by Vella Day
She rolled over, needing another hour of shuteye, but as soon as she spotted the time on the clock, she stilled. Crap. It was Tuesday morning, and she had to be at work in less than forty-five minutes. Why hadn’t she set the alarm? Oh, yeah, she was enjoying Jackson too much to remember.
She gently shook his sleeping form, suspecting he would want to get into work soon too. The snoring ceased and was followed by a grunt. “We need to get up,” she urged.
Jackson had explained that Mr. Donaldson had given his dad and uncle permission to clear the property, and that Jackson needed to come up with a plan on how to find that treasure—fast. For his sake, she hoped something existed. If it did, she prayed it wasn’t worthless.
She slipped from the bed and headed to the bathroom for her morning shower while Jackson roused. Staying in bed when the bear came out of hibernation was asking for trouble.
Because his shower was large, it was a good guess that Jackson would want to join her, but if he did, she’d definitely be late to work.
Come on. How late would you be if you kissed him a little with the water rushing over your naked bodies? her wolf asked, sounding so innocent.
I’d be very late. Now behave. Do I want to spend the day making love to him? Hell yeah, but no matter what we do or how often, I don’t think I can be satisfied. My need for him can’t be fulfilled. He’s part of me now. Forever.
Her wolf harrumphed.
Once the water warmed, she stepped under the flow and realized that she wasn’t nervous anymore about living with him. When she was in Jackson’s arms, she felt safe, cherished, and exactly where she needed to be.
Just as she finished rinsing out the shampoo, the bathroom door opened.
“Well, well,” Jackson said in all his naked splendor.
Her wolf growled and urged her to indulge in another sexual exploit. She was tempted. Her rational side insisted she shut off the water, dry, and get the hell out of there before she gave into her desires.
Slam him against the wall and ride him hard, her wolf demanded. It won’t take but five minutes.
Shut up. I have clients to see.
Ainsley cut the water and stepped out. Before Jackson could grab the towel and do wickedly wonderful things to her, she snatched one from the rack and wiped herself dry. He winked then picked up his electric toothbrush. As much as she tried to look away from the intimate act of him brushing his teeth, she couldn’t.
“I don’t know if me living here is a good idea,” she said as she slid her hands up his back.
He shut off the power, spit out the toothpaste then whipped around, acting as if he believed she was serious. “Why?”
“Because I have a one-track mind.” She dragged a finger down his chest.
His eyes lightened and his gaze drew her in. “I hope it’s on the same track as mine.” He grabbed his cock and waved it.
That one ridiculous action made her laugh. “As much as I want to do you right here, right now, I don’t want to be late for work. Can I have a rain check for tonight?”
He gave her his best frown. “Absolutely, but if you get horny, you know where to find me. We have a bed in the back of the office.”
She grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Chapter Twenty
‡
Jackson couldn’t believe how hard it had been to watch Ainsley leave this morning, but he couldn’t let his weakness for her get in the way of either of their jobs. He had a treasure to locate. His dad and uncle would only wait so long before starting to build on the site. Today, they were removing the remains of the burned down warehouse, which would give Jackson a small window of opportunity to figure out the precise location of the well.
If he believed the old treasure map, he roughly knew its location, but he wanted something more precise—like a surveyor’s map. For that he’d have to go to the County Courthouse and do research. One benefit of traveling to Andersonville, the County seat for Hope County, was that it would put more distance between him and Ainsley. He hoped being farther away from her would lessen his feral urges.
Dream on, his bear announced.
He needed his wits about him, and always thinking with his dick would only distract him. His wonderful shifter-witch had already messed with his head, and his body, and his bear today.
Andersonville was a thirty-minute drive from Silver Lake. Because Jackson had made a big stink about wanting to search in the well for the treasure, he’d look like a fool if he stopped now. Too many times he thought he should have his head examined. Treasure indeed. All kids believed in digging a hole and finding something special, only he wasn’t a kid anymore.
What could possibly be down there—besides water and dirt? Was it sardonyx? If John Ernst had it marked on his laptop, it might be. His luck, the treasure would be a stack of useless Confederate notes. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t know unless he dug it up.
When he arrived at the courthouse, he found a nice older lady named Agnes who worked in the records department and seemed anxious to help him find any land plots and surveys associated with the Donaldson property. He felt a little silly showing her the old treasure map, but when her eyes sparkled, he could tell she was all in.
Two hours later, after pouring through plat map after plat map, he was satisfied that he had all of the information he needed to locate the well. He then had Agnes make copies of the survey plats. After he handed her a nice tip, and accepted her gratitude, he left.
All through the searching process, Jackson had this nagging thought. John Ernst wanted the land. Why? Sure, it was close to the hills where the Changelings lived, but it wasn’t like he’d build an office on the land. He worked for an accounting firm downtown. It had to be because he believed sardonyx was buried there.
Once Jackson returned to Silver Lake, he drove past Ainsley’s workplace, and the temptation to stop by was intense. Knowing how his randy bear was right now, Jackson feared he’d do something stupid like kiss her in front of everyone and then shift. All hell would break loose. No, he had to stay away from her whenever he was near humans. With time, he might learn to control this new mating lust.
Since it was around lunchtime, he stopped by his favorite chicken drive thru for a few sandwiches, fries, and a soda. He was so hungry he managed to scarf down his meal in the few minutes it took him to drive to his office.
Both Connor and Kip were there and they rushed up to slap him on the back. “Congrats man, on finding your mate,” Kip said. “There’s nothing like it.”
Jackson chuckled. “You can say that again. My bear won’t shut the fuck up when I’m trying to concentrate. I swear he has a one-track mind.” They both laughed. “Because I don’t want to get home late to Ainsley on her first full night at the house, I’m going to dig into my treasure hunt.” He waved a stack of papers. “These, my friends, tell me exactly where to dig.”
After they briefly discussed Jackson’s plan, he headed to his office. If he could figure out what the treasure was rumored to be, he might have a better idea how to retrieve it.
As he leaned back in his chair, the image of Ainsley came into his head—again. Only this time she was in her wolf form surrounded by trees, which triggered the events of that terrible night in the forest. Unfortunately, much of it was a blurry, bloody mess.
The first semi-coherent thoughts were of him standing in the kitchen while Ainsley told him what she’d overheard the Changelings say. When she’d mentioned that one of the men had said that sardonyx was buried at the bottom of the well, and a second man claimed it was pure rumor, that was more proof it was sardonyx down there. One thing for sure, he couldn’t let the Changelings get their hands on it.
Knowing the lazy bastards, they’d try to steal it once it was unearthed. Jackson pushed back his chair and marched into Connor’s office.
His boss looked up. “You figured it out already?”
He explained what Ainsley had overheard the Changelings say. “We can’t take any chances in case their pre
cious stone is down there. We’ll need to protect it.”
Connor looked off to the side. “Hire a few men from the Clan to watch over the excavation site during the evening when we’re not digging.”
“If we’re digging a hole that big, I’m thinking we might only want to dig at night. It’ll attract less attention.”
“You might be right,” Connor said. “Is there any way we can make sure sardonyx is down there?”
“Not without digging.”
Connor scrubbed a hand down his jaw. “What do you think about sending your mate back to Ernst’s house and checking out his laptop again? There has to be some key that tells what those reds dots represent on his drawing.”
“No fucking way. If she’s caught, Ernst would kill her.” It didn’t matter that he wouldn’t be able to tell she was no longer a Changeling.
Connor’s brows rose. “He can’t catch her if she’s invisible.”
His heart nearly stopped. Every objection that came to mind evaporated. “True.”
Connor leaned forward, his eyes bright. “She might find nothing, but it’s worth a try. Ask her.”
Ainsley was a risk taker. She’d say yes. “I’ll think about it.” If he let his mind wander to what might happen, he’d go nuts. “Ainsley aside, I need to find someone to dig up the well.”
“Try Wayne Forehand. My dad has used him quite a few times. He’s fast and accurate.”
Wayne lived about a mile from his parents. “I’ll give him a call.”
Not wanting to have another discussion about Ainsley, he left Connor’s office. The rest of the afternoon was spent scheduling Wayne and then asking around to see if a few shifters could watch over the site.
Jackson hadn’t spoken with Kalan since his return from Scotland, and he wanted to not only catch him up, but also to ask his opinion on what would happen if they did find sardonyx. It wasn’t like he could sell it. He couldn’t chance it landing back in the hands of the Changelings. The question was where to store it.
“Let’s see what you find before we decide on a plan,” Kalan said. “I agree that if Ernst tried to get involved in purchasing the property, there’s a good chance the stone is down there.”
“Do you have a few minutes to stop over at the office? There are a few things I want to fill you in on—in private.”
“Sure. Give me hour and I’ll be there.”
*
Ainsley stayed a little later at work than she had planned because she wanted to make sure one of her clients understood all the options available to her for healing. Taking the time to explain each of the supplements, as well as how the magnets worked, caused Ainsley to be late getting back to the cabin.
By the time she reached the shifter compound, it was close to six, and she pressed down on the accelerator to get there sooner. When she spotted Jackson’s truck in the drive, the tension left her body. All she wanted to do was hug him, collapse on the sofa with a glass of wine, and prop up her feet.
No, she didn’t. She wanted to rip off his clothes and do him again, but she had to put some limit on making love until she caught up on her sleep. While she was looking forward to living with him, at some point, they’d have to discuss moving the rest of her stuff into his house. Her retro style furniture didn’t match his more masculine leather sofas and chairs, but she wanted something of herself in the cabin.
Personally, her living room set would look better with the wooden beamed ceilings and hardwood floors. The yellow and red hues in the open concept granite kitchen countertop would also blend beautifully with her yellow sofa and green chairs. Getting into an argument over possessions was the last thing she wanted though. There’d be time later to discuss what they should do.
The moment she stepped inside the cabin, the rich aroma of tomato sauce assaulted her senses. Her stomach responded with a grumble. “Something smells good.”
Jackson was in the small open kitchen with his back to her. “I’m making you dinner.”
That sounded wonderful. “You are such a suck up,” she teased as she set down her purse and keys and then took off her jacket.
He spun around. “What? A man can’t make his mate dinner?”
“Why yes you can.” She walked into the kitchen, wrapped her arms around his waist, and inhaled his scent. Her wolf went wild. Ainsley stepped back. “I need a glass of wine and to sit for a bit. I’m beat.”
“I’m one step ahead of you. A bottle of Chardonnay and two glasses are on the coffee table.”
He sure knew how to seduce a woman. “I’ve already decided to move in here permanently, so you don’t need to sway me.”
He turned around, a wooden spoon dripping with tomato sauce in his hand. “I’m offended.”
She laughed and a few blue sparks shot off her hands. “Why’s that?” She moved closer and inhaled his rich scent.
“I’d assumed after last night that you’d already agreed. My cooking is not a bribe.”
She laughed. “I know that. It’s fun to tease you.”
From the sparkle in his eye, he enjoyed the banter. Before she had a repeat of their sexual exploits in the kitchen, Ainsley moved into the living room and kicked off her shoes. Relief at last!
She poured them both glasses of wine and took a sip of the soothing liquid. “That hits the spot. Thank you.”
Jackson set down the spoon next to the stove and sauntered in after her. “I had an interesting day.”
Hers was hectic and rather routine. “Do tell.”
Dropping down next to her on the sofa, he explained about finding the location of the well. “As I was sitting in my office chair dreaming about you, I remembered what you told me about overhearing one of the Changelings say something about finding sardonyx,”
“The second man said it was a rumor. I wasn’t sure what to believe. Changelings wouldn’t bury something as valuable as sardonyx. It would have to have been a non-Changeling shifter who put it down there.”
His eyes widened. “I never even questioned who buried the treasure—mostly because I didn’t know what the treasure was. If it is sardonyx then I agree with you.”
“Thank you.”
Jackson sniffed his wine then tossed back half of the glass. “I can see burying it down the well for safe keeping, but that doesn’t explain all of the red dots on Ernst’s map.”
Her mind spun, trying to think about what Owen would have done. “Maybe Silver Lake had a sardonyx mine way back when, and someone unearthed a ton of it. If that were the case, they’d want to spread out their prize. If someone located one spot and stole it, they would still have more. We had a sardonyx mine in Scotland, but it ran out about fifty years ago—or so my family claimed. It’s how they got their money.”
Jackson leaned back. “I’ll check to see if anyone registered a mine back then.”
“Did you check to see what is now in the location of those dots?” she asked.
“Yes. They’re random buildings from banks to bookstores to supermarkets.”
“Do you know what year the well was dug? I’m not sure why that’s important, but perhaps you could cross reference which building existed at that time.”
He smiled. “You are truly amazing!”
Joy spread upward. “Little ole me?”
“Yes. Just today I found out that the Donaldson property was surveyed in 1889. I haven’t had a chance to note which buildings were in the town at that time, but it brings me to my request.”
Jackson looked off to the side and her stomach tumbled. “What is it?”
“Connor suggested that if we could get access to Ernst’s laptop again, we might be able to see if he had other maps—anything that will clue us in as to what the red dots might mean.”
Ainsley could connect the dots, pun intended. “And you want me to go in.”
He hissed in a breath. “Only if you’re invisible.”
He didn’t seem to understand what that entailed. “I can’t walk through walls, you know. When I’m invisible, if I
open a desk drawer, someone watching will see the drawer move.”
“Then forget it. I don’t want you to do anything that’s dangerous.”
Now he was being silly. “Do you have a choice? I’m the only one who can get in and out without Ernst finding out.”
Jackson stood and paced. “Connor was the one who came up with that brain child of an idea, but I don’t like it. Something could go wrong.”
She appreciated that he wanted to protect her, but it wasn’t necessary. “I can defend myself. Or did you forget what happened in the woods?”
He spun toward her. “That’s low, and you know it.”
So he was embarrassed that a woman saved him. Tough. “You’re rather pigheaded, you know, which is why I have to resort to those kind of tactics.”
Jackson returned to his seat. “You win, but are you sure you want to do this? I’ll bring a ton of backup and wait outside. I can’t chance anything happening to you. If you tell me you’re in trouble, we’ll charge in.”
“You better not. It would ruin everything.”
Jackson gathered her in his arms. “I can’t lose you.”
He was the sweetest man. “Nothing will happen.”
He lifted her chin. “Okay, but we do things my way.”
“Deal.” Once she was inside Ernst’s house, he’d never know if she followed his rules or not.
Chapter Twenty-One
‡
Three a.m. was too early to be out and about, but the job required that John Ernst be asleep when Ainsley snuck in. She had to admit that she was nervous about breaking in and then searching through his laptop, but Jackson had a good plan. She just hoped it worked.
As promised, he’d brought backup. Kalan and his partner, Dalton Garner, were in the car behind them, and Kip and Connor were in the backseat of Jackson’s four-seater truck.
Jackson had gone over the drill a hundred times, focusing mainly on how she needed to telepath her every move. Her biggest worry was being able to stay invisible for a long enough period of time. She hadn’t practiced in years, and she feared she might be rusty. It was the one thing she hadn’t confessed to Jackson.