Wanderers 4: A Tough Act to Follow (The Wanderers)

by Richard Bamberg

  I had no more set my feet on the ground than I heard a shout and the bang of a screen door. I looked toward the house and saw Cris striding purposefully toward me. She hadn’t changed in the six months since we’d parted. She looked to be a teenager, but her actual age was twenty-seven or maybe twenty-eight. I hadn’t gotten around to asking her when her birthday was. The vampire spell I’d used to restore her youth after she’d saved me had left her looking a decade or so less than her true age. She wore a sundress with material so thin that she could have tanned through it, and a pair of light sandals. Her skin was still the color of a well-stirred latte. Her pale brown hair hung loosely about her shoulders and moved lightly as she walked. When she grew nearer, I could see her brown eyes were dark and could pass for black. Her full lips were pulled back in a wide smile as her arms came up and around my neck and she pressed those soft lips into mine in a hungry kiss.

  I closed my arms around her, my hands cupping her cheeks, and I lifted her from her feet as our kiss deepened. I’d almost forgotten how sweet her lips were. I found myself stirring with passion as her fingers played in my hair, holding my face to hers as she pressed her body tighter into mine. For a moment, I forgot all about my troubles and just held her to me.

  A low growl from Beast snapped the moment and Cris dropped her hands from my head and pulled back enough to look me in the eye. Her smile was more than playful as she twitched her pelvis from one side to the other. “I’ve missed you, Rafe.”

  “I’ve missed you, too, Cris.”

  She planted another kiss, quick and light, on my lips and then pushed against my chest with both hands. I eased her to the ground and she took a step back.

  Turning toward my companions, Cris said, “Beast, I’m happy to see you again.”

  “Not as much as you are to see Raphael,” Beast growled.

  Cris laughed lightly. “I wouldn’t be so sure, but you’re probably correct.”

  The fingers of her left hand found my right and intertwined with them.

  She turned to my apprentice and smiled warmly. “You must be Tess. Wow, Rafe she’s gorgeous. You didn’t give her near enough credit when you described her to me.”

  For a moment, Tess appeared embarrassed, but she recovered quickly and awkwardly said, “Thank you, Cris, you are very beautiful yourself.”

  “And this must be Maia,” she said, studying the hippogriff. “You are a magnificent creature, Maia.”

  Maia shook her head, standing the feathers of her crown up. “Thank you, lady.”

  “Please call me Cris. And who’s this little fellow? Is he friendly?”

  Tess raised a hand to stroke the leathery skin of Bruno’s head. “He’s friendly, sometimes, but I wouldn’t get a finger too near his mouth if he hasn’t eaten recently.”

  “He’s a wyvern, right?” Cris asked.

  “Yes, I named him Bruno.”

  Cris nodded thoughtfully. “A good name for him. Ah, pardon my manners, I’m normally a hugger when it comes to friends, but I didn’t want to upset your pet. Maybe later?”

  Tess smiled sheepishly. “Ah, don’t worry about it, my family was never much in the way of hugging, besides I wouldn’t want you to have to let go of Rafe’s hand.”

  Cris laughed cheerfully and raised my hand to her lips. She turned my hand over and kissed me slowly in the center of my palm. Then she met Tess’s gaze. “I appreciate that, Tess. Well, where are my manners now? Beast, Maia, if you’re thirsty, there’s a clear creek about twenty yards that way,” she said, indicating the north side of her yard. “Or, I can bring you something from the house. I never did find out what you like, Beast.”

  “The stream will do well. Thank you. Raphael?”

  I stepped back to him with Cris still holding my hand and grabbed my saddlebags from his back. “Yes, you’re free for the day. We’ll be here. Check back in before sunup and don’t wander too far away.”

  “Very well,” Beast said and he turned and walked into the forest.

  Maia swiveled to face Tess and my apprentice nodded and took down her own saddlebags. Maia followed Beast into the woods. Both of them remained in sight for some distance as the undergrowth had been cleared over most of the immediate area and the blooming azaleas were short enough to see over.

  “Well, come inside,” Cris said. “I’ll open a bottle of wine and set out some snacks.”

  “Thank you. We didn’t get a chance to eat, yet,” Tess said.

  “I haven’t had a chance to plan a dinner, but we could always order a pizza. Otherwise, I’ll have to go to the store. Everything large enough for three people would have to be thawed out.”

  “Pizza would be fine,” I said and noticed Tess nodding in agreement.

  “Excellent,” Cris said.

  As we walked toward the screen porch that covered the back of her house, she leaned her head into my shoulder and squeezed my hand. Then her fingers caressed the skin of my palm. I glanced toward Tess and saw she was watching us carefully.

  I realized I might should have thought this out before deciding to bring Tess to Cris. What was my apprentice thinking about Cris? She knew we’d been close, if only for a few days. I’d been straight with her about my relationship with Cris, but that had all been before I’d acquired an apprentice who had spent nearly every night in bed beside me since we’d teamed up. I hadn’t mentioned anything about the sleeping arrangements, but I knew Cris was thinking I’d be in her bed tonight. Wiccans were a little easier than most people about that sort of thing and Cris had implied that she would have been happy to jump into the bed with Cynthia and I when that was still possible. I was even game for a threesome with Tess and Cris, but then I’m a guy and both women were very dear to me. While I was adventurous, I had no idea if Tess was as open-minded. She said that she understood that our relationship was purely physical, at least as far as the sex went, but tonight was going to be awkward, no matter what the sleeping arrangements turned out to be.

  I decided that when it doubt, a gentleman leaves it up to the ladies to decide, and I tried to put sex out of my thoughts. Then Cris’s fingertips caressed my palm again and the thoughts jumped right back into my mind. At least this was taking my mind off my troubles, but I knew that wouldn’t last.

  Cris opened the screen door to her porch. It was a nice porch, about fourteen feet square with a cathedral ceiling that peaked about twelve feet above the floor. The ceiling was a beadboard, tongue in groove pine, which matched what looked like a stained wood floor, but upon closer examination, I decided the floor was some form of tile designed to look like wood. Four chairs and a wide bench were all some kind of artificial material with thick cushions. The seats were arranged beneath a large ceiling fan and formed an arc in front of a brick fireplace that took up a good share of the right hand wall.

  “Nice place you have here,” Tess said as the screen door snapped shut behind her.

  “Thank you,” Cris said. “I got a good deal on it when the interest rates were low so I could afford a lot more than I needed. The property has a couple acres of forest, but the state park borders it on three sides. There are a few trails that people use along the edge of my property, but it hasn’t been an issue. I just hope I can keep the place if I decide on taking a hiatus from work.”

  I tensed a little at her mention of a hiatus. We’d talked about her taking Alex as an apprentice and teaching him the Wiccan form of magic. She’d wanted to take a few months off to get him started and had mentioned a hiatus from her therapy practice. Things had certainly changed.

  Cris opened the right side of the French doors that led into the house. She released my hand and motion for Tess and me to precede her.

  The doors led to a great room that was considerably larger than the porch. It was open to the kitchen and to a dining area on our left. Another brick fireplace graced the right wall. It was bordered by bookshelves that ran from the hardwood floor to another tongue and groove ceiling, at least a dozen feet high. Besides books, the shelves ha
d lots of bric-a-brac, most following the Wiccan style of images and statuettes. A couch and love seat of matching, naturally colored, leather faced the fireplace, and several wing chairs were spaced strategically around the room, some with small tables formed seating arrangements while others seemed to be just filling space.

  From what I could see of the kitchen, Cris liked stainless steel appliances and large range tops that would have been more in place in a commercial kitchen.

  Tess whistled and then said, “Wow, you must be a damn good therapist.”

  Cris laughed lightly. “No, Tess, being a good therapist and making money don’t necessarily go hand in hand. I do okay, but I was able to make a large down payment on this place from my parent’s estate.”

  “Oh, that’s right. Rafe mentioned that you had lived with your cousin growing up. I’m sorry about your parents.”

  “Thanks, Tess. Yeah, they died before I finished grade school. They were both well insured and the tour company was also well insured.”

  “Tour company?” I asked. “I don’t remember you mentioning how they died.”

  “Helicopter tour in Hawaii. It was supposed to be the tenth anniversary of their honeymoon and the helicopter went down in the ocean.”

  “How tragic,” Tess said with obvious emotion in her voice.

  “Yes, but that was nearly twenty years ago. I’m grieved out over it. It’s still sad to think about, but it no longer bothers me to talk about them. Now, what can I get you two to drink? I just popped the cork on some wine, but I have beer, and most of the hard types of liquor.”

  “Wine would be nice,” Tess said.

  “Whatever you’re having,” I added.

  Cris grinned at me. Her eyes lingered and I could almost hear her thoughts. They were not about wine.

  “Chardonnay all right? Or I have a couple of nice viogniers and a couple of pinot grigio.”

  “Chardonnay is fine. I don’t know the other two,” Tess said.

  Cris shook her head. “Now we can’t have that. It’s time to expand your knowledge of the whites. I’ll open one of each and you can compare.”

  Tess glanced at me and I smiled. “Better go with whatever our host insists on. It wouldn’t be polite to refuse.”

  Cris chuckled. “It’s that southern hospitality thing, Tess. We have to go all out when we have company. I’m sorry about the pizza, but I’ll do something special for tomorrow night.”

  Cris walked past me toward a four-foot high, built-in, wine cooler that must have held a hundred bottles. When she opened the tinted glass door, an interior light came on and backlit her. The light passed through her sundress almost as if she wasn’t wearing anything. My pulse quickened as she bent to select different bottles of wine.

  I felt Tess come up beside me and her shoulder nudged mine hard enough for me to have to brace my feet farther apart. Whispering, Tess said, “Get your eyes back in your head, Boss. It’s not polite to stare.”

  I wiped the grin off my face and made the effort to face Tess. She was studying me with what looked to be curiosity.

  Taking her left hand in my right, I sought a meshing and in a few seconds, we were.

  *Are you going to be okay with all this?* I asked over our link.

  *Of course, Rafe. I wouldn’t interfere with you and Cris any more than I would have with Laura.*

  My mood darkened at the mention of Laura.

  Tess released my hand, maintaining the meshing, and brought her palms up to cradle my face. *I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned her. I know that’s still a tender spot for you.*

  *It’s okay, but it does bring back why we are here.*

  *You mean besides your booty call?* Tess transmitted as a sly smile slid across her face.

  “Are you two having a private conversation or can I get in on it?” Cris asked.

  Tess and I turned simultaneously toward her. She stood with a bottle of wine in each hand; her feet shoulder width apart, her head cocked to the side and a lovely smile on her face. She was so beautiful.

  “Ah, Tess just had a question or two,” I said.

  “Oh?”

  Tess chuckled and shoved me with her hip. “Don’t believe him. I was just admonishing him about staring at your butt when you bent over. You’d think the man never got laid.”

  I reddened, can’t help it sometimes, it’s my conservative upbringing.

  I began to admonish Tess over our link, but she dropped out of it before I could even gather my thoughts.

  “Here, let me help you with those,” Tess said.

  She went to Cris and took the two bottles from her.

  Cris pointed toward a nearby drawer. “Corkscrew.”

  “Let me take care of it while you put Rafe in his place,” Tess said.

  The women put the wine bottles on the counter and Tess dug the corkscrew out of the drawer Cris had indicated.

  Cris came toward me, walking slowly and with an exaggerated hip movement. I watched her, appreciating her beauty, until she reached me and wrapped her arms around me. She cupped my cheeks and pulled my pelvis into hers. She did a slow grind against me as she stared up into my eyes. I took the hint and lowered my lips to hers. We kissed, long and with enough passion to get my blood boiling. She finally pulled away and then laid the side of her face against my chest.

  “I’ve missed you, Rafe. I’m glad you came, no matter what the reason.”

  “I’ve missed you too, Cris.”

  “Where are the glasses?” Tess asked.

  Cris gave me a quick peck on the lips and said, “I guess I’d better start acting the host rather than the horny lover.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. We could let Tess help herself while we continue this greeting in your bed,” I offered.

  Cris chuckled. “Now that would definitely violate my southern hospitality upbringing.”

  She started to step away and then glanced down. “Do you want to hide that or is your apprentice more laid back than you are?”

  I reached down to adjust myself so my reaction to Cris wouldn’t be quite so blatant and then replied, “Oh, she definitely seems more casual about such matters than I am.”

  “Good, I wasn’t sure what your relationship was like, but if you aren’t tapping that, I’ve completely misread you.”

  Tess laughed, loud and sharp. “Boy, Cris, you definitely aren’t shy about things.”

  “It’s the Wiccan in me. I was never, ever, shy, but after my Wiccan training…well, let’s just say life’s too short to miss out with coyness.”

  Tess laughed again. “I concur, not that I’ve had any training as a Wiccan. I’ve found Rafe’s training to be more than stimulating.”

  Cris took my hand and pulled me across the room to where Tess was opening the last wine bottle.

  “The stemware is there,” she said indicating a cupboard with a frosted glass door. “I’ll get a few nibblies out. Rafe, if you will pour, start with the chardonnay.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  Cris released my hand and took a step to stop directly in front of Tess. The two women stared at each other for a couple of moments and I thought of Cris’s knack for reading people’s eyes. Was she reading Tess? Then Cris surprised me as she leaned forward and lightly kissed Tess on the lips. It was a brief kiss and Cris stepped back immediately after. Tess watched her without moving.

  “Thanks for being there for Raphael,” Cris said.

  “Ah, it was my pleasure,” Tess said.

  Cris smiled broadly. “Yes, I bet it was at that.”

  She turned and went to the large Frost King refrigerator with wood panels that matched the maple cabinets.

  Tess looked at me, raised one eyebrow, and cocked her head.

  I raised my hands palm upward and shrugged.

  Breaking eye contact, Tess opened the indicated cupboard and took out three wine glasses.

  In a couple of minutes, we were sitting in front of the fireplace. Cris and I were on the small love seat, our hips touching, while
Tess sat in one of the wingback chairs on the opposite side of the coffee table. On the table sat the three bottles of wine, some roasted, red-pepper humus, a container of Kaukauna cheese, and bowls of crackers and pretzels.

  Cris described the first wine while we sipped and munched. Her left hand rested on my thigh and every once in a while her fingers would gently squeeze my leg. I was thinking that if she kept toying with me I was going to have to take her off to bed and southern hospitality could just be damned.

  “I suppose you had best tell me why you need my help,” Cris said after we switched to the viognier.

  “Yes, I suppose we had better get to business before I forget my manners,” I said.

  I took another sip of wine, took a deep breath, and said, “I’m in a bit of trouble.”

  “Well, I guessed that,” Cris said.

  “He does get into it a lot,” Tess added.

  Shaking my head, I said, “I really don’t, well, not any more than any Wanderer. It comes with the territory.”

  “Yeah? How many of them have been eaten by a dragon?” Cris asked.

  I sighed in exasperation. “Okay, you may have me there, but I wasn’t eaten. I was just mouthed a lot.”

  “I don’t believe there’s a significant distinction between the two,” Cris said.

  The tone of her voice was light, but I could see the topic troubled her. I put my hand on her thigh and gently squeezed her muscles through the thin fabric of the sundress.

  “I understand, Cris. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  She frowned. “I thought your fight with Rowle in Huntsville was as bad as it got, but after seeing the news coverage of Colorado Springs. You really do live a dangerous life. I can understand why you didn’t want me riding with you.”

  “He was going to let you ride with him?” Tess interjected.

  Shaking my head, I said firmly, “No, I wasn’t. She asked and I told her it was too dangerous.

  “Back to the topic at hand, I have a serious problem and I’m not sure how to go about correcting it.”

  “Okay,” Cris said. “Tell me the problem and let’s see just how bad it is.”