Electric Storm (19 page)

The instant the door closed, Raven pushed herself up by her arms, dragging the blanket around to cover her nudity as she sat. “Help me dress.” She couldn’t do it on her own, and it galled her that she had to ask for help. It would be safer for everyone if she slept in the basement.

The bed dipped behind her as he got in beside her. She stiffened but didn’t turn. When she tried to stand, she found the blankets trapped by his weight. Either she rose naked or she remained caught.

Trapped.

Tightness invaded her chest, her breathing grew ragged. She could almost feel the shackles click into place around her ankles and wrists. Dropping her arms, she let the blanket fall.

Raven straightened as much as she could, her pride wrapped around her as she shuffled to the dresser. The temperature in the room rose. She felt his eyes trace along her slim curves and tried her best to tell herself slow and steady and she’d be free.

Jeans were out of the question. She snagged a pair of shorts and slipped them over her feet. By the time she was done, sweat coated her body and rivulets of blood dripped down her back where her wounds had torn open.

The door to the bathroom opened again, the shower still running. “What are you doing?”

Raven didn’t look at him, no need to when she could hear the lazy tone of his voice. Any movement would only aggravate the way the room was trying to twist itself about her. Her throat had gone dry. With painful determination, she grabbed a shirt, pushed her arms through the sleeves, but couldn’t force herself to lift it over her head. She needed another minute to guarantee she wouldn’t pass out.

She sensed movement and despite the pain, couldn’t prevent herself from tensing. “Don’t.”

“Here.”

Jackson held out one of his plain button-up shirts. When she glanced at his face, none of the humor or cruelty she expected to find was there. His face was respectfully averted from her body.

“The wounds would heal better if you left them open to air.” Spoken from experience.

“They’re already healing.” The wounds itched as her body knitted itself together. Though the damage was extensive, she’d be healed by morning if she shut down. Instead, the slow healing racked her body with waves of pain she couldn’t suppress. It left her vulnerable but conscious. No one could sneak up on her. “It would be safer if I slept alone.”

By the time she managed to untangle herself from her shirt, she was panting. Admitting defeat, she allowed Jackson to slip the sleeves over her arms, wincing at the thought of leaving a trail of her blood on his clothes.

Not once did he touch her. Not once did he fumble or cause her pain. The ease with which he accomplished it let her know this wasn’t the first time he’d dressed a woman. She couldn’t help wonder who she was, but ignored the bite of curiosity. And if she was honest, a little tug of jealousy.

Raven turned to the door and found it blocked by Taggert. “Move.”

He shook his head, his gaze steady on hers. There was no way she could elude him. Without her usual control, any power she used could kill him. She couldn’t take the risk.

“It’s almost morning. Sleep. We’ll stand guard. Our nearness should help accelerate the healing process.” Jackson picked up a pair of pants from the floor and tugged them on. She quickly averted her gaze, but not before she saw all that God had gave him. There was something about all the muscle, all that strength and knowing that every inch of him was there to protect and keep her safe.

They wanted her trust. Could she do it? Could she open herself up to them knowing that it would be more painful when they left her?

She looked at them, saw all the beauty and strength, saw the aching loneliness and the need to be needed.

They were worth the chance.

Allowing herself to be led back to bed, she gingerly settled herself on her side, closed her eyes, and coaxed the leftover energy snug around her body. A deep groan of pain escaped as her back muscles constricted, protesting the swiftness of the change. Power snapped along her skin then sank deep, deeper, until her bones resonated with it.

 
Chapter Fourteen

AFTERNOON

R
aven woke deliciously warm, the smell of sunshine and outdoors refreshing. Taking care to keep still, she cataloged her injuries. Her power level was dangerously low. The need for energy, like an addiction, twisted through her. Her body ached, but the open wounds on her back had closed, leaving deeply bruised tissue as a reminder of yesterday’s events.

 Her concentration broke when the bed beneath her swayed.

As in breathing.

Her eyes popped open to find herself face to face with Jackson. The beautiful whiskey brown color had bled completely from his eyes, leaving her with the brilliant yellow eyes of his beast. She didn’t feel threatened, but she did sense its curiosity. Funny thing, she wasn’t sure if that was much better.

“Ah, morning.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and wondered if she drooled on him when she used him for a pillow. How embarrassing. She must have rolled over to the closest source of heat and cuddled right up to him.

“They’re healed.” Taggert words whispered against her skin. A cool hand trailed down her back. Nerves twitched. At some time during the night, her shirt had worked its way up. When she tried to ease away, she realized her legs were intertwined with Taggert’s.

A rumbling growl, a vibration more than a sound, came from beneath her. Taggert didn’t pull away, but he did stop moving. Raven slowly turned and found Taggert’s gaze locked with Jackson’s. The curious expression from Jackson was now replaced with a look of pure ownership. A hint of fang peaked from between his lips.

“Well, if you two are busy, maybe you’d both shove off and let me get out of bed.” The heat that poured off them pooled in her until every joint ached. The urge to grab it and soak it all up trickled through her. Taking a deep breath for patience, she waited for Taggert to untangle his legs from hers. The instant she was free, she scooted down the bed. No way in hell she would try crawling over either of them. Not in their current mood.

What was she thinking? Not ever.

Just when she thought she was free, Jackson snagged her wrist and sat, pulling her up with him, dragging her along his body. A shiver raked her at the feel of him so close, pressed up against her so intimately.

“Don’t.” The really scary thought was that she wasn’t sure if she was protesting or asking him not to stop.

“You’re not leaving until I see your back.”

In normal circumstances, she would challenge him for his audacity. But there was something in his eyes, something vulnerable. If she didn’t allow this, he would tuck himself away and not open up to her again.

“Let go.” His grip tightened for a fraction, his eyes narrowed. His muscles bunched, preparing to wrestle with her to find out what he wanted to know.

She wasn’t used to all this physical contact. The reactions flittering through her body confused her, and the urge to linger and brush against him and see if he tasted as yummy as he smelled grew. She wasn’t sure she liked the change. She’d always been so focused on control; she never noticed how it felt to be so close to someone without having to worry about their safety first. “Let me up. You can’t see from this direction.”

A startled squeak caught in her throat as she found herself pulled across his lap and draped over his legs. Cool air met her skin as he drew up the back of the shirt she wore. “Hey, I said I’d show you.” She tried to squirm around to glare at him, but stilled when she felt the hard press of his body’s reaction against her. Whoa. Way too much information.

Her heart leapt in her throat as he ran his hand lightly across her back. His palm nearly covered her from side to side.

Pinned.

Goosebumps broke across her skin. A gurgle caught in the back of her throat.

She needed air.

In a space of seconds, she found herself crouched across the room with no idea how she got there, struggling to maintain her footing. Something surrounded her core where she kept her power. Something so bitterly cold, she lost her breath. The large beast blinked lazily, the creature so very different from her normal animals. It slowly twitched its large tail back and forth before curling it around herself again. When she’d let her guard down, the beast must have awakened.

“Raven?”

She didn’t wait for a discussion. Dashing out of the room, Raven barreled down the hallway, her feet pounding on the hardwood. She grabbed the railing by the balcony on the way downstairs. The wood creaked ominously then broke under her grip.

Off balance, she tipped over the edge. Gravity took hold. A strangled scream gurgled in her throat as she caught the moldings. The railings plummeted below her. The loud smack made her jump. She glanced down to see jagged spikes of the wooden spindles pointed up as if waiting to impale her. Her grip slipped, and shards of pain erupted along her back, her muscles protesting the abuse as she dangled by one arm.

The power in her fluctuated wildly, dimmed, practically dissipating, leaving her power useless to help. She would’ve tapped into the house, but she couldn’t risk accidentally ripping Rylan from his sleep. Vampires were vulnerable during daylight, their powers at their weakest. She refused to be responsible for putting him in danger. She witnessed too many vampires die when awakened from their slumber.

“Hold on.” Taggert rounded the corner first, dressed only in pants.

She had to wonder why people always said hold on. Like anyone would let go on purpose. Sweat loosened her grip, and she worked to re-position her hold.

“You better hurry.” The floorboards rumbled when Taggert and Jackson sprinted toward her.

 Taggert reached her first and latched onto her wrists, drawing her upward. As she lifted her leg to boost herself up, Jackson reached out and grabbed her arm to help haul her back on solid ground. Jealousy winged through her at the ease in which they lifted her. They didn’t even strain under her weight.

Her body brushed theirs when her feet finally touched the floor. Her knees trembled, and she took comfort from their touch and scent.  

“What the hell were you thinking?” Jackson grabbed her jaw, angling her face up to his. Any gratitude melted away at his hard expression.

“You think I wanted to fall?” She jerked back from him, unnerved at the way the imprint of his touch lingered against her skin. The near miss must have scrambled her wits. To avoid his probing stare, she dropped her gaze and was confronted by the delicious gap in his pants where he’d zipped them but left them unbuttoned. The image shouldn’t have been inviting, especially when he was angry, but somehow it didn’t matter. A smattering of hair arrowed down his chest to disappear in his jeans, asking to be explored further.

Raven turned, cursing that her vaunted control had vanished. She was feeling more emotions. Desires. She couldn’t allow that. The last time she tried to get close to someone, she’d nearly killed him. That day still haunted her, and Rylan had never forgiven her, forever maintaining his distance from her.

Her idea of taking a lover seemed foolish and further out of reach than ever. She’d been so desperate to find answers to her condition that she’d grabbed an impossible idea doomed to fail.

The sight of the railing drew her attention, and she tucked away her wayward emotions. She needed to focus on a mystery she could handle.

Smooth.

Her fists clenched as she peered over the edge. “The fall wouldn’t have killed me, but a stake through a heart would’ve been another matter.”

Fury tightened their bodies, their animals all but ready to pounce on anything that dared move. Though the death wouldn’t have been permanent, it would’ve hurt like the dickens and put her out of commission for a while. Since she shut down to allow herself to heal, she hadn’t monitored the house last night. Was this trap set by someone to stop her hunt? Or someone who wanted to hurt her specifically?