by Claire Marta
Yes, in the past women had fallen for him. Even on some of his assignments he had pursued females with only one objective in mind to get close to a target. This though was no charade. It was the real deal. The feelings he had for Jasmine were staggering, overpowering. Primitive urges clambered inside him to claim what was his. With effort, he pushed them aside. Now was not the place or time. She was about to be enlightened regarding her true family heritage. This in itself would be overwhelming for her.
He would not be selfish. After all, she was still angry with him. A few weeks would not hurt. This would give him time to plan. He would not go into this blindly. No, he intended to woo her. Seduce her. Court her properly. Eric would need the art of romance and seduction.
Time would be required to dismantle the barriers she had erected. Time to regain her trust. Such a precious thing he had foolishly lost once already. Something he would not lose again. He vowed to himself this was the last time he would walk away. Then he would make things between them right. Eric had no doubt she would be his again. When her anger had cooled, he would seek her out.
Avalon was not the place for romance. Not the kind he wanted to win Jasmine with. He wanted to prove his love and win her affections. Eric’s phone vibrated, breaking him from his thoughts. Fishing it from his pocket he checked the message.
Raoul: Your assistance is required in Amsterdam, things have become a little out of hand.
Icy blue eyes narrowing on the words, Eric gave a small grunt. Work would keep him occupied until he made his move.
It took only a moment for him to reply. I am on my way.
Jasmine awoke to sunlight streaming in through a window. The golden light bathed the room in its warming glow. She could see dust particles dancing in the brightness as her eyes focused. It was Twitch’s bedroom in his mother’s house. She recognised the time worn wallpaper.
Murmuring to herself, she could feel the lumpy mattress beneath her. The coarseness of a blanket was brushing against her arms as she rolled onto her back.
Jasmine had vague memories of being put to bed. Strong arms had carried her as her head had lulled tiredly against a muscled chest. Carbrey had made her drink something sweet. The old man had been insistent. She could remember him telling her it would stop any after effects and prevent her from being sick.
Glancing down, she discovered she was dressed in a white lacy nightdress. The neckline was high, covering her chest and shoulders. A threadbare black cover had been draped over her torso and tucked around her lovingly.
Twitch was sitting in an overstuffed arm chair staring unblinkingly into space. Dressed in his usual black attire, he seemed tense. For a moment sadness glimmered in his gaze. Then it vanished. Several locks of his reddish curls had fallen across his face. The bruises he had been bearing last time she had seen him were gone. He looked completely healed. Although the faded burn marks he always had remained in place. As if sensing her scrutiny, his peridot green eyes snapped up to meet her regard.
“We’re related.” He blurted out, as if he couldn’t wait to say the words. “Distant fucking cousins.”
Jasmine frowned, still groggy with sleep. “What?” Using her elbows, she sat up.
“We’re even more compatible than I thought, Jazzy. You have magic running through your veins.” Twitch look excited, his features becoming animated. “It’s written in the stars. You, me, and hot wild sex.”
Jasmine couldn’t help it. She laughed.
Twitch glanced down at her with a look of confusion. Just seeing it made her laugh all the more. She couldn’t stop. Soon she was laughing so hard she had to hold her stomach because it hurt so much. Tears were rolling down her face. Jasmine was hysterical. Twitch was staring at her as if she’d gone mad. Then, just as she started to get herself under control, he giggled. This set her off again.
By the time Carbrey arrived, they were both laughing hysterically. Lying side by side on the bed, they were gasping for breath. Clutching their sides, trying to stop them from hurting, they tried to get themselves under control.
“I see Jasmine has taken the news of her parentage well.” Carbrey’s voice was amused as he shuffled into the small sparse room.
Biting her lip, Jasmine hiccuped as she sat up and wiped the wetness from her cheeks. “I don’t understand how it’s possible. I can’t be related to you.”
Carbrey settled himself on the edge of the bed. A worn box was clutched in his hands. “Come here child, I have something to show you.”
Making sure the night dress was covering her, Jasmine crawled towards him. Twitch remained sprawled across the mattress, watching them with a smile.
The old man tugged something out. He stared at it before passing it to her. Jasmine stared down at the faded photograph in her hand. The face that stared back was very similar to her own. A pretty yellow sun dress clothed the woman’s slender form. Eyes more the shade of Carbrey’s, she had the same red coppery hair as Jasmine. It fell to her waist in a tumble of sleek waves. A small, secretive smile was frozen on her lips as she sat barefoot among a field of wild flowers.
Emotions rose so quickly, Jasmine felt a lump in her throat. She could not believe what she was seeing. Was this all true?
“Is that…”
“Yes, your mother. Emmaline.” Carbrey’s voice was rough as he replied. “You look a lot like her. I knew who you were even before we met. The visions I have finally showed you to me. I could barely contain my excitement when you first walked through my doors.”
Stunned by the revelation, Jasmine’s gaze met his. “You knew?”
Reaching out a gnarled hand, he patted her knee, his eyes becoming bright as if he were fighting back tears. “It was time for you to come home, Jasmine. The fates conspired to make that happen and here you are.”
Jasmine had never given her birth parents much of a thought. The Hunters, who had raised her, had been good parents. It had almost killed her to lose them.
“Where…where is she now? My Mum….why did she abandon me?” So many questions were suddenly racing through her head.
“Your mother left the Island when you were six months old. We never knew who your father was. I assumed it was a main lander. Sometimes they are swept out to sea and end up on our beaches through the portal. It doesn’t happen often, but it did the year you were conceived. He was a fisherman, or at least that’s what I could gather. We did not allow him to stay long, or let him know where he was. When he was strong enough to be moved, we took him back through as he slept and left him on the beach.” Carbrey’s attention was now on the box in his lap as he riffled through more photos. “I am not even sure if he was your father. He did get on well with Emmaline, but that could mean nothing. I thought perhaps she had left to be with him.” Carefully, he handed her another photograph. This was of the same woman, but this time her hands were full with a chubby little baby dressed in white. The photo looked like it had been taken in a city, which one though, Jasmine could not tell. Edinburgh maybe.
“She was never happy here. Your mother became very secretive after her betrothal was broken with Edmund, Morgan’s father. It was a scandal. He had already fallen in love with Glenna, you see, and she was expecting the twins. Then when they were a year old he died in an accidental explosion.”
“I didn’t know our parents had been engaged,” Twitch muttered from behind them.
Carbrey ignored him, still focused on his tale. “I think she wanted a fresh start somewhere else. Emmaline did however, keep in touch for a few months, but then even that stopped.”
Jasmine’s thoughts were a mess. Should could not process everything he was telling her. “You just let us go?”
A look of guilt passed over the old man’s expression. “She was very stubborn, no matter how much I forbade her. She went against my wishes and left with you anyway, and in my foolishness I did not try hard enough to stop her.”
“So you don’t know what happened to her?” Jasmine asked, unable to keep the disappointment from he
r voice.
“I sent others to search, but there was no trace of her, or you. Your mother never exhibited any signs of magic,” he explained as if begging for her understanding. “I thought perhaps she was one of the few of our line born without it. I believed she would be happier among mortals, that she would feel more comfortable.”
Jasmine carefully placed the photos she was clutching back in the box. “My parents...my adoptive parents, the Hunters, told me I was left abandoned at a hospital when I was two years old.”
“It explains why you were somehow able to tap into my magic when we touched.” Twitch’s voice purred from behind her. “You were fucking awesome, by the way.”
Jasmine turned her head to find he was now sitting up. “But why hasn’t it ever happened the times I’ve touched you before? And how did I tap into Eric’s wintry cold?”
“He’s the vamp that broke her heart.” Twitch confided in his grandfather, making her cringe. “He gave you his blood back in Prague, maybe some of it was still lingering in your system and somehow you were able to use it.”
Jasmine wrinkled her nose thoughtfully. “I guess that’s logical, although it still doesn’t explain how.”
“You’re home, Jasmine.” Carbrey reached out to take her hand in his. It was warm and comforting as he squeezed her fingers lightly. “Here, it is natural for any magic you possess to awaken. It’s in our blood. Our genes.”
She was still confused. “But Carbrey, I don’t use technology or nature. I don’t have any magic.”
“You must call me Grandfather, all the Le Fey do,” he insisted, before continuing. “I believe you have gifts similar to mine, child. You sense danger before it happens. Sense things. One day perhaps, you will even develop the sight…premonitions. As for your other rare talent to borrow others abilities, I have not seen anything like it before, but I believe this too will grow in time.”
Jasmine felt a shiver of foreboding. Was this a good thing or not?
“I shall tell you all you wish to know of our family, Jasmine. These photographs you may keep to look at.” Carefully, he left the box on the bed and then leaned forwards to press a chaste kiss to her forehead as he released her hand. “All you need do, is ask.”
“Maybe I can help you find your mother.” Twitch offered as he bumped his shoulder against hers. “There has to be some kind of trail out there that leads to her, or what happened to her.”
His words made her smile. “Thanks, Twitchy. I would appreciate that.”
“As Grandfather said, we’re family. Blood. There’s no getting rid of me now.” He grinned, giving her a wink. “You’re stuck with me.”
Jasmine glanced distractedly towards the doorway. Something felt as if it was missing. A frown marring her brow, she found it unsettling not to see the familiar Jinn nearby.
“Kaysin, he’s not with you?”
“Unfortunately, he was called away on other duties. He will not be back,” Carbrey informed her as he idly played with the silver hilt of his walking stick.
“Oh...ok.” Jasmine tried to hide her disappointment. She had got used to having him around.
“He told me to tell you goodbye.” The old man told her kindly, giving her a small mysterious look.
Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “He told you?”
“In his own manner, yes,” he replied, slowly rising to his feet. “Now I must make my way back down those blasted steps while I still have the energy.”
Twitch jumped up from where he was sitting on the bed. “Do you want me to carry you down?”
A look of mock disgust flashed across the old man’s roguish features. “The day you do that, Morgan, is the day I hang up my cane. Thank you, but no.”
“How’s your mum?” Jasmine asked her friend the moment he was gone.
“Responding to the treatment she’s been given.” Twitch sank back down beside her on the bed. “Grandfather told me it might take some days, but she will recover from what Teasag did to her.”
“I’m sorry you lost your sister.” Taking his scarred hand, she threaded her fingers through his. Jasmine gave it a gentle squeeze. She could sense his pain even though he was trying to hide it. Twitch had cared for his sister no matter what she had done. They had been family.
“We hadn’t been close for years,” he confided, shoving some hair out of his face in agitation. “When we were little, we were like each other’s shadows, then when our magic started to develop, we drifted apart.”
“I think in the end she wanted to make up for what she let happen.”
Not meeting her stare, he nodded. “Yeah.” His voice broke slightly on the word.
A commotion on the stairs interrupted them. They could hear voices getting closer. Benedict appeared in the doorway. He was wearing dark green combat trousers and a pair of black army boots. His bare chest was rising and falling from just having run up the stairs.
Jasmine’s stare was drawn to the movement of his abs. His milk chocolate skin was smooth and muscled. She didn’t miss his smirk. Jogging across the room, he swept her up off the bed.
With a squeak, Jasmine flailed her limbs in panic. What the hell was he doing? Bending her back over his arm, the bard kissed her passionately. His lips were firm and hungry. The tip of his tongue licked against the seam of her mouth but she kept her lips sealed.
“Stop teasing me, Red,” he muttered as he lifted his head. His hazel eyes were dilated, making the silver ring around his irises expand.
Jasmine wiped a hand over her wet lips. “What the fuck, Tin man? We’re cousins!”
With a wolfish grin, he dropped her back on the mattress. “Yeah, but we’re not first cousins or even second. So there’s nothing wrong with us getting together.”
Rolling away, Jasmine spared him a glare. “We are not getting together.”
“Still playing hard to get. I like that about you, Red.” He growled back as he playfully leaned across the bed toward her.
“He’s in denial. Just ignore the big doofus.” Ella laughed. She was standing in the doorway of the room with Dane just behind her. “We just came up to see how you were feeling. Carbrey told us you were finally awake.”
“Ben, I hate to break this to you, but me and Jazzy, we’re a thing now...practically betrothed.” Twitch announced, gesturing a finger between them, from where he still sat.
Jasmine shot him a disbelieving look. “We are friends…not a ‘thing’, whatever the fuck you mean by that, and certainly not betrothed.”
“But snookums.” The mage persisted, giving her puppy dog eyes. “You were dry humping me on that altar and that’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to a vagina.”
Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment. She really didn’t need to remember what they had done. “No. I am not having sex with anyone on this Island, especially if we are related even in some small way.”
“She’ll come around.” Benedict responded with confidence as he straightened up.
Twitch made a familiar humming sound in his throat. “We’re going to stay for a week, anyway, so she can get to know everyone properly. I want to be with my mother for now.”
“Plenty of time to convince Jasmine to ride my face,” Benedict replied with way too much self-assurance. He was eyeing the white nightie she was wearing with interest. His eyes lingering on her breasts.
Jasmine grabbed a pillow and brandished it in front of her threateningly. “Out now, before I beat you to death.”
She was done with his games. Ben’s deep laughter followed him out as Ella and Dane grabbed his arms, dragging him from the room and down the narrow stairs.
“Mark sent a text while you were asleep. You got your job back.” Twitch informed her as they listened to the cousins chatter die away.
With a squeal of joy, she dumped the pillow and jumped on him, hugging him close. “How in the hell did he manage that?” she asked excitedly.
“You know our boss, he never gives up easily,” he responded, holding her tightly his face pressed to
the curve of her neck. His moist, warm breath warmed her skin, making her shiver. Twitch hesitated for a moment. “What are you going to do about your vampire bite addiction?”
The question made her pull away. She had been giving that some thought. “I know of a vamp that might help.”
“Eric?” Twitch asked quietly. He was wearing a troubled look. “We don’t even know where to find him.” His arms slipped from around her as she moved to sit back on the bed.
“No.” Jasmine shot him a dirty look. Eric was never going to know about this. Ever. It was not like they would meet again, that was something that was more than clear.
“There’s more than just one vampire in London.” Jasmine told her friend absently. She knew she would have to take a chance on someone else. She only hoped he would be willing to help. They had only met once. In Prague.
The Vampire Master of London.
Asier.
“Come on. Let’s get down stairs before Ben tries to join you in bed again.” Twitch’s voice dragged her from her thoughts. He was standing beside her, a thick woolly dressing gown held in one hand. “At least in the kitchen you might be safe, but then again, knowing him he would probably try to seduce you anywhere. So I will just have to protect you.”
“He’s a way bigger pervert than you.” She told him as he helped her slide it on.
His answering smile had only half its normal mischief. “Fuck. I can’t have him stealing my title.” He joked, eyes still shadowed with grief and pain.
“You know I’m here for you, Twitchy.” Jasmine told him quietly, searching his features. “If you want to talk.”
“I know,” he mumbled, attention on the buttons he was buttoning in place for her as if she were a child.
Glancing towards the door, Jasmine could hear the excited muffled voices downstairs. It looked like she would be spending the next week getting to know her new family.
