Awakened Desires Read online

  AWAKENED DESIRES

  by

  K. Lynne Duvall

  KINDLE EDITION

  *****

  PUBLISHED BY:

  K. Lynne Duvall

  AWAKENED DESIRES

  Copyright © 2009 by Kernisha Lynne Duvall

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the copyright owner and publisher, except where permitted by law.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead are strictly coincidental.

  *****

  To my lover and best friend, Byron…my own true lalid.

  And my heartfelt thanks to Vanessa B., Victoria M., Jennifer R., and all my friends who gave me the encouragement to write this. And to my mother for always

  believing in me. Bless you all.

  *****

  AWAKENED DESIRES

  CHAPTER ONE

  Julia, he thought. Julia was here. He knew she couldn't really be dead despite the lies his brother told him. She walked across the street before his eyes looking as beautiful as she ever did. Her long red-brown hair seemed so vibrant as it lifted in the cool nighttime breeze. She wore a short skirt that showed off her long golden legs.

  He frowned. He wasn't sure if he liked her skirt. Other men would see her pretty legs. But then, Julia always had an appreciation for the unconventional and he loved that about her. His frown turned into a smile.

  "Julia, it's me!" he shouted from across the street, but she didn't hear him. She didn't see him. It was late in the evening but there were so many people around talking and laughing and drinking. He wished it were quiet. The noise was way too much for his ears and made his head throb. The bright lights from the buildings, the streetlamps, and even the stars seemed to be a nauseous glare upon his eyes. As sick as he felt from it all, he kept sight of Julia and followed her anyway.

  They were both moving away from the crowded street going down a nearly empty road lined with parked cars and trucks. The machines glowered at him like large metal monsters. It felt strange to see them there. Hadn't there been horses yesterday? He liked horses. Horses had a soul. They were supposed to be wild and free. Just like he and Julia were meant to be wild and free.

  "It's me, Julia!" he cried out again when he thought she should be able to hear him. She glanced back briefly but continued to move on.

  His heart broke.

  Maybe she didn't want to talk to him. Deep down he understood. He had scared her the last time they were together but it wasn't his fault. It was his brother's fault. His brother had caused all of their problems.

  "Julia, wait! I'm sorry."

  She turned again and after seeing him, started to move more quickly.

  "Please, Julia. Don't go!"

  He started to run after her.

  He had the notion that maybe he shouldn't chase her like this. She must think he was crazy. He should do something sane like go to her house and explain everything to her father. Maybe they could get married. Then it occurred to him that he no longer knew where they lived.

  The world had changed so much since he had last seen her. He didn't even think he understood it all. Everything looked different, felt different, smelled different, tasted different. Sometimes Julia was there, and sometimes she wasn't. And he was different, in a way that he couldn't explain. He only knew that the Lovegood's home was long gone and that this was the only time he could ask for her forgiveness, but she was running away.

  Was she really so afraid of him? She was moving very quickly and it was hard to catch up with her. Something else must be wrong. He turned his mind outward, trying to sense her thoughts. He wasn't as good at it as he used to be.

  He's going to kill me. Oh God, somebody help me.

  Its okay, Julia, it's only me, he tried to comfort her. He was confused. He looked around and he didn't see anyone, but, if someone were trying to kill her, then that person would pay with his own life. He'd make sure of it. He ground his teeth at the thought.

  She stumbled at the brush of his mind against hers and fell to the ground.

  "Help me, please!" she screamed. "Somebody help me!"

  He reached her finally, the fall working to his advantage, although he was upset to see her crying.

  "Don't cry, lalid. I'm here now. No one will hurt you."

  Her back was turned to him but he touched her shoulder to let her know everything was okay. She turned to look at him and her face was different. It wasn't Julia's.

  She wasn't Julia.

  Julia was gone.

  He was angry. He didn't want to be but he was. "What have you done with her?" he yelled at the woman in front of him.

  She didn't say anything. She just continued to cry.

  "Hey! What are you doing? Get away from her, now!"

  Someone grabbed his shoulder and punched him. The forceful snarl that came out of his mouth clearly made the person regret what he'd done. The intruder took a couple of steps backward bumping into one of the cars on the street.

  He swiftly grabbed him by his hair and violently wrenched the man's head around. "What did you do to Julia?" he shouted at him.

  Blocking everything out, he sank his teeth into the man's throat. Blood spurted out chaotically onto the car and ground below. When he felt satisfied the man was dead, he turned back to the woman. She was running away…but he went after her.

  Karyn Simmons couldn't help feeling just a little bit paranoid as she turned off the lights in her bedroom. She should stop watching the news, she thought. Although she knew it was necessary to keep up with the world, everyday it was filled with chilling stories that made her afraid to sleep.

  This evening, when she came home from work, she saw that another woman from Sparkman had been found dead with multiple wounds around her neck and shoulders. Her neck had nearly been ripped in half. It made Karyn scared to stay in her new home by herself. She wished her cousin Tracey would visit her, but she was on a month long vacation and would go straight home afterwards.

  "It's okay. I can be brave," Karyn told herself, especially since she'd just recently bought a gun. She never liked the idea of guns but between the women on the news, and the citywide alert put out for their killer, it seemed like a good safety measure.

  Statistically though, the chances of her being kidnapped and tortured were a billion-to-one, so right now her brain told her she was in no real danger. She'd leave the gun in its safe place in the closet tonight. Right now she needed to get into her bed and relax.

  The rain outside was a big help to her agitated nerves. Even with the threat of tornadoes she still enjoyed the early summer thunderstorms in Sparkman, something rarely seen in southern California where she was from. Listening to the rain pouring hard outside of her window was enough to calm her and she soon felt herself drifting off to sleep. Her eyelids grew heavier, and her breathing slowed down. All she had to do was to wait for that black blanket of calm to swallow her and that's when she saw him in the room.

  It was her lover, so magnificent to look at and all hers.

  His nude jet-black body joined her on the bed and he kissed her. His mouth was warm and insistent. She opened her lips to his and she felt his tongue slip inside to stroke hers, urging Karyn to stroke back. When she did, she felt him smile in pleasure as their lips clung to each other.

  His hands had been busy roaming her body through the red silk of her nightclothes. They were her favorite ones because of the way they felt on her smooth skin, but he was displeased with them and told her so.

  "Take this off for me," her lover said be
tween kisses.

  His wish was her command. Karyn slowly unbuttoned her top unveiling her sugar brown skin to his dark, masculine gaze.

  He stopped kissing her when both her breasts were bared before him. "Beautiful," he whispered as he touched them. Karyn enjoyed his fascination as he fondled them before placing his mouth over one.

  He suckled it and Karyn was in heaven. Her body arched into his mouth's heat. He tugged at her nipple with his lips, eliciting a needy groan from her. He grazed it with his teeth just right, sending a wonderful pleasure-pain through her before suckling it again, and then moving to her other breast.

  Desire built up deep in her stomach and swiftly took over the area between her thighs. She could feel her clit pulsing with the stimulation that was coming from her breasts. Her vagina was turning liquid with lust. However the lower half of her body, though excited, was still clothed.

  He pulled at the drawstring of her pants and drew them down partially over her hips. Just enough to get his hand inside.

  She liked the feel of his hand against her wet pussy. It was big and strong and slightly rough, the opposite of the smoothness and slickness of her folds. She continued to cream as he found that spot right above her sensitive clit that sent little shock bursts through her as though she'd been plugged into a live socket.

  Karyn almost came as he touched her there, but he knew her. He knew just when to slow down and draw out her pleasure and direct her focus somewhere else. He pushed two fingers deep into her vagina right down to his knuckles. He dived deep into her juices over and over again.

  He was making her crazy. Her body twisted from side to side as he fucked her with his fingers. Beads of sweat broke out all over her skin. She panted as she felt the pressure inside grow to monstrous proportions, fast taking her from crazy to insane.

  All Karyn could think of was having his hard dick inside of her. She loved his fingers but she wanted his dick. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

  "Fuck me," she told him breathlessly. "Right now," she said. "Fuck me."

  All this time his mouth had been ravishing her tits and he continued to do so even as he jerked her pants completely off her legs. Her lover spread her hot thighs wide open briefly exposing the flesh of her cunt to the touch of cool air. But he quickly replaced the cold empty space with his warm body, his length poised at her entrance.

  "Yes." she groaned. "Put it in me…fuck me now."

  It was about to happen. She thought she felt the head of him just enter her door when a siren pierced the air suddenly waking her. An ambulance outside her window had just whizzed through the street.

  Her lover was no longer there. Karyn woke up damp and sweaty with her nightclothes plastered to her body like another skin.

  Her own hands were inside her clothes.

  Her fingers were nestled deep inside her own pussy.

  Karyn nearly cried. The sudden ending of her dream sent her body into shock with loneliness that overwhelmed her. But what could she do? She couldn't wait for some dream man to enter her life and make everything okay. She couldn't trust in anyone but herself.

  She took her hands from her crotch and turned back over onto her side. She tried to shut out everything she'd been feeling at that moment telling herself that she needed to get her sleep. Karyn had another long day tomorrow and she needed her rest to endure it. She needed to make sure she got to work on time. She needed to turn in her rental and pick up her car from the mechanic. She needed to make sure her new mortgage was paid.

  She thought about all the other needs in her life but slowly pushed the need for male companionship aside. She tried that once and it led to humiliation. No relationship was worth what she had been through.

  Karyn sighed softly and closed her eyes, going back to sleep.

  Oh God, it looked horrible outside. Karyn tightened the belt on her trench coat and held her small briefcase over her head as she walked out of the call center and into the rain. She cursed her forgetfulness in bringing an umbrella with her to work today because she was getting soaked. However, she'd been way behind schedule that morning and rushed out of her townhouse just barely making it on time for her class.

  Karyn had been a call center trainer for over two years now. It wasn't a glamorous job but the company she worked for paid well. Plus, when she received the position, it gave her the ability to leave California and get as far away from Kevin Monroe as she could.

  Just thinking about Kevin and the way he had used her put a sour taste in her mouth. Karyn rarely dated but she honestly thought she could trust him. She felt like she could open up to him and share herself, her whole entire being.

  But then, she found out about that sex club he belonged to. And after that, she found those pictures he put up of them on the internet. Now, she wished Kevin would go to hell.

  Maybe she was just one of those people who was meant to be alone, she thought. It seemed like many of her relationships had ended with some sort of disaster and she certainly couldn't trust anyone else after what Kevin put her through.

  God, she didn't want to think about him anymore.

  She just wanted to get to her car and go home.

  Considering how heavily it was raining this evening, she was amazed at how quickly she was able to get to her car. But as she put her hand in her pocket, she realized that she'd dropped her keys somewhere along the way. Karyn turned back around trying to focus her eyes in the dark to find them, but all she saw were the huge puddles of water in the parking lot.

  She couldn’t hope to find her keys in all of that. Now what was she going to do?

  Just at that moment, someone shouted at her. "Hey! You dropped these by my car."

  There was a heavy splash of footsteps in the rain as the person came towards her. She looked up and her breath caught in her throat.

  It was the man from her dreams. Her lover.

  His smooth dark skin was the same. He had those same hypnotic brown eyes. He had the same strong broad nose. The same full sculptured lips. Even the cut of his beard was the same. It was trimmed in a contemporary thin line that traveled the edge of his jaw, and then came up both sides of his mouth to meet the ends of his mustache. In her dreams, the rough hairs abraded her skin as he kissed his way around her body. Right now, she was getting aroused by the memory of it all.

  As he approached, she realized his body was the same as well. He was tall, broad shouldered, and at least three feet wide at the chest. He was a regular giant with muscles like a running back. Karyn hated football but loved to watch running backs. On a good day, just looking at the way they moved would be enough to set her off. That's what she was thinking about doing right now. She wanted to take off her clothes and set it off with him in the parking lot. Right there on the top of her car.

  Thankfully, Karyn had better natural sense. Okay, so she'd been dreaming about this man for a while now. Yes, he was her favorite fantasy since she swore off men and relationships. The only one who pleased her. The only one who could get her through the night. But they didn't really know each other. They were strangers and she should feel foolish for even thinking about having sex with him. She had to remember that. Men were always bad news.

  The stranger held out his hand to give her the keys he found and Karyn grabbed them rather harshly in anger at how stupid she was being.

  "You must be having a bad day," he said to her. The comment seemed to come out of nowhere and it confused her.

  "What do you mean?" she asked him.

  He showed her the palm of his hand where she had somehow managed to slice him with her keys and she immediately felt like a jerk.

  "I am so sorry," she apologized putting her briefcase down to inspect the wound. "I didn't mean to do that to you."

  "Of course, you didn't." He watched her as she tried to rub the blood away with the pad of her thumb. "If I thought you meant this for me, I'd watch my back. So who is it?"

  "Hmmm?" Karyn had been distracted for a moment trying to see if the damage to his
hand would result in her getting sued, but she looked up at him to find his eyes watching her intensely. They had a sort of flame in them that held her transfixed. No man should have eyes that captivating.

  "I asked who were you upset with. Was it your boyfriend? Husband, maybe?"

  "Oh, no. I'm not married," she replied, finally registering what he said. "It's just a stupid accident. Forgive me, please."

  "You're already forgiven," he said gently.

  "Thank you."

  He was still looking at her heatedly. He didn't move but if Karyn didn't know better, she would say he was going to kiss her. Despite herself, she couldn't help but think about how it would feel to actually let him do it. Damned good, she thought. Then in embarrassment, she let go of his hand and looked away.

  "I've got to go," she said picking up her briefcase and turning back to her car. "But thank you for finding my keys for me. I really am sorry about your hand."

  "No problem, lalid. It will heal."

  Karyn's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait a minute. What did you call me?" she turned around to ask him. She must have misheard. Lalid was a word her lover often said to her in her nighttime fantasies. He didn't really call her that, did he?

  His smile was enigmatic as he turned and walked away.

  It was one o'clock in the morning when Malcolm Knight got back home. Veronique was awake, which was unusual for her. In their family, she was the only one who liked to go to bed early, usually around nine or ten on most days. She would get bitchy otherwise.

  "Where were you?" she asked him from the couch.

  "None of your business, Ronnie," he said as he headed for the kitchen.

  "None of my business!" she exclaimed. "It damn well is my business."

  She got up and followed him. "You and Marcus are the only family I have left and he's already disappeared. What am I supposed to do around here if not worry about you?"