Most Wanted - A Fantasy Romance Novel (The Shadow Blade Series) (18 page)

Ariel gazed into
Jax’s eyes, feeling the heat of his lips and the pull of his body. She ran her
hand up his chest and traced her fingers along his jaw and then his lips. She
thought about Saul and about Rikon Fayette and all that she had planned. She
thought about the airplane she was meant to be on by now and the life she’d
promised herself, and then she stared into Jax’s eyes for a beat longer and
realized that the only thing she really wanted was Jax. The rest was just white
noise.

‘Yes,’ she
whispered.

His grip
tightened, his other hand coming around her waist. He drew her against him and
finally kissed her. Ariel’s breath left her body in one long sigh. She melted
into him, feeling every cell in her body dissolve. Light pulsed behind her
eyelids and butterflies multiplied and took flight in her chest.

As she wound her
arms around Jax’s neck and ran her fingers through his hair she felt the world
beyond this tight embrace slip away. It was just the two of them; Jax’s tender
kisses, her name falling from his lips, his body encircling hers, holding her
and tethering her to the ground. Without his arms around her she thought she
might float up to the ceiling.

As their kisses
became hotter and more frantic, Ariel felt as if the oxygen in the room was
running out, that she was going to faint. ‘Jax,’ she murmured, drawing back and
looking at him. ‘Jax,’ she said again, just because she liked to say his name.
He slipped his tongue into her mouth and she groaned at the feel of him as he
started exploring her mouth and lips, teasing her tongue with his own.

The dull pain
between her legs became sharper. She wasn’t sure she could bear to make love to
him again, but she also knew she couldn’t bear not to. Suddenly an idea
occurred to her. There was another way to give and receive pleasure.

She pulled away,
though Jax’s grip on her didn’t ease off. She nudged him backwards towards the
living room and when he saw the fire in her eyes she saw the smile spread
across his face. But, she grinned to herself, he had no idea exactly what she
had in mind.

At the thought
of what she was about to do she felt a warmth spread between her legs. She
pushed Jax down onto the sofa and stood over him.

‘You’re so
beautiful,’ he said in a strangely anguished voice as he stared up at her. ‘I
could just stare at you forever.’

She smiled at
him and then sank to her knees in front of him.

What was she
doing? Oh God. Jax drew in a deep breath, filling his lungs. His head started
to spin. Oh holy shit. Ariel’s fingers were stroking up his thighs. He felt
himself swell and bulge in response, his erection pressing painfully against
his belt buckle. As if realizing how uncomfortable he was her fingers worked
nimbly to free him.

Jax stared at
Ariel’s lips, the full bottom one that tasted just as sweet as the lips to her
pussy and he felt himself jolt as she took him in her hand. He threw back his
head and stared at the ceiling, trying to force some control over his
reactions. But before he could even take another breath he felt Ariel’s tongue
swirl over the tip of his cock and then her mouth swallow him and he knew he
was no longer in control of anything.

His hips jerked
and he heard the moans shattering the silence in the room as Ariel dipped her
head once more and took his whole thick shaft into her mouth, running her
tongue across the head and squeezing him hard at the base. She had no idea how
incredible it felt. His hand rested on her head, stroking her hair. She glanced
at him, her eyes dancing. Yeah, she knew. His reaction was telling her everything
she needed to know, and the heat of her tongue, the heat of her mouth was
everything. Stars danced across his eyelids as she sucked and licked and her
hands stroked and squeezed, coaxing him on.

He didn’t need
any coaxing. Just watching Ariel tease his cock with her tongue was enough. He
had so many plans to make this up to her but right now he sensed she just
wanted to give him pleasure, and he was more than happy to accept.

He threw his
head back and gave into the ecstasy of her mouth, recognizing in the depths of
his consciousness that this moment in time was everything, that it would be
everything going forwards, that Ariel was now bound to him in some unspoken yet
very real way. This pleasure she was giving and that he would soon return to
her was going to be his for the taking, every single day for the rest of his
life.

Ariel suddenly
started sucking harder, her mouth and hand working in unison to bring him to
the very edge of orgasm. She groaned as she swallowed him, almost to the hilt,
seeming to be enjoying the experience as much as he was.

Ariel ached. She
ached to straddle him and feel him thrusting into her to spend his seed, but
she also wanted to show him just how much she loved to see him orgasm and she
wanted him to come in her mouth so she could taste him as he had tasted her.
With increasing frenzy she licked the head of his cock and sucked on his rock
hard shaft. The tip was so smooth and the taste of him drove her on. She
concentrated on his reactions, sensing how he liked to be touched by the minute
trembles in his muscles and the depths of the groans she was eliciting. He
liked it when she swirled the tip of her tongue across his slit and he liked it
even more when she drove down onto his shaft and swallowed him whole, her lips
sucking gently as her hand softly squeezed the base of his shaft.

Keeping up a
rhythm she felt him grow even harder, the top of his cock swelling between her
lips. The thighs of his muscles clenched, and she moved her lips faster, having
to suppress her own groans.

‘I’m going to
come,’ she heard him say, in a tone caught somewhere between agony and bliss,
and she flicked her tongue and took his whole cock into her mouth. He let out a
thundering cry and come spurted hot and salty onto her tongue. She sucked him,
coaxing more and more from his pulsing shaft, swallowing it all hungrily.

Tracing her
tongue up his still engorged shaft she kissed the tip and he jolted violently,
letting out another cry. He opened his eyes and stared at her glassily. She
licked her lips still tasting him there.

‘Holy shit,’ he
murmured. ‘Next time you’re going to do that, warn me so I can prepare myself.
I’m not sure I’m going to be able to walk for a day.’

Ariel grinned at
him and then hopped onto his lap. ‘That’s karma,’ she laughed. He drew her
close and she sighed contentedly as she rested her head against his hammering
heart.

‘You’re
amazing,’ he whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek.

Finally, when he
felt some feeling return to his legs and thought he might be at last able to stand,
Jax lifted Ariel off his lap and stood. She pouted up at him. ‘Where are you
going?’ she asked as he did up his fly.

‘I’m going to
sort out this bounty problem,’ he told her, ‘and then we’re going to find Rikon
Fayette.’

She was on her
feet immediately. ‘What?’ she demanded.

He wrapped his
hand around her neck, pulled her close and kissed her. ‘I’m going to go see
Jimmy, cut a deal with him, and then we’re going to find Rikon Fayette.’

Ariel blinked at
him, still shaking her head in confusion. ‘What?’

‘He’s the guy
who killed Saul right?’ Jax asked.

She nodded and
he took her face in his hands again, brushing her hair behind her ears with his
thumbs. He stared into her sea-green eyes and smiled. He hadn’t felt this way
about a woman in five years. Not since Neve had died. They had only been
married three years and the loss of her had almost destroyed him. He thought
about her now though and smiled. She had told him before she died that she
wanted him to move on, to find someone new, stop being a Blade and have a
family. He would have done all of that and more for her. But she was gone, and
here he was, finally ready to move on and do what he had promised her he would.

‘Why would you
want to kill Rikon though?’ Ariel asked. ‘He’s not your problem.’

‘Ariel,’ Jax
said softly. ‘It’s important to you, if it’s your problem, it’s
my
problem too. And one thing I do know
about is closure. I don’t think you’ll ever fully be able to move on until you
have that.’ He paused and watched the knowledge of what he’d said hit her.
 
He pressed his lips against her forehead
and held her close. ‘Ariel I want you to be able to move on. I want you to be
mine. Completely mine. I don’t want either of us living in the past any more. I
want us to be here, right now, in every moment, with each other. I think we
might have a shot at a future. But only if we put the past to rest.’

He felt Ariel
press against him and he heard what sounded like a sob. He wrapped his arms
around her, feeling an overwhelming need to protect her, to keep her safe from
everything bad in the world.

As Jax held her,
Ariel thought about Saul. It had been eight long, lonely years without him.
Sure there had been the occasional lover to break the gloom but nobody like
Jax, nobody who’d made her heart leap in her chest and hope filter through her
darkest thoughts. When Jax held her she felt like anything was possible. The
future didn’t just contain a dirty apartment overrun with cockroaches, an
endless tide of bounties to hunt down and the dismal awareness that she was
alone. With Jax at her side she felt stronger, more capable and without a
doubt, happy. Happier than she’d ever felt in fact.

‘He’s in
Europe,’ she said softly.

Jax held her by
the top of her arms and gently prized her from his chest. ‘Who’s in Europe?’

‘Rikon,’ she
said.

Jax studied her
for several seconds then he smiled. ‘I’ve always wanted to go back to Europe.’

Ariel narrowed
her eyes at him. Was he serious? ‘What about your job here? You can’t just walk
away from it,’ she said. ‘I thought you Blades all had your quadrants and
sectors to manage.’

Jax shrugged.
‘I’ll handle that,’ he said. ‘I’ll get some help to cover my area for a week or
two. It can be managed. There are Blades in Europe. Maybe I can make it a
recruitment trip. It’s been done in the past.’

Ariel cocked an
eyebrow at him.

‘Come on,’ he
said, nudging her in the ribs. ‘It’ll be fun.’ He was daring her, his eyes
sparking with adventure.

She felt the
answering call in her blood. It did sound fun; exotic locations, hot sex,
revenge. She grinned and reached up on tiptoe to kiss him.

Jax ran upstairs
to pack a bag and Ariel wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. She
felt like she was riding a huge high; her adrenaline was pumping, her skin was
tingling. She felt more wide-awake and alive than she had in years, possibly
ever. She imagined herself and Jax in Europe and smiled to herself.

They would sort
this thing out with Jimmy – she would go back to him and pay the six
hundred thousand and he would call off the hit. And, though it went against her
better instinct to do a deal like that with a two-faced bastard like Jimmy, it
would mean she and Jax wouldn’t always be looking over their shoulders for the
rest of their lives. Her only fear was that Jimmy would try to screw her over
some how, would ask for more money, or keep on asking, but it was a risk they
had to take. And besides, they would be in Europe. Jimmy’s reach didn’t stretch
that far. One day she’d come back and get her revenge on Jimmy. One day when
he’d forgotten all about her.

Ariel set her
glass down on the pristine draining board and walked to the window. Through the
tree line she saw the lights of LA sparkling, looking like an MRI image of a
body; the arterial red and white of the freeways and the pinprick yellow bursts
multiplying cells. She rested her palm against the glass. She wasn’t going to
miss this place one bit.

In the dark
glass of the window she caught a flash of movement and saw Jax approaching her
from behind. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled into her neck.
Ariel let out a sigh, relaxing backwards against him. They needed to get out of
here. It was past midnight and she was concerned that it wouldn’t be long
before one of the bounty hunters found them, but when Jax swept her up like
that, when he pressed his lips to her neck, she found it almost impossible to
summon the will. She wanted to stand there with him watching the sun rise and
the dawn light the sky.

But then she
froze, her stomach muscles locking and her blood turning nitrogen cold. Her
eyes met Jax’s dark gaze in the glass. He was sneering at her, his lip curled
upwards. She watched in disbelief as his hand slipped to the blade at his
thigh. In the split second where Ariel took all this in, she realized exactly
what her senses had picked up the moment Jax walked into the kitchen. It wasn’t
him.

It was Aaron. He
had shifted, turned himself into Jax, and he was here to kill them. Ariel
computed this in the second it took him to pull his blade from its sheath and
for his other hand to grip her by the jaw.

A scream burst
out of her throat but was cut instantly off by the cold press of steel against
her skin. Her heart burst in her chest, a thousand thoughts scattering; where
was her own blade? Where was Jax? How had Aaron got in?

Out the corner
of her eye she saw her Shadow blade lying where she’d left it on the side by
the refrigerator. Shit. She stared into Aaron’s eyes. How had she mistaken him
for Jax? There was no warmth there, no desire, nothing but pure bone-chilling evil.

The blade bit
into her skin. She struggled against his grip, letting out a whimper as she
felt blood start to trickle down her neck. In the glass she saw herself
reflected, the whites of her eyes bright with fear, her hands gripping the arm
that held the knife. Jax’s arm, but not Jax’s arm.

‘Where is he?’
Aaron whispered in her ear and his voice was Jax’s voice but not. It was
rasping and vicious rather than soft and low, and she flinched at the sound of
it.

She shook her
head. She wasn’t about to give him up.

Aaron wrenched
her tighter against his chest. The knife bit deeper and Ariel hissed through
her teeth as she felt it sting and more blood start to trickle down her neck.
Rage burst electric in every cell of her body. She wasn’t going to die like
this. She refused to.

Just then a
sound made Aaron whip around, holding her still in his arms, the blade pressed
to her throat. Jax was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He was holding a
bag in one hand, his jacket in the other. His eyes flew to Ariel and she saw
the cold anger flicker across his face as he took in the blade against her neck
and the trail of blood running down her neck.

Jax moved his
gaze slowly to Aaron. If he was surprised to see his doppelganger he didn’t show
it. His expression was stony and hard, his eyes glinting with menace. Ariel
watched the tendons in his shoulders and neck become taut. He dropped the bag
gently to the floor and laid his jacket on the side.

‘Let her go,’ he
said, his voice managing to be both soft and threatening at the same time.

Aaron made a
grunting sound in the back of his throat – a sneer? A laugh?

‘Let her go and
I’ll come with you,’ Jax said.

‘No!’ Ariel
screamed.

Jax took his
eyes off Aaron’s face just briefly to glance at her. He gave her what she
guessed was meant to be a reassuring smile, his eyes burning into hers as
though telling her everything was going to be OK but Ariel still struggled in
Aaron’s arms. What was he doing? He couldn’t just hand himself over like that?

‘I won’t fight
you,’ Jax said now, looking at Aaron talking softly and gently, as though
trying to coax a wild animal into a cage. ‘I’ll come with you and let you hand
me in to the Brothers. They want me alive right? I’m worth a million alive.’

Ariel felt Aaron’s
grip loosen slightly on her neck.

‘If you hurt
her,’ Jax said, sighing and giving him a slight shrug, ‘then I’m just going to
have to kill you.’

Jax stared at
the creature holding Ariel – it was weird to be looking at a carbon copy
of himself, but he barely registered it. All he could focus on was the bright
red trail of blood oozing down Ariel’s neck. The sight of it ignited a rage in
him that burned so deep it was taking all his willpower to keep control of his
voice and act calm. He didn’t know who this demon was, what his strength was,
whether he would actually hurt Ariel, or if he was just using her to threaten
him. Jax was fairly sure it was the same guy who they’d met the other night,
hunting the Original – that bounty hunter who’d been pissed that they
beat him to it. He cursed himself for having no weapon on him, though he wasn’t
sure what good a weapon would do right now, not with Ariel in the way of any
kill shot.

The guy was contemplating
the offer Jax had made. He could see the cold calculations taking place in his
eyes. Jax felt the very conflicted emotion of wanting to punch his own
reflection in the face repeatedly.

‘I don’t think
you’re in a position to negotiate,’ the guy rasped.

He noted Ariel’s
chest was rising and falling rapidly, her hands were clutching at the guy’s
arm, trying to hold the knife away from her throat, but then her right hand
dropped to her side. Jax frowned and then caught the slight movement she was
making, her finger pointing towards something. He didn’t want to take his eyes
off the guy but did, glancing at where Ariel was pointing. Straightaway he saw
the hilt of her Shadow blade resting on the side, hidden slightly behind the
refrigerator door.
 

When he looked
back at Ariel he saw the fire in her eyes and recognized what she was trying to
tell him. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod. Her eyes blazed. The knife
was several strides away from him. He wouldn’t have time to reach it, not
without risking Ariel’s life. She would need to distract him. Which was exactly
what she had planned. After he nodded at her he saw her take in a deep breath
and close her eyes. In the next second she disappeared right in front of his
eyes.

Ariel faded, but
it meant nothing. Aaron was still holding her tightly, the blade was still
pressed against her skin. But she was able to move her arms without him seeing.
She moved one hand behind the arm that was holding the knife to her neck and
the other palm she brought under his chin. In one brutal movement she slammed
Aaron’s chin up with all the force she could muster. His head went snapping up,
his other hand jerking, trying to slice the blade across her throat. But she
was prepared for that. She held the arm, trying to wrestle the blade from his
grip. She stamped down with all her weight on his foot and heard him let out a
bellow, and suddenly the fight was in her, blazing through her veins. She was
wind and fire and air, something elemental powering her movements.

She moved with
animal grace and strength, punching his elbow, hearing the blade clatter
finally to the floor. She spun from his grasping hands and slammed her heel
into his solar plexus. Aaron flew back against the glass, his body splayed.

‘Ariel!’

She turned,
materializing and saw Jax, her blade in his hand. Seeing what he meant to do
Ariel rolled and ducked.

Jax threw the
blade. It embedded itself up to the hilt in Aaron’s chest, punching through the
ribs and piercing his heart. Ariel heard it beat one final time and watched as
Aaron’s hands moved to grasp the blade before falling uselessly to his sides.
He glanced up at her, shock on his face, an expression that quickly transformed
into terror. And then, a second later, his eyes went blank and he sank to the
floor.

Ariel let go of
the breath she had been holding, all the energy and fire she’d been feeling
suddenly extinguished like a candle being snuffed out. She stared at the body
on the floor – at Jax on the floor – and then she felt arms come
around her. Jax’s scent enfolded her, filled her nostrils and she twisted around,
clinging to his strong frame, burying her head in his shoulder and inhaling him,
wanting to never let got. His hands were in her hair, his lips pressed to the
top of her head.

He drew her away
from his embrace and stared down at her. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked, his voice
quaking with emotion.

Ariel couldn’t
muster the words so she just nodded. Was she OK? Yes. Yes. She stared at the
body on the floor and shuddered. ‘I’m fine,’ she said.

Jax winced at
something then turned away, grabbing a towel from the side. ‘The bastard,’ he
muttered, ‘pressing it to her throat.’

Ouch. She was
bleeding. Suddenly she started trembling violently as the adrenaline leached
out of her body and the shock started to set in. Jax held the towel gently
against her neck, his expression almost as fierce as it had been when he walked
into the kitchen and saw Aaron holding her hostage.

Ariel placed her
hands over his and waited for him to lock eyes with her. When he did she
inhaled slowly and saw him slowly recover his calm. She tried to smile but her
neck was stinging too much. She turned her head to look at the body on the
floor. It was unsettling to see Jax lying there, propped against the window,
with her blade sticking out of his chest.

Prizing herself
from Jax’s arms, Ariel walked towards the body, knelt down and tugged her blade
free. It came easily and she stopped to wipe the blood off on Aaron’s shirt.

She stared into
the deep brown of Jax’s eyes, empty and dulled by death and then stood slowly,
an idea starting to form in her mind.