[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Jax pushed off from the rail and spun away. It was worse
than he ever imagined. Anger and betrayal tore through him,
shredding his calm and ripping open half-healed wounds. "I
was an assignment? My father paid you to sleep with me?"
Anger sparked within her light blue eyes. "I'm not a whore.
Your father paid me to monitor your activities and that's what
I did. The rest ... just happened."
Memories, bittersweet and intense, assailed him. He
couldn't speak, couldn't think, could only remember.
"Why did he mistrust you? Two weeks into my assignment
I knew his suspicions were unfounded, and told him so. Still,
he insisted I continue."
"My mother had an affair around the time she became
pregnant with me. Jerreth has never been completely
convinced that I'm his son. I knew he resented me, but
this..."
"You said something while you had me ... tied up that
started me thinking."
149
Mystic Keepers (Collection)
by Aubrey Ross
He leaned against the cabin door, too upset to touch her.
"What did I say?"
"You claimed that we are bonded mates. I've been in
denial about that aspect of what happened. Is it possible that
your father activated Pim Noctar to make sure we couldn't
resist each other?"
Hating the dead was such a waste of time, but every word
she uttered only deepened his resentment of Jerreth Severn.
"Not only possible, likely. He knew I wouldn't keep secrets
from a lover, so he sent me a woman I couldn't resist. Gods, I
never realized what a bastard he really was."
She turned back to face the ocean. Her pale blonde hair
rippled in the breeze. He wanted to bury his face in the silken
strands as he undressed her slowly. But the story was only
half-told. She'd explained what brought them together, not
what tore them apart.
"Why did you leave without saying goodbye? Why let me
wonder what happened to you for six long years?"
"What was the first thought that crossed your mind when I
explained that I worked for your father?"
He'd accused her of being a whore, paid to seduce him.
She didn't make him admit it. Still facing the ocean, she
said, "And that was after six years. Think how much more
passionate your reaction would have been if I'd told you at
the time." She finally turned around. The setting sun created
a golden nimbus out of her hair. "Matriarch Flame approached
me with this mission. She said it was 'a cut all ties and
disappear' assignment. I had to make up my mind right there
150
Mystic Keepers (Collection)
by Aubrey Ross
and then. I knew no matter how I tried to break it to you, you
would never forgive me, so I accepted her terms."
It all made perfect sense and yet it did nothing to
eliminate the aching loss they had suffered during their years
apart.
"I'd never been in love before." Her voice caressed him,
but her gaze darted away. "I thought it was that intense for
everyone. It was only after I came through the Veil and the
cravings began that I suspected I'd made a horrible mistake."
"You honestly didn't realize we had bonded?" He had
experienced casual sex. He recognized the difference
immediately. She'd had nothing to compare it to.
"I figured the depression and the loneliness would have
happened when you ended our relationship, so I just
concentrated on the job and toughed it out."
"And you're so sure I would have ended our relationship?"
"Your father hired me to spy on you. You would have
tossed me out on my ass."
So much had happened in the past six years, Jax was
inclined to agree. It wasn't until after Jerreth's death that Jax
had begun to mature and mellow. When his brother, Jarek,
took over as Shadow Master, Jax had finally been able to put
the past behind him and move on. At least the portions of his
past that his father had influenced. The thought brought him
up short.
This was all Jerreth's doing. His father's irrational suspicion
had set this fiasco in motion.
"You never tried to contact me. Not even once."
151
Mystic Keepers (Collection)
by Aubrey Ross
"It was forbidden. My broken heart was nothing compared
to Lorran's life."
"Was your heart broken? Did you mourn for me?"
[Back to Table of Contents]
152
Mystic Keepers (Collection)
by Aubrey Ross
Chapter Five
Crystal took his hand and led him back into the cabin. "I
know that we can't actually change the past. But for tonight I
want to pretend. I want to go back to our last night together
and rewrite the ending. Then we can continue on in the
direction our lives were meant to go."
He smiled and her heart lurched within her breast. Gods,
how she'd missed his smile!
She let go of his hand and summoned her power, centering
her energy and coating her palms with a thick layer of Light
iede. Searching her memory for every detail, the tiniest
nuance of their lover's hideaway, she meticulously [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
Jax pushed off from the rail and spun away. It was worse
than he ever imagined. Anger and betrayal tore through him,
shredding his calm and ripping open half-healed wounds. "I
was an assignment? My father paid you to sleep with me?"
Anger sparked within her light blue eyes. "I'm not a whore.
Your father paid me to monitor your activities and that's what
I did. The rest ... just happened."
Memories, bittersweet and intense, assailed him. He
couldn't speak, couldn't think, could only remember.
"Why did he mistrust you? Two weeks into my assignment
I knew his suspicions were unfounded, and told him so. Still,
he insisted I continue."
"My mother had an affair around the time she became
pregnant with me. Jerreth has never been completely
convinced that I'm his son. I knew he resented me, but
this..."
"You said something while you had me ... tied up that
started me thinking."
149
Mystic Keepers (Collection)
by Aubrey Ross
He leaned against the cabin door, too upset to touch her.
"What did I say?"
"You claimed that we are bonded mates. I've been in
denial about that aspect of what happened. Is it possible that
your father activated Pim Noctar to make sure we couldn't
resist each other?"
Hating the dead was such a waste of time, but every word
she uttered only deepened his resentment of Jerreth Severn.
"Not only possible, likely. He knew I wouldn't keep secrets
from a lover, so he sent me a woman I couldn't resist. Gods, I
never realized what a bastard he really was."
She turned back to face the ocean. Her pale blonde hair
rippled in the breeze. He wanted to bury his face in the silken
strands as he undressed her slowly. But the story was only
half-told. She'd explained what brought them together, not
what tore them apart.
"Why did you leave without saying goodbye? Why let me
wonder what happened to you for six long years?"
"What was the first thought that crossed your mind when I
explained that I worked for your father?"
He'd accused her of being a whore, paid to seduce him.
She didn't make him admit it. Still facing the ocean, she
said, "And that was after six years. Think how much more
passionate your reaction would have been if I'd told you at
the time." She finally turned around. The setting sun created
a golden nimbus out of her hair. "Matriarch Flame approached
me with this mission. She said it was 'a cut all ties and
disappear' assignment. I had to make up my mind right there
150
Mystic Keepers (Collection)
by Aubrey Ross
and then. I knew no matter how I tried to break it to you, you
would never forgive me, so I accepted her terms."
It all made perfect sense and yet it did nothing to
eliminate the aching loss they had suffered during their years
apart.
"I'd never been in love before." Her voice caressed him,
but her gaze darted away. "I thought it was that intense for
everyone. It was only after I came through the Veil and the
cravings began that I suspected I'd made a horrible mistake."
"You honestly didn't realize we had bonded?" He had
experienced casual sex. He recognized the difference
immediately. She'd had nothing to compare it to.
"I figured the depression and the loneliness would have
happened when you ended our relationship, so I just
concentrated on the job and toughed it out."
"And you're so sure I would have ended our relationship?"
"Your father hired me to spy on you. You would have
tossed me out on my ass."
So much had happened in the past six years, Jax was
inclined to agree. It wasn't until after Jerreth's death that Jax
had begun to mature and mellow. When his brother, Jarek,
took over as Shadow Master, Jax had finally been able to put
the past behind him and move on. At least the portions of his
past that his father had influenced. The thought brought him
up short.
This was all Jerreth's doing. His father's irrational suspicion
had set this fiasco in motion.
"You never tried to contact me. Not even once."
151
Mystic Keepers (Collection)
by Aubrey Ross
"It was forbidden. My broken heart was nothing compared
to Lorran's life."
"Was your heart broken? Did you mourn for me?"
[Back to Table of Contents]
152
Mystic Keepers (Collection)
by Aubrey Ross
Chapter Five
Crystal took his hand and led him back into the cabin. "I
know that we can't actually change the past. But for tonight I
want to pretend. I want to go back to our last night together
and rewrite the ending. Then we can continue on in the
direction our lives were meant to go."
He smiled and her heart lurched within her breast. Gods,
how she'd missed his smile!
She let go of his hand and summoned her power, centering
her energy and coating her palms with a thick layer of Light
iede. Searching her memory for every detail, the tiniest
nuance of their lover's hideaway, she meticulously [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]