by Bianca D’Arc
“Did she mention to your brother that a gift like this might be nice?” Jack challenged with a grin.
“Actually, when I called to thank him, he said something of the kind.” Kiki smiled back.
“Well, score one for the good guys,” Jack said. “May I look at them?” he asked, before reaching out. It was always wise to be careful with magical objects belonging to someone else.
“Sure. Mom suggested I should share these with friends,” she told him. “Which is why my brother sent so many.”
They spent a good twenty minutes going through the hex signs. Kiki was a wealth of knowledge about what each symbol and combination of symbols and colors meant. They sorted out which signs she would put where and even started putting a few of the larger ones up around the house.
As they were put into place, Jack could feel their subtle magic settling into position. There really was something to these things. He never would have credited it, if he hadn’t seen and felt their magic for himself.
There was a selection of smaller hex signs. Some as small as a refrigerator magnet. Those, Kiki would bring into work the next day and put around her office. She had lots of metal filing cabinets and doorframes on which to place them. She had a somewhat larger medallion-sized hex sign that was perfect for her car, and a few left to spare. She selected some for Jack and insisted that he take them and put them up where he slept. There was also a small one she wanted him to put in his motorcycle’s saddlebags.
He accepted with alacrity. There was no way to tell her that his natural bear magic was potent enough to protect him from almost anything. It seemed to mean so much to her that she give him this gift of protection. It was sweet, really.
Kiki was so glad her family had sent their little care package. She felt good being able to give Jack a piece of her heritage that might actually protect him in some small way. Not that the big man needed her protection, but every little bit could help in this sort of situation.
She still could hardly believe that she was involved in something that reeked of dark magic and was potentially dangerous. She’d thought so before, when she’d narrowly avoided that scene in the warehouse and then the barbeque after, but she’d almost convinced herself she’d been hallucinating when nothing else happened.
Now, though, she knew she hadn’t been dreaming. Jack felt the same and had witnessed things—things she’d seen, as well—that made her realize that this threat was very real.
“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” she asked, once they’d sorted through the hex signs and conversation lulled. It was getting dark out, but she didn’t want him to leave.
She didn’t ever want him to leave.
Chapter Twelve
Whoa. That thought had come from out of the blue. From the place where her intuition sometimes sent messages. But she couldn’t believe this one. She’d only known the man a few short days. No way could she know enough about him, yet, to make that kind of decision about him. No way could she want to keep him forever based only on a few days’ acquaintance.
Perhaps it was the danger of the situation. She’d read that, sometimes, dangerous situations led people to bond more quickly and closely than otherwise. There was just one problem with that theory—they hadn’t really been in that much danger together. With any luck, they wouldn’t be in danger at all. So far, it looked like Carol was giving Jack a wide berth, and nobody had tried to subvert Kiki since that barbeque. Maybe they’d decided to leave her alone.
One could hope.
But she knew that was foolish. They might’ve let her go for a little while, but before long, they’d try something else. Carol had almost everyone—if not everyone—at the plant under her spell already through that adulterated cafeteria food. Kiki had no reason to disbelieve what Jack had claimed about Carol tampering with the food.
When Kiki had thought about it later, she realized it had made a sick sort of sense. The food at the barbeque had probably also been tainted, which was why she’d felt such an aversion to the grill area. Just as she’d felt a more subtle aversion to the cafeteria food ever since she’d started working at the plant.
“I’d love to stay, as long as I’m not putting you out,” Jack replied politely. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I probably should have warned you before I asked, but I have a freezer full of leftovers, and I intended to make a dent in that tonight. Do you mind leftover chicken and dumplings?” she asked as she rose from the couch and headed for the small kitchen, Jack following right behind.
“I’d love some. Tell me how I can help,” he insisted, moving to the sink and washing his hands in preparation while she went to the freezer and took out the carefully wrapped food that she’d put up just a few days before. Somehow, she must’ve known to cook extra because there was plenty—even for Jack’s enormous appetite.
They worked together to thaw and heat up the food, then shared the meal together in the cozy intimacy of her kitchen. The mood was mellow and heated at the same time. Kiki realized she liked everything about Jack, and she hoped he would allow their relationship—or whatever this was—to progress a little further.
She’d been bold with him before, and it hadn’t really worked, but oddly, she hadn’t felt embarrassed about being shot down. He’d left her feeling as if he’d wanted to stay but couldn’t. Not wouldn’t but couldn’t. It made a difference.
Kiki wasn’t sure how this night would play out, but she started hoping that, maybe this time, he wouldn’t leave quite so quickly. She would try not to be too obvious about it. A girl did have her pride, after all.
Jack’s inner bear was clamoring for him to reach out and stake some sort of claim on Kiki all throughout dinner. His human half felt a similar urge, but he worried if that was really the best thing for her. She might know about hex signs and old-world magic that was passed down in her family as folklore, but she probably had not the first clue that there were shifters out there, much less that she’d been working with one all day.
How could he honestly think about anything long-term with her unless she knew the truth about him? His inner bear didn’t understand why he didn’t just show her his furry side and be done with it. The bear insisted that she was special. That she’d understand and not be scared. How could she be scared of him when he cared so much for her safety? She would know that he would never hurt her, no matter what form he wore.
But the bear side thought in very straight lines. It didn’t always understand human subtlety. Scratch that. The bear was never subtle.
Shrewd. Instinctual. Brutal, at times, but never subtle.
Jack had to use his human half’s finesse to handle this situation. He honestly didn’t know how much longer he could go on denying his instincts. Both halves of his nature were pretty clear on the idea that Kiki was something special. To what degree she would fit into his life—or his future—was still unknown.
He had toyed with the idea that she might be his mate, but it was a dream almost too good to be true. Some shifters searched for a century or more to find that one perfect mate destined to fill their lives with joy and love, by the grace of the Goddess. The Mother of All.
Jack was Her servant. He believed in Her power and Her goodness. He had always hoped and prayed he would find a special woman to share his life with, but he wasn’t sure lightning could strike the same family so many times in a row, so close together.
Only a short while ago, his brother Ace had met his mate. Then, King had met his perfect match a little after that. They were all happily mated now, living in Grizzly Cove, where they had relocated after a lifetime spent drifting from place to place. Jack didn’t really know where he fit any longer, but he had figured he’d sort through all those things while he worked on this mission for Ezra.
So far, though, he hadn’t had much time to think things through. His brothers were happily mated, and Jack was odd man out. Was it just wishful thinking that Kiki might really be his mate?
It didn’t feel that way, but this wa
s all so new to him. Never before in his life had his instincts pointed him so strongly toward a woman. That had to mean something. Didn’t it?
Jack wished, not for the first time, that he could talk to his brothers. They used to have really good heart-to-heart conversations every once in a while, and as the youngest of the three, he’d usually learned quite a bit from his older and wiser siblings. Not that he’d ever let them know it.
He could really use some of that wisdom and guidance in this situation, but it wasn’t the kind of thing he felt comfortable talking about over the phone. Feelings and how to interpret them was something to be discussed around a campfire, preferably after consuming an entire roast and more than a few beers. Gosh, those had been the days.
His brothers were older than he was, though they all looked close in age due to the way shifters aged. Most shifters lived a few centuries and spent the majority of their lives fit and aging at a very slow rate compared to humans. There were decades between Ace and King and himself, though it probably looked as if they were born only a few years apart.
It was his time to be on his own and stop relying so heavily on his siblings. Jack knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier to be out here in the world, working without the safety net of having his brothers around to back him up. Part of growing and evolving was learning how to trust his own instincts. For far too long, he’d relied on Ace and King’s judgements. This time, Jack was on his own. It was scary, to be sure—though he would never admit that to his brothers—but it was also liberating.
Jack was finally becoming his own man. His own bear. Not the youngest part of a trio. The dreaded baby bear of the grouping. He’d fought more than his fair share of battles over stupid shifters calling him that. Of course, Ace hadn’t liked being the mama bear, either.
Jack gathered his wandering wits and moved into the living room with Kiki once they’d set the kitchen to rights and cleaned up the dinner dishes. She’d made coffee, and they were sitting on the couch, again—this time with much less space between them than before—as the atmosphere grew more intimate.
Night had fallen in earnest. Jack should probably be making a move to leave, but somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to go. It was more than just wanting to make sure she was safe tonight. It was a desire to just be with her. Whether they were talking or working or—Goddess help him—making love together the way he dreamed, he just wanted to be here, sharing the same space, looking at her pretty face and breathing in her delectable scent.
Everything about her was attractive to him. The way she moved, the way she smiled, her scent, her sense of humor…everything.
Kiki had sensed, as the evening progressed, that something had changed between herself and Jack. He wasn’t rushing to leave tonight. Dare she hope that he might stay, this time, if she issued the invitation? She didn’t want to go out on that limb again, and get shot down, but if he didn’t make a move soon, she might just make some moves of her own.
Everything about Jack seemed to dare her to be bold in ways she’d never imagined herself behaving. He brought out the inner wild child that she’d never really known she’d had. She liked the way he made her feel. He gave her confidence in herself as a woman, just by the way he smiled at her. He’d encouraged her intellect as they’d worked together all day as equals. Partners. She’d really liked that.
He seemed to believe in the folk magic she’d grown up with, which was both surprising and very welcome. She loved her family and their old-fashioned ways. She would have been bitterly disappointed in anyone who belittled their beliefs. Jack’s attitude, though, had been surprising. He seemed to not only tolerate, but respect her family’s efforts to keep her safe. He’d taken the hex signs very seriously, indeed, which had pleased something deep-seated in her soul. She didn’t fully understand it, but she felt it all the same.
Just as she felt the most amazing attraction for him that she’d ever felt for any man. Jack tempted her as no man had ever tempted her before. She wanted to know his touch, his intimate embrace. She wanted to feel him moving inside her and learn the ecstasy he could bring her. She suspected it would be a life-changing experience, without peer or precedent.
Even if being with him ruined her for any other man, she didn’t care. She wanted to make love with Jack. It was fast becoming a necessity that she know what it was to have him in her bed…and in her body. She was very much afraid that he would also find his way into her heart and soul. If he left her then—and, really, she had no indication that he might want anything long-term with her—she knew she would never be the same. As it was, she knew she would never forget him.
A man like Jack came around once in a lifetime, if a woman was very, very lucky. Or blessed. She thought, maybe, she was a bit of both, at the moment. Especially when Jack leaned closer, and she caught the scent of his body, warm, musky and unbelievably enticing.
“You’re going to have to promise me that you’ll be extremely careful at work over the next few days,” he told her now, his gaze earnest and serious.
“I will,” she promised readily. “I have no desire to get tangled up with whatever is going on there, I assure you.”
“Good. Because it’s going to take me a few more days to wrap up my investigation and get the final data I need to bring this whole house of cards tumbling down. I’ll give you warning, and I don’t want you at the plant when everything hits the fan, okay? I want you safe. Here. This cottage is the safest place I’ve seen in this area, so this is the place you should hunker down.”
She was touched by his vehemence. “I promise.” The look of relief on his face indicated a level of concern that spoke volumes to her hopeful soul. “But, whatever happens, I want you to promise me you’ll be careful, too.”
Jack moved closer to her on the couch as her hand went to his chest, resting over the reassuringly strong beat of his heart. They were being drawn together, as if they were two magnets with opposite polarity. Yin and yang. Male and female. Jack and Kiki. Like it was inevitable.
“I won’t take chances,” he said, his gaze searching hers. “That’s why I’m moving so slow. I want to get all my ducks in a row before I strike, and when I do, it’s not going to be pretty. Which is why I want you in the clear. Things could go sideways, and I need you to be safe.”
She wasn’t sure what kind of confrontation he was expecting, but it sounded like he had some kind of worst-case scenario in mind. Kiki knew Jack was some kind of corporate troubleshooter, but the fact that he hadn’t blinked an eye at the odd things that were occurring at the plant made her wonder just what kind of trouble he usually handled. She thought he might be more of a paranormal investigator than a guy who found problems with accounting and spreadsheets—though, to be fair, he had done a bit of that, as well.
Everything about Jack intrigued her. She’d never met anyone like him before. There was an aura of danger around him, but not to her. Never to her. He was dangerous for those who would cross him and whatever evil was going on at the plant. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she trusted her instinct.
And, right now, her instincts were telling her that, if she pushed him just the tiniest bit, she might be able to rouse the wildness that simmered just beneath Jack’s surface. She wasn’t scared of his wild nature. She knew, deep down, that he would never harm her, even though the power he seemed to wield was enormous.
Being this close to him, her otherwise weak magical senses could feel the strength of him on the plane where magic lived. The plane where much of her family operated… But not her. Never her. Kiki hadn’t been born with the gift the way the others in her family had. She’d always felt like the odd one out because of it, but it wasn’t that she had no magical senses. It was just that they were weaker than everyone else’s, so they all discounted her paltry ability.
Jack, though… She sensed things about Jack. She felt earth magic when she was around him. Or, maybe, she thought with an inward grin, maybe she just felt the earth move when he smiled. His s
miles had a way of reaching right down in to her soul and mesmerizing her.
“I promise I’ll stay here, out of trouble, but what about you?” she asked, truly concerned for his wellbeing. Her hand rose to clasp his hard-muscled shoulder as she moved even closer to him.
Was it getting warm in here?
“I can take care of myself,” he told her with one of those bone-melting, soul-stealing smiles. She couldn’t take any more. She closed the remaining distance between them and sought his mouth with hers.
Damn. She had put the moves on him, much to her amazement. Kiki had never been so bold in her life, but those thoughts were swept aside as inconsequential as he not only accepted her kiss, but took control of it.
Time stood still. All she could hear was the beating of their hearts. All she could feel was the hot, wet warmth of his mouth on hers, the strong feel of his arms around her, tugging her close against his hard body. And, on another level entirely, she heard choirs of angels singing of power and majesty. A magical chorus singing without words of ancient power and eternal Light.
Jack could hardly believe he had Kiki in his arms. He’d been reticent to start anything with her that they couldn’t finish, but she’d surprised him by making the first move. She’d broadcast her intention, and he’d seen it coming a mile away, but he’d been absolutely powerless against the desire that rode him hard, pushing him toward this fragile human soul who knew little of the real world. The dangerous world that he lived in.
He had sensed from almost the moment he’d met her that this…whatever it was between them…was inevitable in many ways. Timing could have been better. He didn’t like the fact that she was working in the middle of a danger zone, for one thing. He was going to fix that, but it would take time. He just had to keep her safe until he could clean up the whole stinking mess at the plant.
This physical and emotional connection he felt toward Kiki was inconveniently timed, but he wouldn’t trade this feeling for the world. She kissed like a dream come true, and she fit in his arms as if she’d been made to fill them. He’d had his suspicions about what she might come to mean to him, and he still wondered if maybe the Goddess was smiling down on him, right now, but as their kisses grew bolder and he moved his hands to the hem of her shirt, physical sensations outpaced his internal spiritual conjecture.
