“Next weekend I won’t be singing. Too close to my next transformation. I want to get ready. What’s wrong with this Friday anyway?”
He didn’t answer, but he was obviously disappointed. “Is Lucy going to sing here on Saturday as well?” he said instead.
“No, just on Friday.
“Okay, then,” he said with a smile, his good mood returned, and gave me a hot, long kiss. “I need to talk to Eamon. See you later, baby.”
THE LANGDONS arrived around ten o’clock on Friday morning, and the two of us promptly proceeded to Eamon’s studio, where my cousin and our band were waiting for us.
Lucy and I quickly agreed about the songs we were going to sing. This was going to be girls’ night. We knew what our female audience wanted, and we were going to deliver: girls’songs.
It was only my third night on the stage, and I was still a bit tense, until the music started, and then I just relaxed.
Lucy didn’t have that problem at all. She looked very attractive in her emerald-green shirt that matched the shade of her incredible eyes, and tight, white jeans. Her shiny, charcoal hair was twisted into a loose, fashionable bun, with two curls hanging from each side of her face. She looked very sensual, very womanly. Charlie couldn’t take his eyes off her, which was good because that way he was oblivious of the many other pairs of male eyes glued to his young wife.
She established an instant connection with the audience. They loved her. She kept the whole bar, regardless of gender, excited with her incredible voice—full, sensual, yet clear and perfectly smooth, and in perfect accord with her sexy appeal.
Well, they loved me, too, I could tell, although the way the men were looking at me was quite different, thanks to Jack sitting in the front row, my uncle beside him and my cousin behind me on the stage. I’d just say the audience was more focused on my singing than my general appearance. Just in case.
It started getting hot when first Lucy and then I sang two songs in Spanish, from Almodovar’s famous 1991 melodrama High Heels. Lucy chose Piensa en mi—Think about Me—a slow, sensual ballad for voice, guitar and drums, beautiful in its simplicity and depth.
And then it was my turn with Un Ano de Amor—The Year of Love—in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful movie songs ever written. A dark, sexy, heartbreaking, divine song that burst with emotions so thick, I always sang it with tears trapped in my throat.
When I finished, there was first a long silence, and then the crowd packed inside Goblin’s Hollow raised the roof.
And that was only the beginning. When the two of us stood side by side, our backs leaning against each other, and Bernard ran his fingers across the piano keyboard playing the first bars of Dancing Queen, it crossed my mind that this would be the end of this ancient building. Lucy and I sounded fantastic. We were all sailing at full speed on the tide of the incredible atmosphere at the pub, creating lifelong memories for every single person that happened to be there tonight.
To their credit, the band sounded like a philharmonic orchestra, and I was sure that, at that precise moment, none of the guys would complain about playing ABBA.
Tired and happy, we finished our show around four thirty in the morning. Lucy and Charlie accepted James and Betty’s invitation to stay overnight. They left for their ranch on Saturday afternoon. I’d asked Lucy to come to sing again at Goblin’s Hollow, and she happily agreed.
I DIDN’T want to ask Jack anything, but I was curious and impatient. I suspected he’d take me to some romantic place after I finished at Goblin’s Hollow and ask me to marry him.
Twenty-Five
JACK PROPOSED the following day, on the stage of Goblins Hollow, in front hundreds of his fellow townspeople packed tightly into the pub.
The whole day Saturday, Betty and James were busy in the kitchen. Maggie had unexpectedly arrived home earlier that same day. Takeshi kept Astrid at least two hours longer than usual, and then Morgaine took her for a long walk. Eamon and Jack were nowhere to be seen.
Astrid pretended she didn’t notice their little conspiracy.
The evening started as usual, with the pub filled up to the last seat. Many of the guests were still dazzled by the previous night of pure positive energy that had flowed inside the walls of Goblin’s Hollow.
Astrid and the band opted for rock’n’roll this time, and soon the atmosphere was crazy.
Around midnight Eamon announced a fifteen-minute break, which was something new. When he saw Astrid’s raised eyebrow, he just winked, murmuring, “Have a drink, Astrid. Jack asked to sing a song or two tonight.”
Knowing something beautiful was about to happen, Astrid watched Jack take the microphone from the stand, gazing at Astrid, and said, “This song is for you, baby.”
A guitar and drum introduction, and then a deep, sensual baritone.
Astrid’s heart raced. Santana’s Smooth, one of Jack’s favorite songs, and part of her recent hot dream. He hadn’t forgotten!
When he finished, he blew her a kiss and said, “Astrid, come up on stage, please.”
Aware of everybody’s eyes on her, Astrid took his outstretched hand and jumped on the stage.
Jack’s mouth closed over hers in a hot, deep kiss that left them both breathless. A tiny part of Astrid’s mind was aware of the cheery, delighted crowd, their family and friends at the nearest table and the band behind. Yet, she could only think about Jack and his lips and his arms around her.
“Oh, boy,” he murmured when he finally released her. “Are you going to sing with me?”
“I am… What are we going to sing?”
He turned to Eamon and nodded. Leonard Cohen’s Dance Me to the End of Love was the next on Jack’s list.
Astrid did the back-up singing.
The night continued with more Leonard Cohen, more Santana, more boys’ love songs. Sometimes Jack sang alone, sometimes Astrid joined him.
Around two a.m. Jack made an announcement. “This is going to be the last song tonight.”
Astrid knew what the last song was going to be.
I’m Your Man, their song.
Astrid’s eyes welled with tears and her heart wanted to jump out of her chest.
Jack’s soft voice embraced her completely, from inside, from outside, filling her with emotions stronger and more powerful than anything she’d felt before. It was a new dimension of love, a love she didn’t even know was possible, a pure, absolute light and harmony.
Everything else disappeared: the pub, the people inside, the band. It seemed that the music and Jack’s voice were coming from somewhere above, from a different reality. They were just the two of them there, in the time and place that belonged only to them.
“I told you once that, by the time I finished singing you this song, everything would be fine. Do you remember?” Jack whispered in her ear during the instrumental part of the song.
“It didn’t take me that long.”
“I know. Took me even less. Now when I think about it, I know I was in love with you the moment your fingers touched my skin. Before I even saw you.”
“I love you, Jack.”
“I love you, too. More than life itself.” He kissed her soft lips, gently, and moved his lips back to her ear. “Will you marry me, Astrid Mohegan?”
He gently took her left hand in his and slipped the ring on her fourth finger. Before she could say a word, Jack continued with the song.
THE MUSIC stopped. Suddenly, Astrid became aware of the total silence. Jack stood in front her, looking into her sapphire-blue eyes and holding her left hand, waiting.
“I will marry you, Jack Canagan.”
Jack’s lips met Astrid’s in a long kiss that made her head spin.
And then, slowly, the carousel in her head came to a stop.
“She said ‘yes’!” Jack announced aloud, without moving his gaze from Astrid.
For a moment, it seemed that some sort of explosion had just occurred inside Goblin’s Hollow. The cheering, applauding and whistling was so lo
ud that the windows rattled and walls vibrated.
When the lights finally turned on again, the magic of the night didn’t disappear. Astrid looked down at her hand for the first time since Jack slid the ring on her finger. In the middle of a wide platinum band, on a raised crown, sat a big rectangular pink diamond.
“Do you like it?”
Astrid nodded, unable to utter a word, tears spilling down her cheeks. Jack brushed them away with his kisses.
“It’s beautiful, Jack. It’s beautiful beyond description,” Astrid said in a shaky voice, and sniffed. “You really surprised me. I would’ve never expected a proposal on the stage in a local pub. And a pink diamond! And I just couldn’t imagine anything more romantic. Pink diamonds are so rare and so expensive… No other ring would make me happier. It’s perfect, Jack!”
They were still on stage, completely absorbed with each other. Holding her hands in his, Jack rested his forehead against Astrid’s. The noise gradually subsided, as Goblin’s Hollow’s guests started leaving the pub.
“Our house is ready. You’ll move in with me, right?”
“Of course. About the wedding, Jack—”
”Don’t worry. I understand.”
“When we finish with Seth.”
“I know, baby. I love you. You are my wife. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that.”
EXCEPT FOR Rawhide, busy packing up their instruments, they were alone in the pub.
“Shall we?” Jack asked.
Their family and closest friends waited outside for them.
James kissed Astrid’s forehead. “Congratulations, my child. Your father would be very happy for you tonight. You’ve chosen a great man for a husband.” He turned to Jack. “Congratulations to you, too, son!”
“Thank you,” Astrid and Jack said at the same time.
“Now you are going to be my daughter-in-law, not only my niece,” Betty said and kissed both her son and Astrid. “Let’s go home now. Your uncle and I made a dinner to celebrate your engagement.”
“Congratulations,” Peyton said simply to Astrid and Jack, without a trace of sadness or bitterness, and then turned excitedly to her friend. “Now let me see your ring!”
THE LATE night celebration turned into an early breakfast, and after that everybody resumed their own duties. It was Jack’s turn to train his men. Peyton and Morgaine went for a walk. Betty disappeared into her office. Maggie and Eamon listened to music in the basement. Takeshi waited for Astrid with two bows in his hands, and they walked together toward the woods.
Glancing happily every once in a while at the ring on her left hand, Astrid concentrated on her kyudo practice, sending one arrow after another right to the center of the target, no matter where Takeshi had moved it.
Twenty-Six
Astrid
I LOVED my new house!
The main floor was now one expansive open-plan space, filled with cozy sofas, armchairs and an antique dining room set. It extended into a roomy kitchen with a more intimate dining area. The furniture was a combination of old and new. Jack’s father’s hobby had been furniture making and he had made the dining room set when he’d married Betty. It was beautiful, elegant, high gloss furniture made of dark cherry wood. Two armchairs and an octagonal coffee table were also his work. The rest of the furniture was new, carefully chosen to complement the antique pieces.
The Russian and Greek saints had their permanent place above the fireplace. There was plenty of light in this big room. Decorated in warm colors—soft yellow, cinnamon, sage, terracotta and beige—it felt homey and inviting.
The master suite, a spacious room with a caramel-color ceiling and dark wood beams, had soothing creamy-white walls, russet flooring and mahogany furniture with bursts of sunny yellow and apple green. The rugged woods perfectly balanced the feminine touches: my elegant pink vases and blankets, Japanese ink paintings above the headboard, soft lighting, and an oval standing mirror in a delicate rosewood frame. There was a built-in closet, two attached bathrooms—a smaller one for Jack, a big one for me, with a huge, beige vintage claw foot bathtub—a custom-made bed, a sofa and a table for two. Two armchairs beside the fireplace with a thick, soft carpet and double curtains made our bedroom an intimate and cozy place. I had let Jack decide how our bedroom would look. He admitted Betty had helped him, especially with the decorative accents.
I was glad Jack had been sensitive enough not to ask Peyton, the family’s uncrowned queen of interior decoration, for help. She might have done it gladly, but then she might have told him to go to hell as well.
The other bedrooms were partially finished. Some of them needed more furniture, some of them curtains or rugs. The second biggest room, connected to the master bedroom by a door, was completely empty. One day, it would be a nursery.
Jack and I planned to move in the next week, precisely on Monday, one day before the next full moon.
UNTIL THEN we continued sharing my room at the Mohegans’ house. Lying down on the bed and talking simply didn’t work anymore, however. Not after the night Jack had proposed.
I’d glued myself to Jack. I couldn’t rationally explain the urge to be constantly close to him, as if I was afraid he would vanish at the most critical moment, and I would have to go through yet another change alone.
No matter how hard I tried to convince myself that everything was going to be fine this time, I couldn’t shed the nagging feeling that something unpredictable would happen if I let Jack out of my sight for even a moment.
My neediness must’ve been annoying, but Jack understood.
The sexual tension between us was stronger than ever. We dealt with it by staying outside, walking and talking.
Then one night, Jack said, “Astrid, I’m gonna turn every night until we move to our house. We’ll still be together, we can talk. I’ll be here all the time, but being in my wolf form would take the edge of this pressure off.”
I agreed. It helped indeed. So every night, as soon as we retired to our room, Jack would take his wolf form. He would jump on the bed and I would put my head on his long, strong back, breathing in his incredible scent and running my fingers through his thick fur. We were both much calmer and relaxed, although I couldn’t help wishing I could change, too, and run with Jack through the forest. And maybe do what wolf mates do when they were alone in the deep, deep woods.
ONE EVENING, Jack said to me telepathically, “Astrid, stop it. We rarely do that in wolf form.”
“You repeatedly assured me you couldn’t read somebody else’s thoughts,” I said, laughing.
“But I can read expressions, and my nose works just fine. I know exactly what’s going on in that lovely head of yours.”
“I become more and more sexually agitated as the change approaches, you know that.”
“How did you deal with that before you met me?”
“I’m like this only with you,” I said. “Before I met you, I hadn’t felt it as a sexual pressure. Come on, you know that.” I rolled on my belly, took his head between my hands, and looked into his beautiful amber eyes. “Jack, we still don’t know what’s going to happen on Tuesday, right? We don’t know for sure if my spirits will connect.”
“Are you scared?”
“I’m just nervous.”
Jack pushed his muzzle under my chin and lifted my head. “Astrid, look at me… Love, I’ll be there. We’ll go through this together. No big deal. We’ll make love during the full moon. A few times, until your wolf joins your human spirit.”
“Wait a second!” I said alarmed and pulled myself into a sitting position. “What do you mean ‘a few times’? Isn’t one time enough, and after that we can make love just like other normal people? What are you trying to tell me? Jack?”
He sighed. “I don’t know, baby, how many times will be necessary. The pressure will continue to build and I have to help you to release it. You’ve been accumulating it for years—”
“I have not! There is a healthy and natural way to deal with ‘ac
cumulated sexual energy’ when you’re single, if you know what I mean,” I said. I knew my cheeks turned red, but what the heck!
“I have no idea what you mean, so I’d be thrilled if you demonstrate it to me one day,” Jack said with a chuckle. “Astrid, if I’m okay with, er, prolonged lovemaking, why are you worried? We’ll be making love, that’s it. A few times, but that’s fine with me. It’ll be fine with you too, because that’s what your body needs. We would’ve done that anyway; I doubt I would’ve easily let you out of my bed once I finally got you there. Not after just one lovemaking, for sure.”
“But I’m gonna turn into a crazy sex machine.”
“Honestly, baby, I’m looking forward to it. That’s a unique experience. It’s not going to happen again. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
I still couldn’t let it go. “What about you? Isn’t it too much for you? How are you going to do that?”
His soft laugh resonated in my head. ”Don’t worry about me. I have a plan.”
“Jack, is there anything else I need to know?”
“You think this isn’t enough?”
“You’re right. I don’t think I want to know anything else. I’m going to sleep. If you aren’t concerned, why should I be? You have to provide twenty-four hour sexual service, the best possible. I’ll be on the receiving end.”
Jack laughed. “Yeah, dream on. My success totally depends on your engagement, Miss Spock, so you better do your best.”
“Good night, Jack!”
“I love you, Astrid. Sweet dreams,” he said and, still laughing, placed his big, beautiful head on my stomach. His paws rested peacefully on my shoulder.
Blueberry, who’d been wary of Jack when she’d seen him for the first time in his wolf form, now slid between us and pressed her small back against Jack’s leg.
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