Mystik Warrior: (Dark Warrior Alliance Book 2) (15 page)

Once he was assured the area was sufficiently numb, he picked up the scalpel. “I’m going to get started now. You might feel some pressure in your side followed by tugging as I remove the object, but you shouldn’t feel any pain. If you do, let me know right away.”

“Okay,” she replied, her shaky voice displaying her nervousness.

“You are going to be fine, Jess. This is going to be over before you know it. Remember that time I crashed my bike when we were six and my arm was bent at a funny angle and you rode with me to the hospital?” Cailyn continued to detail the story, distracting Jessie while he worked.

“Yeah,” Jessie laughed. “You screamed like a little girl.”

“I was a little girl, I was six.”

“I remember when you looked in the mirror and asked the nurse if she’d seen your face. You didn’t even care that your arm was broken. You were more concerned with the bloody scabs.”

With quick work, he had pulled a small black piece of plastic out from under her skin. He held it up and noticed Zander looking in the window of the door. Without gaining permission, the Vampire King was pushing his way into the room. He heard Cailyn gasp and saw her pull a sheet over Jessie’s body.

“Excuse me, Zander. You couldn’t wait until she’s dressed?” Cailyn snapped.

“Nay, I couldna wait. This is aboot the safety of everyone in this house, not one female’s modesty,” Zander told her before he stepped up beside Jace to examine the object.

“It’s okay, Cai. He’s right. This is important,” Jessie added. Cailyn didn’t look appeased, but Jace saw that she understood.

The object was the size of an almond and had a tiny red light on it, clearly electronic in nature. The fucking demon had bugged her, trying to find their location. No wonder they hadn’t simply disappeared with the females before the Dark Warriors got to the car. He had wondered why, and had figured they believed they had control over Jessie. Not to mention the little bomb they had planted in Cailyn. That spell was designed to make the Queen suffer when Cailyn wasn’t able to be healed. Shaking his head, he dropped the bug into a jar and handed it over to Zander.

“I’ll have Kill see what he can learn aboot it. Surely with his expertise, he can turn this on them, so we can locate their lair,” Zander pondered as he held the jar up to the light.

Jace picked up some swabs and turned back to his patient. His mouth fell open. “Shit, that’s amazing. And, we have our answer. Your healing abilities far excel any skirm we have ever seen. In fact, it matches our speed of healing. You don’t even have a scar.”

“What? Really?” Jessie sat up and twisted, trying to see.

He grabbed her shoulders stilling her movements. “Wait, let me clean the blood,” he whispered, lost in thought about everything unique to Jessie.

Before he could wipe the area clean, Cailyn had shoved a shirt over Jessie’s head. “You’re fine. You can get dressed now,” she snapped.

He walked around to his mate, needing to soothe her ruffled feathers. He pulled her into his arms as soon as he reached her and sighed in relief. Unfortunately, at the same time, his nausea reared its head. He wished for one moment that he could enjoy the feel of his mate against him without all the other bullshit. He wanted to rail at the Goddess for cursing him. Warmth spread from his chest out, easing the nausea and settling his anger. They really were Fated Mates, he marveled, as Cailyn’s soul attempted to make it better.

He leaned back and tilted her face up with his finger on her chin. “You have nothing to be jealous of,
Shijéí
. I feel it, too.” Her anguished expression was killing him. He ran his thumb across her plump lower lip, groaning as her tongue followed in its wake.

“I don’t know what has overcome me. I wanted to rip my best friend’s face off when you touched her. That’s not like me,” she shook her head ruefully. “I can’t think of anything but how much I ache, and feel like I will die without you right now.”

He laid his forehead against hers, aware of everyone leaving the room. She tilted her head back and helplessly, he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss seared his soul. She settled her hands on his hips, pulling him closer. She took advantage of his gasp, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

He danced his tongue tentatively against hers, not wanting things to get out of hand lest he get sick. Her mewls drove him on, and his hand went to the back of her head and tangled in her hair. She angled her head and deepened the kiss, hands roaming up and down his back.

She was his heaven and his hell. He had never felt as at home as he had with her, but he wasn’t good enough for her. As her hips began moving against his front, his objections dissolved. The feel of her soft stomach against his erection had him so hard, his balls were drawn up tight and he was ready to explode.

He would deny himself, but saw no need to deny her as she grabbed at him and kissed him frantically. He prayed to the Goddess, asking for a way he could be with his mate, and be the male she needed and deserved, as he slid his thigh between her legs. He rubbed it against her core and he could feel her heat through their clothes.

She climbed up his body, her arms thrown around his neck and her legs around his waist. He held her close as she writhed, ignoring the searing pain in his mate mark. He pulled back from the kiss to see the desire blazing in her hazel depths. “Fuck, yeah, baby. Take what you need,” he growled and licked and nipped his way down her neck.

“Oh God, Jace. I need you inside me, now.” She arched her back, pressing her breasts against his chest. His cock pulsed, pre-cum oozing at the slit. The sensation was still so new, and the pleasure momentarily stole his breath and his reason. He had never wanted anything more than he wanted Cailyn while at the same time he wanted to run as far and as fast as he could.

Her panting increased and he sucked on her neck, grasping her hips, helping her movements. He may deny himself pleasure to avoid embarrassing himself but he would never deny his mate’s needs.

“That’s it, come for me. You are so beautiful,” he murmured.

“I’m close,” she cried. He claimed her lips and slid his grip to her ass and increased the speed and pressure. He burned with pleasure and had never wanted an end to his centuries long torment more than he did at that moment. He loved the sounds she made when caught in the throes of passion.

Cailyn tensed in his arms and cried out his name as she climaxed. He helped her ride out her orgasm and gentled his kiss even though he ached to be inside her. When she went boneless he was both satisfied and in agony. It had never felt better or hurt more to provide his mate pleasure.

“Oh God, baby. That was incredible. Now it’s my turn to take care of you,” she uttered then looked into his eyes. A female had never called him baby, and he liked it, especially when his mate said it. Panic set in at the thought of her taking him into her mouth. His shaft pulsed, on board with the idea, but his stomach churned. He was doomed to never experience that pleasure, and couldn’t allow this to go any further no matter how much instinct was telling him to complete the mating.

“You are a treasure. Come on, let’s go find out if they’ve learned anything about that device from Jessie’s side.” He needed to get out of the room drenched in the scent of her desire before his resolve dissolved. His balls were ten shades of blue already, he couldn’t take anymore.

As he set her down and took her hand, leading her to the door, she stopped and protested. “What about you? Let me take care of you.”

He shut his eyes and groaned at an image of her on her knees with his cock buried in her hot little mouth. A sudden, magical blast sent him staggering back and obliterated his erotic fantasy. His eyes snapped open and he caught the bright flash of green light that preceded the appearance of an object he hadn’t seen since he was a stripling. It couldn’t be.

Cailyn looked around in confusion, gaping when it arrived out of nowhere. It was easy for him to forget that such occurrences were completely foreign to her. He had to admit that this particular time he was as shocked as she was. “What is that?”

“That, Cailyn, is the Mystik Grimoire,” he uttered numbly.

Cailyn stared at the huge tome that had appeared out of thin air. Jace’s touch was reverent and his expression awed. What had they said about the book? She recalled it documented magic spells and there was something about prophesies, too. It was bigger than an atlas, and ten times as thick. The aged-brown leather was exquisitely decorated on the front with numerous colored crystals.

She peered at the writing on the cover, but wasn’t able to read the words. The script was in a foreign language and there were symbols she thought were runes. She watched his fingers linger on the large metal locking clasp on the side.

“So this is the magical book of the realm. Why do you think it appeared now? Do you know what you are supposed to do with it now?” A million questions were running through her mind, but it was clear that he had his own questions and was overwhelmed with some strong emotion.

“The last time I saw this book, my da was using it to banish a lesser demon back to the Hell realm. It was the last time I saw my parents alive…I was taken prisoner later that night.” The lost, agonized look on his face took her breath away, and had her heart aching for her sorcerer.

Wait,
her
sorcerer? At some point in the past few days she had come to think of Jace as her sorcerer. Yes, she acknowledged, she had some difficult decisions to make. And she was no closer to that decision, even if she was claiming Jace as hers. It killed her that regardless of what she decided, one great guy would have his heart crushed, and neither deserved it. What he’d said registered fully, and her eyes widened in shock.

“You were taken prisoner? When? And for how long? Why? What happened?” The questions tumbled out before she could stop them. This humble, giving man was no hardened criminal, and she had a bad feeling about what type of imprisonment he may have suffered.

“As I mentioned before, the grimoire is tied to my family line, and can only be accessed by one of my blood. It is said to be fickle, appearing and disappearing seemingly at random. My da believed it did so in times of great need, either for the realm, or our family. I don’t know if it came to me for my sake or because the realm’s greatest asset is under attack, threatening the future. I have no idea what I am supposed to do with it right now,” he said, ignoring her questions about his imprisonment.

It was obvious he didn’t want to discuss the topic, so she let it go for the time being and focused on what he had said. Only those of his blood could access it? Idly she wondered if, as his Fated Mate, she would be able to open the thing. That led to a zillion other thoughts she certainly didn’t want to deal with right now.

“This sounds ominous. Sounds like we need to figure out why this book reappeared, but I want to talk about your time in prison, soon.” She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together, needing to offer him acceptance. She recognized that the ache in her chest emanated from him. The portion of his soul that she carried connected them deeper than she’d realized. Whatever had happened to him, the scars ran deep, and she would have to peel away the layers before either one of them could be whole.

He finally met her gaze. His eyes flared before he settled his composure. She wondered what her soul was communicating to him. “I’m sorry, Cai. I didn’t mean to upset you. I can understand your curiosity, and I promise I’ll do my best to tell you about it, but right now I need to find Zander and call Evzen. This,” he hefted the tome and waved it, “returning is huge for the realm, even if I don’t fully understand why, yet.”

She nodded and followed him out the door. “I appreciate that. Is there anything I can do to help? I can feel your tension rising again,” she smiled sidelong at him, unable to stop the memory of what had caused his tension before the book appeared.

“You have a way of doing that to me.” He blushed lightly, and his smile was uncertain and tentative. She was startled to see that he was shy. Surely, this man who was over seven hundred years old knew the effect he had on the ladies, and worked it to his advantage. In his time, he had probably been with thousands of women, so why so shy? The idea of him having been with so many had her jealousy rearing its ugly head. If she were honest, she hated to think of him being with even one other woman, which wasn’t fair at all. She was struggling to choose between two men, and yet she hated the thought of him having had a history with someone else. She’d never been a particularly jealous person, and figured it had to be the influence of the mating compulsion Elsie had talked about.

“It’s your fault, you know. I can’t think straight when I’m around you. I become consumed by my desire to have you, and nothing else matters,” she winked at him as they headed up the stairs.

He paused at the landing and tugged her into his arms. “
Shijéí,
you have no idea,” he murmured against her lips. He hesitated long enough for her to wonder if he would kiss her before his lips came crashing down on hers.

He swept in and obliterated her ability to think or speak. His lips were silky as they slid across hers, teasing her into a fever pitch. Every thought she had flew out the window as he ravaged her mouth. The touch of his tongue against hers was electric. He wound his hands into her hair and held her close, leaving her breathless. She didn’t care if she breathed again as long as he never stopped.

All too soon he broke the kiss. He was panting and sweating, and his lips were wet with their combined moisture. He was gorgeous, and she didn’t think she’d ever get enough of him. Abruptly, he turned around and began bellowing into the spacious entry.

“Warriors, get your asses to the war room, now,” he yelled with his head thrown back. Cailyn couldn’t help but wonder why Jace was always putting space between them every time they became intimate. For her, the mating compulsion was impossible to deny, and his actions made her wonder how he was able to pull away from her. She wouldn’t have been able to stop to save her life, but he stopped with seemingly no ill effects.

Jace interrupted her musings as he retrieved his cell phone to call Evzen. Cailyn recalled meeting the man at her sister’s mating ceremony. His silver hair was at odds with his youthful appearance. There was no time to think about this further, because they needed to focus on the more important matter at hand.

As soon as Jace hung up, Zander came barreling down one side of the sweeping stairs. “What is it now?” Zander snarled as he buttoned his jeans.

Jace held up the object he had been toting. “It’s important, Liege.”

“Holy shite! It canna be. When did it return? What preceded its arrival?” Zander uttered as he rushed down the main stair case and took the tome from Jace.

Elsie rounded the top of the stairs pulling on her shirt. “What’s going on? Is everything ok?” She reached Zander’s side and stood on tip toe trying to see what he had. Cailyn noticed the glow in her sister’s eyes. She had never seen her sister happier, better loved, or more content than she had since mating Zander. It was everything she had ever wanted for her baby sister. “What’s that?” Elsie asked.

“’Tis the Mystik Grimoire,” Zander explained as he resumed walking to the war room.

“Oh, that’s the book that’s been missing forever, right? I assume having this back is good for us.”

“Aye,
a ghra
, this is a verra good thing. Have you called Evzen? I doona want him chewing my ass for not informing him of this right away,” Zander asked as he turned his attention from Elsie to Jace.

“Yes, he will be here—” The doorbell interrupted Jace. “In fact, that’s probably him now.”

Cailyn heard Angus, their majordomo, answer the door right before Zander crossed to the intercom on the wall, pressing the button and hollering, “Every one of you arseholes, get doon here right now.”

There was a ruckus as numerous heavy feet tread their way down the hall and/or stairs. One by one the Dark Warriors come from various parts of the mansion. Cailyn noticed that Orlando wasn’t among the group

The missing warrior’s voice echoed through the intercom. “I’m going to need a few minutes and a bucket of ice please, Angus. Elsie’s creole has created a fire down below,” Orlando complained.

Zander jabbed the button, but couldn’t hide his amusement. “Get your arse down here, now, you pussy. ‘Tis important,” he laughed.

“Fuck off,” Orlando retorted.

Cailyn and her sister broke into laughter while Evzen and Killian came into the room and were still laughing when Orlando waddled into the room a minute later.

Evzen and Killian’s reaction to the book was overshadowed by Orlando’s complaints when he entered. The big bad warrior continued complaining as Angus brought him an ice pack to sit on.

“You are a baby if you can’t handle a little spice, O,” Elsie teased.

“I’m not a baby. You all wait until you take a shit and see who’s crying then. And, what the hell kind of peppers were those? Ghost?”

“No, they were jalapenos, you big baby.”

“I know Elsie’s pepper of choice is critical, but can we focus on the issue at hand?” Gerrick rolled his eyes.

Evzen wasn’t able to hide his excitement. With awe, he picked up the tome and touched the lock like Jace had done. “This is incredible. I can’t believe it appeared to you after all this time. Do you recall the spell to open the lock?” Evzen asked Jace.

“I can’t figure out why it reappeared now, but yeah, I remember the spell,” Jace replied quickly. Cailyn wondered if he was thinking of his parents and his imprisonment again. The torment she’d seen before spread across on his face.

“Then by all means, open it. It did, after all, appear to you,” Evzen retorted as he set the book back on the table.

Jace placed his palm directly over the lock and chanted words under his breath. She was unfamiliar with the language he spoke, but it worked its magic as a soft snick could be heard before the lock sprung open. Jace took two deep breaths and then cracked the book.

Cailyn gaped at the old parchment that held elegant script on its pages. The ink glowed and the pages were all hand-written, as well as embossed with Celtic symbols and runes similar to the cover.

Cailyn walked up and stood next to Jace who traced the letters reverently. She wondered if his father had written the passage on the page. “What language is that written in?” she asked.

Jace looked up and she noticed the sentiment in his amethyst eyes. “It’s old Gaelic.” This book meant a lot to him. She suspected it was having this connection to his father back in his possession.

She should have guessed it was Gaelic, given that the realm began in Scotland. “Can you read it?”

Jace chuckled and traced her cheek. She leaned into his touch and his palm cradled the side of her face. He inflamed her and made her feel alive. How could she give this up? On the other hand, how could she break John’s heart? This was not the time to think about the decision before her, but she knew she needed to make one soon. It wasn’t fair to any of them for her to be in limbo like she was, but she would address that later.

“Yes, I can read it. My da taught me when I was very young, and there are some things one never forgets,” Jace said.

“Why did it come to you, Jace? What were you doing before it appeared?” Evzen changed the subject of their conversation.

Cailyn turned beat-red, recalling what they had been doing. “I was leaving the medical room after we had discovered the tracking device in Jessie,” Jace replied.

“Did it return to help us find Kadir’s lair? ‘Tis aboot time we win this war against the demons and their skirm,” Zander commented.

“I have no idea if there is a spell that can locate the lair. But, I believe we can use this to bring down Kadir. The last time I saw it, my da was using it to banish lesser demons. It has been lost for so long that no one knows everything in it. Until we review the entire document we can’t know for sure,” Jace answered as he flipped pages and read. “This will take some time.”

Zander ran a hand through his hair and turned to the majordomo who had been standing in the doorway. “Angus, would you bring us some coffee and lunch? And, bring my mate one of her energy drinks,” Zander leaned down to kiss Elsie. The kiss heated, and had Cailyn looking with longing at Jace. She’d love for him to kiss her and claim her in front of his friends.

Finally, Zander broke away from her sister and turned to the group. “Och, we’d better get started.”

“Do you think I can start a catalog of sorts to document what’s in it?” Killian asked as he leaned against the table.

Jace tilted his head in a way Cailyn was fast coming to recognize he did when he seriously contemplated something. “My guess is it won’t work since this is a creation of the Goddess, but it’s worth a try.”

Evzen read to Killian from a random page and as he went to save it, the document went blank. “Jace is correct. We can read from it, but we can’t copy it. We will have to rely on memory as to what it contains,” Evzen observed.

Angus and several other staff returned with trays laden with assorted sandwiches, pasta salads, fruit, and chips, as well as a variety of drinks. Cailyn’s stomach growled when she saw the food, reminding her she’d worked up an appetite from Jace giving her the most intense pleasure she had ever known.