“Took something? That’s vague.”
“I know. Ida’s certain I’ll understand more when we reach the Source. It’s an area in an open field in the middle of the forest. She said I’ll know it when I get there. We’re on the right track. The closer we get to the Source, the more I feel power buzzing inside my brain.”
“Me too,” he rumbled.
“Yes, well, somehow my great-grandfather tapped into it, and it did something to him. He was always powerful. Ambitious, smart, and good at making money. But the Source turned him into a man able to see more, to be more. Apparently, wanting to hold on to his newfound abilities, he took something he wasn’t supposed to before leaving town. Now it’s up to me to put it back. According to Chronicles, the future of my family depends on it.”
Jack frowned. “You talking clairvoyance, as in Johann knew you’d all die one day if you didn’t put this right?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I felt his pain and worry in the book. There’s a bit more I haven’t deciphered, but I have a feeling the Source will clear the rest. I know this is bizarre, but I have to do this. I feel it.”
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t ask Owen for help. He’s your brother, and from what I can tell, he loves you a lot.”
She blew out a breath, not wanting another argument about how she should bend to Owen’s will and let big brother make it all better. She’d been hearing that her entire life and had finally had enough.
Jack stared at her, then shook his head. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll work this out with you so you can finish what you started. But if it gets too dangerous, we’re leaving.”
She frowned. “I’m glad for your help, but I don’t answer to you. If you feel you’re in danger, maybe you should go.” Truth be told, she was glad to have his steady presence to help her. The man exuded strength without trying, and for some reason, despite not really knowing much about him, he made her feel safe. But she didn’t like being told what to do all the time—the major reason she and Owen now butted heads.
Jack closed the distance between them and took her chin in his hand. He stared directly into her eyes, and their connection gave her tingles. The energy all around them wasn’t half as powerful as the energy between them.
“Honey, you might wrap Owen around your little finger, but not me. I’m here to bring you home safely. You should be thanking me for going even this far with you.” He glanced down at her mouth and muttered, “On your knees would be a good start.”
She flushed, wishing the thought didn’t turn her on. She’d never hurt for a healthy sex drive, but the last few years, she hadn’t cared overly about relationships. Meeting Jack had changed all that, and she wasn’t sure why. She cleared her throat, aware of the quiet around them punctuated at intervals by the whoosh of wind through the trees. “This isn’t the time or place for that kind of talk. We’re trying to stay one step ahead of the town, remember? Do your job. Be the professional my brother hired you to be.”
He bared his teeth at her, and she had the insane urge to poke him and see what he’d do. How could he look so mean and sexy at the same time?
“Don’t push me, Heather. Or you’ll find yourself flat on your back so fast your head will spin. And don’t even try giving me that look. We both know it won’t be rape.”
She felt her cheeks heat and glared at him. “No means no.”
He bent down and whispered a kiss over her mouth. “No?”
She tried to remain still, apart, but then he exerted more pressure, and the whisper became a gentle press of his lips, the surge of his tongue. Apart from his mouth, he didn’t touch her, yet she couldn’t pull away.
Against her better judgment, she let her body take charge and sighed into his touch. He firmed the kiss into sweeping sin and lit her from the inside out. She couldn’t be sure when he’d gripped her waist to hold her upright; she only knew she couldn’t stand without his help. Her backpack, the cold, the night disappeared as Jack’s touch and taste mesmerized her. Heat centered in her belly and moved through her like a burst of pleasure. Like it had in Ida’s house, their chemistry proved too much to resist. She wanted their connection again, to feel at one with her other half…
He pulled back and smiled, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “You saying no, sweetheart? ’Cause that sigh sounded a hell of a lot like yes to me.”
Her body shook, and she reached for him again, needing to quench her growing thirst for the man. It took her a moment to realize she’d been played. She pushed against him, and he let her go. Holy hell, since when did I become such a doormat? “Don’t be such a jerk.” She paused to catch her breath, alarmed when his gaze centered on her breasts, because she didn’t mind in the least, and she should have. “Okay, so we have attraction between us. So what? It still doesn’t mean I want to have sex with you when we have something more important to do.”
He snorted. “Tell yourself whatever you want. You want to fuck as much as I do.”
A glance down his front didn’t show her much, covered as he was by his jacket. Unfortunately, she knew all too well how he’d feel inside her.
Her cheeks felt hot enough to melt the snow off the mountaintop. “Fine. I like your body,” she emphasized and was pleased to see his frown. “I don’t know you well enough to like you. We had incredible sex, but we don’t know anything about each other.” She felt embarrassed to have this discussion, but maybe laying it out on the line would benefit them both. Jack seemed like a straight-up kind of guy. When he was annoyed, he certainly let her see it.
“I’m not asking for a freakin’ date.”
“Then what are you asking for?” She took the compass from his hand while he glared at her. Trust the moonlight to cast his face in marble perfection. Focusing on the compass, she stepped around him and continued in the direction they’d been heading. The compass helped, but the energy pulling her gave her the better sense of where to go. She followed the Source and tried to tune out Jack, hoping he’d stop pushing for sex.
Because God knew, she had little willpower when it came to him.
JACK STARED A hole through her backpack, wishing he knew what the hell he wanted from the stubborn, gorgeous female. That she had to be the one to remind him they had a mission to accomplish pissed him off to no end. Jack kept his head. Jack fulfilled his duties and never—with the exception of that one huge clusterfuck years ago—failed to succeed.
Yet all of him wanted to sink between Heather’s thighs and lose himself inside her. She fit him perfectly, and he actually forgot to think when having sex with her. No worries, no wounds or troubles, just pure, unadulterated pleasure.
How long had it been since he’d felt that? Hell, had he ever known such comfort?
He put his hand to his pocket, reminded of the picture of her he still carried. As if by holding on to it, he actually owned a piece of the real her. The woman muttering to herself in front of him was so much more than a two-dimensional rendering. She claimed they didn’t know much about each other. Not true. Jack knew a hell of a lot about Heather Anne Stallbridge.
Before he’d agreed to go on this mission, he’d had a thorough talk with Owen. The guy gushed about Heather so much that Jack had suggested she be canonized a saint. Owen had laughingly agreed. Heather spent her life as a vagabond, helping those in need. She didn’t do it for the money; she had no need of financial aid. Instead she had a craving to heal, to assist those less fortunate than herself.