Spa Day
When I woke up in the morning it was to the realization that I didn’t have any plans for the rest of the day. The thought of a stress-free day to myself made me extremely happy. I lie there for a while thinking about the talk I had with my mom the night before. She made me hot chocolate, she listened, and then I got lots of mom hugs with promises that things would work themselves out. I was beginning to think Mikael was psychic, because he had called it. Just hanging out with my mom was the perfect thing to calm my nerves, and settle me down. For a change, I managed to sleep through the night without the usual nightmares plaguing my dreams.
I rolled out of bed, and looked at my alarm clock. It was 9:30 am. Compared to normal, that was sleeping in. I jumped up, tossed my night clothes off, and threw my robe on. The coffee brewing downstairs in the kitchen called to me, and my mom was there handing me a cup as I walked in.
“Thanks.” I took the cup, leaned in, and gave her a kiss. “And thanks for listening last night. I felt so much better afterwards that I actually slept for once.”
“You’re welcome. You know you can talk to me any time about anything, Jess.”
“I know.”
“Jess, why haven’t you at least been talking to Ashley?”
“I don’t know. I have, and then again so many things happened all clumped up together, that I haven’t had a minute alone with her. Plus, you know, she has Asi now, and I don’t want to have my complaints getting back to Evan.”
“Maybe you should let them get back to him.”
“I suppose, but I don’t want to talk about that right now. Today is for me. I’m going for a run after I suck this wake-up juice down, and I’m thinking that the hot springs in the caves sound like the perfect way to spend my morning.”
“Do you think it’s wise to be so far out, on your own, with everything going on?”
“Mom, I get a weird and tingly forewarning when the witch comes around. Besides, I am not going to live in fear for the rest of my life. I refuse to let what Marcus did to me, what Antoine is doing, or what a witch may decide to do keep me from living and being happy. If I do, then what’s the point in any of it?”
“You are going to make a wonderful ruler one day!” She kissed the top of my head. “Be safe, and get gone before your dad gets back. He’s going to be upset enough that I let you go.” She winked at me, and went back to her bedroom.
I knocked back the rest of my coffee, rinsed the cup out, and was out the door in under two minutes. Once I hit the porch, I shed my robe, felt the familiar warmth tingle through my body as it prepared for the shift, and then like a weight lifted off my soul, I was free to run. My four legs carried me into the forest by the house, and I ran with wild abandon, something I hadn’t done in a very long time. The wind ran its chilly fingers through my fur as I picked up speed, while I enjoyed the stretch of my muscles. I wasn’t completely oblivious as I ran. My senses were at their peak, heightened by the form I was in. The underbrush, with its morning dampened earth was the pervading scent, along with pine, and a hint of deer. I almost lost track of what I was doing then, when my wolf tried to veer off course to go hunt. I refused though, hunting could come later. The hot springs were still calling to my human body, and I wasn’t going to miss out on the relaxation and self-indulgence today.
When I finally broke free of the forest and wandered up close to the mouth of the cave, I threw my senses out one more time to be sure the closest caves were empty, and that no one was around in the surrounding parts of the forest either. When I was sure the coast was clear, I shifted back into my human form, and walked into the cave closest to me. My favorite set of hot springs and a thermal pool were just inside the opening of this particular spot. I walked into the geo-thermal pool from the shallow end that was only about ankle deep. It had a shelf system to it that made perfect steps so that you could gradually walk into the water. By the time I was near the bottom the water was up to my abdomen, and I bent my knees and sunk down from there. I leaned back, letting my hair flow free into the water, feeling the heat relax my muscles further. I always forgot to bring some candles or something with me when I came out here. Mostly, because I ran it in wolf form, which made carrying things a hassle, and impossible when you were solo. Only the barest of light found its way into the pool from the mouth of the cave, so it was dark in here. The dark, combined with the warmth of the water wrapping around me was going to be a dangerous combination. I swam over to the edge of the pool and climbed up on the shelf for leverage, and to rest my head there. Since my biggest worry today was going to be falling asleep and drowning myself, I figured this would be a safe position. I was still shoulder deep in the water, as I lie back and closed my eyes to relax.
I was just dozing off a little when I felt a familiar tingle of power. I didn’t bother freaking out, because I recognized who it was immediately. My eyes still snapped open, as I strained to watch the entrance of the cavern, waiting for him to reveal his presence.
“Jess?” The deeply masculine voice called out to me, but apparently he hadn’t seen me yet. I could see him though. Granted, he was in and out of the small amounts of sun that filtered through, but whenever he stepped out of the shadows I caught sight of thick, muscular arms, tight, defined abs, and before I could continue with my voyeuristic tendencies, Mikael caught sight of me and marched right over to the water’s edge on the deeper end, and jumped in.
When he popped back up, shaking his wet hair everywhere like a dog, I was laughing at him. “You’re lucky you didn’t jump into one of the shallow spots.” I said to him, my voice carrying and pinging off the walls, echoing back at us for a minute.
“That wasn’t luck, it was skill, baby!” I didn’t miss the flirty tone he took with me. “Why didn’t you answer me when I called out? Too busy checking out the whole package?”
Busted. Yeah, he had known exactly where I had been. “You wish.” I said flatly. “I came out here to relax and be alone. You do know the meaning of alone, don’t you?”
“That’s what your mom said when I pestered her into telling me where you’d gone. You’re supposed to be lying low, where people can make sure that you stay safe.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like being cooped up like a prisoner.”
He laughed. “Your mom might have said something about that too before she forbid me to follow you.”
I let out a mock shocked gasp. “Heaven forbid! I can’t believe you, Mikael De’ Lune, went against my mother’s orders!”
“Yeah, well, someone has to keep your stubborn ass safe.”
“That’s far enough, mister!” I yelped out as he got closer. Not like he hadn’t gotten an eye full when I had been about to jump in the shower at Ashley’s apartment once, but that had been different, and Evan had pushed him out of the room pretty quickly. I carefully moved to the deeper water, which had the added bonus of being further in the shadows. He stayed put, but he was tracking me with his eyes, and his body moved to face me no matter where I went. “As you can see, I am perfectly safe, but I’m no longer relaxed, or alone, which kind of defeats the purpose.”
“You might not be relaxed in the same way, but you don’t have a real problem with me being here.” Mikael oozed confidence as he said it. Damn it, that was sexy.
“You’re awful cocky!” I tried to sound confident too, but it came out damn near a whisper.
“No, but you haven’t told me to leave either.” He was moving closer now. “Not in so many words, anyway.”
I ignored his comment. “So, you never said why you showed up to my house this morning anyway.”
“I came to take you to breakfast. I figured you could use a little decompressing. I didn’t realize you had your own day spa in running distance though. This is way better than The Pancake Hut.”
Okay, I was done fighting it. I laughed at him. There was no denying Mikael was charming, and sexy, and damn me for thinking it, but he was turning out to be a nice guy too. Granted, I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side, but when you were on his good one, you were golden.
“Seriously, Jess,” he had stopped his forward movement. “If I’m making you uncomfortable or ruining your day, or whatever, I can just go. I’ll keep watch outside so that you aren’t bothered, and you won’t even know I’m there.”
And there it was-golden. I never would have guessed this guy existed when I thought back to the first time I met Mikael. “You are so puzzling, you know that?”
“How so?”
“Every time I think I have you figured out, you go and screw up my opinion of you.”
“Yeah, and what’s your opinion like these days?” He was moving towards me again, slowly.
“Hmmm,” I feigned thoughtfulness like I had to think about it. I suppose in a way I did have to figure out how to word it. “Well, I wouldn’t want to be on your bad side…”
“Mmhhmm, what else.” He moved closer again.
“You’re protective.”
“And?” Mikael was only a couple feet away now.
“Adventurous.” I smiled then, and had to bite my lip between my teeth to stop.
“What were you thinking of just then?” I almost didn’t see him move that time.
“When we were on the motorcycle and I told you to go fast.” That stupid smile was back on my face. “You didn’t even question me. You just did it.”
“And you liked it.” A statement, not a question. I answered anyway.
“Yes.” He was close enough now that I could see his smile too, even though his face was in the shadows.
“What else?” He asked as he closed the distance, right in front of me now.
“You were a complete jerk when we first met I’m not sure when that started to change.” His eyes were on me, and the fierceness in them when the words left my lips was something out of this world.
“I do.” His deep voice grumbled from right in front of me. “All those times we sat around my brother’s club. I watched you. You were openly being this smart, funny, mouthy woman with an incredibly sexy smile, and those mesmerizing eyes. I was falling for you long before my father came to town.” We were almost touching now. “Actually, I planned to leave before my father got here, because I knew I shouldn’t feel that way about you. Then you were taken by Marcus and I needed to make sure you were found, and that you were unharmed. I had my bags packed, and was ready to go afterward. I knew you’d be all right, but my dad wanted us there for his decision. I figured that I would show up late, make sure you were really okay, and then go. I mean, it has been painfully obvious from the beginning that you were only into Evan. I didn’t want to make things weird, or kill myself pining for someone I couldn’t have. Then my dad handed down his decree.” He was watching the emotions as they passed across my face.
“I didn’t…” I reached out, and absently touched his chest with my fingertips. “I never realized.”
“Believe me, I know. Here I was celebrating in my own skin that I might actually have a chance, and you were so angry and pissed off at me like it was my fault.” I winced, and he put his hand out, gently running a finger down the line of my jaw. “I understand. That didn’t make it any easier to swallow then though. I had a huge crush on you, and you thought I was a monster.”
“Well, you did attack my best friend.”
“It was a misunderstanding, and I can’t tell you how sorry I was about that.”
“Was?”
“Ashley talked to me about it a couple weeks ago. She told me she forgave me, and made me see how it was a blessing that it happened, because Asi was there to make sure that she’d make it through the change. Had you guys tried to do it on your own it might not have been a success. I still regret being a dumb ass, but she made me feel better about it.”
“I didn’t know that.” I definitely needed to get on the same page with Ashley. I mean, she had told me basically the same thing, but she didn’t tell me that she had officially had a chat with Mikael, and forgiven him.
“You are there for me, even when I don’t deserve to have someone there.”
“What?” He looked puzzled.
“Yesterday, after that witch came, and Evan was being a dick again. You didn’t hesitate. That’s the other thing that has been changing my mind about you.”
“I would do anything for you, Jess.” His head dipped, and he spoke low, but he never took his hand off of my cheek, where his thumb was still stroking across my jawbone. “You still don’t trust me though.”
“What? Why…”
“What really happened with the witch?” His eyes were back on mine now. “There was more, wasn’t there?”
I nodded. “Yes. She told me I was about to come into more power, and to be careful with it. She warned me that I had to choose a mate and that one of you would destroy me, but the other would help me. She said Ashley would know before I did. I mean, you know, that she would know who was going to hurt or help.”
“What do you think about that?”
“What do you mean? About who would hurt me?” I just shrugged, and he still didn’t move.
“What does Evan say about it?”
“I didn’t tell him everything.” I realized that I never removed my fingers from Mikael’s chest, and they were tracing the skin across his shoulder blade all on their own. As if I had no say in it.
“Why?”
“I didn’t… I don’t…” I was stumbling over my thoughts, but they no longer mattered. Mikael’s hand dropped from my cheek and wrapped around the nape of my neck. Those emerald jewels of his eyes looked deeply into mine before he pulled in close and brushed his lips over mine. I moved into him, our upper bodies coming closer together, and that was all the invitation Mikael needed. His left hand wrapped around my waist, and pulled me all the way to him. He was standing firmly on the rock bottom, water not quite lapping up to his shoulders, but I couldn’t stand without the water being in my face. I leaned into him further, and let him hold me in place, instead of treading water, and kicking him.
His other hand came down then, and went to my waist, as my arms wrapped around his neck to steady myself further. Mikael deepened the kiss. There was no longer an innocent brushing of lips, his tongue slipped in my mouth, slick and hot, dancing with my own. I’m not sure when it happened, but before I knew what was going on my legs were wrapped around Mikael’s waist, and he was the only thing holding me up in the water. I could feel that he was excited by my closeness. Parts of him were suddenly touching parts of me that Evan hadn’t even gotten that close to yet. One wrong move, and I could kiss my virginity goodbye right here and now. As he continued kissing me, I wasn’t sure I cared anymore. He pulled back from me momentarily, and when I looked into eyes all I could see there was desire, hunger, need… maybe those were my own feelings I was projecting on him in the moment. I just didn’t even want to think about it anymore. I reached my hands up and grasped either side of his stubble-covered face and pulled him back to me, initiating the kiss this time all by myself.
Mikael groaned deep and low, which sent my hormones into overdrive, and then he was moving, maneuvering us over to the shelf on the side of the thermal pool. His mouth never left mine as we moved. I was completely swept away in the kiss, my hands gliding from the stubble on his face to the short hairs behind his ears, then through the longer hair that normally hung long across his face. As we continued kissing his stubbly face was scratching at mine in a delicious contrast to the slick tongue that was maneuvering in my mouth expertly.
I felt my butt backed up to the ledge of the pool as his hands cupped around my ass to lift me a little higher, a position that would make it easier for him to…
Giggling erupted from behind us, near the mouth of the cave, breaking the spell I’d been under. I looked up and saw a girl and boy from the pack that were probably three years younger than I was. I leaked out some power so they’d feel we were there.
“Oh sorry, we didn’t know anyone was here.” The boy called out. He was squinting, trying to see what it was he had interrupted, or more importantly who. Then the girl tugged on his arm, and started pulling them out of the cave. As the two left I pushed Mikael away lightly. He didn’t try to stop me, and I appreciated that, as I was still trying to catch my breath.
“I’m sorry.” He offered as he backed up a little to give me space.
“For what?”
“I don’t normally lose control like that. It went too far…” His head was down and I could tell he meant it. Who knew Mikael was actually a gentleman underneath all that rough exterior?
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. We were both swept up in the moment.”
“Jess, I just know that you made your decision to be with Evan already, and it’s not really as simple as all that.”
“I’m learning nothing is really simple anymore.” I leaned back in and put my hand on Mikael’s chest, then kissed him lightly on the lips before I turned and swam away. I didn’t ask him to turn his back as I got out. He got the full view of me from the rear, before I called my wolf forward. My transition from human to wolf was almost instantaneous, that familiar warm tingling sensation came over me when it happened, and then the human in me faded out, seamlessly replaced by my wolf. Our shift was magical. The only time it ever came with pain was when it was forced on us or when a human, who had been turned, shifted for the first time. I walked to the edge of the cave on all fours, and then sat on my haunches to wait for Mikael to catch up to me. We ran back to the house together. Bumping into one another, playing, and cutting loose like I hadn’t been able to do in my wolf form for a long time. It was refreshing, with a bonus of keeping me from dwelling in my own head for too long.
Once we got back, my robe was still on the porch, but my mom must have picked up after me, because instead of being on the floor there, it was neatly laid out across the swing. I tapped the outdoor storage closet with my paw as I went by, to let Mikael know there were things in there he could use. I didn’t see his clothes anywhere, so I wasn’t sure where he had gone to shift.
I sat down and focused on the shift, changing to my human form in a crouch. My robe was in reach, and I grabbed it and swung it around me to cover myself. By the time I stood up and made sure I was presentable, and turned around, Mikael was wearing a robe too, and headed to his motorcycle.
“You leaving?” I called out to him.
“Grabbing my clothes so I can change.”
“What a shame, I’m sure bath-robed motorcycle man could really be a look for you!” I laughed, and he joined in.
“I’m heading up to get dressed, real quick.” I wasn’t sure why I was clarifying that, other than a part of me didn’t want him to go without me getting to say goodbye.
“I’ll still be here, although, I do have to get going soon. I promised that I would help out at the shelter a little bit today. They need some handyman skills around there.” I’m not sure what he saw on my face, but he added. “I kind of figured you’d have plans with Evan later, so I didn’t…”
“It’s okay.” I smiled. “I do have plans, but they’re the kind that involve me and a good book.”
“Oh,” he looked up at me surprised. I pointed to the second floor of the house to remind him I was on my way to get dressed, and then I turned and took off.
“Jess,” my mom called to me as I hit the stairs.
“Yeah, mom?”
“Did… um, well, both Mikael and Evan stopped by. I wasn’t sure if either of them found you.”
“Mikael is here. I never saw Evan.”
“Oh. Okay.” She really took a minute to look at me then. “You seem lighter today, happier.”
“Do I?”
“It’s good to see. You’ve had a tough year. I miss seeing that smile of yours. Maybe it’ll stick around for a while now.” With that, my mom walked off, and I went upstairs to get changed. I noticed my phone was showing that I had a missed call recently, but I ignored it. I quickly grabbed some clothes, and tossed them on. It wasn’t anything fantastic, just jeans and a random t-shirt. Then I stuck my phone in my back pocket and raced back downstairs so that I wasn’t keeping Mikael waiting any longer than I had to.
“Hey!” Mikael called out as I walked back out the door. He’d stayed, and waited like he said he would. He was, of course, already dressed. I didn’t feel so bad about my hasty outfit, because he was also wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
“I like that I don’t have to feel bad about my casual outfit choices.” I nodded to indicate his similar attire.
“Well, you said you’d be reading all day. Honestly, I was expecting sweats or something.” That made me smile. “I really do have to get going, but I wanted to make sure you were all good first.”
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” He seemed to be slightly puzzled by my response, but he just let it go, and got up off the swing.
“Come here.” I followed his direction, and met him half way. He wrapped one arm around my waist, and pushed back a stray strand of hair from my face with the other. It seemed as though he had something to say to me, but he stayed quiet, just standing there, watching me.
I pushed closer to him, raising up on my bare tiptoes, and whispered into his ear, “you’re going to be late.” As I tried to back up again, he caught hold of me and kept me close. Mikael leaned in and kissed me with a ferocity I wasn’t prepared for. Not that it was unwelcome, just that I was taken by surprise, and then he let go. “I’ll call you later,” he said before he went and hopped on his bike to leave. My legs were still shaking from that kiss when he took off.