Guardian [New World Book 6] (5 page)

“Where the hell were you?” Taz stormed, when she appeared. He went to her immediately and looked her over. From his critical gaze she knew she must be a sorry sight. When his gaze reached the blood on her pants he swore only loud enough for her to hear. He grabbed her by a leg and arm, then physically hefted her into the air to stare at the blood on her pants. He turned her over and swore. Jinx guessed the ass bite had left blood too.

“I went shopping,” Jinx said and smiled despite his manhandling of her.

Taz settled her onto her feet. Taz was a large, buff man, but his strength never ceased to amaze her. He handled her as though she were a doll, a glass doll. He was powerful, sometimes hard as nails, and yet the day he held Ally, bringing her and Macey from the jungle, he had brought tears to her eyes. His tenderness was overwhelming. Jinx had been amazed when Macey raved at how helpful Taz was during the delivery they had all missed. Taz had to be the gentlest man Jinx knew—next to her father of course.

“Damn it, Jinx. You know you have to travel in twos and you know you absolutely do not leave this cave when I’m out.” Taz settled his steely eyes onto her.

“Meh,” she replied and shrugged her shoulders.

Casually she went and started setting her jars and cans onto a shelf. Try as she might, she couldn’t contain her curiosity over the new man. Of course, Skylar was practically drooling all over him. Thirteen-year-old Haven was talking up a non-ending babbling brook. The man stood there pretending to be interested in what the teen was saying, but Jinx saw him eye her up and down.

“Daddy I has a boo boo.” Ally was pouting when Taz hefted her slight weight into his arms. “Fix me.”

Ally had skinned her knee that morning. It was the first tumble she had taken. The child was remarkable, even when learning to walk she had never once hurt herself by falling. Jinx often wished she had the same luck. After meeting Taz, Jinx was positive her arm had been broken, and perhaps a few vital organs damaged. When Taz lifted her from the ground she felt a sensation of being in a cocoon but succumbed to oblivion. When she woke the next morning she was whole and healthy.

Until Jinx turned twenty-one, she also seemed to heal quickly. A bruise would vanish overnight. A broken finger healed itself, again overnight. Jinx became careless, thinking herself indestructible, until on or around her twenty-first birthday she had taken a nasty fall. For a week she nursed a swollen ankle, a bruised hip, concussion. Taz, ever diligent with guarding his harem had found her. He seemed not only furious with her but scared. After that he made certain he knew where she was at all times. Recently he behaved the same way about Skylar. Skylar had turned twenty-one. They kept time with little nicks in sticks. Taz had insisted on it for some reason after Jinx’s fall two years prior. He wanted to know exactly how old everyone was—at least he concentrated more on Haven’s age now.

Taz stood holding Ally, looking uncomfortable. “I’ll be back. Roam, make sure that one doesn’t leave.” Taz looked pointedly at Jinx who rolled her eyes. He then practically raced from the cave holding his daughter.

The surprise on the man, Roam’s, face, was odd. He stared after Taz. Jinx wondered if he was amazed Taz would leave him alone with them so fast. Jinx was surprised. Taz was a barracuda cross piranha cross rabid wolf, when it came to his family.

Jinx finished unloading her supplies. She marched over to Roam and stuck out her hand. “I’m Jinx, not to be confused with
a
jinx. My mom was a little young to be a hippy, but she sure acted like one. Personally, I think it’s because she loved the comic book L’il Jinx. I only know what people tell me. I never got to ask her, she died when I was three.”

“I’m Roam,” the super god replied. His large hand enveloped hers. His touch was warm; after a second, she felt moistness. It wasn’t a repellant nasty sweat. Like a jolt of sorts, she could feel a connection. His touch reminded her strangely of Taz when she was upset and he attempted to soothe her. “My mother saw my grandfather in me. He loved to wander, hence the name. She passed away four hundr…I mean some time ago.”

“When you were a child?”

“No, I was already grown.”

“Your father?” Jinx asked.

“They died together.”

“They were lucky. You were a grown man when they passed. They got to watch you grow up. My daddy died four years ago. A filthy Tonan killed him while a heinous Castian stole my sister. I don’t know what happened to her. I hope for the best, but I imagine the hideous thing murdered her. I wish all of them, Tonans, Castians would just die.” Jinx didn’t bother to control the venomous contempt in her voice. Roam took a step back, if Jinx didn’t know better she would swear he was wounded. “Did the Tonans kill your parents?”

“Yes.” His word was choked.

Jinx nodded in understanding. Normally, she didn’t like to talk about what had happened but for some reason, when he touched her she felt this overwhelming trust. His fingers were curled around her hand. Stunning blue eyes were ocean depths she’d like to swim in. Rosy red pouting lips begged to be tasted. There would be safety in those wonderful large arms of his. If he would just wrap her up and pull her to his massive chest. His lips parted ever so slightly to reveal even white teeth with a tongue made for duet dancing. If only he would lower his head, she could rise on tip toes to…

Jinx yanked her hand from his as her chest heaved and the heat of a blush climbed up her face to make her feel fiery hot.
What the hell just happened?
She was acting like some smitten school girl. Haven had better control. Thankfully, Taz returned holding little Ally’s hand.

“Hey, your owie is gone,” Haven said to the child.

Taz chuckled. “Nothing a little water and love couldn’t remove.”

Jinx smiled at the little girl whose adoring gaze was centered on her father. For a second, tears threatened. Jinx used to look at her dad in the same way, he had been her hero. Taz was a close second. She blinked a few times. A hand settled over her arm and she noticed Roam watching her reaction. Again the weird sensation of bonding with him in some way occurred. Jinx shrugged it off. There were just some men who had a natural ability to calm someone with a touch. Taz was one, now Roam appeared to be another.

“Well, let’s see what you brought us home, girl.” Greta muscled her way past Jinx to study the canned goods and jars placed on the shelf. “Well isn’t this wonderful. We can have a canned ham and peas tonight. I see you found some wild edibles as well. Good girl. Oh and look, canned chocolate pudding. My, it’s been ages since we’ve had treats. It’s a good thing you had the insight to carry around the can opener you found, child. You’re one smart little cookie.”

“Do not encourage her, Aunt Greta,” Taz said. “She gets into enough mischief. That old can opener has to be the most dilapidated piece of junk we have.”

“Well with the help of this strapping young man you’ll have more time to yourself. Junk or no, the can opener squeals but it works. So quit complaining.”

“Yes ma’am,” Taz winked at Macey. He then cast a glance at Jinx. “You need to wash up and put some clean clothes on.”

“I’m not three, Taz.”

Although he did have a point, it was irritating the way he treated her like she was a child or little sister. Jinx grabbed her spare jeans and started out the door. Taz stopped her with a hand wrapped around her arm and a hard stare.

“I’ll get the water.”

“Fine.” Jinx knew
that
look. When Taz was feeling overprotective there was no arguing with the man.

He turned her loose and gave her ass a soft pat, the kind normally reserved for Ally or Haven, sending her toward the back of the cave.

“You got any supplies?” Taz asked Roam.

“A few.”

Jinx stood and watched their exchange from just inside a small blanketed area, she peeked around the draping. Taz was looking at Roam in a strange way, as though he wasn’t certain he trusted him. Roam was grinning back, looking like he hadn’t a care in the world. Taz narrowed his eyes onto him.

“You best get them. You can have that area over there.” Taz waved his hand at the farthest darkest area of the cave.

Something was definitely going on between them. Macey touched Taz’s arm. Taz seemed to relax. When he dipped his head and kissed Macey in the fiery way he had, it made Jinx’s toes tingle.
Oh to be kissed like that by a man
. Taz left with Roam following closely behind.

Shaking her head, Jinx let the blanket curtain fall into place. She stripped off her bloodied pants behind the hanging blanket. Before long Macey came in with warmed water and a cloth. She inspected the bites. Jinx went red when Macey washed at a spot on her ass.

“Ouch. Damn those rats were nasty.”

“Rats? Ick. Sorry, Jinx. That must have been some rat pack,” Macey said.

“You have no idea,” Jinx muttered and refused to elaborate. “So where did you guys find Roam?”

“Wandering around. He and Taz actually bumped into one another.” Macey chuckled when she said this.

“It’s nice to meet someone new after all this time, but frankly I’m surprised Taz let him come home with him.” It was on the tip of Jinx’s tongue to say ‘let him live,’ she had a sneaking suspicion she kept to herself about a few of the dead men she had come across in the jungle.

“Taz is a very good judge of character. He has to be,” Macey said.

“I suppose. He didn’t look like he completely trusted Roam.”

“I think he’s a little overcautious at times.”

“I think he’s a little overprotective of his harem.”

Macey smacked Jinx on the ass, Jinx yelped. “There, you’re all fixed up. Let’s just hope none of those things were rabid.”

“Taz already thinks I am,” Jinx mumbled.

“No, not rabid, my sweet. He thinks you take too many chances. Sometimes I think he’s right. Now, no more rats. Understood?”

“Yes,
Mom
.”

“Good girl.”

Jinx laughed. Macey was thirty and didn’t look any older than the first day she had met her four years ago. The woman was a mother hen but most of the time Jinx didn’t mind, she loved her. The pair walked back out to join the others. Taz and Roam had already returned. Jinx saw Taz’s worried glance at Macey; his wife smiled at him and his ram-rod straight stance relaxed. Jinx felt a little guilty, she knew Taz worried about her. In his way, he loved her.

“It’ll be dark soon. Taz, will you and Roam set up the partitions on the cave opening? I’ll stoke the fire. Aunt Greta, Skylar, Haven, can you help with dinner? Jinx why don’t you sit…um…I mean relax,” Macey said.

The women went to work. Jinx watched as Taz and Roam hauled the heavy door frames across the cave entrance. This was done every night to offer security from the animals that wandered. Normally Taz did it alone, not one woman in the cave could even budge the heavy wooden doors. After they were secure, Roam placed a small, strange-looking pack down on the area now deemed his. Each person in the cave had their own special place. They could put up mini partitions for privacy from sight, if not hearing.

They all sat around a roaring fire when dinner came. As usual, Taz ate sparingly, so too did Roam. Jinx always found that interesting of Taz. Most of what he found was consumed by the girls and women in the small family. A man of his size should need the lion’s share. Jinx never commented on it, there was always enough to eat. Taz was an amazing hunter. Tonight was one of the first nights they didn’t have fresh meat.

It was endearing to watch Ally eat chocolate for the first time. Within moments, she was covered in the sweet substance from head to toe with Macey fussing over her and Taz laughing. Roam tried to be unobtrusive; he smiled at the child wistfully. Jinx wondered if he’d had a family and lost them.

When Roam caught her gazing at him, he glanced about the room trying to appear interested in their home. Jinx had learned long ago four walls wasn’t a home, it was the loved ones within that made it that.

“So Roam, where are you from?” Jinx asked. She and the others crowded a little closer to the man. They were looking forward to an interesting story. He was, after all, their first visitor—ever.

Roam looked at her, startled. “Um…I…well…here and there.”

“Well, where here and there? Why not start from where you were last?”

“Last?” Roam appeared to choke on a bite of food. His gaze flew to Taz, who oddly enough appeared panic stricken as well.

“Miami, didn’t you say? He’s been wandering around Florida for a while now,” Taz said. His body jerked suddenly. His eyes widened. He started coughing and, jumping up, took off out of the cave, almost smashing through the doors. Macey was on her feet but Roam stopped her.

“I’ll make sure he’s okay.”

“Well that was weird,” Haven said.

“Never you mind. Just eat your dinner,” Greta said.

For a moment Jinx sat frowning. Why did she just get the feeling life was about to go from weird to crazy?

Chapter 3

Roam’s black shield came up the second he was out of sight of the cave and had stashed his clothing with Taz’s in a cache. Moving rapidly, he ate up the ground moving tree to ground to tree. Within moments he came across Taz, five miles later, who was also enveloped in his grey armor. He was swearing and stomping around, howling at the top of his lungs about the indignities of life and the crap thrown at him over the years. Roam lowered his shield.