The Templar's Legacy (Ancient Enemy) (31 page)

“This was just a formality, you know. Ever since you pushed Il Saia out of me, you have been inside me. You are there when I wake up and there when I go to sleep. Your warmth calms me when I’m scared, and you hold me when I’m sad. I only have to think of you and you’re there for me. When I was lost, I found my way back by searching for you, and now I’ve that I found you, you’re mine.”

I shivered. Recognition, need, and desire? love? made every nerve in my body fire.

“Whenever you’re in need, I’ll be there for you—just as I know you will come for me. You are mine. I am yours, and nothing will ever change that. Now, make love to me again.”

Her passion and presence made me giddy. I knew I couldn’t say no. I didn’t want to say no. She was right, and I was in so much trouble.

I was woken by a knock at the door. “Finn, are you in there?” asked my mother from the hallway. She knocked again. “Finn?”

I sat upright and tried to herd together my lethargic cows of morning thought.

“...yeah Mom, I’m up.”

“Finn, have you seen Jenifer? She’s not in her room, and her father is on the phone for her.”

I knew exactly where she was. I had just been spooned around her naked form. She started to giggle and I started to panic. How could I possibly tell—

“I’m in here, Mrs. M. Could you please tell Daddy I’m indisposed, and I’ll call him back in a little bit?”

“...Oh! Well, yes, okay... I’ll tell him that, dear.”

Jen turned around and pulled me down beside her with a self-satisfied, lopsided grin. Unlike me, her hair looked good in the morning. It seemed unfair. “Good morning, Finn. Stop looking so panicked, and kiss me.”

I leaned in to give her a fast peck, but she grabbed me and pulled me over into a passionate embrace. That was bad enough, but then she started to squirm and touch me in ways that made my brains leak out my ears.

We made love again. It was amazing—tender, passionate, and less awkward than the previous night, which had been a lot more enthusiastic than skilled.

When we were done, she flopped down beside me with a happy sigh. “For a pure and unsullied virgin, you did all right, boy. Got some stamina.”

I grinned, “For a pure and unsullied virgin, you are a wanton, lusty wench. Best three out of four?”

She looked down at my little soldier standing as rigid as a Buckingham Palace guard. She looked at me with wide eyes. “Really? I’m going to waddle like a duck as it is. Point that thing away from me before it goes off.”

I laughed. I wasn’t hung like a horse, but I could sure finish the race. I’d always wondered. It was pretty cool and made me feel, (dare I say it?) a bit cocky.

Spring, silent till this point said proudly,
I am a girl’s best friend.

The embarrassment of knowing Spring had undoubtedly been responsible for my studliness took the winds out of my sails. I rolled out of bed and looked for a bra and panties amongst the linen ejecta. Neither sheet nor blanket remained on my bed. I found Jen's shirt and brought it to her as she sat, very provocatively and immodestly, on my bed. My hunger for her returned with a vengeance.

I gave her my best leer. “Since this is my shirt, how about I keep it, and you can just walk around naked all day?”

She grinned delightedly and delightfully. “Give it back and stop looking at me like a deranged serial killer.”

I guess my best leer wasn’t very good. I’d have to work on it.

I unabashedly watched her as she pull this shirt over her head. She looked up at me and smirked. It was very strange. She was still Jen, but she was different. Everything was different. Gone was the innocent, feisty girl I’d watched and guarded growing up. A sexy, vital young woman had replaced her, and... she was mine. My brotherly feelings had been burned to charcoal last night, but something stronger had risen from the ashes.

She was six months younger than I, a couple weeks from eighteen. That distance used to mean everything, but now it meant nothing. The familiar guilt and discomfort I’d felt whenever I’d started to notice Jen were but faded shadows of their former self.

She stood up and grinned. “You look any harder, you’re going to burn these clothes right off my body.”

My face heated up. I was tempted to look away, but I couldn’t. “Sorry, but it’s like I’ve never seen you before. You are so beautiful.”

She smiled widely and came up to me. She was maybe four inches shorter than me. I met her intense brown gaze and was struck again by a need to be with her, to be close to her. She put her hand up to my cheek.

“I’ve been waiting for you to look at me like that for years.”

The sight of her now and my memories of her when she was younger clashed within me. I gave her a weak half-grin. “Are you trying to short circuit my brain?”

She released a full and hearty laugh of delight and leaned forward to kiss me. I swept her up in my arms and reveled in my discovery of this new Jen. She returned my hug and then whispered in my ears. “Remember my puffy pigtails?”

Images of a precocious little girl leaped to my mind. “Argh! Don’t do that! Evil seductress.”

She smirked, then deliberately turned her back to me, leaned down and picked up the shirt I’d been wearing while mowing. I think I drooled. She stood back up slipped my shirt on. It draped her like a tent and was probably the most arousing, sexiest outfit I’d ever seen.

“Are you sure you want to wear that? It’s pretty sweaty.”

“I know. It smells like you. It makes me feel good—like you’re giving me a hug.”

That was probably the most wondrous thing I’d ever heard. Now all I had to do was face the parents. Mine were scary enough, but facing Jen’s parents was downright terrifying, one in particular.

I walked her back to our guest room. She went to the dresser that held the few clothes she had brought along with her.

I asked, “Does your dad own a gun?”

She giggled at me. Her voice was fuller and richer than it used to be, but her giggle was just as happy and engaging as ever. “Don’t worry; he’s not going to bother you. I’ll take care of him. Now get out while I dress.”

I’m sure my face fell. I’d been looking forward to another show. “What? Why? We’ve just spent the night naked together.”

“Never you mind.” She scowled fiercely and pointed to the door. “Now, out.”

I left with my most hangdog expression. It didn’t evoke any sympathy from my parents, so I don’t know why I hoped it would work on her. It didn’t. She closed the door, and she treated me to a last view of her smug smile. I stayed put and waited—afraid of facing my parents alone.

I cast about for something else to think about besides my parent’s reaction, and gratefully picked up the bone I’d been chewing last night.

Spring? What the hell am I going to do with Colette now?

Dude, you’re screwed. Have a lot more sex with Jen, so you can at least pass on your genetics before Colette guns you down.

Spring, Colette will use a knife, and I’m sure Jen’s on the pill. I know you can tell.

If it’s a daughter, will you name her Spring?

Don’t worry about it. It’s not going to happen for a good long while.

Yep, nine months.

Are you telling me she’s fertile!

From behind the door, Jen’s voice hijacked my attention. She was speaking at least half an octave higher and sounding two years younger than five minutes ago. “Hi, Mom! No, I’m fine. Sorry, I’ve been taking care of Finn and seeing old friends. It’s been really nice. I don’t know how much longer...Hi, Daddy! No, I’m fine. I’ve just been busy. No, you don’t need to come down. Really, Dad. There’s nothing wrong. I’ve just been spending time with my friends... Daddy!”

Uh oh. My fear of Mr. Washington crested. Built like a linebacker, he’d once nearly thrown me out a seventh story window. Later, he’d decked both Doc Anderson and me as I was scouring Il Saia from Jen’s mind. To be fair, both times he thought I’d hurt his little girl...

Maybe if I did get Jen pregnant, he might refrain from killing his grandson’s father. That is to say—me.

When Jen finally came out in shorts and one of her own T-shirts, I’d worked myself into a tizzy.

“Finn? What’s wrong?”

“Jen, are you on the pill?”

“Now you’re thinking about it?”

“Sorry, but you kind of turned my brain to mush last night.”

She grinned with pleasure. Her sexy smile invited me to come nibble her lips. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

I wrenched my eyes away from her lips. “So are you?”

“On the pill?” Her eyes opened in wide innocence.

“Yes! Stop playing with me.”

“No.”

Terror gripped my heart. “No?”

“No...”

Oh God, oh God, oh God.

“I’ve got an implant.”

The wave of relief left me feeling squidgy and barely able to stand. “You are so evil!”

Hey! That’s cheating!
protested Spring.

Jen laughed, hugged me, and said, “I’m sorry, but you are so fun to tease.”

I tried to pout, but I couldn’t. My relief made it impossible. Besides, I liked it that she liked to tease me.

Now, I just had to face my parents.

My mother was busy cooking in the kitchen. The smell of bacon almost overcame my trepidation. Almost.

Jen skipped in ahead of me. “Hi, Mrs. M., morning, Holly.”

I slunk in behind her. Holly was sitting on a stool at the center island, no doubt helping by making sure my mom was cooking everything correctly.

My mom smiled at Jen. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

“Hi, Jen. Hi, Finn,” Holly said,

“Morning.”

Jen walked up to my mom and gave her a big hug. “Thank you Mrs. M! You were right. He just needed a little push.”

My face burst into flame and burnt all my hair off. I have no idea why it didn’t set off the smoke alarm.

“A push to do what?” Holly said.

My mom smirked at me. “Yes, he’s a little slow around women.”

“A push to do what, Mom?”

“It just took a little push to make Finn realize how much he liked Jen.”

Holly looked a disappointed. “Oh. I knew that.”

Still flaming, I turned around. “I’ll just go and drown myself now.”

From behind me, Jen laughed and said, “Oh no you don’t, mister.” She ran up behind me, grabbed my arm, spun me around, and gave me a laugh-filled hug. It took a while before I could unstiffen—my back, that is.

It took most of the morning for the shock to wear off. I’d known that my mother was no shy flower about sex. As a family, we talked about it openly whenever I had questions, or my parents thought there was something I needed to know. Many times, I’d heard the tale of how Mom had pursued my dad and swept him off his feet. I’d never desired to give that much thought. I just figured that my dad, as a single father, was an easy mark. Now I had my doubts.

Whose mom tells a girl how to get into her son’s pants? It made me go “yeeeesh” just to think about it. Spring maintained that if my mom hadn’t, I’d probably have died a virgin.

Thankfully, my dad seemed oblivious. When he wandered through the kitchen, he merely complemented me on the mowing job and the progress on the tree. If he’d have been in on it, it wouldn’t have been only my hair that burnt off. I’d have melted, or my head would have just popped.

We took our leave after breakfast. Jen took her father’s car and drove us over to Dave’s place.

Now, whenever I was near Jen, I found it difficult not to touch her and be close to her. She seemed to feel the same way, because her hand sought out mine as often as not. It was miraculous and filled me with joy. I really wanted to head over to Horn’s Hill, find a secluded area where we could be alone, and let her have her way with me again, but there was no way we could.

We picked up Dave. Since Dave and his sisters were in a constant state of war, which Dave usually lost, we headed off to the Jolly Pirate for some donuts and coffee. When we were sitting down with a dozen donuts, Dave took two, Jen took one, and I took the other nine. My appetite was as voracious as ever.

“So,” said Dave looking at the two of us. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” I asked

“You two look like you’ve been glued together at the hip.”

I flushed, but Jen took it calmly. “We had wild monkey sex last night.”

Dave spit doughnut bits all over the table. I nearly followed suit.

My hair caught on fire all over again. I was too embarrassed to take advantage of the fact that Dave had been struck dumb. That almost never happened.

He looked from Jen to me. “You’re serious?”

I shrugged helplessly.

Jen was having the time of her life. “What’s-a-matter, blondie? Never heard about sex before? Maybe when you’re old enough, your mommy will tell you all about it.”

“You and Finn?”

“Yep.”

Dave shook his head. “I need another doughnut.” He snagged one of my donuts and stuffed it in his mouth.

I finally recovered enough to speak. “Well, Jen, I see that subtlety training’s been working well for you.”

“Sorry, I just couldn’t resist. I had to see Dave’s face.” She didn’t look sorry; she just looked smug.

Dave looked back and forth between us and said, “Well, Finn, this is going to make your wedding night with Colette very interesting.”

I couldn’t laugh. I just took a deep breath, blew it out through pursed lips, and grabbed another doughnut.

 “We’ll just have to come up with another arrangement,” Jen said.

“I’m not sure Granny Delacroix is going to be amused by this.”

“Dave, it was a ridiculous idea to begin with,” I said. “I’m sure we can come to some other agreement.”

“And if you can’t?”

I shrugged again. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I do.” Dave scowled at me. “You’re going to go and marry that little French psycho.”

“But—”

“But nothing, Finn. I’m not going to let you put my friends and family in any more danger. It was risky enough sending Mark that fake, but if you have to marry her to keep everyone safe, you damn well will. Do you understand me? I’ll strap you down and carry you to the altar if that’s what it takes.”