Merry & Bright: A Christmas Anthology (Nocturne Falls Universe)

by Fiona Roarke

  “No mortal has ever—ˮ He cut himself off, staring at her. “Why are you here?”

  “I just told you. Harrison needs your help.” She let out a sigh when he raised his eyebrows. “I want to know that both Lidia and Harrison are okay, but I have to leave soon, before—ˮ

  Before I fall in love with you and want to stay here.

  “Tami.” Jack’s quiet voice jerked here back. He held her arm, worry darkening his eyes. “Come and sit.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “You’re whiter than the ghosts running around town.” He smiled, the half-smile that always left her heart pounding. “Sit. Please.”

  The please startled her, and she let him lead her to the surprisingly nice sofa. If she looked past the hideous green and orange plaid—which wasn’t easy—it looked almost new, and was pretty comfy.

  Tami didn’t realize how much that one thought had affected her, until she was off her feet. Jack sat next to her, his proximity making it even harder to catch her breath.

  “What makes you think I can help Harrison?”

  “Your reputation.” She managed to take in a head-clearing breath. “The fact that you helped Eli. Your kind of spectacular display last month when you ran off a banished dragon.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “How do you know about the dragon?”

  “I was in the park when it happened.”

  “Right.” With a sigh, he leaned back. He looked tired, the lines bracketing his mouth deeper than Tami remembered. Not that she’d noticed. “I haven’t approached the subject with Lidia, but now that I know how Harrison lost his ability to shift…” His voice faded, and he studied her.

  “Don’t leave me in suspense, Cross. Can you help him get his mojo back?”

  “Mojo.” His lips twitched. “Well, there are limitations to what I can do—”

  Tami pressed one hand over her heart. “Wait—limitations? You?”

  “Is that sarcasm?”

  “Got it on the first try.” She winked at him. He was so serious that teasing him was too much of a temptation. “Sorry, I can’t seem to help myself around you.”

  “I am honored.”

  She burst out laughing. “You’re getting the hang of it.” When he didn’t even crack a smile, she cleared her throat. “Look—Harrison needs help. Lidia said he’s getting worse, losing control and trying to shift every full moon. Can you talk to him, see if you can do something?” She hated begging, but for her best friend, she’d beg.

  “You want me to speak to him now.”

  “Now would be good. You might be able to get some vibes from him, since he just tried to shift.”

  “I will go and speak with him, see if I can detect any vibes. No promises,” he said, when she opened her mouth to thank him. “I have never come across a situation like Harrison’s before now. I can’t guarantee that I will be able to do anything for him.”

  “But you’ll try. That’s all I need to know right now, Cross.” She stood, moving to the door. “Just do me a favor—don’t make promises you can’t keep. I don’t want to get Lidia’s hopes up, then have you not be able to help him.”

  “I would never—” He cut himself off. “You do poke at my temper, Bennett, and I have a hard time figuring out why.”

  “Dense,” she muttered, and started to open the door.

  Jack caught her around the waist and pulled her back until she was plastered against his chest. His deep voice sent need coiling through her. “I am hardly dense, you beautiful, exasperating woman.” His breath heated her throat, his arm tightening when she tried to pull away. “You are a distraction I never planned for, and don’t want.”

  “Then let me go.” She gasped when he turned her to face him, so much heat in his eyes she should have become a pile of ashes, right there.

  “I want to, Bennett.” He cradled the back of her head, leaning in until his breath caressed her lips. “But my heart won’t let me.”

  He kissed her, his assault on her senses a slow, sexy build. By the time he finally freed her, she had both hands twisted into the front of his shirt, her knees like rubber.

  “Why did you—” She cleared her throat, her voice husky. “What was that?”

  “I thought I was the one in the room with the density problem.” He leaned in. “I kissed you, Bennett.”

  “Stop it.” Don’t stop, ever.

  “Which is it, Bennett?” The half-smile was back, sexy and infuriating. Then what he said hit her.

  “Did you—can you read my mind? The answer better be no, sorcerer.”

  “I don’t need to when you fling your thoughts at me.” His half-smile turned to a full smile, and she knew she was in trouble. “The answer is no, Bennett. I can’t read minds—but I can hear the thoughts of others I am—damn it.” He let her go and backed across the room.

  “Others you’re what?”

  His nostrils flared, anger sparking off him. “Connected to. Stop smiling at me.”

  “Sorry.” She wasn’t sorry, at all. But she figured he probably knew that, too. “Will you go?”

  “As soon as you leave.”

  “Afraid to be seen on the street with me?”

  He almost snarled, but he obviously took it as a challenge, because he grabbed a worn leather bag off the counter that separated the kitchen from the living area, and slung it over his shoulder.

  “Very little scares me, Bennett.” He stalked over to the door and yanked it open. “After you.”

  She walked past him, relieved that he’d agreed to at least talk to Harrison—and so aware of him she found it hard to focus.

  Leaving Nocturne Falls was probably the smartest thing she could do. Jack Cross turned her brain to mush—which wasn’t the ideal state for a librarian.

  Jack strode along the street, unable to ignore the stares of the tourists—or the presence of the woman beside him.

  Tami Bennett had become an unwanted distraction, a reason to leave. Yet he stayed, aware that he could run into her every time he left the safety of his apartment. She loved to wander, she had told him after nearly running into him outside Café Claude.

  Her penchant for wandering seemed to place her directly in his path on a regular basis.

  Putting his attraction for her aside, he had found, to his surprise, that he was enjoying his time in Nocturne Falls.

  Being able to live openly as a sorcerer, outside of the enclave he had created for himself and sorcerers like him, gave him a sense of freedom he never expected to find in small town America. Before Sophie Mead had barged into his life again, he had been toying with the idea of moving to England. Eccentricities of all kinds were generally accepted there.

  Tami’s laughter pulled him out of his thoughts. He smiled when he saw the reason; three children dancing around one of the vampires, begging him to transform into a bat. He did not look amused.

  “I love it here,” Tami said, her voice wistful. Jack glanced at her, swallowing when he saw the green aura surrounding her, shot through with the grey of sadness. He’d seen it since the moment he touched her, and the reason had kept him from pursuing her. “Cross?”

  “Here.” He met her eyes, another punch to his heart. They were the rich, deep blue of the lake near his childhood home.

  “I need to stop in at Howler’s and grab some food.”

  “I will accompany you.”

  She grinned at him, and he wanted to kiss her.

  Fool.

  “I’m honored. We can get lunch for us, if you want.”

  “I would like that.” He realized he had skipped breakfast, intent on finishing the ancient book he’d found during his last trip to New York.

  They walked into the bar, and Jack unconsciously created a thin, invisible wall. He had learned at a young age that his sensitivity to emotion could cripple his power—a disability that had worsened after a deadly mistake in his youth. Creating a barrier before he came in contact with any type of crowd gave him protection, and control.

  Control w
as paramount to a sorcerer.

  “Okay, Cross?” Tami touched his arm.

  He stared down at her hand. She shouldn’t have been able to reach in past his wall, not without retaliation. When he finally understood why, she had let him go and moved to the bar to place her order.

  Jack had already let her in.

  He would never be able to shield himself from her. Not completely.

  The realization nearly had him bolting. Instead, he forced down the need to run, and waited for her near the door. Emotions swirled around him, some pushing through the cracks in his wall. Happiness warred with resentment, joy, need, envy, and the raw emotion of the supernaturals.

  “Jack.”

  He jerked at Tami’s voice. Judging from her face, she had spoken his name more than once.

  “Sorry.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head, and led the way out of the bar. The cold breeze wrapped around him, helped cleanse the emotions still clinging to his skin.

  “Talk to me, Cross.”

  “I am sensitive to emotion.” He refused to look at her, walking just ahead of her, his gaze focused on the tourists. “Enclosed spaces amplify the sensitivity.”

  “Why didn’t you say something? Jack.” She grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. When she stepped in front of him, he finally looked at her. The concern that rolled off her surprised him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “A sorcerer does not—ˮ

  “Stop spouting that claptrap.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “It is hardly—ˮ

  “Talk like a normal person, not a textbook.”

  With a sigh, he rubbed his forehead, fighting the headache that threatened. “Can we walk while I do?”

  “You bet.” She moved to his side, juggling the large brown bag so she could take his hand. “Talk.”

  Her touch distracted him, but he didn’t want her to let go. He twined their fingers together, then took the bag from her, fighting a smile when her eyes widened. The breeze lifted her sun-streaked brown hair off her shoulders. Long, silky hair he had wanted to touch since the moment they met.

  “Control is paramount, especially when a sorcerer begins training. The more powerful we are, the more chance there is that we can kill someone if we lose control.”

  “Is that why you were hiding out, holed up with a bunch of people like you?”

  “That is part of it.” He let out his breath, and continued, sure that he was about to push her away for good with his next words. “I killed, Tami.”

  Her silence left him cold, and he started to free his hand. She tightened her grip.

  “Keep going.”

  He glanced at her, expecting disgust. Instead, he found sympathy in her eyes, the warmth of it finally reaching him—and he realized the cold he felt was his own barrier. Creating it had become such an unconscious act, an almost daily habit living here, that he hadn’t noticed its presence.

  “I was nineteen, and proud. I was also arrogant, and so sure of my power, I didn’t think rules and restrictions applied to me.” He sighed, remembering the impetuous, foolish boy he had been. “One of the other boys in the coven challenged me, and I accepted.”

  “A duel?”

  “Of power. It was a way to show off, to gain allies. There were rules, but we both agreed to duel without them.” Jack swallowed, staring straight ahead. “I lost control, and the spell I threw killed him.”

  “Oh, Jack. I’m so sorry.”

  It was easier when she called him Cross.

  “I was punished, my power shackled for five years.”

  “What?”

  “Trust me, it was better than the alternative, which would have been my immediate death. There are consequences for losing control, and they have to apply to everyone.”

  “Okay. So that was like sorcerer prison.”

  He smiled. “Sort of.”

  “What happened after the five years was up?”

  “I left, and joined another coven. One led by Sophie’s father. When I openly disagreed with his methods, he tried to have me killed. I left and formed my own enclave. One where sorcerers could practice in peace, learn from each other, and find a place to live without persecution.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  “Sometimes. But I’ve locked myself away too long. Spending time here has shown me that the world has changed, that we aren’t the freaks we used to be.”

  “You wouldn’t even stand out in LA.” She smiled at him, and squeezed his hand.

  His heart responded, and before he could stop himself, he pulled her in and kissed her, right in the middle of the sidewalk, in front of anyone who might be walking by.

  “Wow.” Tami whispered against his lips, then leaned back enough to meet his eyes. “Just when I think I’ve got you figured out, Jack Cross, you go and surprise me again.” She kissed him, hot and fast, then stepped back and led him around the corner. He followed, more than a little dazed by her passion. “We’re almost to the store. I’m going to take you in through the back, since Lidia had me lock up the front.”

  Power hummed through Jack, clearing his head, and he nodded, letting her go. He started building a stronger wall than he had used at the bar, since he would need more protection between him and the werewolf’s pain.

  Jack followed Tami through the back room, halting just inside the store. Pain slammed into him; old pain, overlaid with desperation and fear. It took all his control to keep that pain from shattering his barrier.

  “Jack.” Tami stood in front of him, like a beacon of light.

  “All right,” he muttered, handing her the bag before he stepped around her.

  Harrison Grey knelt in the middle of the floor, Lidia next to him. She whispered as she gently rubbed his back, and Jack felt another wave of pain roll off Harrison.

  “Hi, Jack,” Lidia said, and held out one hand to him. Her fingers shook, and he wanted to comfort her, but any contact could weaken his already cracked barrier. Harrison’s pain was so much stronger than he had anticipated. “Thank you for coming.”

  “I don’t know what I can do, Lidia, but I will try.”

  “No one can help.” Harrison’s deep, pain-scratched voice brushed over Jack’s skin. “I’ve spent my life trying to break free.”

  “Before you dismiss me, I would like to examine you.”

  With a sigh, Harrison nodded.

  Jack scanned him, with both his gaze and his power. He skipped over the ring on Harrison’s right hand, then came back to it when a sense of discord snagged at him.

  “Where did you get the ring?”

  “I’ve had it for years. I used it as a focus when I started trying to shift on the full moon.”

  “Take it off.”

  Harrison raised his eyebrows. “Why?”

  “I sense something.” Jack was not used to anyone questioning him, or his power. “The ring may be working against you.”

  “It was a gift, from my father. He wouldn’t give me anything that would hurt me.”

  “And he may not have known there was anything wrong, when he gave you the ring.” Jack held out his hand. “Take it off.”

  “I have more control with it.” Harrison pushed to his feet, Lidia following him up. “Thanks for the consult.”

  Jack stood, not wanting to let go. There was something off with the ring, but he wouldn’t know what until he could touch it. “I was asked to help you. Please let me do so.”

  “And I said thanks, which was a nice way of saying get out.”

  “Harry!” Lidia smacked his chest. “He’s trying to help.”

  “And he helped you, love.” Harrison framed her face, the love between them so bright that Jack wanted to turn away. “But this is different. I’m crippled, and no sorcery can heal that.”

  “You won’t know unless you give him a chance.”

  Harrison shook his head. “I want to go home, get some sleep.” He kissed Lidia, then let her go and headed for the back room. “I’ll m
eet you at the car.”

  Lidia watched him grab the bag of food and walk into the back room, then she turned to Jack. “I’m so sorry. He can be stubborn—mule-headed stubborn. I’ll talk to him.” She reached out her hand, and Jack took it this time, letting his barrier fade. “Please, don’t give up on him.”

  “It will take more than a simple ‘get out’ to chase me away.”

  “Thank you.” She hugged him, then turned to Tami. “Thank you, for bringing Jack here. And for the food.”

  His and Tami’s meal had just walked out with Harrison, but Jack kept that to himself.

  “Call if he changes his mind,” Tami said, hugging Lidia. “Or if you need any help.”

  “I will. You can go out the back—I’ll make sure the lock is set to engage when you close the door. Love you, Tam.”

  “Love you back, sweetie.” She watched Lidia run across the store before she turned to Jack. “Sorry. I guess that was a giant waste of your time.”

  “Maybe not.”

  Tami raised an eyebrow. “What did I miss?”

  “His ring. I believe it may be the reason he started shifting again.”

  Tami didn’t say anything on the way back to Jack’s apartment, but she had questions.

  Oh, did she have questions—and she wasn’t leaving until she got answers. By the time Jack unlocked the door to his apartment, she was ready to burst.

  He blew every question out of her head when he yanked her inside, slammed the door, and kissed her like he was dying and she was his salvation.

  She was happy to oblige.

  By the time they came up for air, Tami was shaking, and Jack didn’t look all that steady.

  “Sofa,” he muttered, and stumbled across the room, taking her with him. He pulled her down and tucked her into his side, his face buried in her hair. “I need to catch my breath.”

  She didn’t like the way he sounded.

  “Jack.” When he didn’t answer, Tami leaned back until she could see his face. Pain deepened the lines around his mouth, darkened his hazel eyes. “Headache?”

  “Yes.”

  “My mom used to get them all the time. Can I help?” He hesitated, then nodded, flinching at the movement. “Okay.” She moved to the other end of the sofa, and patted her lap. “Lay down, your head here.”