The Midnight Effect

by Cassandra Curtis

  She saw his home through a different lens and realized, built into the mountain, it could only be accessed through the front door. "It's like a hidden fortress."

  Sheer rock faced the right side of the room, an abstract sculpture from nature. Two large area rugs covered the den and a large cedar cabinet sat flush against the opposite wall.

  "This is incredible, Javier. Simply magnificent." She ran a hand along the detailed trim on the piece. "Whoever built this was a real craftsman. An artist with wood."

  "Thank you."

  "You built it?"

  "I designed and created much of what you see here, inside and out."

  "You're a talented man, Javier."

  "Let me show you something else," he said, taking her hand and leading her down a hallway. He opened the door to a room he called his watchtower. He motioned for her to climb the narrow stairs. When she stood in the center of the room, he pointed to the small monitors on a table.

  "This is like a surveillance room!"

  "Sí. I have cameras hidden on the property. I can see anyone outside but they cannot see me."

  "Doesn't it get lonely here?" No matter how beautiful and unique, the windowless home had more in common with a bomb shelter. Why in the world would he feel the need to guard himself in such a way?

  "Why would you need a system like this, though? Isn't it somewhat paranoid?"

  "Our world is changing, and perhaps not for the best. My family has a sanctuary, a safe place built by my grandfather many years ago. I lived there myself until five years ago. I needed my own place, somewhere to one day raise my own family."

  "But in the side of a mountain?"

  "I cannot explain, but the location made it ideal."

  "What about a cave-in?"

  "There are many redundant beams for security. It is soundly engineered."

  "But don't you see? You may be safer here, but you are also trapped inside your own little fortress."

  After the tour, they arrived back in the den. She must have given him a lot to think about, because he'd remained quiet.

  "I didn't mean to criticize."

  "I know. You cannot understand, but that is not your fault. Trust that I have my reasons." He leaned over, caressed her cheek. "I suppose a woman would grow bored here. No reception inside the mountain, so no phone, no television. The power and lights all run from a private generator."

  "I'm not complaining. I think there are other entertaining things one can do--besides, TV sucks anymore."

  She caught his hand and pulled him down onto the sofa. "Hmm, lucky me I have you here to keep me entertained." She took control, straddled him, and rolled him onto his back. She slipped her fingers under his belt and tugged his shirt loose from his jeans.

  "I would say I am the lucky one." He helped her unbutton his shirt.

  She pulled the shirt from him and threw it on the end table. The sight of all that bronzed skin and hard-ridged muscles made her ache to touch him, to taste him once more. She skimmed his abdomen with her nails, stroked the flat nipples on his chest with her palms.

  He caught her head in his hands and pulled her down to meet his hungry kiss. A wave of heat spread from their open mouths down her breasts, past her abdomen, and all the way to her clenched pussy. She broke from the kiss, licked her way down his neck, tasted salt and male musk. Her tongue swirled around each nipple, down to the silky black hair on his stomach, and lower still until she reached her goal.

  She unzipped his jeans. He groaned and lifted his hips so she could remove the rest of the fabric hiding his taut body.

  "Take off your clothes, Allison. Let me feel you again."

  She knelt on the sofa, straddled him again, then looked up into his eyes. Oh my--molten fire. He licked his lips, held out his hands--and all her unsettled inhibitions fled.

  He grabbed her hips, his fingers sinking into the soft curves, and pulled her over his lap. Then he arched his own hips and impaled her on his cock.

  "Javier, this is so much better. If only all reruns were this good."

  He laughed, a husky sound that vibrated through her. She rocked on him, altered the pace. He pinched her nipples, rolling each between his thumb and forefinger.

  She fought the wave of her climax, held it off as long as she could.

  Unable to halt the tide of sensation, she tightened her muscles in time with the peaks of her orgasm, clenching and releasing his cock. She moaned, crying out, needy.

  He pumped furiously inside her, his fingers flexed on her hips, his throat arched, as she raised to her knees and slid off him. She ignored his dazed and questioning look. Her pussy wept at the loss of that thick cock inside her, but she wanted to slow their pace, make this last. Plus, she needed...ached to taste their mingled essence--their passion. She watched as he took hold of his cock with rough hands. He planned to masturbate to climax, but she had a better idea. She braced herself and, swinging a leg over the armrest, pressed her damp pussy against his face while she took his luscious length in her mouth, sucked him. Her teeth rasped over the crown of his shaft. He jerked at the intense stimulation. His tongue stabbed at her clit before tunneling into her vagina.

  "Yes! Fuck me with your tongue!" She rode his face, gasping as one of his fingers teased her anus, then his hand slapped her ass.

  The sting of the smack set her body quivering. He lifted her off his face and positioned her so that she now bent over the sofa. He drove into her from behind, the power of his thrusts forcing her to gasp in ecstasy.

  "Ohh...make me come." She reached between them and flicked at her clit with her fingers and felt another slap on her ass.

  He gripped a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back. "Do not touch yourself unless I say you can. Put your hands on the cushions."

  She did as he said and waited, wondering if he planned to tease her or torment her, and for how long. His strokes slowed, angled. Her legs shook and her pussy quivered.

  "Please, Javier...don't."

  "Don't what? Do you not like the feel of me inside you?" He let go of her hair.

  "I need you harder, faster. You're teasing me."

  "Ah, like this?" He slid deeper, his big body slamming into her now, lifting her off her feet with each thrust.

  "Yes...oh, God, yes!" She cried out, near dizzy from the blinding pace. Her fingers curled around the edge of the cushions and squeezed as the wave of orgasms rocked her, flowed over her hot and sweet.

  Javier gave his own hoarse shout as he flooded her with his climax.

  Afterward, they managed to make it back into the big bed at the end of the hall, where they curled in each other's arms and slept.

  * * * *

  Allison woke from a nightmare, panting and scared.

  Javier lay with his eyes closed beside her, his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. In the dream, two wolves had fought, one on all fours, but bigger than any real wolf she'd ever seen. The other stood on two hind legs and more resembled a man. They snapped and bit each other, gouging and ripping flesh. The winner bit the throat of the fallen and tossed him away like a toy. He stood upright again, threw his head back, and howled. Then turned to her. But instead of killing her, the beast forced her onto her hands and knees, growling as he fucked her from behind.

  She shuddered, hugging herself, and got up to get a drink of water. She caught the time flashing at her from the nightstand. She'd slept past her usual hour. Oh man, that had been one weird dream. The violence of it frightened her, but she had to admit, she'd been turned on, excited and eager when the creature claimed her. The big wolf had been a Dire Wolf, impossibly large--bigger than the one she thought she'd seen in the rainforest that day. An extinct creature. The other, a dark fantasy, a monster from legend. Maybe the people of San Ybella needed a sanctuary from their own folklore. She'd get little work done here, so far from the jungle.

  She'd put it off long enough. She had to call Herr Günther and explain why he'd yet to receive her report. She knew her cell phone woul
dn't work here in the mountain, but she was hoping the satellite phone could triangulate her call regardless of signal reception. She shrugged into her clothes and went outside to make the call.

  Mr. Günther didn't seem surprised when she told him about the camera or the attack, and Allison figured Katarina must have inquired about her and told her father. He gave her a bonus to offset the cost of her lost belongings and equipment, and said he would send down a team to assist her. Of course, she would need to be in San Ybella to meet them. She agreed and turned off the phone.

  Her stomach growled. Javier would probably be hungry when he woke, so she padded into the kitchen to fix breakfast. White wrapped bundles filled the refrigerator. She carefully undid the paper to uncover large chunks of bloody, raw meat. The next packages were chicken, pork, more beef. No wonder he kept himself so lean and fit. He must be on a protein diet.

  She withdrew a packet of ground pork and set it on the slate counter-top. No way could she stick to a meat-lovers diet. She and carbs had an arrangement. The thought made her smile. After a bit of searching, she managed to come up with eggs, cheese, chiles, and some avocados.

  Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a hard-muscled chest just as she opened one of the cabinets, looking for a mixing bowl.

  "Javier, good, you're awake."

  He nuzzled the nape of her neck and gently bit her ear. "I like seeing you in my kitchen."

  "Well, don't get too used to it. I need you to drive me back to San Ybella today."

  "What? Has my uncle contacted you so soon?"

  "I called my client. Herr Günther is sending a team down from his office in Houston to help me."

  "Those men have not been caught. I thought we'd agreed. You need to stay here until Sanchez contacts you or sends someone." He turned her around, his hands holding her upper arms. His lips were a tight line. Would he try to keep her here by force? She looked into his eyes...the dark irises seemed to glimmer with barely suppressed emotion. His fingers loosened their hold, as if he'd suddenly realized his strength.

  "Please. I don't want to argue with you. And it's not like we can't still see each other while I'm staying in San Ybella."

  "And where are you planning to stay? At the hotel? With pretty balconies that make it easy to climb and slip into someone's room?"

  "Javier...please."

  "I worry for you, Allison. I care for you. There is still much you do not understand."

  "Then tell me. What is it that I don't know?"

  "I will get dressed and take you back now."

  "No--Javier, please don't be this way."

  "What way is that? I am trying to protect you. But you will not let me."

  "I'm hungry, so we're going to eat breakfast. Then we're going to talk and you're going to tell me what you're trying to hide from me. If you're not willing to do that, then after we eat, you'll take me into town and say adios."

  "I will?"

  "Yes. You will."

  "I do not like it."

  "Too bad, lover."

  She noticed his fierce scowl. "So, where do you keep the mixing bowls?"

  He reached past her and opened a cabinet to her left. She took it from him and tried to ignore the spark of sensation when their fingers touched. It doesn't mean a thing. She turned away, cracking the eggs into the bowl with more force than necessary.

  Damn, what was wrong with her? She knew his eyes followed her movements. No man ever made her feel so self-conscious, so aware of her own body with a mere look. She breathed a sigh of relief when he left the kitchen and began setting the table.

  * * * *

  How could he explain? She would think him mad. And if she believed him? Would she be repulsed? Or terrified?

  Fear of losing Allison twisted his guts. Unlike most of his people, he could shift anytime he was touched by moonlight. It made him different--a child of the moon, since the change reshaped him, whether lady Luna shone bright in all her glory, or merely as a silvery crescent suspended in the night sky.

  If he truly mated with Allison, she'd be like Sanchez, a human turned Werewolden, succumbing to the pull of the full moon without the ability to deny the change. Each month, forced to her knees, powerless to stop the rush of sensation, of pain, as she was remade--werewolf. In time, she might grow to despise him.

  Unable to stop himself, he watched her with hungry eyes. His need for her should have cooled, yet he knew a single glance from her could raise his pene.

  The aroma of pork and eggs wafted through the dining room from the kitchen. He inhaled appreciatively when she set the large platter on the table. "What is it?"

  "My version of papa-dzules. My friend Juanita used to make this, except I substituted avocado for the pumpkin and added cheese and chiles. What do you think?"

  He placed a forkful of her concoction into his mouth and smiled at the taste. "It is very good. You are a talented woman, Allison."

  "I try. You're not so bad yourself." She spooned some of the avocado over her eggs.

  They finished breakfast in companionable silence, but he knew she had not forgotten their earlier discussion. He imagined ways to distract her curious mind, and got caught staring at the sweeping curve of her ass when she bent to pick up a wayward fork. After helping her to clear the table, he took her hand and guided her outside for a walk.

  He led her to a hidden outcropping of rock and helped her climb onto one of the flatter slabs. She gazed at the colorful vista. He gazed at her.

  "It's beautiful up here. Hard to believe the city is only an hour's drive away. The landscape is so diverse."

  He pointed in the direction of San Ybella and beyond. "The magical four-corners. My people talk of a place where heaven meets earth, where the four corners join. From this spot, you can see the Gulf of Mexico to the east, the rainforest and the jungle to the south and west. San Ybella lies in the middle of them all."

  "And north, a wooded mountain rising from desert and cactus. Not exactly normal, huh. Your people are right. This is magical." She shielded her eyes with her hands.

  Standing there, bathed in sunlight, her expression enthralled with his homeland, his heart gave a little kick. "Come, I have something else I want to show you." Could he trust her with his secret?

  She slid her hands into his and let him help her down. He saw the faint smile on her lips, the gleam of happiness in her eyes and knew then he would tell her. As they approached a path that circled near the entrance to his home, he heard a car engine.

  "Wait."

  "What is it?"

  "A car."

  "How can you hear that from here?"

  "That doesn't matter." He motioned to her to stay where she was and held his forefinger to his lips. He walked silently toward the noise and crouched down. A battered sheriff's car pulled alongside his motorcycle.

  He didn't recognize the man who stepped from the vehicle, but the uniform appeared legitimate. The man glanced around, then headed for his front door.

  Javier sniffed the air...human sweat. The man was no danger. He stood and walked to greet the deputy.

  "López?"

  "Sí."

  "Your uncle sent me to bring the chelita back to San Ybella."

  "You mean Señorita Caufield, " he said in a distinct growl.

  A feminine laugh drew his ears. She had not obeyed his orders. In fact, she stood not fifteen feet away. How could he protect her is she wouldn't listen?

  "Yep. That's me. The white girl." She shrugged toward him and then turned to the deputy. "Did they find the man who attacked me and ransacked my room?"

  "Yes. You must come with me to identify him."

  "Of course. I'll go get my things."

  Javier eyed the other man. "I will also come with you."

  The deputy smiled. "The capítan said you would."

  "I'll follow on my bike."

  Allison returned, holding her purse...and nothing more. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. She'd left the rest of her belongings in his room.
If she still wanted to meet with her employer's team, he would be the one to take her and then bring her home to his mountain.

  She stroked a hand down his shoulder. "You're coming with us, right?"

  "I will follow the car. Ride with me?"

  "I think it might be best if I go in the car with the deputy. Your bike is a bit too... stimulating."

  He leaned in, stole a quick kiss from her lips, and thought of making love on his bike with Allison, of her sitting astride him as the big machine roared. She opened the door to the car and got inside with a little wave. The deputy grinned, complimenting him on his tastes before he got behind the wheel.

  The bike purred under Javier as he followed the car down the hard-packed dirt that led to the narrow strip of road. His thoughts focused on Allison. Part of him wanted to deny the sense of completion he felt with her. Like a puzzle piece that was missing and now snapped into place. More than sex, more than pure lust.

  He shied away from calling her mate, even though his heart told him what his mind had begun to suspect. She'd worn his scent, taken his seed, and given him renewed purpose. He knew one last step kept them from a permanent bond. It was a step he dare not take without her knowledge of what he was, and what she would become.

  Yet, how could he tell her and expect her to believe him? Or worse--believe him and be terrified. That would kill him. To see her cringe, fear in her eyes, terror in her heart--of him.

  A dirty blue pickup truck passed them, headed in the opposite direction. Shots rang out, and pain exploded inside his arm and leg as the cycle spun out of control. He hit the pavement hard.

  Allison!

  He watched as the truck made a U-turn and shot out the tires on the deputy's car. It skidded off an embankment. Agony and anger fed each other. Javier got up and limped toward his motorcycle.

  Several hundred feet away, the deputy drew his gun and, using his car door as a shield, returned fire.

  Javier couldn't see Allison from where he stood. He whispered a fervent prayer that she was okay and that she stayed down.

  His bike had received only a dent and a scratch or two, so he got on and started it up. He released the throttle and wished it were night. As Dayshifters, their attackers would have the advantage since they could shift in daylight irregardless of the moon. They also gained a boost of strength from the suns rays as it heated their tainted blood. Some said it made them more evenly matched, as his people drew their own strength from moonlight.