Beware The Kiss Part 21

"Give me your hand."

"No." Tayler shook her head. "I may be slow, but I'm not stupid."

"Ah, but you are stupid. If you weren't I wouldn't be here tonight."

Tayler's back stiffened. Her nostrils flared.

Carmen reached across the table and grabbed Tayler's hands. The room filled with the sound of Carmen's heavy breathing. She rubbed Tayler's hands between her own.

The sharp pain from the burn slowly dissipated.

Carmen peered into Tayler's palms. "You hold a great deal of power in these hands. This frightens you." Carmen's eyes pierced Tayler's.

"No."

"Ah, you lie, but I'm pleased. You learn quickly. Very good." Carmen's smile was warm and inviting. Her voice softened. "Tell me why you are afraid."

"I'm beginning to understand the ways of evil, but what I don't understand is the power that I have. I don't know how to use it - " Tayler added softly, "appropriately."

"You feel inexperienced because you summoned the wrong woman to your bath?"

"I don't believe this," Tayler pulled her hands away. "Does everyone know about it?"

"It was a harmless mistake. Don't worry -your lines are Pure. You'll neither misuse your gift, nor destroy anyone with it."

Tayler sat up. "But Ana and Gabrielle told me that I had to destroy Raven to end the curse. I have to - "

Carmen raised her hand to silence her. "You cannot destroy Raven."

"I was told that I - " Tayler felt her cheeks flush again. "They lied to me."

"They didn't lie to you." Carmen lowered her voice. "Tayler, you are so strong-willed. Listen carefully to me. You have misunderstood the meaning of the word 'destroy' You can only destroy the curse by a.s.sisting Raven in destroying herself."

"Raven's too smart to destroy herself," Tayler argued.

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Raven has poisoned herself with the belief that she cannot be destroyed." Carmen's words were ominous. "She walks in her own poison, but she can still destroy you if you give her the chance."

"How do I protect myself from her?" Tayler looked distressed.

"It's very simple. You play the way she plays. Raven cloaks herself in deception. She gives her victims exactly what they desire and then she takes."

"Like Ana," Tayler whispered.

Carmen's eyes grew suddenly moist. "Si." She blew her nose in a handkerchief and cleared her throat. "My sister lets her heart rule her actions sometimes."

"So, I must deceive Raven in some way," Tayler blinked.

"If that's what you choose to do," Carmen ran her tongue over her dry lips. "Remember, you are you. Let Raven use masks to s.h.i.+eld her deeds. You stay in the light. She is not a fool. To be successful you must not only deceive Raven, but everyone in the hacienda as well."

"You mean Ana - "

"Yes, all of them." Carmen's smile was wicked.

"I have only until tomorrow at midnight. How can I deceive them? They know so much about me." Tayler rubbed her neck.

Carmen reached for Tayler's hands again and squeezed them. "They will believe you because they have no reason not to. There is one more thing." Carmen put a leather sheath on the table. From it, she extracted a nine-inch dagger with a black onyx handle. The image of a snake slithered around the grip.

Tayler bit her lip.

"Beware the kiss, Tayler. If you kiss Raven she'll penetrate your deepest desires. Your death will follow."

Tayler, wide-eyed, nodded.

"Now, lie down. I will teach you the art of deception." Carmen lit a stick of incense and began to chant.

As the room began to spin, Tayler felt her blouse being unb.u.t.toned.

In the library, the clock ticked slowly as the hours dragged on for Ana, Erica, Gabrielle, Ev and Beth. Shortly before dinner, the women were joined by Sterling Navarre and Devin St. Ives.

When the door suddenly opened, and Carmen appeared, a collective sigh was heard. Carmen looked exhausted. Her clothes were disheveled and she had a wild look in her eyes. She stood in the doorway and searched the room for Ana. When she found her, Carmen bent her head and Ana got up and went into the hall.

Fifteen minutes pa.s.sed before Carmen reappeared in the doorway. She motioned for Erica to follow her down the hall. When they entered the room, Carmen pointed to the floor. Tayler lay on the floor with her ripped clothes barely covering her body.

"Take her to her room," Carmen commanded Erica and walked away.

Green eyes watched from the balcony as Erica guided Tayler into Tayler's room. The crystal in the corner spun frantically but went unnoticed. Erica helped Tayler on to the bed and removed what was left of Tayler's s.h.i.+rt and pants.

Ana had given Erica a small bottle from Carmen and told her to generously apply the ointment to Tayler's body. Gently spreading the scented oil on Tayler's legs and arms, Erica stopped when she got to Tayler's b.r.e.a.s.t.s. They were spotted with red and purple bruises. Erica pulled her hands away and quickly sat on the edge of the bed to steady herself.

Erica poured a large amount of ointment into her hands and carefully applied it to the bruises. Tayler groaned from the pain. Carmen had the right to ask for any payment she deemed suitable for her work, but Erica recoiled from the thought that Carmen had touched Tayler where she, herself, was forbidden. She placed the bottle on the table. Carmen's parting words to Erica echoed in her head.

"Someday, Erica, you will thank me for what I did tonight."

When Tayler reached up and touched Erica's arm, Erica put aside her feelings about Carmen. Unable to hear what Tayler was saying, Erica leaned closer.

With her eyes closed, Tayler's words were breathy and seductive. "Stay with me tonight...let me show you what I've learned." Tayler paused. "I need you...want you -Ana."

Pain ripped through Erica's heart as she untangled herself from Tayler's fingers.

"Ana, don't leave - " Tayler called out as Erica raced from the room closing the door quickly behind her.

Outside in the hallway, Erica ran blindly to her room. She staggered to her bed and fell across it. Her pain and hopelessness came in sobs. In the late hour there was nothing she could do, but wait. She had lost everything -Tayler, Ana, her life. In twenty-four hours she would be Raven's.

Twenty-Three.

Early in the morning of October 31, Hallow's Eve, the clouds rolled off the mountains in thick, gray blankets. The air was heavy with a bone-penetrating level of humidity and smelled of hay and manure. Out in the stables, the horses neighed and nervously kicked at their stalls, while the barn cats skittered under discarded containers. Around the pool, the leaves on the palm trees were thick with dew. The surface of the pool was perfectly still.

In the somber light of morning, Erica sat in a chair with an empty decanter tightly grasped in her left hand. The evening started out with it filled with Sangria, but as the night slowly dragged on, its liquid disappeared. She raised the black velvet case with her ring inside to eye-level. The white gold, sapphire ring radiated in the gloomy light. She dropped the empty decanter on the floor, threw the ring case on the table next to the chair and unsteadily got to her feet. Her hair hung in clumps and her clothes were wrinkled. It was barely six a.m., too early for breakfast and too late for miracles.

Sober and angry, Erica grabbed her jacket and left her room.

The kitchen was empty when Erica walked in and picked up the keys for the Jeep. Though the house seemed quiet, Erica knew that the others were beginning to stir from their sleep. She envied them and their ability to surrender to the night. Though her body screamed for sleep, Erica couldn't succ.u.mb. The image of smooth, warm sheets and the inviting body of a lover haunted her. She clutched the keys in her hand and turned to leave.

Soft voices coming from the dining area caused Erica to hesitate. She silently approached the doorway but did not go in. Instead she leaned against the wall and listened.

"You're driving me crazy," Ana's voice was low and husky.

Erica closed her eyes. The last thing she needed was to witness Ana's pa.s.sion for Gabrielle.

"You are so s.e.xually explosive." Ana drawled.

"Then let me explode in your arms."

Erica's eyes shot open. The second voice belonged not to Gabrielle but Tayler. She clenched her fists. Tears stung her eyes.

Ana laughed. "After breakfast, when the others are busy."

"I can't wait that long," Tayler's voice came in gasps.

Unable to hear more, Erica boldly stepped into the doorway. Her nerves shattered as she saw Tayler untie her robe. It fell open to Ana's eyes. Ana slid her fingers over the bare skin. Tayler moaned and closed her eyes in response to the caress.

"You could at least wait until I'm dead," Erica's frigid voice cut through the still room like a dagger.

Startled, the two women looked in Erica's direction. Ana withdrew her hands. Tayler backed away, tying her robe. The air in the room grew chilly. For a painful moment, the heavy silence of betrayal hung between the three women.

Erica hesitated and then turned abruptly. As she raced down the open corridor to the back of the hacienda she heard Ana call her name.

"Ricah, Ricahwait-"

"Let her go, Ana," Tayler commanded. "Let her go."

The smell of salt and seaweed permeated the air. Plate tectonics had pushed the sh.o.r.e into the mountains, making steep, jagged cliffs. The ocean waves below, a mix of shallow water and strong undercurrents, were deadly. With her heart in her shoes and tears streaming down her face, Erica leaned against the rocks.

Memory upon memory penetrated the veil of betrayal. Erica's body shook from a horde of tormenting faces -Tayler's, Ana's, Patricia Locksley's -and the one face she now despised - Carmen's.

"What have you done to her?" Erica sobbed. Her hands sought the wall for support.

No longer the fragile woman Erica had once held in her arms, Tayler was now a different woman-a powerful, demanding woman. Erica beat the rocks with her fists. No matter which way she went, she was destined to lose. Even if the curse were destroyed and she was released from her twelve-year h.e.l.l, Erica knew that the only woman she wanted, needed and loved was lost. The dank October wind swirled around and rattled her spirit. Her gaze fell to the cliff.

"Go ahead-jump," the voice in the wind was unkind.

Erica shuddered and wiped her forehead.

"There's nothing to stop you," the voice coaxed.

Sweat marked Erica's collar and beneath her arms. "Give me the strength to live the next twelve hours. I have your deaths to avenge." The wind took her words and dispersed them into the sky.

A seagull cried.

"My, my, isn't this touching?"

Erica straightened her back but did not raise her eyes. "f.u.c.k you, Raven."

"Tsk, tsk. Is someone becoming unglued?"

Erica turned to face the voice. Somewhere in the shadows of the cliff stood her nemesis. "Come into the light, you coward, and face me."

"Why, I'd be delighted," Raven purred. She was dressed in black leather and held a whip in her hand. Her hair was swept to the side and the ends were caught in red and silver beads. Her leather vest strained against full b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "Don't you think it's a little late for this?"

"For someone like you -yes."

"Hm, I've never known you to be so spirited. Oh, how I love that in a woman," Raven smiled.

"You gutless snake."

The smile froze on Raven's face. She snapped her whip angrily, the sound of its hissing filled the air. "Enough. I didn't come here to trade insults. I came to make you an offer."

Erica threw her head back and laughed. She spread her feet apart and put her hands on her hips. "I can hardly wait to hear it."

"You're a stupid fool, Erica. You try my patience."

"And you try mine," Erica glared at Raven. "Either tell me what you want or leave."

Raven casually waved the whip in front of her. "All right, I'll come to the point. I want to try some new things and I need your help. With your beauty and my powers, we can leave Mexico and create an empire. You could do as you pleased and I would have new thrills for my -insatiable appet.i.te."

"Thinking of taking over the world, are you?"

"Your so-called world leaders know nothing of control and domination." Raven ran her tongue along her upper lip.

"And you'd let me live until you were the wealthiest, most powerful woman in the world. Am I right?"

Raven nodded.

A slow smile spread across Erica's face. "With an offer like that how can I refuse?" Erica looked directly into Raven's eyes. "But I will."

Raven raised her hand and snapped her wrist. The whip came down and snagged Erica's cheek. Blood appeared in the wound and ran down her neck. "b.i.t.c.h. Do I need to teach you how to obey as well?" Raven shrieked. Her voice echoed along the cliffs.

Erica wiped angrily at her cheek. "Apparently, you've overlooked a few details concerning tonight."

"Such as-"

"Such as you'll be destroyed."