Only By Moonlight (27 page)

LaShaun opened the lounger to reveal that she
wore nothing beneath it. As she let it slide to the floor, LaShaun
twirled around. She waved her hands hoping the scent of sandalwood
would distract him from the sage used to neutralize evil. The scent
worked as an aphrodisiac, especially to demons who loved pleasures
of the flesh.

“Now that you’re here, you don’t want to be
with me?” LaShaun said softly. She rubbed her hands down her breast
and hips.

Chase licked his lips and let out a hissing
sound. He crossed the few feet between them and pulled her against
his body. LaShaun took off his jacket. When she tried to hang it on
the hook for coats, Chase knocked it from her hands. Seconds later
he’d pulled off the rest of his clothes as LaShaun danced for
him.

“I will have you, cherie,” he rasped.

Chase lifted LaShaun easily and she wrapped
her legs around his waist. Kissing passionately they held onto each
other. LaShaun started to unwind from around his body so they could
head to the bedroom. Chase growled a protest deep in his throat. He
pulled her legs back and pushed her against the wall. He entered
her and LaShaun gasped at the force of his thrusts. The ferocity of
his lovemaking made him seem like a stranger. Yet the smell of his
skin and hair sent shudders of lust through her body each time they
moved together. Fear mixed with ecstasy. The strident screams of
pleasure seemed to echo inside her head until she felt senseless.
He thrust once and held her tight. LaShaun felt an explosion
building inside her until she dug her fingers into his flesh,
greedy for every inch of him. He cried out as he came, moaning
until his voice died away into gasps for air. After a few seconds
Chase sighed and let go of LaShaun.

“I’m going to take a shower,” he said.

LaShaun kissed his shoulders. “I put out
fresh towels. Why don’t you turn on the whirlpool and relax
instead. I’ll have your dinner waiting.”

Chase playfully slapped her bare bottom.
“Merci, cher.”

To keep him from being distracted, LaShaun
showered in the spare bathroom. She dressed quickly and finished
cooking wild rice, roasted chicken and fresh snap beans. All of the
dishes were seasoned with sage. Chase returned to the kitchen
dressed casually in loose fitting brown cotton pants and a matching
long-sleeved shirt.

“You like that outfit I bought for you? More
elegant that those frayed LSU sweatpants and purple t-shirt,”
LaShaun teased as she spread butter on warm cornbread.

“Oui. Very elegant. This food looks
delightful.”

He had already begun eating in the short time
it took LaShaun to turn around and bring the plate of cornbread.
She felt a small prickle as she watched him. Chase looked totally
at ease, but something was... off about him. The way he sprinkled
French words in his conversation was uncharacteristic. He ate the
food slowly, pausing at times to gaze out of the bay window at the
woods beyond the backyard. Although LaShaun tried for small talk,
Chase only nodded a few times as he kept eating. When the phone
rang LaShaun jumped. She started to get up, but Chase put a
restraining hand on her arm.

“I’ll get it.” He wiped his mouth on a napkin
and went to the kitchen wall phone. “Hello, Sheriff. Honestly the
trip was sorta boring. Those guys in Shreveport are depressingly by
the book. No, I’ll come in. Thanks to my sweet wife to be I’m
energized.”

LaShaun stood when he hung up. “Stay with me
this once.”

I’m running for Sheriff, so I intend to be
visible. You can bet good old Dave is going to be at the crime
scene when I get there,” Chase said. He picked up the last bite of
chicken on his plate and ate it.

“I’m surprised you care about appearances,”
LaShaun murmured.

Chase’s hand whipped out so fast she hardly
had time to blink much less react. He gripped her wrist tightly and
smiled down at her. There was no warmth in his dark gaze. Instead
his eyes sparkled with amusement that seemed at her expense.

“You think you’re so clever. I’ve grown
strong. The herbs only annoy me now,” the voice came out slow. He
pronounced his consonants in a fluid accent that didn’t belong to
Chase.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,
Chase. Stop hurting me.” LaShaun tried to pry his fingers
loose.

His grip tightened. “I’ve been chastised for
falling prey to your charms. Wanting you, watching you all these
years. Who was it that made your family rich? Me. When you were
with that fool Quentin, who guided your hand as you controlled him
for your own profit? Me. Our time is coming. You will enjoy even
more wealth and power at my side. Why must you continue to fight
me?”

“I know who you are,” LaShaun spat. She
fought to control the growing terror that threatened to leave her
senseless.

“Then say my name,” he said, his face so
close the tips of their noses touched.

“No.” LaShaun shook her head slowly.

If she said the demon’s name at the wrong
time he would gain power over her, and Chase might be lost to her
forever. She had to set the stage for another attack plan, and say
his name with her weapons ready.

“I don’t have time for these games. One way
or another, you’ll be mine. You can choose the hard way or accept
the inevitable.” With his eyes half-closed, he brushed his face
against hers breathing in deeply. “This weak man does not deserve
such sweetness.”

“Chase, please hear me. Fight against this
vile thing trying to control you.” LaShaun couldn’t hold back the
tear that slipped down her cheek. She started to pray.

“Stop being foolish woman. I...” The accented
voice trailed off. Chase’s eyes blinked rapidly as he kissed
LaShaun’s forehead. “You smell so wonderful.”

“You have to resist. Do you remember coming
here? The last two hours or so?” LaShaun searched his gaze,
uncertain Chase was back with her.

“Of course I remember. How could I forget
every tender touch from my beautiful fiancée?” Chase gave LaShaun a
puzzled look. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“You’re in great danger of being possessed by
evil, Chase. A beast from another realm is back and trying to take
over.” LaShaun wrapped Chase in a strong embrace. “Remember the
good in you. Remember our faith.”

“I’m just fine. In fact, I feel more alive
than I have since enlisting in the Army.” Chase pushed free of her
hug. “Now I gotta go see about some crime. I have to look like the
next sheriff of this parish, because that’s exactly what I plan to
be. We’re gonna have a new day around here, little darlin’.”

“But Chase...” LaShaun followed him to the
bedroom.

He turned to face her. “LaShaun, you’ve
gotten yourself all tied up for no good reason. This is our
time.”

“You never asked what I was talking about, or
made fun of me for talking about evil spirits,” LaShaun said.

LaShaun felt numb as Chase strode away
without looking back or answering her. The sound of Chase whistling
a jaunty tune seemed to mock her. She muffled the shuddering sobs
by clamping both hands over her mouth. In a rush of emotion she’d
done exactly what Miss Rose had warned her not to do. Because of
her weakness Chase was now in even more danger.

Chapter 16

Katie and Adrianna arrived at LaShaun’s house
promptly at ten o’clock the next morning. She hadn’t been able to
convince them that a phone conversation about the wedding plans
would be enough. Besides, Katie had been a force not to be denied.
Exhausted after a sleepless night of self-recriminations and fear,
LaShaun had no energy to resist. To her surprise, Chase’s oldest
sister Elaine had come with them. They sat down in her den with
Katie’s famous wedding notebook with all the critical details.
After LaShaun served them orange spice tea and sweet potato tea
cakes, Katie got down to business.

“Morning. Elaine.” LaShaun gazed at her
steadily.

“Uh, Sharon couldn’t take off work to help
Katie and Adrianna do all the measurements for the garden.” Elaine
gave her an anemic smile. “So how’ve you been doing? I hear the
wedding should be beautiful.”

“Did you? Well yes, I suppose,” LaShaun
replied in a flat tone.

“Girl, you look like a worn out dish rag,”
Adrianna said with her characteristic candor. She leaned forward.
“Your eyes are red with dark circles under them, too.”

“You’re not getting sick?” Katie stopped
flipping through pages of her notes and looked up.

“I think she’s been crying,” Adrianna
said.

“Allergies. Other than that I’m fine,”
LaShaun lied, and not that well even to her own ears.

Katie took up the interrogation. “Where’s
Chase? I told him he needs to sit still for at least a couple of
hours and find out about his wedding.”

“He’s at work. Again.” LaShaun could only
imagine what kind of chaos Chase might be causing at another crime
scene.

“Chase is starting to get bad press over some
of the stuff he’s done,” Elaine said. “I don’t even recognize the
man they’re describing as my brother.”

LaShaun saw traces of her future
mother-in-law’s disapproving expression in Elaine’s face.
Ironically she and Chase looked the most like their mother. No
doubt Elizabeth had felt free to express her feelings about the
intruder in their family. LaShaun could well imagine what had been
said.

“He’s trying to show how dedicated he is to
making sure Vermilion Parish is a decent, safe place to live,”
LaShaun said, reciting the political line of bull as though she
were the candidate.

Katie squinted at LaShaun. “I heard the
sarcasm. You look awful because you two have been fighting.”

“Gee thanks,” LaShaun snapped and looked
away.

Adrianna glared at her sister-in-law “Katie
means you look tired is all. Isn’t that right? You didn’t mean she
looks awful literally.”

Katie stared back unfazed by the disapproval.
“What? You said she looked like a dish rag.”

“All right, so I didn’t get much sleep last
night.” LaShaun stood and walked to the window. “So can we discuss
the damn wedding now?”

Adrianna followed her. “Bruce and I fought a
lot coming up to our wedding. This is a time when everybody’s
nerves get on edge. It’s normal.” She gestured for the others to
join in.

“Uh, that’s right,” Katie added.

“You wanna tell us about it?” Adrianna gave
LaShaun’s arm a squeeze.

Under different circumstances LaShaun might
have laughed at the irony. What if she told them she was exhausted
partly because their brother had made love to her like a demon? No,
scratch that. He was a demon. In fact she did start laughing,
except the sound frightened the three women. LaShaun understood
why. The high pitch of hysteria in her own voice scared LaShaun as
well. Yet she couldn’t stop. Finally she bent double and started to
cry. Adrianna led her to the sofa in the den section of the
kitchen. Seconds later Katie appeared with a box of tissues, a
glass of water and a wash cloth. Adrianna dried LaShaun’s tears
like she would for one of her children as she patted her back.
Katie made LaShaun drink the water. Then both women had her lean
back and placed the cool towel on her forehead. Elaine said
nothing, but observed them with keen interest. After a few minutes
she pulled Katie aside.

“Maybe there won’t be a wedding,” Elaine said
low.

“Shut up. She’ll hear you,” Katie whispered
harshly.

“I did,” LaShaun replied with her eyes
closed.” Like I said, a lot of couples go through stuff like this,”
Adrianna said. She held one of LaShaun’s hands. “All the details of
selecting the caterer, then the menu, flowers, the tables, the
chairs, on and on and on. It’s enough to drive anyone nuts.”

“Sure, even a simple wedding like yours takes
a lot of planning,” Katie put in.

“You two have done most of the work,” Elaine
protested. She got a pair of angry frowns. “I’m just stating the
facts.”

“LaShaun still has a lot on her plate what
with the campaign and everything,” Adrianna said, springing to her
new friend’s defense.

Elaine seemed unfazed. “All I’m saying is
maybe things are moving too fast. I mean, they don’t have to get
married in less than a month. They could give it more time, take
some deep breaths and...”

“Yeah, and give your mother time to work on
coming between them.” Adrianna let out a grunt of disgust.

“How dare you,” Elaine clipped.

“I’m just stating fact,” Adrianna retorted,
mimicking Elaine’s haughty tone.

Her words caused an eruption between the
three women. Elaine hotly defended her mother. Katie shouted that
Adrianna might have told the truth, but this was not the time or
place. Adrianna stood her ground, saying Elizabeth should spend
less time judging others. A throbbing headache started between
LaShaun’s eyes despite the cool compress. Finally she tossed the
towel aside and stood.

“Hey. Hey! Everybody calm the hell down,”
LaShaun shouted. “Look, let’s not make this into a bad reality
show. Elaine, Chase and I haven’t ‘rushed’ into anything. We’ve
known each other for almost a year. Remember? With my past I can
see why Mrs. Broussard would have... uh, let’s call them
reservations. We love each other.”

“Chase is grown, so he can make his own call
on who’s right for him,” Adrianna put it. “He’s been alone for a
while now.”

“We were worried after he came back from the
war in Afghanistan,” Katie said before Adrianna could continue.

“Exactly. He dated a few women, but nothing
ever stuck. I’ve never seen him smile the way he does when LaShaun
is next to him,” Adrianna added firmly and shot a pointed glance at
Elaine.

“I wasn’t saying they shouldn’t get married,”
Elaine replied in a crisp tone. She hissed and crossed her arms.
“Of course I want Chase to be happy.”