“Shit,” Jack muttered. That could complicate things. But if she was truly untrained, then how had she produced the vortex?
"I’ll be back in a few. I meant what I said.” Olivia gave him her best don’t-screw-up face. "She's not one of your witches to be fucked and discarded."
Jack winced. She was right about one thing, this Zoe wasn't a woman to be discarded. She was, however, a woman to fuck. And he had every intention of doing so.
Carrying two mugs of tea, Olivia disappeared through the door. Mist and wind rushed in, the ocean crashed, and doorbells clanged. Then, all was quiet.
Alone at last.Jack sat down on the bed and brushed the dark hair off Zoe's forehead. For the first time in years, he allowed himself to imagine what it might be like to pass on his powerful genes to children. To know his clan would be safe for another generation.
Her lashes fluttered open, and her brows drew down when her eyes focused on him.
“You’re okay?” she whispered.
“Oh, no. I’m definitely notokay, Zoe.” He let the Z linger across his tongue. He breathed in her exotic scent and cupped her cheek in one hand. Oh man. She got to him.
“What? Is the darkness back? Is Olivia here?" She reached blindly over the driftwood side-table and on the floor beside the bed. "Where’re my glasses?”
“No. It’s not the darkness.” His hands shook when he placed her glasses on her nose. Her big brown eyes focused on him behind the thick lenses. Overwhelmed, he choked out the words he’d longed to say for years. “I want you for my mate.”
“What?" Her eyes went huge. She shuffled to a sitting position with her back pressed tightly against the headboard.
Holy Goddess.Her body said yes and her mouth said no. Olivia had to be wrong. Zoe was perfectly trained for the ritual about to unfold.
He placed his hand on her bare thigh, just below where her shorts ended, and allowed his heat and energy to infuse her. She squirmed, pulling her legs together.So nice. So sweet.He added tiny jolts of electricity as he stroked her bare leg, and chuckled at her responsiveness. Her full lips parted, and her gaze went to his mouth.
Not yet, Angel.
“I’ve been looking for you for a lifetime.” He touched a lock of her dark hair. “You’re my hope. My salvation.”
“I can’t be.” Her soft breath hit his nostrils with a scent that spoke of sex.
His brothers had warned him about the hot and the cold of the mating ritual, but how could anyone truly be prepared?
“You’re not already mated?” He held his breath.
She shook her head and her lips parted.
He exhaled. “You’ll be mine, now. Forever.”
Reaching out, he gently pulled the elastic from her hair, and the long, dark locks fell over her shoulders. She closed her eyes and moaned. He moved closer, caressing her cheek, inhaling her intoxicating scent.Strawberries and beach sand.His cock swelled.
She whimpered.
His tongue glued to the roof of his mouth. Never had he imagined that his clan’s sacred oath would be so hard to say.
“Fight me off, witch.”
Her eyes went wide and then she dissed him with a flawless amount of disdain. “I am not a witch.”
He laughed. Her act couldn’t be any better.
She placed her hands on his chest and gave him a small shove. "Listen, what’s your name? Jack? You’re very…attractive…but this issonot going to happen.”
“You know how this works. Either fight me off or kiss me. Decide.” There wasn’t a whole lot of rational thought left in Jack’s mating-brain.
“Okay. I choose to fight.” She scrunched up her face, raised her arm, and screamed. A violet vortex zoomed out of her hand and hit him dead center in the chest.
He was thrown clear across the room and lay on the floor with his eyes closed. Her sweet, beautiful energy exploded into his torso. Her essence was laced with stars, ocean breeze, and a silver moon. God almighty, he was so hard that he wasn’t sure if he’d last another minute.
