Genesis (13 page)

She stumbled over her words. “I—I have
to be a certain way around him. I can’t explain right now, baby,
but I will. I promise I will tell you everything.” She gave me a
quick hug. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

I nodded, unable to get any words to
come out.

Then she walked through the doorway.
I’d had all of five minutes with the most important person in my
life. Not having her around had changed me. Aunt Grace did the best
she could, but I had missed Mom terribly. Thinking about it now, it
was as if a part of me had known she wasn’t dead.

Jett shuffled into the courtyard. This
was new. I had never seen him so timid.

I gave him a big grin. “Thanks for
letting me see my mom first thing.”

He glanced at me, a smile tugging his
lips. “She made me promise.” He stepped beside me. “If you are
ready, I will show you to your room.” My body quivered being this
close to him, but I managed a nod.

Fifteen flights of stairs later I
turned the cool metal knob in front of me, opening the door. Rays
of sunlight filtered in through the many windows and glass roof,
making the room feel like a little piece of heaven. With so much
glass everywhere, it had to be stunning at night, for normal
people. Too bad for me it might just give me nightmares. No matter
how much I tried to shed the darkness, it was always there. Jett
stood behind me, eagerly peering over my shoulder.

I took his major hint and stepped
inside. The lush white carpet cushioned each stride over to the
billowy bed dressed in soft green. This bed was my favorite of all
I had seen so far.

Actual tree trunks made up the frame.
The twisted branches arching above us looked as if they had grown
that way. In a delicate cover, the stripped bark had been
whitewashed. My fingers slid over the smooth surface. No splinters
would be found here.

Whoever crafted the thing did a
fantastic job. I tilted my head back a bit more for a better
position to inspect the gauzy canopy, wondering how it would hinder
my view of the stars. Part of me hoped it would block the view
completely which was completely insane.

“
Do you like it?” Jett asked
even though he had to know I was fully aware he could read my
thoughts.

His emotions connected with mine in an
overlay. Unlike other times I had experienced this, my feelings
couldn’t be confused with his at all. Where nervous tension swarmed
every part of me, he stayed calm, although guarded.

“
About that, Rayla.” I
turned to face him. His deep obsidian eyes softened with
compassion. “Would you like to learn how to block others from
entering your thoughts?”

Did he even have to ask? I did my best
to keep myself from giving him the biggest hug he had ever gotten.
I shook my head at the change in him. Maybe he had taken some of
Mom’s advice. “You are nothing like you have been, Jett. What
gives?” Even though my mind circulated suspicious thoughts, he
seemed sincere.

“
I have simply changed my
approach, young one.”

That was more like it. The stoic Jett I
knew had made an appearance. ‘Young one’, like I was still in
diapers for heaven’s sake.

He frowned at me. “But you are young in
comparison to me.”

A chuckle escaped my lips despite my
attempt to purse them together. “Not the best thing to bring up
when you are trying to court a girl, Jett.”

He flashed his teeth at me, and it even
resembled a smile. Wow. He’d disarmed me without much effort. Was
it the bond, or was it my attitude?

His dark eyes studied me. “I am pleased
that you have opened your heart, Rayla.”

I had? Since when?

He lowered onto the bed before he
patted the spot beside him. I scratched my head, hesitating a
little too long apparently because he frowned at me.

I plopped beside him on the mattress,
waggling my eyebrows at him. “So how do we do it?”

A choking sound shot from him that he
soon covered with a laugh. “Being that blunt could get you into
trouble.”

I shrugged. “Something we seem to have
in common. We should get along just fine for the next few days. You
said three, right?” He nodded. “Why?”

“
Tabitha thinks it wise to
speed up the process.”

What wasn’t he telling me? Yeah, I
screwed up, but I was suddenly not sure that had anything to do
with it. “Is my family okay?”

He stood then paced in front of me.
“They are as well as can be expected given the circumstance. Some
are taking things better than others.”

I caught his arm when he passed me.
“Have you seen them?”

Again, he nodded. Speaking to him was
like talking to an automated answering service. Not very
helpful.

“
Are you going to tell me
anything more than that?”

He sat beside me, angling his body
toward mine. “I had hoped to avoid getting you upset.”

Images of my family popped into my
mind. Their bodies bruised and beaten like Zach and Luke. I knew it
was a mistake to wait.

His warm fingers brushed against mine,
sending a hum of electricity through me. “It is nothing like that.
They are merely frightened. They have not been mistreated, other
than your aunt. Grace is it?”

My voice came out in a whisper. “What
have they done to her?” No matter what had happened, it was my
fault.

“
How can you think such a
thing?” He took my shoulders between his hands, turning me to face
him. “The Order works like a terrorist group. Even if they had
succeeded where you are concerned they would have sought
information from your aunt. As the head of the resistance, she has
to be aware of the dangers of her office.”

“
But I could
have—”

“
I will not have you
thinking like this.” When he squeezed my fingers, different images
raced into my mind. Travis at a training facility being
indoctrinated into the Order. I gasped, but the pictures sped on.
Sarah and Jenny huddled together in a small room. Uncle John with
chains around his ankles and wrists. And Aunt Grace…her body rested
against a sink while the water ran over her hair and face. Her
bruised arms were littered with cuts.

I broke contact with Jett, shattering
the images. “We have to go get them!” I screamed, bolting to my
feet. A calming sensation washed over me, but I managed to brush it
aside. “Stop compelling me!”

“
You are
distraught.”

“
No kidding!” I scoffed. “I
have a very good reason to act the way I am. What did you think I
was going to do when you showed me that?”

He smirked at me. “I had hoped you
would notice not one of your family members are in immediate
danger. I had also hoped you would listen a bit more.”

“
I’m listening now,” I said.
“Tell me why we have to wait? You are the leader of the freaking
fae army for the love of Pete.” Okay now
I
sounded like an old
geezer.

Sadness clouded Jett’s eyes. “I wish I
could lead you on the heroic journey you seek; however, I have to
be pragmatic about this situation.”

“
Pragmatic? Ha!” I knelt in
front of him, taking his hands. “I will bond with you right now, if
you’ll promise me you will destroy the Order once we have rescued
my family.”

He sucked in a breath, stepping away
from me. “I didn’t think you capable of such a thing,
Rayla.”

This was my family we were talking
about. I would do anything for them. “It’s a fair trade. Power for
power, right?”

He shook his head. “You are not
thinking rationally.”

A swift grunt shot up my throat. “I
wonder how rational you would be if you were in my
circumstance.”

His chest lifted sharply as he pulled
in a staggered breath. “As much as I would love to bond with you
completely, I cannot take advantage of your emotions. You have to
know I would not let anything happen to your family.”

I laughed. “We aren’t exactly old
friends. How would I know such a thing? All I have ever gotten from
you when you haven’t been trying to terrorize me has been
manipulation or demands.”

His eyes opened wide then narrowed.
“Didn’t Alithea explain things to you?”

The conversation sped through my mind
faster than I could hold it back. My voice came out in a rushed
flurry of words. “That doesn’t take away how I feel, Jett. It’ll
take time for me to learn to trust you, and I highly doubt I could
manage such a thing in three days.”

His lips pressed together tightly, and
he closed his eyes. Standing like he was, with his legs apart, arms
crossed at his chest, he reminded me of Finn. His smooth skin
combined with his long braids contrasted against the pale room,
making my fingers itch to trace every hard angle of his body. He
was magnificent in so many ways I had been too terrified to really
notice before.

That elicited a smile from
him.

His dark timbre shook my soul. “I am
pleased you are attracted to me, Rayla, but I desire to capture
your mind and heart—as well as your body.”

I just laughed. He wouldn’t take
advantage of me. He’d already had the perfect opportunity.
Irrational was my middle name lately. First Zach, now him, I needed
to stop throwing bonding out there as a way to get what I
wanted.

It had only been the goodness of the
men involved that had kept me out of trouble. I couldn’t believe I
was having thoughts like this about Jett. He seemed a different
person entirely. “Why did you have to be so…” What was the right
word here? Freaky would probably offend him, and I had already done
enough of that. “Uh…demanding?”

A tempting smile played at his mouth.
His eyes opened then settled on mine. “You know why.”

I stared back. “You had to have
realized how much you scared me.”

He gave a soft grunt. “My priority was
claiming you. I had a mission to complete. Softness was for
later.”

Between his voice and the smoldering
look he gave me, I could barely stand. I swallowed hard. “I think
you’d better teach me how to keep you out of my mind.”

He inched closer. “Oh, I don’t know. I
rather like where your mind is leading you. Mine is on a similar
path.”

Quadruple crap. Why couldn’t I control
myself? Why did he have this effect on me? “Are you compelling me
right now?”

To my surprise, his smile held an edge
of sadness. “That would give you a much needed excuse, but I am
afraid I am not.”

Curse my body for reacting to his. As
long as I kept him out of my heart, I would be okay.

“
I think it a bit too late
for that, my dear.”

“
You’re using old man speak
again.” I made a face. “It’s creepy.”

He chuckled. “I’ll try to remember
that, but I haven’t been around humans much in the past hundred
years. It’s hard to keep up with the changes in common
dialect.”

“
Let’s keep on topic, Jett.
You were going to teach me how to control my mind.”

“
Well, if you insist.” He
cocked his head to the side. “It appears we should start your first
lesson.”

I faced Jett in the same courtyard
where I’d seen my mom for the first time in more years than I
wanted to think about. He wore a tight white tank and loose fitting
tan shorts that hung from his hips in a deliciously distracting
way. One dark braid had escaped his ponytail and was currently
caressing his cheek. Man he should pose for GQ.

The longer I was around him, the more
his nearness affected me. This was so not good. Although the view
was decidedly hot.

He cleared his throat, his neck showing
a blush that surprised me. Jett could have been a different person
from the way he had behaved. Had my mother been telling the truth?
Had he acted out of loyalty to her?

He gave me a broad smile. “Shall we get
started?”

I shrugged. “I’m ready when you
are.”

“
For this to work you will
have to not only be able to repel distance invasions, you will also
have to fight those of us who use physical contact to overwhelm
your senses.”

I knew exactly what he meant by that
because he had done it to me in Ignis. I hadn’t known where I was,
let alone who I was, by the time he had finished with me—which had
me wondering how he had managed to continue to compel me from a
completely different realm. Hadn’t Taylor told me that wasn’t
possible?

Jett appeared in front of me and lifted
my chin. “I need you to focus. You can ask all the questions you
want once you are trained, but not before.”

Who knew, maybe it was easier than it
sounded? I stared at the crease between his eyes attempting to
focus, which only made me laugh as I went cross-eyed.

He grunted. “You are impossible! How am
I supposed to train you when you get distracted by everything you
think or see?” Before I could protest, he clamped his fingers
around my arm.