He lowered himself to her height and pulled her, without the least bit of resistance from Enola, against his hard body. His face was so close. Their lips were barely an inch apart. Against her heaving breasts, Enola could feel the rise and fall of his chest. Every breath that he took teased her reactive, erect nipples.
“Gideon,” she whispered, but it was more of a plea.
Enola wanted more. She wanted all of him. As she stared into eyes the color of diamonds, she could feel moisture pooling in her warm center.
“Gideon,” she repeated in a whisper.
“Gideon, what? What do you want from me Nola?”
The deep rumble of his masculine voice echoed throughout her wanton body.
“Make love to me. Please, I–I want you to make love to me.”
Gideon shook his head and narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t believe her. He gripped her ass, pulling her pelvis to his big, hard dick and whispered close to her lips, “You don’t want me to make love to you, Nola. Tell the truth, darlin’. You want me to fuck you, don’t you, love? You want me to fuck you until you forget who you really are.”
Enola ground her pussy against his cloth covered cock and moaned.
“Yesss,” she purred. “Please, make me forget.”
Enola’s behavior was totally out of her character, but she wasn’t the least bit ashamed that she was practically begging a man she barely knew to make love to her. She wanted him more than she wanted to maintain her dignity. She needed him to invade her body and soul and make it all better. She didn’t want to think about witches, Voodoo, shifters, or vampires. She wanted to feel his sweaty body slamming into hers.
Gideon caressed her body as his hand slid down her satin nightie. Enola gasped when his fingers brushed her thighs as he pulled the soft material over her hips, exposing her nakedness. Gideon took advantage of her parted lips and pressed his lips to hers. Enola moaned against his mouth and licked his plump bottom lip. He pushed his tongue against hers and kissed her with more passion than Enola had ever experienced. When Gideon’s fingers traced her abdomen and found her swollen clit, Enola groaned loudly, pushing her fingers into his thick, wavy hair.
Slowly and methodically, Gideon circled her clit. Enola was trembling uncontrollably as she pushed her eager, swollen bud against his strong fingers. He was mastering her body, manipulating her sex like a master. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she welcomed the exquisite pleasure of his touch.
“Oh…oh…ohhhhh, Gideon!” Enola panted, creeping to the very edge of an orgasmic cliff. She pushed her legs further apart, allowing Gideon full access. He pushed one thick finger inside of her, and judging by the way that she gasped, one would think that she was a virgin.
“Look at me, Nola,” he ordered.
Enola moaned, turned her head from side to side. She was ready to welcome an orgasm that was sure to be explosive.
“Mmmm…ughhh, Gideon.”
When she didn’t comply, he growled, “Look at me, Nola.”
Nola startled. The growl had actually sounded like it came from an animal. Her eyes flew open and connected with Gideon’s. His gray eyes were glowing and metallic, and he was looking at her as if she were his prey.
“Gideon? What the fu—”
She was immediately rendered speechless when Gideon opened his mouth, displaying giant fangs tearing through his gums. Enola screamed as she struggled to get from under him. She pushed against his heavy body but he was immovable. She fought even harder when he grabbed her head and pushed her face to the side, exposing her neck.
“Oh, my God. Please, Gideon, let me go,” Enola begged.
Gideon clearly wasn’t moved by Enola’s pleas. He lowered his mouth and pierced her neck with his fangs. Enola cried out, but it was due more to fear than pain. She closed her eyes tightly and inhaled a cleansing breath. All of a sudden, it felt as if she’d been swaddled in a protective blanket of heat. Enola relaxed and embraced the new sense of warmth and security.
Enola could have basked in the feeling of contentment forever had it not been for the sound of Crystal’s blood curdling screams, piercing through the haze.
Enola’s eyes flew open. She sat up and looked around her bedroom, but there was no sign of Gideon. Enola realized that she had been dreaming, but the sound of Crystal and Dania’s scream sounded more like a nightmare. The feeling of peace and warmth fled instantly. She tossed the blanket from her body. It was then she noticed that, not only the blanket, but the entire room was in flames.
“Oh, fuck!” Enola cursed.
She jumped up and ran towards the door. Enola looked back and not only her bed, but her entire bedroom had become a raging inferno.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!”
Enola ran out of her bedroom and down the hall. Her entire condo was engulfed in flames, but she was able to walk comfortably through the fire. She made it to the guest room and reached for the doorknob. Assumed it was hot, she tested the heat with one finger. Enola could feel the heat, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Apparently, she was able to endure hot objects as well. She slowly opened the door and was horrified by what she found. Crystal and Dania were in a corner, clinging to each other. They were no longer screaming. They simply held each other, seemingly resigning to meet their end.
Enola stood, paralyzed, in the middle of the flames, choked by sadness and guilt. Knowing that she had placed them in danger was excruciating. Afraid that if she touched them, they’d burst into flames, she had no other choice than to leave them inside. Even if she could’ve touched them, it wasn’t like she could walk them through the flames. She ran out of her condo, down the stairs, and out the door. She screamed for help from anyone who could hear. She ran around the corner. To her relief, there were firefighters at the side of her building, already battling the flames.
Enola ran over to the firemen that were handling the ladder. “There!” she pointed to the window of her guestroom. “There’s a mother and daughter trapped inside.”
The firemen were eyeing Enola curiously before one of them asked, “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive! Please hurry,” Enola begged.
The firemen positioned the ladder under the window and began to climb. Enola watched as they entered through the window. She couldn’t peel her eyes away if she wanted to.
“Ma’am?” a male voice called from behind.
“Ma’am?” he repeated when Enola didn’t answer.
She felt his attempt to place a blanket over her shoulders, but Enola swatted it away.
“I’m fine!” she snapped, still staring up at the window.
“Yes, ma’am. That’s good. But…you’re naked.”
Enola turned towards the voice. It was coming from a paramedic. She looked down at her stark-naked body and threw her hands over her breasts. She allowed the paramedic to cover her with a scratchy green blanket and returned her attention to the window. Relief flooded when she saw the firemen carrying Crystal and Dania down the ladder.
“Oh, my God. Thank you, God,” Enola breathed.
She waited as they placed Crystal and Dania on separate gurneys, then she hurried over to Crystal. Crystal was coughing uncontrollably and covered in soot, and warm tears welled in Enola’s eyes as she watched her friend struggle to breathe.
“Crys, I am so sorry,” Enola sniffed.
“It…it’s…not your fault,” Crystal coughed.
But it was Enola’s fault, and she needed to take full responsibility. “Crys, I-”
Enola’s words were cut off when Crystal grabbed her arm.
“I’m fine. Go see about my baby. Stay with Dania,” Crystal instructed.
Enola nodded and swiped the tears from her cheek.
“I’ll take care of her. I promise.”
“Thanks, friend,” was Crystal’s hoarse response.
Enola leaned over, kissed Crystal on the forehead, and reluctantly walked away. They were taking them in separate ambulances, so she climbed in with Dania. Enola leaned over and care
ssed Dania’s hand.
“Mommy,” the sweet girl whimpered with tears in her eyes.
“Mommy is okay. She told Tee Tee Nola to stay with you,” Enola reassured, fighting back her own tears. She was wrestling with the guilt of endangering her best friend and goddaughter during the entire ride to the hospital.
As she held tight to Dania’s hand, her grandmother’s words haunted her:
“You can’t run from who you are.”
* * * *
Gideon’s eyes flew open. He sat upright, feeling a strange sense of doom. Immediately on the defensive, he scanned his hotel room for threats. His room was completely dark, but his canine vision was perfect in the dark. When he found nothing in the form of a threat, something deep within told him that it was Enola that was in danger.
He snatched his cellular from the nightstand and called Hannibal. Since Gideon needed to keep his distance until Enola was ready to accept the paranormal reality of their life, Hannibal had been dispatched to ensure her safety.
“Boss?”
“What’s happened?” Gideon said into the receiver.
“Well, it seems that she flamed out and set her building on fire.”
“What!” Gideon shouted, hopping out of the bed. He was in Chicago. He wouldn’t let Enola see him, but he simply couldn’t stay away.
“Is she okay?”
“Well, yeah, boss. It’s not like fire can hurt her.”
Gideon pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it. “That’s not what the fuck I meant!” he growled into the phone.
“Well, she had guests. She seemed really worried about them. She ran out of the building ass naked and stood in front of a window.”
Gideon growled at the phone. For some reason, the welfare of Enola’s guests was considerably lower on the list of shit that bothered Gideon than the fact that Hannibal had seen her naked body.
“What of her guests?” Gideon snapped.
“They’ll survive. I’m at the hospital now. What do you want me to do, boss?”
“Stay with Enola.”
“Will do.”
“Oh, and Hannibal?”
“Yea, boss?”
“Stay away from her,” Gideon ordered.
“Sure thing,” Hannibal chuckled.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Enola climbed out of the back seat of the limo. She was returning to her grandmother with her tail between her legs. She had not only put her friend in danger, but she had endangered her child as well. How was she going to explain that she’d set her entire building on fire, simply because she was having an erotic dream about a man that she’d met once? She couldn’t. But what was even more embarrassing was, she wouldn’t have to since her grandmother was a fucking mind reader.
“Oh, baby,” Ruby breathed, pulling Enola in her arms. “I feel your pain.”
Enola began to cry because coming from Ruby, she knew it was the truth.
“I almost killed them,” Enola sobbed.
“It’s not your fault baby. You were right. You didn’t ask for this. None of this is your fault.”
The driver walked past them with Enola’s luggage in tow. She stared at her bags, wondering if she’d ever be able to go home again. She’d had to take an extended leave of absence from work. And once she was sure that Crystal and Dania were going to be okay, she created an excuse for her absence.
“Ruby, why is this happening now? I’ve never set anything on fire before.”
“Baby, the weaker Mamma gets, the stronger you get. And the stronger you get, the weaker she gets.”
“That sucks,” Enola said with a frown.
“That’s our way, Nola. It is what it is.”
Enola sighed, realizing that her destiny to be the strongest was essentially killing her grandmother. Her gran was right about one thing: nothing in her life would ever be the same again.
“Come on, child. Let’s get you settled. I’ll pump some of my good ole’ étouffée in you. That’ll make you feel a little better.”
* * * *
Enola stretched out on a lounger by the pool. Ruby was wrong. Her shrimp étouffée was absolutely delicious, but it didn’t make her feel better about almost killing her best friend and her little girl. Her inability to deal with her issues almost killed two people that meant the world to her.
“Miss Nola, you have a caller.”
Enola looked back at Benjamin. Her gran and aunt referred to him as a valet. To Enola, a valet was a fancy way of saying servant. He was rather well dressed to be a servant, and Enola could swear that he was wearing an Armani suit. Or maybe it was a very good knockoff.
She smiled at the handsome, older, Hispanic man and asked, “Who would be here to see me?”
He smiled in return and gestured towards the patio door. It was Gideon.
“Hello, Miss Nola,” he said as he stepped out onto the patio.
Enola stood, shocked to see the man of her dreams—literally the man of her dreams.
“Gideon,” she breathed, condemning herself for being so breathy.
“Walk with me?” he requested, holding out his hand.
Enola stared at his hand a few seconds before accepting it. To say that his presence was unexpected would be an understatement. But Enola said nothing.
Gideon led her around the pool and down a set of stairs that led to her grandmother’s rose garden. “I’m happy to see that you’ve returned,” he expressed in a deep, sexy voice.
Even though Enola was hypersensitive to the feeling of his touch, she was able to look up at him and ask, “Why?”
“At this point in both of our lives, you need to be here.”
Nola halted their leisurely stroll and looked up at Gideon. “What makes you think that you know what I need? With all due respect, Gideon, you don’t know me, and you don’t have a clue what I’m going through right now.”
“Nola, darlin’—” Gideon started.
Enola began to laugh at the reference.
Enola noticed the question in his eyes. She shook her head, stifling her laughter. “Sorry.” She chuckled softly. “You said, ‘Nola darling.’ It reminded me of a Spike Lee movie. She’s gotta…never mind. You wouldn’t know it,” Enola dismissed.
“She’s Gotta Have It,” Gideon said with a smile. “I’ve been around for a long time, darlin’. It ain’t a lot of shit I haven’t seen.”
“Aw, okay. My bad.”
Gideon pulled her closer and looked her directly in the eye. The look of determination in his beautiful gray eyes told Enola that he was serious about what he would say next.
“Nola, I do know what you’re going through. I know what’s going on in your life. Everything. You and I are connected.”
“Connected? How?” Enola questioned.
“In the strongest possible way,” Gideon confirmed.
“Gideon, what the hell are you getting at?” Enola asked with narrowed eyes.
Gideon placed his hand on her upper arms and looked deep into her eyes. “You’re my mate. We’re destined to be mated forever.”
Enola stepped out of his hold. Shit was beginning to get heavy.
“Mate?” Enola frowned.
“Yes, Nola. I’m a shifter; half man, half beast. You met my beast when you and your cousin were attacked by vampires.”
Enola recoiled and pushed Gideon away. Well, she tried to push him away. He was big. She remembered the large beast that had attacked the vampire that had attacked Margo.
“Enola, I’m a wolf. We mate for life,” he informed.
“So, you want to mate with me…like a dog?”
“Call me a dog again and I will bend you over on this grass and fuck you like a dog.”
Enola scoffed at his vulgarity. “Don’t forget, dog…I can turn into a big, angry bird that can set creatures like you on fire.”
One side of Gideon’s mouth lifted in a smirk. “Darlin’, it would take more than your hot ass to kill me.”
Enola rolled her eyes and walked away. Not only
had she found out that she was some powerful Voodoo chick, and a damn phoenix, but now she had just been informed that she was betrothed to a man that turned into a giant dog whenever it suited him.
“Gideon, I have no desire to kill you, but I will not be told who I am to spend the rest of my life with. I just wanna get through the shit that I’m dealing with right now if you don’t mind.”
“I do mind. I mind you trying to deal with your life issues without me, I mind you not taking the mating process serious, and more than anything, I mind you calling me a dog. I’m a wolf. Not only a strong wolf, but I am the wolf. And you, Nola, are my bitch.”
Enola whipped around and glared angrily at Gideon. “Wait…what? Did you just call me a bitch?”
“Nola, I called you my bitch. That’s different. I’m a wolf, a beast. Bitch in my life is not a put down, it's a declaration. Nola, you belong to me.”
Nola looked him straight in the eye and said, “Gideon, I am my own woman. I belong to no man.”
Gideon pulled Enola closer and wrapped his large arm around her waist. “Nola, that may have been true before, but not now. Now, you are my life, my responsibility. And know this…you do belong to me.”
Enola stepped out of his grasp. “Gideon, you’re hot and everything. I’ll admit that. But, I got enough shit to deal with.”
Enola turned and walked towards the house. Gideon was definitely nice to look at. And, since she was having exotic dreams about the man, he was definitely sexy. But Enola wasn’t even sure who she was, and being assigned as some stranger’s mate wasn’t a priority.
Enola’s brisk walk was halted by a thunderous growl. She whipped around, fell on her ass, and came face to face with the black wolf that had saved her cousin. The wolf crept towards her, and not even Enola could deny how beautiful he was.
The large wolf straddled Enola and placed his paw on her chest. He lowered his head and licked her chin. Enola stared into the beast’s eyes, and she was amazed. His diamond gaze was all Gideon. Even as a wolf, he was giving her bedroom eyes.
Enola reached up and ran her fingers through his soft mane. She rubbed the beast behind its ear and smiled up at him. “You’re cheating. Turn back,” she said with a grin.
Blood Ties (Creole Nights) Page 5