This chapter is dedicated to ElleMarlow. The contest rules encouraged 'sensual' writing and I thought, what in the world is sensual writing?! Then I read 'Protecting the Cowboy's Baby', and I finally felt the definition of sensual. An amazing author and a sure contender of SYTYCW15. 

Chapter Seventeen

Edwin swipes off the light switch and lie Josslyn on her back onto the futon. Resting in between her legs, he dabs a cool wash cloth over her face and lifts her legs slightly above each of his thigh to rise them above her heart level. The white cotton cloth feels like a home welcoming texture, so soft between his fingers  - one he's always wanted the pleasure of feeling. After all, life's simplest pleasures make up an entire lifetime. 

"I love you." He presses his cheek against hers to feel the warmth emanating from her soft skin as he tugs lose strands of red hair behind her ear and plant a stream of kisses across her entire face. The creases of her lips riding against his thumb stirs a deep arousal from far below, forcing him to press his manhood against her thigh. Rubbing the tip of his nose against her neck, he nudges her gently to wake as he burrows deeper into her skin, losing himself in crisp lavender body wash, breathing her deep into his lungs.

She stirs and he feels an explosion of excitement rising to his throat. Her voice will ring in his ears, those beautiful green eyes will shine in the moonlight and those lips will curl - he loves every single piece of her from beginning to end. Three days without her feels like three additional lifetimes to his seven.

Josslyn gasps in bewilderment at the most familiar set of melancholy eyes sitting deep under the ridges of brows. The soft features of her husband's face glow an indigo hue from the moonlight glaring boldly through expansive windows.

"Oh my God." She whimpers searching for the of fog. "Am I dreaming?" 

She sits up toward Edwin and glides her hands up his hard chest then slowly drag her fingers gently down his face. The scab on his left temple is more visible than ever, it rises up then down like a mountain ridge, but it could never taint the landscape of his beautiful face. Edwin eagerly tastes his wife's fingers to savor her flavor. The soft wet texture of his warm tongue causes Josslyn to melt - no, I am most definitely not dreaming. Gently biting each finger, he takes immediate pleasure in seeing goosebumps ricochet across her skin.

He sinks his pelvis deeper into her thigh, his jean chafing against hers. Josslyn moans, this feels like home - the perfect fitting. She is all here - mind, body and soul. The experience with Wyatt was tantalizing yet disjointed, only an act on all senses and devoid of emotions, but Edwin feels like home. He even smells like home - green pinewood swirling with dusts of sweet moss after a rainstorm. Mother earth must have given birth to this man. 

Edwin tugs at her pants, stripping her down as she quickly loosens up his jeans to see his rod bouncing free from its containment. Lifting off his t-shirt, Edwin digs both hands into a pile of red hair as he wedges her legs further apart.

He moans. "You've missed me too."

"God, oh God, I've missed you."  Her hands trails down to his toned hard buttocks, trying to sink them between her legs.

"Nice and easy, honey," he whispers. Before he can inch his way in, Josslyn panics, forcefully flipping him over. Rising to the edge of the bed, she begins to cry in guilt-ridden sobs. 

Edwin jumps off the futon and kneels in front of her. Concern rips at his chest as he searches for her gaze, "Honey, look at me." He cups her face and wipes her tears.  "What's wrong?" 

He sterns."Did Wyatt do something to you? Did he hurt you?"

She shakes her head. "He'd never hurt me."

Good.  "I love you." Leaning in, he pecks each cheek to kiss streams of tears away then he finally locks her eyes. He sees it: Guilt, undeniable guilt.

Rising off the floor, he trails a few step backward as his arousal evaporates quicker than rainwater, the truth crashing onto him like a raging monsoon.

Josslyn gazes up at her husband, the moonlight highlights the curvature of his masculine features, bringing in full light curves of deltoids, biceps that link with triceps then abs - all canyons rising and falling with the moon's glow as though God himself chiseled this man from heaven's finest marble. His stern stare jolts her from an ogling reverie. 

"What happened?" His jaw clenches tight. 

Her breaths suddenly fall shallow, as though the oxygen in the room had been sucked right out of this house. 

"Edwin," she pleads.

"No," he begs. "Please no." He sinks down onto his wooden chair, planting his face into both palms as his heart breaks. 

"Edwin, I - "

"Don't. Please don't tell me...I can't bear it." 

He glares out the window, unsure whom to blame for this onslaught of infidelity. He didn't even think to question her because he wanted so badly to trust her. He'd sent her away to keep her safe under Wyatt's watchful eyes, eyes that apparently were overly observant. 

"Edwin," Josslyn drops down to his feet, begging and wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

He rises off the chair, shaking his head in disappointment and begins to vanish away. 

"Edwin?" Rising quickly she clasps onto what remains of his body with her full weight. "No! don't leave! I'm sorry! Don't go! Stay with me, just a little bit longer."

"I can't." He resists the urge to wrap her in his arms. "My invisible body doesn't know how to handle its corporeal counterpart. This is as long as I can remain in mortal form."

She gazes at him, "You can't stay like this forever? With me? You can't control it?"

"Not in long durations. Much of the time, I'm too emotionally overwhelmed to hold the equilibrium of all my feelings. I feel too much because despite the fact that I am invisible, I'm human, I feel the pain of betrayal just as any would." And like that he vanishes into thin air, taking away the physical body she hungers to devour.

"Get dressed," he demands, his voice curt, without warmth, literally sharp enough to cut skin. 

Josslyn follows orders without argument and pulls up her pants while keeping her chin close to her chest in shame. Then she hears very familiar words - words she's always dreaded.

"We have to move." His voice is stern, intent with a deep mysterious purpose. 

"Phillip's still out there?" she pulls the shirt over her head, unwilling to turn toward the direction of his invisible gaze, unable to face him with full frontal humiliation.

"No, I found the bastard."

He immediately receives her full frontal view - a view he once coveted as his own but now feels tainted and shared.

"I found him and tried to kill him then the police charged in, guns drawn on my back before I could put a bullet into that fucker's chest." His jaw clenches, "Josslyn, I had no choice. I...had to get back to you so I faced them all down. They've seen me and they know I exist." 

"T-they saw you in your mortal form?" 

"I'm deemed a threat. In case you haven't noticed, the entire city's on lockdown right now. That's why I've kept the lights off to avoid drawing any attention as though you've returned home. A few investigators have came by but you weren't here so they left and I expect them to be back by early morning."

He sighs. He knows she won't like what he's about to say. "I don't think they'll ever stop looking for me. I need you pack up everything valuable to you. We ought to leave the country for good."

A dead feeling sinks into Josslyn's pit. At first, she hated Oregon but now, she's grown so fond of the cascades, the evergreens, the clean streets lining quaint neighborhoods as the sun treks its way from one end of the mountain to the other. 

"We'll live in solitude; somewhere no one will ever find us. Someplace remote like fjords in Norway  or the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, somewhere hidden in fog where I'll always be around. We'll live off the land. We've done it before, we can do it again."

Josslyn brims with tears. But is that what I want? Do I want to be kept from civilization forever?

"We'll run farther than we've ever done," he continues. "Far from that attic and all those hell-bounded fuckers."

"They're not there anymore." She instantly regretted these words because she had intended to tell him this when things were better settled down. 

"What? You went back there?"

"Um," she nervously scratches her head. "Wyatt took me back there."

"He did what!" Edwin's deep voice cracked so loud, the house's foundation nearly falters. Josslyn shuffles nervously.

Josslyn hears angry footprints running toward the door. She runs and pins the door down to prevent Edwin from leaving. "B-but at first I was really mad like you but then we got there and-and the town is completely God-forsaken, Edwin. All the people are gone. It's just empty like a rebellion had taken over, then I stood outside the attic and Wyatt and I..."

Jealousy pinches Edwin's blood vessels, forcing him to clasps onto his chest. He hates how Wyatt's name rolls of her tongue - a tongue that belongs to him! 'Wyatt and I' should never be strung into a sentence!

"...we burnt it down." Her voice reemerge in focus. "It doesn't lie in wait anymore for both you and I. And I-I wish you were there with me. I know that I'm not over the torture I've endured but I'll never forget the small respite of liberation I felt. The experience, It was...good."

She hears Edwin scoff sharply, "good huh?" He couldn't bite his tongue any longer. "I'm sure it felt really good, Josslyn - so good you even forgot that you're married!"

Josslyn gasps. 

Unlike Wyatt who goes into a silent angry simmer; Edwin is a red-mouth fire-breathing pistol. If he's angry, she'll hear about it from a mile away.  

She balls her fist, walking toward the sound of his voice. "It's so easy to yell out orders isn't it, Edwin? Well, I followed your orders! I took off the ring and I know you didn't want me mentioning our marriage! I had to present myself as a unmarried woman because that's what you wanted!"

 "I made you take off that ring for two reasons, Josslyn! One - I needed him to protect you!  You weren't supposed to fuck your own bodyguard!  But you certainly had a really good reason to mention you're married didn't you? Because - two - this was my only chance to test you! I needed to know if I could trust you enough to finally stop being so doubtful, so afraid and worried-sick that you'd betray me. A part of me died watching you disappear into the night with him but I knew if I could trust you with Wyatt, I'd trust you with any man."

She's caught speechless, a angry lump lodges at her throat, restricting her ability to yell in rage. "You were testing me?" She scoffs as tears begin to brim. "How could you? How do you not know that I'd rather die by your side than be driven off with that man?"

"Because your hesitation is far more worrisome than reassuring, Josslyn." 

"Well," her lips quiver. "I guess Wyatt isn't the only person who feel used."

She returns to the living room,  snatches her jacket off the futon and stomps toward the front door, ready to take off into the chilly night.

"Where are you going?" Edwin demands, running after her. "Josslyn! Where are you going?"

But she doesn't answer.

"Don't walk out that door."

She flings the door wide open.

His hands slips right through as he tries to prevent her from leaving, but she doesn't notice how panicked he's become, how terrified he is that she's abandoning him for Wyatt.

Clenching his jaw, he concentrates with all his fury and as the aura burst open, he grabs onto her waist, forcing her backwards and pinning her against his hard body as he kicks the door shut before she can take off.

"No!" He buries his face into her neck, digging deep into red hair. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me."

Anger and heartbreak gnaw at his chest, but he clings on tight as though for dear life. He knows all too well he can't hold this against her forever, he'll never forgive and forget her betrayal but he's too afraid to let her go; too afraid to exist without her. He'll have to accept her for better or for worst because he's on this planet for only one purpose: To be with her.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "Please forgive me. I was so afraid to send you off, but I was more afraid that I'd lock you up forever; never giving you the fair chance to prove me wrong."

How foolish was it for him to believe Wyatt wouldn't make a move on his wife. He's played poltergeist and chased away so many boys who've sought after those emerald diamonds gleaming in the midday's sunbeam, drooled over the smooth curve of her delectable derrière, the scars don't even deter them from a good ogling. She is the most beautiful creature to walk on Earth and she is so innocent of life because she's lived such a narrow experience. He knows she was tantalized by all the physical senses Wyatt provided her - the touch, sight, and smell of a Man - senses that Edwin himself only seldom offered her. She's lonely, starved of physical companionship and for so long she's been ridiculed because of him and he knows he's to blame for all her suffering and loneliness.

He knew he could have waited to introduce himself to her later on in life.  He could have allowed her to grow up with friends, with people who would have treated her differently, and therefore the shaping of her childhood would have been less traumatizing - perhaps more fulfilling. But after seven lifetimes of having to watch her reincarnate from one animal to the next, he was simply too excited to stay away for much longer. Like a thief, he took her childhood.

He stood by her crib and lulled her to sleep with lullabies, he cheered her on as she stumbled her first baby step, he was her favorite hopscotch friend - the only one she's ever had, and he watched crimson red as her breasts became more voluptuous throughout puberty. So many nights, she'd fight him, plead him to leave her but he'd wait patiently outside her door with absolutely nowhere else to go. From as early as time would permit, he's wooed and coaxed her into falling in love with him while he kept her away from the world, afraid that wrong crowds would taint her innocence, terrified that she'd fall in love with another man and he'd lose the chance to finally be with her after centuries worth of patient wait. 

Then on her 18th birthday, she'd asked him to make love to her which he only agreed to if she'd marry him. So without vow, documentation, or even a ring, he married her that night while winding her up in his arms, pushing her bare back agains the wall as he gently thrusts pass her hymen to swallow her mind, body and soul - bonding her forever to him.

But he always knew that boys were simply boys. Wyatt is a man. And Edwin has misjudged the capability of this man. Once an inferior nemesis, Wyatt has now become the ultimate game changer, a powerful force that could steal away Edwin's most cherished possession. His deepest hope is that Wyatt is nothing more than a temporary tantalizing enticement, but he knows all too well, this man is far more capable of giving her everything she's been missing.

Josslyn digs her fingers into Edwin's flesh, clutching on tightly as though she's hanging from a ledge above a dark abyss. All her anger vanishes and she's suddenly reminded of how vulnerable he is; how his possessive nature stems from the fact that he's terrified to lose her, how seven lifetime's worth of waiting can easily be squandered in one second's worth of time. 

This is the only relationship she's ever known; it's wild and disorderly, never with a future plan and sways only with the direction of the wind, up and down and all around - the only nail that secures it onto the ground is unconditional love. But she's always wondered whether love is simply enough to trap her within the fog for the rest of her life - if it doesn't, than surely guilt will. 

There's only one thing she knows for sure. "I love you, Edwin. I love you and I forgive you. At the end of it all, we'll live together and die together. That's always how it's been and that's how it'll always be. We only have each other. I'm so, so sorry for what I've done and I hope one day to earn your forgiveness." 

Her hand slips through him as he begins to vanish away."Don't go yet," she begs, tears streaming down her cheek."Stay with me. Just a little-little bit longer, please stay with me." 

But he is now nothing except empty air.  She gazes around in a dark lonely empty room and sinks onto the floor with despair. Then she rises to begin packing for the long plane ride ahead.

The door bell rings.

Josslyn wipes her tears as she looks through the peep hole.

Wyatt! She flushes her back against the door, clenching her eyes tight as the ringing continues feverishly.

"Who is it?" Edwin asks.

She's far too terrified of the precarious situation to even mutter Wyatt's name. To appease the ringer, she cracks the door open by and inch.

"Can I come in?" Wyatt asks, his tone more a demand than a question.

"No. Go away." She whispers forcefully.

Wyatt clenches his jaw, "We need to talk."

"No. I said go awa -"

 Wyatt pushes the door open, storming right through into the house.

"Wyatt!" My husband will kill you, you idiot!

Wyatt's too familiar brazen demeanor radiates off her walls and floor. She chases him into the living room and switches on a corner lamp.

"What are you doing here?" Josslyn yells.

"Speak of the devil," Edwin clasps his hands together, breaking a knuckle as he readies his right hook.

Wyatt's stoic expression is Josslyn's only reply. His soft eyes that once corralled her skin are no longer visible and those rambunctious seagull chasing eyes are now but a distant memory. 

Grabbing the remote control, he flicks on the television and nods his head for her to take a look at the screen. He's apparently still simmering from the cold fat truth she'd just revealed less than 24 hours ago.

Let's play the surveillance video you obtained again John, for our audiences.

Sure, Aaron...So, in the replay, you clearly see people running away in fear of this thing. But what intrigues me is the formation of the body. 

Josslyn gasps with both hands over her mouth. 

First the hands, then the feet, half the body meets in the torso then as this thing makes its way toward Phillip Rueben, the back of its head begins to form. We definitely know its got that brown shoulder length hair, definitely something the Eugene police department is using to continue their search. Not to mention the interesting v-shape gash on his left temple - very visible even though we've only been able to identify half of his face. Our artists are still rendering a full facial image of this thing as we speak.

A-And John, this formation you spoke of was also captured on seven different smartphones, from seven different angles?

That's right Aaron, this is pretty extraordinary to say the least- more for Sci-Fi shows like Fact-or-Faked than CNN, but the oddity of all this is that not only is it claimed true by five officers and the chief of police for the city of Eugene, it was also captured by unrelated bystanders with seven different smartphones from seven different angles including two gas station surveillance cameras.

Hm. That is rather very interesting, John. Hoax or not, who ever created this disappearing invisible man has definitely gotten Chief Johansson riled up. Though everything is inconclusive at this time, we know something is definitely happening in Eugene, Oregon. Stay tuned for our continued coverage ...

Wyatt mutes the television, tossing the remote control onto the futon he saunters toward Josslyn, his expression, half-cautious but with determination for an answer. She feels his hot breath on her skin as those stone cold eyes pierce into her green orbs.  

He squints them, "something tells me you know exactly who that is."

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