Nothing.
Stil nothing.
But he couldn’t give up.
He couldn’t leave.
An impatient knock broke through Charlie’s miserable stupor, his heart suddenly pounding as he stared at the motel room door. Wary and clasping the emerald in his pocket, Charlie took slow steps towards to the door, peering through the peephole to see what kind of visitor he had.
Shock and anger, mingled with a strange sense of relief shot through him as he ripped the door open.
Falon glared up at him in the dim light.
“How did you find me?”
Pushing past him with a familiar huff, Falon threw her bag onto one of the twin beds and whirled around to face him, her spiky, short hair flying around her pretty face. “Glass told me. He’s stil watching over my guild and Trey.”
Chin jutting out stubbornly, Charlie shook his head. “I’m not leaving until I find her.”
Stil glowering at him, Falon nodded as she slowly sank down onto the bed. “I knew you’d say that, that’s why I brought snacks and enough talismans and stones to conjure more, and whatever else we need.”
What? Charlie raised a questioning eyebrow.
She huffed again. “I know you’re just trying to protect me by running off without a word and pissing me off, but I’m just trying to protect you too. I’m not going anywhere. If you’re going to find and take down this bitch, then I’m going to help you do it.”
Attempting to ignore the ache in his chest and the way it seemed to constrict with way too much feeling, Charlie merely nodded. A little dumbstruck, he slowly closed the motel door and the rest of the world out, and successfuly closed himself in with this girl who had come out of nowhere and changed a big part of the game.
“You said you would protect her.”
Red spun around, torn from his own disbelief, his own musings, to face Sala. She stood in the entrance to his bedroom chamber, seeming uncaring that any Shaitan who passed may see her. With a furious flick of his hand, the door slammed shut behind her. Before he could admonish her, the pain in her eyes finaly registered along with her accusation.
He’d done everything he could to protect Ari: skirting around his father’s orders, keeping things from him, investigating him… discovering the truth…
Sighing and in no mood for a passionate argument with Sala, Red shrugged wearily. “I left Charlie to his own devices and I imagine Akasha wil be long gone before he ever finds her. As for Jai, yes, I cannot find him, but I am assured by my brother and father that he has come to no harm, nor wil he.”
Sala’s eyes blazed at him now and Red almost flinched back from the hurt in them. “And what of Ari? You said you’d protect her!”
Scowling, Red nodded. “I am protecting her. She is safer here in Mount Qaf with my father than she is anywhere else. The Seal, its properties, they are important to him. Azazil wil protect her.”
“Then why do I feel like something is wrong?” she hissed angrily. “I think she is dying, Red. I’ve always felt her here.” She beat a fist against her chest. “But I feel like the rope that tethers me to her is fraying.”
Shaking his head as dread settled over him, Red went with denial first. “No. Ari can’t be harmed. I know she can’t.”
“A mother knows, Red.” Sala shook her head and a tear fel down her cheek, hammering the dread firmly around Red’s heart.
Mind racing, he tried to think what to do. What could possibly have happened? Was it White? It couldn’t be Azazil?
Asmodeus?
Cursing, Red gave up guessing and strode determinedly towards Sala. He wiped the tears affectionately from her face and whispered, “Get back in the Cloak where I know you’l be safe. I’l cal on you when I know what’s happening.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Grab my healer and get to my father’s palace as soon as possible.”
24 - The Night is Immune to the Day but Addicted to the Light
“You really love what you do, don’t you,” Ari commented softly, sitting across from Jai in Michael’s small gymnasium. Fallon had disappeared on them
and Jai had finally called their training day to an end.
But instead of heading upstairs to shower before dinner like they always did, they both found themselves lingering, enjoying this rare moment alone. Jai was sitting down, leaning against the wall by the French doors, his strong hands dangling over his bent knees. He seemed relaxed for once. He had been
working Ari pretty hard these last few weeks and she knew it was because he wanted her to be able to take care of herself, in case he couldn’t be there to protect her. Ari didn’t even want to dwell on that. It didn’t bear thinking about. But taking pleasure in being able to study him uninterrupted, Ari wished Jai would worry a little more about himself and less about her. His eyes were tired, he looked a little leaner and he hadn’t shaved in a few days. For the
moment, he was just covered in bristly, sexy fuzz that made him look older, but in a few more days he’d have a full-on beard going on.
“What do you mean?” he asked with a slight smile, seeming also to take pleasure in the sight of her lying on her side along the edge of the training mat, her bent arm holding her head up so she could drink him in.
“Being Ginnaye. A protector. A guardian.”
“It’s the only thing I was ever good at.”
A sharp stab of regret bit into her. “And I’ve taken you away from it,” she murmured, her gaze dropping so she wouldn’t see his expression confirm it.
“I’m still doing my job, Ari.”
“You know what I mean.”
At his silence, Ari couldn’t help but look back up at him. He was frowning at her, and Ari might have confused it for a scowl if it hadn’t been for the soft tilt on the left side of his mouth that told her he was bemused, not angry. “Ari, it’s just a job.”
She guffawed at that. “You would never have said that two months ago. Two months ago it was your whole life.”
Her melancholy must have shown on her face because Jai got up with a big sigh only to lower himself down beside her, her bent knees curving around his
back. “Ari, the reason I loved my job was because I was looking for acceptance. I know that now.”
Drawn by his proximity, addicted to it even, Ari sat up so their bodies were turned into one another. “So you’re really okay about being here?”
He reached out to touch her cheek gently, and as if mesmerized by the feel of her, he forgot what he was about to say, his eyes following the rough tips of his fingers as they trailed a line down her cheek, across her neck, along her collarbone, before slowly drawing to a stop on her sternum. By now Ari’s
breathing was erratic, her chest rising and falling, willing his fingers to slip further down. Her eyes were glued to his face, waiting for his next move.
Finally, he blinked, clearing his throat as he came back to himself. But his eyes were a little brighter than before as he raised them from her chest to meet her gaze.
“Why are you asking me this again?” his voice was deeper, rumbling. “I told you when you asked me the first time to come with you that I’d do anything
to protect you.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t miss your life before.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “I liked my job. But I was indifferent to my life. And you changed that.”
She couldn’t help but smile at his meaningful look, butterflies beating their wings inside her chest instead of her belly. “You know what else has
changed?”
“What’s that?”
“You’re a lot more loquacious.”
Jai laughed, a soft rough sound that thrilled her. “Loquacious is a good word.”
“It is a good word. That’s exactly what I was thinking when I read it in a book last night. I was, like, I do not use that word enough. So I decided I was going to use it in a sentence today.”
He chuckled again, but the look in his eyes had grown more serious. “You’re so adorably weird, you know that.”
“Good idea to add the adorable part.”
Jai cocked his head to the side as if he were thinking deeply on the matter. “Yeah. It was. I think I’m getting good at this boyfriend crap.”
Ari burst out laughing, shaking her head. “Oh, I think you may need to work on it a little more. Boyfriend crap?”
They shared amused smiles until eventually a comfortable silence crept over them as they gazed at one another.
“I suppose we better get going,” Jai eventually said softly.
But Ari didn’t want to leave, and she didn’t think he did either.
Instead of replying to that, Ari reached out to run her fingers over the scruff on his cheeks. “You need to shave,” she whispered, loving the feel of his bristly whiskers against her skin. It was weird, but she wanted to kiss him right then just to feel the burn of those whiskers scraping against her skin. Like he would be marking her as his somehow.
Jai had grown still under her touch, his eyes darkening in a way Ari had come to recognize. It matched her own excited hunger. Needing to be closer to
him, she slid along the mat until they were pressed together and then she slowly curled her arm up around his neck, bringing her left cheek to his right as she nuzzled him like a cat, his two day beard abrading her soft skin.
Jai’s breathing sounded shallow in her ear as she felt his arm slip around her back, his fingers kneading her muscles. She turned her head, inhaling him, before pressing her lips to his cheek, a hot sensual press of her mouth to the corner of his. There was nothing innocent about that kiss and Jai’s hold on her tightened.
“I miss you,” she breathed deeply.
“Ari…” Jai groaned, but before he could respond she pulled back, biting her lip in anticipation. “What?” he asked, his fingers brushing lazy patterns on her spine.
“Take your shirt off,” she ordered gently, her voice low and husky. She liked how it sounded—hoped it would be enough to convince him to give into her
request. Ari bit her lip harder to stop the smile that awoke inside her as Jai’s eyes narrowed with intensity at her husky demand.
“What?”
“I just want to see you. I miss you. All of you.”
“You want me to take my shirt off here? Where we could get caught?”
“If anyone walks in they’ll just think we’re training. I’ve seen you train without your shirt on before.”
He didn’t look convinced but as if deciding he wanted to cater to her whim anyway, Jai stood up with a grace Ari both envied and lusted after. His strong, masculine grace was one of the hottest things about him.
Ari’s breathing grew strained as Jai stared down at her. He was completely focused on her, his gaze never wavering as he offered her a little strip tease, reaching for the hem of his t-shirt and raising it inch by slow inch until it was up over his head and then discarded on the mat beside her.
She’d seen him shirtless before, but she’d somehow forgotten over the weeks just how… wow. He was honed and roped.