Sweet Evangeline (Moon Magic Book 2) (13 page)

“I feel good. I want to help you.”

“Just give me good directions. I’m actually pretty handy in the kitchen.” He found the container of fragrant meat and vegetables and emptied it into a boiler to warm up. She told him how much water to put on to boil for rice and then he pulled up a stool and sat beside her.

“This is Tuesday, I have two finals today and I didn’t get a chance to do my last minute studying.” Evangeline didn’t look happy about her recollection.

“No, class is over for you. I may have overstepped my bounds, but I called Dr. Frederick and talked to him. He was aware of everything that had happened. You got an A, by the way. He offered me a job, said that if I got tired of fighting fires he could use a model for some of his classes.” Eric smiled at her. “I’m so relieved you are sitting up and feel like eating.

“Me, too. And I’m sure you could make a fortune posing naked.” Evangeline’s gaze melded with his, remembering how he looked nude. “But, what about my other classes?”

“The good doctor ran some interference for me with your other professors. They have agreed to let your last test serve as your final. You, my dear, are through with school until the fall semester starts.”

“Oh, thank you Eric. I was dreading going back today. I know Clark is gone, but I still feel a little apprehensive.” Eric had broken the news to her about Laurence’s death.

“I have to go back to work tomorrow, but your grandmother and Angelique are coming over tonight. And I believe Philippe will be joining us soon.” At his words, he was confused to see a look of worry pass over her face. “What’s wrong, love?”

“You have a life, Eric. I’m taking advantage of you. I’m sure you have friends and responsibilities. You can’t possibly want to stay with me all the time. If you need to go home, I’ll understand.”

“I don’t understand.  What do you mean?  It’s simple.  I will go to work and then I will come home to you. Isn’t that what you want, too?”

“Yes, that’s all I will ever want. But you…”

“I can’t imagine ever going back to a life without you.” The next thing she knew, she was off the stool, and cradled on his mountain of a chest. “Please, don’t ever ask me to walk away from you.”

“That will never happen.” But even as she said the words, a little niggling sense of doom was tugging at her heart.

* * * *

Eric was surprised when his cell phone rang. He had been so wrapped up in Evangeline that the outside world seemed far away. Before answering, he noted the Caller ID said the party on the other line was the Chief. This was his day off; he dreaded what he would hear. “Yea, chief?”

“McAllister. We have a wildfire, out about thirty-five miles west of the city.”

“Shit. Do you need me in now?”

“No, I’ve got you on the last rotation. How’s your arm?” Eric had to stop and think a minute, the burn on his arm seemed like it had happened years ago.

“Perfectly healed.”

“Couldn’t be. But, I like your attitude. Are you still with your little artist?”

“I haven’t left her side.”

“So, it’s like that is it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Lucky woman. Listen McAllister, I have a bad feeling about this fire. The authorities are looking into the source, but I have a sneaky suspicion this is the work of our arsonist.”

“Have you been watching Cammack?”

“Like a hawk.”

“I’ll call you if it gets any worse. If you don’t hear from me, I’ll try to see you tomorrow before you head out. Watch the news.”

* * * *

“I like this black one.” Eric held up a negligee he had pulled out of Evangeline’s dresser drawer. “Do you have a thong?’

“Eric, I was a virgin until last Sunday night. I don’t have a lot of exciting underwear.”

“That’s okay, I actually prefer you without underwear at all.”

“Will you hand me something to put on? Please?” He laughed, knowing she was just on the other side of the door, finishing up with her before-bed toiletries. How in the world was he going to keep his hands off of her tonight? He tried to keep telling himself she had been hurt, she had been in the hospital, she didn’t need him making sexual demands on her this soon. So, he was trying to keep his distance, keep her laughing. Anything, to try and get his mind from the paradise that lay between her legs.
God!

Then she walked out. In a towel. “I heard every word.”

“What? That I like you without underwear? It’s the truth.” He turned to her, steeling himself against the softness of her skin, the swell of her breasts, the silky length of her legs.

“No. Not those words. I heard what you were thinking. You don’t have to worry. You won’t be the one making the sexual demands. I will.” Picking up his hand with her own, she led him to the bed.

“Evangeline, sweetheart. This is too soon.”

“The bruises are lighter and we’ll turn out the light. You won’t have to look at them at all.” Sitting down, she pulled him close to her.

“Darling, your body is beautiful, a few bruises doesn’t matter one whit.”

“Then take off your clothes. Please?” She had braided her hair again, and it hung seductively over her right shoulder.

He couldn’t resist her. Undressing quickly, he pulled the covers back and joined her. The towel was gone. She met him halfway. Lying on their sides, facing one another, she kissed him on the bulging muscles of his chest. “Eric, do you realize how gorgeous you are? Have the women in your life properly appreciated you?” These questions were voiced between nibbles and licks. Rising to her knees, she threw the covers back so she could move the appreciation party further south on his body.

“I don’t know how to answer that question.” Eric’s voice came out ragged. He thought of Jessica and how she would withhold her favors and refused to go down on him.

“Stupid woman.” Evangeline whispered as she took his cock into her mouth.

Eric groaned. She was mind-reading again.
Okay, let’s see how good she really i
s
. He decided if that was the way she wanted to communicate, that’s what he would do. So, he let his mind do the talking.
Suck harder, lov
e
. Immediately, the pressure on his shaft increased. “Oh, that feels good, baby.” He sat up and watched her love him. That braid! God, that braid! He grew harder, if that was possible.
Massage my balls, sweethear
t
. She reached down with her left hand and gently played with his sac, loving the source of his life force. “Oh, yeah.” His hips were beginning to buck up and down.
Crawl on top of me, love. Let’s do 6
9
. She hesitated for just a moment and then she complied. If he ever lost his voice, with Evangeline around, it wouldn’t matter.

* * * *

Evangeline was so excited she thought she would come before he ever touched her. It wasn’t just the sex; it was just being with Eric. Feeling his thoughts in her head was nearly as thrilling as feeling his hands on her body. His hands grasped her hips and spread her legs.

You are so beautiful, sweethear
t
. His tongue and lips made themselves at home. She began to squirm and Eric held her still. Soon, it became difficult to continue loving his cock when his tongue was making love to her G-spot.

“Baby! Enough. Enough,” she begged.

Just let go, lov
e
.
Don’t worry about me, lay your sweet head down and just enjo
y
. She did as he asked. She was unable to do anything else.
You taste so good, bab
e
. He pulled her up closer to him, changing his focus to her clit.
Come for me,love, come for m
e
. The intimacy of his voice in her head, coupled with his tongue on her sex, pushed her off the edge of the world.

“Eric!” she screamed as she lay there shivering with delight. She kissed his abdomen, raised her head and realized he was stiff, engorged and distended with desire. Easing off of him, she lay on her back. “Make love to me, Eric.”

“I took care of you, babe. I can wait.”

“It wasn’t just an orgasm that I needed. I want you. Inside me. Please. Make love to me, Eric.”

“If you’ll get on top.”

“No, I want to feel you. All of you. I want your weight pressing me down into the bed. I feel so safe when you’re buried deep inside of me.”

“How in God’s name am I supposed to say no to a request like that?” He covered her with his body. She spread her legs and lifted her hips and he pushed himself deep within her. She let out a sigh of complete relief.

“Exquisite,” she breathed.

As he pumped into her, he kissed her breasts, sucked her nipples, pulling them deep within his mouth.
I adore yo
u
, he whispered from his mind to her heart. As they brought one another to complete fulfillment, the darkened room filled with an unearthly glow. Golden bubbles of light, bright stars of passion, rained down on them—Evangeline’s unspoken declaration of love.

“An arsonist? Why haven’t you told me?” Evangeline was about to cry.

“Sweetheart, it’s all right. I’ll be careful.” After days of being together, Eric was about to leave her to go out and fight a wildfire. And now she finds out an arsonist is more than likely setting all of these fires. Leaving him standing at the door, she bounded up the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

She wasn’t gone but a few seconds and she returned carrying a blue flannel bag on a strip of leather. “Would you wear this for me, please?”

“What is it? A mojo bag?” Not waiting for an answer, he put it over his head. “Don’t you know by now that I would do anything for you?”

“It will protect you.” She threw her arms around his neck and held him tight. “I’ll be waiting. You take care of yourself.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, but it may be as long as twelve hours before I get home. So don’t fret, all right?” He took her head between his hands and reverently kissed her lips.

“I’ll be waiting.”

* * * *

Nanette and Angelique arrived about fifteen minutes after Eric left. “Have you heard the piano music again?” These were the first words out of Angelique’s mouth.

“Not since I came back from the hospital.” But then, she’d been busy—having sex with Eric.

“Phillipe has a new project.” Nanette proudly announced.

“Really?” Evangeline was expecting something like AIDS research, calligraphy, whatever. But what Nanette said came as a complete surprise.

“You may not even remember that we have it, but it’s been sitting in a safety deposit box for almost fifty years.”

“What?”

“My great-great more great grandmother Genevieve’s diary.” Evangeline instantly remembered. Genevieve was the mail-order bride that had come from France in the early 1700’s. She had been one of the ‘casket girls’, brought over to marry one of the rich Creole men in New Orleans prior to the birth of the United States. The girls had brought their trousseaus in casket shaped containers furnished them by the French government. Genevieve had brought the ancient ways of moon worship and magic from the Old World to the New and had married it to the mysteries that she had found in the swamps and in the bayous—voodoo, hoodoo, and the ways of the medicine man.

“He’s going to translate it?” Evangeline asked totally intrigued.

“Yes, he is. And we can’t wait to find out what is says. That and the sampler are the only things that we have of Genevieve.”

“It may reveal some heavy family secrets.” Evangeline teased. She would soon eat those words.

* * * *

The fire was out of control. As soon as they would get one area contained, another would break out. Five homes had already been lost and twelve more would be gone in a few more hours, if their luck didn’t change. The trees and the underbrush were tinder-dry. Eric watched for John Cammack, but it was hard to do that and still do everything else he needed to do. There were trenches to dig and hoses to pull and trees to cut. He had only been here seven hours and he was already exhausted. The winds weren’t cooperating, either. Eric fought and fought, getting as close as he dared. His lungs were full of smoke and he had a cough that threatened to put him completely out of commission. All he could think about was getting home to Evangeline.

Eric’s cough was so bad that he could barely drive. This time he probably should go to the doctor, the intense heated smoke that he had been forced to breathe had undoubtedly damaged his lungs. He swung the Camaro up on I-35 and pressed down hard on the gas. He knew if he could just get home to Evangeline, she would make everything better.

* * * *

“Come sit down, Evangeline. Save your strength to take care of him when he gets home.” Nanette urged her granddaughter to rest. “You just got out of the hospital, yourself.”

“He said he would be home in twelve hours. It’s been twelve hours. I’ve waiting right here.” She was adamant. Evangeline was ready this time. Angelique had made a big pot of chicken soup and Nanette had made two gallons of lemonade. A batch of salve was ready for any burns he might have and she had towels and clean clothes ready in the bathroom. All she needed now was him.

When she saw the Camaro coming down the street, Evangeline went out to meet him. By the time he opened the door, she could hear the cough. “Come on love, we’ll get you some tea for that cough.” She knew that mullein and colts foot would slow down the cough and she would do the rest.

“Will you heal me, baby girl?” he asked hoarsely.

“Yes. Tell me what hurts?”

“It’s my lungs, the hot air burned them.” He could barely talk.

Evangeline helped him in and they went straight to the bathroom. “Undress, and I’ll run you a bath.” She turned on the water and added salt. “Wait here while I get everything I need.” He sat on the toilet seat, his head in his hands.

Evangeline asked Nanette to put some water in the microwave until it was hot. “Could you make Eric a cup of tea with some mullein and colts foot?”

Her grandmother got busy with Evangeline’s request, finding a suitable mug and some honey to make it palatable. Angelique went up with her to her craft room and helped her gather a handful of dried violets, some violet oil, a charged magnet and three candles, a yellow, pink, and blue. “Get in the bath with him, Evangeline. Your energy will power the spell. I’m not trying to sound sexual, but the more body contact you have with him, the faster the healing will be.”

Evangeline grabbed a tray to hold all the items, including the tea, and she hurriedly returned to Eric. He was waiting for her, unclothed, but with a towel draped over his nakedness. “I was afraid your grandmother would come in.”

“You never can tell,” she smiled at him, attempting to lighten his mood. “Drink this, it will help the cough and dull the pain. She handed him the tea, adding a kiss on the top of his head for good measure. While he drank the tea, she lit the candles and placed them around the tub. Adding the dried violets and the charged magnet, she prayed over the waters, asking the Goddess for strength and healing.

“Blah, baby, this tonic is really bad.” He stuck out his tongue and made a cute face.

“Yea, I know, but it’s beginning to work already. Your voice is clearer.” To his surprise, she was right. Then she took his breath away. Without even glancing at him, she began to undress. “Join me, doll. I’m going to do some serious full body contact healing, per instructions from Dr. Angelique.”

“I like how she thinks.” Eric lowered himself down into the warm scented water. Evangeline gracefully stepped in, then sat between his legs facing him. Rising on her knees she began to dip the water with her hands and began pouring it over his chest. With soft strokes, she rubbed her hands down his chest willing the burns in his lungs to heal. Eric laid his head back and closed his eyes, obviously enjoying the feel of her hands on his body.

“I’m going to get in your lap, baby, but I’m not trying to start anything, yet, okay?”

“I’m injured, not dead, Evangeline.” He spoke flatly, but his eyes were still closed. She straddled his legs, realizing as she did so, that their sweet spots were going to be touching.

“Well, if I do my job right, maybe you’ll have a happy ending.” He tried to chuckle, but coughed instead. “Oh, my baby. Let me hold you.” Leaning on his chest, Evangeline put her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. She visualized a healing blue light completely encompassing them both. Holding him tight, she tried to ignore how good her nipples felt pressed into the light covering of hair that blanketed his chest. Despite the repetitious prayers and scriptures that she quoted in her head, her nipples hardened. There was no way Eric was missing this. “Sorry, Eric, I’m trying to be good.”

“Don’t apologize for wanting me.” His voice sounded stronger. She smiled and kissed his neck. Evangeline magnified her intent, visualizing cool, soothing air filling Eric’s lungs to capacity, eradicating the burning cough. She laid her hands on his chest, rhythmically massaging his pectoral muscles, feeling her hands grow hot with power. Their proximity began to take its natural course. In moments, his manhood began to grow. “I can’t help it, Evangeline. This is as exciting as hell.”

“We can use the emotion. It’s called raising power. Sex magic, sexual healing is as old as time.” Reaching between them, she rubbed his shaft. “Let me do all the work, you just lie back and enjoy yourself.” He did as she commanded. With both hands, Evangeline caressed his manhood until it was ready for her. Rising to her knees she lowered herself onto his erection. Both of them let out a sigh of relief. “Eric, I want you to close your eyes and imagine we are bathed in a heavenly blue light. Visualize your lungs being soothed with a cool, healing balm. Take long, slow breaths.” As she spoke, Evangeline moved her hips gently, undulating, keeping a steady rhythm that was designed to bring pleasure, but not rush to climax. “We’re going to take this slow. The longer we can prolong your orgasm, the more intent we can project out into the universe.”

“All that sounds great, love, but you underestimate the level of your attraction.” His voice was still slightly raspy, but he could take deeper breaths—not as shallow and labored as before. Evangeline noted all of this, but said nothing. She pressed her lips to his, giving him something to preoccupy them with, besides talking. Holding the back of his head, she stilled her movements, holding him within herself, channeling all of the love she felt for him into a tangible force. She held him that way for a few more moments, then she felt his hips begin to want to thrust.

“Be still if you can, babe. I’m going to alternate between periods of movement and rest. We’re striving for a whole-body orgasm not a quickie.” He stilled, allowing her to control the passion. Placing her palms back on his chest again, she stroked him there and mirrored those movements deep in her vagina. Over and over again, she took him to the brink and pulled him back, a wave-action of near ecstasy. Finally, the urgency built to a crescendo.

“Evangeline, babe, I’ve got to come—I can’t stand it much longer.” He didn’t realize it, but his voice and breathing were very near normal. Heeding his pleas, she leaned back, took both of his hands in hers and laid them over her own breasts.

“I generate, accumulate and release a touch of eternity for the healing of my beloved.” Evangeline said this once out loud, then inwardly she chanted the same sentence over and over again as she rode him to his pinnacle. He threw back his head; the muscles in his neck were corded with the intensity of his pleasure. The amount of time that Evangeline had kept him on the precipice of ecstasy magnified itself into an explosive release. Only after he had spilled himself deep within her, did she allow her own orgasm to wash over her, causing her to tremble and shatter into a million shards of contentment.

The bath had grown cool, so she rose and took him by the hand, leading him from the waters of the tub. Drying him with a towel, she continued to massage, caress and love him with bodily contact. “Let’s lie down and hold one another for a little while.” Covering them with a light sheet, she nestled deep into his embrace.

“You’ve never done this with anyone else, have you?” There was a hint of jealousy in his voice.

“Of course, not. I read a lot,” she teased him. “That’s something I will never do with anybody but you. But I do think it worked. How do you feel?”

“Much better.” He took a deep breath, showing her he could do so without succumbing to a fit of coughing. “If only I didn’t have to go back. Let’s turn on the news and see if anything has changed at the fire site.” Evangeline handed him the remote and he turned on the television at the end of the bed.

The news wasn’t good. Extremely dry conditions, the lack of moisture and prevailing winds was creating a monster of a fire. Just the thought of Eric having to return to such dangerous conditions scared Evangeline to death. “When is your next shift?” She dreaded hearing the answer.

“Tomorrow evening, if nothing changes.”

A plan began to formulate in her mind, but she wasn’t going to act on it now. There was no way she would put him back in that deadly smoke until she had to. But she didn’t intend for him to have to return to the fire—not to fight it, anyway. They both drifted into a light sleep, but the aroma of something spicy brought them out of their reverie. “God, that smells good. I’m starving.” Eric stretched, then pulled Evangeline out of bed. “Let’s go see if they will feed us.” Dressing quickly, they headed to the kitchen.

Angelique had put together a big pot of Shrimp Creole. “Thank you, ladies.” Eric was appreciative as he filled a bowl.

“There’s chicken soup and lemonade for you later, when you want it. You’re looking better than you did a couple of hours ago.” Nanette looked pleased to see that Eric was breathing better.

“Did you doubt it? Your granddaughter is amazing, as are all of you, by the way.” As everyone helped themselves, a spread of magical paraphernalia caught Evangeline’s eye.

Her glance met Angelique’s and she nodded her head. Her grandmother wasn’t nearly as subtle.

“Evangeline, you know what you’ve got to do.” Eric was oblivious at first, then he noticed how serious they were.