Obsessed with Fur [3xtasy Lake 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (3 page)

“I’m a trained nurse-practitioner. Is it okay if I help?”

She nodded and he gently wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “I’m going to take your pulse.” Glancing down at his watch, he counted her rapid beats. “Are you feeling short of breath? Are you on any medication you might have forgotten to take?”

“No, I can’t seem to breathe properly.” She gasped between every other word.

Her pulse was fast but strong and he couldn’t be certain if it was a problem with her heart or anxiety. “You need to calm down a bit. Why don’t we move over to one of the benches over there?”

Marcario scooped her up and carried her over to a planter. “What are you doing?” Jessica clutched at his brother’s jacket, her eyes wide with fear.

“Making certain you don’t crack your head open if you faint.” Marcario sat down and held her in his lap. “This thing is cold. My lap is much warmer.”

She blinked, gasping for breath. Jelani cupped her jaw in his hands. “Jessica, you need to calm your breathing. Now, do you have any heart problems that could be causing this?”

Jessica shook her head. “I can’t calm down. I think I’m dying.”

“You’re not dying.” He slid his hands over her shoulder and let it rest on her upper arm. “I think you’re having a panic attack.”

“How do you know?”

“Because my sister used to suffer from them and she described them to me.” A familiar stab of guilt ran though him. He and Marcario felt terrible when Mai admitted to them how bad her panic attacks had gotten while they were away. His little sister had almost become a prisoner in her own home, and neither he nor Marcario had known about it. It was Vencel and Gaspar that helped her through them. While he was happy that she didn’t suffer from them anymore, he still felt guilty that he and Marcario weren’t there for her.
We’re never around anymore, much like our parents weren’t.

“Make it stop.”

“You need to calm your breathing, Jessica,” Jelani tried to explain as Marcario rubbed her back, his hand going in rhythmic circles around her shoulders. “Your body is reacting to the anxiety you’re feeling and has been dumping massive amounts of adrenaline into your system. That is fueling the natural fight-or-flight response, only yours is in overdrive at the moment.”

“Put your hand here.” Jelani pressed her hand against his chest. “Can you feel me breathing? I want you to breathe with me, okay? Don’t worry about anything else, and try to match my breathing.”

Concentrating on her own breathing would take her mind off her panic and he gradually helped her get her into a slower breathing pattern. While he did that he stroked her jaw and kept his fingers on her pulse in her wrist. After a few moments he noticed it started to slow down a bit and tears welled in her eyes.

“Come home with us, Jessica. We’ll keep you safe.” Marcario hadn’t said much up to this point but Jelani could see that his brother was as fascinated with this woman as he was.

Jessica darted a look around and then nodded at them. “I need to call Gordon. He’ll know what to do.”

“He’s on his way down from Ecstasy Lake already. I called Vencel on the way over here, and Gaspar took care of it.”

Marcario got his cell phone out of his pocket. “Here, Jess, I want you to call Gordon. Let him reassure you. Tell him that we are going to take you back to the condo and that way he knows you’re with us. Talking to him will reassure you both. Tell him that he can pick you up at the condo.”

She nodded as she turned her attention to the phone. Jelani smiled at Marcario. His brother had a talent for helping to calm people down. By talking to Gordon, Mai wouldn’t be as fearful of the two of them, because someone she trusted would know where she was and who she was with. Her conversation was short but he could almost see the anxiety in her posture start to melt away.

“Okay.” She bit her quivering lower lip. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

After hanging up she passed the phone to Marcario. “Thank you for that.”

“You feel a bit better?”

She nodded, but her breathing still seemed far too shallow, and Jelani understood that she would still be feeling the effects of the panic attack. Jelani wasn’t certain if it was from her nerves or the cold, but they needed to get her somewhere warm. He pulled a package out of his pocket and ripped it open. Sliding two small envelopes out of it, he shook them, mixing the chemicals inside. “Here, Jessica, take these and put them in your pockets.”

“They’re hot.”

“And they will get hotter. The heat they give off will help to warm up your core without burning you. You can put your hands in there, too, but it might get a little too hot for your bare fingers.”

“Isn’t it a bit early in the year to be carrying hand warmers around?” she asked.

“We’ve been living in Africa for the better part of a year and I’m trying to get used to Canadian weather.” In fact, Jelani was looking forward to getting back before the Canadian winter really kicked in.

Marcario took that opportunity to stand up, keeping Jessica in his arms. “Come on, let’s get you out of here and somewhere you will feel safer.”

“Agreed.” Jelani patted her arm to get her attention. “Jessica, do you think you were followed here?”

She darted looks around her, her eyes wide with fear. “No, I don’t think so. What if I was?”

“It doesn’t matter if you were, Jelani and I won’t let anyone get near you. Stop wiggling. I’m not going to put you down.” Jelani watched a flash of annoyance roll over Jessica’s features before acceptance smoothed them out. Large flakes of snow drifted down from the clouds and the wind died off. Marcario held Jessica close to his chest and she seemed resigned to allow him to carry her. She curled her face into his chest and didn’t look around. The holiday lights from the enormous tree almost sparkled in her hair. Jelani felt the strangest feeling, as if all was suddenly as it should be.

They caught a cab and tucked her safe in between them for the ride to the Solfalvi’s condo. She didn’t say much and meekly rode in silence. It gave him a moment to take a good look at her. Now that they were inside, Jelani could see that her hair was multilayers of colors from really light blonde to medium brown. She was incredibly quiet, but he wondered if she had a temper buried under there somewhere. That brief flash of annoyance promised a spirit that he hoped hadn’t been crushed under the boot of some asshole. The thought made him want to find her boyfriend and exchange a few physical comments on his treatment of women. He and Marcario had seen abused women go back to their abusers time and time again and been unable to do anything about it. At least today they could help one woman.

“Do you need to go back to your place for anything, Jess?”

“No, there wasn’t anything there that I can’t live without. Most of my clothes he chose and I didn’t really like anyway. I can replace mundane things like bathroom stuff with a quick trip to the drugstore. Geoff likes to keep our apartment like a showcase so I didn’t really have anything personal there.”

There was sadness to her voice. It was refreshing to hear that she wasn’t completely materialistic, but Jelani felt bad for how lost she sounded. She took off her coat and he had to make a mental effort not to fall to his knees in front of her. Jessica was beautiful.

Wearing yoga pants and a tight tank top with a sweater over top emphasized her perfect body. She didn’t have an ounce of anything extra on her. He knew enough to know that bodies like that didn’t come easily, and he could appreciate how many hours she must have spent in the gym to look like that. He’d never understood the gym mentality himself. Why run on a treadmill when he could run outside, or spend six months sweating his ass off in a rainforest inoculating children and giving them a healthier life?

Still, she didn’t act like the gym bunnies he and Marcario had met in the past. Back at the condo, Marcario got a thick, hand-knitted blanket off the back of the sofa and wrapped it around her. Jelani went and hung her coat up in the closet and by the time he got back, Marcario had gotten her to curl up on the sofa. Her eyes closed and Jelani wondered if she had fallen asleep that quickly.

“When do you both head back?” They had told her about their work in the Congo in the cab on the way over.

“We’re flying out in a couple days,” Jelani replied. “That’s why Mai, Gaspar, and Vencel came down here first before going to Quebec. We spent the last couple of days together and had a great visit.” They’d also found out that he and Marcario were going to be uncles in the summer.

“I would understand if you both wanted to go out. I can’t imagine you have much chance in the middle of a third-world country to go bar hopping and such.”

Jelani wondered what she meant by “such,” but didn’t ask. Marcario walked back into the room at that point with a mug in his hand. He’d heard Jessica’s comment and turned an amused look at Jelani. They had planned on perhaps meeting someone to bring home. Being dry in Africa didn’t always mean the weather.

With Jessica there, Jelani really didn’t feel the urge to go and find someone to play with between him and his brother. He glanced up at Marcario and his brother gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. He didn’t want to go out, either. Staying here with Jessica felt right.

Marcario sat down next to her and passed her the mug. “Here, Jess. It’s hot, so be careful.”

Jelani glanced into the mug. His brother’s famous spiked hot chocolate.

“Does this have alcohol in it?” Jelani could see the concern written all over Jessica’s features.

“A little bit, not enough to impair your senses, but it might warm up your insides a bit. “

“It won’t work.”

“Give it a try, Jessica. You might be surprised.”

She chuckled. “I wouldn’t be the only one.” As soon as the words slipped from her mouth he saw her eyes widen as if she let a secret slip. Quickly she sipped at the hot beverage

That was an odd comment.
Jelani felt as though he missed something important but the look of bliss that crossed her features distracted him.

“Oh, my god.” Jess moaned, licked her lips, and then took another sip. The soft hum sounded a little orgasmic. Jelani’s cock leapt to attention, lengthening behind the zipper of his jeans. He casually grabbed a throw pillow and dropped it in his lap, resting his arms on it.

“My secret recipe.” Marcario wore a Cheshire-cat grin at her reaction. He also crossed his legs angling slightly away from her.
He must be having the same reaction I did.

“Do you know how long it’s been since I had chocolate?” Jessica moaned and licked her lips again. “And is that peppermint mocha Kahlúa in there? It’s delicious.”

“You have a sensitive tongue, Jess.” Marcario grinned down at her and Jelani fought the urge to smack his brother on the back of the head. He settled for glaring at him over Jessica’s head when she took another sip.

Jelani could feel her body relaxing between them and knew that she would be crashing from the excess adrenaline soon. The problem was, he didn’t want her to go lay down in the spare room. She felt so perfect between them.

“Do you want to watch a movie, Jess?” Marcario turned on the TV and flipped channels. He paused at
A Christmas Story
and Jess’s face lit up.

“I love this one.”

“So do we.” Marcario laughed. “It’s a bit early for Christmas movies but I don’t mind if you don’t.”

“I bought Gordon a leg lamp one year as a joke. He always puts it up in the window and Helen and Ann pretend that they hate it.”

“We haven’t met him, but from what we’ve heard, he’s a great boss.” Marcario stretched his arm out along the couch behind her head.

“Yeah, he’s like a dad to me.” Her lower lip quivered a moment. “He lets me make my own mistakes, too.”

Seeing the sadness in her expression was like a punch to Jelani’s chest. He reached out and tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear. “But he’s always there for you when you need him?”

She nodded as she swiped a tear from her cheek. Jelani wanted to ask her about her real father, but this wasn’t the time. It would have to wait until later. He frowned, wondering if they would ever have a chance again to get to know her.

Marcario pulled the knitted afghan up around her shoulders and she curled up into it. “Why don’t you stretch out, Jess?” He suggested, “Put your feet in my lap and you can put your head on the pillow in Jelani’s lap.”

I’m going to kill him.
“We’ll watch over you until Gordon gets here, okay?”

She looked back and forth between him and Marcario like a frightened doe. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” She started wringing her fingers together and Jelani was concerned that she might work herself up into another panic attack. That was the last thing he wanted for her right now.

“Jess.” Marcario reached out and covered her hands with one of his. “It’s completely your decision. You might feel more comfortable lying down than sitting up. You are welcome to stay in one of the bedrooms if that would make you more comfortable.”

“I don’t want to be alone.” Her voice was so quiet that Jelani almost missed what she said.

“It’s settled, then.” Jelani patted the pillow on his lap. “You can stretch out here and we promise to keep you safe.”

She thought about it for a moment longer, then nodded and stretched out between them. As she laid her head on the pillow, Jelani tried to think of horrendous things to distract himself and prayed that she didn’t notice his rock-hard cock underneath it.