Stone Cold Seduction (16 page)

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I woke to the feel of a large, warm body wrapped around my back. A well-muscled arm rested around my waist, and warm breath teased the back of my neck. I could hear the sound of Jax’s deep, steady breathing, so I knew he was still asleep. My hand was loosely curled around his, and our feet were tangled.

This is what I’d loved the other day. I couldn’t help the feeling of happiness that bubbled inside.

I knew the instant Jax woke. His arm tightened around me briefly. “Good morning, my gem.”

I rolled toward him. “Morning.”

We smiled at each other, and I noticed his gray eyes had little flecks of silver, even when he was relaxed. His black hair was a little messy, and made him look even sexier.

My hair was tangled and matted, and I’m sure my eyes were puffy from sleep. But Jax looked at me as if I were the most beautiful woman in the world. His hand smoothed my hair out of my face, and he leaned in for a soft kiss.

The second before our lips touched, his stomach growled.

I laughed and settled back onto the pillow. “Sounds like we need to get you breakfast.”

His slow smile turned wicked as he leaned in. “I would settle for…”

The phone rang, effectively ruining the moment.

He clenched his jaw and rolled away. “Give me one minute.”

I watched in appreciation as he walked, naked and magnificent, to the dresser to grab the phone. I paid little attention to his clipped end of the conversation. My gaze traveled leisurely over him. The man had an amazing physique.

I heard him sigh, and he offered me an apologetic look before walking out of the bedroom. Oh well. I’d hop in the shower, and then see about getting us some breakfast.

His bathroom was as masculine as the rest of the house. The oversized shower was amazing. I let the shower head spray me with deliciously hot water for ten minutes. I imagined my tension and worry washing away, so I could give my full attention to the travel ahead.

I was pulling on a pair of jeans when Jax walked back into the room. He looked so disappointed, I laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll make us breakfast and make up for it later.”

He took the towel from me so I could pull my shirt on. “The shadow elves reported four souls missing last night and have increased the price on your head.”

That was not the news I wanted to hear. “My father managed that in a single night?”

“Yes, he probably waited for word of the gemstones to hit before announcing his loss. Teryl will pick us up in about forty-five minutes.”

There was nothing to get upset about yet. The hunters hadn’t found me. I just had to stay fixated on finding my fate. I forced a smile. “Okay, I’ll fix us something to eat while you get ready.”

“I don’t have much for breakfast.”

I released a mock sigh. “Typical bachelor. Will I find more than beer and mustard in your fridge?”

That earned me a slight smile. “I think I have eggs and bread.”

“Any cinnamon and sugar?”

“Ah, I might.”

I patted his firm butt. “Get ready. I’ll whip up breakfast.”

Before I could take two steps, he snagged my arm and pulled me back for a scorching hot kiss. When he finally released me, I swayed a little, dazed. “What was that for?”

“I liked waking up next to you.”

I touched my tingling lips. “Yeah, me, too.” I stood there for another moment, then hitched a thumb over my shoulder. “I…uh, I’ll just go get breakfast started.”

His deep chuckle followed me down the hall.

I managed to find everything I needed to make French toast. He even had a skillet. If I were a betting woman, I’d say he’d never cooked on it, but he got credit for having one in the first place. Humming to myself, I dished up a couple slices of perfectly golden toast.

Plate in hand, I turned around to find Jax inches from me. “Oh! Hi.”

“You made French toast?”

“Yes, you even have syrup in your fridge.”

He grinned sheepishly. “It’s for the frozen waffles I buy.”

I pointed at the table. “Go eat some real food, and I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

My phone rang just as we finished. I answered on the second ring. “Hey Teryl, we’re all set.”

“I’m downstairs in a cab. You guys need to hurry.” His voice was hushed and tense.

Jax arched a brow and I knew he’d heard Teryl’s end of the conversation.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

All I heard was static and the words “hunter” and “be here soon.” Jax lived on the third floor, but we didn’t bother with the elevator. We grabbed our meager luggage and rushed down three flights of stairs.

Teryl was standing at the trunk of the cab in front of the building and waved us over. “Hurry, we’ve got to get out of here.”

We stuffed our bags in and piled into the back seat. Teryl leaned toward the cab driver. “Sea-Tac airport.”

The cab driver nodded and fiddled with the radio until the sound of the Eagles filled the cab.

“What’s going on?” I asked softly.

“Jax told you about the latest theft?” When I nodded, he gave me a tight smile, before looking away. “Someone just issued a kill order. Dumb asses.”

I couldn’t hide my shocked gasp. I saw the driver’s gaze flick back to us in the rear view mirror. I pasted a fake smile on my face until he looked back at the road.

“That’s a sick joke,” I hissed at Teryl.

“It’s not a joke.” His gaze softened. “We need to get you to Carys, fast.”

I turned to Jax. “How good are the hunters at tracking?”

His eyes were streaked with silver and his lips were pressed into a thin line. He was silent for a full minute before he said, “Most are good, but a few are very good.”

Nausea rolled through me, and I closed my eyes. So much for washing my tension and worries away. I took a deep, shaky breath. If we could just get in the air and on our way to Scotland, we’d be okay. That’s what I wanted to believe.

“How many layovers do we have?” I asked.

Teryl pulled a printout from his coat pocket. He scanned the page. “Ah…looks like we touch down in Las Vegas for a two-hour layover, then London for four hours, then finally, Inverness Airport. If I’m calculating the time differences right, that is.”

“They can’t find us that fast, can they?” I was really hoping for a break, even a small one.

Jax scanned the streets as we made our way through Seattle. “A few might.”

I sat back and stared straight ahead. There were times when I wished Jax didn’t have to be quite so honest.

Teryl leaned across me. “Jax, if you have names, I might be able to figure out where they’re at and buy us more time.”

I eyed him. “You can do that?”

“Maybe. I’m not usually good at locating people, but I can find objects. Each hunter has a…”

I barely stopped myself from asking what. I didn’t want to know. I really didn’t want to know.

“Weapon,” Jax finished for him. “Yes. Maura will have her dagger, she calls it Drust. And Falon will have his gun, Enforcer. I don’t know what Altair uses. Blythe also has a dagger. Reaper, I think she calls it. And Luke”—Jax grabbed my trembling hand and kept talking—“I don’t know what Luke uses, either. Those are the only hunters who are capable of finding us this quickly.”

“Obsidian knife,” I said.

The weight of their gazes hit me. I had to swallow a few times before I could repeat myself. “Luke has an obsidian knife.”

“Elle, honey, I hate to ask you, but it will help me a lot. Does he have a name for it?”

My lips were dry and I was so cold. Why did fear have to be so cold?

“Princess,” I whispered. “He calls it Princess.”

Chapter Ten

By the time we arrived at the airport, I’d managed to get my fear under some semblance of control.

Barely.

It made sense that Luke was a hunter. But it was my worst nightmare come true.

Again.

Jax and Teryl constantly scanned our surroundings, and I let them. I had to get on the plane. One step at a time. If we could just get on the plane…I’d feel safe for a few hours.

Airport security was doing a thorough search of each passenger, and the lines didn’t seem to be moving. Teryl was writing on a piece of paper, and Jax looked more dangerous with every passing moment. I could hear planes taking off and landing. The noise in the airport was at a tolerable level. Throngs of people stood in lines or rushed to their destinations. Suitcases, purses, and briefcases were jostled around as passengers came and went.

My irritation was growing by the minute. I felt antsy, angry, and overwhelmed. I wanted out of here. I watched the airport employee methodically searching everyone, and the urge to scream grew stronger.

“He really needs to hurry,” I muttered.

To my complete amazement, he did.

Teryl whistled quietly, his eyes wide with shock. “What did you say?”

“I…I just said he needed to hurry.”

The man was moving twice as fast, and he was starting to attract attention.

“Tell the people around us to ignore him,” Jax whispered.

“What?”

“Just do it,” he growled in my ear.

I zeroed in on the people around us and whispered, “Ignore him.”

Teryl cursed when they all, miraculously, did. I looked around in growing horror as everyone shifted their attention to something or someone else. The airport employee continued to move at a remarkable speed.

We were through in five minutes. My legs were heavy as we walked to our gate. Teryl was stressed and alternated between scribbling notes on his paper and pacing. Jax looked angry. I didn’t know what to say.

Hey guys, I just manipulated a whole bunch of people effortlessly. What do you think of that? Is this what you mean by scary magic? Because you’re right.

Silence seemed like a great idea. I was actually afraid to open my mouth. What if I said the wrong thing and made people get hurt? This had
big, freaking disaster
written all over it.

When we boarded, Teryl took the window, and Jax seated me between them. I still didn’t say a word. Teryl grabbed a book from his carry-on bag and placed it on my lap. It was dark blue, slim, and worn around the edges. The title on the binding said
History
. That was it. No author was listed, and there was nothing on the front or back. Just
History
.

I raised my eyebrow at Teryl, but he was looking out the window. I opened the book. It was handwritten in a sweeping, cursive script.

A brief accounting of the lines of the otherworld. As told by the Oracles, as decreed by the gods.

The gods? Great. Like I needed the reminder of my potential unknown bloodline. Frowning, I flipped to the next page.

The oldest lines begin with the shadow and light elves. Light elves were created for the sun, and shadow elves for the moon. Shadow and light elves are blessed to watch over the continual flow of life, from dusk to dawn and back again. Light elves monitor the sun and sky, and ensure fertility of crops and creatures. Shadow elves monitor the moon and shadows, and the cycle of death.

Death? I nudged Teryl, and pointed to the sentence. He read over my shoulder, and gave me a strained smile.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds.” He spoke in a low voice, casting a furtive glance around at the other passengers. “I know it’s kind of hard to understand, but to give you a basic run down, originally, the light and shadow directed the cycle of life. The light would direct the birth and growth of everything from flowers to humans, and the shadow would control the ending. Things like the harvesting of the crops, or death. Here.” He took the book and flipped ahead, then handed it back and tapped on the page. “Start here. Most of this is seriously outdated because of the weak lines, and it doesn’t apply to modern day. It was started hundreds of years ago, and the last entry was about fifty years ago. It’s been passed down from oracle to oracle. But this will give you a better idea.”

I suppressed a small shiver. I didn’t want anything to do with death, if that’s what a shadow elf had to do. I could hardly handle life right now.

The page Teryl had turned to contained small, neatly written entries, and they were slightly easier to understand.

The lines continue to change. The blessed have become cursed. The cursed have become blessed. Shadow elves transform into the shadows. Strong family lines exhibit some forms of mind control. Light elves now influence fire and light. Seers are dying. Oracles are exhibiting more power, and fate readers are abundant.

Some forms of mind control? Dozens of people had obeyed my command, like puppets. If my father could do anything like that, no wonder he was able to get away with murder and who knew what else. No one should have that kind of control.

The handwriting changed with a new entry.

The strongest fate readers die young. Their minds cannot withstand the strain. None have lived beyond the age of twenty and five. The phoenix is created from the light elf line. Cursed to rise from the ashes, again and again. A family line was shamed, and it is their punishment. The gods are angry, for they have cursed some of their children to live as gargoyles. The gargoyles serve the shadow elves. Fierce creatures, armored in stone, they instill fear.

The gargoyles used to be gods? Phoenix began as cursed light elves. Gargoyles were cursed children of the gods. This was information overload.

“Teryl?” I leaned close. “Where does it talk about the demigods?”

He tapped the page again. “The children of the gods are demigods. Lesser gods. I wasn’t able to do much research last night, but the more I think about it, the more I suspect your mom
was
a demigod.”

My mom hadn’t been a gargoyle, I was certain. I frowned. “So they didn’t curse all of their children?” When he shook his head no, I stared at the book in my hands. “Were the demigods allowed to marry…ah…mate with any of the lines?”

“No, not that I know of. At least, I’ve never come across an instance of it in any of the history books I’ve read.” He grew quiet and stared out the window, lost in thought. Teryl had a habit of doing that when he was working on a problem. It always amazed me that he could go from pacing a room to still and pensive.

I went back to reading.

The lines are beginning to cross and the children are flawed. Fates are shortened and grim. The oracles did not foresee the deaths the children would cause. The number of seers dwindles. Each of the lines suffers. The shadow and light elves have asked the Council for guidance. The gods are quiet.

I stopped reading to watch the flight attendant run through the safety procedures. My mind wandered as she demonstrated the oxygen mask. Where were the gods? Was this all their doing? I’d never really thought much about a higher power. Any prayers I’d offered up had gone unanswered. Every single one of them. If there were gods, why weren’t they punishing my father?

The plane started down the runway, and I felt Jax stiffen beside me. His fingers were curled around the armrests and his knuckles were white. It distracted me for a moment.

“Jax? Everything okay?”

He didn’t look at me. “Fine,” he muttered, in a deeper than normal voice.

It was hard to believe him when his jaw was clenched and I could see the fine sheen of sweat on his brow. “Are you sick?”

“No.”

Then what…? Oh, boy. Understanding dawned in an instant. I didn’t want to say too much, but dared to whisper, “Are you afraid of flying?”

He pressed his lips together and didn’t say a word.

A grin spread across my face. I couldn’t help it. “Do you realize how ironic it is, that you’re afraid of flying?” I shouldn’t poke fun, but really, it was funny. He could turn into stone, or spread his wings and fly when he wanted to, but he was scared of flying in an airplane?

Besides, I’d take all of the humor I could get.

The plane picked up speed and we began our ascent. Jax closed his eyes and his breathing became more shallow. “Yes, the irony is not wasted on me.”

He looked miserable. I sighed in sympathy, closed the book, and grabbed his hand. He squeezed tight, and I rubbed my thumb along the back of his hand. “Do you remember the first day you showed up at my shop?”

He popped one silver eye open and glared at me. “Why?”

“I’d been having a horrible day. One of my suppliers had screwed up a shipment of carrier oils. Not only was one broken and leaking through the box, but they’d sent me the wrong ones. I had just hung up after an hour on the phone, I was covered in oil, and then in walks this gorgeous, sexy man, and he says he wants to apply for the job.” I rubbed his arm with my other hand. “I thought the universe was playing a cruel trick.”

His face was pale, but I saw the ghost of a smile touch his lips. “You hired me on the spot.”

“Right, like I’m going to turn down a hard-working hunk of eye candy,” I teased. Well, I was sort of teasing.

That earned me a full smile. “Eye candy?”

“Absolutely. In fact, when I saw your jeans…”

Teryl groaned. “Honestly? Could you save this conversation for another time and place? You’re going to damage my psyche.”

I ignored Teryl and asked Jax, “What made you answer the ad? A burning desire to smell soaps all day? You love the idea of packing and shipping boxes? If you tell me you were desperate for work, I won’t believe you.” His apartment was far too nice for what I paid him.

Jax turned his head to look straight at me. “It was because of you.”

“Ah, because I’m a mega-talented scent creator, and you secretly wanted to test all of my creations.”

He brought a hand up and cupped my cheek. “I came because of you. I always will.”

I could have cheerfully flung the book of History out of the plane. I could have ignored my father and the hunters and my fate, and pretended like the rest of the world didn’t exist. I could even ignore the gagging noises Teryl was making, although I wanted to break my no-violence rule and bean him in the head with his own book.

When Jax watched me with those silver eyes and that serious expression and that sculpted jaw…

In that moment, I fell in love with Jax. And there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.

The pilot announced we were free to move about the cabin, and Jax slowly shifted in his seat, releasing the grip he had on the arm rests. He must have realized we had successfully made it into the air, because he exhaled and leaned his head back against the seat. “Thank you, my gem.”

“You’re welcome,” I said. I was pretty sure I should be thanking him for what he was doing for me. And for what he was coming to mean to me. Wrong time, wrong place. I could wait.

“Well, I hate to interrupt this Kodak moment, but…” Teryl let his sentence hang in the air until I gave him my full attention.

“Remind me why you’re my best friend again?”

He flashed his signature disarming grin. “Because you love me. You can’t help it. And I’ve been thinking about something important. Besides you and Romeo.”

I sighed. He was right. But sometimes, he was so damn irritating. “I hope you had an epiphany of some sort.”

“I suppose you could say that. You’ve probably figured this out already, but you’re going to need to be careful with what you say.”

My stomach twisted. “Yeah, I figured that one out. How do I opt out of my abilities?”

Teryl lowered his voice. “The bad news? You can’t. It doesn’t work like that. The good news? Not everyone is susceptible. It’s also about your intention behind the words. You really wanted the line to move faster, so you made it happen. But if you tell someone to get you a glass of water and you don’t really want one? It might not work.”

“We’ll have to leave that theory untested for now.”

“I think that’s best. Jax, what do you think?”