Blackwater Lights by Michael M. Hughes Read Free Book Online Page A

him in the side. “Race you to the pool.”
    He followed her through the fragrant forest of night-blooming flowers toward the blue glow of a swimming pool, feet slapping deliciously against a pathway of cool, mossy stones.
    Lily laid out a line of the drug on a table beside the pool.
    “Ouch,” he said after he’d inhaled it. “Fuck!” His left nostril was aflame. “Shit.
Shit!
”
    Lily snorted a line herself. “I know,” she said, her face wrinkling. “It burns. But just wait. It’s worth it.” She grimaced, clenching her fists.
    Ray sat back against his chair. It was hard to sit up. As the pain subsided, everything around him started to sparkle and scintillate. The candles scattered around the pool exploded into brilliant gems.
    She was feeling it, too, her eyes widening in astonishment. “That’s nice, isn’t it? 2C-Bmakes everything so much more beautiful, especially on top of good E,” she said. “It’s sensual and I think it makes the world … more alive. Or allows us to see how alive it is.” She pulled off her shirt and her bare breasts shook, nipples hardening in the night air. “Crawford says it’s the ultimate aphrodisiac. It makes you want to fuck the whole world.”
    Lily pulled off her skirt and stepped out of her tiny black panties. She dove into the pool, barely breaking the surface, and swam to the opposite side. She surfaced and blew her nose loudly into her hands. “Come on. Get in. It feels great.”
    She was a blue nymph, glowing ultramarine in the pool lights. “Do you ever slow down?” Ray asked.
    She splashed him. “Never. Take your clothes off. Get naked and get in.”
    He sat up, tracers of light tracking with his eyes.
    “Get in, Ray. Come on.”
    He struggled to speak. His head was fucked up, but something deep and sober was screaming at him to stop—just
stop
. The ball was rolling down the hill way too fast. “I don’t know. I think I just need to sit here for a minute.”
    Buzzkill.
Bzzzt
.
    Lily swam to the edge of the pool. “What’s wrong? Are you afraid to take your clothes off?” The tips of her breasts hung just below the waterline. She laughed. “Ray, I’m asking you to go swimming. I’m not trying to
fuck
you.” She splashed him again. “Come on, get in. I promise I won’t even touch you.” She sank beneath the water.
    Ray blushed, cursing himself. He’d screw up his chances if he kept flaking out. He pulled off his shirt and unbuckled his belt. Lily’s slender, fishlike form rippled beneath the surface.
Fuck it
, he thought, dropping his jeans and shaking off his boxers.
    The water was warm. Every inch of his skin exploded with shocked pleasure. He opened his eyes beneath the surface. The bottom of the pool was tiled with a mosaic of grinning satyrs and dancing women with short, wide swords. He looked toward the surface, disoriented, momentarily unsure which way was up. The water felt thick, like viscous gelatin—a gel that stimulated every pleasure receptor in his skin.
    Lily’s hands snaked around his chest from behind. He turned and she smiled at him, her hair fanning out around her head and glowing purplish. Tiny, pearl-like bubbles escaped from her mouth. Her breasts floated weightlessly, in synchrony. She pushed Ray toward the surface.
    The air stung like ice. Burning, invigorating ice. “Oh my God,” he said. “Every inch of my body is …” He couldn’t finish, but started laughing.
    “Told you it’s good,” she said, swimming in place. “You look beautiful in this light. So … pure. And vibrant.” She slid her hands over his chest and brushed her foot against his. “Oh, wait.” She pushed off, propelling herself backward. “I promised I wouldn’t touch you. I must have lied. I’m a bad girl like that sometimes.” She backstroked to the shallow end of the pool.
    He followed, as if chained.
    Lily climbed up the steps out of the pool. Her skin glistened, each drop of water shooting off bright threads of light. And