Jude Stephens (8 page)

She laughed “Oh no. You will need a house of your
own while you are in training. I am too old to be kept up by
that.”

I groaned, thinking about the rough road ahead of
me; probably long hours of martial arts and cardio training. I let
out a long sigh to which the woman just laughed. Bullet and I
followed her out into the warm summer night. She led us to a
smaller house set apart from the others. When we entered I was
surprised to see there was a regular bed and small dresser.

“
I thought having some of the
things you were used to would help you settle in better. I know
this isn’t easy for you Orenda.” She stood close to me and reached
up to place a hand on my cheek. “How I wish things were different
and you were not standing in front of me looking at me as a
stranger instead of your mother.”

I started to protest, but it was true. She was a
stranger.

“
What shall I call you? I don’t
think I can call you mother. Not when I was used to calling my real
mom…I mean my…” I stopped embarrassed.

She dropped her hand from my cheek and said, “Don’t
worry. I understand how you are feeling. Why don’t you just call me
Onatah? That’s my name.”

I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, I didn’t want
to call her Mother. It was too soon. The wounds were still too
fresh. I smiled at her and said, “Thank you, Onatah.”

She gave a small nod and said, “Goodnight then
Orenda. Sleep well and I will see you in the morning.”

After she left I glanced around the small house and
took in the furnishings. I saw that someone had brought my backpack
in and laid it by the dresser. There was a small wood burning stove
in the corner. And although there was no firing burning, Bullet
curled up in front of it. I laughed at him “Ahhh. Staking out your
territory already?”

A round table and two chairs sat at the far end of
the room. I noticed a door and went to investigate. To my delight
and relief I saw a small bathroom. There was just a toilet, sink
and shower stall, but I was still very happy to have them.

I decided to grab my pajamas and take a quick shower
before climbing into bed. I got in and turned the water on. I
turned the knob until the water was steaming. Even though the night
was warm the hot water felt wonderful on my weary body. The bar of
soap I grabbed looked homemade and when I lathered it up the scent
of honeysuckle delighted my senses and I sighed with pleasure.

“
I like the sound of
that.”

I jumped and dropped the bar of soap. I opened the
shower door just enough to peek my head out. Cheve was leaning
against the bathroom door. I swallowed hard as my eyes traveled up
from his bare feet, up the length of his jean clad legs to his hips
wear the jeans rode so low that I could see his pelvic bones. His
abs were rock hard and well defined. His tanned chest was smooth
with two dark puckered nipples. My eyes kept traveling upwards to
his dark stubbled jaw, to his slightly parted lips, and when I at
last looked into his eyes my breath stopped. His dark eyes were
blazing with heat. I felt a rush of fire spread through my
body.

“
Awww, shit.” I heard Cheve say as
he pushed himself away from the door, slid the shower door open and
stepped in the stall with me.

“
What the hell do--” I began but
was cut off when Cheve pulled me against him and lowered his mouth
to mine. I automatically opened my mouth and wrapped my arms around
him. He grabbed my ass and lifted me up so I had to wrap my legs
around his torso. All the while he kept kissing me, his talented
tongue probing. I began to feel the electrical currents race
through my veins. I knew I was close to losing control but couldn’t
stop.

I tore my mouth from his and began kissing my way
down his neck. I loosened my legs and slid down the length of his
body and trailed kisses down his collar bone and still lower until
I captured one of his dark nipples between my teeth. I tugged
gently and then swept my tongue around to lave it good.

My excitement was growing and I felt the liquid heat
spill from between my legs. I kissed my way down his stomach. In a
frenzy of lust I fell to my knees and fumbled with the opening of
his jeans and with a cry of triumph I opened them, tugged them
down, and… I stared stupidly for a long time trying to make my lust
addled brain understand what I was seeing.

Cheve clearly wasn’t excited.

“
This was your first lesson,
Sensay.” He squatted down low next to me. “You cannot let the fire
consume you.”

He stood up and offered me his hand. I didn’t even
look up; I was too consumed in self loathing. Cheve stepped out of
the shower and grabbed a towel and began drying himself off. “Do
not berate yourself over a failed lesson. It takes time to master
your body and senses.”

I was having a hard time understanding his words.
All I could think of is that it felt so good to kiss him, and I
wanted much more from him. I began to cry. When had I turned into a
loose woman?

Cheve came over and knelt by me again. “Why are you
crying? I told you it’s going to take time for you to master
this.”

I tried to pull myself together. “Why don’t you just
leave? You’ve shown me just how big a whore I am. How much more do
you want to humiliate me?”

He grabbed me roughly by the arms “Whore? Do not
ever call yourself that again! You are a Sensay. You have the
spirit of the earth flowing though your veins.” He suddenly stopped
and a shocked look came across his face. “You don’t understand any
of this, do you?”

He grabbed another towel, wrapped it around me,
picked me up and carried me to the bed. He laid me down on the bed
and covered me up. “I apologize. I thought you had a better
understanding of what being a Sensay is, and how your training
would proceed. God, you must think me a bastard.

Orenda, first, let me tell you that you are not a
whore. Your sexuality is pure and natural. Your response to me was
pure and natural. You became aroused by looking at me in such an
intimate surrounding, which is also a very natural thing. You
didn’t make a move on me. I came to you and kissed you, and you
responded because you are a healthy young woman. These things do
not make you a whore. What I did will be a part of our Sensay
training. I will teach you how to control these natural urges.”

I had to interrupt him at this point, “Whoa. Are you
telling me that you will be kissing me again?”

He chuckled. “I will be doing more than that to you,
Sensay.”

I bolted upright in the bed. “No way…you can’t…I
mean you don’t even find me attractive.”

He got a very serious look on his face. “It’s not
that I don’t find you attractive, Orenda. It’s just that you are my
job. I don’t look at you in that way.”

I thought about that for a minute. “I’m not sure I
understand this. Let me see. You are going to train me to harness
my passion by somehow igniting my passion when you don’t feel
anything for me at all? Am I correct?”

He looked confused for a minute himself. “Yeah, sort
of.”

“
Well, it’s not going to work,
because now that I know that you don’t feel anything for me, I will
not be drawn to you.” I smiled thinking that I had the upper hand
in the matter.

The smile left my face as Cheve got a glint in his
eye and said, “You do not want to challenge me, Sensay.”

I don’t know why, but I decided to push him. “As a
matter of fact, I’m not sure why I even let you kiss me. You’re not
my type at all.”

“
Oh, really? It seemed to me that
you enjoyed the way my mouth possessed yours.” He leaned in close
to me. I found myself looking at his soft mouth.

“
The way our tongues mated. Did
you like the way I nibbled on your lips?” He was so close I could
feel his sweet breath caressing me. His lips parted slightly and
the tip of his tongue came out and ever so lightly he ran it over
my lips.

Shivers raced along my spine and every nerve in my
body lit up with the electricity. I forced myself to hold very
still and shut my mind off to the sweet sensation.

Cheve pulled back a little, and when I looked at him
I was surprised to see a genuine smile light his face. “You did
very well, Sensay! Why do we not say that was our first lesson and
forget about what happened in the shower? That was excellent for a
first try. Of course I was not giving it much, but still, very
good.”

I just stared at him as he got up and walked to the
door. “Get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

With that he was gone. Well what the hell? I really
didn’t know what to make of any of this. First my grandmother turns
out to be my mother, and then I find out I’m going to be “trained”
in the fine art of passion by a handsome, finely chiseled male.

“
Argh!” I screamed into my pillow
as I tried to get comfortable on the bed. I was tired, but was
unable to find any peace as thoughts of the day’s happenings raced
through my mind. When I left Roberto--it was still difficult for me
to even think about him--I thought I would find some semblance of
peace. Ha!

I lifted my head as Bullet came over to the side of
the bed. I looked into his calming eyes and felt the tension leave
my body as I began to relax. Bullet padded back over to his place
in front of the stove and lay back down. I was drifting into the
sweet place where sleep claims you when a vision of a sexy blond
vampire came into my mind.

Chapter 9

Something was tickling my nose. I tried brushing it
away but it kept coming back. Without opening my eyes I asked

“
Bullet, is that you? Get out of
my bed you big bad wolf.”

I rolled over and put the pillow over my head. My
eyes snapped open when I felt a feathery light touch sweep up my
legs and over my naked backside.

“
What the hell?” I shouted as I
rolled onto my side.

Since it was still dark all I heard was male
laughter. “Cheve, what the hell do you think you’re doing sneaking
in here in the middle of the night? You better get out before I
tell my...Onatah.”

Again there was that irritating male laughter “Go
ahead. Onatah is the one who sent me in to wake you up. In this
village only the lazy sleep past 5:30 am.”

“
You’re kidding me it’s 5:30?” I
groaned.

“
Actually it’s 5:45. We let you
sleep in since it’s your first day. Get up and get dressed,
quickly. We are going to begin your training this morning.” He
stood and walked out.

My training? I wondered if that meant more of his
passionate kisses? I was beginning to get nervous. Grabbing some
decidedly unappealing clothes I ran into the bathroom to get
dressed for what I was sure was going to be yet another harrowing
day in my life.

I walked out into the cool morning air glad I had
worn sweat pants and a hooded sweatshirt and sneakers. Let’s see if
Mr. Kama Sutra would want to proceed with my lessons with me
looking like Rocky Balboa!

Cheve was talking with another man, but when he saw
me he nodded to the man and walked over to me. He looked at my
attire and I felt no small amount of satisfaction. My bubble was
burst when he said, “Good…that is perfect for our run before
breakfast.”

“
Run?” I asked stupidly. “What did
you say about a run?”

“
We’re going for a run before
breakfast.” He repeated slowly as if I were addled.

“
I heard you. I just thought that
my training was going to be more like last….” I trailed off
embarrassed.

He leaned in close so that he was mere inches from
my face. “Are you missing my kisses, Orenda? If you’d rather we go
back to your bed, I can certainly oblige.”

“
NO! That’s not what I meant and
you know it. I didn’t know there would be any other training that’s
all.”

“
We have many types of training
that we will be covering including strength and endurance in both
mental and physical forms. By the time we are finished you will be
a Sensay to be reckoned with.” He actually spoke those last words
with a bit of awe.

I rolled my eyes but said, “Which direction are
we

heading in?”

Three hours later I was begging the Gods to kill me.
My lungs burned, my legs ached and I was drenched in sweat.

“
I can’t do this anymore. Can I
rest?” I panted while letting my body collapse to the
ground.

“
We are almost back at the
village, but I guess we can stop for a few minutes.” Cheve sat down
next to me and offered me a bottle of water from his
backpack.

I took a long swallow of water. “Will we be doing
this every morning?”

“
Yes. We will be doing a 5 mile
run before breakfast. Then we will have 2 hours of self defense
training, followed by some strength training, and after lunch we
will have your mental training. We will work a few hours on
controlling your reactions and a few on fine tuning your abilities.
Then after dinner you will do some metaphysical training with
Onatah followed by and hour of astral projection with
me.”

I stared at him. He had surely lost his mind and I
told him so. “You’re nuts. How can I possibly do all of that in one
day? I’m exhausted already.”

“
That is the point of training,
Orenda. You will become stronger everyday. Today’s run took us
three hours. In a month we will be able to cut that in half. In two
months you will be able to do it in an hour.”

I groaned. Two months of this training? I surely
wouldn’t survive. I was never one to exercise much. I joined a gym,
but like half the people in the world, I went only a few times. I
went only at the beginning of the New Year when I would make a
resolution to get in better shape. The only thing I had going for
me was that I tended to eat right and there were days at the
hospital that I used to work my butt off.