by Celeste Raye
“Please, Dennis.”
She was just mumbling now; each time she tried to get it all out, she was stopped with a thrust that rocked her to the core. Jazz could feel herself slipping and her eyes closed to block it all out.
“Please, Dennis.”
Finally, he filled her like she wanted. Jazz was not even with it for a moment, and when she came back, he was pulling out, and she was left with a gaping hole that could only be filled by him. Jazz hadn’t even known that it was there until Dennis. He was changing everything.
Jazz had a smile on her face. It all just felt perfect, and she did not want to go back to reality. The forest was so quiet when she was done screaming, like she had scared off everything with her sounds.
“Welcome back.”
“I didn't realize I went anywhere.”
“You were out for a few minutes; I was starting to get worried about you.”
Jazz sat up a little bit and looked around. She could barely see anything, and it took her eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness again. Jazz just kind of shook her head and couldn't believe that she was in the position she was in. She had come out there to think, not expecting to find Dennis. Or rather be found.
“Sorry about that. I don't think that has ever happened before.”
“That's good to hear. You certainly don't have to apologize for anything.”
Jazz did her best not to meet his gaze while she got up and pulled her dress back down. He was looking at her in the same way as before, and she worried it would mean he wanted more. She certainly was not ready for it. She couldn't even think about it seriously.
“Why are you looking at me like I’m going to attack you? Are you afraid of me?”
Jazz shook her head that she wasn’t afraid, not of that. He had it sort of right, but sort of wrong as well. Her fear had nothing to do with him hurting her in that way. It was more the worry of what he was going to do to her body and mind. Jazz knew she had fallen, and she felt very vulnerable because of it.
“You are looking at me like you want to eat me for breakfast.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
She giggled and backed away, practically stumbling over a branch that she couldn’t see.
“You shouldn’t be walking around out here at night. You’re going to fall and hurt yourself.”
“Well, I didn’t want this to happen. Are you going to get dressed?”
“I basically am.”
Jazz could see a very important part of him was sticking out, and though she was trying to keep her eyes to herself, it was really hard to do, especially when all she wanted to do was stare at it. It was big, strong, and capable of doing so many wonderful things to her body. Jazz had to appreciate that.
“Come on, get dressed. It’s already really late, so why don’t we start heading back?”
“You’re already done with me?”
Jazz agreed and then laughed at the look that came over him. It was certainly not what he wanted to hear, but it was hilarious to her.
“Why?”
He was offended.
“I just don’t think I can take anymore, Dennis. You’re a lot to take on, and I think you know that.”
Dennis smiled, and then he got up. She took another step back, but he assured her that he wasn’t going to come after her. “Don’t hurt yourself running away. I am not going to do anything.”
She couldn’t be sure that he was being sincere, so Jazz was ready to bolt at any moment. It wasn’t like she thought he was going to take it or anything like that. It was her own decision making that she didn’t trust. Jazz felt too good in his arms, and she couldn’t think of anything she wanted more than to be right there.
When she saw that he was putting everything back, Jazz breathed a sigh of relief. It was like she could finally breathe again, something that had been even more complicated when she was staring down at the muscle that had given her so much pleasure.
“Better?”
She nodded her head. “So much. Thank you.”
“Fine, but you’re right. It is getting late. Why don’t we ride in style? I can have us there in half the time.”
Jazz wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but it came to her quickly. Dennis was turning into a bear in front of her, and it was the biggest bear that she had seen in her whole life. She had seen such a thing before, but it took a minute for her mind to take over the possibility that the beast in front of her, was the same man that was inside of her minutes before.
She was nervous now to even walk up to him. She hadn’t been before, but that was while Dennis was still Dennis. Dennis was something else, and she just kind of shook her head.
“Why don’t we just walk, Dennis? I don’t think that it’s that far, right?”
In truth, Jazz couldn’t see herself getting on top of him like that. She wasn’t even sure that she even wanted to see it. It ruined the moment that they had. It put a lot of wonder and thoughts in her mind. Too many what-ifs for her to deal with at one time.
It seemed like Dennis wasn’t sure all of a sudden. The beast, him, whatever it was, had the saddest eyes that she’d ever seen before, and she knew that it was because of her. She wasn’t able to accept who was in front of her, not like that. It was something that she needed time to get used to, just like he needed time to get used to her.
When he switched back, she was thankful that it was Dennis again. There was a moment where she had worried that he was going to be that way forever.
“So, I take it you don’t like my true form.”
She noted how he said it, and it made her feel terrible. How was it any worse than him not liking witches? At least he had a reason, whereas she was just afraid. It was different, and she didn’t know how to feel about it. At the moment, she wanted to get back to civilization. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been around shifters for years, but she’d never been intimate with one, felt the way she had, then to only be reminded that he could turn into a fearsome beast.
“No, it just…I don’t know. I wasn’t ready for it, I guess. I know that sounds lame, but you were just inside of me, and then you were a bear. It’s a lot.”
He chuckled, and she was glad that he wasn’t being so upset about it. Jazz knew that he wasn’t happy about her reaction though, even if he didn’t show it. She saw it in his eyes, and she wished that she could take it back, but she couldn’t. What was done, was done.
“I’m sorry, Dennis.”
“Don’t be. Let’s get you back to Cali’s.”
She also noticed how he didn’t say back to his house. That was another difference that she felt almost immediately. The air had chilled around them, even though it should have been heating up.
Chapter Nineteen
When they got back to the house, it was almost an hour later, but Dennis didn’t mind the walk. It wasn’t the cool air that was a lot colder in his human form that bothered him. It wasn’t that he didn’t get another taste of Jazz. The worst part of the whole situation was how Jazz had reacted to him. She had been afraid of him for a moment and actually asked him to switch back. It hurt, and though he tried not to show it, Dennis could feel the cut deep.
After he left Cali’s, he wasn’t sure what to do. Everything that he’d decided in the last couple of days hinged on what he thought was real. He thought that she was destined for him, that she loved him, but Jazz couldn’t even accept what he was. It didn’t make sense to him, and though he rolled it around in his head for several minutes, he still didn’t come up with anything better to say or do about it. At this point, all Dennis could do was return to himself.
He ignored Josh and Frank as they tried to talk to him.
“I need to go lay down.”
It had gone from such an incredible high to such an unbelievable low that he wasn’t sure how to feel about any of it. The sex had been great between them, life-changing, earth-shattering, but then she had pulled back when he was in his bear form. It was his true form, after al
l: the one that he was born in. How could he ignore the fact that she had looked at him like he was a beast? The simple answer was, he couldn’t.
His mind was spinning, and before he knew it, sleep had claimed him for its own, and he was able to let his mind process it in his dreams. It was easier that way.
When he woke up, it was with a bolt. He shot out of bed like something loud had awoken him, but it was something else. Dennis couldn’t put it into words, even though he tried to. As much as he wanted to know what it was that shook him awake, he was still trying to process a dream.
There was nothing around him, no scent, no sound, nothing that would tell him that there was something wrong. It was hard for him to imagine that anything was going on so quietly. The magical barrier was up, so they weren’t burnt up in their sleep. People were out making sure Marl didn’t get close. Everything was set up as best as possible.
Finally, he tried to go back to sleep, but the feeling of ill was taking over, and he sat up and cursed. He wanted to sleep, really, he did. In his dreams, Jazz didn’t look at him like he was a monster. He didn’t have to think about it then.
“She is gone.”
“What?”
Dennis had just asked Connie where her sister was, and he got the news that Jazz was gone, and no one knew where she was.
“She stayed with Cali last night; are you sure that she isn’t there?”
“No, she left early in the morning.”
“Is her car still out there?”
Connie agreed, and Dennis started to relax a little bit more. He wanted to believe that she was still around, and he thought of her in the woods yesterday. Something had been off with Jazz, and he was hopeful that Connie would know what was going on.
“Was she acting strange when you saw her yesterday? I found her way off in the woods. She said that she just went for a walk and got turned around, but she looked like she was upset about something.”
Connie was quiet for a moment and then shrugged. “I don’t know. She seemed to get a bit upset when we were talking about Marl. I know that she is evil, but I don’t think that Jazz is there yet. She just wants to meet her, and you know that it’s not going to be possible. Jazz wants to know about our mother, but Marl is going to try to link up with her, just like she did with me. I just think it’s a bad idea and I told her so. She left shortly afterward.”
He could see how that could happen. It was hard for him not to understand that blood ran deeper than almost anything else. There had been several times that his family was in the wrong, but he took their side because they were family. Why hadn’t he seen it before?
“Do you think she will help us?”
“I don’t know, Dennis. I want to believe that she will, but Marl is her family. I am more afraid of her being taken advantage of and then not being able to have a choice at all.”
Dennis agreed, but how was he supposed to combat feelings? It wasn’t his forte, not in the least.
“I wonder where she has run off to now.”
“There is no telling. She likes the woods; all witches do, I am told. Maybe she is out there to convene with the spirits and nature. I go out there to relax myself. Just give her some time. She will see what we have all seen.”
“Yeah, but like you said, I hope it isn’t too late.”
Dennis tried to give her some space. It was what Connie had suggested, and it made sense. He got in some moods where all he wanted to do was be alone. He could certainly relate to that, but then again, Dennis wasn’t dealing well with it. He didn’t want to sit on his hands and wait for her to come around. He wanted her to come around right now. Then he would be able to move forward with all of the plans that he had for them.
She didn’t come back, though. It was getting dark again, and he hated the idea of her in the woods by herself. Dennis wanted to rush in, had wanted to for hours, but once the sun started to dip down into the horizon, all of his plans of staying back vanished. Whether she was ready to accept him or not, he still wanted her to be safe and healthy. All he was worried about was making sure that she was okay. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep until he knew that she was safe.
So, he left on a one-man search team to find her. Dennis was thinking about what happened last time, and his blood all ran below his belt for that reason. He was ready for that to be the way of things. He needed her, badly, and if she wasn’t convinced about his beast side yet, he would give her a little incentive to get over it quicker. It had worked before, so he hoped that it would work again.
The longer he was out looking for her, the more panicked he became. Her tracks were easy to follow, and he knew right away that she was further out than before. Soon, he was past the area that they were checking for witches. She was in open woods.
Connie had reminded him of what Marl had tried to do before. She needed a sisterly bond to get the power to take people’s life for her own. The spell she was using wouldn’t last. She needed Jazz because she was the child of Linda. She could perform the bond with Jazz and be back to the power that she had before. It would make her stronger, and then it would be almost impossible to beat her.
He was now thinking that she had been kidnapped. The tracks kept going at the same pace, but after a few miles, something changed. She was running, then she stopped. Then there were other tracks: possibly Marl’s.
Dennis knew that he should turn around and go back. She was lost to him; he was sure of it as he followed the tracks further away. Something told him that Marl had gotten to Jazz, but that didn’t mean that he was going to let her go without a fight.
Chapter Twenty
It all started so innocently. Jazz had a hard time sleeping after all of the events the night before. She woke up several times from dreams that had quickly turned into nightmares. She dreamed about a wicked aunt that she had to kill. She dreamed about Dennis, the one that she had made love to, and in the midst of it, he had turned into the bear that she almost immediately feared.
So, Jazz went into the woods. She knew it was a place for her to think and to be alone. She had spent many days wandering the woods when she was a teen. It had always made her feel better, but today it wasn't working.
At some point, she had turned herself around again, but Jazz wasn't worried about it anymore. She knew that if she couldn't find her way back, Dennis would find her. It was hard for her to put that kind of trust in anyone, but even though she had not reacted to his bear form very well, it did not mean that she felt any less about him. She wanted him, needed him, and even though he turned into a bear, that did not change anything in her mind. It had just been a lot to take on.
With that in mind, she went further. It had been a long time since Jazz had the freedom to do so. When she moved into the coven, they were very interested in what she did most of the time. There was always somebody around, somebody wanting to do a spell or do something together. It was really hard for her just to be, and she had the perfect opportunity to do that now.
Then it started to get dark, and she began to worry a little bit about how long it would take him to find her. Last time it had gotten so dark, so quick, that it had snuck up on Jazz. She didn't want that to happen again. She started to look around a little bit, and sure enough, she was lost.
Instead of stumbling around in the dark as she had done before, Jazz decided that she was just going to sit down for a little while. She was tired from the long day, and even though her body was exhausted, her mind was a little clearer. She had time to process everything, even the fact that the man she loved was also a beast.
Jazz must have dozed off because she woke up with a start. It wasn’t her dream that made her heart race this time. There was something in the woods with her, and after a couple of minutes of listening, she knew that it wasn't Dennis. He was heavier and made more noise. This was someone lighter and moving fast.
The first thing that came to mind was that it was human, maybe a hunter. They hunted at night, didn’t they? She wasn't sure. What she was sure
of, though, was a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was so strong that it made her practically nauseous.
Jazz started to run. It wasn't a conscious thought or a plan of any sort. She just started to run in one direction, but she didn't get very far before she tripped on a branch and fell hard. It was then that she heard a voice and knew exactly who it was standing over her.
“Now, child, haven't you heard that it's bad to run in the woods in the dark? I would have thought you staying at the coven for all those years, they would have at least taught you a regular lighting spell.”
Jazz, of course, knew how to do it, and she was a little perturbed with herself that she hadn't thought about it. All day she could have used her magic to help her out, but she had declined because she knew who it came from. Now she was looking at her last living relative beyond Connie. She was looking at a woman that didn't look too much older than her, and she breathed her name ever so silently.
“Marl.”
“Yes, dear, it's good that you already know who I am. It will make everything a lot easier.”
“I have heard everything about you, and I can't say that I am happy to see you now.”
The youthful looking woman chuckled. It was her voice that gave her away. Marl’s true age, came out in her voice and the deep darkness in her eyes.
“Well, you are not much like your mother, are you? Linda never did have a backbone.”
It was the start of the information that she wanted to get from Marl. It was that simple, and it was already coming out in floods, but it didn’t mean that Jazz wanted to hear it. She did not want to hear that her mother had been walked over by her older sister.
“What was my mother like?”
Marl told her that it wasn't the time.
“Why don't we go somewhere else so that we can sit down and chat? There are shifters all over in these woods, and I would rather not run into more.”
