by Abby Knox
“What kind of plans?”
“That’s another secret. A nice one, though.”
GiGi
It was mid-March, and the night of the full moon was warm and damp, but the spring hadn’t yet had time to settle into outright humidity. Spring flowers were blooming as GiGi and Vann held hands in the dark, headed north to the other side of Lake Pontchartrain.
The two of them had spent the last few weeks getting closer than she could have ever expected. As commanded, she spent more and more time on his boat. They christened every bed, couch and deckchair on board.
But her favorite times were spent lazing around his house. Vann had given her mind-blowing cunnilingus on his kitchen island. They did it tantric style in his oversized clawfoot tub. They tried it doggy style in his bedroom and she was shocked to discover that she liked it. He had awakened a very different beast, and she couldn’t get enough of his body, or of his expertise with hers.
Not that there needed to be an excuse for so much boning, but the two of them were desperate to fit in as much as possible. Vann was on a break from filming his TV series, but he would have to fly out tomorrow. He would not be back until the bachelor party, a few days before the wedding in June.
When they arrived at the clearing in the woods on the edge of the lake, Penny, Ash, Bobby and a few others were already there. Penny did not look happy to see her, but said nothing as nobody else seemed to have a problem with GiGi being there to watch them transform.
When the inevitable happened, they had already undressed. GiGi respectfully kept her eyes away from the others and focused on Vann. Naked in the moonlight in the trees, he was even more stunning than the Viking god superhero he resembled fully clothed in the daylight.
And then, the change began. They all looked at each other and looked at GiGi. Ash asked in a deeper, edgier voice than normal, “Do you think it might be dangerous for her to be here?”
Vann glowered. “She’s my mate, no matter what anybody here thinks. Anyone try anything with her, they’re toast. Whether you’re in my pack or not.”
There was a growl from Penny and then Bobby chimed in. “Come on, man, you know we’re better than that.”
Vann nodded at Bobby but gave Penny a look of warning. “I do know that. I trust all of you. And now that you know the truth about GiGi and Rosemary, I hope we can all just get over ourselves. OK?”
Penny let out a low growl before nodding and running off down the path, disappearing into the woods. “Beat you suckers to the warren!”
Vann gave GiGi one last kiss and then turned, letting out a huge howl at the moon. He disappeared behind a huge oak tree, and when he reappeared, he had changed.
There was her Buster. He trotted over to her and nudged her leg as she reached down and gave him a pet. And then he took off at full speed down the path.
What choice did she have but to run and try to keep up? Eventually she did, and it was revealed what Penny meant about the warren. When GiGi arrived, they were all having dinner, and it was hasenpfeffer. She could not watch them eat adorable rabbits. She could not even bring herself to serve rabbit at her restaurant, so how could she watch this?
The feast was over quickly and then they were back to running.GiGI was thankful she had kept up her running routine despite her rigorous restaurant schedule. Of course, all the marathon sex had increased her stamina tenfold.
When they reached the edge of the woods, the pack dove into the lake. The water seemed to energize them all, and they tore back into the woods at full speed. When GiGi caught up with them, it was only because she was able to follow the sound of their howling. They were all together in the clearing again, the moon bright above their heads. They howled like that for what seemed like an hour. And then, eventually, they settled and made their beds for the night in the grass. Penny and Bobby’s wolf selves slept in a pile next to each other with some of the younger wolves. Vann kept his distance, then pawed the ground in a soft spot not far from his friends. He walked in a circle a few times, and then fell in a heap. His ice-blue eyes beckoned her to come closer. As much as she was a little fearful of being around a pack of wolves with her eyes closed, she was exhausted from all the running. She didn’t love the idea of sleeping on the hard ground, but the huge gray wolf curled around her and she relaxed into him. Before long, she was asleep.
Chapter 12
GiGi
GiGi did her best to enjoy Rosemary’s bachelorette party. After all, Rosemary and GiGi had cleared the air with Penny after the hospital incident with Vann. Penny, the maid of honor, had actually been having fun with the bridal party ever since they had gone dress shopping together Uptown, where Rosemary had picked the biggest, loudest, most ridiculously expensive gowns in the South. GiGi actually found herself warming up to Penny, and vice versa.
But tonight, GiGi was anxious. It had felt like an eternity since her Vann had flown away last March. Her need for him was compounded by the fact that he had made her promise not to pleasure herself without him.
“Don’t touch your pussy. I want to be the last thing you feel before I leave and the first when I come back,” he had said before leaving her.
She had agreed, but it felt wickedly cruel. It was now June and she was so eager to see him and to make up for lost time with that beautiful cock of his, she was about ready to hyperventilate.
The bachelorette party was supposed to merge with the bachelor party at the end of the night for one big final blowout party at Bobby’s Tavern.
Dinner at the DuChamps mansion in the Garden District was stellar, of course. The comedy show Uptown was just OK. The burlesque show on Bourbon Street was absolutely amazing. Here is where GiGi got very drunk to loosen herself up as she waited and waited to get to the end of the night and see Vann. She wondered where in the world they might do it tonight. She was actually hoping to just go to his house or her apartment and take off their clothes and eat ice cream and watch TV. This was the first Thursday night she had ever been free of any restaurant responsibilities, as Aunt Betsy had insisted. She considered it a test run to see how her sous chef and hostess could handle everything without her. GiGi bonded with her cousin Chastity who was down from Baton Rouge, and who admitted to GiGi that she was a virgin.
“I’m planning on losing it tonight, that’s for damn sure. I heard nothing but good things about those Boudreauxs. I’m sure there’s a brother or a cousin I can have, am I right?”
GiGi soon grew tired of all of Chastity’s speculating and blurted it all out. “Listen, Chas,” she said, her words slurred by one too many shots of Fireball whiskey. “All the groomsmen are Boudreauxs, somewhere in their lineage, and all Boudreauxs are all wolves. Like, literally shapeshifting wolves. And they all know we are panthers. Well, you’re a wildcat, but you can explain that to whichever Boudreaux brother or friend you decide to get busy with tonight, that that’s more of a Baton Rouge DuChamps trait. The Boudreauxs are not put off by the felines, I can tell you that much.”
But when the group of women descended on Bobby’s Tavern in Freret, there was no sign of the golden god. GiGi texted him.
Everything OK?
Connecting flight from Houston canceled. Driving right now. Can’t stand one more night without you, babe.
Her heart fell to her feet, but his words lifted it again a little bit. Drive like the wind, and no more texting while driving!
Aye-aye, captain.
She regretted having to tell Rosemary she was cutting out of the party a bit early, but she couldn’t take another second without Vann. Besides, she had a shit ton of work to do on the cake if it was going to be ready by Saturday.
At about 1 a.m., he texted her again. I’m at Bobby’s, where are you?
She couldn’t see to text him back because of the tears. She called him back.
“Ohmygod, Hi. I’m at the cafe. I decided to call it a night and get some work done on the cake.”
She could hear cheers and drunken debauchery happening in the background.
“It’s OK, just be with Ash and then get some rest. You’ve been traveling all day.”
“What all do you have left to do?”
She sighed and looked around at the rows of buttered and floured cake pans. “Well, I’m going to bake the cakes and start on sculpting all the teeny tiny flowers. Tomorrow night I start on the chocolate and sugar work. The frosting was all made ahead and frozen weeks ago.”
“That is too much for you. Where’s your sous chef?”
“Dude, she ran the cafe for me tonight, I can’t keep a pregnant lady here after hours.”
“You’re doing too much. Let me send over some of my staff; they’d love to learn from the master of cakes.”
“I’m used to multitasking, unlike a certain gorgeous blond rock star chef I used to know.”
He laughed. “I can multitask.”
“Vann, about the only multitasking you can handle is kissing me while squeezing my tits at the same time.”
He roared. “Because I’m ADD and you’re the only woman who has ever given me the ability to concentrate. Let me help you.”
“It’s OK, I got this.”
“I’ll check on you in a few.”
At about 3 a.m., there was a tap on the back door of the cafe. In wafted her Viking god, carrying a bag of tacos. She didn’t know which to attack first. She did not have to decide, because Vann scooped her up in the way that only Vann could. They kissed deeply for a long time, and she tried to hold back the tears. She was still a little drunk, and still a little sad she had not seen him at the party, and still very sad for the nearly three months they had spent apart.
She was also so tired she could barely speak. “Come on, sit down and eat some tacos.”
Happy and exhausted, she ate tacos sitting on his lap on her office sofa while listening to him tell her stories from the trip home from Seoul. She finished two tacos before she just could not lift another, and rested her head on Vann’s shoulder, just to close her eyes for a moment.
Chapter 13
Vann
His girl. She was finally back in his arms and sleeping just like she should be. Like she should have been these past several weeks. Vann watched her sleep on her apartment futon and was kicking himself. Why had he not asked her to come with him? That was a mistake he would not allow to happen again.
When Vann had noticed that GiGi had fallen slap-out asleep on his shoulder, he decided she had had enough. He had carried her and rode with her in the back of an Uber, brought her upstairs to her apartment, helped her shower, then wrapped her up in a blanket on the bed. He turned off both of their phones, nestled up behind to spoon her and they both slept the rest of the early morning hours.
He decided right then and there that she was never going to put herself through this ever again. Not when he could do something about it. She would argue, but that was that. He was going to help her hire more people and she was going to go with him on his next shoot, wherever that may be.
When he woke up, he decided to let her sleep. Vann sneaked out of bed and finally took a look around her home in the daylight. It was like a hurricane had hit. Piles of unfolded clean clothes everywhere. Dishes in the sink. Dust bunnies about to stage a revolution. Shit, this woman needed help in more ways than one. So, Vann spent the next couple of hours tidying up. And then he raided her meager pantry and whipped up breakfast. Peanut butter toast and scrambled eggs and coffee. For a chef, her kitchen was not well stocked.
He waited for her to wake up, but enjoyed watching her sleep. He brushed her dark wavy hair away from her face. She sighed in her sleep and snuggled deeper into the pillow. This gave him an idea.
“Oh, Vann…” she said with a sigh, as she began to wake up at the sensation of him removing her panties.
He parted her thighs and inhaled her sweet spice. “Good morning, love.”
“Hmmm…I’m so sleepy…”
“Good,” he said. “Go back to sleep and I’ll stop.”
“No,” she said. “I’ll go back to sleep and you can keep doing that. Oh god. What time is it? I have to go to work.”
“No, you don’t. I called my assistant, you’ve got extra help for the rehearsal dinner. All you have to do today is fuck me and then go to the wedding rehearsal.”
He tongued apart her labia and found her tight little clit. She sighed. “I could kill you for taking that all upon yourself, but I don’t have words right now. Just keep massaging me like that until I fall back asleep.”
Vann replied, “I don’t think you’ll be able to fall back asleep. I’m gonna have you screaming my name in about a minute.”
He devoured her slowly. She was just as nice and warm as he had imagined she would be upon waking from a deep sleep. She ran her hands through his hair as he worked her core into a needful rhythm, and soon she was arching her body toward him.
“Oh my god. I missed this so much.”
“Same,” he murmured.
“You feel amazing, Vann.”
“You taste fucking delicious, GiGi. I missed being between your legs so bad.”
He continued working her over with his mouth, gripping her thighs like he had been missing a part of his own body. She had completely wrecked him. There was no going back to his old life. She was his and wherever she went, he would be with her. Hell, he would give up television and sell his restaurant chain if it meant he could spend more time with GiGi.
And then he decided to do something even beyond the wickedness of making her promise not to touch herself in his absence. Just as she was bucking and writhing, on the verge of coming, he stopped.
“Oh god, Vann. Come on. Please.”
“I have one question for you.”
“Anything, just please finish me off.”
“First tell me: have you touched yourself while I’ve been gone?”
“You cannot be serious right now.”
“I’m deadly serious, angel face. Tell me your answer.”
She writhed and moaned and finally shouted, “You asked me not to. So, no! Every night when I finally collapsed in bed I had to stop myself. It drove me crazy and made me miss you even worse.”
“Good girl.”
“Please stop fucking with me!” she begged.
She was rewarded for putting up with his antics. He attacked her again with a quickness, and soon she was screaming his name, as he promised she would.
As she climaxed, she reached for him and he gladly fell into her arms, sharing the taste of her as he sank his shaft inside of her.
“Babe, maybe it’s been too long, but you feel different,” she said, panting with him as his thrusts picked up speed.
He smiled and kissed her again. “There’s a reason for that. And that particular reason is why you’ll probably end up pregnant very soon. I want to start our life together as soon as possible and I never want to be apart like that again. But say the word and I’ll pull out before I come.”
The surprise on her sweet face turned to a smile and she put her hand on his cheek. “No. Stay.”
Vann was so happy to hear this, his whole body was ready to crawl inside this woman. His thrusting grew in depth and fierceness and intense happiness, so much so that he had worked GiGi back up into another frenzy. Her legs clamped around him, begging him to go deeper. He threw one of her legs over his shoulder and penetrated as deep as he possibly could, until her eyes closed in ecstasy and her body bucked against him. There was a loud crack, like wood against wood, and a thud. They came in unison, each of them releasing a primal cry that shook the windows.
Neither of them noticed that they had broken her futon until after they had thoroughly ruined each other two more times that day.
GiGi
“Oh shit,” she said, when eventually Vann had gotten up to fetch them some water. “We missed Auntie Betsy’s brunch this morning!”
Vann scoffed as he clat
tered around the kitchen. “Who schedules the wedding party for some stupid shit like that on the morning after the bachelor- and bachelorette parties?”
GiGi shrugged. “Auntie Betsy, that’s who. I am a little bummed I’m going to miss out on Lety’s beignets, though.”
Vann was digging through the kitchen drawers for utensils and pulling things from the fridge. He said, “Beignets are beignets. Overrated.”
GiGi’s eye nearly popped out of her head as she pulled the blankets up over her breasts, as if to shield herself from the scandalous statement. “How can you say that? Beignets are a gift from heaven, and Lety got the recipe straight from God herself.”
He laughed. Praise Baby Jesus, she had missed hearing him laugh.
“What are you doing in there, anyway? I’m dying of thirst over here,” she said, craning her neck to see what he was up to.
When Vann returned to the busted futon, he was carrying a tray in his hands, and had a devilish grin on his face.
“What is that?”
He set the tray down in front of her. “Something a bit better than beignets.”
“That’s the wedding cake! What did you do? You can’t just—“
But he shushed her with his lips. “It’s the scraps. I found them in your fridge at the restaurant. And a bowl of your leftover buttercream.”
“Oh, sorry. I should know better than to assume you would cut into the wedding cake,” she said sheepishly. “But this should be good, I hope.”
He was curious. “Haven’t you tried it?”
She shook her head. “No, oddly enough, I haven’t.”
He picked up a chuck of lemon raspberry cake and fed it to her. “Now,” he said, “nobody should serve anything they didn’t taste themselves.”
It was good. Better than good. She closed her eyes. It was the best cake she’d ever tasted.
When she opened her eyes, Vann’s hand was wrapped around a piping bag full of icing.
