“Knightly.” She reached for the satchel but it was held just beyond her fingertips.
There was no time to waste and if she had to beg, so be it.
“Please, I … I don’t have a lot of time.” She knew she sounded desperate but didn’t care. She watched his green eyes darken as he regarded her in silence, and then he handed the bag over.
She grabbed it quickly to her body. The soft leather felt good against her skin and a plethora of emotion threatened to break free as her fingers clung to the worn satchel.
The man continued to study her with his dark, fathomless eyes. They were unsettling.
His voice when he spoke was low and the timbre that rang through his words was full of strength.
“We need to get going. The jaguars are furious that two DaCostas were killed last night.” He paused. “Guess we’re both responsible for that.”
“We?” she asked softly, not liking where things were headed.
Skye felt the beginnings of panic in the pit of her stomach. It was like a lead ball that stuck hard and fast to her insides, and she felt queasy from the force of it. She tried to quell her anxiety, but her breaths came short and fast and she was beginning to feel light-headed. She closed her eyes and centered herself, reaching deep for a sense of calm.
Now was not the time to fall apart and as the moments ticked by, she welcomed the brave eagle that lay in wait, so very deep inside of her. It was time to meet her fate head-on, and to carry through her mission.
There was so much left for her to do and if she failed … Skye shuddered at the thought, slamming the door shut on the wanderings of her mind. She couldn’t go there. She would not fail.
She would succeed or die trying.
She grimaced at that thought. How ironic, really, considering she would have to die in order to succeed. To seal the portal and keep the demon underworld from invading the human realm, she would have to give the ultimate sacrifice.
Her very life.
She turned away from the warrior, not wanting him to see any form of weakness, but when his warm hands grazed her back she froze.
“I won’t let them hurt you.”
For just one moment, Skye wanted nothing more than to fall back into his chest and wrap herself around his strong, warm body. Just for one moment.
But then she shook such feelings aside and pulled away from his touch. There was much to do. “We’ll need some food … and I need a name too.”
The smile that was still lingering around his handsome face was starting to irritate her, but when he spoke, there was no denying the animal magnetism the warrior possessed.
“The name’s Castille, Jagger Castille.”
Skye stilled and her eyes widened. The dude was a joker. Not what she would expect of a jaguar.
“I know what you’re thinking, but what would you say if I told you my favorite drink was a martini, shaken and not stirred?”
She smiled in spite of herself. A Bond joke, no less. His electric green eyes seemed to glisten and sparkle as he raised his eyebrows questioningly.
“I suppose you drive an Aston Martin as well?” Crap. Was that her voice? What the hell was wrong with her? The grin that lit his face was devastating and Skye felt her mouth go dry. She gave herself a mental shake, and cleared her throat. “I’d say you were full of shit.”
His laughter echoed into the quiet jungle. It was hearty, intoxicating in its freedom. “Actually, I prefer whiskey and I drive a battered pickup truck.” He winked at her, and just like that, Skye admitted to herself that she, an elite eagle knight, would accept help from her natural born enemy.
She turned from him abruptly and ran to the tattered remains of one of the tents, reemerging a few minutes later loaded down with two large bags of supplies. She threw one at Jagger and hiked her satchel securely around her shoulder, grasping the remaining bag of supplies in her other hand.
“So, do you have a hideout or something? They already know of your cave.”
She watched Jagger as he paused before answering, and tried to ignore the sexy ghost of a smile that touched his incredible lips.
“Yeah, or something.”
Something caught his attention then and he whipped his head around, his entire demeanor suddenly changing. Power and danger clung to his hard frame like a second skin. He reeked with the potency of it. She could see a muscle working along his jaw and the air between them exploded with energy. It rippled through the air in waves. His nostrils quivered as an eerie howl rent the air, echoing down into the valley from the large mountain that loomed in the distance.
Skye swallowed thickly and tried to ignore the slash of terror that shot through her body. The jaguars were on the hunt and she had, maybe, an hour or so head start.
“We head east.” Jagger spoke softly, but the steely resolve that laced his words lent credence to the severity of the situation. For the first time, she realized just how much shit this man was getting himself into.
“You don’t need to come with me.” She shook her head, trying to get him to understand. “In fact it might be better if we just parted ways—”
“You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that to get rid of me.”
Her eyes followed him as he turned to the east, his handsome face lit with a harsh smile that was anything but subtle. The man was certifiably crazy. He looked like he was actually enjoying the whole experience of being on the run with a total stranger, just one step ahead of a pack of rabid jaguar shifters. When he paused and raised his eyebrows at her, indicating that she should follow, Skye knew she was in trouble.
Christ, was she in trouble.
It had nothing whatsoever to do with that fact that her life was in danger, or that if she didn’t complete her father’s mission, well, mankind would suffer the consequences. Yeah, that was deep shit.
But this—this was something else entirely, and it had everything to do with the fluttery butterflies that were winging their way through her already unsettled stomach. Those pesky little butterflies were there because of the tall, dark man who was still staring at her in a way that made her insides tremble.
She exhaled softly and without another word followed him, praying to every god imaginable that she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life.
He was fast and she was happy to see that she had no trouble whatsoever keeping up with him. They literally flew through the dense underbrush and more than once she silently wished she could call to her eagle and take flight, but the sun had already begun to fade and evening was fast approaching.
Besides, she believed that Jagger truly had no clue what she was. Oh, he was curious and he obviously knew that she was not human, but so far, he’d not pressed her further.
They began to make their way up the side of a steep mountain. The going was rough and the trail they took tricky, but they kept up a demanding pace, knowing that the jaguar warriors were somewhere below, hunting and tracking. They swam through several streams and one fast-flowing river, and Skye was confident that their trail could not be followed.
Well, at least not easily.
A few hours later, darkness had indeed fallen, coating the jungle in its velvety softness. Jagger stopped just ahead of her and she came up beside him, her chest heaving after the rough climb up. A flicker of annoyance crept over her features when she noted the man had hardly broken a sweat.
He pointed a few hundred feet higher, and even though her raptor eyes afforded her enhanced vision, she was puzzled.
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be looking at.”
Jagger grabbed her and pulled her after him, his enthusiasm reminding her of a child who had a secret to share.
“Where are we going?” Skye knew she sounded petulant but damn it, she was tired, running on fumes, and for some reason he was irritating the crap out of her.
“This is my something.”
A flash of white drew her attention to his incredible mouth, and the smile that slashed through the night was de
vastating. Her belly did a little flip, as slowly, her eyes wound their way up to his, and she swallowed hard. The man was like a freaking god; all hard muscle and chiseled features. Why were the dangerous ones always so incredibly sexy?
“Um, your something?” God, did she have to sound like a complete idiot?
He actually laughed at that and she found an answering smile gracing her own tired features.
“My hideout.”
A lightbulb suddenly went off in her head and she studied the rock formation more closely, for the first time noticing that the shadowing was different amongst the layers.
There was an opening there!
Adrenaline pumped through her body and she eagerly followed him up toward the entrance. After climbing along a steep ledge she followed him through an opening that was only wide enough to allow one body at a time. You could literally blink and miss it.
It really was the perfect hideout.
Once inside, cool air wafted over her and she was suddenly blind from a wall of darkness. It weighed heavily on her. She felt claustrophobic and her heart rate sped up as she struggled to inhale a deep breath.
“Take it easy, breathe nice and slow.”
Skye felt Jagger’s breath on her face and was startled at his close proximity. Heat spiraled up from her belly spreading fire in a slow burn. It didn’t sit well with the intense feelings that were messing with her head. Instead of feeing reassured that such a strong ally was close by, she felt incredibly vulnerable. His fingers slid from her cheek to her shoulder and down along her arm until he grasped her hand tightly.
“You can’t see around me but the opening gets wider a few hundred yards ahead of us. Did you throw flashlights in these bags?”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
Jagger squeezed her fingers. “When we have more room, I’ll grab one.”
Skye let him lead her down the stone corridor and while grateful for the guidance, she was extremely resentful that she needed him so, and wanted nothing more than to wrench her fingers from his grasp.
She tried to clear her mind and not think about the dark, and the fact that thousands of tons of solid rock surrounded her. She did not do well in closed, confined spaces. The months that she’d been held captive at the DaCosta compound, chained like a dog in a small shack, had been some of the most trying and difficult times she’d ever gone through.
She was an eagle and was used to the open air, the sky and the kiss of the sun.
And though she’d been out in the jungles of Belize for the past two months, exploring caves of all sizes, she’d not been this tightly entombed within one before.
After a few moments the passage opened up a bit more and she was able to breathe easier. When they finally emerged into a small chamber, she pulled her hand from Jagger’s.
She waited while he grabbed a flashlight from his bag and when he flicked it on she took a few steps away from him. Ignoring the amused look that swept over his handsome features, she slowly examined the room, grateful that she was finally able to see.
To say that she was disappointed would have been an understatement.
“This is it?”
The words slipped from her mouth before she had a chance to censor herself, and she winced at the childish tone that accompanied them.
A deep chuckle broke from the warrior and she felt his laughter fall over her like warm chocolate.
“No, Skye, this isn’t it.”
The sound of her name coming from his lips flushed every inch of her body in a wave of heat. He moved toward her, but she refused to back away, and clenched her hands together as his head lowered toward hers. She inhaled sharply as his mouth rested against her cheek, and his breath against her skin sent tiny shivers of electricity burning down her neck.
“A little patience.”
He pulled her after him once more, and just like that, his warmth and the tingles that had spread in little shock waves over her limbs receded. They began to navigate around a large piece of stone that was circular, which suggested the influence of man, and it was also smooth on top. It looked somewhat like a ceremonial altar, and she paused, running her fingers over the cold stone, wondering what it had been used for, so many years in the past.
Reluctantly she let go and they continued down another passageway that opened up into a much larger chamber, several hundred feet farther into the mountain.
It was magnificent and Skye clutched her satchel close to her body as she simply stood back and stared up into the enormous cavern. The air was cool, damp, and she shivered slightly at the shadows that played against the walls.
She could hear Jagger rustling about a few feet away, and when he lit a large torch, the natural beauty of the cave took her breath away. The firelight did so much more for the space than the artificial beam from the flashlight.
Skye had been searching through so many incredible caves in the last few months, and the sheer beauty and unique structure of each one she’d recorded never failed to impress her. Nature was an amazing thing.
There were remnants of pottery strewn about, but there was nothing to indicate that this was anything other than a cave used by ancient Mayans thousands of years earlier. Impressive from an archeological standpoint, yes, and at one time Skye would have been all over the importance of that, but her mission was simple. She needed to find one specific cave only.
Her gaze rested once more on the jaguar warrior as he set about building a small fire in the ancient pit that was dead center in the cave. He had obviously spent a great amount of time out here in the jungle, exploring. Would he know of the cave she sought?
Excitement sizzled through her as she thought of the possibility that he might have knowledge of the Cave of the Sun. Could it be as simple as that?
The more important question, however, was, could she trust him?
He straightened suddenly, and his stare pierced hers with a directness that shot like a spike of adrenaline straight to her heart. It took off like a rocket, the muscle working hard and fast in reaction to the heated look that burned so deeply in his eyes.
Jagger Castille looked like a predator as he stood silent, watching her closely.
Something deep inside of her body was screaming to answer in kind, but Skye turned away abruptly and walked over to a long, low stone bench. She sat down and looked at her feet.
Who the hell was she kidding? Could she trust him. Please! The real question was, could she trust herself?
They shared a sparse meal in quiet, without further conversation, and after several long minutes Skye grabbed a blanket from her bag and laid it upon the hard stone surface. She frowned in dismay, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, and quickly stretched out her tired body.
“So, you gonna tell me what this is all about?” he asked suddenly.
Skye bit her lip. There was so much to tell, but she couldn’t share it. “It’s complicated.”
“Yeah, I got that.”
Silence fell between them once more but Skye found her mind wandering and she surprised herself when she spoke aloud. “Why are you out here? I mean, in the jungle living in that cave.”
“It’s complicated,” he answered, and she smiled to herself. Touché.
“Things had become too … hard and I just found it easier to chill in the jungle and try and forget.” She heard him move restlessly before continuing. “It’s been almost a year since I came back. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget.”
“Came back?”
The warrior paused and his voice was rough as he continued. “Iraq. Afghanistan.”
Skye turned her head and met his gaze, swallowing a lump at the pain she could see in his eyes. It was there and gone just as fast. Seemed her jaguar had his own demons to wrestle.
He turned from her and she settled back down, drawing the blanket up for warmth. She was tired, cold, and shaking. Her mind turned in circles, her thoughts a mad collage of her mission, the portal, Finn, and not surprisingly, the jaguar.
&nbs
p; Jagger Castille was a man with many layers, and as she pondered them, her eyes began to get heavy and moments later she was asleep.
Skye wasn’t sure how long she’d been out, and she wasn’t entirely sure what woke her.
She’d been deep in dreamland, however, and it had not been a pleasant visit. Her skin was clammy and cold from sweat. She arched her neck and pushed away the damp mass of hair that was sticking to her flesh. Her fast-beating heart actually hurt her chest, and she pressed trembling hands against her rib cage in an effort to stop it.
She’d had nightmares on and off for as long as she could remember. She’d go weeks without one, months even, but they always returned. The nightmares were a constant in her life that she could count on, without fail. The dreams were always the same: blurred images and overwhelming feelings of despair, terror, and pain.
As a young girl she would crawl into bed with her brother Finn, and he’d tell stories until late into the night, and eventually the terror would fade and she’d be able to fall asleep. It was as much a part of her life as breathing, really, and she’d learned to deal with the terror, to compartmentalize the intense feelings it brought to the surface.
But even she was having difficulty dealing with the frequency of the nightmares and the abject horror that had accompanied them in recent months. They’d started to intensify when she’d been held captive in the DaCosta compound. Many a night she’d woken, drenched in sweat, and by the end of her captivity she had a name to go along with her dreams: Azaiel.
She was unsure if he was real, or what the dreams meant, but she’d woken several times with the distinct impression that he’d touched her. Lain beside her.
That her dream demon was calling to her. That he wanted something.
Tiredly, Skye opened her eyes. She blinked slowly, waiting for her sleep-deprived brain to adjust. The soft glow from the torch that had been lit earlier reflected weirdly against the uneven rock face of the cavern. Shadows danced wickedly and she shuddered, suddenly wanting nothing more than to leave. She was lying on a stone ledge, with only the comfort of a wool blanket to cushion the solid surface.
Turning her head she winced as sharp pains shot down her neck and across her stiff shoulders. A small groan escaped and echoed across the vast cavern. She was suddenly aware that she was very much alone, and she twisted her body around as she frantically searched for Jagger.
His Darkest Embrace Page 5