The Satyr's Curse (The Satyr's Curse Series Book 1) (21 page)

“Your satyr man’s been walkin’ this earth for a long time,” Ms. Helen stated as she came up to her side. “He’ll have to make a great sacrifice in order to get the power he needs to end his curse.”

Jazzmyn wheeled around to face her “You knew?”

Ms. Helen nodded her head. “From the first moment I saw him sittin’ at the bar. Yeah, I knew who he was.” 

“What do I do?” Jazzmyn asked, her voice thick with trepidation.

“You must end this. Otherwise, he will go after your children and then your grandchildren, until he gets what he wants. He has eternity on his side, but you have somethin’ far greater.”

“Greater?” Jazzmyn threw her hands in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What on earth could I possibly have to fight him?”

Ms. Helen lovingly patted her hand against Jazzmyn’s cheek. “All in good time, Jazzmyn. All in good time.”

A piercing scream suddenly rocked the kitchen. Ms. Helen and Jazzmyn turned to see Carl standing by the main prep table holding his hand as blood poured from it.

Jazzmyn cursed and ran to his side.

Ms. Helen laughed, flooding the kitchen with her raucous cackle. “I guess I gave him a little too much confidence.”

***

The evening dinner rush was lighter than the night before and Jazzmyn feared it might be due to Kyle’s absence. As she shadowed Carl, helping him lift frying pans or prepare plates due to his injured finger, she felt the edginess that had been bothering her all day grow even worse. When Jerry, the dishwasher, dropped a wet plate to the ground, her nerves shattered.

“Goddamn it! I’m going to have to start charging you for those, Jerry!” she shouted.

“Hey!” Scott called to her from behind the prep table. “We’ve got customers who can hear you.”

She turned and scowled at Scott. “I know that!”

“What’s your problem?” He came around the side of the table. “You’ve been yelling at me and everyone else in this place all evening.”

She pointed to the dining room door. “If you haven’t noticed, we have a much smaller house tonight than last night, and it’s Saturday, Scott. We’re usually packed on Saturday nights.”

Scott noticed Carl straining to hear their conversation. He took Jazzmyn by the arm and pulled her down the hall, away from the kitchen.

“The kid’s been trying real hard, Jazz,” Scott berated as soon as they were out of earshot. “There’s no reason to make him feel worse than he already does. Must be real bad for him to let Ms. Helen work her magic on him.”

“How did you know about that?” she asked, rubbing her aching back.

“He still has flour in his hair.” Scott paused and put a supportive hand on her shoulder. “You’ve got to get a grip. You can’t go shouting at everyone and still expect to have staff at the end of the evening. This isn’t you, Jazz.”

“I know, Scott. I’m just jumpy as hell.”

“About what?” Scott folded his arms over his chest. “Is this about Julian and the wedding?”

She glanced back at the kitchen, evading his inquisitive gaze. “Why do you ask?”

“Last night when he told me the two of you were getting married, you looked like you were going to rip his head off. That’s not what a man usually expects from his intended.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t want him to say anything to anyone just yet. I figured it would be something we would announce later when people would be more comfortable with the idea.”

“By people, do you mean Kyle?” Scott shook his head. “And no to what you’re thinking. I didn’t say a word to him about you and Julian.”

Jazzmyn breathed in a sigh of relief. “Have you talked to him?”  

Scott nodded. “Once, earlier today. He asked about you. Well, he didn’t ask, more like ranted about you for twenty minutes.”

“He’s still pissed, huh?”

Scott smiled at her. “No, he just misses you.”

Jazzmyn hated to admit it but she missed Kyle, too. “Do you think he would come back?”

Scott looked back down the hall toward the kitchen. “In a heartbeat. Does that mean you’re going to ask him to come back?”

“I’ve been thinking about it and—”

The crash of pans against the stove in the kitchen interrupted her.

“Gosh darn it!” Carl cried out from the kitchen.

“You were saying?” Scott continued.

“I’ll go and see him tomorrow.”

“Maybe you should go first thing in the morning, before we open for lunch,” Scott suggested.

Jazzmyn sighed and nodded in agreement “Definitely before lunch.” 

***

After locking the front door of the restaurant and turning out the lights, Jazzmyn stepped into the kitchen to find Scott and Julian standing in front of the prep table.

“When did you get here?” she inquired as she admired Julian’s blue tailored suit.

“About five minutes ago. Scott let me in the back door.” Julian came up to her side and kissed her cheek. “Scott was just telling me how it went this evening. I would have come sooner, but I got held up at my house.”

“I’m going to head out, Jazz,” Scott said as he moved away from the prep table.

“See you in the morning, Scott.” She smiled at him. “And thanks for the advice.”

“Just get him back here, Jazz. We need him,” Scott asserted.

Scott headed down the hallway to the back entrance. When the heavy back door closed with a thud, Julian narrowed his eyes on her.

“What was Scott talking about?”

“Kyle,” Jazzmyn told him with a frustrated sigh. “I’m going to ask him to come back to the restaurant.”

Julian squared his shoulders, bristling with displeasure. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

She took a guarded step back from him. “I have no choice, Julian. Customers are complaining about the food, and tonight was pretty slow for a Saturday. I can’t help but wonder if word is getting out. In a week, I could have no customers left.”

“I’m not comfortable with that man coming back into your life, Jazzmyn.”

“For God’s sake, I’ve got a business to run, Julian. When you have people dependent on you to make a living, you have to make concessions.”

She saw the darkness gathering in his eyes. Her stomach clenched and she suddenly regretted saying anything to him. She could not afford to make him angry.

“I know how you feel about him,” she added, keeping her voice calm and even. “But I’m engaged to you. I’m going to marry you. Kyle is nothing to me but a chef in my restaurant.”

He carefully examined her face as if searching for the slightest hint of insincerity. “So you say, but that isn’t how you feel.”

She shrugged, trying to allay his concerns. “He was a good friend, of course I have feelings for him.”

“He was also your lover.”

“Once,” she quickly admitted. “Only once, and that was a mistake.”

“But he didn’t think it was, and that is what worries me. I don’t want you to be put in a situation where you feel you must do anything to keep Kyle happy, including sleep with him.”

“Jesus, Julian. Do you think I would do that? I don’t screw around.”

He placed his hands behind his back. “I never said you did. Kyle, on the other hand, would do whatever he could to drive a wedge between us.”

“Kyle’s not the one driving the wedge between us right now, you are,” she griped.

The blackness flared in his eyes and then quickly subsided. He smiled at her and his surly countenance lifted. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just being overprotective.”

“You’re being an ass,” she mumbled.

He nodded. “That, too.” He put his thick arm about her shoulders. “I won’t bring it up again. Let’s go back to your place and have a peaceful evening. I don’t want us fighting before the ceremony tomorrow night.”

“Oh, I almost forgot about that.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “I’ve just had so much stuff running through my head today.”

He came around behind her, rested his hands on her shoulders, and began to slowly massage the kinks out of her neck.

“You’re very tense.”

“God, that feels wonderful,” she told him as she closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders.

His powerful fingers kneaded into her muscles. “I know the perfect remedy for all of your tension.”

Jazzmyn snickered. “I’ll bet.”

He kissed the back of her neck. “A good game of chess will do you wonders.”

“You’re joking. Chess?”

“Absolutely,” Julian answered. “Best stress reliever there is.”

***

“You should have moved your rook to the bishop three position,” Julian suggested as they sat across from each other at her father’s red and gold chess table in the third floor studio of her home.

He had removed his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his light yellow shirt. His glass of red wine sat at the edge of the square table that had heavy white marble chess pieces positioned on top of it.

“Yes, but if I had done that I couldn’t do this.” She took his knight with her rook.

Julian’s dark eyes glared at her from across the chessboard. “That’s not a legal move.”

“No, it’s legal. You’re just hoping that I don’t know if you’re lying or not about it being legal.”

He sulked and fidgeted in his dark green wing back chair. “Now you’re reading
my
mind.”

She sat back in her matching dark green chair, grinning happily. “No, that’s just a tactic my father tried to pull on me all the time until I got a book on chess and started learning the rules.”  

He reached for a rook on the chessboard. “How come your father never wanted to play chess with me when I was here? I remember I asked him several times, but he refused.” He moved his rook closer to her bishop.

She shrugged, looking over the board. “It was our game, and we only played each other. I sometimes think the only reason he taught me chess was so he would have an opponent he could trust.” She watched Julian slouching over the board and surveying his men. “Who was the old friend who taught you how to play?”

“Paul Morphy.” He glanced up at her. “We grew up together.”

Jazzmyn’s dark green eyes grew in size. “The Paul Morphy?”

Julian nodded. “When we were boys, a love of chess was one of the things we had in common. He taught me a great deal about the game.”

She shook her head and leaned toward the square table. “The people you must have known during your life. If you could write a book about your adventures….”

Julian reclined in his chair. “People would never believe it, and no one would want to read about me. They would rather get lost in the fantasy of mythic creatures such as vampires and werewolves. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but it’s the fiction people want to read.”

“Do you think you will miss it? When you go back to being just like other men, you might find that being special wasn’t such a curse after all. Many would give everything they have to live forever.”

Julian stood from his chair. “I have tasted eternity, Jazzmyn, and found it not to my liking. I started out in this life as a man, and I would like to end it the same way.” He reached for her hand. “Time for bed.”

Jazzmyn stood from her chair and Julian enveloped her in his arms. His mouth came down hungrily on hers. She wanted to pull away, but could not. Her body refused to obey her commands, and despite her internal struggles, she felt herself surrendering to his hands as they began to avidly explore her round curves.

“You’re anxious about being with me again. Why?” he asked as he kissed her neck.

“I…I’m afraid, Julian.” She quickly searched for an excuse. “Afraid of it hurting again.”

He placed his hands about her face. “I have no wish to hurt you.” He sighed as he leaned his forehead against hers. “But I want you.”

“Perhaps we could wait one more night. Tomorrow night you will be human again, and I think I would like to wait until you make an honest woman out of me before we make love again.”

He pressed his hands against her temples. “What if you don’t like me as a man? Perhaps you would prefer me as I am.”

Jazzmyn’s heart flew to her throat as his palms squeezed into her skull. Her mind struggled to find placating words to soothe him.

“I want who you are on the inside, Julian. That is the man I love,” she finally said.

Julian’s hands relaxed against her. His arms reached around her body and pulled her close. “I’m glad you feel that way, and perhaps you are right. Tomorrow night I will be as I was, and then I can take you as my wife.”

Jazzmyn sighed and rested her head against his chest. “Thank you.”

He took her hand and started for the studio door. “Then let’s hurry to bed so I can put my last night as this creature behind me. Tomorrow is going to be a brand new day for both of us, Jazzmyn.”

As his strong hand curled around hers, Jazzmyn’s anxiety began to mount. The idea of another sleepless night in her king-sized bed with Julian almost made her groan out loud. She did not know what was worse, the monster asleep beside her, or the one chasing her in her dreams. If she could not find any respite from her nerve-wracking days with Julian, Jazzmyn knew it was only a matter of time before her fraying sanity would be pushed over the edge. Sooner than later she had to end this, otherwise Jazzmyn feared she would spend the rest of her life trapped inside a never-ending hell.