Touch If You Dare (23 page)

This time, there was a raw need within him, but it was more personal.

This time, he was kissing
her
and not simply something that could give him relief.

She could feel it in the way he held her so tightly, protecting her even as he kissed her with a fierceness that made her whole body scream for more.

She kissed him back. His body was crushing her against the mattress. He was a heavy, well-muscled warmth shielding her from the world. She slipped her hands under his shirt, felt the strength in his shoulders and the scars on his body.

He growled under his breath, then ripped off his shirt. His eyes were black, pulsing with dark energy as he grabbed the hem of her jersey and tugged it upward.

Her heart began to thud as he pulled it over her head. Was she really going to give her body over to him?

His eyes flashed and he pushed her back down, covering her body as he kissed her again. A slow, luxurious kiss now, with less frenzy and more precision. A man who was coming back into his mind, who was beginning to think again, a man on a mission to seduce.

“Yes,” he whispered, breaking the kiss to work his way down her neck. He licked the swell of her breast, and she couldn’t suppress her gasp.

Dear God. What was she doing? She couldn’t open herself like this to him. What would she do when he died? “I can’t—”

He pulled back, searching her face. His eyes were no longer solid black. There were flecks of blue. Dark, midnight blue. His face was serious, no humor. It was the face of a warrior preparing to go to battle.

This was who she needed. He was here. Holding her. Touching her. Making promises to her. And just like that, the fear that had been dogging her for a lifetime dissolved. Her body shuddered, a thousand tensions in every cell finally letting go. She didn’t have to fight. Didn’t have to fear. Didn’t have to swallow down the terror eating away at her. Because somehow they became so much more together than they were by themselves.

Jarvis pulled her bra to the side. His mouth closed over her nipple, and she arched her back at the intense sensation rippling through her.

She wanted the feeling of strength he gave her, and she wanted to empower him the way she’d never been able to empower anyone who mattered to her. So what
if he was going to explode? So what if he was going to
die?

This moment wasn’t about the future between them.

This moment was about how they could join together to could create their separate futures they both wanted. They were a team, for now, and that was more than she’d ever had before.

Jarvis nipped at her breast, and she closed her eyes as his hand went to her jeans. The button flicked open, and his fingers slipped beneath the waistband, moving closer to—

The tunes of the song “I Believe I Can Fly” exploded through the room, and Reina jerked upright, nearly upending Jarvis onto the floor. “My phone!”

Jarvis shoved her back down. “I’m not done,” he said. “I need more.”

Her heart thudded with excitement at the dark expression on his face, at the bulge of his triceps as he pinned her shoulders to the bed. His need for her, his determination to have her, and his raw, manly attitude were all evident in the aggressive stance of his body. A man who would not accept less than he wanted. And she had the power to soothe that savage beast in a way no one else could?

She was sheer, magnificent power. It was the most incredible sensation to feel that strength pulsing through her. She could help him. She could handle her own life. She was strength. And he gave it to her.

She grabbed his shoulders and yanked him down. “Then take me now, and make it worth both our whiles.”

Heat flashed in his eyes. “I never do anything that’s not worth my while.”

And then he yanked off her jeans.

***

Jarvis stared in disbelief at Reina’s naked body, momentarily overwhelmed by the beauty on display for him. So much skin. An oasis of salvation. She could save him. Not for good. Nothing could stop that. But she knocked his beast on its ass long enough for him to find Cam and save the world.

She held up her arms in invitation, and he kissed her. Deeply, with all the passion and fire racing around in him. She tasted like angels and sunshine, like all the nourishment his soul needed.

With a growl, he yanked off his pants and tossed them aside. Boxers followed, and then he eased himself down on top of her. The moment his thighs hit hers, soothing warmth pulsed through his soul, taking the edge off the monster. The beast was still inside him, still fighting to get out, but Reina was giving him the tools to hold it off.

He hooked his knee between her thighs and shoved her legs apart. He should do foreplay. It was proper. It was the manly thing to do. But he was so desperate for relief, his mind was screaming for the clarity that was teasing him. Seduction would come second. First, he needed to survive, he needed both of them to survive beyond this moment and—

“Dammit!” Reina jerked upright. “That’s the second time!”

He stared at her, totally confused. “What is?” Had he already made love and not noticed it? Was he so fucked up in his mind that he couldn’t even tell? Or was she on her second orgasm? He was good, he knew that, but that good?

“My phone.”

“Your phone?” He became gradually aware of that same damn song blasting again. “You need to answer the phone? Now?”

“Yes.” Reina wriggled out from under him and raced across her room, her beautiful, amazing, fantastic body moving in the wrong fucking direction. “If it’s an emergency, we always call back a second time.”

Jarvis face planted into the bed, groaning as the overdose of blood to his cock was crushed beneath him. Frustration, disbelief, and dark fury raced through him. “Reina. Get back here—”

“It’s Trinity!” She grabbed the phone. “Trin? What’s wrong?”

Jarvis fought to regain control of his body, of the hate now dancing gleefully in his soul, laughing at his desperation. Chaos was descending on his mind—

Reina went sheet white, and she fumbled for the back of the chair. “Oh, God. What happened?” She missed the chair and started to fall.

Jarvis grabbed her before she hit the floor, swearing at how cold her skin was. Shit. Right back where they’d started. Both of them a mess. He swept her up, sat down on the bed, and pulled her onto his lap so her legs were around his hips.

She grabbed onto him, as if as desperate for his touch as he was for her. He pressed his face to the curve of her neck, breathing in the feel of her body against his. Any relief was good. Any relief was better than none. Jesus. He was fucked without her.

“Where is she?” Reina’s voice was wrought with disbelief, with agony, with fear. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and pulled her close, trying to infuse her with his strength.

“I’ve got your back,” he said quietly.

She sat back, and trust evident in those big blue eyes.

The moment he saw her expression, a smugness smacked him upside the head. He might be a big ball of the ugliest, most destructive, most immature emotion on the damn planet, but he could rock her world.

Reina punched the speaker button on her phone, and Trinity’s voice echoed out in the room for him to hear.

“Natalie went out the bathroom window,” Trinity was saying.

“The window is only six inches in diameter,” Reina replied with a frown.

“Not anymore.”

“Oy.” Reina leaned her forehead against Jarvis’s chest. “She’s getting too strong. We’re not going to be able to keep her.”

“Yeah, well, you got any big strong men who could wrestle her to the dirt around you?” Trinity asked. “Because that’s what we need. I can’t hold her anymore.”

Jarvis flexed his arm, showing his muscle.

“Yeah, I do, actually.” Reina cocked her head and tapped his biceps thoughtfully, a spark of hope gleaming in her eye. “She didn’t happen to leave a note as to where I could find her, did she?”

“She’s with the Godfather.”

“The Godfather?” Reina’s fingers dug into his arm. “Where?”

“I Googled him, and it looks like he’s on the list of VIPs who are attending that Elton John fund-raiser tonight. It started a half hour ago.”

“Dammit! She could have found him and left already.” Reina swung her leg off Jarvis and he felt a ripple of aggression at the loss of her contact as she raced across the room. She set the phone on the dresser, pulled a pair of black lace underwear out of the drawer, and slipped it on. “I’m going to head over there now—”

“Oh…” Trinity paused, her fingers clicking across a keyboard. “Augustus is also on the guest list.”

Reina paled. “Augustus?”

Adrenaline surged inside Jarvis. “Son of a bitch.” He yanked his jeans on. “My brother will be there looking for him.”

“Jarvis?” Trinity’s voice crackled over the phone. “You’re there?”

“Yeah.” He shoved his boots on, his mind racing. If Cam was there, this could all end now. Cameron could contain the hate when it exploded, protect the world.
Hot damn.

“Reina’s not ready to face Augustus,” Trinity said. “Don’t let her go.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Reina tugged a light blue shirt over her head, moving as quickly as Jarvis to get dressed. “Of course I need to go after her.”

“You can’t put even a butterfly to sleep, let alone Augustus. Let Jarvis take this one, sweetie. If you get yourself killed, you can’t save Natalie.”

Jarvis saw doubt flicker in Reina’s eyes, and he got pissed. Here was a woman strong enough not to be poisoned by his touch. A woman so full of love that she was immune to the hate spewing from him. “Fuck that.” He walked over and picked up the phone. “We’re coming in together. Reina’s a warrior, she’s not going to shy away from her opportunity to make things happen.”

A brilliant smile flashed across Reina’s face. “I can do it, Trin. I swear. I won’t screw up again.”

“Oy, I can’t let you deal with this by yourself. Maybe I can help. I’ll see you there.” She hung up.

Reina bit her lip nervously. “I—”

“I’ve got your back. And in case I do detonate, I’ve got friends.” He pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial for his team leader.

Blaine answered on the first ring. “You find your brother?”

“Symphony Hall. Cam’s there, in the protection of Napoleon. Augustus may be attending as well.”

Blaine swore. “Ever since Augustus tried to kill my woman, I haven’t liked that man. I don’t know if I can be polite.”

“Well, your fiancée is on her way there as well.”

There was a crash from Blaine’s end of the phone. “Exposing herself to that assassin is not part of our agreement. Shit, man, don’t fall in love with a woman. They’ll break you. Too independent.”

Jarvis grinned. “How soon can you be there?”

“Twenty minutes. Christian and Nigel are in the sick ward with the warriors we rescued, but I’ll see if I can grab them.” He paused. “You find Reina? She helping you out?”

Jarvis looked across the room at Reina, who was down on her knees, searching under the bed for something. He could see black lace peeking up from her jeans and a small mole on her lower back. “Yeah, she is.”

“Nice job.” Blaine paused. “How are you?”

Jarvis knew what Blaine was asking, but he couldn’t give his teammate the answer he was seeking. “Gotta go. See you shortly.” He disconnected over Blaine’s protest as Reina scooted backwards, dragging a metal case out from under her bed.

She dropped it on the quilt and flipped the locks.

“What’s that?”

She lifted off a purple velvet covering and set it on the bed. “My sickle.”

Inside was a gleaming metal blade with a black onyx handle. “It’s what I’m going to use to cleave Augustus’s soul from his body.” She tentatively brushed her fingers over the handle, as if testing to see if it would blow her hand up. When it didn’t, she grasped it and lifted it out with so much trepidation he half expected the thing to burst into flames and consume them all. “Only Death gets a scythe. Supposedly, sickles are easier to handle with the shorter staff, but they’re also slightly less powerful.”

Jarvis watched her flip the blade into the handle, compressing it down to a weapon about the side of her forearm. He was too used to seeing women with weapons of pain, torture, and violence, and he didn’t like seeing Reina with one.

Made her seem too much like the women he hated.

Then he saw the worry in her eyes, and suddenly all he wanted to do was protect her from the very thing she held in her hand. From the task she had in front of her.

But if he did, he’d be taking away her one chance to save the person she loved most. She would never forgive him. He had to let her become the woman she didn’t want to be.

She tucked the blade into the back of her jeans. “Trinity was right that I don’t have a great track record with successful reaping.” She grabbed a set of car keys off the computer desk. “You don’t have problems with violence do you?”

He laughed as he took the keys from her hand. “Can’t say I do.”