Isaac glared back, a low growl coming from his throat. “What the hell was that all about?”
“You should be answering that question,” she hissed. She slapped the hand he placed on her, her temper suddenly flowing out of her before she could stop it. Images of Isaac and Andra together—kissing and doing goodness knew what—rolled in her mind, and her stomach heaved at the thought.
“I was trying to find a damn way out of here instead of just laughing around with the crew,” he snapped, blue eyes flaring. “Which was what you were too busy doing.”
Anger took hold, and she stepped right in his face. “I was biding my time until we got to the mainland, you idiot.”
“Don’t call me an idiot.”
“Then don’t act like one.”
“I was the one doing something by looking for the ripe spot.”
“And where were you gonna look for it? In Andra’s mouth? In her pants?”
“What’s it to you?”
“I don’t like it!”
Shocked silence filled the room. Realizing what she just said, Roxie backtracked.
“I don’t like it because it’s reckless. If you sleep with her, she could find out you’re different, and our cover will be blown!”
“As opposed to picking a fight with her and knowing she’ll beat you up?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I can easily take her.”
“Now you’re just bragging.” He made a frustrated sound, then made a move to turn around. Not done with him, Roxie slipped past him and blocked the door.
“Move,” he barked.
“No,” she snapped.
“Andra’s waiting for me.”
“I won’t let you sleep with her.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You certainly acted like you were!”
“I did it to get out of here, damn it! I left my clan leaderless, and I need to get back there and take care of my people! And you have been messing with me since day one!”
The ring of truth and frustration in his words hit her until she felt knocked over by it. Whatever she was about to say died off, her anger disappearing. Almost immediately, the fight left her. Shoulders slumped, she turned around to open the door herself.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m going to keep apologizing until you forgive me. Your people…” He genuinely cared about his people, and she’d taken him away for a very stupid idea.
His hand dropped on top of hers, stopping her from opening the door. A string of curses came out of his mouth as he forced her to face him.
“Stop it with those puppy eyes,” he grumbled at her.
“What?”
“Stop looking so sad. I already forgave you, you idiot.”
“Stop calling me idiot,” she shot back.
“See how being called one bruises the ego?”
She couldn’t help it—a short laugh came out of her throat, and she had to place a hand over it. The anger died off Isaac’s gaze, and she watched his mouth slowly slide up into a grin—one so warm and genuine that it had tingles sliding down her stomach before she could stop it.
Uh-oh.
Heart pounding, senses on overload, she frowned and attempted to turn around again. He didn’t let her as the smile slid off his face.
“What did I do now?” he asked, pulling at her arms. Her gaze slid down his fingers, long and rough as they rubbed at her skin almost soothingly. Then her gaze drifted up to his throat, glistening under the closet’s dim light, then up to that sensual mouth that kept talking.
The realization hit her like a train wreck. She didn’t want him to sleep with Andra not because she was afraid his cover would get blown.
She didn’t want him to sleep with the summer fairy because she was…jealous.
Isaac kept talking. “I swear to God; your mood goes up and down so abruptly, and I can’t catch up. If you could just explain…”
He wasn’t as cold and ruthless as she’d first thought. He had a heart, and he cared, and he…he was the hottest being she had ever encountered in her whole life. Her mind told her this was wrong on so many levels.
But her body was already moving.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
One second, he was talking to Roxie and giving her a good scolding for acting so hot and cold and driving him crazy with her mood swings and her generally crazy personality.
The next second, all words ceased to exist as she reached out with her hands and yanked him towards her until he was stumbling forward and pressing her against the door. Then her body was surging forward as she pressed her mouth against his.
Shock filled him. But shock was instantly replaced by something else as she kissed him for all she was worth, opening her mouth and using her tongue to tease and lick and challenge. An answering challenge rose up in Isaac, and his own mouth opened as he kissed her back and reveled in the taste that seeped into his system.
She tasted like the freshest of fruits, and she smelled like crisp autumn leaves and mint. The combination exploded inside him as she clung onto him—and instead of pushing her away like he originally intended, he found his hands already running all over her skin and his own body molding against her soft, subtle curves.
Warning bells sounded in his head. A moan came out of her lips, and the warning bells dimmed, to be replaced by lust so strong that it racked his whole body.
Her tiny hands scratched his back, then tugged his hair. His mouth cruised down to that sexy mole, then the skin of her throat before returning to suck on her tongue, and the panther inside him hissed in recognition. Something ripped, and he realized it was his claws coming out before he shifted them back to nails. Then his hand slid in and found one of her breasts, which was smaller than he was used to touching but so, so warm. Her nipple pebbled against his touch, and his hand burned as raw desire hit him.
A groan came out of his throat. “You’re not wearing anything underneath.”
“I’m supposed to be…a boy,” she gasped out against his mouth. He ground against her and felt an answering throb in between her legs, and he knew without a doubt that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath her pants, either.
The world blanked as he kissed her and touched her everywhere, and whatever agenda they had disappeared as they became man and woman, with only that desire between them. His cock hurt so bad, wanting to slide inside her and fuck her until she was screaming out in pleasure—then, screaming out his name as he pounded into her.
He wanted to taste every inch of her skin, particularly the wetness he knew would be between her legs.
“You don’t taste like a boy,” he growled, nipping her lower lip.
“Shut up,” she said, sucking on his.
There was ripping again and the sharp feel of his talons, and he just about damn lost his mind as he cupped her other breast and thumbed the stiffened tips. She ground against him and palmed his erection, the talons now gone, and the need for her grew higher until his panther was screaming to be let out. His body urged him to plunge in, then bite on that lovely throat and draw blood—
No.
The thought shocked him enough to come back to reality.
With a curse, he used every inch of self-control left to push against the door and pull away from her until the kiss was broken and their bodies were no longer connected. A whimpering protest came out of her before she stilled and stared as he kept walking back.
He studied her now—swollen lips, eyes and hair back to their original color, and breasts exposed and looking like plump, perky fruits with coral-tipped nipples.
His mouth went dry at the sight. He wanted her so badly, and the intensity of it had him saying the words he didn’t think over.
“Were you trying to distract me from sleeping with Andra?”
She looked like she’d been slapped in the face, and he was immediately sorry. It was simply the wrong thing to say. But before he could step forward, Roxie had closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again. The flicker of hu
rt he saw earlier was gone, replaced by a blank look as she nodded.
Was it his imagination?
“Yes,” she said steadily. “Now quit thinking about sleeping with Andra and let’s find another way to—”
The door opened with a bang, and Roxie was launched towards him. He caught her before she could stumble, and they both turned to look at the door. The pirate had his hand down his pants, leaving no doubt what he was planning to do in an isolated closet.
He stared at Roxie’s rose-gold eyes, then at her exposed breasts, realization sinking in. Then he was shouting before they could stop him.
“Intruder! Autumn fairy! ROSS IS AN AUTUMN FAIR—”
Roxie knocked him with a punch, looking remorseful and pissed off. She yanked her blouse together and slipped out. With a curse, Isaac followed.
It was too late. The shout had been loud, and everyone was running in their direction. Roxie kept running towards the back end of the ship, and shots were fired until Isaac felt a spark hit his arm. It burned. He glanced back and saw more pirates aiming for them, then looked at Roxie, who was—
Diving towards the sea without thought.
Isaac shouted at her. She didn’t listen. With a curse, he went out at full speed.
Then he dove into the ocean after her.
*****
They both swam until they were well away from the sight of the pirates, who didn’t bother looking for them—or maybe they did bother and really just didn’t see them. When they were well out of sight, Roxie created an invisible floating circle with her magic, where they both climbed in and huddled together against the harsh heat of the ocean.
The Summer Court really was holding up to its summery name, and Isaac wasn’t pleased anymore.
They paddled for half an hour, discussing courses and never mentioning what happened in the closet again. In Isaac’s mind, it was for the best. They talked of survival, and how they were going to get out of this situation they were in before conversation drifted off and they both lay down on their float, gazing up into the night sky.
A few minutes later, she sat up in a flash, making the float wobble.
“Hey! What are—”
His words were interrupted when she suddenly dove into the sea. Isaac scrambled to the edge and stared down, but he couldn’t see anything through the darkness. Fear shot through him when he realized the possibility of her getting enchanted by something again—
The fear eased off when her head bobbed up, a grin on her lips. Her eyes sparkled, and he stared angrily before the anger died off, too.
“What?”
“I found a ripe spot,” she gasped out. Then she was pulling him down into the sea with her and telling him to catch up to her swimming. “We’re diving under. I need to concentrate.”
With those instructions, they were under. It was relatively clearer under and deeper than he thought, with the glittering floor way below and out of their reach. Jewel-colored sea life swam about, none of them bigger than Isaac and Roxie. Roxie closed her eyes, tried to concentrate, then swam back up after a few minutes. He swam up with her and watched as frustration radiated off her.
“I can’t create the portal. I keep losing breath down there and—”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” No hesitation on her end. Something inside him jolted.
“Then let me handle the breathing end,” he said. Then he was the one dragging her under, and he watched her eyes widen as they both stared at each other.
Then he was pressing his mouth against hers and lending her the air she needed.
She stilled in his arms. He gave her a reassuring squeeze, and she finally nodded. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated while he kept pressing his mouth to hers and tried not to think about how soft she felt.
The portal opened bit by bit, the swimming creatures below attracted to the brightness of it. When the swimming creatures started flocking up and the portal was big enough, Isaac tugged Roxie. Then they were both slipping in, and the sensation of traveling spread through him as he held onto her and didn’t let go. Soon, the hotness of the ocean water was replaced by crisp, clean air, and Isaac felt himself fall down on the ground with a crunch. A few seconds later, Roxie was falling on top of him with a grunt.
He opened his eyes and cleared his senses, looking around at the forest the portal opened up to before winking out of existence. Orange and red trees were everywhere, along with a calming feeling that he was all too familiar with when he’d first come there.
They were now in Autumn Court.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“It’s pretty impressive how you both got here so fast without any reinforcements at all,” Pine said, her eyes gleaming as she sat on her burgundy throne, looking entirely comfortable. Roxie remembered sitting there just a few weeks ago when Pine had been kidnapped, feeling so helpless at the burden of not being able to tell anyone or knowing how to deal with the political game that was handed over to her.
“It wasn’t a hardship,” Isaac replied offhandedly, standing beside her and looking straight ahead. The three of them were locked tight in the main hall so no one else could see them, and both Isaac and Roxie had been given robes to quickly change into before they were presented to the queen. Pine looked visibly impressed, though her expression was more directed towards Isaac.
“I guess with someone as powerful as you, it really would be very easy,” Pine murmured, looking him over. The way her gaze traveled down Isaac had Roxie inwardly bristling, but she controlled her reaction and tried to appear as blank as possible. Finally, Pine finished her perusal and stood up. “Well, I did promise you I’d remove the curse if you deliver my daughter here safely.”
Roxie stilled at the words. Then her head jerked in Isaac’s direction, trying to meet his gaze. Isaac looked ahead, refusing to look at her—and Roxie realized that her mother was speaking the truth.
She didn’t know what to think about it, but she understood his decision well enough. His clan came first, and if that meant she was part of the bargain, then he was going for it. It had been the same for her when she’d gone to his place to approach him.
But things had changed for her now, and it was her who didn’t know how to deal with it.
She forced a smile on her face, genuinely happy for him. Then Pine continued speaking again, and the smile slowly died off.
“To be quite honest, I hadn’t expected your rescue to be so successful.” Pine sighed, flipping her golden hair to the side. It glistened perfectly against the hall’s low lighting. “When I said rescue, I had been thinking you’d drop her somewhere along the way and be done with it, then lie to me and tell me she was dead. I’d have been perfectly fine with that.”
Pain slashed at Roxie’s heart at such casual words, and she tried to find the words to speak up. But it was Isaac who spoke first.
“You mean you wanted her dead?” he asked softly.
“Maybe. Not entirely,” Pine replied. “Roxie, you’ve been such a pain in the court lately. I’ve returned thinking you’ve done a good job in my absence, but all you did was give more free food to the public. Now, that just won’t do, and I believe you deserve punishment.”
She stepped forward, panic hitting her. “Mother—”
“I curse you, Roxie K'Lashtama.”
The words flowed over Roxie, warm and tingling and wrapping her with magic. It sparked into a glowing coat of gold, sliding inside her like silk.
“The Winter King feels that you’ve betrayed him completely, and he’s headed this way. I need to banish you from here before anyone discovers your presence—both of you—as I need to establish good communications with him.”
“He kidnapped you,” Roxie snapped out, stepping forward.
Pine’s eyes flashed. “And it won’t happen again. While I deal with this, I curse you, Roxie, to never step foot here again. You will stay with this panther shifter until I deem it safe for you to come back.” She sighed. “I hate wasting curses like thi
s, but you’ve forced my hand.”
“So, I can come back?”
Pine shrugged. “Depends on my mood.”
Roxie felt her heart constricting at the casual tone, but she shook it off and turned to Isaac. His jaw had flexed, and she knew he didn’t like this anymore than she did—probably more. She could feel a dangerous aura surrounding him as he stepped forward, his gaze boring into Pine’s.
Pine merely raised a brow from her spot. “Any protest?”
“No,” Isaac murmured. A beat of a silence, then, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Pine laughed, and melody filled the room. Her power spread out, making the gold in the castle glisten brighter. She stood up from her chair, her golden gown outlining her curves as she held out her hand.
“I remove your curse, Isaac Hart. You are no longer chained to the boundaries of your clan.”
Bright light filled the room, and Roxie watched as Isaac went rigid before stilling completely, his eyes closing. A visible sigh of relief came out of him, but when he opened his eyes, his expression was as unreadable as ever.
“You understand why I’m doing this, don’t you, Isaac?”
Isaac nodded calmly. “To remind me of what you can do.”
“Good.” Pine looked pleased. “Never forget my powers. I’m sure my daughter’s presence will remind you to never say no to me again.”
“I’m sure,” Isaac said agreeably. His fists clenched behind him, and only Roxie could see.
Pine smiled smugly. “Now get out of my court. Use the side door. Do not let anyone see you.”
Isaac nodded. Roxie was still numb from what had happened, and he had to yank her back to remind her of what they still needed to do. When they were out of sight and out of earshot from the queen, Isaac turned to her, and it was Roxie who looked away now.
“Any friends you need to say goodbye to?”
Yes. But she shook her head, knowing her mother meant it when she said they couldn’t be seen by anyone. She needed to be strong about this.
“Where’s the ripe spot?” Isaac was asking.
“Outside. Let’s go.”
She needed to be strong about too many things now.
Isaac (The Clan Legacy Series) Page 7