“Watched her die there. Dad left soon after. It’s lonely now. But if you’re with me, breathing happiness back into the cabin, it will be fine. My cousin keeps it up for me.”
“Who’s going to watch the motel?”
“Koa. He’s bringing his wife to sit with him. And he made me promise to let him meet you before you follow me home, but I need to check your foot before I let you drive.”
She huffed. “I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding all over the place, Jacinda. You’re not fine.”
“Fine.”
He adjusted her in his arms and carried her to the office. “First aid kit is in here. I’ll clean it up before I heal you. And I’m carrying you back to your room so you don’t step on more glass.”
“What about you?” she protested.
“Shoes, and I’ll be fine. Besides, I can fix your foot.”
She closed her eyes and sighed.
“Hey, I’m not freaking out. Give me a little credit here. I want to take care of you, but I’m not yelling. I knew you could handle yourself. But unless you can heal yourself, and I’m guessing since you haven’t, you can’t. I can.”
“Thanks,” she muttered.
He smirked. “That’s better. Look, I’m glad you slipped out of there. Sorry you got hurt, but at least you’re mostly fine.”
“My foot is no big deal.”
He wanted to argue, but she was letting him heal it, so he shut up. “Are you okay?”
“Mmhmm,” she murmured. “If this keeps up, I’m going to do something about them.”
“What? Without leaving here, what are you honestly going to do?”
“Whatever I have to.” She didn’t promise to stay put, which worried him immensely.
“It’s too dangerous. We have no idea what kind of magic Josephine has by now. But where the fuck was Mason?”
“She’s brainwashing them all. Maybe he broke free? Who knows?”
“Maybe it’s time to call the Council.”
“Silver Council?” Jacinda snorted. “Yeah, and then you have them up here, poking their nose into people who shouldn’t exist.”
“What, like you?”
She nodded. “Yeah, like me. My magic is the product of mixed blood. The combination is scary. More so than either of my parents. The Silver Council could choose to hunt me.”
“No, it’s different now. I understand the Dark Templar are gone. And the new Magister seems to be cool with all manner of Others.”
“And how would you know?” Jacinda challenged as he stepped back.
Chatan lifted her foot and winced at the deep gash running from the arch to the heel. “I’ve met the magister, Robert McCallister, and his lieutenant, Preston Emrys. They’re not what you’d expect.”
“Should I ask?”
He laughed. “I’ll tell you, if you come home with me.”
She finally relented. “All right. In your mother’s home.”
Chatan smiled as he took a rag and washed the blood away, but it was still oozing. “So, my healing will take care of the wound, but it may still be sore. I’m not nearly as good at healing as my brother Dakota.”
“It’s fine, really.”
He grabbed the bottle of alcohol. “To kill the infection first, and if you need to hit me, I’m fine with that.”
She laughed. “I can block the pain. Just do it.”
Chatan looked down at her foot and removed the rag. Then he poured the alcohol over the wound. She didn’t flinch.
“That must come in handy,” he offered.
Jacinda sighed. “It only goes so far. Too much pain and I can’t keep it up long. My foot isn’t a big deal.”
Only, it was a big deal. She’d left a trail of bloody footprints, and she’d been bleeding all over the tree for a good half an hour.
Holding her under the knee with one hand, he moved close and turned on the water in the sink beside her. He rinsed the rag and shut off the water before going back to wipe away more blood and the alcohol.
He remembered how Eddie and Jackie healed each other. Brent had told him about it some time ago. So, he was going to try Eddie’s version, see if it worked better than his mother’s version.
Jacinda’s eyes locked on his. “You look nervous.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Never tried it like this, but I have a feeling it’s going to work a lot better than normal.”
Her head cocked. “Why do you say that?”
“You’re my other half.” Before she could respond, he leaned down and placed a kiss over the wound, channeling magic as he caressed her heel and calf.
She let out a sigh that sounded full of need.
Smiling, he trailed his lips over the tear in her flesh. The skin sealed as he went. She squirmed on the counter, pressing her thighs together. Need poured through him. He wanted to strip her down and have her right there.
Someone cleared their throat. He stepped back, slowly putting her leg down. She blushed.
“What was that? I’ve never seen this room so full of magic,” Koa asked.
“Healed the cut on her foot,” Chatan said, turning to face Koa. “Went better than I expected.”
“I see that.” He glanced at the bloodstained rag. “How bad was the cut?”
“Pretty bad,” Jacinda admitted. She slid off the counter and walked to Koa. “I’m Jacinda.” She offered her hand.
“I’m happy to finally meet you. I’m Koa.” He shook her hand and grinned at Chatan. “Take care of her.”
“Plan to, as much as she’ll let me,” Chatan promised.
Jacinda rolled her eyes but nudged Chatan’s ribs. “And if I need to take care of you?”
“Give and take, it’s all about the give and take,” he answered.
Her eyes lit up.
A woman stepped into the bathroom. “I’m Chrissy. And aren’t you pretty?” She hugged Jacinda, who awkwardly hugged back.
“Thanks. So are you.” Jacinda’s blush deepened.
“You two get out of here. We have the office covered,” Koa stated.
“Good night,” Jacinda offered.
Chatan hugged each of them, then swept Jacinda off her feet. “Last thing I want is for you to step on more glass.”
She leaned close and whispered, “I’d let you heal me again.”
He’d rather enjoy her than worry about healing.
Chapter 29
So much comfort in Chatan’s arms. Jacinda almost protested to him carrying her into the motel room, but she felt safe with him, and she hadn’t while five men were attempting to search for her. Luckily, they hadn’t gotten far, and she didn’t have to resort to magic.
He set her down in the bedroom. “Where did you leave your shoes?”
“Under the couch,” she answered. “The journal is under the pillow. I’ll grab my box.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Jacinda slipped into the room, removed the illusion to hide her possessions, and carried the box into the living room.
His head tipped to the side. “That’s it?” he asked as he set her shoes down.
Nodding, she slipped them on . “Everything I own fits into the box. Makes my lifestyle easy to maintain. Remember, I just shift everything into whatever I need.”
“I’m not arguing, just mildly surprised.”
“Don’t forget my vase.”
Smiling, he grabbed it off the table, and the color shifted slightly. She paused, then shook it off, moving to the car. “Does Loretta know where you’ll be?”
“She does. I told her I was going home.”
“And where’s your stuff?”
“I have a bag in the office. If you’re happy there, I’ll pick up more stuff.”
“I can’t imagine not being happy there with you.” She shouldn’t have said it, but there was no point in lying. If she could feel what he did, he could probably do the same.
That led to so many questions. Afraid of the answers, she shut off all thought. �
�We should go.”
“Yeah, we should.” He took her vase to her car around the back.
She got the back driver side door open and put the box in, then turned to find Chatan close.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” he murmured.
“I’m glad you found me,” she whispered.
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “We should go.”
She dipped her head and slipped into the driver side while he went around.
As he buckled the seatbelt, he turned to her. “I’ll give you directions and I can pick up the truck tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
Chatan gave directions while she drove. As she pulled down a driveway, he touched her shoulder and magic washed through her both from his touch and the barrier around the property. She had to smile. Even if the barrier wasn’t his magic, it complimented it in the way a child’s magic compliments the parents, even when powers were so vastly different.
“She would’ve loved you,” Chatan murmured.
Jacinda stopped the car and turned toward him. “Really think so?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I do. You’re not afraid of anything.”
Oh, there was one thing she was afraid of. But it made it hard to truly fear anything else when she knew what was coming for her.
“And you inspire me, Jace. I don’t normally heal that well, and I’m sure I couldn’t do the same thing for someone else.”
“What you did was almost sexual,” she answered.
He nodded. “Only with you. And had Koa stayed out of that bathroom, I would have had you on the counter and anywhere else you would have let me.”
The corners of her mouth pulled up. “Let’s get inside.”
He grinned and hurried out, beating her to stuff. He smiled as he shut the door. “Do you mind?”
Shaking her head, she smiled. Anyone else, she wouldn’t trust with her things. “How are you going to get the door open?”
“You’re going to open it. It’s not locked. The magic around the yard will keep everyone but those I fully trust out.”
“You touched me when we drove over,” she countered.
He nodded. “The first time someone comes here, I need to touch them, think a spell, and they’re cleared. You can come and go as you please.”
“But you don’t want me to go, do you?” she asked, almost sad.
He shook his head. “We’re getting closer to stopping Josephine. Then maybe you can meet some of my family, though most of them are up in Washington.”
“Why so far away?”
“This was my mother’s home. My father lived here until we lost her, but he considered Washington his home. And my brothers are up there, though not that close to my dad. He has his flaws, but don’t we all?”
She nodded. She had plenty. “My mother lives somewhere in Missouri. Maybe…” She let that thought go as she remembered Thanatos. She would have to deal with him sooner or later.
She pushed the door open and smiled. There were lamps and lights, but there were candles on every surface.
Jacinda glanced back at Chatan, who grinned. “Mind if this goes in the bedroom?”
“Not at all. Mind this?” She held out her hands and lifted slightly. A tiny flickering flame came to life on every candle.
“That’s impressive.”
“Handy,” she answered.
“Mmm.” He stepped through the door at the far end of the hall.
She followed with a smile as he set the box on a chair and turned to her. “I’ve changed out the furniture. I still have my parents’ stuff, but it’s in my old room. I thought at one time that was all I needed to do to change the atmosphere here. But I find with you by my side, it’s brighter than before.”
“What happened to your mother?” Jacinda asked.
He sat down on the bed. “A sickness, maybe a curse. I’m not sure what or how, but we could find nothing to cure her. It wasn’t contagious.” He closed his eyes. “It tore us all apart to watch her deteriorate. She even tried becoming a werecat to counter the effects, but nothing worked.”
“That sounds like a curse. Dark magic.”
He nodded. “But it wasn’t anything anyone we could contact knew. None of it made sense to us.”
She sat down beside Chatan and took his hand. “And she died here?”
He nodded.
“She’d want you to move on. To be happy.”
“She would. And she always said I’d find that happiness in the arms of a woman who accepted everything about me.”
“I accept you,” she answered, wishing she could tell him everything, but not sure how. Didn’t matter for the moment. Right now, he needed her to listen.
“Maybe why I can heal like that with you.”
“Or maybe you just needed to believe.” She ran her fingers up and down his wrist. “Maybe we can practice some other magic?”
“You want to try to train me?”
She tipped her head from side to side. “I know a little shaman magic.”
“How?” he asked.
“Watching others cast. But we can worry about that in the morning. Right now, I’d rather learn other things about you. Like what makes you squirm.” She slipped her hand from his arm, to his thigh and traveled the distance to cover his rock-hard dick. “I really do this to you every time?”
He nodded, a wicked smile on his face. “I’ll let you try anything.”
“You’ll tell me if I do something wrong?”
He nodded slowly. “Don’t think you will, Jace.”
Licking her lips, she opened his pants. His brow arched, but he didn’t say a word. She moved to the floor, as she looked up at him. “Up, please.”
He stood, and she pulled down his pants and briefs.
“Down, please.”
He sat, and she wrapped her hand around his thick length and ran her tongue under the ridge of his crown. His breath caught, and desire burned deep in his eyes.
The taste was better than she could have imagined, and she craved more. She sucked the tip as she moved her hand up and down. Watching his reaction turned her on almost as much as his touch. And she wanted to make him lose control the way he made her.
She licked his tip, tasting the bead of fluid. Her mouth watered. Leaning back, she asked, “What do you like?”
“You, anything you do. If it’s too hard or soft, or I need something else, I’ll tell you, but so far, you’re doing fine.” His tone was breathy, full of desire.
Smiling, she took more of him in before rocking back. She gripped his base and stroked in time with working him with her mouth.
“Oh fuck, that’s right,” he moaned.
It didn’t take long to fall into a steady rhythm as his hips moved in time with her.
“Jace, you know what’s coming?”
She did. She wanted him to come. Meeting his gaze, she sucked harder, swirling her tongue over his crown as she came up each time.
His head fell back with a roar as he came. She worked fast, swallowing him down.
He whimpered after a moment, slipping his hands into her hair to pull her head back. “Perfect. Come here.”
She climbed up beside him, and he pulled her down with him, wrapping her in his arms.
“You’ll have to wait a bit, but I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.
“Nothing to make up for. I’m glad I affect you the same way.”
He kissed her lips and held on tight.
Chapter 30
Mason woke with a killer migraine and his head in a fog. He couldn’t remember anything but sensed something different.
Fingers trailed over his shoulders, sensation tripping along his nerves, magic waking up. He closed his eyes again, enjoying Josephine’s touch.
The pain and fog melted away. “Did it work?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“Better than I could have imagined. Now, you need to learn how to cast illusions, to warp reality, and all the tricks you need to bring Chatan to me.”
; He pushed himself up, looking into her eyes. “Not Wendy?”
“She’ll come after him if she’s still there and they’re together. If not, I’ll find her later. But Chatan might be the key to fix my current problem. I’ll be able to go as long as I want without resorting to killing. I can drain a little magic and not all the essence. I could be whole.”
He nodded.
“And in the meantime, you can become as strong as I am. Would you like that?”
“Would you?” he asked.
She knelt before him, taking his face in her hands. “If it will keep you by my side and happy, yes. You need to tell me what you want.”
“Honest, Josephine, I don’t care either way about the magic. I want to make you happy. Not because you’re in my head like Maxine believed, but because your smile makes me whole.”
She smiled. There was enough of him in there to truly love her. She may have influenced him, but he wanted her. That was enough for her.
“I want you strong so I can keep you.”
He caressed her face, then pulled her close for a kiss. “Then I’ll take more magic, after you teach me to use what I gained.”
“You need food before I train you. Orlando wants to help. He’s seen her use her magic more than I have. He can hopefully explain better.”
“Have I given you the impression I’m worried about Orlando?”
Her lips quirked. “You don’t like him.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Not for that reason. He’s an asshole. I don’t have to like him to learn from him.”
Josephine smiled. “I like it when you give me your opinion. Don’t hold back, Mason. I chose right when I took you in.”
“Hmm?” he asked.
She sighed. “Butch got himself and several others arrested by doing what I told them not to.”
“Arrested?” He laughed. “What did those fools do now?”
“Smashed through a motel room window. Slipped inside. Found nothing but her scent. And I’m letting them rot in jail.”
“They may try to pin it on you,” he stated.
She shook her head. “Nope. They won’t. I can wipe their memory from a distance. I already did. They don’t know what they were doing at all.”
Mason nodded. What else could he say?
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