JoshuasMistake (15 page)

In an instant his brother was lifting him as if he were a
child and carrying him from the sweat lodge. Kane’s breath was ragged. Josh was
helpless, he couldn’t even straighten his legs let alone carry his own weight.
He felt more arms holding him up and looked to his right. Jon’s dark eyes
watched him as he took some of the weight from Kane and they rushed him inside
the cool house.

They put him on the couch.

Lucy handed him a cup. “Drink this.”

“What is it?” His voice was barely a croak.

She smiled. “Gatorade. You need fluid and electrolytes then
food and rest. Drink it slowly and then I’ll give you some water. Don’t gulp.
Just drink it slowly.”

He took a sip of the sweet-and-salty drink. His legs were on
fire. “Where is Tessa?”

He had asked Kane, but it was Lucy who answered. “Gowan
brought your woman in. Rain is caring for her.”

His fingers were cramping and he bobbled the cup. Strong
fingers wrapped around his and helped him sip some more. His brother’s face was
a mask of concern.

“I failed, Kane. I have to go back.”

Kane’s lips tightened to a thin line. His eyebrows pulled
together over his nose. “You have to rest first. You stayed in too long, Josh.”

“How long?”

Kane looked up at the clock on the oven. “Sixteen hours.”

“Jesus. It felt like minutes on the other side.”

Adianca sat on the chair in front of him. “You know time is
different in the spirit world.”

Joshua took another sip and let Kane help him into a sitting
position. His muscles were starting to relax. His chest no longer ached. “Yes,
but I have gone in and had days pass in my mind but when I returned it was only
an hour. How could minutes be hours?”

The shaman’s eyes turned to the left and he followed her
gaze to the smaller couch where Rain was coaxing fluids into Tessa. “The place
where she is trapped is dark. It takes time to traverse so much pain and bad
energy.”

Tessa’s body was covered in sweat, and pieces of golden hair
clung to her cheeks and forehead yet her body was relaxed. She had not become
dehydrated as severely as Joshua. He knew the only answer was his friends had
managed to get fluids into her over the past sixteen hours. They had probably
attempted the same with him, but he had expended a great deal of energy hunting
for Tessa and it had not been enough.

“I don’t understand. Tessa is good, filled with light. I’ve
been in her mind, she turns darkness away as no one else I’ve ever met. How can
she be in such a dark place?”

“The power that tried to claim her aura was the blackest
kind. It is an abomination of the natural world to steal another’s essence. To
wield such energy is to embrace hell.

“She survived because of you and because she is strong, but
now she has split apart and is trapped in a dark web. The pieces you’ve seen,
fear, rage and sorrow are all pieces of this woman, but they are only the
darkness living in each of us. They do not have the power to break free. Until
you find the part of Tessa that is strength you will not succeed.”

With every word his teacher uttered Joshua’s rage at Banta
grew. If he survived with or without Tessa, he would make it his purpose to
kill Troth Banta and send him to hell.

First he had to save Tessa. His fear of losing her curled
into a tight ball in his gut. He tried to stand. Pain shot from the arch of his
foot up his calf as if a knife had pierced his body. “I have to get her out of
there.”

Kane’s hand pressed firmly on his shoulder. “First you have
to drink, eat and sleep for a few hours. Then you’ll go back.”

Jon had been standing quietly by the door since helping
Joshua to the couch. “I’m going to send for some more men to stand guard. I don’t
like the sound of any of this and we are too exposed out here.”

Adianca nodded her approval. “We will sleep two hours and
then you will find your woman and bring her back.”

In an hour’s time Joshua had eaten a small meal and drank
enough to ease the cramping a bit. Tessa remained on the couch, Joshua slid in
behind her and pulled her back onto his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder
and he leaned back against the overstuffed pillow.

Sleep claimed him immediately. When he woke he wasn’t sure
where he was. It took him a moment to remember, but he knew immediately the
woman cradled in his arms was Tessa. He kissed the top of her head.

“Drink this.” Kane handed him a cup.

He drank down the sports drink. “You okay?” he asked his
brother.

“Other than the fact that you scared the shit out of me.
Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Banta will have tracked us. He must be getting close by
now. I hadn’t counted on this taking so long.”

“I know. Nothing we can do about it, Josh. Just have to see
it through and trust.”

“Trust is not something that comes easy to a Lakeland.”

Kane smiled. “No, but what choice do we have?”

He didn’t answer. They both knew there was no other choice.
His brother didn’t even know Tessa and yet, because of the bond the brothers
shared, Kane knew Joshua would never abandon her. Joshua knew the thought never
even crossed Kane’s mind. If they did nothing Tessa would die. Joshua couldn’t
accept that. She was going to live even if he had to trade his life for hers.

* * * * *

Once again the chanting allowed him to focus. Joshua’s
mind slid through the veil between worlds with ease. He knew he had to work
fast. His body couldn’t take much more abuse and it wouldn’t do any good to die
and leave them both trapped on the wrong side of the spirit world.

Knowing what to look for made finding her easier this
time. He heard the crying almost immediately. It took all of his will not to
become distracted by Fear. Just as the weeping faded he heard the first crash
of glass shattering. He pressed forward, not allowing the negative emotions to
block him as they had before. There was no sign of Sorrow. Perhaps he had done
some good or perhaps that part of Tessa couldn’t take any more. He couldn’t
dwell on it. He had to find the part of Tessa brave enough to come back with
him.

A growl broke the silence. It sounded as if a large cat
might be on the prowl. Joshua took a defensive position and looked around for a
cougar or similar animal. He discovered a patch of lush jungle and a wild-eyed
Tessa stalking him from the shadows. Gloriously naked she watched and countered
his moves.

His body betrayed him, reacting to her curves instead of
remaining focused on his task. He closed the gap slowly. This was not his
Tessa, at least not entirely. She needed to be treated with caution as if she
were a wild beast who might attack at the least provocation.

“Tessa, what are you doing?”

She didn’t answer with words. A low, guttural sound
rumbled from her as her body hunched and reared back as if she were a snake
coiling for the strike. She darted toward him and he braced himself for the
impact, knowing he would have to take whatever violence she doled out. He would
never strike back, not even in the spirit world. Sparring was one thing, but
this Tessa was not playing a game. He saw only primal instincts in her eyes,
void of reasoning. At the moment it looked as if her instincts were telling her
to knock him down.

The blow never came. Stopping just short of him, she
sniffed his neck and rubbed her body against his from hip to chest. He couldn’t
help the swell of his cock as her tits pressed against his torso and her lips
found the sensitive spot behind his ear.

Unable to stop himself he wrapped his arms around her,
breathed in her warm, musky scent. She made a sound akin to a purr and nibbled
on the side of his neck. His body was on fire. Everything about this Tessa was
sexual. He wasn’t even sure she was capable of speech, but she knew what she
wanted.

Her strong hands tugged at his clothes and in an instant
they disappeared. He knew it was his own desire that had discarded the
wardrobe, but he couldn’t stop his need. The first time he’d held her she’d
been like a drug he wanted to take continuously. This was his opportunity. He
could stay here in the spirit world and make love to Tessa for all eternity.

Her body writhed against his. She grunted and moaned with
pleasure as his fingers dug into the flesh of her ass and pulled her pussy
tight against his cock.

His mouth found hers and he devoured her, trapping her
with one hand tightly threaded through her hair. She gripped him and wrapped
her legs around his hips. Thrusting and pushing to get him inside her. Tessa’s
mouth took all the pleasure. Her arms twined around his head and shoulders.

“Tessa. Tell me you need me here in this place.”

No answer, only purring and growling.

His cock demanded he take the offer of her body. His
desires wanted him to stay and rejoice in her fabulous body infinitely. His
heart shouted,
This is not your Tessa. Not all of her.

Her warm, wet pussy slid along his shaft, looking for
penetration. He didn’t know how, but he pushed Desire away, unlocking her
strong arms and legs.

She screamed as if he’d caused her pain.

“I’m sorry. I need all of you, not just this.” Somehow
saying it out loud helped his resolve to move away from the jungle scene.

The feral look in her eyes told him she had no idea what
his words meant. She stood slightly crouched as if ready to spring forward.
Fisted hands and wide, screaming mouth, she was still nearly impossible not to
run back to. He wanted her, wanted to fuck her, but it could never be enough
without the rest of Tessa.

Once again he was clothed as he backed quickly away.

The high-pitched cries of Desire’s longing faded as he
continued to pull away from her. Darkness surrounded him. The thud of fist on
flesh and a distinctly female grunt of aggression pulled him and he followed
the sound.

Dimly lit, she fought a shadow he couldn’t see and even
in spirit, she was magnificently strong and capable. Dressed in close-fitting
shorts and a workout top, she was tall, lean and rippled with tight muscles.
She punched and kicked at demons only she could see.

“Tessa?”

She turned away and the shadow subsided in the swirling
gray. Tessa’s eyes narrowed and her fists came up as she crouched slightly as
if ready to spring at him. For a moment she looked as if she might attack him.
He thought Desire might have found a way to follow him, and then she relaxed. “Joshua,
you don’t belong here.”

Elation bubbled in his gut. She spoke. She had a mind and
not just emotion and instinct. “I came to bring you back, Tessa.”

She shook her head and looked cautiously over her
shoulder. “I have to defeat him.”

“Who are you fighting?”

“Banta. This is his domain. He trapped me here. I have to
defeat him.” She turned and stalked forward as if she were searching for the
shadow.

“He’s not here, Tessa. It’s true, he trapped you, but he’s
still in the world of man. You can’t hurt him here. Come back with me and we
will defeat him together.”

She spun toward Joshua. He thought he saw a moment of
confusion before her scowl returned. “You’re wrong, Joshua. He’s here, I nearly
had him.”

Maybe the truth would bring her around. He had no idea
how long he’d been away from his body this time. He did know he had very little
time. “Tessa, you have to come back with me. If we stay here much longer our
bodies will die.”

“You should go. I can weaken him here and then you can
destroy him from above.”

He heard a loud bang. It sounded like gunshots. He turned
toward the noise but saw nothing. Adrenaline rushed through him. He wanted to
grab her and run, but there was no place to go. He couldn’t force her out of
the ether and into her body, the choice had to be made of her own free will. “Tessa,
you have to come with me. I need you with me. We can defeat Banta but only
together and not in this place. I can’t go back without you. Please.”

Strength turned and walked toward him. “Why can’t you go?”

“I can’t leave you behind. I came for you.” He could hear
the panic in his voice.

Her head cocked. “Why?”

He took a moment as if he could draw breath in the spirit
world. It was time to call on his own strength. “There is no point for me to go
back without you. I have never given a damn whether I lived or died. The only person
I’ve ever cared about is my brother and I have kept him at arm’s length. You
are the only person I’ve ever wanted to let in, Tessa. If you will not come
with me I will stay here with you and together we will fight your demons. I
love you.”

Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

“You love me?” The voice did not come from Strength who
still stared directly at him. It was still Tessa’s voice, but it had come from
behind him.

He turned. Tessa, dressed all in white and vibrating with
the aura he’d grown to love in a very short time, stood watching him.

“I love you with all my heart.”

“I never imagined you could love me.”

He moved forward until he was only inches from her. “I
never dreamed I could love anyone until I met you. You are my only reason to go
on, Tessa. I can’t go back without you.”

Her eyes flicked toward where he had last seen Strength. “I’m
afraid. You don’t know the pain Banta can cause. I would rather die than feel
my soul ripping away again.”

His heart contracted painfully. “I can’t promise he won’t
try. All I can promise is I will be by your side and I will die to protect you.
I’m sorry I failed in Florida, Tessa. I should have protected you.”

“I was trying to save you,” she said.