Now she finally had a chance to contribute to the family, and without Owen’s interference. She had to do this.
Her part in the Stallbridge family fortune had been limited. She often let her brother control her votes during corporate meetings and contented herself by comanaging a few of their nonprofit organizations when she wasn’t devoting herself to healing those in need. All across North and South America, wherever and whenever called, she’d answered to a higher power, drifting like a nomad from hurt to hurt.
More than physical illness, Heather sensed and healed spiritual pain.
And speaking of healing…
She studied Jack, who watched her every move. Ida had gone down the block to visit with Jan for a while, leaving Heather and Jack to deal with each other. Not good. Heather really could have used the older woman’s presence to ease the growing tension.
That kiss earlier had nearly fried her senses. Pretending to be calm while her entire body yelled at her to hop on Jack and ride him into tomorrow had been the most difficult thing she’d ever done. Even now she could still taste him, a hint of hops from the beer he’d drunk mixed with his own brand of sexual aggression. All male and overpowering.
God, she’d never been with anyone so overwhelming. Beneath the flesh and blood, energy raged within him. The Source only added to his power, and she’d been drugged on him since that first hug.
Something about him intrigued her. She’d never gone for the bad-boy type. Heather studied him, saw those huge fists, the thick thighs, the broad chest, the square jaw. His eyes snapped with power, so light they looked almost unnatural.
“What?” he growled, watching her watch him. “Afraid now? A little late, don’t you think?”
“Get over yourself.”
She blinked in surprise, as shocked as he by her aggression. Heather was nice to everyone. Even Klaus and Ernst Baer, the heavy-handed creeps who’d tried to take way too many liberties at last week’s beer fest. To Ernst, she’d politely declined his company. She’d smiled at Klaus, carefully skirted him, and latched on to Jan, who’d been walking by at the time.
But Jack confused, annoyed, and scared her because he made her want him more than was healthy. More than was normal. She had a feeling that if she let him, he could disrupt her well-ordered world even more than Chronicles had. Heather knew that eventually this adventure would end. With Jack, she had the sense he’d stay with her, in thought if not in the flesh.
They stared at each other in silence.
“You know, you’re not what I expected,” he finally said.
“Oh? Care to explain what that means?”
He evaded the question. “Your brother asked me to find you. He was worried.”
Of course, Owen would be. The control freak didn’t like that she hadn’t called when he’d commanded. She loved him like crazy, but she had to do this without his interference. He wasn’t the one to make things right. She was, because she’d been the one to read the code hidden in the book. Only she could fix what her great-grandfather had broken. She had to go it alone.
Then again, Jack could be classified as interference, and Ida had clearly inferred Heather needed him. So perhaps she wouldn’t be as alone on this trip as she’d initially thought.
“You’re pretty,” Jack said bluntly. “Beautiful, actually.” His gaze went from her head to her toes and lingered in between.
She wished to hell her body wouldn’t respond, but for some reason, Jack got to her.
“But it’s more than that.” Jack rose from the couch and approached. Half of her wanted to flee; the other half forced her to remain and wait for the worst. “See, here’s the thing that bothers me. You say you can heal. Your mind is strong. But then, Owen’s powerful, so I’d expect you to be like him. But you’re more.”
“More, how?” she asked on a breath, once again too close to him and sizzling under their shared chemistry.
“What can you do, exactly? What’s your gift besides healing?” he asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.
She grew wet, her nipples stiffened, and she felt herself wanting to lean into his heat. Heather licked her dry lips and tried to answer without sounding as desperate as she felt. So she’d been without a boyfriend for months. Sex hadn’t been that high on her priorities for a while. But it had never been so all-consuming a desire as it was right now.
It had to be the Source influencing her arousal.
“Tell me,” he whispered. His breath fluttered over her mouth when he leaned closer.
She swallowed hard. “I told you. I heal, physically and psychically. All types of wounds.”
“So you’re empathic, then?” He put his other hand on her other shoulder and started rubbing, a gentle massage that made her boneless in seconds.
“N-no. Not empathic. I just sense the hurt and fix it.” She moaned. “Oh wow. That feels so good.”
“You’re tense.” His low voice barely registered. “Tight, smooth, and wet, I’ll bet,” he added in a growl before he kissed her again.
That first time, she’d been caught off guard. As fast and heavy as their interlude in the alley had been, she’d thought she could have stopped him before they grew too serious. But right now, she could do nothing but follow his lead, caught up in the man touching her.
Right now, Jack didn’t feel wounded at all. He surrounded her with his raw masculinity. Consumed by his scent, Heather breathed him in and clutched his thick shoulders. Her lips softened under his, and she opened her mouth wider when he penetrated with his tongue and took charge.
He groaned and walked her backward until she felt the wall behind her. Jack lifted her as if she weighed nothing and wrapped her legs around his waist. One hand held her up while the other found her breasts and played. Under her sweater, he pinched her nipples, and she ground against the hard ridge of his erection between her legs, cursing the jeans that separated them.
“Need to fuck you so bad,” he muttered against her ear, then kissed the sweet spot just under it. He fiddled with their clothes between them while he kissed her beyond sanity.
She lost her ability to think as they touched and caressed, before she realized he’d let go of her breast to unsnap her jeans. But what struck her most was that theirs wasn’t an animalistic coupling so much as a passionate exploration. The raging lust was there, but Jack didn’t pounce or grope her, not the way Ernst had. Jack gentled and stroked. He seduced with surety and ease.
Her shoes, pants, and panties dropped to the floor before he took her ass in his hands and lifted her again, aligning her with his waist.
“Yeah, baby. That’s it.” He kissed his way down her neck and sucked hard.
The small bite of pain had her crying out in pleasure. And then something thick and hot prodded between her naked thighs. She hadn’t felt him undo his own jeans, but she didn’t care. Not when he entered her and kept pushing. God, he was huge.
“So fucking tight. Let me in. Oh Christ.”
Jack continued to thrust, and she stared into his light-colored eyes, taken with the need there. The hunger for her. She dragged his mouth to hers and sighed into him. He felt so big, stretching her until he finally stopped moving. “Jack,” she whispered against his lips.
He groaned and kissed her back, then started moving again. In and out, at first gentle, then ramming harder and faster. She wanted more, and she arched off the wall to grind against him, loving the feel of his thick intrusion.
Nothing but having Jack come inside her, filling her up, made any sense. And then he tilted his hips and shifted, and she was coming, gripping him inside her while he stole her breath.