Cursed and Coveted Ch. 06

The old de la Croix home, deep in the Bayou...

Jaydee exited the bathroom refreshed, wrapped only in a large, white towel. With slender hand holding the tuck at her chest, she opened the door entering the bedroom she'd cleaned earlier, still feeling exhilarated that she could shower after two days and two nights going without.

She paused, taking a moment to look out beyond the bare windows. The sun was setting in a warm orange glow above the trees and it drew her. She walked quietly on bare feet to the windows and stood there, gazing at the setting sun, knowing the moon would soon rise, feeling it.

A troubled look slid softly over her delicately freckled features. Another day was ending, subtracting from the days she had left. The next full moon would rise in just three nights...

Jaydee frowned in thought. She was thinking about what Andrew said back in New Orleans. Jean-Marcel's presence there, he believed, was vital in creating a possible effect he may (or may not) have on Eleonara. Somehow, she couldn't reconcile with that belief.

Andrew seemed convinced it would help her defeat the goddess she-wolf without having to invoke Bastet, but could he be wrong? Was Eleonara actually capable of jealousy for a human man? Could goddess love a mortal like Jean-Marcel as deeply as she had her father, the supreme and ancient God Wolf?

Somehow, she just wasn't convinced...

Jaydee turned from the window, but started with a gasp. Andrew was standing right behind her and she was stunned and... she felt strange inside. A certain paralysis came over her as she stared up at him while he gazed tight but quietly into her anxious, confused eyes.

"Do you remember?" he asked softly. "Will you remember now?"

Jaydee slowly frowned in confusion. His voice was soft, almost melancholy and it seemed to come to her through a long tunnel. Her head was spinning and her eyelids felt heavier than stone. She tried, but couldn't force herself to rise above the haze growing thick around her. She felt as if she was in a state of twilight sleep; half awake, half under...

"W-What?" she got out, weak, drowsy.

"Do you remember?" he repeated, but she couldn't answer.

Her breathing accelerated and her lashes flickered when his fingers slipped down the colorful beads of her hair. Something inside her awakened; something ancient, something primal. She could hear her heart beating like ancient drums in the distance as a strange heat rose inside her soul, and she felt herself begin to glow.

An all too familiar throbbing began between her thighs. At the level of her womb, she felt a soft pinching sensation and she pressed then rubbed thighs slowly together only succeeding in fanning the flames. Her nipples grew hard like little pebbles under her towel and her breathing soon turned into heavy panting.

"Remember... fight to remember," he whispered from afar, "... you need to remember how things have been... and how they shall be again..." he continued to whisper, coming through the drumbeats of her heart pounding in her ears...

... and then his head bent to hers...

Although she knew she should pull away, she didn't. His lips sought and finally found hers in a determined, but gentle kiss. Their lips melded as one, and it felt strangely familiar; as if there was a memory of touching before, and Jaydee's heart began pounding harder against her ribs.

His arms came around her and pulled her tighter against him and she felt her body enflame with the fire of her passion. Her towel suddenly came loose and it fell down her slender, naked body as his hands gently cupped each aching mound, one in each hand... and her womb clenched tight.

With a gasp, the shock of that sensation jolted her out of her haze. She was stunned to see she was still facing the window, staring out over the swamp lands. What a hallucination! Her hand clutched the tuck tighter against her chest making her knuckles white, and she could feel her heart beneath her fist thudding erratically.

Something startled her and she snapped around with a soft gasp. She stared with large, emerald-green eyes at Andrew's face as he stood just inside the closed door. Although she was in a state of stunned silence, she was aware he wasn't wearing his glasses. Strange, but she also recalled he hadn't worn them since seeing him by the pier. For some strange reason, Jaydee found herself wondering if he ever really needed them.

"You startled me," she blurted, then blushed.

"I knocked," he said quietly.

"Oh... um... okay," she stammered a little. She cleared her throat and shook back her damp, beaded locks. "Where's Jean-Marcel?" she inquired, almost wincing by that silly question. It was almost as if she... needed him between them...

"We've decided that since I'll do the fishing, he'll create a fire out back," he answered. "He's a very remarkable man, Jaydee. Very industrious and extremely meticulous."

"Yes," she merely agreed. Then silence. Jaydee cleared her throat and shook back her hair again. "Was that it, Andrew?" Can't you see I'm not dressed for any lengthy conversation?

He looked down a moment before he slowly raised lazy eyes. "Is he what you've always wanted?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Is he the type of man you've always wanted?" he repeated that strange question—strange for Andrew that is.

"I... I never gave it any thought, really." She frowned curious and a little confused. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," he said with a shrug. "I would've never guessed you'd feel attracted to a man like Agent Vaillant."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Jaydee looked a little cross.

"Relax Jaydee." He smiled. "It wasn't meant as criticism of either of you."

"Good, because there's nothing to criticize, and it was the furthest thing from my mind."

"Just being curious and making observation," he said looking apologetic. "I'm sorry I interrupted you. I just wanted to let you know I will be fishing down by the lake if you need me," he said before he turned.

"Andrew!"

He paused and turned to look curiously at her.

"Why..." she began quietly then looked down a moment. "Why didn't you ever tell me? About-About being... you know?"

He took his time answering, looking at her silently. "I'd hoped that, sometime during all these years, you'd come to that conclusion on your own."

"How was I supposed to do that?" Jaydee frowned. "You've never given me a clue. You never said—"

"—There were clues. You chose not to see them," he answered, puzzling her. "Anyway, I need to see what fish I can find or there'll be nothing for dinner—"

"—Oh, but I have—" but he already exited the room, closing the door behind him, "...canned dinners," she finished quietly to the empty room.

Jaydee stared a moment longer at the door. She felt strange inside. It had everything to do with that brief vision, that brief sense of slumber, and Andrew just popping up in her room like that. Was he doing something with her mind, and if so, why? Or was she just too high strung because of what she had to face?

Jaydee snapped out of her thoughts. She needed to get dressed should he get it in his head to return before she could. Without any locks on those doors—or a chair or something to secure it—she didn't want the towel to be the only thing she wore. She quickly rushed to her duffle bag and took out a clean lavender hued dress, underwear, and pair of purple slippers with shimmering discs...

Moments later, Jaydee stood on the back porch watching Jean-Marcel. He was down on haunches taking up dry wood and laying them in his arm from a stack he'd gathered earlier. He hadn't seen her arrive yet, but she hesitated to tell him. For just a few moments more, she wanted to admire him in silence.

Through it all, Jean-Marcel was able to look as cool, as meticulous, and as handsome as ever. The humidity made his blonde locks wisp around his proud head and it gave him a reckless look. His flawless, lean face and muscular, bare forearms glistened, but it didn't seem to bother him. As she watched him, her mind began to wander again...

She absently pushed up her sagging glasses. Wearing them wasn't necessary anymore since her vision improved significantly, but her glasses always gave her a sense of security. They enabled her to hide behind their large frames, and that's why she wore them now. It was a sign that she felt insecure again, that she needed that old, soothing crutch.

The physical changes were starting to affect her from the cell up. She could feel it. She was changing from deep within. They gave her more than just cat-like vision and reflexes; they gave her all the senses of a feline. Bastet was definitely stirring inside her soul, ready to awaken by the slightest call, but she'd have to wait. Jaydee wasn't ready to give up her body just yet.

The dusk brought warm, humid air thick with swampy smells, but all was much too quiet and still. There wasn't even the usual buzzing of insects around, not even the chirping of birds in the tall, willowy trees. The area was eerily quiet as if all wildlife abandoned the place. Somehow she sensed this was definitely the case... and she also knew why.

When a superior predator entered a habitat, more inferior wildlife would stay away. Even the ancient, fearless alligators of the lake steered clear of that area since they'd arrived. There was no doubt that they, Andrew and she, were the reason for their absence. They, not the native creatures, were now top predators of that area.

Her razor-sharp hearing caught the sound of a lonely splash in the lake. It broke the muggy silence, but she could hear it was still far away. Her sharpened auditory skills made the most diminutive sound clear to her, opening a new world to her... one that beckoned, but also frightened her.

The lack of native swamp creatures confirmed her presence there. It was proof positive that Eleonara knew it too, but Jaydee was convinced the goddess had known of her arrival long before she sent her minions out to get her. She'd sent a large enough posse for the job, that's for sure, but by doing so Eleonara revealed her inner feelings about her. It told her that Eleonara felt threatened.

Jaydee had mentally prepared herself for that defining moment; the moment of reckoning. She'd fought a battle those two days and nights until she resolved herself to allow Bastet to awaken... but then Jean-Marcel and Andrew arrived.

Now she felt insecure, afraid, and full of doubt. It was the hardest choice she ever had to make for herself, but now that the choice was temporarily disrupted, she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to get it back.

It had been a hard, long day for them all, both physically and mentally. Andrew had brought along a large batch of dried orchid powder with him. They mixed it with water from the swamp and used rags, spending most of the day rubbing the concoction around all windows and doors to secure the perimeter... for Jean-Marcel.

She still worried about him although she tried not to show it. He was still very vulnerable and in danger even with Andrew and her there with him. He needed to be protected. The thought of anything happening to him tore through her heart and she knew she wouldn't survive it if he was killed—

Jaydee frowned as her lips tightened. Where did that dark, horrible thought come from? She was being much too negative.

Still, she really wished he hadn't come down to the bayou. Although her heart was jubilant, her brain told her it was foolish. She also still didn't approve of him being used as bait even though he didn't seem to mind. She did. She minded, and she didn't like it one bit.

The plan was to find the den, rescue the women Eleonara undoubtedly kept, and to destroy the werewolves she'd created. The only way to pinpoint her den's location was to entice her to come out, and Andrew seemed convinced that Jean-Marcel was the key.

Andrew still theorized, and seemed convinced, that Jean-Marcel could make Eleonara feel possessiveness and jealousy, emotions that should be alien to all deities when it came to humans. Jaydee wasn't just as convinced that this was ridiculous. Then again, her judgment was skewed because of her heart.

"Wake up."

Jaydee started and blinked big eyes to look up at Jean-Marcel's face as he smiled down at her.

"You were so far away in your thoughts that you didn't even see me," he said as he lifted a hand and gently took her chin, his thumb gently caressing her cheek. "If I didn't know you better, I might've been offended," he teased.

"I'm-I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Don't be," he said quietly as he looked into her big eyes. "Contrary to what you might think about me, I know this can't be easy on you, Jaydee," he said as he bent his head to rest it against hers. She closed her eyes.

"What I think about you?" She sighed. "You should know by now." He smiled, but she looked worried again. "I really wish you hadn't come to me," Jaydee whispered softly, but dread was evident in her voice.

His strong, bare male arms slipped around her, drawing her against him. "Don't worry, Professor, I already had a shower, but the humidity—"

"—You know what I mean, Jean-Marcel," she said seriously as she turned in his embrace to look worried up into his handsome face. In the next moment, she slipped her arms around his neck and pressed herself tight to him, her cheek against his. "You know you're vulnerable out here," she whispered, afraid for him, "and I don't care what Andrew said. This place isn't safe for you."

"You worry too much, Professor," Jean-Marcel said with a chuckle, but his chest swelled for her because of her unselfishness. He slipped fingers gently through her warm, damp hair and she drew back her head to look up into his warm, blue eyes with heart-wrenching green, swimming with her tears.

"I still can't approve—"

"—I love you too," he cut in quietly, his face earnest.

Jaydee blinked big eyes behind her owl's glasses as he gazed into them with quiet confidence before she blushed.

"I-I meant—"

"—I know," he said quietly.

Jaydee was sure he didn't. He couldn't, because although he might be safe from Eleonara due to the effects of the orchids, he could still be in danger of what was stirring inside her.

Fact of the matter was, Jaydee had no idea what would happen to her if Bastet awakened, or how Bastet would react towards him. She only knew that if she'd become werecat, she'd become Bastet incarnate and if that happened, she could very well lose everything that made her Jaydee Jamison and might not even remember him.

Jaydee only had his promise to spend the rest of his life working at making her remember, and if that became necessary, she wanted every fiber of her being to recognize every fiber of his.

Feeling desperate inside and needing him now, Jaydee kissed him. She pressed her lips against his and drew him tighter against her body, imprinting the emotions she felt about him hopefully down to nucleus of every cell of her physical being... and heart.

He responded immediately as his arms came alive around her. His hands roamed along her back as his lips and mouth twisted over hers, tasting her tears and her hot breath. Then his kiss intensified as their shared passion stirred and roared to life...

Caught up in her need to hold him as close as she could, Jaydee clung to him as he trailed kisses down along her throat and chest. His fingers slyly unbuttoned her bodice as her hands swept up to run fingers through the warmth of his golden hair.

He paused briefly as he pulled his head back, and with uncharacteristic gentleness, parted the folds of her bodice before unhooking her bra, exposing her small breasts. Jaydee was quiet as she watched him admire them in the soft glow of the setting sun. He gently cupped and teased them, sending electrical shocks throughout her body, making her shudder and gasp.

Then his head lowered as his lips sought a hardened peak and suckled her. She caught and held her breath as sizzling sensations rippled down from her tingling nipples intensifying into a raging fire between her legs, and she melted for him instantaneously. Even so, common sense found its way through her rising fire and she tried to push him back.

"S-Someone might s-see," she gasped, modesty still attempting to prevail, but Jean-Marcel ignored her weak protest and cupped her waist, lifting and setting her on the railing. Her arm swept around the post for support as he wedged his aroused hips between her thighs, capturing her lips and whispered protests in a searing kiss until they ceased.

He broke the kiss keeping their panting lips close as he gazed at her lips. "There's no one here... just you and I," he whispered, raising his eyes to gaze deeply into hers, "and I can't wait. I want you now..."

His hands tugged up her skirt as he held her burning gaze. She blushed bright red, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. His hands sought the waist band of her panties and she moved to help him, but then he ripped them off with a single tug. Before she could protest he captured her lips again and his tongue feverishly probed her protesting mouth.

He was ravenous enough to make Jaydee quickly seek support of the post and railing, but after the brief, swift clattering sound of his belt, he grasped her hips while pressed his tightly between her thighs, and she felt him hot and determined, probing before plunging.

Jaydee stiffened a moment, catching her breath, but she had no time to regain herself. Jean-Marcel grabbed her waist in hands, tugging her to him as he thrust forward, burying his hard shaft to its hilt so deep inside her, the head of his thick member bumped her sensitive cervix.

She shot up and back, accommodating that deep and suddenly not-so-pleasant penetration, but he gave her little time to recoup. He immediately began thrusting into her with short, almost aggressive plunges with a desperation that astounded her.

Jaydee winced and stiffened as he bent forward, tightening his embrace around her stiff body, allowing her little freedom. His hips thrust almost violently now, but Jaydee was long jolted from her passion by the fiery pain of his thick cock searing the delicate walls of her vagina. Fact was, she wasn't ready for him despite the moist left over from her shower...

"We need... to take it... slow," she could barely get out, but his mouth crushed down her protests. Her hands flew to her rescue and she tried to shove at his shoulders, but his embrace tightened nearly crushing her against him as his thrusting hips intensified.

By some miracle, Jaydee was able to snatch her face away, breaking the almost brutal kiss, gasping for breath, but not in passion. Suddenly, her gaze caught sight of something by the edge of the woods and to her horror, she saw none other than... Jean-Marcel??

He was standing utterly still, staring flabbergasted and stiff with the fish he'd caught on lines dangling from stiff fingers...

The look on his face, the pain, the anger, they were all so profound that even from that distance she could feel his look searing her face, down to her soul. In the next instant, he snapped around and disappeared back into the woods and Jaydee was stunned, completely confused, shocked, and...

She looked down at the head buried against her shoulders, but it was then she realized his thrusting had stopped. She held her breath when she felt he'd finished and was spurting his load deep inside her. Her senses were tumultuous and her brain seemed incapable of reacting even when he raised his head to kiss her gently now...

"I'm sorry I couldn't wait..." he whispered.

Her eyes suddenly flashed with bright green light as her pupils sucked into a straight, vertical split. The ring on her finger glowed against his shoulder and her lips pulled back showing an aggressive, snarling mask with second incisors long and pointy like those of a cat...