Chapter 29
So much comfort in Chatan’s arms. Jacinda almost protested to him carrying her into the motel room, but she felt safe with him, and she hadn’t while five men were attempting to search for her. Luckily, they hadn’t gotten far, and she didn’t have to resort to magic.
He set her down in the bedroom. “Where did you leave your shoes?”
“Under the couch,” she answered. “The journal is under the pillow. I’ll grab my box.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Jacinda slipped into the room, removed the illusion to hide her possessions, and carried the box into the living room.
His head tipped to the side. “That’s it?” he asked as he set her shoes down.
Nodding, she slipped them on . “Everything I own fits into the box. Makes my lifestyle easy to maintain. Remember, I just shift everything into whatever I need.”
“I’m not arguing, just mildly surprised.”
“Don’t forget my vase.”
Smiling, he grabbed it off the table, and the color shifted slightly. She paused, then shook it off, moving to the car. “Does Loretta know where you’ll be?”
“She does. I told her I was going home.”
“And where’s your stuff?”
“I have a bag in the office. If you’re happy there, I’ll pick up more stuff.”
“I can’t imagine not being happy there with you.” She shouldn’t have said it, but there was no point in lying. If she could feel what he did, he could probably do the same.
That led to so many questions. Afraid of the answers, she shut off all thought. “We should go.”
“Yeah, we should.” He took her vase to her car around the back.
She got the back driver side door open and put the box in, then turned to find Chatan close.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” he murmured.
“I’m glad you found me,” she whispered.
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “We should go.”
She dipped her head and slipped into the driver side while he went around.
As he buckled the seatbelt, he turned to her. “I’ll give you directions and I can pick up the truck tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
Chatan gave directions while she drove. As she pulled down a driveway, he touched her shoulder and magic washed through her both from his touch and the barrier around the property. She had to smile. Even if the barrier wasn’t his magic, it complimented it in the way a child’s magic compliments the parents, even when powers were so vastly different.
“She would’ve loved you,” Chatan murmured.
Jacinda stopped the car and turned toward him. “Really think so?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I do. You’re not afraid of anything.”
Oh, there was one thing she was afraid of. But it made it hard to truly fear anything else when she knew what was coming for her.
“And you inspire me, Jace. I don’t normally heal that well, and I’m sure I couldn’t do the same thing for someone else.”
“What you did was almost sexual,” she answered.
He nodded. “Only with you. And had Koa stayed out of that bathroom, I would have had you on the counter and anywhere else you would have let me.”
The corners of her mouth pulled up. “Let’s get inside.”
He grinned and hurried out, beating her to stuff. He smiled as he shut the door. “Do you mind?”
Shaking her head, she smiled. Anyone else, she wouldn’t trust with her things. “How are you going to get the door open?”
“You’re going to open it. It’s not locked. The magic around the yard will keep everyone but those I fully trust out.”
“You touched me when we drove over,” she countered.
He nodded. “The first time someone comes here, I need to touch them, think a spell, and they’re cleared. You can come and go as you please.”
“But you don’t want me to go, do you?” she asked, almost sad.
He shook his head. “We’re getting closer to stopping Josephine. Then maybe you can meet some of my family, though most of them are up in Washington.”
“Why so far away?”
“This was my mother’s home. My father lived here until we lost her, but he considered Washington his home. And my brothers are up there, though not that close to my dad. He has his flaws, but don’t we all?”
She nodded. She had plenty. “My mother lives somewhere in Missouri. Maybe…” She let that thought go as she remembered Thanatos. She would have to deal with him sooner or later.
She pushed the door open and smiled. There were lamps and lights, but there were candles on every surface.
Jacinda glanced back at Chatan, who grinned. “Mind if this goes in the bedroom?”
“Not at all. Mind this?” She held out her hands and lifted slightly. A tiny flickering flame came to life on every candle.
“That’s impressive.”
“Handy,” she answered.
“Mmm.” He stepped through the door at the far end of the hall.
She followed with a smile as he set the box on a chair and turned to her. “I’ve changed out the furniture. I still have my parents’ stuff, but it’s in my old room. I thought at one time that was all I needed to do to change the atmosphere here. But I find with you by my side, it’s brighter than before.”
“What happened to your mother?” Jacinda asked.
He sat down on the bed. “A sickness, maybe a curse. I’m not sure what or how, but we could find nothing to cure her. It wasn’t contagious.” He closed his eyes. “It tore us all apart to watch her deteriorate. She even tried becoming a werecat to counter the effects, but nothing worked.”
“That sounds like a curse. Dark magic.”
He nodded. “But it wasn’t anything anyone we could contact knew. None of it made sense to us.”
She sat down beside Chatan and took his hand. “And she died here?”
He nodded.
“She’d want you to move on. To be happy.”
“She would. And she always said I’d find that happiness in the arms of a woman who accepted everything about me.”
“I accept you,” she answered, wishing she could tell him everything, but not sure how. Didn’t matter for the moment. Right now, he needed her to listen.
“Maybe why I can heal like that with you.”
“Or maybe you just needed to believe.” She ran her fingers up and down his wrist. “Maybe we can practice some other magic?”
“You want to try to train me?”
She tipped her head from side to side. “I know a little shaman magic.”
“How?” he asked.
“Watching others cast. But we can worry about that in the morning. Right now, I’d rather learn other things about you. Like what makes you squirm.” She slipped her hand from his arm, to his thigh and traveled the distance to cover his rock-hard dick. “I really do this to you every time?”
He nodded, a wicked smile on his face. “I’ll let you try anything.”
“You’ll tell me if I do something wrong?”
He nodded slowly. “Don’t think you will, Jace.”
Licking her lips, she opened his pants. His brow arched, but he didn’t say a word. She moved to the floor, as she looked up at him. “Up, please.”
He stood, and she pulled down his pants and briefs.
“Down, please.”
He sat, and she wrapped her hand around his thick length and ran her tongue under the ridge of his crown. His breath caught, and desire burned deep in his eyes.
The taste was better than she could have imagined, and she craved more. She sucked the tip as she moved her hand up and down. Watching his reaction turned her on almost as much as his touch. And she wanted to make him lose control the way he made her.
She licked his tip, tasting the bead of fluid. Her mouth watered. Leaning back, she asked, “What do you like?”
“You, anything you do. If it’s too hard or soft, or I need something else, I’ll tell you, but so far, you’re doing fine.” His tone was breathy, full of desire.
Smiling, she took more of him in before rocking back. She gripped his base and stroked in time with working him with her mouth.
“Oh fuck, that’s right,” he moaned.
It didn’t take long to fall into a steady rhythm as his hips moved in time with her.
“Jace, you know what’s coming?”
She did. She wanted him to come. Meeting his gaze, she sucked harder, swirling her tongue over his crown as she came up each time.
His head fell back with a roar as he came. She worked fast, swallowing him down.
He whimpered after a moment, slipping his hands into her hair to pull her head back. “Perfect. Come here.”
She climbed up beside him, and he pulled her down with him, wrapping her in his arms.
“You’ll have to wait a bit, but I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.
“Nothing to make up for. I’m glad I affect you the same way.”
He kissed her lips and held on tight.