by C. J. Pinard
She in turn grabbed a fistful of his hair, trying to pull him even closer to her, as if that was even possible. As urgent as their need was, neither seemed to be in a big hurry to finalize the deed.
Their play continued for what seemed like hours, kissing, caressing, doing everything but, when Malina stood up and stripped the small pieces of material off her body, flinging them to the floor. Thomas sucked in a sharp intake of breath at the sight of her perfection, then did the same with his shorts.
With her standing there, he didn’t take his eyes off her as he ripped back the covers of the bed and laid her down on the cool sheets. There he placed himself on her, and as they made love, his mind and body exploded with never-before feelings of ecstasy and unconditional love.
She was thinking the exact same thing.
Neither of them slept much that night… not that either one minded.
∞∞∞
San Francisco – 1951
It was difficult to stay completely still and silent against a floor of crunchy leaves. Tall, thin eucalyptus trees spun up toward the sky, faint teases of sunlight peeking through the dense leaves above. Wispy trails of fog lurked close to the ground. It was almost dusk, and Agent Adam Swift was running out of light.
He pulled his binoculars out from the pocket of his heavy jacket and looked again at the two animals skulking around the Sutro Forest. People don’t come here very often, even as beautiful as it is, for it’s very dark and doesn’t have much to offer except peace and quiet. Agent Swift didn’t care for the place. The air felt heavy and sometimes he could swear he heard whispering in the trees, which gave him the creeps. He always felt uneasy out here. Rumors ran rampant of there being ghosts and spirits of people who had ended their own lives in this forest.
Oh, and then there were the animals.
This was the best place to observe their behavior, so he knew he had to just deal with the atmosphere. This was the fourth night in a row he had come here, following the two shapeshifters. He began to suspect one had special powers beyond shapeshifting and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. He knew his superiors would be especially pleased with him if he could. He hoped it would be worth the two hours he had gone without a cigarette. He was dying to pull one out and light up, but he knew the sensitive noses of the shifters would pick it up and he’d be discovered.
The beautiful gray wolf seemed to be running in circles around the elegant black panther, like an excited dog on a duck hunting trip. The panther seemed to pay him no mind, continuing to slink along the soft leaves, both of them making their way to a small stream.
Once they reached it, they each took a drink from the cold, clean water and then looked at each other. The wolf began to lick the panther’s face, and the panther sat there and did nothing. The Agent was expecting a fight to ensue, but it never materialized.
Putting the binoculars back into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a large camera from his bag and began shooting pictures of the two animals. And just as he expected, the two beasts began to shift into human form; the panther into a beautiful woman with long, black hair. The wolf into a tall man with sandy brown hair. Agent Swift started madly snapping pictures as quick as the camera could; he wanted their shift captured on film in real time.
The BSI lab tech is going to kill me when he sees how many photos he’ll be developing tomorrow, he thought with a smirk.
When the shapeshifters’ transformations were complete, the two began kissing and carrying on wild sexual activities. As soon as Agent Swift determined that they were Sheena and Seth, he left the forest, got into his government-issued vehicle, and went home, a smile on his face and his evidence bag close by his side.
∞∞∞
Jonathan was very excited. Thomas has been on Island Duty for four years and he only got to speak with him about twice a year for the entire time. His Island Duty was up, and Thomas had proved himself very worthy of teaching newer Immortals how to run the jails on the island. The queens were very grateful for Thomas’s instruction and guidance on restraining their inmates in a firm, fair, and consistent manner. The sylphs were planning a little farewell ceremony and going-away party for him.
But Jonathan – he had his own little welcome home party planned for Thomas.
Knowing how Thomas acted around women, Jonathan chuckled at what his face was going to look like when a nearly-nude woman showed up at their door to do a little Marilyn Monroe-inspired dance for him. The problem was, he didn’t know any such women, and he didn’t feel right perusing Polk Street to pick up a cheap working girl. He wanted something a little more… classy.
“Where are you going?” Kathryn asked, a newspaper in front of her as she finished the last of her dinner at the kitchen table.
The two had broken off their relationship shortly after moving to San Francisco from Los Angeles about ten years prior, but now were causal friends and serious business partners.
“Just out, Kat. I need to do something,” Jonathan answered evasively. “It’s Friday night, don’t you have plans? What are you doing over here anyway, something wrong with your apartment?”
“I told you, I had the carpets cleaned and it smells in there. I’ve got it airing out. I’ll be out of your hair by the end of the weekend,” she replied.
He just stared at her and shook his head. “Uh, okay. Well I’ll be out late, don’t wait up. Just lock the door behind me.” He grabbed his keys from the coffee table and left.
Jonathan had on a navy blue three-piece suit and a derby over his blonde waves. He got into his Chevy and drove downtown to a small gentleman’s club called Ruby’s that he was pretty sure was run by the mob, but he didn’t ask questions. As long as they weren’t vamps or shifters, he couldn’t give a crap.
“Sir, may I take your coat?” a young redhead wearing cat ears and a long tail – and not much else – said to him as soon as he walked in. He handed her his coat and hat, when an equally pretty young Asian woman wearing the same costume escorted him to a lone table.
“Scotch, honey,” he told the girl as she seated him. She dipped her head in acknowledgement and smiled at him.
She returned quickly with his drink, and after a few minutes of sipping his poison, he looked around the dark club and saw it was relatively busy, mostly men. A large, older man wearing too much gaudy jewelry, and surrounded by three gorgeous ladies, was sitting on a plush sofa in the balcony of the club. Jonathan figured he had to be the owner, or at least the manager. A man that disgusting could never get women like that unless he was paying for it.
Suddenly, the club became even darker, and on the stage appeared a lone spotlight shining on a tall, gorgeous woman.
“Wow, what a looker,” Jonathan said to no one in particular. His eyes took in her four-inch patent-leather stiletto shoes, which had a pair of creamy white legs poured into them. She wore a short, skin-tight black dress and full, blood-red lips accented her white face. Her black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail.
As sultry music began to play, the woman began a slow, methodical dance. She raised her leg into the air so it was almost perpendicular to her body and Jonathan wondered if she was an acrobat. If not, she had to be double-jointed. She then put her leg down and bent over to yank the ponytail out of her hair, her black locks falling down over her back as she flipped her head back up and smiled.
She began to unbutton her dress slowly. It was driving Jonathan crazy. His eyes were glued to her. She spotted him staring from his lone table in front of the stage and locked eyes with him. She then put one red fingernail-clad finger into her mouth and sucked on it for a minute, pulling it back out slowly, still locking eyes. It was almost his undoing.
This tortuous striptease went on for ten agonizing minutes, until the woman was wearing nothing but black panties and her black stiletto heels. Her shiny onyx hair covered most of her breasts but he, along with the rest of the club, got occasional glimpses as she continued to dance.
When the music came to an end, she c
ollected her clothes slowly and took a bow and exited the stage. Jonathan threw a ten dollar bill on the table and went around to the back of the stage wanting entrance to meet her. He had found the woman for Thomas’s coming home party, and he wanted to… speak to her about it.
Well, that’s what he told himself, anyway.
“Just where do you think you’re going?” a chubby, sweaty man with a receding hairline and bad teeth asked him.
“May I go backstage? I really need to speak with that last dancer.”
The ugly bouncer laughed. “No, sir, you ain’t goin’ back there.”
Jonathan looked around the dark club then back to the bouncer. With a quick chop to the neck, he fell flat on his face, unconscious.
Jonathan stepped over him and made his way back into the dressing area. There he found his black-haired beauty preparing for her next act. She was dressed in a white nurse’s uniform, complete with hat and lots of cleavage.
She looked at Jonathan, confused. “Hi, honey. You know you’re not allowed back here, right?”
He smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
“How did you get past Ricky?” she asked as she turned her face back to the mirror and applied more lipstick.
Ignoring her question, he said, “I’m Jonathan, and I have a proposition for you.”
Cocking her head to the side like an intrigued cat, she looked at his reflection behind her and replied, “I’m Sheena. And I’m all ears.”
CHAPTER 17
∞∞∞
Portland, Oregon – Present Day
Pascal and Bryan piled into Pascal’s Mercedes. Bryan was none too happy to have given up such a secret, but knew it was much too late for regrets. He had snitched and now he’d have to live with the consequences. He knew if he was still human, he’d be sweating right now.
Pascal’s mind was reeling with all the ways he could kill Joshua. It wasn’t going to be pleasant, nor was it going to be private. He was going to make an example out of him that nobody would soon forget. He almost smiled at the thought of the malicious revenge.
He still had to figure out how he was going to deal with Angel.
Once they reached the club, Pascal went inside without a word to any of the staff. He normally greeted them cordially, but they could tell tonight he was in no mood for pleasantries. Bryan trailed behind him like a puppy on an invisible leash.
He spotted Mike, Joshua, Angel, and Smith in the club’s VIP section. Pascal methodically climbed the spiral staircase. The music was thumping loudly and the dance floor was packed with humans and vampires. All the sun-resistant newborns Pascal had created in the last few weeks were scattered throughout. Some were on duty as foot-soldiers, others were off duty, partying, feeding, drinking... whatever they wanted.
“Hi, baby,” Angel said, walking up to Pascal. He completely ignored her. She pouted and went back to her seat on the other side of the balcony, where she was chatting with a female newborn vampire.
Mike nodded at Pascal and indicated for him to sit. “Evening, boss. Everything okay?”
Pascal took a seat, adjusting his slacks so he could sit more comfortably and glared at Joshua. He then looked back at Mike and said, “No, everything most certainly is not okay.”
Joshua gulped, and shot a look at Smith, who shrugged.
Smith looked over at Pascal, who was whispering something to Mike. Mike was looking at Joshua and Smith.
Smith in turn, whispered to Joshua, “I think we need to get the hell out of here. You can cut the tension with a knife around here.”
“Agreed.”
As Joshua and Smith descended the staircase, Mike said, “Where are you two going?”
Joshua shot a glance at both Pascal and Mike and plastered on a fake smile. “Gonna go check with Jack and make sure he has enough booze. He was complaining about being low last night, and I forgot to check before I left.” The lie coming out of his mouth a little too easily.
Mike just nodded.
Smith followed Joshua behind the bar, then through a door built into the back of the bar that led to the stockroom. From the stockroom, they exited the club, walking quickly to the Towncar.
∞∞∞
Kathryn and Jonathan were sitting at the breakfast table, discussing building business. It was a little past ten on a Friday morning, and the sun was streaming in through the large window on the east side of the apartment.
They heard the lock on the door being unlatched. They both stopped talking and eating to look at the front door. Then Kathryn smiled. She heard their thoughts before they were even though the door. Thomas and Malina walked in.
“Well hello, you two. How was your night?” Kathryn asked, grinning.
Malina felt her face flush. “Very well, Kathryn, thank you for asking.”
“Where is Tyler? Malina wanted to say hi,” Thomas said.
“He’s at Providence Hospital, he has a job interview,” Jonathan answered.
“Oh, okay.” Thomas looked at Malina. “Would you like to tell them, or should I?”
“Go ahead, my love.”
“John, Kat, Malina and I are to be married!”
He grabbed Malina’s hand and showed off the ring, which was being held on by a few pieces of tape wrapped around the underside.
Kathryn walked over and studied the ring and gasped. “Oh my… that is the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen!” She hugged Malina.
“Thank you, Kat. I hope you will agree to stand with me at the wedding?”
Tears brimmed in Kathryn’s eyes. “Of course I will!” She hugged Malina again.
Jonathan was in the kitchen, uncorking a bottle of champagne. He set four glasses on the table and filled them. They each grabbed a glass.
“To Thomas and Malina,” Jonathan said. “Congratulations!”
“Here, here!” They all raised their glasses and drank.
“You’ll be my best man, right?” Thomas said to Jonathan.
Jonathan smiled, patting Thomas on the shoulder. “Of course!”
They all finished the champagne, and as Kathryn was washing the delicate glasses, along with the breakfast dishes, she asked, “So what are you two up to today?”
Thomas was holding Malina’s hand and he replied, “Later this afternoon I’m going to take her down to Dom’s Jewels to get this ring sized.”
Kathryn wrinkled her nose. “Are you serious? Why are you even doing business there? It’s practically a pawn shop. Can’t you find a nicer jeweler downtown? Heck, even the mall would be better.”
“Dom owes me lots of favors. He also promised me a twenty-four hour turnaround time to get it sized. He owes me big,” Thomas said.
Jonathan raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m not even gonna ask why he owes you, but if you say so, have fun. I, unfortunately, have client meetings all day, then I have to take some developers here from China out to dinner and the strip club. The things I do for this business.”
Kathryn snorted. “Sure, Jonathan, I can tell those dinners really hurt you.”
∞∞∞
San Francisco – 1951
Sheena and Jonathan were sitting on the small couch in Jonathan’s apartment. There was a fire going in the fireplace and they were each drinking wine.
“Thank you for coming, Sheena,” Jonathan said. “I have a young friend returning from, uh, college, and I’d like to surprise him with a private dance, if you know what I mean.”
She smiled, her hazel eyes boring into Jonathan’s. She licked her lips and then brushed her hair behind her shoulder. “Of course. How much does the job pay?”
“One hundred dollars.”
“Well you have yourself a deal, Jonathan.”
He smiled. “That’s great. My friend, his name is Thomas. He will really like you, I know it.”
“Well, Johnny – can I call you Johnny? What do you think he’ll like about me?” she asked just above a whisper.
Their faces were inches apart. There was something about her that he found irresistible
. He leaned in to kiss her, almost feeling as if he wasn’t in control of his own actions.
Fervently, she kissed him back, and pulling the hat off his head, she flung it behind the sofa. She then began unbuttoning his shirt. He reached behind her and unzipped her dress.
Clothes were flying all over the place and soon he was on top of her on the sofa. He ran his mouth along her neck and she groaned in pleasure. He removed what was left of her clothes and they proceeded to christen every room in the apartment for the rest of the night.
The two were pretty inseparable over the next several weeks. When she wasn’t dancing, she was at his apartment or hanging out with him at work in the building. Jonathan had fallen for her immediately, and she was all he could think of when they were apart.
Sheena was very attracted to Jonathan, but for her, it was simply and purely animalistic. She wanted nothing of a formal relationship with him. She wasn’t sure what she was going to tell Seth, her wolf boyfriend, and decided she wasn’t going to tell him at all.
On Friday night, he took Sheena out for an early dinner. After a couple of glasses of wine at the Fish House, their food arrived. As the waiter walked off, someone caught Jonathan’s eye. It was Agent Swift walking through the front door.
Adam Swift spotted Jonathan immediately and made his way over to his table, where he could see Jonathan was with a woman.
“Hey, Mr. Murphy, how are you?” Adam asked, shaking hands.
He then looked at Jonathan’s companion and turned pale, his smile leaving his face.
“Sheena, this is a friend of mine, Adam Swift. Adam, this is Sheena.” Jonathan was smiling.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Adam said, tipping his hat at her. He turned his attention back to Jonathan. “Can I talk to you for a minute,” he said, glancing at Sheena then back at him. “In private?”