by Olivia Ash
I walk to him, quickly closing the gap between us as I study his expression. Tenderly, I set a hand on his arm. Sparks shoot up my fingers, but it’s a delightful little burn. As I touch him, he relaxes slightly, but that intense expression of his never fades.
I lean in and lower my voice, intent on making sure he understands. “Let me shoulder this one, Jace,” I say softly. “You have enough to worry about without letting your people die for honor and obligation. This burden is mine, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”
His expression shifts, and I watch the internal battle rage within him—the fight between his desire to protect his people and his obligation to the law.
“I came here to make a truce with you,” I add, trying to steer the conversation in a new direction. “For us to work together, instead of against each other. You don’t control me, and I don’t control you. That’s what I want. I gave up the tunnels—my only way out—in exchange for your trust. Even though you gave me access, you could still take it away at any time. So, tell me—is trusting you going to be a mistake?”
He watches me with a tortured expression. Eventually, he shakes his head.
“I don’t think so, either,” I admit. “But I want to make one thing very clear, Jace,” I add, my tone shifting. “If you push me away or try to lock me in this place, the next time I leave will be through the front door. And I promise you, I won’t be back.”
He tenses beneath my hand, like the idea horrifies him, but he eventually manages to sweep aside the impulsive reaction and relax. “Since you arrived, I hated that you didn’t trust me. That you wouldn’t listen. It’s been infuriating to watch you slip through my fingers time and time again, only to put yourself in harm’s way. But after that—” he nods at the television “—I finally understand why. That changed things for me. It took immense courage for you to give up the exploit in my tunnels’ security system, Rory, and I appreciate what you did tonight.”
I smile, gripping his arm a little tighter. That one little gesture seems to unravel his last shred of self-control, and his entire demeanor changes.
In one moment, everything shifts.
It’s like a switch turning on. The mate-bond snares us both in the midst of all that intimacy and connection, trapping us at a moment of weakness and propelling us forward.
Even if we fight it, the mate-bond wants us to see this through. To explore each other. And it’s very quickly becoming more and more powerful.
In an instant, my traitorous body pulls me closer to him as the mate-bond takes over. I don’t know if it’s my exhaustion or simply the growing intensity of our connection, but this time, it’s hard to fight.
My fingers tighten around his thick bicep, hungry to feel his firm muscle pressed against my body, and that only eggs him on.
His gaze shifts to my hand, and his eyes trail up my arm. He watches me hungrily, and I feel as though he’s undressing me with his gaze. He steps toward me, his hands on my waist, his rough grip un-tucking my shirt from my belt as he slowly walks me backward toward the wall.
“Jace, we shouldn’t—oh—” My eyes flutter closed as his lips press hard against my neck, in the small space right against my jaw. His hands inch up my sides, pulling my shirt higher as his hot skin rubs against mine.
“Maybe you just need to see what you’re missing.” His voice is rough and deep, and I can tell he’s as lost in the magic of our connection as I am. “Since you seem to enjoy Tucker’s bed, I only know of one way to sway you into mine.”
He presses his mouth against mine, and in the ecstasy of his touch, I don’t want to come up for air.
Stop, a quiet voice says in the back of my head.
As the mate-bond burns between us, wild and rough, he pins me against the wall and lifts my legs so that I can wrap them around his waist. I weave my hands through his hair as the bulge in his pants rubs against my entrance, and I’m utterly lost in him.
Stop, the small voice says again.
While one of his hands holds my ass, pinning me in place, the other reaches for the closure on my pants. He tugs it loose and slips his fingers past the fabric of my panties. His fingertips dance across my sensitive folds, strong and absolutely sure of what he wants to do next.
My entrance aches for him, desperate for him, needing him.
STOP!
Deep within me, something churns. It’s like part of my soul is ripped open and left to bleed. I gasp in horror, and for a moment, I can’t breathe. With my hand against my chest, I gasp for air, and that alone snaps Jace from the wild lust of our connection.
He lifts me effortlessly and sets me on the couch, kneeling beside me as he stares with wide eyes at my face. He tucks a few loose hairs behind my ear, watching me with concern. “Rory, what are you feeling right now?”
“I don’t—” I grimace as the sensation tears through me again. My chest arches upward, and once more, it’s almost impossible to breathe.
“Shh, it’s okay.” Jace tenderly runs his hand along my hair, and for a moment, I don’t recognize this man. This is the shifter who jumped effortlessly from a four-story wall, who easily beat Guy Durand to a pulp and walked into the lion’s den with me to save Irena—and yet he’s comforting me, calm and soothing despite a lifetime of war and battle.
“What is this?” I ask through gritted teeth as the sensation slowly fades. Below my hand, my pulse thuds against my palm.
“That’s your dragon, Rory,” Jace says with a hint of pride.
I squeeze my eyes shut as the painful sensation bleeds away into an overwhelming desire to shift. It’s so urgent, so overwhelming—but I have no idea how. “What do I do?”
“Ride it out. You’ll have quite a few of these before we can make any progress.”
“I want to shift but I can’t—I don’t know how to—”
“You will,” he says.
I open my eyes to find him smiling down at me. He’s wearing that merciless smirk of his, and once more, I see the playful bad boy I met in the courtyard when I first came to the dojo.
It’s a challenge.
One way or another, he and I are going to bring out my dragon. I’ll be the first human in history to shift—and we’re going to do this together.
He and I don’t agree on much, but we can agree on this.
Chapter Five
I collapse into bed, exhausted, and sigh as I lean the back of my head on the blissfully soft pillow. I wanted to check on Tucker, but I know he’s fine. I can see him in the morning.
As I drift off to sleep, my ear impulsively twitches. I hesitate, trying to pull myself back into the waking world long enough to listen through the stillness around me.
There—the creak of a door hinge. Someone’s walking into my living room.
I sigh, wondering what fresh hell this is going to be.
With my body tense for a fight, I wait. Still resting my eyes, I set my little trap for whomever is sneaking into my room. The thud of familiar footsteps across the carpet in the living room catches my attention, and I smile as I recognize who it is.
“What are you doing, Tucker?” Eyes still closed, I can’t suppress the wry smile on my face at the thought of him trying to sneak into my room.
“Oh, come on,” he says, his tone mildly irritated. “How far in did I get before you heard me?”
I snort derisively. “You’re adorable.”
“Seriously? You heard me walk through the main door?”
“It’s cute though.” I chuckle, peeking at him through one eye. “Good effort.”
“All right, bossy pants.” He tugs his shirt off and flings it aside, grinning at me as he sets his hands on his glorious waist. His lean fighter’s build and hard pecs draw my attention, tempting me despite my exhaustion.
Damn, this man is pretty.
“Uh oh,” I say, grinning. “The shirt came off.”
“You bet it did.” He feigns a somber expression, but he can’t hide the slight tilt at the corners of his m
outh as he suppresses a smile. “You went off on an adventure without me, so I have to give you the appropriate punishment.”
I lazily lift one eyebrow. “Do you, now?”
“Absolutely. The punishment for that is butt stuff.” He rubs his hands together eagerly. “Turn over.”
I laugh at this adorable idiot as he tugs at the ends of my pants. I can’t help it. Even with how exhausted I am, he’s just too much.
“You’re ridiculous,” I say as he climbs on top of me, his hands on either side of my face.
He grins, those stunning green eyes of his brimming with laughter as he stares down at me. “You mispronounced ‘brilliantly funny’ there, babe.”
I laugh harder.
Oh, Tucker.
Never change.
Way earlier than I want to be awake, I sit in the private war room adjacent to Jace’s suite. The dojo master rifles through some papers in a seat nearby, utterly consumed with his notes. In the peaceful stillness, I lean back in my chair, my head leaned against the back rest, and close my eyes.
In the light of our oddly formed truce, he invited me to discuss plans for the meeting with the Bosses.
It’s—well, nice. I’m impressed.
The door opens abruptly. Both Jace and I tilt our heads toward the entrance as Tucker and Drew walk in together.
“Can I help you?” Jace asks sarcastically, lifting his eyebrows in annoyance. “This is a private meeting.”
“I have the right to be here,” Drew says firmly, taking a seat across from me. “If Rory is going into enemy territory, you need my help to keep her safe.”
“And you don’t hate me anymore,” Tucker adds, taking a seat nearby. “So, yeah, I get to be here, too.”
“That’s not at all how it works,” Jace says with a baffled frown in Tucker’s direction.
The weapons expert shrugs. “Close enough.”
I chuckle, still exhausted from the aerobics Tucker put me through last night when he joined me in my bed. He didn’t get “butt stuff,” as he so eloquently put it, but he certainly kept me up late. He shoots a flirty wink at me, and I just smile and shake my head.
“Get out,” Jace snaps, his gaze shifting between the two men who just joined us.
“Jace, relax.” I lean my elbows on the table.
“Relax?” The dojo master’s intense glare drifts toward me, but I’m virtually immune to it at this point.
“Yeah,” Tucker says before I can get a word in. “Relaxing, have you heard of it? The general idea is to chill out. You know, roll out your shoulders and loosen up the muscle—”
“What I mean,” I say, interrupting before Tucker can get too carried away, “is just let them be here. They’ll be with us at the meeting with the Bosses, regardless.”
“Says who?” Jace snaps.
“Says me,” I snap back, entirely unwilling to deal with this bullshit. “I want them there, and that’s completely reasonable.”
He frowns, staring me down, and I match his gaze. His glare briefly shifts to Drew, and I realize that’s the only part of this plan he isn’t fond of.
“Fine,” Jace snaps. “I’ll allow it.”
I lean back in my chair, letting him think whatever he needs to think in order to keep the peace. If he wants to believe he’s allowing this to happen, that’s fine by me.
“Irena is looking better,” Jace says, shuffling again through the papers in his hands. “Vitals are good. The fourth injection of the antidote is scheduled for the last day of our meeting with the Bosses.”
I lean forward in my chair, suddenly alert. “You said she might wake up with that one.”
“She might.” He nods. “That’s why we’ll be transporting her here, ideally right after the dose is given.”
“But if I’m not there—”
“Relax, Rory,” he says, that cocky smirk on his face as he uses my words against me. I narrow my eyes in annoyance, but he continues before I can get a word in edgewise. “The estimate for her to awaken is several hours after the injection, which gives us time to move her. If her vitals are shifting and it looks like she’ll wake up early, we’ll leave the meeting ahead of schedule.”
“Won’t that be suspicious?” Drew rests his bulky arms on the table, studying the dojo master’s face. “The Bosses will want to know why, including Harper.”
“Perhaps.” A brief look of annoyance crosses Jace’s features at the sound of Drew’s voice, and he doesn’t look at the fire dragon even as he answers the man’s question. “It’s a risk worth taking if it means a panicked Spectre isn’t running loose through my dojo.”
“Fair point,” I admit.
“What’s your backup plan in case she doesn’t wake up?” Tucker asks.
Jace, Drew, and I each turn our heads in unison to look at the weapons expert, who seems to be suddenly unsure of whether or not that was a good question to ask.
“We’re not going to think about that,” I say softly.
“Right.” Jace clears his throat. “Let’s talk about the bio-weapon instead.”
“The Vaer still have it,” Drew points out. “They could still use it at any time, and who knows why they even made it in the first place.”
“True, but we also have the antidote,” I point out.
Jace sets down five of the papers in his hands and spreads them out on the table. “The entire chemical composition, deconstructed and reconstituted into a recipe. After our labs dissected the vial Rory procured—” He rolls his eyes, emphasizing his annoyance with my methods. “We own everything.”
“We have to release it,” I say, ignoring his little jibe. “We need to make this available to everyone.”
“Already begun,” Jace says with a roguish grin. “Harper and I are releasing the antidote to every pharmaceutical company in the world, patent-free. It will destroy any chance the Vaer have to use their artificial disease.”
“Harper knows?” I lean forward, my heart skipping beats in my chest. “I thought you weren’t going to tell her about Irena, about—”
“It’s fine,” Jace says in a soothing tone, though it’s quickly replaced with the hard tone I’m used to hearing in his voice. “She only knows we discovered the Vaer bio-weapon and its antidote, not how.”
Tucker leaned his elbow on the table and set his head against his knuckles. “Won’t she ask?”
“Let’s just say she has an alternate understanding of the events that led to us finding it,” Jace says, hedging around the truth. “And leave it at that.”
I frown. “Jace—”
“Trust me,” he interrupts. “I don’t want Harper knowing about a Spectre in my dojo any more than you want her knowing about Irena.”
“All right,” I say softly, still not happy with this at all.
“Are you going to tell them?” With his eyes on me, Jace nods toward the two men at the table.
For a moment, I just watch him, utterly confused. “Tell them what?”
Jace tilts his head in annoyance. “The Knight?”
“What Knight?” Tucker asks, all humor dropping from his tone. In a split second, his voice is chilly and serious, ready for war.
“Ah,” I say with a nod. “Right. I was pursued last night by who I believe to be a Knight. He tried to tranq me.”
“And you were going to tell us… when?” Drew asks, a deadly serious expression on his face.
I gesture vaguely to the room around us. “I’m telling you now.”
Tucker’s jaw tenses as he leans toward me, his expression dark and serious. “Who was this guy?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I only saw his face for a brief moment, probably not enough to even recognize him in a picture. He moved like you, Tucker. At first I thought it was you.”
“I would never—”
“I know,” I say with a soft smile.
Tucker’s shoulders are still tense, and his hand balls into a fist as his gaze shifts to the window. I suspect he’s trying to figure out who could
be going after me solo—and why.
“We need to be wary,” Jace interjects. “Any time Rory leaves the dojo, this guy might be close. I have some of my intel officers on it, looking for data.”
“I’ll do the same,” Drew adds, his gaze shifting toward Jace.
Jace briefly catches Drew’s eye, but neither of them add anything else. I suspect they’ll have a tense conversation about this later, in private—and I’m completely fine letting that happen.
“Talk to me about this meeting with the Bosses,” I say, desperate to change the subject.
“We leave in a few days.” Jace reclines in his chair, absently rubbing the stubble along his jaw as he speaks. “All in all, we’re slated to spend roughly three days in a neutral zone that’s outside of any one dragon family’s control.”
“Sure,” Drew snorts derisively. “If you can believe for even one moment that it’s actually neutral.”
“This one is.” Jace’s voice drops an octave, taking on a gravelly tone as he meets Drew’s challenge. “I saw to it myself.”
“Be ready for some unpleasant surprises,” Drew says with a shrug, his gaze drifting to me. “That’s all I’m saying.”
“Why the hell are we going, then?” Tucker asks, incredulous.
“Good question,” Drew says with a sidelong glare at Jace.
“Oh, don’t you start,” the dojo master impatiently snaps.
“They want to size me up,” I answer, since those two are just arguing instead of contributing something useful to the conversation. “They probably want to test me. My skills, resilience, and strength. My power.”
“They want to know if you’re worth going to war to obtain,” Drew corrects, his forceful gaze trained on me. “If you’re worth stealing.”
I frown, unsure of how to reply. He’s not wrong, but I’m not going to shy away from this.
“Rory, seriously,” Tucker says, leaning toward me. “Why are you doing this?”
I sigh.
I’m going for a lot of reasons, actually—some of which I can’t share while Jace is nearby.
