Cajun Magic 01 - Voodoo on the Bayou (13 page)

With a groan, he crushed her to him, slanting his mouth across hers. Her lips opened wide enough for his tongue to slip through. He traced a line of kisses across her jaw to her earlobe, sucking at the tender skin.

She moaned.
So good
. Her hands flew down his chest, urgently popping buttons free and tugging his shirt from his trousers. He shrugged out of the garment and stood bare-chested in front of her.

For the second time that night, he scooped her up in his arms.

Ahhhh…wishes do come true.

He carried her to the bathroom and set her on her feet. With a few quick movements, he had the water steaming and the rest of his clothes lying in a heap at his feet. He stood proud and naked in front of her, and this time, she took a moment to study every gorgeous feature of his magnificent body. From his wavy black hair to broad muscled shoulders, down the hard planes of his tight stomach, to the stiff evidence of his desire.

Omigod
. She gulped. His desire for
her
. A heady sense of power surged through her veins and a smile curved her lips. She hooked her thumbs into the elastic of her panties and slid them down her legs. Then with a wink at him, she ducked behind the shower curtain.

He followed her in.

They both reached for the soap at the same time. Her hands wrapped around the pink bar of Caress, and his hands wrapped around hers. Together they worked up a lather, gazing heatedly into one another’s eyes.

She set the bar back on the edge of the tub and started at his shoulders, working her way down his chest to his stomach, avoiding his engorged member for the moment. She wanted to make him as hot as he made her.

While she lathered his front, he wrapped his arms around her back and lathered her shoulders and down her sides to her buttocks. He cupped her cheeks and pressed her pelvis against his hardness.

Electric shocks jerked through her veins, all culminating at the juncture of her thighs. She wanted nothing more than for him to ram himself into her and satisfy her needs. But he poured shampoo into his hands and turned her around to lather her hair.

Umm
. Nothing felt better than someone rubbing your scalp, except—

Don’t go there, honey
, Elaine warned herself.

He smoothed the suds from her hair and lathered his hands with soap again. He pulled her shoulder blades against his chest and lathered her belly, sliding upward to cup her breasts. He pinched and tweaked until her nipples stood at attention and she thought she’d fall apart from want. Then his soapy hands slid downward to tangle in the damp hair between her thighs. His fingers slipped between her folds and touched her nubbin of desire.

She forgot to breathe. Her hands covered his as he flicked and fingered her to a fevered pitch. “Omigod. I’m on fire.”

The water heater picked that moment to run out of hot water. The temperature changed from steamy to lukewarm in a matter of seconds.

“Better hurry and wash the soap off,” he whispered against her ear.

Welcoming the cooling effect, she rinsed quickly, the pelting cold water barely tamping the rising heat within.

Craig reached around her and twisted the faucet knob. With infinite care, he turned her around, cupped her face in his hands, and lowered his mouth to hers. She tasted the water on his lips, and slid her tongue across his teeth to delve in and dance with his. Her hands roamed over his back in a frenzy, angling downward to cup his buttocks and jam him against her.

“I want you,” she whispered into his mouth. “I want you inside me.”

He lifted her legs and backed her up against the wall of the shower. The cool, hard ceramic tiles shocked her skin, a sharp contrast to the heat generated between their bodies. He wrapped her legs around his waist, while she locked her arms around his neck. And he lowered her onto him, penetrating slowly, until she took all of him.

“Oh, crap.” Abruptly, he jerked her off him, and winced.

“What?” Fear of a looming rejection swirled around her when her feet touched the bottom of the tub.

“Protection. I almost forgot.”

She leaned her forehead against his and moaned. “I’m a scientist. I should have thought of that. I can’t believe I didn’t.”

His hands smoothed up her sides, to cup her breasts. Bending low, he took one into his mouth. “I can’t get enough of you.” He pulled hard, sucking the tip between his teeth.

Elaine clutched his head, holding him close. The cool tiles against her back did nothing to chill the molten energy roiling inside. “You’re a guy, don’t you carry one in your wallet, or pocket, or something?”

“Let me check.” He slapped the shower curtain aside and dove for his jeans. In the back pocket, he found his wallet, held it up and leafed through the wet papers and leather. “Oh, thank God.” He held up a foil pouch and pressed a kiss to it.

She stepped from the tub and wrapped a towel around herself, suddenly a little shy. In the throes of passion, being naked with Craig felt natural. With the interruption, the passion had cooled slightly. How did you rekindle? She ached to finish what they’d started, a need throbbing low in her belly.

Girlfriend, don’t lose it now.
Good Lord, how many opportunities did she get to rumble with a sex god? With the edges of the towel clutched in her hands, she turned toward the bedroom door.

He followed.

When she reached the bed, she swung around and drew in a deep breath. Never in her life had she wanted to be with a man as much as she wanted to be with Craig. She dropped the towel. Oh, how liberating to stand nude and not feel self-conscious!

The look on his face scorched her naked skin. Moving with the grace of a predator stalking his prey, he growled low in his chest and swept in on her, tossing her to the mattress. Climbing on the bed, he straddled her hips.

She squealed and giggled, feeling strange about laughing while making love. Brian had taken sex so seriously. “You’re an animal.”

“You bring it out in me.” He lapped at her neck and nibbled his way to her breasts.

His hands and lips worked their magic down to her stomach. With his knee, he nudged her legs apart and lay down between them.

Heart thumping, she leaned up on her elbows and watched him as he scooped his hands under her buttocks and buried his face in her femininity. When his tongue touched that certain spot, she fell flat on the bed and arched her back. Her world burst apart in a cataclysmic explosion.

His tongue flicked again and she moaned. “Omigod, you’re killing me.”

He lifted his head. “Does that hurt?”

“Don’t stop!” she cried out. Reaching down to clutch his hair, she pressed him back to the task he’d begun. “Ah, please, don’t stop.”

He tongued and licked, sending her over the edge again. One long finger slid inside her, swirling the moistened opening.

Her body spasmed, jerking and exploding with sensation, lifting her higher and higher. “Now,” she gasped. “I want you inside me, now.”

She heard a rustle and a tear, then he pressed the tip of his swollen member to her opening. He hiked her knees up and planted a hand on either side of her. Swooping low, he stole a kiss and slid into her, slowly, steadily, until he filled her.

He pulled halfway out and paused.

Impatient beyond reason, she wrapped her legs around his waist and brought him home.

In, out, he pumped against her. She matched him thrust for thrust, rising off the bed to take him all the way into her. She’d never felt so complete, so full, and so right.

Now that she knew what making love should really feel like, she couldn’t go back to the lackluster, black and white past. Craig was vibrant, Technicolor, here and now.

His body stiffened, he threw back his head, and he rammed into her one last time. Balancing on his hands, he held steady for a long, exquisite moment and then collapsed on top of her.

For several seconds she couldn’t breathe, and didn’t care. She could die like this and have no regrets.

But eventually, he rolled to his side, taking her with him, neither of them willing to sever their intimate connection.

She sighed and snuggled against his chest, allowing the curly hairs to tickle her nose. She inhaled his scent, a mixture of her soap and his musk, a heady combination. “Mmm. I could stay like this forever.”

…

Craig held Elaine in the crook of his arm and sighed.

Forever
.

Suddenly, his body sprang to alert. An adrenalin rush poked his heart into overdrive and he breathed like a marathon athlete at the finish line. Self-preservation mode threatened to kick in.

He studied Elaine in the light from the bathroom door. Her face glowed a creamy pink, warmed by the heat generated from their skin-to-skin contact. Incredibly long lashes brushed her cheeks.

He lifted a hand to the smooth line of her jaw. Her skin, soft and smooth, did funny things to his stomach. His breathing slowed to match the steady puffs of air stirring the hairs on his chest.

Funny. He couldn’t picture her standing up against him in a divorce court. Closing his eyes, he tried to envision her in a tailored suit, briefcase in one hand and divorce lawyer at her side. The only image he conjured was her in a lab coat, her glasses perched on the end of her nose, a smile curving her lips as she looked up at him from her microscope.

With little more effort, he envisioned them at sixty, lying in bed. His hair would be gray or gone. Hers would be a frizzy mass of salt and pepper. Her green eyes would look up at him, crinkled at the corners from years of smiles and laughter.

Instead of repulsing him, the image warmed him. He pulled her closer. On the edge of consciousness, three-quarters of the way to dreamland, in the far distance he heard the steady beat of a drum.

Chapter Thirteen

Elaine stretched, rolled onto her back, and slung an arm across the pillow next to her.

The
empty
pillow.

Her eyes blinked open and she sat up. “Craig?”

Where’d he go?

A quick scan of the room and through the door to the small living area revealed nothing. No dark-haired, blue-eyed, hunk-a-hunk-a-burnin’-love roaming around naked in her little cottage.

The Cajun sex god had flown the coop.

With a half-mortified, half-disappointed groan, she flopped flat on her back, the sheets against her bare skin a sensual reminder of the mattress acrobatics she and Craig had performed into the wee hours. She punched the pillow. How could she be so foolish to think he’d stay? He probably hopped in and out of so many beds he didn’t know where he was half the time.

The scent of him drifted up from the pillow. Without thinking, she hugged it to her breasts and inhaled deeply. A soft sigh escaped her lips, and the twisty-gurgling feeling in the pit of her stomach settled into a hungry rumble.

Why should she be annoyed with his disappearance? Hadn’t he said more than once he wasn’t into commitment? She’d gone to bed with him with her eyes wide open.

So, why did it hurt so much that he’d disappeared?

You’re a big girl, Elaine, get over it.

With a glance at the clock on the bedside table, she realized it was well past noon, which explained his absence. He probably had to go to work today. Out of courtesy, he’d let her sleep.

Cheered by the deduction, she shoved aside the blankets and trotted to the bathroom. The small white-tiled room looked like a tornado had hit it. Jeans and shirts littered the floor along with several empty foil packets.

Craig left without his clothes?

Elaine scooped up the items, still heavy with moisture and smelling strongly of swamp water. No wonder he didn’t want to put them back on. He probably slipped out in the dark so as not to embarrass her or himself in the light of day. Not that he seemed all that self-conscious about being nude.

She flicked open the shower curtain. The soap bar lay in the bottom of the tub, a fragrant reminder of the two of them beneath the warm spray, sliding together, slicked with suds.

With a nervous jerk, she closed the curtain and leaned in to turn the faucets on without looking. A cold shower ought to dispel any lingering fantasies.

While the water pattered against the plastic shower curtain, she peered into the mirror at the reflection of a stranger. With her hair mussed, eyes sparkling, and cheeks flushed pink, she looked more alive than she’d ever seen herself before. The sight of beard burn across her breasts only increased her awareness. An image of Craig sucking one rosy tip at a time into his mouth sizzled in her mind. Her nipples hardened into peaks and fire seared into her belly.

She opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed for toothpaste. With clean teeth and fresh breath, she could conquer the world. In less than ten minutes, she accomplished her morning ablutions and a brief shower.

Dressed in a light floral dress and ready for anything, she gathered the damp clothing and stuffed it into the washing machine hidden behind louvered doors in the kitchen.

Now what?

She scanned the miniature lab scattered across the folding tables erected in the living room. You’d think after two trips into the swamp she’d have a larger selection of specimens to work with. One dead baby alligator, a fish, and a frog. Not much. But a start, nonetheless.

She pulled out her notebooks and went to work.

Two minutes later, a scratching sound at her front door alerted her to a visitor.

Setting aside a slide, she walked across the living room and opened the door to Dawg.

“Good morning.” She leaned down and ruffled the dog’s ears. “It’s a beautiful morning. Huh, boy?” With a glance around she noted his frog wasn’t with him. “Where’s your friend?”

“
Woof!
”

The mottled green bullfrog of the day before hopped into view from around the door.

“There you are. I thought maybe you’d decided to ditch the dog.”

Dawg’s tail thumped the floor, and he slurped the frog with a long, juicy tongue.

She laughed out loud when the frog fell over, completely slimed in dog saliva.

“
Woof!
”

“You are a special case, aren’t you? If you two don’t mind, I have work to do.”

…

Considering the world outside the cottage doors loomed as a dangerous jungle to a bullfrog, Craig contented himself watching Elaine.

Completely absorbed in dissecting her specimens, she studied samples of tissue beneath her microscope and scribbled notes in a journal all afternoon. She’d barely noticed when Dawg flopped down on the floor against her feet. But when he laid his head against her legs and looked up at her with an open-mouthed yawn, she finally glanced down.

“Am I boring you?” She reached down and patted the dog’s head. Her stomach rumbled and she glanced at the clock over the mantle.

“Lordy, already four o’clock and I haven’t even had breakfast.” She glanced back at Dawg. “I don’t suppose you’re hungry too, are you? How about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”

Mmm… A peanut butter and jelly sandwich sounded like heaven to Craig.

Dawg rolled his eyes heavenward, and his tailed thumped in agreement.

Elaine walked the few steps across the room to the little kitchen area. The dog lurched to his feet and followed. Craig hopped over to stand close by.

“I’m sorry, but I’m fresh out of flies for Todd.”

Good
. Craig would rather starve than eat another fly. He’d have to fill up on human food at night.

Armed with a sandwich and a glass of ice water, Elaine sat at the Formica table. “I’m not liking what I’m seeing, Dawg.”

Dawg nudged her leg and pounded the floor with his tail.

She tore a piece of crust off the side of her sandwich and absently handed it over to the dog. “The toxin levels are dangerously high in all the samples. Frankly, I’m surprised the leopard frog was alive when we found him. His liver was only half the size it should have been. Remind me to ask Craig about factories in the area, will you?”

The dog’s mouth dropped open in what resembled a grin and his tail swished across the floor knocking into Craig.

He steadied himself and looked back up at Elaine.

She had a sad, faraway look on her face. Her fingers plucked at the crust of her sandwich, but she didn’t eat. “Do you think he will avoid me, now?”

Taken off guard by her change in subject, he felt as if he were eavesdropping.

“I mean, after all, I’m no prize catch when it comes to looks.” She slipped her glasses off her nose and self-consciously tucked a loose curl behind her ear.

He recalled nibbling on that delectable ear. But what did she mean, not a prize catch? Seemed the good professor didn’t even know the amazing bounty she had hiding beneath her lab coat. His gaze followed her hand down the side of her long, creamy white neck.

“I wonder why he’s so afraid of commitment?” She slipped the glasses back on. “Not that I’m interested in a lasting relationship with the man. Even if he is great in bed. I mean—” she stared down at Dawg and Craig “—he flat out told me he wasn’t into commitment. And what good is a relationship based only on sex?”

Craig opened his mouth to argue, but snapped it shut before he croaked and embarrassed himself. What they had wasn’t just about the sex. They also fit together perfectly, him inside her, her snuggled up against him in bed. Hell, the woman had enough passion—in bed and out—to light the skies on fire. He’d never been with someone so instinctively natural and…and…sensual. And she didn’t even know it.

“Okay, okay, so we had one night of incredibly hot sex.”

Yeah, you know it
. His chest swelled with the certain knowledge he’d given her as much pleasure as she’d given him. When he looked down, he realized not only had his chest swelled, but his neck had swelled too. He opened his mouth and belched out a loud croak.

“You know, Todd, I think you’re right.” She leaned back in her chair.

Huh? All he’d done was croak. How “right” could he be?

“Me being with Craig makes about as much sense as a dog keeping a pet frog. Last night was probably a mistake.” She paced across the room, tapping a fingernail to her bottom lip. Finally she came to a halt. “Look at me. I don’t have time to worry about my love life. If I’m going to make a difference in the swamp, I’d better get cracking.” She knelt beside him and the dog. While she ruffled Dawg’s neck, she gazed down at Craig and chucked a finger beneath his green chin. “Can’t have all your cousins getting sick out there and dying because some sick bastard is dumping poison into the water.”

She plowed back into her work with a vengeance, barely looking up until the sun disappeared behind the treetops.

Throughout the afternoon, Craig had watched for a chance to escape the tiny cottage, but she’d gotten so wrapped up, she’d even forgotten to put out Dawg. And the lazy canine stretched out on the braided rug in front of the couch, completely content to spend the afternoon sleeping.

As the sun crept out of the sky, Craig grew increasingly nervous. If he didn’t get out of the house quickly, he’d transform right in front of her. He couldn’t afford to do that. If there was even a slim chance that she was “the one,” she couldn’t know about his condition.

A heavy weight settled on Craig’s chest, and he fought to shake it.

He glanced at Elaine, recalling her earlier lament. What idiot would think she was rigid or boring in bed? The woman was completely uninhibited. Knowing what he knew about her zeal for lovemaking only made him hot.

She stood in front of her microscope, her pretty dress brushing her calves, her delicate ankles peeking from beneath the hem. She displayed passion not only in bed, but also in her work. She truly cared about finding the source of the pollutants and determining the damage such an infraction could have on the ecosystem of the swamp.

He stared at her, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, her attention focused on the slide under the microscope. And a huge realization hit him square in the gut.

She had what he lacked.

Passion
.

Passion to fight for a cause she believed in. Passion enough to challenge her crippling fears to discover the truth. Passion to root for the underdog—or under
frog
, in this case.

And what did he have? A place in his family’s law firm defending clients with more money than brains, vindictive people who didn’t care about anything or anyone but themselves.

People like himself
.

The clock on the fireplace mantle rang seven times, piercing his depressing musings.
Oh, hell
. His body tensed, and he darted a glance to the clock and then to the window.

The sun had disappeared behind the trees, sliding its way through the forest to the hidden horizon.

Damn
. Only a few minutes stood between him and Elaine discovering the truth about him. He had to get out of the cottage, and quick.

He bounced up and down on Dawg’s floppy ear.

The dog twitched but didn’t budge.

With a mighty leap, Craig hopped straight up in the air and came down on Dawg’s forehead.
Time to wake up, boy
.

Dawg opened an eye, spotted Craig, and thumped his tail against the floor.

Craig butted his head against the stubborn canine trying to nudge him to his feet.
Come on boy, get up
.

Finally, the dog lumbered to his feet, stretched, and yawned his mouth so wide he whined.

“Hey, Dawg.” Elaine scribbled something in the journal, then looked up. “Nice to see you’re still with the living. You slept so long I thought maybe you were dead.”

With another hop, Craig bumped into Dawg, hoping to steer him in the direction of the door.

But Dawg had other ideas. He trotted over to Elaine, sat down, and gazed up at her with soulful brown eyes.

She reached down to pat the dog’s head. “Did you work up an appetite sleeping for so long?”

“
Woof!
”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Come on, I’ve got some leftover lunchmeat.” She led the way into the kitchen.

The dog followed her without a backward glance at Craig.

Traitor
.

What was he going to do? His heart pattered hard against his chest. The damp clothes were in the washer, in the kitchen with Elaine.

Suddenly, his ears started to ring and his skin tingled.
Uh-oh
. He shook so hard he swayed, the tremors moving from to tip of his nose to his webbed feet.
Damn, the change was happening
. With three giant jumps, he landed just inside the bedroom door before the transformation gripped him.

His bones and skin stretched, the chemicals in his body burning like billions of miniature electrical shocks. Slowly, his flesh unfolded, reshaping until he stood tall and straight.

The room tilted. He braced his feet and turned to peer across the room at the mirror on the wall. He was back.
Thank God.

Knocking sounded at the front door, jerking him out his muzzy-headed state. Who the hell was visiting Elaine after dark? He ran for the bathroom and snatched a towel to wrap around his waist.

“Do you think it might be Craig coming back for his clothes?” She hurried past the open bedroom door, Dawg close at her heels.

Did her voice sound eager or nervous? He wondered if she regretted their romp in the sack.

He hid behind the bedroom door and waited nervously to see who it was, watching for a chance to use this distraction to make good his escape.

Elaine opened the front door. Mo filled the entry, his broad shoulders seeming to stretch from one side of the doorframe to the other. He wore his factory maintenance clothes, but his shirt hung loose from the waistband. With a shy smile, he stuck out his hand. “Hi, I be Maurice Saulnier. You don’t know me, but I be a friend of Craig Thibodeaux. Do you know where dat boy be?”