Genesis (18 page)

He nodded, his white hair floating
above him like a plume of feathers. “That’d be a safe
assumption.”

I tilted my head at him. “Okay, what
message of doom do you have for me then?”

Jett chuckled. I shook my head. “This
doesn’t concern you.”

“
The hell it doesn’t. Don’t
even start to think I am leaving him here with you alone. I know
what happened in Ignis. Be assured—that will not be a part of
repeating history.”

Gibbit clamped his thin lips together.
“It don’t matter none if he’s here anyhow. What I have to tell you
has to do with a certain courtesan we all know.” He paused. I
didn’t know if it was for emphasis or what, but my heart plummeted
at the thought of Ainessa.

“
Go on,” I
prodded.

“
She has enlisted the help
of the Altasian Raiders.”

“
Who?”

Jett’s expression fell to grim. So this
was a big deal. He clenched his jaw. “Luthais would have informed
me if there was a threat within his lands.”

“
If’n he were able, sure he
would.”

“
What is that supposed to
mean?” I asked.

“
That particular lord is
under her spell. I’ve seen his kind before.”

Jett cleared his throat. “Nonsense.
Tabitha would have known.”

Gibbit turned away from us and hobbled
toward the front of the castle. He was just going to leave after
saying something like that?

I rushed to his side. “What makes you
think Luke has been compelled?”

His beady orange eyes blinked at me. “I
didn’t say that.”

“
Didn’t you? But I
thought—”

“
Mistress has other ways,
Rayla. You’ve seen what she can do.” His cold hand covered mine.
“Don’t go to Altasia. Make an excuse for why you have to go
elsewhere. You have to believe me. I’ve risked much by coming here,
but as I said before, you are my friend. I couldn’t stand to see
you hurt again or worse.”

Before I could say anything else, he
vanished.

Jett escorted me to my room. He also
insisted on coming in and checking to make sure I would be safe for
the night. How was I supposed to sleep? Come to think of it, I
hadn’t slept well since I came here. Fatigue knew me pretty well
now. As far as I was concerned it was all Heath’s fault. The next
time I saw him I was going to do something about it.

Jett seemed reluctant to leave, so I
led him to the couch. I still had questions, and he was going to
answer them. “Okay. I have to know who these Raiders are, and what
they could do to me.”

Unbelievably he yawned. “Forgive me.
This has been a long day.”

“
You’re telling
me.”

He gave me a lazy smile. “Within
Altasia reside several rebel factions. The Raiders are the worst of
the lot. They’ve been taking trips into the human realm even though
it is forbidden for any fae below lord status. They have also been
working with other dissidents within each house of fae to weaken
our government. Most think them no more than a rumor, they
supposedly disbanded long ago, but I believe they are merely the
cover of a deeper organization.”

“
So they’re meant to be a
distraction?”

He nodded. “Many have been locked up
for centuries, but more just take their place.” His slight frown
deepened. “I’m beginning to think they’ve found a way out of the
prison, too.”

I shook my head in utter disgust. “You
people have a lot of nerve asking me to fix this kind of garbage.
How am I supposed to unite something that has been splintering for
millennia?”

“
Begging your pardon, Rayla,
but I’ve never asked you to do anything.”

I cocked my head. “Yeah? What about
bonding with you?”

His skin tone deepened with a blush. “I
don’t exactly recall asking.”

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway…like I was
saying—”

His reply made me stop mid sentence.
“All I need is your power to fix this problem. I never wanted your
help.”

What an arrogant idiot. I let that
thought slip through the new formed barrier in my mind.

Jett snapped his neck around, glaring
at me. “Why would I risk you getting hurt when I wouldn’t have
to?”

“
I can’t believe you want me
to bond with you. What kind of weird relationship did you imagine
we’d have? Me as the little wife waiting at home, cooking your
dinner and washing your socks?”

His brows furrowed. “I would never
expect such a thing from a queen.” He just as quickly smiled. “Yet
the image is quite appealing.”

I cuffed him on the shoulder. “You
would think that. Does the word Neanderthal mean anything to
you?”

“
Very funny, Rayla. You know
what? You should start an act.”

“
Sure thing. I’ll call
it—twenty-one ways to ditch a fae.”

“
You’d have to succeed in
such an endeavor first.”

I laughed. “I’m working on
it.”

For whatever reason, the teasing light
drained from his face. “In all seriousness, I couldn’t ever allow
you to do anything that would put you in danger if there was even
the slightest chance of another option working.”

“
Good thing for me you don’t
get to make decisions like that.”

He tipped his head back a bit, staring
down his nose at me. “Yet.”

I shook my head, smiling.
“Ever.”

“
Oh, Rayla, what am I going
to do about you?”

“
If I were you, I’d forget
about me completely. Seems I’m nothing but trouble.”

“
I like trouble. You should
know that already.”

“
You act like we’ve known
each other for years. I still don’t know you all that
well.”

“
What’s to know?
Neanderthal, remember?” He beat his chest. “We simple minded.” He
jumped to his feet then fell to a half crouch. With a dark glint in
his eyes, he edged closer, curling his fingers inward and pushing
his hand against my shoulder. He grunted before he sprang at
me.

I squealed and rolled to the side. Too
late. He had me in a vice grip, pulling me toward him. He sniffed
my hair. I slapped his hand away. “Stop it!”

His dark voice sounded near my ear.
“Smell good.” His breath tickled my neck.

“
Okay. Cut it out. I’m
tired.”

“
Jett tired too.” He lifted
me into his arms and hauled me over to the bed. He gave me a brief
smile then dropped me on the mattress.

I laughed. “Good night,
Jett.”

He waved over his shoulder. “See you in
the morning.” He opened the door and turned toward me. “Sweet
dreams.”

I smiled and this time I couldn’t wipe
it from my face. “Just get out of here already.”

He waggled his eyebrows then closed the
door softly.

I lay back on the bed, covering my
eyes. That was probably the most fun I’d had with a guy
in…well…forever. Hmmm.

I woke to a racing pulse. Sweat dripped
down my hairline. Still in the fog of sleep, I blinked, trying to
banish my terror. Nothing was wrong. It never was. Of all the
nights for this to happen, when I had finally gotten a dreamless
sleep. I rolled onto my side and fluffed my pillow before I settled
back onto it.

A shadow moved in my peripheral vision.
Fear clamped my chest. Keeping as still as I could manage, I
scanned the nightstand, looking for a weapon. Nothing.

I told myself it wasn’t real. I was
imagining it. Maybe I was still dreaming?

The shadow headed for the door. I
didn’t even think about it first. I leapt off the bed and onto his
back in a matter of seconds.

A dark grunt split the night. He tried
to capture my hands, but I dug my arm further into his windpipe. He
stumbled. I tightened my hold.

Without much effort, he flipped me over
his back. I landed on the bed in a tangle of limbs. He straddled
me, pinning my arms faster than I could fling him off and clamped a
warm hand over my mouth.

I was now this man’s prisoner. Over my
dead body.

I set a fireball ablaze just above his
head. Before I had a chance to manipulate it or even use it to see
who this was, the thing evaporated into smoke that burned my
already aching lungs.

My attacker brought his mouth near my
ear. “I see you’ve learned a few things about your power.” He
grunted. “I could teach you to create an indestructible
fire.”

Heath? Oh heavens, he was invading my
dreams again. I tried to shout for him to get off me, but he
ignored my mumbled protests.

“
Not quite yet, Rayla.” He
laughed. “I rather like this position. Give me a few minutes and I
guarantee you will too.”

“
Scoundrel,” I said, only it
sounded like, mmm-mmm.

“
Scoundrel, is it?” He
wiggled on top of me, spreading his legs along mine. “I might as
well do something to deserve that label.”

My heart beat faster. Dang it. Why did
he affect me like this? Especially while I was dreaming. I should
be the one in control here, not him.

He laughed. The moonlight illuminated
his sharp cheekbones and too tempting lips. His fingers found the
strap at my shoulder then brushed it toward my upper
arm.

The warmth of his skin set my own on
fire. When I released a heavy sigh, he let go of my mouth. I licked
my parched lips, unsure what to say.

“
That’s much better, now
isn’t it?”

Heaven’s yes. I stopped my mind from
drifting to what I knew would be more amazing. Even if he was a
dream, he wasn’t going to control me. “Get off me,
Heath.”

He wriggled in deeper. “Oh, come now.
What sort of reception is this for your almost
bondmate?”

“
Almost is the key word
here.”

“
I know you want
me.”

I raised my brows, giving him a smirk.
“You probably know lots of things, don’t you? Like the cosmic
weight of sand, or maybe, oh, I don’t know, what Gibbit was doing
here tonight?”

He pulled back a little and smiled. My
eyes stuck on his sultry mouth. “I wanted to make sure you were
okay. I thought I could leave it to him to check on you, but when I
felt what happened earlier, I had to come.”

I scoffed. “The part where I almost got
eaten? Or the part where I was having more fun with Jett than you
can imagine?”

He chuckled. “I’d love to show you some
fun. Just say the word.”

“
I already did. Get off. And
before you say it, not that way.”

He full-out frowned at me. “Why can you
joke with him, but all you want to do with me is bite my head
off?”

I lifted my neck, but he didn’t budge.
I groaned. This wasn’t real. It had to be just the weird way my
subconscious was using to make me face my responsibilities—my
feelings. “I don’t know, all right?”

His fingers brushed my hair then
lingered at my nape. “I’ve missed you, Rayla. I ache for
you.”

He was not going to manipulate me
anymore, even if this was a dream, I needed to show him who he was
dealing with. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

When his lips feathered the hollow of
my neck, I melted into a puddle of need. “I know you feel the
same.”

Ooh the arrogance of this man. “Yeah,
well, too bad for you I know the difference between lust and real
desire.”

To my surprise, he raised his head and
smiled. “That’s right, baby. I was the one that taught
you.”

“
Heath, if you don’t get up,
I’m going to scream my head off.”

“
Threats mean nothing in a
dream.” He inched closer. “You’re not going to scream
anyway.”

“
One…”

Another chuckle. “I know your heart.
You want me so badly it’s eating you from the inside.”

“
Two…”

He inched toward my ear. “I’ll let you
in on a little secret. I really came here to fulfill that
need.”

Man that sounded good. “Three…” I
sucked in a huge mouthful of air.

His lips covered mine,
searing the scream right out of me. This
was
what I wanted.
This
was what I’d needed since the
moment I left Lombarda. I pulled him closer, taking in the spice of
him. I never wanted him to stop. I never wanted to wake up from
this dream. Was this a dream? I hoped so—I could get into this if
it were.

His groan sounded real, and his body,
oh the way he fit everywhere just right. I had to be dreaming
because I would never actually let him do this in real
life.

He laughed, flipping me on top of him.
“How’s this for real?” With that as my only warning, he pinched my
backside.

“
Ow!” I jumped off the bed
and covered my mouth.

Heath was in my room.

I should scream. How had I thought he
was a dream?