His Darkest Salvation (9 page)

She looked up at Julian. “I agree that we can accomplish the task much more efficiently working together than apart, but I’ll only do it on one condition.”

Nico growled loudly, and she glanced at the animal in warning as mist crawled along his limbs.

Julian nodded slowly. “And what would that be?”

“You need to share everything. For us to work together, some kind of trust needs to be established. I need to know where you’ve been, what you went through.” She paused and glared at Declan. “What your endgame is because I sure as hell don’t believe it’s all about puppies and rainbows. You have an ulterior motive, and I want to know what it is.”

The dark energy that slid along Julian’s skin vibrated, and her breath caught as she felt the caress of his power.

Julian glanced at Declan and nodded. “I’ll tell you what you need to know when . . .” His voice drifted off and he arched an eyebrow.

“When what?” she mimicked, irritated at his superior attitude. She was going to have to break that real quick.

Julian nodded toward Nico, who now stood in his human form a few feet away and snarled.

“When your boyfriend puts on some clothes and leaves us alone.”

Chapter 7

I
t took a considerable amount of energy to control the darkness that tickled along the edge of Julian’s mind. And it was fierce . . . the need he felt to crush Nico in such a way that maximum pain would be involved.

The warrior stood proudly, his naked body a testament to his hard past. His skin glistened with sweat, and the heavy muscles were adorned by several jagged battle scars.

Nico bared his teeth and took a step toward him as Julian clenched his hands, a vicious smile sweeping across his face.

“You will show her respect, Castille,” Nico snarled.

“Respect needs to be earned,” he said silkily, “then kept.” Julian nodded, his voice matter-of-fact, “something you know firsthand, no? Crazy Nico, isn’t that what they call you?” He stood loosely, with his hands at his sides, waiting for the warrior to strike.

“For fuck sakes, I don’t have time for this.” Jaden turned to him, her chest heaving and skin flush with heat. His eyes ran over her, and his gut tightened as she licked her lips and exhaled.

“You need to shut your mouth because I’m this”—she pinched her fingers in his face—“close to kicking your ass but good.”

Damn but she was fearless.

“I think I might enjoy that,” he whispered, surprised to find his thoughts falling from his lips so readily. His words were soft, meant only for her ears, and her skin darkened in response. It gave him perverse pleasure to know he was the cause of it.

“Move away from her,” Nico growled, and Julian glanced at the warrior, hating the way he looked at Jaden as if he owned her.

“You couldn’t protect your woman. What makes you think you can do any better with Jaden?”

Nico’s face whitened, and the air stilled, thinning, as if it were sucked away into a black hole of nothingness. It was a low blow, and he knew it, but Julian didn’t give a flying fuck. Truthfully, he just wanted to hurt, spread that lovely sensation wherever the hell he could.

They should all experience the hole that was inside him.

His eyes fell back to Jaden’s, and he snarled before turning away.

“You’re an asshole,” she spit at him.

“Yeah, that’s the second time he’s been called that today,” Declan interjected, his tone light. Ever the comedian.

Jaden snapped, “You don’t get to talk to me, not after what you’ve done.” She shot a look of such loathing toward the sorcerer that Declan closed his mouth and remained silent.

Declan glanced at Julian, his face screwed up into a caricature of
what the fuck?

Julian looked down at the pile of clay and instinctively knew the piece had meant a lot to Jaden.

“Nico, take Cormac’s spawn down to the hub; I’ll be along in a bit.”

Nico’s eyes never left Julian’s. The warrior flexed his muscles yet remained silent. Julian saw the pain there; it was something he recognized and knew intimately.

He fucking lived with it every day.

He cracked a smile and raised his chin in invitation. He sensed the jaguar was on the cusp, and Julian stood lightly, ready for battle. Inside, he felt his animal stretch, the power within him flex, and he reveled in the sensation.

It told him that he was still alive even if part of him was cold and dead.

“Nico, he’s not worth it,” Jaden said softly as she moved toward the warrior. She put her hand on him, and Julian’s skin burned with a need that was foreign.

“It’s all right, I’ll be fine. I need you to contact Finn and get him down there, too.” She glanced back to Julian, her eyes narrow, her lips thin with anger. “Castille and I need a few minutes.”

Nico remained quiet but didn’t move. The air was charged with things unsaid, acts undone, yet the woman between them pleaded for calm.

“Nico, please,” Jaden said softly, “I don’t have time for posturing. Just go.”

Julian studied the way the warrior looked at Jaden, and it took a lot for him to remain still. Nico wanted her or, at the very least, wanted to protect her.

But she’s mine.

The thought slid through his mind, and he paused, surprised.
What the hell was that about?
The woman meant nothing to him.

Julian sighed wearily, suddenly tired of it all, and nodded to Declan. “Go with him, I’ll be there as soon as Jaden and I . . . have a conversation.”

“If you touch her in any way that’s inappropriate, I will kill you,” Nico rasped.

“You could try,” Julian began as he turned from the warrior, “but I’m way ahead of you since half of me is already dead.”

As he spoke, he felt a whisper of regret for a life unlived, a chance that was never to be. He’d never be whole again, would never be free of the pain, both physical and emotional, unless he accomplished what was required.

And even then, the odds were a total crapshoot.

“Go, Nico.” Jaden’s soft whisper and her obvious affection for the other jaguar grated on his nerves. He felt fingers of tension work their way across his jaw as he clenched his teeth together tightly.

Jaden whispered something to Nico, too low for even his ears to hear, and though he pretended to turn from them, he would have given anything to know what she’d said to calm the warrior. A promise from a lover? A reward for good behavior?

The jaguar was seriously pussy whipped if he was gonna let sex rule his actions, but then again, Jaden DaCosta was a damn fine piece of ass. He should know. He’d tasted her on a long-ago evening, not unlike the one that was fast approaching.

His eyes swept the length of the room, taking in the magnificent view that the endless wall of glass afforded, and he studied the waning sun as it began to descend lower into the sky.

He heard the elevator doors open.

“Dude, I need a drink. You think we can hit the bar on the way down?” Declan’s voice drifted back to him as did Nico’s answering growl. Julian shook his head, wondering how the sorcerer could remain so flip in the face of such darkness and death. He supposed it was how he dealt with the pile of shit that was his life. The same pile of shit Julian needed to dig out from under.

He watched as Jaden crossed the room and opened a cupboard that was located near the window. He saw her reflection in the glass, and it afforded him a chance to study her without her knowledge. Her lean body was covered in a simple skirt and blouse, both professional yet feminine. Her generous breasts strained against the thin fabric, and his gaze lingered.

Her hair was pinned loosely, and as she turned, her tattoos glistened vibrantly. He found himself fascinated by the luminescent quality, the exotic design.

She grabbed a glass and threw some ice into it before pausing. “You need a drink? ’Cause I sure as hell do.”

“Whiskey, over ice,” he answered without thinking. He turned back to face her and let his eyes drift over her body once more. Her feet were bare, the toenails painted bright pink.

His eyes lingered there, on the feminine arch and delicate lines.

“Some things haven’t changed,” she said softly, and, for a moment, he was clueless as to her meaning. He shook his head slightly, more than a little pissed at how easily she was able to distract him.

She raised his glass, and the sound of the ice tinkling against the tumbler echoed loudly between the two of them.

“Everything has changed,” he retorted, not liking the sensations she seemed to pull so easily from him.

“Whiskey,” she said. “It’s what you were drinking that night . . .”

Maybe it was the way the light played along her skin, emphasizing the healthy, golden glow, that had him hurtling down memory lane. Or maybe it was her scent, fresh, exotic, and wholly feminine.

Whatever it was, suddenly things shifted, like reality had taken a vacation, and he saw her as she’d been three years earlier, younger, fuller, and so passionate that she’d taken his breath away.

She walked toward him, and he sensed her jaguar scratching just below the surface.

Her clan tattoos seemed to move along her skin, and the sudden urge to run his tongue along them, to taste them, pulled at him.

Hard.

Julian clenched his teeth and frowned darkly as he accepted the glass from her. She smiled, a sly lift to her mouth, and turned away, letting her long hair down as she did so, the thick waves slipping from the clip to caress her bare shoulders and fall nearly to her ass.

“Don’t play this game with me,” he said harshly, before draining half the glass in one gulp.

Jaden laughed softly, leaned against a sofa, and raised her glass to him before letting the liquid slide down her throat. His eyes were drawn to the delicate lines there, to the muscles that moved slowly as she finished the entire contents of her glass.

The energy in the air changed. It was now electrified, potent. She licked her lips and stared at him, her dark eyes glistening.

“I don’t play games, Castille.” She shrugged and returned to the cupboard, pouring another generous amount into her glass. “I’ve no time for that shit, so why don’t you come clean, and we can move on.”

She turned back to him, but he remained silent. “Let’s face it, the sooner we end this, the sooner we can forget—”

“Forget what?” he asked softly, and his body moved in a blur of energy and power until he stood inches from her. He felt the heat of her skin, saw the blush of warmth along her cheeks, and the powerful clawing inside him increased tenfold.

“Us . . . forget that we ever met,” she whispered.

He wanted her. As insane as that was, he couldn’t deny the fact.

His body began to hum with an energy long forgotten, and he inhaled sharply as a myriad of sensations spread across his flesh, caressing the raw scars that lay there.

“Move back, Castille.” Jaden’s voice was low, rough, and he studied her eyes closely, watching the irises darken and swell until they were deep pools of inky black velvet.

Her small nose twitched, and her tongue darted out to run along her top lip quickly. He followed the action and found himself bending down.

He would have one more taste.

“Don’t,” she said softly, and he paused. His mouth hovered just above hers, with only the caress of her breath between them.

Julian closed his eyes and breathed in her seductive scent. He felt her hand against his chest, there where he was damaged, and his eyes flew open as they connected.

She shook her head. “We don’t even like each other so this, this . . . whatever it is we’re feeling is unnatural.” She pushed at him, harder, and he let her go as the pain along his flesh twisted and burned.

He grimaced as the wave rolled over him and exhaled slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Lady, I’m probably the most unnatural thing you’ll come across, and trust me, we don’t have to like each other to fuck. In fact, considering the world is heading for the shitter, the whole ‘no strings’ thing suits me fine.”

His eyes narrowed, and he flashed a smile at her. “Hell, if you’re sharing your goods with Nico, why can’t you at least give it up for your mate?”

She looked startled at his crudeness, and hissed, “If you need to relieve tension that bad, I suggest you take a long shower and go it alone or hang at the bar because I’ll never let you touch me again.”

Jaden pushed away, and he let her go, not really sure why he was goading her so. He only knew that getting a reaction out of her made him feel alive somehow.

She slammed her empty tumbler onto the counter and whirled around. Her face was dark, the finely arched eyebrows drawn together as she stared at him, tight-lipped. He knew she was pissed. Actually, the woman was beyond pissed and closing in on furious.

“I can’t work with you if you’re going to be an asshole.” She shook her head violently. “There’s too much at stake.”

Her eyes nailed him with an intensity that quieted the demons inside him, at least for the time being.