In a Dark Embrace by Simone Bern

crave the look of abject terror in another’s eyes, what it meant to get off on a woman’s scream of pain. There was nothing in Jeremy that came close to such evil. However not all the darkness she carried came from others. Some acts she had performed all on her own.
    Jeremy picked up her hand and kissed it. They sat there holding hands as the sun moved across the sky and slowly ate away their shade.
    “What do you want to do today?” he finally asked.
    “Just this is wonderful.” She smiled at him.
    “We could go out for lunch or I can scrounge up something here.”
    Lee blinked at him. “Are you hungry again already?”
    “It is noon.”
    “Well, yes, but we had a huge breakfast only a couple of hours ago.”
    Jeremy stood up. “I’ll go have a snack. We can find a restaurant later. Can I bring you a drink? I have Coke or orange juice.”
    “Coke.” She watched him walk into the house, admiring the way he moved. Even in her presently languid mood he created a stir in her belly. Lee leaned back and closed her eyes.
    “Are you hungry yet?” he asked a while later and laid a hand on her leg.
    Lee laughed. She had been daydreaming and he had featured prominently in her fantasy. “I might enjoy…a little something.” Glancing up at him through her lashes, she gave him an inviting smile. Jeremy scooped her up like a child and carried her into the house.
    * * * * *
    She tasted the ridges down the center of his back and the dimples on his butt. He nibbled on her toes and licked the hollow behind her knees. It was an undemanding exploration that inched toward a long, sweet fulfillment.
    Afterward Lee lay basking in the warmth of the sun streaming in through the open window in Jeremy’s bedroom. She put her chin on his chest and examined his face closely.
    “Jeremy, how old are you? I had guessed about thirty but from things you’ve said I’m thinking you’re actually a bit older.”
    “Werewolves age more slowly than normal,” Jeremy said, then hesitated. “I’m forty-six but my records say I’m thirty-one.”
    She sat up. “Why…how…?”
    “We live to be well over a hundred. It was decided by my father’s generation that we didn’t want the attention that being fit and healthy at one hundred would bring. Medical science is very focused on issues of aging and the pressure to submit to tests would be considerable. We have a very good hacker in our group. He works to keep us within reasonable age ranges. I finished high school, traveled for a couple years, went to university then traveled for many more years, dithered about doing this and that until deciding to join the RCMP. Before I joined my records were changed to show I had just graduated from university.”
    Lee leaned over and traced his face with her fingers. “Forty-six. No, you certainly don’t look it.” She smiled. “Guess that makes it easy for you to date much younger women.”
    Jeremy shrugged. “Much under thirty and they aren’t very interesting.” He looked away. “Not that it’s mattered recently.”
    “What? Have you been off women? Other than the buxom Melissa, of course.”
    His blue eyes looked up at her solemnly. “No. I don’t think I can go off women. Melissa was one of many. But I haven’t been dating them, I’ve been fucking them. I haven’t had a date in over three years.”
    “What do you consider to be the difference? Lots of guys date just to get into a girl’s pants.”
    He shook his head. “Dating means you’re trying to get to know the person. I haven’t given a damn about any of them so won’t deign to label any meals which happened to be eaten in their company as a date. Usually I didn’t even bother with dinner…or breakfast.”
    Jeremy was painting a harsh picture of countless empty fucks with nameless women. “What happened three years ago?” she asked softly.
    “I gave up. I realized I wasn’t ever going to be able to get a woman to stay. At least, not one that I was remotely