Jude Stephens (10 page)

“
Let go of my arm.” I said
quietly. Cheve let go. He even took a step back.

“
We need to continue your
lessons.” he said.

I replied with new found strength,
“Yes, we do, but I will call for you when I’m ready. I’m going to
take a walk.” I called for Bullet who came trotting over to me,
turned and left Cheve standing there.

It was rather nice being on my own for a little bit.
It gave me a chance to think. I thought about my life as it was
before and what it was now. Part of me was still clinging to
reality as it used to be. I think I held on to some hope that
things really hadn’t changed much, but now I knew reality is what I
make of it.

I had to decide how my future was going to
proceed.

The first thing was not to let any man to hurt me
again. First Brian and then Roberto; I didn’t entirely blame them
either. I blame myself for being so damn naïve, especially with
Roberto. I let him run the show with our relationship because that
was the easy thing to do. I never pushed him on anything.

The most important thing in my future though was
something that my newly acquired instincts knew to be the absolute
truth. I have to find a way to peace. It’s all about peace. That is
what I must work towards. I felt it with every fiber in my being.
But I also know that the road to peace isn’t going to be an easy
one.

The Guardians have been around a long, long time. No
one knows exactly what their network encompasses. It could be as
intricate as a finely run government. I am the best chance anyone
has of digging deep enough to find out the truth. I’m also the best
chance The Evolved has of bringing them down in order to live
without the fear for the first time in hundreds of years.

With a sigh of resignation, I knew my defining
moment was before me.

“
Well Bullet. It looks like we’ve
got our work cut out for us.”

In answer he came over and nuzzled my hand. As we
made our way back to the village, I felt for the first time in my
entire life that I was in control. I felt strong and very
determined.

When I got back, I saw Mark talking with a group of
men. He seemed strangely happy being here in the village.

“
Hi Mark, can you please find
Cheve and tell him I will be ready for my training in fifteen
minutes, and he should come to my cabin please?”

Mark’s eyebrows rose over my request, but he just
nodded his agreement and turned back to the group of men he was
talking to.

Exactly fifteen minutes later there was a light
rapping on my door. I opened it to let Cheve in. He was looking
really good in faded jeans and a tight black t-shirt. Some of my
new found confidence slipped a little.

“
Thank you for being so prompt.” I
said as he entered and I shut the door. Things felt extremely
awkward. I wasn’t sure how to proceed.

“
Ummmm…I’m not sure…” I
began.

Cheve responded by turning towards me and taking a
few steps until I found myself backed up against a wall. He put his
hands on either side of the wall and stared hard at my mouth. My
mouth went dry and my heart started beating fast. He lowered his
mouth to mine and softly pressed his lips to mine. Instinctively,
my lips parted and his silken tongue slipped in.

Electrical currents began racing through my veins
until I found my own tongue dueling with his even as my hands found
his tight ass. Never lessening the kiss Cheve murmured against my
mouth, “Fight it Orenda. Push the lust down.”

I tried, but couldn’t find the will to do it.
Cheve’s mouth moved from mine and began to trail kisses on my face
heading for my ear. His hands which were on the wall were now
lightly brushing my collar bone and heading towards my breasts. The
feather light touch was causing ripples of heat to spread to the
juncture between my thighs.

“
Orenda…try to picture something
that displeases you.” Cheve said, as his hands cupped my breasts
and his thumbs rubbed back and forth over my nipples.

I tried to think of something unpleasant, but I
couldn’t register anything but the pleasure. I groaned and let my
hands run up Cheve’s back. I grabbed him by the hair and brought
his mouth to mine. I kissed him hot and hard. I found myself
pushing him towards the bed. He fell backwards onto the bed and I
straddled him. All I could think about was having him inside me and
having him pump into me until the painful need inside me went
away.

“
Is this how the vampire liked it?
Did the vampire like for you to be on top? Did he like for you to
take control? He probably liked it like that because it was so
different from his sweet submissive wife.”

CRACK! I slapped him so hard that his head snapped
to the side and his lip started bleeding.

“
You fucking asshole. How could
you say that to me? It was just days ago that I thought I would
marry that vampire.”

I was furious. Anger churned inside of me. Cheve
propped himself up on his elbows and smiled when he said, “I think
we just found your inspiration.”

I froze. “That was part of my training?”

“
Yeah,” he said as he wiped the
blood from his mouth. “Pretty effective too, I’d say.”

I sank down on the bed. “I am so lousy at this. I
should be able to control my desire without you having to resort to
making me angry. I don’t understand how you do it? How can you…you
know…kiss me and touch me and not have it affect you at all?”

A realization dawned on me. “Ohhhh….I see. I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to pry like that. I’m cool with that.”

Cheve looked at me strangely. “Cool with what?”

“
You know, I’ve always been a
supporter. What you do in your private life doesn’t bother
me.”

Cheve stood and looked at me as if I were crazy.
“What the hell are you talking about?”

“
You being gay. I’m cool with
that. I don’t care if you prefer men,” I said shaking my head at
him as if he were a small boy.

“
WHAT? What makes you think I’m
gay?” he yelled at me.

Still speaking to him as if he were a small boy, I
said, “Well…you didn’t get the least bit excited when you touched
my breast, and now that I think about it, you kind of have that
male model look about you. You know metro sexual and all.”

“
What the hell are you talking
about? Metrosexual? I don’t know what that means, but let me assure
you I DO like women and have made love to a lot of them over my
adult years.”

I laughed. “It’s okay. Everyone experiments.
Well…not that I have, but when I was in college I had a roommate
that tried to talk me into a little girl on girl and for a split
second I pictured it in my mind, but then I declined. Anyhow, being
gay is nothing to be ashamed of. Is that why you do this type of
work? I bet that makes it a lot easier. Do you sometimes think
about men when you’re training someone? It must take a lot of
discipline to not think of a hot guy while you’re kissing
somebody…”

“
Orenda, will you shut up? I am
not gay, have never been gay and I have certainly never thought
about a man while kissing a woman!”

I couldn’t help but give him a skeptical look which
is probably why he said, “Oh hell.”

Then he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms and
slanted his mouth across mine. At first I was too shocked to
respond, but when his tongue pushed into my mouth I once again was
caught up in a strong storm of desire. He pushed me down on the
bed, and before I even realized it he had undone the buttons of my
blouse and lifted up my bra. His mouth moved from mine, and I
nearly jumped out of my skin when his hot mouth closed over my
right nipple.

He suckled hard and I felt an ache building deep
inside me. As his mouth sucked on my breast he began thrusting his
hips. My legs opened to allow him to come in contact with my core.
He continued to thrust against me and now when he did I could feel
the long…the very long, hard length of his erection pushing against
me. He began to moan with every thrust as my hips rose up to meet
his. His mouth never left my breast even when his hands began to
fumble with the drawstring on my deerskin pants.

His hand slipped into my panties, and I cried out
with anticipation when his fingers slid through the silky curls.
When his fingers encountered the sticky wetness he cursed and
withdrew his hand.

“
We can’t. I can’t.” He whispered
hoarsely. “If I make you come or I come I won’t be able to train
you anymore.”

I didn’t understand what he was saying. I lay there
trembling with need.

“
I’m sorry Orenda. I just wanted
to show you that I wasn’t gay and that if I let go of my control I
was more than capable of getting hard for you. But if we were to
finish here we would not be able train together anymore. We would
lose the edge that is needed to take control of our
emotions.”

All I could think to say was, “Shit.”

“
Shit doesn’t cover it. I have
never let myself give in to temptation like that.”

I started laughing. I couldn’t help it, and I
couldn’t stop it.

“
Hell…I’ve never had a woman laugh
after making love to her either.”

I tried to pull myself together. “I’m sorry. I just
find the whole situation amusing.”

“
And why is that?”

“
I don’t know, it’s just ludicrous
trying to control passion. Why is it so important
anyway?”

“
Hmmm…let me think. How about if I
were a member of The Guardians and very, very good in the art of
making love? And I had my head between your legs and I was licking
you until your sweet juices flowed.” Cheve lowered himself beside
me and ran a hand up my inner thigh.

“
And at that precise moment I took
your throbbing and engorged clit between my soft lips and sucked on
it until you shattered into a million pieces. And then I ask you
where this island is located or where The Evolved planned their
next attack?”

A sour taste rose up in the back of my throat.
“Okay, I get your point. But I hope to God that I never have to let
one of those Guardian bastards between my legs.”

“
I hope so too, but Orenda, you
don’t know what you may have to do in the end. Peace always comes
at a very heavy price and I’m afraid that you will be the one to
pay in the end.” Cheve stood and straightening his clothes went to
the door.

“
But that’s your destiny isn’t it?
Just as mine is to walk away from something that could have
possibly been the best thing to ever happen to me.”

And with that, he was gone. I sat there wondering if
he meant what we almost did or something else. Sighing I decided I
didn’t want to think about it. I wasn’t going to worry over things
I had no control over. I would let the universe take care of this
one. Besides, five thirty a.m. comes too damn quick.

Chapter 11

I opened the door and braced myself for the blast of
cold air. It hit me in the face and I thought about going back to
bed. It was four thirty a.m. and still dark and cold. I forced
myself to get moving as I had for the last eight weeks. After that
first day of training I decided I would prove to Cheve that I was a
lot tougher than anyone gave me credit for, so I started getting up
an hour earlier to get in a few more miles on my morning run.

One day I came upon a stunning surprise. I ran
through a short tree line and found a beautiful natural beach.
There were several large black rocks scattered around. One of the
rocks had a smooth worn surface and I climbed up on it and sat
down. I felt such a sense of well being and peace envelope me, that
everyday since then, I get up an hour early and jog to my secret
spot to sit and meditate for an hour before the grueling day
starts.

Today, as I started out I noticed that it was
getting more and more chilly each morning. It was mid-September and
I was hoping that the cold weather would hold off for a while. I
didn’t want to give this up. My meditation time was important to
me. When I got to my spot, I climbed up on my rock and as usual
began to listen to the familiar sounds of nature all around me. The
soothing lapping of the water never failed to quiet my mind, until
today.

I was getting restless. Two months of training had
changed me both inside and out. I gained almost fifteen pounds of
muscle and for the first time in my life had some sweet curves. I
was strong. Physically strong. I couldn’t wait until I could show
off my new body to Janel. I only talked to her once since coming to
Wolf Island.

Janel was still in the Bahamas
hanging out on Cat Island. With a lot of The Evolved on the Island,
she was busy studying their unique characteristics and learning all
that she could. She was at least
doing
something. I know my training
is important but the thought of several more months of this was
making me crazy.

I hadn’t been off of this island since Mark and I
got here. Mark at least, made several trips. He took our rented
boat back and traveled to the mainland for supplies twice. I wanted
to go along but both times was told by Cheve and Onatah that it was
too dangerous. As I made my way back to the village, I decided that
I was going to take the evening off and go to the mainland tonight
for dinner. There was always going to be danger. That didn’t mean
that I had to stop living, and I’ll be damned if they were going to
stop me.

I found Cheve waiting for me in front of my cabin.
He was early. Since Cheve was always punctual, I had to ask him.
“Am I being punished for something?’