by Setta Jay
He’d spent hours driving them both out of their minds before falling asleep with her cuddled into him. He’d made sure the blankets were tucked all around her, remembering how cold she’d been the morning before. Now he was growling into the ceiling. The nightmares were going to fucking kill him. His muscles were tight and he needed to vent his rage, but he was fucked. She couldn’t know what he was seeing.
She jerked in his arms, finally awake, and he forced himself to loosen his grip, clenching his teeth tight to stop the roars of his beast from escaping.
It was easy to predict her actions. She bolted upright and looked at him in surprise as he concentrated on not losing his shit.
Her breathing sawed in and out of her pouty lips as she became fully aware. He saw the minute she registered what was happening. Her eyes dilated and then narrowed on him as she snapped, “You really did knock me out again?”
She looked so fucking adorable in her annoyance that it eased some of his fury. “I didn’t club you over the head, kitten,” he said mildly.
She growled and her eyes flashed so bright his lips actually twitched. She eased the rage eating at his gut, enough that he didn’t need to beat the shit out of one of his brothers to calm the fuck down.
*****
How the hell did he keep doing that? He said he was going to, but damn. The remnants of the dream faded quicker than usual thanks to the realization that the cocky male had once again screwed her into oblivion. Twice in as many days and now his lips were twitching as if he found it amusing.
Ileana went to tuck the blankets over her shoulders only to still. She wasn’t cold. She always woke up cold, no matter how many blankets there were. She looked down at him; his hard body looked Godlike against the white sheet. Had he slept like that, completely uncovered and beautiful, one hand casually behind his head. The pose was relaxed but it seemed off, tense.
She shook her head. Everything was off in her world. As much as she hated the cold, it was an adjustment to have it gone. That cold had kept her strong, kept her focused every morning for millennia. She forced herself to remember that her life had changed. She didn’t need it anymore, but it was difficult.
Her head cleared. Yes, she felt it, the connection to him making her stronger, more powerful, and that eased her.
His scent was already getting to her again. She shot up and opened the balcony door. Fresh jungle air slid past her into the room. As long as they fed the frenzy and got some fresh air, she could concentrate. She shook her head as she turned back to him, leaving the door wide open. She’d completely forgotten to ask him if Bastian had found anything out. She’d heard him asking to meet with the male, had meant to ask him when she’d been tracked by the damned wolf.
She looked at her male, saw his eyes tracking over her naked body and she instinctually added a little more sway to her hips. His eyes flashed and she grinned, smug.
“Did Bastian find out anything?” She hadn’t heard anything in the Guardian link. Nothing at all. She frowned before sitting back on the bed. Jax seemed to be lost in thought for a second and she wondered what he was thinking. Maybe he was struggling with the mating. He’d been so possessive and demanding that she hadn’t considered that he might be dealing with an adjustment period. She wasn’t sure she liked that. But just because he wasn’t fighting it didn’t mean that he didn’t have to come to terms with all that went with it. Her life wasn’t the only one upended in this.
After a moment he spoke. “There were no clues in the Mageia’s home. Bastian was going back to find out anything more from friends, but the guy wasn’t well liked by the neighbors.”
She nodded, irritated. What the hell was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t spend all of her time in bed; she needed to do something. They were close. She could feel it.
His gravelly voice brought her eyes back to his. “How did you know about the meeting?”
“I overheard a conversation between a couple of Mageia.”
“What exactly did you hear?”
“The male said he’d heard two other Mageia discussing a potential meeting between Elizabeth’s Kairos and someone else at the Emfanisi.”
“Did they know why?”
“Just that the Kairos was supposedly looking for information on a key.”
He paused as if expecting more of an answer.
He blew out a breath and asked, “Where were you when you heard this?”
“A Mageia’s home in Limni.”
“Jesus, it’s like fucking pulling teeth with you. Thanks for making me truly grasp the meaning of that dumb-assed human saying.” He ran a hand over his hair, ruffling it more than sleep had. She liked him messy with stubble on his cheeks.
“You’re welcome,” she said matter-of-factly and got up while he growled. She couldn’t help the grin that tipped her lips when she turned her back on him.
“I like it better here than your other place,” she mused as she looked out the windows to the jungle beyond. She’d seen a lot of different locations through the years. “Where is this?”
“It’s an island.”
She turned and narrowed her eyes at him as he stood beside the bed.
“What?” he asked as his eyes searched her face.
“Nothing,” she snapped and picked up the tee shirt from the floor, her cat hissing the entire time. The thought that she was likely on an island where he’d kept other females set off her animal’s temper.
He lifted her into his arms and sighed. Her legs wrapped around him automatically. His cock was hard and trapped between them. The male was always hard; she guessed that was to be expected with being in the frenzy. But they’d spent the entire day feeding it. She shook her head at all that wasted time. They should be doing something.
“I may not be experienced as a mated male, but I’ve seen enough human movies to know that ‘nothing’ means I’m on some kind of female shit list.”
She eyed him.
“How about you tell me what pissed you off and then I can go back to torturing myself trying to learn the full story about the meeting.” He looked slightly amused now, and if she wasn’t starting to get wet, she might spar verbally with him some more.
“Let’s talk outside?” She made it more of a question, not forgetting what he’d said about her cat challenging his.
“After you tell me what ‘nothing’ is.”
She looked at him. There was no breaking the hold he had on her and he was just stubborn enough to not let her go without an answer. “It was a cat thing. She’s not pleased at being where you’ve had other females.”
“Your cat doesn’t like it?” He said the next slowly, “But you’re totally okay thinking we’re in a place where I fucked other females?”
She snarled before she could stop the reaction and glared when she saw him grinning.
“I’ve never brought a female here, kitten. This is where I go to be alone.”
Her animal purred, appeased. “Good.”
She was pleased.
“You weren’t jealous, though?” He grinned at her.
“Maybe. Maybe not.” She shrugged, loving the way his eyes lit with amusement as he carried her outside and sat with her in his lap.
“Just for the record both me and my cat will fucking dismember any male who touches you.” He said it casually, but the look in his eyes indicated that he was deadly serious, and that made her stomach flutter.
“Good to know.” She pushed against his chest to try to leave his lap and blew out an irritated breath when he only tightened his hold. Was everything going to be a fight with the male?
She grinned. “Since we’re being honest, my cat would want to do the same to any female or male who touches you, but I’d be more inclined to make you bleed,” she mused. “If I’d given my cat her way, you’d have had a skinless wolf on your doorstep yesterday.” Like it or not, that was how it would be, at least now he’d been warned. Apparently neither she nor her beast shared.
“Good to know you sho
wed a little restraint, kitten,” he said, but there was something in his gaze. He was pleased?
He kissed her, a seductive, lazy sampling as he turned her to straddle him in the large chair.
By the time he eased away, she was dazed. “Why do you keep carrying me places? I do have working legs,” she asked before tilting her head back to let the cool early morning air flow over her heated cheeks. Light was just starting to shine through the trees and she could see a hint of the sea. They were close. Outside was where she felt the most comfortable and she relaxed into him. It wasn’t worth the fight to claim her own chair.
“Maybe. I like how you feel in my arms.”
“Mmm hmm.” She shook her head and liked everything he said and did a little too much. But what was the harm. She’d never felt so good. “We need to go check the leads and I’ll need clothes.”
“Bastian is checking those leads with Uri. Tell me specifically where you were. Maybe we can find something out following those clues.”
She nodded. There had to be someone who knew what the male was telling Elizabeth. “It was a couple of Mageia attending a party at a house in Limni. The male will need to be questioned.” She’d never gone that route. Keeping hidden had always been in her best interest. She’d learned anything she needed to know by staying in the shadows, searching for information without drawing attention to herself. It was ingrained from childhood to keep her lack of scent a secret. Being a ghost was an advantage she never wanted to lose. They needed a good plan.
She sat back on his knees and mulled it over. If she was seen with a Guardian, people would pay attention to her, even in disguise. She’d have to come up with a way to keep her secret. She was good at staying apart, but Jax drew attention, any Guardian would. Drake had been able to tell right away that she didn’t have a scent, but Bastian hadn’t.
“I shouldn’t be seen with you.”
“Excuse me?” The tension in his body and the quiet controlled way he said the words made her eyes snap to his. His seated position looked relaxed, but he definitely was not.
What was that about? “Because I don’t have a scent,” she explained, shaking her head. “I’ve spent years hiding that ability. It’s a tactical advantage.” Which was completely obvious to her.
“So we keep it hidden,” he commanded.
“You’re a Guardian,” she drawled as if it truly needed to be said. “Do you really believe people won’t be all over that, trying to figure out who I am? I’ve always made sure my presence wasn’t memorable. My disguise might not work when people are dying to know who the female is with sexy Guardian of O,” she snipped. Her cat was displeased with the reminder that females were all agog with her male. She stilled at how odd it felt to acknowledge he was hers. But, he was.
“Guardian of O?” He groaned.
“You can’t seriously say you’ve never heard what they call you? Guardian of Orgasms,” she snarled, hating that title more as she said it out loud.
“Well, it seems to fit. You keep passing out after coming all over me.” He grinned. “I wonder why it wasn’t Guardian of Pussy.”
Her eyes flashed back to his and she was back against him, her fingers digging in his hair as she snarled in his face. The teasing in his eyes only made it worse. He’d been baiting her, had known her cat was not amused.
She leaned down and bit his lower lip in retribution before jumping to her feet. Her hands fisted on her hips as she growled, “We need to figure out how to find Elizabeth, come up with a game plan. Stop smirking, it doesn’t become you.”
She blew out a frustrated breath as he laughed. He was just too damned sexy and the bastard knew it. He’d learn soon enough that she wasn’t sweet, she wasn’t tame.
Her eyes snapped to him when he spoke. “We’ll keep your lack of scent a secret.” Good, she was happy he understood the importance of that secret and then he spoke again. “I’ll make sure you’re covered in mine when we go into the Realm.”
She just stared at him.
“You’re mine.”
She stilled and gaped at him. His solution was to cover her in come?
“How can that work with all the scrutiny we’ll get? Wouldn’t they expect a combination of scents?” As irritating as he was, she would rather find a way to make it work, because they didn’t have time for her to skulk in the shadows and she wanted to know firsthand what was happening. Questioning was their best option, and the longer they waited to start, the more agitated she got.
“Does anyone know about you, kitten?”
“Only one person.” She frowned. What did that matter now?
“Who?”
“Doesn’t matter. She won’t say anything and we need other ideas. I can steal some clothes from another Mageia for now.”
He snatched her up into his arms and faced off with her. “Damn it, Ileana. Are we working together on this?”
She scrutinized him for a moment.
“A Kairos.”
When he continued to stare she added a name. “Astrid.” It felt odd telling him about the one person who she’d trusted to keep her secrets. The Kairos had been friends with her mother and father. Had given Ileana any help she’d needed and teleported her to hunt the other continents.
He snarled. “How long have you known her?”
She frowned, feeling the anger radiating from him.
“How. Long?” he demanded.
“Millennia. Why?”
“I know her. She’s a friend of Gregoire’s and Dorian’s mates.”
“So?”
He growled at her and she continued frowning. His fingers were digging into her ass, gripping her tight to his hard cock. She had to lean back to see his flashing eyes when he spoke again. “She kept you hidden from me.”
“Seriously?” She shook her head. “How would she have known I was your mate? I didn’t know you were my mate.”
“It was a possibility and she would’ve known that keeping your secret was possibly denying your mate his other half. In this case she denied me.” The last was growled low, deadly.
“Do you even hear how ridiculous that is?” Astrid didn’t deserve the damned Guardians coming down on her. “She kept the secret because she knew my parents. She was being loyal.” She growled in irritation.
“I don’t care why she did it.”
“Damn it. Now you’re pissing me off,” she snapped. “This doesn’t matter. Not now. Look, you got your prize. Happy now?”
He just stared at her and growled low, sending more of those vibrations through her body. His eyes flashed and more rumbling rolled through her until she stifled a moan. She hated when he growled; he did it all the time and it made her damned cat purr like the kitten he kept calling her.
She rolled her neck and took a deep breath to calm the surge of arousal.
His lips lifted slightly, seductively. “Your pussy is slick for me. Should I bend you over the railing? Or impale you like this?” Her eyes nearly crossed when he rode her up and down over the erection that was trapped between them.
“Neither,” she snapped. “We can’t keep jumping into bed every damned second. What if feeding the frenzy is only making it worse.” She doubted that, but her mind wasn’t working properly and they needed to get to work.
He tightened his hold. “Don’t think for a second that we’re going to stop feeding it. It’ll likely get worse until we finish it. Keep pushing us until we do.” He leaned in and nosed her hair aside to kiss her neck; she angled it and cursed. He lifted back and grinned. “It’ll also distract the hell out of us until we complete the bond. I’ve watched four brothers go through it, kitten, and Sirena made sure we were all informed after Uri mated Alex.”
Her heart started pounding harder. “We’ll just have to find a way to live with it. There has to be a way to dull the symptoms. Talk to Sirena.”
He eyed her and she didn’t like the way his eyes stripped her bare. She mentally touched her shield against him. Still holding. Why did it feel like he wa
s seeing more than she ever wanted anyone to know about her?
She’d have to talk to the healer because she wasn’t blood bonding and they couldn’t stay in bed all the time. They could fight through it, she was sure of it.
“Sirena doesn’t have anything to combat it. It just runs its course.”
“How do you know if you don’t ask?” she snapped.
He got in her face. “Kitten, I get that you need time. Do you honestly think you are the first person to want to avoid the blood bonding portion of this damned show?”
She glared up at him.
“You’re not. I would rather avoid that shit too, and I’ve been lucky compared to the fucked-up shit my brothers and sisters have in their memories. Trust me, kitten, there are portions of my existence that I’d love to leave buried.”
The Guardian may have skeletons, but she doubted he’d ever been a pathetic dirty child longing for comfort and warmth all the while pretending to be the warrior her father hoped she’d become. He’d pity her if he saw that, and it turned her stomach, but now all she wondered was what his memories held. He was old. Was he a breeder in Apollo’s labs? Histories weren’t very complete on the Guardians.
“I’d like to talk to her anyway.” She wouldn’t believe that until she’d spoken to the female. “We can go after we go to Limni to find the Mageia I overheard. We need to come up with a good explanation of who I am first,” she murmured.
She considered what she’d need.
“I need you to take me home to get clothes and weapons,” she said, looking up at him.
He cocked a brow at her. It seemed like long minutes passed before she realized what he wanted.
“Will you take me to get clothes?” she ground out.
“Admit it, the word ‘please’ kills you?” His lips twitched.
“It’s not the word.” She thought for a second. “It’s you.” She blew out a frustrated breath, because he really wasn’t the problem. It was really her cat’s reaction to him. There was a constant itch to challenge him at even the smallest level. She’d never interacted with one person so much, at least not since her parents’ death. She’d spent very little time with anyone, just Astrid and a couple of males she’d encountered in the wilds.
