Lilith

I started to disrobe and realized that Lilith was still in the room with me. She was hugging her arms across her chest and looked to be somewhat discouraged. I thought she would feel better after returning to the house and being far away from that isolated dell, but apparently the night's adventure had left her disheartened.

"What is it, Lilith?" I whispered my question to the black-haired beauty as I stood before her in my boxers. "Aren't you going to return to your room and get a little sleep before morning?"

She answered by just staring at me. I didn't think she wanted to be intimate after what we had been through, and if I'm being honest, I wasn't sure that I wanted to be after what I had discovered back in that shed. The thought suddenly occurred to me that my blue-skinned compeer might have been upset with me after journeying into the woods, so I stepped forward and placed my hands on her arms as I asked, "Is everything all right, Lilith?"

The young woman trembled in my grasp. She didn't have an answer for my question, but instead fired one back at me as she asked, "May I sleep with you?"

I smiled at her before stepping back toward the bed and pulling the blankets back. I then motioned with my hands for her to be my guest and make herself comfortable. As she started shedding the clothes I had loaned her, I reminded her that we would have to make sure we were awake before Antenora could spot us together. She simply nodded before crawling onto the bed with her cute butt in the air for me to see.

It was so hard to behold the woman's nude form and know that we didn't have time to do anything sexual. I even considered leaving my boxers on in order to avoid temptation, but as I popped a boner I wouldn't be able to immediately use, I whipped them off and jumped onto the bed beside her. We snuggled under the blankets until falling asleep in each other's arms.

I was glad that Lilith had a smile on her beautiful face as we did so.

* * *

The weather proved to be quite finicky as things grew a little brisk during our workday. I know I mentioned earlier that I enjoyed cooler weather, and I honestly felt that it made physical activity outdoors much easier. However, I was a little worried about Lilith since she insisted on wearing nothing more than her overalls in order to carry out her tasks. How the young woman managed to stay warm, I'll never know. Maybe she was more like me than I realized and preferred the cooler weather as well.

Once the work was wrapped up for another day, it was time for dinner. Antenora had a warm meal waiting for us on the table when we entered the house, and I certainly couldn't deny how hungry I was. I had a seat across from Lilith in what had become "my spot," and I ravenously started to dig in as I piled extra mashed potatoes and corn onto my plate. I think I had the chicken breast in front of me gone within mere seconds.

I did my best to slow down on my second piece since I didn't want to come off as an animal. As we sat at that table situated in the kitchen, I wondered why we never consumed our meals in the fancy dining room in the next chamber over. I reminded myself that even though I could plainly see it from where I sat, I hadn't officially been given a tour of the house...and maybe my hostess left the room for special occasions. It wasn't really my place to ask questions. Besides, if I was going to ask questions, I had a ton of doozies I would've preferred having answers for.

The first and foremost one on my mind was just how long Antenora had planned on letting me crash in her home. I was on my third day of being stranded on her property, and if she truly didn't have a working telephone, I wondered how she planned on getting me back on the road. At the same time, I was beginning to wonder if she maybe liked having a man around the house again to help with some of the workload. Maybe I also provided a bit of a middleman between her and Lilith. I thought of what it would be like to be a fly on the wall when the two of them were alone...

I also had distinct questions that I couldn't actually ask my hostess for fear of any kind of reprisal. Again, I wasn't afraid of anything the old woman could do to me: I was a strong, capable young man of twenty-seven. I guess the only thing that frightened me about the place was what the old crone was capable of doing to Lilith if I wasn't around to protect her.

Which was why I had decided that I wasn't leaving this place without her.

"Did you gather more firewood and store it away on the side of the guesthouse like I asked you?" Antenora's query broke into my thoughts.

I glanced over at the old bat who had on a pair of those gaudy earrings that I've seen every grandmother in existence wearing at some point. I'm sure I don't have to explain them: The overly ornate pieces of jewelry that are clearly found in the cheap section of any supermarket and clip on to the earlobe while usually being a horrendous shade of any color under the rainbow...? Yeah, I'm not sure who Antenora was trying to impress, but such fashion was out of style when she was my age.

"Well?"

I swallowed the food I had in my mouth since I didn't want to sound like a barbarian when I answered. After getting the potatoes and chicken down, I finally responded, "I actually gathered a bit more because the pile ended up being a lot larger than you wanted." I figured she'd approve of my answer.

The elderly woman grunted like an old man. "That won't do. Now I won't be able to reach it when I need it!"

I should've known she wouldn't be pleased no matter what I did. I wondered why it even mattered to her since she would more than likely have Lilith fetching the wood to begin with. It wasn't like the grouchy hag was going to do anything on her own. I should've known it was because she was the kind of person who just wanted to bitch for the sake of bitching.

"And you," Antenora squawked as she turned her attention to the blue-skinned angel sitting across from me. "Did you gather the eggs I asked for from the chickens?"

Lilith answered by simply nodding.

"Good. It's about time you do something."

Getting a little fed up with the old bat's treatment of the woman I had grown so attached to in my short time on her property, I couldn't help but set my fork down on the table as I turned my eyes to her and lowered my voice while saying, "She does a hell of a lot more around here than you do, you know."

"Excuse me?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lilith tense up and actually shake her head. The fear in her gentle spheres became readily apparent, but I wasn't about to back down to some old biddy who didn't know a good thing when she had one. The fact that she treated Lilith like crap pissed me off to no end, and as far as I was concerned, it was going to end...now.

I felt one of Lilith's feet under the table as she gently kicked me and tried to shut me up before my mouth managed to get me in anymore trouble. Of course, I wasn't about to give in. I wasn't trying to come off as a tough guy who picked on old ladies by any means, but over the last few days, I had put up with the nagging crone belittling my raven-tressed compeer on far too many occasions...and I had had enough.

"Do you realize how much work this wonderful woman accomplishes on a daily basis for you?" I asked as Antenora and I glared into each other's souls. "I've seen my share of hard workers in my time, and I've been to places that some people can only dream of...and in all those adventures I've had, I've never seen anyone who breaks her back for someone else as much as Lilith does for you. Maybe you ought to show her a little respect unless you'd like to go out to that barn and do the work by yourself tomorrow."

I'm not lying when I say that I've never seen such hate behind a pair of eyes in my entire life...and that's coming from a guy who's seen the underbelly of the world. The animosity behind the aged orbs glaring back at me might've been enough to make a normal man crack under pressure, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm anything but normal. I knew the elderly woman regretted inviting me into her home more than anything in that moment, but she took the high road and said nothing in response. With her jaw hanging open, she simply stood up with her plate of food in her right hand. She then walked over to her trash receptacle and dumped what remained before placing the dirty dish in the sink. Her mouth was still agape as she made her way past us and toward the staircase. Without uttering a single word in retaliation, she disappeared up the stairs.

I turned to face Lilith with a bit of shock etched on my countenance. I hadn't been expecting the old bat to concede so easily. I was awaiting the blue-skinned beauty to maybe laugh or thank me for defending her...but I was a little surprised by the response I received.

Lilith set her fork down and lowered her head so I couldn't see her eyes. She shook her head as she mumbled, "Bad."

I had no idea what to say. I wasn't sure if she had muttered the word because she thought Antenora was bad...or if she was referring to me for being such a loudmouth. I would've hoped by this time that she would've known I was only being a jerk because I was coming to her defense. I didn't want the lovely young woman to live under Antenora's iron fist any longer.

Lilith finally looked up at me and had a frown spread across her face. "You shouldn't have said that."

I didn't think I had to explain myself, but I did so anyway when I said, "But Lilith, I don't like the way that old hag treats you! You do all the work..."

"Bad," Lilith repeated the same word she had just said and had also used back in the dell the night before. She continued to shake her head as she abruptly stood up with her plate of food and also walked over to the trash receptacle and dumped what was left. She then made her way to the sink and washed her dish and utensils along with the ones Antenora had placed in the small washing basin. Once they were cleaned to her liking, she grabbed a towel to dry them with and put them away before doing just as the old woman had done: She walked past me toward the staircase.

"Lilith?" I asked as she stopped for only a second.

The blue-skinned woman glanced in my direction and still looked sad as she mumbled, "I love you, Marcus." She then disappeared up the stairs and left me alone in the kitchen.

It should come as no surprise that I was more confused that I had ever been. There wasn't a single problem on any test I had ever taken in all my years of schooling or even during the single year I spent in college that could've had me more perplexed than I was in that moment as I sat by myself at that small table. I understood Antenora's resentment toward me, but what had I done to upset Lilith?

I tried telling myself that the raven-tressed beauty wasn't really mad at me. Maybe she was just disappointed in the way I had handled the situation. I knew she didn't actually like Antenora, but maybe she thought I could've handled our plight with a little more tact. After all, Lilith was a kindhearted woman with far better manners than anyone - myself included - gave her credit for.

It may have seemed a little tacky on my part, but I remained alone in the kitchen so I could finish my meal since I was absolutely famished. I know it may have seemed a little low of me since poor Lilith had discarded her dinner after my outburst, but I had a man-sized hunger that needed to be sated...and I wasn't leaving my spot until it was.

I must've devoured four or five pieces of chicken and enough potatoes, green beans and corn to feed a small family. I had been starving when we entered the house, but after stuffing myself to the brim, I knew I was going to sleep well...unless I had Lilith on my mind for the rest of the evening. I was hoping to see her before laying down for the night, but I wasn't sure if she'd even want to see me. She had been pretty disappointed in my behavior.

When I was finally full, I stood up and took my plate over to the sink on the other side of the kitchen behind where Lilith normally sat. I scraped the food residue off the plate and washed it along with my utensils. After drying everything off and looking for the right cupboards to put the dishes away in, I decided it would be in my best interest to clean off the rest of the dishes so Lilith didn't catch flak for not doing so.

I walked over to the table and gathered anything that didn't have food in or on it so I could collect them and take them back to the sink. Since there were obviously some leftovers, I took those bowls over to the refrigerator. I was just about to open the door when something caught my attention and made me almost drop everything I had in my hands.

On the door of the fridge, there were all sorts of old magnets in the shape of farm animals holding up old photos and newspaper clippings. Most of what I saw was nothing out of the ordinary, but somehow, my eyes had caught a piece of paper no bigger than a business card that had nothing more than a name and phone number scrawled across it in pen.

The name on the card was "Kaede Lara Storm."

Perhaps a little context is in order. Kaede was a girl I had known years earlier when I was in my final year of schooling. She was a hot-ass nineteen-year-old with a smokin' body and a tan complexion. She had black hair and dark eyes, and she looked like she could have been on the cover of any fitness magazine due to her toned abs and trim physic. Any guy would feel blessed to have a roll in the hay with her, and to be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure if many guys would be able to keep up with her. Sure, I had never gone all the way with her, but it was safe to assume that from a sexual standpoint, Kaede would go the distance and then some.

Oh, and if I didn't mention it, I received my first ever blowjob from Kaede.

It went without saying that seeing the stunning woman's handwritten name and a number to contact her at hanging on a refrigerator out in the middle of nowhere sent a chill down my very spine. I'm pretty sure I stood as still as a statue for a good minute before finally backing toward the table so I could set everything in my hands down before walking back over and pulling the card out from under the cow-head magnet holding it to the refrigerator door. I'm sure I stared at it for a good minute before moving again as my mind tried to register everything going on.

I walked back over to where I always sat when I ate at the table in the kitchen. I seated myself and continued to stare at the card in my right hand as my mouth hung open in awe. The last time I had seen the brown-eyed babe with a body to kill for, we had gone on a little "ghost hunt" at an abandoned cabin she knew about. Kaede had always been into the paranormal, and she had always wanted to prove that what some people found to be nothing more than ambiguous superstition was in fact real in some way. In fact, she had disappeared from my life seven years earlier to do just that.

"Kaede," I whispered her name as I stared at the card and memorized the numbers before me. "Where the hell are you...and how the hell have you been?" As I pictured the limber woman in my mind's eye, I found myself wondering what she possibly looked like nearly a decade later. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would still be strikingly gorgeous, but more important than that, I wondered if she was still leading a life on the edge while searching for proof of life after death.

After reminiscing for a few minutes, my eyes went right back to the card in my hand as I wondered why her full name was written down. I was actually kind of grateful that it was because I knew that I could be positively certain that it was her and not a woman with the same name. I had always thought that her name was so damn awesome: Kaede Lara Storm. A badass name for a badass woman. She had always been something else. There could be no one else like her.

The significance of her phone number being on the card suddenly hit me.

I stood up with the digits racing through my mind as I asked myself, Why would Antenora have a card with a phone number on it if she didn't have a phone somewhere in the house? I paced back and forth while trying to piece things together. A second thought hit me almost as hastily as the first when I remembered, She never said she didn't have one...she just said it wasn't working! In that moment, I firmly believed that the old bat was lying to me...and that if I searched a little harder, I would find a telephone somewhere in the house that was in working order. At this point, I couldn't believe any of the bullshit escaping her old, crusted lips.

As I continued to meander through the kitchen while wrestling with my thoughts, I wondered why Antenora of all people would have Kaede's phone number. What had become of the raven-haired hottie who had at one time sucked me off in the basement of an actual haunted house? As I thought about her, I walked over to the sink and leaned against the countertop space next to it while reliving my past. Believe it or not, I had always been skeptical about ghosts and such, but my little adventure with Kaede actually turned up substantial evidence. As long as I live, I'll never forget the night when she was giving me the most amazing head as I looked up and suddenly spotted a shadow figure...

And that was when a shadow actually fell over me while I was lost in thought. Since my back was to it, I would've never known it was there...except for the animalistic screech that accompanied it and alerted me to its presence.

I spun around and saw a deranged woman standing only feet away from me with an axe clutched in her right hand and held above her head. She looked like death warmed over...and her target was obviously me. Her eyes were red with rage and her varicose veins pulsed in her arms and legs. I was about to meet my maker and would never understand everything that had befallen me in the last few days. Even though I had been warned that the crazed old woman was coming right at me with her deadly weapon, I had no time to react since I was so flabbergasted by what was about to happen. Antenora was going to end me and more than likely hack me to pieces for the fun of it.

A sickening thud suddenly sounded throughout the room.

I watched in awe as the old crone collapsed to the kitchen floor only about three feet away from me. The back of her skull had been bludgeoned by a lead pipe...and my blue-skinned angel stood tall directly behind her as my savior.

"Li...Lilith?!" I called out after finding my voice and trying to register everything I had just seen.

A look of dread overtook the dark-haired woman's face as she realized what she had just done. She hadn't wanted to kill the old bat...but she had done so in order to save me.

Even after everything I had just witnessed, I somehow managed to make my way across the kitchen and over the body in front of me as I grabbed onto Lilith before she could fall over. I was positive that my blue-skinned compeer was on the verge of fainting after realizing she had just taken a life, but I wouldn't allow her to fall. I hugged my arms around her and kept her upright as I took the pipe away from her and set it on the table.

I walked Lilith over to the chair I had been sitting on and placed her on it. She was trembling uncontrollably, but I told her to look into my eyes and focus completely on me. I wanted to slow her breathing down to normal before she hyperventilated.

"Everything's all right, Lilith! You're going to be okay! You didn't do anything wrong!"

"I...I murdered her!"

"No! No you didn't!" I grabbed the young woman by her upper arms and forced her to look at me and not the body of the deceased female on the floor. "You only did what you had to in order to save me! Had you not acted, she would've hacked me to ribbons!"