Ascension (Book 4, The Watcher Chronicles) (11 page)

I look up to make sure his eyes are still closed before I pull his underwear down far enough to release him. Still hovering in the air, I slide them all the way down his legs so that all he has left on is his shirt. I fly back up until I’m face to face with him again. His eyes are still closed but his breathing has become more labored. I reach down between us with my left hand and wrap my fingers around the root of him.

Mason groans but keeps his eyes closed. I let my free hand trace the outline of his jaw from right to left and gently cup the side of his face in the palm of my hand.

The red stain from Julietta’s kiss still mars his handsome face, and all I’m able to see in my head is her kissing him.  A myriad of unwanted images of them together in compromising positions invades my mind.  The tears of my despair and hurt come uninvited and scald my eyes. They fall unhindered onto Mason’s face and he opens his eyes.

We look at each other but say nothing. I release my hold on him and roll away in the air until I’m standing on the floor by his jacket. I pick it up and slip my arms through the sleeves while I walk over to the doors which lead out to the terrace. I open them and take a step outside.

“Jess,” Mason calls to me from the bed, and I hear the desperation in his voice.

I look at him over my shoulder as I release the door handles and let them open the rest of the way on their own. I can barely see him through my tears but I feel his need to come to me.

I shake my head at him silently telling him not to. I propel myself in the air, into the starry night.

I fly through the sky over the island’s terrain not really having any idea where I’m going, just knowing I need to be alone with my thoughts for a while.

“Michael,” I call through a sob, “I need your help. Please.”

I instantly feel Michael take control of my body gifting me with time to tend to my broken heart.

Michael lands us in the glade by the waterfall Mason took me to the first night we made love. He releases control over my body and appears as a vision to me.

I sit down on the soft grass by the small pond with my legs bent up to my chin and my arms wrapped around them. Michael sits cross legged in front of me as I being to rock back and forth to comfort myself.

“I wish were you real,” I tell him, “physically real.”

Michael smiles. “I’m not the one you need right now.”

I shake my head.

“I can’t touch him without thinking about her touching him,” I say.

“Jess, you knew Mason had lovers before you. You can’t blame him for that. It’s not like he tried to hide it from you.”

“Knowing it and seeing him with one of them is completely different,” I tell Michael. “And he took me to one of his love shacks for god’s sake.”

Michael sighs. “Yes, I agree that was stupid on his part.”

I smile in spite of myself.

“But you know he loves you.”

“I know.”

“Then find a way to forgive him before you let this come between the two of you permanently. He needs you just as much as you need him.”

“What if I’m expendable to him too?” I ask, letting my real fear bubble up to the surface. “If he can throw those other women to the side so easily, what’s to stop him from doing the same thing to me?”

“How can you even ask that?”  I hear Mason say behind me.

I see Michael look up over my shoulder, and I know he’s looking at Mason.

Michael looks back at me and says, “Talk to him.”

Michael fades and I rest my forehead down on my bent knees, not wanting to look at Mason just yet.

I hear Mason walk over to me and kneel behind me. He places his hands on my shoulders and slides them down my arms until I’m completely enveloped in his embrace.

I realize the question I asked Michael is my real fear, and I feel a fresh set of tears overwhelm me as I face it.

“Jess,” I hear Mason say as he lowers his head down beside mine, “you’re killing me with your tears. Please stop crying. How could you possibly think you’re expendable to me?   You’re my life.”

I lift my head and tighten my arms around my bent legs as I rest the side of my face on my knees and look at Mason.

“I’m more used to people leaving me than staying,” I say. “I guess when I saw you dismiss that woman so easily it made me wonder if you would do that to me one day. She seemed so in love with you, and you just wanted her to go away.”

“I never loved her,” he tells me. “I tried to make sure she understood what we had was only temporary. I never made her any promises, Jess. I never once told her I loved her.”

“But she’s in love with you,” I tell him.

Mason sighs. “I guess I should have paid more attention. I usually try to end things before they start to get too complicated.”

“I’m sure you’ve broken a lot of hearts.”  I lift my head and he rests his chin on my shoulder as he continues to hold me. “I mean, have you seen yourself in a mirror?  Who wouldn’t fall in love with you?”

“I don’t care about anyone being in love with me except for you. Can you still love me even though I was a complete idiot for taking to you that hotel room?”

I sigh and let myself relax back against him. “I’ll always love you, even when you do something stupid.”

I feel him chuckle.

Mason pulls my hair away from the right side of my neck.

“You left me in quite a bind back at the house,” he whispers in my ear. “Will you let me make love to you now, Agent Riley?”

“I believe I will, Mr. Collier.”

I turn around in his arms and kneel in front of him. I see he’s still wearing his shirt and he took time to put on his black slacks.

“But you have to do something for me first,” I tell him.

“Anything.”

“Take a bath.”

“A bath?”

“You still have her lipstick on your mouth,” I tell him as I rub his cheek, “and right here.”

Mason stands up and pulls me to my feet.

“Will you join me?” He asks. “I want to make sure I get it all off.”

“I believe that’s just an excuse to get me naked, Mr. Collier.”

Mason grins down at me. “Now, would I do something like that?”

I smile.

“Yes, you would. But I don’t mind,” I say hugging him around the waist. “I don’t mind at all.”

After our shower, Mason takes me to bed and shows me just how much he treasures me above all other women. He expertly uses his hands, mouth and tongue on my body to break my world apart again and again. As I drift off to sleep afterwards in his arms, I wonder if any other woman in the world experienced what I did that night. The possibility seems doubtful because the world only has one Mason.

Chapter 7

The next morning Mason and I make a trip to the villa so I can be there for Rafe when he wakes up for the first time. We find Leah and Remy in the kitchen eating breakfast.

“What are you still doing here?” I ask Leah, giving her a kiss on the cheek as I take a seat beside her at the kitchen table.

“I wanted to be here when Rafe woke up,” she tells me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Remy stand up and say something in a low voice to Mason. The two of them walk out of the room without any explanation.

“What’s that all about?” I ask Leah, snatching a piece of bacon from her breakfast plate, which is filled with eggs and bacon, to nibble on.

“Probably Aiden,” she says knowingly.

“What about Aiden?”

“Well, Aiden and his harem of women.”

“Harem?”

“I think he’s brought at least four different women over since I woke up.”

I feel my mood darken.

“Did he now,” I say, trying to keep my temper in check in front of Leah. “And you saw these women?”

“Uh,” Leah suddenly looks uncomfortable, “more like heard them… a lot.”

“Heard them?”

“You know,” Leah says shifting in her seat uncomfortable with the subject of the conversation, “with him… in his room…”

I feel my temper ignite.

“You won’t have to worry about that happening again,” I promise Leah. “You should have gone back to Mama Lynn’s when you woke up instead of staying here with him.”

“Like I said, I wanted to wait for Rafe to wake up, and I didn’t want Aiden to be the only face he saw.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be here when the others wake up. I’d rather have you back in Cypress Hollow.”

“Do you think I could start those lessons Mason talked about?” Leah asks, her mood perking up. “With Joshua and the others?”

“I’ll speak to him about it. It’s probably a good idea you learn how to use a computer, at least. I’m sure Joshua can spare some time to teach you what you need to know.”

Leah smiles shyly at the mention of Joshua’s name. “He’s a lot like the Josh from my world.”

“You know he has a girlfriend, right?” I ask, not wanting Leah to get her heart broken unnecessarily.

Leah nods. “Yes. He told me all about Caylin the last time I saw him. I’d like to meet her one day. Do you think I could?  I think we could become friends.”

I smile. “I’ll see what I can do.”

When Mason and Remy walk back into the room, I say, “So, are you going to put a foot up Aiden’s ass or shall I?”

Mason tilts his head indicating he wants to speak to me in private. I walk over to him and we ascend the stairs to the living room area.

“There’s probably something you should know about Aiden,” Mason says, taking my hand and leading me to the couch so we can sit comfortably while we talk.

“I know he’s acting like a hound dog in heat, what else is there to know?”

“Do you remember God’s offer to the Watchers who gave into their blood lust when the Tear was made?”

“That they would gain forgiveness if they stopped what they were doing and help you find a way to seal the Tear?”

“Yes. Aiden was one of those Watchers.”

“So he’s a vampire?” I ask, wondering why Mason didn’t tell me this before.

“He’s trying very hard to change his ways, Jess. The bloodlust he feels is strong and it takes a lot for him to fight against it. But, I believe he can do it. I have faith he can earn his forgiveness. That being said, he’s had to find other ways to satisfy his… urges.”

“So he’s traded in blood for sex?  Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yes, basically that’s it.”

I sit back on the couch and sigh. “I can’t have a horny Watcher around Leah.”

“He would never do anything to her,” Mason says with absolute certainty.

“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about her innocent mind. She can hear him and the girls he brings over, you know.”

“I plan to have a talk with him about that,” Mason tells me, his voice ominous. “I never gave him permission to bring strange women into my home. He won’t be doing that anymore. I can promise you that much.”

“So I don’t get to kick him in the ass?” I ask.

Mason grins. “Not yet. Though if he doesn’t straighten up, please, be my guest.”

Mason goes in search for our playboy Watcher to have a heart to heart with him. Remy and Leah come up to the living room to be with me.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I say to Leah, studying the red aura surrounding her. “How did things go during your time with Uriel?”

“Better than I thought they would,” she admits with relief. “He’s really not a bad guy, Jess. He explained that what he did to Lilly was just what he thought needed to be done to save the universe. He knows it was wrong now, but at the time he didn’t see any other way to stop what was happening.”

“He should have trusted God more,” I say.