She nodded, her eyes voluminous beneath the light of the moon. The need she felt inside was intimidating, terrifying even. “When I’m with you, everything feels so…so…magical.” Embarrassed she’d spoken aloud, she tried to move away from him but he held her fast.
Jaxon thumbed her lower lip. “If only you knew…” He broke off and shook his head. “When I met you, I knew my life would change.” He rested his forehead against hers for a brief second before putting his hands on her shoulders, a steadying gesture for them both. “I just didn’t know how much.”
“Maybe I should go in now.” She didn’t know what else to say and when he didn’t respond, she watched him for a few seconds longer before pulling away from him. Would she see him again? His eyes told her yes.
Hurrying back to her house, she knew he was watching her. The knowledge unnerved her. Not that she was scared of Jaxon, more of what he made her feel. How he made her feel. Alive. Strong. Sexy. Men had touched her body but no man had ever touched her soul.
Until now.
Chapter Three
Harry chalked the cue stick, leaned down to level himself with the table and closed one eye. “It sounds like things are going just fine with the winning bidder.” He made his shot, winced as the ball bounced off the corner of the table and rolled back to the center. “Damn. How could I miss that shot? That was an easy one. I can’t believe I missed it.”
“Maybe you were spending too much of your time concentrating on my love life when you should be thinking about your game.” Jaxon slapped him on the back and took position at the opposite end of the table. “Nine ball in the corner pocket.”
“If you ask me, someone has to think about your love life since you obviously haven’t done it in so long.” He pointed his finger toward the center of Jaxon’s chest. “And I’ll bet you twenty dollars you won’t make that shot.”
“I hate to take your money but you’re on.” Jaxon grinned, dug a twenty-dollar bill out of the front pocket of his jeans and slapped it on the edge of the pool table. “Ante up.”
Harry matched the twenty and leaned one hip against the wall. “There’s no way you’re going to make it. Not without some serious consequences. Eight ball is too close.” He hunkered down to peer closer at the table. “Sadie and I want to meet this Ms. Montgomery of yours.”
Jaxon flashed his friend a grin, pulled back and popped the shot. The nine ball slid neatly into the hole, barely missing the eight ball. He straightened, slid the two bills into his pocket and lifted his beer glass. As his friend stared at him, he took a swig of the frothy brew, slashed the back of his hand across his mouth and thumped the frosted mug back down on the table behind him. “You were saying?”
Harry scratched his chin, his eyes narrowed. “You know, sometimes I think you hustle me.”
“And most of the time you’re a poor loser.” Jaxon stepped out of the way for Harry to take his turn.
“Yeah, well, I haven’t lost yet.”
“Just a twenty.”
Harry ignored him. “So what about meeting this lady of yours?”
“You will.”
“Could you be a little more specific? You know,” Harry waved his cue stick, “an ordinary man would be offended at your blatant attempt to keep your new girlfriend away from him. Might think you were ashamed of him or something. Good thing I’m not an ordinary man.”
Leaning back against the bar with his ankles crossed, Jaxon watched his friend survey the table. Harry had been one of the first people he’d met when he’d decided to make his life in Charleston. A good man with a quick wit and a dry sense of humor, he’d been quick to help Jaxon find his way around the city, showing him the best watering holes and the worst places to be caught in after dark. In a short amount of time, they’d become good friends but not good enough for Jaxon to share the truth with him. “Good thing,” he finally responded.
“So why didn’t you invite your lady to join us tonight?”
Jaxon’s abdomen tightened. “No reason.”
“Well then you might want to think of one fast because she just walked in.” Low whistles erupted from the lower end of the bar.
Jaxon pushed away from the rolled edge and moved into the center of the crowded room just as Tess glided through the throng of sweaty men amidst catcalls and lusty comments. She came to a stop in front of him, her eyes round with innocence.
“I called your house. Your housekeeper,” her brows puckered, “told me you were here.”
Jaxon swept a dark look around the room, which effectively silenced the snickers and bawdy suggestions. Cupping her elbow, he guided her back toward the door, shielding her body from further prying eyes. “This isn’t a good place for you. Especially dressed like that.”
She glanced down at her snug-fitting jeans and spaghetti-strap top. “I’ve lived in Charleston all of my life. This is what I normally wear in September. What’s wrong with it?”
Not a damned thing. In fact his cock had stood up and taken notice the second he’d seen her. Fuck.
The room grew restless behind them. One patron staggered to his feet. “Say, lady, is he giving you a hard time? You know, ‘cause if not, I could give you one.” He waggled his hips suggestively and the room erupted in raucous laughter.
Harry positioned himself in front of the pool table, his cue stick held aloft. “Hey, why don’t you bunch of cavemen go somewhere and sleep it off? My friend is trying to have a conversation with the lady.”
“Harry, it’s okay. I’ll catch you later.”
The boldest of the men, his eyes hungry, wove his way through the crowd to follow Jaxon.
“Hey, Jax!” Harry called out a warning but Jaxon had already turned around to acknowledge the man’s presence.
“Come on, honey, hang around a real man.”
Tess threw him an irritated look and tugged on Jaxon’s arm. “Never mind him. I need to talk to you.”
He covered her hand with his and fixed the interloper with a cold-eyed stare. “Excuse me.”
“Wait a minute now. What’s your hurry?” More laughter accompanied the man’s hasty bid to position himself in front of the door. “It looks like there’s more than enough of this hot little number to go around. Why don’t you be friendly and share?”
Jaxon’s jaw clenched and a familiar burning sensation stung his eyes. Anger. It had been a while since jealousy had reared its ugly head. With the flick of his finger, he could send this guy on a journey he wouldn’t soon forget. At the risk of exposing himself.
Time for another option. His hand at his side, he closed it into a fist and the room fell silent. No one moved. Or blinked. Frozen in time and space, the patrons had become statues. Jaxon quickly ushered Tess out the door into the night while she stumbled and stared over his shoulder.
As the door closed behind them, laughter erupted once more and his shoulders relaxed.
“What happened in there? Did you see that? They were all frozen. I mean no one moved a muscle. They didn’t even blink.”
“Maybe they saw something they didn’t like.” He guided her toward his car, his steps unhurried, casual almost.
Tess came to an abrupt stop and tossed another look over her shoulder. “No, it was more than that. My God, I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. You saw it too. You couldn’t have missed it.” When the silence became a deafening roar, she swallowed a deep breath of air and tipped her head back to see his inscrutable face. “Oh my God. Did you do that?”
“It’s a simple magic trick I picked up in high school. Anyone can do it. It’s an illusion. It’s worked many times to get me out of scrapes like that.” He brushed off the amazement in Tess’ voice and opened the passenger door. “Why don’t you get in and I’ll take you home?”
“I drove myself. I needed to see you.”
Closing the door, he lifted one eyebrow. “That sounds promising.”
“Jaxon, this is serious. A man came to my house this afternoon. White hair, really intense-look
ing guy. I didn’t recognize him. He didn’t give me his name but he was looking for you. He looked, well, dangerous. Dressed all in black, that sort of thing. He didn’t say much and what he did say, he growled. He just kept demanding to see you, saying he hadn’t been able to find you all day and something about a meeting the two of you were supposed to have. Then, right before he left, he told me to stay away from you.”
Her fingers curled around his wrist, eyes demanding an explanation. “I know there’s more to you than meets the eye and this only added to my suspicions. So out with it. Who is this man and what does he want with you?” She inhaled sharply. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No.” He met her gaze only briefly before he lifted his face to the sky. “He’s an old friend, Tess. One, it would appear, I need to have a long chat with.” He returned his gaze to her face and drifted his knuckles across her jawline. “I’m sorry if he frightened you. He’s relatively harmless. Just determined.”
“Determined? About what? Why doesn’t he want me to see you anymore?”
Taking hold of her hand, he kissed each knuckle independently. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll have a talk with him.” He carried the kiss up to her wrist before heading higher up her arm.
“Are you trying to distract me?” The slight catch in her voice told him it was working.
“And if I am?” One arm drew her closer, settling her against his hip.
Her tongue moistened her lips, causing his cock to jump. “I was asking you to…um… I was thinking…” She broke off as his hand dropped down to curve around her bottom.
Shifting her, he tucked her between his splayed legs, pressing her spine against the window of the passenger door. “Do you have any idea what you do to me? When I see you, I can’t think.” Lips nuzzling her neck, he drew her even closer, allowing her to feel the thickness of his erection.
She gave a soft sigh and slid her hands up the wall of his chest. “You do realize anyone could walk out here, right?”
His teeth nipped her earlobe. “Scared?”
One leg wrapped around his. “Does it feel like I’m scared?”
“A daring woman. I like that.” Lifting the hem of her short top, he slid his bare hand along the flat plane of her stomach, the soft feel of her skin making him bite back a moan. God, she felt so good. So fucking perfect.
Her hands pushed against his chest to back him away but before he could open his mouth to speak, she was lowering the zipper on her jeans. And all the blood rushed from his brain straight down to his cock.
But he didn’t need to think, for Tess took hold of his hand and slipped it in beneath her bikini panties. The second his fingers encountered slick, wet flesh, even the desire to speak fled.
Growling low in his throat, he took a step closer, grinding her hips against warm metal while his index finger ground against her clit. Her leg tightened around his. While he flicked and tortured the small nubbin of flesh, his lips feasted on her neck, traveling lower to the tops of her breasts.
Her breaths coming in short gasps, Tess dug her nails into his arms and arched her back, bumping her hips forward.
“Feel good?” he whispered in her ear. Two fingers sank into her creamy heat and she bit back a cry. “Come on, baby. Tell me how it feels.”
Lowering her head to his chest, she whispered his name. He intensified the pressure in response, rolling his finger until her clit expanded, growing longer and fuller. More sensitive. Then he pinched lightly, her light gasps spurring him on.
“I’m going to come.” The words exploded from her lips seconds before she bucked, grinding her pussy against his hand. Jerking wildly, she cried out, her nails digging into his skin.
Jaxon shushed her with his lips against hers, holding her tightly against him as the aftershocks continued. He kissed her hard, a kiss of possession. Could she feel his brand? It didn’t matter. She was his.
No matter what the Assembly wanted.
He slipped his hand free and tugged her top into place as she zipped up her jeans. Silently they walked to her car. As they reached the driver’s side, Jaxon brushed the hair away from her face and gave her another brief, hard kiss. “Go home now. I’ll call you tonight.”
Her forehead bumped against his. “But…”
One finger pressed against her lips. “Everything’s okay.”
She looked like she wanted to argue but then released a sigh and tugged open her door. “Well, so much for getting any information out of you.”
As she slid behind the wheel, Jaxon leaned into the car. “You didn’t like what you just got?”
Sticking the key into the ignition, she cranked the engine. “I’m not even going to feed your ego by answering that.”
With another kiss, he backed away. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
He waited until the lights of her brakes glowed red in the dark before he slid behind the wheel of his sports car.
“Damn you, Falcon.”
* * * * *
Jaxon flung the metal door open with a wave of his hand and crashed into the warehouse, the blackness of his rage obliterating common sense and reason. The fury dominated and for the first time in a long time, he felt the edge of his control slip. “Falcon! Where in the hell are you?”
From out of nowhere, the white-haired man glided across the floor. He waved his hands in front of him to ward off the approaching storm. “Now I know you are upset but there is no need to come storming into my home like an out of control tornado. We should sit down and talk about this.”
“You warned Tess to stay away from me.”
“She is not your destiny,” the wizard responded with a simple shake of his head. “She would not understand your world.”
“I will choose who will be in my life and who will not. Not you. You do not know my destiny. You are not to ever come near Tess again.” Jaxon slipped into the more formal speech of his ancestors.
Falcon frowned, looking affronted. “I would not have harmed her.”
“You scared her. I saw it in her eyes.”
The leader of the Assembly looked positively dismayed. “Well, that certainly was not my intention. I will rectify it immediately.” He was, if anything, a gentleman.
Jaxon barred his path. “No. You will stay away from her. I mean it. We are friends. You are like a father to me but you will not come between me and Tess.”
“There is nothing between the two of you. You have made no promises to her.”
“She is not ready for that.”
“You have told her nothing about who you really are. How can you be so sure what she is ready for? And you expect me to believe you are not ready for a family of your own? You are beyond ready. I would not oppose such a desire on your part should you have chosen a more proper consort for your affections. If you insist on having this woman in your life, I will be forced to call a meeting of the Assembly.”
Jaxon’s shoulders stiffened at the unspoken command, the warning behind the words. Nearing five hundred years of age, he didn’t consider himself a child to be forced to follow the dictates of his mentor. A powerful wizard in his own right, he had little difficulty moving obstacles in his path and he used his powers with the knowledge and wisdom he’d amassed through the years. Every fiber in his body rebelled at the control Falcon exercised. Just as everything inside him, those fibers that made him who he was, accepted the domination. Falcon was more than just his friend. At nearly fifteen hundred years of age, he was the oldest living wizard in the universe, the most powerful and, if the situation called for it, the most deadly. And Jaxon had been raised to fear and respect the age of his elders but mostly to reverence the wizard who had taken him under his wing three centuries ago when Jaxon had just tasted the headiness of his powers.
He had been on the verge of losing control, of giving into the dark forces that allowed him to guide people at his whim. He could have had this place called Earth as his personal playground, commanding the unsuspecting as his puppets. Then Falcon had steppe
d in, confronting him with the truth of his power and the consequences of its frivolous use. Jaxon’s powers were a gift, meant to be treasured and used wisely, not for personal gain or pleasure. And he should be grateful the leader had cared enough to save him from himself. But gratitude wouldn’t win over desire.
“Then call your meeting.” Jaxon’s voice vibrated with fury.
The wizard rose into the air, his booted feet dangling. “You know, you really irritate me when you do this. When was the last time you spoke with your mother?”
Jaxon didn’t blink at the change of subject but the studied casualness in his mentor’s voice unnerved him a little. Falcon had always been the picture of decorum, never wavering from his chosen mission and never dropping his propriety. “Mother knows where I am. We keep in contact.”
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