Eventide (Meratis Trilogy Book 2) (30 page)

Jeff stood still and watched her, his mind blank and heart aching in his chest to see her pain. But the words triggered a chain reaction in his thoughts, and they all concluded at one inescapable truth.

“I love you, too.”

“I know you do, but—”

He took a few steps closer and reached out for her hands. “No buts, Cassie. Not this time.”

She met his gaze and he knew how much he meant what he had just said.

“I’m not saying I don’t still have a lot to figure out. And I can’t say that I’m going to magically be happy about what happened to me, but I’ve gone over that trade a million times and every time I make the same decision. You were in trouble, and I had to help you. It wasn’t a choice. If I have to spend the rest of my life as half a man, then the half I still have will be a thousand times better, stronger, with you by my side. If I lose you now, then what would I have been fighting for?”

The words ran out, his thoughts too tangled with emotions to keep going. He waited for Cassie to say something, but she stayed silent, moving closer and rising up on her toes. Her eyes only inches away, her face upturned, her mouth ….

She pressed her lips against his, and he moaned against her, pleasure tingling over his skin. Her tongue slid against his and it took every effort to pull away.

“Cassie, wait,” he started. She caught his mouth again and for a moment he forgot what he was going to say. But he forced himself to try again. “What you said before. About Darcy.”

A slow smile spread across her lips. “He’s not my type. Too much of a jock.”

Jeff’s gaze jumped from her mouth to her eyes, saw the faint teasing behind them, and realised he’d never had to worry. She’d taunted him, pushed him.

Amazed that she knew him so well, and overwhelmed with the desire to punish her for such a lowly trick, he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to him. Twisting his fingers into the ponytail between her shoulder blades, he tugged just hard enough that her head tilted back, giving free access to the soft spot beneath her ear.

Breath ragged, her fingers crawled across his chest, untying the strings on his vest and pulling it down off his shoulders, and then reaching her fingers under the hem of his shirt to tug it over his head.

Pushing him onto the edge of the bed, she straddled him, burying her fingers in his hair to pull him closer, as if he would ever want to let go.

Jeff reached for her waist, and he was once again prevented from getting as close as he wanted, blocked by the layer of leather and bone on Cassie’s borrowed corset.

Pulling away to see what he was doing, he unlaced the bindings criss-crossing the front of her bodice and spread it open over the white cotton tunic underneath. Leaning in, he caught her neck again with his mouth, tracing the tip of his tongue in patterns over her skin until she squirmed on his lap, wrapping her arms around his head.

His hands slid under her shirt, slowly gliding over her stomach to feel the ridges of her ribs beneath his fingertips, the soft warmth of her skin as yet unexplored.

Impatient with his slow meandering, Cassie shrugged off the corset and crossed her arms to pull the tunic over her head, leaving her bare before Jeff’s eyes. His breath caught in his throat as he slid one arm around her waist to pull her against him.

With a thrust of his hip, Jeff tossed Cassie backwards onto the bed stretching out along the length of her, working his way between her legs as they finished undressing.

He gloried in the feel of her body under his, the smell of her overwhelming his senses, each sensation more intense because it was her. When it was over, drowsiness washed over him. But before it swept him away, he felt Cassie’s fingers on his chest, sometimes trailing higher, sometimes lower, luring him awake again. He had no choice but to obey.

***

Three times Cassie kept him from sleep that night, a favour which he repaid just as she was about to fall asleep herself. By the time the sun rose the next morning, Jeff had never been more tired or more awake in his life. He hadn’t even had any nightmares. In a state of deep relaxation, he sprawled across the bed, Cassie curled into the crook of his arm, one long leg crossed over him.

He twisted her hair around his finger, letting it fall in curls across the pillow.

“I have to ask,” she said, her words slow and drawling with contentment, “not that it matters, but just to sate my curiosity.”

If Jeff could have braced himself for a difficult question, he would have, but he had no energy left.

“Why were you so afraid to tell about the trade? How did you think I would react?”

He had expected the question, and for months had had a ready answer. In the face of how she did react, it sounded ridiculous now.

“That it would scare you off. Here’s this guy you saw a couple times a week, chatted to about the weather, giving up the most important part of himself to save you.”

Cassie raised herself up on her elbows and stared down at him. “You know you were always more than ‘this guy’.”

“
Hoped
,” he corrected. “I
hoped
I was more. And it didn’t factor into my decision. I knew how I felt. I knew that if something happened to you, I would have no reason to get up in the morning. It may have been a dick move on the Sisters’ parts, but it was a fair trade.”

“So that’s why you haven’t started anything new?”

Jeff nodded, lifted a shaking arm to rub his forehead. “Not that I haven’t tried, but it’s like there’s this hole in my head. A big black nothing that spreads out every time I start putting words down.”

He saw the sympathy in her eyes and smiled to dispel it. “But it’s all right. It’s given me a nice break. A chance to think of other things I might want to do with my life. Like take up baking. I like cookies.”

She returned his smile and bent down to kiss him. “Don’t make light. I know this isn’t a trivial problem. But we’ll figure it out. I promise.”

He dropped his forced humour under the seriousness of her oath. “I believe you.”

She lay her head down again, playing with the spattering of hair across his chest.

“My turn for a question?” Jeff asked.

Cassie murmured in reply.

“Why
Darcy
of all people?”

Tilting her head back to look at him, she smiled. “He’s not hard to look at. Besides, Jayden and Brady would have known something was up. And,” the smile faded into ruefulness as she added, “it was kind of nice to have someone want to share their time with me.”

Jeff curled the arm underneath her to give her a squeeze. “I’m sorry. I guess I should also apologise for the other night. With Venn.”

“What about Venn?”

“I don’t want you to think that she was there for … anything. She just needed to talk.”

“I know.”

“You do? But—”

Cassie shifted so her head lay on the other pillow, her eyes level with his. “Did you think I left because I was jealous?”

“Well, you saw her and got all quiet, and then you left.”

“Because she obviously wanted to talk to you. In private,” she said. “It makes sense Venn would attach herself to you. You’re connected through her sister, and now that Siobhan is gone, you’re sort of the only part of her Venn has left.”

Jeff rolled onto his side to face her. “How did you get so smart?”

“It’s called insight.”

“It’s why you’ll be an amazing social worker.”

Cassie grimaced. “If I ever get home in time to finish my degree.”

A knock came at the door, and Jeff jumped, scrambling to cover himself with a sheet. Cassie grabbed the quilt and wrapped it around her body before she shuffled over to the door. Jeff couldn’t take his eyes off the curves beneath the blanket, or the flyaway hair above it.

Beautiful
.

She opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Jayden to poke his head through the door.

“Huh,” he said. “About damned time. Maggie wants to see us. Jasmine’s office, whenever you’re finished.”

His roguish grin returned, and he gave Jeff a wink before grabbing the handle and closing the door behind him.

***

They got dressed and hurried down the corridor to Jasmine’s quarters. Inside, Jayden, Maggie, Conrad, Venn, and Michael and Darcy Dorning were already there. Jasmine and Brady were noticeably absent.

No one sat in Jasmine’s chair, Jayden preferring to sit right on the desk, Maggie and Darcy in two of the three chairs in front of it, the others standing. Jeff pulled the third chair out for Cassie and leaned against the back of it.

“Now this is an interesting development,” Maggie said, looking at them with a grin. She brought her hands together in quiet applause. “Yay!”

Darcy didn’t appear all that upset, which seemed strange to Jeff considering how wonderful Cassie was. How could he
not
be upset to have lost her? But he was also relieved that the man with the sword skills was all right to let her go.

“All right, everyone who could be bothered or is able to show up is now here,” Jayden began, with a bitter look at the spot against the wall Brady normally took. “I know Maggie has something she needs to say, but before she does I just got another update from our scouts. After the queen’s soldier told Jeff and I about the southeast road, I sent word for our men to reconnect and move in the same direction. They got as far as Kiltie Village last we heard, but so far no word of any attacks. Hopefully they can press on a little farther, give us a better idea where Raul is holed up. And that’s it. That’s all the progress we’ve made. How about you, Maggie, do you have any good news? What have you learned?”

“Absolutely nothing,” she replied.

“Wonderful.”

“The only book I have that alludes to this Kemisan spell is Raul’s grimoire. But the guard I put up is working so far. No episodes or voices in my head since last night.”

“Excellent,” said Jayden as Conrad rested a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “So what is it that you need from us?”

“After the attack on the Keep, Jasmine came to me and asked for help with Raul’s creations. She shared Brady’s theory about the animals already being dead.”

Jeff had wondered if Jasmine had had the chance to talk to Maggie. In all the chaos, he’d forgotten to ask.

Maggie pulled a sheet of paper out of the pocket in her skirt and laid it flat on the desk. “I was able to find this spell that might help, especially if we’re worried our scouts will be attacked on the road. The actual spell is from one of Raul’s books, and it’s a rather unpleasant one, more on how to control them than kill them, but it got me thinking. Jeff, the barrier spell was kept up by a stone in the tower, right?”

Jeff glanced sidelong at Venn to see her reaction, but the girl’s face remained directed at the floor. “Yes.”

“I suspect it’s going to be similar for the animals. Raul can’t hold onto a permanent casting, it would take concentration and energy away from anything else he tried to work. Plus his pets wouldn’t have survived after he disappeared into your world. It leads me to believe there’s an external spell, just like the barrier. Find it, destroy it, and the creatures are gone.”

Jeff leaned forward on the back of Cassie’s chair. “I’d never have found the stone if not for the Sisters. Do you have any idea what the damned thing looks like?”

Maggie released a nervous sigh, shifting in her chair. “Not a one. It could be anywhere. But at least you know it survived the collapse of the fortress, so it’s probably in one of the areas that’s still standing.”

“So there we go,” said Jayden. “A hunt for one spell among a million tonnes of rubble and only the smallest hope of recognising it. Any volunteers?”

“I’ll go,” Darcy spoke up.

“And I’ll go with him,” added Michael. “Anything to help.”

Jayden considered a moment and then said, “I think it’s best if you two stay here, help keep an eye on Venn.”

“She can come,” Darcy suggested. “She’s proved she can handle her own on the road.”

“I’m not going anywhere near that place,” Venn spoke up from her place against the wall. Her arms were crossed, with one foot propped up on the wall behind her. “Not again.”

Jayden nodded. “That’s all right. With Harold still on the loose, sneaking in and out of here as he likes, the more people on hand who can deal with him the better.”

“You have lots of trained men to watch for Harold,” said Michael. “Not many of them might want to run into what’s living up at the fortress. We’re offering.”

“I’ve made my call. We don’t need another … accident like Jasmine’s.”

Michael raised a hand in surrender. “I’m here to do as I’m told. Just didn’t want to have to put the burden on anyone else.”

“How is Jax doing?” Maggie asked.

Jayden passed his hand over his face. “She’s awake, but insists she’s still in pain.”

“Did you get any sleep at all?” Jeff asked. “Or just turn around the moment I left and go back to the Ward?”

“I managed a few hours. Just checked back in before I came here. The physician said he doesn’t know what’s wrong with her. The wound is closed, and Maggie’s healing should be finished. I know with me, I was out of bed and ready to go within a week.”