Bound
The Bound Tetralogy

Excerpt

Just then, Liz felt a breeze lift her hair from her shoulder. She lowered her hand to her chest, and it felt as if her heart had stopped beating. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and glanced at the window to her side. Night was beginning to fall on the busy sidewalk outside. Among the people walking, Isaac stood staring through the window. She held onto the edge of the bar to keep from falling off her stool.
“Excuse me, sir.” Liz waved at the bartender. “Can you tell the gentleman I was here with that I had to leave?” Liz put a twenty on the bar for the drinks and rushed out of the bar as fast as her high heels would allow.
Once outside, Liz looked toward the place where Isaac had stood. He was no longer there. She looked both ways down the sidewalk, then across the street. There he was, walking on the opposite side of the street in the direction of her home. She darted across the street, without looking both ways. Horns blared, and she apologized profusely as she continued her mad dash across the cobblestone street. The sidewalks were unusually busy that evening, and she had to weave in and out of the crowds to keep up with Isaac’s swift pace. The lampposts were shining on the maple trees that lined the sidewalks, which cast peculiar shadows everywhere she looked.
Finally, there was a clearing in the crowd, and Liz realized that she stood in front of Dusk. She caught a glimpse of Isaac entering, his black trench coat trailing behind him as though he were a dark superhero. She hurried toward the door of Dusk and pushed her way into the dark, crowded bar. New Wave music surged from the speakers above. Adrenaline raced through her veins, and her whole body seemed to shake uncontrollably. Liz squeezed between people, not knowing where to look first. Normally, the heavy make-up of the goth crowd would not have fazed her, but she felt jumpy looking at the strange faces in the dim light. Her thinking had become hazy, as if she were floating in a dream.
Liz pushed her way through the mass to the dance floor, which looked like an ocean of black waves, all moving in a melodic trance. As she stepped onto the dance floor, the movement of people pulled her further to the middle, where she was met with more bizarre faces. Liz did not see Isaac anywhere. Suddenly, the crowd seemed to part a little. There he was. He stood six feet in front of her, glaring at her. His eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. She became paralyzed, her breath shallow, her mind scrambled. Her emotions nearly brought her to her knees, as she had not sensed him in a long time.
Isaac was just as Liz had remembered, devastatingly beautiful, chiseled, untamed blond hair. But his stare was not the same as the one she recalled, and this made her uneasy. His eyes looked angry and obsessive. She didn’t know if she should run or stay, and she couldn’t move her feet anyway. As if Isaac could sense this, he moved his chin to the side and upward. Just then, Liz seemed to slide across the floor on her feet, coming to rest six inches from Isaac. She stared up at him, bewildered. Isaac looked down at her with his entrancing blue eyes, and she knew at that moment that she was not getting out of this.
In a futile attempt to regain control, she tried to focus on her surroundings, but everything seemed surreal. Love Is A Stranger by The Eurythmics played above, and the dancing multitude seemed unaware of Isaac and Liz’s presence. Isaac took Liz’s hands in his at her sides and began to rhythmically move to the music. Briefly, his movements hypnotized Liz, and he seemed able to control her at his will. He gently moved her hands above her head, and all at once, Liz levitated in the air so that her face was level with his, and she was still moving with the beat of the music. His lips brushed against hers; she could smell his honey-sweet breath. His eyes were inches away from hers, and for a moment she could see the wise and adoring look that she remembered.
Liz’s body, still suspended in the air, moved against Isaac’s; he controlled her movements, her thoughts, everything. His jaw clenched, and the obsession surfaced in his eyes again. He slowly lowered Liz to the floor and turned her around so that her back was against his front. Still moving with the beat, Isaac took Liz’s arms in his and wrapped them around her stomach. He slowly moved his right hand up her torso, pausing at her breasts for a moment, then gently clasped his hand around her neck. She could not see his face, but she envisioned the incensed look in his eyes. She was terrified and reverent all at once. He applied a small amount of pressure to her throat, and Liz instinctually placed her hand over his. She could feel his manhood swelling behind her, which sent waves of excitement up her thighs. She felt Isaac release his grasp and move away from her.
Liz looked over her shoulder. Isaac was no longer behind her. She tried to regain her composure and stumbled through the crowd looking for him. He was gone. She made her way through the front door of Dusk and searched the shadowy sidewalk and street. She set down the sidewalk in the direction of her house, when suddenly someone grabbed her and pulled her into the alleyway. Liz attempted to scream, and a familiar hand covered her mouth. It was Isaac.
“Shhh….” He pushed her firmly against the brick wall of the neighboring row house. He lowered his face to her level. Isaac looked back and forth between her eyes and lips. He began to speak in his deep, spellbinding, accented voice.
“I am your heaven. I am your hell. I’m under your skin, in your veins, in your soul. I am everywhere.”
Isaac kissed Liz so hard that she thought she would asphyxiate. She had never thought that suffocating would feel so pleasant. His lips released hers, and he slowly backed away into the alley, disappearing into the darkness.