****
Kira’s cheeks hurt from all the smiling. Her father was alive.
“Are you sure?” Jace sat next to her on the bed. “You saw Malcolm?”
Kira nodded enthusiastically. “I did. He was in a dark place chained to a large wooden pole, but he was alive. He was talking to someone I didn’t recognize.”
“What did that person look like? Like any of the three that followed you into the alley the other night?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Not like them. He’s taller, with long, thick dark hair and black eyes. He’s very…” Kira hesitated and looked away. She let out a slow breath and hoped her pheromones would be kind and not spread anymore. Her cheeks remained cooled thanks in large part to sheer force of will.
“He’s very what?” Jace ground out.
Kira rolled her eyes. Stupid pheromones. She looked Jace square in the eyes. “He’s very handsome. Tall, dark, and handsome. A lot like you, actually, except your eyes are green like your uncle’s.” Jace grimaced. “I’m not comparing you to him, or Roman—”
“But you’re attracted to both men.” Jace crossed his arms over his chest and raised a questioning brow at her.
“Not attracted. They’re both attractive — completely different meanings.”
Jace stared at her for a moment and she hoped he believed her. The last thing she wanted him to focus on was her potentially choosing Roman over him — because that would never happen.
Jace produced a ghost of a smile. “You do realize that lycans have a keen sense of hearing. Your heartbeat is too fast. I know you’re lying.”
Kira let out a frustrated breath and Jace laughed. “I’m nervous!”
Jace’s hands settled on her arms. “I know, I’m just teasing you. Anything else about where your father is?”
“No, nothing. Just the other guy with him.”
“Could be Kata if he’s still alive.”
“All I care about is that my father is still alive,” she breathed and smiled.
Jace’s eyes turned warm and the look of desire in them gave Kira goose bumps. She didn’t care if her scent suddenly went into overdrive; it was too late to hide her attraction to him.
“So, you have visions when we kiss?”
She nodded. “Kipper thinks maybe I’m bottled up inside and you…you…” It was too embarrassing to say out loud. If there was another way to uncork herself, she had to think of it fast. Yoga! Or meditation. I could try those…
“You told Kipper first?”
Kira groaned at the disappointed and irritated tone Jace took with her. “Sorry! I needed someone to talk to and I couldn’t exactly trust—”
“Me,” he finished for her. “You couldn’t exactly trust me.”
“No…my feelings for you.”
Jace’s sour expression morphed into a wicked grin. He leaned in.
“Wait!” she cried and put a hand against his chest.
“Well, don’t you want to have visions again?” His smile remained.
“Is that a trick question?”
“No. There’s only one answer. Yes.”
He didn’t wait for her to object. His mouth took hers roughly, and he dragged her from the bed and onto his lap. She nearly yelped at the speed and relative ease with which he lifted her. His hot hands were beneath her shirt, searing her flesh as he shoved it up and over her head. His shirt had already been discarded; where, she couldn’t tell. It alarmed her that he was able to remove it so quickly.
Hot. His flesh was hot. His arms captured her and she was sandwiched between huge biceps and pectorals that seemed to be on fire. Did lycans have a naturally high body temperature?
She lost all ability to think as his mouth mastered hers in a commanding way and allowed her little time to catch her breath. She braved the heat of his body and wrapped her arms around his back, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. He was so warm…and it felt so good. She molded her breasts into him and moaned as her belly heated with desire.
No vision. No white light, no image of her father or even Kata. Nothing. She was just in Jace’s arms, grinding against him in reckless abandon, encouraging him to claim her as his mate before she had even thought it through. It’s too fast. We’re going too fast. Stop, Kira! But his mouth…his hands…just feeling him against her was so perfect — where she needed and wanted to be — and she struggled against what she knew was her future.
In one smooth motion, he flipped her onto her back in the middle of the bed. His body descended onto hers and she rose to meet it. The impact of flesh on flesh drew from him a deep, earthy, and primal growl. The sound of his arousal was like cold water on her heated skin, and she forced her head away in silent refusal. His lips did not seek hers out again and his head rose slightly. “Please…please,” she whispered shakily. Her breath came in ragged gasps. Her body trembled uncontrollably from the desire coursing through her system, despite her growing fear at the intensity of his seduction.
He slid off of her and landed on his back beside her. His skin paled and she grew alarmed. “Jace?”
“It’s okay,” he said softly. “I didn’t…I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” she rushed to say.
“No,” he protested firmly. “If I was too forceful, too aggressive…if I crossed a line, it’s my fault.”
He sat up with his head in his hands. In a split second he was up against a nearby wall, pressing his frame into it as if he wanted as much distance between them as possible. Kira fought feelings of rejection. His ashen skin, the firmness of his jaw…an inward battle raged in Jace and it had nothing to do with his hunger for her, which he reaffirmed with every kiss.
“I’m just like my father,” he breathed. A derisive chuckle escaped his generous lips.
Kira clutched a pillow to her chest. “What do you mean?”
“My uncle was right.” He stared off into the distance. “My father imprinted on my mother and held her here.” His eyes searched the confines of the room. “Maybe in this very room.” His sorrowful gaze met hers. “He couldn’t control his feelings for her and he…” His gaze faltered. “Forced himself on her repeatedly. There was no escape for her and she died giving birth to me.”
The confession sobered Kira. A renewed understanding of the impact of imprinting on a lycan gave her a fresh, healthy respect for the dichotomy of Jace’s feelings for her. To want her physically to the point of utter agony and feel the intense desire to protect her… How is he controlling himself? She stared at his magnificent half-naked form and marveled.
He must have noticed a change in her demeanor. Immediately, hunger filled his gaze. His breathing came rapidly. But he held himself firm to the wall. Kira slowly drew her eyes away from him and hoped he didn’t interpret the loss of connection as a refusal. She appreciated his eagerness — even if it was only due to imprinting — and she respected his inclination to keep his distance. “If you can’t hurt me, then how…why did your father hurt your mother?” She couldn’t keep her eyes from him; she wanted to watch his reaction and the answer as it unfolded in his eyes.
Jace shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s the one part I don’t understand.”
“Your uncle told you all of this?”
He nodded wordlessly.
“Could he be lying?”
“I’m here, aren’t I? Everyone who’s old enough remembers my mother and my birth.”
“But he said your father imprinted on your mother. How are you controlling yourself if your father couldn’t?”
“I don’t know.”
“And if he didn’t, does that mean—”
“Kira, I don’t know!”
No. Nothing made sense. In her vision they were happy. She was giving birth and Jace loved her. There was no fear in her heart; only trust. “Your father imprinting…could that part be a lie?” She braved the soft question.
Jace sucked in a breath, and for the first time since he left the bed, she saw hope shine in his
eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe,” he whispered.
“And the rape as well?”
Jace shook his head firmly. “Unless my uncle is an award-winning actor. The look on his face when he spoke about my mother being… He cared for her. I know he did.”
“You’re sure about that? It seems there’s a lot about your uncle that we can question.”
“It was in the way he said her name. I think he might’ve loved her.”
“Well, until we know for sure, don’t worry about it,” Kira expressed with perhaps a bit too much excitement. Jace’s eyes swerved to hers. “You can…” She stopped herself from giving him too much liberty when she herself didn’t know how much she was willing to offer. The image of him beside her as she gave birth scared her lips closed. If her vision was true, then their union was an inescapable eventuality. Yet, she feared opening herself to him so quickly. She still struggled to make sense of her reality.
“I won’t,” he promised with a slight smile. An understanding of her inner battle was in his eyes. “Not until you give me permission.”
The selfless chivalry made her cry out to him in her mind, but she remained silent. She wasn’t convinced he could keep his hands to himself, and with the knowledge of his father’s inability to control himself, Kira doubted Jace had the strength in him to say no. But maybe he does. He feared he was just like his father, and that fear might be enough to hold him back. Although he probably wouldn’t have wanted to wait another moment, it would still be too soon for her. “Thank you,” she breathed in relief.
Jace laughed. “Don’t sound too eager to keep me away. You’ll hurt my feelings.”
She couldn’t help herself. The admission was on the tip of her tongue and there was no stopping it; nor did she want to. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel pain over a situation he had little control over — especially when her feelings for him were rapidly progressing. “I’m not eager.” His laughed abruptly halted. “I…I’m just…”
He nodded. “I know. It’s a lot to take in.” He ran a hand through his wavy hair and sighed heavily. “Even I’m still scrambling to catch up…to understand it all.”
“I appreciate your struggle. Know that I do.”
He shot her a grateful grin. “I know.”
Exhaustion caused her to yawn and she covered her mouth.
“Bored?”
She shook her head. “Not in the least.”
He peeled himself off the wall and came to her side. “I promise I’ll only hold you.”
His hopeful gaze was too much to refuse. “Okay.” She scooted to the side to make room for him. When she settled into his arms, he eased the covers over their bodies.
“Sweet dreams,” he whispered into her hair.
Kira laughed softly against his chest. “You too.”
“I’ve dreamed of nothing but you since the elevator.”
“Well, that’s a high expectation. Who can live up to that?” Laughter rumbled in his chest. It was a deliciously pleasant feeling beneath her cheek.
“I would imagine it’s the other way around. I’ve never…I guess I’ve been waiting to imprint my whole life.”
She raised her gaze to his. “Me too,” she said softly.
“Imprint?” he teased with a smile.
She playfully swatted his chest and hid her gaze from him by snuggling into his chest. “You know what I mean.”
“Good. I like the fact that we’re both in uncharted waters.”
Together...
Chapter Seven
Take Your Place