“A bullet kissed me,” he said simply.
“A kiss? By a bullet?” She laughed softly.
Shadoe’s eyes searched her face. Her whole manner had changed, the fear she had been feeling earlier, gone.
Her hand moved along his cheek, her eyes anchoring lustily on his tempting mouth. “Perhaps you would prefer a kiss from a woman,” she whispered, tracing the tip of her finger along his soft pillowy lips.
“Maybe I would,” he answered, seeing the invitation in her eyes.
She waited while his bold stare searched her face. “Well, come and get it,” she said boldly, with flames of passion burning inside her.
Needing no further invitation, his eyes shifted to her lips and was drawn toward them, anxious for their touch.
But just as he came so close that his hot breath warmed her face, her lips moved away from his and kissed the scar lightly, then made a sensuous trail from the seductive slash to the edge of his mouth.
Slowly, teasingly, her fragrant lips finally reached his and parted erotically. He was in a haze, eagerly waiting their dizzying, heated crush that brought with it an assault on his groin. The savagery in his blood quickly responded to the lush, succulent, sensuous, and passionate message in the kiss, making his half-breed blood boil. The kiss, together with the mysterious scent of musk she was wearing sent the pit of Shadoe’s stomach into a wild whirl. With one quick movement, now he was the one holding her, his breath coming erratically, his cock becoming rock hard in only seconds. He knew he shouldn’t, but he was a man goddamn it. His mouth opened wider and covered hers hungrily, his tongue pushed forward, urgent and exploratory. He felt himself plunging deeper and deeper, his lust for her getting out of hand. When he felt her responding with a fervor, he mumbled, “Julita....” his eyes just barely catching a look … a look that wasn’t Julita’s. Feeling a chill cut to his bones, he stopped, his hands releasing their hold. “Julita … what’s wrong with you?”
She ignored his question, arched her back, then pushed her breasts, firm and round, against his chest.
He tried to resist, but finally a spurt of hungry desire spiraled through him. His hands grabbed her roughly, roamed over her body, a wayward thumb pressing against the side of her breast, causing his fingers to tingle. He wanted to touch their sweet softness … to have the taste of her nipples on his tongue. With his eyes closed in passion, and his lips opened in hunger, he tasted the softness of her neck, nipping at her earlobe, then down to her breasts. He wanted to bury himself inside her. Deep, so very deep....
Suddenly they pulled apart when a noise sounded outside her door. They both turned and looked, but the sound went away. “The wind is high,” she whispered. “It’s just the house settling.”
He turned and looked at her, again his eyes filled with confusion. Those weren’t words Julita would say. She’d be afraid, hold tight to him, but this woman … whoever she was…
All at once she pressed herself to him and his mind became clouded. With her so close he couldn’t think straight, feeling only her hot breath on his neck, her body willing and trembling beneath him.
“Stay with me.” She whispered the invitation against his ear, soft and sensuous.
“Julita … God … you know I can’t. Garret … he’s just downstairs waiting for me. He’d find out and kill me.”
He looked down at her. He liked what he saw … and yet he didn’t. He didn’t know how he felt. She was different, yet he wanted her … to take her in wild abandon. To have her so deeply and completely that their heated flesh would go up in flames together. But something else … something inside told him to go … told him he must go.
“No,” she whimpered as he pulled away from her.
“You know it would be suicide for me to stay here with you. Garret is expecting me in the library. I have to go before he comes looking for me.” Her hands grabbed his shirt, refusing to let go. She scratched and pulled, but he managed to wrench them away. He stared at her as he backed toward the door. Never had he seen this kind of wild desire in Julita’s eyes. They had become hard, pointed, almost like an animal. And the way she looked at him. Her lids half closed, the sensuous half-smile turning to one of base sensuality. The sweet Julita was gone, and in her place was a … a … wanton.
“Come back!” she yelled, then rose up on her knees, crouching like an animal and growling like a tiger. “Stay with me or I’ll tell Garret that you raped me!” Her voice had dropped an octave as she hissed out the threatening words.
Shadoe couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Another time,” he mumbled, catching the doorknob and turning it. He opened the door and backed through it, feeling something wasn’t right here. The way she looked at him, the hunger in her eyes, the way her breasts bounced … God, he wanted to stay, how he wanted to stay. But if he did … if he kissed her once more he would be in bed with her, damn the consequences. But instead he said, “Get some sleep,” then closed the door. Standing there, he heard her fling a mouthful of curses at him, together with an object that hit the door.
He turned and made his way toward the stairs, but Julita’s actions nagged at him. In only seconds she had turned from a timid nineteen-year-old to someone much older. Had her experiences with Garret somehow tarnished her? She’d acted bold, and raw, even brazen. So different than before when she cowered at the very sight of him. Not that he wanted her to cower and stutter like a village idiot, but the innocence she’d had then was beautiful and pure. He hated to see it sullied by life. He realized she couldn’t stay a child forever. She had to grow up, and both Garret and the school had done their part in making that happen. But apparently her schooling in life had been too abrupt and much too cruel. Shadoe wondered as he touched the lips she had kissed. Had she learned too much in too short a time?
Just as Shadoe reached the bottom step of the staircase, the wind blew the front door open. He rushed over and struggled against the wind to close it. After he had it securely closed and locked, he turned to see Garret standing at the library door.
“What the hell was that?”
“Another storm brewing.”
“This line of coast has more storms than I’ve ever seen anywhere. You’d think the gods were angry about something.”
“Gods?” Shadoe questioned as he turned to follow Garret into the library. “Do you believe in such things?”
“Not really, it just seems we get our share of storms here. There must be a reason. Some meteorological mumbo jumbo I suspect.”
Shadoe thought about the bones of the giant that lay beneath the ridge, and felt his ankle began to ache. “What about the legends surrounding this place?”
“A bunch of nonsense.”
“I don’t....” Never mind, he sighed to himself, letting the subject drop. He had too much on his mind to get into that weird tale. He remembered what Julita had said about the trees having eyes, looked toward a window and saw the swaying of limbs against it. Hell, maybe the trees did have eyes. Maybe they did walk. He wouldn’t have believed a bunch of bones could come to life during the full moon, but they had. Either that, or he was as crazy as the rest of them. He walked over to the bar and mixed himself a drink. “So what’s on your mind, Garret?”
“The fact that you’ve made me wait, among other things.” He banged his cane on the floor in anger. “I’m not accustomed to waiting for any man, and certainly not waiting for some woman to be taken care of before me.”
“You’re not only a selfish bastard, but a chauvinist, and a goddamned snob,” Shadoe muttered.
“I don’t give a good goddamn what you think of me. You’re going to have to learn a few things. I … do … not … wait!” Again his cane smashed against the floor.
Shadoe’s eyes cut toward the cane the old man used like a weapon, then up at him. “You waited for fifteen years, Garret. Another few minutes more or less are not going to matter.” Saying that, he upended the glass, then bared his teeth and cringed when the liquid made a burning path down his throat.
He leaned his head over and shook it. He needed that drink. He needed that one and a lot more.
Garret watched his reaction to the strong drink. “You planning on getting drunk?”
“This sure as hell would be the time for it, don’t you think?” While mixing another drink, he said, “All right, Garret, I’m here. No more waiting. Let’s get this out on the table. I’ve been up almost all night and I’m tired. What did you bring me in here for?”
“I want to talk to you about Julita.”
Oh, God, here it comes, Shadoe thought. “Okay, so what the hell did I do this time? Go ahead, goddamn it. Rant, rave, have your say, but be quick, will you? I’m tired.”
His eyes cut into Shadoe, his mind coming up with several angry retorts, but said none of them. “All right, I guess I deserved that, but--” he hesitated, concern showing in his eyes, “--it’s nothing like that.”
Shadoe frowned suspiciously. “What is it then?”
Garret frowned. “I’m getting concerned. She’s … she’s acting strange. I know you won’t believe this … hell I can hardly believe it myself.”
“By ‘she’ you mean Julita I take it.” Shadoe heaved a sarcastic snicker. “After what I’ve seen tonight, I’d probably believe just about anything.” He looked at the old man waiting. “All right, so get to it, Garret, I can hardly hold my eyes open. I’ve been up almost all night, and I ache like hell. The girls too. Don’t look for any of us before noon.”
“You, of course, are aware of my relationship with Julita.”
“Relationship?” Shadoe chuckled softly and stared down into his drink. “Relationship,” he kept repeating.
“What the hell are you laughing at?”
“The word. It’s a nice, normal word. Doesn’t seem to fit into this conversation.” He tossed back another drink.
“You’re either drunk, or so tired you’re silly. As I was saying, my relationship....”
Shadoe tried to stifle a giggle, but couldn’t. When he saw Garret scowling at him, he straightened his face, and said, “Sorry.”
Garret let out a big sigh. “Hell, I know my conduct has been less than perfect,” he rasped. “In my saner moments I’m sorry for it, but when … when I see her … especially when she … well … when she....”
Having managed to compose himself, Shadoe said, “When she what, Garret? Spit it out for God’s sake.”
“When she provokes me,” he finally managed.
“What?” Shadoe yelped, and looked at him as if he were insane. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”
“No, not all the time. Just sometimes. And not at all in New York, but since we’ve been down here … I don’t know, she’s different. Her actions are so much like those of my late wife. The way she smiles, the look in her eyes, even the way she walks, her mannerisms.” He scratched his head as if trying to figure it out, then turned to Shadoe. “At those times she calls me Garret, not Papa.”
Shadoe’s eyes widened. He could hear her words now. If you don’t stay, I’ll tell Garret that you raped me! He didn’t notice it at the time, but now....
I tell you, Shadoe, something’s wrong with her. Hell, she invites me with her eyes.”
“Invites you?” he said, remembering. “What do you mean?” Sweat was breaking out on Shadoe’s forehead. He knew what the old man meant since he’d seen it in action not a half hour ago.
“I mean she … God, I don’t how to say it. She tries to entice me … tempt me, I guess.”
“You mean into making love?”
“Of course that’s her intent. What else could it be?” He turned away to look at the approaching storm through a window.
Shadoe laughed again. “Yeah, sure. Dream on, old man.” With the old man turned away, he didn’t see the haunted look in Shadoe’s eyes, or detect the forced levity in his laughter.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me. The worst part is, with her acting like that, it … well it makes things different somehow.” He took a drink from the glass he was holding, then turned back to Shadoe, looking almost ashamed. “I mean, I still want her. God, I want her bad. And I know all I have to do is … hell, I don’t know why I feel the way I do, but with her acting like a little whore … it … well, it just seems different. Makes me feel different.”
Shadoe was unusually silent, Garret’s words confirming what he had experienced with Julita upstairs.
“It’s not all the time, mind you, just sometimes. It’s at those times when she comes on to me … brazen, bold that I … well I realize that I don’t want her unless I can’t have her. But it’s because she reminds me of....”
“Garret,” Shadoe interrupted. “I don’t understand you. One minute you seem ashamed of your actions toward Julita, but at other times you seem to have a malicious gleam in your eye, just waiting to get her alone.”
“I know,” he said, stepping over to the bar and rattling the ice making himself another drink. “Hell, I’m....”
“Crazy!” Shadoe yelled. “Crazy is the word you’re looking for, Garret.”
“I’m not crazy,” he lashed out. “I just … well, my emotions battle against each other.”
“You’re a scream, Garret, you know that? Standing there telling me you’re warring inside yourself. An angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, huh? I’ll tell you what’s wrong with you. Your control is nonexistent, and you have no morals!” Looking down at his glass Shadoe noticed the liquid had gone. He stepped up to the bar to mix another, listening as Garret rattled on.
“I know what I am, I’m talking about Julita. I think she’s....”
Shadoe waited for several seconds, then turned on Garret. “What … what … WHAT?”
“I think she’s … possessed.”
A grave look stretched across Shadoe’s face, changing a look of anger to one of fear. His eyes slid away from the old man and took on a reflective look. After only seconds, and a host of wild thoughts snarling his mind, they shifted back to Garret. “Are you sure of what you’re saying?”
“Yes.”
“But … by who?”
“Greta … my … my wife.”
Suddenly the clinking ice stilled, and Shadoe held his breath. What a goddamned bombshell, Shadoe thought as he stood grasping a bottle so tight he thought it might burst in his hand. He hated to admit it, but it would explain everything. And it wasn’t any more idiotic than anything else that had happened around here. He looked upward as if he could see past the high boarded ceiling into her room. Was she … she must have been. He had known she was acting differently. But possession … the idea never occurred to him. But it had to be true. She’d always been shy, even after Paris … well, sure he could tell she was different, but different in her own way, more savvy, more worldly, not … hell, not acting like a damned whore.
“Greta was trash,” Garret said, interrupting Shadoe’s thoughts. “I didn’t know it when I married her, but hell, I probably would have anyway.” He leaned against the mantle of the fireplace, and stared thoughtfully, but didn’t see. “I loved her … I didn’t care a whit about her faults. I had my own. She knew about them too. I figured if she was willing to forgive me of mine, then I was willing to overlook hers. After all, I’m no white knight. I’m as dirty as they come.”
“Apparently her mother’s been playing with her since she’s been here,” Shadoe said, his voice almost inaudible.
Garret shifted his eyes toward Shadoe. “I think we need to get her out of here.”
“No,” Shadoe said quickly. “The only way to defeat this is to keep her here.” He turned an icy stare toward Garret. “And Garret you’re going to have to stay away from her.”
“Back to that again? Hell, I....”
“I know, but not only because she’s your daughter, Garret, it’s gone beyond that. She’s … Greta … she’s angry about something.”
“But what?”
“I’m not sure, but I think she blames you, or Julita … maybe both for being dead.”
“I don’t know, damn it I’m just speaking from … hell, things I’ve heard … read … even feel. A lot of it’s intuitive.” Hesitating for a moment, he said, “There’s something else.”
Garret waited, seeing Shadoe’s hesitancy. “Well, what for God’s sake?
Shadoe cut his eyes toward Garret. “She came on to me upstairs.”
Garret’s jaw jerked in anger. “She what?”
“You heard me. Julita … only it wasn’t Julita, it was her mother. I’m sure of it. I was passing by her room and heard her. It sounded like she was having another nightmare, so I went in. She was thrashing about on her bed. I managed to calm her fears but then she....” He looked at Garret, seeing the anger on his face. “She kissed me … and I … I responded.”
“You bastard!” Garret said, limping toward him on his cane. “How far did it go?”
“It was only a kiss … a few words.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t Julita?”
“No, I don’t think so. Julita’s never … well, she’s never acted like that … so brazen, raw.”
“Like a whore, you mean.”
“Something like that, yes.”
Garret’s eyes narrowed on Shadoe. “What are you going to do about it?”
“I haven’t got it all figured out yet.” He rubbed his forehead. “Hell, I just don’t know yet.”
“Have you had any of the dreams you were having for a while?”
“No, and I don’t think I will. It’s a whole new ballgame now. She’s concentrating on Julita … but with the whole family here, I think she intends to make an appearance ... and soon.”
“And she’s using Julita to do it,” Garret said thoughtfully.
“That’s the tough part. She wouldn’t hurt her. The woman I saw in the church loves her daughter … wanted to see her … warn her….” Shadoe turned to Garret and looked him in the eye. “She said you wanted to hurt her.”
Garret’s brows lifted in shock. “Hurt Julita? Me? I would never hurt Julita.”
Pretty Baby Page 28