With Jonathan leading the way, they left what Michelle thought of as the receiving area and started out across the field, heading for the more wooded part of the island. It was as if they stepped back in time, leaving civilization far behind.
Chelle’s neck twisted back and forth, trying to take in everything at once. All about, the foliage grew in dark green abundance. Ropey vines climbed the broad trunks of towering trees, hung from the branches in an invitation to imitate Tarzan’s bold swings. Monkeys chattered in the leafy canopy above, their shrill cries and playful antics endearing.
Brightly colored birds with exotic plumage called from their roosts in the concealing trees. Some swooped down to investigate the Humans below, keeping well out of reach but flying close enough for Chelle to catch her breath at their beauty.
The underbrush rustled with unseen life along the narrow path, hinting at curious animals staying just out of sight, but with Jonathan at her side, Michelle felt no sense of danger or threat. Her feelings of safety also had something to do with the large wolf trotting majestically along beside them. Not much could successfully challenge a healthy wolf in its prime. The lion might be king of the jungle, but the wolf’s confident stance declared he ruled supreme in this primal forest.
Jonathan didn’t speak. He watched her reactions and smiled occasionally at her outbursts. Intent on watching everything about her while navigating the uneven ground at her feet, Chelle was thankful for the chance to concentrate without having to uphold her share of a conversation. Thankfully, the silence -- far from being daunting -- stretched between them, connected them in a companionable bubble of quietude and peace.
They walked along in friendly serenity until Chelle broke the silence, her racing thoughts finally forcing her to verbalize her concerns. “Mind if I ask you a question?” She risked a quick glance up at her companion, hoping he wouldn’t take offense at her nosiness.
“I don’t mind at all… ask away.”
“Is this island where you and your brother came when you suddenly decided to disappear and stopped doing the television show? Is this where you hid? You guys had a long-running television contract, several cookbooks in print and people clamoring for you to make personal appearances -- you’d pretty much arrived. Why did you and your brother decide to take a left turn on the path to success?”
A bark of laughter erupted from him. She caught a gleam of white teeth as his smile flashed. “That was three questions, my dear. What a unique turn of phrase… left turn on the path…” He laughed some more. “No, we didn’t come here at first. We’ve only been on Chimera a year or so, recuperating. As for taking that left turn -- we prefer to think of it as… pursuing our destiny.”
Chagrined, Chelle hastened to clarify. “That sounded very negative, didn’t it? Please, scratch that last comment. It didn’t quite come out the way I meant it to. What I really wanted to say…”
Jon raised a nonchalant hand, effectively halting her tumbling rush of words. “Never fear, I didn’t take offense. Your honesty is refreshing. It’s good to know Jason and I still have some fans out there if we ever decide to return.”
“Fans?” His statement tickled Chelle immensely. “There are thousands of us out there!” She thought of the programming available since the twins had left and grimaced. “Have you seen what they’re showing on the Food Network lately? Man, I wish you and your brother would consider coming back. Is there any chance of that happening in the near future?”
Jonathan stopped walking. So did Chelle, since she was still attached to him. He stared down at her from his more than eight inches’ height advantage, his gaze focused and intent. The wolf noticed they’d halted and doubled back to them, sitting on his haunches and cocking his head as if to ask what was the hold-up.
Chelle shivered under the look Jon was giving her, but it wasn’t the cool breeze causing her nipples to bead up and draw tight. “Too forward a question, huh?”
“I like forwardness in a woman.” His golden gaze lingered on her, his expressive eyes turned sultry. With a deliberateness that had the muscles in her belly tightening, he let his gaze roam over her body, lingering without guile on her breasts. “It certainly looks good on you.”
Oh God, he can see my nipples through this thin blouse! Heat unfurled down low between her thighs. His high-voltage smile had her squeezing her knees together in a vain attempt to hold her growing arousal in check. All he has to do is touch me and I’ll melt into a puddle of cream right here at his feet. What is wrong with me? I’ve never gotten this excited from simple conversation and an admiring look…
“When all is said and done, the answer to your question is very simple. My brother and I decided living in the public eye was counter-productive, indeed, detrimental to what we really wanted.”
“And what did you want that you couldn’t have in Hollywood or New York?”
“We want a wife, a home and children to nurture and care for. We want a private life out of the limelight -- one lived in peace among like-minded beings.”
Chelle’s pulse jumped. They want wives. She hoped that meant they were still available. “And have you found any of that, here?”
The wolf whined. Padding over to Michelle, he butted his head against her hand, begging to be petted. She absently caressed behind his ears, sliding her fingers through the silky dense fur at his ruff. Jason was a big wolf, easily as broad and tall as a Saint Bernard. The wolf’s head and shoulders reached almost to her breast.
Jon shook his head. “No, not yet, however, the outcome of our search has recently become more promising.”
She glanced up from petting his wolf, trying to hide the chagrin she felt at his statement. Trust her luck to meet them when they’d already found a love interest. Wait a minute… did I say love? What in hell am I thinking?
Swallowing thickly, she cleared her throat. “It has? How recently?”
Jon flashed another killer smile her way. “As recent as today… around the time your plane arrived.”
Unsure how to respond, Chelle dropped down and buried her face in the wolf’s ruff, totally disconcerted by Jon’s answer. He couldn’t mean… he doesn’t mean me… does he? Oh, God! What if he’s implying what I think he is?
Pushing her face deeper into the wolf’s fur, Chelle feverishly sought some witty comeback. Failing utterly, she moaned in mortification. Bobbie and Jenna would never believe her loss of aplomb in the face of Jonathan Corelli’s studied compliment. She barely believed it, herself.
“He’s totally free of fleas, if that’s what you’re looking for.” Jon spoke the laughing words very close to her ear.
Coloring up, she shook her head. Idiot! she hollered at herself. Say something intelligent. You’re blowing it!
“Then, when you find what you’re searching for in Jason’s fur, perhaps you would consent to having dinner this evening, with my brother and me.”
Her head came up at that. She stared into his face trying to judge his sincerity. Standing to her full height, she squared her shoulders and met his gaze with all the courage in her arsenal. “You want to have dinner with me? I thought I’d about worn out my welcome by my asinine reactions.” She didn’t allow him time to answer before hurrying on. If she didn’t get the words out, she’d choke on them.
“You must know I find you very attractive, and it has nothing to do with how well you cook. The problem is there’s been a long dearth of dating for me. I don’t know how to act, can’t tell if I’m reading the signs correctly. Hell, I can’t even be sure there are signs.”
She dipped her eyes, sighed and resolutely brought them back up to meet Jon’s quiet gaze. “I’m going to be terribly embarrassed if I’ve misconstrued your comments and body language. If I’ve totally mistaken your intent, please excuse me and could we please pretend I never said any of this?”
Jon gazed into her eyes a long moment. “You’ve misconstrued nothing. I’ve been flirting as hard as I can without overstepping the bounds of polite behavior.” Jon
ran his hands through his hair, disordering the thick, shiny locks. “You’re not the only one feeling his way, here. We’ve only just met. It would be inappropriate to just blurt out what I’ve wanted to do to you and with you ever since I walked into the airport reception area and caught sight of you from across the room. You’re the sexiest woman I’ve seen in ages.”
Jonathan Corelli thought her plump shape was sexy! Michelle fought the urge to bury her face back in Jason’s fur. Her entire body tensed with excitement. Her womb clenched, relaxed, clenched again and released a flood of warmth between her thighs.
Jonathan ran the back on one hand down her cheek. “I’m not sure what’s happening between us, but I want the chance to explore it. I’d like to do a whole lot more than have dinner with you, but we can start there… and before you ask -- yes, my brother will be honored by your presence.”
“I know you’re twins, but how can you be so sure you know what he’ll think?”
Jonathan pursed his lips. “My twin and I have similar tastes. We often share the same preferences in women.” He paused, cocked his head and regarded her with an expression in his golden eyes that eluded her. After a moment, he sighed and continued. “Trust me, Chelle. Five minutes after being introduced to you, Jason will be trying to annex all your attention for himself.” He took her hand and resumed walking. “Not to worry -- I have no intention of allowing that to happen.”
Chapter Four
Jason bounded into Jonathan’s room and jumped up on the bed. Get up! I want to go see Chelle again. Our mate is so cute when she’s flustered. Our mate has beautiful breasts. Our mate has a sweet smelling pussy.
Jonathan rolled over and eyed the clock, then flicked his brother a disgruntled, sleepy look. “Damn it, Jason, you’re always more exuberant when in wolf form but there is no need to wake someone up just as the sun rises. In answer to your comment, there’s nothing cute about Michelle. Cute is for girls and she’s definitely a woman -- a beautiful woman.”
Well, I think it was cute the way she blushed when you slid your hand between her thighs and stroked her wet panties. I wish I’d thought of that.
She’d done more than blush, Jon recalled. She’d pleased and surprised him by pushing up against his hand, silently begging for more attention. How he wished he’d given it to her. If he had, she might have responded favorably enough they could have escalated their wooing and he wouldn’t hurt so much right now.
Forcibly yanking his thoughts from last night, Jonathan squinted at his brother. “Well, you were the one who thought of showing up on her porch yesterday morning in wolf form so you could watch her shower and dress.”
You sound mad, but I felt you looking through my eyes.
“Hell, yeah, I looked and hell, yeah, I was mad. You stuck your damn muzzle in her pussy! What did I tell you about waiting before we tried to take her to bed?”
The wolf whined. I couldn’t help it. She smelled good there. She pushed me away before I could taste. How soon can we see her again? Can we go now?
“No, we can’t go now. It’s barely dawn.” Jonathan yawned, sighed. There was no way he could recapture his lost sleep so he threw off his blankets and retreated to the bathroom. On his way, he grabbed a towel and washcloth from the closet and tried to talk some sense into his impatient brother.
“Look, Jason, we had dinner with her the last two nights and kept her up late. She just arrived on the island two days ago. From what the director said, she’s been ill, so we need to give her time to relax and recoup her health.”
Once Jonathan shut the bathroom door, Jason jumped up onto the bed and made himself comfortable in Jon’s abandoned covers. Twisting around until he got them just so, he flopped down and rested his nose on his crossed paws.
“You’d better not be sleeping on my bed, you flea-ridden bag of bones!”
I’m not sleeping. I’m just getting comfortable while talking to you!
Jonathan could almost see Jason’s grin. The wolf’s thoughts were hot orange with amusement. In retaliation, he cracked the bathroom door and made sure the loud, long sounds of his urinating came through. Jason had told him how he had to fight the urge to get up and mark territory whenever he heard Jon peeing. His brother retained his Human thoughts while in wolf form, but the wolf body had certain strong instincts that were often hard to override. “You better not think of marking anywhere in my bedroom, Jas!” he hollered, getting ready to get in the shower.
I’m not. I’m thinking about what you said about Chelle needing to recuperate. I want her well, so we can let her rest for now, but remember we only have two weeks and three days are already gone.
Jon stepped naked into the shower and turned the water to hot. Raising his face to the spray, he let the water cascade over him, hoping the shower would sharpen his still drowsy thought processes. His thoughts might be sluggish, but his blood had started zipping through his veins as soon as Jason had mentioned Michelle.
Only two weeks…
When the director first told him their time limit, he’d thought it plenty of time. What could be easier? Meet the woman, enthrall her, hook her on the good sex -- and it would be good! -- and then sell her on the total package… two men for the price of one. What woman could resist having two men at her beck and call sexually? He’d been in women’s heads -- he knew their fantasies. That particular one cropped up often.
At first, everything seemed to be going as planned. They’d met Michelle Rios and liked her immediately. Everything about her was just what they’d ordered. Her figure was lushly full and rounded. Her conversation was, by turns, lively and shy. She showed keen interest in everything to do with them -- especially their careers -- or their lack of one, by her estimation. Chelle actually had a killer intelligence that she wasn’t afraid to use.
However, when it came time to start the process rolling, he hadn’t been able to cast his glamour over her. It wasn’t that he couldn’t have put the whammy on her… it was that he hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. When she came to them -- if she came to them -- he needed it to be something she wanted, without outside coercion. Thank God, Jason felt the same way…
Jon groaned as he ran his washcloth over his stiff penis. It had been at least semi-hard since they’d picked Chelle up at the airstrip. Damn thing throbbed like a rotten tooth -- the dull ache never let up and his teeth throbbed just as painfully.
For the first time since becoming a day-walker, Jonathan craved the nectar of a woman’s blood. Not just any woman’s blood, either. He wanted Michelle Analise Rios in every way, in every position. He wanted to fuck her and drink from her, empty her while filling her with his own boiling essence. More than anything, he wanted to watch Jason lick and eat her pussy while he slid his cock between those thick, full luscious looking lips.
The water suddenly cooled and Jonathan yelped. His erection wilted as the icy water pelted his heated flesh. Quickly, he finished scrubbing and rinsed off, angry at having wasted time dawdling. He and Jason were due at Fresh Fantasies -- the island’s casual buffet-style breakfast and lunch bistro -- in an hour. While the efficient and talented staff usually functioned well without supervision, the brothers made a habit of making daily rounds to all three restaurants under their jurisdiction.
Two hours later, Jonathan was helping put the final touches on the breakfast buffet. A blurred movement caught his attention. He looked around, his eyes widening as he spotted the six foot, nine inch warrior striding up from the beach.
The warrior’s skin was so black, light seemed to bend and disappear around him, cloaking him in a dark reverse nimbus. His hair, worn in a cloud of tiny braids that reached to his waist, gleamed as black as his skin. The powerfully built creature wore cream pants and a matching open vest that left his belly bare. He proudly displayed the gold paternal tattoos marching around his waist, which proclaimed his House of Aggression lineage. More tattoos shimmered about his biceps, telling the world he had claimed, but had not yet mated, his chosen life-mate.
Like a Lord of creation, the warrior-caste Elemental -- rarely seen in the mortal realm unless preparing to fight -- stalked boldly up to the open stalls of the restaurant, eyes alight with what Jonathan hoped was hunger.
“Oh shit!” Why did trouble always show up at the most inopportune time? Jonathan cursed under his breath, watching his plans for the day wash down the drain. He’d relied on having a quiet day, a quick end to work and hopefully, time to remind Michelle Rios of why she found him and Jason so attractive. The appearance of this warrior looked like his plans were fated to fail.
Intent on not causing alarm in his Human staff and customers, Jon sent an urgent mental call to Jason for back up and began moving toward the intruder.
A smile that served to camouflage the flashing of his top fangs in silent warning widened his lips as he politely addressed the newcomer. “I hope there isn’t any trouble brewing here, warrior. All our restaurants are neutral territory.”
The Elemental Fae, his pitch-black skin gleaming in the early morning light, shook his head. “No, I’m not here in any official capacity. I find myself in need of epicurean delights and my senses led me here. I am unaware of trouble here on Chimera.”
Jonathan remained tense. Claiming unofficial status didn’t negate the possibility of a threat. It wasn’t unknown for an Elemental to have a personal agenda -- rare, true, but possible. He would continue to be on guard until Jason had a chance to sniff the vagrant out.
“In that case, try the grilled swordfish. It was caught fresh this morning and marinated in basil, lemon and pepper sauce. Drizzle it with our fresh creamy butter and you’ll have a meal fit for a king.”
“That sounds delectable, but no, thank you. It reminds me of a friend I just recently made the acquaintance of.”
Jonathan listened to the male’s stomach protesting its emptiness. Hopefully, food was the only reason he’d come to Fresh Fantasies. “You needn’t worry. None of our restaurants serve the corpses of sentient beings.”
A.O.E.M.: Dinner For Three Page 4
