Jack cringed. Maybe he’d been a little heavy-handed with Zoe, but his clan was depending on him. There was too much at stake.

The minute he’d parked in front of his family’s beach house, her face had softened. Together they traversed the crushed stones, took the steps up the porch, and slid around the wicker furniture. She touched everything delicately, sighed happily, and his chest tightened.

“I spent my summers on this deck. Played games of monopoly with my siblings that lasted for days.”

She smiled as if she got it. Jack opened the screen side door and led her up the narrow staircase. They went down a long hallway and he opened the door to the bedroom nearest his.

“My mom decorated this room. The whole house really.”

She fingered the lacy materials like they were pirate booty.

Jack was about to say something about putting her clothes away, but noticed the battered knapsack. The small bag couldn’t hold much.

“My sister says of all the rooms, this is the best. You can throw your stuff in here.” He opened the closet door.

She gave him a small smile and his balls tightened. How in the world was he supposed to last five days?

“Want something to eat?”  He fell back on his mother’s favorite line. What was he now thirteen?

“Sure.” She dropped her few meager belongings on the bed.

On the way down, she stopped, did a one-eighty on the landing, and gushed. “I’ve always wondered about the insides of homes like this. It’s huge. Is this your place or are you renting? It’s beautiful. I love it.”              

He laughed. Who knew? It wasn’t his amazing charms, his portfolio, or stunning personality that won her over. It was the beach house.

“It’s not mine, actually. Been in my family for generations. I have an apartment in Manhattan.” They descended into the kitchen and she stood beside him as he poured coffee beans into a grinder. “Are you really hungry or will a snack do?”

“I’m starving.”

He nodded in approval.

“What do you do for a living?” She leaned with her forearms on the island and watched him.

“I head up a few small startup security firms.” He tried not to smile. There was some truth to that statement. He still couldn’t believe she’d never heard of John James Fialko the third. Wasn’t sure if that pleased him or pissed him off.  “I assume you have another job, other than working part-time for Olivia?” 

“Not at the moment. I was working for Amazon. I got bored with the whole thing. I’m between careers and trying to decide what I want to do next. Freelance consulting. You know how it is.” She shrugged. “I have a few more web pages to write.”

“I see.” He raised an eyebrow at her, but she was already focused on her hands, ignoring his non-verbal inquest. No point in continuing that line of conversation right now. Once they mated, she’d have to stop with the whole illegal hacking career. “What can I get you to eat?”

She cocked her head to the side when he placed a frying pan on the stove. “You’re going to cook? I thought we could go out…”

“I’m a pretty good cook, actually. Scrambled eggs okay?” Jack opened the door to the large modern refrigerator, pulled out a carton of eggs, and held them up to her.

She nodded.

Jack cracked two eggs using one hand and they dropped perfectly into the pan. Okay, he might have been showing off a little.

“I invited my sister, Kathy, over. I have no idea how to teach a grown woman how to come into her powers. She can help.” 

“Okay.” She chewed on her bottom lip.

When he placed the eggs in front of her, she stared at him with her eyes all wide, and they started to water at the corners.

Jack looked down at the plate and frowned. “What? Too dry? I can try again.”

She actually started to cry. Not the big sobbing thing. No. Just a couple of tears that she angrily wiped away with the back of her hand.

“Sorry. That was just really nice of you. I mean people make other people breakfast all the time. Right?”

“Yeah, they do. What’s wrong, Zoe?” Jack sat down next to her, careful not to touch her.

“It’s stupid, really.”

“Not if you're crying.”

She turned away. “I just don’t remember anyone ever making me breakfast before.”

“Never?”

With her back still to him, she made a little negative motion with her head. Against his better judgment, Jack moved closer, kissed her neck, and breathed in her scent. She still smelled like the ocean, fresh and salty. Like mother earth. Blood rushed south and he quickly put some space between them.

Fuck, what was going on with him? Mating was all about the sex. He shouldn’t care whether she’d ever had breakfast served. Damn. His head suddenly felt screwed on all wrong.

He wracked his brains for words of comfort but his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

“Let’s just wait over here in the parlor for a few minutes. My sister should be along any minute.” Great job comforting her, Jack. What a blithering idiot.

He got her situated and made a beeline up the stairs towards a cold shower. That was probably all he needed. Then he'd be fine. On the way up, he heard his niece babbling on the front porch. Shit. He rushed back down the stairs, just as his sister entered.

“Hello beautiful ladies.” Jack gave each a kiss on the cheek.

“Is it true?” Kathy caught his eye and shifted the baby onto her other hip. “The little weasel Kyle threw a couple of cowardly shots at you last night. Did he really almost kill you? Then challenged you? What’re you going to do?”

Jack held up his hand. “How did you hear all this?”

“The whole clan knows. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to put two and two together. Kyle is after your leadership.” Her face grew pale as she spoke. “The last time you two fought, you barely came out on top. Has he really found a perfect mate?”

“Don’t panic. I have a plan and you and Yolanda are part of it.”

At the sound her name, the baby squealed, “Ya, ya, ya, ya.” She reached her chubby arms to him and he happily took her over in the crook of his arm. She kicked her legs into his stomach and laughed at some big 'ol baby joke known only to her.

His sister peered into his face. “You really look like shit, you know.”

“Thanks. You always know just the right thing to say. Follow me. I want the baby to play with this woman I met last night.” He moved Yolanda onto his hip and she pulled at his hair, so he conjured an imaginary small ring of keys and let them float just beyond her grasp.

“A woman?” Kathy frowned.

“Trust me.”

She followed him into the sunny parlor.

“Do you think this is a good idea? We’ve generally kept her away from the public until she gets some of her more interesting talents under control.”

“Her magic won’t be a problem. I’m counting on some sparks.” Jack laughed and lifted the baby high into the air and she squealed.

Zoe must have splashed some water on her face because instead of a red nose and puffy eyes, she gave them all a bright smile. The sun came through the window making her eyelashes sparkle with beads of water. It took some effort to look away.

“Kathy, meet my untrained mate choice, Zoe Burton.”

* * *

Zoe’s mouth dropped open at Jack’s introduction. Untrained mate choice?

Kathy gave her brother an incredulous stare and mouthed, 'Are you insane?' Then turned back to Zoe with syrupy sweetness. “So nice to meet you.”

Zoe wasn’t that clueless. She heard the insult in Kathy’s tone but the baby was sugar-sweet. The cutie waved her pudgy little fists, and to Zoe’s surprise, pushed a burst of energy–and a wet magic baby kiss–into the air. When it landed on her face, Zoe tentatively tried to blow the same energy back.

A slight breeze blew across the room and landed on the baby’s forehead.  The baby giggled, clapped her hands, and a torrential rainstorm covered the parlor, complete with thunder and lightning. It appeared to soak her audience.

“No.” Kathy lightly tapped the baby's hands. “Make nice day. No rain.” She cleared away the storm with a wave of her hand, turned to Zoe, and muttered a snotty, “Sorry.”

Jack laughed it off and shook his head. He stared Zoe up and down until her panties all but melted off. “I’ll leave you ladies alone.”

She blushed as he ran up the stairs.

“Babies can really do magic?” She tried to break into the silence which his sister, obviously, had no intention of doing.

“It’s an illusion. What are you, human?” Kathy’s face showed every ounce of disdain possible.

She wasn’t sure how this kind of training was going to be helpful. What was up with the hostility? After all, none of this was her idea.

“Jack called you his mate,” Kathy said, placing Yolanda on the floor and scattering toys around her.

Zoe shrugged. “He seems to think so.”

“Untrained mate?” Kathy’s eyes were large now, as if she had just had a terrifying thought. “Did he say the oath?”

“Yes.”

“Shit.” Kathy looked like she was about to burst a gasket.

Zoe added quickly, “But it wasn’t his fault. He just assumed I believed in your ways. I don’t.”

The baby stood on shaky legs, then sat down with a thump and giggled. Moving her pudgy arms in the air, she made giant spiders appear.

Zoe cringed and reminded herself that it was only an illusion. She was never going to get used to this.

Kathy cleared away the insects. “He’s holding off the madness until you have some chance of mating? That’s why he wants me to train you?”   

Zoe shrugged and studied one of the many ferns in the solarium.

“Why on earth did you agree to this?”

The baby began to cry at the harsh sound of her mother’s voice. Kathy picked her up and soothed her, all the while shooting eye darts.

“He was the one who tricked me into coming here. I didn’t want to come. He followed me to the beach like...like some kind of stalker.”

“Did he tell you why he thinks he needs you?”

Zoe felt her blood go cold. Of course, there was a reason. She shook her head.

“He needs you to augment his powers because his cousin is threatening to kill him.” Kathy stood and paced back and forth over the hardwood floors with the baby bouncing at her waist. “Kyle’s into some very bad shit. Last time they dueled, Kyle almost won. Now the little twerp is claiming he found a perfect match.” Kathy stared daggers at Zoe. “Do you understand what this means? If Jack doesn’t find the same, he won’t survive. Last night’s sneaky blast was just a sampling of what Kyle will do.”

“So if I’m not his match, then he could die?” Cold shock crawled through her body.

Kathy nodded with a grim face. “My brother’s desperate and not in his right mind.”

Zoe frowned. She wondered about her own state of mind. How had she let him talk her into this? She should leave now, before things got any weirder. She didn’t owe these people anything. She glanced at the door and thought about making a beeline for it.

“Jack thinks you’re his match, but what do you think?” Kathy let out an exaggerated sigh.

Zoe blinked and licked her lips. Just the thought of the man made her toes curl and her skin tingle.

“You like him?” Kathy raised an eyebrow.

“There’s definitely something between us. Ever since he first touched me at Olivia’s shop–”

“You were there? My brother Josh said that some other healer saved Jack last night, not Olivia.”

“Yeah, that was me.”

“But you’re warring, not healing.” Kathy’s brows drew together sharply. “You can’t be both.”

“That’s what I keep hearing.” Zoe shrugged. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

“How’d you heal him?”

“I–” Zoe cringed. It sounded surreal to say it aloud. “I created this black and purple-dust-devil-thingy.”

“Whoa.” Kathy stepped away with fascination and a bit of fear in her eyes. “Vortex energy. I’ve heard bedtime stories, but no one’s ever seen it, let alone conjured it.”

“I don’t even know how I did it. Or even if I could do it again.”

Kathy paced, bounced, and then paced some more. She refused to make eye contact. Finally, she stopped and looked at Zoe. “I can try to help. I don’t know how much I can teach you in such a short time, but I can try.”

Zoe blinked in surprise. If Kathy was willing to train her, then things must be bad. “If Kyle’s as bad as you say he is, it’s not good for Jack.”

“No.” Kathy’s lips thinned. “It’s not good for any of us.”