“They’ve never left her side since she was brought in five days ago. The daughter, the one that spoke to you, she’s carrying on her mother’s works, and for that we are grateful. The other woman is someone that had come to mean a great deal to Ms. Jackson. She was the first child that she helped get out of a terrible situation.”
“I’m glad that I got to see her then.” Jenny took her hand in hers and kissed the back of it. “Go in peace, Ms. Jackson. Everyone here loves you very much.”
Feeling silly that she’d spoken to the woman, Jenny backed away from the bed. But Tholan told her to stay, to hold her hand a bit longer. She took her frail hand in hers again and thought about telling her a story. Even if she couldn’t make out what she was saying, she wanted her to hear a voice, so she’d know that she wasn’t alone.
“When I was just a little girl, my mother and I used to go to this big department story to look at the displays. At Christmas time it was beautiful.” She thought of how angry her mom would be when people stared at them, and then she’d take it out on her. But she didn’t tell Ms. Jackson that part. “There was a giant tree in the middle just as you walked in. It was decorated with all sorts of things. Little gifts that sparkled under the lights. Candy canes that were as big as my arm. And there were dolls and trucks, just like a child would imagine their own tree would look like.”
Jenny realized that the family was back and stood up to leave. The daughter hugged her tightly and thanked her. Jenny started for the door, just as her eyes filled with tears.
“No, child, tell her the story. Her time here isn’t long, but we know that she can hear us. Go on.”
She settled on the bed again, taking the warm frail hand into hers again. There were small scars on her fingers, age spots on the back of it. This was a woman who did for herself, and damn what others thought, Jenny imagined. So she changed her story around a bit.
“That year for Christmas, there was only one thing that I wanted. It was a dolly that I could sleep with. One that had soft yellow hair and eyes that closed and opened. There would be a bottle too, so I could feed her.” She had dreamed of that dolly for weeks. But it cost too much, and she didn’t get it or anything that year, or any Christmas. “We were very poor—my mother told me that things like dolls were low on the list of things that we could afford. But she did the best she could and had one made for me. It was soft and cuddly, just as I wanted.”
All lies, she told herself. Her mother hadn’t gotten her anything. The lady that lived in the car next to theirs had given her the one she carried around until it was in tatters and no longer soft. But she was happy for the ending she gave the lady, and kissed the back of her hand again and left the room. She was nearly all the way down the long hall when she heard the room number being called over the intercom. Jenny knew then that Ms. Jackson had died.
The rest of the morning and well into the afternoon, she handed out books, gave away small bits of candy to those that could have them, and fruit snacks to those that couldn’t. The list that she’d been given by the charge nurse had been a great help on a lot of things. And she talked to everyone who spoke to her.
By the time she was finished, she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. She had no idea how nurses did it all day long and were able to come back to work the next day. Jenny supposed it took a special kind of person to become a nurse—one that had a heart of gold, but was strong enough to watch those who passed. And compassion for people that few had nowadays.
Pulling on her coat, she was in the main lobby when she saw Valyn. Just what she needed. A man that loved her and strong arms to hold her. As she let him tell her about his day, she held tightly to him, knowing that she couldn’t live without him if it came to pass.
“I understand that you helped with a passing today.” She looked up at him and told him what she’d done. “Yes, that’s what James told me when he took his break today. He told me how you spoke to Ms. Jackson and put her at peace. She could hear you, did you know that?”
“I only wanted to help her family out—you know, give them a little break. And she was just lying there, with all these monitors attached to her. I don’t know why I started telling her that story—hardly any of it was the truth. I sort of feel bad that I did that.” He said that it was wonderful that she had. “I’m not sure that Tholan thought so. He’s sort of stern, isn’t he? Not unkind, but very strict, I guess you’d call it.”
“He is. And a little out of touch with humans. We try our best to get him to relax more, but he’s very stern, as you said.”
They were nearly to the car when she saw Boss standing next to it. She wondered if the man ever wore anything that wasn’t jeans and a T-shirt. “He would like to speak to you. And before you ask, no, you’re not in trouble.”
Walking to him, she could see his smile. The man had the kind that would light up the world, she thought. When he pulled her to him and gave her a great bear of a hug, she burst into tears. It was too much today, and it only just then hit her.
“There, there, my child. You’re all right now.” She nodded, and he lifted her chin up so that she could see him. “What you did today was well beyond what I would have asked you to do. I’m very proud of you. And you should know that Ms. Jackson loved that you, a stranger, took the time to come and talk to her.”
“I feel so bad. It was a lie. Most everything I said to her was a lie. But I thought, why would she want to hear that my mother hated shopping, and hated Christmas even more? And there wasn’t a doll for me—nothing, as a matter of fact.” He kissed her on the forehead. “You are okay with that?”
“I am. For you didn’t do it out of selfish reasons, you did it because you felt the pain of someone you knew wasn’t long for this world. You made her happy in her final hour, and that is all we can hope for when someone we love passes from this place to the next.” She nodded. “Now, I have a gift for you. You might think it silly, but it’s something that I think—I hope—you’ll enjoy as much as I did trying to find it.”
The package he handed her was in red and green paper, the bow as big as her head. Opening the card that was on the top, she cried a little when she read who it was from. Boss and Ms. Jackson. Jenny had a feeling that she knew just what it was.
The doll was just what she’d wanted that year. Her hair was as bright yellow as the sun, and her dress, a calico, had a pocket with her bottle in it and bloomers under it. Holding it to her, she thanked Boss several times as she wiped at tears. When strong arms wrapped around her from behind, she leaned on Valyn.
“She wanted me to tell you thank you.” Jenny nodded, unable to speak around the emotions that seemed to be stuck in her throat. “Ms. Jackson also said to tell you to never be afraid to do what you did today. It’s not so much for the family, but for the dying that will appreciate someone being compassionate to them as you were.”
Nodding to him, returning the hug that he gave her, she got into the car with Valyn when Boss left them. Today was her first day of many, she thought, and it had been a great day. She looked at Valyn when he cleared his throat.
“How about dinner, a movie, then home to make passionate love for the rest of the night? I was thinking pizza.” She burst out laughing when he wiggled his brows at her. The man simply loved that food, with everything under the kitchen sink on top of it. “I might even be persuaded to let you order your own so that you don’t have to eat anchovies again.”
“Yuck, yes I will. How can you eat those things?” He was driving now, to the little restaurant that she’d heard served the best pizza in town. It wasn’t saying much, as the town didn’t even have a grocery store. And only a single stoplight. But she was growing to love the place—mostly the people in it.
The restaurant wasn’t busy—it was a Monday evening, after all—so they were seated right away and given their drinks. Almost as soon as they got their drinks, a man came from the back and headed to their table. Jenny knew right away he was a Protector. Or had been one at one time.
She was introduced to the man and hugged. They were very huggy, this group of people. Carter told her that he’d been here on this realm for nearly two hundred years. To her that sounded like a great deal, but she knew that he was more than likely much older than he looked.
“And in that time, I learned a few things about making a good pie. Lots of practice and failures.” She laughed when he did. “You enjoy your night. And thank you, Valyn, for bringing your lovely mate in to meet me. It’s a pleasure to see you so happy too.”
When he was gone, she asked Valyn how many of their kind were around here. “There are a great many of us that are only here to take a break for a time. Once one of our charges pass on, we come here to regroup and to be among the living for a time.” He looked around the room and she did as well. “You can see them now, can’t you? The Protectors that are with the humans.”
“Yes. I didn’t know I could do that until today at the hospital.”
Jenny watched as one of them leaned down to the elderly man and whispered in his ear. When he picked up the small child next to him, held him close to his heart, she wondered if he was passing soon.
“He is not long for here, no. Sometimes we know when the time is near, but there are times when we haven’t a clue. I think that’s kept from us on purpose, so we’re ready all the time.” She thought about the little girl that he’d been watching when she’d been brutally murdered. “Sometimes it’s as much a surprise to us as it is their families.”
“I love you, Valyn. With all my heart.” He kissed her on the mouth and she held his hand under the table. “Why don’t we skip the movie and go straight home from here? I can almost hear the hot tub calling us.”
“That’s a wonderful idea.”
They lingered over their pizza and enjoyed being together, neither of them talking about anything serious or about work. When they left, it was wonderful, like they’d been able to relax more than they had before.
~*~
Valyn wanted to take his time, wanted to make love to Jennifer in a way that would be good for them both. The last time, earlier this morning, he’d been too rushed to pay attention to what she might need. He wanted her to climax several times tonight instead of just the one. That was his mission tonight—to have his wife as limp as a wet noddle. That term he had learned today.
He undressed her, touching her skin when it was exposed to him. Kissing parts of her that he thought would be tender and make her shudder again. Valyn was discovering things about her while doing this.
She was ticklish. Kissing her at the base of her spine would send her into fits of giggles. Her underarms were also a place that would make her laugh. Jennifer’s inner thigh seemed to call to him for a kiss, and there he could smell her scent, her need, like it was his own. But for now, he was going to avoid her there. He had a great deal left to explore.
The backs of her legs were especially taut, and he enjoyed rubbing them until they were soft and supple in his hands. Even the tops of her feet he found to be erotic. He loved her toes, the way she had them painted a bright red. The way her ankle turned when she was lifting it up for him to touch.
Valyn loved her bottom—the curve of the fine muscles, the two tiny indentations just at the top of the sway outward. There were small freckles there as well, places that got his full attention as he touched her.
“Valyn, I’m melting here. Please, I need to lie down, you’ve made me both tense and weak with your touches.”
He remembered something that he’d heard, something that had gotten Riss his mate. Spreading out his wings, he took one of his feathers and rubbed it over her back, down her spine to her bottom.
Her scream of release had him biting hard on her bottom. It was that or scream with her. The most erotic feeling overwhelmed him when he’d put the feather to her skin, and he’d felt every stroke of it. Valyn decided to try her entire body with his part.
Standing up in front of her, he could see that she was indeed weak. Her eyes were glazed over, her knees trembling. Picking her up in his arms, he gently laid her on the bed and got down on his knees.
“This is a part of me. I can feel the same things you do when I stroke this over your body.” He played with the feather over her nipple, and wasn’t surprised to see the tip harden tightly, her breast swelling with need. His own felt ready, needy, and he leaned over and took the morsel into his mouth. The feather he brushed over her belly to her thighs. Then between her legs.
The climax exploded out of him. Her own cries of relief had him bending his head toward her. He’d never felt this way before, had never come this hard in his life. Looking at her when she begged him for more, he nearly told her that he couldn’t, it was just too much, but then she kissed him.
The tangle of their tongues was delicious to him—the way her nipples barely touched his chest yet seemed to set him afire. Lifting his head enough to move to her throat, Valyn joined her on the bed, positioning himself between her creamy thighs.
Her heat seemed to pull at him. The need to enter her, to take her as she was begging him to do, had him slamming forward as hard as he could. It wasn’t enough—the completion was close, but not there yet. Lifting her bottom up so he could take her deeper, he moved in and out of her quickly, needing to hit the finish line.
Everything stilled for a second—not a heartbeat could he heard. The clock on the wall seemed to pause, waiting for them to climax. And when they did, both of them crying out at the same time, he felt lifted up, dragged though something wonderous before he was dropping on top of her.
Valyn didn’t move. He wasn’t even sure that was possible after that. When Jennifer moved beneath him, he thought that he might be too heavy and boorishly, moaning and groaning the entire time, he rolled to his back.
Her giggle had him looking at her with one eye. Right now he didn’t think that he had the strength to open the other one, if ever again. She was lying there, beautifully sated, her body red and somewhat bruised by his treatment of her. But even with that, he thought her the most gorgeous creature he’d ever seen.
“I can’t move.” He groaned that he couldn’t either. “What on earth gave you the idea to touch me with your feather? That was mind blowing to say the least.”
“Riss, he told me.” She glanced at him with a cocked brow; he knew that to mean he’d better explain. “He didn’t give me any details of what he’d done with it, but he mentioned that it would be fun. Did you think it was fun?”
“No, it was a killer.” He grinned, thinking that sounded very good to him. “Next time warn me. I might need to fortify myself for another round like that.”
They lay there, each, he supposed, lost in thought. When she rolled over to his side of the bed and put her head on his chest, he held her there, thinking this was a perfect ending to his day. When she spoke, he could barely hear what she was saying, but he wasn’t sure that he was supposed to for some reason.
“It’s a dream, this love of him. I’m going to wake up and this will be a good dream and there won’t be a Prince Charming. There won’t be a lovely castle. I’ll just be living in my car, hoping to find work again.” It broke his heart to hear her say those things.
He’d never celebrated Christmas, but he had seen plenty of them in his years of being a Protector. He was going to give her one. The best one she could ever have.
Slipping out from under her, he sat on the side of the bed and watched her sleep. It was dark now, the house was silent, so he dressed himself and made his way downstairs. He had no idea where to start on something like this, and went to find out what he could. Riss, like the rest of them, wasn’t asleep, and he asked them all to join him.
“The date is passed, you know—the one that they celebrate it all. I don’t suppose you want to wait until next year?” Valyn told Agon what he’d found out today. “Oh well, we really need to do this. Tonight, if we can.”
“I don’t know where we could find a tree and decorations.” Tholan came into the stud
y where they were all gathered and put out his hand. In it was the smallest decorated tree he’d ever seen. “It’s beautiful, but I don’t think I could get many gifts under that, do you?”
“Don’t be silly. I was told that you just set it on the floor where you want it and it will do the rest. I’ve taken the liberty of wrapping some gifts for her myself. And the other females. A large meal is something that you should plan on as well.” They were all in agreement. “To be honest with you about the tree, I’ve no idea other than I was told you only need to set it down. For all I know, it could be a spindly tree without any form or color on it.”
Valyn couldn’t decide where to put it. Riss suggested the bedroom, and Arryn thought the study was a good place. But Riss told him that he should place it in the entrance way, near the grand staircase. He said he’d seen that in a movie once.
They all went to the front hall and Valyn took the tiny tree. He set it on the floor and stepped back. Whatever was going to occur, he didn’t want to be in the way. He might end up being decorated as well. When nothing happened, he looked at Tholan for advice.
“Oh, I forgot in my excitement to bring it to you. Valyn, you must breathe on it. Don’t ask me why, but that was what the note said when I found the tree on my desk.” Valyn asked him if he thought it was a joke. “I don’t have a sense of humor; you of all people should know that.”
Yes, they all did. He never got sarcastic banter, nor did he get jokes. After it was explained to him why something was funny or not, he still had trouble grasping the idea why anyone would do that to someone else.
Valyn went to the tree and blew his breath over it, nearly knocking it over when he did. Stepping back a second time, he knew this was a joke. It wasn’t until the tree started to shake that he thought this was going to work. As the tree grew to a mammoth size that fit in the hallway, he watched as the rest of the house was decorated as well.
The staircase railing was wrapped in greenery. The candles in the window were surrounded by a beautiful wreath. Sparking lights were put up around doorways and overhead. Even the study that they had been in was beautiful. But the dining room was the best of all.
Valyn_Mystic Protectors_An Angelic Paranormal Erotica Page 6
