearer picture as to why he wanted everything immediately, and Lana wanted nothing more than to make him happy for whatever time he had left. “If you want to get married tomorrow, then fine.”

His serene expression brightened with a smile. “Really?”

“Of course, really. I love you. I want to be your wife. I don’t want you to die.”

“I will go to my grave with no regrets. My last wish was just granted. Just don’t try to baby me. There is nothing that you can do or not do to make me live any longer. Just love me and treat me like you always do.”

“I will try.”

He took her hand and dragged her back into the house. “We are getting married tomorrow.”

“Are you inviting anyone?” asked Lee with an impish smile.

Enar shrugged.

“What about Mona, Lana?”

She glared at him. “I don’t think so. She would object.”

Lee chuckled. “What about Maria?”

“Lee, what about Nina? You haven’t brought her over in a while. Are you still friends?” asked Enar.

“Of course we are. She had to work. She will be here tomorrow.”

Narrowing her gaze, Lana pursed her lips. “Wouldn’t it have been prudent to wait for my reply before inviting people?”

“We knew you would say yes. We invited Maria, Fran, and a few people who Enar works with,” replied Lee. “All the food is cooked in my fridge. I only have to bring it over and heat it up.”

“Enar, what would you have done if I said no?” asked Lana.

He chuckled. “Did you even consider saying no?”

Lana wrinkled her nose in sarcasm. “The two of you will be the death of me.” She looked at Enar and grimaced.

He pulled her closer. “I already told you. Don’t baby me.”

* * * *

The small ceremony was performed in the backyard in front of the fountain. Lee had set up a huge variety of finger foods, and everyone stood around and talked until late in the day. Jessica parked herself in a chair, remaining surly. Rolf seemed to be biding his time, and the moment he spotted Lana standing alone, he walked over to her. “Could we have a little time alone to talk before the two of you take off tonight?”

“Sure.” She gestured Enar over. “Your brother wants to talk to me. Do you mind?”

“Of course not. Take a walk.” He leaned and gave her a kiss. “I actually changed our flight to tomorrow morning. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No. How can I mind? You won’t even tell me where we are going. As I said last night, honeymoons are not supposed to be a surprise.”

The comment had made him chuckle the night before, and he did it again. “Enjoy your walk.” Lana rolled her eyes and he leaned, giving her lusty kiss. “I promise that you are going to love it.”

It was hard to stay mad at him, and she was positive that they were going someplace special. Enar had asked her if she had a passport about two weeks earlier and Lana had said yes. It hadn’t seemed important at the time, but when he said that their honeymoon was a surprise, the question gained new meaning. It was actually kind of exciting to be hopping on a plane without knowing the destination.

She gestured to the woods with her palm, and Rolf nodded. They walked together through the garden and onto the path. “My brother has told me a lot about you. You have made him very happy.”

“I try. He makes me happy also. What has he told you?”

“He talks about how great you cook. How funny and loving you are. He says that you are super intelligent and very adventurous.”

“Really? What’s up with Jessica?”

He chuckled, flipping back his hair. “She is none of those things.”

“Yeah, no shit. What’s the attraction?”

“More aptly, what was the attraction? I have a vague memory of a beautiful woman who was great company. She was a fantastic hostess and loved traveling. She is still beautiful, but the other attractions aren’t there anymore. She hates to travel and I hate to take her because all she does is bitch. I now have my shows professionally catered and my clientele no longer find her amusing. I have just been dragging my feet about dumping her. We have been together for six years and I dread the idea of finding someone else. All the women I know have qualities that I can’t stand.”

“Can’t you run your business from here or maybe New York? It would be nice if you and Enar could spend more time together.”

“I know that he is dying. I promised that I would fly up here at least once a month and stay for a few days. I suppose I could look for someone while I’m here.”

“Maria is single.”

“What’s her fetish?”

Lana crinkled her nose. “I don’t think she has any. How about Trist?”

“I’ve been there. It’s okay for kicks, but I wouldn’t want to bring anything home.”

“Anyone?”

“No. Anything. I like living. Do you have any idea how many people out there have STDs? I don’t have one and I don’t want one.”

She shrugged. “Sorry, I don’t have any friends who are into kink. If they are, they haven’t discussed it with me. I can’t help but think if you keep hanging out with Jessica, then you aren’t available for anyone else.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

His eyes locked on her for a moment, his gaze so intense that Lana perceived it as seductive. It made her slightly nervous, and even more disturbing was that fact that it also aroused her. Lana reprimanded herself. She loved Enar, and to have even a single sexual thought about his brother was unforgivable.

They spent a wondrous month in Brazil, sightseeing, eating, and lying on the beach. Lee and Rolf picked them up at the airport, going back to the house with them. Rolf had prepared a delicious dinner of roast duck with asparagus and spiced millet. They ate together, talking and laughing until late in the night. Enar was exhausted, and he lay next to Lana on the sofa, falling almost instantly asleep. She leaned her head on his, worried because he was getting so tired. Lee leaned and kissed her cheek. “Do you want me to help get him to bed?”

“I don’t want to wake him. Rolf, are you staying?”

“I was planning on it.” He draped a blanket over them, taking her hand and kissing it. “If you need me, just yell. I’m glad you had a good trip.”

“It was wonderful. We had so much fun.”

Rolf smiled, the wistful look in his eyes making her wonder what he was thinking about. “Everything okay?”

“It will be.”

“Dare I ask where Jessica is?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I’m going to bed.” He walked past the spare room and headed into the dungeon. Lana was surprised that the door was open, but when Enar moaned, the thought was gone.

“Do you need me to stay?” asked Lee.

“No. But thank you.”

“Call if you need me.”

Lee headed out the door and Lana slid Enar’s head down to her thigh and then rolled to her side to make herself more comfortable.

When he bit into her leg, she jumped, sitting up. The sun was just peering through the bottoms of the trees, the bedroom shadowy. She blinked, looking around in confusion. “How did we get in here?”

“I carried you. I woke up and I was uncomfortable. Is that a problem?”

“Of course not. I was just worried because you were so tired.”

“I know. Please stop worrying about me. I’m fine.”

Lana wished that she could believe him. She wanted to talk to his doctor, but Enar had refused to give her his name. He hadn’t exactly shut her off as Joe had always done. Enar had simply informed her that his heart specialist had nothing to offer and he was not seeing him again. Lana had tried to debate it with him, but he had ended all argument by walking into the bedroom. He came out a moment later, spinning her by her shoulder and wrapping her mouth with a bandana. He had taken her cheeks in his palms. “I love you and my heart doctor is history. Please don’t fight with me about this.”

She had nodded reluctantly, knowing that it would do no good to argue. Enar had no intention of discussing it further. He had swept her into his arms and carried her into the dungeon. It was impossible to stay mad at him when he was tormenting her pussy with his tongue.

* * * *

He seemed to be fine, but as the months passed, Lana began to notice miniscule changes in him. They spent less time in the dungeon, the added activity draining his strength. On the night of their ten-month anniversary, he finished making love to her and passed out on top of her. She was trapped, shackled with her hands above her head and her feet strapped down. When Lee found them in the morning, Lana was in tears, her arms numb. He lifted Enar and quickly released her. Lee moved her arms down and rubbed them, speeding up the circulation. He gently released her legs, trying to avert his eyes to cause her as little embarrassment as possible. Then he walked out, coming back with a syringe and injecting the contents into Enar’s ass. He threw Lana her bathrobe, turning so she could get up. “Thank you for trying, but it’s a bit late. You have already seen everything.”

He shrugged. “If it helps any, you have a nice body. Minus the bruises and lash marks.”

“Thank you, but I like those bruises and lash marks. I fear this will be our last night in here. He gets too tired.” She slid down to sit with Enar, stroking back his hair. “I am really worried about him. He said five years. You rarely go running anymore. Your workout sessions are shorter than they were. He takes a nap every afternoon while I’m cooking dinner. His desire for sex is the same, but it drains him so quickly. Why is this happening so fast?”

He stared at her and then shook his head. “Ask him. Not me. Do you want me to carry him to bed?”

“If you don’t mind.”

Lee hoisted him over his shoulder and walked from the room. Lana began to cry. She had known something was not right, but Lee’s refusal to talk to her about it was confirmation. Enar needed to tell her the truth.

* * * *

Lana was sitting outside, her feet propped up on the side of the fountain as she stared at the water. Enar slid a chair up beside her, sitting down. He took her hand, weaving his fingers through hers. “Are you okay?”

“Other than having Lee see every inch of my naked body? Yes. What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“The way I figure it, you are getting worse far faster than you are supposed to. What aren’t you telling me?”

He turned his eyes down, bunching up his lips guiltily. Lana reached over, lifting his chin. “Talk to me. I want the truth, Enar. How long?”

He sighed, taking her hand and tightly squeezing it. “I was afraid that if I told you the truth you wouldn’t marry me. I was afraid that you would hesitate with everything we did. I know that I was wrong, but as I said before, nothing you do or don’t do will change this. I can do whatever I have the energy to do.” Enar turned his gaze away from her, and she waited breathlessly for him to continue. “I was given five months, not five years.”

She fought the tears that sprung from her heart into her eyes as she stared at him. Lana was stunned. He had lied to her, but did it really matter? She would have married him anyway. They had made the most out of every day they had spent together. Would it really serve any point or improve whatever time they had left to be angry at him for something that couldn’t be changed? Lana sucked her lips into her teeth, trying to breathe away the pain. “I would have married you after the third day if you had asked me again. You didn’t ask after that.”

“I was giving you time to get to know me, trust me. It doesn’t matter, because you did marry me. We had a wonderful honeymoon in Brazil. We have had wonderful sex and a fantastic life together. I just wish that it had been a longer life. At least we will never get to the point where we are bored of each other.”

She sniffed, trying to smile for him.

Enar wiped a tear from her cheek. “I have to think that maybe we should stay out of the dungeon. I can’t do it anymore. Are you too upset for some nice, gentle sex?”

“I would never deny you anything.”

“Good. I will test that theory before I die.”

Lana frowned. The undertones in the comment were unnerving. It was also not a subject that she wanted to question at the moment. Lana only wanted to be with him and find oblivion in his arms. Enar took her hand, urging her from the chair and leading her to the bedroom.

* * * *

Within two months, Enar became so weak that he rarely got out of bed. Lana would lie with him, watching television or painting. Lee spent every free moment at the house, and Rolf was flying out every other week to spend time with his brother.

Enar pinched her, snapping her from sleep. Lana sat up, taking his hand. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t breathe.”

“Do you want a shot?”

“No. I want to talk with you,” he replied, the sentence broken and labored. “Drink.”

Lana took a cup of cold coffee from the nightstand, helping him to sit up so he could drink it. “Thank you. I called Rolf. He was already in flight. I won’t be alive when he gets here. I wanted to spend my final hours with you. I sent Lee home.”

She squeezed her eyes closed against the tears. “Okay. Please let me call an ambulance?”

“No. They will put me on life support. I don’t want that. I have a final request. Make me happy in the afterlife.”

“Anything.”

“I don’t want you to mourn my death. You made me so happy. I love you and I don’t want you alone. I know that you are in love with Rolf. I see it in your eyes on occasion when you look at him.” She opened her mouth to protest, and he put his finger to it.

Lana remained silent. There was little point in denying it. She had always been attracted to Rolf, but she was also deeply in love with Enar.

He smiled as if hearing her thoughts. “I don’t mind. I know you don’t love me any less because of that. I just wanted you to love me more until my death, and you did. I know how he feels about you, I have seen it in his eyes also, but that is for him to speak. You were perfect for me and you will be the same with him. Comfort him and let him comfort you. After my gathering, go play in the dungeon so both of you can find oblivion. Do not hesitate to give your heart to him. You are too sweet and loving to bask in grief. Please don’t. Know that you were my perfect love and completed my life. Being with you was the best thing that could have happened to me. You can tame my brother’s wild heart. Do it, for me.”