The Satyr's Curse (The Satyr's Curse Series Book 1)

by Weis, Alexandrea

  Kyle’s lips came down on hers, taking her breath away. She raised her hands to shove him back, but something about his kiss stopped her. It was warm, tender, and given with such emotion that instead of pulling back, Jazzmyn slowly wrapped her arms about his neck.

  Kyle threw his arms around her. “Tell me this isn’t going to end up as another moment you regret between us,” he whispered into her cheek.

  Jazzmyn bent her head back as his kisses tempted her neck. “I’ve never regretted what happened between us, Kyle, I was just afraid it would interfere with the restaurant.”

  Kyle’s hands wandered down her back until they settled on her round backside. “Do you still feel that way?”

  She reached inside his robe and swept her hand across his smooth chest. “Are you coming back to the restaurant?”

  “I’m still thinking about it.” He cupped his hands around her bottom and lifted her from the floor. “First, you have to promise not to push me away anymore like you have in the past. You will tell me what you’re thinking and feeling about me, always. Can you to do that, Jazz?”

  She nodded her head.

  “Good.” He lowered her to the sofa. “I want no more excuses to keep us apart.”

  Jazzmyn reclined on the sofa and searched his eyes. “You believe me about Julian, don’t you, Kyle?”

  “I believe it, if you believe it.”

  She pushed him away. “I came here hoping you could help me, but I should have known you wouldn’t.” She sat up. ”You just don’t understand, Kyle. Julian’s a monster. A monster I have to marry tonight in order to reverse this curse and stop more innocent women from being murdered.”

  Kyle jumped back from the sofa. “Marry? You’re going to marry him? You just happened to leave that little tidbit of information out of your story about him being cursed, Jazz.”

  Jazzmyn stood from the sofa. “He asked me three days ago. I said yes because I thought I was keeping other women from getting killed. He says if I commit to him tonight in front of Odette’s tomb, then he will become mortal again.”

  “He’s mortal now, Jazz. Just because he plans some hokey wedding in a graveyard, that doesn’t make him a supernatural being, it just makes him weird.” He ran his hands through his thick, light brown hair. “You haven’t signed over any of your bank accounts to him or given him your credit cards, have you?”

  “No! This is not a con, Kyle. He’s not out to steal the family fortune. What would it take to convince you of that?”

  Kyle’s body relaxed. “Do you want to marry him?”

  Jazzmyn shook her head.

  “So, you’re not going to marry him tonight in front of some dead relative’s tomb,” Kyle clarified, scratching his head.

  “How else do I stop him from killing again, or from killing me?”

  Kyle moved closer to her. “He’ll have to go through me to get to you, Jazz. I’m not going to let him touch you, ever.”

  Jazzmyn contemplated his rugged good looks. “Are you sure about that? He’s really strong, Kyle, and he cannot die.”

  “I’ll take my chances.” He encircled his arms about her waist. “Enough about Julian. Right now I want to know how you feel about me.”

  “How I feel?” Jazzmyn slid her arms about his neck. “I think that’s pretty obvious.”

  “Just say it, Jazz.”

  “I like you, Kyle Baker.”

  He eased back from her. “You like me? I was expecting a lot more than that.”

  “What were you expecting?”

  “‘I love you Kyle’ would have been nice.”

  “All right. I love you, Kyle, as long as you come back to my restaurant and start cooking again.”

  He raised one eyebrow at her. “And if I don’t come back?”

  “Then I’ll get Ms. Helen to put a curse on you.”

  He snickered at the suggestion. “All right. I’ll come back, only because I’m scared of Ms. Helen and all of her voodoo.”

  “In that case, I love you, Kyle Baker. There, happy?”

  His arms tightened around her. “Now that’s the kind of fringe benefit I was hoping for.”

  Kyle kissed her again and her body inflamed with desire, but it was not the unrelenting passion she had experienced with Julian. This was heartfelt, tender, and touched the very core of her soul.

  Kyle stepped back from her and took her hand. “Let’s seal this deal with more than a kiss.”

  He led her through the small living room filled with mismatched furniture and empty white plaster walls toward his kitchen. Recently updated with black granite countertops and stainless appliances, the kitchen had a large picture window over the sink and on the far wall, a collection of copper pots hung from a black pot rack. Squeezed into a tight corner, next to a modest-sized pantry, was a six-burner stainless Viking stove.

  Jazzmyn was hastily pulled past a small dining room adjacent to the kitchen, and into the bedroom in the back of the house.

  The furniture in the bedroom was rustic and unfinished. An unfinished king-sized pine bed with round wooden posts on each corner dominated the center of the room. The bed was neatly made with a brown bedspread and an array of cream-colored throw pillows. Along one wall were a tall chest of drawers, also unfinished, and a simple pine bench. On the other side of the room were a small open closet and the entrance to the master bathroom.

  “I’ve never seen your bedroom before,” Jazzmyn confessed.

  “Well, get used to it. You’re going to be spending a lot of time in here from now on.” He hungrily lowered his mouth over hers as his hands caressed her hips and waist.

  Jazzmyn quickly untied the belt on his robe and pushed the bulky fabric to the floor. She reached down and fondled his erection.

  “Don’t you dare start comparing me to him,” Kyle murmured in her ear.

  “I like yours better. Less painful.”

  Kyle held her back, his eyes brooding with concern. “He hurt you?”

  Jazzmyn’s finger traced the outline of muscles in his chest. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “I’m going to kill him. I swear I’ll make him pay for hurting you.”

  Jazzmyn cupped her hands about his face. “Forget about him. He’s not you.” She kissed his lips and instantly Kyle’s anger abated.

  He hastily slipped her white dress shirt over her head and guided her to the bed. Jazzmyn laughed as he stripped the black slacks from her hips and threw them to the floor. She wiggled out of her bra while he pulled her white cotton panties down her legs.

  Kyle climbed on top of her and let his hands lovingly traverse every curve and every crevice of her body.

  “It used to drive me mad watching you every day in the restaurant,” he whispered.

  He bit down into the soft flesh of her right nipple as his hand traveled up her left inner thigh. When he reached her delicate folds, Kyle lightly caressed her, making Jazzmyn quiver with pleasure.

  Jazzmyn’s body arched with anticipation when he gently eased his fingers into her. There was no pain, no apprehension, and no doubts with Kyle. All the things that had vexed her with Julian never manifested as she submitted to him. As he quickly moved in and out of her, hurtling her closer to climax, Jazzmyn ran her hands through his thick hair and moaned against his cheek.

  Kyle suddenly stopped and sat back on the bed, making Jazzmyn’s body heave with disappointment.

  “No, don’t stop,” she pleaded.

  “I can’t wait anymore,” he conceded, spreading her legs apart.

  He placed his hands about her hips and lifted her body to him. Then, very slowly, he entered her.

  Jazzmyn slid her hands down his long back and grabbed at his tight, round butt. She squeezed the flesh of his cheeks and encouraged him to go deeper.

  When Kyle pushed all the way into her, Jazzmyn gasped as a twinge of pain surprised her.

  Kyle froze. “Am I hurting you?”

  Jazzmyn opened her eyes to see his worried face hovering over hers.


  “No.” She smiled up at him. “Do that again.”

  “Yes, boss.” Kyle withdrew from her and then entered her slowly again.

  Jazzmyn wrapped her slender legs about his hips. “Again.”

  Kyle eased out of her and reentered her faster than before, driving even deeper into her flesh.

  “Yes,” Jazzmyn sighed.

  Kyle pulled out and thrust into her again and again, pressing his hips harder into her with every penetration.

  As Jazzmyn dug her nails into his rear end, Kyle bit down into the soft flesh of her neck, responding to her excitement.

  “Kyle,” Jazzmyn called out as her body teetered on the edge of ecstasy.

  Kyle kissed her lips as he felt her beginning to shudder beneath him. He slammed into her as hard as he could and then he groaned when his orgasm roared through him. Jazzmyn wrapped her arms about him and cried out just as the tension in her body discharged into an overwhelming release.

  They lay still for a moment, holding on to each other as their heavy breathing slowed.

  Kyle rolled off her and cradled his body against her side. “You’re going to kill me,” he softly said into her shoulder.

  Jazzmyn was lying on her back and staring up at the pale blue plaster ceiling above. “Was it like that the last time?”

  Kyle sat up, appearing a bit unnerved by her comment. “Must not have been that great for you if you can’t remember?”

  She patted his arm. “It was great then. I just don’t remember it being as intense.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “It was just as intense, I assure you. It will always be that way…even when we are in our eighties.”

  “Do you plan on being around when I’m in my eighties?”

  “You bet your ass I do.” He nuzzled her cheek. “Someone has got to protect you from all those mythological creatures running around out there.”

  She playfully slapped his chest. “Not funny, Kyle. I can’t wait to say I told you so when you find out I’m not crazy.”

  He tenderly kissed her cheek. “I never said you were crazy, just imaginative.”

  “What do you suggest I do about tonight—just imagine it won’t happen, and then I’ll be safe?”

  “No. If Julian is planning some wacko wedding tonight, you will have to let him know he will be short one bride at the time of the ceremony.”

  “I can’t do that. I have to go through with it.”

  Kyle sat up in the bed. “After what we just did? After you told me you loved me, you would go off and marry that walking wooly mammoth?”

  Jazzmyn sat up next to him. “People have been murdered because of what he is, Kyle, and they will go on being murdered unless I try and put a stop to it.”

  “Then let’s call the police and have him hauled off for questioning. You can’t marry him tonight!”

  “What exactly am I supposed to tell the police? That I suspect he is the serial murderer they are hunting for?” She let out a frustrated breath. “Anyway, we’re not getting married tonight. We don’t have a wedding license. It’s simply a ceremony.”

  Kyle played with the gold satyr figurine hanging about her neck. “You don’t have a license? Then it’s not legal. So why is he doing this?”

  “It’s a voodoo ritual. I have to promise to love him in order to reverse the curse.”

  Kyle looked confused. “But you don’t love him, Jazzmyn. Even if there was going to be a ritual tonight, how could it work if you don’t love him?”

  She flopped back down on the bed. “I’ve been wondering about that. Ms. Helen told me he must find another Livaudais who cares for him in the same way Odette cared for him in order to lift the curse. He must go through with the commitment he made to the one he wronged.”

  “Oh, and Ms. Helen is an expert on all of this crap? The same woman who claims deep-fried is one of the five major food groups.” Kyle leaned over her. “All right. Let’s say you do go there tonight and go through with this thing, and he becomes mortal. You can just leave him then. He’ll be happy he’s got his old body back, and you can be with me.”

  “It’s not that simple. If I renege on my promise to love him, the curse returns.”

  “What kind of curse is this? This doesn’t happen in the movies,” Kyle balked.

  “Apparently, it’s the kind of curse that lasts all our lives. I must stay committed to him for the rest of my life. My love must be permanent and everlasting, that’s what he said.”

  “Then you have to call this whole thing off, Jazz. Tell him the truth about us.”

  “I can’t do that, Kyle. He’ll kill you.”

  He put his arms about her and held her close. “Tonight, I will be with you when you confront Julian. Tell him you won’t be performing any voodoo rituals with him because from now on you’re going to be with me.” Kyle shrugged against her. “He’ll yell and probably take a swing at me, but then he’ll walk away. I promise.”

  “Then he’ll turn into a monster,” Jazzmyn disputed.

  “No, he won’t. It will be fine. Tonight, you’ll end it.”

  She squeezed his arms tighter around her body. “I have this strange feeling that it will never end between Julian and me. No matter where I go or what I do, Julian Devereau will always be there watching me, waiting for the day when he can finally make me his.”

  Chapter 20

  When Kyle and Jazzmyn entered the kitchen of The Sweet Note Bistro, they were greeted by absolute chaos. Leon, Carl, Ms. Helen, and even Jerry the dishwasher were scrambling to get the food out. Ms. Helen was going from the prep stations to the stove, yelling orders at the men like a drill sergeant in boot camp.

  “Wipe that plate before you send it out, Carl,” she bawled in her throaty voice as she pointed to a plate of grilled snapper he was preparing. “Jerry, don’t be so heavy-handed with that salad dressin’. We got to make it last through the night.”

  “What in the hell is this?” Kyle hollered as inspected the plate of crab cakes under the heat lamp. “Where’s the hollandaise and the red bell pepper?” he demanded, motioning to the plate.

  Carl saw Kyle looming before the counter and cringed. “I don’t know?” he said, sounding like a kindergartner caught in the act.

  Kyle immediately grabbed an apron hanging from a nail on the wall next to him. “All right, Carl, stand aside.”

  Jazzmyn’s heart soared when Kyle jumped in behind the line and took over the food prep. He began adding spices to pans simmering on the stove and rearranging items on the prep table.

  “Thank goodness.” Ms. Helen came up to Jazzmyn. “I was about to walk out the door myself.” She observed Kyle systematically taking over the kitchen. “I wondered how long you two were gonna lounge ‘round in bed before you got your asses down here.”

  Jazzmyn gawked at her. “What on earth are you suggesting?”

  Ms. Helen held up her hand. “Child, please. I knew the minute you went to his house that the two of you would end up in bed. I didn’t need no visions to tell me that, neither.”

  Jazzmyn looked down at the floor, hiding her embarrassment. “It’s good to have him back. The restaurant isn’t the same without him.”

  “You aren’t the same without him,” Ms. Helen insisted. “Did you tell him ‘bout the demon?”

  Jazzmyn raised her eyes and followed Kyle’s hurried movements behind the prep table. “I told him, but he doesn’t believe me.”

  “Not to worry, Jazzmyn,” Ms. Helen clucked. “In time, he’ll see the truth, and then I promise, he will believe.”

  ***

  As late afternoon turned into evening, Jazzmyn’s sense of foreboding escalated. She had stayed busy during the day, getting the restaurant in order after Kyle’s return, but in the back of her mind the inevitable confrontation with Julian loomed. She had run a plethora of scenarios through her head as to how to get free of him, but with every new idea she saw only one outcome; she had to submit to his will.

  Anxiously, Jazzmyn watched the minutes tick by
on the clock on her office wall. She tried to occupy her thoughts with invoices and bills until a heavy knock on her open door made her almost jump out of her skin. When she looked up, Kyle was standing in the doorway.

  “You all right?” He came inside and shut the door behind him.

  “I’m fine, Kyle.”

  He rushed to her side and lifted her into his arms. “You’re not worried about seeing Julian, are you? You’ve been hiding in here all afternoon.”

  She wanted to tell him again what they were facing, but Jazzmyn knew it was pointless. Kyle had not seen or felt what she had experienced and until he did, he would never believe her.

  “I haven’t been hiding, I’ve been working. I wanted to check on Carl, but I lost track of the time. How he is handling your coming back?”

  “Don’t worry about, Carl. He’s so relieved to have me back, he can barely contain himself.”

  Jazzmyn rested her head against his chest. “Even though I hate to admit it, I’m relieved, too.”

  A knock at the door made Kyle quickly let her go. He bounded to the door and opened it.

  Scott was waiting in the doorway, holding a hundred dollar bill in his hands. “Jazz, I need change,” he stated as he stepped into the office and handed her the money.

  Jazzmyn reached for the keys in her pocket. “I should have enough in the petty cash box,” she told him as she opened the bottom drawer on her desk.

  “I haven’t seen you at the bar this evening, Kyle,” Scott remarked. “What did you do? Quit drinking?”

  Kyle nodded. “Yeah, I did.” He turned to Jazzmyn. “I figured I’d better sober up and hit the dry road for a while to make my boss happy.”

  “Glad to hear it. You were draining me of JD,” Scott admitted with a grin.

  Jazzmyn pulled five twenty-dollar bills out of a small metal box and handed it to Scott. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks, Jazz.” Scott quickly headed out the door.

  Kyle shut the door behind him and turned back to Jazzmyn.

  “Have you quit drinking for good, or for now?” she pensively asked.

  “For good,” he avowed with a smile. “I figured it was time I start being responsible and setting a good example for our kids.”