by Dawn Steele
Ever.
Taran’s hands clasped her waist before heading north. His hands roamed over her back, exploring it. Their lips parted, and his eyes were like blue-green jewels as they held hers.
His voice was husky. “Do you want to?”
She knew what he was asking. Her body ached to be held by him, and her pussy clenched. Liquid sensations of need shot through her core.
I can’t.
It took every ounce of her willpower to push him away gently.
“I’m really tired, Taran. I need to sleep.”
His face fell.
“We’ll talk later,” she quickly added.
“Of course.”
He put his glasses back on and straightened his back – the consummate English gentleman again. Then he gently brushed a stray hair from her cheek.
“Sleep well, Violet,” he murmured.
She wanted to clasp his hand to her face and hold his warmth against her flesh. But she had to let him go. For now.
“Good night, Taran.”
“Good night.”
He left, shutting the door behind him quietly.
Kendra leaned against it, taking in the entire lounge again with its bursting blooms. Her heart was racing.
Then her cellphone buzzed in her bag.
Violet! she thought, her stomach flipping. She knows I tried to steal her boyfriend.
She ran to her bag and eased Violet’s cellphone out. The display said:
BLAIR
Blair!
Violet’s best friend.
Kendra remembered what Violet said about Blair:
“She’s vain, brilliant, and she can be a handful. But I’ve known her for a long time, and she’s the most loyal person I know. She’s older than me. Around Taran’s age, though she acts younger. Try to have as few interactions with her as possible because she knows me pretty well, and you might let something slip. Tell her you’re busy with the online business. She’ll understand.”
Kendra picked the call up. “Hello, Blair?”
“Vi! You’re back! I missed you! Oh, I have so much to tell you since you’ve been away.”
I haven’t been away that long, have I? Kendra thought.
Blair’s accent was decidedly English, like Taran’s. “We have to catch up! When can we meet? Tomorrow?”
“Um, I don’t think so. I’m sorry. The online business is running into some glitches, and I have lots to do with the website.”
“Oh!” Blair’s tone was aggrieved. “Surely you can spare your bestie some time for brunch? This is brilliant news, and it just can’t wait!”
“You can tell me on the phone.”
“No. This is too good for cellular communication. I have to meet you. Tomorrow at Fondant’s? Eleven o’ clock so you can recover from your jetlag?”
A thought struck Kendra. Blair would certainly know why Taran and Violet were at odds with each other. If anyone would know how to mend it, it would be Blair!
She had to play her cards right.
“OK,” she said. “Tomorrow at Fondant’s.”
Wherever the hell that was.
“Tomorrow then. See you. I love you.” Blair blew a kiss into the phone.
“Love you, too.”
Kendra rang off. Her mind churned. What a night! And she still had this wonderful place to explore.
The living room led to a beautiful kitchen. The stove was so shiny, and everything was so neat that she doubted Violet ever did any real cooking in here. The refrigerator was stocked with juices, eggs, and fruits. And chocolates. Boxes and boxes of them, mostly half-eaten. Violet was a chocoholic.
It was time to explore upstairs. There were indeed four bedrooms. One of them had been converted into an audiovisual room. The largest bedroom had a walk-in closet that completely floored Kendra. She had never seen a walk-in closet before.
She flung open the doors of each section. The sheer amount of clothes in there was staggering. The clothes were coordinated not by color, but by dress length, it appeared. Gowns were in one closet. Dresses that fell to mid-calves were in another. Pantsuits in yet another. Jackets. Hats. Trousers and jeans. Shoes.
Kendra felt dizzy just looking at it all.
The bed itself was canopied, and the mattress molded to her body as she lay upon it. The sheets were silk and felt like heaven itself.
Now she was in danger of never wanting to leave this place.
A HANDMAIDEN’S JOB
Being a handmaiden was no walk in the park, Violet found out.
She had to help Ronnie train.
But first, she had to help Ronnie set up an obstacle course with old tires, burlap sacks filled with sand, and wooden planks. They did this in the open field where they parked the RV. No one else was around.
“I thought this was a straightforward fight,” she said. “Why do you need to prepare for American Gladiator?”
“Huh?”
Oh, right. Shipshank werewolves didn’t have TV.
“You know, like you’re fighting in a boxing ring. I thought you were going to shift into a werewolf for the fight.”
“Only in the later stages. I have to remain in my human form for at least ten minutes. Those are the rules for this particular match.”
Ronnie stripped off his T-shirt, and Violet’s eyes bulged.
Well, it wasn’t as if she had never seen a man’s naked torso. Taran had a very nice and lean body. It was just that Ronnie was a work of art. He had muscles that were cleanly defined and an abdomen so ripped that he could have easily graced the cover of ‘Men’s Health’. Every part of him was gleaming perfection.
There was a trail of sparse hair leading from his navel to his groin. The dark hair flared as it came to his pelvic region and vanished somewhere beneath his low slung jeans. Violet knew that she should stop staring, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
“OK, Kendra,” Ronnie said crisply. “I want you to hold this sandbag.”
He indicated the long sandbag they had hung from a tree branch.
Violet hugged the bag.
“Uh, won’t it hurt me when you punch it?” she asked.
“No. The sand takes most of my impact. I just want you to hold it steady.”
“OK.”
Ronnie balanced himself. Then he swung a fist and punched the sandbag.
“Ooof!” cried Violet.
“Did I hurt you?” Ronnie said in concern.
Actually, no. The impact had just surprised her.
“No,” Violet said determinedly. She could do this. “Do it again.”
He did. She took everything he threw at her. After his boxing/punching session, he ran the obstacle course – diving, rolling, jumping, somersaulting, and performing a whole lot of acrobatic movements she had no name for.
The whole training session took three hours. At the end of it, Ronnie’s body was sexily covered in sweat, and Violet was just as drenched.
“I need to take a shower,” Ronnie said.
“So do I.”
They headed back to the RV. But they were no longer alone. A pickup was parked next to the RV. Joseph was leaning against the RV’s cab. He had brought along a couple of his friends.
“Hello,” Ronnie said cautiously. “Can I help you?”
His stance was guarded, as was Violet’s.
“No,” Joseph replied. “Just trying to see how my Pa’s bet will pay off.”
Ronnie folded his arms. “And what’s your verdict?”
One of Joseph’s friends guffawed. “You ain’t got a patch on Grant Carter. I’ve seen him fight before, and you ain’t in his league.”
“We’ll see about that,” Ronnie said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to take a shower. There’s a big fight tonight.”
“Not for you,” another guy sneered.
Ronnie tried to walk past him, but he stopped Ronnie with a well-placed hand on Ronnie’s chest.
Ronnie instantly shoved him.
“Hey, you don’t get to touch me,”
he said dangerously.
“Ronnie,” Violet began, but Ronnie held up a hand.
He turned to Joseph. “You got a bone to pick with me? If so, let’s have it out right here, right now.”
“You think you’re so hot?” Joseph sneered. “Well, I have news for you. You think my Pa’s betting on you? Well, think again!”
Violet tensed. “What do you mean?” she demanded.
But Joseph just smiled evilly.
“You’ll see,” he spat. “Let’s go, guys.”
He and his friends sauntered to the pickup, got in, and drove off.
“What was that all about?” Violet asked Ronnie.
“Nothing’s changed,” he declared. “I still fight tonight.”
“And what if you don’t win?”
“Then we lose everything.”
THE BLAIR PROJECT
Kendra had to try very hard to find Fondant’s. The black taxi dropped her off at the end of the street, but there were so many shops on both sides that she had to keep looking left and right to find it. She had never been on such a busy street in her entire life.
When she finally found it, she was about ten minutes late. Fondant’s was painted grey outside with a window display showcasing cakes, breads and all sorts of baked goodies on silver tray tiers. Oooh, it was that kind of shop!
She rushed in through the revolving doors. Then another thought struck her. This time, it was one of dread. How would she recognize Blair?
Luckily, a blonde at a table by the window waved excitedly at her.
“Vi!” The blonde got up. “I’ve missed you so. We haven’t seen each other since . . . I don’t know, when was it?”
I don’t know either, thought Kendra. They hugged. Blair smelled of rosewater to Kendra’s enhanced senses.
“Since I went to America?’ she suggested.
“No. It was longer than that. It was before I went on the safari, remember?”
Blair’s blue eyes were shining. She was every inch the representation of a live Barbie doll – all golden curls, cornflower blue eyes, and dimples. According to Violet, she was also a Cambridge graduate in economics with first class honors, and she had won a top British game show that involved quick mental thinking. However, Blair was obviously trying to amp up the ditzy blonde act. Or maybe she really was a ditzy blonde, with brains.
“Sorry. I’ve been preoccupied lately,” Kendra admitted. This was also the opening gambit to the ‘I’m so busy I can’t see you for a month’ act.
“But oh!” Blair bounced up and down on her ballet shoes, which had red flower details. “I’m so excited, I can’t wait to tell you. I’m getting engaged!”
“You are?” Kendra felt strangely excited, too, mainly because Blair’s happiness was so contagious. She wondered if Violet was the sort of person who bounced. But she did it anyway because this was obviously a special occasion, and both of them bounced up and down in glee.
They soon settled down at their table, and Kendra perused the menu.
“Let’s see, I’ll have coffee and a chocolate croissant.”
“Aren’t you going to have tea and scones with jam and clotted cream like you always do?” Blair said, surprised.
“Well, I’m trying something else for a change,” Kendra said hastily. “In Missouri, they had the darlingest chocolate croissants. So I have a thing for them as a current flavor of the week.”
“Splendid. I’ll have the scones, as always.”
They ordered, and then settled down to the business of exchanging news.
If Kendra had been anxious before, she needn’t have worried. Blair talked enough for the two of them. It was amazing because she hardly stopped to take a breath.
“And Henry is so absolutely darling. He hired this hot air balloon, and he took me out into the country. I’m afraid of heights, so I absolutely refused to go on one. But then, a big blue balloon started filling out, and there were these big letters painted on it:
MARRY ME, BLAIR.
HENRY.
“At first, I wasn’t sure if it was meant for me or another Blair. The sun was in my eyes, and you know I’m so myopic anyway, and I haven’t completely adjusted to my new contact lenses yet. Then Henry turned to me, and his face was shining as if it had a halo around it. And he said, ‘Well, what do you say, Blair? Want to hitch your life to mine?’
“I squealed so loudly that I could swear several balloons popped. Everyone was looking at me, but I didn’t care. I danced around Henry, and he grabbed me, and then he kissed me! I swear I was the happiest girl on the planet.”
And on and on and on. Kendra was truly glad for Blair, even if she didn’t really know her. But anyone with so much energy for life could only be good for Violet. Especially since Violet had been morose lately.
“But oh, I haven’t asked you about your trip,” Blair suddenly said. “How selfish of me! Please, I want to hear all about it.”
Kendra truly knew some parts of it, so she started with Taran’s work with the werewolves.
“Oooh!” Blair exclaimed. “I’ve heard those werewolves are wild. It’s a fact. National Geographic claims that they preserve their pagan rituals. Like mass mating under a midsummer night and such.”
Yes, they do. Kendra remembered the last Gathering. Ronnie Williams made a beeline for her, but she claimed she wasn’t in the mood. So she changed into her wolf form and made a run for it through the forest. He shifted and ran after her. She led him on a ten-mile trek around the woods before whirling on him and turning back into her human form.
“Can’t you take ‘no’ for an answer?” she had demanded as she stood naked there in the moonlight, heaving and trembling with the exhilaration of the run.
He transformed back as well. He was a magnificent sight to behold, but she couldn’t take his ragged persistence.
“No,” he declared. “My fate is not mine to decide. It’s linked to yours. I have to claim you as surely as I need air to breathe. Kendra, I will be alpha some day. I will be worthy of you.”
She had rolled her eyes.
“That’s true,” Kendra said to Blair. “But I wouldn’t consider it exactly pagan.”
“You’re right. ‘Pagan’ is such a Christian and medieval word, given by people to things they don’t understand.” Blair’s eyes were filled with concern. “But how are things getting on with Taran? Is it getting better?”
Aha!
Now she had to be careful.
Kendra said, “Blair, can you help me with Taran?”
“Of course. Sure. What can I do? Anything to help the two of you get back on track.”
“I’m trying to reexamine everything that went wrong between us. I’ve kept you updated the whole time, right?”
“You certainly have.”
“Can you recall the exact moment when I started to have my doubts? Everything is starting to blur for me due to stress. I’m hoping to use you as my memory board.”
“Oh dear.” Blair looked concerned. “Are you all right, Vi? Do you need a psychiatrist or something? I have a pretty good one that I can recommend you. My Mom goes to see her once a week.”
“Um, it’s not that serious yet. So . . . can you recall that time?”
“I think it was around six months ago. When you wanted to start the online shoe retailer, remember?”
“Yes?” Kendra scrunched her features up, as though trying to remember.
“You started noticing things about him that irritated you. Of course, before that, you always had your minor irritations where he was concerned. But then, you started to get really disenchanted.”
“What do you mean – disenchanted?”
“Vi, are you sure you don’t remember any of this?”
Kendra blinked. “I’ve been awfully stressed lately.”
“Of course. You poor thing. You started to complain to me about Taran – about how he was too polite, and how you wanted him to be more dominant.”
Kendra was astounded. She couldn’t imagine any
one wanting a guy to be anything else other than what Taran had to offer.
“In what way?” she asked.
“Well, you know how you always complain how Taran is always so solicitous and caring.”
Yes, he is! And I don’t want him any other way! How could anyone complain about that?
Blair went on, “You said to me, ‘Blair, I wish sometimes he would just lower his guard and go all caveman on me. I mean, just pick me up, throw me over his shoulder, and cart me off to bed’.”
Violet wants that? Kendra tried to keep her eyes from popping out.
“You want him to be more exciting. I think Taran’s not exciting enough for you, Vi, after all that initial ‘I’m dating a billionaire’ thing wore off. You’ve always been more of a free spirit, and men like Taran never really did it for you. You just started dating him because he was so bloody nice.”
Oh.
“So I want excitement in bed?”
Kendra had only ever been with one guy – a human. It was sort of an adventure. God forbid she should be with any werewolf lest they get any ideas!
It had been during one of her secret excursions to town. She had gone to a bar. There was a guy there. An out-of-towner. Handsome, older, well-dressed. He wore glasses, which made him look very distinguished, like a college professor.
Kendra had always wanted to go to college. So she sat next to him.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
“Are you a professor?” Now that she thought about it, it was a stupid pick-up line!
He smiled, clearly amused. Her tummy did a flip-flop.
“Actually, I’m an aeronautical engineer. I’m here for business.”
An aeronautical engineer! Kendra was officially smitten. She had always been in lust with brains, not brawn. And all the werewolf males were Neanderthals in one way or another.
So they talked deep into the night. And when the engineer asked Kendra if she would like to go back to his hotel room, she readily said yes.
Back to the present. Blair said, “It would appear so. You’ve always liked bad boys, Vi. Remember Dirk Townsend?”
Uh, no.
“Yes,” Kendra said.
“Well, do you remember how he got caught trying to stir major liberal shit up on Guy Fawkes’ Day? Well, you like that kind of boy. Taran is the first good boy you’ve ever dated.”
