Sexy Beast VI. Lydia Parks

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СКАЧАТЬ drove through, followed by Tala’s vehicle. Logan closed and locked the gate and got back in the car.

      Jazzy took a good look around her and realized that while she’d been stewing and napping, they’d left the dry foothills and entered a thick forest of unbelievably huge trees and monster-sized ferns like something out of a movie. The air was damp and foggy, the ground smelled like wet dirt and mushrooms.

      A chill ran along her spine when she realized she recognized the smells, the trees, the very essence of this place. “I’ve been dreaming about this forest. I recognize the way it smells, but how could I? I’ve never been here before.” She rolled her window down and took another deep breath.

      Mik glanced back over the seat and grinned broadly before he answered her. “It’s something to do with our genetic instincts. The feral part of our nature exists even if we never truly morph into Chanku. We’ve all had the same dreams. Haven’t you ever awakened exhausted, feeling like you spent the night hunting on four legs? Awakened some mornings with a coppery taste in your mouth as if you’d eaten something wild and bloody the night before?”

      Jazzy didn’t answer him. She couldn’t, not when her mind was spinning with remembered dreams and events that had never really happened.

      Or had they? Might she literally have run as a beast in her dreams? Left her physical body and hunted fat rabbits in some other dimension? For some reason, the concept didn’t feel all that impossible.

      At least no more impossible than turning into a wolf. She scratched at her raw, itchy arms.

      “That’s going to go away, too,” Mik said. “The itching starts about the time you’re ready to make your first shift. I swear it’s from your bones wanting to jump out of your skin. Once you shift, the sensation seems to just disappear.”

      Jazzy glanced at her raw, itchy forearms and hoped Mik knew what he was talking about.

      Many gates later, they pulled into a small clearing with a perfect log cabin in the midst. Unbelievably tall trees blocked out all but the finest rays of sunlight, and huge ferns grew right up to the front porch.

      There were signs of recent construction, but the grounds were immaculate and the new wood already showed signs of incipient growths of the thick moss that seemed to be everywhere.

      “Anton told me he’s had extra rooms added on, mainly to accommodate his packmates and the babies, so there should be plenty of space for all of us.” Mik climbed out of the car and stretched. It had been a long drive from San Francisco, over six hours with a brief stop for lunch.

      Tala pulled her smaller car into the clearing and parked. They all got out, craning necks and looking skyward. Jazzy shivered and rubbed at her arms. She’d had another of those big pills this morning, and already she felt different. Sound seemed to envelope her. After a moment, it suddenly dawned on her that she heard the beating of hearts, the perceptible rush of blood.

      She noticed a faint buzzing in her ears, as if many voices spoke at once. When she tried to concentrate, the sound grew louder but the voices were less distinct. Shaking her head, she grabbed a small bag of borrowed clothes out of the back of the SUV and followed Beth and Nick up the front steps.

      AJ had the door unlocked and they all trooped in. “We’re lucky Tinker and Lisa had a set of keys to this place,” he said. He pulled the window blinds open. Light streamed into the cabin.

      The living area was fairly compact, with a small kitchen and great room connected beneath open beams. A standard picnic table filled the opening between the two rooms, rustic but perfectly appropriate for a cabin in the woods. One doorway led off to a large bedroom and bath; another, newer-looking door opened into a hallway with four matching doors along its length.

      “AJ, Mik, and I will take the master bedroom. You guys can split the extra rooms up however you want. You’re on your own. I’m beat and I’ll be taking a long nap, folks. If you get hungry, Anton said the caretakers would leave the refrigerator stocked.” Tala stepped back into the great room. “Looks like just four rooms and Anton said each has its own bathroom, so someone’s going to have to share.” Tala grinned when she said that and glanced toward Beth and Nick.

      They both blushed. Jazzy decided this might be interesting. Someone else would have to double up, too. She wondered who that might be.

      “Jazzy and I will take this room. Right, Jazzy?”

      Logan’s deep voice sent shivers along her spine. She turned and looked at him in amazement. He’d not said a word to her the entire trip.

      “We’ll see,” she said. She walked past him and opened the first door. Nothing fancy, but definitely comfortable with a king-sized mattress on a simple frame, bedding folded on top and a door leading to a private bathroom. “I’m claiming this one all for myself. Maybe I’ll want to share, later.” She shrugged. “Maybe I won’t.”

      “Beth and I will take this one.”

      Nick grabbed the door next to Jazzy’s. She didn’t wait to see what the others did. The bathroom beckoned.

      5

      Tala followed Mik and AJ into their room. It was by far the largest and nicest, designed as it had been for Anton’s use. It felt weird, taking over his personal space, but he’d been more than generous when she’d called and asked about using the cabin.

      “I think Anton’s really jealous that we’re here with six new Chanku and he’s stuck in Montana.” She glanced over her shoulder at Mik. His eyes glistened with what looked suspiciously like tears. “What’s wrong?”

      “I was just thinking how close we came to losing him. He almost died last month.”

      AJ slipped an arm around Mik’s waist. “He did die last month. We brought him back. Don’t forget that. We all learned something from that mess.”

      “I know I learned how much I love the man. How much I admire him. He was willing to give everything for us. I’ve often wondered if I have that kind of courage.” Mik walked past Tala and sat on the edge of the bed. “Are either of you as nervous as I am about what we’re doing?”

      Tala sat next to Mik and bumped her shoulder against his arm. “Nah. Nothing to it.” She laughed. “Scared shitless, if you want the truth. What if something goes wrong?”

      “I wish we could have taken them all straight to Anton, but Keisha said he’s still too fragile. She wants him to spend some time recuperating before he takes on a project.”

      Tala leaned over and kissed AJ. “I have an idea of what Keisha’s idea of recuperating is. She’s finally interested in sex again. Lily took a lot out of her.”

      “She’s a cute little thing.”

      “You sound wistful, big guy. Got the baby blues?” AJ sat on Mik’s other side and threw an arm over his broad shoulders.

      Mik turned and grinned at AJ. “When it was just you and me, I never thought of babies. Now we’ve got our very own breeder.”

      Tala jumped off the bed and spun around with her hands on her hips. “Don’t you go looking at me that way!”

      AJ frowned. “You don’t want babies? I thought you loved babies.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ