Book One: The Girl (The Sanctum) (7 page)

Jools slunk down
the hall of the West wing of the Academy, hoping no one would hear her and she could catch Ryker before he started his day. She passed several doors until she reached his at the end of the hall, directly across from her brother. Of course, the two of them would be right across the hall from each other, close to the training facilities and away from her parents. Whatever Wyatt and Ryker wanted, The Sanctum provided. Jools rolled her eyes as she stood in front of Ryker’s door, knowing she shouldn’t feel annoyed, but succumbing to the emotion nonetheless.

She was as talented as Wyatt and Ryker, and definitely more cold-blooded and deadlier than either boy, making their constant deification an even bigger thorn in her side. But she wasn’t here at five fifteen in the morning to rile herself up about petty slights and irritations. Jools was standing in front of Ryker’s door to do something she had never done before but something that felt suddenly necessary.

“Hey.”

Jools swung around in shock, not expecting anyone to see her outside Ryker’s room.

“What’s up?” Wyatt asked.

“Um...,” Jools paused, not really wanting to explain herself.

“Jools?” Wyatt used that tone of voice she hated, speaking to her like she was a child.

“Wyatt.” She retorted, using the same tone, knowing it would drive her brother nuts.

But instead of engaging in his usual behavior and lecturing her about being places she wasn’t supposed to be, Wyatt slipped past her and started to unlock his suite. Apparently, she wasn’t the only person up to something this morning.

“The better question,” Jools spoke to her brother’s back, “is what exactly are you doing, big brother?”

“Nothing. I’m doing nothing, Jools.” Wyatt leaned his head against the door and sighed with exhaustion, “for once in your life just mind your own business.”

Jools observed Wyatt’s tense neck and shoulders and a rawness in his voice she had never before heard. Her brother was always tightly wound, but this was something altogether different. This was beyond the stress of his training sessions or his duties as a warrior serving The Sanctum.

“What’s wrong, Wyatt?”

Wyatt took a deep breath, sensing Jools wasn’t going to let this chance encounter go by without comment. He plastered a smile on his face and turned around to face her, ready to tell whatever lie necessary to divert her attention from him and onto something else.

“Nothing’s wrong. Why?”

Jools studied Wyatt’s face again. One second he seemed brittle and tense, the next, he was smiling and relaxed.

“I don’t know,” she continued staring at Wyatt, knowing he was hiding something but not sure what or why, “you just seemed so stressed.”

“Nah, Jools. I’m good.” Wyatt smiled tiredly and then turned to head into his room, wanting only to hit his bed for a bit.

“Really? You’re good?” Jools asked incredulously, not appreciating being lied to, her temper getting the better of her. “That’s why you’re wandering, god knows where in the middle of the night?”

Wyatt turned around and shushed his sister.

“Keep it down, Jools. Are you trying to wake up the entire hall?”

“No, Wyatt. I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on with you,” Jools hissed, doing her best to keep her voice down. “I catch you sneaking back into your room at five in the morning, looking like pure hell and then you lie to me, probably hoping to distract me from this very fact.”

Wyatt didn’t have the energy for a battle this morning. He turned away from Jools for the last time, determined to meet his mattress for some much-needed rest.

“Two Clayworths for the price of one,” Ryker’s voice caught the bickering siblings off-guard, “must be my lucky day.”

The sarcasm in Ryker’s voice stung, but Jools didn’t let on.

Ryker crossed his arms and leaned in his doorway, annoyed at being awoken so early on the one day of the week he could actually sleep in late.

“What are you guys doing out here, yelling at each other no less, at five in the morning?”

Wyatt knew an opportunity when he saw one.

“Sorry, Ry. I heard her out here, standing outside your door and told her to keep it moving but this is Jools we’re talking about,” Wyatt trailed off, allowing Ryker to finish the thought however he chose.

Wyatt then walked into his room, closed the door behind him and left Jools in the hall with her jaw on the ground, amazed her brother had just played her like that.

“That is not what happened,” Jools denied Wyatt’s version of events, wishing she could wring her brother’s neck, “at all.”

Ryker didn’t move, watching Jools closely, wondering exactly what she wanted. He knew she was up to something because, as long as he had known her, Jools was not what one would call an early riser. But truth be told, he wasn’t interested enough to ask. In fact, after yesterday, Ryker just wanted to be left alone for a little while. Today was his day off and he planned to slip away from everyone and head upstate to do some hiking. By himself.

None of his plans included Jools, standing in his doorway before sunrise.

“Where are you going?” Jools asked as she craned her neck around Ryker’s figure in the doorway and spied a packed bag.

Ryker kicked the bag further into his room, “nowhere.”

“That right there,” Jools pointed at the bag Ryker wanted to pretend didn’t exist, “doesn’t look like nowhere.”

“Jools, you’re not here to discuss my travel plans,” Ryker stated flatly, not interested in flirting at this ungodly hour. “What do you want?”

Ryker never spoke to Jools so curtly and she didn’t quite know how to react. She was used to him doting on her, paying her special attention, but now everything about him screamed “leave me alone”, from his furrowed brow to his tense forearms.

“Are you mad at me?”

“You’re standing outside my door at the crack of dawn to see if I’m mad at you?” Ryker could not help but laugh at Jools. “Unbelievable.”

“What?”

"Your ability to make every situation about yourself is uncanny."

This was not the way Jools envisioned things going when she set out from her room this morning. She planned on getting back in Ryker's good graces but apparently she was only making things worse.

"I didn't mean it like that."

Ryker just stared at her, waiting. And she hated it. She hated the way he was looking at her, like she was a nuisance. An annoyance. An early-morning irritation. She wanted him to smile at her. To laugh around her. To want her.

To want her.

She didn't know that when she left her room this morning with a burning desire to set things right with him. But now, looking at him standing in his doorway, she knew it and the reality hit her like a ton of bricks. And set every inch of her on fire.

"I'm sorry."

Ryker wasn't sure he heard her correctly.

"Come again?"

Jools looked down at her feet for a split second, afraid to look at Ryker. Afraid he would be mocking her with his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

She lifted her gaze to meet his and said it louder and clearer.

"I am sorry. I am sorry for acting like an ass yesterday. I am sorry for berating you for no reason. I am sorry for making you yell. I am sorry for acting like a brat about Darby. I am sorry that the fact that you pay special attention to Darby drives me nuts. And I am especially sorry for going at you about anything to do with my brother.

"Every time, I tell myself I'm going to hold my tongue and I never do. And then afterwards I tell myself that I'm going to apologize to you and I never do. And I don't want it to be like that anymore. I don't want to just be Wyatt's bratty little sister."

She could barely get out that last sentence, scared of what it meant. Uncertain of how Ryker would react. But she had to do it. She had to lay it all out there for him and then deal with the consequences, whatever they were, good or bad.

"So then what do you want to be?" Ryker looked down at Jools, finding himself once again charmed by her insane ability to throw him for a loop, wanting to keep her at arm’s length but not sure he was able.

“I don’t know. Last night when I decided to come here and talk to you, it was all about just setting things straight between us. I had it all figured out, knew exactly what I was going to say and hoped I could win you over like usual.”

Ryker continued watching Jools with keen interest, unsure of what was coming next, unable to walk away. Jools sensed a slight change in his energy but wasn’t certain that played in her favor. She took a chance and stepped closer to him, making the distance between them next to nothing. Ryker didn’t move a muscle, his arms remaining crossed, his face unreadable but Jools swore she heard a catch in his breath.

He studied her face: fair skin setting off thick eyelashes that gave way to bright blue eyes, a perfectly sculpted nose and full, rose-colored lips. The face that put all others to shame with its haughty beauty and sinful sensuousness. The face that made it impossible for him to ever consider another, that made it necessary for him to keep a parade of girls running through his life, lest he become too focused on Jools.

And now she was so close, the heat from her body flooding his, making it difficult for him to think straight and keep his distance.

Jools looked up at Ryker, considering her next move. She was tall, but Ryker still towered over her, glaring down at her with a look she could not read.

“This,” Ryker bent close to her, his voice low and serious, his breath warm on her neck, “is not the usual.”

Unable to stop herself, Jools closed her eyes and released a long, low moan, reacting to the nearness of him and the desire to be closer. She wrapped her long fingers around his forearms, gently pulled them away from his chest and stepped even closer to him, daring him to make a move. It was all the invitation Ryker needed: he wrapped his large hands around her small waist, slipping them under her shirt, feeling the softness of her skin against his rough hands. He heard her gasp and pulled her into his body, knowing she would fit perfectly against him.

“It’s not the usual,” Jools agreed, whispering against Ryker’s mouth, tempting him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, “but please do not stop.”

Ryker smiled, thrilled by the nearness of his lips, but refusing to kiss her, knowing it would be the end of him. Instead, he made a trail of feather-light kisses along her collarbone and up her neck, causing Jools to gasp and arch her back with desire. And then, just like that, he stopped.

Jools opened her eyes to find Ryker staring at her with a strange look on his face.

“What?”

He traced his finger along her collarbone, all the while deep in thought. His touch was like fire on her skin, but Jools sensed Ryker was elsewhere. She controlled her breathing and then focused on recapturing Ryker’s attention, placing her hands on either side of his face, making him see her again.

“What?”

“Earlier, you and Wyatt were arguing when I came out,” Ryker stated, slowly organizing his thoughts. “What about?”

“I don’t know, just Wyatt stuff. Why?”

“He heard you outside my room?”

“No, he was coming back from somewhere, looking like hell and...”

Ryker didn’t bother to hear another word. He untangled himself from Jools and stepped across the hallway to bang on his best friend’s door.

“Clayworth! I know you hear me. Get up. Now!”

Wyatt stared at
the ceiling as he listened to Ryker bang on his door. When he saw his sister standing outside his best friend’s room, he knew it was just a matter of time before Ryker figured out what he had spent the last few hours doing.That didn’t mean a guy could not dream of catching a few hours of sleep before having to face the music.

But Ryker wasn't going anywhere. In fact, his knocks were becoming more insistent and demanding, shaking the thick, mahogany door to its very hinges. Leave it to Ryker to break an ancient door with his bare hands, Wyatt thought to himself as he got out of bed and slipped a T-shirt over his head.

"Hold on!" Wyatt called while strapping on two different sets of blades, one on his back and another on his thigh, and tightened Odara's holster around his hips.

"Let's go, Clayworth. Now!"

"I'm coming," Wyatt called back, "lemme put some clothes on."

Wyatt double-knotted his boots, flung open his window and took to the air again, hoping to get a head start on his friend.

Ryker glanced back at Jools, wondering what her brother was doing that was taking so long.

"Is he stitching his clothes together himself?"

Jools laughed, all the while wondering herself what Wyatt was up to in his room.

"Wyatt!" Ryker knocked again, more for effect than anything else. "Come on, man."

This time his entreaty was met with silence. He waited, listening for any sound from the room, the slightest stir. Nothing.

Jools walked to the door and quietly knocked, knowing it was futile but doing so anyway.

"Hey, Wyatt. Open the door."

The silence enveloped them, mocking them and their willingness to believe Wyatt was going to open the door any second now.

"I've got a key."

Ryker turned on his heel and headed back into his room, returning minutes later, dangling Wyatt's spare key. He was so irate with his friend that he didn't even feel bad about breaking into his room.

Ryker flung the door open to find nothing but Wyatt's curtains, fluttering in the wind. Jools was across the room in three, long-legged strides and stared out the window in amazement. She looked down four stories, trying to get her head around her brother’s wild escape. He must have landed in the courtyard, but where he disappeared to after that was anyone’s guess. Jools turned and sat in the windowsill, wondering what Wyatt was running from. The who, she already knew.

“Care to explain why my brother is jumping out of windows to avoid you?” Jools raised a perfectly arched eyebrow in Ryker’s direction.

Ryker walked up slowly to the windowsill, sat next to Jools and turned to look outside.

“Dude really jumped four stories?” Ryker was annoyed with Wyatt but could not help being impressed with the sheer spectacle of his feat.

“Apparently so,” Jools rolled her eyes, fully aware Ryker was trying to change the subject, “and don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Ryker asked innocently, wrapping an arm around Jools and pulling her close.

Jools leaned into his embrace, but wasn’t so easily distracted, no matter how irresistible she found Ryker.

“Exactly what you’re doing right now,” she pushed him away from her, laughing, “distracting me. It won’t work, so you might as well explain to me why my brother, your best friend, the love of your life, is taking what most would call extreme measures to avoid you?”

“First off, as sexy as I find your brother, he’s by no means the love of my life. Second, I don’t know why he’s avoiding me.”

“This time, Ryker Morrison,” Jools turned Ryker towards her, “look me in the face and say that.”

Ryker looked her dead in the eyes and repeated himself, never missing a beat.

“I do not know why your brother is avoiding me. I have no idea what I’ve done to him or what he’s hiding.”

She would always be a third wheel in the boys’ relationship, but she got it, which is why she didn’t bat an eyelash when Ryker spoke. Instead, she got up and started walking towards the hallway.

“You are such a liar,” Jools turned and smiled at Ryker over her shoulder, “and I know you know what Wyatt’s up to and I know you’re not going to tell me and that’s okay.”

Ryker watched her walking away from him, that smile of hers making him forget himself for a second.

“Hey!” he called after her, “where are you going?”

Jools stopped by Wyatt’s chest at the foot of his bed, kicked it twice in its sweet spot and watched it pop open. She pulled out a Raven blade and holster, wrapping it around her narrow hips, feeling the weight of the blade against her body.

“Where are you going with your brother’s blade?” Ryker asked as he stood next to her in Wyatt’s mirror, watching her transform before his eyes, “and more importantly, how the hell did you know how to break into his chest?”

Jools turned towards him and smiled mischievously as she fingered the blade at her waist. She loved gearing up, it made her feel so powerful, like she could do anything. And although she had every intention of hitting the streets to find her brother, right now, at this moment, the “anything” she wanted to do was Ryker.

She wrapped her arms around Ryker’s neck and pulled him close, kissing him, softly at first, but becoming more demanding with each passing second. Ryker was caught off-guard but quickly responded in kind, pulling her close to him, feeling her body against his, searching her mouth with his. He kissed the sweet spots on her neck, making her groan and pull him closer, wanting to feel every inch of him pressed against her. He found her lips again and explored the sweetness of her mouth, running his fingers along her hip bones, setting off a frenzy of sensations she could barely contain.

Jools pulled away from him first, knowing if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself and then who knows what would happen. Actually, she knew exactly what would happen, it just wasn’t going to happen in her brother’s bedroom. She placed her hands on Ryker’s chest and gently pushed him away, but not before he snagged another kiss.

“This,” Jools grinned at Ryker as she fought to get her breathing under control, “stays between us.”

“Agreed,” Ryker answered as he crossed the hallway, walked into his room and started grabbing his gear, “you don’t have to tell me twice.”

Jools shut and locked Wyatt’s door and then brought the spare key back to Ryker. She watched him change into jeans and a T-shirt, quietly admiring him as she had done a million times before, this time not having to hide her pleasure. Ryker strapped his ever-present weapons onto his back and grabbed a Raven blade for good measure.

“Okay, Clayworth,” Ryker grabbed his keys off the table and followed Jools, “where to?”

She turned and hit him again with that killer smile.

“Hunting down my brother, of course.”