Black Silk

by Jan Gordon

  We sat in silence for a while. I was remembering my grandmother; I recalled when she’d died. It’d been back in the nineteen-nineties and she’d gone to the city to do some shopping. While there, she’d been mugged. The teenage thief had knifed her and left her to bleed to death. We never knew any more details than that. I’d always thought she’d looked young for her age, but I’d put it down to good genes. Now I realized that it was definitely genetic, just not in the way I’d thought.

  “I’ve got a thousand more questions, but I’m suffering from serious information overload right now.” I tried to make light of it because if I didn’t, I thought I’d go crazy. “I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that the world I thought I knew is so totally different, and I don’t think I’m being very successful.”

  Cole still had hold of my hand, and he started stroking my palm with his thumb. “Do you want me to take you home?”

  I didn’t immediately say yes or no. Did I want to go home?

  “Cole. When you killed that snake and I saw your arm and your face, I admit, I freaked. When I look back over the past few days, there were lots of clues, which now that I know your story are really obvious, but at the time I disregarded them.” I turned on my cushion and pulled his hand into my lap, holding it with both of mine. “No. I don’t want to go home. Neither do I want to take up where we left off.” I stole a glance toward the fur rug where we’d lain earlier. “I think what I want to do is get to know you again in this new reality. How long that will take,” I shrugged. “I don’t know. Will we get to the stage we were at before? Again I don’t know, but I hope we can recapture what we had.”

  “I’m still me, Vic. I haven’t changed, except now I don’t have to hide from you.” With his free hand he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and then laid his palm on my cheek. I allowed him to guide my face toward his and I was surprised when he avoided my mouth and laid a soft kiss against my cheek.

  In one of the swift changes in subject that I’d come to expect from him, he jumped up pulling me with him. “Since I have my good friend, Vic, here with me and although it’s a bit late, I’m declaring that it’s lunch time – how about something to eat?”

  The relief of tension was tangible and I couldn’t help myself, I laughed. “Sandwiches. We bought that cold roast beef; I want roast beef sandwiches with pickles.”

  “Sounds good. And some beer.”

  “Yeah, beer. But definitely no chocolate for dessert!”

  He smiled at me. “Now you know why I’m allergic to chocolate.”

  I walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and began pulling out ingredients for our lunch. “Actually I thought it was dogs that weren’t allowed to eat chocolate.”

  “All weres are allergic to chocolate.” He started to slice the bread. “I often wonder what it tastes like.”

  “I love chocolate, I can’t imagine having to go through life without it.” I was slicing up tomatoes when a sudden thought brought my hand to an abrupt halt. “Cole?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I probably carry the gene, don’t I?” My breath caught in my throat and I was scared all over again.

  He turned to face me, putting the knife down on the counter. “Yes you do. This morning when I closed the album, if you remember, I sniffed and licked you. Earlier, when we were making love, I didn’t pay any attention to your smell or taste other than register that it was attractive.” He came over to me and gathered me into his arms.

  I knew my face was reddening at the mention of us making love, but as he was in the process of sniffing my neck again I didn’t think he’d noticed.

  “You smell of female were, you taste like a panther, and you are incredibly sexy.” He kissed my neck and released me. “I know.” He backed off a step. “You want to get to know me all over again. I’ll be good.”

  We returned to preparing our food and it wasn’t long before we were sitting at the table eating.

  “You know that goon was wrong don’t you.” I had no idea who he was talking about and said so.

  “The guy at college, what was his name?”

  “David.” I really didn’t want to talk about him again.

  “Yeah, David. He was wrong. You are most definitely not frigid. And if he thought you weren’t good in bed then he was doing it wrong.”

  “Maybe I just needed another panther to bring out my hidden talents.” I smiled archly at him and he snatched up my hand and kissed the palm before allowing me to continue eating.

  After finishing our makeshift meal and clearing up, we took our beers back into the other room and sat down on the oversized cushions again. “Cole, can I ask you a favor?”

  “Sure.” He smiled at me and I almost lost my courage.

  “I know you partially changed earlier but could I see you shift completely?” I didn’t know if I wanted him to say yes or no.

  He looked at me. “Are you absolutely certain?” I nodded.

  He stood up and moved a couple of yards away from me. I watched him carefully trying to see when the transformation began. I missed the actual beginning. One minute he looked like Cole and the next he was a sleek black animal. He was huge. I’d never seen a panther before and I’d expected his coat to be all one shade. I couldn’t have been more wrong, it was like watered silk with a self pattern in the inky black. His eyes were still the beautiful luminous green they were in his human form. He padded over to me and nudged his head against my leg. Gingerly I put a hand on his head and he started to purr as I stroked the soft fur. This was not a purr like Mister’s, this was a loud, reverberating rumble.

  “You are so beautiful.” I wouldn’t have dreamed of saying such a thing to Cole, but to this majestic creature it was utterly appropriate. I lay down on the cushions and he came over and lay down next to me, resting his head on my breast. “Hey, you said you would behave.” Either he didn’t understand in his cat form or he didn’t want to understand, but he ignored my protest and kept his head on my chest.

  I half sat up forcing him to remove his head from me and lay it on the floor. I continued to stroke his head and after a few minutes I got bolder and ran my hand down his body to his flank. I watched with fascination when the muscles under his coat rippled as I stroked him and the feel of his fur against my hand was one of the most sensuous experiences of my life. And that included the taste of chocolate!

  “I wonder how much you can understand when you’re in this form.” I put my face close to his and looked him straight in the eyes. “No wonder Mister hissed at you. Although he’s gorgeous in his own way, next to you he pales into insignificance.” Cole leaned into me, nudged my face, and then stuck out his enormous pink tongue to lick my cheek. I giggled and then felt the heat flood into my face, because I remembered that his human tongue had the same rough texture and I knew how much pleasure it could give.

  I lay back down, closed my eyes and thought about what it had felt like to make love with Cole that morning. Had it only been that morning? So much had happened since then that I felt I’d lived a lifetime in just a few hours. I lay there, listening to the wonderful purr of Cole the cat, and drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  I awoke to the feel of the Panther’s tongue on my neck. My neck? I opened my eyes and looked into Cole’s human face. He had shifted back while I’d been sleeping. I sat up and raised an eyebrow. He was naked. “I thought all you had to do when you change was think your clothes back onto your body.”

  “I didn’t bother this time. You were asleep and it didn’t seem to matter. Do you want me to dress?”

  “Well I’m fully clothed, so it only seems fair.” I had to admit to myself that he was beautiful even as a human.

  “You could undress, too, then we’d be equal.”

  “Nice try.” I stood up to find a bathroom. I assumed it was upstairs, because I hadn’t seen another room downstairs other than the kitchen, the one we were in and the empty one on the other side of the stairs.

  Sur
e enough the bathroom was upstairs. There were two – a half bath and a full bathroom which was larger than mine at home. This one, however, was in the process of renovation. I used the facilities then investigated a little further. The first door I opened was an empty room, a decent size for a guest bedroom. The only other door off the upstairs hall had to be the master bedroom. Opening it, I saw I was right. It was as large as the empty room downstairs but still sparsely furnished. Another work in progress, it only contained a king-size bed with a night stand on either side, and a dresser in matching wood.

  With only one bed in the house I figured I had two choices, share the bed with Cole or ask to be taken home. He’d offered to take me home earlier and I’d said no. To ask him to take me home now would seem rude. Oh, I had no doubt he would take me home and not complain, but I didn’t feel I could ask. Besides, with Kincaid out there, I didn’t want to be alone. No, I thought, we would share his bed. I knew Cole could control himself; I wasn’t so sure about me though.

  I was thoughtful as I went back downstairs. I kept asking myself the same question. Did I want either of us to control ourselves? The answer I continually came up with was no. I’d enjoyed making love with Cole more than I’d enjoyed anything in my life so far, and regardless of what I’d learned earlier in the day, I wanted to repeat that experience.

  When I found Cole, he was dressed and in the kitchen. He’d set some pork chops to broil, and there were potatoes cooking in the microwave. I joined him at the counter where he was preparing a green salad.

  “You’re really quite domesticated aren’t you?” I couldn’t resist putting my hand on his back and sliding it down his spine. I left my hand resting just above his butt as I watched him attack a head of lettuce.

  “Weres have big appetites and if you can’t look after yourself you won’t survive long. Years ago, before even my parents’ time, weres attacked and ate the weakest. When I was young, before I met your great-grandfather, I would scavenge for food. Steal, if I could, beg if I couldn’t steal. Your ancestor taught me how to survive and I’ll be forever grateful to him for that.” He bent down briefly and gave me a quick kiss on the end of my nose. “Nowadays, with convenience food, any fool can feed themselves. The trick is to enjoy what you eat as well as survive.”

  The microwave dinged and I recalled something he’d said the other night at my store. “I thought you said you didn’t have a microwave?”

  “I didn’t. I bought that yesterday morning.”

  I took the potatoes out of the microwave and tested them – they were ready to eat. I checked the chops and they were just about done. I turned them over and gave them a minute on the other side before declaring them ready. It was a simple meal, but with a glass of wine and good company, it took on the appearance of a feast. And Cole was very good company.

  The fact that he no longer had to hide who he was made conversation a lot easier and far more interesting. I was curious about his life and he was happy to tell me whatever I wanted to know.

  “Did you go to school?” Was the first of my questions.

  “Only till sixth grade. I’ve taken a few courses here and there at community colleges but mostly I’m self-educated.”

  “Okay, this one’s a biggie. How do you escape notice by the authorities? I mean you’re a hundred and sixteen years old, don’t they find it odd that you’re that old and still paying taxes for instance.” The last thing I wanted was some ‘X Files’ type people turning up at his door and carting him off for a course of vivisection.

  “There are millions of weres in the world and they work in every branch of government in every country. There’s always someone who’ll alter a record for you.” He lifted a shoulder in a kind of half shrug. “It’s a system that’s worked since the beginning of the modern world. However, it’s getting harder and harder with the advance of technology. Mostly we try to stay under the radar as much as possible.”

  I nodded, understanding his attitude at the gas station. “Is that why you didn’t want to call the Sheriff about Kincaid being in my house last night?”

  “Yeah. I want to live here, but the less I have to do with the local police, the better.”

  I figured he wouldn’t be able to stay under the radar much if Kincaid came back again. Not if he remained involved with me. “Cole, what are we going to do about Kincaid?”

  “I’m hoping I scared him off last night. I mauled him pretty bad before he ran.” He finished his food and put his fork down on his plate. “I think we should wait and see what he does next. You said he’s a user and he’s in debt, I’m guessing he’s pushing too. He might just decide to take off and find fresher pastures.”

  When I’d finished eating, Cole took my plate and his over to the sink and cleaned them and the cooking utensils we’d used. For once, I sat and watched someone else do the work. It felt comfortable to be there with him, and after the revelations of the day, that astounded me. But it felt right and I couldn’t explain why. I began to fantasize about living with him, loving him, even someday having his children. It would be a good life. Then my fantasy fizzled and burst. I would grow old and he wouldn’t. When I was old and wrinkled he’d still look like he did now. Would he stay around that long? I snorted; what man would?

  When we were settled back on the cushions in what I was starting to think of as the den, I broached the subject of his longevity yet again. This time from a different angle. “Have you ever been in love?”

  “Before now? No.” He watched me as he answered, and I knew he was waiting for my reaction. Oh I had a reaction all right, but not in any place he could see, and I kept my face absolutely expressionless.

  Still determined to get to my point I tried again. “Well, have you had a relationship with a non-were before?”

  “Yes, a few. Vic, what are you getting at? What do you want to know?”

  I closed my eyes for a second or two and took a deep breath. When I opened them again Cole was watching me intently. “Okay, look, this is really embarrassing but I don’t know any other way to ask you other than straight out. If we...” I ground to a halt. “Oh hell. If we were to stay together will you leave me for a younger woman when I start to age?” I looked down at my hands; I thought I would die from embarrassment. I didn’t dare look at his face.

  “Vic, look at me.” With reluctance I looked up. He’d pulled a couple of the cushions over to the wall; he leaned against one while the other was underneath him as he sat with his legs splayed out in front of him. He patted the space on the floor between his legs with his hand. “Come and sit over here.”

  I stood up slowly and went to sit on the makeshift seat, trying desperately not to lean back on him. He, however, had other ideas, and he put an arm around my middle to pull me back against him.

  He nuzzled my neck just below my ear and then he started to speak quietly, so close to my ear that I could feel his breath on my skin. “I want to explore this relationship with you, and the short answer to your question is, no, I won’t leave you for a younger woman. But there is a much longer answer, if you’re willing to listen.” He raised a leg and I slipped sideways slightly so my head rested against his upper arm and my back was supported by his thigh. I nodded to show my willingness to listen.

  “None of your family has lived to old age; they all died young in accidents or war, except for your great-grandmother who was completely human. You carry the were gene, that much is obvious, but what isn’t obvious is what your life-span will be. Barring accidents you may live considerably longer than what is normal for a human. But there is more to it than that.” I had skewed around so I could watch him while he spoke and he paused to look down at my face. Unexpectedly he leaned down and stole a quick kiss. “I know I’m jumping the gun a little but it’s something that has to be said. It’s entirely possible that having my children may extend your life even further.”

  I struggled to sit upright and I twisted around so I could face him. “Just hold your horses there, we’ve slept with each
other just once and you’re already talking about kids? No way, José!” Regardless of what I’d been thinking earlier, I didn’t want him making assumptions about any possible future for us.

  “I’m sorry, I’m not explaining myself well. Please, let me try again.” I made a hand gesture telling him to continue. “So much of what makes us weres is magic. Magic that comes from the dawn of time. Our children are born with that magic. It’s so strong in them that even before they are born the mother has increased abilities, courtesy of her young. It’s always been understood that it happens in order to give the mother the means to protect her unborn child. After birth, the mother retains much of her additional magic to protect her young.” He scooted forward so he could reach my face which he cradled in his hands. “You have the recessive were gene, and as I understand it, if we were to have children, then you would have a fifty percent chance of having a full were child. But even if you had a child like yourself, with a recessive gene, magic would still be a factor.”

  “Whoa, would I be able to shift while pregnant?” I wasn’t sure if I was appalled or pleased at the prospect.

  His thumbs were smoothing the skin on my cheekbones, his gentle touch adding yet another surreal layer to the conversation. “No, you’ll never be able to shift, but you might well develop other characteristics and abilities. A stronger sense of smell and hearing, and increased visual acuity for instance. It’s entirely possible that one of the side-effects might be an improved life-span.”

  I pulled his hands down from my cheeks and held them loosely in my lap. “Someone else, somewhere in the world, must have been in this situation at some point. You know your community, surely you could find out?”

  “Yes, I could and I will, as soon as I get a computer set up here.” He stood and pulled me up with him. “Right now though, we have a much more pressing decision to make.”

  “We do?”