Chapter 8
Okay, that was fucking amazing!
Savannah never wanted this to end. She had just experienced the most mind-blowing sex of her rather-limited-experienced life and it was far beyond the scope of her little teenage girl fantasies. This… Him… Jasper had rocked her world like a hurricane and had her already panting for more.
Wow, and where the hell did I get all that chutzpah to do all those things in the first place?
Lying with her entire body draped over him, Jasper’s chest rose and fell erratically. His ragged breaths fanned the top of her head as she listened to his thumping heart. She would remain exactly like this until she died, and she’d be completely and absolutely happy. A grin spread across her face. She tried, but failed, to stifle a giggle.
“Hey,” Jasper rasped out between gulps of air, “what’s so funny?” His hands came up to her face, forcing her to look at him. The return grin he flashed melted her all over again.
“Nothing funny, per se. It’s just I never”—oh, how the hell to put this into words?— “never done anything quite like that.”
He stiffened underneath her, and his lips turned downward. “That was…”
“Oh, gods, no! Not my first!” She guessed that’s how it had sounded and could see why that could be a big deal. “Not like that, but definitely obliterated memories of other times.” Heat crept up her neck to her cheeks. “I’ve never acted so…” Words failed her, but it didn’t matter.
Jasper sighed with relief, then planted a chaste kiss on her swollen lips. It was enough to send shivers down to the tips of her toes.
While every ounce of her wanted to see just how spectacular it could be again—right now—he pushed them to a sitting position. Disappointment curled in her gut. Instinct had her legs wrap around him again, but the twinkle in his eye had dissipated. A serious-looking Jasper with his features schooled to that of a stone statue gently reached around to untangle her legs.
“I’m so sorry.” He stood and turned to find his clothes, handing her jeans over to her first. “I should’ve never taken advantage of you like that.”
Where desire had bloomed, then erupted moments earlier, anger boiled. “Wait a damn minute! No! You don’t get to do that. You do not get to apologize for that!”
No way was he going to paint her into some little girl victim… especially not over what had just happened. She had been more than a willing participant. Hell, he wouldn’t even have kissed her if she hadn’t done something. She had not known it would lead to the most explosive sex of her life, but inwardly she had hoped that it would.
“You didn’t take advantage of me. I told you straight up. I wanted this. I wanted you. And apparently”—her hands waved between them as she stood naked before him—“you wanted this, too.”
For a second, an ember of fire flared in his eyes and there was no mistaking the throb between his legs that was growing longer and wider. Then the mask fell over his face again. “I did. Oh God, I did want you. Do want you, but that doesn’t make it right. You’re my…”
“Job. Was that the word you were about to utter? I’m just a damn job to you? Well, I don’t accept that. When I was fifteen—okay. But not now. If that’s all you can see or imagine, then you can get back on your bike and speed the fuck out of town because I will not be your job.”
She abruptly turned away. She refused to let him see the tears welling in her eyes. Savannah had not cried in front of anyone since he’d left her ten years ago. He had been back in her life for a mere few hours and here she was, already a sobbing mess.
Desperately, she wanted him to wrap his arms around her and whisper that she was not a job to him, but something more. Hell, she didn’t even know what to classify the title she wanted. Friend? No. Lover? Hell, yeah! But something more than that. Despite the words she had freely spoken earlier that she only wanted this one moment with him—well, it had been a lie from the second she’d opened her mouth to say it.
Instead, the rustling of clothes being hurriedly put back on broke her heart. Stifling a whimper, Savannah started to do the same. There was nothing else she could do anyway.
It had been a glorious moment in time.
Now it was over.
***
Oh, gods! That agonizing expression on Savannah’s face kicked Jasper in the gut. He would have given anything to pull her back into his arms and kiss the hurt away. But a simple kiss had been the impetus for all that had followed. When he had arrived at the rodeo, he had been one hundred percent all business, but seeing her a full-grown, beautiful woman had sent him reeling. The warning signs had blared the second she had turned around to glare at him from the top of her horse.
He should’ve left right there and then. No turning back. Surely, he could’ve called in another guardian to handle the situation. Besides, he was needed at Greylyn’s side to pummel that bastard, Kael, into the ground—for good, this time. She had insisted she had the situation under control. Still, it would’ve been an excellent excuse to leave. Maybe Joshua or Malcolm were in the States still and available to help a guardian out? There weren’t many guardian angels roaming the globe, but he had each one of them on speed dial.
But no, he was here now. And he would not leave Savi, especially with Manea skulking somewhere nearby. A shiver ran up his spine at the thought of the vicious, blood-thirsty goddess.
Neither of them had spoken as they dressed and headed back to the rodeo arena. Savi had a tiny travel trailer there, and he had planned to stay in a nearby town, in a decent motel. He had already nixed that idea. He needed to stay close just in case all hell broke loose. At least, that was the reason he told himself. Truth was… He couldn’t stand to be far away from this amazing woman whose arms were wrapped around his waist as they rode through the night. It was different this time, though. He could feel the abyss that had opened between them.
How could he have been so stupid? Rule number one—don’t get personally involved with (i.e., do not fuck) guardian assignments. Angry incriminations directed at himself raced through his head.
They arrived back at the campgrounds skirting the moderately sized stadium and Jasper slammed on the brakes, skidding to a sideways stop. The scene was one of mass chaos.
Every bull, every horse, every calf, even the pet miniature ponies the rodeo used for children’s rides in between events were loose and running in all directions. Every truck had its lights on to illuminate the area as the shouts of cowboys rang out.
Even with all the ruckus, Mama Wedgefield’s voice rang out above the others.
“Cody, you and Billy round up the steers. Corral them over against the far barn! Mickey, you help them. Be especially careful of Dakota. He will gore you quicker than you can blink.”
Through the kicked up red dust, Jasper saw Mama in the middle of it all. Damn woman didn’t have the sense to get out of the way. Hell, she could very likely be trampled to death. He respected that kind of crazy courage.
“Josiah! Josiah! Where the hell are you, boy? Forget about the little ones. We’ll round them up last. But if you don’t swing your butt into gear, we’re gonna lose over a million dollars in horses. Now get the boys on it. None of your lives are worth that much to me. Bring me back the damn horses!”
Brave, yes. A nice lady? Not really.
Savannah was off the bike and running into the thick of things before Jasper could swing the kickstand down with his foot. He held his breath, watching her barely missing being gored by a small steer only to run in front of three horses. He wouldn’t need to save her from anything supernatural. Damn girl was gonna get herself killed!
He caught up to her, nearly jerking her shoulder out of its socket to get her to stop just as her own horse, Beretta, barely missed running over her. The animal’s eyes were rolled up so high, he could no longer see any color of its usually kind, brown eyes. Glancing around, his stomach dropped to his toes. All the animals were that way. Every. Single. One.
It had been no accident they had escaped their stalls and barns. Manea was behind this.
Savi struggled out of his grasp, sidestepping two miniature ponies, and she reached Mama. He stayed on her heels. She was not getting out of his sight.
“What the hell happened to you two?” Mama sneered. “Never mind. Get over there and help Josiah.”
She raised her walking cane in the air, trying to direct traffic with it. Something shimmered off the handle, almost indiscernible in the dust and darkness. Jasper didn’t have time to react or question Mama about it. Savannah had already run off.
Damn it! “Savi, wait up!” He screamed, the swirling dust and dirt coating his throat.
Just as he took a step to follow her, the stocky rodeo boss lady muttered, “It’s that damn girl’s fault! I just know it!”
Since Savannah was the only female on the crew that he was aware of, he assumed Mama meant her, which inflamed his temper. He half-pivoted back to say something to the woman, but she had disappeared. Shrugging, he turned to follow Savannah and see where he could be most useful. Instead, all he found was an enormous bull glaring at him with white eyes.
“Oh, shit!”
Okay, you can do this. You survived several runnings of the bulls in Spain. You can face down one measly steer.
The bull’s stare never faltered. He lowered his head, acknowledging his opponent, the sharp tips of his horns more alarming at that angle. One of Jasper’s hands came up in front of him protectively. He hoped the animal understood the international sign of surrender. The other hand reached behind his back for his dagger. It wasn’t there! Come to think of it, the blade had not been among his possessions when he’d hastily put his clothes back on at the pond.
The animal was not fluent in that language either. It pawed the ground with a snort, sending black puffs of air twirling in front of him, directly toward Jasper. The air, which had always been tinged with the smell of dirt, animal sweat, hay, and manure since his arrival turned more pungent—like the odor of asphalt being poured onto a new road.
Frightened animals were one thing. Angered ones were another. But possessed animals? This was going to end badly for someone. At the moment, that someone looked to be himself.
Another snort and pawing of the ground were the bull’s final warning signals. It charged Jasper at incredible speed. A form darted in front of him and shoved him out of the way. With his face planted into the red dirt, Jasper heard a scream of agony. The steer had found another target—Cody.
The cowboy lay just a few feet away, blood running out of his stomach like lava from an active volcano. His hands clasped around the wound, but the blood flowed through his fingers like water. Jasper crawled over to him, paying no heed to the animals still stampeding around them. He whipped off the man’s belt and tied it around his torso to stanch the bleeding until he could get him to safety and to a hospital.
“Cody’s down,” he hollered, praying someone heard him. “Call an ambulance NOW!”
The young man’s breaths were ragged, his complexion as pale as white linen. If they couldn’t stop the bleeding quickly, Jasper feared for his life. “Cody, you hang in there. Don’t you dare give up. Do not close your eyes. Do you hear me? Stay with me, man!”
Although earlier he’d felt nothing but jealous as he’d watched Cody cozying up to Savannah over the pizza dinner, Jasper most certainly did not want the man to die. He was a good guy. It didn’t take guardian angel senses to know that.
Another rodeo hand ran over and helped carry Cody out of the melee and into the arena where they laid him out on the bleachers. The ruckus outside dimmed. Jasper hoped it was because they were getting the animals corralled and under control. He’d worry about Manea’s involvement later. First, he had to make sure Savannah didn’t get herself killed and that Cody got the medical attention he so desperately needed.
A warm hand came down on his shoulder, shocking him. He turned to find a young man he had never seen before, with sandy blond hair and green eyes that sparkled even in the darkness. “We’ll tend to Cody. You find Savi. She needs you.”
Who the hell was this guy? Jasper didn’t care. He knew the words were the truth. Savannah needed him.
He raced back out to find several trucks farther out in the pasture, rounding up the ones that strayed that far away. But that wouldn’t be where he’d find Savannah. His guardian angel senses pulled him to the back of the stadium. As he cleared the side of the building, his feet ground to a dead stop.
In the middle of a herd of bulls, horses, and all the other animals, stood Savannah. Her eyes shone with an iridescent light, not like earlier when Manea had temporarily possessed her. No, this light was her own. Her arms were open as if she was about to hug someone. A burst of wind kicked up the dust, blurring his vision. The dust cleared, and he tentatively stepped forward, but one head jerk from Savannah halted his movements.
She was speaking to the animals through her mind. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. And the animals were intently listening. They nodded in unison, then walked back to the barns. The horses parted from the crowd to go left, while the bulls went to the right. They were calm. Jasper peered at some when they passed him. Their eyes were normal again.
His mouth hung open. Savi had done it. Her psychic abilities had soothed the beasts. But they had been possessed. Had she just conducted a mass exorcism on all the rodeo animals?
If she was indeed that powerful, Jasper had a better idea why Manea was so interested in her.
As the animals each returned to their respective barns and stalls, Jasper walked toward Savannah. She still stood with her arms out, and her eyes shining. A moment later, an ambulance siren sounded in the distance. But she remained as she was, unmoving. He reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, to tell her how amazing she was when she blinked. The bright blue eyes re-opened as nothing but white orbs. She blinked again, and this time her normal cornflower blue irises looked up at him with a small smile. Then, her body went boneless, she wavered like a paper streamer caught up by the wind, and she collapsed onto the dirt.