"...the ancients recounted how Darkness and Night ruled over the chaotic world together, until Day and Light, acting in concert, dethroned them, and seized the supreme power.

Hemera (Day) and Aether (Light) decided to evolve from it 'a thing of beauty'... and feeling some assistance would be desirable they summoned Love to their aid."

The Myth of Erebus, Hemera and Aether
Excerpt from 'Classical Mythology'

"Rooonaaan..."

"Haaaaauuh!"Jarred awake, I bolt upright to pitch black and the dizzying vertigo of fading inebriation. Wood supports creak beneath my oversized frame and Versace crystal slips from my startled grasp, landing with a cracked thud on the mahogany planks below. "Mmm-huh... Shhhit."

Semi-conscious trunks push to a shaky stand and pivot away from scarred seating and troubling notions to stagger for the darkened hall leading to my old suite and another restless, drunken slumber. I'd rather take up in the guest wing, but the labyrinth of winding halls is a gauntlet I'm unprepared to navigate. So, I trudge aimlessly... stalling.

Portraits of the past smile at me from every side. Mom, Dad... Gramps. Careful to avoid their vacant scrutiny, I turn my attention to worn runners and the random cobweb, counting the shuffles until I cross the threshold to a fresh source of misery and the interminable reminder that I am permanently alone.

"By all means, take your time," she harrumphs from the murky corridor ahead. Lifting, blurry vision clears to heightened awareness fueled by immediate recognition...

Angel.

...and towering strides hasten in reply.

"I didn't think I'd see you again so soon."

"Am I interrupting?"

"Baby, the only thing you're interrupting is the misery of being without you."

"...It's hell, Ro,"

Normally, this is the part where most people freeze or wake screaming. I get it. Talking to a ghost isn't exactly normal, but to me, it's feeling the sun when it breaks the horizon after a long winter. Each syllable is another ray of ultraviolet warmth restoring life to the barren wasteland of my soul.

At first it was a sad crackle like a faulty radio in my head, crying for me to hold her. Tortured by the sound, I assumed it to be a hazy manifestation of my subconscious. Next, a phantom touch... a stir of air on my cheek while I poured through another bottle of whiskey, sobbing for her stay. Then, a fleeting glimpse of her head. An entire evening of hushed conversation. Each visit, a little longer, a little stronger... and a little harder to let go.

After that freakish interlude in my office, I worried I might truly be losing my mind... After the meeting with Parker, I'm in the mood to indulge.

Barging around the corner, "I'm comin', Jus," loopy stilts take a wide left and stumble into a small table set by the entry, "Ow," reversed into a clumsy spin, "Oof," and a stupid, gaming chair I wanted for Christmas and rarely used... before walking crotch-first, "Goooogh..." into the blue, plastic handle of a foosball rod. "Mooother-fuck me."

In the morning, it'll register that I haven't been in this room since I left. I haven't laid in this bed or smelled her scent on my pillow since...

...our last night together.

Tomorrow, I deal with the paralyzing anxiety and the suffocating grief, but tonight I could really use her company. At least, it'll be a pleasant restlessness.

Fumbling to a stop, I whistle, "Whoa... You're..."

Whole.

Situated in the middle of my king-sized platform, Jus' full-bodied apparition awaits my arrival.

"How is this-"

"You think I know how it works," she grumps, "It's a fucking dream, Ronan."

Ah, my Angel. A thorny rose, to be sure. She always was quick to snipe; her thistly demeanor the perfect compliment to my easygoing charm.

"Hmph... You aren't that charming," sour sarcasm hisses from across the massive platform.

Loitering, I leer, "I'd tell you to get out of my head, but I kinda like having ya here," and my hungry gaze rakes over her curled figure. Glittering coffee studies me warily in return. Flecks of caramel and mocha shimmer with an otherworldly glow but there's a hollowness as well along with a refined cut to her lovely features.

Per usual, she's balled into a tucked sit, chin resting on her knees and the sight of her purges the foggy fuzz of alcohol with a raw dose of adrenaline. As with our previous encounter, she's wearing that infernal moto suit.

Skin-tight leather hugs her nubile architecture. Not quite the hourglass as Kole's blue-haired pixie but not boyish either. Understated, with a graceful bone structure and curves I'd give anything to see in all their naked glory.

"Angel, you're a sight for-"

"Ah, Ronan," a lilting alto croons, "You and I need to have a little chat."

"Whaaa..." I wheeze, whirling for the now, brightly-lit en suite to my right. There, illuminated by the harsh fluorescent glow is, "E-Eden?" Shadow and the stark contrast of her glowing portal obscures her pretty features, presenting a compact silhouette propped casually against the door jamb.

Dumbstruck, I exhale a winded, "Whathefuckareyoudoinghere?"

"I dunno," She shoves away to saunter into the dim cast off supplied by a nearby floor lamp, "Ain't my show."

Disembodied cerulean floats across the room and I realize she's painted in the same leather riding gear. Cloaked from the chin down, it molds to her sensual structure with vivid clarity, inciting intrigue... and a fair amount of dread.

She shouldn't be here.
You shouldn't be thinking about her.

Flopping to sprawl over the foot of the bed, "Question is, whatcha gonna do with me?"

Instantly, Jus' elegant features flatten in warning...

Not good.

...and I stutter guiltily, "N-Nothing... Jus, I-I don't-"

"S'okay," Undeterred, Eden plucks at the zipper on her throat, "I know you've thought about it."

Shut the....

Flustered, I deny, "What? No. Sure-I mean... Y-You're gorgeous and all but-but..."

"Jesus, Ro," Jus huffs, "It's alright. I'm not jealous, if that's what you're worried about," and wrenches open the front of her own coveralls, exposing a fair amount of lean, sunkissed tissue and the rosy contour of her bosom.

"Really?" I squeak - or kind of caw like a dumb parrot, "'Cause the last time you saw me with another girl, you put a gun to my head!"

So pretty... but so stupid.

"This is different."

"Yeah, it's-"

"Just a dream," Eden insists, picking at the snaps on her sleeves

"What about Kole?"

Seriously?
Are you trying to ruin this?

"Mmmm..." Ruby lips purse with distaste, "You mean, my ex-boyfriend who stupidly traded me for a meaningless piece of ass? That Kole?" Inch by inch onyx casing pries from her petite carriage. Flawless alabaster shimmies loose of its plastered outerwear, unveiling her ample bosom and trim torso. I know it's only my imagination but...

That boy's a fucking idiot.

"Ah, well," I flounder, "When you-uhhh... Uhem, when you put it like that. I-I can s-see how-"

"Ronan..." Mimicking her, Jus advises, "Quit while you're ahead."

"But... We don't even know her! She could be dangerous!"

Okay, so, I'm an idiot.

Echoes of impish mirth fill the air. Titters and snickers alike, they croon in unison, "Awww, scared of a wittle girl, Ro?"

"Hey, now." Bristling, I challenge, "If you want me to take you both on, I will. I got no problem fucking those smirks off your faces."

Those stunning... oh, so fuckable faces.

"Well..." Jus sneers, baiting the alpha with that barbed wit, "We're waiting." Noticeably ripped shoulders bunch and roll like a boxer about to fight, "...and I promise you'll never get another chance."

"Alright. Fuck it, I'm game if you are."

Nodding, "Mmm," Jus wriggles free to grapple with the messy bun atop her head. Waves of gilded tresses tumble loose, spilling onto bare bronze and an equally enticing display of two perky handfuls. Tormented by the memory, covetous fingers tap at my sides, itching for flushed knolls to ripen under my touch.

Wait, so this is really happening?

Frustrated, "Haaah," her customary scowl deepens and her achingly beautiful image flickers in and out as she glowers, "It's been a shitty day, Ro, and I don't know how long this'll last. She's here. She's staying. Stop wasting time."

When she flickers again, "Yep," I lunge forward out of fear she'll vanish into thin air like my tumbler. Too-big feet trip over stubbed toes, scrambling to close the gap. In turn, the pair of agile nymphs leisurely work to remove the rest of their jumpsuits, spookily mirroring each other's movements as if they were one mind. Right leg... Left... Perched on their knees in nothing but their birthday suits. Sapphire, honey-gold, and two sets of long legs and smooth skin.

Thank you.

"S-Sorry," I slobber, clambering onto the elevated mattress, "It's just... I hadn't pegged you for a three-way, Jus."

Haaah...
You do not deserve this.

"Call it a 'hall pass'." Twisting to face each other, they declare in that same unnerving harmony, "You're welcome."

God, help me. I'll never get this out of my head.

Nearly identical in height and build, they construct a symmetrical bridge like a triumphal arch. Crimson cotton presses to plush scarlet, suckling on Jus's bottom lip.

Ooh... Naughty.

Slender talons skim the sides of Eden's torso, sketching the faint ridges of her ribs. They veer north to tweak the coral summits of her aroused peaks as flirtatious kisses deepen to languid sups of candy-colored exploration.

Stunned, I gape in swollen silence. Hard as granite but too turned on to move.

Abruptly, Jus breaks the kiss...

Awww.

...bowing to nip at the pastel droplet pinched in her forefingers.

Oh, you're gonna... Okay.

Cobalt tresses loll and drop to the side, laced with a husky rasp, "Yeees," and all at once, I'm acutely aware that I've become a bystander in my own sinful delight.

"Like hell..." Pawing my shirt, chipped nails maul the scant patch of hair covering the scars on my heart, "Ssstt-ow!"

Immediately, my head drops to examine the quartet of ruddy talleys. In place of navy poplin, my wrinkled ensemble has condensed into beads of anxious perspiration.

"Huh," I puff, "Well, that's convenient."

"Very," Jus dryly retorts.

A furtive peek confirms both vixens have paused to watch my bumbling entrance. Chestnut irises sharpen with desire, deliberately roaming the length of my nude physique. Not that she hasn't seen me...

Not that she's real.

...but she hasn't seen me in a decade. Things change. I've filled out - aged - and while I'm not shy by nature, the caramelized glint to her hickory optics is enough to have me searching for the closest pillow.

Beside her, Eden twitters a silly, girlish giggle, furthering the heat creeping up my neck. "Ooh... He's yummy," she praises with zero shame.

"I know." Clucking her tongue, Jus tsks, "Normally not this shy, though."

"Yeah, well... This is-ummm..." I stammer, "You know... New."

"No it isn't, Ronan," Eden chides, and admittedly, I relish hearing her say my name. She has a pleasant timbre - subdued like a lullaby and free of judgment. Whereas, Jus's intonation is throatier with a lethal edge that could cut you to the core... and has on more than one occasion...

...but when it moans...

Oooh, when I made her moan, it was a secret symphony played at a solo performance and I could die a happy man to hear it one more time.

On my left, feather-light fingertips tug on my wrist and Eden directs, "Touch your woman. The rest will come to you." For someone so young, she's incredibly poised and fascinated, I goggle her in bewildered quietude as she gingerly places my hand between Jus' thighs, clapping, "There."

Honestly, I was afraid it wouldn't be like our earlier encounter. Afraid the second I reached out, she'd evaporate and I'd be left swiping air. Instead, saccharine mist coats the callused pad of my middle finger. Cappuccino saucers sizzle and swirl behind dense lashes as I trace the perimeter of her misty slit. Warm and trembling, gilt muscle twitches with delicious shivers. Their memory forever interred in the spongy matter of my brain, haunting me at all hours.

"So, wet..." I croak, more as an observation than the usual dirty repartee and curious, extract the appendage.

Should I?

Slurping the sugary glaze, fresh spring water and lemon moistens my tongue. Citrusy sweet, her flavor awakens dormant taste buds, igniting their fervor with a savage vengeance.

Kiss her!

"Ronan," she whimpers, "Please. I need it."

Hauled to my chest, quick spurts of breath carry that signature fragrance. "Angel..." I groan, "I fucking missed you," and finally, after a decade, claim my thorny rose and her pouty petals.

Tangy texture coils around my palate, teasing the roof of my mouth. Mint... lemon... her tongue stirs the two flavors into a singular blend. I tried to recreate it - many times. I sucked sour drops and eucalyptus, drank juice through a candy cane... garnished peppermint Schnapps with lemon zest, but there's always something missing. Some random ingredient that makes it Justice.

It really is her.

Behind me, a stimulating trail of airy pecks pepper my spine, melting each vertebrae with tender, lingering stamps; downstairs, Eden's frosty caress folds around my rigid staff. Barely-there strokes fondle my manhood, prompting a stifled, "Fffuck."

"Lay down," her dulcet alto commands.

"Wh-Wha-"

"Do it, Ro," Jus hisses, chewing my ear lobe, "I gotta let off some steam and this is better than my usual methods."

It's hard to argue with the deceased love of your life, even harder with...

Kole's ex... Kole's ex...

...jerking my junk, and before I can utter another moronic remark, I'm flipped to my back by a dizzying takedown.

"Was that jits?" I yelp, "When did you learn jits?" ...moronically.

Sighing, "Yeeaah..." Jus snaps for Eden to, "Sit on his face. It might be the only way we can shut him up."

"Huh? She what?"

"Yes, boss," Eden cheerfully salutes. Pinned at the biceps, Jus straddles my torso as Eden scooches toward me. Lanky planes meander over sable bedding. With every off-beat gait, pink mounds jiggle buoyantly and her appealing curvature hitches side-to-side. Above, Jus scoots down my abdomen, nibbling on washboard divots and giddy goosebumps.

"Relax, Ronan," Eden coos in her temperate intonation, "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I-I know."

"Good," she smiles, brightly - a dazzling flash of pristine enamel trimmed by impossibly pink crests...

Damn.

...and bends to guarantee, "I promise, you're gonna enjoy this."

I'm a dead man.

Watermelon lips claim the dumbfounded expression on my face. Buttery, like drizzles of hollandaise on a five-star Michelin steak, they deliver a sizzling volt to my brain stem, popping synapsis and scrambling wires with a punch of fruity zing.

Suddenly, fluid fire settles around my bulging head and reflexively, I lurch, "Mmm-Shit," clenching Jus's waist, "Ahh, fuck..."

"Feels good, doesn't she?" Eden purrs, snapping at the side of my jaw.

Fully submerged in Jus' sleek walls, I pant, "The best. Aaah, baby, I never forgot how amazing you feel."

I couldn't because there's nothing like making love to my Angel. She's satin sheets and smelted sunlight or swimming in a pool of rosewater scented with honey. Untainted, delicate...

...and so fucking tight.

"Never, Ro," she timidly confesses, "Not a day passes where I don't miss having you inside me."

How is this fucking possible?

"You know how," Eden assures, "You just have to believe it."

"Who are you?"

"Nobody important. A figment of your imagination." Once more, she bites at the joint of my jawbone, breezy digits map the grooves of my stomach and whispers, "Here to ease the tension."

Figment or not, Eden's unexpected presence does have a strange, calming effect as though she were a coach or the Sherpa of Bizarre Ghost Sex and lulled into a heady daze, my eyes swim in their sockets, yearning to shut so every sensation is amplified.

"Nuh-uh," that sultry sweetness, insists, "Look at her, Ronan. You don't wanna miss out."

Heavy lids droop and drag, struggling to raise. That is, until I spot the unpolished nails grazing the narrow frontier of Jus' waistline... up the taut muscles of her well-defined abs to cup her jaunty cleavage.

"Look at how sexy she is." Bubbling with a wicked little chortle, Eden gives them a brisk swat, "So sexy." Pliant mounds ripple invitingly and weighted lashes flap open like shutters on an old porch window, focused intently on the sassy exchange.

Brazenly, Eden dips to capture one in her teeth, biting at the taffy gumdrops.

Jolting, Jus squeals, "Oh, you little..." and svelte bands of feminine strength recline to leverage my shins for support, granting the enigmatic anomaly better access.

"Mmmm..." Who willingly complies.

Fuckin' hell, Jus.

Cherry titillation circles the bud and those unvarnished claws coast south to strum Jus's clit.

"Aaah," Jus exhales, swiveling her hips around my rigid member. "I told you I needed to let off some steam," while Eden continues to swap from one breast, "Oooh, yes..." to the other, "So tense," and back, "Ronan!"

Maybe it's my name being sung in that throaty overture or the healthy, lifelike sheen to her sexy terrain that frees the last of my inhibitions... or maybe, it's a fear of missing out. Whatever the cause, I shoo Eden's diminutive mitt away, "I got her," ...and order, "You, c'mere."

Once more, Eden salutes, "Yes, sir!" bursting with her infectious melody. All tits and hips wiggling some sort of victory dance.

Oo-ooh, Kole's got his hands full with you.

Smitten with her overt enthusiasm, rich guffaws rumble in my lungs and throat. Jus coughs a rare, brief chuckle, swishing her gossamer crown in amusement. The manner is familiar - affectionate - one she usually reserved for me and again, I'm left with the distinct impression, I'm the third wheel.

Nuh-uh... This is my show.

"Well, Angel, don't keep me waiting," I prod, pumping her, and smirking, she resumes grinding on my shaft and thumb, coating the cusp in glossy lemon meringue. Tapping Eden's fantastic ass, I growl, "Alright, let's see what you taste like."

"Haven't you heard?" Shambling to me, she swings her willowy branch overhead, so she's facing Jus and her tropic lust hovers centimeters from my parched pucker. Staring down her luscious melons, fringed mocha winks and she beams, "I taste like paradise."

I had heard. Kole went on at length about it during the drive to his shithole club.

'Pure ecstasy, Ro.'

"I'll be the judge of that, Gorgeous." With my left hand on Jus's dripping pussy, my right steers the dainty sprite into place.

'Vanilla', Kole said, '...and when she bursts, it's all peaches and cream,' and I inhale, conjuring the smell or perhaps, it was there all along. Either way, hints of extract seep into sweeten piquant remnants, producing an appetizing elixir.

Lapping at the chewy tart balled in my lips, I grunt, "Mmm-Damn..." and her plump derriere squirms in approval.

"Ooh, help yourself."

"Mm-I willmmm..." I garble, twirling her damp pearl. It's almost comical how casual it is. If I wasn't tongue deep in her honeypot, I'd think we were two old friends... having a little chat, and hungry thrashes mine that fragile essence from her velvet lining. Her voluptuous peach grates the stubble on my chin so every breath is a mouthful of whipped cream.

Meanwhile, my lower half hammers trickles of slick surrender from Jus's juicy interior. Back and forth, up and down, seesawing from one siren to the other.

That's it... Oooh, God. That's it.

A cacophony of moans and sighs lures me out from beneath Eden's twerking chassis to discover cherry and lemon entangled in a provocative kiss. Exhibiting that same eerie unity, their stances widen and slim thighs spread to ensnare me in their sappy release like a human finger trap... or an erotic battery being charged by two terminals.

Caught in limbo, I drill for every ounce of that satisfying syrup. Suck... "Mmmm-S'good..." Fuck... "Oooh, Christ..." Life... "Mmeden," Death... "Yes, Jus!" Lust... Love... Vanilla... and Mint julep.

"More, Ronan!" They warble in concert.

Help.

Bobbing in faultless tempo, their supple backsides propel them to finish. Jus sways and Eden's delectable rump shakes in my grasp. Eden bucks and Jus' heavenly cunt gyrates in counter rotations...

Jus... "Harder!"

Eden... "Yes!"

Eden... "Ahhh!"

Jus... "C'mon, Big Boy," plunging me heads-first into carnal delirium.

"Mmm-Gaaah, fuuuck..." I snarl, writhing under their coordinated attack, "You're-mmmm... gonna make mmme... Ah, God... "

"I think that means faster," Eden goads, and their pace quickens.

"Huh-mmmm..."

Smothering, my shock with peach aperitif, she breathes, "Faster, Ronan," but it's Jus' voice I hear, "Please, my love."

"Mmmooo-kay..."

Heels dug into the footboard, my steady grip clamps onto the burnished hills of Jus' firm ass, smashing it down to knead my cock as I piston into overdrive. When we were younger, I had to take it slow... I wanted to take it slow for her... and we never made it to the spontaneous 'rip your clothes off stage'. To be given a chance to experience a fraction of that is a dream come true... literally, and unleashed, bulging steel shatters her pulpy center, tearing her at the seams.

"Oooh, Roooo..."

There it is. The simplest tune but so gratifying. It's been years since I heard it like this. Tone. Inflection... Her trembling depths choking my veiny girth.

You're close, baby.
Aaah, fuck yes, you're so close.

Without warning, blushed plains mambo in retreat, taking their creamy goodness with them.

Awww.

Replaced almost instantaneously with lush cerise, "Mmmuah," and an effervescent laugh, "Thank you, Ronan. I enjoyed that very much."

"But you didn't-"

"No," she wistfully accepts, "Some things are better kept a mystery."

"Please, I must know who you are."

Smiling softly, almost sadly, ivory marble shimmers a translucent cyan; the cool gust of her fading caress on my cheek, coaxes me to, "Trust what's inside you, Ronan. It's the only voice that matters."

Enthralled, I mumble, "Yes, Boss," and much as she did upon arriving, Eden blips out. There one second, gone the next like a bulb, leaving only darkness and, "Whoa."

Stretched in that same mouthwatering arch, buffed brass vacillates in powerful swells. Pellets of rosewater dribble down golden flesh to the tantric puddle pooled on my balls. Unbidden, I lick my lips, imagining the spritz of sour mixed in and the thought impels me to seize a delicate lemondrop on the tip of my tongue... then, another. Drop after drop, around the pebbled capstones of her superb tits. One... then, the other, urging her nipples to harden under my delirious consumption.

"Please," she mews. "Ronan, kiss-mmm!"

I heard it before it left her mouth, welling up... like it used to. Underneath, lies a numbness - a cold vacuum where love once shared its comforting radiance. Fisting my hand in that silky mane, I pour everything I have into the connection. A decade's worth of pining flows through me - from me, begging for an answer.

Please, be there.

"Haah," she gasps or winces - not sure, but I definitely felt her flinch. Thick, charcoal lashes flutter open and her russet gaze widens with recognition. Flaxen gold burns like the sunrise, framing her angelic visage. Cradled in the crook of my trembling paw, it seems so small - so hopeless when she chokes, "Ro?"

Ah, baby... I'm here.

"God, help me, I know this can't be real but I wish with every fiber of my soul it was. I've waited ten years to hold you, Angel, and I'd cross over right now if it meant spending eternity with you in my arms.

Tearing, she whispers, "Soon, Ro, I promise."

"Soon?" Softening, I prod, "Baby, whadayah mean-oooh, fuck." All of the sudden, what I would describe as pure ecstasy erupts to scorch the flimsy tether between us and I rush, "I love you, Jus." Blinding rapture blasts away chunks of scenery and sound... as she slips from my dream.  

"Rooonaaan..."

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https://youtu.be/3YxaaGgTQYM

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* Author's Note *

To clarify this is an excerpt/extended dream sequence from 'Nothing But Vain Fantasy,' a chapter of Violent Delights. If you aren't current with Ronan and Jus' story, I invite you to check it out! It's a twisted take on Romeo and Juliet filled with action, intrigue... random references to beef. Everything a tortured romance requires.

'Mystery Riders' is loosely based on the Myth of Erebus (Darkness), Hemera (Day), and Aether (Light). If you'd like to see the story, I have a reel on my Instagram page at 'the_synverse' you can watch.

Also, I'd like to reiterate, this is a fantasy world with an underlying spiritual element. There will be 'supernatural' aspects at times, primarily centered around the main couples and Fate's ultimate plan for them. In most cases, the couples 'cosmic connection' is so nuanced you don't even notice it.

Except where Ronan and Justice are concerned. Their bond is the most pronounced and will be explored in greater depth in 'Violent Delights'. 

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