Sweet Desire, Wicked Fate Read online

  The door opened against Briz’s back.

  Hubs peeked in.

  The sight of him sent a chorus of sighs through the room as everyone expelled their fears and inhaled relief. Armed with a boat oar Hubs stepped inside.

  “S-sorry, I di-did-n’t come s-sooner.” Hubs leaned the oar against the wall. He stood taller than normal as he pulled Briz up off the floor. They stared into each other’s eyes. “I di-didn’t have a b-boat.”

  Olympe hurried over and wrapped her arms around Hubs, knowing how alarmed he must have been by Jaden’s yowling. His body was trembling. No doubt he’d been expecting to find all of them being tortured by the Mal Rous.

  Hubs gasped as he caught sight of Violet.

  “It’s okay, Hubs.” Olympe took hold of his hand. “Now, this here is Violet; she’s a … a Bellibone.”

  Hubs’s gaze remained locked on Violet. Olympe stood in front of him. Placing her hands on his face, she gently tilted his head down and stared into his eyes until there was a silent exchange between the two of them. She lowered her hands, and Hubs rigidly tipped his head toward Violet, acknowledging her. It would take time for him to learn to trust the Bellibone, but this was a start.

  Violet nodded back understandingly.

  “Everyone out,” Tamara ordered, lifting Violet into her arms. “Let’s get dinner started.”

  Isadora, Briz, and Jaden obediently followed Tamara into the kitchen while Olympe led Hubs over to the sofa.

  “I’m s-sorry Mama,” Hubs said. “I was s-scared.” He stared at the floor. “I drove away. Got all the way to New Orleans b-before turning b-back. Went and s-saw Grand-pere Sep. Then locked m-myself in the trailer. When I wasn’t s-scared anymore I f-found a b-boat I could ba-barrow.”

  Olympe took her son’s hand in hers. “I’ve been so worried about ya. I’m so glad yer all right.”

  For a long moment they sat in silence, listening to the muffled sounds coming from the kitchen. Then Olympe said, “Yer a good man, Hubs. Ya know how much I love ya, son. That’s why I want ya to go back to town tomorrow and stay there till this here deed is done.”

  “No, Mama.” Hubs shook his head. “Not less y’all come w-with me.”

  “I can’t do that Hubs. This here is my home. Yer Papa built it.”

  “M-maybe its time to f-find a new home. M-move closer to Grand-pere Sep.”

  Olympe and Hubs sat huddled together talking, disagreeing, and negotiating until daylight faded from the room.

  Throughout dinner, Olympe observed Jaden and Briz sitting at opposite ends of the table, stealing glances and conversing in playful banter. The energy from their bodies floated across the room like luminous fibers spiraling around each other.

  It had been many years since the rhythm of love and romance thrived in that house. Olympe missed her husband Billy. His passing had left a void in her life. She found herself envying Jaden and Briz—the opportunities they’d have that she had only dreamed of. Simple things like going to a movie or out to dinner. With her lily-white skin and Billy’s ebony, it’s likely they would both have been lynched. They couldn’t even marry legally until the law prohibiting interracial marriage was changed in 1967.

  The table had been cleared and the kids were washing the dishes when Olympe, lost in her thoughts, spoke out loud without realizing it. “They have their whole lives ahead of them.”

  “Well now, that all depends on if they survive the next couple of days,” Tamara said drily.

  Olympe raised her finger to her lips, silencing her blunt sister—though she knew Tamara was right. After hours of discussing a dismal array of “battle strategies,” it was clear that their chances were slim.

  “So, then, we has to let them enjoy tonight,” Olympe said, turning to Hubs. “Why don’t ya go, now, and put some nice music on?” The triplets and Violet quietly followed him out of the room.

  CHAPTER 40

  “That’s it.” Jaden handed Briz the last dish to dry. Turning around, she realized that they were alone in the kitchen. She wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t heard the others leave. Whenever she was around Briz, she had an uncanny ability to tune everything else out.

  No one was in the living room, either. Instead, Jaden found music playing and candles flickering on the end table. The curtains were closed. She couldn’t see the porch, but she assumed Hubs was sleeping in the hammock. His jumpiness at being near Violet was obvious, though he’d relaxed slightly as the evening went on. Given the spine-chilling drama that she was currently living, Jaden thought she should feel more like Hubs, nervously awaiting a fight for survival.

  Hubs should drink some of my tonic, along with that calming tea. Jaden had consumed buckets of it today and it seemed to have done its job. Even her more aggressive nature and obsession for Briz felt relatively contained, though she wouldn’t have thought the triplets would trust her to be alone with him.

  On cue, Briz walked in. Sliding his arm around Jaden’s waist, he twirled her through the room, making her head feel like it was filled with Fourth of July sparklers. When the music slowed, he pulled her closer. Their bodies swayed to the beat.

  “What are you doing?” she asked giddily as her contained feelings enthusiastically frolicked back to life. “I didn’t know you could dance.”

  “My sisters always made me practice with them when we were kids. Guess some of it stuck.”

  Inhaling him as if drinking an elixir of ambrosia, Jaden knew it wasn’t just her own desires that had been reawakened. His touch was causing Datura’s cells to reignite, overriding the triplets’ brew.

  The song ended and Briz waltzed her over to the bedroom door. Jaden smiled in anticipation of his invitation to come lie with him.

  “Hey, I’m spent,” he said. “I’m going to crash. It’s been a long day.”

  She frowned. Clearly, he didn’t find her pheromones nearly as tantalizing. Maybe they were a little too heavy on the badass monster side.

  Jaden knew he was right. She should be exhausted, too. But she wasn’t. How can he do this to me? She unintentionally moaned out loud.

  Briz smiled slowly.

  “Why don’t you sleep in the bed?” Jaden said, keeping her tone even. “I’m not tired yet. I’ll stay out here on the couch. Anyway, I’m going to get something to drink.”

  He knew what she’d be guzzling down. It didn’t stop him from briefly kissing her on the lips before he retreated to the safety of the bedroom—alone.

  A few days ago, all she’d wanted was to be kissed by Briz. Now she wanted to bypass second and third base. How quickly her world had changed. She had changed.

  Jaden plopped down on the sofa, aware that her reawakened strands of DNA, saturated with essence of Datura, were hyping her more feral senses. She was feeling brave, cocky, and determined, not just about Briz, but also about saving her mom and sister, and putting an end to the Professor’s mutations.

  Jumping up, she went to the open bedroom door. Briz had taken off his shirt and lay stretched out on the bed, the candlelight from the living room bathing him in a golden glow. Without warning a fabulous glitch clicked in Jaden’s brain, and she had the delightful sensation of losing control. All her innocence, hesitation, and insecurity flew out the window. Out of the house. Out of the state.

  She knew she was a late bloomer. Ready to make up for lost time, she marched into the room and climbed on top of him. Straddling his hips, she leaned down, letting her tongue touch his lips as her mouth embraced his. His fingers entwined in her hair, guiding her closer. She lowered her hand to his shorts and was fumbling with the zipper when he pulled his lips away from hers.

  “Jade, we can make out, but that’s all.”

  His comment stung her ears, her willingness, and her ego. “Why?” she heard herself whine like a child who wasn’t being allowed to play with a new toy. “You started this,” she said, her face hovering over his.

  “I was dancing with you, Jaden. Not coming on to you. You need to drink some of your brew.”
<
br />   “For being so appealing and cool, you can sure spoil the mood.”

  “It was my mistake. I wasn’t thinking,” he said. “Dancing can be—”

  “What’s wrong with you?” Jaden interrupted. “Are you creeped out that I might be contagious?” She kept talking while he moved her body off his and he sat up making certain his zipper was up. “Afraid you’ll catch the incurable Datura disease?”

  Lacing her fingers around his neck, Jaden drew him toward her. He systematically pried himself free and held her arms to her sides.

  “Jade, seventy-two hours ago we had our first kiss. Maybe we can slow down.”

  “Slow down? I don’t get you.”

  “Me … ?” His eyes quickly scanned her face. “This isn’t even you.” Releasing her arms, he added, “And this time, I’m not letting things get out of hand.”

  “This time? When was there a last time?”

  “The other night …” embarrassed, Briz lowered his head. “At the manor.”

  “You told me nothing happened.”

  “And it didn’t.”

  “So why not now? Come on, we’re in a life or death situation. If we don’t do it tonight we may never get another chance.” Jaden knew that if a guy used this line on her, she’d be angry and out the door. But she needed Briz to touch her. To feel his skin against hers. “This whole teenage coming-of-age thing is way more intense than I thought it would be. This bites. Do you even like me?”

  “Uh … yeah, I like you a lot. The real you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here.” He rubbed his forehead. “This new altered version can be a lot to handle.”

  She couldn’t argue with him about that.

  “You’re the only person in this town I can relate to, that I want to hang out with. You’re different from everyone else.” Stifling a chuckle, he added, “Now you’re a little too different. Normally, you’re a lot of fun to be with—when you’re not acting like your sister. Or a Mal Rou.”

  “But, you don’t want me the way I want you.”

  “Of course I do. You’re a total babe.” Standing up, Briz stepped back, putting some space between the two of them. “Now you even sound like Ava.”

  “Total babe” was all that Jaden heard. It was as if he had recited a love sonnet to her. “So … ?”

  “It’s not you. It’s …” Briz’s hands went to his hair, tugging it as if he wanted to pull it out by the roots. “You have no idea of how much self-control I’m using.” Mumbling, he added, “I don’t know, maybe I’m only this way with Lisette girls.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? Now you’re lumping me and Ava together? The girls you don’t like you’re intimate with?” Jaden scoffed, “I’m one of the lucky ones that you like, so you refuse to touch me?”

  “No, I like touching you.” Giving his scalp a reprieve, Briz stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I know you think I’m some kind of a puritanical prude. I’m not. It’s a lot of stuff.”

  “Like Datura changing me?”

  “Datura’s definitely changed you.”

  “Yeah, well, my wanting you isn’t just because of her bite.”

  “I know.”

  “You know, but you aren’t interested.” She twisted the bottom of her top and considered pulling it off before he could stop her.

  “Jade, I feel the same way about you.” Exhaling, he sounded like a trapped bull. “You’re making too big a deal out of this.”

  “Haven’t you noticed how everyone in the house has vanished? Even Violet isn’t here, hovering around us, protecting you. The candles, the music. Maybe nobody has much faith in our ability to survive the next few days. They’re giving us some privacy, the opportunity to, you know… .”

  “Do you really think I carry condoms around in case I get lucky?”

  “Briz, are you gay?” she asked, hoping he’d prove her wrong. “I mean, it doesn’t matter if you are… . But I’d stop bugging you.”

  “How can you ask that after the other day?” Pulling his hands out of his pockets, Briz waved his arms in the air. “No, I’m not gay. I, I just …” He started sputtering. “You know, ever since you got bit… . You’re not even legal. I could go to jail.”

  Jaden’s forehead creased with lines of doubt. Was he that much of a law-abiding citizen? He did seem pretty conscientious. No. He might be the only guy in Belle Fleur who owned a hybrid car, but she wasn’t buying this. “I could die tomorrow. The Mal Rous might just decide to knock me off. You can have ‘a departed virgin lies here’ written on my gravestone.”

  She knew she should be freaking out about tomorrow, not forcing herself on Briz. Her grandfather’s face plopped into her mind. Talk about a mood killer. Jaden didn’t want to be like him. She truly believed this was completely different. She would never treat Briz the way Dekle treated Elvina.

  Briz sat down on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands. After a few minutes he straightened up and faced her. “Jade, without protection, you could get pregnant. Have you thought about that? How that would change your life, our lives? Do you really think you’re ready to have a baby when you’re still in high school?”

  Actually, Jaden hadn’t thought about it at all. When she was around Briz, thinking wasn’t her priority. Apparently he made all her brain cells disintegrate. Stifling her impulse to climb in his lap and kiss his luscious lips, she muttered, “No.”

  He shifted away from her and lowered his head back into his hands, then let out a guilt-ridden sigh. “When I was your age, I got a girl pregnant.”

  Wow. I didn’t see that coming.

  “You may think at fifteen you’re grown up, but when you’re slapped in the face with reality, it suddenly feels real young.”

  I know all about getting slapped in the face with reality. The Mal Rous want to take control of me and turn me into their homegirl. Well, it’s more of an altered version of reality … still. Jaden was glad she didn’t say it out loud. As Briz lifted his head to speak, she could see his pain and humiliation.

  “We’d been dating for eight months. My family was getting ready to move here from Seattle. When I told them she was pregnant, they put the move on hold, said I had to take responsibility for my actions. Three weeks later my girlfriend, Abigail, had a miscarriage. I know this sounds bad, but we were so relieved. Abigail and I were given a second chance. My folks insisted we stay in town for a couple more months. They said it wasn’t right to just leave her, after all she went through.”

  “Both of you,” Jaden said, touching the side of Briz’s knee with the tips of her fingers. “What both of you went through.”

  He took her hand in his. “Trust me, it’s a lot harder on the girl. I’m not going to put someone through that again. And I don’t want to be a dad when I’m just a kid myself.”

  “Did you love her?”

  “I was a fifteen-year-old guy. Love had nothing to do with it.”

  “So are you any different, now?”

  “Hmph. Funny. Yeah, I’ve been eighteen for three days. Now I’m real mature,” Briz said, grinning wryly. “My dad always says, ‘Don’t be a walking hormone.’ I’m trying to take his advice. But you’re not making it easy.”

  “So you’ve decided to be a monk?”

  “No. I’m just …” Briz paused, then chose his words with care. “I’m more mindful and conscious. More creative when I’m intimate.” Jaden scooted closer as his words registered. “I want to care about the person I’m with, Jade. Not that I didn’t care about Abigail, but, I don’t know …” He looked at Jaden. “I’m not making the same mistake twice. Besides, there are other ways. Other things we can do.”

  “What? When?”

  “We have time, Jade.”

  “Actually, tonight might be the only time we have.”

  “I don’t believe that.” Briz kissed her hand. “Go on. We need to get some sleep.” And that was that.

  Jaden knew he was right. She didn’t want to get pregnant. But what about those other, more creative
ways to be intimate? She was hungry for him. For any crumb he was willing to throw her way.

  Briz stood up and crossed his arms over his bare chest as if guarding his body, the promised prize. And the conversation was over.

  Jaden sighed. It was time to direct all of her pent-up energy toward tomorrow. After all, it was destined to be an eventful day. Trying to stay alive while undermining the Mal Rous would take some doing. Sliding off the bed, she grabbed her nightshirt from the dresser and headed to the bathroom. Then went straight to the kitchen for a long, steady swig of her drink. When she returned, Briz was lying on the couch. He probably feels safer from me out here.

  The music stopped, the candles went out. This night wasn’t ending the way she’d imagined. Jaden got into bed and faced the wall, hoping she’d fall asleep quickly and dream about what she was missing.

  Then Briz’s warm, lean body slid next to hers. His fingers moved her hair aside. Her skin heated up as his lips swept over the nape of her neck.

  “It’s lonely out there,” he whispered. “I thought we could sleep together.”

  From the way he said “sleep” and the fact that he was fully clothed, she knew it was all he intended to do.

  She slipped around to face him, and his lips met hers as if he were enjoying a lush Georgia peach. She savored the moment, thinking, who cares about the Mal Rous?

  CHAPTER 41

  Tig floated off the triplets’ kitchen counter to the ground, singing a lyrical tune about swallowing a coral snake whole. Her screech wasn’t as shrill as before, Jaden thought, regarding her. The small Mal Rou appeared charming and humorous with her sharp fangs sticking out. A bit manic, yet funny. Even cute. Climbing back onto the counter, Tig carefully separated Jaden’s matted hair into dreadlocks similar to Datura’s wormy strands.

  Jaden’s dream came to an end as Briz slid out of bed and drew the sheet up over her shoulders. Her eyes blinked open. She lay admiring him as he walked to the door and quietly shut it behind him. Snapping fully awake, Jaden felt her hair and was relieved to find there weren’t any dreadlocks forming. Still, something was wrong. A chill spread across her skin. She hadn’t had any elixir since the middle of the night when she slipped out of the room and gulped half of a bottle to make sure she wouldn’t harass Briz. This felt different. It was as if she’d woken up in the wrong body—a Mal Rous body. Her stomach churned with hunger and she saw visions of succulent toads. This is not good.