I will not let him see how afraid I am.
My palms grip each other so tight the bones scream in protest and yet I don’t say a word. The half-beast sniffs me, and then something wet and rough slides over me as he licks my throat. My legs jerk in response. Kick him. Kick him now. My toes curl, and instead I go still, limp, and hang there as if I’m not alive. I’ve had enough practice at that. Sometimes to survive you need to play dead.
"Let her go," the General barks.
But the male doesn’t move, he only leans closer and sniffs, again.
And this time I open my eyes and bare my teeth in a growl so fierce and unexpected that his grip loosens. I slam down into the chair with a bang.
Vishal bursts out laughing. "See Gabriel, you’re no match for her."
The shifter growls, his throat rippling with anger, and I know he can shred me to pieces right now with those powerful teeth.
Then Vishal is waving him away and to my relief he retreats. I swallow down the bile pooling in my throat.
"I can save you, Ariana. Or I can hand you to him," Vishal says. His voice is quiet, without menace and that makes it worse.
I know he’d do it too.
Give me to the shifter who's more beast than man. Who's stripping me with his eyes. Eyes that drop to my breasts and lower down to the space between my thighs, and terror twists my gut so bad I think I’m going to be sick. He’s warning me. Letting me know that he can hurt me in ways I cannot even imagine. The twisted anticipation in his eyes slams into my gut and I know that he’s going to get back at me. That he’s not going to forget my insult.
Gabriel flexes his massive hands at his side, and I swallow and try not to show how shaken I am. I see the greed in his eyes. Avarice, pure and naked, the desire to see me at his mercy stares back.
"How much longer before you get his trust and steal the sword?" Vishal asks.
I tear my eyes away and back to the General.
"Why haven’t you bedded him yet? It’s one way of getting him to lower his guard. Surely that’s not a big deal for you?"
I don’t reply, just look at him, and I know my eyes are burning with rage.
"Spare me your anger," he snaps, springing to his feet.
He is shorter than Jai but with wider shoulders. He has a sculpted chest, slim waist and an exaggerated build that points to someone who has spent all his life carefully, shaping his body.
Standing over me, Vishal snaps, "Two days. In two days you go back to the Jungle and if you want to find your sister alive you’ll get me the sword."
Lily’s life in return for a sword?
It feels unreal.
Without giving myself time to think, I blurt out, "Why do you want Jai’s sword?"
His head snaps back as if I’ve hit him. Before I can blink he’s closed the gap and is gripping my chin so hard that I cry out in pain.
"It’s not his sword. It’s Ruby’s sword," he grinds out. "And both belong to me."
"Both?" I ask, trying to understand what he means.
"Both," he insists, his voice hoarse. "Ruby belonged to me. And so does her sword which must now pass to her daughter."
Daughter?
Ruby has a daughter?
Jai has a sister?
I try to keep pace as the words spill out of him. It’s as if he’s gone over these thoughts too many times and now that he’s started talking, he's not able to stop.
"Why?" I ask again. "Why do you want to give it to her daughter?"
I know I’m pushing my luck. But I want to know what I’m risking my life, my sister’s life, for.
"Power," he says. "Through her daughter, the sword will give me the power to control nature. Enough power to bend the Council of this city, of all the major cities around the world, to my will."
"Power?" I burst out in disbelief.
My family had power once and look how much that helped them.
Power. Control.
Words men like him use to manipulate the weak. To bend the rest to their will. To get their own way and for what? Just to feed their ego, make them feel important. And it’s all an illusion. For all power does is corrupt, it feeds the beast in them till it takes over and destroys everything, everyone that comes in their path. Like how my parents had been killed.
Like how he’d destroy me if he had a chance.
Before I can draw another breath, the General cups my chin hard, pulling my face up.
I cry out in pain. I am so close I can see the swirling darkness in his eyes. Churning clouds of black with floating glittering gray specks.
He is mad, obsessed. All he can see is his dream of ruling over this city. Of getting to the sword and using it to control nature, to have his way with the world. And I am but a pawn in his plan.
His other arm grips my throat. He squeezes it, cutting off the air till the black knocks against the back of my eyelids, till it feels like my lungs are about to burst.
The world begins to slip away from the edges of my vision, and I know I will not make it out of here.
Then, just as suddenly, he lets go.
The air rushes through my hurt throat, like water over cut-glass, and into my lungs. I cough, going light-headed again
"Get me the sword, else you won’t see your sister alive. Or dead. There’ll be nothing left of her. You know what these shifters are capable of."
His words float over me and I struggle to stay conscious.
"Do. You. Understand?" he asks, his voice low, threatening.
Tears of pain, of rage, squeeze out of my eyes and I nod. A quick jerk.
"Don’t hurt her," I say, my voice raspy. "She’s just a child."
"That’s entirely in your hands isn’t it?" he says.
I see Lily’s frightened face in my head. And she’s there, hidden in the Jungle, imprisoned. Unless. Unless, I get him the sword.
"OK," I say softly.
"What’s that? I didn’t hear you?" He grins and I want to wipe that sneer of his face.
"OK. OK!" I yell at him.
The General raises his fist, and I have just enough time to shut my eyes before he slams it against my temple.
Chapter Fourteen
Just when you think you know a city, you stumble across a part of it that takes you by surprise. Like an old girlfriend who shows you a side you never suspected she had.
Following the blood smears on the trees, Jai and Gilbert pound through the sparse forest which lines the beach, breaking through to a large clearing. In front of them more than a dozen excavators dig into the earth like caterpillars worming into moist soil.
"Where exactly are we?" Gilbert exclaims aloud, echoing Jai’s thoughts. He’s never been this far north.
Behind them machines busily shovel away the piled debris, and at the far end, half-completed buildings soar into the sky. One of the tall construction cranes swoops down to pick up a heavy load of bricks and steel. Heaving it up into the air, it deposits the load on the opposite side.
The Council has been developing different areas of the city in a planned fashion; very different to the haphazard growth of the old metropolis which had stood here prior to the tsunami. But even so, Jai’s never come across such a massive building site before. He swears aloud, wondering where to even start looking for her.
Sweat drips down his forehead and he pants hard, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. And it’s not just from the headlong rush to get here. With every passing minute he’s losing hope of finding her alive and unhurt.
Then Gilbert yells to get his attention. There. A large wolf – a shifter by the size of it – stands staring at them, frozen, caught by surprise.
An eerie quiet clings to it like a shroud. It looks at them, unblinking.
When Jai steps forward, it turns and darts into the entrance of the half-finished tower behind. Jai breaks into a run, followed closely by Gilbert, but by the time they enter the building there’s no trace of the animal. Then the sound of nails clattering on stone comes from above. There,
it must have gone up the staircase.
Jai dashes up the steps…first floor, third, fifth…by the time they hit the tenth he’s panting. Chest heaving, he looks around the half-constructed floor. Behind him Gilbert leans against the wall, bent over from exertion.
Gilbert opens his mouth to speak, and Jai holds up a finger to his lips.
"Shh! Did you hear that?" he asks.
Gilbert shakes his head but there it is again.
Holding out his sword, Jai walks forward. Gilbert covers him from behind. That sound again…like someone groaning. Then, a scraping sound like something being dragged along the floor echoes through the hollow walls.
Jai runs in the direction of the sound through the half-finished rooms. Another groan, closer, then a chair topples over and he hears loud swearing. A steady stream of cuss words which would have done any one from his team proud, and a few other words which make him wonder where she had picked them up.
He speeds up past the unfinished walls and on to a sprawling room at the end.
There, in the middle of the space is Aria sprawled on the floor, her hands bound behind her. She tries to get to her feet, only to topple over because of the steel chair next to her.
Jai helps her up while Gilbert cuts the ropes binding her hand.
Rubbing her wrists together, she snarls, "What took you so long?"
"What took me so long?" The tightly coiled worry inside explodes. Then he’s shaking her by her shoulders so hard her hair falls over her face.
"What were you thinking running out of the cave like THAT?" Jai yells.
He knows he’s losing control and he isn’t sure why, not when he’s found her and she’s safe.
"I thought they'd killed you, that I’d never see you again," he says.
Even as the words are out he knows there’s no going back. He can’t hide his feelings any more. Hauling her to him, he fixes his mouth on her. Grinds his lips against hers, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. His fingers grip her shoulders, the other hand tight around her waist, not realizing he’s lifted her clear off the ground. He’s hurting her, but he can’t stop himself.
Jai doesn’t hear Gilbert warn that they have to get out of there before the shifters return. It’s not till Gilbert physically pulls them apart does he let go. And then, only to swing her up in his arms, carrying her out of there.
Later, after they reach home, after Gilbert leaves, after he insists that Aria use his bed and get a good night’s sleep – just for tonight – Jai prowls the living room.
He’s exhausted, yet too keyed up to sleep. When he checks in on her, she stirs restlessly, twisting the bedclothes around. He wants to go to her to calm her down. But to do so will be to give in to those feelings. If he goes to her now, he won’t be able to stop himself.
He’ll want to reach out and touch her, run his fingers through her hair, lean close and touch his tongue to the pulse thundering at the base of her neck. He’ll want to brush his lips over hers and walk his fingers down to her breasts…
No.
He must let her go, for he has a promise to keep. He cannot risk everything he’s been working towards all his life.
Everything Ruby died for.
Everything Vik still spends his life on pulling together.
His thoughts crowd in, closing in on him till the apartment feels too small. Flinging open the balcony door, he steps out onto the decking, letting the night air wash over him. A gentle tide today and in the distance a lightening of the skies – another day, and then only one more with her. He stands there, looking out.
He’s seen this view a thousand times. Seen it each day of his life; the same and yet it changes. That sole remaining pillar from a once shining bridge. Once, it connected his life to the mainland. Often blurred by the morning mist, pounded at by the heavy rain, the pillar follows the sun East-West-East again. He’s watched it.
Growing up, he used to gaze at it. When he was unwell he asked it to make him better. And cried to it as a little boy when his mother died. He’s even raged at it, threatening to tear it down after his first kill. As he’s grown, he’s looked to it and silently marked time. Coming of age. Becoming a man. Now he asks it what he must do next, and the answer is clear.
He must kill again. Kill what he feels for the girl sleeping in his bed. Make sure it does not survive.
Chapter Fifteen
I wake up in his bed. That cinnamon and pine smell of his flows over me, holding me, comforting me. For a second I let the lingering heat from his body draw me in, letting myself sink into a space where all that exists is me and him.
It’s so quiet I can hear the waves from the beach, can hear the sound of my own breath whoosh in-out-in.
If I could, I’d stay here forever. In this little corner of the world where anything is possible. Where nothing can hurt me. He makes me feel safe. Like he can hold the rest of the world outside the door, like he can stand up to anything, to anyone. Even his father, the Mayor.
Even his uncle, the General?
I move, restless then, and a sharp pain twinges through my head. It’s where the General had struck me. He could have held back a little considering we are on the same side. It sinks in then that I am working hand in glove with Jai’s enemy. The one who’s out to topple his father from the post of Mayor and take over the city.
Earlier, my plan had been clear. Find a way to get close to Jai, get his sword, get out of here, and save Lily.
Now?
Now I’m not so sure. If I don’t do as Vishal wants me to, my family will die.
If I do steal the sword…I lose Jai’s trust. Worse, Vishal will most certainly use it to topple over Jai’s father; perhaps even kill.
He will kill Jai.
My heart begins to pound fast at that. I sit up in bed, ignoring the throbbing in my temple. Swing my legs over the bed and groan aloud as various aches in my body make themselves known. I stand up, my feet digging into the carpeted floor, relieved to find my legs are strong enough to hold me up.
A shower, I so need a shower just now.
Recalling the rough feel of the brute’s tongue on my throat I shudder. Hurry, hurry. Get under the water and wash it away right now. I walk into the large shower cubicle. Exhausted as I am, I still can’t help but notice the size of the bathroom. My entire little hut in the Jungle can fit in here.
Shading my eyes against the shine of white from the tiles on the floor, from the sparkling steel of the faucets, I croak, "Jets. On. Full." And sigh as the water beats over the straining muscles of my back.
The steam rises. Heat floods over me, seeping into my pores, making my head whirl. Swearing, I fling out my hand against the tiled wall and lean my forehead against it.
The steady beat of the water is hypnotic, and closing my eyes, I give in.
Reaching for the shampoo I begin washing my hair. The soap suds stream down my face and the smell of cinnamon and pine surrounds me, and suddenly, he’s in this little space with me. It’s his smell. His shampoo. His lips. It’s as if he’s right here and kissing me. Like he’d done on finding me. He’d fixed his lips on mine with a hunger that’d taken me by surprise.
He’s not as cold as he appears. Still, that lust, that naked want I’d sensed has touched something inside me. Made me want to reach for something more. For him. I’d wanted to kiss him again, and again. And touch him and feel his palm running over my… Stop it!
Fisting my palm I press my knuckles against the wall so the raw skin screams in pain. It cuts through the haze of desire in my head and straightening, I rasp, "Shut down."
I wrap a towel around myself. Not caring about the water dripping from my hair, I limp out of the bath. Walking into the bedroom I come to a stop.
He’s standing not four feet away, fists clenched at his side as if he's controlling himself. As if he's just about managed to stop himself from joining me in there.
His eyes rake over my skin, leaving little pinpricks of fire in their wake. The heat spools off him. It cra
shes over me, curling around me, playing over the tops of my breasts, flowing down my waist, lower still. Tugging at the base of my groin, pulling at me. My mouth goes dry, and the pulse thunders at my throat.
I can’t breathe.
Can’t move my eyes from his face either.
My fingers loosen and the towel slithers over my skin, sliding down my legs, falling around my feet.
Jai inhales sharply and the cords of his throat move as he swallows. Amber flames spark in his eyes. His jaw hardens as if he’s angry.
As if he’s made up his mind.
He takes a step towards me and another and a third, till he’s standing right in front of me.
Heat plumes off him again and I can smell him now. That bittersweet smell that makes my mouth water. Goosebumps erupt on my skin and I resist the temptation of winding my arms around my waist to cover myself.
He leans down, his head coming towards me, and I lift my head. Close my eyes.
I want this. I want him. Want the sight of him to wipe away everything I’ve seen in the Jungle on the sea journey to get to Bombay, one which I’d been sure I wouldn’t survive. And before that. Before my father was killed, before we lost our home. I push that away too.
I am here.
Alive.
And I can feel him.
Can sense the life coursing through his veins. The desire coming off him in waves. He’s turned on. I know that. Can feel his arousal. And I want to give in to it. Want to bury my nose in his chest and smell him, take him in, fill myself with him and…
He drapes the towel around me, over my arms, knotting it above my breasts. The tips of his fingers brush my skin and I shiver, not opening my eyes. I inhale sharply, my cheeks flushing.
He still doesn’t move.
His gaze burns a path over my skin, leaving flickers of fire in their wake. The heat from him is overpowering, swirling around me, a living connection. Dense. Heavy. So real I can reach out and touch it, sink into it.
And still he stays motionless. Not moving.
He’s not going to kiss me or touch me again.
Heat drenches me and I want to die of mortification. I curse myself again, bite the inside of my cheeks, when…a soft touch as if he’s brushed his lips over mine. My eyes fly open but already he’s moving away, towards the bedroom door, shutting it softly behind him
Legends of the Damned: A Collection of Edgy Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 130
