Michelle stepped forward. “I’ve been running from my magic for too long,” she said.
Sally nodded, then poked the leather-bound book in Michelle’s hands with her finger. She pulled it back quickly and said, “You have Monique’s book.”
Michelle nodded. “She gave it to me,” she said. “I’ve never looked at it, but I thought now might be the time.”
“I guess it is,” she said, then hobbled toward the door. “Come, we have much to do before the new moon.”
When Sophie and David followed, Sally turned back to them and said, “I’ll only be needing Michelle for now; leave us be.” Then she pushed Michelle into the cabin.
“Wait,” David said, clearly not pleased. “I’m not letting Michelle out of my sight.”
Sally gestured to Michelle to stay where she was, then hobbled back onto the porch and put a gnarled hand on David’s arm. She looked up into his face, studied him for a second, then said, “We have much to accomplish before the new moon, and you, young man, are a distraction. I can feel the power surging in you, can feel your other side pushing to be let free. Go and run, feed your power. Michelle will be safe here with me.”
“But when will I get to see her again?” David asked, feeling Michelle’s loss as acutely as if it were forever.
Sally smiled up at him. “Are you willing to give her up for a few days in exchange for a lifetime?”
David didn’t even hesitate. “Of course.”
“Then be patient, give us the time to do what we must, and when the time is right, you’ll know. Now, it’s time for you to leave,” Sally said, pushing David away.
When David turned, his head hung down and he started for the truck, she knew that she couldn’t let him go that way. She pushed carefully past Sally, out of the house and into his arms.
“I’ll miss you. I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but I need some time with Sally,” she said, kissing him quickly on the lips.
David looked down into her eyes and said, “I know, but it’s just hard for me to leave you. What if you’re different when I see you again?”
She reached up and stroked his cheek. “I’ll still be me, a little stronger and wiser I hope, but still me,” she said, then she pulled out of his arms and quickly walked back into the cabin.
This time she didn’t watch him walk away. Instead she went right into the cabin without looking back. She heard the door shut, and then Sally muttering to herself, “Young love, such a bittersweet thing.”
When she got over to where Michelle was standing in the middle of the room, she patted her on the back and said, “He’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready, but now we need to concentrate on you. Bring the book and let’s see what’s inside.”
***David***
“We’re not painting the store bright yellow,” David said, handing the paint samples back to his sister. “And this lighting is all wrong. Don’t you remember what we’re trying to do here, or do I have to explain it all to you again? The store is supposed to look like it did in the 1920s, not some futuristic time.”
Natalie’s bottom lip began to tremble, and he knew that he’d gone too far. “Oh, dang, I’m sorry, Nat. I didn’t mean to be so harsh. I’m just on edge since Michelle’s been gone.
It had been three days since he’d left her in the mountains, and he’d spent all of them thinking about Michelle. He’d run the woods at night, his wolf form eating up the miles, but it didn’t help: she was all he could think about.
Natalie gave him a watery smile. “Guess you got it pretty bad,” she said, a dreamy look in her eyes.
David snorted. “Don’t get that dreamy look on your face; this isn’t very much fun,” he said.
Natalie giggled. “I never thought I’d see the day that my big brother would let a woman get to him. But I can’t blame you; she’s gorgeous. What’s her hair like when she takes it down? I’ve been dying to see it,” Natalie gushed.
David sighed. “First, there’s more to Michelle than her looks; she’s intelligent and caring. She’s, well, she’s a good person.”
Natalie waved that away, “I want to know about her hair.”
“Well, it’s…” he trailed off, realizing that he’d never seen Michelle with her hair down. “Honestly, I don’t know; she’s never taken down in front of me.”
Natalie stared at him in shock, “She’s never taken it down. Not even…” then she trailed off embarrassed.
“No, she hasn’t,” he said, just as embarrassed as Natalie. “Now, let’s try again on the paint and lighting; think 1920, not 2220.”
David had known that his patience was wearing thin, but not that he was at the breaking point, and now his sister had brought up Michelle’s hair. It hadn’t been an issue until then, but now that he started thinking about it, he realized that she’d gone to great links to keep her hair up all the time, and he wondered why.
It felt like she was keeping something from him, like maybe she was holding back that one piece of herself that wasn’t perfect, and for a second, he felt hurt, as if she’d betrayed him. But then he realized that what they shared was new, full of potential, but a young love that could be easily destroyed by him making something more of it than it was.
Shrugging off his negative feelings, he realized that what he needed was to get out of town and try to get his mind off Michelle. She couldn’t stay up in the mountains for much longer; Sally had made it clear that new moon was the only time they’d be able to close the doorway, and the moon would be full the next night.
He’d spend the next few days with Jessie and Sophie, using the full moon as the distraction he needed to get through the lonely days and nights before Michelle came home. He hadn’t run with his family since he came home; it was past time that he did, and if he were lucky, by that night, she’d be in his arms.
After two days of helping around the farm, David was glad to shower off the sweat and grime and prepare for the night to come. It would be a new experience to run with the family since it had more than doubled since the last time he ran with his werewolf cousins.
In fact, he hadn’t seen Jessie’s twin since he came home and he was looking forward to running with the white wolf as he had when they were teenagers. It was the only time he could communicate with his cousin, and he was looking forward to getting caught up.
After a huge dinner, they all gathered in the front yard of the farmhouse, watching the sun sink behind the mountains. David had seen his cousin transform into the giant black wolf many times before, but it was a new experience to have Kara there too, an equally large black wolf. Joined by her husband, Danny, and Sophie, they were a fierce looking group, and he knew what they were capable of together.
He wished that the problem they faced could have been solved with the brute strength around him like it had been so many times before. But this time, brute strength wasn’t what was needed; this time, they needed magic, magic strong enough to push back the evil that had found its way into their world.
Realizing that he was thinking about Michelle again, he pushed her from his mind and shifted just as the pack, led by Jessie, started up the mountain. Feeling the power surge through him, he followed Jessie, pushing himself to catch up to the pack.
It was miles before he realized where they were going, and at first, he couldn’t believe that he was going to see Michelle. But when they emerged from the trees into the little clearing, his heart soared to see her standing in front of the cabin waiting for him.
She was dressed in a long flowing white robe, a contrast to the dark night. The full moon shone down on her, illuminating her face, which was serene as he approached. He felt her energy even from this far away and knew that the witch had been awakened inside of her. To his immense relief, the change in her only made him want her more.
He looked to Jessie, who nodded his head toward Michelle, then turned and ran back into the forest, the rest of the pack following him. David started toward Michelle, his heart swelling with love, every mus
cle in his body straining with the need to have her in his arms.
It wasn’t until he was standing in front of her that he realized that he was still in his wolf form and hoped that she wasn’t scared. But she held out her hand to him, and when he stepped closer, she placed it on his head, then stroked the velvety fur on his back.
Something primal and intense passed between them, a recognition of what they shared, and David’s body came alive with desire. But before he could shift and take her in his arms, she stepped away from the cabin and walked towards the woods. He followed, unable to let her get more than a few feet away from him, entranced by not only her beauty but by the passion between them.
Chapter Eighteen
***Michelle***
Michelle’s heart was pounding with anticipation; it had been nearly a week since she’d seen David, and then to see him in his wolf form was almost more than she could take. She wanted him in a primal way, wanted him so deeply that the desire throbbed inside her, punctuated by stabs of pleasure when she looked at him.
She led him to the clearing she’d prepared, lit the fire in the center, then stood facing him. When he shifted, she felt the surge of power, felt the air stir around her and then he was standing before her.
Instantly, she was in his arms, his mouth on hers, and passion flared between them, filling the air with electricity. He kissed her deeply, savoring the taste of her, relishing the way she felt in his arms. Michelle’s knees buckled, but he held her up, not willing to let her go just yet.
When they finally broke apart, their chests heaving, their breathing labored, they smiled at each other. “Hi,” Michelle said shyly, suddenly just a bit unsure of herself.
“Hi, to you too,” David said, grinning at her, then swept her back into his arms for another kiss.
This time he didn’t let her go. “I missed you more than I thought possible,” he said, looking down at her.
“I missed you too, but I’ve had the most amazing week. I’m ready to face the doorway, David,” she said. “Sally helped me find my magic, and I think I can do it. We’ve got it all worked out.”
David pulled her to his chest. “I wish you didn’t have to,” he said, his words rumbling.
Michelle pulled back and looked up at him again. “This is something I have to do,” she said, “but I’m ready. Although there is one thing I want to do before tomorrow night.”
Her heart began to hammer in her chest, and she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to do what she’d planned, but then she saw the love in David’s eyes and knew it was going to be alright. She stepped away from him, her back to the fire and raised her hands in the air.
“Oh, goddess of love, I ask you to bless this joining. I ask that you protect it and nurture it,” Michelle began reciting an old ritual Sally had taught her, a ritual that would make her union with David real in the eyes of the supernatural world.
When she’d finished, she lowered her arms and slid the white robe she’d been wearing off her shoulders. It pooled at her feet in a puddle of white, and she heard David suck in a deep breath. He moved to come to her, but she held up her hand, reached up, and began unpinning her hair.
Before she’d removed the first pin though, David was at standing in front of her. He grabbed her wrists and held them in place. “Michelle you don’t have to do this; I don’t care about your hair.”
Michelle smiled at him. “You don’t understand, David; my hair charms people, makes them like me more than they should, but I don’t think that will happen to you.”
David turned her around and began unpinning her hair, desire building in him as the silky strands slipped through his fingers. When he finished, her hair was streaming down her back in perfect waves.
He turned her around, studied her for a second, then said, “Your hair is beautiful, Michelle, but that’s not what I love about you. I love your sense of humor, I love the way you laugh, I love that you’re way smarter than me, but mostly, I love the way you make me feel when we’re together.”
“Oh, David, I love you too. I love you so much that it hurts,” she said, fighting the tears that were forming in her eyes.
David began taking his clothes off. “I know what this ceremony means, Michelle, and I’m ready to do my part,” he said, standing naked before her.
He reached out and cupped her face with his hands and kissed her, as her hair cascaded around them. Then he stepped back, raised his arms in the air, and repeated the words Michelle had said before. When he finished, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her until her knees went weak and everything but the feeling of being in his arms, his mouth on hers, faded away.
He kissed her until they were both out of breath, then stepped back and looked at her. “I believe there’s another part of this ritual, but I’m not sure how to go about out here,” he said, looking around them.
Michelle grinned at him, flicked her wrist and a huge bed appeared next to the fire. David grabbed her and threw her onto the bed. “I guess that’s one of the new things you learned this week,” he said, jumping in next to her.
Michelle giggled. “That’s just the beginning,” she said.
***David***
They lay next to each other staring up at the sky, their naked bodies bathed in the light from the full moon, then David leaned up on one elbow and looked down at Michelle. Her hair was spread across the pillow; black and shiny, it seemed to ripple in the light from the moon.
He ran his fingers through it, and said, “Your hair really is beautiful, just like the rest of you.”
Michelle sighed. “I think you’re the only person in the world who can say that to me and it means something,” she said, reaching up to stroke his face.
He lowered his mouth to hers, but before he could kiss her, she pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of him. She straddled him, her hair cascading over her shoulders and forming a curtain around them, then lowered her head and kissed him.
It took all his restraint to not drive himself into her right then; it would have been all too easy at that moment, but he resisted, letting her kiss him. But then she began to slide back and forth across his throbbing erection, and each time her swollen nib slid over the tip, pleasure raced through him.
He grabbed her by the hips, unable to resist her velvety softness any longer and drove himself into her, filling her deeply and making her gasp and moan with pleasure. His mouth found one breast, and he teased the nipple with his tongue, nipped at it with his teeth, then switched to the other swollen globe.
Michelle ground herself into him, burying him deeper, sending a wave of intense pleasure through him. When she began to ride him, he threw back his head, lost to the feeling of her body accepting his and let the pleasure fill him, let it seep deep inside him.
He lifted his hips, meeting hers, driving them both to the brink, Michelle’s gasps of pleasure making his all that much more intense. Needing to feel her body clenching his when she tumbled into bliss, he reached between them and began to rub her tender nib.
She stiffened in surprise at first, then began to moan, her body tightening around him before she tumbled over the edge. Crying out his name, she dug her nails into his chest, as wave after wave of pleasure ripped through her body.
Before she could even catch her breath, he flipped her onto her back and slid between her legs, his erection cradled between her folds. But he didn’t enter her. Instead, he slid down her body, parting her legs, then dipped his head between them.
Michelle’s body stiffened for a second, but when he used his tongue to lap at her, she cried out his name and went completely limp. But it only took a few flicks of his tongue before she was trembling, and on the edge again. He pushed her to the brink, then back down over and over, relishing in the pleasure he was giving her.
When he finally let her tumble over the edge, her body shook and trembled, every muscle tense. She panted his name over and over, her voice full of passion, cutting straight through him until all he could think about wa
s sinking deep inside her.
He slid up her body, and slowly slid inside her, gasping with the pleasure that raced through him when he felt her hot and wet passageway pull him in. One thrust of his hips buried him deeper and made Michelle cry out with renewed pleasure, and he knew the end was near but welcomed it.
Each thrust of his hips brought him closer to the edge, but he wanted Michelle to soar with him, so he fought it until he felt her body tightening around him. When the pleasure washed over her, he drove himself into to her over and over, her cries of pleasure all it took to send him over the edge.
His body still trembling, he collapsed on top of her until his body stilled and he could breathe again. He rolled onto his back, and pulled her into his arms, and held onto her tightly, the world fuzzy around him. When his head began to clear, he opened his eyes and looked up at the stars, silently thanking the universe for the woman in his arms.
He felt Michelle shiver and asked, “Are you cold?”
She nodded her head, then flicked her wrist, and a plush blanket was suddenly covering them. With another flick of her wrist, the fire flared to life, its heat reaching them in seconds.
She sighed and said, “That’s better.”
“I think I could get used to this,” he said, pulling her closer.
“Good, because you’re stuck with me now,” she said, snuggling deeper into his arms.
They lay in silence for a long time, the only sound was the popping of the fire and the night creatures of the forest. He closed his eyes and let his mind go blank until all he was aware of was the feeling of Michelle’s naked skin against his and the feeling of her snuggled up next to him.
Love surged through him, love so powerful it left him breathless, his head spinning. “I love you, Michelle,” he said, unable to contain the feeling inside him.
Young Love (Wolves 0f Gypsum Creek Book 3) Page 11
