Unquenchable Desire (10 page)

But this was the here and now and
he needed answers. Valerie’s father’s words echoed in his head.
There’s another possible answer. For
instance, our family curse can be broken by true love. When we love someone
enough to sacrifice ourselves for her or him and then prove it, we are freed
from the curse.”

Brian frowned. He had no guarantee
that his curse would work that way. He’d have to give this honorable gesture
more thought before he succumbed to the pressure of his own guilt. He loved
Valerie enough, that wasn’t it. But he refused to do anything that might keep
him from fathering the family he desired. He needed more information. Unfortunately,
since no one had gone through this particular process with this specific serum,
there weren’t any facts on which to base a decision.

Momma Maggie always said that it
was impossible to make a good decision without reliable data. But she also said
that faith was the backbone of a strong man. His head swam in turmoil. Maybe he
had to give up his dreams to allow Valerie to have hers. But now that he’d tied
his dreams to her, it was a helluva lot to ask. It all boiled down to he might
have to lose her to free her from the curse.

But he had her here now. Would it
be the same to make love in the afternoon brightness as under the glow of the
moon? His mouth felt as dry as the hillside beyond them, yet every cell in his
body hummed with desire. He was so keyed up he had to remind himself to
breathe.

Brian enfolded her into his arms
and pressed his lips to the strawberry sweetness of hers. It was so damn easy
to melt into the soft moisture and delve into the hot silkiness of her mouth. Her
scent was a combination of roses and wild boysenberries. The fragrance wafted
around him, intoxicating him like Maggie’s homemade boysenberry wine. He
swelled with anticipation as he drew Valerie tightly against the heat of his
body.
 
Her soft curves fit perfectly into
his hardness.

The afternoon sky was bright, but
they were shaded by a wild oak with a twisted trunk. He removed his shirt and
laid it on top of the dried summer grass and lowered her slowly while looking
into her eyes. He loved her so damn much. How could he ever give her up?

Wrapping his arms around her, he
drew her close. “You’re trembling.”

She nodded.

He whispered into her ear. “Is it
anticipation…fear?” Without giving her time to answer, he trailed warm kisses
down her neck while he massaged her back, knowing this heat between them came
from their humanness and not merely animal lust.

She took a deep breath, then
twisted out of his arms and looked up at him. “After the intimacies we shared
while we were werewolves and while morphing, this may sound ridiculous. But so
much has happened since that night and in the light of day, things are
different. I’m
sorry,
Brian, but I can’t make love
with you.”

He sat perfectly still.
Dear Lord in Heaven,
give
me the strength to calm my soaring urges.
 
He ached to give them both pleasure and
release.
And to possess her as his own.
“I’m not
surprised,” he said past the constriction in his throat, “just
disappointed. I’m sure you have a good
reason and I won’t try to change your mind, but may I ask you why?”

“There are at least half a dozen
reasons, but the two biggies are I can’t allow myself to get pregnant and take
the chance of passing on our curses to my children. And I just took on a big
charity project to help my dad and I promised him I’d give it my all, which
will take a tremendous amount of time and energy, so even if I had a normal
child, I wouldn’t have time to care for it. And with my luck, I’d get
pregnant.”

“I’m sorry, Valerie. I guess due to
my past living with horny wolves, I didn’t give any thought to the possibility
of impregnating you, but I should have.
 
I see that clearly now. Even if you’d been
willing to chance getting together, I have an obligation not to inflict our
curses on any possible off-spring. I desperately want children in the future,
but it would be wrong to cause them to suffer through what we’ve had to endure
at each full moon.”

Brian blew out a gust of air. The
pressure to volunteer to take the tests mounted. He was tempted but until he
knew more, he had to hang on to his slipping detachment and his belief that
emotions were dangerous.

Chapter Nine

The following Monday, Valerie set
up the New Beginnings office in the newly constructed two-story building her
dad owned only a block from the Foothill Homeless Shelter. She’d heard all of
her life that location was everything. And this site was close to a shelter, a
low income barrio, a bus line, and best of all the property and improvements
were donated by her dad.

Since Brian had to be there anyway
to guard her body, she appointed him her executive assistant. To make the
situation of working in close contact succeed, she insisted that he agree to no
physical contact while on the foundation grounds. The only hint to his
displeasure about the agreement was an amusing upper lip curl similar to the
Elvis Presley lip-twitch.

She knew every stitch of clothes
Brian had was in his backpack and only included three pair of jeans, four
shirts, two pair of running shoes and some socks. “We need to get you some
outfits suitable for the office.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t know what
to buy.”

“I’ll go with you.” It turned out
to be fun. His sense of humor kept her laughing. The challenge came when he
modeled clothes for her. If she hadn’t realized it before, when he paraded out
in suits and ties she became alarmingly aware that in the suits he was
movie-star gorgeous. By dressing him up, she was making it a greater challenge
to resist him. And for the foundation to run smoothly, she had to keep her
wolf-man at a distance.

They ended up buying three suits,
some dress shirts, ties, socks, and assorted underwear. His eyes glinted. “Want
me to model the skivvies.”

She rolled her eyes heavenward.
This man will be the undoing of me.
“No,
Brian, that isn’t necessary. The clients won’t be seeing your undies.”

 
On their way back to the office, she stopped
at a dealership and leased a nine-passenger Ford station wagon. Then, the next
day, believing everyone at the foundation should have a license and be prepared
to drive if necessary, she accompanied Brian to the motor vehicles office to
secure a learner’s permit. Aware that teaching him to drive would require more
close contact than she wanted to handle while setting up the foundation, she
enrolled him in a driving class. He was a quick study and within a week he had
his license. When he came back with his prize, she barely stopped herself from
throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. “We’ll celebrate over dinner
tonight with the family. Right now I need your help to get these files in
order.”

His proud grin faded. “You’re a
bloody slave driver.”

She closed her eyes a moment,
rubbed the bridge of her nose, and fought an on-coming headache. He was right. Tonight
she’d relax and show her appreciation.

                                                                               
****

On the way to the mansion, she
ordered Brian to remain in the station wagon while she slipped into the jewelry
store and bought him a surprise. She chose a Rolex that glowed in the dark like
his intense brown lupine eyes. At her request, the jeweler put the elegant time
piece in a brown velvet box and secured it with a glittery gold ribbon. While
in the store, she called ahead and asked Kyle Cooper, their cook and jack of
all chores, to prepare his special recipes for chateaubriand and chicken cordon
bleu. Kyle always put his heart in his cooking, clearly revealing time and time
again his firm belief that presentation was as important as the food. She had
no doubt that the meal and table setting would be fabulous.

When she arrived home, the air
swirled with aromas of grilled steak, fresh bread, and mysterious herbs that
always brought out the magic of the feast. She smiled at the low crystal centerpiece
decorated with romping angels and filled with rose buds. It was perfect. Kyle
had set the table with their best silverware and china—for six. Her neck
prickled.
Why six? Mom, Dad, Brian, Uncle
Hugh and me only makes five.

Kyle entered the room, moving, as
usual, airy and ghost-like. His spiky, carrot-top hair had a glossy gleam under
the chandelier lights.

“Everything’s perfect,” she said.
“But why six place-settings?
Are you eating with us?”

He laughed.
“My,
no, Miss Valerie.
I’ll be serving. Where is Brian?”

“He’s gone upstairs to get washed
up. But he only makes five. Now what’s the mystery?
Why the
extra place-setting?”

Kyle rolled his intelligent pale,
water-blue eyes heavenward. “Mr. Rory Mansell brought your mother two dozen
roses to apologize for his abrupt behavior the last time he dined with us. Then
he mentioned how delicious everything smelled and how he hadn’t eaten all day. Apparently
your Mom’s heart went out to his sad-eyed hopeful look. It looked phony to me. Later
you mom apologized for adding a guest at the last minute, but she felt
obligated to invite him to stay. She’s entertaining him in the parlor.”

Oh,
no. Not at Brian’s celebration.
She forced a smile. “Well, this should be
an interesting meal.” She wondered how Brian would take this particular
party-crasher inviting
himself
to dinner.
 
Although Brian never got emotional over it, it
was clear they didn’t like one another.

Valerie headed for the stairs to
warn Brian about Rory, but before she could climb the first step, Mom and Rory
spied her. “Oh, good you’re home,” she said. “Would you keep Rory company in
the dining room while I round up everyone?”

Valerie forced a smile. “It’ll be
my pleasure.”

She took Rory’s muscled arm and
escorted him inside. He was drenched in cloying cologne. She pulled out a chair
on the far side of the table, planning to seat him as far away from her as
possible.

Rory ignored her intended placement
and rounded the table, held her usual chair, and waited for her to seat
herself.

“What brings you up the mountain?”
she asked with all the hostess charm she could muster.

“I owed you and your family an
apology for my behavior the last time I was here. I wanted to make it up to all
of you,” he said as he slid, like a slithering snake, into the chair next to
her. She stiffened when he scooted a little closer and leaned in close enough to
gag her with his cologne. He kept talking, but his nearness, her disgust, and
her concern about Brian made it difficult to concentrate on anything he told
her.
Good grief. How would Brian take
this particular surprise guest?

She moved her chair slightly away,
wishing it could be to the other side of the world. She longed to desert the
ship, destined to sink. But leaving her family in the lurch wasn’t the Lamont
way. Her mom had taught her to be hospitable even in the worst situations. And
she didn’t really want to hurt Rory’s feelings—she just wished he’d go away and
stay away. Victoria was well rid of him.

The family filtered in, followed by
Brian. He was wearing a pair of his new suit trousers. The soft gray ones and a
crisp white shirt, open at the collar. Valerie’s face warmed, wondering if he
was wearing his new underwear. He smiled widely as if he knew what she was
thinking. His smile faded when he saw Rory sitting close beside her. Without
comment he sat down on the other side of her and edged a little closer as well.
He smelled shower-fresh with a hint of wild-and-wonderful pheromones.

“May I say the blessing,” Brian
asked in a low voice.

Mom beamed.
“Of
course.
That would be a treat.”

Brian touched the gold filigree
cross around his neck.

Out of the corner of her eye,
Valerie saw Rory loosen his collar like it was choking him. His folded hands
trembled.

How
strange
, she thought. She focused on Brian again, curious what kind of a
prayer a man raised by wolves and an eccentric old woman would choose.

He closed his eyes. “Psalm 137:4,”
he said. “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” He paused. “Let
us love our enemies and break bread with them in trust. And lastly, bless this
meal and everyone at this table, and let us dine in harmony.”

Mom blinked.
“Interesting
blessing, Brian.
What strange land are you referring to?”

He laughed. “Any place outside of
Trona
city limits.”

Rory snickered. “I knew there was
something different about you. You’re a desert rat.”

Kyle entered the room and started
serving. He winked at Valerie as though to give her support. She winked back.

Brian took a deep
breath and then said, in an even, gentle voice, “Some call me that.
But not my friends.”

Mom shifted in her chair. “What is
your religious background, Brian?”

“No particular church affiliation. But
Momma Maggie said we’re all the children of God and insisted that we study the
Bible nightly.”

Rory snickered again. “That explains
a lot.”

Dad cleared his voice. “How are
things going at the foundation, Valerie?” He passed her the platter of chicken
cordon bleu.

She smiled and scooped a serving
onto her plate. “I’m optimistic that we can develop community confidence and engage
the public in our efforts. If things go as I plan, donations will pour in to
fund our program beyond our wildest ambitions. I didn’t realize how fulfilling
being in on the inception of a foundation could be. It’s the work dreams are
made of.”