Asanni

by J. F. Kaufmann

  Jack’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know we were there? Liv’s mental GPS?”

  “Actually, I’m the one who tracked you down,” I said proudly. In a few words I told Jack what I’d done and how Liv thought that my skills were undeveloped.

  Jack moved closer and took my hands in his. “And she’s right. You have great potential. I mentioned it to James. He’s already spoken to Ellida Morgaine about training you.”

  I widened my eyes in surprise. “Ellida Morgaine? Your first Ellida?”

  Jack smiled gently and kissed my palms. “She’s now Gelltydd Coch clan’s Ellida only. We have our own. Remember I told you about our first settlers?”

  “They came from Gelltydd Coch in Wales, I remember.”

  “My grandfather, Robert, is still their Einhamir.”

  It was another surprise for me. “Your grandfather? I didn’t know he was still alive. My paternal grandparents are dead, so I assumed yours were as well.”

  Jack’s lips tugged into a warm smile. “Oh, both my grandparents are alive. They love me dearly. I’m the only child of their only son. But they’re still angry at me for refusing to become the Einhamir. Robert, the Lord Einhamir of the Northern Lands—”

  “The Lord Einhamir?” I said, amused.

  “My grandfather’s official title. Anyway, he’s a bit old-fashioned and a temperamental man, a very different personality from my father.” Jack laughed softly. “He’s not unlike your uncle in that way. He’s a good and honest man. He’ll come around. Brian’s death was devastating to my grandparents. From my grandfather’s perspective, I turned my back on his legacy, and my mother betrayed him by marrying his best friend.”

  “What should she do? Mourn him forever? Does he think James usurped the Einhamir position?”

  Jack shook his head. “No, he actually likes and respects James, or at least he used to, until he married my mom.”

  “What about your grandmother?”

  Jack smiled fondly. “Ah, the Lady Anwen. Well, you can say Robert rules the roost but Anwen rules the rooster. She’s usually able to keep him in line, but in this matter she’s on his side. They are truly from a different time, but I think you’ll like them. They are good people.”

  “Do you visit them?”

  Jack ran his hand through his hair. “I do. I go to Wales once a year to see them. They have close friends in another werewolf clan in Canada, and we usually meet somewhere halfway for a day or two when they are here, because they never come to Red Cliffs. It’s still painful for them.”

  “He agreed to send Morgaine to help me?”

  “Astrid, it wasn’t his decision to make.” Jack said and gently brushed his knuckle down my cheekbone. “Morgaine overrules him, remember? To my Lord Grandsire’s credit, however, he supported her and James’ plan wholeheartedly. James is a wise man, Astrid. He not only provided you with the necessary guidance, but also made a first step towards reconciliation with Robert and Anwen. Of course, Morgaine is also working hard to smooth the path.”

  Another unsettling thought flashed through my mind. “About the Ellida, Jack. What’s her surname? How old is she?”

  “Her last name’s Nakamura. She’s been among us—don’t fret now—about six hundred years.”

  “Phew, I was afraid you’d tell me she was Morgaine le Fey. That would freak me out. My God, you said six hundred years!”

  Jack smiled. “After a while, it’ll be normal for you... Like you, she masters three elements: water, fire and wind. She’s less skilled with metal.”

  “It’s gender-related,” I said. “Male wizards are usually better with metal and less skilled with water and air. Fire is gender-neutral. So, Ellida Morgaine will be my mentor?”

  “She will work to polish your skills and prepare you for your role as an Ellida.”

  I WAS aware that my abilities had never been expanded to their full capacity. Out of necessity, my grandparents had been focused on teaching me how to keep my powers under control rather than how to apply them.

  I couldn’t blame them for that. They did what they had thought would be best for me. They’d been trying to shield me from Seth. They’d tried to raise me like an ordinary human child, hoping beyond hope that that would be enough to protect me, that nobody would pay attention to me.

  “It’s not that they didn’t teach me how to use my power,” I said, thinking aloud, to myself and even more to Jack.

  I didn’t want anyone to blame Arnaldur and Ella for anything. All parents—and that was what they had been to me—made mistakes. Terrible things had happened and they were left with their small charge, devoting their life to me.

  “They did the best they could,” Jack said, “and they did a marvelous job. Look who you became, Astrid.”

  “They loved me unconditionally, kept me alive and gave me a home. I was sometimes angry with them, for doing this and not doing that, mostly for things they’ve neglected to tell me. But I’ve never questioned their love for me.”

  Jack wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my forehead. “And thanks to them, you’re quite a capable wizard.”

  Oh, that’s good. I smiled silently and pressed my head against his chest, my mind already occupied with a different subject. My hand reached for his and our fingers linked. I felt his lips in my hair, his warm, sweet breath behind my ears. I sat motionless, afraid that even the slightest movement would destroy the fragile equilibrium between the things we wanted to do and the things we could do.

  WE SOMEHOW reached a mutual consensus on how much was possible for us to to touch, to kiss, before things would slip out of control. Gentle strokes, tender kisses and quick brushes of our bodies—that was all we could allow. Our separate rooms—I still hadn’t peeked into his and Jack had been avoiding mine. Our controlled closeness and our constant talking kept our brewing sexual energy under a tight lid. We were in such an awkward situation, but we knew it wouldn’t last forever. There were many tense moments when we’d come to the brink of our patience, and I knew that I caused them more frequently than Jack.

  I had to deal with my other side, too, still mostly unknown and hard to control. I was aware that sometimes it was me rather than the wolf who deliberately failed to suppress my desire for Jack, leaving it to him to deal with the consequences. According to Jack, however, it was my wolf who usually misbehaved, yet I couldn’t blame her. She was just much more direct in expressing her wishes and cared much less for the social norms.

  It was hard keeping that balance, but not impossible: the gift of Jack’s presence in my life made it worthwhile. Once we went to Red Cliffs, Jack would be away most of the time, at least for the first month or two. That scared me. I would be on my own among unknown people, no matter how friendly and welcoming they were. Liv and Tristan wouldn’t be there, Ella and Arnaldur would stay in Seattle. I wouldn’t have my job, either.

  “I’ll manage somehow,” I said aloud.

  With his deep insight, Jack was aware of my worried thoughts. “You will. Eamon’s there. Maggie’s coming for spring break.” He lifted my chin and kissed me tenderly. “James is going to keep me busy for a month or two, but nobody’s going to keep me away from you for long.”

  I turned and locked my arms around Jack’s neck. His mouth was already on mine, and I just increased the pressure, breaching in a bit deeper. Jack moved his hands to my shoulders and kept them there firmly, ready to restrain me if necessary.

  I could almost hear a deep rumbling inside my chest and I knew that my other part had been trying to emerge. Not now, I said to her. I can handle this. Please let me. To my surprise, the growling stopped and I could feel how she retreated. She wasn’t even angry.

  I broke out of Jack’s embrace, astonished with the fact that, for the second time today, I’d been able to communicate with my other spirit, no matter how briefly. And that she’d listened to me. That’d never happened before.

  Jack lifted my chin and looked into my eyes.

  “Blue?” I said, already sure
what I would hear.

  “As a deep blue sea,” he said, smiling. “How come?”

  Excited, I explained to him what had happened. “I told her to wait, and she did. Maybe I’m not so hopeless after all.”

  “It’s going to get better once your spirits are completely connected,” Jack said stroking my hair gently. “You’ll still need to control your wolf, mind you, especially because she’s strong, but it’ll be much easier. In linked spirits, the human part is dominant over the wolf, right up to the moment we change. Then the wolf takes over, but still must, how to say, consider what your human part has to say.” Jack leaned and kissed my forehead. “Astrid, love, in the next month or two, try to control your strong emotions: anger, irritation, even extreme excitement.”

  Jealousy, I thought. Jealousy had almost pushed me over earlier today. Did I have a reason to be jealous?

  “You are mine, Jack Canagan,” I whispered and, closing my eyes, sought his lips again. “And no matter how you ended up in my life, I’m grateful I have you,” I said a bit later, quite breathless. I pulled back a bit to have a look at his face.

  He cupped my face and brushed my nose with his. “Are you now?”

  I started counting on my fingers. “You’re good looking. You’re smart and well educated. You know how to fly a helicopter, you cook, you feel good and smell wonderful. I think I can safely assume you are an exquisite lover, too. What else can a girl ask for?”

  “Hmm, you safely assume, you say?” Jack said, gently running his hands along my back.

  “Uh-huh. I like the way you kiss me and touch me, and my logical mind’s quite capable of making deductions based on those facts.” Another thought crossed my mind and I looked up at Jack. “I hope I won’t disappoint you. I mean sex-wise.”

  My cheeks instantly burned and I buried my head into his neck, wondering why on earth I had made such a stupid remark. I tried to reason with myself that for a girl of twenty-six, I didn’t have much experience. Or maybe I expected from Jack nothing less than the soul-deep, absolute physical and emotional intimacy I’d always dreamed about? But what if he’d been expecting the same from me? Were those skills also among my hidden potential?

  Jack pushed me gently back to get a better view of my face. “I deeply regret, ma’am, I can’t show you how ungrounded your concerns are right away. Astrid, baby, regardless of your past experience or anything else you are so worried about, we are two healthy people completely over the moon with each other. How can you disappoint me when I’m dying for your touch? You kiss me and I’m breathless. While you’re sleeping in that squeaky room, I don’t sleep at all, I’m happy just to listen to your breathing. Astrid, I’ve never wanted anybody more than you. How on earth could I be disappointed when I have you? We are bond mates, baby. It’s you and me, and we have all the time in the world to be together. All right?”

  “All right.” I exhaled. I always worried too much. It really sucked that we couldn’t prove it right off the bat. “We should get ready,” I reminded my sofa partner, but didn’t make any attempt to remove myself from his arms.

  “I’m curious to see your new dress. You didn’t want to show it to me, so it must be something.”

  “And I’m equally curious about your outfit. I was able to see you and Tristan at the store, but not what you were buying. By the way, why didn’t you peek into my whereabouts? You can easily do that.”

  “I won’t do that unless it is necessary. Privacy issues, you know.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know that. Liv and I just wanted to know if I would be able to locate you. How far can you reach if you look for somebody?”

  “Not far, but I should be able to find you anywhere in this town, though,” Jack said, obviously unconcerned with the breach of his privacy. “Feel free to use me for practicing your mental tracking,” he said and lifted me up. “I need to shave and take a shower, but after you. Go now.”

  “One more question. Since werewolves have enhanced senses, how does it work in, you know…” I stammered, blushing. “In very private moments, when more than two people live in the same house, for example?”

  “Ah, you mean when we have sex, Miss Spock? You can relax. All private rooms in our homes—and certain spaces in public buildings wherever privacy is required—are under mandatory Privacy Protection, or PP.”

  “What about other rooms or outside noises and smells?”

  “Common rooms are not under PP. As you know, we can adjust our voices, tune out other people’s conversations, and so on. Yet even from the protected rooms you can sense whatever is relevant, for safety reasons, as well as outside sounds. It requires a complex tribal magic to have all these particulars put together, but once it’s set up, PP works fine. In short, it protects the most intimate times between two people, and strictly confidential conversations, without jeopardizing our safety.”

  “This also must be partly because of the humans that live among you, right?”

  “Yes, when it comes to privacy, it takes our senses to a human level. Our enhanced sensory system puts them at a disadvantage, so we try to even it out. Privacy is a big issue for them, more than for any other race. Anyway, while we’re still on the topic.” Jack gave me a meaningful look. “It should be said that when we make love in unprotected places and in the open: cars, woods, elevators, beaches, barns, airplanes, back rows of movie theatres and so on— ”

  “Okay, I’ve got the idea,” I said, and stumbled towards the bathroom, grabbing the bag with my little red dress from the table.

  “There are other ways to keep it private, especially if you have a wizard for a girlfriend.” I heard Jack’s deep laugh before I closed the bathroom door.

  I washed my hair and stayed under the shower for a good fifteen minutes, letting the hot water relax my tense muscles. The inner tension, in my chest, in my stomach, inside my thighs, remained unreleased. Our constant closeness, our controlled yet unstoppable passion, our suppressed desire had accumulated in my body, demanding a release we couldn’t afford.

  Well, I sighed, working vigorously over my skin with a bath sponge—I’d come to the point that the touch of my own fingers was becoming difficult to bear—my dress wouldn’t help, either. I briefly considered wearing something else tonight, but the fire that I was playing with was irresistible. And somehow, I sensed that Jack also had an ace up his sleeve. According to Tristan, Maurizio’s had the finest selection of expensive men’s designer clothing within a two hundred-mile radius.

  WRAPPED ONLY in a big towel—not a smart idea because out of the corner of my eye I could still see Jack on the sofa—I zoomed from the bathroom to my room.

  “I’m asking for a bit of privacy, please,” I said. I knew he could see my body outline whenever I moved. Except the bathroom, which was under my own ‘privacy protection’ spell: there was neither visual emitting nor receiving from there.

  “I haven’t even tried to usurp it,” he said. “I’m heading to the bathroom anyway.”

  Soon I heard water running from the shower, and Jack’s whistling.

  I opened the box and took my surprise dress out, spreading it over the bed. From the chest of drawers I pulled out a black strapless bra, tiny black undies—the dress was so tight that it required minimal and almost invisible underwear—and finally stockings. A garter belt was out of the question for its contour would be visible under such a close-fitting dress. I chose black-silk, stay-up stockings with a silicone band to keep them firmly around my thighs.

  To my annoyance I discovered that, although strapless, the bra was still noticeable under the dress, as well as the underpants, notably from the back. Only the stockings decided to cooperate. I took the dress off, then the bra, and finally the panties. It was a bit unorthodox to wear only the dress with nothing under, but I still had stockings, I justified my sudden inspiration for a minimalist approach to underclothes. I critically inspected my firm, round breasts and then my bottom in the mirror, and concluded that the bra would indeed be redundant.<
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  I pulled the dress back over my head and looked again at my reflection. Much better, I concluded. My hair was almost dry. I brushed it and let it fall over my shoulders in soft waves. Probably because of the gentle yellow light in my room, my honey colored hair seemed somehow lighter with a more prominent red note that worked well with my outrageous dress.

  At the bottom of the wardrobe, I found my black patent-leather pumps with red soles that Liv had made me buy long ago. I’d never had an opportunity to wear them. Black-pearl earrings, a few drops of Armani’s Code, my small black purse, and I was ready to meet my date.

  WE TOOK each other by surprise.

  When I entered the living room, I found Jack leaning on the doorframe with a glass of water in his hand. He must have just been taking a sip because, upon seeing me, he had such a violent coughing fit that he almost dropped the glass.

  One look at Jack and my throat was so tight that I had to gulp for air. For a long moment we both stood frozen, mesmerized by each other. As soon as he’d recovered, Jack came closer, leaving some space between us. His eyes were smiling, yet he was positively shocked. In a good way, I would say, for the wolfish grin traveled down to his lips and curved them upward. I could see a flash of his perfect white teeth.

  “Hmm...Tight, short and red. Just the way I like it,” he said in a raspy whisper. “I’m absolutely stunned, Miss Mohegan. And you smell better than ever. I’m not talking about your perfume, mind you.”

  “I would say something similar about you, if only I could think clearly,” I said, unable to move my eyes from Jack.

  In his black suit, crisp white-gray striped shirt, and bronze-silver tie, Jack was definitely the most handsome man I’d ever seen, glossy magazines and movie screens included. His tousled wavy brown hair was still wet and shiny, and smelled of strawberry shampoo. His beautiful light amber eyes were bright and full of life and joy.