Unquenchable Desire (16 page)

She jumped when the hallway
grandfather clock struck its first cord. The bonging toward midnight echoed around
her and she didn’t hear the door open behind her.

“Valerie?” She barely heard
his low, velvety voice. She turned to face him, her heart thundering in her
chest.

His unruly midnight black
hair fell dangerously across his forehead. Stubble darkened his strongly etched
cheekbones. The dim hallway light threw enticing shadows across his bare torso
and wide shoulders. It was obvious that he’d hastily pulled on his jeans. She
stared at the open zipper and flat stomach. “I…I…” She willed her face to hide
the desire that inflamed her. “I wanted to thank you.”

“Like to come in?” he said,
zipping up and stepping back.

“I thought maybe we could
take a swim.” She could hardly speak past the lump in her throat.

He glanced down at his
bandages. “I could watch you. I know you love the water.”

What am I thinking?
She forced a smile. “Swimming
can wait a few days.
How about a walk in the garden?”

“You’re the doctor,” he said
with a sly grin. “And this patient thinks it’s just what he needs.” He closed
the door behind him and stepped out into the hallway, his well-formed bare feet
silent on the carpeting.

They walked down the winding
stairs holding hands.
 
For a moment,
Valerie felt that all was right with the world.

Leaving the house and
entering the garden with its fragrant floral scents wove magic around them. Was
he feeling it, too? In the distance she heard a piano rendition of Claire De
Lune. The sky was dark, moonless. She lit one of the lanterns with the matches
kept in a nearby can. Brian’s
ink-black hair came alive with dancing blue highlights.

He stared at her a moment, then blew out the flame. “If you don’t mind,
I don’t feel like being on stage to whoever might be peeking out the mansion
windows.”

He gently drew her into his arms. “You’re
tense.” He massaged her back with strong fingers. She forced herself to
breathe. The heat of his touch deepened her desire and almost closed out the
trauma of the day. Was living wild with a pack of wolves in his youth the alpha
momentum that gave him all this confidence as a lover? She’d believed that at
first. But now she wondered if it was more than that. His dark-lashed, intense feral
eyes glinted with love. When his lips touched hers, they were firm, his mouth
open and moist. In a fervent dance of love, they sought and entwined tongues. Fire
flooded her veins. His heat surrounded her until every inch of her flesh was on
fire. She drew him closer.
They could’ve
died today. And the evil monster was still out there. What benefit was there in
denying themselves if in the next few days they lost their lives?

Brian’s mouth grew hotter,
more demanding. She clung to the dizzying euphoria as his lips trailed down to
the swell of her breast. He lifted his head and hovered close, his warm breath
mingling with hers.

She pressed against him,
inviting his passion, his power. “Make me forget,” she whispered. Her core
heated to a shivery liquid as their kisses grew more frantic. They quickly shed
their clothing and he gently laid her back on the stone bench. She squirmed. It
was hard and uncomfortable, but she didn’t care. Wild with fever, she arched
her back and thrust her hips forward, inviting him to love her.

Suddenly, he stopped. “Okay. You
win. I’ll let them test the serum on me tomorrow. As much as I desire you, we
can’t do this tonight and risk a pregnancy.”

“God, Brian. You can pull out
or something. But don’t leave me like this.”

“Momma Maggie said that
doesn’t always work. It’s probably going to kill me, but I’ll just pleasure you
and sit this dance out.”

She was too far gone to
protest. She moaned in ecstasy as he explored the smooth contour of her belly
and the moist triangle of curly hair with his hands, his lips.

Kissing and caressing, he
slid his hand between her thighs. She arched her hips to meet his seeking
fingers. Her limbs went weak, her core, receptive, quivery. She clung to him as
he gently used his fingers to excite and enter her. When she thought she
couldn’t stand a second more of her rising and agonizing desire, she clung to
him, muting her cry against his shoulder.

As the tremors of pleasure
eased, she felt selfish…guilty. She sat up. “Oh, Brian, I’m so sorry. What must
you think of me?”

He laughed and drew her back
into his arms. “I think you owe me, big time.”

She forced a smile. “And I
always pay my debts.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” he
said, his tone light.

The sky grew darker. Thunder
echoed in the distance and it started to rain. After they scurried back into
their clothes, she kissed him firmly, more in love with him than ever. Still
stricken with guilt she said, “I think we’d better get back to the house before
the full impact of the storm hits.” As they entered the mansion and slammed the
door against the sudden wind, she heard a crack and then lightning lit up the
windows.

“I’ve got to get to
Kindra
. She might wake up scared. This place can be real
spooky in a storm.”

****

By two in the morning the violent
summer storm had hit the MT Baldy area full bore. It was impossible to sleep. Valerie
held a trembling
Kindra
close as lightning lit up the
glass doors to the terrace. She closed her eyes briefly. If she could just help
Kindra
through this night and tomorrow, when she had
to be told the truth about her mother, and be turned over to Child Welfare the
healing could start and they could all work together to get their lives back
into balance. She hoped her good intentions in delaying the turnover didn’t
turn into a serious deal. It surely could. But there was so much to worry about—and
now Brian was going to allow himself to be injected with the untested serum
just so he could be with her. Guilt hit her again
. He’s making all the sacrifices and I’m letting him. What kind of
woman does that make me? And if the serum doesn’t work, will I love him less?
No. Whatever the outcome, I’ll always love him, but if we’re trapped in the
lycanthropy curses forever will we have to sacrifice our expressions of that love
for the sake of future generations?

****

In the
wake of the lightning flash, a roll of thunder boomed overhead. Reeves felt a
chilling thrill. Tonight the wind would uproot many small trees and whip the
larger ones until their trembling boughs bent beyond reprieve and broke. Some
higher trees had already tangled in the electric lines and darkness blanketed
much of the community. This was the kind of night he missed living in the
mansion the most. He found strength in the contrast between the turmoil outside
and the eerie silence hanging in the halls and tunnels like the dark cloak of
death.

Rain
pounded the earth and filled the holes with muddy water. His wolf counterpart
craved to feel the water on his back, to let it splash up on his belly…to run
free. If he could call up the wolf on command, he’d run up to the mansion and
see what devilment he could bring to this menacing night. The tunnels had been
closed off, but maybe there was a weak spot where he could bore through. Or,
perhaps, if he knew Hugo…Hugh, as well as he thought, the idiot would have left
an opening somewhere for himself.

Using
Lazar’s
formulas and knowledge, he’d been trying to gain
the power to call up and shut down the wolf in him on command. Then, no one
could stop him.

He tried
to conjure up a mental image of the moon, tried to imagine reveling in the throes
of morphing, and tried thinking nerve-raking thoughts as he was aware that stress
brought forth the symptoms. He forced himself to relive the previous stress
he’d felt while planning to bring Valerie to him—of breaking into the woman’s
apartment unseen—of battling his own lightweight, weakling counter-part in this
unequal partnership during the killing—of struggling with that agile and adept
werewolf challenger.

Why did
gaining complete control have to be so complicated? Where was Rory’s needling?
It might just give me the stress I need.
“Hey, Rory, you asleep up there in our head?
Wake up and
hassle me.”
The stupid college boy was
purposely quiet, deliberately trying to defeat me.
“I’ll get you for this.”

Dammit, I need to get inside the mansion again
.
It inspires me. It excites me to roam the
snaking tunnels and spy on the temporary occupants—occupants who, collectively,
will soon draw their last breaths.

****

Lightning lit up the darkened room.
Victoria jumped and forced herself to think of something besides the storm. The
arcing light had fallen across wispy flounces and elegant vases, which her mom
promised
to
fill with fresh flowers soon. Mom said
they’d have already been brimming with glorious colors and fragrances if she’d
called and shared her date of return. But how could they? They hadn’t planned a
specific date. Everything was wildly and wonderfully spur-of-the-moment. It hadn’t
occurred to her to touch bases. She hadn’t expected her parents to do anything
special and certainly not decorate a room honeymoon-suite style for them. But
it warmed her heart that they did.

Was
that a thud on the other side of the wall?
She froze.
Yes, there it is again…the sound of metal digging into concrete was
echoing up from the basement area.
But Dad and Uncle Hugh had sealed off
all the tunnels. It must be the wind-whipped trees slamming against the lower
part of the mansion.

She shivered and snuggled closer to
Rick. “I hate storms,” she said. “They remind me of my childhood and the tunnels
that used to wind through the mansion—and the night a man kidnapped my sister
right out of the twin bed next to mine.”

Rick kissed the top of her head. “I’m
sure hearing about
Kindra’s
kidnapping today didn’t
help.” He stroked
Victoria
’s
thigh. “Imagine what your sister went through, living the experience again
through the child, knowing firsthand the terror the child faced.

“She didn’t even mention it. She’s
made of tougher stuff than I thought. We all thought of her as the gentle
vulnerable one.”

“Apparently, although vulnerable,
she’s a courageous young woman. But then, in her gentle way she always was. It
just wasn’t as evident with a super alpha sister like you around, my love.”

Victoria
scooted away from him. “Is that a
slam?”

He pulled her back into his arms. “No.
It’s merely an observation. I wouldn’t change a hair on your head, a muscle in
your agile, sexy she-wolf body, or your alpha personality and hot-blooded
nature. Speaking of hot-blooded, do you know what I like to do on stormy nights?

She grinned through the darkness. “I
suppose what you like to do every night only, in a storm like this, probably
indoors.”

He lowered
his head and hovered inches from her lips, his warm breath mingling with hers. “
You
got it babe,”
he said in a ragged voice and slid on
top of her.

Eager for
the hot, hardness that throbbed against her apex, she arched to meet it. He
thrust her hands above her head and kissed her with a ferocity that awakened
and excited the wolf within her. She gave him soft little love bites then
lowered her hands and clung to him, sliding her long nails down his muscled
chest. When he moaned, she slipped her hands around his waist and dug her
fingers into his hard, unyielding buttocks.

He entered
her and rode her fast and hard like he rode his Harley. The wolf in her liked
the roughness. When she thought she couldn’t stand a second more of her rising
and agonizing desire, he brought her to another soaring climax. Lightning
flashed into the window as she exploded again and again, as though she’d become
one with the raging electrical storm. Then, together they plunged over the edge
into a grateful release that left them weak but still clinging to one another
with their last ounce of strength.

He rolled
off her and they lay side by side, breathing hard and trying to catch their
breaths. After a few moments, he drew her into his arms.
She relaxed and
found the storm no longer troubled her.
But the fate
of her family did. She wanted to help rid them of the evil that plague them.
But how?

****

In the
master suite of the mansion, Damon paced the floor nude, his strong stride
highlighted by a flash of lightning. Angela watched him, her heart pounding at
the alpha beauty of him, while feeling her own frustration and fears. She loved
him, but hated lightning. It always brought back the old misgivings.
 
“What are we going to do to keep our family
safe?’

“I don’t
know, yet,” Damon said with sadness in his deep voice. “How naïve I was all
those years ago. I thought when we got rid of our curses life would smooth out
and settle into a mostly hassle free, relatively normal existence.”