Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend (16 page)

Even as she watched, his cuts pulled closed, bruises
lightened.

But there was one spot on his shoulder, right under his collarbone,
that drew her attention. There was no injury or bruise, but something that
nearly dropped her to her knees.

Her mark.

She shuffled forward, her arm lifting to touch him, a
compulsion she couldn’t refuse even if she wanted to.

Jackson moved as a blur, launching out of the chair and
catching her wrist so quickly she could barely track it.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she found her back
pressed against the cupboards, her ass perched precariously on the edge of the counter.
Both of them froze, afraid to move lest one of them break. She enjoyed the
feelings he invoked and didn’t want to ruin it by letting reality intrude.

“You play a dangerous game. If you touch that mark, I won’t
be able to stop from claiming every inch of you.”

What was meant as a threat had the opposite effect. Her body
turned molten with need, and she unconsciously swayed forward at his not-quite
invitation, the hunger that licked through her impossible to ignore any longer.

Her lips were just a breath short of touching paradise when her
balance slipped.

Reality came crashing back in a mortifying wave.

She wobbled and clutched Jackson’s arms to steady herself,
embarrassment heating her face. She ducked her head and reluctantly loosened
her hold, her fingers lingering for a second, unable to stop from stealing one
last touch, before she finally released him. She tensed to jump down when he
cupped the underside of her knees, slowly sliding his hand up the back of her
legs, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. He pushed forward until he settled
between her thighs, the thin barrier of clothing making the contract electric.

Her heart thumped heavily against her ribs, leaving her
giddy at the thought of his kiss. Desperate to know that he wanted her just as
badly, she lifted her gaze, then stopped short when it snagged on the collar he
wore. Wrath wrapped her up in its crushing grip to see him treated like some damned
house pet to be tamed and domesticated.

She reached up, her claws tearing through the leather and
cords until the straps fell away in her hands. She stared at the delicate, tiny
claws in surprise, watching as they disappeared as quickly as they came. A
sharp pinch of pain came from her fingertips as the claws came and went, but
not to the degree that she expected. It was over in an instant, her blood
instantly healing the injuries. She should be terrified by the ease with which
they appeared, but elation quickly replaced any other emotions.

It meant she could protect her pack.

Her attention dropped to the collar. Inside rested threads
of silver, ready to burn or even be used as a garrote to decapitate a shifter
if he tried to remove it. She expected to feel the burn of silver now that the
dragon thrived in her blood, but she still felt nothing and dropped the vile
collar to the floor.

For so many years she hadn’t been able to touch anyone
without the fear of killing them. Even the smallest brush of skin on skin was a
marvel she couldn’t take for granted. She waited for the familiar crippling
fear to infect her, the desperate need to scramble away and get to safety before
she harmed Jackson.

Instead, she wanted to get closer.

But he’d stopped moving, having come to his senses, the
bastard. Disappointment ricocheted through her with the realization that he
wasn’t going to act on his feelings.

Raven took advantage of her position and reached out,
placing her hand over her mark. It was a dirty trick, but the obstinate angle
of his chin said he wouldn’t relent, not even to steal one kiss.

A growl rumbled up his chest at her touch, pure lust heating
his eyes to a brilliant green. Without giving herself time to think, Raven
arched upward and kissed him.

Time froze for a second as she waited for his reaction, then
he exploded into motion. His grip flexed on her hips, pulling her snug against
him while his mouth devoured her. Breathing became unimportant as the kiss took
on a life of its own. When she nipped his bottom lip, she could feel the tips
of his nails rip into her jeans, his ferocious hunger unleashed.

Raven loved every moment, taking what she could before
reason returned and reality intruded. The thought of him stopping had her reaching
out to wrap herself around him. 

A possessive growl rumbled up his chest, and her body
melted. His hands glided upward, slipping under her shirt until bare skin met
skin and his fingers brushed lightly over her back. Her breath caught as her
whole body tingled at such a simple gesture. Unable to help herself, she
wiggled her hips, wanting more, then halted when she felt his arousal pressed
so intimately against her.

As if sensing her hesitation, Jackson eased back, the kiss
slowing as if he were savoring every last second. The effect was just as
devastating, and her body hummed with the knowledge that she had such an effect
on him when he so prided himself on his control.

After the labs and her deadly touch, she’d never been overly
attracted to men, never had a certain type that drew her, but something about
all his power, the care he took with her, drew her on an elemental level.

She craved more of his touch, his taste, adoring the
possessive way he clutched her to him. In an instant, she knew she could do
whatever she wanted to him and he would allow it—welcome anything she had to
offer. She raked her nails down his back, demanding more, and Jackson growled
in pleasure, his hips jerking against her

Her beast rose, eager to come out to play, and a frisson of unease
doused the desire to take everything he offered.

T
he instant Raven stopped responding, Jackson
eased back. To her regret, sanity slowly returned to his eyes. She panted to
catch her breath, growing uncomfortable under his regard, his once loving
embrace becoming restricting as the seductive mood that had so captured them
vanished.

The dragon howled in denial as the distance between them
grew. Claws thunked in her chest, as if trying to reach through her to keep him
close. Her eyes widened, startled by the realization, battling to rein in the
beast before anyone else could sense its presence.

Jackson pressed his face into her neck, trembling as he
fought for control. He licked her neck, more to soothe them both than anything
sexual.

The dragon calmed and hunkered down, appeased for the time
being.

“Not here.” He grabbed her shoulders, gently pushing her
away. “Not like this.”

Raven shivered, tightening her hold, not ready to let him
go. Before she could protest, he tore himself from her arms and stood on the
opposite side of the trailer, the farthest he could get from her without actually
leaving. Raven felt a fool when he couldn’t even bring himself look at her.

“Jackson—”

“Pack craves touch. When our beasts rise to the surface, so
does our need. I should’ve never touched you.”

His words were like a slap to the face, and she blanched at
the truth. “Of course.”

Mortified by her reaction, Raven jumped from the counter,
giving him her back as she quickly shoved her shirt back into her pants. Her
heart rested heavy in her chest, crushed to pulp as he reduced what they had just
shared to nothing more than a quick romp. Any woman would do. Before she could escape,
Jackson stepped in her path and cupped her chin, lifting her face up to his.

“You misunderstand.”

Jackson gave her that baffled, frustrated look she was
becoming familiar with, and she tried to smile … and failed. “I’m thinking too
human, aren’t I?”

His lips quirked for a second. “Women born to the pack are raised
away from the men. They’re trained from birth for seduction by older females to
get what they want. Men will always be stronger, but women have a different
power and they aren’t afraid to use it. They deal with infatuation and lust,
nothing deeper.”

He inched closer, heat warming his eyes. “Your touch is not
calculated, you give without taking. It’s more than what the pack would offer.”
He tipped her head back until he could stare into her eyes. “Don’t ever think
that you’re not enough.”

Nothing he said made sense. “Then why did you stop?”

“Durant and I are old enough to know what we want. You think
you are denying us something, but it’s the opposite.” Those wonderful whiskey-brown
eyes of his splintered green as his wolf rose. “Taggert grew up rogue. Pack
considers him tainted. No female inside the pack would want him for anything
more than to toy with him, turn him into a slave to do their bidding. We all
left that life behind and chose something else.” He pressed closer, invaded her
space. “You.”

Raven shifted uncomfortably under his penetrating stare and
found herself pinned against the wall by his body. His eyes dilated at the
contract, and she shivered with desire for more. When his hands trailed down
her sides, her breath left her in a rush, and she groaned in protest when he
stopped exploring her.

He rested his forehead against hers. “Touching you leaves us
both too vulnerable. I can’t let down my guard and take the time I need to show
you the pleasure you deserve.”

Raven nearly swallowed her tongue at the scorching heat in
his eyes. Much more pleasure and she’d burst into flames. “Don’t you think that
should be up to me?”

“You deserve more romance than to be taken like an animal in
a dirty trailer.” He pulled away, pacing the small confines of the room. He
stole glances at her, regret tightening his face, revealing that if he kept
touching her he would never stop.

He was right, of course, but the distance between them
devastated her control.

She crossed her arms, leaned against the wall to keep from
trailing after him like a lost puppy begging for scraps.

They needed to leave.

The dragon hissed and crouched, landing like a thousand
pounds had just sat on her. No matter how she probed the beast, the stubborn
creature refused to relent. That meant the danger still has not passed. One of
them was still destined to die. Unfortunately, Raven was very much afraid that
if they stayed, the very same thing would happen. She needed to find a way to
remove herself from the equation. “Remaining at the circus is becoming too
dangerous. I’m too much of a liability. Sooner or later Clancy’s going to use
me against the pack. If we tell them I’m a witch, I think it would give us more
leverage.”

Jackson halted on the spot, his shoulders straightening,
every inch of his body ready to fight. “We can’t risk Clancy become more
interested in you.”

Raven knew he was right, but she didn’t know how much more
abuse she could watch her pack endure before she broke. She debated leaving the
circus to their fate when Jackson stopped in front of her and tipped up her
chin.

“You’re a good alpha, but you need to learn how to be
ruthless. You need to learn that you can’t save everyone.”

“Maybe.” Raven found herself distracted by the way his
fingers feathered along her skin. She leaned into him, unable to bring herself
to pull away. “But we both know what’s happening here is wrong. These people
need help.”

Jackson’s face turned serious. “Interference in pack
business is a death sentence.”

“Even if they are forced into a pack against their will?”

Bitterness tinged the air around him. “Being here is better
than what most of them can expect. You see them as abused, but pack uses its
people to best support the pack. Only the alpha gets to decided which is best.”

Raven couldn’t believe what she was hearing and jerked away
from him. “Even if it’s wrong?”

Jackson’s hand dropped to his side, his fingers fisting.
“You still see things in the pack as right and wrong.”

She winced at his tone, knowing that she wasn’t as ruthless
as she needed to be, not if they wanted to survive the shifter world. “You make
that sound like a crime.”

He stroked a strand of her hair, playing with it between his
fingers, not daring to touch more. “For any other alpha, it would be. Any sign
of leniency, any sign of weakness, would destroy a pack.”

Her stomach lurched into her throat at the thought of her
actions endangering the people she’d come to care about way too much. “Oh.”

“You’ve somehow made it into a strength. You’ve banded
together a group of misfits in a way that no one else has ever been able to
manage.” He rubbed a hand down his face. “If you want to stay, we’ll stay.”

Indecision warred inside her, the need to do what was right
tugging at the need to keep her pack from harm. “I was trapped for most of my
life in the labs, studied and tortured, along with dozens of other shifters.
Wrong is wrong. I can’t abandon them, not yet. Give me another day. If things
aren’t better, then we’ll pull out.”

 She waited for his protest, but all he did was dip his
head. She dropped her gaze and found herself distracted by the smattering of
hair that arrowed down his chest and disappeared into the tiny shorts.
Awareness tingled down her spine, and she was very conscious that this was the
first time they’d been alone since he’d tricked her into claiming him.

And she couldn’t make herself regret what happened, fiercely
glad to call this man hers. “Ah…” She cleared her painfully dry throat, trying
to keep it professional. “You’ll want to try not to heal so fast.” Even now,
the bruises had faded from a viscous black to a nasty green and yellow. “The
last thing we want them to do is ask more questions. If they find out just how
powerful you are, it will put us all in more danger.”

Jackson just shrugged it off. “I have a feeling that after
tomorrow it won’t matter what they find out. You’ll either have torn out the
infection in the pack or destroyed it altogether.”

He stated the brutal truth without a flicker of emotions,
probably meant it as a compliment, but Raven bit her lip against the protest
that rose.

After all, it was the truth.