A Wicked Beginning (47 page)

“Not falling for the ‘I miss you’ trap, chère.”

Rats. He always knew when I was telling the truth…or not, in this case. “Okay, well, how’s this? I think I am done crying and want some company. It may not be the best company, but at least I’m not having a tantrum.”

“Hmmmm…”

“Come
on,
Kayden. Please…I’ll do something nice for you.”

“Like what?”

“Your choice,” I said brightly. Then I clapped my hand over my mouth. What a dummy I was. Giving Kayden carte blanche as a favor could be a disaster.

He appeared behind me laughing uproariously. “Oh, ma chère, you naïve sexy girl, you…you do know what you’ve done, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know,” I said sullenly. “I’ve given you the keys to the kingdom.”

“To the entire galaxy, is more like it…I will have to think of something fun and outrageous to take you up on your offer.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” I pulled at a lock of hair, and then twisted it around my finger.

“I’m truly glad you are feeling better, ma chère.”

I looked up at him through my eyelashes, still moist with tears. “Really?”

“Really and truly…it breaks my heart when you are sad.”

“Then why did you go away instead of continuing to console me?”

“Sexy girl, you seemed to have taken your sorrow to new extremes. My consolation efforts did nothing to assuage your grief. I figured you’d sort it out by and by. Your Neanderthal may not be a lost cause, in any case.”

I sat up eagerly. “Do you have any insight? Have you seen something?”

“No, ma chère, nor do I wish to. But the Neanderthal
does
seem to have some useful skills.”

When he said that, his face was puckered as if he had eaten pickled prunes.

“I hope acknowledging that did not cause you any undue suffering,” I said with a heaping dose of sarcasm.

“Not in the least,” he replied, smoothing out his immaculate skin tight shirt.

“Kayden…you’re not being honest with me.”

“Sexy girl…I can assure you, I have nothing to hide.”

“What skills does he have that may prove useful?”

Kayden looked away. “Are you hungry?” he asked. “Perhaps we can work on your food prep skills.”

“Why are you changing the subject?”

“I did not think that I was. I thought I was being considerate, thinking of your nutritional needs.”

“Yes, but your consideration occurred after I asked you a question about Cam.”

“What was the question?”

“Kayden, I know you have a sharper memory than that. You can recall what you had for dinner ten decades ago on the first Tuesday of May.”

“Well, I guess I was not paying attention.”

“Kayden, please…” I sniffed.

“Oh, alright,” he uttered, glaring at me. “He has the ability to turn you on and be turned on by you. That’s a useful skill.”

“How does that make a difference?”

“Chère…think about it. When you awaken the ka and engage with the Neanderthal,
his
abilities are enhanced as well. In fact, it seemed he thought of you a bit ago and had a very interesting experience.”

“Interesting, how?”

“Let’s just say his awareness of his surroundings and his abilities were enhanced.”

“In what way?”

“They stopped short of him sprouting fur. That’s all I will say about it.”

“Hmmmm.” I narrowed my eyes and shot a pistol popping look at him, thinking about what he had just said. “Are you saying that, while I can’t interfere with his process, nor aid and assist, I can at least lend some energy?”

“Exactly, chère. What he does with the energy is up to him, however.”

“That could have been useful information. Knowing that could have made me not feel so helpless here, Kayden. Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“The topic never came up.”

I picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it at Kayden. “Sometimes you are impossible!”

Before the pillow struck him, he flicked his fingers, and it disappeared into the ethers. “Well, so now you know. What do you intend to do about it?”

“What should I do?”

“You can’t depend on me for
all
the answers, chère. You’ll think of something.” Kayden crawled up next to me on the bed. He manifested several velvety soft, fluffy pillows, arranged them behind his back and settled into them, his long, strong legs extended with legs crossed at the ankles on the luxurious bedspread. “I’ll just wait here until you have an idea.”

“You look like a cat. Don’t you want to lick your paws and groom your face?”

Ignoring me, he manifested Le Monde, a French newspaper, and proceeded to read.

“I suppose I could do something intimate with you,” I said coyly.

“It’s a possibility,” he replied, turning the page of his newspaper.

“You usually initiate our intimate encounters, but I could have a go.”

“Mm hmm,” he said, not sparing me a glance. “Do you know that the world stock market plummeted today?”

“Would you like it if I initiated something?”

“You’ll just have to try it and see how I respond, won’t you?” He turned another page. “Here’s an interesting little fact…tigers in the zoo need to have an enrichment program, consisting of toys and activities to keep their minds and bodies active,” he read. “Humans are so dense. We
all
crave stimulus.” He glanced over at me, raised his eyebrows, and then resumed reading.

I thought for a moment. Kayden always initiated sexual energy exchanges through a sweep of the hand, lips a millimeter apart, or other physical proximity close enough to make me shiver with longing. I put my mind to work as to what I could do to arouse him. He was so skilled at everything. Apparently, I had forgotten most of what I knew and was only just remembering. And truthfully, I believed I’d have to initiate our exchange in a completely different manner. Inspiration finally struck. I yawned and stretched. Then I said, “I need to move my body a little. I’ll be back in a few.”

“Suit yourself,” Kayden remarked without looking up. “Let me know when you’re ready to initiate something, and I’ll see if I’m up for it.”

“Will do.” I let myself out of the bedroom. Wandering down the torch lit hallway, I slipped into a small bedroom that appeared to be a guest room. If I
had
actually lived here, I had forgotten about all these rooms and spaces. A small four-corner poster bed stood in the center of the room. The polished stone walls were covered with paintings of couples engaging in all manner of sex. There was a buxom brunette sitting on a bar stool, clad only in a star-speckled top. A naked man perched on the tile floor with his face shoved between the cheeks of her abundant behind. Another showed a woman lying prone in bed. She was dressed like she was from the 1920s, a flapper headband around her forehead, and thigh-high stockings rolled up over her legs. Her lover, a man with a tiny black mustache, was curled around her side with his hard erection slipped inside her wetness. Yet another showed a couple engaged in intercourse on a shoe shine bench on the sidewalk, while patrons from a stainless steel train station diner looked on. Clearly, this room was meant to inspire and arouse.

Russet velvet bed-drapes were tied to the posts of the bed. I tugged at the bows that held them in place, and they fell into position with a regal flourish. Next, I eased behind the curtains and settled onto the plush coverings. The space was lit by two softly lit sconces on the back walls. Removing my clothes, I allowed my hands to sweep along my unblemished skin, savoring each caress. Pants, a shirt, a pink silk camisole, and gold satin panties lay in a bunch on the bedspread. I let my actions be bright, vivid images, sending each one to Kayden.

My hand reached through the curtains, found a bed stand, and returned with a vial of scented oil. The aroma was one of Kayden’s favorites – honeysuckle and gardenia. Uncapping the vial, I poured a dollop of the fragrant oil on my skin and began to massage my breasts, move up and over my neck and sweep down to my tender tummy. With Kayden’s acute sense of smell, I knew he’d smell the oil as it warmed on my skin.

“Ma chère…” I heard him call from several doors away. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing…I’m just resting.” The oil felt heavenly as I made slow strokes up, down, and around my body. “Mmmmm.”

“Why don’t you come and rest with me?” he volleyed.

“Why don’t you come and rest with me?” I returned. I waited with excited anticipation, moving my oil-slick hands up my thighs, my heart-beat beginning to quicken.

I sensed his feral form pad into the room…smelled his musk…heard him make small sniffs, sipping the aroma of flowers and skin. “Mmmmm, sexy girl…I think you are ready to play.”

I waited, aroused and wet, until he had reached the bed and slid his supple fingers through the drapery. And then, poof, I vanished to another room.

“Sexy girl, where did you go?” he purred. I pictured him crawl along the bedding, picking up my undergarments, inhaling my scent mingled with his favorite fragrance. I felt his senses sharpen as his arousal began. I heard the heavy gold rings which held the drapes aloft being pushed to the side of the golden rods that rested atop the posts.

“Where are you my little lynx?”

Kayden was graceful and quiet when he moved, but still I knew where he was. I was beginning to enjoy this ka’kriyayaga awareness. I was in another room, several yards down the long hallway. This one had a deep pool in the middle, tucked amongst abundant ferns and orchids. Water poured in continuously from an oxidized copper spout. Easing into the warm water, I discovered a bottle of bubble bath and poured in some of the creamy, frangipani scented liquid, another Kayden delight. Using my hands, I frothed it into bubbly foam. Spreading the bubbles along my stomach and legs, I fondled my skin with the ardor of a lover. I threw these thoughts and sensations to Kayden, who I knew was slinking down the hall.

Through the leaves of the ferns, I saw him drop to all fours when he entered the doorway. “Found you,” he said, his voice thick with desire. His approach was like being stalked by a panther, making me feel shivery inside. My hands continued to roam, concentrating on the tender tissue at the opening of my sex. “Oh, my…” I gasped. When his hands parted the green foliage, poof, I was gone.

“Why you little vixen…I never should have reminded you how to do that.”

I found myself in the midst of a huge room with floor to ceiling windows all around. The stone tiles were cool to my bare feet as I made my way towards the view. The windows opened to abundant, fragrant gardens smelling of lilacs, honeysuckle, and loam. It was a fragrance both feminine and earthy. A breeze blowing in through the window kissed my skin like a lover. Tingles and shudders rippled up and down my torso as the delicate fingers of wind moved along the surface of my skin like a concert pianist.

A fur-covered lounge chair was resting in the middle of the garden. I climbed out the window, feeling the wooden window frame against my bare legs and butt. Dropping to the ground and landing on pebbles and small sticks, I brushed off my feet. Then I made my way to the chair and slithered my naked belly over the soft pelt. It felt enchanting against my bare skin. Rolling on it, I imagined myself to be a large cat twisting back and forth along the fur as I remembered my lynx, Figment, doing. My body slid back and forth, causing sensuous shockwaves up and down my skin. Juicy fluids oozed out from between my thighs, and I let my fingers explore the slickness, slipping up, down, around, and inside. My heat began to build to a fevered sense of excitement. I brought myself to near-orgasm and hovered there, not allowing myself to let go. “Ohhh,” I breathed. My scents were potent, filled with a musky bouquet. These thoughts and smells were also sent Kayden’s way.

I knew he was close. I could sense his predatory form nearby, moving whisper quiet, barely making a sound on the pea gravel pathway…hear his breath when he was mere inches from me…feel his fingers move slowly along my neck…down my breast…encircling my nipple…and then poof! I disappeared.

“Sexy girl, you are intriguing me,” Kayden called. “I like this game of yours.”

I found myself back in the room in which I began, languid and aroused. I imagined the smile playing along Kayden’s lips…pictured his powerful, naked, muscular body. In fact, when I visualized his form, I became filled with immense longing and need. I ached to connect with him…to entwine my legs around him…to feel his energy soaring through me…in and around me. And then I thought of Cam…I missed him. What would I do if he did not manage to make it out of whatever mess he was in? I missed his muscular body pressing against mine…missed the golden hair on his chest and belly…missed his savory, heart stopping kisses…missed his nibbles on my neck, his bites and sucks on my nipples…missed his hands exploring my body, finding new ways to stimulate me…missed his cock thrusting into me with every beat of his heart. And when thoughts of him and Kayden collided inside of me, I became enraptured and engulfed in want. “Kayden…” I called, in desperation. “Kayden, I need you.”