Instinctive (24 page)

Sunray squeezed her hand, a silent gesture to indicate that she felt the same. “Go, and hurry.”

The two women made their way to the bar. While Sunray engaged Drake in conversation, Jaclyn pretended to make her way to the washroom. Fueled by need, she cautiously crept farther down the hall and despite the “Private, No Admittance” sign, she slipped into Slyck’s office. Inside, she found him in his small washroom, one palm braced on the wall, the other wrapped around his hard cock.

Jaclyn gripped the wall for support, because it was all she could do not to impale herself on that magnificent cock. Her body quivered, her pussy moistened with longing, and it became most difficult to speak. “Need a hand?” she whispered, her panther mewling as passion rose in her.

Slyck spun around and, in one swift move, anchored her body to his. Even though his eyes darkened with lust when they connected with hers, he announced, “Jaclyn, you shouldn’t be in here.”

She tossed him a wicked grin. “I didn’t think it was fair to get you all aroused and not do anything about it.”

“You can’t—”

Partly to stop him and partly to feel his comfort, Jaclyn laid her hand flat on his stomach, her palm connecting with his rigid muscles. The smile fell from her face. “It hurts, Slyck,” she began, cutting him off. She swallowed, and when she spoke again, all humor left her voice. “It hurts when I’m not with you.”

Slyck sucked in air. His thick muscles shifted as he backed her up until he reached the sofa.

“Lift your skirt,” he demanded.

Jaclyn almost sobbed with relief. She bent herself over the sofa, and inched her miniskirt up until she exposed the curve of her cheeks. She widened her legs, granting him access and when her aroused scent reached his nostrils, he gave a low primal growl.

“Jaclyn . . . ,” he whispered. His voice seeped into her skin and filled her with warmth.

“Please fuck me,” she begged shamelessly.

Slyck splayed his hands over her hips and positioned the tip of his cock at her opening. With one quick thrust he slammed into her. Her mouth opened in a silent gasp. He pushed so deep and so hard, it drove her against the couch. Her nipples scraped against the fabric until pleasure bled into pain. Yet she still couldn’t get enough.

“More,” she cried out. “Harder.”

He slammed into her, pushing and pulling, giving and taking, making up for all of the last week.

When her orgasm finally took hold, she nearly blacked out from pleasure. As Slyck released high inside her, filling her body with his seed, he took her to the moon and back. Life surged through her in ways that baffled her and brought on another climax.

As Jaclyn’s body came back down to earth, Slyck spun her around and pulled her in close until her body melded with his. Everything inside her reached out to him. Good Lord, here she thought she’d shrivel up and die in the small isolated town of Serene, only to find out she’d just barely begun to live. That thought was like a punch in the gut, and in that instant she vowed that no one was going to take away what she’d spent her whole life searching for.

“I’ve missed you,” he murmured into her hair, his lips rushing over her flesh.

“I’ve missed you too.” She collapsed against his hard chest. As she breathed in his scent, she pulled it into her lungs so she could call on it later, when loneliness disturbed her soul. Jaclyn pressed a small kiss to his chest and then turned her head to the side to make out an open file on Slyck’s desk.

She listened to the rustle of clothes as Slyck got dressed. “I want to give you something,” he said and inched away. He stepped to his desk, gathered the file and handed it to her.

Heart aching, Jaclyn brushed her finger over the photo, instinctively understanding that the man in the picture was her natural father.

“I want you to have this, Jaclyn.”

She looked into his eyes and saw sorrow and sensed this was his way of trying to give back something that he’d taken from her. Her heart softened and tears pricked her eyes. She couldn’t hold her father’s death against him. Slyck was a good man who didn’t have a malicious bone in his body. She already knew he only ever acted with the town’s best interest. “What was he like?”

Slyck came up behind her and pressed his chest to her back, his touch and his body contact comforting her. He put his mouth close to her ear and spoke in whispered words. “He was a good man, Jaclyn.”

“Tell me about him. What did he do?”

“He monitored the perimeter.” After a moment of silence, he said, “You actually remind me a lot of him.” That brought a smile to her face.

She spun around. “How?”

The corners of his lips twitched. “He was a little rebellious, a little hardheaded.”

She smacked him. “Hey . . .”

His eyes softened and turned serious. “But he was also intelligent and kind.”

Jaclyn felt a lump lodge in her throat. “And my mother?”

Slyck touched her hair and tucked a piece behind her ear. “She was beautiful.”

“You met her?” she asked, her eyes going wide.

“No.”

Jaclyn looked down. “Oh. Then how do you know?”

“Since you don’t look like your father, I can only assume you look like her.”

Slyck touched her chin and tipped her head until their eyes met. His warm, loving lips came down on hers. As her lids fell shut, his tender kiss, full of love and empathy, alleviated the pain over her father’s termination. It also helped her come to terms with the fact that the man she loved was the man who took her father away from her—the one thing that she held against him. But Slyck was a humanitarian, a man of great character and integrity, and she now understood and accepted it was the way of their people and he’d never do anything to purposely hurt her, or anyone else for that matter. In fact, she knew he’d give his life and go against his own best interests to protect her.

She inched back and looked deep into his eyes. Something in their stormy depths combined with the gentleness and compassion she met there gave her great comfort and soothed the lifelong ache of never having known her biological parents.

Jaclyn awoke to dark skies and angry winds. The perfect match for her mood, she decided. She hadn’t seen Slyck since she’d slipped into the back room with him two nights ago, and her body now ached terribly.

After she had stretched out her limbs and fought off the pangs of longing, her gaze strayed to her window and her heart leapt. As she focused on the brand-new day, reality came rushing back in a sobering whoosh.

One more night until the full moon.

She leaned over and tapped Sunray on the shoulder. “Time to get up.” Sunray mumbled something about puppies needing a lot of sleep, and rolled back over.

Chilled after shedding her covers, Jaclyn hugged herself and climbed from the bed. When she stood she noticed her sore thigh muscles—a beautiful reminder of her frenzied lovemaking with Slyck. She padded to the bathroom and hopped into the shower.
The water helped warm her body but did little to lighten her foul mood. After drying off, and slipping into a pretty formfitting shirt that was high enough to show off her belly ring, and a flirty white skirt, she applied her makeup, put in her silver contact lenses, and made her way to the kitchen.

Her gaze strayed to Slyck’s house and her glance caught his silhouette in the window. Tall. Broad. Muscular.

Hers.

His eyes glistened in the darkened room, and she could only guess that he was longing for her just as badly as she longed for him.

The sound of Sunray moving around in the bedroom pulled her focus. When she heard the shower turn on, she sauntered to the kitchen to whip up breakfast for the two of them. Would the day ever come when she and Slyck could share a relaxed meal together?

After filling their stomachs with waffles, cream, and fruit, the women made their way to the department store. Just before lunch hour approached, Jaclyn spotted a couple near the front entrance. Despite the damp weather, both were dressed in bright Hawaiian shirts and knee-length shorts—which reminded Jaclyn of retired Floridians. They were asking for directions but were receiving only cold, snide remarks from the locals. Obviously, they were outsiders who’d stumbled upon Serene because they weren’t expecting any temporary residents.

But that voice . . . it was familiar.

Jaclyn’s heart lodged in her throat. Surely to God it wasn’t.

A strange sound crawled out of her throat and gained Sunray’s attention. She came rushing over.

“What is it?” Sunray asked, her silver eyes flashing from Jaclyn to the front entrance with unease.

Jaclyn gulped and pointed toward the couple coming her way. “My parents.”

“Oh shit,” Sunray bit out. She pushed Jaclyn behind her. “Quick, go. They can’t see you like this. Run over to women’s apparel and find something appropriate.”

Moving quickly, Jaclyn grabbed a pair of cream-colored dress pants and a matching blouse. She tore the price tags off and rushed to the dressing room.

Once she was satisfied that it was a look her parents would expect and appreciate, she sauntered back to her counter and opened her eyes wide in delight when she spotted them browsing the shelves.

“What a surprise,” Jaclyn said, her voice a little too high as she threw her hands up in the air.

Her mother gave her a peck on the cheek, her short blond hair brushing over Jaclyn’s face. Jaclyn turned to her father and glanced up, taking note of his dark tan and how the sun had lightened his thinning brown hair.

He gave her a wink and went on to explain, “Been on the golf course.” He in turn appraised her. Dark brown eyes opened wide, and a smile broke out on his jovial face when he took in her appearance. “You changed your hair.”

Her hand automatically went to her short curls. She nodded and flashed a smile. “I cut it off. I thought the shorter length looked more professional.” His grin widened, seemingly pleased.

“What kind of contacts are those?” her mother asked, squinting
as she peered into Jaclyn’s eyes. “What an odd color,” she commented.

Oh damn, she’d forgotten about those. “I find it gives me a sophisticated look,” Jaclyn said and folded her hands behind her back. She took that moment to redirect the conversation. “So you decided to come along anyway, even after I told you it wasn’t necessary.”

Her mother gave a sheepish, half-guilty grin, and wiggled her fingers with excitement. “I just couldn’t wait to meet this man of yours.”

Jaclyn worked to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “He’s working late, so you won’t be able to meet him.” She quickly changed the subject again. “Have you had lunch yet? Let’s go back to my place, and I’ll make something.”

“We wouldn’t want to put you out,” her father said. “Let’s just go to that nice café we parked by.”

Oh hell.

Ten minutes later Jaclyn sat across from her mother and father at the café. Outside, heavy rain beat against the plate-glass window in a quick, steady rhythm that matched her heartbeat. She was antsy and wanted to get her parents out of town before they started noticing the strange goings-on. She practically scarfed her food down in record time.

After glancing around at the other patrons, her mother leaned in and whispered, “Have you made any friends? The people here don’t seem too friendly.”

“It’s a small town, Mom.” Jaclyn shrugged and brushed off the comment. “They’re just cautious of outsiders.”

Her mother’s head wiggled from side to side like one of those bobblehead dolls. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to spend any more time here than I had to.”

Precisely.

“And what about that gate?” her mother probed. “Don’t you think that’s odd?”

“Coyotes,” Jaclyn explained. “Plenty of coyotes.” Good Lord, weren’t the lies just effortlessly flying from her mouth? “It’s for our own protection.” Jaclyn bit back a sardonic laugh. It sure hadn’t taken her long to start justifying things and protecting the town. She took a big bite of her pie and finished it off.

Marie placed her hand over Jaclyn’s and frowned. “Jaclyn, darling, you need to slow down before you get digestion problems.”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

Keeping her hand there, Marie went on to say, “Oh, did I mention that Caroline’s daughter, Katherine, is getting married next month to a nice young doctor?”

How they went from digestion to Katherine getting married was beyond Jaclyn. “Yes, Mom, you did.” Jaclyn eased her hand away and reached for her coffee.

“So what does this boyfriend of yours do?”

Jaclyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “He owns a nightclub.”

Her mother starched her spine, disapproval apparent in her body language. “Oh.”

“He’s also on the town council,” Jaclyn added in his defense, then realized she didn’t need to defend Slyck to her mother. He was a wonderful man—a man with integrity and honor. Not
only that, he was intelligent, capable, and thoughtful, and she was damn proud of him.

Just then Vall walked into the restaurant, looking and smelling like a wet dog. Jaclyn resisted the urge to crinkle her nose in distaste, then blinked quickly, trying to dispel the vision of his attack on Sunray. But the memory sparked vividly, and she feared the image had been permanently etched into her brain. She noted that there wasn’t a trace of softness to be found in Vall’s arctic eyes as they catalogued the café. They were as cold and bleak as a Chicago winter. His curious glance went from Jaclyn to her parents, to Jaclyn’s formal business attire.

Jaclyn crossed her arms across her chest and leaned into the table, but her efforts to camouflage her staid clothing were too little, too late.

Harmony and a few of her coven sauntered in behind Vall. They slid into the booth behind Jaclyn, but not before she caught the inquisitive look in Harmony’s violet eyes.