You want them.
Sexually she wanted them more than anything, but emotionally all she saw was heartbreak. So far, neither had called her since their adventure. She suspected they were immersed in work and didn’t have time to come over or take her out. That had its pros and cons.
Do you want them or not?
She wished that little person in her head would just shut up. It was all her pussy’s fault. She almost laughed at that concept.
“Julia?”
She jerked her attention back to Mario. He had his hand over the phone receiver. “It’s Daven. Do you want to speak with him?”
She shook her head. “Tell him I’m busy.”
Mario delivered the message and her stomach twisted at the deceit. It wasn’t fair to go out with them if she knew she could never be in a long-term relationship. The next time she saw them, she’d have an honest discussion of her problem. She doubted she’d be as lucky as Kendis in getting either one of them to quit Panther Cove.
Once her shift ended, she headed home, glad she didn’t have to waitress tonight. She had the next two evenings off, but during the day she had to work on her final painting for her college class. She had thought she’d just paint another landscape, like she had for the last twenty classes she’d taken, but something inside her told her to stretch in a new direction.
After all, she’d been taking art classes for the last forty years. She should try something new. Breck’s painting of the lake had intrigued her. Sure, it was raw and a bit immature and lacked the tonal depth of a great image, but the emotion was there. Daven’s had heart.
Curious to see what she could create, she pulled out a canvas and her paints. The first thing she did was sort through the tubes for the primary colors. Breck did his whole painting using only bright, bold pigments. While she loved the pastels, she was determined to change her style. Instead of using a one-quarter-inch paintbrush, she decided on a wider one.
Lastly, she needed to find a subject she had never painted before. She’d painted just about everything around Panther Cove. Hmm.
Bingo. Panthers.
While the subject matter wasn’t totally conducive to the intense colors, she could paint the subjects in a glorious background. After much consideration, she decided on two panthers racing around her. The setting would be the summer flower garden at Panther Cove. She didn’t need to be there to know what to paint. The image was firmly in her brain.
Using a light pencil, she began to sketch the outline of the animals. Because she’d never done panthers before, she found an image on the Internet to help with the proportions.
Deciding to paint the background first, she made bold swirls of colors and had to smile at the result. Breck would have been proud of her for trying something new. Instead of painting a picture that looked like a photograph, she wanted to pour more emotion into her artwork rather than technical expertise. The result pleased her.
Her finger cramped before her excitement waned. She knew when it was time to call it quits or chance ruining the picture. Because realism was not the most important feature, she’d made great strides. In fact, with another day of work, she’d be done.
The euphoric feeling didn’t dissipate until long after she cleaned up both her supplies and herself. In fact, she didn’t even want to go to bed, but she knew she needed to.
* * * *
Normally, after she handed in a painting, she’d wave good-bye to her professor, but this time she wanted to see his reaction.
“Ms. Wilson. I have to say I’m shocked.”
She studied his face but couldn’t tell if he was good shocked or bad shocked. “Okay.” She didn’t want to show her disappointment. “I can do another one if you think this isn’t up to my usual standards.”
He leaned the painting against the wall and stepped back. “Are you kidding? This is fabulous. What inspired you to take such a bold step away from your comfort zone?”
Two amazing men. “I was looking at some other paintings and got inspired.”
“Well, I like the direction. Change makes a person grow. While I can see some hesitation in the strokes when you were painting the flowers, I can see how you embraced the whole color-splash concept when it came to drawing the woman’s twirl.
“I did her last.”
“The joy is evident. You need to let go more often.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks.”
While she wanted to take home the painting, she figured this one might be picked for the semester ending show. With a renewed spirit she left.
She wasn’t halfway to the car when her cell rang. It was Daven. Her heart lurched thinking the worse. She answered. “Are you okay?”
“Worried about me?” His chuckle almost caused her to throw the phone down.
“Yes. There’s almost a war going on. You could be called into action any minute. I thought perhaps this was my mother or worse, one of my fathers telling me not to expect to see either of you for a while.” Or ever.
“I’m touched.”
She reached her car, unlocked the doors, and slid in. “Did you call to hear my lovely voice?”
“Well, I do always love listening to you, but I booked us a balloon ride tomorrow morning. Want to go?”
Kendis had told her how Jeremiah and she had chased one all the way to some wonderful vineyard. She thought the whole idea so romantic. “I’d love to.”
Chapter Ten
When the knock sounded on her front door, Julia still wasn’t awake despite lacing her coffee with a ton of sugar. Five thirty in the morning was an uncivilized hour. Shifters didn’t seem to need as much sleep as humans, but she obviously didn’t get the need no sleep gene from either of her dads.
She pulled open the door, and the mere sight of Daven woke her up, or at least her bottom half shot to attention. Fresh air blew in, as did he.
He swooped her up in his arms and kissed her, acting like it had been months since they’d seen each other instead of a few days.
She leaned back her head. “Where’s Breck?”
“I didn’t mention it was just the two of us?” He lowered his head and nuzzled her neck.
The fact she’d get one of them to herself might be nice. “Maybe. He couldn’t get away?”
He set her down. “You’re giving me a complex. Here I thought it would be nice to spend the day together.” He ran a thumb across her lips, which only served to mess with her mind. “We thought having two of us fawn all over you might be a little overwhelming.”
“I have to admit it is a little distracting when you’re both lavishing your attention on me.”
He grinned, dimpling his cheeks. “You mean when we’re licking your pussy and adoring your tits?”
Why did he have to go and say that? Here she thought they could have a nice, fun time together, and for once not talk about sex.
Who are you kidding? She knew the moment she accepted the invitation that she’d probably end up having one mind-blowing orgasm after another.
Decision made. As soon as this date was over, she’d tell Daven it might be better if they cooled things off. That way, it would give her time to get over them.
She inhaled. “No comment. Don’t we have a date with a balloon pilot?”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and escorted her out. The air was chilly, and she was glad she’d worn a heavier coat. She bet once they were high in the air, she’d have to snuggle. Oh, darn.
Even though it was dark when they headed east, the sun’s glow began to peek over the horizon. Within fifteen minutes, he pulled on to a dirt road. Here she thought the balloon ride would have originated from the bed-and-breakfast Kendis told her about.
“We launch from here?”
“Yup.”
There were two cars in the lot, as well as a deflated balloon. While their floating paradise might have been considered ordinary by most, she had to smile at the primary colors stripping the balloon.
“Why are you smiling?” Dav
en cut the engine and came around to her side.
He pulled open the door. “The colors in the balloon remind me of Breck’s paining.”
He laughed. “You do know that was probably the first painting he ever did?”
She had suspected. “So? I liked it. It was a little raw, but the emotion was intense and spoke to me.”
“I think being next to you inspired both of us.”
She ran her hands down her pants. “Oh, look. The pilot is looking at us.”
He tugged her close. “He’s here on our schedule, but if you want we can speak to him. I see the talk of emotion and being with us makes you uncomfortable.”
She inwardly groaned, not wanting to discuss the future right now. “No, it doesn’t.” She smiled and pulled away.
The balloon pilot introduced himself and told them all about his balloon and the maintenance he’d done on it. She did feel more reassured that this adventure would be safe.
“Have you ever been up in a hot-air balloon before?” Daven asked.
“No. How could you tell?”
“From the way you’ve wrapped your arms around your shoulders acting as if you’re afraid to let go.”
“I’m cold.”
He pressed his lips to her ear. “You know I can keep you warm.”
That brought a smile to her lips.
“Stand back, folks. I’m going to fire her up.”
The intense noise from the furnace surprised her. As the air heated, the balloon began to inflate and soon rose. “That’s so cool.”
While the basket couldn’t have been more than five feet by five feet, the size of the balloon was larger than she realized. She’d always been standing on the ground when looking at them.
“Hop on in.”
The pilot opened a side door and helped her in. Sure, her nerves were on edge, but standing next to Daven helped calm her.
The pilot made adjustments to the sandbags and then spoke to someone on a walkie-talkie.
“Come here, you.” Daven embraced her perhaps to prevent her from seeing them leave the earth, but at the moment she didn’t care. Having him hold her was nice.
She loved snuggling with him and closed her eyes as his lips descended on hers. Instant lust rushed through her as he pressed his body near. When his hard cock made an appearance, she backed away.
“Maybe we should table this until later.”
He burst out laughing then placed his lips to her ear. “As much as I would like to drive my cock into your ass, this is not the time or place.”
An instant visual surfaced of having his cock explore a new area, and her pussy dampened. Apparently her greedy little cunt wanted to get in the act, too. “You’re right.”
When she shot her gaze over his shoulder, she gasped. “We’re so high. I didn’t feel us move.”
“We didn’t. The earth fell.”
She liked that thought. Carefully, she stepped to a different side and looked down.
The pilot motioned to the top of a tree. “Want to see if we can pick a leaf?”
“You have that much control?”
“Yup. Well, I do if the wind doesn’t mess with us.”
He rode the current for a few hundred feet then turned off the burner, and they slowly drifted down. The man was a genius at making the balloon go where he wanted. While they didn’t literally pick a leaf off the tree, she was impressed he could move it with such precision.
“That was awesome.”
The rest of the flight was a dream. When the pilot wasn’t lighting the fire to make them go higher, the silence cocooned them. For the time they were in the air, there were no members of The Sword trying to steal away her men, no need to rush around and bring drinks to customers, and no deadlines to meet. It was just the two of them enjoying the wonder of life.
Daven nudged her. “There’s the bed-and-breakfast Jeremiah and Mario took Kendis to.”
“Are we landing there?”
“Yup.”
It was too early for lunch. That was too bad, as it would have been nice to eat there. Actually, she yearned to bring her canvas and paints so she could capture the mellow scene.
The pilot expertly maneuvered the balloon to the ground where a car was waiting. A woman who might have been his daughter got out and rushed over. Together, they tied down the craft.
Once the balloon was secure, they both stepped out.
While the pilot began packing their craft, the young woman motioned them behind the car. The setup stunned her.
“What is this?”
Daven grinned. “It’s tradition to have a champagne breakfast after your flight.”
“Really? That’s so cool.” She’d lived seventy-six years and had never eaten a meal like this in a field with a man she was falling in—don’t go there.
The younger woman pointed to the small table that had a wonderful selection of breads, cheeses, jellies, and champagne. “Enjoy your breakfast. I’m going to help my dad.” While the two worked on packing up the balloon, she and Daven indulged in the decadent meal.
There was something magical and incredibly romantic about being in a field, with only the wind as their companion, sipping champagne.
“How did you like the ride?” Daven polished off the rest of his glass.
“It was amazing, but you didn’t have to go to such lengths.”
“I wanted to impress you.”
“You have, but the question is why?”
“I’ll leave the answer to your imagination.”
Darn. She looked over at the balloon team. They’d loaded the basket into the truck. Just as she wondered how they were going to get back to their car another vehicle arrived.
“I believe our ride is here.”
He smiled. “Indeed.” Not wanting to spoil the moment, she took his offered hand and let him lead her to the backseat of the car. “My lady.”
It was almost as if they’d gone back in time to another century. Despite being alone in the backseat, Daven behaved himself. They talked about her painting class and if she had any plans of maybe starting her own gallery.
“I’ve never thought of that. Maybe someday.”
Her parents had always wanted her to help at Panther Cove. Her mom thought it would be nice if during wartime, Julia could man the phones and do whatever was needed, but she’d never wanted any part of it.
Sooner than she would have liked, they arrived back at Daven’s car. He helped her out and guided her over to his vehicle. In what seemed like only minutes, they were in front of her house. It was too soon to say good-bye. “You want to come in?”
He had implied he wanted to talk to her about something. “Sure. There was one thing our adventure didn’t have.”
She couldn’t think of anything she’d have wanted to be different. “What?”
“Dessert.”
Even with her back to him, she could hear the smile in his voice. Her body had been vibrating ever since he came to pick her up, and she couldn’t wait to taste his goodness. She removed her coat and tossed it over the dining room chair. As she turned around to ask if he wanted something to drink, he zeroed in on her.
With no warning, he lifted her up and kissed her. “I can’t wait any longer.” He opened his mouth and showed her how his fangs had extended. “See how you drive me crazy with need?”
The intensity took her breath away. “I want you, too.”
“Then you shall be mine.”
Nothing after that registered, as he walked her down the hall. “Next right.”
With his foot, he nudged open the door. She never took her gaze off him. His strength permeated from every cell on his body. His full lips were made for kissing and his eyes had such depth, she could get lost in them.
He set her on the bed—a bed she hadn’t made, but Daven didn’t seem to mind or probably even notice.
He knelt in front of her. “I know I should take my time, but I’m too weak.” He slipped off her shoes and discarded her socks.
> This time when she attempted to help the process by undoing her pants, he didn’t stop her. In fact, he let her continue undressing while he disrobed. By the time she’d tossed off her shirt and slipped off her pants, he was gloriously naked. Her mouth turned dry looking at him.
“Wow. I think you’re better looking than the last time I saw you.” She finally drew her gaze away from his big cock. “Did you lose weight or something?” That might explain why his definition seemed more visible.
“I’ve been pining for you.”
She refrained from rolling her eyes, but she did give him a smile. As she reached around to undo her bra, Daven rushed behind her and stopped her hands.
“This is the part I like the most.” He unhooked the back and wrapped his hands around to her tits, lifting the bra in the process.
He started nibbling her ear then ate his way down to her neck and finally landed on her shoulder. With his teeth, he lowered one strap then the other. She shimmied out of the bra and tossed it on the floor.
“You want to take off my panties with your mouth?” Her pussy was weeping so bad because she needed his touch.
“I’m busy with the top half.”
He would say that. She reached behind her and grabbed his cock, causing him to jump. “You do know our sexual exploits are too one sided?”
Daven let go of her tits and twisted her shoulders to the side so that she was facing him. “Are you unhappy, kitten?”
She hated that he thought she didn’t like their lovemaking. “Unhappy isn’t the right word. Unfair is better. You and Breck get to tease me. What about my needs to tease you?”
“You want to torment me?”
She liked that word. “Yes.”
“If it will make you happy, you can do anything you want.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
Damn, where were her cuffs and ropes when a girl needed them? She mentally searched her closet to see what substitute she might have. Scarves. For years, her mom had been on a knitting binge and Julia had more scarves than most ladies had shoes. She bet her mother didn’t have tying up a man in mind when she made them.
Fighting for Julia [Panther Cove 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 8