There he is. There is my Jaxon.
A smile pulls on the corner of his mouth. His eyes instantly grow hungry and possessive and mischievous.
He loves it when I get bossy and possessive.
He walks up to the glass and places his hands against it. “She’s going to make you pay for that.”
I smile. His voice comes out in a sonic ring. It’s a sound I’ve always hated and feared, but right now, it’s my absolute favorite. Because it was an entire sentence, the first one he’s been able to form since he manifested.
“I’m counting on it,” I say with a smile. I walk up to the glass and once more, align my hands with his. I imagine I can feel his warmth. “She did mention that she’s been planning our wedding party for weeks. I kind of forgot that we told her we’re eloping the second we got back to Vegas. You ready for some double acting when we get out of this joint? Pretending to just be human, and my husband?” I arch an eyebrow at him, and smirk.
“Trust me, that second part will never be hard, Serena,” he says in that low, intimate way of his. It sends a shiver down to my lower belly.
I lean forward, wanting to be closer, trying not to let my imagination run wild. “Please hurry up,” I say, keeping up the sultry flirting. Just then, Ascelin walks out and walks up to us. “My bed is feeling empty, and this guy keeps thinking he’s going to be invited there.”
“Eventually you’ll get tired of waiting for him,” Ascelin says as he looks down at me with a weighted, heady look. “I’ll be here when you do.”
“Back the hell off, you undercutting scorpion,” Jaxon growls, and it’s truly terrifying. His flames surge and his gaze turns deadly.
Ascelin shrugs. “If you don’t like what I’m doing, why don’t you come out here and make me stop? Man to man.” I don’t know that he’s totally faking when Ascelin stares him down with a challenge in his eyes.
“Trust me, you’re going to regret every time you looked at her,” Jaxon seethes.
Ascelin just smirks in an arrogant way. He reaches forward and touches my lower back, and Jaxon’s body pulses so bright I have to look away. “We’ll see, little torch.”
Ascelin winks at me once before he turns and walks away to go back to work.
Jaxon roars again, watching as Ascelin walks away.
I look back at him, fixing him with a hard, severe stare. “Seriously, hurry up.”
Chapter Five
"Serena, you need to come see this."
I roll over with an annoyed groan. I was having a nice dream. There was a bed, it was dark, and the familiar feel of Jaxon's warm hands was all over me.
I squint one eye open and look at Davorian standing there in my doorway.
"What?" I ask sharply.
"Just get up," he says, equally annoyed. He doesn't wait for me to apologize or argue with him. He turns and walks out.
I roll out of bed and don't bother getting dressed. I'm wearing a pair of small, loose cotton black sleeping shorts and a tightfitting black tank top. Who needs a bra? Barefoot, I pad my way out of my bedroom and down the passageway.
Half a dozen others are gathered outside of the vault. They stand just outside of Jaxon's view.
Davorian waves me forward. Anticipation makes my blood surge fast and hot. I don't like Jaxon being alone with them. I should trust them, but I don't. Not when it comes to my ultralight.
I pick up the pace, and step into view of the vault.
Jaxon stands there, and he is entirely human.
I feel like a volcano. Excitement and joy and relief come rushing up inside of me, filling me so full I feel as if I’m going to burst.
It’s my Jaxon.
Someone must've somehow gotten some clothes into the vault for him. He's dressed in black cotton pants, though nothing else.
But gloriously, miraculously, not one bit of him is on fire, and not one pore on his body is shining with light.
His eyes rise to meet mine and in them, I see absolute determination.
It's then that I see his hands. They are curled into tight fists at his side. They quake violently. The effort of his restraint is visible in every ounce of his body.
"Jaxon," I breathe as I step forward and press my hands to the glass.
Instantly, he bursts into flames once more.
"I was walking by last night," Nisha says in that flat, uncaring way of hers. "Found him naked, but totally human. It didn't last too long, as soon as he saw me, he burst back into ultralight form."
"When I saw him an hour or so later," Ascelin says, "he was human again. Did the same thing, shifted as soon as he saw me. But he's doing it. He keeps flipping back and forth."
A smile surges on my face. Jaxon is burning right now, but I saw it. For just a few moments, I saw him human.
"You can do it again," I say. "I know you can do it again, Jaxon."
His eyes, which are still green right now, close, and I see him gather his concentration. He takes a ragged, deep breath. Once more, he rolls his burning hands into fists. Deeply, he drags another breath in.
I find I hold my breath, too. Anticipation makes my palms cold with sweat.
Three seconds pass. Ten seconds. Thirty seconds.
But calm and even, his flames begin to diminish.
His body darkens as the light recedes.
And within one minute, my Jaxon stands there again.
A sly smile begins to curl on my lips. Something hot and fiery begins to build in my lower stomach.
"I knew you could do it," I say.
"It's a good thing you believed, because I wasn't sure I could," Jaxon says. It’s so good to hear his normal voice again. Despite the fact there are several other people around us, his eyes remain fixed entirely on me.
"So, what do you think, you coming out of this vault anytime soon?" I ask. It's really, really difficult not to let my imagination run wild. My mind is going back to that night in the parking garage on the Strip. It's remembering the taste of his lips. The feel of his hands on my body.
Everything in me is beginning to ache with need.
"Trust me, baby," he says. He rocks forward onto the balls of his feet, as if he wants to come closer, but doesn't quite trust himself yet. "I'm dying to get out of here. But…"
I see it in his entire body. He still shakes. There's something about his fingers and the way they curl into fists. He still wants to kill me. He still wants to take out everyone in this compound.
"Can you all give us a minute?" I ask as I look over my shoulder at the others.
Most of the others immediately walk away. But I watch as Ascelin glares Jaxon down. And just as he walks past me, he reaches a hand out, once again brushing his fingertips along my lower back.
My skin crawls at it. Not because I am disgusted by Ascelin. But because I see the look of death deep in Jaxon's eyes.
But this is working. He doesn't burst into flames again.
"We need him to touch the gate again soon," Davorian says. "The darkling gatekeeper might be found any moment. If anyone is watching on that side, we need to let them know that the ultralight gatekeeper is here." Davorian looks up at Jaxon. "I can only imagine how hard this is, but we need you to rein it in. We need you out here."