“I have to stay connected to her,” Ari explained. “It helps with the conversion.”
“What’s conversion?”
“When a human is bound to a Kalt Einn, her body will change to be like ours.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m sorry, sister, I don’t have time to explain everything to you right now,” Ari said. “Perhaps it would be better if you didn’t watch.”
“Are you saying I will go through this if Kaspar binds me?” Jesska asked, horrified.
“Já.”
“Is she dying?” Sophia’s small voice sounded from the threshold of the bathroom.
“No, baby,” Ari answered, and waved his hand. “Come and lay the towel over your mama. Touch her as well. You can help.”
Sophia rushed to do as he said and then she settled her hand on her mother’s head. Megan sighed and shifted, turning towards Sophia. “That feels good, honey.”
Jesska felt like she was intruding on a family moment, so she went back into the living room just as Jóvin arrived with the ice. He had three buckets full—where he got the other containers she wasn’t sure, but she was glad for the help. “Thanks, Jóvin.”
“M’lady,” he said, and then left her again.
“Jess?” Sophia called from the bedroom. “Do you have the ice?”
“Yeah, honey. Right here.”
Jesska didn’t have time to obsess about what her body would go through when Kaspar bound her, because she was too focused on making sure Megan was as comfortable as possible. Once Megan was calm and sleeping, Ari pulled his shirt back on and left the suite. Sophia curled up next to her mother on Jesska’s bed, and Jesska closed the door for privacy, fell onto her sofa, and curled up in a ball, bursting into quiet tears as the realization of what she would be subjected to sunk in. Megan’s body had been wracked with pain and her skin had changed from milky white to a dark red in front of Jesska’s eyes for several minutes before returning to normal. Jesska knew Megan was fighting the urge to scream for her and Sophia’s sakes, but she couldn’t hold back the occasional whimper which seemed to frighten Sophia. In the end, Ari had forced them out for a time before letting them back in when Megan was calmer.
Jesska didn’t give herself much time to freak out, sitting up and wiping away her tears. She needed to do something, and she knew exactly what. She grabbed her cell phone, made a quick call, and then took her purse and keys and left the room.
JÓVIN STOOD IN the hallway and pushed away from the wall when Jesska walked out of her room. “M’lady.”
“Jóvin,” she said, and headed to the elevator.
“You can’t leave, m’lady.”
“I have something important to do,” she said as she waited for the elevator.
“It doesn’t matter. You are to stay here.”
The elevator dinged and the door opened. She moved to step inside, but Jóvin grabbed her arm. “I can’t let you leave.”
She frowned. “Are you supposed to touch me?”
He released her immediately. She knew it was a low-blow, but she was sick of being a prisoner, even if it was for her own good.
Jóvin swore and pushed his way inside. “I will take you where you need to go.”
“I have my car.”
“Jesska, I cannot let you leave here.”
“You called me Jesska.”
“I did, m’lady.”
She grinned as the elevator doors closed. “I like that better than m’lady.”
Jóvin chuckled. “I know, m’lady.”
Without further discussion, he guided Jesska to one of the cars in the garage and then drove her to Seth’s parents’ home. While Jóvin awaited her in the car, she walked up to the house and rang the doorbell, smiling nervously when Seth’s mother answered the door.
“Hi, sweetie,” she said, and hugged Jesska. “Are you okay? You sounded upset on the phone.”
“I have to tell you and Brian something and I felt I should tell you face-to-face.”
“Come into the kitchen.”
Seth’s father stood from his place at the kitchen peninsula and hugged Jesska. “How are you, honey?”
She bit her lip. “I’ve met someone.”
“I’m sorry?” he said.
“I... I’ve met someone. Someone really special, and I think it might be serious.”
Brian looked at his wife and then back at Jesska before letting out a holler. “It’s about damn time.”
“What?” she squeaked.
“Oh, honey, you’ve been so sad for far too long,” Leslie said. “Seth wouldn’t have wanted this for you. He would want you to be happy. And we do too.”
Jesska let out a sigh of relief. “I thought you’d be mad or hurt.”
“No way,” Brian assured her. “This is a good thing, honey. You have our full blessing.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “And we’d love to meet him when you feel it’s right.”
“I’d really like that,” she said.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Leslie asked.
“Actually, I should go. Kaspar’s driver’s waiting for me outside.”
“Fancy,” she said. “He must have money.”
Jesska giggled. “Little bit, yes. But more than that, with the Jason thing in limbo, he’s a little protective.”
“I’m glad,” Brian said.
“Thank you both. For being so kind to me. And patient. Especially that.”
“We love you, Jess,” Leslie said. “Always.”
Jesska’s heart floated as they walked her to the door. She hugged them and then stepped outside... to find a seething Kaspar stalking toward her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He glanced at Seth’s parents and then back at her. “Jóvin informed me you’d left the safety of the hotel,” he said, carefully. A little too carefully.
“Yes. I needed to do something.” She turned to the Kings. “Um, Brian and Leslie King, this is Kaspar Baldursson.”
Kaspar shook their hands in greeting, his smile tight, his body locked. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
“You too, son,” Brian said.
Jesska smiled at Seth’s parents. “We should probably head back. Thanks for everything.”
She hugged them once more and then Kaspar’s hand was on the small of her back and guiding her to Austri’s car. It appeared that Jóvin was gone, and she hoped he wasn’t in trouble for doing her bidding.
Jesska slid inside and secured her seatbelt while Kaspar climbed in beside her. He pulled the door closed and raised the privacy glass. “If you ever do anything like that again, Jesska, I will take you over my knee.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”
“We are in the middle of sorting out who’s behind the attack on your sister and niece, and you leave the safety of the hotel?” he snapped. “I will have Jóvin’s head for this.”
“Um, no, you won’t.” She scowled. “For the record, Jóvin tried to stop me, but, a pretty glaring fact you seem to want to dismiss, is that I’m a grown-ass woman and I can make my own goddamn choices and go wherever the hell I want to because I’m an adult. Jóvin drove me here, which apparently was the wrong thing for him to do, because you’re obviously pissed at him, so next time I’ll just drive myself.”
“There won’t be a next time.”
“Fuck you, Kaspar. I’m not your prisoner!”
He dragged his hands down his face and took several audible breaths. “You could have been hurt.”
“Bullshit,” she snapped. “Jóvin had me fully safe and protected. For the love of God, Kaspar, you have to trust your security detail to take care of me. It’s what you pay them for, after all.”
Austri pulled the car into the underground parking lot, and Jesska grimaced when she saw Jóvin waiting by the elevator bank.
Kaspar pushed open the door and stepped out, extending his hand to her. She ignored it and climbed from the car.
“I have to return to what I was doing,” he said. “Go with Jóvin, and I’ll see you as soon as I can.”
“Oh, now Jóvin’s on the approved list of jailors?”
“Jesska,” he ground out. “Do as I say. We’ll discuss this later.”
“Fine.”
He slid his hand behind her neck and gave her a gentle squeeze. “I love you, elskan.”
“Good for you.” She tried to pull away, but he held firm.
“We’ll talk later. I will come to your room.”
“Don’t bother,” she whispered, dropping her chin. “I’d rather just go to bed.”
He tipped her chin up. “We’ll talk later.”
She shrugged.
Kaspar smiled and stroked her cheek before kissing her gently. And then he was gone.
Jesska faced Jóvin and frowned. “I’m sorry if I got you in trouble.”
“You didn’t, m’lady.”
“Thank you for driving me.”
He held the elevator door for her. “’Twas my pleasure, m’lady.”
“No more Jesska, huh?”
“No, m’lady.”
They rode to the top floor without speaking. Jóvin let her into her room and she pushed open her bedroom door to see Megan and Sophia asleep, Megan’s body molded around her daughter’s.
Jesska closed the door and flopped onto the sofa. She was so angry; she wasn’t sure how well she’d sleep, so she thought she’d use her time plotting revenge. Once again, laxative brownies popped into her head as a good option for Kaspar. Her last coherent image was of her placing a large chocolate treat in front of him as she rubbed her hands together in devilish glee.
* * *
Jesska awoke as strong arms wrapped around her and lifted her. She forced her eyes open to find Kaspar carrying her out of her suite and next door to his.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, sleepily.
“Taking you to bed.”
She pushed at his shoulders. “I’m not speaking to you.”
“You can give me the silent treatment somewhere I can hold you.”
She heard the exhaustion in his voice. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
“Yes, baby. Go back to sleep.”
“Did you find the bad guy?”
“Go back to sleep.” Kaspar laid her on his bed and kissed her forehead.
“Um...” She pushed his face away. “Hell, no.”
“Jess.”
“No,” she snapped, and sat up. “Where have you been? What’s going on?” The light from the bathroom illuminated him and she let out a horrified squeak. “Why are you bleeding?” She scrambled off the bed and lifted his shirt. “What happened?”
“It’s not my blood, baby.”
“Don’t you dare ‘baby’ me right now, Kaspar. Tell me where you’re hurt.”
He stilled her hands. “Jesska. It’s not my blood.”
It took a minute for her to register his words, and then she grasped him around his waist and held him as hard as she could.
“Jess.”
“Shut up right now, Kaz. I need to hold you for a minute before I let loose my rage.”
He stroked her hair and she could feel his body shaking, which she tried to ignore, because as much as it pissed her off that he was laughing at her right now, it felt better to have him in her arms and to know he was okay.
“Why did you go to Seth’s home?” he asked.
“Because I wanted to tell them about you.”
“You did?”
She glanced up at him. “Yes. They were really happy and gave me their blessing.”
“They did?”
“Yes. They said that I’d waited too long to let myself be happy and he wouldn’t have wanted that.” Jesska forced back tears as Kaspar pulled her close again. When she felt she could talk without blubbering, she pushed away from him. “Now tell me what happened.”
“Let me shower first,” he said.
“Are you stalling?”
“No, baby, I will tell you everything, but I want to wash off the blood.” He pulled off his shirt and headed to the bathroom.
Jesska followed. “I’ll listen while you wash.”
“Jesska, do you really want to tempt this?”
“What?”
He frowned. “Ari said how frightened you were with Megan’s conversion.”
She shuddered at the memory. “What’s that got to do with you talking to me while you shower?”
“I can’t have you in here right now, sweetheart, unless I know I’m binding you. I’m too keyed up to control my reaction to you.”
“I’m not leaving, Kaspar.”
“You’re certain about that?” he challenged.
“Definitely.”
“Suit yourself,” he retorted, and started the shower.
Jesska sat on the toilet lid while Kaspar undressed. When he removed his perfectly tailored kingy trousers, she bit her lip. Boxer briefs looked incredible on this man. Her heart sped up at the sight.
“Why don’t you wait outside, Jesska?”
She shook her head.
“Baby.” He leaned down and cupped her chin. “You do this, it means I shower and then I bind you.”
Her breath hitched, and she took a minute to think. “Will you tell me what happened while you shower?”
“Does that mean I’m binding you?”
She bit her lip, staring up at the man she hadn’t expected, realizing she was no longer angry with him, and nodded.
His sexy smile was intoxicating as he leaned down and covered her mouth with his, kissing her slowly. He broke the kiss and stroked her cheek. “Last chance to change your mind.”
“I’m not going to change my mind.”
She’d never seen a man move so fast. Suddenly, he was naked in front of her and stepping into the shower. Good lord, he was gorgeous. Jesska took a moment to compose herself, gathering up Kaspar’s discarded clothing and dropping it into the laundry bag. “Tell me.”
“The blood was some Russian soldier who has ties to the same mob that kidnapped Vandi Whitmore a few months ago.”
“Who’s Vandi Whitmore?”
“She’s Charlotte’s sister. Charlotte is Megan’s middle daughter who was taken from her. Vandi is the sister Charlotte was raised with.”
“So, these people who took Vandi are the threat?” she asked.
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?”
“They are part of the threat, but the person, or persons, pulling the strings is someone different.”
Jesska frowned, sitting back on the toilet lid. “So, what does that mean?”
“It means we have to go to Scotland.”
“When?”
“Gunnar, Ari, Megan, and Sophia are going tomorrow. You and I will follow when the plane returns.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Why aren’t we all going together?”
The water stopped and Kaspar grabbed a towel. “As king, I have to travel separately.”
He stepped from the shower, the towel around his waist, wet and sexy, and Jesska swallowed. She watched as he picked up his phone, sent a text, and then focused on her. “What do you want, baby?”
“I want to take a shower,” she said.
“And then?”
She took a deep breath, staring up at him.
“Elskan?” he prodded.
“I want you to bind me, but on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
She frowned up at him. “If you ever threaten to put me over your knee again, I will make your life a living hell.”
“I don’t know about that, sweetheart.” He bent down, face-to-face, and smiled. “I think you might enjoy it.”
At her shiver, he leaned in and kissed her and then walked out of the room. Jesska stayed seated for several seconds, letting the weight of her decision sink in. She knew that she could change her mind if she wanted to. Kaspar would never force her. But she also knew she
wanted this more than anything she’d ever wanted. She rose to her feet, removed her clothes, and took the fastest shower on earth before grabbing the hotel robe on the back of the door and sliding it on. She walked into Kaspar’s room and stopped short. Candles were the only source of light, and she noted a bottle of champagne on top of the bureau. Kaspar wasn’t in the bedroom, but she could hear him in the other part of the suite, talking low; whether he was on his phone or talking to someone in person, she wasn’t sure.
A flat white box sat on the bed, and Jesska saw her name scrawled on an envelope on top of it. She slid the envelope out from behind the red ribbon and opened it.
Elskan, I love you more than you could ever know. Here is the first part of my bonding gift to you. Thank you for the gift of your love. Kaspar.
Jesska set the note on the side table and untied the ribbon. She opened the box to find a black lace baby-doll with matching underwear. She smiled. This was really more a gift for him. She removed her robe and slid on the lingerie, noticing it fit as though it had been made for her.
“Elskan?” Kaspar called through the door as he knocked.
“Come in.” She turned, not entirely sure what to do with her hands. She’d never been so exposed before. She took in a deep breath and stared up at him. He wore black satin pajama bottoms, his chest bare, and if there was a more beautiful man, she couldn’t bring one to mind. “Hi.”
“Hi.” His gaze swept over her and he smiled. “You’re stunning.”
She dropped her head, heat creeping up her neck. “Thank you.”
He lifted her chin and she stared up at him, her heart racing as he gently touched her face. She calmed, and leaned into his palm.
“Why do you tremble, elskan?” he asked.
She licked her lips. “Because you frighten me.”
“I would never hurt you.”
“No, I know. Not that way.”
“What way?” he pressed.
“My heart.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I couldn’t take another...”
“You won’t,” he promised.
“How do you know?”
Bound by Tears (Cauld Ane Series, #6) Page 18
