The Empath Cycle: 2001 It Takes One - Book 2

She took her time kissing Julia, wanting her to learn the joy of the intimate contact. She nibbled on her lower lip, kissing the corners of her mouth, her tongue gently exploring the outside, then the interior of her mouth, meeting Julia's who was eager for the expected passion, who whimpered in impatience when her lover wouldn't be rushed, who ground her wet center against the seated woman's lower abdomen in an effort to accentuate the growing sensations.

Karlie held her still by massaging her cheek muscles deeply. Then she lightly raked her fingernails up and down Julia's back and sides, raising goosebumps all over her body. She gently bit, licked, kissed her way along Julia's jaw, to her ear where she cooed softly, lightly biting her lobe and the tender area below it, explored her neck until she felt the rapid pulse of her heart under her lips. Lifting Julia's chin, she continued the process on her throat to repeat it on the other side of her neck.

By this time, the younger woman was writhing against her, assaulted by sensations that had, up to this point, only existed in her imagination which, she now found, had been woefully inadequate compared to the reality of the heat rapidly rising within her.

The mouth on her neck made her ears ring. The nails scrapping her back caused her to arch against the body in front of her, bringing the hard nipples of her smallish firm breasts in contact with larger, softer ones and changed the angle of her pelvis so her erect pearl, peaking from its hood, made direct contact with Karlie's skin.

Julia was well on her way to the point of no return when Karlie's hands touched the sides of her breasts, pushing them together as her mouth made its way lazily down. She grabbed a double handful of hair and pressed a grinning Karlie's lips to her aching nipples. She was humping furiously, leaving a wet trail behind. The control of her body, of which she had been so proud through her years of intensive physical training, lost as Nature's Grand Design claimed her.

She was a woman in heat at the mercy of her natural instincts.

When they had first met Sylvie, Ryanna and Julia had concentrated on helping her as best they could. Since they were only second year students in Psychology at McGill University, they knew they had a long way to go, so they relied on their years of assisting experienced therapists at the clinic and had consulted with them too. Still, even as they did what they could for Jade's friend, they had been puzzled by the familiarity of the psychic contact with her.

Then they had been completely baffled when, 'following' the four women, they found themselves on mammy Catherine's island. They knew it had only existed in her subconscious as a mental construct, much like the mnemonic 'house' technique, where she sought refuge when the stress of her job became too much and she needed to unwind. Yet, there it was, down to the last detail. And, to top it all, Sylvie seemed to have the same control over its environment as mammy Catherine had had. Only mammies Jules and Arianna had ever had the same access to it after the felicitous 'accident' which projected them all on it for what had felt like months to them.

The whole experience had been the subject of much debate among the researchers and the family. When, the second time they met, Sylvie had reached to Julia in exactly the same way mammy Catherine used to, it had been the last clue they needed to connect the dots: Sylvie was mammy Catherine's long lost 'daughter'. The child she had helped save from a deranged cult leader and with whom she had had a special rapport.

In the following weeks, the considerable resources of the institute and the clan had been brought to bear to confirm this while Jack White kept an eye on her when it was discovered that, by a major stroke of serendipity, she had been working for months at his engineering firm.

Ryanna and Julia had been asked to keep their distance from Sylvie until all the details could be ascertained and verified, which didn't sit well with them since they had developed a growing affection for the young woman. They maintained it was due to their respect for her having overcome such enormous emotional baggage to grow into an intelligent, kind-hearted, wonderful woman, but people in authority were worried that it may be due to Catherine's 'presence' as a successful result of her last desperate experiment.

Much as it pained them, they stayed away, only contacting Jade to collect what little information she had.

When even the most sceptic were finally convinced, plans were made to meet Sylvie and 'bring her into the fold'. Both young women had been vehement in their objections to the format of making it a Christmas gift. They felt it was disrespectful and made little of her intelligence, not to mention its potential for causing an emotional relapse at the shock of discovering some of the most off-the-wall aspects of the whole thing.

Julia and Ryanna were on edge all day and came back early from the slopes since they weren't enjoying themselves anyway. When they had rushed in the mammies' house, they had been shocked to see all four of their friends there, but the real surprise came when Sylvie reached to both and projected affection and kindness even as she rebuffed them for barging in and sent them to make themselves more presentable, the same way mammy Catherine had so often in the past.

They skipped and hopped all the way to their apartment in the building reserved for gifted bachelors, giggling like children who had been reunited with a long lost favorite relative. Clothes were left wherever they fell and they jumped in the shower, in high spirits.

They were making plans for the reunion when they felt emotions so strong they penetrated even the shielding of their building. Recognizing the origin of the sending, their only thought was that their friend was in pain. When their neighbor heard their door crash on the wall of the corridor, she had only time to see the two naked bodies rush down the stairs. Hearing the shower still running she went to their apartment, turned it off and shut the door. She thought to call in at the clinic, but then again, they would surely have called her if there had been a major emergency since she was on call for the day shift.

Arriving at the mammies' house, the original emotions seemed to be under control leaving only Jade's fury. Seeing John strutting out of the house, they had a pretty good idea of its cause if not its reason. When Uncle Jack came to them with only distress in his heart at their plight, their adrenaline levels abated and they began to pay attention to the fact that they were literally freezing in place.

As they started going into shock, Jade and Karlie ran out with warm blankets to wrap around their bodies and to warm their hearts with love tinged with worry. The last straw was when Sylvie and Patricia raced down the stairs projecting unconditional love.

Ryanna and Julia were in a state of emotional upheaval. Their mammy Catherine had come back to them and she loved them as she always had. Only the genuine love they felt projected to them by all four women kept them from going into deep emotional shock.

Then their mammies came to them on the island and explained that though one family had gone away, another had come to take its place in their life. As they left for the last time, the young women had realized what had been hidden deep down since mammies Jules and Arianna had left: a spark of their love would always be in their hearts.

Now Ryanna was in the arms of mammy Catherine... no, of Sylvie. Any formerly differentiated part of her great-grand-mother having been completely subsumed into this young woman's beautiful soul.

Above and beyond the wonderful physical feelings she was experiencing, she was surrounded by love.

Jade and Patricia's, the latter kneeling in front of the former who was kissing and laving her reddened derrière with her tongue, caressing her breasts with one hand while delicately flicking her pearl with the fingers of the other.

Karlie and Julia's, the first's only concern being to give pleasure as she was making love to the new member of their family and the second succumbing to her gentle ministrations which were multiplied by the influx of positive emotions pouring in through her lowered shields.

Finally, Sylvie's, whose love, while concentrating on the woman in her arms, encompassed them all because, though she would probably never own up to it due to her generosity and humility, she was the one who had brought them together as a family, the leader of the pride, the one who would guide them to realize their full potential as human beings. She was their Sarah, their catalyst.

Then and there, Ryanna understood why she and Julia had been brought to their new family. They were there to support Sylvie, to protect her from any deleterious effect of her childhood, shoring her with their strength. And they would begin by being the guardrails on the bridge between the clan and their new family. Never again would they let themselves be browbeaten when their friend's best interests were at stake.

As she made the decision, she felt a sense of well-being at her core. It could have been the mammies' essence which approved of her choice, or Sylvie's two fingers entering her, searching for and finding her sweet spot as they moved in and out, the mouth suckling at her breasts or the teeth nibbling at her nipples.

Whichever it was, she gave herself to the wave of pleasure, letting it carry her into ecstasy, feeding on the strong emotions surrounding her, giving of her heart as much as she received.

What Ryanna and Julia had always been afraid of, in fear of hurting others, became a total communion of physical, emotional and psychic love. What had set them apart brought them into a perfect rapport with their lovers. All of them.

Joannie was settling for the night when she felt the flow of love wash over her. She smiled as she remembered fondly the days when it had been a regular occurrence.

Jack woke from a light doze and turned over to find his wife looking at him with a smile he knew mirrored his own. "I love you." They said at the same time. Sleep was long in coming in the White household.

Lucia Morgan was sitting in front of a wood fire, reading a Nora Roberts romance novel. She missed her husband. He was away at a conference where he was presenting the institute's latest findings in the application of empathy on communication with deeply autistic children. As Director of the Clinic, she could have gone with him, but had been asked by the Family to be on hand to help explain the more esoteric aspects of their work to First Therapist Catherine's long lost 'daughter'.

She was debating calling him when The Event happened. 'Thank the Mother for the early version Skype we are beta testing', she thought. Phone sex just didn't cut it anymore. Later, she would give him a report which would surely have him fly back immediately. She smiled. She wouldn't be separated from him for Christmas after all.

When Jade finally opened her eyes, she could swear the afterglow was a physical thing, not a romantic device, and they were all basking in it judging by the satisfied grins on everyone's faces.

"Is it always like this with you girls?" She asked. "I could sure get used to it."

"I don't know." Ryanna answered. "Like we said, we have never been intimate with others before today. I now see we have been missing out on something wonderful."

"I can't believe we never even experimented with each other." Julia mock-whined. "I feel the slut in me awakening and she's hungry for more."

"I could tell." Karlie teased. "I tried to take things slow to make it a better experience for you, but it was like trying to hold a tigress in heat by the tail. Then things got weird and I was caught in the moment."

"I know what you mean, sweetie." Patricia went on. "It almost felt like pleasure and love were rolling around and around weaving a path within all of us, connecting us in some way." She looked at Sylvie, still locked in a tender embrace with Ryanna. "Do you think it's a side effect of the 'gift' the mammies gave us?"

"That's right!" Ryanna exclaimed. "When you came down you were projecting, but with everything that happened, we forgot to ask how that could be."

"Like Patricia said, Cathy told us they have opened a limited channel between us four." Sylvie explained. "She said I already had some small talent which I understand manifested itself when I felt strong emotions such as fear or anger, but that she had inadvertently blocked it along with my memory of my early years. I should have realized you would pick up on it."

"I would say it's more than a small talent. Earlier, you punched through this house's and our own building's shielding to call to us. That's no mean feat. After Christmas Day, you should see Dr. Morgan, the Director of the Clinic and a leading scientist in para-psychology, to test you. If only for curiosity's sake." Ryanna added quickly on seeing the look of uncertainty on Sylvie's face and feeling her sense of insecurity.

"Yes, love." Patricia said as she rushed over to hug Sylvie. "We should all get tested. I'm curious to see how far science has gone in the field. Imagine all the cool equipment we will get to play with."

It didn't take long for all the love sent her way to shore her growing resilience. Sylvie knew she would have to keep working on her self-esteem, but she also knew the unwavering support of her family would be a rock she could always lean on.

Hours later, even Julia's inner slut felt the inexorable pull of exhaustion and the women fell asleep though not before Ryanna ran downstairs to turn off the telephone system and post a sign on the front door saying 'Don't call us, we'll call you!'

She was giggling when she slipped under the quilt to join her family in deep restorative slumber.

Chapter 4

If this wasn't the first time the women had to get up for their daily training regimen after having slept only a few hours, it was the first time they woke up with smiles on their faces, noses filled with the scents of sex, sweat and a mixture of feminine fragrances, pleasantly languid from a long evening and night of love making, tangled in soft limbs.

They were gathering their courage to leave this warm nest of happiness, to find a way to disentangle themselves without waking their new family, when they got another lesson in living with others.

"Don't you dare even think about it." Jade's voice breathed in Ryanna's ear. "If you get up, I'll have to get up too. This is Christmas Eve and not even the Martinet would leave Catherine's bed on this day. So relax, cuddle and go back to sleep."

Patricia grinned as she heard Julia and Ryanna's sighs of relief. Catherine had been right. Everybody had been so focused on giving the girls control over their talents to protect them and others that they had forgotten the growing young women themselves. She was going to have words with some people around this place. Some overblown egos needed deflating and if it happened to be a favorite sport of hers, well, so be it.

"What's that awful racket?" Sylvie grumbled.

"It's our cousin Serge." Julia answered. "He plows the roads and driveways."

"Good for him, but why does he rev his engine under our windows?"

"Oh! It's his way to ask if we will come out and play." Ryanna explained, grinning from ear to ear.

"And just what does this 'play' entail, pray tell?" Jade raised her head from the soft pillow of Karlie's chest.

"Since he can't stop for our answer, it usually means we get dressed, catch up with the plow and ambush him for a good snowball fight. Then we go around the compound to help him with the sidewalks and stairs on the various buildings and houses." Julia said, almost vibrating in anticipation.

"I think I'm going to like it here in the boondocks. Let's go girls!" Jade laughed as she jumped out of the bed, slapping Sylvie's ass on the way. "You too, sleepy head. The fresh air will do you good."

"Aw, the sun is barely up. I need my beauty rest. And I wouldn't want to deprive your mother of my inestimable company."

"I guess I can suffer a little in the interest of your health, love. And if I get too lonely, I'm sure Karlie will volunteer her body for our own form of therapy."

"I suppose, but why do these three have to be so chipper this early?"

"Because, for them 7:30am the middle of the morning. Jade is usually up at 4:30 and on the track by 5:00. And she tells me Ryanna and Julia are sometimes there before her."

"Remind me again why I agreed to marry this freak."

"Because we all love her, silly."

"Oh, yeah. Got it. Up and at them. Chip. Chip. And all that crap."

"It works better if you actually get out of the bed, sweetie." Karlie laughed.

"One more minute, mom." Sylvie whined.

Between Sylvie and Jade, they managed to find enough clothes for Julia and Ryanna, but they planned to stop at their place so they could change into their own snow suits.

They could hear the plow down the street. Every now and again it would growl loudly before moving on.

"He's making it too easy for us." Sylvie grinned, getting in the spirit of things. "With all that revving he does, a blind woman could find him."

"That and he's also asking for more people to come out and play." Julia laughed.

"How many people will that be?" Jade asked.

"Almost all the younger bachelors, many married people and lots of kids. This is Christmas and a good part of the family is here this week." Ryanna answered. "That's a good thing, Sylvie." She went on when she felt her uneasiness at meeting so many new people all at once. "It means more fun and the work will go faster. Don't worry too much. They are good people who will be happy to meet you and with the three of us, we can keep you from being overwhelmed by the crowd."

"It's not that. I just expected to have more time and to meet them in smaller groups."

"It's better to get the first contact out of the way right now because Christmas Eve is a big thing for us. Everybody who is here will be at the party tonight." Julia told her.

"No, sis! No need to panic. We're here for you!"

All three rushed to Sylvie, hugging her, sending all the strength, reassurance and love they could.

"We don't have to go tonight, sis. We can make our own party and invite a few people only, like Joannie and Mr. White."

"Jade's right, Sylvie. They will understand. You are here to have fun first and foremost. The rest was poorly thought out and there's absolutely no rush." Julia said, looking at Ryanna, eyes blazing.

"Yes, when we get to Joannie's place, we'll tell her. She'll explain it to them. She's your oldest 'sister' after all and that's what sisters are for." Ryanna said, in a calmer tone.

Once she had regained her composure, Sylvie sighed deeply.

"I'm such a dork. Just when I thought I was cool with large groups of strangers such as at University or at work, I have an anxiety attack at the mere idea of meeting a group of people who will be happy to see me. It's just that it's frightening to discover that I have a huge family I never knew about but who know all about me."

"You may be a dork, sis, but you're our dork and we love you just the way you are."

"We wouldn't have put it that way, but we do love you. We think you are wonderful and have shown remarkable strength to get where you are. Don't let this set you back. We are here for you and we won't let anything bad happen to you while you're here." Julia nodded vigorously in support of Ryanna's statement.

They were still in the middle of the street, hugging and laughing when a cheerful voice reached them. "My, what a beautiful group hug. Is it a private affair or can anyone join in?"