Soul Catcher (19 page)

He stripped and joined her. The hot stream of the shower washed away the anguish of the day. He grabbed the soap and wrapped his arms around Angel, lathering the suds over the swells of her breast and the flatness of her stomach. The feel of her wet, naked body created a pulsating arousal in him.

As he washed lower, skimming his hand between her legs, she moaned and backed into him. His hands explored the curves of her body as the water rinsed the soap away. He ran the lather over her breasts, feeling her nipples tighten under his thumb. Jacque leaned over her and slid his hand down her flat stomach and between her thighs, discovering the heat within the folds of her sex. The moisture of her mouth mixed with the wetness of the water as she lapped at the spot just behind his ear. He groaned against her as his fingers glided into her.

Angel moved against his palm, moaning his name. She removed his hand reluctantly and turned toward him. Her moist pink lips slanted on his as she stretched to reach him. The water created a moist heat as her breasts rubbed against his chest. He cupped the firm round cheeks of her ass and lifted her off the floor.

Her legs encircled his waist and his cock grew even harder between them. He longed to be inside her, to be a part of her. Jacque leveraged Angel on the shower wall as his tongue explored every expanse of her mouth. Angel ground her sex down the length of his shaft, causing him to release a low growl.

His mouth found the soft mounds of her breast. He sucked hard on the supple flesh and brushed his tongue across the pinkish-brown peak. Angel panted as her rhythm increased. He grazed her nipple with his teeth. She stiffened at the sharp pain of euphoria surged through her nervous system. In her heightened arousal, she ground herself into his hardened shaft. He rubbed the tip of his crown into the sinful pleasure of her wetness, but stopped her from taking him into her. His thumb danced slow circles around the center of her desire, until she begged for relief.

With the hot stream of the shower washing over them, he held steady against the wall and thrust deep inside her. Angel bit down into the top of his shoulder, sending sheering bolts of ecstasy inside of him. Her tightness gripped him with every thrust. He battled to maintain control as she countered his movement, making him want to explode.

Angel angled herself to stroke the length of his erection.

“Make me come,” she groaned hotly into his ear, tangling her fingers in his hair.

A tremor tore through him at the urgency of her words. He pushed harder, penetrating deeper inside of her. Their pace increased to a frenzied hunger.

“Oh God, don’t stop!” Angel’s nails dug into his arms. The pleasure of pain pushed Jacque closer to his climax.

With her back pressed hard onto the tile, he stroked until he felt the warmth of her release surround him. Her tongue flirted with his earlobe and down his neck. A quiver of satisfaction encouraged his release. Stoking deep inside her, he shuddered into his own orgasm.

His arms looped under hers and came to rest against her shoulder blades, trapping her to him, not wanting to disconnect. The water had turned icy. Jacque took her lips once more shivering, partly from the cold, mostly from the ecstasy she delivered.

He moved to escape the chill of the shower and smiled at her. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Already been there and got a souvenir. Let’s try to avoid it in the future.” She kissed him and quickly refreshed herself in the freezing water.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Angel fondled the warm body tangled around her. She lay listening to his breathing and basting in the joy of being loved for once in her life. With closed eyes, she prayed for this dream to never end.

She snuck out the bed and found her ice blue BCBG top and a chocolate brown skirt to match. She opened the suitcase stuffed with shoes and grabbed a pair of chocolate Michael Kors with a four-inch heel. Her outfit was comfortable, yet dressy enough for a house full of guests. Frumpiness was not an option when unknown guests were involved.

She brushed the hair from Jacque’s brow and kissed his forehead. She resisted the urge to crawl back in bed and wake him with a more compromising greeting as a reward for last night’s performance. They would never make it downstairs if she did.

The house was bustling. Angel hummed the chorus of “Brand New Love” by Robin Thicke as she descended the stairs. Boisterous conversation floated from the back of the house from what she assumed was the kitchen. She followed the smell of coffee and bacon until she found the other ladies sitting around the kitchen table.

Angel beamed at the eclectic group gathered before her. “Morning, ladies.”

“You look much happier this morning,
mon cher
,” Marie pointed out with a devilish glint in her eyes.

She winked at Nat and stole a piece of toast off her plate. “I have to admit I’m in a good mood.”

Nat giggled, taking a bite of the other slice of toast. “I wonder why.”

“We all heard why. I guess y’all forgot others were in the house with you. I wasn’t aware I raised such a trashy daughter.” Elise poured a cup of coffee.

“Mother, don’t worry. You didn’t raise me at all. You have no fault or reward in anything I do. At least not anymore.”

Nat interrupted the bickering. “I’ll be trashy if it gets me a man who looks like Jacque. Tell me where I sign up.” All the women laughed, except Elise. Even Jazzy cracked a smile at Nat’s admission.

Angel poured some coffee and grabbed a piece of bacon off Faith’s plate. Bacon had been a guilty pleasure when she worked the runway. Once or twice a month, she allowed herself to eat like a regular human, otherwise it was low carbs, high protein, and zero sugar. She appreciated not having to watch everything she ate for a change.

She hopped on a stool at the granite counter and examined the kitchen. It was rarely used, nothing unexpected in a house owned by a vampire. This was probably the first time someone actually cooked in it. Although Etienne didn’t have a use for the kitchen, he didn’t skimp in its design.

“Jazzy, how’re you doing this morning? I’m sorry I got y’all mixed up in this.” She waited for her reaction.

Jazzy fidgeted in her chair a bit before answering. “Your grandmother explained a lot to me last night. I’m still not comfortable with it. I guess y’all are telling the truth. You know I was raised in the church. These things just aren’t acceptable.”

“I understand how you feel. I promise we’re not bad because we’re different. Not all the Supes are bad, just like all humans aren’t good. I’m not gonna say there’s not
really
bad ones out there, but there’s good and bad in everyone.”

“What the hell are Supes?”

“Beings with supernatural powers.”

“Okay, I understand about you and Nat’s families. What about all these guys? Are they like y’all?” Jazzy leaned across the table, eager to hear Angel’s answer.

“I guess my grandmother didn’t tell you everything.
Please
don’t freak out on me again. I promise the guys here with us are good and will never hurt us.”

Jazzy had her infamous tell-me-now-and-stop-bullshitting look plastered on her face. “What’re they?”

“Jacque and Laurent are demons, as in born and raised in Hell. Etienne is a vampire. And the brothers are rougarou or werewolves. You’ll be meeting a lot of other Supes, too, in the next couple of days.” Angel sipped her coffee, savoring the aroma.

“And all these people running around here helping? What’re they?”

“I’m not sure. Some I think are human, some not. I can’t tell you anymore.”

Jazzy’s brows creased in toward the bridge of her nose, wrinkling her forehead as if she was working hard to figure out the pieces of the puzzle. “You mean to tell me demons, vampires, and werewolves are all real.”

“Yep, I know, threw me at first, too.”

“Son-of-a-bitch. Now, we have to re-evaluate our whole way of thinking, don’t we?”

Angel reached over and hugged her friend. Jazzy was Catholic to the core. She was also the most logical-minded person Angel ever met. Things would work out just fine. This day was getting better by the minute.

“Good morning, ladies,” Etienne’s deep voice called from the doorway. “Would you mind pulling the blinds for me?”

Angel raced to the windows, pulled the blinds, and drew the heavy curtains.

“I thought vampires couldn’t come out in the day,” Jazzy asked cautiously.

“I’m glad to see you’re better, Ms. Jasmine. I was quite concerned about you last night.” The smoldering gaze he sent Jazzy almost made Angel melt.

“You still didn’t answer my question.” Her friend held her stance, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m quite old,
mon petit
. We grow stronger and more tolerant with age. Although I wouldn’t venture outside in the full sunlight, I can wake and move about the house with ease.”

“Shit, again with the re-evaluating my information. I guess garlic’s out, too.” She giggled at her own statement.

“Etienne, how’re the plans for the meeting coming along?” Angel asked.

Etienne leaned against the doorframe. “I’ve moved it up. It’ll be tomorrow night. I think we should move fast with the new developments.”

“Okay. Good idea. Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind. There’ll be many guests starting to call about housing arrangements. I have a list of the hotels available to accommodate the various groups. If you ladies wouldn’t mind fielding the calls, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

“Also, you’ll have to make sure each of you have the appropriate attire. These meetings are formal occasions.”

“We have to wear formal gowns to a meeting?” Nat chimed in.

“It’s customary.” Etienne answered to the floor.

Jazzy gulped the last of her coffee and said, “We need to go shopping.”

“I assumed as much. I have three guards who’ll accompany you when you’re ready to go out.”

As she rose, Angel dusted the crumbs of toast off her lap. “Okay, ladies, let’s get ready to head out. I’ll go up and let Jacque know we’re leaving. And we’ll go find something suitable to wear. I hate off the rack. I guess we have no choice at this point.”

“You ladies will be fabulous in anything.” Etienne smiled as he surveyed the women. “You know this is the first time anyone has actually used the kitchen except caterers. It’s nice to sit in here and chat. I hope you ladies take your time finding a new place to stay.” He bowed, with a slight dip of his head, and disappeared from the room.

In the hall, Angel froze when she met Jacque coming down the stairs with Isabella hanging off his arm. Isabella’s high-pitched voice dug into her like nails on a chalkboard. Heat rose in Angel’s stomach, a mix of anger and nausea. She wanted to run and hide or slap Isabella; it was a tossup at this junction.

Everyone observed Jacque as he descended the stairs with the little blond beauty. They volleyed from Jacque to Angel, waiting for fireworks, but none came. She refused to put on a show.

“I see you finally made it out of bed.” Her voice was as sultry as a warm sea breeze as she spoke to Jacque, ignoring Isabella.

He kicked the stair with the back of his heel, looking everywhere but in her eyes. “I guess I was more tired than I expected.”

“I’m sure you were. We all heard what made you tired last night,” Nat threw at him with sarcasm. Nat was Angel’s new champion.

Isabella batted her lashes and gave the crowd a prom queen smile. “Ahh. I remember those nights. Some days you’d sleep til noon.” Jacque nudged her in warning.

“Nice to see you’re back to your usual self, Isabella.” Angel glared at her.

“Always, I see you’ve acquired an entourage. Who’s the new additions to your crew?”

“Friends.” Angel never took her eyes off Jacque. “Jacque, we’re headed out to find something to wear to the meeting. Just in case you noticed I’m gone, I wanted let you know.” She turned her back on him, grabbing Marie’s arm.
Why do I keep ending up in the same place with him? Always landing in the middle of him and Isabella
.

“Wait, I don’t want you out by yourselves. I’ll come along.”

“Don’t bother, Etienne provided three guards for us,” she scoffed.

“You’re not a bother. I’m coming.”

“Whatever,” she called over her shoulder.

“Great! I need to find something, too. I’ll come with,” Isabella chirped.

Angel bit the inside of her lip and tightened her grip on Marie. Faith squeezed her hand tight in warning, trying to subside her anger.

Jacque quickened his pace to catch up to Angel. He pulled her away from Marie and to the side, allowing the group to pass. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“This is not the time for this,” she snarled, resisting the temptation to punch him. Not only was he flirting with Isabella, he embarrassed her in front of everyone.

“She caught me coming down the stairs. I didn’t even know she was here.” He pleaded his case, beseeching her to forgive him.

“You didn’t seem to mind her draping herself all over you.”

“I didn’t even pay her any mind. It’s Bell. She flirts all the time.”

Angel poked a finger into his chest as she spoke, increasing the pressure with each word. “You and your
not thinking
is becoming tiresome. You need to start thinking, especially when it comes to her.”

“Look. I’m sorry. Won’t happen again, even though nothing happened this time.”

“Nothing happened, but you embarrassed me in front of my family and friends. What do you think my mother will have to say about this?” Angel felt the tremor in her lip and inhaled deeply to regain her composure. She needed to stop crying over every little thing. There was no crying in supernatural warfare.

“What the hell does your mother have to do with this?”

“She’ll tell me she knew you would cheat with someone prettier. Someone like me could never keep a man. Shit, maybe she’s right.”

“Now, you’re talking crazy.”

“Like I said, whatever. Now is not the time to discuss this.” She started to head toward the car when Damon called her name.

Damon ran to catch up with her and Jacque. “Hey. Where are y’all headed?”

“Shopping,” she answered with a smile.

“Mind if I tag along?”

“Of course not. The more the merrier,” Angel responded in a singsong tone as she slid into the back of the limo. Jacque pushed Damon aside and hurried in behind her. Damon took the open seat across from Angel, eyes twinkling and a grin seeping across his face, landing in the deep crevices of his dimples. It was going to be an interesting day.