Shifter In Ascent (Louisiana Shifters)

by Wood, Vivian

  “It can give you anything you need? Like what? It’ll produce a Starbucks if I think I need one? And what about people? If I think I need to see my friends, will it bring them here?” Tessa asked carefully.

  “Okay, almost anything. It doesn’t produce any kind of food. It doesn’t have control over “Okay, almost anything. It doesn’t produce any kind of food. It doesn’t have control over

  anyone outside the compound, either. Oh, and this is important: anything you use in here can’t be taken out of this world. Like if you ask it for a gun, the Den will make it; the problem is that it’ll vanish when you cross to the human world.”

  “I’m pretty sure I won’t be asking the Den for a gun,” Tessa said, a little overwhelmed. “Well, the same is true for the furniture it creates. You can use it perfectly well here, but the second you cross the threshold, you’re sitting on the ground,” Jace said with a smile.

  The man was bizarre. Ignoring that, Tessa yawned loudly and slumped back on the couch, intending to nap exactly where she was sitting.

  “You can’t sleep in here, Tessa. It’s too open.”

  She opened her eyes and glared at him, but he ignored her.

  “I’ll get you something less bloody to wear and then you can crash in the bedroom,” he said. It sounded like an order rather than an offer.

  Tessa scrutinized his expression for signs that he was hinting at a something deeper, but he seemed serious enough.

  “Okay. I’d sleep on a bed of nails at this point.”

  Tessa headed to the bathroom, noting that there were only manly shower items in view. As she hastily washed off in the sink, she noticed that Jace had an incredibly nice slate-tiled shower that probably could’ve held six people comfortably. It didn’t exactly match the bungalow’s style but it looked wonderful. As soon as her arm healed, Tessa was totally using this shower. If she wasn’t gone by then, which she would be.

  She made her way down the hall to the bedroom, which was also a surprise. The sum contents of the room were a king size bed, a single bedside table stacked high with books, and a small reading lamp. The book titles were mostly Hemingway and Emerson, with some Dante and Tolstoy thrown in for spice. The bed was a jumble of soft linens and a thick handmade quilt, the bright multicolored squares a welcome splash of color in Jace’s abode.

  A group photo caught her eye; it was the only decoration of any kind she’d seen in his house. The leaned closer to look at it, immediately picking out a young Jace surrounded by several unfamiliar faces.

  Jace cleared his throat and Tessa jumped, embarrassed at her own nosiness.

  “I laid out some clothes for you to sleep in,” Jace said, motioning to a neat pile at the foot of the giant bed.

  “I can just wear these,” Tessa said.

  “The whole house smells like your blood. I can’t-“ he bit off, “It would just be better if you changed.”

  “Fine,” she said, focusing her gaze on the bed instead of his awkward comment.

  “Fine, then.” He stalked out of the room with no little irritation, which confused Tessa. He was the one being weird and talking about her blood. Why was he acting as if she’d spat on him?

  Tessa shrugged off her clothes and piled them on the bedside table, then slipped into a pair of faded jersey pajama bottoms and an equally well-worn cotton t-shirt. They were gray, cleansmelling, and obviously Jace-sized. They felt soft and comforting against Tessa’s skin.

  Tessa heard the shower turn on down the hall, and guessed Jace must be getting ready to go meet up with his pack. She could use some alone time anyway.

  She climbed cautiously into the bed as if expecting the bed to bite, but found it just soft enough for her liking. Sliding under the covers, Tessa sighed as she curled up on her side. Maybe this would all be quick and painless.

  Although she was exhausted, her mind raced. Tessa was suddenly overwhelmed with thoughts.

  Jace had saved her life. Again. And now she was here at the Den, as he called it. Some kind of half-fairy place. He’d brought her to his home, and tended her injuries. And how was she going to repay him? With a knife in the back.

  There had to be some way she could warn him. But she couldn’t give herself away too soon, because she still had to get back to her sister in one piece.

  An image of Camilla’s smiling face struck Tessa out of nowhere, and she sucked in a huge breath. Somehow, Tessa didn’t think that the Legion was going to see any Shifter as an ally. Every time Tessa got cold feet about her mission, she just thought of Camilla writhing in pain. Just like that, Tessa’s shields went back up.

  No one else mattered like Camilla mattered. If she repeated it over and over and over again, it started to sound like solid reasoning. Tessa pushed the thoughts of her sister out of her head, and focused instead on getting comfortable enough to sleep.

  Rolling around restlessly, Tessa flopped onto her stomach. She moved her arm about ten times trying to find a comfortable spot, sighing. On the eleventh try, she brushed a piece of paper tucked under the mattress. Curious, she peeked down the side of the bed. She poked her hand down again and fished out a magazine.

  She’d already started flipping the pages before she realized that she’d found Jace’s dirty magazine stash. Why a guy that looked like Jace needed these, Tessa had no idea. He was an Adonis; surely he had women kicking down his door to offer him anything and everything he could want.

  On second thought, his attitude was pretty off-putting. Not to mention his favorite facial expression featured a disapproving smirk. But still… he was really damned sexy. What kind of things did a guy like Jace want? Moreover, what would he expect a woman to like?

  Tessa flushed as she examined the magazine. A brief flip through showed girls being tied up, or spanked, or being penetrated in naughty places. Tessa was a modern girl, but some of the more graphic images shocked her. Jace liked his sex with some kink. Just one more reason she ought to stay away from him. With her lack of experience and general anxiety about sex, she could never please a man like Jace. Especially not if he had these sorts of appetites.

  Tessa heard the shower being turned off, then Jace padding around. Stuffing the magazine back where she’d found it, Tessa rolled over and tried to pretend she hadn’t seen anything amiss. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Once he left she might be able to calm down and get some rest.

  Unfortunately, Tessa couldn’t force the images out of her head. Some of those girls had seemed to really like the dirty things being done to them. It made her wonder if her idea of sex was too straight-laced. She had always had a clinical, detached idea of what sex might be like. It always seemed more tawdry than illicit, more playacting than genuine enjoyment. Then again, Tessa’s libido was usually nil, usually being the operative word.

  The door swung open and Tessa squeaked loudly, surprised at the intrusion.

  Jace strolled in with a thick black towel wrapped low around his hips. And nothing else. He headed to the closet, shuffling things around in search of some clothes. He was surprisingly smooth-chested, she noticed. And she couldn’t help but admire his perfectly sculpted abs, chest, arms… he looked like some kind of Armani underwear ad. She definitely shouldn’t be seeing this.

  “Hey!” Tessa protested.

  Jace spared her the barest glance, frowning.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, selecting a set of comfortable-looking pajamas much like what Tessa was wearing.

  “Uhhh,” was all she could get out.

  Jace pulled on the t-shirt, then began to unwrap the towel from his waist. Tessa’s jaw dropped as she fixated on his ass, but at the last moment she pulled the covers over her face.

  “Seriously?” she sniped.

  “Yes, this is a bedroom. It’s where people sleep. Before they sleep, they usually change clothes.”

  “You’re an ass.”

  Jace sat down on the bed, and Tessa peeked out to make sure he was clothed before sitting up huffily.

  “I can skip the
clothes if you like. I usually sleep au naturel in the summer,” Jace said, his tone impertinent.

  “Absolutely not! And since when are you sleeping in here?”

  “I started about ten years ago when this house popped up,” he teased.

  “Can’t you sleep on the couch?”

  “As a matter of fact, I cannot. I’m much too tall for the couch. Besides, I can keep an eye on you in here. Protect you, like.”

  “I don’t- ugh! I don’t want that much protection! Especially if it involves us getting… horizontal.”

  “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

  “You’re the worst. Just a big old-“

  “Ass. You told me already,” he groused, interrupting her rant.

  Jace kicked the covers aside and spread out. Tessa reacted by pressing herself into the corner, avoiding all contact. He must be crazy if he thought this was kosher.

  She looked over at him, and then looked away. Thinking of the raunchy photos she’d uncovered, Tessa flushed again. Her skin was hot all over, uncomfortably so. Also the blankets smelled like Jace’s distinct scent, and it was making her crazy. But she needed the barrier of blankets to ward off Jace so she’d just have to suck it up.

  It would be a lot easier if the heat between her thighs would lessen. Tessa was wound up, and just the cotton shirt against her skin felt like a caress. She imagined for a moment that Jace was touching her, running his hands from her waist up over her ribs before cupping her breasts. Tessa squeezed her thighs together, as if this would somehow help her become less aroused.

  An intense wave of shame flashed over her. She spent one night merely sleeping in the same bed with a man, a stranger no less, and suddenly she was some kind of nymphomaniac. Whatever this was, it needed to stop right now. For the first time in her life, Tessa had to figure out how not to be aroused.

  “Can you maybe stop wiggling around over there?” Jace asked, his voice rough and grating.

  Tessa wasn’t just keeping herself awake, then.

  “I can’t help it. Sleeping next to a practical stranger makes me nervous.”

  “I can think of some ways to help you relax and get to know me better,” he offered dryly.

  Tessa gasped. Jace was obviously more comfortable on his own turf… maybe too comfortable for Tessa’s liking. The tables were turned now. Where she’d pondered some sort of comfortable for Tessa’s liking. The tables were turned now. Where she’d pondered some sort of

  mild seduction in the beginning, now Jace seemed to be the one intending to seduce her. “We are SO not doing that,” Tessa snapped, burrowing further into the quilt. “Well stop rolling around over there, then.”

  Jace’s command tamped down some of the heat that was burning Tessa up, and she lay still.

  She took deep, even breaths and cleared her mind of all her worries, and of the magazine she’d found. Mostly. Still, as she slipped into sleep, her dreams centered around the vague figure of a man who was tall, dark, and handsome. And, if her sources were to be believed, a natural born killer.

  So why, then, did she fall asleep feeling safer than she had in months?

  EIGHT

  Jace awoke in the darkness, his harsh breathing loud in the silent bedroom. He’d been dreaming of the same thing he always dreamt about; his mother’s scream, his father’s quiet acceptance, the gunshots, Maddie’s seven year old face frozen in a mask of terror. It was always the same dream, history doomed to repeat itself in Jace’s subconscious.

  He lay still, controlling his breathing until his heart stopped racing. Usually at this point Jace would have rolled out of bed, pulled on some running clothes, and headed on his nightly jog around the Den. Tonight, though, he had the human to think about. He stifled the urge to move, to run, to check on Maddie. His protective instincts didn’t let up, but he kept them in check for the moment.

  Jace turned to look at the soft figure in bed next to him. The girl had rolled over onto her back, giving Jace a nice view of her face and neck. He took a moment to admire her. Her face was smoothly shaped with large, expressive eyes, a pert little mouth, and a nose that would have been a shade too big on any other female. Her skin was the flawless color of fresh cream, but the bridge of her nose was lightly dusted with freckles. Her wild vanilla curls shot in every direction, giving her the look of a much younger girl. The stark curve of her neck sunk down into a delicate collarbone, and Jace’s eyes were drawn further and further down.

  Just as he was about to chastise himself for ogling the human, her lips parted and she whimpered just a bit.

  Jace’s wolf perked up, suddenly interested in what the female was doing. Jace shooed him back a few steps. Then the female sucked in a breath and moaned softly, a smile curving her lips.

  Shit, not this again.

  But Jace and the wolf were riveted. Tessa shifted and bit her bottom lip, then darted her tongue across the same spot. Jace’s body tightened suddenly, and the wolf was giving him images of what they ought to do to the female. Scent was rolling off her in waves and rushing through Jace’s blood. This was more than Tessa’s usual scent, so strong that Jace couldn’t muddle through his own thoughts. It was all he could do not to strip her and rub her scent all over his body.

  She lifted a hand and brushed it against her ribs, coming close to the underside of her breast. When she gave another little “oh” and ran her fingertips up to the tightened peak of her nipple, Jace couldn’t help but reach out and pull her closer. He ran his shaking hand over her flank, but she merely bit her lip again and squirmed. Surely by now she was awake?

  Tessa’s hand slipped down again, feeling the curve of her own hip before teasing across her flat stomach. She slid one finger past the elastic of her borrowed pajama bottoms, and sucked in a breath. Jace was pretty sure he’d forgotten how to breathe. If she touched herself and made more of those little noises she was making, he would be lost.

  Stranger or no, Jace would take her. The heavy scent of her arousal rolled over him again and he breathed it in, readying himself to mate her.

  Jace froze.

  Mate her? Jace wasn’t about to take a mate. Especially a human. And a stranger who was also being stalked by Jasper McDonough, and might not be all that she seemed.

  Jace breathed out, pushing the heavy scent away and tearing his eyes from her explorations. The scent. How could he be so stupid? This wasn’t the first time he’d been overwhelmed by her The scent. How could he be so stupid? This wasn’t the first time he’d been overwhelmed by her

  scent; clearly his proximity was causing her wolf to ascend faster than usual, making up for lost time. Jace guessed that it was supposed to ensure that the Ascendant would be discovered and protected by her pack, presumably by a newly-found mate.

  If Tessa had simply shown up in Arcady like the others did, she’d probably have already found her proper mate. All she had to do was let her wolf choose the strongest contender, and that would be the end. Whichever male her wolf chose would be her mate, no questions asked. At least until Tessa came back to herself some time later. By then she’d be marked and it would be too late.

  Jace ground his jaw angrily. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tessa slipping her fingers below the waist of the pajamas. Her breath was coming fast now, and Jace wondered if he ought to just mark her now and save her the trouble of going through that whole process. She would probably understand eventually. His wolf was very strong, and she would be in the top tiers of the pack if he mated her.

  He’d already claimed her out loud, come to think of it.

  No. This is wrong, and not just for the girl.

  She was still a human. Humans were bad news, and Maddie would never forgive Jace. She

  would remind Jace that humans were dangerous and hateful. She would bring their dead parents into the argument. She would cry. And she would win, as she always did. Jace had never been able to face down Maddie’s tears, and he wasn’t about to hurt her over some girl. Not even a luscious, unbear
ably tempting one like Tessa.

  Jace reached out to Tessa, but instead of ripping her clothes off he restrained her. He slipped his huge hands around her small ones and pulled her into a tight embrace. She struggled, and Jace gripped her hips firmly. When her plush rear pressed against his groin, a moan escaped both of them. Jace thought he might lose the fight and be inside her within moments, but he summoned an image of his tear-stained little sister to keep his cool.

  Jace melded her form against his hardened body and ignored her struggles until they ceased. Slowly she relaxed, and the mating scent diffused enough for Jace to breathe comfortably. He stroked her soft curls and waited for her to drop into a deeper sleep.

  The sound of her breathing relaxed Jace and he drifted off into a light sleep interrupted only by dreams of Tessa finishing what she’d started.

  “Tessa?” Jace practically shouted when awoke sprawled out over his bed, alone. No answer, but the shower’s soft hiss let him know that she was safely occupied. Jace slumped back onto the mattress and tried to get his bearings. The sun slanted through the window boldly, which meant that Jace had slept hard into the day. That had to be something like ten hours of sleep.

  It was a rare night when Jace got more than three or four hours in a row before waking covered in sweat. Normally in his dozing state fear and panic slipped their cold hands around his neck and squeezed until Jace was up out of his bed and racing out a couple miles west toward his sister’s house. Once he’d checked on Maddie, he usually did a few laps around the Den to release the chokehold of his anxiety. Jace knew the lay of the land surrounding the Den better than anyone else, but there was a price to be paid. On bad nights, the mindless panic pushed him for hours.

  On any other day he would rise just after dawn; he usually stayed out until he was too On any other day he would rise just after dawn; he usually stayed out until he was too