Braving the Elements (Darkness #2)(28)

“On the first floor of the main house with all the other minions,” he said in a husky voice.

My hands traveled up his arms, smaller than Stefan’s. He didn’t have the medieval tattoos to make him seem exotic and wild, either. Or the giant width of shoulder from fighting and surviving in the world, keeping his people safe and protected.

With effort, I ignored all that, glancing back to his face. He was handsome, surely, but not devastatingly so. His eyes didn’t hold the same wicked intelligence, or the same soul-touching depth. My heart didn’t pound, or lurch, or even flutter. My stomach didn’t tingle or fill with butterflies.

Damn it!

Jessiah leaned in, his mouth brushing mine softly. A pang of guilt rocked me, unexpected. This wasn’t wrong logically, but my soul didn’t know that. This man wasn’t the one I truly wanted. He wasn’t my ground; my other half.

That man was promised to someone ten times prettier with a long list of accolades. And I’d thought I’d always been lucky? Yeah right.

I pushed back, moving my head to the side to escape the kiss. Regardless of Stefan’s attachment, I didn’t want Jessiah. At least not right then. I wasn’t ready.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his head still bowed to mine.

“I should probably get back.”

His eyes delved into mine, making me shiver in a way I wasn’t expecting. Before I could identify the weird thrill of—apprehension? Fear?—a rustling caught my attention. Adnan stepped through the foliage.

“Sasha, sorry to interrupt, but do you have a minute?” Adnan nodded to Jessiah in acknowledgement.

For a race of people who had sex while carrying on conversations, I wasn’t sure why this intrusion surprised me. I was equally confused as to why it relieved me as well.

“What’s up?” I stepped away from Jessiah smoothly, using Adnan as an excuse to head toward dinner.

“I wondered…” he hesitated, his gaze flicking back to Jessiah, who apparently did not intend to follow. I hoped he wasn’t mad. “You helped me today—thanks—and I wondered if you would continue to help me if I helped you in turn? Maybe if I taught you some sword and chanting, if maybe you’d work with me on keeping my power open when I fight? Without that, I can’t get into the Watch Command, which is the one thing I’ve been training for my whole life.”

Ah, the dramatics of youth. Still, this sounded like a sweet deal! Maybe I’d even get a friend out of it. “Sure.”

We got within sight of the mansion. I scanned the back wall, looking for my pissed off bodyguard. “Where’s Charles?”

“He got worried when you took off, so he sent me after you.”

“Why didn’t he come after me himself?”

“He went to look for the Boss, I think.”

“Oh great, he’s telling on me, that butt-head!” I shook my head as we walked through the door. I might as well just use the time to my advantage.

To that end, I snagged some dinner from the dining hall and headed straight for my room. Eat, shower, alone time. I still had Stefan on the brain.

*****

“I had her, where were you?” Jessiah barked into the phone. “It’s not easy to get her alone!”

A growl filled the line. “You think I can get people to you in five minutes? That I can mobilize the right equipment from a random text you send? You have to plan it out! You need to coordinate this.”

Jessiah kicked at the ground. It had been a huge stroke of luck getting Sasha without that fool Charles. Although, it seemed that Charles had trouble breaking protective spells.

“I have an idea. Be ready tomorrow at dawn. I’ll text you the exact location and time. Be in position before I arrive. I’ll trap her bodyguard and hand wrap her to be taken. Just be there.”

“You are dangerously close to overstepping your bounds.” The voice on the other end paused, menace nearly crawling through the line and into Jessiah’s head. He’d forgotten the type of men he was dealing with. The dangerous nature of the type of men he dealt with.

“Sorry, sir.”

“Have her ready. I’ll organize the pick-up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jessiah dropped the phone and took a deep breath. Warning tingles filled his whole body. He wondered if he was really making the right decision.

That organizational chart flipped in his head.

Stealing his determination, he headed back to the mansion to finalize his plans.

Chapter 6

“Boss, I need to talk to you.”

Stefan finished reading the document Jameson had handed him and faced Charles, a bad feeling taking over the pit of this stomach. “What is it?”

“Sasha took off with Jessiah after Darla’s class.”

Stefan waited for more. When it didn’t come, he dropped his hands to his sides so he didn’t shake the other man. “Why didn’t you go after her?”

“Because that bi—uh, lovely future-mate of yours slapped a defensive shield in my face, knowing I have trouble with those, and allowed her to escape.”

Stefan’s head tilted slowly. “Darla prevented you from going after your charge? By a defensive shield? Your power grossly tops hers, not to mention the help of the runes. Are you so thick you can’t learn to break a simple spell in a month?”