Chapter 21
JAMISON
Gatlin joins us when we hit the pavement in the alley. As usual, he scans us from head to toe, making sure we’re in perfect health. His gaze lingers longer on Phaedra, their golden depths flaring with intense emotion. He raises an eyebrow when he notices our hands linked together.
“How much did you hear?” I ask him, silently conveying the shift in my feelings toward Phaedra.
He nods in approval. “All of it. I’m in agreement.” He turns his head and scowls at Phaedra. “What the hell were you thinking? Offering yourself as bait to lure a powerful and deranged mage?”
She lifts a shoulder. “It’s no different from Mathias infiltrating the vampire compound and putting himself at risk.”
“Mathias can hold his own against them,” I remind her. When she looks skeptical, I laugh. “I promise you. He’s one of the most lethal individuals I know and an apex predator. Don’t let his geeky side fool you.”
Her dark brows draw together as if she’s trying to picture him in that light. “You know him better than I do.” There’s a note of sadness in her voice, but I know they have to work things out between them, so I don’t remark on it.
We find a spot a few blocks off Gran Via that’s devoid of both cameras and people where I can create a portal back home.
A minute later, we step out. Again, I experience no ill effects from the jump across the pond.
Frowning, I count backward to the last time I experienced them and realize there are only two variables that could be the reason.
Hawthorne turns toward me and crosses his arms over his chest. “Where the hell did that power boost come from? And why aren’t you exhibiting the usual portal effects?”
I should have known his analytical mind would pick up on it faster than me. Or the others. “I’m not sure. The only two factors I can think of are full access to my powers at all times and the blood Mathias gave me after the explosion.”
“You think removing the curse from your ring helped?” Phaedra asks with a smile.
I squeeze the hand I’m still holding. “Maybe, but I’m not sure.
I’ve taken it off before and didn’t feel this level of power.
It could be the fact that the curse was removed.
” I look back at Hawthorne. “But it’s odd.
My power has more punch to it. I’m able to weave more complex spells and wield large amounts of power without flagging.
I first noticed it when Lady Catherine was using that spell against me.
It should have weakened me more than it did.
Instead, I was able to resist it longer.
And my power returned to its full strength within days, not weeks. ”
“I’d like to draw your blood and run some tests,” Hawthorne says, his voice rising with excitement, but it dims when I shake my head.
“No tests,” I state firmly. “The last thing we need is for this to get out.”
Gatlin strides ahead and opens the front door. “I’m going to fix dinner.”
Hawthorne mutters something about stubborn mages and researching weapons, then disappears into Phaedra’s study. She moves to go after him, but I tug her back to me.
“Is there somewhere we can talk?” I ask her, suddenly feeling nervous.
A devilish look appears in her eyes. “Follow me.”
She heads back outside, leading me straight toward the garage. My curiosity rises when she pulls back a bookcase and stairs appear leading down. It hits me then.
“Are you taking me to your infamous vault?” I tease, but I’m actually extremely flattered that she’s trusting me with her secrets. I know she’s already shown Gatlin, but that’s about the extent of what he shared. Only because he knew someone had to know where she’d put the key and panels.
At the bottom of the steps, I whistle at the state-of-the-art, massive vault door. It has to be at least a foot thick. She walks up to it, then donates a drop of blood and scans her eye.
“This is quite the setup,” I tell her as she opens the door. She steps inside, and I follow, coming to a halt right inside the door.
The room is crammed with treasures. Jewelry, papers, books, cabinets with a multitude of drawers, some open with items spilling out, and in a glass case in the corner, the infamous vase. Partially finished.
“Don’t touch anything,” she reminds me, leaning against the table in the center of the room.
It’s a veritable museum of history. Pieces dating from all periods of time. Ancient Egypt. Ancient Greece. World War II. A Fabergé egg. And those are only the things I recognize.
“Have you shown Hawthorne these relics?”
Her lips twitch. “No, I’m afraid he’ll forget he’s not supposed to touch.”
I chuckle. She knows him too well. “Probably would.”
The silence falls between us, and I take a deep breath, trying to center my thoughts.
“You gave me the greatest gift today. Truth,” I begin with the point where things began to make sense to me.
“All my life, my father gave me nothing but lies and half-truths. And while I could easily discern the difference, I never had a way to force him to give me the answers I so desperately needed.”
“Believe me, I tried everything,” I admit with a wince. “Potions. Spells. Curses. He warded himself so well against me and mage magic overall that nothing ever worked. Until today.”
Her eyes are glued to me.
“Hearing the truth freed me, and it helped me understand you better,” I explain, nervously pacing back and forth.
“Spending the last few weeks here, with you, have shown me I was wrong. When Mathias revealed your role in the portals, I didn’t stop to think about why you hid your past. I was too consumed by the fact that I’d let myself be blindsided again.
It felt like a lie when in actuality it was fear and your protective instincts that prevented you from telling us. Or anyone, for that matter.”
I move toward her and take her hands in mine. “The four of us, Hawthorne, Gatlin, Mathias and I, were lucky. We found each other and formed a family. All this time, you had nobody. If something happened, you picked up the pieces. Alone.”
She stares up at me, her eyes searching mine. “I should have told you.”
I shake my head. “If you had told us, I don’t know that our reactions would have been any different from what they were.
I wish I could say we would have understood, but I doubt it.
By getting to know you, care for you, we gained a perspective and attachment that never would have happened if we’d known your past.”
Her eyes drift to the vase in the corner.
“Honestly, I would have buried the past if it hadn’t been for my sister.
For her, I’d endure anything. Loneliness.
Heartbreak. Fury.” She brings her gaze back to me.
“You’re right. I was afraid to love again.
But I realize now that I can’t go back to the way I was before all of you.
You’ve changed me. I want this. I want you. ”
Before all this happened, I would look into her gaze and practically see the walls she’d built. Now, her eyes are clear and open, with hope shining in their depths.
“I’m such a fool,” I tell her, slipping my hands around her jaw to cup her face.
“You told me in the beginning you wouldn’t share all your secrets.
And I told you it was fine as long as you didn’t lie.
But the truth is, I lied. When I fell for you, I expected you to open yourself up and trust me.
Then, when your past came to light, I immediately cut you off.
Punished you with recriminations and anger.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lied, and I’m sorry I bailed on you. ”
Tears slip down her cheeks as she stares up at me. “Does that mean we can start over?”
“No, it means that despite being a fool, I’m hoping you’ll forgive me, so we can move forward, stronger than before, together,” I say, bending down to brush my lips against hers. “It’s been bloody torturous being so close to you and not being able to touch you. Hold you. Kiss you.”
I lean down and do what I’ve only been dreaming about for what seems like fucking ages. Her lips are soft and welcoming and cling to mine with a desperation I thought only I was feeling. My hand moves to the back of her head, holding her to me as I drag the kiss on, unable to stop.
My dick hardens, and I back her up a step, but she immediately jerks out of my arms. “Stop.” I freeze. Does she not want this? “This isn’t the place.” She motions to the dangerous piles of trinkets on the table behind her, then leads me out of the room and closes the vault door.
I turn toward the stairs, eager to find the nearest damn bed, but she grips my shirt and stops me. Stretching up, her lips meet mine and the fire between us roars to life. Her mouth claims mine as her hands reach for the buttons.
To hell with it.
My hands immediately go to the hem of her sweater, and I yank it off her, revealing her pink silk bra, the light color bright against her olive complexion.
My fingers nimbly pinch the clasp in the back, and she immediately shoves it away.
My mouth waters at the sight of the luscious breasts that have been haunting my dreams and cold showers for weeks.
Our hands reach for each other, but I capture hers in mine and trap them above her head as I push her against the vault door. She hisses and arches as her bare skin touches the cool steel. I wave a finger, warming the door behind her, and she chuckles.
“That’s the best use of magic I’ve seen,” she says with a gasp as my lips land on her beautiful, hard nipples.
I’m too busy sucking and worshipping these gorgeous globes to respond.
Her words turn to incoherent sounds as I continue to use my tongue to lick and touch every inch of them.
I release her hands to cup her breasts, weighing them, then pushing them together so I can more easily reach them with my tongue.
Nails lightly score my back as she kneads the muscles, and the slight pain brings me closer to the edge.
Fuck, I need to be inside her.
Abandoning her breasts, I skim my hands down her athletic body and tap the button of her trousers with a little magic. They disappear, leaving the rest of her to my gaze. I groan. Gorgeous. I drop to my knees before her and nibble my way down her smooth skin until I get to the heart of her.
Her hands slip into my hair and cup my head.
I look up, wanting to see her thoughts. Blue eyes, glazed with desire, stare down at me.
A light blush of heat covers her chest and cheeks.
She licks her swollen lips, and it’s all I can do not to stand and kiss the hell out of her while I take her, fast and furious.
Instead, I slide my hand behind her knee and spread her legs, then drop my gaze to the sight in front of me—smooth skin and delicate pink folds glistening wet in the soft light.
I hum at the delicious bounty, then circle my tongue around her clit, drawing it into my mouth.
She moans, and my dick twitches at the sound.
Wanting to be inside her, I insert a finger into her wet heat, stroking in and out as my mouth brings her closer to the edge. Whimpering, she tightens her grip on my head.
“Jamison,” she calls out breathlessly, and I pause for a second. I’d been so certain I’d never hear my name on her lips that way again.
I’m a fool, but a damn lucky one.
Her body quivers, and I add another finger. Gasps and heavy breathing fill the space around us. When her hips begin to rock, I increase my speed until I feel her body clenching and on the verge of coming.
“I want you inside me. Now.”
Shedding the rest of our clothes with a flick of a wrist, I don’t even think twice. I pick her up and press her against the door. Long, sleek legs wrap tightly around me as I sheath myself inside her.
Damn. I think I’m harder than I’ve ever been in my life.
I slide in and out, trying to take it slow, but it’s been too long since I felt her around me.
Already on edge, I’m barely holding on. I slide my hand between us to circle her clit, and when she begins to move, so do I, steadily increasing the pace.
My lips find hers, and I do what I wanted to do a minute ago and kiss the bloody hell out of her.
Her response is electric as she meets my lips with wild passion.
Unable to hold back any longer, I thrust hard and fast. Her breath catches, then her body tightens, milking mine. I ride her through the storm exploding inside her, then find my own release seconds later.
Chest heaving, I gasp for air while she strokes soft hands down my back. Then I bury my face in her sweet neck and breathe in her unique scent, something I’ve missed so very much.
A few minutes later, I lift my head to stare into her satisfied blue eyes. This is the woman I’ll fight the gods themselves to keep safe. She’s mine. Ours.
I lift my head to tell her, but her smile stops me in my tracks. Smoothing back her damp hair, I slide out of her and use a little magic to dress us both.
“Thank you. For forgiving me. For helping with my father. For being ours.” I give her one last, lingering kiss, then slide her hand into mine. “Let’s go find a bed and do this again. Slower this time.”