The Yearning (25 page)

The man exhaled sadly. “I may not be the best one to battle her power on a spiritual level, considering my own failings with the Church.”

“You’re a saint next to me.” Connor turned back to Jasmine. “Listen to what I’m saying. There is no way to defeat Desiree.”

“There’s always a way,” Mike said. He pulled a business card from his pocket and gave it to the man. “Call me tonight when her presence is the strongest. It’ll help us a lot and may stop this.” He stood.

Connor’s gaze jumped from him to Jasmine. “I’m sorry for getting you involved. Please don’t tell her you saw me. I don’t know where else to run.”

In the lot, Jasmine handed Mike her car keys. “Do you mind driving?”

“Not at all.” He opened the passenger door. “Don’t let what he said get you down. Desiree isn’t invincible.”

She dropped into the seat without comment, lacing and squeezing her fingers just as Connor had.

Mike’s heart sank. “It’s coming back, isn’t it?” Just as he’d suspected, the curse had mutated and found another way. He saw the ravages of it in her eyes.

“I’m okay.”

He hunkered down next to her, his hand cupping her knee. “After I talk to Connor tonight, I’ll go to Haney’s Hut or any of the other places that pop into his mind. If she’s not there, I’ll go back tomorrow and every day after until she does show up.”

“No, I don’t want you to. I’ll go alone.”

He stared, then hissed, “Absolutely not. This time I mean it. I don’t want you anywhere near her. I won’t let you anywhere—”

“Mike.” She’d unlaced her fingers and put them on his mouth, stopping him. “We don’t know if she can even remove the curse unless she sees me.”

He pulled her hand away. “I’m aware of that. But I can bring her someplace safe for you. Maybe to your garage and control the situation.”

“No. This is between her and me.” She brought back her hand. “I don’t want you involved. God knows what she’d do to you. I’ll go myself.”

“Not if I tie you to the fucking bed, you won’t.”

She regarded him. Beneath her building lust was a depth of sadness he hadn’t seen.

Her voice grew quiet. “I don’t want you to ever be responsible for me.”

His belly burned, the word
ever
sticking in his brain. Why had she used it? Was she worried he’d want to stick around after this was over when in her mind there’d be no reason for them to continue? A braver man might have asked. Like Desiree, he couldn’t face the truth that she wouldn’t want him, and so he got pissed again, adolescently, stupidly pissed, and kept on point with their subject. “If you insist on going, fine. I don’t have the right to stop you. But I’ll be there too.”

At eight thirty that night, Mike’s cell phone rang. Jasmine snatched it before he could. “Connor?”

“Yeah.” His voice shook. “I keep picturing Haney’s Hut. Be careful. Please don’t say anything about me.”

“I promise you, I won’t.” She ended the call and handed Mike his phone. “Haney’s.”

The last days had been ones of relative peace. Tonight, the yearning returned, restored and belligerent.

Jasmine dressed in front of her cheval mirror. The blue-green dress, a new design by Violet, snaked over her nudity. She wore no underwear, only her belly chain and navel finery as she had when she’d met Mike.

The mirror reflected his ever-watchful eyes. They followed the spaghetti-thin straps, the plunging neckline that dipped to a sharp V at her waist, the slightly flared skirt, the geometric designs Lily had painted on the borders of the cotton voile.

The hefty bulge behind his fly said he approved. He wanted her again. Somehow she knew tonight would be their last together.

Jasmine turned away from the mirror, her head down, pretending to check her strappy sandals so he wouldn’t see her anguish.

Someone rapped softly on the door. “Can I come in?” Violet asked, her voice muted by the barrier.

Mike let her inside.

Jasmine went to her middle sister and hugged her hard, smiling at the vanilla scent from Violet’s perfume or her baking.

She whispered, “Jas, what’s wrong?”

Everything. “Nothing.” She made certain to keep her voice steady, to remind herself she had no hold on Mike. For him to leave her freed of his own doubt and guilt was all she could ask. “I really love the dress.”

“It loves you more. You look beautiful.” She pulled back so they’d be face-to-face. “You will be careful.”

Mike offered Jasmine his hand, his fingers firm and warm. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

Ben and Lily waited in the hall. Uncharacteristically sentimental, her youngest sister held back tears as she kissed Jasmine’s cheek. Ben took her free hand, brushing his lips across her knuckles.

Mike assured, “Nothing bad is going to happen. We’ll be back.”

Jasmine didn’t comment. If she survived the coming hours and returned, she’d be alone.

Haney’s boasted a mixed clientele, from young professionals who worked nearby, to middle-aged tourists braving the Key’s sweltering summer, to college-age kids looking for an affordable meal and no-strings sex. The kids necked more than danced to the newest Justin Timberlake hit, groaning when the DJ followed it with a milder tune for the post-twenties crowd.

Mike wound his arms around Jasmine’s waist, his hands on the small of her back. Her embrace tightened, fear mixed with scaling passion. He recalled their night at the Blue Bliss when desire had won and he’d taken her orally in the alley.

He whispered, “You doing all right?”

Chin on his shoulder, her head moved to the left. “She’s not here.”

“It’s still pretty early.” He turned them to the music’s beat. “It could be hours.”

Her fingers gripped his tee.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know if I can make it.” Her voice shook. “Hold me closer, as hard as you can. Please.”

With one hand on the back of her head and his other arm around her waist, his caress owned her, assuring she wouldn’t make a move unless he allowed it. As his eyes swept the room, searching for Desiree, he continued to slow dance.

Jasmine whimpered, “It’s never been this bad.”

Mouth to her ear, he whispered, “The longer you hold out, the better it will be when we’re alone.”

Her nose nuzzled his cheek. “We could go outside for a few minutes. The car’s not that far away.”

“No.” He increased his hold on her, turning another half circle, and spoke softly in her ear. “We’re going to wait, Jasmine. The next time I have you, it’s going to be in your kitchen.”

She steered her fingers through his hair, worn loose the way she liked it. “We never used the table.”

“We will tonight, after your sisters and Ben go to sleep. I want you naked on the chair. I’m going to cuff your hands from behind. You’ll spread your legs when I tell you to.”

Her moan warmed his neck.

“For as long as I want I’m going to play with your cunt. My fingers first, then my mouth. You won’t be able to make a sound. If you do, you’ll wake the others.” He glanced at the bar, the tables, the patrons milling about. Still no Desiree. He kept his voice low. “When you’re ready to break, I’m going to stop and delay your release.”

She shook her head, her face rubbing his shoulder. “No. You can’t.”

“I will, so I can bend you over the table and fuck you from behind. But only if you hold off now. You have to, Jasmine.”

A tremor moved through her body. “I’m trying.”

“You can do this.”

The song ended. Arm around her waist, Mike escorted her to one of the empty stools against the far wall where a horizontal plank allowed patrons to eat. From here, they could watch for Desiree. He gestured for the server, ordering bacon cheeseburgers, Cajun-spiced fries and two Coronas.

Jasmine pressed the frosty glass to her throat, then took a small sip. Mike pushed his bottle to her and leveled his voice to a pitch only she could hear. “Go on and drink mine too. It might help you relax.”

She regarded the beer as she would a poisonous spider. “It might make this worse. I could lose even more control.”

“You’re stronger than that and you know it. You didn’t hurt me, did you?”

Jasmine grabbed his hand, holding the back of it to her cheek. “I’d destroy myself first.”

“Honey, you can do this.” He turned his palm to her face, wiping away the tear at the corner of her eye. “She may show up in the next five minutes.”

Jasmine gave him a stiff, unbelieving smile.

Mike wasn’t a man who prayed, but tonight he begged for the horror to end.

At closing, only a handful of patrons remained. The bartender announced the last call for drinks. Desiree hadn’t showed.

Chapter Fifteen

The meringue-white beach, studded with palms, glistened beneath a waning moon.

Mike held Jasmine’s wrist, his grip nearly painful, fighting her as she tried to pull him to a bank of trees and vegetation that would shield them from view. Her flimsy shoes filled with sand, making each step too lengthy and difficult. The curse bullied, demanding she have him immediately.

He held back, on his cell phone with Connor, asking the man what he felt, what his mind pictured now.

Jasmine no longer cared. Fronds swished restlessly in the wind. The breeze tugged at her hair and dress, its hiss blending with the docile surf. Voices and laughter didn’t intrude. The bar was behind them, the patrons gone, this area deserted. Even the habitual sunrise watchers wouldn’t gather for hours.

A patch of shadows caught Jasmine’s eye. She pictured herself backed into one of the palm’s trunks, Mike crowding her with his muscular body, his hands lifting her skirt, fingers slipping down her slit to confirm her readiness for him. Her vaginal walls pulsed in delight. She could no longer bear separation from him.

With all of her strength, she tugged, annoyed by his slow pace, urging him forward. Unmoved, he continued talking to Connor, trying to calm the man. Jasmine frowned. Her head swung to him, her mouth opened to insist he hurry. No words came out. She stared at an odd shape within the palms.

The wind picked up, whipping the leaves, allowing the moon to touch the figure’s champagne-colored hair, café au lait skin, unearthly green eyes.

Icy alarm seized Jasmine. She halted, her legs barely able to hold her. Mike said something she didn’t catch. Clawing his hand, she broke free, wanting to protect him. She stumbled toward Desiree.

Mike grabbed her arm.

She cried out to the woman. “I’m begging you to stop what you’ve done before it kills me!”

Those green eyes darted from her to Mike and back. Hatred filled her voice. “Where is Connor?”

Jasmine lied. “I haven’t seen him since that night at Tempos. I don’t know where he is. I don’t want to know.”

She shouted, “You’re here waiting for him!”

“No! I’m here to see you! To explain! Connor and I were never more than acquaintances, not even friends!” Jasmine’s chest heaved with her gasps. “I’m no threat to you. I can’t match your beauty. I am not what men want. You are. Connor never loved me.”

Tears gathered in Desiree’s eyes, along with renewed fury. Her voice rode on the wind, hollow, threatening. “You took him away from me.”

Mike pulled Jasmine back. She fought his hold. “No!”

“You wanted him.” Desiree stepped forward. Bathed in moonlight, her hair writhed around her exquisite face, tossed by the current, the same as her filmy white dress. “I saw you in the restaurant, smiling and laughing. You were talking about me, making fun of my love for him.”

“I didn’t even know about you then.”

“Liar. I saw. I felt your ridicule. He is mine.”

Jasmine sobbed, “Please don’t do this.”

“So now you hurt?” Desiree asked, her breathtaking smile not reaching her eyes. “You have no idea the pain I go through every minute of every hour. My last curse was too weak, too kind. This one won’t be.” Her lips pulled back in a grimace. Words from another time, another world poured from her.

Dazed with fear, Jasmine couldn’t run, couldn’t breathe. She expected to die, her mind begging Mike to save himself and escape.

He held on to her. A familiar buzz rose in intensity above the wind. Desiree’s voice cracked suddenly. Her hands flew to her throat as though someone or something was strangling her. She clawed her neck.

Mike’s power lifted the woman a few inches above the beach. Jasmine’s eyes rounded in shock, her face tilted to Desiree’s ascent—a foot, then two feet. The woman’s legs kicked, trying to reach the ground.

He spoke in a measured voice. “Remove the curse.”

Desiree gasped, laboring for air. “Never. It will kill her.”

The buzz strengthened, tingling Jasmine’s fingers and toes, constricting Desiree’s throat. Her legs thrashed.

“Now,” Mike hissed.

She tried to repeat her earlier words, the newest curse. His power stopped her. Desiree’s eyes bulged. Her voice croaked. “Let me speak.”

“Only to remove it.”

Her head bobbed in agreement. The buzz softened. She stopped digging into her throat and cried, “I will tell my people what you’ve done! They will come for you and her! They’ll destroy both of you and the ones you love!”

Oh God, no. Jasmine’s mind screamed at the thought of anyone harming her sisters and Mike.

His words vibrated with rage. “You’ll die before that happens. I’m giving you one last chance to remove the curse. I can snap your neck in a second.”

“Mike, no!” Jasmine shouted. She couldn’t let him murder her. There had to be another way.

“Do it!” he ordered.

Desiree refused.

The buzz became too loud, unbearable. Jasmine’s palms flew to her ears. Her teeth clenched. Terror replaced the wrath in Desiree’s eyes. Abruptly, the woman stopped fighting. Her arms and legs went limp.

Something whisked through Jasmine, draining the tension. Knees wobbling, she fell to the sand, her body and mind light. The oppressive yearning gone.

Erica gestured Mike away from Jasmine. He shook his head, not wanting to leave her. Ever since she’d been free of the curse, she’d kept her face lowered, her arms wrapped around her torso. She kept saying she was all right, but her voice belonged to a woman who wasn’t yet free.

“Mike.” Erica trudged through sand to him.