Chapter 44

He grabbed hold of her in a strong embrace and kissed her with a ferocious passion. He tore at the pretty pink bra aggressively, ripping it from her body and the same for her knickers. The rush of sensation within her, a mix of both fear and excitement all but overwhelmed her. Jacob pulled back from kissing her taking a moment to look at the prize in front of him. The wave of blonde hair had fallen back across her face and her lipstick was now a blurred smear on her lips. He wiped the back of his hand across the smudge that covered his own. The fire in his eyes now burned even brighter. Casey rushed forward attempting to undo his shirt buttons eager to perform for this champion of her desire.

“Don’t do that.” He said pushing her hand away. His eyes scanning her body taking in all the details, her boyish hips and flat belly, her long limbs and skeletal appearance, he could count her ribs from a glance. This deprived creature appeared starved of more than a warm meal. She tried once more to unbutton his shirt at the same time moving forward to kiss him, arousing only anger in Jacob. He pushed her away, causing her to stubble backwards onto the bed. “I said don’t do that.” The rich tone of his voice was now piqued.

Casey began to tremble, what had started out as a good idea was now rapidly turning into a very bad one. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. She looked up at him through platinum strands and mascara rivers. “I’m sorry, I only wanted to… I… I’m so sorry….” No longer able to hold it in she burst into full floods of tears. Beautiful! The ultimate in vulnerability, naked and crying, how perfect?

“Ssshhh…. Ssshhh…. don’t cry.” Jacob crouched down in front of her, pushing back the damp tear-soaked hair from her face. How sweet she looked? The blue of her eyes stood out against the redness from tears. Her pale face all flushed and blotchy with streams of black running down her cheeks, and lipstick staining her mouth.

“I only wanted to make you happy, I only wanted to please you.” She forced the words from her lips in between frantic sobbing and nervously fidgeting with her fingernails. Jacob cradled her chin lifting her eyes to meet his, smiling tenderly melting away the injury his aggressive words had caused.

“I am happy. And you do please me.” His voice returned to the gentle velvet it had been. He stroked her cheek studying the features of her face. Anticipation mounting in him as to how she would taste when he finally made the kill. What would her eyes tell him as the life slipped from her? How sweet would the kill feel? Would the burning rage inside be quenched even for a moment taking this innocent life? True, she wasn’t Katya, and the resemblance only stretched so far, but she would have to do, for now.

He moved forward and kissed her again, pushing her further back in the bed until she was lying down and he was on top of her. His weight felt comforting, the cold silk of his shirt against her naked skin. She had once again relaxed, a pliable doll for him to bend to his will. He shifted his body to lie beside her on the bed, his hand holding her shoulder restraining her from following his lead and turning to face him. His kisses now stopped, as he lay admiring her fragile body, tracing his fingers across her collarbone, down her shoulder to her arm and then wrist and then the palm of her hand. Back onto her tummy, down across her hip, dipping onto her thigh and then back up again to rest his hand on her rib cage. She swallowed hard; this wasn’t how she imagined her first time to be. It wasn’t the flustered fumbling that she remembered from that one time in the store cupboard of the school gym. Not the horrible pinching Tommy Watson had given her nipples on her fourteenth birthday. Nasty spotty faced Tommy, who asked her to flash her knickers in return for a quick grope. No this was beyond her wildest imagination. The sensations she experienced just from the delicate movements of his hand. It was like the feelings she had when Jenny Murdoch tickled her leg in their fourth period Religious Education class, only a lot nicer. Jacob’s hand moved higher brushing past her tiny nipples, and higher, onto her collarbone and a little higher until it sat at the base of her throat. Jacob’s body shifted position so that he was looking down at her. His hand squeezed tight around her throat causing her to choke, and panic. He could feel her pulse throb in her neck. Her face changed colour to red as she clambered in the bed trying to wriggle free from his intense grip. But he held fast, watching the fear in her eyes as consciousness started to slip away. She was still alive. He had no intentions of killing her, at least not this way. He released his grip on her neck, as her body lay limp on the bed. Then getting up off the bed he moved to the only chair in the small apartment to sit and watch with wonder at his achievement.

An hour or two passed before he decided to revive her with loving care. The pungent whiff of aromatic ammonia spirit brought her round with fuzzy clarity. As the image of Jacob in front of her began to clear, panic set in and she tried to struggle away from him. Her long naked limbs flinging about in defence against this clearly disturbed man. Her instinct for survival was determined. She fought hard against him, which only furthered his desire to kill her. He threw her down on the bed and lunged at her neck. Ripping at her flesh with his teeth, piercing the skin and the precious vessel containing her warm syrupy fluid. Her blood was thick as it flowed from her vein into his mouth, a side effect from not eating. The divine taste of it was like drinking honey straight from the hive. Her struggles began to subside as weakness settled in her body. She was barely able to make sense of anything that had happened in her last few hours. Images of her life played in her mind, images of Tommy Watson and Jenny Murdoch, her mother and father, great aunt Daphne that smelt of medicated soap and lavender, her teacher at college that she had a crush on admiring her first painting, and all of this seeming somehow so irrelevant now.

The last few drops of blood slipped freely from her body and down Jacob’s throat, and the final beat of her heart sounded loudly in his ear. Her body lay there now cold. The sad tracks of mascara still printed on her cheeks and her hair no longer perfect waves but matted tangles of champagne and platinum. Jacob sat down on the bed beside her, brushing her hair back off her face. The resemblance she held to Katya wasn’t enough, his demons didn’t get quite the exorcism he had hoped. But the feast was sublime. He straightened himself before leaving the confines of the small pink box behind and stepping once more into the night.