Chapter 3
Anger boiled in Savannah’s gut. She did not need saving. And even if she did, she could save herself. Jasper was still an egotistical bastard!
Her hands came up to his chest with the intent of pushing him away—hopefully, he’d fall onto his fine ass. Instead, her palms soaked in the warmth radiating off his pectorals. From the moment they met when she was merely a young teenage girl, she had fantasized about doing this very thing thousands of times. Now, with the tingles spreading up her arms and the heat building in her core, replacing the anger, reality just might have surpassed the dream. Her breath caught in her throat. Flashback images of all the things that followed in her younger self’s fantasies played out in her mind, fueling a different kind of fire.
Jasper lowered his head to peer into her eyes as one of his hands came up to cover her own. Underneath her palms his heart hammered like a John Bonham drum solo. In her wildest imaginings he would lean in to press his lips to hers, first in a chaste kiss, followed by a soul-wrenching deeper one where they would lose themselves in each other. She held her breath, waiting…
A sudden coldness overwhelmed her as Jasper pulled away, releasing her hands. Disappointment weighed heavily on her heart. He had gently turned her down years earlier, which had been the right thing to do. She had been caught in the awkward years of no longer a child, but not quite a woman. Internally, Savannah kicked herself for having, even for a second, made herself vulnerable again to his rejection.
“I don’t need you to save me again. I’m all grown up now and can take care of myself.”
Savannah pushed away from the barn wall to stomp off, but he caught her hand. Her head snapped back, glaring daggers through his cold, dead immortal heart.
The pity behind his eyes only fueled her fury. If there was one emotion she hated above all others, it was someone else’s sympathy.
“Sorry, sweetheart. The higher ups”—he pointed to the sky—”seem to disagree.” He squeezed her hand, making her again cognizant of how grimy and dirty they were compared to his own. “Now why don’t you tell me what’s been going on and together we’ll figure this out.”
She knew he was just placating her with this together crap, but she could not see how she could lie her way out of things. As a guardian angel, he had an uncanny—and annoying—ability to pick up on every single untruth. Didn’t seem fair to everyone else. He could tell lie after lie, but Jasper would call her out on it if she dared to do the same.
“My abilities have progressed…” she began.
“Figured that would happen. You’ve been doing the exercises I gave you in control and protection, right?” He grasped both her upper arms tightly, waiting on her answer.
Savannah rolled her eyes so high it hurt. “Of course. I’m not a moron.”
Relief washed over his features. “Good. That’s good.” He released her arms to step back. “Then how did a Big Bad find you? And what is it doing?”
Savannah sighed then slid down the splintered barn wall to crouch in the dust. She looked up, for once allowing the helpless feeling to escape. He had been right to come. This was way above her pay grade.
“It started with the animals. I keep everyone in the rodeo safe by calming the steers and horses telepathically. Not so much that the steers refuse to buck off a rider or anything during an event, but we haven’t had one accident in the entire time I’ve been with this team. Hell—” she pushed herself back to a standing position “—I’ve won countless awards over the years for being the best damn rodeo clown on the circuit. But now…”
Her voice trailed off, thinking of the poor young cowboy who had been gored by his bull’s horns, severing his spine. The animal had raged around the ring. No one inside had escaped unharmed. Even now, the pull of the stitches underneath her jeans where the bull had grazed her thigh served as an annoying reminder.
“Hmm,” was all Jasper had to say. He stalked around in a small circle, his fingertips tapping his lower lip. It was distracting.
Savannah’s thoughts swayed back to her teenage fantasies of him. To shatter the rising images, she bit down on her own lip, nearly piercing the tender flesh. Snap out of it, girl!
She squeaked out, “My skills are still working, but when it comes to a pivotal dangerous point, something else completely overpowers it. I can feel the darkness blunting my energies, my light. Then, when it’s too late, it disappears and only carnage is left in its wake.” A lone tear streamed down her cheek, etching its way to her chin.
The way Jasper looked at her made her both angry as hell and devastated. His eyes were not just gorgeous and startling in their light blue intensity but were truly a window into his soul. He did not just empathize with her pain. He truly felt every molecule of her emotional agony. It was almost enough to break her. More than anything she wanted him to take her in his arms and make all the bad go away again. She had let down so many people—people she cared about—and she didn’t know how to fix the situation. But if she didn’t, others would be caught by the evil stalking the rodeo.
Jasper raised a large, warm hand to her chin. His thumb wiped away her single tear. “It’s going to be okay, my little one. I’m here now. And I will never allow anything or anyone to hurt you or those you love.” With those simple, kind words, he enveloped her in his arms while the sobs she had held inside for months unleashed.
***
Oh, dear Lord!
Inside, he called out for divine intervention, not just with Savannah’s situation but with how his body was betraying him every second he remained in her presence. This had been the scared little girl he’d rescued from a drunken gang when she had run away from her abusive foster home. She’d needed someone to care for her, wipe her tears, kiss her boo-boos, and get her to safety. He had done all that.
She’d hated him for it—for needing to be saved in the first place.
Then she’d been what—fourteen? Fifteen? Way too young for there to be anything but completely noble intentions. But that frightened orphan with the short pixie haircut, torn clothes, and shoes with holes in the bottom had turned into the ravishing cowgirl he held in his arms.
The stirrings she caused in him were completely different, but still inappropriate. She was his guardian angel assignment. He had no need, nor desire, for other complications. Well, not exactly. He let himself enjoy life. Living for eternity was a lonely business. He craved female attention like an addict craved his next fix. But this… This was not right, and he knew it.
He forced himself to pull away from Savannah when her sobs finally stilled. How long had they been in each other’s arms? Could’ve been an eternity, but it felt like mere seconds.
“Umm…” Why the hell could he not form words now? Not once in his centuries walking this planet had he not known what to say to a woman.
Clearing his throat seemed to fill the gap while his body cooled, and his mind flicked back into the ON position. Silently, he counted. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi. By the time he reached ten, Jasper had found the courage to look her in the eyes again.
But what he saw there sent him stumbling back. Her usual cornflower blue eyes were a metallic silver sheen—ethereal and mesmerizing. The sinking feeling in his gut acknowledged those eyes did not belong to the woman standing before him. They belonged to a truly malevolent entity.
A real nasty creature.
One he had not come across since he had been left for dead by the monster six—or was it seven—centuries earlier. His body had been shredded beyond human recognition; his human life blood had flowed like the Nile River in the rainy season. Dead.
A death caused by the only monster that still gave him nightmares.
And one of few he had no idea how to kill. Even killing the human host would not deter this evil bitch. Not that he would remotely consider that avenue with Savannah involved.
We’re in deep shit, and not from all the rodeo animals.