Stone Cold Seduction (21 page)

I placed my hand behind his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. His lips were soft and warm against mine. Instead of possession and heat, he offered comfort, desire, and love. Even exhausted, I recognized it for what it was.

Jax loved me. It was in his touch and his eyes. He kissed me with a tenderness that surprised me. His touch was so gentle, almost like he feared hurting me. I wanted to protest and tell him I wasn’t fragile. But in that second, I realized that tonight, I was. Jax knew me better than I knew myself. He was my other half.

The bond flared to life between us. I was startled by the intensity. I could feel his heart beat in tandem with mine. I could sense his worry, his frustration and his desire. I wondered again if he could feel my emotions, too. It felt like a living thread connecting us. Our breaths were in sync. Desire and need grew and swirled around us, until I could no longer tell his and mine apart.

Jax settled over me and something inside of me settled with him. I might not be at home, but with Jax, I came damn close.

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss right above my heart. He whispered words I couldn’t make out. But I didn’t need to. I closed my eyes as heat flared between us. A simple touch was all it took. The bond pulsed, and the heat Jax created consumed me.

Our mouths met as he slid inside of me. I forgot the horrors of the day. I forgot the disappointment of not getting my fate. I forgot the chasm of secrets between us. Jax tantalized each of my senses.

His lips tasted and teased my own and I surrendered. Opening for the kiss, his tongue delved inside, making me shiver. His hands braced on either side of my head. I embraced him, pulling him closer. The way Jax filled me made it hard to distinguish where he ended and I began. His thrusts were slow and deep. He lifted his head to watch my reaction. As he leaned back, he sank deeper inside of me.

I gasped and arched against him. He continued his teasing pace, sliding in and out. I cupped my breasts, and he bent down to taste me. I felt his hot breath a moment before his lips closed around one sensitive peak. His tongue flicked against my flesh, wringing a cry from my throat.

He turned his attention to the other one, drawing my nipple into his mouth. The pull of his lips created a raw heat low in my stomach, and I moved restlessly against him. My skin was too hot. My muscles began to tighten as Jax drove me closer to orgasm. I moved again, urging him to go faster.

Jax ignored my need to hurry, and took his sweet time sampling my flesh. I felt the bond pulse between us. I sensed his worries and frustration fading as his need grew. It was the same for me.

I pressed against his shoulders until he rolled so I was on top. Silver eyes glittered up at me as I straddled his hips. He was deep inside, and I closed my eyes for a moment, to savor the feeling.

He was my mate.

I leaned over him, my hands braced on his chest. I could feel the corded muscles beneath my palms. A smile tilted the corners of my mouth as I stroked my hands down his chest and abdomen. His body was extraordinary. The dusting of silky hair tickled my hands as I tried to memorize every angle, every plane of his torso.

I drew a low growl from him when I experimented with moving my hips. I leaned closer, and he lifted his head to capture one of my nipples in his mouth. I slid along his erection, causing him to drop his head back and suck in a deep breath.

He grabbed my hips and thrust deep. My head dropped back and I shuddered with pleasure. He thrust again and again. The orgasm hit, and I moaned his name as wave after wave of ecstasy crashed over me.

He joined me seconds later, whispering simply, “Mate.”

§

We’d fallen asleep wrapped together in a lover’s embrace, but after only a couple of hours of sleep, something woke me. I opened my eyes and surveyed the dark room. I saw nothing out of the ordinary. I heard nothing. I untangled my limbs from Jax and sat up.

Must be my nerves.

Shaking off my unease, I yawned and blinked, trying to clear my blurry vision.

Despite my exhaustion, I was uncomfortably awake. Light was trickling in through the curtains, and I knew morning was here. It was far too early, but I needed to think. All of the brutal details of the previous night would be easier to work out in the light of day. Or so I hoped.

As quietly as I could, I slid from the bed. I took a quick, hot shower and felt a tad better.

I applied a bit of makeup in an attempt to hide the dark circles under my eyes. There wasn’t anything I could do about their bloodshot look. Being hunted and having serious jet lag had me looking less than perky. I pulled on a pair of slim, dark-wash jeans and a fitted, feminine, flannel shirt. The outfit highlighted my curves, but wouldn’t attract unwanted attention. The burgundy plaid shirt enhanced the blue of my eyes and matched the bloodshot effect.
Lovely
, I thought.

I left my hair loose, so it hung halfway down my back. I didn’t want to turn on the blow dryer and wake Jax. I heard a quiet snore when I stepped out of the bathroom. I smiled at Jax’s sleeping form. His face softened in sleep and there wasn’t a worry line on his forehead. That would change when he woke, I knew. We would all have worry lines today. Hopefully, we could come up with a plan B before the lines became permanent.

I grabbed my purse and shoes and slipped out of the room. Dinner had been the furthest thing from my mind last night, but this morning, I was starving. The front desk clerk directed me to the breakfast area, and I followed the faint scent of coffee. Before I could reach the dining room, a hand stopped me.

“Why are you wandering around by yourself?”

Despite MacLean’s terse tone, I offer him a tired smile. “Hey, good morning to you, too.”

“Where are you going?”

I pointed toward the dining hall. “Breakfast. I missed dinner last night. I’m not leaving the hotel by myself again.” I stared straight into his copper eyes. It had been a dumb mistake. One I wasn’t going to repeat.

I could tell he was judging my sincerity. He nodded after a moment, satisfied. “I’ll join you for breakfast, if that’s okay.”

Company would be nice. I hadn’t expected any of them to be up and about this early, but I was thankful. Being alone after last night didn’t seem all that appealing.

My stomach rumbled as I surveyed the breakfast spread. I dished up a waffle, two eggs, bacon, and a hefty dose of syrup. I would deal with the sugar crash later.

MacLean grabbed a spoonful of everything, and we wandered to a small table. There were only five people in the room aside from us, so I relaxed a little.

“Is there a plan B?” Might as well cut to the chase. I was tired of keeping my worries to myself. I knew I’d feel better if there was a plan of attack, so to speak.

MacLean stared at me, a heaping forkful of hash browns inches from his mouth. Lowering his fork, he sighed. “If you mean to get your fate, yes.”

At my hopeful expression, he shook his head, effectively squelching my small bubble of optimism.

“Plan B is a bad idea. Still in the early planning stages. Teryl and I discussed it last night. It’s the only option. I just wish it weren’t such a dangerous one.”

I cut my waffle and drizzled syrup over it. It was heavenly. I might have moaned a little, because MacLean’s gaze zeroed in on my mouth. I finished chewing with a blush. “Sorry, I was hungry. Okay, so what is it? And why is it dumb?”

MacLean ate his food with stiff movements, and I had a feeling he was stalling. Finally, he replied, “We have to break in to the oracle’s library. The Library of Shadows.”

The flavor of the waffle dissolved, and I might as well have been eating cardboard. “Break in?”

“Mm-hmm.” MacLean stabbed a piece of sausage.

I swallowed hard.

It might seem ridiculous that I’m suddenly squeamish about breaking in after what I’ve done to my father’s business, but this would be different. I’d be entering property that doesn’t belong to my father. I’d be stealing something that doesn’t belong to my father. And I’d be stealing from people who are freaking psychic, while being hunted. Can you say “death wish”? No, thanks.

“How, exactly, am I supposed to pull that off?”

MacLean pointed his fork at me. “That’s why it’s a bad idea. No one has ever done it. I don’t think there’s ever been a need. Everyone else receives their fate.”

“Can’t I just walk in and ask for my fate? Give them my ID and prove I am who I say I am? Fill out some paperwork or whatever? If we can avoid the breaking in part, I’d appreciate it.”

The waffle lost all flavor as I considered the ramifications of his suggestion. The last few days had had enough excitement to last me at least three lifetimes.

“I doubt they’ll hand over your fate, with or without ID. It doesn’t work like that. If you haven’t earned it, they won’t give it to you. And they don’t determine if you’ve earned it. Your parents, guardian, and the original oracle decide that.”

Great. My mom and Carys were dead, shot by the only other person who could have deemed me worthy. Which he obviously hadn’t.

I decided to voice my fears aloud. “Maybe I’m not supposed to know my fate. Maybe I should stop running and…”

MacLean reached across the table and took my hand, his eyes flaming. “No. You deserve to know your fate, and you don’t want the hunters to catch up. The Council wants you brought in, dead or alive. Your fate might be your only saving grace.”

I stared down at his hand on mine. The mounting pile of unanswered questions needed to stop. I had another fear I needed to address. “MacLean, what happened with our engagement? The real reason it ended, not the politics or family alliance BS. Why didn’t we get married? I thought, that is, I… Oh, crap.”

How do you ask someone what happened to the love between you? Especially when you’re with someone else?

I thought it would give me closure. To have something in my past explained so I could move forward and maybe, just maybe, understand.

He didn’t let go of my hand. “I can sense the bond you’ve started with Jax.” His voice was tight with tension.

That didn’t answer my question. I met his eyes, which were still flaming.

“I never broke our engagement. Your father offered to let me out. When you turned seventeen, something happened.”

“Something with me?”

“He didn’t specify. Two days after your seventeenth birthday, he showed up at our house and said you were no longer suitable. He offered to tear up the contract. I declined. I was…I had feelings for you.”

My heart raced as anxiety crept in. I had the feeling he’d been about to say he was in love with me. I loved him. Or rather, my sixteen-year-old self had loved him. Now? I didn’t know him. And I had Jax.

Confusion made my head hurt. If nothing else, I needed my fate to clear up this one issue. The phoenix or the gargoyle? Wouldn’t that make for an interesting reality show?

“Release her hand,” a deep, furious voice interrupted.

My stomach bottomed out, and I pulled my hand back as if scalded.

I stared up at Jax’s bright, silver eyes, which were fixed on MacLean.

Damn, damn, double damn
ran through my head.

What I said was, “We all need to talk.”

Chapter Fifteen

How I managed to get MacLean and Jax back to our room without an all-out brawl, I’ll never know. Teryl seemed to have sensed my distress, because he met us in the hall outside our rooms.

“Hey, what…” He trailed off when he got a look at the other two. “Shit, okay.” He opened the door to his room and gestured. “In. Now.”

I led the way and stood in the corner, as far from the intensity as I could get. Teryl and MacLean sat on what I assumed were their respective beds, while Jax stood next to the door and glared. Maybe keeping this indoors was a bad idea.

“She is taken,” Jax pronounced.

“Yeah, you’ve said that,” MacLean snapped back. “You seem to forget she was taken long before she ever knew you.” He stood suddenly and took his shirt off in short, jerky movements.

Oh…now I remembered why I fell for him at sixteen. He was tall and lean and muscular and golden and…no… not golden. On fire.

Crap.

And…those wings attached to his large shoulders. Feathers in brilliant shades of orange, red and gold, also on fire. Paint them white, and I’d say he looked like an angel. A royally pissed off angel. Covered in flames.

Rooted to the floor, I could only stare.

Jax took a step forward and removed his shirt in one quick jerk, as his skin shifted wildly from stone to flesh.

Teryl hopped up and stepped between them. Brave, dumb man. “Guys, can we settle down for a minute?”

Two sets of equally furious eyes turned on him. I felt, more than saw, Teryl flinch. I appreciated his effort. I really did. But it wasn’t getting us anywhere.

“Please, stop,” I said.

They ignored me, so I waved my hands in big circles. “Hey! This isn’t a pissing contest.”

Okay, maybe it was, to a certain extent, but I hoped to avoid a fight.

“Let’s talk about plan B. And please put your shirts back on.” Their bare chests were distracting. Gorgeous, muscular, and oh, so distracting.

Teryl jumped on the opening I’d provided. “Good idea. Plan B. We gotta get Elle into the Library of Shadows.”

I watched Jax flex those damn, sexy wings. He uttered a guttural, “No.”

“Where else can she get her fate?” Teryl challenged.

I held my breath. Jax looked scary, with his wings tucked behind him and his fists clenched. I felt obligated to step in once again.

“Can I steal it from Jedren instead?” I could handle that. Stealing from that man didn’t cause me to lose sleep at night. Ever. Especially now that he’d added another victim to his roster.

Bastard.

“No,” MacLean said. “If he killed Carys to prevent you from getting it, it’s unlikely he’ll still have a copy. He probably destroyed his copy and the one he took from Carys. No trail, no evidence. Jedren is anything but stupid.” MacLean sounded frustrated, and I couldn’t blame him. My father knew how to stay one step ahead of everyone.

“So someone besides MacLean explain to me why I can’t walk into the Library of Shadows and ask for a copy of my fate.”

Alarm flashed across Teryl’s face. Jax frowned at me.

MacLean just shook his head, the flames subsiding. “I told you the truth.”

“A girl can hold out hope for a different answer. Any sane person would understand my position.”

“The oracles guard it,” Teryl said.

“And?”

“And, nothing. You can’t just waltz in and ask for your fate.”

“Why not? Has anyone ever tried?”

When they all shook their heads, I rolled my eyes. “Then how do you know it won’t work? Maybe it’s never happened because no one has bothered to try.”

“You can’t. They will kill you.” This from Jax, who, I was relieved to note, had shifted back to normal. Minus the shirt, still. My fingers itched to smooth over his chest, and…

Irritated at my reaction, I snapped at him. “Jax, put a shirt on. Besides, the hunters will try to kill me if I don’t go to the library.”

I waited for any of them to refute my statement. No such luck.

“Okay, so what do I have to lose?”

“The oracles will alert the hunters. You’ll lose if you walk in and announce yourself,” MacLean said, his words muffled for a moment as he pulled his shirt on over his head. Relief and regret warred inside me for a moment.

I deliberately studied my fingernails as I considered MacLean’s last words. I hadn’t thought about the oracles alerting the hunters. Well, damn. “If I broke in, as opposed to just knocking and asking nicely, wouldn’t the oracles have a premonition or something? Wouldn’t the hunters know I was coming, anyway? They might even know I’m here now, and…”

“They’re oracles, not invincible. The Council uses the hunters to track their ‘problems,’ and the oracles stick to reading fates. And number crunching.” Teryl smiled at the self-mockery.

I didn’t think it was funny. “So when you guys say it’s guarded, what does that mean, exactly? And the more specific you are, the better.”

“I believe we mentioned there are keepers for the souls?” MacLean asked me.

I nodded. I vaguely remembered one of them saying it back in Seattle. Days ago. Might as well have been a lifetime ago. “Just as the souls have keepers, the fates have guardians. They perform similar functions. They protect. And use whatever means necessary to do so. The Library of Shadows is also heavily warded.”

“Warded?”

“Yeah,” Teryl said. “It’s like a magical lock, gate, or trap. The fae set it up. Depending on the ward, it can lock you out, render you powerless, or even hurt you.”

Which told me next to nothing about how it related to me. “For example? I’m tired of these crappy, half-assed answers.”

“Right. Think about the souls for a second. They’re typically heavily warded. The fae would have put these wards in place as a trap and a lock to keep them safe. Jedren would have had to get through the wards to steal them in the first place. I don’t know how he managed it, but he did.

“There are wards that will kill you. Death wards, as they’re called. Centuries ago, the oracles used to draw the wards, but the ability died out. So now the fae create them. It’s a complex series of symbols that require magical ability to set them in place. Some wards might render you unconscious, or make you forget you were there. Other wards are set up to sound proof a room, or can lock or unlock a space. Does that make more sense?”

Unfortunately, it did. “Wards are used as a type of magical security system, basically.”

“Pretty much.”

This was getting better and better. It would be a miracle if I made it to my birthday. “How do you know if there’s a ward or not?”

Teryl had pulled out a piece of paper and pen. He tapped the pen on his thigh as he thought about it. “You don’t. You won’t know until you hit one. Or it hits you.”

I put my head in my hands. “You actually think I’m going to make it through if I break in to this library?” I mumbled through my fingers to no one in particular.

“That’s why I said it’s a bad idea,” MacLean answered.

“What about shadowing? Couldn’t I shadow in and out? I could get through the wards that way.” I lifted my head. Maybe one of my abilities would actually come in handy.

“No,” Jax’s deep voice echoed in the room. “The wards would still sense you. Shadow or not, you leave a magic trail. And we don’t know your time limit, so you might shadow in, but not out. We can’t risk it. We need to find another plan.”

And another one bites the dust. I was out of ideas.

“Maybe not.” Teryl set the paper and pen on the small night stand and rummaged through his suitcase. He pulled out a book and tried to hand it to me. “Take this.”

“Why?” I stared at it. I didn’t want to touch the book.

“I want to check something. It won’t bite. It’s a book.” He shoved it into my hands.

Three inches thick and bound in brown leather, it was a heavy one. Gilded letters in a different language scrolled down the binding. I was about to tell him to take it back, when I felt it. A slight tingle in my hands, where they touched the book. In seconds, my entire arms and torso were vibrating. Words whispered through my mind, in a melodic chant. My mouth opened and the chant rolled off my tongue of its own volition.

The book popped open with an audible snap. I jerked back in the chair. “What the…?”

Teryl whooped and pumped a fist in the air. “I knew it. That’s amazing. Elle, you’re a ward thief.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. I’m pretty sure that meant “Elle just got more freaky, creepy, and messed up.”

He grabbed his pen and scribbled on the paper. I bet he was taking notes on me.

Jax and MacLean looked like they weren’t sure what Teryl meant, either.

Teryl finished writing, then grabbed the book from me and studied it, his grin growing wider. “This is freaking amazing. You have no idea what this means.”

“No, I don’t. So why don’t you tell me?” I couldn’t keep the bite of sarcasm from my tone.

“Check your wrist.”

I pulled my left sleeve back. Nothing.

“Your
other
one.”

I slowly slid my right sleeve back. “See? Nothing.”

He smirked. MacLean made a noise between a growl and a groan. Jax was silent.

I barely repressed a groan. On the inside of my wrist was a small tattoo, no bigger than a pencil eraser. It looked like a medallion or insignia. I didn’t want to look too closely.

Of all the things that had happened in my lifetime, that little tattoo scared me the most. It felt like a brand.

“You shamed your father today,” Luke sneered. “You are a disgrace to the shadow elves.”

I stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge him. The more I reacted, the more he enjoyed it. Sick, perverted ass. I was almost seventeen. When would this end?

I sat in a chair in the middle of the room. Luke’s torture chamber, as I thought of it. He loomed over me. He liked to do that. I ignored him with all the disdain I could hold onto. Luke seemed to sense it, and he smiled.

I gritted my teeth, but kept my face impassive. Or tried to.

“Princess, shall we play?”

I heard the soft hiss of his dagger as he pulled it from its sheath. I curled my hands into fists, hoping to quell the shaking.
This would be the last time
, I promised myself.
Never, ever again.

Next time, I would turn that dagger on him. Princess. He’d named it that in my honor, or so he’d told me. One day, I dreamed of killing him with it. I would be doing the world a favor.

And he’d never use it on me again.

Luke circled and stood behind me. He leaned in close, to whisper in my ear. “I want you to carry my mark. Forever. To remind you of your place. And our good times.” He leaned back and laughed at his joke.

I shuddered and closed my eyes.
Oh God, oh God, oh God
.

He cut the back of my shirt, from my neck to mid-back. I bit my lip to hold in the shriek that was forming. Once I started, I doubted I could stop. So far, he hadn’t touched my skin. Maybe, this one time…

“I think you father would appreciate it.”

I tried to think of happy things. My mother. MacLean. Never seeing my father or Luke again. Shopping. Puppies.

Nothing worked. I could hear Luke’s breathing become heavy. Bile rose in my throat. I could feel him close to my back. Foul heat rolled off him in sickening waves. Inside, the icy cold grew until it enveloped me. It would be over soon. That was the lie I told myself. I refused to think about my secret fear. The fear that one day, he wouldn’t stop. And I died without ever having a chance to say goodbye to my mother, and I love you to MacLean.

“Oh, Princess. It’s been too long,” Luke breathed on my neck.

I gagged. Tears leaked, slow and hot, from behind my eye lids.