by Billi Jean
“Oh, I had quite enough of your good morning. If I had more, I would need that ice pack. Now, when did you get an espresso machine?”
He set his cup down and grinned at her. She’d dressed in one of his button-down shirts, he noticed with pride. He reached up and parted the white material, moulding his hand to her lush breasts. She had the most wonderful breasts, so full and round he couldn’t keep his hands off them. Her narrow ribs underneath the heavy globes drove him a little nuts, too.
“Jaxon…”
He grinned and settled her more firmly near him. “Well, I got it for you, but I never thought I could give it to you, so…I had it in the box still until we got back here.”
“I love you,” she burst out, then blushed and ducked her head into his chest. “It just builds up sometimes and has to come out, you know?”
His throat burned and he had to swallow a few times before he reassured her. “I do. I never want to go a day without hearing that from you, though.” He kissed her small nose. “You’re so amazing. I wanted to renew our vows, but we got busy, didn’t we?”
“Mmm, I love busy, I really do, but…what about my horses and my cat and…Evan?”
“Evan was your friend?”
“Yes. Since we were kids, you know?”
He nodded and she continued. “He was killed, I suppose, by that disgusting freak, but we never did discover if that was the case.”
“We may never know for sure, darlin’,” Jaxon said, kissing her forehead. “We can go check on your horses and things at the hospital, but we’ll have to be secretive about it. If Gerald works a cell there, it won’t be safe.”
She nodded and moved over to sit on his lap. He thought she couldn’t resist going long without being close to him. He knew he couldn’t bear to be apart from her—even in his sleep he always kept their bond close. So how did she get up without you knowing? “How did you wake before me?”
“What?” She stopped rubbing circles on his chest to squint at him. “I wanted to make you some coffee before you woke.”
He nodded and took a sip of the steaming coffee. She’d made him a latte with vanilla in it. The warmth flooding his chest had nothing to do with the hot brew, though. She warmed him—her caring and love. She rested her head on his chest and started rubbing circles over his stomach, content, he could tell, to be near him.
“Well, it shouldn’t work that way, but I guess with you, nothing would surprise me. Shit, you told the king of the vampires off, why wouldn’t you be able to rise without me knowing?”
She cuffed him lightly in the stomach for that, but grinned at him, pulling the mischievous redhead look on him. “Is that so? King of the Vampires, huh? Sounds like a tough guy. Good thing you’re meaner, huh?”
He chuckled. “I’m not meaner, baby, just not willing to let anyone between us.”
“Good, because I will kick his butt if he tries that ordering me around thing again. ‘Woman’. Who calls a woman that? Duh, did he think I’d just walk over?”
“Uh, yeah, he thought you’d walk over. Aidan has some serious power, Joey. Let’s calm the tough act with him, okay?”
“Tough act?”
He captured her hand when she inched lower than his stomach and rolled, pinning her under him, and took half a second to set his cup on the table before kissing her smiling lips. She arched under him like a cat, rubbing all over his body in ways that drove him nuts. But instead of letting him start the morning off right, she pulled his hair until he got the hint to let up on kissing her breath away. She narrowed her eyes at him. It might have worked on taming his desires, if her face wasn’t flushed with her own need.
“Act, huh?”
He laughed. What else could he do? Joey was small, but such a firecracker she was probably right, Aidan didn’t stand a chance with her. She wrapped her slender arms around his neck, ran her lips over his jaw and sent him thoughts on how mean he was for making fun of her, and how her poor horses were probably starving.
“Fine. Do you want me to call Hunter, find out about your horses, or should we head over to the States?”
She fell back on the bed and looked at him with a soft expression. “How long have we been gone?”
He thought about it before adding it up aloud. “We were gone thirty-six hours give or take. Then back here for a few days. Not long. That’s why you being up is…unusual.”
“Bad unusual?”
He kissed her worried pout. “No, not bad, nothing is wrong or bad, you’re just unique. Why should that surprise me though? You want me, and that’s surprising enough.”
“I want you because you’re a part of me,” she said quietly, but her words rang with such truth, they settled firmly in his soul. “I’m not whole without you, Jaxon. Don’t forget that,” she added with a serious little frown.
The silent vibration of their alarm scared Joey so badly she dug her nails into his shoulder.
“Ouch, girl, that’s my shoulder.”
“What is that?” Joey demanded right on top of his joke.
“Calm, calm, that’s just my warning someone is on the grounds.”
“Geesh, Jaxon, that feels like someone tickling me from the inside out!”
He tried not to grin at the way she shivered and made a face. “Well, better than not knowing. The vibration is the first warning. The next,” he triggered the sharp screech of his second alarm and got a punch to the arm from Joey after she jumped. He quickly shut the alarm off and grinned. “That’s the second alarm, which means shit is bad and someone is going to get an ass kicking.”
“Oh,” she breathed, looking around their home with a quick glance. “But the other viby thing is just a warning someone might be selling vacuums?”
He laughed at that and pulled her close for a kiss. “Not exactly, but link with me, and I’ll show you how to check who is out there.”
She pressed her hand to his chest, calming her breathing.
“Perfect, wildcat, now watch how I expand my senses, encompassing our home so I can see outside myself.”
“Oh…this is our home.”
“Yes, as my bonded, this too, is your home. You can let others in, or not.”
“I choose not.”
“Ah, you were meant for me, but first let’s see who has come to call…”
He sent his mind outward and spotted Agni at the gate. The demon’s face was creased in an impatient frown, his normal shit-eating grin completely missing. As if sensing the attention, Agni glanced up, lifted a golden eyebrow and gave him the ‘fucking hurry up’ look.
“Who is that?”
Jaxon coughed on a laugh. Joey didn’t hide her dislike very well, but she definitely didn’t think much of the ladykiller demon. Good. He liked that immensely.
“That is a demon. I’m glad you’re not impressed.”
She laughed and nipped at his throat. “The only man I’m impressed with, hot over and in need of for the rest of my life is you.”
“Ah, hell, and now we have to let him in.”
“How did he know you were scoping him out?”
He kissed her throat, loving how she immediately arched her neck to give him more skin to taste. “Nosey demons. But he’s a good guy, really, Joey. And he’d not be here if it weren’t important. He’s a good man to have at your back.”
“What about that demon we fried, will he be upset about that?”
Jax laughed until she lightly hit him in the shoulder. “No, no, he will not be upset. Come on, put some clothes on. We’d better let him in before he starts calling.”
“Okay, but then we call Hunter and make sure she remembered my kitten, and I would like to go see Evan one last time, okay?”
“Anything you want.”
“Mmm, anything? I was thinking we could have a bubble bath in that lovely Jacuzzi tub when we got home,” she murmured and stepped back to reveal a hot charcoal-grey turtleneck, soft leggings and a silver belt looped around her shapely hips. She’d even put on those tiny slipper s
hoes all the women wore now. “Like?”
“Fuck, you look edible.”
“I am,” she said in husky whisper that set him off all over again. She concentrated on her fingers and he watched her short pretty nails turn dark black.
“Damn, I like that,” he murmured, kissing her lips when she looked up. “And this,” he added, shifting a gold ring to her tiny finger.
“Oh, Jaxon, I love it.” She examined the ring and then him closely. “Why?”
“Why?” he demanded, picking her up, and grinned when she squealed happily and hugged his neck. “Because I want you to have this until we exchange our vows again. Then I want us to get matching rings.”
“Like marriage rings?”
“Bonding rings,” he corrected. “Forever, darlin’, remember?”
“Oh, yes, I remember,” she purred at him, nearly making him ignore Agni and press her against the wall to have her once more. She had to wrap her legs around his waist and laughed. “Down, boy, first we deal with a demon. Get dressed!”
He lowered her so her feet could touch the floor, agreeing even if he wasn’t happy about it. First Agni, then her.
“Shit,” he muttered, calling jeans, a shirt and sweater from his closet. “I’m going commando though, because as soon as he leaves…” He sized her up with one look.
“I get my happy ending?” She grinned and kissed him once more, rubbing her hands all over his chest. “I like this on you.”
He twirled her around, grinning at her happy squeal. “I like you on me,” he told her, feeling as if the demon might require more time than he wanted to spend before he tasted her again. Still, he put her down and headed to the door, with Joey only a step away. “He’s got a bit of a punch, but he’s a good guy.”
“Okay.” She pressed under his arm and he hugged her tight to his side. “I’ll just stay close.”
“Always,” he murmured, kissing her once more before he opened the door to Agni’s frowning face.
“Yo, dude, that—whoa, I see,” Agni said, bowing low to Joey and giving her a shit-eating grin. “I can see why you would take so long. It’s a pleasure, I’m Agni and you are…”
“Oh, come on, you know who I am, I bet Hunter spilt the second she got everyone out.”
Jax held in his laughter in by sheer willpower, and the fact that Joey was serious.
Agni regrouped rather well, better than Aidan had, Jaxon thought with a sudden memory of his woman standing up to the king of vampires. He’d have to mend that fence soon, but not too soon. Aidan had been an asshole after all.
“Damn, girl, slow down. All right, I fess up, you’re Joey.”
Joey nodded and pressed her hand into Jaxon’s back pocket. “Yep, and you want in, huh?”
Agni blinked, nodded and gave Jax an envious look. Jax gripped Joey tighter around her waist and sent her a silent kiss through their link.
“What was that for?”
“Ah, you just gave me a big dose of ‘that’s my girl’, that’s what that was for.”
She stared at him in surprise and slowly grinned. “Mmm, I like that, because, well, I am your girl.”
“Yes, yes, you are.”
Jaxon watched her waltz ahead of them, chatting up a storm with Agni on what a demon was doing poking around their house uninvited. Agni looked like he’d just stumbled into a room full of tiny kittens, and wasn’t sure where to walk without stepping on one.
“I wasn’t poking around. I found something that just might kill Gerald.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Say that again,” Jaxon demanded, his temper flaring to red-hot.
Joey wasn’t certain why, because if there was a way to kill the disgusting man, she wanted it. She could still remember his disgusting breath on her neck when he’d said he would find her again. Right before he’d stabbed her with that syringe.
“Joey, calm down. What is it?”
“Nothing, nothing really. I just…if it can kill him, I want us to have it.”
“I can protect you.”
“I know you can!”
She walked over to where he stood and pulled him towards the couch. “Sit, I want to sit and hear him out.” When he reluctantly took a seat, she sat on his lap, settling against his warm chest, and looked at the demon.
Agni exhaled wearily and sat on the leather sofa across from them.
“What did you find out?” Jaxon immediately demanded. He sounded so hard, she threaded her fingers though his and held his hand tightly.
Agni stared at their linked hands for a moment, then pulled a leather satchel off his shoulder and placed it on the wooden table between them. “I found the means to kill him. For good.”
Jaxon pulled her closer to him, away from the leather satchel, she noticed. She sensed something, almost like evil had whispered her name from across the room.
“What is in that thing? Is it safe?” she asked, frowning over at the bag.
“It’s safe enough, but deadly to Gerald,” Agni said.
“Spill it, Agni. Stop the drama and—”
“Look I’m not prolonging this, man,” Agni said, cutting Jaxon off with a weary look. “This shit is bad, real fucked up, Jaxon. This guy is worse than anyone else you’re going to meet in your lifetimes,” he said, then muttered, “At least I fucking hope he is. Look, he’s evil, pure, bottomless evil. You’ve come against him before and survived, I take it?” he asked Jaxon.
Jaxon nodded.
“Well, fuck me, you want to know why? I’ll tell you, because he never wanted you in the first place. If he had? He’d have you.”
Joey’s heart stuttered at Agni’s warning. “He wants me, Jaxon.”
“I know, I fucking know. baby, but he’s not fucking getting you, I swear it.”
She soaked up his strength and tried to be brave.
“I’m fuckin’ sorry, Joey, I really am. That’s why I found this, and, well, brought it to you both in case…” Agni broke stared at the bag for a long silent moment. “If he comes near you, use this and it will kill the bastard. In the heart though, you have to hit him in the heart.”
“What is it?” Jaxon asked.
Agni sat forward, lifted the flap and dug out something wrapped in a softer leather. Someone had taken the time to etch swirls and patterns in black ink that stood out starkly against the dark grey of the leather. Slowly he set the thing down and carefully opened it to reveal a beautifully carved dagger. The hilt held three small, crimson jewels. Designs that looked like writing shone along the silver of the blade from the tip to the hilt. She shivered, feeling as if Agni had just thrown a viper into the room with them instead of a harmless knife.
“We’re going to kill him with a letter opener?” Jaxon demanded. “Shit, man, I’ve cut his head almost completely off.”
“Yeah, and he kinda just glued it back together. Jaxon sliced him all up, stabbed him, threw him into a wall and used his face as a punching bag, and you think this will kill him?”
Agni eased back tiredly and shook his blond head. His hair stood up in chunks. He shoved a hand through it and rubbed back along his neck with a tight expression. “I don’t think—I know it will kill him. Trust me on this, if that blade hits his heart, he will die.”
“How do you know that?” Jaxon demanded, sitting forward then shifting back. His temper was simmering, and while Joey sensed he trusted Agni, he didn’t like the blade near her. She sensed evil coming off it, almost as if death clung to the silver blade.
“Look, here’s the short history of this guy. He’s ancient. As in, he’s been around for more centuries than you. Or me,” Agni added. “He was once a powerful king, with a kingdom that spread throughout what we now know of as Russia and most of Eastern Europe. He had a bride, a woman that he loved. Only he had other, darker shit going on, and when she discovered that, she left him. The story goes he found her, tortured her for years, until finally she cursed him to hell with the aid of her servants. She sealed the curse with her own blood—which
she took, using that blade—or letter opener.” He nodded towards the blade and frowned. “She survived until Gerald escaped from hell and found her again. He stabbed her with the blade, but when he did, he sealed the weapon to his own death. Anyone who found the blade could then use it to kill Gerald and force him back to hell from where he’d escaped.”
“Holy shit,” Jax muttered. “Then why would he let such a weapon exist? Why not destroy it, or better, keep it close? Why let it just wander around?”
“When he used it to take her life, he was discovered and taken to hell—where, I might add, he belongs. The blade was placed in a safe place and that, my dears, is where I found it.”
“And you just happened to know all this…?” Jax asked.
“Not I—Torment. He knew of the story. He’s the last one to drag the bastard to hell. Me, I’d seen the scrolls, but he supplied the blade. It’s saturated with evil and I’d recommend never touching it with your bare hands.”
A silence settled over them, and Jaxon’s frown grew. He watched Agni as if the demon had more to say, but Agni studied them in an odd, almost calculating way.
Finally, Joey exhaled and gave him a pointed glare. “What else?” she demanded.
“There is a catch.”
“I fucking knew it,” Jax yelled, startling her so badly she dug her nails into his arm. “Sorry, but there is always a catch.”
“It’s good though. I mean, the sooner you kill the bastard the better. You two are strong. Jax—well, shit you’ve always been too strong for your own fucking good, but with Joey you’re going to be unstoppable.”
“Except we both got caught, thrown into a cage then shot at and stabbed with animal-changing juice, so that theory doesn’t hold much water, does it?” Joey asked.
Agni didn’t blink, but his look grew much, much more intense. “And you survived it all, didn’t you, Joey Murphy. Or will it be Joey Prendergast?”
Joey stole a look at Jaxon to see him glaring over at Agni. “Prendergast? That’s lovely.”
“Joey,” Jaxon growled. “Focus here, wildcat.”
“I am. I just like your name…”
“And it’s yours, just focus on the problem, baby.”