emma_hillman_hired (10 page)

Grabbing her dictionary, she quickly flipped
through it and made sure she had the right translation for the first word. She
only had two sentences to go, and then she’d be free.

But free to do what?
Her mind countered.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. She
didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay with Drake and love him for the rest of
her mortal years. She winced at that last thought. Great, could she really
imagine herself as a frail seventy-year-old, in bed with Drake of the massive
muscles and impressive erection? He’d probably tire of her long before that.
Who was she kidding?

She was so damn confused. Her thoughts kept
going one way then the other, happiness and sadness intermingling inside her.
She was driving herself crazy, she suddenly realized. And all this because of a
man? God, she was pathetic!

* * * *

He watched her work, her face tense as she
looked down at the parchment that held their futures. He sighed and leaned back
in his usual chair, his gaze never leaving her. When he heard her stomach growl
minutes later, he drew himself up and grabbed his jacket. “I’ll go get supper.”

She nodded but didn’t even look in his
direction. Unable to find something else to say to her, he left the building,
careful to lock the door behind him. Pocketing the key, he braced himself
against the gusts of wind bursting down the street and started walking toward
the Italian restaurant. Another night, another pizza to go.

He was following their usual routine, and yet
everything had changed when she’d looked up at him and said she loved him. He’d
been struck by the look in her eyes, all those emotions she hadn’t tried to
hide. She’d given herself to him, and what had he done? He’d shut her out.

She hadn’t reacted, but he knew her. He knew
she was just bidding her time. He knew her too well to know he hadn’t hurt her.
He’d been too shocked to answer though. He still was, for that matter.

She loved him?

 How had that happened? For a second, he
wondered if the sex hadn’t gone to her head. He’d pushed her hard today, taking
her like never before, making her his in such an elemental way he’d nearly lost
it. But no, he shook his head as he neared the restaurant. She wasn’t like
that. Sure, she enjoyed being with him in bed, relished what he did to her, but
she would never confuse lust with love. She was too intelligent for that.

Did that mean she really loved him?

“DRAKE!”
Her voice rang in his head all of a sudden. “
HELP!
Someone’s come in! It’s… Oh no. It’s John and he’s armed and oh no...”

“Jessica?”
he roared inwardly.

She didn’t respond. He kept on calling her,
shouting at her to barricade herself in the bathroom. He whirled around and
started running back to the library, a blur in motion in the middle of the
street. He pushed his powers to the limit and contacted his First Man, sending
him his location and the reason for his urgent call.

He burst through the front door and stumbled
to a stop.

* * * *

She could feel blood drip down her nose,
landing on her lower lip of all places. She licked it clean and flinched at the
metallic taste. But her eyes never wavered from her enemy, the man intent on
stealing the parchment that was so damn important to all of them. He’d probably
thought she’d hand it over, mortal as she was, but she’d been given a job and
she would bloody finish it!

“No,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Next time I won’t be as nice,” John
threatened, advancing toward her with a sadistic grin on his face.

If he thought she was going to run, he didn’t
know her. Making sure the parchment was still in her back pocket where she’d
shoved it as soon as she’d realized it wasn’t Drake coming through the door,
she held on to her notepad with both hands and pushed her back against the wall
behind her, trapping it behind her. She had nowhere to go. The thought whirled
inside her, making her want to scream and run at the same time.

She did neither.

He grabbed her arms just above her elbows and
wrenched them forward. Pain hit her and she wondered for a second if he hadn’t
popped her shoulders out of their sockets. But he was already on her, and she
knew she couldn’t let him get her research. The original or her translation,
they both had too much value. She had to fight and wait for Drake. Hold on
until Drake saved her...

“You’re a slut too, aren’t you?” John hissed
in her ear. “I saw the way he looks at you. You’re another one of those
mortals, opening her legs for anyone who wants it. If I had more time, I’d push
you on your knees and force you to suck me. But not now. Now, you’re gonna hand
me that−” The rest of his words ended on a shout.

Jessica looked up to see his body smash
against the opposite wall. Drake was on him the next instant, his hands finding
John’s neck before they started squeezing.

Moving on shaky knees, she came to stand
behind her lover and whispered, “Don’t, Drake. Don’t kill him. Please don’t.”

He didn’t listen.

Chapter Sixteen

“And make our Mortal Mates Immortal, so our
lives

be intertwined forever and ever.”

Ambrotos (Translation by Jessica James)

“Please, baby, listen to me. Don’t kill him.
He’s not worth it.”

“He hurt you.”

“Yes, but... Please, Drake.”

“He made you bleed.”

“It’s nothing. Look at me and see for
yourself. Drake, please. Look at me. I need you.”

When he came back to himself, the anger
having finally faded to a distant roar inside his head, he unclenched his
fingers and let John go. The other man fell into a heap at his feet, his face
red and his eyes rolling into their sockets. It wasn’t a great surprise when he
noticed he’d fainted. Pathetic man. Unable to stop himself, he kicked him in
the side.

“Guardian! That’s enough.”

Drake whirled around to find his First Man
striding towards him. “It was warranted.”

“I know. I got here just after you.”

“You saw what he did to her.”

“I’m okay,” came a small voice from behind
him.

Jessica!
He grabbed her hands and pulled her to him, tilting
her head up to check her face. “Are you still bleeding? Where does it hurt?
What did he do to you?”

“I’m fine. Really.” She blinked. “My nose
bled a little and my arms ache, but it’s nothing major.”

“He touched you,” he growled, wanting nothing
more than to go back to John and kick the shit out of him. “I’m going to kill
him.”

“No,” Jake said as he came to a stand beside
them. “However, I think we have enough cause to send him packing straight away.
I asked Simon to contact the Europeans. Let’s take him to the airfield now.
Drake?”

“I have to...” He let his voice trail when he
realized that no, he couldn’t stay with Jessica and make sure she was all
right. He had a job to do. He was the Guardian, and it was his responsibility.
“I’ll go pack my bag.”

He spotted the various men who’d come in,
having answered his First Man’s call for help and nodded in their direction. He
would have to give them instructions on what to do next, but first...

Jessica was watching him with widened eyes
and he stilled for a second. She’d seen him in action for the first time. Was
she already regretting telling him she loved him? She’d seen him nearly kill a
man after all. Disturbed by his thoughts, he leaned down and prayed she
wouldn’t back away.

She didn’t. Instead, she leaned up on her
toes and grabbing him by the shoulders, aligned their mouths together for a
small kiss. He tasted her blood on her lips and nearly hissed in reaction.
She’d been hurt, damn it, and it was his own fault. He shouldn’t have left her.
“I have to go,” he finally said.

“Okay.”

“Will you be−”

She cut him off, “I’ll be fine.”

“Jessica...”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

Fat chance that, he thought as he turned
around and left the building, motioning two men to guard John.

Two hours later, he was standing in the
nearby airfield, watching as his men readied their private plane for take-off.
He would be travelling with John to Europe. He would leave nothing to chance.
The damn man was going back to where he belonged, or he would die during the
journey.

“Don’t kill him.”

He turned to see his First Man approaching
toward him. “Why not? If we’d done this when we had a chance, none of this
would have happened.”

“I’ve been telling myself that too, but even
as Immortals we have rules. You know that, Guardian.”

Drake winced at the reminder of his position.
“Maybe.”

Jake’s eyebrows rose. “I understand your
point of view, Drake. He hurt your Mate.”

Shock rolled through him. “She’s not my Mate.”

“Are you sure? Were you ever going to tell me
that she can talk to you mind-to-mind?”

Shit!
“It just happened today.”

“But, you were expecting it.”

Damn First Man who knew everything. “Yes.”

“So?”

“So, what?” He crossed his arms over his
chest and kept his gaze trained on his men.

“She’s doing something that no mortal should
be able to do, and you still think she’s not your Mate?”

“She’s not part of our world. Once she’s
completed the translation, she’ll go back to her life.”

“Is that what you really believe, or what
you’re trying to make yourself believe?”

“First Man, with due respect, this has got
nothing to do with you.” With a salute, he strode toward the plane, now eager
to leave and forget about the whole debacle for a day or two. He wouldn’t think
of Jessica and what might happen. After all, with his luck, she’d be so scared
of him, all of this would be a moot point by the time he came back from his
trip.

* * * *

Jake’s phone rang as he watched his Guardian
pound up the plane’s steps. “Yes?”

“She did it.”

He relaxed instantly at the sound of his
Mate’s voice. “What?”

“Jessica. She’s done it! She’s completed the
translation. I have the words in front of me, Jake, and...oh God, we can do it.
We can do it and maybe it’ll work, and Jake!”

He laughed at the pure happiness laced
through her voice. “Give her my thanks, darling. I’ll be home soon. Is she
okay?”

“Yes, she was banged up but she’s fine now.
Nothing a warm bath and some painkillers couldn’t help. Her nosebleed stopped
almost as soon as you guys left.”

“Good. I’ll tell Drake.”

“Speaking of Drake...”

“What is it, pet?” He’d heard the hesitation
in her words.

“Remember what we’d talked about? Can you
still see that connection between them?”

“Yes.” What he didn’t add was that it was
even stronger than before, the red line shining bright when they were together.

“Oh. That’s good. I like her.”

“I like her too. She seems...good for him.”

“Yes, I agree. See you soon?”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, pet.”

“Love you.”

He was smiling when he replied, “Love you
too.”

Chapter Seventeen

“A Light will encompass you all, mortals,
Immortals, all as one.

You will become one.”

Ambrotos (Translation by Jessica James)

Jessica barely had enough time to shade her
eyes with her hand.

As soon as Drake had come back from his trip,
a meeting had been convened and it’d been decided that the ritual would be done
that evening. She hadn’t managed to say no to Faye, so here she was, stuck in
the middle of a sea of Immortals.

Their First Man and his Mate were standing in
the middle of the room, their Guardian standing behind them with a half dozen
of other muscled men. He looked so much like a warrior it brought shivers down
her spine to know he’d been hers.

She listened to Jake and Faye and repeated
the words afterwards, all their voices culminating into a loud chant. When the
final word was proclaimed, a bright light burst above them. It was like an
explosion of color, blinding Jessica even though she’d expected it. After all
she’d been the one to translate the bloody thing!

All of a sudden, pain blossomed between her
legs, unlike anything she’d ever felt before. It was as if someone was biting
her down there. It hurt and even though it was a good hurt in a way, she
freaked out so much she started screaming.