Jacob squeezed his eyes closed, and when they opened again, the green was dark and murky. "I’m not a man. And I’d appreciate it if you shut up until we got out of here. I’m already on the edge of losing control again."
Okay, then. Looked like there was another fuck of a face I was going to have to punch. His was so pretty that it would be a shame to bang it up, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do. And I didn't take disrespect like this.
Thankfully at this point he’d loosened his hold, and I was able to walk at his side like a person and not a possession dragged along. I was being deliberately obstinate about it, but men were prone to this shit and I wasn’t okay with it.
Two soldiers at the gate let us out, no questions asked, so someone had already radioed to let them know. It was nice not to have to fight another battle. Of course, we were in a war-torn city with no immediate way to get home…
Except.
"Want me to try and open a step-through?" I asked. Jeweled princesses had that ability. Last time I'd had my jeweled sisters with me, but there was a chance I could do it alone. My power was definitely there, as previously demonstrated, even if I didn’t have the best control over it.
"It's okay," Jacob said shortly. "I'll call Tyson."
And I was annoyed all over again. There was no need to act like I wasn’t capable, but since I already had too many battles to fight, I let that one go.
We left the compound behind; the streets were still and silent. The attackers and army were gone, and any locals would have scattered at the first sign of gunfire and explosions.
It was eerie, as if all life had ceased and we were the last two in the world.
All of a sudden Jacob spun, and once again his hands were on me. This time I was jerked closer, and I managed to get my elbow up, cracking him under the chin with it. He didn't even flinch.
One thing I would never deny was how tough he was—a fact that both scared and enticed me. Because I was damaged like that.
"What the fuck are you doing to me?" he demanded, his eyes still murky. "I never lose my cool and lately it's been every single day you're near me."
Our bodies touched in all places, except the small space where my elbow was still lodged against the base of his throat. It would be a simple thing for me to shift it higher, cut off his ability to speak…
But I wanted to hear what he had to say.
Only ... he wasn't saying anything else, and me being me, decided to push his buttons. "Are you saying that I'm the reason we're in this mess?" My voice got low and flinty—just the thought of that flicked my bitch switch on. "Like when a woman is raped and the man claims it was her fault for wearing a short skirt?"
Careful, fey. Answer very carefully.
Jacob jerked his head like I'd actually followed through with my elbow again and belted him in the face. "Never," he rumbled, and the conviction there, not to mention the heat billowing off him, was enough for me to see the truth. "I claim my own actions. I’m the reason we're in this mess. But I need to know why you affect my equilibrium as you do. Very few things in this world, in my years of living, have changed the base of my calm nature. You ... you change it." He didn't like feeling out of control, didn't know how to deal with it, and I decided to be brutally honest.
Swallowing hard, I said, "I think you're my mate."
11
Jacob Compass
Her eyes were lasers beaming into my fucking soul. She was watching closely for my reaction to her declaration. Unlike her previous comment, comparing me not so subtly to a rapist, this one didn't kick me in the gut.
Nope. This one kicked me in my dick, as that asshole jumped to attention like he'd just been given permission to seduce the woman I held in my arms. We were pressed close together, so no doubt she had an idea of the way she affected me physically, but now was definitely not the fucking time.
I wasn't sure there was ever going to be a time.
My brothers might be happily mated, raising little supes, and living lives of loved-up bliss, but there was a reason I felt uneasy around Justice. I was not myself. I didn't like the loss of control, and part of me wondered if maybe the best thing was to walk away.
Could I walk away?
"You're just not going to say anything?" she asked, the fire that lived in her soul blaring to life in the red of her irises. "I drop that bombshell and you’ve got nothing but a bit of an eye and dick twitch going on."
I snorted. "Fuck, you have zero filter."
She shrugged, or at least attempted to around my hold.Let her go.I'd been saying that to myself pretty much since I first touched her, but apparently I had selective internal hearing today.
"I appreciate the truth," she told me, and I nodded.
