Christine Feehan - Dark Possession

them, but Jasmine was more than just afraid after her terrifying experience. She was holding something else, some dark secret that she hadn't shared with Juliette or Solange. MaryAnn mentally stroked the girl as she would a child, warmth and caring in her mind. She longed to make it right for Jasmine, longed to remove the sorrow from her eyes and take fear and trepidation away for good.

Jasmine took a deep breath. «I'm so glad you came. Thank you. Juliette said you're from the city and this is all difficult for you.»

MaryAnn shrugged, willing the girl to quit making small talk and come out with whatever she was on the verge of saying. It was frightening to her, and she wanted to tell MaryAnn without Solange in the room. «I wanted to come so you'd have someone to talk to. Sometimes it's easier when it isn't family.» It's okay, honey. I'm here now: I won't betray you. I've come a long way to help you. Trust me now. Trust me with the burden you're carrying, and the two of us will sort it out.

«And you've talked to other girls, girls like me, right?» Jasmine asked, lowering her voice, glancing at the doorway to ensure Solange was still upstairs.

«What happened to you was particularly brutal,» MaryAnn said. «You have to give yourself time.» Come on, baby. Share it. It's eating you up inside. Whatever it is, we can handle it. I know what I'm doing. You can rely on me. She wished she could find a way to convey to Jasmine that she would help, that she would never betray her confidence.

«I don't have time,» Jasmine whispered. She ducked her head and set the cup down. «It makes it easier that you know what happened. I haven't told anyone yet, but I'm going to have to soon.»

MaryAnn held her breath, her heart beating hard. She wanted to cry for the girl, little more than a teenager, her life already shattered. She laid her hand over Jasmine's, connecting them, willing the girl to be calm, to be comforted. «You're pregnant.»

Jasmine covered her face with her hands. «There's a plant we can use after, you know, to make certain, and Solange gave it to me, but I couldn't…» She trailed off and looked at MaryAnn through her fingers. «I already knew. The moment it happened. I just knew and I couldn't do it.»

«You didn't do anything wrong, Jasmine. Those men took away your choice and you stood up and made your own decision. Are you afraid you did something wrong?»

«It's complicated. We live a complicated life and I've made it so much worse. They'll never stop now. Those men. They'll come after us no matter where we are.» She looked at the doorway again. «Solange…» She broke off. «It's been so hard for her.»

«Are you sorry about your decision?»

«I don't know how I feel and I can't bear for Solange to be upset with me. She's done so much already and it will be one more person for her to take care of.»

«You would keep the baby?»

Jasmine's eyes flashed with something close to fire, and for the first time, MaryAnn saw the resemblance between Jasmine and her cousin. «I would never give my baby to them. Never. If Solange wants me to leave, I will, but I won't turn a child over to them even if it is a boy.»

«No, of course you wouldn't. What those men did was criminal. Jasmine.» MaryAnn took a sip of her tea and

regarded the younger girl.

She chose her words carefully. «Manolito told me he met one of the jaguar-men, the same one who saved my life yesterday from the jaguar who attacked me. He said that a vampire had tainted him, turning the men to commit crimes against their women. If that is so, in a sense, they are victims as well.»

«What are you saying to her?» Solange demanded.

MaryAnn turned as the woman entered the room. She moved in absolute silence, her body perfectly balanced, her bare feet making no sound on the cool marble floors. She crossed to Jasmine's side and put an arm around her, glaring at MaryAnn.

Jasmine stiffened, alarm spreading on her face. She sent MaryAnn a quick, nervous shake of her head, not wanting her secret revealed.

MaryAnn suspected Solange already knew. She was pureblood jaguar, with all the senses of the animal. It wouldn't be possible for Jasmine to hide such a thing from her, but MaryAnn wouldn't betray a confidence no matter what she thought.

«Just that if a vampire is influencing the men to hunt their women, it is a terrible tragedy for everyone.» She kept her voice mild and matter-of-fact. «If what Manolito found is the truth, the vampire is deliberately killing an entire species.»

Solange bit her lip and poured herself tea. «Maybe the vampire has the right idea. If our men are capable of the things they're doing, the species shouldn't survive.»

«Solange,» Jasmine protested.

MaryAnn caught the hurt look in her eyes and wished she could comfort her. She doesn't mean it the way it came out. She's seen too much, been through too much and has been traumatized, too. She would accept the baby. She couldn't assure Jasmine, even though she thought it was the truth. Solange would never turn her back on Jasmine or a child. It wasn't in the woman. .

Solange shrugged. «You know how I think, Jazz. I've never made a secret of my contempt for men.»

«You've never wanted a family?» MaryAnn asked.

«Sure. Sometimes. When I'm alone in the middle of the night, or when I go into heat.» She dropped a hand on Jasmine's shoulder. «There's no other way to put it. We suffer from mating urges a little more than most women, I think, but I'm not willing to live the kind of life a woman has to in order to have a family.»

«What kind of life is that?» MaryAnn asked, spooning a little honey into the tea. For some reason, she was having a difficult time drinking it. The food on the table turned her stomach. She hadn't eaten in a long time and should have been starving, but even the fruit didn't appeal to her.

«Giving up freedom. Being under a man's thumb.»

«Is that what you think most marriages are like? Is that what Juliette's marriage is? Is she forced to do everything Riordan's way?»

Solange opened her mouth, took a breath and closed it. Sighing, she sank down into a chair. «To be fair, maybe not. It looks like it on the surface, but the way he looks at her, the things he does for her, no, I think

she has just as much say as he does. She wants to make him happy.» There was curiosity in her voice. «I can't imagine wanting to do anything for a man.»

«Surprisingly, Solange, I felt the same way for a very long time. In my line of work, I see the worst in men– much, I suppose, as you do. But we're seeing a very small section. There are a lot of good men out there who have women they love, and they treat women with love and respect.»

MaryAnn willed her to understand and see what she was saying, because Solange was bitter and bitterness eventually ruined lives. You're too good a woman to live your life that way, honey. She wished she could take away all those terrible memories, all the tragedy that had befallen the two of them. Solange had been rescuing female captives from the jaguar-men for some time. She'd seen too much death and brutality, There were no policemen on the corners to call. It was a life-and-death struggle in the rain forest, and Solange had managed not only to survive, but to save many other women as well.

«Maybe you're right,» Solange agreed. «I keep thinking eventually Jasmine and I have to leave this place. It's my home and I love it, but if we keep up this fight, we'll eventually be killed. They already know us and our reputation.»

It was logical, but more than that, the fight with the jaguar-men colored every aspect of their life. «It isn't the best place for Jasmine,» MaryAnn agreed.

Solange nodded. «I know. We've known for some time that we have to find another home, haven't we, Jazz?» She ruffled her cousin's hair.