Don't Tempt Me (Nora Jacobs Book 4)

by Jackie May

  His ministrations ignite an aching need inside me. My head falls back on his shoulder, and a small whimper escapes me. I try to spin around. I need his mouth on mine. But he holds me firmly in place. “Just relax, Nora,” he murmurs. “I want to go there with you, but now’s not the time. Not while you’re so upset and while Oliver is fighting for his life. For now, just let me take care of you.”

  He’s right. His words sober me and finally shake the last of my shock away. He finishes washing me, and after I rinse off, I turn around to face him. When he sees the clarity in my eyes, he smiles softly and brushes my cheek with his thumb. “There you are. You back with me now?”

  “Yes.” I nod. “Thank you.”

  Rook gives me a cheeky grin. “Anytime.”

  I roll my eyes, but a blush spreads up the back of my neck and across my cheeks.

  Rook gets serious again and asks, “You ready to get out?”

  I nod again. “We should check on Oliver.” My voice cracks as emotion clogs my throat again. “Enzo said something about magical poison.”

  Rook sighs and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Then let’s go see him.”

  Rook and I must have taken a long time in the shower, because when we make our way into Oliver’s room, Ollie has already been cleaned and changed into a pair of pajama pants. He’s still unconscious, he’s paler than normal, has deep, dark circles under his eyes, and his hair is soaked with sweat. Surprisingly, Enzo is conked out on the bed beside him. He looks just as pale as Oliver and is also drenched in sweat.

  The guys step aside so that I can sit in Oliver’s desk chair that they’ve moved to the head of his bed. I sit down and take Oliver’s hand in mine. I don’t like how cold it feels. “Is he okay?” I ask.

  “Only time will tell,” Parker—who’s finally awake—murmurs. “He has to purge the bad magic from his system before his body gives out.”

  Terrance shakes his head and glares at nothing in particular. “Enzo said the spell on that blade would have killed damn near anybody. It’s a miracle he’s still holding on.”

  I feel like someone has just reached their hand into my chest and ripped out my heart. “But he will, right? He can beat this?”

  Parker swallows and has to clear his throat before he can speak. “If anybody can, it’s Oliver.”

  Tears spill down my cheeks. I squeeze Oliver’s hand and bring it to my lips. “You fight this, Ollie. You’re not allowed to die on me.”

  Parker squeezes my shoulder, and I reach up to cover his hand with my free one. I sniffle once and look at the other man out cold on Oliver’s bed. “What about Enzo? Is he all right?”

  Terrance nods once and sighs. “He’s just exhausted. The magic poisoning Oliver is so strong Enzo almost couldn’t heal the stab wound. It took everything he had to finish the job. But now that it’s healed, it should make it a little easier for Oliver to fight the magic.”

  Something warm spreads through my chest. I’ve never been more grateful to the quiet, mild-mannered shaman. “How long will he sleep?”

  “Probably all night,” Nick answers. I’d forgotten that he was here. “He drained himself completely.”

  I watch Enzo for a minute. His breaths are deep and even. He looks exhausted but still peaceful. “Maybe we should put him in one of the spare bedrooms and let him get a good night’s rest.”

  Terrance scoops Enzo up in his arms like a child and carries him out of the room. Once he’s gone, I take his place lying beside Oliver and start running my fingers through his hair. For all that his hands are cold and clammy, his forehead is burning up. It’s like he’s fighting off some nasty disease. “Could someone get some cool towels? He’s so hot.”

  Charlie walks off, presumably to get what I asked for. Parker takes a seat in the chair I vacated and takes hold of Oliver’s hand. I’m touched by the gesture. Parker meets my eyes, and an understanding passes between us. He cares for Oliver just as much as I do. He’s every bit as worried as me. I glance around the room and realize that all of my guys are upset right now. Maybe they don’t love Oliver quite as much as Parker and I do, but Oliver is clan. He’s family. And everyone is feeling his hurt.

  Charlie returns with a couple of wet cloths. As I lay them across Oliver’s forehead, Nick finally breaks the silence. “Nora…what happened?”

  I can’t look at him. If I do I’ll get angry, and I can’t deal with that drama right now. I use a second cloth to wipe Oliver’s face and his neck. “We were attacked. A sorcerer. He was waiting for us when we exited Wulf’s place. Oliver knew him. At first it seemed like the guy had some kind of personal vendetta against Oliver, but then he mentioned needing to take me to his employer.”

  “A mercenary, then,” Illren says.

  I meet his gaze. “An assassin, I think. He meant to kill Oliver. His name was Devon Mitchell.”

  Illren’s brow furrows, and he nods. “I have heard of him. His loyalty is to the highest bidder. If he went after you, then there is a contract out on you. I will look into this.” He pulls out his phone and leaves the room.

  “What happened to Mitchell?” Nick asks. “How did Oliver get stabbed, and how did you kill him?”

  I pinch my eyes shut and fight off a shudder. I’m going to have to tell them the truth. But what will they think of me after they know? Will they be disgusted with me? Afraid of me? Because, honestly, I’m both.

  “Oliver barely blocked his first attack, and I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to fight, but then the guy made the mistake of threatening me. After that, it went fairly quickly. They fought, but Ollie handed him his ass in like a minute. It wasn’t even funny how easy it was for him.” A smile ghosts across my face, and I comb my fingers through Oliver’s hair again. “My man is a magical badass.”

  Nick sits on the foot of the bed and blinks at me like he can’t believe what I just said. “He fought him using magic? Offensive magic?”

  I smirk. “He didn’t even break a sweat. It was like once he decided he didn’t care if Mitchell lived or died, all of his fear and self-doubt were gone and he became this man I’ve never seen before. He was strong and confident, almost cocky. The fight was over in seconds.”

  Terrance, whom I didn’t hear return to the room—he’s one sneaky bastard for being such a damn big troll—frowns and says, “Then how did he get stabbed?”

  The smile falls off my face, and I have to swallow back bile. “That was my fault. When we tried to question Mitchell, I lost control of my power again and it distracted Oliver. Mitchell stabbed him while he was focused on me.”

  I squeeze my eyes shut, but tears leak out of them anyway. It was my fault. Oliver’s fighting for his life because of me. Charlie, knowing exactly what I’m feeling, sits beside me on the bed. He makes me sit up and wraps his arms around me. “This was not your fault, Nora.”

  I pull out of his embrace and shake my head furiously. “It was. I lost control of my power. Again. Just like I did with you. And then when Oliver went down, I snapped.”

  “What happened?” Gorgeous asks again.

  I shrug. “I was so angry. I sort of went into this rage and just let go any hold of my power. My siren took over, and she…she…” I force myself to meet his gaze. I look around the room, meeting everyone’s curious stares. I deserve whatever condemnation comes my way when they hear this. “I ate his soul.”

  Not surprisingly, eyebrows all over the room hit the ceiling. The guys all exchange wary glances, and then Nick says, “What, exactly, do you mean by that?”

  Fighting the urge to vomit, I lift my hands in an I don’t know gesture. “I’m not sure.” Memories of that moment come flooding back, making my eyes sting and my stomach churn. “I didn’t have to kill him. I had him in my thrall. I could have kept him like that, called Nick, and waited for him to arrest the guy. But my siren wanted more. The power was so dark. She was out for blood because of Oliver, and once I captured Mitchell, she got hungry. I couldn’t have stopped if I’d tried. I placed my hand over his hear
t, and I just…pulled the energy right out of his body. It was like I took his life force and consumed it. Once he was dead, and there was no more energy to take from him, my siren was satisfied, and I was able to come back to myself. I threw up after. I…I…” My eyes finally brim over with tears, and I look down at my lap in shame. “I’m a monster,” I croak.

  A tense silence fills the room. For a long minute, no one moves. The only sound is that of my sniffling. I jump, startled, when Charlie wraps his arms around me. “If Rook felt threatened and lost control of his wolf and ripped his attacker apart with his teeth, would you think he’s a monster? Or if Parker were dying and accidentally drained a human? If Terrance went into a rage to protect those he loved and people died, would he be a monster?”

  I take a breath. “I would never think that.”

  Charlie wipes the tears off my cheeks and squeezes my hands. “And we don’t think it of you. You defended yourself and protected Oliver in the way a siren does. You connected with your natural self, but you aren’t a monster. And just like the rest of us when we all came into our power, you will learn to control your gifts.”

  As far as motivational speeches go, this was a good one. My men are not monsters, and I could never think of them otherwise, no matter what. My heart lightens and my chest opens up, allowing me to take a much-needed deep breath. I sniffle and swipe at my eyes. “Okay, maybe it was an accident, and maybe I was protecting myself and Oliver, but I’m still dangerous. What if I do like all the legends say? What if I spiral so out of control that I have to be killed? If I lost control like that and hurt any of you, I’d never forgive myself.”

  Terrance huffs and moves into his bouncer stance as he stares me down. “We’ll figure it out, Nora.”

  Illren comes storming back in the room, clenching his phone in his hand. I’ve never seen the man look so pissed. The fire burning in his eyes is terrifying. I feel sorry for whoever’s made him this angry. “There’s a contract, all right,” he growls. It’s the most out of control of his emotions I’ve ever seen him. “Only it’s not just Nora. It’s every member of our clan.”

  “What?” Rook roars.

  Terrance growls, and his eyes turn black. He starts shaking. “Explain.”

  Illren clenches and unclenches his jaw. “A million apiece for every member of our clan. We’re wanted dead but Nora is to be alive and untouched.”

  Terrance roars and slams his fist right through the wall beside the door. I scramble off the bed and rush to Terrance before he rages and destroys the entire den. I gently grab his arm. “Terrance—T-man—take a breath, big guy. We’ll figure this out, but we need you thinking straight.”

  I rub his back while clinging to his arm. “We’re okay right now, and we’re safe in the den. We’ll figure this out.”

  Terrance takes several deep breaths and slowly stops shaking. He calms his rage but is still beyond pissed when he comes back to himself. He cuts Illren a sharp glance. “Can you figure out who?”

  “The contract is anonymous. Only a number to contact when ready to collect. Most likely it’s an untraceable burner phone. But I can ask around, see if anyone has heard anything. It also helps that I am a member of this clan. Not many in my trade would be willing to come after me or those I am loyal to.”

  Nick nods. “No doubt they still remember the last mercenaries who hurt Oliver and came after Nora.”

  I think back to when Henry had me kidnapped and Oliver was knocked out and left to freeze. I didn’t see what Illren had done to the men who took me, but from the bloodthirsty gleam he’d had in his eyes that night, I have no doubt it was horrific. “Hey.” I frown. “Why is it always me and Oliver that get attacked?”

  Rook narrows his eyes at me. “Maybe the two of you should stop sneaking away together.”

  The hint of jealousy in his voice has my cheeks turning pink. I know I didn’t do anything wrong, but I still feel the need to apologize to Rook. I don’t, because I can’t start giving Rook that kind of power over me. He’s possessive by nature, and if I respond to his guilt trips in any way, they’ll only get worse. Rook’s a good guy, but he’s alpha male enough that if I give him an inch he’s going to take a mile.

  As if he understands my predicament, Parker pipes up, distracting Rook. “It’s not just Oliver. You and I were attacked once, too, by those rogue werewolves.”

  “And we were all targeted with you at Skinny’s,” Terrance adds.

  “Plus, there was that vampire chick at the club,” Nick adds almost cheerfully. “And that dark magic user who tried to sacrifice you.”

  I roll my eyes at him.

  “And don’t forget Marie,” Rook adds.

  I groan. “Right. So really, it’s just me and whoever’s unlucky enough to be with me at the time.”

  My guys all nod, and Charlie blinks at me. “Just how many times have you been attacked?”

  I sigh. “Enough.” I force a small smile. “Still want to be my mate?”

  Charlie’s face softens. He takes my hand and brings it to his lips. “Always. I only wish I had some useful gifts to help keep you safe.”

  His face falls, and I get a sense of his feelings through our bond. I don’t like that he feels useless and inferior to all of our powerful clan members. It’s not a contest, and I want to make him feel better. “Nah,” I say, a hint of teasing in my voice. I wave my hand around the room. “That’s what all these guys are for. You were right in the club. We need someone to keep us all from brooding constantly. Plus…” I give his shoulder a playful nudge. “Illren needs your help getting into my pants, remember?”

  Nick snorts, Charlie chokes on surprise, Rook growls, Parker’s eyes widen with shock, considering he missed that whole conversation. Terrance smirks, and Illren raises one challenging brow into an irritatingly awesome arch. I barely resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

  Charlie is successfully cheered up. I bask in the lighter mood for a moment but quickly sigh. Time to get back on topic. “So, what are we going to do about all this? Where do we start?”

  Parker blows out a breath through puffed cheeks and rises to his feet. “Well, Gorgeous and I have to get to the Agency. We’ve got a body to deal with, and we’ll see what we can do about finding out who put the contract on us.” His gaze slides to Oliver, and sadness washes over him. “Though, Oliver’s really the one we need on that. He’s the one with all the hacking/technology skills.”

  I swallow back a lump in my throat. “He’ll wake up soon.”

  “Nora,” Nick says softly, “you should come in with Parker and me.”

  That simple request reminds me how angry I am with Nick, and how sickened by what he and Director West did. I give him a long look before I say, “No.”

  Nick clenches his fist. “Look, I get that your upset, but—”

  “Stop right there.” I hold up a hand. “I don’t want to fight with you right now, Nick. I honestly don’t have it in me. I’m not working with the Agency.” Nick looks like he’s ready to argue until I pick up Oliver’s hand and say, “I’m not leaving him, anyway.”

  Nick sighs and heads for the door. He looks back at me just before he walks through it. “We’re not done with this conversation.”

  I flip him off without looking at him. I don’t hear him leave.

  Parker rounds the bed and kisses my head. “We’ll see what we can figure out.”

  I assume since he’s not asking what that was about that the guys have filled him in on the details about my mother and the Agency. I look up at him with glossy eyes. “Did you know?”

  I can tell he knows what I’m talking about. He stares at me for a moment, then sits down beside me. “I suspected,” he admits. “I never knew for sure. Henry never shared with me what he saw in your memory, but I remember the rogues. Since I wasn’t allowed to stop them, I was charged with cleaning up after them and keeping our race secret from the humans. I don’t know how you slipped through the cracks. But Nora, it killed me that I couldn’t stop th
em. It killed Henry, too. He hated what was happening.”

  My eyes burn, and my voice wobbles. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  Parker’s shoulders slump. “Henry would never have allowed me to, and by the time I was free of him, it slipped my mind. The subject never came up again. I would have told you, though, if I’d thought of it or you’d asked.”

  I search his eyes for any sign of a lie. I don’t find one. He looks sincere and even devastated by the truth. I grab his hand and bring the back of it to my cheek, needing to feel close to him. His thoughts are wracked with guilt. I kiss his hand and pull him into a hug. “It wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame you for what happened.”

  Parker returns my hug, holding me as if he needs the comfort as much as I do. When he pulls back, he meets my eyes with sad ones. “You should forgive Gorgeous and Director West too, or at least you shouldn’t give up on the Agency. Maybe they made some bad choices, but that doesn’t mean the Agency is bad.”

  I swallow hard. I get what he’s saying, but it’s because of Nick and Director West that my mother is dead. They let it happen. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I just don’t know if I can.”

  Parker gives me a soft smile of understanding and drops the subject. “I’m so sorry, Nora.” He kisses my temple. “I’ll do what I can about this contract. Maybe there will be something on the body that gives us some information. Nick’s a great detective. If there are answers, he’ll find them.” He stands up and looks at Oliver again. His face falls with that overwhelming, sad expression. “Take care of him, and call me if he wakes up.”

  I can’t speak, so I just nod. Parker leans down and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. “I love you, Nora. I’ll see you later.”

  Once he’s gone, Illren peels himself away from the wall and clears his throat. “I think I will go visit some of my colleagues and remind them why it’s a very bad idea to take this contract.”