Juanty's Hope

by T C Underwood

  “You.”

  “Huh?”

  “You are my first favorite, baby. Focus.” She had forgotten her question but was so glad he had not. He spread her legs and touched his thumb to her pearl. She sucked in a deep breath.

  “Johnathon.” Her voice was but a whisper. “What about the baby?” He stopped and watched her with hooded eyes, both lust and love oozing from her pores. He took Olivia from her arms, placed her in the nearby playpen, and resumed his position.

  “OK, now that you have finished feeding our daughter, it’s my turn.” He did not wait for an answer, but grabbed her around her thighs and pulled her bottom to the edge of the sofa. His mouth was on her within seconds.

  “Oh, God!” She tried not to squirm, but she was not ready for his onslaught. His tongue was moving at a ferocious pace, and he did not seem as though he would be slowing down any time soon. He licked and slurped, and she wondered if he would be able to keep up with the buckets of juice she poured onto his tongue, but damnit if he couldn’t. He didn’t miss a drop. He must have eaten all his food and licked his plate clean as a kid.

  He looked up at her with a devilish smirk. “Yes, I did. My mama taught me to clean my plate.”

  She looked at him in shock. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

  He swirled his tongue inside her love box and then laughed. “Weren’t you the one who told me we were fated to be together? I guess you were right, because I can read you like a book, baby, and right now, you are telling me you are about to come.”

  No sooner than he could get out the words, he was back at it, taking her to places she never thought she could travel. She had climbed many trees, but never had she felt as high as she felt now. He caught her plump bottom in his hands and pulled her closer as he devoured her essence. She exploded in his mouth, and he was right there to catch her. He watched as her mouth fell open and her body shook uncontrollably. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life, and he knew he had to have her. All of her. He loved her more than anything. Not only because she had saved his life, but also for how she cared for his daughter. He watched from the stairs as she gently cared for her, and knew he could never walk away, no matter how his life had changed.

  When she had come down from her orgasm, he stood and asked another question. “Juanty, how long does it take to hunt?” She was still disoriented and wasn’t sure where she was. He had to read her thoughts because she was speechless.

  “About another hour. Great.” He removed his pants and sat down on the couch next to her. He grabbed her by the waist, hoisted her over him with ease, and slid her down on his massive girth. Juanty was still speechless, except for the deep groan she made when she felt him slide inside of her. She felt sweat form just above her lip. She swore he had grown about two inches since the last time they were together, but she was no quitter. She lifted her hips and eased back down until she was comfortable enough to bounce. She found her rhythm, and now it was his turn to lay back and enjoy what his beautiful black panther had to offer. She looked down into his eyes, and hers were showing a brilliant gold. He wondered if his held the same golden hue.

  “They are indigo. The darkest blue I have ever seen.”

  He laughed heartily until she picked up the pace, working him and tweaking like she was on call at the strip club. He was sweating and fighting his own orgasm, but damn, she was good. He thought now that he was a superhuman being, surely he would be able to handle whatever she threw his way, but here he was, panting and clawing at the sofa cushions. He opened his eyes and saw white stuff all over the place. That was when he realized his nails were much longer than usual. He was shredding the sofa to pieces. White foam was everywhere.

  He should be panicking by now, but she was riding him so hard, he couldn’t do anything but enjoy the ride. He heard himself, but could not believe what he was hearing. There was a deep purring sound coming from his chest. “Fuck!” His semen shot out in hot, thick spurts, filling her up, and his vision blurred. He could hear Juanty garbling something unintelligible. He looked down at his hands, and although his nails were now his normal length, he could see blood where his claws were extended moments before. This thing was real. He really was part animal.

  They both breathed heavy, and neither knew what to say.

  “I will show you how to control your urge to shift if you want me to. You will be ready to fully shift soon.” She whispered, as though she was afraid he would be disappointed in what she was saying. He should have been petrified, but for whatever the reason, he felt confident and feral. He knew with her by his side, he could handle anything.

  “I expect you to be with me every step of the way.”

  “Does this mean you forgive me?” Juanty looked down at this amazing man with the indigo blue eyes and eagerly awaited his response.

  “Juanty, when you came into my life, for the first time in a very long time, I felt alive. You made me feel things I never knew I could feel again. You rushed into my heart like a tsunami. There is so much I want to explore with you. I have so many questions, and I cannot wait to answer them with you.”

  He found her lips and kissed her passionately.

  “I have a damn question,” Pearl interrupted. “Who the hell is going to fix this couch?” She looked around and shook her head. Johnathon grabbed a nearby blanket and covered the two of them.

  “Oh, so now you wanna act all shy. Look at this place. You guys are supposed to be cats, and you in here sexing like rabbits, tearing up the place.”

  “Pearl, get out!” the couple yelled in sync.

  “Fine, but don’t expect us to clean all this shit up. Juanty was the damn slave. She’s used to cleaning. Get her ass to clean it up.” Her voice faded as she marched up the stairs. Zaire and Ayanna tiptoed behind her as though they were trying to go by unnoticed.

  Johnathon let his head fall back onto the sofa.

  Juanty snuggled up under the blanket with him and read his mind. “I agree. We need our own place.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Juanty stood in front of her man, her back leaned firmly against his chest, his strong arms locked around her waist. Her smile was evident as she looked across her insanely beautiful back yard that spread for miles. She and Johnathon looked toward their waterfall. So much had happened there. To her, the waterfall represented the end of a long, painful chapter in her life, but also the beginning of a new one. This was the place where she spent precious time with her daughter, Hope. Although she knew she would probably never see her again, she could feel her spirit every time she held Olivia in her arms and looked into her gorgeous eyes.

  They built their home just about a half of a mile from the base of the fall. The huge, four-sided brick layout with seven bedrooms and seven baths was large enough to house both her family and his when they came to visit. She missed living with her sisters, but she saw them daily at Corset, and they still enjoyed hunting together whenever she felt the need to run wild with the girls. Mostly, she spent her free time over the last six months with her lover, teaching him how to maneuver his animal. He was a beautiful and abnormally large Jaguar. His prowess and strength were evident shortly after his first full shift. It seemed as if he accepted and was even made for his new life.

  Her sisters accepted him into the family, and she loved them for that. He was the first male to come into their clan, and at first, it had been difficult, but he was good to Juanty and made her happy, so once he was able to adjust to his new surroundings, they all pretty much became one big happy family.

  “Hey! Are you two vampires or something? Cuss y’allare sucking my entire life dry right now, with all this googly-eye, lovey-dovey crap. Let’s get this party started already. John, go get your friend over there in the DJ booth and fire his fine ass. Put me in there. I will show him how to do it.” Pearl crip walked her way over to the bar to help herself to another cocktail. She was already juiced up on tequila, so she was in rare form.

  It was Johnathon and Juanty�
��s house warming and engagement celebration, and Pearl was excited that her sister and best friend had finally found what she needed to be complete. Johnathon rubbed his hand through his waves and let out a sexy chuckle before kissing Jaunty on the forehead, and walking over to his friend, Bryant, who was setting up the final touches on the sound system.

  “Aye. Tell ya girl to chill, cus when I start mixing these beats, she gon’be all on a brother dick, trying to get some,” Bryant said.

  “Boy stop. Then you can wake up and see me shoot you this bird right fast. Now get the music started.” Pearl flashed a middle finger as she sipped on her drink.

  “How the hell can she hear me from way over there? Nosey-ass girl. Man, Jay’s friend is way too fine to have a nasty-as attitude like that. Somebody ought to do something to tame that ass, and I’m just that dude. He popped the collar on his navy blue pea coat before reaching for his USB cord.

  “And why y’all wanna be outside in January. It’s cold as hell out here.”

  Johnathon shook his head at his friend. “Man, it’s a beautiful day out here, and besides, we wanted to show off our gorgeous back yard.” The truth of the matter was, shape shifters did not get cold. Bryant did not know about his best friend’s secret, although Johnathon did not think his brother from another mother would judge him. Hell, he would probably be jealous.

  Johnathon had to admit, once he got over the initial pain of shifting and was able to control his urges to shift in public, he was pretty content with his new life. He had put on muscle and had the strength of at least eight men. Not to mention, his sex game was mad crazy. Not that it lacked before, but now he was able to satisfy his woman in ways he could not have imagined before. He couldn’t get enough, and she was always there to feed his appetite. Speaking of which, he glanced over at his beautiful bride-to-be, and his manhood grew the second his eyes connected with hers. He wished he had worn a longer jacket to save himself the embarrassment of sharing how he felt about her with the entire back yard crew.

  He walked over and whispered in her ear, “Baby, look down.” She obliged and gave him a coy smile.

  “Ugh! Stop being nasty. You’re going to hurt yourself with that thing if you don’t get it under control.” Johnathon grabbed her hand and pulled her just inside the French doors that led from the deck into the beautifully decorated kitchen. The moment they entered, he pushed her back against the nearest wall and covered her mouth with his. He was hungry for her and needed to assuage his addiction.

  Melody coughed. “Are you two going to get it on right here in front of your mother and baby daughter? We can both go upstairs for a nap if you two would like to get down.” The sarcasm in her voice was priceless.

  “Hey, mom,” Johnathon said sheepishly. Melody was active in her son’s life. She visited them often, and babysat on the regular, but today, she pretty much kept to herself in the house. She knew Zaire would show up at the party. She was prepared to see her today, but that didn’t make the moment any easier, and she was nervous about facing the inevitable. So, she had been tucked away inside with Olivia, as it was a bit too nippy for her to be outside.

  Juanty walked over and picked up the chubby-cheeked child, who was reaching for her, and walked to the counter that housed the cookie jar. She popped off the top with one hand, reached for an animal cracker, and handed it to Olivia. She stuffed the tasty treat into her mouth, and Juanty pulled out two more before sealing the container. She stood Olivia on the floor to let her practice her newly found walking skills.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Melody. We were just stealing a moment before everyone arrived.”

  A voice from behind made all three of them turn. “Speaking of arrived. Your favorite sister is in the house.” Juanty squealed with excitement and rushed over to her sister, giving her a huge hug. Olivia waddled over to her Aunt Zaire and reached to be picked up. Zaire obliged and loaded her up with kisses in the process. Melody’s heart kicked into overdrive, and her hands began to shake.

  “Amare.”

  Zaire froze for several seconds before she was able to finally move. No one knew her given name. She thought she had buried it a long time ago, along with her past life. She stepped to the side of Juanty and couldn’t believe her eyes. Her twin sister was staring her in the face. She never knew what happened to her once she left her home and her life way back when.

  “Why are you here, Dalia?” Ziare’s voice was cold, and Juanty knew things were not okay between the two of them.

  “I wanted to see my sister. I miss you. You cannot hate me forever,” Melody pleaded.

  “Watch me,” Zaire said through gritted teeth. She handed Olivia off to Johnathon and stormed out of the house, through the French doors, and into the back yard. Juanty ran after her sister. Johnathon looked at his mother.

  “Mom, what the hell was that? Things are just settling down around here, and I am finally happy, and now you are telling me I may be related to my woman? I am telling you right now, I am not giving up my mate! Why didn’t you tell me Zaire was your sister before now?” He was seething.

  “Johnathon, watch your tone and calm down.” Johnathon threw his arms up in frustration and walked over to the cabinet that held the Hennessey.

  “Sweetheart, you and Juanty are not related. Although you carry my blood, I am not your birth mother, so you are in the clear.” Johnathon poured a shot of the potent liquid and slung it back in one gulp, slamming it down onto the marble countertop.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this? This could mess up everything between me and Juanty, and why is Zaire so angry with you? What did you do?”

  “In time, my son. I will tell you everything. But for now, I need to figure out a way to get back in my sister’s good graces. We are twins, and without her, I am not complete, and neither is she. We have to fix this before it’s too late.”

  Johnathon didn’t even want to know what she meant by that at the moment and decided to drop the subject before things got worse. His priority was to find his lover and make sure she was okay. He gave his mother a hug.

  “Mom, I am sorry you are going through this. I am sure everything will work out for the best once we all sit down and talk.” She reached for Olivia and held her close. Johnathon kissed his mother’s cheek and walked out the door.

  “I hope you are right, son. I hope you are right.”

  ***

  Zaire ran into the backyard and scanned the crowd for her sisters. They were standing near the DJ area, staring at her, and motioning for her to come over. She bit her bottom lip and crossed her arms. She wasn’t particularly in the mood for their questions as to why she had rushed out of the house, looking like someone had broken the head off of her favorite Barbie doll. Why was she so angry anyway? She hadn’t seen her sister in centuries and didn’t even know whether she was alive or dead until now.

  Iluma shifters aged very slowly and could live hundreds, even thousands of years, but life back home was treacherous, and immortality was not promised to a female Iluma. Shouldn’t she be happy to see her long lost sister? Hell no, she thought. After what Dalia had done to her, she had every right to hold a grudge, and even storm out like a toddler. She saw her two sisters headed in her direction, so she turned to walk in the opposite direction and bumped into Juanty, who she didn’t even realize had snuck up on her.

  “Zaire, what is wrong with you? Aren’t you even willing to talk to her?” Ziare’s defiant stance was solid as she stared into Juanty’s eyes.

  “How long have you known she was here?”

  Juanty took a step closer and reached for her sister’s hand, but she snatched away.

  “How long have you known?” Her breath was shallow, and her fists balled up at her sides.

  “Known what? And what’s got your panties all in a bunch?” Pearl popped a tiny triangle-shaped ham sandwich in to her mouth and gave Zaire a curious look.

  The pain that assaulted Zaire was apparent. “I can’t believe you kept this from me. You’re supposed to be my
sister, but you put her over me.” Defeated, she looked past her sisters and found her escape route. She was not concerned about the crowd that was beginning to assemble. All she wanted to do was get away. She took off running towards the thick evergreen landscape. Her sisters called out to her, but she refused to look back.

  Ayanna gave Juanty a dubious look. “Juanty, what did you do?”

  Johnathon rushed to her side. “Baby, are you OK?”

  Juanty’s stomach sank. “I feel just terrible. I kept something from her, and now she hates me. I would never intentionally hurt her.” She covered her face to hide the tears that were beginning to fall.

  Johnathon pulled her into his arms and gently squeezed, rubbing her back in the process.

  As if on cue, Melody joined the group with Olivia in her arms. “Hello. I am sure you guys are wondering what this is all about. Please let me explain. I am Johnathon’s mother.” She raised her chin, pretending to be brave before continuing. “Zaire is my sister.”

  “Holy shit, Jay. This is the secret you kept? You are in big trouble.” Pearl covered her mouth in shock. “You and that first cousin you’re about to marry better not try to have any cubs. They might come out with five legs and three eyes.”

  Ayanna punched Pearl in the arm. Pearl shrugged. “What?”

  “He is not my son by blood. I adopted him when he was a young boy.”

  “Whew. That’s good to know because I was not about to be babysitting them funny-looking babies of yours.” Ayanna punched Pearl again. “OUCH! What did I do now?” Pearl rubbed her arm and walked away.

  “I’m Ayanna. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Melody, and I am sure things will work out once Zaire calms down.”