by Wood, Vivian
Jace scanned the board for the briefest moment.
“Very,” he said, smirking as he set the bishop to the side.
“Now. Why did you come to New Orleans?” he demanded.
Tessa bit her lip.
“I can’t tell you that.”
“You agreed to answer my questions,” he rumbled, tensing.
“Within reason. Ask me something else.”
“I don’t like secrets, Tessa.”
“No one said you have to like it, but I won’t answer that. What are you going to do about it? Ask me something else,” she insisted.
Jace leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin in thought.
“How old are you?” he asked after a long beat.
“Twenty six. I won’t ask your age. I’m afraid you’ll tell me you’re two hundred or something,” she said, her voice wry.
Leaning forward, Tessa studied the board for a long minute. She advanced her bishop to take one of Jace’s knights, and then sat back again.
“Where is your Den?” she asked, moving the fallen horseman to the side of the board.
“The entrance is located in Arcady, less than an hour north of New Orleans.”
“But not the exit?” Tessa asked, frowning as if certain she were being tricked.
Jace repressed a chuckle at her persistence. She was clever, for a human.
“I’ve never thought to look. I’m not even sure there is a second portal,” he said, watching her reaction.
“Portal? What are you talking about, a portal? I know it’s not my turn, but I’m about to win anyway,” she said with a dismissive wave at the chess board.
“The Den is sort of… between places,” Jace started.
“Between Arcady and somewhere else? Like it’s in the woods or something?” Tessa asked, confused.
“Not between cities. It’s between two… realms. Dimensions, planes, whatever you want to call them,” he said, holding up a hand when she started to interrupt. “The portal can be accessed only through one physical point, and you can only enter if you’ve been invited to do so.”
Tessa looked mystified. Standing up, she planted her fists on her hips and gave Jace a searching look before she spoke again.
“You’re making that up,” she said, her voice firm. “This stuff about two worlds. What would those be, Earth and Venus? No. You’re mocking me.”
Her voice rose, anger evident in her expression. Her face was flushed, her body language attempting to threaten him.
Jace couldn’t say why, but he liked it on her. One minute she was playing the prudish feminist, the next she was all but radiating heat towards him. Raising his hands as a white flag, he shook his head at her statement.
“I’m not mocking you. The Den sits between Earth and Faerie, which is why we’re so well-protected. And there’s more than one Den; there are probably sixty in the United States alone. One for each pack,” he explained slowly.
“No!” Tessa said, advancing on Jace with a pointed finger. “You’re lying. That isn’t real. It isn’t possible.”
“You’ve seen me turn into a wolf. Is that possible?” he asked. He gave her a sarcastic eye roll, as if the passion in her voice were annoying rather than enticing.
“You! You-“ she cried, flinging herself at him a flutter of hand slaps that Jace guessed were supposed to scare him into agreement. He bit his lip to keep from laughing outright as he caught her up, working to restrain her furious hands.
Seeing her all worked up and flushed was pretty damn hot; holding her close brought him right back to the state of arousal he’d been resisting this morning.
Jace hadn’t even realized he’d moved until Tessa’s breath caught in a gasp . He caught her up against the living room wall, using his size to make her retreat. He towered over her, enjoying the difference in their sizes. He didn’t like small females, but something about the pure power he held in this moment made his heart pound. Tessa’s jaw lifted in defiance, and she met his gaze dead-on.
“What is this, your signature move or something? Trap the girl against the wall? No wonder you’re single, buddy.” She poked him in the center of his chest, pretending confidence. Little did she know that he could smell the traces of fear and arousal that fluttered in the air.
“Back up!” she warned.
Tessa struggled in his grasp as she spoke, reinforcing her words. The female must be insane, standing up to someone so much larger and stronger than herself.
For some reason, Jace’s wolf liked that about her. Feisty was an understatement for someone like Tessa. The wolf in him also liked that they were close enough to feel her breath against his face, to feel the heat radiating from her soft curves. The wolf wanted to taste, to touch.
Jace growled, both at Tessa for resisting and at his wolf for being so unhelpful. Tessa bit her lip again, but kept her eyes locked on his. Her silver gaze flashed in warning, challenging Jace to back down.
No way in hell.
“Just take it back,” she said, her persistence dropping to a breathy whisper. She stared right up into Jace’s eyes.
“Or what? You’ll hit me some more?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow. He moved a fraction closer, reminding her of his physical superiority. He shackled her wrists with his hands, drawing them up over her head. She was open to him like this, helpless.
Tessa let out a gasp of protest, squirming to break free of his grasp. That little gasp had Jace wanting to hear more. Her efforts to get away pressed her closer against his body. His resistance crumbled, and he gave into his wolf’s demands.
He brought his mouth down a hair’s breadth from hers, tempting her to initiate contact. There was a long beat, and her warm breath teased his lips. Then Tessa moved barely a fraction, brushing her lips against his, testing. It was all the invitation he needed.
Jace came down on her like lightning, his hand tilting her face up while he pressed his lips against hers. Even as she struggled, which part of him loved, her mouth felt incredible against his. Her lips were soft and sweet, tasting of the honeyed-apple fragrance that wafted off her skin.
Jace gripped her jaw, forcing her to relax her mouth while running his tongue over the seam of her lips. After a long moment, her lips parted under the onslaught of his kiss.
Tessa’s lips started to move against his, eager and accepting of his punishing kiss. Jace slid both his hands down from her jaw to her shoulders, couldn’t stop them from continuing down. She felt fragile under his hands as they skimmed over her ribcage and down to her hips. When he gave her a hard squeeze, pressing his thumbs in just below the ridges of her hipbones, she moaned into his mouth. The sound sent waves of heat through Jace’s entire body, encouraging him to touch more, taste more.
Jace swallowed her moan, his hands roaming her body as he broke the kiss and buried his mouth in the curve of her neck. Kissing and nipping her neck seemed to stir her up even more, and she made that little breathy “oh” that Jace hadn’t known he was waiting to hear.
He scraped his whiskered jaw against her neck just below her ear. This time her moan was his undoing. He needed to be inside of her right this second. Shit, ten minutes ago.
His hands slid down and worked at her zipper as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a desperate bid to get closer.
THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK.
Tessa went rigid under his hands and lips. Another loud knock came from the front door, just a few feet away. Jace had been so wrapped up that he hadn’t even heard someone approaching the house. With the first knock, his mind had switched over to security mode, leaving his hard-on a bitter second place.
Jace stepped back enough to let Tessa breathe. She darted out from under his arms and vanished toward the bedroom.
Jace groaned and went to the door.
“Yeah, what?” he yelled, not caring if he sounded rude.
“It’s the Smiths! We live next door! We wanted to finally meet our neighbors!” came a chirpy female voice.
Jace sidled over
to the window. He pulled the curtain aside to reveal a young yuppie couple standing on the stoop, looking expectant.
The last thing he needed was a couple of nosy neighbors telling everyone how odd the couple next door were. He had to see what they wanted, and then get rid of them. Jace steeled himself, then undid the locks and swung the door open.
“Hi! Lesley Smith here, and this is my husband John,” the girl proclaimed, offering him a handshake.
“We’re busy,” was all Jace could manage, accepting their handshakes with his most malicious glare.
“We just, um… we wanted to introduce ourselves…” the woman prompted. “You know, trade names, maybe have a drink together.”
“Ah. Yeah. Uh. Jason. And uh, Bess. She’s changing,” Jace lied.
“Neat! Well we just saw that you guys were around for once, and we wanted to stop by. You two must just travel all the time, because we never see you here,” the girl said, eying the unfurnished front room.
“Yes. All the time,” Jace agreed, looking over his shoulder to see where Tessa had gotten off to.
“Right. Well, we’d love to walk with you to the parade if you’re going,” the man chimed in. Jace had forgotten his name already.
“No thanks,“ Jace said, starting to swing the door shut in their faces.
“Oh, but we LOVE parades!” came Tessa’s voice.
Jace turned to see her right behind him, with a huge fake grin pasted across her face. She was smiling so hard it was painful to look at. She refused to meet Jace’s eyes.
“Listen, Bess, I don’t think we have time to go to a parade today. Remember, we’ve got that… thing? You know, later?” he prompted.
Without so much as a glance at Jace, Tessa scoffed and waved off his protest. Opening the door wide, she turned her mega-watt smile onto the neighbors.
“Don’t be silly. A parade is just what we need. Lesley, was it?”
“Oh yes, so nice to meet you,” Lesley half-shouted, excited. Tessa brushed past Jace and linked her arm through the other woman’s.
“Gosh, I can just tell we’re going to be fast friends, Lesley. Tell me all about yourself while we walk,” Tessa said, her voice saccharine-sweet.
“Well, I’m from Shreveport originally...” the woman started.
“You coming?” the other man asked Jace.
Jace gave him a scornful look. He grabbed his satchel from beside the door and followed the girls, swinging the door shut behind him.
“You gonna lock your door there, partner?” the man asked.
“No,” Jace snapped.
“Ah… okay. A new ager. I can appreciate that. So, are you a Saints fan?” the man asked.
“I am a fan of anything that will make you stop talking to me,” Jace said, not sparing a glance at the fellow.
His unwanted companion fell silent. The other man sped up to catch the girls and join in their conversation. Jace was left stomping along behind them, furious but unwilling to draw more attention to himself by making a scene.
Tessa had just manipulated him as if it were second nature. Not to mention the fact that she’d turned his own rules against him. Yet again she’d proved her intelligence, but in Jace’s mind it echoed the danger she could present.
This was unacceptable. Jace had to be in control of the situation, not a fool wrapped around some female’s finger.
Jace would see to it that she understood the rules soon enough. He would show the little temptress the error of her ways, and enjoy every second of it.
Chapter Twelve
Tessa’s beat a million miles an hour, threatening to leap from her chest. First she’d kissed Jace – that in itself had been ridiculously thrilling. There had been a moment, just before the neighbors had broken the spell… Tessa couldn’t explain exactly what had happened, but it was like some long-hidden part of her had awakened. There was a strange friction in her heart, an intense feeling of no longer being alone in her body; it was almost as if someone was watching her every move, but from inside.
The weirdest part was that instead of freaking out and launching herself into another panic attack, Tessa felt good. Not just good, amazing. As if she had been missing a piece to a puzzle for ages, and she’d found it in an odd place. In that moment, she’d slipped the piece into its corresponding slot.
Jesus, she was losing her mind. Was this how schizophrenics felt? But crazy people didn’t know they were crazy, so Tessa was probably okay. Or was that just another part of the disease? She chased the thought around and around, getting nowhere.
Shaking her head, Tessa decided she’d just have to sit on the existence of her new inner companion for the time being. Maybe it was part of this whole wolf thing. Something normal, if any of this could be called that.
Tessa could feel Jace’s eyes burning into the back of her neck as she walked. She followed Lesley out of the neighborhood and into a busier area, acting for all the world as if this were a comfortable stroll. The street signs indicated that they were now on Magazine Street. According to Tessa’s very minimal research into New Orleans, this was supposed to be a hip shopping district.
The street was lined with boutiques of every shape, size and color; Tessa was hard pressed to let her gaze settle on any one place. Historic oaks arced gracefully across the street here and there, unharried by all the traffic.
At the moment the intersection was packed with people streaming in every direction. Alone and in groups, people were dressed in a motley assortment of styles. Tuxedos, jester hats, even a group of women dressed as mermaids. It struck Tessa that these people were out and celebrating even though there was no actual parade in sight. She supposed they must be early.
“…so daiquiri or cocktail?” Lesley asked Tessa.
“I’m sorry?” Tessa said.
“I asked if you wanted a daiquiri, or a cocktail?” the woman asked, presenting it as an either/or question.
“It’s like… one in the afternoon,” Tessa remarked, eyebrows raised.
Lesley laughed.
“Oh, you’re not from around here,” Lesley said, giving Tessa a big smile.
She steered Tessa toward an open door with blaring music and brightly colored signs declaring that it was a bar called Ms. Mae’s. A twenty four hour bar, if the signs were to be believed. Who would want to go to a twenty-four-hour bar?
Tessa shrugged. When in Rome, right?
“Hey Lesley!” Lesley’s husband called, a few paces behind them.
“Yeah babe?” Lesly asked over her shoulder as she began to force her way through the crowd at the bar.
“Can you believe that Jason here has never had a daiquiri?”
“That’s tragic. We’ll remedy that ASAP,” Lesley chirped. She elbowed her way to the bar, her movements those of a seasoned expert.
Tessa glanced back at Jace, trying to keep it casual. His face was murderous; his gaze slid between Tessa, Lesley, and Lesley’s husband in turn, as if Jace couldn’t decide who was going to get it first. Tessa cleared her throat, pretty sure it was going to be her.
She felt that inner presence again, the distinct and separate being in the back of her mind. Her silent companion was interested in Jace; somehow her new friend kept drawing her gaze back to him, even though he was staring daggers at the moment. Looking at him, something clicked in Tessa’s brain.
Her first thought had been correct. Her visitor had something to do with being an Ascendant, she was pretty sure. Hadn’t Jace said something about this in his story? The wolf and the king lived together in one body, she remembered. This must be something like that. Her very own wolf had come to settle in her body, and she was making her wishes known.
At the moment though, Tessa couldn’t focus on that little development. She had spent the whole morning trying to figure out how to sneak away and call James to check in, to assure the Legion that she was holding up her end of the bargain. Well, all morning except the all-too-brief soul-drenching kiss she’d shared with Jace. No time to think about that
now. This was her best chance to call James without Jace finding out.
“Here you go. Best hurricane daiquiri in the city!” Lesley said, passing them out. She had to force the white foam cup into Jace’s hand. In return he merely gave her a spiteful roll of the eyes.
“Uh, thanks,” Tessa said, taking an experimental sip from the bright red straw. It was kind of like frozen fruit punch, with deep notes of cheap rum. All in all, not bad.
“You like?” Lesley’s husband asked Tessa.
Tessa nodded and took another sip, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Jace.
“Lesley!” came a loud voice from the other side of the room. A young woman was waving her arms enthusiastically to get the neighbor’s attention.
“Sam! Omigod!” Lesley squealed, and pushed into the crowd with her husband in tow.
Tessa started to follow, only to stop short when a huge hand gripped her by the back of her neck. It wasn’t painful, but she couldn’t have broken the hold easily either.
Tessa rolled her eyes up to look at Jace, who had divested himself of his drink. He looked, if anything, even more pissed off.
“We’re leaving,” he ground out through gritted teeth.
“But we just got here!” Tessa protested, feigning surprise.
“We shouldn’t be here in the first place. It isn’t safe for us to be in a crowd like this. We’re completely exposed.”
“Who can find anyone in this crowd? Look, Lesley is already long gone. We’re hiding in plain sight. People camouflage,” Tessa argued.
“That is a very poor method of defense. We need to return to the safe house right now. I’ll carry you back if I have to,” Jace insisted.
“Alright Mr. Security Consultant,” Tessa mocked. “We’ll go. But can I at least use the ladies’ room first?”
Jace narrowed his eyes, suspicious.
“Can it wait the five blocks back to the house?” he asked, sarcastic.
“Nope! Be right back!” she said, pushing into the crowd toward the restroom sign. There was a short line, so Tessa waited until it was her turn. Then she slipped inside the bathroom and locked the small door after herself, glad that this was a single-person restroom.