emma_hillman_hired (11 page)

Two seconds later, Drake was there, engulfing
her in his arms. He grabbed her chin in one hand and made her look into his
eyes. “What is it, baby?”

“It hurts! Make it stop!”

“Where?” He looked down her body. “Where?”
His voice grew in volume.

Realizing she possibly couldn’t say this out
loud, she switched to mind-to-mind and said,
“Between my legs. It burns.”
She
watched him still for a brief instant before he gathered her to him and pushed
past people in order to leave the room. “Drake! No! What about the ritual? We have
to stay there.”

“It worked. Everyone could feel it. Faye is
now Immortal.”

“Oh.” That was nice. Right? She didn’t say
anything else until they were at his house. Seeing the look on his face
however, she tried to backtrack, “I’m fine now, Drake. You can let me go. It
was probably nothing. Sorry to bother you. We should go back.”

“No.”

“Drake−”

“No.”

He lay her down on a sofa and in one swift
move, pulled her skirt over her thighs. “Drake!”

“I have to look,” was his only response.

It felt odd to have him see her bare like
this. It’d been a couple of days and so much had happened when he was gone.
She’d missed him, of course, but it hadn’t helped not knowing what would happen
next. He hadn’t told her he loved her, hadn’t reciprocated her feelings
whatsoever. Sure, she’d looked in his mind and what she’d seen there had given
her hope. But he was the Guardian. He was meant to ignore his feelings.

Her hips jerked when his fingers parted her
inner lips. He pressed on the hood hiding her clit and sucked in a breath.

“What? What is it?” She moved onto her elbows
and stared down at him.

“You said it burnt, right?”

“Yes.”

“What did it feel like?”

“Like, huh, like when you bit me that one
time. It hurt but it was a good hurt. I’m just not sure why it happened in the
middle of the ritual.” She stopped talking, only now realizing what she’d just
said. “No!”

He looked up at her, a wide smile on his
face. “Yes.”

“Why are you smiling? Are you crazy? What did
you do?”

“Did you repeat the words like we all did?”

“Of course, I did! That was the whole point
of the ritual!”

“You’re not Immortal, baby. You were the only
other mortal in the room. It worked for Faye, and it worked for you too.”

“No.” She drew her skirt down and sat up
against the sofa’s arm. “No, it didn’t.”

“It did. You’ve got the mark of my teeth on
your clit.”

He sounded so damn pleased, so damn proud
too, she nearly hit him. “I have what? What do you mean I’ve got marks on my
clit? Are you freaking kidding me?”

“You’re mine, baby.” He crawled over her, his
big body looming over hers as if he had every right to be there.

“What? Why my clit? Are you nuts?”

He chuckled. “It’s the last place I bit you,
darling.”

She thought about it and remembered that
lust-filled afternoon, his teeth around her clit, his mark forever there.
Argh!
“It can’t be! I didn’t ask for this!”

“Didn’t you? You completed the ritual. We
were already speaking mind-to-mind which shouldn’t have been possible in the
first place.”

She’d even read his mind, hadn’t she?
Shit!
“What does that mean?”

“It means you’re my Mate. Forever. Immortal.”

“I’m an Immortal?”

“Yes.”

“Like you?”

“Yes,” he repeated, his lips brushing hers.
“I told you you were mine.”

“But you don’t love me...”

He drew himself up so his weight was on his
elbows, the pressure of his torso holding her thighs wide open. “I don’t?”

She blinked. “When I told you the other day, you
froze, Drake.”

“I did.” He closed his eyes for a second.
When he reopened them, he caught her gaze and held it. “I’ve lived for
thousands of years, Jessica. I’ve been a Guardian for half of that. And
throughout these years, I never Mated and never ever said those words to
anyone.”

She licked her lips. “Never ever?”

“No.” He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“I thought I was in love once. Sara was another Immortal from a good family. I
thought she’d make a good Mate, would understand what my life was about.”

“And?”

“Turns out she didn’t. We saw each other for
a while but I realized I couldn’t Mate with her forever. She wasn’t who I
wanted to be with.”

“What happened?”

“She left. I became more intransigent, worked
24/7, turned myself into this Guardian machine.”

That made her smile. “I like my Guardian
machine.”

“You do, don’t you?” He bit the corner of her
lips, a moan rising in her throat. “I love you,” he finally whispered against
her mouth.

“Don’t.” She pushed on his shoulders. “Don’t
say it because of what’s happened today, or because you think it’s what I want
to hear.”

“Jessica!” His tone was harsh. “I didn’t wait
all those years to say those words to get them handed back to me with a slap.
What I say, I mean. Understood?” He grabbed her hands and pushed them over her
head. His chest crushed her breasts; his erection pulsed against her core.
“Understood?” he repeated.

“I... I think?”

He frowned. “I love you, Mate.”

She felt a smile blossom on her face. “I love
you too.”

He growled and caught her mouth again, his
kiss punishing and pleasuring at the same time. When he finally let go of her
hands, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight.

They didn’t know where this new life was
taking them but they were going to enjoy every step of the way.
Oh yeah
.

Epilogue

“No regrets?”

Faye looked into her husband’s eyes and shook
her head. “None.”

“Are you sure, pet?”

She smiled at the love so clearly present in
his voice. “I’m sure. I love you, with or without a child.”

He kissed her lips softly. They’d just made
love and he was still inside her, his body feeling so right on top of hers.
When he drew back, he said, “This is the start of a new era, darling. I might
have hated John but he was right in a way. We need to move on with the times
and find new ways to rule.”

“I know.” She traced his lips with a
fingertip. “We can adopt a baby, right?”

“We can adopt several of them, even. You’ll
make a great mom, I’m sure of it.”

He smiled down at her and she knew they’d
made the right decision. She wanted to be with Jake forever, first and
foremost. A child would come later when they were ready. They’d make it work.
He’d make it work. He was their First Man after all… “I am Yours, you are Mine.
We are One,” she whispered the last words of the ritual to him, their gazes
locked together.

“I am Yours, you are Mine. We are One.”

As soon as he repeated the words to her,
something vibrated inside her. A sharp pain blossomed inside her womb and she
cried out. “Jake!”

“I felt it too,” he said, his eyes wide.
“What the hell was that?”

“How should I know?” Faye pushed on his
shoulders, intent on getting him off of her.

He sat back on his haunches and stared at
her, then at himself. “Are you okay? Faye?”

“I’m fine now.” She sat up against the
headboard and clasped her arms over her legs. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Jake looked back at her. “What the hell just
happened?”

To be continued…

The
End

ABOUT EMMA
HILLMAN

Emma Hillman never plans her stories. She
just lets the characters have fun
and hopes the ending
will make sense. It usually does.
She lives in Paris with a husband, a toddler and two loud pets. She speaks
several languages but only reads books in English because she says it sounds
better. She’s been running her fiction web site for years and has made many
friends and fans across the world, and is very thankful for their continued
support and inspiration.
Between working full-time and taking care of her family and house, she can be
found reading fiction, cooking or watching Playhouse Disney—don’t ask.

If you enjoyed HIRED, you might also
enjoy:

ONE LAST VICE

By Emma Hillman

Chloe’s boss
has gone crazy. She’s been his PA for years and has always known about his wild
streak but this beats it all! Now he’s asking her to have sex with him. And
why? Because he’s just stopped smoking and he needs to keep busy in order to
fight cravings. What the hell, right?

It doesn’t
help that she’s been in love with him for years. And as she finds herself
unable to say no, she braces herself for the broken heart she’s sure will
follow.

What she
doesn’t know however is that James has a hidden agenda…

Warnings: This title
contains graphic language, light bondage and sex.

EXCERPT:

“Can you come back tonight?”

Chloe froze in the doorway. Clutching her
handbag, she turned her head and said, “What?”

“I’m feeling a lot more mellow right now
but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna hit again during the night. So I thought you
could, ya know, sleep here or something.”

She blinked. “You want me to move in?”

“Yeah. Is that okay?”

No! “I…I don’t know. I mean, what if you
go out and find someone else? You won’t need me then.”

“C, we’ve discussed this.” Had they? “I
think it’ll be easier if you stay here. That way, if I need you, you’ll be-”

“Available?”

“Yeah. What do you say?”

I say, you’re crazy. Except she couldn’t
say that out loud. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t have anyone waiting for you at
home, C. I’ve seen your apartment, remember?”

Her apartment was really one room. It was
tiny and stuffy but it was hers. And she enjoyed being on her own, forgetting
about James and his busy life. “Maybe but-”

“Please.”

She sighed. “Stop it, J.”

“Stop what?”

He grinned back at her, obviously knowing
he’d won. “Just grab your stuff and come back here. Why don’t we order pizzas
and watch a movie? Would you like that?”

He looked so eager she couldn’t help but
smile. That sounded nice actually. Normal. “Okay. That sounds good.”

“Great. Then I’ll make sure you’re all
relaxed before we move on to the next level.”

She blinked. Say what?

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