Chapter 22
***JACKSON***
Using the last of his control, Jackson slowly sank into the warm moist heat of Abby’s core, trying not to hurt her as her body slowly stretched to take his full length.
She tensed for only a second, then let out a low moan and he slipped completely inside her, his own groan of satisfaction filling the room as he seated himself deeply for the first time.
When she opened her eyes to look up at him, they were filled with both wonder and pleasure as he slowly pulled out of her then buried himself deeply again.
The little groan that came from deep in her chest pushed him on, and he thrust into her again and again, filling her completely with each stroke of his powerful hips until they were both straining for release.
Wishing it hadn’t come so quickly, he felt his control slipping.
Nothing had ever felt as right in his entire life, and it was impossible to hold back this time.
He spilled himself inside Abby with a cry of pleasure, her name on his lips just as she toppled into oblivion with him, her body squeezing him so tightly he thought the pleasure would never end.
When the waves finally subsided, he collapsed on top of her, completely spent, his body almost numb from the power of what they’d just shared.
It was a long time before he rolled off Abby to gather her in his arms. She fit perfectly under his arm when he pulled her closer, and she laid her head on his chest with a deep sigh, then smiled up at him.
“I don’t know why we waited to do that,” she said. “It was way better than I thought it was going to be.”
“I don’t know if I should be insulted or flattered, but if you give me a few minutes, we’ll see what we can do about an encore,” he said, shaking his head. “But I just want to remind you that it was your idea to wait.”
“Only because you scared me so badly with all your talk about bonds and connections,” she said. “It was your fault, not mine.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, sweetheart, whatever you say,” he said, unable to hide a little smile. “I’ll agree with anything you say as long as we get to do that again.”
“Hmm…I’ll have to remember that in the future, it might come in handy,” she said, then a little blush appeared on her cheeks. “Don’t you have to…rest or something?”
“The last thing on my mind is resting,” he said, flipping Abby onto her back. “In fact, it might be a while before I need to rest.”
Abby’s eyes widened when she felt his erection against her hip, “Oh…I guess…you don’t need to rest,” she said, her cheeks even pinker. “Maybe we could do it again.”
He laughed, “There’s no maybe about it,” he said, sliding his hand down between her legs. “Unless you need to rest? I wouldn’t want to tire you out.”
“That sounded like a challenge,” she said, slightly breathless. “I can keep up with you, Jackson, just you wait and see.”
It was the timer on the stove that finally got them out of bed, but as soon as they’d eaten and cleaned up the kitchen, they tumbled back under the covers.
The moon was already making its way across the sky when they finally fell asleep tangled together, Jackson’s magic making the air above them sparkle, and for the first time since the connection between them came to life, they both slept deeply and peacefully.
It was after noon the next day when Jackson finally opened his eyes to a world covered in white.
He spent a few minutes watching the big fat snowflakes falling outside the window.
The fire had gone out hours before and the cabin was freezing, but he was warm and content cuddled up with Abby under the thick blankets.
He was just thinking about closing his eyes and going back to sleep when she began to stir, then opened her eyes, and a smile slowly spread across her face.
“Good morning,” she said, her voice husky. “What time is it?”
“I’m not sure; it’s too cloudy out there to see the sun, but it’s late,” he said, pulling her closer. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? We don’t have anywhere to be.”
“Not until tomorrow night. The weekend is all ours,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “And we shouldn’t waste a minute of it.”
He laughed, “I can get behind that sentiment,” he said. “What did you have in mind?”
It was half an hour later before they were ready to get out of bed, but as soon as he threw back the covers, Abby pulled them back up with a little cry. “It’s freezing in here,” she said, shivering. “I think I’ll just stay here.”
“The fire went out, I’ll get it started again,” he said leaning down and giving her a kiss. “I didn’t realize you were such a wimp.”
“I’m not a wimp, I just don’t like to be cold,” she said, then took a deep breath and jumped out of bed. “There, are you happy?”
“How can I not be when you’re standing there naked?” he asked, grinning at her. “Almost makes me want to drag you right back into that bed.”
Abby ran across the room and grabbed her robe. “Don’t you dare. Now that I’m up, I’m hungry,” she said, shoving her arms into the sleeves. “And I would die for a cup of coffee.”
“Fine, I guess some food does sound good,” he said, adding wood to the still hot coals in the fireplace. “It will be nice and warm in here in a few minutes. Maybe you could start the coffee, and then we’ll both work on breakfast.”
“You mean lunch,” Abby said, pointing to the clock. “We slept through breakfast.”
By the time he had the fire blazing again, the stack of wood next to the fireplace was gone. “I’m going to run outside and get some more wood before we start breakfast,” he said, walking over and kissing Abby. “I won’t be gone long, but keep an eye on the fire just in case.”
***Abby***
Abby shivered when Jackson opened the door and stepped out of the cabin.
It let in a gust of wind and a shower of snowflakes, but the fire was already warming the room, and they quickly melted on the carpet.
Turning back to the coffee pot on the counter, she measured out the grounds, plugged the old percolator in, and switched it on.
Taking a couple of mugs and sugar down from the cabinet, she set them on the counter, went to the refrigerator, and grabbed the cream.
Turning back to the refrigerator she grabbed bacon, eggs, cheese and butter, carried them all over to the stove and set them down.
After rummaging around for a pan, she got the bacon frying, losing track of the time as she worked.
She didn’t stop to think about where Jackson was until she had a plate full of crisp bacon waiting on the back of the stove.
Looking up at the clock, she frowned, then looked over at the fire, which had almost burned out, and then out the door to the woodpile, trying to remember when she’d heard him last. Walking over to the window, she looked around the yard, sure that she’d see him, but all she saw was white, and a bad feeling swept over her.
Crossing the room, she rummaged through her suitcase until she found a pair of warm pants and a sweatshirt, pulled them both on, then slipped her feet into her boots, glad that she’d brought them.
Grabbing her coat on the way out the door, she shivered as she put it on, zipped it up and pulled up the hood, all the things that could have happened to Jackson crowding her brain.
Taking deep breaths, she told herself that she was overreacting.
She’d find Jackson behind the wood pile, splitting kindling or something.
When she spotted his footprints in the snow under the trees, her heart leaped with joy, but only a second later, the feeling of doom was back when a second set of prints joined Jackson’s.
Fighting a feeling of panic, she opened her mouth to call out to him, then changed her mind and began following both pairs of prints around the wood pile, dreading what she was going to find.
Her fear became reality when she turned the corner and saw Jackson crumpled on the ground, a splash of red in the snow by his head.
“Oh, Jackson,” she cried and started to rush over to him, but a pair of hands clamped down on her arms and hauled her back.
“I don’t think so,” Diego said. “You’re not going anywhere. We’re just going to stand here until your boyfriend wakes up, then I’m going to kill you while he watches. You made this much too easy for me. I really thought this was going to be more of a challenge.”
“Jackson will never let that happen,” she said, struggling to get free. “He’s going to wake up any second, and this time he’s going to kill you. If you’re smart, you’ll let me go and get out of here.”
Diego reached up and slapped her. “Shut your mouth, you little bitch,” he roared at her, the madness in his eyes making them glow. “You’re going to die and then he’s next. No one humiliates me and gets away with it.”
The stench of Diego’s evil was beginning to fill the air around them, and she tried not to gag as it filled her nostrils. “You’ll never get away with it,” she choked out. “They’ll know who did this and come after you.”
“The clan will protect me,” Diego growled at her. “No one can touch me, not even the police. I’m just doing what they sent me here to do. I’ll be a hero when this is over; it's too bad you won’t be here to see it.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Abby had been watching Jackson slowly get to his feet as Diego ranted, his eyes cloudy and his body swaying.
Then his vision cleared when he saw Diego holding her.
Rage slowly built in Jackson’s eyes, and she felt the power of his magic even with the distance between them.
It surged through her, making her entire body tingle and she soaked it up, knowing that she was going to have to fight her way to freedom.
When Diego finally turned and saw Jackson on his feet, his grip on her arm loosened for a second, and she took full advantage.
She twisted out of his grip in a move she’d learned in a self-defense class and without even looking back, she took off toward the trees behind Jackson.
Her feet slipped on the icy ground even with her boots on, and she only made it a few yards before she heard a growl of anger behind her, then felt the wave of magic as Diego shifted.
Refusing to look behind her, she focused on reaching Jackson, who was already gathering his magic to shift, but she was suddenly lifted off her feet and screamed when she realized she was being held in one of Diego’s scaley talons.
The stench of his evil nearly gagged her as she started to fight, twisting and turning, kicking out her feet, determined to get free any way she could.
When it was clear that nothing was helping, she took a deep breath, turned her head, and bit down as hard as she could on the nasty toe wrapped around her shoulder.
Diego screamed in shock and pain and opened his talon to shake her loose, but she held on until the taste of blood began to fill her mouth, then began to burn its way down her throat.
The fall to the ground when gravity finally won was farther than she thought it would be.
She landed on her back with a thud, unable to breathe for several long seconds when the impact knocked the air out of her lungs, then lay in the snow, unable to move as pain swept through her.
It wasn’t long before her vision began to darken, but she managed to lift her head just as Jackson took Diego out with one powerful swipe of his wings, and then everything went black.