Evangelina Green (14 page)

Netta sat in her special chair sipping tea,
having finally settled down a little. Lina suggested she go to bed,
knowing it would be a long night for both of them, sure neither of
them would get any sleep. Lina took her tea to the front porch,
where a gentle breeze was created by the new ceiling fans. Even
after the night they’d had, she felt at peace out here. She stood
listening to the silence. The night was a little too quiet. No
insects buzzing, creaking or chirping and the usual grunt or growl
of the gators, frogs, and other amphibians was missing. Now the
hair on her head did the goose bump rise, as it had at the fiasco
earlier. Was it Martiss? Was it something just as evil or
dangerous? She sensed movement before she saw anything, then heard
a thought in her head.

"Don't be afraid lil’ one,
it's only me.”
Her wolf! Okay, not “hers”
but she had spoken to it first! She giggled. Nerves.

"What brings you here, wolf?"

"I sensed the quiet and felt you worrying.
Feel better now?”

He was walking the yard as if to check the
perimeter. He still seemed so familiar to her. She felt comfortable
around him. It was so unreal. The last few days had been a
nightmare. She was probably going into shock now that she had come
down from the adrenaline rush. She sat down hard, before she fell
down. Good thing she did because she fainted just as her butt hit
the step.

She awoke with the wolf licking her face,
“talking” to her in soothing tones.

"Stay still, little one.
Just take a deep breath, and relax until you feel better."
She was pale and shaking.

"What happened? Did I really faint like a
sissy girl??” She heard the wolf chuckle.

"If you say so, but yes, you fainted, but
only for a minute."

She couldn’t help but
smile and touched the soft fur behind his ears. His eyes were a
green she’d seen before but couldn’t place. The only green eyes she
could remember were
not here. Yet she felt
safe even knowing he was a dangerous animal. He was huge for a wolf
and she felt so tiny near him. There was just
something
about him. He even smelled
familiar.

She held him around the
neck and breathed him in. The wolf made a growling noise, she knew
wasn’t a warning but a sound of pleasure. His scent was so
familiar...woodsy...then in a flash and without knowing exactly
how...she just
knew
.

"
Keaton!"
It hit her like a sucker
punch. She was trying to scramble away from him, knowing she was
right.

"Yes, Angel.”

Now she really could
faint! She was shaking so hard she couldn’t stand. She was eye to
eye with a huge wolf who just happened to be a human. Or was he? A
man or wolf that she’d kissed and more.
Oh
Lord! And he was a... a....werewolf?

"What are you? I mean, are you a werewolf?
Or are you a wolf that changes into a human? Or what am I saying?
Well, of course, you’re a wolf. I see you, I touched you. And
Keaton, the man? Oh my God. He was with me, and I was...my mouth
was... Oh God."

She groaned and held her
head in her hands, covering her face. Then she heard him in her
mind just like she could with most animals. That made her feel a
little green around the gills, because she had totally different
thought about
him
.

Sensing her thoughts he
told her,
"I am a man when I’m with you,
Angel. I am a wolf when I’m with you. The two are together and yet
separate. They are who I am. The wolf will always protect you. The
man will always want you. I am both."

Okay, could he be
any
more vague?
Yet she understood what he was saying in a way.
So he was both wolf and man. Which was his normal form? Was either
form normal? Now what?

"Can you change back to a man? Right
now?”

His wolf just... grinned? The air around him
shimmered in an iridescent rainbow and with a slight whooshing
sound; he was quickly changed back into the human form she
recognized as Keaton. A totally naked Keaton! "No wonder you were
grinning, you devil!"

She was amused. And maybe she was a little
aroused also. How could she be so calm about this? In the last few
days, a witch, and a vampire had invaded their simple lives and now
Keaton’s other side was a wolf. Things she wasn’t sure existed, but
might have had a hint of existing…in story books. As bizarre as it
was knowing about them for sure, it was beginning to seem the
norm.

"I guess I could have
mentioned that, but my people, the shape shifters, don’t think
about nudity as anything other than another form.”
Nice
form
, she thought.

Keaton grabbed his hidden backpack from the
front bushes and pulled on a pair of worn jeans. Not much relief
for her libido, because the picture of him naked was burned into
her brain. She loved the way his chest muscles moved when he used
his fabulous arms. He was pulling a t-shirt over his head and she
was disappointed he hadn’t stayed shirtless. It was a very nice
view. She wanted to touch.

"Keep that look on your face, Angel and I
won’t be responsible for my behavior."

She melted as he smiled his perfect smile
and made her mind race. "What would happen, Keaton? Would you carry
me upstairs again? Or would we stay here on the porch? Worried
someone might see us?”

She could see the pulse in his neck and knew
it indicated he wanted to act on all of those ideas. The erection
he sported was probably another indication, and Lina already knew
first hand it was impressive! His eyes took on that glow she’d
noticed when she first met him. He growled as he walked toward her
with a determined step.

“
I knew you growled! I
thought I was hearing things at first. It’s quite a turn on ya
know?”

He was inches away and placed his hands on
her shoulders then began running them down her arms and back up.
Keaton then cupped her face between his hands and kissed her very
softly, gently, and tenderly. He pulled back to look into her eyes,
clouded now with hunger and need.

"Lina, my Angel, this is
so wrong and yet it is so right. I can’t stay away from you, but I
bring more danger to you and your sisters. But I had to see you.
It’s beyond my power to resist you. I hope I didn’t scare you. I
wanted to tell you what I was before now, but how do you tell
someone, ‘
Hey, by the way… I’m a
werewolf,’
or that you are not exactly
human?”

He was searching her eyes for answers. He
saw concern and caring, so he continued.

“
I will have to leave, no
matter how much my heart and body want to stay with you. And I must
leave, Angel. I have an important task to complete and I cannot
fail. But once I’m done with that…I’ll be back, just for
you.”

"I want as much as you’ll let me have,
Keaton. I care very much for you too. I don’t know how or why you
came to me or why you feel as you do towards me, but I don’t want
to be without you any longer. My heart already aches when you’re
not around. You’ve been honest with me, and although I appreciate
that...enough talking. Take me, anywhere. Love me for now, for as
long as I can have you."

His arms captured her lithe body as his
mouth claimed hers. The world ceased to exist. His hot mouth was
possessive, crushing hers, forcing her to open to his search. She
met him move-for-move and soon their tongues were mating as Keaton
reached between them and started unbuttoning her blouse. Lina
grabbed his hands and pulled hard—her blouse ripping open.

"I hated that blouse...now...even ripped...
I think it’s going to be my favorite. Ohhhh yessss...damn Keaton
that feels so good! Ohhhh, God.”

Keaton hadn’t stopped at the tearing of
fabric but had continued on, latching onto her nipple now visible
thru her next-to-nothing white, cotton-lace bra. His hot mouth was
doing things to Lina she’d never felt before. She’d never known her
nipples were directly connected to her pussy. But with him sucking
on them...oh Lord. Her nipples were pulsing at the same rate as the
throbbing between her legs.

"Angel, you have no idea
what you do to me! I can’t have you near me without wanting to
touch you and kiss every inch of your luscious body. You’re so damn
beautiful. I’m in agony right now, you smell so
hot
. I can smell you want me...say
you want me.”

His breathing was coming in rushes. Lina
moved her hands to rub against his erection through his jeans.

"I want you! More than I’ve wanted
anything."

They fell gently onto the grass, Keaton
placing himself underneath his ladylove. Her hair was lit from
above and it looked like a halo around her head.

"You look like a
real
angel right now.
You actually have a light-halo. Lina, my God! You can’t be real...
I must be dreaming."

She shivered, feeling the tingle down her
spine just from the words of love he poured over her. She never
thought she was pretty or desirable by any man, until Keaton. She
wanted more than anything to believe him. To know he was for real
not a dream.

"I’m real, love, are you?
How can one man be so completely wonderful and want
me
...the real me, all of
me, just like I am? You’re so hot and sexy, kind and generous.
Loyal and an honest-to-God,
good
man
. More man than I’ve ever dreamed of or
thought I deserved.”

His eyes glowed as his anger rose to the
surface. "I could strangle whoever it was that has you thinking
that way! How could they look at you and not see you? You take care
of everyone else before yourself. Your eyes make me want to drown
in them. You’re tall, sleek, and shapely. Your lips are so damn
kissable. I’m going to stop talking now and show you just how
kissable they are."

As his head rose up to meet hers, he
devoured her mouth and her senses. It was a dream. Yeah, a perfect
dream. A dream come true.

"Lina? Are you out there?”

Damn, damn,
damn—again?
She couldn’t ignore Netta’s
call, not only because she was ill, but she realized she shouldn’t
be here on the lawn loving Keaton while their sister was missing!
She cursed again, but this time at herself for her
selfishness.

"I’m sorry Keaton, I shouldn’t be doing
this, not now with Tashi missing. I’m angry with myself, not you.
But I am sorry we didn’t finish what we just started."

She held on to him breathing in his scent,
giving him small kisses up his neck to his jaw then she sat up,
touched his lips tenderly watching his eyes go back to their normal
green. The glow diminishing as his ardor subsided and his breathing
normalized.

"Damn, Angel. I didn’t know! What happened?
Tashi's missing? How? Tell me everything."

Netta walked onto the porch in time to see
Lina standing up from her position of straddling Keaton and she
immediately turned around to go back.

“
Stay, Netta. We need to
tell Keaton what’s going on with Tashi and see what he can do to
help.”

Keaton stood and brushed leaves and twigs
off Lina and put his arm around her in a show of possession. Lina
blushed bright red and then half-heartedly tried to pull away, but
he just grinned and held her tighter, kissing the top of her
head.

Netta giggled. "About damn time, Lina."

Lina went into the house for iced tea,
cheese, sliced winter sausage, mustard and crackers, and some cubed
watermelon. It was one of her favorite summer between-meal snacks.
The three of them sat on the porch, munching, sitting at the round
table where they had a lot of their meals since the fans had been
installed.

"Now, Lina, Netta, give me every single
detail you can about the night Tashi was taken.”

They filled him in on everything they could
remember. If one missed something, the other could fill in the
void. Once the story was told, Lina handed Keaton the letter from
Victor. He read the letter then stood up, paced back and forth,
stopped in mid-stride to think, and then he resumed pacing.

"Why would the witch want
Tashi? I can understand wanting the vampire. They can somehow drain
their magic by draining their blood or through some spells or
whatnot. I think I should have been told about him
before now
." He glared
at Lina.

"But that’s a discussion
for later, because this witch can use his powers and she doesn’t
sound like she’s the
good witch of the
east
. I wonder how old or powerful this
Victor is anyway. And why would Tashi trust him?”

Lina looked embarrassed.

"The same way I trust you Keaton. I feel it.
I know you won’t hurt my family or me. It’s a connection, a knowing
of sorts. Tashi has that with Victor."

She was worried she was overstating their
current relationship, but Keaton walked to her, sat down and pulled
her into his lap, her back to his chest while wrapping his arms
around her, resting his chin on her shoulder, his thumb rubbing her
wrist in lazy circles. Driving her crazy was the end result!

"I think I can understand that completely,
Angel.”

She’d never had anyone touch her like this.
Her wrist was an erogenous zone? Who knew? She felt her shoulders
relaxing with his touch. Netta was silent, just watching the
interaction between the two across the table.

"You two belong together. You complete each
other so effortlessly. I could be very jealous right now, but I’ve
got this feeling. Who knows? I think I’m overdue for some happy and
content...and I feel it’s coming." She rose to leave them alone.
Lina deserved this.