He traced a finger down her straight nose, over the slope of her cheek. There were shadows under her eyes. His heart fisted. She might seem tough, but she was much more fragile than he.
No sex, then. Just loving care.
“I’ll wash you.” He encircled her waist with his arm and nabbed a bar of soap. “You don’t have to do anything but relax.”
“Mm.” She leaned against him, her firm ass up against his groin. His cock sprang to attention, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it to concentrate on Evie. He rubbed the soap over her body in slow strokes, massaging her breasts, running his hand down her abdomen, then turning her around and giving the same careful attention to her back. He knelt to wash her legs and feet, and then stood back up. Squeezing some shampoo into his hand, he worked it into her short blond locks, massaging her scalp for good measure before continuing down to rub her neck and shoulders as well.
Her head lolled back against his chest. Water spilled over her face and her dimple flashed. “That feels so good.”
He pressed a kiss to her cheek at the place where her dimple hid. It felt like a secret only he was privileged to know. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” She turned her head to kiss him.
She rinsed off and then picked up the soap. “My turn.”
“You don’t have to,” he said, but she ignored him to slide the soap over his chest and abdomen. Then she soaped up her fingers and slid them down to where his erection jutted out, washing him with an excruciating care that had him groaning. “You’re too tired,” he made himself say.
The answer was a very Evie grin. “I’m reviving fast,” she said, and gave him a good squeeze.
Heat shot through him, but he grinned back. Loving how nothing kept her down for long. Loving how she could always make him smile. Loving her.
He took the soap from her and set it on the ledge. Taking her by the shoulders, he backed her up against the wall and kissed her, slow and deep. She was still smiling; the curve of her lips imprinted itself on his.
Water streamed down his back. Evie twined a leg around his hip and pressed against his front, her nipples pebbled against his chest.
He gulped. “No,” he said, although he was having a tough time recalling why not.
She tilted her head and gave him a wide-eyed look that made his breath snag. “Please?”
“You’re a witch.” He slid the broad head of his cock over her soft, welcoming folds.
Her breath hissed out. “Jesus.”
“Is this what you want?” His jaguar rose up, the two of them intent on one thing: claiming their mate. He pinched one tightly furled nipple, and her eyes slit with enjoyment.
“Yes. That’s… perfect.” She undulated against him, sending a jolt of electricity to his balls.
She was wet and hot and so ready for him. “God’s cat,” he muttered as he rocked his hips against her, “you’re so fucking sexy.”
She squeezed his ass. “And you’re so…hard.” She nipped the sensitive skin beneath his jaw and the jaguar rumbled in approval.
“You like that?”
“Hell, yeah. Mark me.”
She nipped him again, harder, sucking and biting at his skin until he knew he’d bear the print of her teeth. When she lifted her head, he held her against the wall and left his own mark at the turn of her neck. Everyone in the den would know he’d claimed her.
Both man and cat felt a primitive satisfaction at that.
He slid his hand down to toy with her clit. She made a murmur of pleasure and he slid his fingers into her folds. She was hot and slick and ready.
He kissed her again while his fingers kept up their slow dance: in and out of her passage, around her tight, swollen bud. Soft, teasing touches until she was writhing in his arms, her breath jerking in and out.
His muscles locked under the strain of holding back. But he kept it up until she said, “Jace,” and started chanting “please” over and over.
“Take it,” he growled against her ear. “Now.” He dragged his fingers over her clit.
Her back bowed as she cried out his name. He kept up a steady, circling pressure until she went limp. “Oh. My. God.”
He chuckled and gave her a soft kiss. “Be right back.” Exiting the shower, he grabbed a rubber from a basket under the sink, worked it over his erection and returned.
Evie was slumped against the black tile wall, her creamy skin slick, her dark lashes spiked with water. Her nipples were a dusky rose that made his mouth water. She held her hand out to him with a secret little smile that shot straight to his groin.
He stalked toward her and lifted her up against the tiles so he could suck each nipple in turn. She moaned and gripped his nape. Sharp nails dug into his skin, stoking his arousal higher.
His cat purred. It liked a mate with claws.
He set his tip at her entrance and rocked his hips, small nudges until he was full seated. He expelled a harsh breath. She was so tight. So perfect.
Then she squeezed herself around him and his vision blurred.
He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, the other holding her hips to protect her from the hard tiles, and thrust into her. Harder this time.
Pleasure slammed up his spine. She tightened her legs around him and met him thrust for thrust. Her wet body was cool against his, but inside she was a silky hot glove.
On his chest, his quartz warmed, and a distant corner of his mind felt surprise. So it had some life in it after all.
He bent his knees and thrust straight up, hitting a spot deep inside Evie’s womb that made her eyes roll back in her head. She gasped and clenched on him, rhythmic tightening that set up an answering pulse in his balls. It was too much. He buried his head in the side of her neck, tonguing the mark he’d made on her, and then joined with her, hard and fast until he came with a muttered curse.
He held himself deep inside, letting the hot, wet pleasure of her sweep over him. Wringing him out, and then filling him again to his very essence.
His breath scraped in and out of his lungs. He let her legs slide down to touch the floor again as he said a prayer of thanks to the gods that had brought him to her door. He’d been only half-alive, his only focus work and Merry. Scarred and bitter from the Darktime, even more than he’d known.
Evie had saved him in more ways than one.
“Mine,” he said one last time.
Her arms tightened on him without speaking. But he heard her answer loud and clear through their bond: Yours.
38
Beau and Kyler had settled on brunch. When Evie and Jace emerged from the shower, everyone was in the kitchen, including Suha and the two hard-eyed soldiers, who were introduced as Ryder and Jamila.
Beau and Kyler were busy putting together breakfast burritos. A pitcher of orange juice and a bowl of ripe strawberries sat next to fresh salsa, and Suha handed Evie a mug of hot coffee as she entered the kitchen.
Jace fussed over Evie, having her sit and then filling a plate for her. When she started to protest, he stopped her with a kiss. “You’ll find I take good care of my mate,” he murmured against her lips.
“So do I.” She tugged him down next to her. “Now eat.” She made him a plate and set it before him. Then she noticed the open mouths. Everyone at the table was staring at them.
Suha recovered first. “You’re mates—congratulations!” She jumped up and hugged Evie, and then frowned at Jace. “Does she know what that means?”
He wrapped a possessive hand around Evie’s nape. “Of course.”
Suha set a hand on her hip. “You know it’s not binding unless the woman accepts. And she has to know exactly what she’s getting into.”
“Too late. She’s already accepted the claim.”
Suha opened her mouth to argue further, but Evie said, “It’s okay—I know what it means, and I want it. I can feel him—here.” She touched her chest. “The rest we can work out,” she said with a smile at Jace, “as long as you all are okay with it. And Kyler, of course.” Sh
e slid him a cautious look. She hadn’t planned on making the announcement in front of five other people; she’d intended to talk to him privately after they ate. “But you seem to like everyone, and—”
“Hey,” he said, “of course I’m okay with it.”
Suha’s face split into a grin. “I guess you do know. And of course we’re okay with it. Welcome to the clan.” She gave Evie another hug, and then the men were on their feet and hugging her, too.
“Guess we’re all one big happy family, now,” Kyler quipped as they took their seats again, but the look he shot Jace was wary.
Jace had taken a seat at the end of the table with Evie on one side and Kyler on the other. He dragged Kyler into a one-armed hug. “Yep. You’re mine too, bro.”
Kyler’s shoulders relaxed. He squeezed Jace back and reached for more bacon. “Does this mean I get one of those quartz phones?”
Jace shook his head. “Sorry, they only work for fada or fae. You have to have some magic in your blood.”
Her brother’s face fell. “Not humans?”
“Not yet. But if we figure out the technology, you’ll be first on the list.”
Kyler brightened. “That’s lit. I can be a test subject.”
“It does mean we’ve always got your back,” Beau rumbled.
“Even after what I did?”
Beau’s bushy black brows lowered. “Hey, what did I say about that?”
“Sorry,” Kyler muttered. “And I’ll have yours, for what it’s worth.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll whip you into shape.” Beau slapped Kyler on the back, nearly knocking him into his plate. Her brother just grinned and started eating again.
Adric, Marjani and Zuri arrived along with a man named Luc, a tall, rangy lieutenant with skin the color of teak who was Jace’s fifth den mate. The three of them were somber when they arrived, but as soon as they heard the news, it turned into a celebration.
Adric pulled Evie out of her chair for a bear hug. “Welcome to the family, love. We’ll make it official with a mate ceremony, but I’m claiming you and Kyler for the Baltimore clan.” He kissed her on both cheeks, ignoring Jace’s growled, “Get your own damn woman.”
Then it was Zuri’s turn. To her surprise, his dark eyes were smiling. “Welcome,” he told her. “Jace is a lucky man.”
For a moment Evie gaped at him. Then she recovered enough to shoot back, “Thanks. I think so, too.”
Jace chuckled. Zuri grinned and gave her a hug that lifted her off her toes.
When she sat back down, Jace squeezed her knee. “They like you,” he mouthed.
The noise level increased. Suha toasted Evie and Jace with orange juice, and Marjani brought Luc up to date on everything that had happened. It seemed he’d been in France tracking Tyrus, and was disgusted that he’d gotten back too late to help take the night fae down.
Jace informed Evie that Luc was a wolf, and seeing his cool amber eyes and lean, intelligent face, she could believe it. His expression only softened when he looked at Marjani, but she appeared not to notice.
After brunch, Adric and Marjani left along with the extra soldiers. Jace changed the security code on the outside lock, and then they all took naps, even Kyler.
Jace spooned his hard body around Evie. “God’s cat, I’m tired.”
“Me too.”
But when she closed her eyes, she saw Tyrus’s beautiful face and those malevolent red eyes. An involuntary shiver traced up her spine. She opened her eyes and tucked Jace’s arm closer around her.
He’s dead. He can’t hurt you now.
But then she saw his charred, lifeless body and that was almost worse. Because even though she knew it had been him or them, Tyrus might not be dead if not for her. Her chest tightened.
Jace pressed a kiss to her nape. “Want to talk about it?”
“Tyrus. I—”
He squeezed her waist. “You’re safe, angel. I promise.”
“I know, but—that was my first dead body. Well, except for my mom, and that was different.”
“He needed to die.”
“I know.”
He stroked her abdomen. “Is it what he did before? When I was passed out?”
“That’s part of it.” She swallowed over the rock lodged in her throat. “I felt so violated. Why the fuck does it bother me that I helped kill him?”
Jace blew out a breath and said, “Because you’re a good person. Nobody but a psychopath finds killing easy. Even when you have no choice, it haunts you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
They were silent then, but his hand continued to move over her abdomen in slow, easy caresses. The constriction in her chest eased.
And this time, when her eyes drifted shut, she saw nothing.
39
Evie pulled her car onto the concrete pad. The lavender had bloomed; several fat bees were buzzing around the fuzzy purple spikes. Other than that, the house was unchanged, its gray Formstone exterior practically indestructible. Was it only Tuesday? It felt like they’d been gone a month.
She nudged Kyler, who was hunched over his phone playing a game. “We’re home.”
He pocketed the phone. “Looks like everything’s still in one piece.”
“Yeah.” She couldn’t help but smile; it was what their mom had always said.
Jace pulled his motorcycle to a stop behind them. Adric was sure Corban had left the country, but Jace wasn’t letting Evie out of his sight. “There’s still the night fae,” he’d said. “We don’t know what Tyrus told his lair.”
If Jace wanted to stay close, that was fine with Evie—she wasn’t an idiot. Besides, why would she want to be separated from her mate?
She watched in the rearview mirror as he removed his helmet and glanced around, a badass fada in sunglasses and a worn leather jacket. Her womb clenched. She still couldn’t believe he was hers.
She jerked her chin at the mirror. “You sure you’re okay with this?” she asked Kyler. “Me and Jace?”
“Sure. I mean, how many guys have a shifter as a brother-in-law?”
“There is that.” They exchanged a grin. “But seriously—we may have to move to Baltimore. I haven’t talked to Jace, but I don’t think he wants to live up here.”
“I can adapt.” Kyler reached into the backseat for their backpacks. “Don’t forget, I’m not always going to be living with you. This way, I don’t have to worry about you.”
“Worry about me?” she repeated faintly.
“Yeah,” he said as they got out of the car. “It goes both ways, you know.”
She met his eyes over the car roof. “Yeah,” she said. “I guess it does.”
Mrs. Linney was on her stoop, heart-shaped sunglasses perched on her nose and a pink visor on her steel-gray curls. She waved her cigarette in their direction. “Hey, Evie. Kyler.”
They waved back. “Morning, Mrs. Linney.”
Jace set a hand on the small of Evie’s back. She smiled up at him and turned to Mrs. Linney. “I want you to meet my friend—”
“Jace Jones. I remember. How are you, son?”
“Good,” he returned politely. “And you?”
“Not bad.” She dragged on her cigarette. To Evie she said, “I wondered where you were. I was fixing to call the police.”
She grimaced. “Sorry about that. I would’ve told you but it was kind of sudden.”
“Um-hmm.” Mrs. Linney eyed Jace. “Well, as long as you’re all right.”
“We’re fine. Thanks for keeping an eye on the house.”
They headed up the gravel path. As Kyler unlocked the door, Evie’s nape prickled and she was hit by a sense of déjà vu. This was how it had started, except instead of being dark and rainy, it was a sunny morning.
“Inside—both of you.” Jace pushed her into the kitchen and turned to face the alley.
A tall man with white-blond hair sauntered into the yard. Jace tensed, but Evie set a hand on his arm. “It’s okay. It’s my dad.” T
rust Fane to show up when the danger was past.
“Evie, love.” He held out his arms.
She slipped around Jace and down the steps. He was her dad, after all.
Long arms wrapped around her. “I hear you had a spot of trouble.”
“You could say that.” She rested her head against his shoulder. He smelled of the outdoors, a familiar grassy scent that made her eyes sting. “How did you know?” she asked as she released him and stepped back.
He moved a shoulder. “Word gets around. I came as soon as I could.”
Jace came up beside her. “We handled it.”
“Did you now?” Fane asked mildly.
Mrs. Linney wasn’t even pretending not to eavesdrop. Fane nodded at her. er “How are you, Betty?”
She beamed back. “Can’t complain. And yourself?”
They exchanged a few words and then Fane set his arm around Evie’s shoulders and headed with her toward the house. “Why don’t we take this inside?” He quirked a brow at Jace, who was blocking the way. “Do you have something to say, fada?”
Jace shook his head and stepped aside. “Not here,” he muttered.
In the kitchen, Evie got beers for Jace and Fane, and sodas for her and Kyler. They sat at the table, Evie and Kyler on one side, her dad across from them. Jace took a stance behind Evie, arms folded over his chest.
Fane studied them with clear blue eyes that somehow didn’t give away a thing. As usual, his sharp-boned, handsome face hadn’t aged a day. Pretty soon people were going to think he was her brother, not her father. He was wearing his usual loose linen shirt over skinny black jeans, and his pale hair was tied back with a leather cord so that you could see his ears. With a jolt, she saw they came to a point at the top. Why had she never noticed? But then, she hadn’t been looking for proof her dad was part fae.
“Now what’s this I’m hearing about you and a night fae?” Fane asked. “And why does this earth fada think he has a claim on you?”
Jace placed his hands on Evie’s shoulders. “I’m her mate.”
His dark brows shot up. “Are you now?”
“Yes.” Jace’s tone was that of a man who wasn’t going to give an inch.
Saving Jace Page 29