As soon as the words were out of her mouth she felt lighter.
Like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
Because as much as she wanted to be there for Thorin, she just as much wanted him to be there for her.
She was realizing that despite not having had sex with him, she was coming to depend on him. His strength, his kindness, his ability to remain completely non-judgmental.
She hadn’t slept with him, but had somehow still broken her rules.
“You only know half of it, Lo.” His voice was hoarse and raw.
“So tell me the rest.”
“I can’t.” His jaw flexed. “I won’t.”
“Why? I already know about you and your brothers. And Red. I know there are vampires and werewolves. Like seriously—people can turn into animals? I don’t think you could shock me at this point.”
Hands on his hips, he looked away to the front door, but his gaze was much farther. “That’s not it.”
“Then what?”
“I’m not a good man.”
“Bullshit.”
“Lo—”
“What?”
“I don’t want to hurt you!”
When he said it, for the briefest of seconds, Lola could have sworn his eyes glistened with tears. Lola grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I have never felt safer with someone than I do when I’m with you.”
A war of emotions crossed his face. Worry. Fear. Exhaustion. But also…relief.
Though Lola could still sense the tension running through his body, she took a step closer, then another. She slowly wound her arms around his torso and lay her head against his chest.
He hissed as if in pain and Lola jumped away thinking she’d hurt him.
But Thorin yanked her back into him, his big, solid arms wrapping around her. “Just sore from the run,” he said.
With her ear pressed against his chest, she could hear the steady drumming of his heart. He ran hotter than she did and being enveloped in his arms was like being wrapped in the biggest, warmest blanket.
She could get used to this.
In fact, she could see herself waking up in his arms.
Wait, what?
No. They were just friends.
And her brain was just confused because everything was upside down right now.
But… God. It did feel good to be in his arms. She didn’t want him to let go of her. Her skin thrilled at his touch. Her chest heated. Her belly buzzed from his scent filling her senses.
Get it together!
She disentangled herself, cheeks painted red because of her sudden lapse in reality.
Thorin scented the air and a spark of hunger lit in his eyes. His nostrils flared.
“Lo,” he said, his voice rumbling in the back of his throat. “We should—we shouldn’t—”
And it was at that moment that Lola remembered djinn had heightened senses.
And it was at that moment that Lola realized she was wet. Down there.
He could smell her.
Which only somehow made her wetter.
Her nipples hardened and since she was wearing only a lacy bralette, her arousal was clear through the thin material of her t-shirt.
What the fuck was happening?
Why was her body betraying her?
They were just friends, dammit!
“Thorin,” she started. “I didn’t…I mean…not that…you know…”
What was she trying to say? What excuse could she possibly come up with?
Poe popped up beside them, saving her from her aimless stammering.
Lola leapt away from Thorin.
Thorin growled and said, “Christ, Poe.”
“Sorry, baby boy,” Poe said. “We’ve got trouble.”
“And you couldn’t, I don’t know, shout through the house?”
“Well, we aren’t heathens, are we?” Poe looked between Thorin and Lola. Probably he saw the mortification on Lola’s face and the awkward way she had her arms shielding her chest.
He gave them the briefest of smiles before sobering. “Thought you might want to know that several Northman djinn just popped up in the garden. And Rose is one of them.”
Chapter 23
LOLA
“Stay inside,” Thorin said to Lola as he joined his brothers in the dining room that afforded them a better view of the situation.
“I’m not leaving you,” she argued. “You’re in this mess because of me.”
“Thor’s beginning to realize that there is absolutely no way to control a woman,” Poe said with a laugh.
“Don’t be disrespectful,” Thorin said.
Poe winked at Lola. She wasn’t sure if she should take his words as a compliment or not. But knowing the little she did about Willa, she thought maybe it was the former.
“Where’s Red?” Dae said. “He should stay in as well.”
Poe took off his suit jacket and draped it on the back of one of the chairs. “Haven’t seen him. If he has any sense, he’ll stay back.”
“Red has plenty of sense,” Dae argued. “It’s his stubbornness I’m worried about.”
“Red’s not here,” Mad said as he came up behind them. He nodded toward the garden. “Have they proclaimed their reasons for trespassing on our land?”
Lola peeked around Thorin to get a better look outside. Rose stood at the front of the Northman siblings at the front of the garden, hands on her hips. Next to her stood a man close to Thorin’s size and—oh God. His face.
She could hardly make out his features he was so shrouded in blackness.
Behind him, the other four men didn’t fare much better. One had eyes lost to the black mist. Another had a cloud of black around his head and a thick cloud of violet around his body.
What did their colors mean?
If she stopped whining about her choices, maybe she could learn to use this new ability to their advantage.
She needed to start cataloging the colors she saw and decode the meaning behind them.
She’d asked for this. Now she might as well use it.
Thorin’s mouth hardened into a grim line. “I’ll go out alone.”
“No!” Lola said at the same time Poe said, “Don’t be an idiot.”
Dae turned up his shirtsleeves. “We’ll go out there together.”
“As it should always be,” Poe said.
Thorin gritted his teeth like he didn’t like the idea, but he nodded and with Poe and Dae’s help, the brothers vaded outside together.
Alone now in the house (Lola wasn’t sure where Ashley and the others were), Lola pressed as close to the window as she could, her heart drumming in her head.
The Blackwells lined up in front of the rose bushes.
“You tread on our land,” Dae said. “For what reason?”
Lola could just barely hear them through the glass.
“Thorin has broken many rules,” the taller blond man said. “And we’re tired of you arrogant Blackwells doing whatever you’d like with no respect for the law. We should have reported you to the Conclave a long time ago. But we’re giving you a choice today. Give up the land on the northern edge of Blackwater or we report Thorin to the Conclave.”
Wait, this was over land?
Lola vaguely remembered Rose telling her about the history between the Blackwells and the Northman. She suspected that maybe the land was just an excuse. That the rivalry went deeper and was based more on pride than anything else.
“Last I checked, Adonis,” Thorin said, “beating a djinn senseless was not against the rules. Especially not when he deserved it.”
Adonis took a step forward, but Rose put her hand out to stop him. “No djinn should have the ability to do what Thorin did to Don. I know he has a temper, but come on. He nearly tore my brother in two.”
Lola’s mouth dropped open. Thorin had…but how? Why?
“Darling,” Poe said and looked right at Rose, “we can’t help it if we’re stronger than you.”
R
ose bristled. “That’s not what this is and you know it.”
“There’s nothing to settle here,” Mad said. “I would kindly ask you to leave our territory. And by that I mean Blackwater.”
The djinn in the back took a step forward as if to close rank.
Thorin’s hands tightened into fists.
This was going from bad to worse.
Lola’s heart kicked up. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other unsure of what to do, but feeling like she should do something.
“And if we don’t?” Adonis asked.
“I wouldn’t recommend making that mistake,” Poe said.
Though there was an entire wall of glass between Lola and the djinn in the garden, she swore she could sense the tension building between them.
It was like feeling the charged air before a storm. The hair at the nape of her neck lifted.
Lola put her hand to the glass. She wanted to go out there and…well she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Not when it came to facing immortal djinn.
But she couldn’t stand here and do nothing, right?
Wait. No. She’d already mucked things up. She would let the djinn deal with the djinn problems.
What could she do anyway?
Absolutely nothing.
She breathed out with a sigh and as she did, Rose’s attention swung her way. They locked eyes through the window.
Rose’s gaze narrowed and in an instant, she had disappeared from the garden.
Lola didn’t need supernatural senses to know that Rose was now standing behind her.
Slowly, she turned around. Rose stood on the other side of the long dining table. Her hands were balled into fists at her side.
“Didn’t I warn you?” Rose said, but the way she said it wasn’t threatening, but resigned as if this was the very last place she wanted to be.
“What happened between Thorin and that other guy?” Lola asked.
“My brother? He jokingly said something disparaging about you and Thorin flipped out on him.”
“Me? But…”
“I know. I said the same thing. Thorin has already dug himself too deep of a hole because of you.”
Lola bit at her bottom lip and stole another glance at Thorin, but he too was gone from the garden.
In the next second, he was barreling through the dining room and then all hell broke loose.
Chapter 24
THORIN
As soon as Rose disappeared from sight, Thorin lost all ability to think straight.
There was only one clear thought ringing through his head: protect Lola.
He ran.
“Thor!” Mad shouted. “Wait!”
He wasn’t going to wait for anyone or anything.
Fighting broke out behind him. Immortal fists found immortal flesh.
He couldn’t stay to join the fray.
He needed to save Lola.
When he charged into the dining room, he found Lola pinned against the wall. Rose had a knife at her throat.
Rose looked at him over her shoulder and said, “Don’t.”
Lola winced as the knife bit into her skin. “I’m okay,” she said. “I don’t think she’s going to hurt me.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Rose said to her. “Of course I mean to hurt you.”
“What the fuck are you doing, Rose?” Thorin asked.
Adrenaline surged through his veins. For once, the anger didn’t control him. It merely coiled at the center of him, lending him its strength while keeping the chaos at bay.
The witch disc warmed but did not activate.
Thorin slowly came around the dining table. “What is your plan, Rose?”
Her jaw clenched. “You made it worse.”
“Made what worse?”
“The never-ending feud between our families. You made it worse by fighting Adonis and…showing him.”
Her arm slackened infinitesimally.
Thorin cocked his head. “What are you getting at?”
“Before last night, Adonis thought your rage was a sideshow. Like you were a freak. You never used your power on us, but now…” Her gaze hardened. “Now he knows that you aren’t like us. He knows you can best him and I…I can’t save you and it’s all her fault.”
Lola squeezed her eyes shut as Rose pressed the knife closer. A bead of blood welled around the blade.
The rage began to uncoil.
And the witch disc sang to life.
Thorin let out a garbled, “Stop,” but who was he speaking to? Rose? The witch magic?
Neither were pliant to his demands.
He sunk to a knee as the pain radiated outward.
Rose let Lola go and came to him. “They made you put it back on, didn’t they?”
“Thorin?” Lola said.
Breathe.
Better than this.
Use the rage for something useful.
You are the water, the anger the rock.
His muscles convulsed. Veins swelled along his arms.
The agony scorched his insides and burned white behind his eyes.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Bear through it.
Breathe.
Fucking breathe goddammit!
Lola…Lola needed him. He couldn’t move. He had no control over his body and—
“There he is.”
Thorin had enough strength left to look up and see Adonis standing between him and Rose. The djinn lifted his shirt revealing two leather sheaths and two large daggers. When he pulled one out to the light, the etched runes in the steel shone brightly.
“What the hell are you doing?” Rose said and it took Thorin several seconds to realize she was talking to her brother. “I told you no weapons.”
But Adonis wasn’t listening.
Do something, dammit.
The anger festered and the disc pulsed hotter.
He couldn’t get his thoughts straight.
Adonis closed in on him, the blade aimed for his chest.
“Stop this!” Rose shouted. “This was not the plan!”
“That was your plan.” Adonis leveled his gaze at Thorin. “This is my plan.”
He advanced on Thorin. Thorin gritted his teeth. He tried commanding his body to cooperate, but the crippling magic only compounded his anger and the witch disc answered with a fresh wave of pain.
“No!” Lola screamed.
“Adonis!” Rose shouted. She grabbed him by the arm and yanked. Adonis barely turned to her. Barely gave her notice. He batted her away like she was tumbleweed.
The force behind the blow threw Rose back…right into Lola.
The two women slammed into the wall with Lola taking the brunt of both sides.
Lola’s body was no match for the blow of an immortal one.
Thorin roared when he heard the familiar sound of mortal bones breaking.
“Lo!”
Do something, dammit.
He summoned all of the strength he had and got to his feet. He tried to go to her, but Adonis pushed him and the pain rocketing through his body made him nearly lose his balance again.
All he wanted to do was curl into a ball and pray for the pain to go away.
But there were no gods for this.
No one to save him. No one to save Lola.
She lay unconscious on the floor blood running from her nose and from the corner of her mouth. She looked like a boneless doll with her arm bent at such an unnatural angle.
“You’ve always thought yourself untouchable,” Adonis said. “Fucking Blackwell djinn think you’re better than the rest of us. Did you truly believe you could flex your might in front of witnesses without any consequence?”
“You…” Thorin tried to speak. “You said…” He deserved what he got for saying the things he’d said about Lola!
The disc flared again. Thorin clamped his teeth together.
“Think again.” Adonis put a bracing hand on Thorin’s shoulder. “You are not mightier than me.” And then he thrust
upward with the runed blade.
Chapter 25
THORIN
Thorin knew that at some point in his life, he’d have to kneel to Lady Death.
But to go out this way? By the hand of a Northman djinn?
He might be immortal but he was not without weakness. Not indestructible.
Thorin braced for the impact of the blade.
He’d never been pierced by runed steel.
He wasn’t a fighter other than when the rage was upon him. He never had been. At last not the way Mad was.
Time slowed.
Thorin cursed the witch disc. Cursed Red. Cursed his inferiority.
And Lola…
If the old gods were listening...Save her. Do what I cannot.
Adonis’s grip tightened.
Thorin gritted his teeth.
Lady Death, have mercy on me.
The dagger hit him...
...and the blade shattered.
Pieces of steel clattered to the floor.
Thorin looked down and saw his reflection in a shard, saw the glowing yellow of his eyes.
The room went still.
There was only the sound of the ticking grandfather clock.
The beating of Thorin’s heart.
The hair rose on his arms as the air crackled.
He caught sight of Lola across the room still spread out on the floor. An innocent casualty of war.
She didn’t deserve this.
Her light was far greater than any Northman djinn.
Any djinn at all.
The world needed more Lolas.
And fewer monsters.
The rage did not bloom inside of him.
There was only a cool thread of calmness, an eerie surety the likes of which he’d never felt.
The witch disc went dormant.
Adonis staggered back, the now defunct dagger hilt still clutched in his hand.
“How the fuck—” His jaw flexed. He growled and pulled out the second blade from its sheath hidden beneath his shirt. He tossed the broken hilt aside and came at Thorin a second time, brute determination burning in his eyes.
Thorin’s fingers brushed against a sharp edge of the broken dagger on the floor. He scooped it up and charged.
“Thorin!” Rose shouted. “Stop!”
The two djinn slammed into each other. They were like mountains meeting. The earth nearly shook.
One Mark: Steamy Friends to Lovers Paranormal Romance (Blackwell Djinn) Page 12