Soul Sucker Ch. 11-20

"That's what makes this idea so much better. The life insurance companies won't turn down the policies because they make too much money. They may require more in-depth physicals, but Landon will pass them all. When he dies? They don't have a basis to deny the claim, just like they didn't with Jordyn."

"How does that help us avoid suspicion?"

"We break the pattern," he replied. "Ingrid stays right here, moving on with her life. Her finances remain visible and local, just like her. She pays her taxes and is shocked to learn her late husband was involved in illegal activities. Ingrid cooperates fully with the Feds, even if it takes years to recover all the assets she is entitled to."

"And no matter how much John Miller and the others investigate, they find nothing." It was beautiful. "We break the mold."

"And we can all make a home here," Lonnie said. "You can change your image so you appear to age. In three decades, Lana and I could be retired and helping with our grandchildren. You can start up elsewhere if you wish. By then, none of the insurance investigators looking at you will still be working."

Lana nodded. "And we can keep up enough identities for you to hunt and travel without bringing suspicion to Denver."

I gave my kids a side hug. "I like the idea of holding a grandchild," I said quietly. "Watching loved ones grow old and die breaks my heart. Every time it happens, I tell myself I'll never go through that pain again."

"Then why adopt us?"

"Loneliness is soul-crushing," I replied. "My demon does not understand love. He finds me weak and foolish. Maybe I am?" I looked at them. "When I saw you, I couldn't let you go. I cling to humanity through the centuries; I don't want to lose what I was before I became the monster I am."

Lana looked up at me, tears in her eyes. "You're not a monster, Mom."

"I am a monster, my darling girl. I can hide that for only so long."

We sat in the tub, none of us saying anything until my phone alarmed around ten minutes later. "Date time."

Chapter 19

John Miller's POV

East Orange, New Jersey, Mary's home

Sunday, August 14, 2022

I woke with Mary tucked under my right arm. We'd kicked the covers down to my waist, and her right hand lightly wrapped my morning wood. I looked down at her red hair and face; she was angelic, relaxed, and peaceful. Her lingerie displayed her breasts to the desired effect, which only caused my cock to harden further.

I reached across with my left hand, pushing the hair back from her face and placing it behind her ear. She stirred slightly, her mouth opening to blow air on my chest. I continued the light touch, working my way down to her neck and shoulder.

She reacted by snuggling closer, and her hand moved up a little with my cock trapped in it. I didn't want her to let go, so I let my fingers trail down from her shoulder to the swell of her breast.

Her eyes opened as my finger slid inside the lace and brushed her nipple. "Good morning, Mary," I whispered.

She woke up enough to figure out where she was, then jerked a little as she realized what her hand was doing. She let go of it like it was hot and rolled off me. "I was enjoying that," I teased. She sat up, her messy hair backlit by the morning sun through the window. "You look like an angel," I told her as I ran my hand down her arm.

She smiled and looked around, and everything changed. She froze, her hand going to her mouth, then bolted for the bathroom.

I sat up to go after her, but the door slammed shut before I could get out from under the covers.

Something scared her. I looked to where she'd been looking, and it all came into focus for me.

On the dresser was the memorial to her late husband. A triangular US flag sat in a display case. My stomach sank as I realized it was the one that covered his casket. There was a picture of him in his dress greens, with his rank, pilot's wings, and medals surrounding it. Other photos showed their wedding day, the birth of Heather, and their first Christmas as a family.

I was the first man she'd let into her life since his death, and she hadn't moved on from him yet. Sex with another man in her marriage bed with his presence still so prevalent? Impossible.

I could hear her throwing up behind the locked door.

Fuck. What an asshole I was, seducing the widow of a fallen soldier in front of his memorial!

I got out of bed, grabbing my clothes and overnight bag on the way out. I went to the other bathroom and dressed, then headed down to the couch in the living room.

Should I go back upstairs and knock on the bathroom door? Stay here and wait for her to come down? Should I make breakfast for her?

I took the coward's way out and walked out the door. There was a Starbucks a few blocks away, so I had time to think as I walked. I had baggage; hell, I had a trunkful! A divorced alcoholic in his forties with commitment issues wasn't a great catch. As much as I liked her, in the back of my head, I was wondering if I was good for her. Mary was beautiful, intelligent, caring, and vulnerable. If I let this relationship fail like every other one I'd had, two people would get hurt.

And I was drawn to Heather as much as I was to her Mom.

I pulled out my phone and called Cathy. She was a much better guide than her husband on relationships. "John? What time is it?"

"It's just after six. I'm sorry I woke you, but I may have fucked up here."

"You didn't call for a ride to the train station, so it can't be too bad. What happened?"

I talked through the night and the sudden change in Mary last night and this morning. "I think it's clear she isn't ready to move on from her late husband yet, even though it's been years."

"She likes you a lot, John. You're the first person she's gotten close to, and there are bound to be bumps in the road."

"I know, but I don't want her to be scared of me."

"Let me talk to her."

Shit. "You'll have to call her phone. I'm not there now."

"JOHN! What did you DO?"

"I chickened out. I got dressed and left. I'm on my way to Starbucks. I need some caffeine so I can wake up and think."

She didn't finish chewing my ass until I reached the front of the line, but at least she knew what Mary would want. I picked up coffee and bagels, then walked back to her condo. Standing in front of the door, I had another nervous moment. Should I knock and wait or walk in?

I knocked. I heard footsteps, then the door opened. Mary was wearing cotton shorts and a T-shirt and was holding her phone to her ear. "I'm sorry," I told her. "I got spooked and ran."

"I'll meet you in the kitchen in a minute," she said as she stood aside.

I set her coffee down at her place and sipped my own while I waited. Cathy was trying to save our relationship; she'd probably called when I hung up with her. I heard Mary tell her goodbye just before she walked in and sat heavily in her chair. Mary set the phone next to her coffee and took a sip, moaning in pleasure. "Things didn't go as I had hoped," she told me. "I wanted to be with you last night. I tried but choked like a dog on a chicken bone."

I reached out my hand for hers, running my thumb over her knuckles. "You've got nothing to apologize for, Mary. You said you weren't ready."

"I want to be ready! I want to move on with my life, and then this shit happens. It's been six years!"

"Some things you can't 'get over.' You have to learn to live despite them. Trust me; I have a backpack filled with them." She smiled a little and squeezed my hand back. "Take the time you need. I can wait until you're ready to make love."

"Thank you."

We talked about our hopes and fears over blueberry muffins and coffee. Mary found out she wasn't the only one with doubts; I told her about my divorce and my embrace of the bottle. "It took me years to get my life back together, and I didn't do it alone," I told her. "Have you gotten grief counseling?"

"No," she confessed. "I had to be strong for Heather."

"Do you know how many cop funerals I've been to where they thought they had to be strong? Who thought counseling was for wimps and losers?" She read my face. "Trying to be strong turned me into an angry drunk. Group counseling helped me put my life back together." I pulled her out of her chair and into my lap. "Are you going to church this morning?" She nodded. "Speak to your priest about it."

"I'll have to go to confession," she said as she laid her head on my shoulder. "I've got a lot to confess."

"It helps." We talked for another ten minutes before we started to kiss, and I moved us to the couch. "What time are you picking Heather up?"

She looked at the clock. "I have to grab her church clothes first. If we leave in thirty minutes, I can drop you at the train station first."

"Thirty minutes?" I waggled my eyebrows. "That's only enough for three, maybe four orgasms for you." I slid her until she was lying on the couch, pulling her shorts off and tossing them aside. "No underwear?"

"I was hoping you'd come back," she confessed.

"Staying away from you would be a mistake." I moved her legs apart and leaned in. Her neatly-trimmed sex was flowering with need. I kissed her inner thighs, then around it. She arched up, needing me, but my hands held her off. She squealed when my tongue finally made contact.

I lightly traced her lips, then flicked once at her exposed clit. "Please," she begged me. "I need you."

I slid my tongue up and down, circling her clit before returning down. I wet a finger and slid it between her labia as I sucked on her bud. She started to tremble as the finger pushed into her wet canal. I turned my hand, rotating the finger and rubbing the inside of her sex as I sucked and bit on her clit.

She went off like a rocket, nearly bucking me off her face. It took her a minute to catch her breath. "Lose the shorts and get up here."

I stood up, dropping my pants to expose my erection. Mary moved us into a sixty-nine with her on top. I went back to work on her, using two fingers this time, while she licked and sucked me to distraction. Mary bucked hard a minute later as the orgasm washed through her body. She buried my cock in her mouth to muffle her scream.

I had trouble concentrating on what I was doing as she continued working with her hand and mouth. I was getting close, and I told her. "Where do you want it?"

She responded by swallowing me to the root. I felt my balls clench as I rushed to a finish. I pulled her down, finger-banging her fast as I bit her clit, and our orgasms crashed into us like a city bus. "Fuck," I said as I started shooting a big load down her throat. She came so hard she squirted, spraying my face as she squeezed my fingers.

After my fourth shot, she released my sensitive cock and collapsed on top of me, resting her head on my hip. "Holy shit," she whispered.

"Wow," I responded. It was a first for me, and it felt like more than just sex. I'd received hundreds of blowjobs and gone down on women before. What we just shared? It was a whole different level of sexual and emotional connection.

She moved off me and realized what a mess we'd made. "Shit, I'll get a towel," she said as she ran off. I watched her ass as she ran for the bathroom, returning a minute later to clean me off. "I'm sorry. I've never done that before."

"All I can think about is when we can do it again," I replied. Mary smiled and wiped off the leather couch after I got up. "Too bad we're out of time."

The kiss goodbye at the train station was full of need and longing. "Whatever it takes for us to be together will be worth it," I said as I stood up.

"I'll get help," she promised. "Call us when you get home."

I watched her drive away, then went inside the station. All too soon, I was back in my lonely-ass apartment.

Chapter 20

Ingrid Anderson (Frances Dortmund's) POV

Ocean Prime Restaurant, Denver, Colorado

Saturday, August 20, 2022

I prepared myself for tonight's seduction as Lonnie opened the passenger door of his car for me. "He'll never have a chance," my son told me. "He'll be putty in your hands by midnight."

"It's not my abilities I'm worried about," I replied as I stood tall. With the three-inch heels, I'd stand nearly as tall as Landon. "It's keeping my mouth shut and acting interested and loving for the next few months."

"You'll do fine," he replied. "I'm going to pick up Nicole. Our reservation is in thirty minutes."

"Have fun," I told him as I turned away.

I heard him fire up the Jaguar and take off as one of the staff held the door open. I walked to the hostess desk, where a young blonde looked up at me with barely-concealed lust. She was at least a switch-hitter, if not playing for the home team. "Welcome to Ocean Prime, Ma'am," the young woman said sweetly. "Do you have a reservation?"

"I'm meeting Mr. Street."

"Of course," she said. "Follow me, please." She was young, stacked, and showed her desire for me before I released any of my pheromones. I might have to return here, preferably before closing. A succubus is a sexual creature that doesn't discriminate by gender. We fuck anyone we want, and this one was ripe for plucking.

The noise level in the bar area dropped as she led me to a set of stairs. I could feel the eyes on me, male and female alike, as I strode across the main floor. I carried myself like a predator looking over the savannah and picking out tonight's meal. Combined with my ethereal beauty, I left a trail of open mouths and lustful thoughts behind.

My dress certainly helped. The black silk dress had a triangle on top from my left shoulder down to the right side below my breast. The front clearly outlined my B-cup breasts, and the rub of the fabric kept my nipples erect and visible as they moved under it. The horizontal portion of the triangle was underneath the swell. Another triangle began on the left side, slanting down and across to finish low on my right hip. It exposed much of my stomach and back, showing off a true athlete's tanned skin and six-pack abs. It flowed into a skirt that angled to just above the knee, the slit going dangerously high on the left side. The cut made it impossible to wear even a thong, so I wasn't.

It was pure sex appeal.

Every eye watched me climb the stairs, the silk stretching and sliding over my smooth skin. "Mr. Street reserved a table in the Prime Corner," she told me as we reached the second floor. She opened the door and stood aside. "Your server will be with you shortly. May I take a drink order?"

"I'll wait." I walked into the small space with windows on two sides overlooking the square. Inside was a single round table in the center with a white tablecloth and a red rose. I was slightly annoyed; I'd arrived ten minutes late, yet I was waiting for him.

I gave him a few minutes while I looked out the window, then turned for the door. "I'll be at the bar waiting for my date," I told the server when she came in.

I wasn't going to do petty power plays at the start of the relationship. I didn't care how much of an Alpha Male, Top G, or Player Landon thought he was. He'd never met me.

I'd barely gotten through the door when Landon reached the top of the stairs. "Standing me up already," he said with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. Work held me up." He held his hand out, and I put my right hand over his. "It should be illegal for a woman to be this beautiful," he said after he kissed it.

"Then take me to jail," I replied. "Join me?"

Landon let the server get my chair as he sat across from me, then we ordered drinks. Failing to pull my chair out dropped him in my estimation. Manners and respect cost nothing. After living through the Renaissance and the Victorian Age, I kept hoping this and dueling would return to fashion. Life was better when insults had a price. "I didn't expect a private dining room tonight."

He smiled. "You can't blame me for wanting to keep you for myself," he replied. "I've been thinking about you all week."

"What happened to your date? Did you have to get her home before Dad's curfew?"

He snickered at that. "Catty. I like that."

"It wasn't a compliment."

"She was arm candy for the night, nothing more. If I had known about you, I'd have come alone and left with you instead."

He certainly didn't lack confidence. "It's for the best. You got to bang another cheerleader, after all."

"I never bang them twice, and they always leave before breakfast," he replied. "If you keep them around, they start talking, and then they start expecting things I'm not willing to provide. It works out better for both of us."

"I've never been turned down for a second date before the first drink arrived," I replied. I waved a finger between us. "Why even ask me out? I'm not your usual fare, and I won't fall in bed with you."

He leaned forward and looked into my eyes. I allowed a little of my power to come up, drawing him in. "I find you fascinating, Ingrid."

"Why is that?"

The waitress arrived with our drinks, and I found that Landon had worked with the chef and pre-ordered dinners for us. "Trust me on this," he told me as the waitress left. I had their Crystal Margarita, a top-of-the-line cocktail with Komos Cristolina tequila. I sipped it as he formulated his response. "Did you do any research on me before this date?"

"It didn't take long. I'm sure your research agency did a better job on me."

"Touche. You know I had a bad divorce years back?" I nodded. "I vowed I would never make that mistake again. I devoted myself to my work, building my company and my fortune. I worked eighty-hour weeks, sometimes sleeping in the office. I put my heart and soul into my crypto exchange. I built it from nothing to the major player it is today. If I had money and success, then I'd be happy."

"He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. Ecclesiastes five, verse ten."

"You're religious?"

"The benefits of a private school upbringing," I replied. "My parents didn't want me to think I was special because I'd inherit their money."

"Ah. The prophet is right; while I thought money would buy freedom, it had the opposite effect. It brought shareholders, lawyers, Federal regulations, the IRS, and untold other headaches. I have fewer friends now than when I was married, and not a one I can trust with my back."

"That's harsh."

"Everyone wants something, especially when they say they don't," he replied. "Relationships are even worse. Are you familiar with the pyramid theory of dating?"

"Do you mean hypergamy? Women always marry up?"

"That's the idea. I know I'm desirable. I'm over six feet tall, good-looking, athletic, single, and in the wealthiest one percent with a net worth above $11 million. Do you know how many men in the world are like that?"

"Not many at all."

He smiled. "I can walk into a room, and the women flock to me. I don't delude myself into thinking that attraction equals love because it doesn't. I'm tired of being alone. I want a partner who doesn't care about my money and will be loyal to me."

I shook my head. "If you want loyalty, buy a dog."

"I've dated beautiful women, younger women, intelligent women, kind women, and rich women. Sometimes I get lucky and get three or four of those traits. What makes you a unicorn is that you are all of them in one. When I saw you that night, you took my breath away. Tonight has shown me you are my equal, AND you are a fellow climber. You have enchanted me, and I find no other woman matters anymore."

Our appetizer arrived, a shellfish tower with three levels. "Heavy on the oysters?"

"I'll take every advantage I can get," he told me. I didn't see the attraction of a seafood restaurant in a landlocked state, but at least it was relatively fresh. I thought about what he was saying as we dug in. "There was little in the tabloids or press about you," he said.