It’s You #2

Chapter 2 #2

“I’ll be there.”

“If it weren’t for Delphine, I would tell you to run. We could protect ourselves, but she’s so small.”

Julien’s daughter was only four years old. If Jack didn’t appear for the re-binding, his family would face the Inquisition in his place. He couldn’t have their safety jeopardized by his actions.

“Don’t worry. I would never run. I would never dishonor our family. I will be there.”

“Alone?”

He didn’t answer. They’d already been over this several times.

He refused to turn Darcy, and there was no way she could attend a Roux-ga-roux Gathering in human form.

Even with him, his mother, his brother, Lela, and Tombeur surrounding her like a wall, they wouldn’t be able to protect her from the hundreds that would want her blood.

“Jacques.” She hesitated before her words came out in a rush. “I would gladly turn her for you, if you can’t do—”

“Arrête maintenant!” he barked. “That’s not an option. You know that. I will figure something out.” He paused, anxious to wrap up their conversation. “You sure they’re not bothering you?”

“They only stopped by the one time.” She paused. “Plus, I have Tombeur here.”

“Staying with you? Have you—”

“Non, Jacques. We live like brother and sister, like friends. Were we to kiss…”

He heard the conflict of fear and longing in her voice as it trailed off.

He finished her sentence in his head. If they were to kiss, they would initiate a binding and find out whether or not they were meant to be.

Neither was prepared to accept the possibility that they weren’t destined for one another.

They wanted to protect their friendship, their unbound bond, their mutual affection, for as long as possible.

He wondered how Tombeur could bear it, living near the woman he loved, likely sleeping in the same bed without kissing her, without belonging to her.

Control. That’s how. He thought of Darcy’s broken, exposed body on the floor of her Boston apartment so many years ago, blood seeping out of her head.

The way he’d been able to pick her up, hold her, carry her to her bed, and, ultimately, leave her.

His heart swelled. Jack knew a thing or two about control, most of it learned at Tombeur’s hand.

“Your human. She is well?”

“She is.”

“She doesn’t breed?”

“Maman!”

“Jacques, I don’t ask because I have any interest in that part of your life! I ask because to bear a Reynard, a half-bre—”

“No child of mine would be a Reynard! You forget I am bound to her.” Jack’s voice blazed with warning. “Darcy and my children will be Beauloups. Just not…full-blooded.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” she said softly. “The child would still be a half-breed skinwalker.”

“Interesting that in one breath you say that the binding laws are above all, and in another you say they’re not,” he huffed, frustration making him tired and gruff. He softened his voice. “She’s not pregnant. I have work to do, Maman. I need to go now.”

They had discussed pack politics for a few more minutes before Delphine had interrupted, asking for Grand’mère, and Tallis had hung up.

Jack turned and lay back down on the bed, glancing at Darcy, who stirred lightly in her sleep.

He pulled the covers back up over her naked body, moving a little closer to share his warmth with her.

With one finger, he lifted the strands of cantaloupe-colored hair that covered one eye, brushed them back behind her ear, and lay on his side, staring at her sleeping face.

He thought of what she would look like as a turned Roug.

Her body would sprout reddish hair like a fox, and her claws would be white and pristine for years.

Even longer, if her potion worked and her hunting instincts could be suppressed.

Jack stared at her closed eyelids. Were she to be turned and their binding preserved, her eyes would burn greenish-silver for him when they hunted, when she wanted him, whenever he looked at her with desire, whenever they mated.

Her skin wouldn’t burn from the heat of his, and their children would be full-blooded Beauloups.

To Jack’s shock and despair, he hardened like a rock at the mere thought of breeding with her in shifted form, in the woods, under the full moon during Pleine Lune, after feeding.

His blood raced hot in his veins, boiling with want.

He didn’t want to want it. He wanted to be satisfied with Darcy in human form, with what they had together now.

He didn’t want to long for more, not when it put Darcy and, more importantly, their binding, in jeopardy.

But, still, he couldn’t banish the image.

Her claws opened his coarse skin as she raked them across his back, thrusting into her up against a tree, speaking to her with his eyes in the dark, his fangs cutting into the flesh of her neck and bathing his face in her blood.

Howling his devotion, his all-consuming love for her, as he drove into her again and again, finally shooting his potent seed far, far into her depths, knowing it would find its mark.

Watching for seven months as she swelled, heavy and round with his child, flaunting the result of their wild lovemaking.

The image of his beautiful Darcy carrying his strong, hot-blooded Roux-ga-roux child made him groan, exhaling as his body tightened further, hungry and demanding.

He cringed, rolling away from her onto his back, throwing an arm over his eyes.

As much as he wanted to believe that their Roug-human binding was enough, as much as he would have sworn it was, some minute part of who he was, primal and base, longed for more.

Wanted everything. Wanted the full realization of every Roug-Roug binding.

Wanted the violent, unparalleled ecstasy of shifted breeding. He wanted it. He wanted it with her.

He growled, throwing the covers off his body, then slipping into sweatpants and a T-shirt. He laced up his running shoes and left the room quietly, headed for the woods.

But his heart was heavy. He finally had Darcy Turner in his life.

It had to be enough. It needed to be enough.

He couldn’t allow his darkest desires to influence his decision, to change his mind about turning her.

He had to stay in control, to do what was best for her, even if his blood screamed for more.

As his footsteps moved swiftly through the woods, he tried to ignore the truth.

He could exercise all the control in the world, but it wouldn’t change his nature.

He was soulless and monstrous somewhere deep inside.

Despite his best intentions, despite his control, he’d never be able to run away from the beast within who wanted more. Not now. Not ever.

“What time did you leave for a run?” Darcy asked from where she sat at the kitchen table, sipping a mug of coffee as morning sunlight warmed her shoulders. She wasn’t sure how often he left their bed for midnight runs, but it seemed to be happening more often as Pleine Lune approached.

“Why?” Jack, who stood against the counter in ripped sweatpants and a dirty T-shirt, grinned at her. “Did you miss me?”

“Maybe.” She blushed and looked away. She took a deep breath, changing the subject. “I’m headed to Willow’s for the day.”

Jack’s grin faded, and he nodded.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay trying this, Jack? Even though the compound includes wolfsbane?”

She watched as he clenched his jaw twice before answering. “It’s now or never.”

“Can we go over the plan again?” she asked, trying not to get distracted by the way his pants sat low on his hips, teasing her with a peek of skin every time he moved.

“I’m so dirty,” he said, his face the picture of innocence as he pointed to his shirt. “I should take a shower first.”

“Jack…” She started. He put one arm over his head and tugged on the collar of his T-shirt, pulling it over his head.

He tossed it on the floor, then rested both elbows on the countertop behind him, thrusting his taut chest forward.

Her mouth went dry. No matter how many times she looked at his chiseled perfection, she couldn’t seem to control herself.

She couldn’t make herself look away. Her eyes trailed from his neck over his broad pecs, to his well-toned abs, to the triangle of muscle at his hips that formed a V of sinew, trailing into the waistband of his pants like an arrow.

She took a deep, shaky breath, raising her eyes to his.

He licked his lower lip, then bit it lightly with his teeth, staring at her.

“I can hear what you’re thinking,” he teased.

“Get out of my head, skinwalker,” she breathed, wishing she could look away from him. But he was so damn beautiful, and he belonged to her.

He beamed at her. “Mm-hmm. And you belong to me.”

“Quit it,” she said, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to look away. “You can’t distract me with sex every time I want to talk about something important. It’s not fair.”

“To whom?” he asked, his voice peppered with humor.

“I’m serious, Jack.”

“Fine,” he said, sauntering to the table and pulling out the chair across from her. He put his elbows on the table and waited.

She kept her eyes down. Better to avoid temptation.

“So we’ll both go into the vault tomorrow. Around four o’clock. The sun won’t set until eight o’clock or later, but the urges start earlier, right?”

She looked up, and he nodded at her, all traces of humor wiped free of his face.

His nostrils flared, and her heart surged with love for him.

He must be worried. She knew he was wary of wolfsbane, not even allowing it in his house, and yet he trusted her enough to ingest it.

His love for her was staggering, profound.

“I’ll give you the potion and lock you into the saferoom.”

“I’ll lock myself in,” he corrected her.

“Okay. But I’ll have a password or something, right? To disable the door?”

Jack looked down, furrowing his brows.

“Jack! I’ll be able to get you out, right? If you have a bad reaction, I need to be able to get you out if anything goes wrong.”

He looked up, and she could see the pain in his eyes. “It’s too risky. A Pleine Lune shift is like…like nothing I can describe to you. I can’t risk it, Darcy.”

“You’d never hurt me,” she insisted. “We’re bound.”

“It’s true. It’s unlikely that I’d hurt you.” He swallowed, holding her eyes, and she heard it before he could look away. On purpose.

“On purpose? What do you mean?”

“I’d never hunt you. Not for your blood. But…”

“For what then?” she demanded.

“No, it’s just—”

“Just what? I’ve seen you fully shifted. I’ve seen your claws several times. Your burning eyes. You’ve never hurt me,” she insisted.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, staring at her with yearning in his eyes while her name buzzed in a loop in his head, blocking the rest of his thoughts. His eyes gazed back at her with untold sadness. And embarrassment. Wait. Embarrassment?

“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice tighter and higher with concern.

He sighed loudly, looking away from her.

“I’d want to mate with you,” he said softly.

“Mate with me? You mean, make love?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I mean mate.”

Her eyes flew open. Shifted?

He nodded.

But everything gets bigger. Everything about you is…

He stared at her, quirking his head to the side. He raised his eyebrows, and his lips twitched.

“Oh,” she breathed, her face flushing crimson. “Oh, I see.”

“It’s a pretty powerful instinct,” he explained, reaching across the table to take her hand. “I don’t know for sure that I could control it if you were…nearby.”

“I didn’t know,” she said, flicking her eyes up to his, then looking away again quickly. She didn’t want him to see the doubt in her eyes. Although she loved Jack for who he was, and outwardly accepted him for who and what he was, inside she still battled to embrace his strange, dangerous nature.

“How would you, baby?” he asked, massaging soothing circles on the back of her hand.

“But what if something goes wrong? I’ll be helpless. I won’t be able to—”

“Nothing will go wrong. You’re the smartest person I know.

This is going to work.” He smiled at her sadly.

“I’ll be in the saferoom, and you’ll be in the control room, next door.

But you can keep me company. There’s a speaker built into the wall.

You could talk to me, and you’ll be able to hear me and see me.

You can watch me on the monitor. I just can’t see you.

The camera is mounted on the wall behind a four-inch-thick piece of Plexiglas. The picture’s a little grainy, but…”

“I’ll be there the whole time watching.”

“And I’ll be like a zoo animal in a cage.”

“No! Jack, no. It’s not like that!”

“I’m kidding. I know it’s not.” But his eyes said differently. His eyes said there was so much about this that he hated. He managed to smile for her. “It’s three days, Darce. You go upstairs and sleep in your office from time to time. I don’t want you getting too exhausted, sick, or—”

“I’m not going to leave you. Not for a minute. I’ll sleep in the control room.”

Jack picked up her hand and drew the back of it to his lips, pressing against it gently before tilting his head and closing his eyes, resting his cheek against her soft skin.

Her chair scraped the floor as she stood up, moving around the table. When he looked up, she was standing beside him, her outstretched arm still attached to his cheek. He tugged lightly, and she sat down on his lap, encircling his neck with her arms as he held her close.

“It’ll work,” she promised. Then, close to his ear, so close that he shivered from the touch of her breath. “Don’t be scared.”

“I’m not.” He drew back, looking at her, surprised, before smiling tenderly. “There’s only one thing in the world that scares me, baby. And that’s losing you.”

She smiled back at him, leaning forward to rest her cheek on his shoulder as his hands crept under her pajama top to rest on the skin of her back.

“Then you have nothing to worry about, because I’m not going anywhere.” He stroked her back as she thought of the three weeks’ worth of mornings she’d woken up in his bed, often in his arms.

“These have been the best days of my life, Jack,” she murmured.

“And mine.”

“But we have to figure this out before the equinox.”

“We will.”

“Tomorrow’s just the first step.”

She leaned back, seizing his eyes with hers.

I belong to you.

He nodded.

And you belong to me.

He nodded again.

She wiggled a little to straddle him, taking off her top and pushing her naked breasts against his hard chest, well aware that there was nothing else between them but her pajama bottoms and his sweatpants.

I want you. Make love to me, Jack.

His eyes ignited, flashing with golden heat as he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his.