Meadow's Keep (The Gatekeepers Series) (22 page)

Eryk’s
focus was glued on Jasmine. She sat across from him, leaning over several of the rough designs he’d sketched for possible illusions, nibbling on a riblet, her soft black hair shadowing her cheeks. Her obsidian eyes were narrowed in concentration. His insides clinched. She was the most gorgeously intense woman he’d ever met. Every movement was elegant—enticing.

Jasmine stopped mid
-bite and let her gaze move up from the papers until it locked onto his. She slowly lowered the rib bone she’d been unconsciously chewing on to the plate, picked up a napkin and wiped her lips. She had to break the connection that was snaking between them, weaving its own magic.

“What? Did I smear sauce?”
She choked the question, trying to make things light. It worked. The moment passed. They were doing their best. The agreement was going to be hell to keep. Close proximity and heightened awareness. She’d suggest a walk but the rain had increased to a steady downpour and they were stuck inside. The creeks were already jumping their banks and a flash flood warning had been issued for Atlanta and the surrounding area, including the county where Ruthorford lay. She’d never known Ruthorford to flood. The waters surrounding it would rise and creep up a couple of feet, but never threaten the town or the surrounding farms. It was as though it had some secret outlet. The water could run pretty fast in the creek, however, going from a slow meander to a torrent in no time.

She turned at the loud screech
coming from the balcony. They both rose and moved toward the balcony door, Eryk grabbing her arm before she got too close. Apparently, the visiting hawk was back, this time seeking shelter from the downpour. It sat on the balcony rail, safely out of the cascading waterfall from the upper balcony, slowly lifting one wing, then the other.

“Poor thing,” Jasmine whispered. “It’s drenched.”

“Let’s move back and give it some space. I don’t want to startle it. I’m not sure how well it can fly, as wet as it is.” They turned and moved away from the balcony door.

“Want some coffee?” Jasmine asked, moving into the kitchen where a carafe sat waiting.

“Sure.” Eryk agreed and looked at her. “Want to try an experiment?”

She stopped mid-pour. “Depends.”

“The bird looks pretty comfortable out there.” He nodded toward the window. The bird was grooming its beak, having shaken off much of the water. “Want to see if you can get the vision at will—your will?”

Jasmine set the carafe back on the counter and moved to Eryk’s side. “I’ll try but I’m not sure what to do
. It always just happens.”

Eryk let his ha
nd move to her back, its warmth penetrating her skin. “Relax. Try to recall the feeling right before it happened and bring that up.”

She stared at the bird on the balcony. She tried to remember the feeling. Nothing happened. She closed her eyes, as when doing the aura thing and blanked her mind. She opened her eyes
to a very close-up view of the building across the street. Eryk caught her as she swayed, holding her in place. He whispered softly in her ear, “See if you can direct where it’s looking.”

She moved her eyes
. Nothing. But the slightest movement of her head and eyes together seemed to have an effect. Her arms grabbed Eryk’s arm. “Hang on to me. It’s not what I’m used to and I’m disoriented.”

He slipped his arms around her, encircling her. The rhythm of their hearts changed. Even though it was something they now expected, it still
hit with a punch. Jasmine let her arms cross and grasp his forearms, steadying herself, focusing her concentration on the visual effects she was experiencing. As she looked around, her brain assimilated and began translating the imagery. Although distorted for her, she began to see. Scanning the building, she could see through the windows into the rooms, almost as if using a telescope. “Whoops,” she whispered and moved on as she saw a rather hefty man in boxers reach for a remote control.

The room next to his appeared to be vacant. She let her gaze linger, adjusting the focus until she could read a notepad on the bedside table. “Holy—”
A sudden pain shot through the back of her eyes and she gagged.

Eryk swung her in one swift motion over the sink.

“I’m okay.” The wave had passed as suddenly as it had hit. She stepped away from him.

He poured some iced water and handed it to her. “Sip this.”

They both looked toward the screech coming from the balcony. The hawk was flapping its wings, drying them. The rain had subsided. Without a backward glance, the hawk was gone.

Eryk led her to the couch. “Are you okay?” Her brows were furrowed and she kept rubbing her eyes.

Jasmine nodded. “I think it’s like wearing someone else’s glasses.” The corner of her lips curved up. “Oh, I think it was far-sighted. When I tried to look close, it sort of blurred. Far away I could see the writing on a pad of paper.” She hesitated a second, “Or, the stripes on an old man’s boxers.”

Eryk lif
ted a brow.

“Don’t worry, I moved on.
” She had a thought and turned to him. “When you were holding me, like the aura scan, could you see what I was seeing?”

“No. I tried.
I did pick up the birds heart rate and the fact that it didn’t appear to be aware of what was happening.”

He watched her as she shook her head slightly and opened and closed her eyes. His awareness of her was acute.
He took a step back, further away from her.

“Are you up to practicing a couple of illusions?”
he asked, trying to think of something to focus on.

“You know, I’m not at all sure about this.”

“Don’t worry, you’re a natural. And, I promise you will get a gorgeous outfit to wear.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I am not going to wear that
frou-frou thing Brandy wears. You understand me?”

She could see the laughter in his eyes. “No?
Well, I guess naked would make it less likely to snag something.”

“In your dreams, b
uster. In your dreams.” Bracing her hands on her hips, she smiled. “Okay, Houdini, do your worst."

Jasmine had to give Eryk his due. He knew magic. He walked her through several tricks, using her as a
prop as much as anything else. On the ones where she got frustrated or lost, he would tweak it slightly until, after several hours, the act started coming together and Jasmine found she was actually having fun.

For several tricks, they enhanced everything by using their combined energies. They would toss a small ball back and forth a couple of times then
it would come to a stop between them, suspended in air. Puzzled, they would  look at it, approaching from opposite directions until they were standing right under it, and it would burst into a shower of petals reigning down on them. Eryk wanted it to be water but Jasmine didn’t like the idea of having to make a sudden costume change.

They both nixed the me
ntalist illusions, figuring the audience probably didn’t want any information even hinted at about themselves. They would be performing for a group of people in hiding, after all. This show was to be all about escaping that stress for an afternoon.

One of the hardest tricks to perfect was the levitation
. He had Jasmine lie down on a board propped between two chairs. On stage, the equipment would be much fancier but the trick was the same. At first, he tried using just his energy but found that, if she fought him, she dropped like a rock. However, combining his energy with hers, it worked beautifully. When their hearts synced, he could relax her and then control her energy as well, which was one tiny bit of information he wasn’t ready to divulge just yet. Once he had her relaxed, he directed the energy underneath and her body rose slightly. Then he carefully removed the board, then the chairs. During the show, he would have kids do that. They’d love it.

They must have been growing tired because, after the third practice, with Jasmine floating in the air, something shifted and her arms started flailing.
Using an extra burst of energy, it was all he could do to hold her up until he could move beneath her to break her fall. She dropped like a dead weight right into his arms and, unable to counter her weight, he fell forward, straining to soften the landing.

Suddenly, she was on the floor and he was on top of her. Her eyes locked with his. Their hearts, still beating as one, now pounded,
drumming through their bodies. She could feel his body harden on top of her and her gaze moved to his mouth. She wanted his kiss. She wanted to move her hips against his. Panic gripped her. Her words came out in quick gasps. “Get. Off. Me.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Please,” she whispered.

It seemed like an eternity passed before he lifted his body from hers.
She lay there, trying to calm her heart. Jasmine opened her eyes as she heard the balcony door open and close. She rolled over and saw him leaning against the rail, his arms stretched out along the rail. The very air around him shimmered. She blinked, thinking, somehow, she was seeing his aura.

Knowing it wasn’t the best idea, she
, nevertheless, stepped out onto the balcony.

His energy pushed at her. Then
, as if in recognition, it slipped around her and pulled her forward. He turned and stood there as she moved to him. She wasn’t sure if she could have stopped if she wanted to. A force drew her, pushing and pulling at the same time. She didn’t stop until she was pressed against his body and could feel the contours of his muscles and the hard length that pressed into her abdomen.

“You’re—
”

He let his hands come up her arms and res
ted his forehead against hers. “Yeah.” He breathed softly. “I’m a healthy man. This seems to be my constant state when I’m around you.”

“Well, it’s not going to help…,” she said, yet found her hands sliding up his chest to move around his neck.

He swallowed and buried his face in her soft neck, inhaling the scent that was all her. It was a scent that would be with him for the rest of his life. A scent he would crave until he died.

“God,” he whispered against her throat, “you smell so damn good.” He took a nip of her soft flesh and heard her gasp. Felt her melt into him.
Before he lost all control, he lifted his head, slid his hands up her arms and gently pulled her hands from around his neck. Knowing it was a result of their working together, he resisted the very thing he wanted most. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we are going to fight it. For now,” he clarified.

Her eyes locked with his.
“Thank you,” she said and blushed when the words came out a throaty purr.

Letting a wicked grin form, he
transformed the moment with a tease, “Anytime…any time at all.”

“You!”
Jasmine laughed, now released from the compulsion. She pushed away, still laughing, and walked back into the suite. “I think I’ll call it a night.” She turned and grinned at his exaggerated leer. “Alone.”

****

On the flight back, Jasmine asked if she could sit back in the cabin. First and foremost, she had no desire to do another solo outside the jet. Once was enough for that experience. She’d barely kept it together even when she did have control over it, like the night before. It was just too damn soon to do it again. Since Eryk didn’t insist on her playing “co-pilot,” she figured he’d already assessed the situation. He handed her a set of headphones when he adjusted her seat belt, a move she figured was accomplished more for his pleasure than her safety.

The ride back to the airfield
near Ruthorford had been pleasant enough, though a little tense. After they’d finished hashing over the act, awkwardness strained the quieter moments. He offered to take Jasmine by Ruthorford to see Teresa and Bill, but, when she’d called the night before, Teresa had insisted she go on and not worry—that everything was fine—and besides, she’d maintained, Ruthorford was out of the way. Jasmine damn well knew everything wasn’t fine. She could hear the edge in Teresa’s voice.

She
was torn. Bask needed her. Jenn needed her. Eryk—she wasn’t sure if Eryk needed anyone or anything. He seemed so in control of himself. Except, when he was kissing her. Yet, even then, he appeared to have control.

Not that she didn’t want him in control.
She did, didn’t she? Jasmine leaned her head against the high back of the leather seat and looked forward. She studied his profile as he watched the instruments and talked to someone on the headset. She saw the slight tick in the muscle in his jaw. He was not happy. Yet, his voice was as smooth as silk, his movements precise. The tiny movement when he tightened his jaw was the only indication that something was not right.

She watched his hands, the way his sinewy arms
flexed, and she wanted his hands on her body. Jasmine bolted up.
Geez
, she felt like a rutting…something. She shifted around in the seat, trying not to feel the heat pooling in her womb. Slamming the headphones on her head, she tapped the button.

“What’s our ETA?” She tried to sound professional.

He laughed. “About a half-hour? Why?”

“No reason. I was curious.”

“Miss me?”