Entranced

PowerUp! - 7

by

Marie Harte

Chapter One

April Fool’s Day

Munich, Germany

“Nope. Haven’t seen her.” The plump saleswoman behind the counter smiled and gestured to a rack of handmade scarves next to her. “But I knitted these myself. You find your friend and come back, and I’ll give you a discount. And see Gustav down the street. You need to eat more, young man, or the wind will knock you right over.” She laughed.

Jack had no trouble understanding her southern German dialect. Born Jonathan Keiser, he’d been raised by second-generation German immigrants and had spoken German as a first language. His accent impeccable, he thanked her and left, tugging his jacket around him.

The wind whipped and brought tears to his eyes. He put a hand into his pocket, retrieved a photo, and stared at it. Again. For two weeks now, he’d been searching for Heather Fucking Stallbridge. Owen’s sister had become as big a pain in Jack’s ass as her domineering older brother. Jack couldn’t stop staring at her damn picture, and he’d tried. He had to hold it, keep it close. He’d found himself memorizing her features, wondering what she thought, how she’d look when she smiled, if she tasted half as good as he imagined…

Fuck. A woman had almost been the death of him once, and he’d vowed never again. But he had a feeling this one would prove more dangerous, because he couldn’t get a bead on why she got to him. Why he thought about her all the time. He understood his dick getting hard. Heather Stallbridge was a knockout, no question about it. But something inside him softened when he thought of her, that part of him he’d worked so hard to build into an impenetrable shield. He’d never admit it, but his insane attraction for her worried him. This hold she—her picture—had over him wasn’t normal. She fucking enthralled him, and he’d never even met her.

He swore again and shook his head. Fortunately, his skin itched, distracting him, and he knew it was almost time to change back. He hadn’t been a young man in more than fifteen years. Though thirty-five, at times he felt three times his age. Life had been hard for a long time now, but at least he no longer questioned why he fought to stay alive.

Shrugging the bony shoulders of a young man much too frail to withstand the cold, Jack pocketed the photo as he walked back to his room. He passed a young man and quickened his step when he saw a flash of recognition.

The young guy called out a greeting. “Carl? I thought you weren’t coming back until Friday.”

He wasn’t. Jack coughed and ducked into his coat. “Came back early,” he muttered and walked faster. “Talk to you later,” he called over his shoulder as he turned down the street, then made a left and raced through the cobblestone alley leading to Carl’s small loft, a handy spot to change, undetected, between alter egos.

All this cloak-and-dagger shit to find one headstrong woman who refused to come when called. A lot of nonsense he had little time for, not with his squad of psychics at home in Oregon no doubt going off the deep end without him.

Once inside the building, he ran up the stairs to Carl’s loft. Panting because of the cold and the out-of-shape body he’d assumed, Jack used the key he’d “borrowed,” entered, and locked the door behind him. After a quick look around to determine no one had been inside while he’d been gone, he released a well-deserved sigh and stripped naked, trembling with bone-deep cold.

Too much distance between me and that picture. He knew it made no sense, but he delved into the pocket of the pants he’d been wearing anyway, pulled the thing out, and stared at her photo. For the second time in ten minutes. The woman looked enough like Owen to clearly identify them as siblings. She had the same ash-blonde hair, emerald-green eyes, high cheekbones, and stubborn chin. But whereas Owen was handsome, Heather had stunning beauty.

Jack kept his gaze on her while his body returned to normal. His bones lengthened, and his muscle mass returned to the density it had been before. Blood raced, tissue expanded, and his organs slowly reshaped themselves to reflect a man of incredible stamina, health, and speed. Jack healed quickly. Shifting forms—what had once been a traumatic, painful experience in his youth— now occurred without incident. He could assume different faces and body types with ease. But because Carl had been so unlike Jack’s normal frame, it took him a few minutes to get all the kinks out.

“Finally.” His deep baritone relieved him. Carl’s vocal chords had given him a high pitch, and the voice had annoyed Jack more than the kid’s tiny body had. He’d been Carl on and off for a week, staying in Carl’s loft and wearing Carl’s clothes.

Ian, the most ill-disciplined but well-connected member of Jack’s PowerUp! team, had actually managed to give him a decent cover in this city. Ian hadn’t fucked up an assignment for once. Go figure.

Jack shivered and told himself to stop dicking around. He put his own clothes back on, relieved to feel decent underwear, denim, a thick sweater, and a leather jacket over his six-five frame. He threw on socks and stepped into his boots, then donned his gloves. Grabbing Carl’s clothes, he shoved them into his bag, not wanting to leave any traces of DNA behind. Then, after pocketing Heather’s picture, he took another look around the living space. Having left no visible hint of his stay, Jack put the spare key back on the key ring by the door and left with his bag in hand, closing the locked door behind him.

He passed two older women, who gave him a wide berth as he left. “Friend of Carl’s,” he muttered, and they scurried up the stairs behind him.

Once outside, he got into his rental and drove away from the city on the only lead he hadn’t yet followed. A week ago, when he’d arrived in the borough, an old man had walked right up to him and told him to head toward the Zugspitze—Germany’s tallest mountain.

“Toward?” Jack had asked.

“Yes, and around, and behind. And in.” The old man had winked. “You’ll find what you’re looking for not on any map. But you’d better hurry before the truth comes out.” Then he’d tipped back another beer, belched, and laughed before staggering away and rounding a corner.

When Jack had tried to follow to ask more questions, he’d found that the old guy had vanished.

So now, the great Jack Keiser, leader of an elite band of psychic investigators, had nothing better to do—or a better lead to investigate—than to follow a drunken man’s ramblings. At least the view would be decent. He drove for an hour out of town, south toward the majestic mountains. Snowcapped and tucked into a verdant forest of spruce and fir, surrounded by crisp air and nature enthusiasts, the Zugspitze commanded attention with a majesty Jack appreciated. Often compared to a mountain of muscle himself, he’d accepted that bigger sometimes did mean better. And he took his responsibilities to heart. As he drove closer to the Wetterstein Range, he realized he hadn’t taken a vacation in over six years.

Odd time to have some fun, looking for a missing woman, a paranormal book, and trouble he could almost taste in the crisp, mountain air.

He continued toward Grainau, another town on the way toward the mountain and Lake Eibsee, a few miles away. The lake itself attracted a fair share of tourists, so maybe Heather had headed there? She wasn’t in Munich. He’d scoured the places his resources couldn’t and had found no hint of the woman. The town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen had a small enough footprint that, in a matter of days, Ian’s contacts had reported no sign of the woman’s presence there either. Maybe Grainau?

At this rate, Jack could cross southern Germany off his places to see list. He’d been to Germany before, but mostly on ops in the northern, more industrial cities: Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg. His Audi had no problem traversing Southern Germany either. Jack saw a sign for Lake Eibsee ahead, but his attention caught and held on a distinct dirt road coming up on the right. Some instinct told him to turn off the state road onto the dirt road, one barely wide enough to fit two cars side by side.

He continued to drive, conscious that the road seemed to veer north, away from the mountains. Probably wound up and around, meeting up with B23. Yet as he followed the road, he felt it. Power. A connection to something vast, something he hadn’t felt since the government had enhanced his psychic skills and made him the monster he was today.

His brain cramped, then opened, and Jack felt as if butterflies kissed his skin from his head to his toes. Desire, hunger, and need poured through him, as did the urgent need to find Heather before the big bad came and took her away for good.

Big bad?

Everything around him seemed hazy, and he had the insane feeling the car was about to go over the edge of a cliff and never stop falling. Yet the wheels continued to turn, and Jack blinked to clear his vision. Trees, more trees, a dirt trail, the bright blue sky overhead. Kind of normal.

He didn’t understand what the hell was going on, but then he turned around a bend and hit the brakes, hard. A bright, cheery little town bustling with people popped up from out of nowhere.

The dirt road ended just in front of him, turning into a cavalcade of cobblestone leading him right to—her. On a fucking silver platter. Seated at an outdoor bistro surrounded by what looked like half the town, Heather Stallbridge enjoyed a cup of something steaming hot.

He got out of the car and stared, trying to comprehend his new circumstance. People laughed and talked in German, not a word spoken in English, and he had to look around him again to see if he stood on a movie set or in an authentic Bavarian town. A few of the older people wore long dresses and lederhosen, while the younger crowd dressed in jeans and light jackets to ward against the cold even now turning warmer, like a brisk fall day despite the snowy mountains to the south.

Jack couldn’t understand the increase in temperature, especially since the elevation had remained constant while he drove. What the hell had he happened into?

For over two goddamn weeks, he’d been trying to find Heather Stallbridge, and she suddenly appeared like magic in the middle of nowhere? His gut started to churn, the joy all around him now mired in suspicion, danger, and a disconcerting sense of nearby power.

Under his boots, something stirred. The ground trembled, though no one seemed to feel it but him. Energy twined through the rubber soles of his boots, past his wool socks into his heels, and then spread throughout his body.

As one, the people in town stopped and turned to stare at him.

What the fuck?

He swallowed a moan as pleasure enveloped him. The energy swirled up his legs, centered in his groin, and continued up into his chest until it finally settled in his brain. He felt his body grow taller, becoming stronger, ready to face any threat. And the living power inside him approved.

The townsfolk seemed frozen, and then in the span of a heartbeat, they returned to their business, talking and laughing as if it this Stepford moment was normal.

But the woman… Heather didn’t smile as widely as she had before. She seemed spooked and refused to look at him, which bothered him to no end. He shoved his hand in his pocket and fingered the picture, intent on finding out what it was about her that made him want her so damn much.

She had to be like Owen. He’d never been able to put his finger on it, but he knew Owen had skills—psychic skills. The shit stolen from his warehouse that Jack’s team continued to recover was cursed, possessed, or paranormal in some way or another. It figured Owen and his baby sister would be outside of normal too.

Jack stared hard at her, unable to look away from the golden head nodding at something a woman said. Even from this distance, he knew he could drown in her gaze, that the deep green of her eyes would reach out and soothe all the aches and loneliness he kept buried inside.

He blinked and took a step back, not sure why he’d gone so introspective. Jack didn’t do emotions other than caution, like, and lust. And he wished to hell he felt nothing for this woman.

He had to figure out what he’d gotten himself into, or rather, what she’d stumbled over. But not now, and not with an audience motioning for him to join them. He moved back into his car, parked a block down the street next to a shiny black Mercedes, and found the closest pub for something to drink.

The bartender, slid him the best beer he’d ever had in his life. Jack finished it in record time and ordered another. One way or another, he’d get Heather back to Owen and out of his life…and his pocket. He took out the photo, swore as he glanced at it again, then repocketed it and took another swig of beer.

HEATHER HAD HOPED the guy wouldn’t approach her, though he seemed the type to ignore good sense. Huge, menacing, like an animal with a thorn in its paw, the stranger exuded danger the way Gretchen, next to her, exuded chatty nervous energy. And where the hell had the stranger come from, anyway? She hadn’t seen anyone new in town since she’d arrived two weeks ago.

This place put the W in weird. She’d been trying to leave, with or without her book, but every time she managed to get near the gate through which she’d entered, one of the townspeople found her and somehow managed to convince her to stay. And that main road where the new guy had shown up? Fifty feet from where she sat, around the bend, it dead-ended in the forest. So where had the giant come from? It was like a bad Twilight Zone episode, except the people here were nice…for the most part. She had no idea what they wanted with her, except to make her their new best friend. Bizarro.

If that weren’t strange enough, she couldn’t seem to hold on to her book, Chronicles. The blasted thing had to be cursed. It had been stolen from her family over a year ago, retrieved five weeks ago, and before she’d had a chance to fully translate the code hidden in the pages, she’d lost it somehow in this funny town.

Because of the book, she’d found herself stranded here. Wherever the hell here really was. The town didn’t exist on a map, on Google Earth, or in any atlas she’d ever seen.

She nodded at Gretchen again, thanking fate that she’d learned the Bavarian dialect of German at an early enough age to speak it like a native. Way to go, Granddad. The old woman shared gossip about who was dating whom and which woman had burned her husband’s breakfast that morning. In a town the size of three hundred, everyone pretty much knew everyone.

“Yes, so handsome. This one we like. He and you will make big, strong babies. I can feel it.”

Heather tuned back into the conversation. “What?”

“Yes. Jan knows much about things.”

From what Heather had seen, Gretchen’s brother knew how to skin venison and could shoot through the eye of a needle. Now the man knew things? She suddenly had a bad, bad feeling about her stay, especially if he knew the truth about her. She’d been pretending to be Heather Wurtz, great-niece to the town’s oldest woman, the local wise woman and a revered leader. The first person she’d met, Ida had insisted on a private audience, for which Heather remained eternally grateful. Ida had proclaimed Heather her long-lost niece, and like that, Heather had found acceptance and security. An ally in a place she’d never imagined might be so dangerous.

Apparently, the Stallbridge name was hated enough to get her killed, and she had no urge to find herself gutted and strung up the way Jan’s deer had been just a few days ago. In this place, Ida might be respected, but Ralf Baer kept the law with a mighty fist. And his sons Ernst and Klaus gave her the shivers. She didn’t like the way they looked at her.

Which led her thoughts back to the stranger. Should she put him on the good list or bad list? He didn’t seem to be one of them. It appeared he’d come upon the town like she had, out of the blue. A sudden thought hit her. What if Owen had sent him? She’d told her brother over and over to leave her alone, that she needed to solve this riddle by herself, to contribute something of her own to the family. Determined to fulfill the quest started by her great-grandfather, Heather meant to solve the puzzle in that damn book. But Owen wouldn’t let it rest. And if he’d sent the stranger, he just might get her killed.

She stood suddenly. “Um, Gretchen? I’ll be right back.”

Gretchen winked at her. “If I wasn’t sixty-eight, I might make a play for him myself. I’ll be here.” She held up her cup of tea and raised it in appreciation, then took a drink and turned to converse with her neighbor.

Heather took the opportunity to slide away from the tea party, as she’d come to calling the group that met regularly outside Edda’s Tea Shop, and looked for the stranger. She spotted his vehicle and noted the rental tags. Not a local, then. Shit.

Hurrying to the most probable place he’d gone, she entered the pub and overheard him say, “So how long has Heather been here?” Heather. Damn. He knew her name.

She rushed to his side and put on the brightest smile she could. “I can’t believe you’re here! Sorry, but the light was behind you outside, and I almost didn’t recognize you.” Heather hugged him hard, dragging his head closer so she could whisper, “My name is Heather Wurtz. Hug me back, damn it.”

He didn’t falter and swept her into a bone-crushing hug. He nuzzled her cheek, sending shivers down her spine, and whispered back, “Jack Harmon. Strawman sent me.”

Owen had sent this man. Strawman was the code word Owen used to prove association. Whoever else this guy might be, her brother trusted him to come after her.

When they finished embracing, Jack kept a muscled arm around her. Up close, he set her libido on high alert. But that wasn’t all. Her ability to heal sensed deep wounds in this man, and she had the crazy notion to plaster herself to him and inhale him, one kiss at a time, until he recovered from past trauma and she reached orgasm.

So unlike her. Sex and healing had never been joined together, in any way.

She squirmed, and he tightened his grip on her shoulder. He had killer eyes, light gray one moment and then a hint of blue the next. But that fierce expression, coupled with his incredible size and breadth of muscle, warned her to tread carefully. For all that the guy had a rough kind of handsome sexiness going on, he also had a serial-killer vibe she’d need to keep an eye on.

Hans at the bar stared at him with suspicion. “You aren’t part of the ski group, are you? How did you get here?”

“Ski group?” She and Jack asked at the same time.

Heather talked over him. “Hans, I’ve been here for two weeks and haven’t seen anyone but the locals.”

“Of course not, sweetheart.” Hans grinned. “We keep family tight, right here.” He patted his chest. “The stupid Americans and the idiot locals are kept outside the yellow gate, the one by Jan’s cottage.” Hans blinked at Jack. “Jan… Of course. Forgive me. Jan said you’d be coming.”

“He did?” Jack’s deep voice soothed her, despite the tenor that sounded more like the growl of a hungry beast.

“Yes. We’ve been more than curious about Heather’s boyfriend.”

Oh boy, that was all she needed. An imaginary lover. Heather said in a rush, “I need to take him to see Aunt Ida. I know she can’t wait to see him again, and she told me to let her know as soon as he arrived. We’ll be back later, though.”

Hans nodded. When Jack tried to pay him for the beer, Hans shook his head. “No, not for Heather’s man. You go and settle in.” Jack stuck out his hand, and Hans shook it, grunting. “Firm, strong shake. It’s good you came to Drei-Gewalten. We need to build our stock and let it grow.”

Stock? “Drei-Gewalten. Great name for a town, huh?” she said to get Jack up to speed.

He didn’t bat an eye and nodded. “Great name. Let’s go see Aunt Ida, honey.”

She didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until they left the pub and headed down the street, away from the tea shop.

“Yeah, we can catch up at Aunt Ida’s, for sure.” She squeezed his hand in hers. He squeezed back, and it didn’t escape her notice that his palm completely covered hers. When she tried to discreetly tug her hand away, he wouldn’t let go.

“That we will, sweetheart. I can’t wait.”

Chapter Two

Jack had no idea what he’d stumbled onto, but he knew when to play the game and bide his time. That Heather felt the need to lie warned him to be wary, even if the odd surges of power running through his body hadn’t already made him cautious. He let her drag him some distance down the street and into a cobblestone alley before he pulled her into an empty alcove.

He backed her against a wooden door under a shadowed archway. No one had entered the alleyway after them, and he couldn’t sense anyone near, so he took advantage of their sudden privacy. In a low growl, he ordered, “Give me the quick version. Now.”

She tried to move away, but there was nowhere for her to go. When she brushed against his chest, ineffectively attempting to push back, his entire body throbbed like one big ball of need. He saw an answering flare of desire in her eyes, both unnerving and satisfying that the unwanted attraction didn’t seem to be all on his end.

Flattening herself against the door, she frowned and in a throaty whisper answered, “This isn’t the place. Owen really sent you?”

He nodded. “He’s worried and wants you back like yesterday.”

She blew out a breath. “Terrific. Look, we need to be somewhere private before I can tell you what you need to know.” She lowered her voice to the merest whisper. “It’s not safe out here.”

“I don’t think you want to be anywhere private with me right now.” He moved closer so that she couldn’t mistake his erection pressed against her hips.

Her eyes widened. “Y-you…”

“Yeah. This whole fucking town is like a cauldron of energy. I’m on fire from head to toe.” Let her believe the swirling energy was to blame for his perpetual hard-on and not that he’d been fascinated by her since he’d first seen her picture. He stepped back, giving her a little space.

“Right.”

She let out a soft breath, and the scent of minty chocolate washed over him.

“Quick version—the town is sitting on what they call the Source. It’s a well of power you can feel. Everyone with psychic sensitivity senses it, which in this case is nearly all of Drei-Gewalten. Oh, and they hate Stallbridges, so anyone having anything to do with my family is likely to be imprisoned or killed on sight.”

“What?” Even for a PowerUp! case, this was weird.

“That’s the quick version.” She latched on to his sweater and jerked him so that she practically kissed his ear before she added in a whisper, “I can’t talk about this out here, not without someone possibly overhearing. We’ll be safer at Ida’s.” Heather pulled back, and the searching look she gave him told him she didn’t put him in the same trust category as Ida. Not that he blamed her.

It didn’t help that he couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. “You sure you can trust her?”

“More than I trust you. She’s known who I am the whole time I’ve been here. She’s the one who told me to pretend to be her long-lost niece.”

“Okay.”

She stared at him for a moment and bit her lower lip. Then she asked, “Owen’s worried?”

“Yeah. He’s pissed he can’t find you. What the fuck are you doing out here? And why the hell is that weird reverb still echoing through my body?”

Footsteps sounded from a short distance away. They both froze.

And then he made a choice, a bad one. He kissed her. What he’d thought might prove a decent cover—that of a man and woman in a sexual clinch—soon turned all too real. Heat blazed throughout his body as the scent and taste of the woman he embraced went straight to his head.

Her hands pressed against his chest again. She opened her mouth, no doubt in protest, then sighed into his mouth and met his searching tongue with her own. She ran her palms over his chest to his shoulders and around his neck. The feel of her soft hands against his skin made him growl, and he yanked her harder against him.

All thought fled. With nothing but instinct to guide him, Jack fully intended to bury himself in her right here, right now. He deepened the kiss and felt her breath hitch as she melted into him. So fucking good. He palmed her ass and ground her against him. Then he put a hand between them and pushed under her sweater. Her full breast sat heavily in his palm, and he squeezed, loving the feel of her tight nipple through the lacy bra.

She gasped his name and moaned, clenching his neck with strong fingers. A blaze of energy whispered through him, different from the power under his feet, and seemed to come from Heather.

Immediately distrustful, he pulled his mouth away and blinked down into her cloudy green eyes. Suspicion faded as lust overwhelmed him once more. Damn, he wanted to watch her come around him, to see the pleasure blossoming on her face explode into a full-out orgasm.

“Not here, you two.” An old man chuckled as he continued past them. “Young people.”

She and Jack tensed, breathing hard. He slowly removed his hand from under her sweater, and she withdrew her hands from around his neck. She’d been standing on tiptoe, and the disparity in their sizes enhanced his need to claim and protect. The rational part of him told him to step back and reassess the situation. Especially since he hadn’t heard that old man beyond the onset of footsteps, which should have warned Jack to pull away.

He bleakly remembered the last time he’d been caught so off guard. Melissa. That lying bitch had nearly had him killed, and she’d controlled him like a puppet on strings, managing to get under his guard. A lot like this woman, and he hadn’t felt a tenth for Melissa as he did for this sexy stranger.

Jack mentally pulled himself together and glared down at Heather. She seemed a little too cool for his liking. “What the fuck was that?” he hissed.

“I don’t know.” She didn’t sound winded or upset, and her unflappable composure bothered the shit out of him.

“Great. Don’t do it again.” He completely ignored the fact he’d initiated the kiss. Still trying to restore his body to calm, he yanked her out of the alcove. “Ida’s. Now.”

“Don’t get all huffy, Jack.” She smiled at him, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Aunt Ida’s is the blue cottage around the corner. Come on.”

He let her pull away from him this time, because holding her felt too right. It had taken him years to get over Melissa’s perfidy, and to say he had trust issues was an understatement. He got on well with his PowerUp! team members, mostly because he remained in control. The PowerUp! Gym provided a place where he and his team could keep in physical and mental shape while they secretly worked out their psychic skills. He trusted Kitty, his day manager, without reserve. The empath knew his secrets and had never betrayed him. Then again, he wasn’t involved in a personal relationship with her. Kitty had his back on missions and at work. The rest of the team pulled together to accomplish the mission. He trusted them to get the job done but nothing more than that.

Jack didn’t have a personal life. He didn’t need or want one, contrary to what his team said behind his back, what they thought he didn’t hear: Lone wolf, hard-ass, monster of a boss, dickhead. He accepted his solitary nature. He just wished everyone else would as well.

Time to get his head on straight and remember that Heather Stallbridge was a job and nothing more. Sister to his business partner, Owen, and his current case. Period. End of story.

If only he didn’t know how she tasted and felt under his hands.

He narrowed his gaze on the back of her head and followed her to a pretty blue cottage that looked like something out of a fairy tale.

A look around showed much of the same up and down the street. Quaint, Bavarian-style architecture lined the houses pressed against one another. Only the blue cottage stood apart, with dark red geraniums and purple pansies clustered in window boxes under two large, paned windows.

A petite bistro sat outside the front door, caged in by a tiny yard with a wooden fence. It felt like Hansel and Gretel might pop in for a visit at any moment. The rest of the town seemed as charming, with uncluttered walkways free of litter and debris. Only the sweet scent of flowers and freshly made bread filled the crisp mountain air.

The power that swelled under his feet seemed welcoming, accepting, and before he knew it, he’d let it in, allowing it to strengthen and refresh him after so many days spent searching.

Heather reached for his hand, and he tensed when she curled her fingers around his. “Don’t open yourself up too much. It’s addicting; trust me.”

She knew. How she knew, he couldn’t say. But the woman read him, and he didn’t like it any more than he’d liked kissing her. Touching her. Grinding against her.

Fuck. His hard-on ached, and he glared down at the top of her golden head as they waited for someone to answer her knock on the door.

The door opened, and a frail old woman with blazing blue eyes stared out at them. Her long white hair lay in a braid over her shoulder, and though she seemed petite and stood slightly bent over, he sensed a core of deep strength within her. Not someone to underestimate.

She smiled at him, wisdom shining in the depths of her gaze. “Welcome.” Like the rest of the town, she spoke in German.

He answered in kind. “Thank you.” He followed Heather inside into a warm living space. A sofa and love seat surrounded an antique coffee table and side tables. A few magazines and books sat in a nearby wicker basket. A pitcher of freshly cut flowers brought attention to a farm table and surrounding oak chairs in the expansive kitchen open to the living area.

The walls were a pale cream and covered in pictures—artwork, family photographs, and a few pieces of old framed papers. Warmth and care had been poured into the house, and he felt surprisingly comfortable, despite his large size among the smaller-scale things.

“Come. Sit down. We’re safe to talk here.” Ida walked to the love seat and sat, then patted the spot next to her with a smile.

Heather sat with her, leaving Jack to take a spot on the low-seated couch. He sank into down cushions and sighed, grateful to have his back to a solid wall and his butt in a surprisingly comfortable spot. “You must be Ida.”

“And you must be Jack. Nice to meet you.”

He frowned. Heather hadn’t yet introduced him. “Did Hans call you?”

She shook her head. “Jan mentioned you’d be coming.”

“Who is this Jan? Because I’ve never met him.”

Heather answered, “Something you have to realize, Jack. This town… It’s unlike anyplace I’ve ever been. Here, being psychic is the norm. I’ve been here for two weeks, and I can’t seem to leave.”

“How’s that?” He sat up straighter, as much as he was able, and stared from Heather to Ida. “Maybe you can explain,” he said to the old woman.

“Maybe I can.” Ida laughed and pulled the dark purple cardigan she was wearing tighter around her. “Would you like some tea?”

“No.”

“Yes,” Heather said at the same time and arched a brow at him before turning back to Ida. “Shall I make some?”

Ida nodded, and Heather left for the kitchen. Jack kept half his attention on her while the rest of him sized up his host.

“You’re one of us.” Ida nodded and narrowed her gaze, studying him. “Very powerful. You vibrate with it. Rage, intensity, lust.”

She raised a brow, and he had to work to cool the heat in his cheeks.

“Drei-Gewalten was built on such emotions. We are a very old town, one that only the gifted can find. Our council works to keep the rest out.”

“Oh?”

“Why are you here, Jack Keiser?”

He didn’t show any reaction to her knowing his true name. “To find your niece, Heather.”

She nodded. “Her brother sent you. Owen.” She pursed her lips. “He was told to stay out of this mess. The boy doesn’t listen for shit.”

He paused, taken aback by her language, then had to grin. “So you’ve met him.”

“No, but Heather has spoken of him so that I feel I know him.” She sighed. “But this is for Heather to make right. It is not for Owen to interfere.”

Ida stared at him, and Jack had the uncomfortable sense of her picking and prodding at his shields.

“But you are not here for Owen, I think. You are here for Heather.”

One and the same. He shrugged. “Why the story about her being your relative?” He wanted to hear her confirm what Heather had told him.

“Because this town lives with antiquated conventions. Here, we are the law. Or rather, the Baer family is the law. For too long, they’ve run our town. Heather needed to come, to do what she was tasked. But the Stallbridges haven’t been welcome in over a hundred years, not since Johann discovered the Source.”

Heather had mentioned that earlier. “The Source?” Jack asked.

“Of power.”

Heather returned to the living room. “You’ve felt it. The vibrations under your feet? It’s real. There are places like this all over the world, where the pulse of power sends waves through the earth. In some places, the electromagnetic fields are stronger. In others, it’s just a feeling, a place where senses are heightened and life is much more defined.” She gazed at him with eyes that saw too much. “It’s a vortex. Bend, Oregon is one such place. That’s why Owen settled there.”

“But not you?” Jack asked her, his gaze intense.

“Eventually I will. I’ve had other things to keep me busy over the years.”

She studied him, and he wondered what she saw when she looked at him.

“Why don’t you tell me who you are and why you’re really here. Ida called you Jack Keiser. That name sounds familiar.”

“My name is Jack Keiser. Harmon is an alias.”

“One of many you’ve used,” Ida added.

He scowled at her. “You a mind reader?”

“I know things. Not all, just some.”

“Great. More mystery to add to this secretive town.” Jack kept his inner shields tight and concentrated on Heather. “I’m here because your brother and I work together. We co-own the PowerUp! Gym in town. In Bend.”

“I’ve been there. I remember your manager, Kitty.”

Funny, Kitty never mentioned meeting Heather. “I run a team of people who do more than work at the gym. We work private investigations. Our biggest job to date is tracking down the objects stolen from your warehouse.”

Heather’s eyes widened. “That’s you? You’re the ex-government psychics?” She stared at him with a look he didn’t trust. “Oh. You’re Jack.”

“What does that mean?”

“My brother called you an injured wolf more likely to bite first and ask questions later.”

“Nice.” He scowled.

“From Owen, that’s a compliment. He likes you.”

And Jack liked Owen, for what it was worth. It still surprised him to find he’d come to respect the arrogant millionaire. Jack could appreciate that Owen had his own secrets, things even Heather might not know.

“This is all interesting, but off topic.” Ida pointed to the kitchen. “Heather, dear, it’s whistling.”

At that moment, the kettle shrieked, and Heather left to get it.

Jack grunted. “Nice trick.”

“We all have our uses.” She winked at him. “You’re here to bring Heather home. Heather is not yet ready to go. Once she’s finished, then she may go. But not until then.”

“So what’s this task, and how soon can we get it done?”

Heather returned with two steaming mugs and set one down on the table in front of Ida. “We? I don’t remember asking for your help.”

“Yeah? Well, you’ve got it all the same. I’m here to bring you back in one piece. You tell me you have to lie so folks won’t kill you, and my feet are still tingling from the power beneath us. I think it’s past time to go, and I just got here. So do what you’ve gotta do, and let’s head back to the States.”

“Don’t you think I’ve been trying?”

She sighed, and her lips turned down. That softness captivated him. He’d had his share of rough and tough women, but Jack was a protector by nature. He gravitated toward those needing his brand of strength. Which was why he should stay far, far away from Owen’s little sister. So what that she had a killer rack, legs up to the moon, and an ass that begged to be ridden? She was trouble, a real problem he could do without.

He cleared his throat and forced himself not to scowl at Ida’s knowing smile. “So what’s the deal with the yellow gate? According to Hans, there are people on the other side of it. But Jan guards it? And how about that bizarre road I drove in on? You’re telling me everyone in town is psychic?”

“The gate is indeed protected by Jan. Only those the council has deemed fit to be here may come to town. On the other side of that gate lies the town of Grainau.”

Jack frowned at her. “That’s impossible. I turned north instead of continuing west to get here, driving away from Grainau.”

“And yet, here you are.” Ida sipped her tea. “I have been trying to help Heather find the Source before she leaves. But every time she tries to search it out, one of our people pulls her back. The Baers have put a lockdown on her movements.” Ida gave her an apologetic glance, and Heather made a face.

“Explain that.” Jack wanted to know.

“You must understand that everyone in Drei-Gewalten has psychic ability, hence the name of our town meaning three forces—mind, body, energy. The majority of our people have better senses, faster reflexes, nothing too powerful, and nothing that you couldn’t overcome with ease. But the council and a few of the first families, they could be troublesome.”

“First families?” he asked.

“The ones who first settled here,” Ida answered. “Like the Baers, a very powerful family. Ernst and Klaus, Ralf Baer’s sons, have developed…feelings…for Heather. The only thing that’s been keeping them from pressing their attentions is my connection to her. As you know, she’s not really my niece, but my name has weight here. Four generations of Wurtzes have been born and died in Drei-Gewalten. We all have wisdom and an affinity for the Source. Those in town respect my years here, even the Baers. But I’m afraid my influence won’t outlast young Ernst’s desire. That boy in particular wants to claim Heather for his own. And he normally gets what he wants.”

Over my dead body. Jack couldn’t have said why he felt so bothered by the thought, but he didn’t like bullies, and harming innocents, even a woman with power like Heather, went against everything he stood for. It was obvious from watching her reactions that Heather wanted little to do with either Baer.

He changed the subject to something more important than his stupid feelings, which had no place on the job. “So how do we leave town to find this Source? Just go through the gate? And this Jan guy. He knows who I am?” He still didn’t like that.

“Yes, he does. I’m sure it’s been passed all over town that you and Heather are involved. You fit together, and your energy is in tune. If I hadn’t known you’d never met before, I would have thought you lovers in truth.”

“Ida.” Heather wouldn’t look at him.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Jack growled.

“It means that when Heather disappears, it will be assumed you’re with her. She has to reach the Source, and soon. Her instructions were quite clear.”

“Instructions?”

Ida continued, “She must reach the Source before the next full moon in three days’ time. It’s on a trail accessible only through the mountains, a good two days’ walk from here. The problem is that only a chosen few are allowed to visit the Source. It’s the energy that empowers the town, and so much more. The people here are very protective of it.”

“Great,” Jack muttered.

“Yet because we are so protective, there will be no one nearing the clearing until after the full moon. It will be difficult for you two to be there when the power is at its zenith, but it’s necessary, I think. And you have to take Chronicles with you,” Ida insisted.

“I know. It says it in the book.” Heather nodded.

“You two cannot afford to be caught. Especially because it won’t be long before Ralf has your last name, Heather. He’s been digging since you got here, and Jan and I are at the end of our tether. That’s another reason why you have to leave tonight.”

“Christ. This gets more bizarre every time I learn more.” Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. “I still don’t understand why being a Stallbridge is so bad. She’s worth millions. Can’t she bribe her way to this Source?”

Heather frowned at him. “Apparently my family did something to this town when my great-grandfather Johann was here. The Baers hold a mean grudge.”

“They do.” Ida nodded. “But it’s more than that, and not what’s important right now.”

“So you got your instructions from Chronicles, is that right?” Jack asked Heather, needing her to step him through it. So many facts were running through his head, and none of them made any sense. His head started to hurt.

Heather nodded.

“I’ve seen Chronicles.” Jack wished now that he’d never laid eyes on the thing. “In it, there’s nothing but lurid crap about your great-grandfather’s favorite sexual positions. Sorry, but it’s true.”

Ida grinned. “Johann was such a creative fellow.”

Jack exchanged a look with Heather before Ida spoke again.

“Oh, you two. He had skill with a pen, is all I’m saying. He could imbue objects with hidden messages, the kind which can only be read by someone like Heather.”

“How’s that?” Jack studied Heather with curiosity.

“I’m a healer,” Heather said softly. “Not only physical hurts but psychic ones too. It cost my great-grandfather to share what he did in that book. I can read his pain in the words no one else seems able to see. Ida helped, but even she couldn’t see everything that I could.”

Jack wondered why anything surprised him anymore. He worked with a pyrokinetic, a telepath, and a levitator, for God’s sake. He’d met people who could change into something not entirely human. He himself could shift his shape, mimicking anyone he’d ever touched, male or female. What the hell constituted normal in his world, anyway?

Ida sipped her tea. “Chronicles is beyond even what I consider normal in a town full of psychic energy. But Heather must find the Source to understand.”

“Understand what?” Jack asked.

“Everything.”

A simple answer, and one that told him absolutely nothing.

To Heather, Ida said, “You’ll find what you’ve been looking for next to the backpack on your bed.”

Heather tore out of the living room and returned moments later, carrying the book and a stuffed backpack. “You found it and packed my things?”

“You have a journey to make, and it’s past time you made it. I’d hoped your grandmother might one day return to finish things, but she never came. Not that she could have done much good. It’s now up to you.” Ida turned to Jack. “Your things are at Jan’s house. Jan has visions of the future. He’s known you were coming for some time, and he took your things from your car. Between us, we shielded your information from the others, but it’s wearing thin, especially since you and Heather are together now. The town is buzzing with curiosity.”

He didn’t trust the sly smile she shot him.

“Things are finally unfolding.”

“I wish I understood what the hell you’re talking about.” At some point, what she said had to make sense.

“For now, know that you’ve found Owen’s sister. You would be smart to keep your identities as Heather Wurtz and Jack Harmon at the forefront of your minds, at least until you start on the trail. Steer clear of the Baers, and remember that I’m a friend.”

“And Jan?” Jack asked.

“Jan helps now because he must, but the time will come when you two will be solely on your own.” Her gaze intensified. “Listen well, Jack. Ralf Baer can kill you without blinking twice, and no one will ever find your body. You’re away from everything you know out here, in this place that shouldn’t exist but does. Away from reason in a land ruled by instinct and supernatural power.”

“Ida?” Heather asked softly. “You’re starting to scare me.”

“I like you, Heather. I don’t want to see you hurt. Your grandmother was a good friend of mine, as was your great-grandfather. I promised them that if they ever needed me for anything, I’d help in any way I could, and I always keep my word. But I’ve done all I can do. Now it’s up to you.”

“I’ll do my best. I’ll find the Source with the map and compass you gave me.”

Ida shook her head. “That’s only half the battle, dear. Not where but how to get there, that’s the important part of your journey.” She stared at Jack with eyes so bright they seemed to glow. “Only together will you find the Source. Only together will you find lives worth living.”

Jack snorted. “A little dramatic, aren’t you? What—”

Her voice, when she finished, rang with an authority he couldn’t ignore. “Only together will you get out of the mountain alive.”

Chapter Three

Heather didn’t like it, but she couldn’t find a reason to dispute Ida. Everything the woman had done and said since her arrival had been to help her, not hinder. With Ida’s assistance, Heather had even made progress with Chronicles, deciphering the last bit of the buried instructions in the pages. If this had been nothing more than a treasure hunt, she would have abandoned her quest long ago. But for years, Heather had felt less than worthy of her last name. She had no real business sense and didn’t like the myriad society balls and parties she’d been required to attend while growing up, when her parents had been alive.

Now she finally had a chance to contribute to the family, and without Owen’s interference. She had to do this.

Her part in the Stallbridge family fortune had been limited. She often let her brother control her votes during corporate meetings and contented herself by comanaging a few of their nonprofit organizations when she wasn’t devoting herself to healing those in need. All across North and South America, wherever and whenever called, she’d answered to a higher power, drifting like a nomad from hurt to hurt.

More than physical illness, Heather sensed and healed spiritual pain.

And speaking of healing…

She studied Jack, who watched her every move. Ida had gone down the block to visit with Jan for a while, leaving Heather and Jack to deal with each other. Not good. Heather really could have used the older woman’s presence to ease the growing tension.

That kiss earlier had nearly fried her senses. Pretending to be calm while her entire body yelled at her to hop on Jack and ride him into tomorrow had been the most difficult thing she’d ever done. Even now she could still taste him, a hint of hops from the beer he’d drunk mixed with his own brand of sexual aggression. All male and overpowering.

God, she’d never been with anyone so overwhelming. Beneath the flesh and blood, energy raged within him. The Source only added to his power, and she’d been drugged on him since that first hug.

Something about him intrigued her. She’d never gone for the bad-boy type. Heather studied him, saw those huge fists, the thick thighs, the broad chest, the square jaw. His eyes snapped with power, so light they looked almost unnatural.

“What?” he growled, watching her watch him. “Afraid now? A little late, don’t you think?”

“Get over yourself.”

She blinked in surprise, as shocked as he by her aggression. Heather was nice to everyone. Even Klaus and Ernst Baer, the heavy-handed creeps who’d tried to take way too many liberties at last week’s beer fest. To Ernst, she’d politely declined his company. She’d smiled at Klaus, carefully skirted him, and latched on to Jan, who’d been walking by at the time.

But Jack confused, annoyed, and scared her because he made her want him more than was healthy. More than was normal. She had a feeling that if she let him, he could disrupt her well-ordered world even more than Chronicles had. Heather knew that eventually this adventure would end. With Jack, she had the sense he’d stay with her, in thought if not in the flesh.

They stared at each other in silence.

“You know, you’re not what I expected,” he finally said.

“Oh? Care to explain what that means?”

He evaded the question. “Your brother asked me to find you. He was worried.”

Of course, Owen would be. The control freak didn’t like that she hadn’t called when he’d commanded. She loved him like crazy, but she had to do this without his interference. He wasn’t the one to make things right. She was, because she’d been the one to read the code hidden in the book. Only she could fix what her great-grandfather had broken. She had to go it alone.

Then again, Jack could be classified as interference, and Ida had clearly inferred Heather needed him. So perhaps she wouldn’t be as alone on this trip as she’d initially thought.

“You’re pretty,” Jack said bluntly. “Beautiful, actually.” His gaze went from her head to her toes and lingered in between.

She wished to hell her body wouldn’t respond, but for some reason, Jack got to her.

“But it’s more than that.” Jack rose from the couch and approached. Half of her wanted to flee; the other half forced her to remain and wait for the worst. “See, here’s the thing that bothers me. You say you can heal. Your mind is strong. But then, Owen’s powerful, so I’d expect you to be like him. But you’re more.”

“More, how?” she asked on a breath, once again too close to him and sizzling under their shared chemistry.

“What can you do, exactly? What’s your gift besides healing?” he asked as he put his hand on her shoulder.

She grew wet, her nipples stiffened, and she felt herself wanting to lean into his heat. Heather licked her dry lips and tried to answer without sounding as desperate as she felt. So she’d been without a boyfriend for months. Sex hadn’t been that high on her priorities for a while. But it had never been so all-consuming a desire as it was right now.

It had to be the Source influencing her arousal.

“Tell me,” he whispered. His breath fluttered over her mouth when he leaned closer.

She swallowed hard. “I told you. I heal, physically and psychically. All types of wounds.”

“So you’re empathic, then?” He put his other hand on her other shoulder and started rubbing, a gentle massage that made her boneless in seconds.

“N-no. Not empathic. I just sense the hurt and fix it.” She moaned. “Oh wow. That feels so good.”

“You’re tense.” His low voice barely registered. “Tight, smooth, and wet, I’ll bet,” he added in a growl before he kissed her again.

That first time, she’d been caught off guard. As fast and heavy as their interlude in the alley had been, she’d thought she could have stopped him before they grew too serious. But right now, she could do nothing but follow his lead, caught up in the man touching her.

Right now, Jack didn’t feel wounded at all. He surrounded her with his raw masculinity. Consumed by his scent, Heather breathed him in and clutched his thick shoulders. Her lips softened under his, and she opened her mouth wider when he penetrated with his tongue and took charge.

He groaned and walked her backward until she felt the wall behind her. Jack lifted her as if she weighed nothing and wrapped her legs around his waist. One hand held her up while the other found her breasts and played. Under her sweater, he pinched her nipples, and she ground against the hard ridge of his erection between her legs, cursing the jeans that separated them.

“Need to fuck you so bad,” he muttered against her ear, then kissed the sweet spot just under it. He fiddled with their clothes between them while he kissed her beyond sanity.

She lost her ability to think as they touched and caressed, before she realized he’d let go of her breast to unsnap her jeans. But what struck her most was that theirs wasn’t an animalistic coupling so much as a passionate exploration. The raging lust was there, but Jack didn’t pounce or grope her, not the way Ernst had. Jack gentled and stroked. He seduced with surety and ease.

Her shoes, pants, and panties dropped to the floor before he took her ass in his hands and lifted her again, aligning her with his waist.

“Yeah, baby. That’s it.” He kissed his way down her neck and sucked hard.

The small bite of pain had her crying out in pleasure. And then something thick and hot prodded between her naked thighs. She hadn’t felt him undo his own jeans, but she didn’t care. Not when he entered her and kept pushing. God, he was huge.

“So fucking tight. Let me in. Oh Christ.”

Jack continued to thrust, and she stared into his light-colored eyes, taken with the need there. The hunger for her. She dragged his mouth to hers and sighed into him. He felt so big, stretching her until he finally stopped moving. “Jack,” she whispered against his lips.

He groaned and kissed her back, then started moving again. In and out, at first gentle, then ramming harder and faster. She wanted more, and she arched off the wall to grind against him, loving the feel of his thick intrusion.

Nothing but having Jack come inside her, filling her up, made any sense. And then he tilted his hips and shifted, and she was coming, gripping him inside her while he stole her breath.

He pulled away from her mouth and buried his face in her shoulder. “Oh fuck. I’m coming. So hard. Yes.” He shoved deep one last time and stilled.

She swore she could feel him emptying, and she welcomed his bliss, letting it caress her own as she held him tight.

A few moments passed before he started to move again, slow thrusts while her legs remained wrapped around him as he took her there, against the wall.

Against Ida’s wall, in Ida’s house, where she might return at any moment.

Heather wanted to feel more embarrassed about her lack of restraint, but she was still coming down off her high. Jesus. Jack had given her an orgasm to end all orgasms. She’d come so hard around him. In fact, she felt something wet trickle down her inner thigh.

He came inside me.

They both froze and stared at each other.

Jack rasped, “Oh shit. I didn’t mean… I didn’t use anything.”

No protection.

“I, ah, I’m on birth control. And you don’t have to worry about disease with me. I can heal, remember? I’m never sick.” One thing Heather could definitely ensure—her ability to cure disease, wounds, anything physical short of death.

“Me too. About being clean. I always use protection.”

Jack sounded baffled, and she had a feeling he’d been taken as much by surprise as her.

“Before now.” He started to withdraw from her but didn’t move more than an inch before he surged back inside. “Fuck. I need to pull out, I know. But…”

To Heather’s shock, he was still hard.

“I can’t explain it. It’s you,” Jack protested, and he didn’t sound happy about it.

Before Heather could think to complain, he shoved even deeper inside her, and she gasped. Such pleasure, such intensity in their joining. She watched him watching her as he fucked her, each jolt sending a spear of pleasure through her tired body.

“God, you’re hot.” Jack groaned as he looked down at her chest. “I want to suck them. Pull up your sweater.”

She wanted him to, so she pulled up her sweater and tugged down one cup of her bra. He latched on to her nipple and sucked, and a burst of heat surged between her legs. He held her with little effort, taking her like he had every right.

Heather wanted to be upset over the situation, but she felt too weak to protest. Instead she pulled down the other side of her bra and demanded, “Suck this too.”

Was that her? That needy, hoarse woman crying out when he nipped her breasts and tightened his teeth around her nipples?

Jack pulled away from her breasts and kissed her, sucking her willpower while fucking her into submission once more. He mashed his pelvis against her and surged deeper into her womb, and she moaned into his mouth, awash in the sensation of being possessed by a force greater than her own.

By Jack.

She didn’t realize she’d started to mentally reach into the dark areas of his essence before she layered his energy with her own. Jack thrust harder, faster, and she met him push for push, needing the darkness, needing the power latent in an equal, worthy lover.

He moaned and shuddered, and his second orgasm set off her own, the release of his energy addicting, such a rush. She held him to her and took everything.

And in that moment, she knew this journey would become much, much more complicated than she ever might have imagined.

JACK COULDN’T DO more than float in pleasure as he finished coming inside Heather. For the second time without protection. It made sense not to worry about disease if she could heal, and she’d said she was on birth control, but fuck it all, he hadn’t known that the first time he’d had unprotected sex with her. Where the hell was his common sense? Leeched out of him by the hottest pussy and tightest ass he’d ever felt, apparently.

He groaned and withdrew, aware of the mess he’d made. He’d come hard, and to his shock, a big part of him liked that he’d come inside her.

“I have to clean up,” she said with a calm she couldn’t possibly be feeling. She stared down at his cock, now finally flagging.

Did she like what she saw? He was still covered in cum and her cream and that heady scent of sex between them.

“Yeah.” He didn’t know what to say or do. He’d never been so out of his mind in lust. Not ever. And he’d felt nothing but joy while taking her. No recriminations or upset about being led by his dick.

Just like he’d been with Melissa.

Stunned he’d been so stupid, he could only watch as she reached for her clothes on the floor, then turn and walk quickly and steadily down the hall, presumably toward the bathroom.

Jack shook his head and quickly cleaned himself up in the kitchen using some paper towels and lemon hand soap. Christ, now he’d smell lemons and think of Heather and sex.

He waited for her in the living room, wondering how to handle this. Pretend it hadn’t happened? Apologize? He couldn’t exactly accuse her of leading him on, not when he’d kissed her first. But then, Melissa had once used a psychic to manipulate him into doing all sorts of distasteful things. Maybe Ida had worked some mind magic on him before leaving him alone with Heather. Getting him all primed and pumped on that addictive Source as well as Heather’s fine body.

Heather returned to the living room with her hair in a braid, which emphasized the delicate features of her face. She was fully dressed and calm. But when she met his gaze, she blushed a bright red. She looked so damn sweet, embarrassed yet meeting him eye to eye. He didn’t know what to think about her. He trusted Owen, when he trusted few people, and this was Owen’s little sister.

Oh shit. Yet another complication to add to this mess.

“I, ah…” Heather paused. “I don’t know what to say. I want to blame the energy around us, but we kind of suit. I think. I mean, I could be wrong. But I don’t normally have sex with strangers.” She glared at him, her cheeks a bright pink, as if waiting for him to blame her for something.

“Okay.”

She looked taken aback. “Okay?”

“I believe you.” And son of a bitch, he did. He couldn’t have said why. He didn’t trust people he didn’t know. Melissa had screwed him over royally, and he thought he’d more than learned his lesson then. But this entire day had been one of the strangest in his life, and against all reason, instinct told him to trust her. Heather had made him feel so good. Twice. “I can’t tell you why that happened.” He sighed. “I mean, yeah, you’re sexy as hell. I’m attracted to you.” Any man would be. He didn’t see a weakness in telling that truth. “But I don’t fuck around on the job.” Not anymore.

She seemed relieved, and he felt better for having eased her worry.

Again, he hated that he felt manipulated somehow. Yet he couldn’t get a handle on his feelings. Even before he’d come to Drei-Gewalten, he’d felt something for Heather because of her stupid picture, the one no longer burning a hole in his front pocket. Not since he had the real thing right in front of him.

“Let’s just blame it on the Source. Makes more sense than anything I can come up with,” she murmured.

He nodded and forced himself to take a mental step back. He couldn’t have feelings for her. Nothing more than a bad case of lust. She was a job, period. End of story.

“Good.” She let out a breath. “My pack is ready to go. I have everything I need to get to the Source and back. When it gets darker, we’ll head to Jan’s to get your pack. Then hopefully we’ll finish this and get the hell out of this weird town. I love Germany, but Drei-Gewalten is more than I’d planned on dealing with.”

“Yeah.” Another thing that had been bothering him. “Heather, you said you tried leaving but couldn’t.”

“About the fourth day here, I wanted to go, Chronicles or no Chronicles. Ida had me convinced it wasn’t safe to stay here. These people can really hold a grudge. And they hate the name Stallbridge with a passion. It’s weird, but the animosity is still very much alive more than a century after some old feud.”

“So Ida said.”

“Their laws are archaic. A Stallbridge can be put to death on sight. The Baers don’t like you? They can throw you in jail. No due process, no right to counsel. Just locked up.” She looked at him with clear green eyes. “I don’t like any of the Baers, but Ernst is the worst. He’s grabby and doesn’t like to be told no.”

Jack wanted to haul her into his arms and promise to protect her from all harm. Then he wanted to find Ernst Baer and beat the shit out of him. So he did neither and waited for her to continue.

“But I was nice about rejecting him, and he’s giving me time.” She snorted. “As if a few days will make me drop my pants.” She met Jack’s gaze and turned bright red. “I mean, with you it was… It’s just… I didn’t mean…”

“Trust me. I get it.” It helped to see her so flummoxed, experiencing the same confusion he felt.

“Right.” She blew out a breath. “Well, so I tried to leave. I’d get close to the yellow gate, and one of the townspeople would find me. Then I’d be drinking cocoa or dancing at a festival. They have parties around here just about every day. It was like I was under a spell, because I’d get near that gate, and then someone would just appear right next to me.”

“What about the road? That’s how I got here.”

“I saw you on the road. I tried to go that way, but believe it or not, if you walk a few feet past the bend, where you came from, it dead ends in forest.”

“Not possible.” He’d driven for miles on that road. He sure the hell hadn’t been four-wheeling through the forest in his rental car.

“It shouldn’t be, but it is. All the other paths in town lead back to the main street. Trust me; I’ve tried to get away. This place is so off from anything I’ve been around, and I’ve been around some really weird stuff.”

Heather shook her head, the end of her braid just brushing the tips of her breasts. Breasts Jack had recently sucked but hadn’t seen, not really. He’d have to remedy that next time.

Next time? Internally shaking free of lustful thoughts that had no place in a mission, he focused on her words.

“I’ve talked about me. What about you?” she asked.

“Me?”

She nodded. “Owen said you’re special, that you and the people who work with you are psychic. Is that right?”

What the hell. Owen knew, and both he and Heather were psychic themselves. It couldn’t hurt to tell her. “I was part of the government’s Psychic Warfare Program, one of the original members of the PWP, in fact. We lasted a few years before some idiot bigwig took control of the program from the admiral running it and ruined everything. Psychic power for personal gain is a big no-no. It made the powers that be nervous about how strong we’d gotten.”

“So you just quit?” She sounded skeptical.

“We had a choice to be reassigned or start over. That admiral I mentioned? He’s a good guy and has friends in high places that took care of us. Not that he didn’t owe us a few favors for service above and beyond.” He missed Admiral London, though he didn’t miss the admiral’s wife. Not quite human, powerful beyond belief, and the woman had a habit of interfering in his life too many times to call it coincidence.

He wondered about this weird fascination with Heather. He understood her physical appeal. Hell, he had a pulse. But he wanted to know more about the whole package, and it had nothing to do with the mission and everything to do with getting closer to the woman on a personal level. “So what do you do when you’re not playing with cursed pornography?”

She sighed. “Chronicles isn’t porn, and it’s not cursed. Like I told you before, I can heal what’s broken. That applies to more than broken bones but to broken organizations as well. I tweak psychic energy to make it more in tune. Like with the Stallbridge charity organizations. I usually audit them twice a year to make sure everything is on the up-and-up. I can tell when the energy is fractured.”

“Yeah?” He wondered if she sensed anything about him. He disliked the notion of being easy to read.

She nodded. “This town is so full of energy that it’s hard to read anyone unless I’m actually touching or standing near them.” Her deep green gaze fastened on his. “You’re very strong, but you have deep wells of pain. I didn’t mean to but touched them earlier.”

“I felt it.” He’d sensed her trespass, but the gentle touch, the lightening of his pain merged with pleasure, had distracted him from her encroachment. “Don’t do it again,” he growled.

She didn’t respond, just stared at him with those big beautiful eyes. Her gaze traced his face, and he had a hard time not taking her against the wall again. The woman had a strong effect on his libido that didn’t make sense. Unless she was fucking with him, and he couldn’t see it.

“Are you trying to mess with my head?”

Her eyes widened. “No. Why?” She sounded nervous and lowered her voice. “Is something attacking you? I don’t sense anything, but I could be wrong. Are you hurting anywhere?” She stepped forward and grabbed on to his arm, then closed her eyes. She opened them seconds later. “I don’t sense any pain, well, other than what was there before.”

“Damn it. I said cut it out.” His growl sounded more like an embarrassing purr when she stroked his forearm.

She seemed lost in thought. “You’re huge. I mean, you must work out all the time.”

He had to clear his throat to respond. Damn, but around this woman, his cock was on fire and ready to slide inside her again. “I have to work out. It helps me stay in control.” Actually, the genetic manipulation that had enhanced his natural psychic ability years ago, courtesy of the US government, had also increased his sensitivity to stimulation. Jack had to physically work out to control his psychic and emotional stability.

That need for continual physical activity had made a gym the ideal place to start a new life. The workouts kept him and the team sane, provided income, and served as the perfect cover to blend into normalcy.

“I like to work out too,” Heather said.

“There are better ways to burn off stress than lifting weights.” Jack stared at her fingers stroking his arm. She looked small next to him, yet Heather was no petite female.

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” He took her hand and guided it to his cock pressed hard against his jeans. When she gripped him tight, he swore. “Fuck, yeah.”

The sound of Ida’s voice and the jiggling of the front doorknob jerked them apart, and Jack turned to head into the kitchen. He doused his overeager libido by downing a huge glass of water. Then he took another and clutched the kitchen sink for support. He controlled his emotions. He wasn’t controlled by them. What the fuck was Heather doing to him?

Ida entered the kitchen. “Ah, good. Heather tells me you two have come to an understanding. The sun has set, so it is time to go, yes?”

Jack nodded. “Yes.” Sooner I get Heather back, the sooner I can get her the hell out of my head.

“You mean heart,” Ida corrected with a wink.

Had she just read his mind? Before Jack could ask what the hell she’d meant, Ida hobbled to the door.

“Heather, grab your pack. Jack, time to meet Jan. And remember, it will take both of you to get off the mountain alive.”

It took him a minute to realize she spoke about him and Heather, not him and Jan. “Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. “Let’s just meet this Jan guy and get the hell gone.”

“Amen,” Heather said with feeling.

Chapter Four

Heather waited with Jack in Jan’s overlarge living room. Ida’s cottage fit the older woman—small, comfortable, and cozy. Jan’s had the exact opposite feel, much like the man himself. The space was dark, overpowering, and made her claustrophobic. He’d decorated his walls with stuffed animal heads, and the eyes following her as she moved gave her the creeps.

Jack adjusted the straps of his backpack. “I’m still not happy you broke into my car.”

Jan smiled. Though silver-haired, he had a large, rangy build and a spry step. His dark eyes saw much, but he spoke only when he had something important to say. The entire town steered clear of him in a bad mood, and on nights like these, when the clouds cast an eerie shadow over the town and, in particular, over Jan’s house, Heather could well believe the man as possessed as the children claimed him to be.

Jack sighed when Jan remained silent. “We’re going to do this the hard way, then?”

They stared at each other, and Heather could feel the psychic tension building. She glanced at Ida, who shrugged.

“Jack, we should—” Heather started to say, when Jan laughed.

“Full of power, this one.” He clapped Jack on the back, but Jack didn’t flinch. “Strong too. You’ll need that. The mountains are cold.” Jan had given them both sleeping bags they’d strapped to their packs. “The way to the Source is dangerous but necessary.”

“Whatever. How about you tell me how you know who I am?”

“I see what’s important.” Jan tapped his forehead. “Jack Keiser, you’d best be touching me and taking me with you.”

Jack’s face darkened, but he gripped Jan’s hand tight before letting go. Now what was that all about? Jack hadn’t said anything about his own psychic abilities. Heather could see his monstrous strength apparent in the way he moved, how he’d held her up so easily, and in the shape and feel of his massive muscles. But psychically, what could he do?

Jack let go of Jan’s hand. “Right. We have to go.”

Jan nodded. “Down this street, take a right at the second alley. Heather, it’s the one by Heidi’s house. Everyone’s at Edda’s tonight celebrating Edda’s new tea blend. Ida and I will be going, and we’ll tell them you decided to spend some time alone together. You have until tomorrow afternoon, I’d imagine, before the others grow suspicious when they don’t see you. Make the most of it.”

“You’d imagine? I thought you saw things,” Jack asked.

“Not everything, unfortunately. I know what I know, and nothing more.”

Jack nodded, accepting the explanation more easily than Heather first had.

As she studied her new partner, Heather thought he looked intimidating. And sexy as hell.

She flushed, remembering what they’d done not an hour ago in Ida’s house. She hated that she wanted to do it again. Jack and she had barely broken the ice. She knew his name and that he worked with her brother in Bend. And that he was psychic, somehow. She knew nothing else about him except how he felt inside her. He hadn’t even been very nice to her during the short time they’d been acquainted, except for those killer orgasms.

So why did she want to know everything about him?

“You coming?” he asked in that growl that made her want to shiver.

“Yes.” She hugged Ida and Jan, thanked them, then put her pack on and followed Jack out the door. She’d save her questions for later, when they’d put some distance between town and themselves.

An hour later, she figured they’d entered a safe enough zone, far enough from the town that she could talk in a low voice and not worry about being overheard. If anyone had ventured out, they wouldn’t be on the path toward the Source, not when unauthorized visits were forbidden and punishable by town law.

Wind pushed the clouds around, and the moonlight filtering through the trees above made the forest look friendly—a lot less intimidating than the man currently glaring back at her.

“What?” she asked, forcing herself not to snap at him.

“Just making sure you’re still there. You’re surprisingly quiet for a woman.”

“Thanks.” She rolled her eyes, liking him less the more he spoke. “So what’s your deal?” Why do you carry such large burdens of pain and suffering?

He turned back around and lengthened his pace, forcing her to hurry to keep up. “My deal?”

She refused to let him goad her. Nice Heather had returned, and nice Heather would remain in control. “You know I can heal. What exactly can you do?”

Jack didn’t answer, and for a while she didn’t think he would. A few minutes later, he stopped and leaned against a tree. He took out a water bottle and downed the contents. His “You should drink” sounded more like an order than a request to her, but she needed to hydrate, so she didn’t argue.

After drinking half her water, she put the bottle away.

“I’m in charge of the psychics at home,” Jack finally answered. “Squad leader, you could say. I have a gift for cutting through bullshit to get things done.”

She could see that. Jack radiated power. “I’m guessing you lead by intimidation. That’s not exactly psychic.”

“You think? There are a lot of big guys out there, but not all of them can strike fear the way I can.”

He had a point. “So you just glare at people, and they get the sudden urge to obey you?”

He grinned, and holy Hannah, but the difference in a few facial muscles turned him from cold and sexy to downright handsome. She blinked.

“Why? You feel the urge to obey me, Heather?”

Did she. She swallowed around a dry throat. “N-no.”

“Too bad.” He licked his lips, his gaze intent on her mouth.

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Please.” She snorted. “I’m not buying that innocent look. What happened before… It can’t happen again. We have to get this done and get out of here.”

“Good point.” He stood straight and took a step toward her. “Care to explain what the hell we’re doing, tramping through the woods, on the run from psychic whack-jobs at eleven at night?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Enlighten me.” He crossed his arms, covered by the jacket he wore. She couldn’t see his bare arms, but she could almost feel the corded forearms under her palms, the way she had not long ago.

She bit her lower lip but hurriedly let it go when his gaze narrowed on her mouth. With a sigh, she answered him. “Chronicles was written by Johann Stallbridge. That you know. But what you don’t know is that he encrypted a message for one of his descendants. The first person to be able to read it has to act. And that’s me.”

“What do you have to do?”

“I’m not exactly sure yet.”

“Of course you’re not.”

“No, wait.” She hurried to explain, to get the look of disgust off his face. “I learned some things. But”—she gave him a stern look—“you can’t tell anyone about this.”

“Who would I tell?”

“I’m serious. Not even Owen knows.”

His eyes narrowed. “Okay.”

And like that, she trusted him. So strange. “My great-grandfather found out that he wasn’t the first of our family to visit the Source. His ancestors had come from this area hundreds of years ago. And he thought that’s why we have psychic abilities, because we were shaped by the power found here.” She paused, trying to find the right words to tell him without making her family look bad.

“Go on.”

“Johann decided to see the Source for himself. Back in 1886, he arrived, made friends, and settled into life here. But he wasn’t content to sit around and follow rules. He found the Source on his own. And then he took something. I’m not sure what, but I know I have to give it back.”

“Took something? That’s vague.”

“I know. Ida’s certain I’ll understand more when we reach the Source. It’s an area in an open field in the middle of the forest. She said I’ll know it when I get there. We’re on the right track. The closer we get to the Source, the more I feel power buzzing inside my brain.”

“Me too,” he rumbled.

“Yes, well, somehow my great-grandfather tapped into it, and it did something to him. He was always powerful. Ambitious, smart, and good at making money. But the Source turned him into a man able to see more, to be more. Apparently, wanting to hold on to his newfound abilities, he took something he wasn’t supposed to before leaving town. Now it’s up to me to put it back. According to Chronicles, the future of my family depends on it.”

Jack frowned. “You talking clairvoyance, as in Johann knew you’d all die one day if you didn’t put this right?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I felt his pain and worry in the book. There’s a bit more I haven’t deciphered, but I have a feeling the Source will clear the rest. I know this is bizarre, but I have to do this. I feel it.”

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t ask Owen for help. He’s your brother, and from what I can tell, he loves you a lot.”

She blew out a breath, not wanting another argument about how she should bend to Owen’s will and let big brother make it all better. She’d been hearing that her entire life and had finally had enough.

Jack stared at her, then shook his head. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll work this out with you so you can finish what you started. But if it gets too dangerous, we’re leaving.”

She frowned. “I’m glad for your help, but I don’t answer to you. If you feel you’re in danger, maybe you should go.” Truth be told, she was glad to have his steady presence to help her. The man exuded strength without trying, and for some reason, despite not really knowing much about him, he made her feel safe. But she didn’t like being told what to do all the time—the major reason she and Owen now butted heads.

Jack closed the distance between them and took her chin in his hand. He stared directly into her eyes, and their connection gave her tingles. The energy all around them wasn’t half as powerful as the energy between them.

“Honey, you might wrap Owen around your little finger, but not me. I’m here to bring you home safely. You should be thanking me for going even this far with you.” He glanced down at her mouth and muttered, “On your knees would be a good start.”

She flushed, wishing the thought didn’t turn her on. She’d never hurt for a healthy sex drive, but the last few years, she hadn’t cared overly about relationships. Meeting Jack had changed all that, and she wasn’t sure why. She cleared her throat, aware of the quiet around them punctuated at intervals by the whoosh of wind through the trees. “This isn’t the time or place for that kind of talk. We’re trying to stay one step ahead of the town, remember? Do your job. Be the professional my brother hired you to be.”

He bared his teeth at her, and she had the insane urge to poke him and see what he’d do. How could he look so mean and sexy at the same time?

“Don’t push me, Heather. Or you’ll find yourself flat on your back so fast your head will spin. And don’t even try giving me that look. We both know it won’t be rape.”

She felt her cheeks heat and glared at him. “No means no.”

He bent down and whispered a kiss over her mouth. “No?”

She tried to remain still, apart, but then he exerted more pressure, and the whisper became a gentle press of his lips, the surge of his tongue. Apart from his mouth, he didn’t touch her, yet she couldn’t pull away.

Against her better judgment, she let her body take charge and sighed into his touch. He firmed the kiss into sweeping sin and lit her from the inside out. She couldn’t be sure when he’d gripped her waist to hold her upright; she only knew she couldn’t stand without his help. Her backpack, the cold, the night disappeared as Jack’s touch and taste mesmerized her. Heat centered in her belly and moved through her like a burst of pleasure. Like it had in Ida’s house, their chemistry proved too much to resist. She wanted their connection again, to feel at one with her other half…

He pulled back and smiled, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “You saying no, sweetheart? ’Cause that sigh sounded a hell of a lot like yes to me.”

Her body shook, and she reached for him again, needing to quench her growing thirst for the man. It took her a moment to realize she’d been played. She pushed against him, and he let her go. Holy hell, since when did I become such a doormat? “Don’t be such a jerk.” She paused to catch her breath, alarmed when his gaze centered on her breasts, because she didn’t mind in the least, and she should have. “Okay, so we have attraction between us. So what? It still doesn’t mean I want to have sex with you when we have something more important to do.”

He snorted. “Tell yourself whatever you want. You want to fuck as much as I do.”

A glance down his front didn’t show her much, covered as he was by his jacket. Unfortunately, she knew all too well how he’d feel inside her.

Her cheeks felt hot enough to melt the snow off the mountaintop. “Fine. I like your body,” she emphasized and was pleased to see his frown. “I don’t know you well enough to like you. We had incredible sex, but we don’t know anything about each other.” She felt embarrassed to have this discussion, but maybe laying it out on the line would benefit them both. Jack seemed like a straight-up kind of guy. When he was annoyed, he certainly let her see it.

“I’m not asking for a freakin’ date.”

“Then what are you asking for?” She took the compass from his hand while he glared at her. Trust the moonlight to cast his face in marble perfection. Focusing on the compass, she stepped around him and continued in the direction they’d been heading. The compass helped, but the energy pulling her gave her the better sense of where to go. She followed the Source and tried to tune out Jack, hoping he’d stop pushing for sex.

Because God knew, she had little willpower when it came to him.

JACK STARED A hole through her backpack, wishing he knew what the hell he wanted from the stubborn, gorgeous female. That she had to be the one to remind him they had a mission to accomplish pissed him off to no end. Jack kept his head. Jack fulfilled his duties and never—with the exception of that one huge clusterfuck years ago—failed to succeed.

Yet all of him wanted to sink between Heather’s thighs and lose himself inside her. She fit him perfectly, and he actually forgot to think when having sex with her. No worries, no wounds or troubles, just pure, unadulterated pleasure.

How long had it been since he’d felt that? Hell, had he ever known such comfort?

He put his hand to his pocket, reminded of the picture of her he still carried. As if by holding on to it, he actually owned a piece of the real her. The woman muttering to herself in front of him was so much more than a two-dimensional rendering. She claimed they didn’t know much about each other. Not true. Jack knew a hell of a lot about Heather Anne Stallbridge.

Before he’d agreed to go on this mission, he’d had a thorough talk with Owen. The guy gushed about Heather so much that Jack had suggested she be canonized a saint. Owen had laughingly agreed. Heather spent her life as a vagabond, helping those in need. She didn’t do it for the money; she had no need of financial aid. Instead she had a craving to heal, to assist those less fortunate than herself.

She regularly gave to charity, healed the sick, and never had an unkind word to say about anyone. Well, anyone but him, apparently. He recalled how she’d talked to him. The woman wasn’t a pushover, but her recent emotional distance from her brother had concerned Owen enough to step in. Though Heather traveled the world, she often went with the people Owen provided to protect her—pilots, bodyguards, and a personal secretary.

When she’d left Baltimore, her current place of residence, without taking any of them or letting them know she might be leaving, Owen had naturally worried.

Jack followed her in silence for the next few hours, content to let her lead the pace as his mind puzzled over how to handle his attraction to her. The moon continued to provide assistance, and they walked through the forest shadows without flashlights. Heather stopped so suddenly, he would have run into her if he hadn’t been so attuned to their surroundings.

“I think we should call a halt. It’s close to three in the morning.”

Jack stopped with her and looked around. Oh joy. More shadows and trees. They didn’t seem to be walking along a prescribed path, for which Jack was grateful. No need to follow any manmade trail to the Source that the whole town used. They were off the map, so to speak. Now to find a place to bunk down…

To the far right, he noticed a large wealth of rock obscured by some thick tree trunks. “Wait here.” He turned and left Heather sputtering behind him. Good. Let her stew over blanket orders. The woman needed to be reminded of who was really in charge of their expedition.

He found what he’d hoped to find and returned to her. “There’s a cave we can take shelter in. It’s not deep, and nothing else is in there.” He held his flashlight by his side. “There’s a small stream to the side too. You can hear it.”

She nodded. “Yeah. That will work.”

He lifted a brow. “Glad you approve.” Then he turned and left her muttering to herself behind him. Once inside the cave, he switched on the lantern function of the flashlight and made note of the dimensions he had to work with. Letting his pack drop gave his back a nice respite. The pack hadn’t been heavy, by any means, and much less than he was used to carrying on a mission. A quick check earlier had shown one change of clothing, extra socks, his gun, ammo, some trail food, and a few bottles of water—similar to what Ida had packed for Heather, minus the gun. They had enough for a few days in the woods, but much longer out here, and he and Heather would need to find real sustenance.

She joined him and put her pack down. She watched as he kicked a few rocks away from where he planned to make their main sleeping area. He wondered what kind of stink she’d make when she realized they’d be sleeping together.

Jack took his sleeping bag, unzipped it, then put it on the cold, hard ground. “I need your bag.”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“Give me your sleeping bag. I won’t fit in that tiny sack Jan gave me. And it’s cold enough out that we’ll need to share body heat to stay warm. My bag on the bottom, you and me inside, and yours on top. I’ll keep my hands to myself if you will.” He paused and, seeing the mutiny in her expression, added, “If you can.”

Like her brother, she couldn’t resist a dare. She lifted her nose in the air. “Oh, I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.” She bent down and grabbed her sleeping bag, then tossed it to him. “Thanks for making up our little camp. I’m going outside to freshen up, but I’ll be back soon.”

He hadn’t heard anything or anyone nearby and didn’t worry about her being alone. After she returned, he left to take care of his own needs. He washed in the colder-than-hell stream but felt more himself, despite the lethargy dragging him down, and then returned to their camp. He’d had little sleep the past week, constantly on the lookout for Miss Priss, who eyed their sleeping arrangements with a frown.

“Problem?”

She whirled to face him. “Problem? No. Not really.”

“Take off your jacket and sweater. It’s best if we sleep in pants and boots, ready to go. But a T-shirt on top is best. I give off a lot of body heat, and together, we’ll generate enough warmth under the sleeping bag.”

Heather nodded and stripped out of her jacket and sweater. She wore a short-sleeved T-shirt underneath, one that clung to her curves. Then she practically killed him when she took the band out of her hair and shook out her braid. The strands of her honeyed hair curled around her face and teased her breasts.

He wanted nothing more than to unzip his jeans and free his aching cock. Then he’d order her to please him, and she’d beg so prettily to swallow his cum… Talk about one hell of a fantasy.

She lay between the downy blankets of nylon. “Ugh. I haven’t been sleeping on the ground in months. I’d forgotten how uncomfortable it can be.”

He hadn’t. Jack had been through all kinds of shit during his days working for the government, and some memories never faded, like bivouacking in the jungles when hunting cartels no longer on Uncle Sam’s payroll. Other ugly memories flashed in his mind’s eye, and, as usual, Melissa’s face intruded. But unlike the other times when he’d rage when thinking of her, Heather’s face superimposed over Melissa’s. This time, he felt nothing but desire.

“You okay?” She patted the spot next to her…in invitation?

After pulling the lantern and his loaded pistol close, he set the alarm on his watch and turned off the light. He stripped off his jacket and sweater and joined her under the cover, conscious of her prime, curvy body inches from his. To keep himself from reaching for her—be professional, asshole—he linked his hands behind his head and stared at the black ceiling, wide-awake.

“What’s wrong?” she asked in a whisper.

“Nothing,” he said in a thick voice, unable to disguise his arousal. “Get some rest. I’ll keep an ear out for trouble. I’m a light sleeper.” At this rate, he’d have nothing but a crick in his neck and an unending hard-on before the morning was out. Fuck. Had he really thought he’d be able to sleep next to her? Even after walking through most of the night, the woman smelled like roses.

Instead of rolling to her side away from him, she rolled closer. He felt her breath on his neck, and he tensed, unable to help it. Then the blasted woman put her hand on his chest. All the energy pulsing through the ground into him centered embarrassingly on his dick. He did his best not to react, until she started rubbing, brushing over his sensitive nipples through the thin cotton of his T-shirt.

Amazingly, arousal mixed with a soothing sense of peace, and his troubles seemed to lighten the more she touched. He found himself slowly easing into a comfortable intimacy, even as a part of him warned to be vigilant, not to trust her. When she asked him to share his troubles, he answered with only the slightest hesitation.

Chapter Five

Resting on her side, propped up on her elbow, Heather continued to siphon the demons plaguing Jack. Such deep wounds, a bevy of negative energy holding the big man down. He growled, and he snapped, but he’d been aware of her and careful to keep a pace she could handle. Even their sex, explosive as it was, had been for her pleasure before he took his own.

She sensed tenderness and love buried deep inside him, and though it wasn’t her place to explore areas in a person uninvited, she’d been itching to help him since they’d first met. It didn’t help that the Source stirred her to use her abilities. She’d felt almost on overload during their trek through the forest. But after dropping her pack, she felt a bit better, as if she could rest and not worry so much about everything.

With the townspeople far behind, she and Jack had some time to just be for a while.

He hadn’t been kidding about being hot. The moment she’d taken off her jacket and sweater, she’d started shivering. Even the cover over her hadn’t helped much. But a few seconds next to Jack, and she felt almost overheated.

Touching him was more than an idea, but a necessity. She had to connect again, even though she’d been telling herself throughout their journey to let him go. The sex had been phenomenal, but Jack was a bit of an arrogant jerk. Yet everything inside her called to him.

Now she took as much pleasure in sharing her energy with him as he no doubt felt from receiving it. He moaned under her touch and shifted on the ground. She wondered if he felt a tenth of the desire raging through her blood.

The craving to know more about Jack begged, and she asked him to share, knowing he’d probably regret it later. But by then it would be too late, and she’d have already siphoned off the bad energy making him such a bear to deal with.

“What do you want to know?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

“Why don’t you like me?” She noted he kept his hands locked behind his head, which gave her that much more room to work. What an incredible chest. The man had muscles on top of muscles, and she wanted to do a lot more than touch.

“I like you well enough,” he muttered. “Fuck. I like you a lot right now.” He shifted under her again, and she knew he battled the same desire she did. The knowledge relieved her worry that her extreme attraction might be one-sided.

“Then why are you so mean to me?” Heather wasn’t used to men acting so brusque around her. Most of them wanted to please her, to do anything to get her attention. She had the famous Stallbridge looks—blonde hair, green eyes, and good bone structure. But Jack didn’t seem to like wanting her. “Are you mad you’re here?”

“Yes and no.”

He moaned when her hand lowered to his amazing stomach. Such tightly packed muscle. She wanted to bite his belly, to see if she could.

“I don’t understand.” She drew away the anger festering inside him, the same energy that swelled whenever his thought patterns seemed to shift in a certain direction. Not for the first time did she wish she’d inherited her grandmother’s ability to read minds.

“I didn’t want to look for you. Owen’s a pain in the ass, but he needed the help.” He sighed with pleasure when she slid her hand under his shirt and stroked his bare flesh. His belly, his pecs, his shoulders. The man was like a heater, and he felt so wonderful under her hand.

“But when I saw you, I couldn’t say no,” he continued. “He gave me a picture, and something clicked.” He sounded baffled.

Since she felt the same upon first seeing him, she understood his confusion.

“I looked at the thing, like, twenty times a day. You’re hot, but damn, woman, it’s like I can’t stop myself from staring at you. I don’t know more than what Owen and you have told me about yourself. Except seeing you, kissing you… I feel like we’ve met before, like I’ve always known you. You know?”

She nodded and realized he couldn’t see her. “I do. You feel familiar too.” And you make me so wet. The notion a stranger could get to her like that worried her. “Tell me about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?” He arched into her touch and growled when her palm ran over his chest, grazing his tight nipples. “Fuck. Do that again.”

She turned the featherlight caress into a deeper massage, stealing his pain as she eased his tired muscles.

“Tell me anything. How did you get into the PWP? Were you always psychic? Have you ever been married? Do you have a girlfriend? Do you like your job?” Do you want me, or would any woman do? Is the Source making you attracted to me, or is it something else?

“Honey, you keep touching me like that, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

He sounded loopy, the way her most wounded patients often responded. The energy holding Jack down was powerful. Psychic wounds that ran deep.

“Fine. PWP… I was sixteen when I realized I could do things others couldn’t. I was stronger, faster, had better reflexes and senses. I would have joined the Marine Corps except the government came to me first. I was in college at the time. I don’t know how they knew, but they sensed I was different. Some of the men in my family tend to be like me.”

“Mmm-hmm.” She traced the muscles in his shoulders and biceps, getting a thrill at holding all that power under her hand.

“I served in the CIA, did some badass ops, to be honest. But I needed more. I became a black-ops wunderkind. Then Admiral London found me. He’s a great guy.” Jack sighed and lifted a hand from behind his head. He reached under the top cover and fiddled with his jeans. “Keep touching me. Here.” He dragged her hand lower, to the gap at his pants.

She knew what he wanted, and she had every intention of giving it to him. The Source, the danger, Chronicles, none of it mattered right now but getting closer to Jack.

“I will. Put your hand behind your neck again. Let me ease you.” Healing often put her patients in a suggestible state. The deeper the wounds, the easier they were to control when she worked on them. Jack did as she asked without protest, his low moan arousing in the extreme.

She ran her hand down the front of his groin, scratching lightly at the curls surrounding his shaft.

He hissed and bucked up, and she pushed his pelvis down again.

“Oh yeah. More.” He tilted his hips up. “Take me out. I’m aching, baby.”

“Tell me, Jack. Share yourself with me. Why do I bother you? Why are you so hurt all the time?”

“I can do things. Things other people can’t.”

His breathing became labored as she grazed his cock and continued to tease, massaging the base of his shaft and the taut muscle of his groin still trapped by his jeans.

“They changed me, gave me drugs to enhance my abilities. I became stronger and better, but the side effects were hard. And then I left the PWP. Without the drugs to maintain my changes, I get overly aggressive. I have to work out to keep myself in control. That or fuck,” he growled. “I want to fuck you, so bad. You don’t know. And it’s worse, because…”

She stopped touching him, needing to know more.

“No, don’t stop,” he gasped.

“Because why?” she urged and unbuttoned his jeans fully. He tilted his hips up without her having to ask, and she pushed his jeans down, freeing his heavy erection. She continued to push his pants down to his knees, enthralled that he’d gone commando. “Spread your legs as much as you can.”

He groaned but pushed his knees apart, and she sat up so she could use both hands to cup him. His balls were hard yet soft, and so hot. Like his cock, thick and plump and full.

“Yes. Oh fuck. Yeah. Kiss me there. Put your lips around me. You don’t know how many times I’ve dreamed this.” He moaned her name and pushed up into her hands.

She nudged the shifting sleeping bag off them and slowly stroked him, learning his feel as she slid her hands up and down his long, fat shaft. Rubbing his balls and grazing his thighs, she continued to fondle him, loving how he followed her lead. His submission was so unlike the Jack she knew, the man who took charge of everything.

“You want my mouth on you?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he hissed.

“Tell me what hurts. Why are you so angry, Jack?” she asked again, soothing his frayed anger with a psychic blanket of comfort, of safety.

“Melissa,” he said on a curse and pumped in time with her hands. “Bitch was my partner. A person I trusted. And she set me up. Her lover invaded my mind, made me think things that weren’t true. She nearly killed me.” He groaned. “Damn it. Jump on. Suck me. Make me come. I’m hurting, and I’m so close…”

She felt moisture over her palm, where his tip leaked. So aroused and thick. And she wanted to know more. “How long ago did this happen?”

He tensed when she leaned closer and blew over his cockhead. She heard rustling and felt his hands in her hair. He didn’t push her, though. He waited.

“Three and a half years ago,” he whispered.

She licked his slit, and he shuddered and gripped her hair harder. Not enough to hurt but to show her he neared the edge of his control.

“And?” she prodded, needing to know why he held himself back from her. Why he felt so empty and angry all the time.

“And I found her too late. She was dead, killed by her lover, probably.” He rubbed her scalp. “Fuck. I don’t want to think about her. I hate her.”

But you didn’t want her dead, did you? She felt his remaining pain, the real source of his hurt. It was more than rage, but a feeling of betrayal, and more, a sense of sadness. Jack seemed so tough and brutish. On the outside, he looked like a killer, a bear of a man who could crush his enemies with ease. Inside, he hungered for acceptance, even love. But he’d buried the need so far down, where it couldn’t hurt him anymore. Or so he thought. By shoving the pain so deep, he’d actually hurt himself more. He’d never be able to trust or love with that unease at his core.

Heather refused to let it fester. Even knowing he might hate her later for taking advantage, she freed him from his pain. Psychically ripping away the ache of betrayal, she put her lips over his cockhead and took him as deep into her mouth as she could before she gagged.

“Yes. Oh fuck. Please.” Jack surged up before bowing back down, his fingers tight on her head. He didn’t let go.

Power hummed through them both, her energy entwined with his, and as she sucked and accepted the feel and taste of him, he started pumping into her mouth, small bits of his seed coating her tongue.

“I’m gonna shoot hard inside you.” He sounded drunk. “Heather. Damn, girl. I knew you’d be like this. So beautiful. So fucking tempting. God, I want to eat you, then shove my cock deep and fill you all up.”

He continued to tell her the many ways he intended to pleasure her as she gave him what he needed. Heather took as much joy from the giving as he did from the blowjob. And then he shouted and came down her throat, his hands hard on her head.

“Coming. Coming so hard,” he groaned and emptied into her mouth.

She swallowed him all, in lust and scarily in love with the large man finally starting to heal. Oh my God. In love. Wasn’t it too early to fall this hard this fast? This close to him, her energy felt the many places where he’d given of himself, only to be hurt in return. She couldn’t heal all of him, and she knew she shouldn’t. Much of what Jack had sacrificed over his lifetime made him the man he was today. But that psychic wound Melissa had left scarred unnaturally.

Heather gave him back the heart that had been ripped apart, what should never have been taken to begin with.

He shuddered as she sucked the last bit of cum from him, then pulled away. Heather stroked him with her hand, amazed to find him still half-hard and hotter than fire.

The chill of night bit through her clothes, and she shivered, caught in the spicy taste of Jack Keiser and the mountain air.

“That was so fucking good.” Jack sighed.

She couldn’t see him with the flashlight off, could only hear his heavy breathing as he recovered from his orgasm. He didn’t bother pulling up his jeans, but he had to be cold.

“Do you want me to zip you up?” she asked softly, knowing he had to be near sleep.

“Not yet.”

He shocked her with his fast movements. In the course of a few moves, she somehow found herself under him, her shirt and bra off and her jeans parting under his clever hands.

“Jack. It’s cold.” But not the reason for her hard nipples.

“You’re wet, aren’t you?” he asked, a slight slur in his words belying his fast movements.

She felt bad for taking advantage of him, but he’d needed her help. Before she could answer, he shoved her jeans and underwear down to her thighs and put a finger inside her. She gasped at the intrusion, instinctively squeezing him inside her to keep him close.

“Oh yeah. Wet and hot. You little tease. You know how much I want to eat this fine pussy.”

He should have been worn-out from what she’d done. Instead he seemed more than ready to continue their loving.

“Jack,” she protested. “You should rest…”

“Not until I’m done. I need you.” He kissed her into silence, his finger moving in and out of her in slow thrusts. She squirmed, unable to help herself as he grazed her clit time and time again.

Jack left her mouth and fastened his mouth to her breast.

She would have shot off the ground if she’d had the strength. As it was, she managed to push more of her nipple into his mouth.

“You like that. Good, me too,” he murmured, and she swore she felt him smile against her as he spoke.

He continued to suck before turning to her other breast. His finger withdrew from inside her, but before she could mourn the loss, he found her clit and started rubbing.

She moaned and pleaded, begging him to end it. God, she needed to come.

“Not until I taste you,” he promised. “Then you can come around me.”

Hardly able to understand past the swirling energy raging inside her, she was dimly aware of him kissing his way down her belly. And then his lips were there, and he sucked her clit deep.

“Jack,” she sobbed, overwhelmed. The man vibrated with psychic need. No longer in pain, but in desperation to connect. Except he’d already bonded to her on a level she couldn’t explain. As he’d said, it was as if they knew each other, had known each other, for years. He found her sweet spots, and she knew how much he liked to be teased, excited, even challenged.

“Come over my mouth. Let me eat your pretty cunt,” he rasped, and his dirty talk enflamed her arousal.

Before she could obey him, because God knew her body wanted nothing more than to explode, he licked her once more, then left her.

“Jack, no…”

“Shh. It’s okay. That’s it.” He covered her and plunged deep in the span of a heartbeat. Then nothing about him gentled. Jack fucked her hard, kissing her while his tongue invaded her mouth and he owned her body. “Let me fill you up, baby. All mine. Damn.”

He rammed deep, and she couldn’t stop herself from coming hard, gripping him tight.

The pleasure so intense she saw stars, and she continued to come until he ground against her and cried out, spilling inside her. He gripped her hips to hold her tight, and she swore she felt him touch her womb. Impossible, yet he stretched her, leaving her completely full of nothing but Jack.

He pumped a few more times before stilling, and then he rained kisses over her cheeks, her chin, her lips. He kissed her shoulders and the top of her breasts, and then he leaned up, levering his weight off her.

“I wish I could see you right now,” he said, his voice thick. He kissed her again. “You taste so fucking sweet. Heather, God, you’re amazing.”

She gave a weak laugh. “No, that’s you. I can’t believe you came twice like that. Are you always so…raring to go?”

“Ha. I like that.” He chuckled and then moaned as he withdrew. “I left a big mess. I wish I had the strength to go again.”

She heard him yawn. Finally. He was human after all. So much energy passed between them, yet the man had been capable of two massive orgasms.

“Need to…clean you up.” He rolled to his side but didn’t move again.

She heard heavy breathing and smiled. Then she felt moisture between her legs and swore. She hurried to find something to clean up with, determined not to sleep in the inevitable wet spot left by Mr. Studly.

Except she stumbled in the dark, suddenly fatigued between one breath and the next. Even the ground under her, still throbbing with power, couldn’t overcome her weakness. She managed to find her shirt and cleaned herself before returning to the sleeping bag and the human heater breathing deeply beside her. She had a hard time keeping her eyes open and decided to use him as her personal mattress.

Naked from the waist up, her jeans now around her waist but still unfastened, she pulled the sleeping bag over them and closed her eyes, hoping this newfound peace would last.

* * *

Ernst Baer glared at his brother. The ass was fucking Nera in the town jail with the main door to the place wide open. Though most of the town had already gathered at Edda’s, their father might still come by and see. For all that Ernst believed in taking his pleasure wherever and whenever he felt like, he respected his father’s authority enough to know that the old man wouldn’t be pleased to see his son fucking the town whore in the same office where they conducted business.

Ernst crossed to the front door to shut and lock it, but he didn’t stop watching as his brother pounded Nera against the wall until he came. As usual, thoughts of sex brought Heather Wurtz to mind. Fuck if he’d been able to screw anyone without seeing her in his mind’s eye. Nera, Holly, even Bettina paled next to Ida’s beautiful niece. Great-niece, he amended.

How an old biddy like Ida could be related to someone as gorgeous as Heather still baffled him, but Heather’s connection to the old woman only emphasized how right she would look next to him. Sexy, smart, sweet, and a relation to one of the most powerful women in the village. Heather had finally returned to the place of her mother’s birth, and if Ernst had any say in it, she wouldn’t be leaving.

As usual, thoughts of Heather had him hard. His brother wanted her too, but Klaus always played second fiddle to Ernst. They both had power, but nothing like what their father could command. Ralf Baer could move things—and people—with his mind. A scary man to have on one’s bad side, but the old bastard loved his family. He wanted the best for his sons, and Ernst was his father’s favorite.

He stared at Nera, noting how she didn’t bother dressing when Klaus left to clean up. Instead she stood there, half naked with cum dripping down her leg, and watched him with knowing eyes. She wanted him, even though he’d told her they could never be. Her power was weak, her bloodline way below the first families who’d discovered the Source eight hundred years past.

“Funny how Heather never mentioned she had a boyfriend, isn’t it, Klaus?” she asked when Klaus returned fully dressed. She asked his brother, yet her bright eyes remained on him.

Ernst knew she wanted a reaction from him. He didn’t want to give her one, but he couldn’t help himself. He snarled, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Klaus answered, “She’s talking about that big bastard who arrived today. How did you miss that? According to Hans, you could feel the power seething through the guy. He’s not only fucking huge and muscled to the teeth, he’s also full of energy.”

“A good match for Heather, in more ways than one,” Nera added softly.

Ernst crossed to her and put his hand around her neck. In his rage, his erection grew larger. The lust and anger mixed, thoughts of Heather at some other man’s mercy stealing his control.

“Brother, hold on…”

Ernst ignored him. “You bitch. You’re lying. You’re jealous, because Heather is what you can never be.”

“Oh?” Her clever hands reached for his belt.

He felt her, knew what she did, but he didn’t care. She wanted him? She could have what he chose to give. He’d been with her enough to know what she liked, and what she didn’t. He pulled her from the wall and dragged her to his father’s desk. “Guard the door, Klaus.”

“But…” Klaus must have seen the look in his eye. His little brother knew better than to argue when Ernst was in a mood.

“Now, bitch, tell me what you think you know.” He prodded Nera for information. The woman knew everything, especially because she had a way with others, an ability to dig for answers. She would have known about Heather’s new friend the moment he entered the town. That he’d found them at all spoke much for his power.

“What will you give me if I tell you?” Nera had the temerity to ask.

He glared down at her, pleased when she swallowed hard and shut up. “I was working for Father today, cleaning up some nonsense near the gate. A few tourists wandered too close, and we had to bury them.” He smiled through his teeth at her. “Would you like me to show you where I buried them?”

The townspeople lived in ignorant bliss, so sheltered from the real world that they didn’t know what actually went on around them. Power corrupted, and the Source had been a virtual mother’s milk for centuries. Of course that kind of energy would leak beyond the psychic boundaries Jan and his family had made. So who did everyone look to in order to keep the peace?

The Baers. Death was a sacrifice necessary to maintaining the peace, and if a few tourists or Grainau locals disappeared every few months, so be it. Ernst’s father remained a hero by protecting their town, though his methods on how he did so were known by only a few, the town council included.

And now Nera knew.

The horror on her face pleased him, and he gripped her hand over his crotch and squeezed. “Don’t stop now,” he taunted. “We’re just getting to the good part. You’re going to tell me everything you know about this man.”

“Jack Harmon,” she said.

“Yes, this Jack Harmon.” He flipped her onto her belly and shoved her feet farther apart. His brother, the pervert, watched them without blinking. Little Klaus liked it when they played together. The more blood, the better, a notion Ernst seconded. They’d only ever played with tourists before, but Nera knew too much now. He’d have to make an example of her. But how far to take it would depend on her.

His cock demanded satisfaction, however. Thoughts of Heather plagued him still.

Nera remained silent as he stood behind her, unmoving.

“I thought I told you to talk.” He took himself out, letting his brother get a good look at what he intended. He pulled Nera’s ass cheeks wider, demanding entry into the place she’d begged him never to go again. “I can’t hear you, dearest.” He moved closer, loving this power, the rush of satisfaction growing stronger.

She sobbed and talked while he rutted without mercy, telling him everything and anything while Klaus watched with wide eyes. When Ernst finished, he cleaned himself up and left her sobbing in a huge, bloody mess. In a much better mood now that he had information, he nodded to his brother.

“Meet me at Edda’s. I’m going to take a good look at Heather’s new friend, up close. Besides, we’re celebrating tonight. And I’ll try to talk to Jan, if not tonight, then definitely tomorrow. I think it’s time we found out what the guardian of the gate has to say about our newest guests to town.”

“And her?” Klaus stared down at Nera with a strange fascination that both repelled and saddened Ernst to see. His little brother had always had a thing for the color red.

“Nera won’t say a thing, will you, dearest?”

She shook her head as she continued to cry silent tears.

“Fuck her, cut her, I don’t care.” Ernst shook his head. “Just don’t let the scars be seen. You know what to do.”

Klaus grinned. “Excellent, brother. Can I kill her too?”

Nera shook, and Ernst thought she might have pissed herself, but he couldn’t tell with her sprawled in such a mess.

“Not yet. She can be of use to us, I think.”

She nodded frantically, and he turned to leave. He heard her say, “Please don’t hurt me, Klaus. I’ll do anything you want. Anything.”

Ernst whistled as he left his brother to clean up their mess. He’d join his father and his beloved neighbors at the tea shop. Time to meet this powerful giant who thought he had claim to Ernst’s woman. Time to make the bastard pay.

Chapter Six

Jack woke better rested than he’d been in…well, forever. He shifted and heard a low moan that made his cock stiffer than steel. Morning wood, he thought, knowing he had to have gotten a few hours of sleep to feel so good.

As he tried to get a handle on what had happened after he’d laid down to rest, Heather murmured his name and stretched on top of him. He put a hand on her back to keep her from falling off, liking that she’d cuddled close in the night. But when his hand met bare skin, he froze.

She rubbed her cheek over his chest and sighed, and he gritted his teeth, because he wanted to roll her over and thrust deep, no questions asked.

Almost of its own volition, his hand moved, tracing her slender back, feeling the soft skin and strong spine of the woman not afraid to go toe-to-toe with him. For all that Heather was pretty, pleasant, and intelligent, she didn’t seem to know she shouldn’t fuck with his control.

The word fuck brought back hazy images of her stroking him, of him coming hard down her throat, of tasting her sweet flesh, then taking her all over again. She felt so warm against his chest. God, it had been so long since he’d actually slept with a woman. After Melissa, he hadn’t been able to bear sharing his bed, couldn’t trust himself to sleep with a potential enemy.

He’d planned on catnapping with Heather, nothing so relaxing as full-out REM. Jack could control his sleep patterns, another quirk of his abilities. Since learning that not even Melissa—his most trusted partner—could be counted on, he’d developed a thick skin for survival.

Yet…something felt off. He was different. Felt different.

Jack frowned and forced himself to stop stroking her back. “Heather, wake up.”

She mumbled something and squeezed his arm.

When she sighed his name, he found himself smiling. Smiling? Definitely something wrong. Yet instead of shaking the woman and demanding to know what the fuck had happened, he soothed her into a deeper sleep. “Dumb-ass,” he swore at himself before checking the time. His watch light showed the hour had reached eight, and he turned off the alarm before it beeped. They’d need to start moving again.

But… He didn’t want to wake her. She’d been a real trouper yesterday, even if she’d been dishonest about not wanting him. The woman could deny it until she was blue in the face, but she wasn’t a good liar. She’d suck at poker. Because the way she looked at him told him in no uncertain terms that she desired him.

He thought again about her going down on him, about her swallowing more than his cum but some kind of energy as well. Fanciful imaginings—or had the woman played him the way Melissa had?

Again, the rage that should have been there when he thought about that traitorous witch failed to appear, and he worried because he liked this new calm. It wouldn’t last, of course, but maybe Heather had done something to him to mute the emotion.

“And maybe I should wring her neck for fucking with my brain,” he said out loud, determined to stop being such a pussy. His internal thoughts weren’t like him, not at all. When he grew upset, he had no problem sharing his feelings. So why all this tiptoeing around Heather Stallbridge? The Jack Keiser of PWP legend would have strung her up by her fucking wrists and demanded she tell him the truth. He’d scare her into confessing all.

But the thought of hurting her literally hurt him. He would have rubbed his heart if she hadn’t.

“Shh. It’s okay. I’m here,” she said in words barely audible.

Yet Jack comprehended what she’d done. The damn woman had fucked with his head, and as he thought hard about it, he recalled all she’d said and done while he’d been out of his mind in la-la land, wanting a piece of her prime pussy.

He had to work to curse her to hell and back, when he still had a hard time being mad at her about it. Drumming up some anger she more than deserved, he forced himself to restore his inner shields. “Wake up.” He rolled and dumped her on her ass. Which would have been payback enough if the sleeping bag hadn’t slid off her, unveiling the nicest pair of breasts he’d ever seen. With the light of day giving him the perfect view of two beautiful tits, his hard-on throbbed like crazy.

“Jack?” She yawned and blinked at him, like a sleepy sex kitten begging to be fucked. “You okay?”

“No, I’m not.” He hated that he finally managed to look away from her body and got lost in her eyes. “I’m fucking calm. What did you do to me?”

“I eased your pain.” She smiled at him, and he wallowed in a heavy dose of love and lust that scared the piss out of him.

None of his feelings made a lick of sense. Nor did the fact that he was easing his pants down and watching her do the same. They didn’t speak as he lowered himself to her. He entered her in one smooth thrust and kissed her when she moaned his name.

Their rhythm spoke of lovers long known to each another. He pushed, and she pulled him closer. Their mouths meshed, and she flowed with him, giving while he took, submitting while he dominated.

Not frenzied or hurried, their lovemaking was slow, passionate, and all-encompassing as he moaned her name and came inside her, pouring into her while she squeezed him tight and cried out, cutting into his back with her sharp little nails.

When Jack’s brain returned from its hiatus to heaven, he glared down at her, irked to see her green eyes smiling.

“Good morning.”

He withdrew from her but didn’t move away. “Shouldn’t you have morning breath, at least?” She fucking still smelled like flowers.

Her grin widened. “You’re a coffee drinker, aren’t you? Caffeine addicts are the worst kind of morning people.”

Swearing, because he could use a cup of black joy, he rose and buttoned up his pants, then stalked out of the cave. He returned some time later, clean and awake, thanks to the very cold stream. She passed him with a pat to his ass that had him growling again. Although a part of him wanted to laugh.

She fucks with your head, and you’re happy about it? This is just like Melissa, only worse, because you’re not mad. Yet he couldn’t find it in him to be angry. Had to be the aftereffects from what she’d done. And just as soon as he could stop reeling from the pleasure from her fine body, he’d lay into her.

As he redressed and dug through his pack for their breakfast, she returned completely dressed in a sweater and jacket, her hair in a braid.

“Oh good. Food. I’m starved.” She glanced behind her at the front of the cave. “We’d probably better get going.”

He ate with her in silence while she chattered about the beauty of the country and her liking for Germany as one of her favorite places to go when not working.

Jack did his best to be patient, but he had to bring it up. “What did you do to me?”

“I, well, I healed you. Mostly.”

He fumed, yet even as he saw her guilt, he couldn’t help noticing her concern, and her empathy gratified him. “Without asking?”

“I’m sorry. I wish I could say I wouldn’t do it again, but I’m right now itching to take away more of your pain.” She clenched her fingers tight. “I don’t normally fix without permission. It’s not right.”

“No, it’s not.”

“But it’s…this place. The Source is driving me to use my abilities. The closer we get to it, the more I’m driven.”

He frowned. “How so?”

“You don’t feel it?”

“That power beneath my feet? In the air? Yeah, I feel it. But it’s not making me crazy. I don’t have the urge to beat anyone to a pulp. Well, maybe you,” he said in a low voice.

But instead of scaring her, the way his tone and mannerisms often worked on those he dealt with, she smiled.

“You would never hurt me.”

“Why? Because you have a hold on me now? You can control me?” His worst fear, and she fucking knew it.

Her smile faded. “No, Jack. Never. You told me about Melissa, and I know how badly she hurt you. I felt it.” She rubbed her heart, right over the spot where he felt a throbbing emptiness in his own chest. “Her attack left a psychic wound. That’s what I had to heal. It was wrong, not an emotional scar, because you have plenty of those. But it was an unnatural break in your energy.”

“I’ve never felt it.”

“Oh? Then you’ve always been such an arrogant, angry jerk?” She flushed when she said it, and he had to laugh.

“Jesus. Jerk is the worst you can come up with?” Yet as he considered her words, he knew he’d been much worse since his time with Melissa. He’d considered it his due to be such an untrusting bastard since being nearly killed by someone he’d considered a partner. But maybe it was more than that.

“I’m sorry I’m not as insulting as you’d like, but I’m telling you, you were never an ugly person. The leftover scarring from what was done to you hurt you emotionally.”

“Obviously.”

“But psychically as well,” she finished. “Now you’re calmer. You probably aren’t as angry about life in general.”

“Well, I did just fuck the hottest pussy on the planet.”

She turned a pretty pink, and he wanted to take her all over again. Not the best time to be a randy fool while in the middle of an operation.

“But, considering there’s been enough time for them to be coming after us, I guess we’d better go.” He finished eating with her, and they stood. He grabbed her wrist. “But don’t think we aren’t going to talk later about you taking too many liberties,” he said in a low voice.

This time, she shivered and looked away.

HEATHER TOOK A deep breath and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. She followed Jack on the second day of their trek to the Source. According to the compass and map, at this pace, they had another half a day to reach their destination. As much as she wanted to fulfill a family legacy, get some answers, and finally be the one to do what her brother couldn’t, Heather didn’t want her time with Jack to end.

He was growly, grumpy, and mean. He barked orders, or at least he used to. Now he just bossed her with quiet commands, his gaze hard and knowing whenever he looked at her. He stared with eyes that knew what she looked like naked, and he never let her forget it.

Yet the care and gentleness buried deep down inside him continued to show itself. In the way he helped her over rough patches of stone or downed trees. The way he insisted she eat and drink before he took his own sustenance. His way of always putting her behind him when a loud or uneven sound concerned him. He groused about the weather; first too warm in town, unnaturally so, now “too damn cold.” Pulling her to a stop to fuss over her jacket and pack, making sure she had enough on to keep her warm while pulling out more from her load to add to his, lightening her pack.

“I can carry it.”

“Shut up.” There was no bite in his tone. “I’m bigger than you, and what I’ve got on my back is like a pillow. I can carry more, and that way, you won’t be slowing us down. I have a feeling we need to make better time.”

She would have argued, because she didn’t want him to have to coddle her, but she trusted him. Instead she nodded. “Yes, Jack.”

He seemed surprised, though his expression never changed. She was coming to read him pretty well. For all that they’d just met, had incredible sex, were on the run, and had had more incredible sex in the span of only two days, Heather knew Jack better than she’d known anyone she’d ever met.

And the stubborn man knew her too, if only he’d admit it.

They continued their walk, and she decided to talk to him, wanting to share. She had no idea what tomorrow would bring beyond trouble and danger. Heck, when Jack returned her to Owen, as he harped whenever the subject came up, she might not see him again. That was if she remained in Baltimore.

“I’m thinking of moving back to Bend, permanently,” she said out of the blue.

He stumbled and cursed at a root that dared trip him. When he turned to see if she’d noticed his clumsiness, she kept her gaze on the ground and fought a smile.

“Yeah? You tired of Baltimore and jet-setting already?”

“Please. I told you I’m not part of that crowd.” She wrinkled her nose. “I never have been, which is why I’m so bad at business. Owen does all the schmoozing. I’m pretty worthless.”

“Not to hear him tell it. Guy won’t shut up about you.”

“Really?” She knew Owen loved her, but she hadn’t thought he respected her. He was constantly telling her how to run her life, how to be better at business. “What does he say?”

Jack kept walking, but he slowed down as he answered. “Owen says you’re smarter than he is. That if you wanted to, you could run the company and take it faster and farther than he has.”

She huffed. “He was pulling your leg.”

Jack shook his head. “Nope. Said your energy pulls you in another direction, but if you wanted, you could pretty much run the business. He’s glad you don’t like socializing, because it keeps the wolves off your pretty tail.”

“He said that?”

She could hear Jack’s grin. “Not in so many words.” He paused. “Didn’t warn me off you, though.”

Good for you, Brother. Owen had probably sensed what she had—what a fine man Jack Keiser was under all his bluster.

“He probably never thought you’d be attracted to me.”

“Yeah, probably.” Jack didn’t sound like he believed her. “So I’m curious, because you haven’t said why you never asked your brother for help on this.”

She sighed. “You really want to know?”

“I really do.”

“Fine. You know Chronicles was stolen?”

“My team recovered the book. It was stolen over a year ago from some warehouse where your family stores a whole bunch of supernatural crap. Nice hobby, by the way, collecting cursed objects.”

“Not all cursed,” she protested. “Just…strange in nature.”

“Right. Well, your ‘strange in nature’ stuff is keeping my guys in business, so I can’t complain. Anyway, we recovered Chronicles. Then Owen was upset because you have it, but he seemed to have lost you. I figured he was being overprotective. Then he asked me for help. Your brother is pretty closemouthed about family, so I knew if he was worried and asking for my help, something was wrong.

“From everything he said about you, you two have a great relationship. He didn’t say anything about you being psychic, but that you help out with your charity work. Of course, Owen practically hums with power. I had a feeling you had some serious mojo of your own.”

She wondered if Owen had confided in Jack just what he could do. She doubted it.

“I asked him why his pretty little sister, who just loves him to distraction, wouldn’t ask him for help. He couldn’t say.”

She was glad Jack continued to walk in front of her, so she wouldn’t see his face when she answered. “I wanted to prove myself. There, I said it. It sounds childish and stupid, but it is what it is.”

He stopped, and she banged into him. When he turned around, he just stared at her.

“Look. Chronicles was left to me for a reason. The book traces back to when there was a huge boom in Stallbridge power. It’s really important, and for the first time ever, I was able to help the family in a way Owen can’t.”

“Come again?”

“Oh, you’ve met him. You know my brother. He excels at everything. He took the company’s profits, and at the age of just eighteen, doubled them. He’s a genius. He’s nice and kind and handsome…”

“Wait. Nice and kind?”

She ignored his feeble attempt at humor, feeling sorry for herself all over again. “He’s like a superhero, and I’m his lame younger sister. The pretty one who has no head for numbers. Oh, she can heal, but nothing she does helps Stallbridges. I know. It’s a petty thought. I save lives. I heal people, and I’m thankful every day that I can do what I do. But just once, I wanted to save my family. I wanted to be the one who helped Owen deal instead of the other way around.”

Jack just stared at her, and she felt an inch tall.

“Well? Say something.”

“Man, you are one messed-up woman.”

She sighed.

“I mean, you’re sexy as hell, rich, powerful…and demented. Why the hell would you put yourself in danger to prove yourself? You have nothing to prove, Heather.” Jack took a step closer and cupped her chin, grazing her cheeks with his rough hand. “You’re smart, sexy, a little loopy, and clearly out of control with this healing thing.”

He glared at her, but his approval lifted a weight off her shoulders she’d been trying for years to lighten.

“But you’re special. Really, truly special. You shouldn’t need the validation, but I get that you do.”

She blinked. “You do?”

He nodded and released her chin. “When I was just out of college, my parents passed away. I still keep in touch with my aunts and uncles and cousins, but I was an only child. When my folks were gone, I was really alone. I felt like I had to prove myself to my parents. And they were dead, so how fucked-up is that? At least your brother is alive.”

She shook her head. “You wanted to live a better life for your parents. I’m just a spoiled rich girl trying to show she’s more than her wallet and her looks. And by doing so, I put you in danger.” She swallowed hard at the enormity of what she’d actually done—was doing. What if Jack got hurt protecting her, and she couldn’t help him? Had her obsession to be the family savior pulled her so far away from doing the right thing?

“For God’s sake. You’re not going to cry, are you?” Jack asked in a thick voice. “Look. If I wasn’t here, I’d be somewhere else getting almost killed for pay. So think about it this way. One, I’m not your brother, so you don’t have to prove anything to me. Two, Owen’s safe at home, because you’re here with me. Three, if the shit hits the fan, you can heal me. And hell, we’re just going to some energy vortex with a magical book only you can read, in a town lost in the Twilight Zone full of psychic whack-jobs who want nothing more than to kill us. What could possibly go wrong?”

They stared at each other for a moment before Heather broke down laughing. His deadpan delivery brought tears to her eyes, as did the fact she was such an idiot, and Jack didn’t seem to hold that against her. When she could catch her breath again, she saw the warmth and happiness in his gaze, and she smiled back at him, glad that of all the men sent to help her, Jack had been the one she’d been given.

Chapter Seven

Jack breathed easier once they returned to their journey. Seeing Heather with tears in her eyes freaked him the hell out. He wanted nothing more than to ease her grief. And seeing her laugh so hard had made his heart race and his stomach flutter with nerves he’d never felt before. God, she was fucking beautiful. So full of goodness it made him feel dirty to be anywhere near her.

Except she was jealous of her brother. Suddenly, the saint wasn’t so pure, and that gladdened him like nothing else. He could have her. Maybe even keep her for a bit when they returned home.

They walked in silence for a few hours as the sun peaked. Noon came and went, and still they walked. He hoped to make camp at the Source by dark. Maybe a few hours past at this pace. Then Heather would do her thing, and they’d be ready to return home. To Bend.

As casually as he could, he said, “So you said you’re thinking of coming back to Bend?”

“Yeah. I’m done with the East Coast. Owen has been on me to come back anyway. I’m tired of the constant travel. I was talking to a friend of Owen’s. Doctor Cannon runs a clinic and knows a bunch of people in the medical community. She was saying that she could use my talents. I’d be based out of Bend and still need to travel, but it wouldn’t be as much.”

His palms sweated. “Oh?”

“I feel selfish, but I’d like to eventually settle down and have children. You know, start a family.”

He badly wanted to look over his shoulder and see her, but he didn’t want to let anything slip, like how badly he wanted to be the one to make those children with her. The thought had his mouth drying and his heart racing like a freight train. He’d never thought about settling down. Not with what he could do, could become. He’d had a decent childhood, but it had been hell, adjusting to being less than he could be, never able to show off his special ability to mimic others. His parents had warned him to keep his talent to himself so as not to alienate himself from the neighbors. In retrospect, they’d been right, but the secrecy had been so hard.

“You okay?”

He felt her touch on his psyche. He hated that he liked it so much. Because he knew he’d already grown to miss her when she left his mind, which was crazy. He shouldn’t like such closeness, because in that connection lay vulnerability. “Cut it out.”

She immediately withdrew. “I wasn’t doing anything. I was just—”

“I know what you were just. You did that before without asking.” Which he still intended to rectify. “Just keep out of my head, okay?”

“Yes, Jack.”

Christ. If she said “Yes, Jack” just one more time, he might lose his mind. Every time she acted submissive, he had an urge to see how far that meek streak might take them. Would she succumb during sex? Could she give over to him like that, let him lead her wherever he wanted to take them?

He forcibly stopped himself from pursuing that line of thought. “So you still have no idea what you’re supposed to do when we reach the Source?”

“Not yet. I glanced at the book this morning, but I see nothing more than directions about how to find the Source. Once I’m there, I need to read Chronicles again. Chapter nine has my answers.”

“You sure you’re not just getting off on your family’s weird penchant for kinky sex? I’ve seen the book, you know.”

He knew without looking that she’d blush. The woman constantly grew embarrassed about all sorts of things. And this from the woman who’d gone down on him just hours ago. Damn. I have to stop thinking about Heather and sex. Focus on the danger getting closer. Concentrate, dumb-ass.

“Forget I said that.”

“Forgotten,” she muttered.

He grinned. “So you still feel the urge to heal me?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. But the Source is affecting me the closer we get.”

He stopped and turned around, no longer amused. “Explain this. You said you had to heal me before. But now it’s worse? Do you hurt? Are you able to think beyond your power?”

“I am.” She bit her lower lip, and he smoothed her flesh with his thumb.

“Don’t do that. You’ll hurt yourself.”

“I can heal it, remember?” she said softly, her gaze on his mouth.

“You okay, Heather? You don’t seem right to me.” God, he wanted to get naked and fuck again. He shook his head, determined to remain clearheaded, but he could feel her presence in his mind.

“I’m sorry, Jack. It’s the power. We’re close, closer than I thought we’d be.” She looked over his shoulder. “We have to keep going. I feel it inside me. Come on. Then you’ll see. We’ll finish this.”

“Wait. Heather, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask. This healing. You manipulate energy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Can you twist it, use it to hurt as well as heal?”

She stared at him. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”

“You might have to before this is over,” he said grimly. “An offensive skill, or a defensive one if you want to think about it that way, is a skill worth having. If something happens to me, you do whatever you can to survive, you hear me?”

“I don’t know if I can. I wasn’t built to do harm, Jack. That’s not my nature.”

He would have worried more if she’d given him a chance. Instead she increased her pace, and they raced through the woods as if on fire. He still couldn’t feel the energy the way she could, but he believed her. She was acting weird, her eyes glazed yet brighter than they should have been. And she had a glow to her, an aura of purpose he could only follow.

Two hours later, they arrived at a clearing. What should have taken them another six or seven hours had been accomplished in two. Like turning north and hitting the town of Grainau, this distance in such a short time defied the laws of physics. That or they had a shitty map.

A lush, grassy field surrounded an ancient tree. Odd that neither Ida nor Jan had mentioned the tree. It didn’t fit the vegetation around them, nor did it seem real. The thing looked like something from a prop shop. It had a thick black trunk and reached high into the cloudless sky, framed by a blue canvas. Though it had only just reached the beginning of spring, the tree had light green leaves and pink flowers, like a cherry tree but much grander. It smelled like roses. A lot like Heather, come to think of it.

He turned to see what she made of it and saw her on her knees, frantically digging through her things until she withdrew Chronicles from her bag.

“Heather?”

She ignored him and walked under the awning of the tree, now shaded from the sun by the blanket of leaves and flowers of the impossibly blooming tree. The temperature seemed warmer in this clearing, yet it was by no means springtime in the mountains. He judged it to be closer to fifty degrees, if that.

“What the hell?” He watched Heather leafing through the book until she found the section she needed. Then she began reading, muttering under her breath. She frowned. She smiled. She frowned again.

She lay on her belly on the ground and traced her fingers over the pages as she flipped them. Jack set down his backpack and joined her, keeping the gun at his side at the ready. His senses were screaming at him of impending danger, yet he couldn’t see anything. He heard nothing threatening. The unnatural stillness was broken only by Heather’s ramblings and the crinkling pages of Chronicles as she turned them.

He sat by her side and stared down at a few hand-drawn pictures of a woman fellating a man, then having him do the same to her. Eventually the pair engaged in a sixty-nine, and Jack had more than a few ideas of his own. The pictures turned him on in a big way, especially since Heather pulled off her jacket and tugged at the neck of her sweater.

“You okay?” he asked, hoping this place didn’t turn her into a raving lunatic. His entire being hummed, and the feeling of a thousand fingers tapping at his brain made him uncomfortable. Especially because the closer he drew to Heather, the harder that tapping hit him.

Suddenly, he couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear. He could only feel that rhythmic beat pulsing through him. He felt his gun drop and knew he’d passed out, even as he rose above his body.

Holy shit. Am I astral projecting?

Jack stared down at himself on his back while Heather remained oblivious, still muttering to herself as she poured over the book. What a pair. He glanced at the tree and felt it smiling at him. The damn thing was sentient.

And it wasn’t of this earth.

He recalled the first job his team had done for Owen, recovering a lost locket. The locket had belonged to Owen’s relatives, and according to Rory, Owen’s distant cousin and current keeper of the locket, history had claimed it had been crafted from a meteorite. Another not-of-this earth moment.

Jack wondered if the two were connected. He believed in extrasensory perception, could acknowledge that mankind would continue to evolve and already had in spurts, considering his team was living proof of psychic phenomena. But aliens?

The tree didn’t turn into a little green man, and it didn’t speak or suddenly grow feet and walk. But he sensed a presence, and Jack knew the thing needed something he couldn’t give it, but Heather could. He suddenly understood that the tree had seen him as a threat and pulled him out of his body. He tried, wanted to explain that he wouldn’t harm the thing, but he couldn’t talk. Hell, he still didn’t know how he could be floating above himself. Though a few members on the PowerUp! team had come into contact with astral projectors, he himself never had.

He didn’t know what to do to convince the presence—for lack of a better word—that he meant it no ill will. And then he floated back down toward the ground until he was situated over his body. He jerked in a breath as his soul reconnected with his corporeal form and blinked as the disorientation left him.

“I’m back,” he rasped, feeling his chest and reaching for the gun on the ground. He sat up and tucked the gun away, into the small of his back. “Heather?”

She shook her head, and a tear leaked down her cheek. “I can’t see it. I don’t know what to do.”

“Shh.” He took her into his arms and hugged her, rocking her like a small child. “It’s okay. We’ll find it. Relax.”

Her distress continued until she began to worry him. She didn’t respond to his voice or touch, and her link to him was all over the place. One minute he felt her inside his mind, another she was gone, and then she was there, deep inside him where no one had been, ever. Like a part of him, and when she left, he was bereft, almost in tears.

“What the hell, Heather?” He tilted her chin up to stare into her eyes.

She stared blankly back at him, not seeing him.

“Fuck this.” He didn’t know what to do. Why he’d think to kiss her, he had no idea. But the minute his lips met hers, everything changed.

The warmth in his soul returned, because she was there. Present. Meeting his kiss and moaning into his mouth. Her hands crept up his waist and linked behind his neck.

Finally. She was back.

Hungry, needy, and full of desire he had every intention of fulfilling.

Jack kissed her until he couldn’t breathe. When he pulled back from her, he swore.

“I’ve never seen a woman needing to be fucked as much as you do.” She might as well have had the word sex tattooed on her forehead. Carnal intent colored her face, so that she seemed like a walking advertisement for…him.

Jack didn’t think about what he was doing. He did what felt right. Moving her aside, he stripped off all his clothes. Then he took hers off, aware she didn’t resist at all, merely caressed him whenever she could.

He groaned when her hands caught and held his cock. She cupped his balls, rolled them in her hands, and he felt a spurt of precum jolt from his tip.

He didn’t want to hold back, so he didn’t. He sucked her nipples, stroked her pussy, and thrust one finger, then two, inside her. She squirmed and moaned, but he wouldn’t stop. Not until she surrendered herself to him.

Jack stood and pulled her to her knees. He held himself by the root, aware he’d never been harder in his life. “Suck me, baby. Take me to the back of your throat.”

She blinked up at him, as if awakening from a dream.

“I said suck me.”

Heather opened her mouth wider, and he pushed himself between her slick lips into the hot, wet depth of her. He swore his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he started fucking her mouth. Right there in the heart of a magical clearing, he was having the best sex of his life with the woman he might actually love.

As if she heard the thought, she sucked harder and moaned, then stroked his ass.

He shoved deeper, and she gagged. “Oh shit. I’m sorry, but I… Oh fuck. Heather.”

With one hand, she massaged his balls as she deep-throated him. But with her other, she ran her fingers over the rim of his ass, teasing and penetrating with the tip of a finger. She continued to blow him, and then she pushed her finger into his virgin ass, and the sensation was indescribable.

Jack yelled as he came, jetting down her throat until he was utterly spent.

He wavered on his feet as she finished swallowing him and let him fall from her mouth.

To his shock, he was still hard.

“Impossible,” he croaked, but his body didn’t lie. He stared down at her and saw her lick her lips, taking a drop of his cum into her mouth.

“I’m hurting. Make it go away…lover,” she purred in a voice not her own.

But Jack still heard her, knew she was buried as deeply as his pain had been. “Come on, baby. Put that pussy over my face.” He lay down on his back and gripped her hips when she straddled him. She lowered her wet pussy, and he feasted. Licking and sucking, loving the silky need she had for him.

He was hard, affected by the power of this place. Yet his desire was for no one but Heather. And he knew, though he wasn’t sure how, that she felt the same for him.

“Yes. Just for you,” echoed in his mind. And then she left him only to return, positioned in a sixty-nine, her pussy over his mouth, her head by his dick. Jack felt her mouth over him, and he arched into her as he pulled her back down and ate her out.

Desperate, feverish for her pleasure, he consumed her, fighting against his impending orgasm as she climbed closer to her own. He wanted her to know truth, to know love and feeling and acceptance. And she gave him everything, healing him with love and deed as she touched him with loving hands.

Jack gave himself up to her, and in the doing, opened a lock of sorts. He felt her pleasure and swallowed her cream as she convulsed and sucked his cock.

He jerked and jetted into her mouth, coming again when he should have had nothing left. Against all odds, he loved a woman. He thought it, wasn’t sure if he’d said it, but knew it to be true. And he felt fear as he hadn’t in years before the blackness overwhelmed him, and he knew nothing more.

HEATHER WOKE AS if from a dream. She pulled away from Jack’s body, tasting the musk of his surrender. She lifted herself from his mouth and turned back around, still shivering at the intense orgasm echoing through her.

What the heck had happened? She blinked up at the large tree, feeling as if she’d missed the key to the puzzle. But before she could figure it out, she glanced down at Jack, who lay still with his eyes closed, and felt her entire existence shift and settle. “I love you.”

She stared at him in awe, not sure she’d actually said the words aloud until she said them again. “I love you.”

He didn’t move but seemed to be in a deep sleep.

Heather felt sluggish, like a woman completely enthralled by her lover and satisfied beyond belief. She should have been freezing her tail off, embarrassed to be naked in the middle of the forest after fellating a man twice.

Yet she experienced love, true joining. Her gaze slipped to the trunk of the tree, where a slight discoloration drew her attention to a piece of missing bark.

Something clicked. It all made sense. All of it. Heather scrambled to find Chronicles again. She rushed through the pages until she found chapter nine and the pictures of what she and Jack had just done together. Flushing at her boldness yet pleased beyond measure that she’d found heaven with Jack, she ripped out the pages and crumpled them into a ball. She walked over and stood by the tree.

“I’m returning what was taken,” she said softly and held the ball of paper against the tree, focusing with everything she had to heal what had been hurt. She let herself become one with the grand tree and sensed an entity so much larger than she ever would have guessed.

Heather let herself flow and watched as the paper liquefied, then darkened in color as it turned once more into the bark it had previously been. While her fingers rested against the newly healed bark, she saw blurred images of the past. Of Johann Stallbridge meeting the tree and acknowledging its sentience. Then the slight tearing of the bark, ripping a part of it away and taking it with him. He’d turned the bark into paper and written of his grand love for his wife, illustrating just how he’d made love to her under the soft branches and velvety leaves of the tree.

The Source had given up a part of itself as a gift, even to one who sought to steal its generosity. It blessed her great-grandfather, but he’d known all along he could never keep it. Yet generations had passed, and the one person to make things right hadn’t arrived. No one had been born who could heal. Her family possessed an abundance of talent. But not until Heather’s birth had a Stallbridge been born who could heal all wounds, both physical and spiritual.

The tree sighed and shook with tremulous joy, whole once again. A great boom centered in its core and shot outward from its roots, invigorating the land and everyone in it. Heather smiled and wiped away a tear, caught in the beauty of new life, of peace in the land once more.

This was the journey she’d been meant to make. Chronicles had served its true purpose finally. The old book would remain a piece of her family’s history, but its real power had returned to its rightful place in the Source—once again whole. She tucked the book back into her backpack before turning to her lover.

She shook Jack awake and saw his immediate understanding that something amazing had occurred. He took her in his arms and hugged her tight, and then they lay down in the tree’s shadow and slept once more.

JACK WOKE COMPLETELY well rested. His body didn’t ache, and he had perfection slumped over his chest, murmuring in her sleep. Good Christ, but he’d had amazing, psychic sex—and he’d liked it. For the first time in a long time, he trusted himself to differentiate a woman like Heather from a woman like Melissa.

Too long had he doubted himself and his ability to make good decisions based on intuition. After all, if he hadn’t sensed Melissa’s character after working with her for years and even sleeping with her, what good was he? He knew the psychic manipulations of her shady lover had been at fault, but it didn’t make it easier to swallow.

Now he felt he could put that in the past. Everyone made mistakes. Even the great Jack Keiser. He smiled to himself and hugged Heather tighter. Granted, he didn’t like her messing with his mind, but the woman had pure intentions. Unlike everyone he’d ever met, who seemed to want something from him, Heather wanted for him. She wanted him better, and he could live with that.

Hell, he could live with her.

He blinked up at the leaves rustling above him, watched as they slid against the moonlight bright overhead. Jack loved her. He wanted more than this operation to keep them together. Heather had mentioned moving to Bend. Maybe when they returned, he could slowly maneuver her so that she was dating him before she realized it. The woman responded to him, so he’d work with what he had. He’d bind her to him with great sex, then slowly make it so that she couldn’t leave him.

Jack wasn’t loveable. He had a temper, he liked things done his way, and he didn’t have any problems with himself. But Heather was soft, tender, and loving. Way too good for him. But maybe he could guilt her into loving him?

He tensed when he felt humor around him. He glanced at the tree and swore he felt it laughing at him. Weird, but then, everything in Drei-Gewalten had been off since he’d arrived.

But he couldn’t fault his being here, because it had brought him to Heather.

She brushed his chest with her lips, and he sighed, fully caught and unwilling to be let go. Now he just had to make her see that keeping him was a good thing.

A sudden surge of energy from the tree hit him and woke Heather.

“Jack?”

He felt the danger and quickly dressed. “Put your clothes on, baby. Something’s coming.” Or rather, someone. He picked up his gun and centered himself, exercising that surge of knowing that often aided him on missions.

The damn Source made it hard to detect the direction of menace he could feel coming his way. Not for the first time did he miss working with Kitty or Aidan, an empath and a mind reader from PowerUp!, who could pinpoint the enemy with uncanny precision.

Heather had just pulled her sweater down over her head when a dozen men entered the small clearing, all armed to the teeth. Jack didn’t recognize any of them, but Heather took a step closer to him and clutched his arm.

He saw Jan enter behind the men, armed as well. The older man’s expression bore no trace of the earlier friendship he’d shown. Not someone to rely on, then. Jack remembered what Ida had told him—that he and Heather would need to trust only each other to leave the mountain. Well, he was trusting her. And from the death grip on his arm, she seemed to believe he would protect her.

He didn’t like the look on two of the younger guys’ faces. One of them looked at Heather as if he owned her, and the other smiled like a friggin’ psycho. Something not quite right lingered in that one’s dark gaze, a sight Jack had seen before in the eyes of those he’d normally been sent to eliminate.

“You should not be here.” A large, intimidating male spoke with authority. He had dark hair going gray, a barrel chest, thick arms, and a rifle pointed at Jack’s head. He also looked a lot like the younger men, giving Jack a bad feeling.

“I’m guessing you’re Ralf Baer.” He ignored the others, though he’d already cataloged their danger potential. Of the thirteen now surrounding him and Heather, less than half seemed to be a psychic danger. Ralf, his two sons, Jan, and one other resonated with real power. The blond across from Ralf would be one to watch. How clever that he positioned himself where he’d be hard to keep track of if Jack focused on Ralf. Jack said to Heather in a low voice, “Keep an eye on the blond.”

“Mikhail.” She squeezed Jack’s hand. “He’s a pyrokinetic, I think.”

A fire starter. Not good.

“You have no right to be here,” Ralf insisted, his gaze still on Jack. “I don’t know how you found the town, but it’s obvious to all you have power. This is acceptable, except that you deliberately disobeyed the laws.”

“Whose laws? Yours?”

“The Source was entrusted to us long ago. We are its keepers, its guardians.”

“Entrusted by who?” Jack snorted. “You’re not the police. More like a group of angry villagers with rifles instead of pitch forks. We’re not hurting anything. If you have so much power, as you’ve said, you’d realize Heather fixed the tree.”

Ralf frowned.

“True,” Jan spoke up. “But then, it was her people who screwed it up in the first place. Johann thought he was so clever.” Jan seemed sad to Jack, not angry. “He took what didn’t belong, and he affected us all.”

Johann. That meant they knew Heather was a Stallbridge. Maybe she’d been exaggerating that they had a kill order on her and—

“Can I do it, Father? Can I kill her?” the more psychotic-seeming of the Baers asked.

“No, Klaus. Not yet.”

Not an answer to inspire confidence.

“They must be brought back and put on trial,” Jan said.

Jack thought the man might be trying to help them, but he couldn’t be sure. Waves of energy leaped from the tree to him, to Ralf Baer, and to Mikhail, the pyro. Then Jack felt the Source caressing him, loving him with a welcome acceptance that surprised him.

“Ralf, wait.” Jan blinked at Jack. “The Source knows him. Do you see?”

“It…does.”

Jack turned to see who’d spoken, and noted the pyro frowning.

“The Source is not mistaken. We should take him back for trial, Ralf. He’s disobeyed, but he’s new.”

An ally?

“Yet he helped cover Heather’s lie.” The other Baer spoke, the one who had yet to take his hungry gaze from Heather. “He knew; he didn’t care. An outsider with no respect for our laws or our town. We should take him back and ensure justice, for all who might think to go against you, Father.”

Ralf’s eyes narrowed, and then the bastard smiled. “Yes, Ernst. You make a good point.” He nodded to Mikhail and Jan. “You all do. We will go back to town. And Heather, it will be taken into account that you have helped the Source. Yet this is not enough to sway me to total leniency.”

Heather gripped Jack’s sleeve, hard. “Yes, sir.”

Bullshit, she’d go along with that. Being a Stallbridge shouldn’t mean she had a death sentence coming. And if she thought he’d willingly go along with these pricks, she was out of her mind.

He turned to her and leaned down to kiss her. “Go along until I give you the signal. Then you run like hell. You get me?” he whispered harshly into her ear.

She nodded and in a louder voice answered, “I love you too.”

His heart raced. She didn’t mean it, of course. It was all a cover for their audience. But damn if he didn’t want it to be true.

Jack glanced toward Ernst to see the huge bully glaring holes through him. He grinned back at the jackass, daring him to take what belonged to Jack. Before the night was through, one of them would be left standing. The other would be dead.

Chapter Eight

Jack knew they had to make their move soon, but they needed to wait a bit longer. In the clearing, they were too much of a target. And besides, he was strangely loath to do anything that might put the big tree in danger. He liked it, liked what it had made him feel and what it stood for. With the Source, he could believe in the mysteries in this world. Not the psychic, human kind, or that cursed paranormal crap. But something pure and true outside of human perspective.

He considered the elder Baer. “Okay, Ralf. You’re in charge. But I don’t want anyone but Jan putting his hands on Heather. Your boys look way too enthusiastic for my peace of mind. You don’t want trouble; you won’t get any from me if you keep her safe.”

Ralf considered his boys and nodded, ignoring their scowls. “Fine. No trouble. But have no doubt I can and will kill you if I feel the need.” Then the bastard shoved Jack to his knees with the force of his mind, and Jack knew he’d have to deal with Ralf before he and Heather could make a run for it. Good thing he’d been training with his team for a while now. He knew how to handle a telekinetic and a pyrokinetic. But it would have helped to get a handle on the others so he knew what he was really dealing with.

Two older men took his and Heather’s packs but let them keep their jackets after going through them.

Jan gave Heather a brief frisk. “She’s clean.”

“I’ll do this one,” Ernst said to his father with a nod at Jack.

He handed Klaus his rifle and moved toward Jack with sure strides. Too cocky. Jack watched everything, absorbing the man’s weaknesses and strengths from the way he moved and what he paid attention to. Ernst thought himself superior, probably because he towered above most men and women. A hint of cruelty lingered on his face, and Jack knew the man had killed before.

“Easy, son,” Ralf cautioned. “Jan told me this one can instill fear.”

Jack frowned at the old man, who winked back at him. A wink?

Thoroughly confused, Jack waited to see what Ernst would do. So far, Jan watched over Heather, but Jack didn’t trust him. Ralf jerked him to his feet but kept his arms outstretched out by his sides. Smart, because this way, Jack couldn’t wrap his hands around Ernst’s throat.

The dick roughly patted him down, nearly gelding him in the process. Ernst confiscated his gun and landed a few hard hits to his midsection, all the while watching for a reaction. But Jack didn’t give him one. He just stared at the man, infusing that gaze with his intent to do real harm. To give Ernst his due, the big man didn’t balk.

Ernst leaned in closer and whispered, “I’m going to take you back with us. Then I’ll make you watch while I fuck your girlfriend. She’s a hot piece, eh? Bet she’s a screamer. Or she will be, when I’m done with her. And I won’t kill her. No. You’ll die, knowing she had the great honor of becoming my almost-wife. I would have married her, you know, but she’s a Stallbridge. My father won’t kill her. But she will become a part of this town, never to leave again.”

“Quit playing, Ernst. We need to go,” Ralf barked at his son.

“Yes, Father.” He stood back from Jack. “My personal plaything, you can bet on it.” He leered at Heather before turning to join his father.

Jack didn’t flinch, not once. But he’d made up his mind. Before he left the mountains, he’d kill Ernst Baer. The stench of evil was too pervasive to believe the man wouldn’t harm Heather at some point. Or that he hadn’t already done damage to many others.

A gun at his back prodded him to walk.

“The trail, Ralf?” Mikhail asked, directly behind him.

Good. Jack had the pyro close. The energy from the tree surged through his feet again. Jack allowed his hand to swing back and touch Mikhail’s.

“Forward, move.” Mikhail dug the rifle into Jack’s back, and Jack started walking. Heather was three men ahead of him, quiet and doing as ordered without protest. At least Mikhail and Jan were somewhat smaller than Jack. He wouldn’t be constricted by clothing when he shifted form.

The party entered the thick forest on a trail a few feet wide, enough that men could walk side by side. Jack was in the middle surrounded by the pyro and three others. Klaus, he thought, could be behind him, though he’d lost track of that Baer. Ralf, however, kept him in sight by taking a rear position. Ernst walked by Jan’s side, too close to Heather for comfort.

From what Jack gathered from listening to the men talk, most of them were related to the Baer family in some way. Some cousins, a few uncles. Mikhail and Jan were the only two non-Baer members of this odd posse.

An hour into their journey, the moonlight above drifted away as clouds covered the moon, and Jack knew he had to take a chance. As he walked, he let his body grow bigger, stronger. He normally employed this side of his talent when in real jeopardy, but he didn’t want the others to know he could shift yet.

His only concern was that they’d use Heather to call his bluff. He couldn’t risk them killing her. The thought of them doing so sped his blood to the muscles in his body needed to crush his enemies. The scent of fear came to him, and he let the scent of menace flow from his body, pleased when the wind carried it to those around him.

“What the fuck is that?” one of the men said. “Something in the woods?”

“It’s him, idiots. Ignore it,” Ralf ordered.

He needed Heather to remember what he’d said. That on his signal, she had to break free and run. Jack needed to somehow encourage Ernst and Jan to leave Heather alone long enough to let her run free. Something to make the men guarding her focus on him instead.

Jack went for broke. He stopped in his tracks and punched the men in front and behind him. Immediately shielding himself from the mental attacks coming his way, as he’d trained with his men at home, he nailed Mikhail in the throat, putting him down hard. Ralf yelled to his men, and then Jack was there in his face.

“Yeah, I was coming for you.” He took Ralf’s throat in his hand and squeezed, then turned the man around to act as a human shield. “Come on, Ernst. Klaus. You think you can take me? Fight me, man-to-man. I dare you.”

Ernst roared and ran toward him. Though the surroundings had turned dark, Jack’s enhanced senses allowed him to see the shape of the male barreling toward him. He shook Ralf and threw him at Ernst, and the pair went down in a heap.

Jack took off into the woods, praying Heather had done the same. He heard steps behind him and turned suddenly to take them out. Four more villagers, down. The best figure he could come up with was that five, maybe six men remained ready to fight. A shot rang out. Then another embedded into a tree an inch to the right of his head.

He’d rather they shot at him than at Heather. Racing away, he stopped and paused, transitioning quickly into Mikhail’s form. He still wore Jack Keiser’s clothes, but he hoped they’d focus on the face more than the jacket.

Three of the men reached him, out of breath.

“What about the girl?” he asked in Mikhail’s voice. “We still have her?”

“She took…off.” One of them wheezed. “Toward town. Jan’s…after her.”

Another asked, “Where did…that bastard go?”

Mikhail nodded to the left. “I think that way.”

As they turned in pursuit, he nailed the three of them, taking them down. After knocking them unconsciousness, he shifted back into himself and ran away from the Source, toward town. He had to intercept Heather before the others got to her.

Except he ran into a bullet. It passed clean through his side but hurt like a bitch. He turned to find the shooter but saw nothing. Heard nothing. He hunkered down and found a rock. Tossing it to his right, he watched as another round hit the tree near where the rock had landed. Fuck. He had a crack shot, someone who could see in the dark, on his ass. And he was bleeding. If these dickheads had enhanced senses, they might smell him.

Too bad, he’d have to move. He threw another rock and ran in the opposite direction. He heard movement behind him and dropped to the ground just as another round fired at the spot where he’d been standing. The bullet would have passed through the base of his spine had he not moved.

He saw Klaus Baer’s face for an instant before the fucker darted back into the tree line. But Jack was prepared. He released his intent to kill and centered it on Klaus. Using his energy, he pushed out the danger and heard the telltale sign of a man who couldn’t keep still. That fidgeting response targeted his prey, and Jack raced toward him even as another bullet tore through the side of his thigh.

He tackled Klaus to the ground and fought the man for a few minutes, but the tussle didn’t amount to much. He broke Klaus’s right wrist and might have crushed a few of the man’s ribs, enough that he cried out in pain.

“Okay, you little motherfucker. What did you plan to do with Heather when you got back?”

Klaus cried, but Jack refused to ease up. He clapped a palm over Klaus’s mouth to stifle his shriek, then broke a finger on the man’s good hand. “I’ll ask again. What did you plan to do with her?”

Jack let him go and watched as tears poured down his cheeks. He looked like he might be going into shock. Jack didn’t ease up.

“Ernst was going to rape her, like he did to Nera. And then we would chain her up, play with her in our cottage in the woods.”

His voice grew singsongy, and Jack realized the man was far from rational.

“We catch them and play with them, where Father cannot see. He doesn’t approve. He likes the death to be quick. But that’s no fun. Ernst and I can make it last for hours and days. We—”

Jack had heard enough. He broke Klaus’s neck without another thought. One less murderer to deal with in a place that seemed to encourage Baer law over all. To think that this man and his brother would have been given control over Heather made Jack see red. He had to find her, and fast, because if Ernst found her first, Heather was well and truly fucked.

* * *

Heather ran like she had the hounds of hell on her heels. She hadn’t been sure she could count on Jan, but he’d pushed her away from him and had fallen to his knees with a fake cry, acting as if she’d kicked him.

She prayed Jack would be all right, especially when she heard the gunshots. She cringed, wishing they’d been together, because she could heal him if he needed it. But if he got shot and bled out away from her, he’d die. And all because she’d been too proud to take Owen’s help when he’d tried to give it to her.

Tears filled her eyes, but she heard noise behind her and knew she couldn’t slow down. She didn’t know what to do. Jack had ordered her to get away, but she couldn’t leave him out here. She had no idea of what he was capable, except she’d felt that same danger everyone else had, and it had stemmed from him.

“Find him and kill him,” she heard Ralf Baer shriek.

Oh God. Jack must have really pissed the man off, because Ralf sounded madder than hell.

She continued to move, knowing she had to get away so that she could circle back and help Jack. She wasn’t an idiot. Of the two of them, Jack would be able to hold his own against these men, while she could do little more than heal them. She would be a liability to him if caught, because he’d no doubt surrender himself to save her if asked to make a choice. The idiotic man she loved was like that.

A stupid grin made its way to her face, even though she had never been in greater danger in her life. An idea came to her, and she found the perfect place to hide. She climbed up the tree as fast as she could and perched up in the branches, glad for the darkness of her clothing.

A few men ran by, two of Ernst’s cousins. She wished she had a weapon or radio. Something. Because she didn’t know where she was, and she had no wish to die from exposure or dehydration while Jack searched for her in vain. She could always go back to the trail, but then the men would find her.

What the heck should she do? She sat up in the tree for a while and tried to formulate a plan. More footsteps came, and she tensed. She heard the murmur of voices and concentrated so she could hear them.

“…half are out searching. They’ll find him.”

“…Rather be out there looking for Keiser. Ralf is so angry.” The voices faded.

A while later, she thought she heard Jan say, “Not a good scene, Mikhail. Best get back to town, or you won’t make it out alive.”

Something garbled, then more rustling. The moonlight lit up the woods, and she swore under her breath at the glare of a flashlight on the ground.

“I know you’re up there, girl.”

She cringed. Jan stood at the base of the tree.

“Come on down. Now, Heather.” He pointed his rifle at the tree trunk, reminding her he was armed.

She couldn’t hide up there forever. With a sigh, she carefully climbed down. Jan stood wearing her pack and slung his rifle over his arm. He looked little worse for wear, so Jack must not have found him.

“Is he okay?” came out before she could recall the words.

He grinned. “Your man is just fine. Furious, but okay.” His grin left him. “You’re my prisoner, honey. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be. I’m part of the town, and I can’t ignore what you’ve done.”

“But I put it back. What was missing no longer is.”

“I know. And I’m grateful, but that doesn’t excuse that you lied and schemed to get here. Now you have to come with me. If the others find you, I can’t guarantee your safety. We need to get you back to Ida.”

He made sense, though she didn’t like leaving Jack behind. “But Jack—”

“Would rather have you safe.” He nudged her to walk and steered her to her right. “We’ll take the path back, because I lost my compass. I can’t see worth a shit in the dark either,” he grumbled as the moonlight disappeared again. They walked for hours before he made camp off the trail. The entire time they walked, he refused to answer her questions, and she eventually gave up asking.

He let her go to the bathroom by herself, and she returned quickly before he came after her. Tired and scared for Jack, she couldn’t sleep despite her exhaustion. The Source had taken a lot out of her earlier, and the chaos of the night had only added to her fatigue.

To her dismay, Ernst, Ralf, and Klaus joined them a few hours later. Poor Klaus had been shot in the leg and the side, but he refused to allow her to heal him. The rest of their party continued to hunt for Jack.

“I’m fine,” Klaus snapped when Ernst told Heather to heal him.

Klaus must have truly been hurt, because he always seemed to defer to his older brother.

“I don’t want a Stallbridge touching me.”

Ernst frowned. “But I thought you wanted her.”

Klaus’s sneer turned into a sly grin. “Later. There’s using, and there’s using.”

Ernst laughed. “True enough. If you’re finally manning up for the first time in your life, I shouldn’t complain.”

Ralf nodded at Klaus. “Good boy.” He glared at Ernst. “But you. What the fuck good are you? You didn’t find him, not even a trace? At least Klaus nearly pegged him.”

“I think I wounded him, Father,” Klaus bragged. “I saw blood on the leaves. I trailed him, but then it stopped. He must have tied off his injury.”

Ralf frowned. “He’s smart. Dangerous too.”

Ralf turned to Jan, and Heather made herself smaller, curling herself into a ball while she pretended to sleep, watching them from under her arm.

“Well, Jan? Have you seen him?”

No doubt Ralf referred to Jan’s second sight.

“I have.” Jan smiled.

His wide grin alarmed her. There was no way to fight psychic knowing. All the hunting instincts Jack might have meant nothing to a man who could see the future.

“He’ll be waiting for us in town. Keep Heather alive and healthy. He’ll come for her at Ida’s. And then you’ll be there, Ralf. And Ernst.” He glanced at Klaus and shrugged. “Can’t see you, boy. But the others and me. We’ll be there.”

Heather wanted to curse Jan for betraying them, but Ida had warned her not to trust him.

She tried not to cry, to recover her energy for the trip tomorrow. Another day and a half walking back to town, imagining the worst. She huddled in her misery and fell asleep.

A kick to her side woke her from a nightmare. The kick didn’t hurt her overmuch, but it would leave a bruise or two.

Ernst leered at her. “Wake up.”

She rose painfully to her feet. She’d slept in an awkward position, and the many sticks and trees she’d bumped into while trying to escape had left their mark.

“Come on. You need to piss; then we need to go.” Ernst grabbed her arm and dragged her a few feet behind some bushes. “Go.”

“I can’t.”

“You can, or you can piss yourself while we walk. Your choice.”

The bastard wasn’t going to turn around. Mortified, Heather made do. She gave him her back, dropped her pants, and squatted to do her business, aware of him watching her the whole time.

“Too bad Klaus missed this. He likes humiliation,” Ernst said in a thick voice.

Like Ernst didn’t? He seemed to want to portray himself as better than his brother, but from what Heather could tell, he was just as cruel and perverted. She stood and hurried to right her clothing.

“Why won’t your brother let me heal him?” she asked, needing to fix Klaus’s wounds. Being kept from pain was in itself a kind of torment. Perhaps Klaus knew that.

Ernst shrugged. When she tried to go around him, he grabbed her by the shoulders and smashed his lips against hers. She struggled to get free, but he was too powerful. Too strong.

Tears rolled down her cheeks while he shoved his tongue into her mouth and squeezed her breast.

He pulled away from her mouth before she could bite him. “Oh yeah. You’re a hot piece. I can’t wait to fuck that ass.”

She cringed and tried to distance herself, both mentally and physically, when he dragged her close again.

“Ernst, not now.” Klaus tapped him on the shoulder. “Father is waiting, and he’s not happy.”

Ernst immediately moved away from her. “Bring her with you. I’ll see to Father.”

Klaus nodded. When Heather wiped her mouth, trembling, Klaus just stared at her, his eyes hard. He reached for her hand, and she immediately jerked back. His eyes seemed to soften, and then he glared at her.

“Come on.” He nodded in the direction from which they’d come.

She wondered if she could run into the woods before an injured Klaus could catch her, if she’d make matters better or worse if she wasn’t there for Jack to rescue. Would she be saving him or not?

“I wouldn’t,” he said in a low voice. “I’ll find you. Then Father will hurt you, and Ernst will rape you. He’ll make it hurt.”

She tried not to cry but couldn’t help it. “He’s going to rape me later anyway.”

Klaus stiffened. “Not if you promise to be mine instead. I’ll protect you.”

Oh God. Jack, where are you? He would use the situation to his advantage, wouldn’t he? Could she use one brother against the other? The possibility intrigued her enough to go with Klaus back to the others. She saw Jan’s raised brow as he looked from her to Klaus. The he saw her mouth and frowned. He said something to Ralf, who glared at Klaus.

“Not me.” Klaus nodded to Ernst, who paled. “I was bringing her back. I think she meant to escape.”

“Only because he tried to…tried to…” She couldn’t say it. “You’re an evil man, Ernst Baer.”

Ralf scowled at her. “My son is not evil. You Stallbridges are the problem. Whores and liars all. Your family tainted a pure thing, stole its essence without thought or care for our town. You’re admitted thieves, and you think you can put the blame at our feet? Ernst is just eager to apply our brand of justice.”

“Good points, Ralf.” Jan nodded. “Perhaps we can belabor them at home? My bones ache, and I know Edda’s just waiting with some hot cider to ease our troubles.”

Ralf smiled. “Cider. That’s a good thing. Let’s go, boys.”

The group started the return trip back. Heather saw Klaus watching her constantly, but when he’d notice her watching, he’d look away. Ernst glared at her but kept his distance after his father said something to him. Later that night, when they stopped again, Ernst found her before she could lie down to sleep.

“Don’t let down your guard, darling. When we get back to town, I’m going to kill your lover. And then I’ll skin him alive while you watch. You’re mine, and your punishment will be a warning to all who think to fuck with the Source.”

He grinned, and she felt ill.

“Don’t you forget it.”

Chapter Nine

Jack’s leg was throbbing. His side hurt like a bitch. But none of that made a damn bit of difference when he couldn’t stop aching for Heather. Scared, cold, and tired, the poor woman still managed to look like an angel surrounded by so much filth. He understood the Baers. Bullies came in all shapes and sizes, and these dicks thought they ruled Drei-Gewalten. From the comments Ralf and Ernst made, they regularly killed those unfortunate enough to find their way into the town.

He wondered if Ida and the others knew that the Baers killed outsiders with prejudice. Jan seemed not to be surprised by the revelations, and Jack stored that information away, guarding it wisely. Jan was the one to watch. Mikhail had disappeared, probably hunting Jack with the others. Only Ralf, Ernst, Jan, and Jack—pretending to be Klaus—remained.

Jack needed to return to town to find transportation for himself and Heather. Ida’s place would offer no refuge. She’d be under watch. He hoped the old woman wouldn’t get in trouble for helping Heather and him. But he had no idea how far the Baers’ authority stretched. The town council had the most say, from what he gathered. And Ida had a reputation in town as someone to respect.

The things Ernst had whispered of doing to Heather made Jack ill. Only his pretense and the knowledge he needed to regain his strength gave him the fortitude not to kill Ernst right away. That, and it took a lot of energy to hold himself in Klaus Baer’s form while his wounds hurt like a bitch.

He worried that if he let Heather heal him, she’d know him. And he needed her fear to be authentic. She had to be believable if they had a shot at escaping. The road he’d traveled to get into town wouldn’t help him. But Jan’s gate would. He could drag Heather with him into Grainau, and not as Klaus but as Jan.

A glance at the old man showed him watching Heather with concern. Jan had tied her up so she couldn’t escape. Ralf had already gone to sleep, and Klaus was due to keep the first watch. Before Jack could cross to question the old man, Ernst tapped him on the shoulder.

“Come with me.”

He followed his brother silently from the camp. Some distance away, Ernst relieved himself and said over his shoulder in a low voice, “Bring the bitch to me.”

“Heather, now?”

“Who else, dumb-ass? I’m tired of waiting. Father is just going to kill her. No sense in wasting that fine pussy and ass.”

“Wait. Kill her?” That put a definite kink in Jack’s plans. He’d thought to bide their escape until they drew closer to town.

“Yes. He doesn’t think the council will let him do what needs to be done. Jan seems okay with our method of safety.”

Killing people.

“But you never know with that wily bastard. And we still haven’t found Keiser yet. My neck’s itching that he’s closer than we think. I don’t want to chance Heather getting hurt or killed before I get a taste of her. Besides, if it all goes to shit, at least we’ll have had a piece of her before she tries to escape and we have to gun her down.” Ernst wiggled his brows. “Bring her to me once everyone’s asleep.”

“What about Father and what he’ll say?”

“What about him? We both know the old man’s time is running short. All that power he has is starting to drift into me. I can feel it. And he knows it too. I’ll soon run the show. Father is just biding his time. He’ll agree to whatever I want.”

Truth, or the truth as Ernst saw it? And what did he mean, that Ralf’s power was waning, shifting into Ernst?

“Fine. I’ll be right back.” Jack saw an opportunity. While Ralf lay asleep, and Ernst seemed the largest threat, he might have a shot at their escape if he moved now.

He returned to find Ralf sleeping. Jan had settled down but kept a worried gaze on Heather. He glanced up when Jack stood over her.

“You doing it now?”

Jack frowned. “What?”

Jan sighed. “Took you long enough. Knock us both out first. Have to make it look real.”

The man knew he wasn’t Klaus. Apparently he could trust Jan. But why had Ida told them not to trust him, then?

“I’m part of the town council,” Jan said, as if in apology to Jack’s unasked question. “The time has come to stop the Baers. But none of us is powerful enough. Not with Ralf, Ernst, and Klaus alive. Their bloodline keeps them strong, and as long as the three are alive to share the power, none of us can hold Ralf off for long. I’m still not sure how you did it back there, but when his boys are near, he’s got triple the power he normally has.”

That explained a lot.

“Good news is, I think Mikhail has seen the light. He didn’t know how bad Ralf and his boys had gotten. Random killings? That’s not right any way you look at it.”

“No shit.”

“We can fix the town, son. But you have to get rid of Ernst first. With Klaus gone, we’re halfway there. But not yet. Take care of Ernst, and I’ll handle Ralf.”

Jack nodded. To make sure to keep Ralf out of the way, he knocked the man out with a blow to his head, then bound and gagged him with the ties in Ralf’s pack. The man was a telekinetic, but hopefully he’d be out long enough for Jack to get the job done. He returned to Jan and tied him up as well, making sure to keep the ropes loose enough that they didn’t cut off Jan’s circulation.

“You’re sure about this?”

“Yes. Use a pressure point, though. I don’t relish you slamming my head against the ground the way you did Ralf.”

Jack sighed. He slowly squeezed Jan’s neck until he passed out, then grabbed their packs and a sleeping Heather.

“Wake up,” he whispered.

She blinked up at him, recognized Klaus, and shrank back.

“No time.” He yanked her hand to his side. “Heal me. Quietly.”

She let go of her power, and he ate it up, sighing at the pleasure.

She stared at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “Jack?”

“Shh.” He dragged her hand from his knitting side and brought it to his thigh, ignoring his rampant erection. How the hell could he be hard when he was wounded? “Now my leg.”

She poured the energy into him, and his leg healed in seconds.

“I’m Klaus, and you’re scared,” he growled. “I’m taking you to Ernst. We’re planning to share you.”

She nodded so fast he feared she’d give herself a headache.

“And Heather, this might get rough. Remember that talk we had about using your gift in other ways? Focus on that.” He dragged her away from camp toward Ernst and stashed their bags. He hoped to hell she wouldn’t have to harm anyone. If she even could. She’d been a healer her whole life. But Jack knew power was power. If you could give it, you could take it as well.

He brought her back to where Ernst had been waiting. But when he looked for the man, he found nothing. And then Ernst was there, smiling, and he hugged Jack tight, holding him close with his arms and a mental strength that hadn’t been present before in the bastard. A knife slid between Jack’s ribs before he could react, and Heather was yanked violently away.

As Jack fell to his knees, gasping in pain, Ernst whispered, “You’re not Klaus.”

HEATHER HAD NEVER been so scared in her life. Klaus wasn’t Klaus. Ernst had just stabbed what looked like his brother…but was Jack? So she wasn’t going insane, and the spark she’d felt before that had felt like Jack really was Jack. But how could Jack be Klaus? He looked and sounded just like him, yet when her energy had merged with his before, she’d felt Jack.

Though confused, she refused to let Ernst hurt Klaus—Jack—like that. She searched for something to help her and found a large rock. Without thinking, she lifted it and tried to brain Ernst with it.

But it stopped in motion, as if it hit a wall. She let go, staring at it in astonishment, and backed up to put space between her and Ernst.

Ernst chuckled and stabbed Jack again.

Jack gasped and shrugged out of his jacket, then rolled to his back and slowly began to change. Heather heard popping noises, and she watched in amazement as Klaus’s face and form slowly transformed into someone else. His muscles grew lax, then tight, then lax again. His bones seemed to shift under his skin as his cheekbones and chin grew sharper, then squared. His skin color deepened to that dark bronze of Jack’s, and streaks of black overtook the auburn of Klaus’s hair. It didn’t take long before he looked like himself again in clothes too small to fit him comfortably.

“You are one fucked-up freak,” Ernst said pleasantly. “And now you’ll find out why the Baers are so very good at what we do.”

“What’s that? Kill anyone who says no to you?” Jack asked in his deep, rough growl.

The rock, which had been hanging in midair, thudded to the ground an inch from Jack’s head.

“Oh, wow. Another telekinetic.” Jack snorted. “You people are a dime a dozen.”

Ernst frowned, obviously not getting the respect he’d anticipated. He narrowed his gaze at Jack, and Heather felt a surge of power. Jack lifted from the ground several feet before slamming back down hard enough to crack something. He let out a curse, then slowly got to his feet and stood, not even clutching his side, which had to hurt.

Heather could feel his pain, and she sent energy out toward him, hoping she might be able to heal him without touching him. She’d never done so before, but she’d never felt such overwhelming need to use her power either. Jack needed her, and she loved him. She had to help.

“You’re stronger than you look, outsider,” Ernst mused. He smiled. “But she’s not.”

Without warning, Heather jerked in his direction, flying off the ground, then through the air. She smacked into Ernst’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, using her as a human shield. One hand gripped her by the hair, holding her still. Tears stung her eyes, and she wished she could do more to help Jack than be used as leverage.

He’d mentioned before about using her power to harm. But Heather couldn’t fathom tainting herself like that. If she killed using her ability, she’d never be the same. She simply couldn’t do it.

Jack watched without blinking. He didn’t seem upset or even worried.

“Now why don’t you watch while I fuck your girlfriend?”

Jack shrugged. “If you think you can, by all means.” Then Jack grinned. “By the way, Klaus is dead. You know that, right?”

Ernst stiffened but didn’t stop himself from gripping her hair tighter. For all that he pretended to be in control, she thought that maybe Ernst was afraid. Hell, she was scared of this Jack, this icy killer staring at them without feeling. Larger and stronger than anyone she’d ever seen, even with blood pooling at his side, Jack projected such an air of menace that she pressed back against Ernst, away from her lover.

“Oh, and your father too. He’s gone,” Jack said casually.

“You’re lying.”

“Nope. Go look.”

“Fuck you. I’m not moving.” Ernst trembled behind her.

“Heather, pull.” Jack stood watching them and crossed his arms over his chest. “You can push it out, because I just felt it. I need you to hurry up, woman. I have things to do.”

She blinked. “Wh-what?” she squeaked as Ernst’s fury bled through to her. His hold around her chest tightened, and he raised several small boulders with his mind and aimed them at Jack. Jack dodged two of them but several smaller rocks hit his torso and legs.

Still, he remained standing. Bloodied and bruised but too pissed off to care, apparently.

“Why won’t you go down?” Ernst asked in a shaky voice. She felt his energy flare, but Jack remained upright, angry, and powerful.

Jack scowled, and she wanted to run from Ernst and him. Who was this man she loved?

“Heather, quit fucking around and pull.”

Ernst squeezed her harder, but she couldn’t take from him. Jack didn’t understand. The power was hers because she shared, not because she harmed. She couldn’t abuse it, not even to save her own life. But to save Jack’s?

“I can’t,” she cried. “That’s not who I am. Jack, I’m not like you—”

Before she could finish her sentence, he attacked her. Or rather, he yanked her away from Ernst and punched his fist into the other man’s face. Ernst was shaken, but Jack was hurt. They were more evenly matched than she would have liked. The two grappled for control while she hovered, trying to figure out what to do.

Ernst stabbed Jack again, this time in his forearm.

“Oh, that is it,” Jack yelled and rolled them until he had Ernst beneath him, finally. He reached for Ernst’s neck, and sweat appeared on his forehead as he struggled to push through Ernst’s will. It looked as if Jack battled an immovable force as he slowly, inch by inch, shoved through an invisible force to wrap his hands around Ernst’s neck. Blood poured from his nose and his mouth. His head snapped back several times, reacting to what looked like invisible blows. Yet he didn’t turn away.

Heather hurried to his side and touched him, adding her strength the only way she knew how. Except tied to Jack like this, she felt him kill, sensed the negative energy reaching into Ernst and exploiting his fear.

She tried to pull back, but Jack hugged her energy tight, healing as he took Ernst’s life in his hands. A terrible wrenching, and then Ernst’s head tilted at an unnatural angle, and the light of life left his eyes.

Heather lurched back and retched, unable to stop heaving. She’d killed someone. Oh my God, she’d felt his life just…disappear.

She shuddered, in shock, hurting, and spiritually wounded.

Jack tried to touch her, but she violently shied away, not able to stand being near him right now.

“Fuck.” He left her and returned with not two but one bulging backpack. “I have the book,” he said gruffly and put the pack on.

She finally straightened and looked at him directly, avoiding the dead body on the ground next to him. Jack’s bleeding had stopped, and his bruises started to fade. He didn’t move as he watched her. He wore no expression on his face, but she could tell he hurt more than physically. By pulling away, she’d wounded him.

She blew out a breath. “I can’t… I just can’t touch you right now. I’m sorry.” Sorry I was so weak. Sorry you had to do that, to take a life, to keep me safe. She couldn’t contain it any longer, and she broke down in tears.

She heard him swearing again, but this time he picked her up and cradled her in his arms, his hold infinitely gentle. Yet she couldn’t stop seeing him—feeling him—kill Ernst Baer. A monster, yes, but a living person all the same. Heather didn’t see Jack as bad or evil for doing what had to be done, but she ached that he’d had to do it at all. That kind of toll on one’s soul left a mark. No wonder he had wounds that went deep.

And when he’d asked her for help, had begged her to pull from Ernst, she’d been unable to assist him. Forcing him to turn to that darkness once again.

Disgusted with herself, heartsick at what Jack had been forced to do, she sobbed her heart out as he walked them through the woods, cradling her in his arms, with only the whisper of wind and the moonlight for company.

JACK KNEW HE’D blown any chance of a future with her, letting her see him at his worst, but he hadn’t had a choice. Watch Ernst kill Heather, or show her his inner monster? He’d rather she was alive to hate him than dead because of his gentle side.

He cleared his throat. They still had to leave Drei-Gewalten, and more enemies than friends surrounded them. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he muttered but refused to let her go. “I had to take a chance that you could hurt him. Because the thought of you in that bastard’s arms with nothing to defend yourself with…” He didn’t know what else to say.

She didn’t answer, but he knew she was listening. She felt too light. The woman needed to eat more. All this stress couldn’t be helping her any.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. Always apologizing. “We’re not out of danger yet. I think we can trust Jan to take care of the trouble the Baers have put the town through, but you and I need to blow this place in case I’m wrong. Let’s get to that stupid gate and leave.”

“But Ida…” she croaked.

Good. She was with him, finally breaking out of that state of shock. He wondered if she’d ever seen anyone killed before. If she had, it probably hadn’t been at her own hands. Just how much of what he’d sensed when killing Ernst had she experienced?

He set her down and coughed to hide his discomfort, missing her already. “We’ll check on her quickly. But we need to move. There are still others in the woods looking for me, and by now, they’ve probably found Klaus’s body. I did my best to hide him, but I was pressed for time.”

She flinched at mention of more death, and he wished he could have made it easier for her. But truth was truth, and he couldn’t sugarcoat it now. They spent the next few hours walking in silence, each wrapped up in their own feelings. He would have given his left arm to know what she thought, if the violence had killed her affection for him, or if she just needed time to process everything. Kitty would have been more than valuable right now, using her empathy to ease Heather’s fears.

“Why didn’t you let me know you could do that? Be another person?” Heather asked softly.

He shrugged. “I’ve always kept that part of myself secret. No one knows. Well, one or two people.” He’d been unable to avoid letting a few of his teammates see him shift when they’d been in trouble. “Now you know too. Owen doesn’t.”

She studied him. “Really?”

“Really.” He blew out a breath. “I’d appreciate it if you’d just forget all about it.” He plucked at the tight waistband of Klaus’s clothes. “Christ, Klaus’s jeans are way too tight.”

Heather shocked him by grinning. “Wow. Those look like high-waters.”

“The problem with shifting. It’s hard to have the right clothes, and if I stay in another form too long, it gets tiring.”

She studied him, nibbling her lower lip. “You must be exhausted.”

He felt ready to drop, but not until he took her to safety. “Yeah. We need to get the hell out of here, so we can both get a good night’s sleep.” He wondered if she’d remember their time here as a nightmare, or if she’d recall their intimacy as a good thing. He couldn’t forget making love to her under the tree, right by the Source and feeling so close to her.

A funny feeling made his eyes burn and turned his stomach sour. They were nearly done with this mission. Time to go home. Back to his lonely life and empty house.

“Fuck,” he muttered and saw her glance at his face, her expression curiously guarded. “Okay. Here’s the plan. We’ll be in town in less than an hour. But this is how I thought we’d get around everyone…”

Jan and Heather entered the town and passed the curious stares of the townsfolk. They went immediately to Ida’s place, only to find the woman in deep discussion with several council members.

Ida stood when she saw Heather, and the women embraced. Ida subtly shook her head when Heather opened her mouth, so Heather remained mute, much to Jack’s relief. So far so good.

Ida nodded to him. “I see you brought her off the mountain. So she returned what the Source had lost?”

“She did.”

The council members chattered excitedly.

“Then I suppose we can take her name off our hit list?” Ida said wryly.

One of the council members flushed. “It’s not a hit list, Ida. You know that. But if we’d known she was a Stallbridge, of course we would have banned her from town.”

Jack idly asked, “Have you spoken with Mikhail?” On the off chance Mikhail hadn’t joined the others to hunt him, the man might have returned to town early. And what might that mean? Jan thought Mikhail was on his side, but who knew with these people?

Several of the members nodded.

Jack barked in Jan’s voice, “Because Ralf Baer has been murdering left and right, hit list is more appropriate than you know.” They tried questioning him, but he held up a hand. “Later. Right now, I want to get Heather out of town. I don’t want her harmed, and I’m sure you all agree the Baers have a large influence. Just because Ralf and his sons are down doesn’t mean all their followers will fall neatly in line.” The others nodded, and Jack was pleased not to have to fight their way out of town, especially since his skin itched from holding Klaus’s form for so long. “I’ll walk her to the gate.” He turned to Heather and said, “Best if you don’t visit for a while.”

Ida nodded. “Agreed. You’re more than welcome the next time.” She glared at several of the council, who nodded. “But it would be best if we settled the town’s glaring problems before dealing with outsiders again.”

“Damn right,” Jack swore. “Killing outsiders isn’t the best way of dealing with them.”

“Uh, yeah.” Heather cleared her throat. “I’d really just like to leave. Right now.”

Ida hugged her. “Best be going, you two.” She gave Jack a long look. “Hurry now. I think Gretchen is at the tea shop waiting on you, Jan.”

He heeded the warning. They left Ida’s house and made a beeline to the alley leading to the yellow gate. “Is there some kind of magical release?” he asked Heather in a low voice.

“No. Just push through before someone comes to stop us.” Heather seemed to be bursting with excitement, a nice change from the somber woman who’d looked at him with hurt in her eyes.

Not that Jack blamed her. He too wanted to leave, fast, before they were found out. Though things seemed to be better, and the promise for a real system of town law now existed, he didn’t want to stay to find out he’d been wrong about Jan and the others.

As they pushed open the gate, the sun shone brightly upon them. They took a deep breath and stepped into Grainau, directly into the oncoming path of two startled tourists.

“Where did you two come from?” an older woman asked. In English, thank God.

Jack turned to look behind him but saw nothing but a stone wall.

He shrugged, still dressed as Jan and wearing Jan’s face. “That’s a hard one to answer. Come on, girl. Time to get back home.”

“Yes, Jack.”

He winced hearing it, knowing he’d lost something precious he’d never thought to find.

Chapter Ten

Heather spent the next three months in Baltimore, finishing with some work in the area hospitals and finalizing her move back to Bend. She’d greeted Owen with enthusiasm when she’d first returned to Bend with Jack, but she could tell that her older brother hadn’t liked what he’d seen in her face. She’d been too heartbroken to tell him how badly she’d screwed up. Once again, it had been Owen who’d saved her, and by extension the family, by sending Jack.

Heather had been nothing but a tool, one that had almost gotten the man she loved killed.

She felt so ashamed, even now, that she hadn’t been strong enough to overcome her issues and hurt Ernst. He might have murdered Jack if Jack hadn’t been so strong. And Jack’s condemning silence on their return trip had just about killed her. Her heart ached for the man. She vibrated with sadness but was unable to heal herself this time.

God, she missed him so much. She could only hope that given enough time, he’d forgive and forget her failure to help when he’d needed it. That she could work her way back into his good graces and maybe get him to love her a little.

She glanced around her nearly empty apartment. All that remained was her large bed, which wouldn’t fit in the moving truck. She’d emptied everything out of the apartment except for a few changes of clothes, a couple of towels, some toiletries, and her bed.

Staring at the empty place, she felt her solitude creep over her and couldn’t help the tears that fell.

“Not more of this. Haven’t you cried enough?”

She gasped and whirled around to face her brother. “Owen?”

“Really, Heather. A little dramatic, even for you. All this weeping. You’re not a pretty crier.”

“Shut up.” She hastily wiped her tears, mortified to have been caught crying by him. Again. “I’m almost ready to go. But you didn’t have to come out here to bring me back.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You’re returning with me because you can’t bear to be away from my angry, sullen partner anymore. Do you know how unbearable Jack has been since you broke his heart?”

She just stared at her brother, not sure how he could know so much about her relationship, such as it was, with Jack. She hadn’t said much about her lover, only that he’d helped her, and she’d let him down. With Jack’s help, she’d done what she had to for the Source. She’d explained in detail everything else about her trip. Her feelings for Jack and their interactions remained hers alone.

“Is Jack okay?” Was he dating anyone? She remembered Kitty all too clearly, the pretty redhead a temptation Heather could have done without. For all that she liked the woman, she didn’t care for the thought of Kitty and Jack being so close together all the time.

“No, he’s not. He’s a pain in my ass. He growls at everyone, more than usual. He thinks you hate him,” Owen said bluntly. Her brother came closer and tilted her chin up, so that he could stare into eyes that mirrored of his own. “Why did you refuse to see him before you left, honey? Did he hurt you?”

She burst into tears and let her brother hug her, comforted by his strength and needing the love. “I made such a mess of it, Owen. Jack is so wonderful, so heroic. He almost died because of me. I nearly killed him.”

“Oh for God’s sake. Owen, step aside.”

She blinked up at her brother, shocked to see him smirking down at her. Then Owen was ripped away from her, and Jack—big, wonderful, handsome Jack—was there. “What the fuck, Heather?”

“I’m out of here. And watch your mouth, Keiser.” Owen shut the door behind him, whistling as he did so.

“Jack?” She stroked his chest, his face, sure she must be dreaming. He was staring down at her with affection and a mean look that turned her on, as he always did.

“You left me without saying good-bye,” he said gruffly. “Treated me like shit after all I did for you. Never told me you loved me.” He stood stiffly in her arms.

“I love you so much, and I nearly got you killed.” She started crying again.

He patted her back and smoothed his hand over her hair until she calmed down. Then he pulled back to look at her while keeping her in his arms.

She apologized again with a hiccup. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to Ernst. That I couldn’t take from him. I’m not strong like that.”

He scowled. “You are one dumb blonde.”

“What?”

“Jesus. Don’t apologize for being who you are. Killing and hurting people isn’t something to be proud of. You’re a healer, and you do good. Don’t ever say you’re sorry for that. It’s my fault we were in that position. If I’d had my head out of my ass and could focus past my dick, we wouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking clearly. We shouldn’t have been naked under that tree after you fixed the problem, and that was my fault, which led to everything else. The Source—”

“Messed with our minds,” she finished, surprised. “So you’re not mad at me?”

“Fuck, no.”

That was the Jack she knew and loved.

“I thought you were disgusted with me.” He quieted. “I mean, I ended Ernst while you were linked to me. I didn’t mean to drag you in with me. It’s nasty work, and I never wanted you to be a part of it. You’re too good for that.”

“No, I’m not.” She dragged his head down and kissed him, and the love she felt for him seeped out of her without trying, seeking and healing the emotional wounds left by her absence. “You really missed me.”

“Great detective work, Sherlock,” he snarled.

She smiled, a real grin she hadn’t used since they’d parted. “Neither of us was thinking that day in the clearing, Jack. The Source took us over. And if you want to place the blame where it belongs, it’s my fault for all of it. I should have taken Owen and his bazillion bodyguards with me from the beginning. Then we could have stormed Drei-Gewalten and fixed the problem without a fuss.”

“You think?” He just stared at her, running his hands through her hair. “Owen was wrong. You’re beautiful even when you’re crying. Your eyes are red, but even your sniffles are cute.”

He kissed her, and she felt his erection against her belly.

“I love you, you know.”

She tensed, not sure she’d heard what he just said. He grinned, and his smile took her breath away.

“I like seeing you all tongue-tied.” His grin grew sly. “But you know, we never did have that discussion about you walking into my mind uninvited. You said you were healing me, but I’m still hurting, baby.”

“Y-you are?”

He took her hand in his and placed it over the fly of his jeans. “Yeah, I am. And you’re going to heal this right now, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Jack.”

His eyes darkened. “I fucking love when you say that. I want to hear it on your lips from now until forever. Yes, Jack. Yes, I’ll suck you. Yes, you can fuck my ass. Yes, I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Yes, Jack. I love you.”

IT WAS THE “I love you” that did it.

He said to hell with it and shoved her against the nearest wall. No preamble, no words, he simply suited action to reason. Jack kissed her and held her firm, then, as he’d done in Ida’s that first time, he yanked off her shoes, pants, and panties, then wrapped her legs around his waist.

“J-Jack?”

She seemed to be in a daze, but he couldn’t wait. It had been an eternity without her, and knowing she’d been hurting, in love with him but all alone, made him crazy to have her again.

Jack unbuttoned his jeans and took himself out. He found her wet slit and shoved home.

They both groaned as he sank inside her, but Jack wasn’t content to wait. He fucked her hard, with brutal strokes to remind her where she belonged, not even bothering to kiss her. She didn’t protest but moaned and hung on for the ride. He wanted to wait, to make it good for her, but he couldn’t stop. He pounded into her until he came, distantly aware that she’d come as well, because she clamped down on him, hard.

They panted together, locked in a lover’s embrace.

She kissed his lips, his cheeks, his nose, her eyes still shiny. “I missed you so much.”

He felt dazed, his body throbbing with extreme pleasure. “Me too. Don’t ever do that again.”

“I won’t. I promise. I felt so badly that I’d let you down.”

“No, baby. I never should have asked you to go against your nature. You’re a healer. Let me worry about putting the hurt on everyone else. You heal. Period.”

“Yes, Jack.”

“Do you have any idea how hard you make me when you say that?” he asked, his words gritty.

“Yes, Jack.”

He groaned and saw the loving look in her eyes. “You little tease. Time you made right what you owe me. You need some punishment for stealing into my mind, don’t you?” He smacked her ass and hardened inside her once more. God, the fantasies he’d had. Only he didn’t have the lube he needed. “Hey, you have any massage oil?”

She bit her lip, and he leaned down to kiss her until they both grew breathless.

“In my bathroom, the box on the counter,” she breathed.

“Get naked on the bed. Time to pay up, you little witch. Jumping into my mind without asking, leaving me all alone with a broken heart. The list goes on.”

He left her laughing behind him. He’d never felt lighter in his entire life, the world his for the asking because he had Heather by his side. He found the oil he needed as well as a towel to clean up. Then he stripped down and reentered the bedroom.

She lay naked on her large bed, a mouthwatering dream come to life.

“That’s good. Spread your legs.” He noticed a crumpled shirt lying next to the bed. She must have cleaned herself up with that, because he’d left a huge load inside her. “I was pent up without you. Just pining for you, woman.”

She winked at him, her happiness enhancing his.

“You think that’s funny?”

“Yes, Jack,” she whispered and laughed.

“God, I love you.” He crawled between her legs and inhaled her sweet scent. Then he licked and sucked until she was writhing beneath him. He eased a finger into her slick flesh and slid it down to her ass, rimming her. She squirmed harder, begging him for ease. “Yeah, you like that, don’t you? I’m a big man, Heather. But it’s time I had all of you. Your mouth, your pussy…your ass.”

“Yes, Jack.” She smiled at him. “Anything for you.”

“It might hurt.”

“I’ll heal.” She winked. “Or maybe I won’t. I think I should suffer, just a little, to show you how sorry I am for messing with your mind.”

“Shit. This has got to be a dream.”

“The best kind. A happily-ever-after,” she murmured. “Now, do you think I can have something to fill my mouth while you get me ready to take you?”

He groaned but happily complied, straddling her neck and angling himself to slide in and out of her mouth. She sucked him, and he nearly came when she cradled his balls while she drew his cockhead deeper and laved his sensitive spot with her clever tongue.

“Oh fuck, Heather. I want to come inside your ass, not your mouth. Hold on.” He withdrew despite her protests, hard as steel and wanting to own all of her. “Good girl. Now put that oil over me. Get me nice and slick.” He scooted back and waited for her on his knees. She took her time greasing him up, and while she toyed with him, he played with her breasts.

“You have the nicest tits. Wait until I fuck these.” He hissed when she fondled him, skirting close to his ass. “Yeah, you know I like that. You’re a naughty girl.”

“Very.” She knelt and kissed him, falling into him as if made for him.

He rubbed the oil over her ass, then speared her anus with his little finger. She gasped, not from pain but from pleasure, because she fucked herself over his finger.

“Yeah, that’s it. Let’s get you all slick.” He turned her around and withdrew his hand. Unable to help himself, he watched up close as he inserted his index finger into her tight passage, loving how she gloved him. He pushed past her sphincter, aware of her slight shudder.

“Okay?”

“Yes. More. I want you.”

Like he would deny that. He pulled out his finger and lathered more oil over himself. “I’m a lot bigger than my finger.”

“I know.”

“God, baby. I’m going to come so hard up that fine ass. I need you so much.” He was babbling but couldn’t help himself. Every word he spoke was true. As he positioned himself at her ass, he slowly pushed and nearly lost it when her heat engulfed him.

She squirmed, and he lightly smacked her flank. “Be still,” he growled. “I’m trying to be gentle.”

“Yes, Jack.”

He panted as he continued to move, watching his thick cock disappear between her white cheeks. An erotic scene he couldn’t look away from. He finally seated himself deep, aware she had to be hurting. But the heat all around him felt psychically charged, and he knew she’d done something to ease the sting.

“You okay?” he rasped, wanting badly to pull out.

“Yes. I want you. Come inside me.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. Jack eased out then slid back inside. He thrust slowly, watching himself join the only woman he’d ever truly loved.

Then he reached beneath her to finger her clit, pleased to find the small nub hard and wet. “You’re gonna come with me, aren’t you?” he whispered. “You like me up your ass, you dirty little girl.” His angelic lover moaned his name, breathless as she pleaded for him to take her, to love her.

“I do love you, Heather. So fucking much.” Jack continued to fuck her with slow, torturous strokes. When she shuddered and came hard, he was helpless to follow, squeezed by her body that wanted all of him.

He jerked and spurted, filling her up. And while they remained joined, he felt her layering his energy with love.

“You’re trespassing.” He sighed, high on the endorphins still rushing through his body. High on her. “Guess I’m going to have to fuck you all over again.”

“Oh please.” She wriggled around him. “I love you inside me.”

“And guess what? Since I can take any shape, we can do any number of fantasies you might have.” He felt her tense beneath him. “You want me to get bigger?”

“Not right now.” She clenched her ass, and he groaned.

“Maybe later, eh? Not to ruin the mood, but I guess I can tell your brother to leave, since I’ve got you covered. You’re flying home with me, woman. Oh, and I want you to marry me too.” He withdrew and found a towel to catch his seed spilling out of her. Once he’d cleaned them up, he flopped onto the bed and sighed.

“This is nice. Almost as nice as my bed. So are you moving in with me or what?”

She just stared at him, her mouth open, looking horrified.

He scowled. “What? I’m neat, I don’t snore, and you already said you love me. You can’t take it back.”

“I do love you, and yes, I’ll move in with you,” she said absently, her gaze on the closed bedroom door. She whispered, “Is my brother still here, do you think?” She was bright pink.

Filled with happiness and humor, Jack laughed so hard he cried.

She was hitting him, and when he didn’t stop laughing, she pinched his nipple.

“Ow.”

“Owen, my brother? Is he here?” she hissed.

“Oh wow. I like when you’re mean. You’re turning me on again. Time for that blowjob you owe me.”

“Jack…”

“Nah, he’s gone. I brought Ian along to keep him company while I wooed you.”

She sighed with relief. “Ian?”

“Yeah. Your brother agreed to help me with you only if I promised to lend him Ian for the next month or so. Apparently Owen has some work he wants Ian to do for him, and considering Ian’s talent lies in forging, I didn’t ask too many questions.”

HEATHER SIGHED AND rolled on top of Jack. “Sounds good to me.” She leaned close to smell him, loving the scent of his body mixed with hers. “I love you so much. If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up.”

“Me too. God, I missed you. You pulled my heart out when you left Bend. But according to my guys at the gym, I never really had one to begin with. Kitty’s not too happy with you, by the way.”

She tugged on a smattering of chest hair and felt him wince. “How close are you and Kitty, anyway?” She leaned up to see him grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

“Are you jealous?” He sounded amazed.

“Answer the question.”

He nodded. “You’re jealous. Holy shit. Ow. Stop pulling. Kitty and I are as close as I’ve ever been with a woman still living. We work together, and I like and trust her. But I love you. If it eases your mind, I’ve known Kitty for years and never once thought about doing her.” He paused. “Okay, maybe once, when I first met her. She’s hot, but she’s a coworker.” His face darkened. “After Melissa, it was all about the job. That I trust Kitty says something. She’s like a sister to me. Oh, and her fiancée is as big and possessive as I am. Happy now?”

“A little.” She eased back over him, still watching but pleased to know she wouldn’t have to work to get rid of the competition.

“I’m a one-woman man, baby. And when I bring you back, all smiles, the team is gonna think you’re a witch. I’m not happy without you. And I’m nothing without you in my life.” He cleared his throat, his eyes more blue than gray and filled with hope. “So you love me, and you’re moving in. You going to marry me or what?”

“I’m thinking about it.” She pretended to mull it over in her mind.

He looked pained. “I’m not rich like you, but I have money. I can take care of you. And I don’t care about you healing people, though if you’re going out of country or to any place dangerous, I’m going to want to be with you.” Still she said nothing, and he hurriedly added, “I like your brother.”

“Enough, already. I guess I’ll marry you.” She squealed when he rolled her over and tickled her. Between bouts of laughter, she kissed him until both of them were out of breath and raring to go again.

“Shower. Blowjob you owe me, then I’m eating you until you scream,” he insisted and jumped off the bed. He threw her over his shoulder and carried her like a caveman into the bathroom. “I love you, Heather. Ring’s in my pocket, by the way. Owen assured me it would fit you. So that’s it. No going back now, you got that?”

She smiled and patted him on his tight, gorgeous ass. “Yes, Jack.” I love you.

* * *

Owen smiled at the thought of his sister wrapping mean Jack Keiser around her finger. The guy had been fixated on her picture from the first, and Owen couldn’t have asked for a better man to take care of his family when he was gone.

The time had come to deal with matters he’d been ignoring for far too long. The last attempt on his life had been expected. Though the others thought Linda Cavendish had been possessed by a cursed statue, Owen knew the truth. Kerr had sicced her on Owen in the first place. The bastard had been carefully crafting Owen’s demise for years, but since the Feds had nearly caught him, Carl Kerr had stepped up his timetable.

If Owen didn’t do something soon, he’d be one step behind Kerr when it mattered most.

“Hey, handsome, we about finished here?” Ian Ryder, Jack’s assistant at the gym, a known forger and con artist, glared at him as they sat in a posh bar overlooking the Inner Harbor. Ian wasn’t pleased to be sitting around while Heather and Jack reacquainted themselves. The slender male was no doubt itching to get into mischief while near a famous art collection on display at a gallery downtown, just a block away.

Ian continued complaining in a sulky voice. “I mean, I know Jack’s been a huge pain in the ass, but now that he’s found love, can we get back to Oregon?” He made a face at the harbor. “I hate water. Hell, can I at least have some time to myself? Since leaving Bend, we’ve been practically joined at the hip,” he muttered. And I want a shot at stealing some of the Winter’s Collection on showcase, went unsaid.

Ian continued to watch him, not hiding his interest or his attraction, though he was too smart to act on it. Thanks to Owen’s penchant for secrecy, no one knew what to make of Owen Stallbridge. A millionaire playboy who dated beautiful women? A closeted gay man with a penchant for kink? Or maybe something else? Owen knew all too well what the tabloids speculated but frankly didn’t care.

Owen smiled and studied Ian, taking in the man’s beautiful face, his features too pretty to go unnoticed. Ian’s sky-blue eyes sparkled with indignation. His dark hair brushed his shoulders and framed a face that called to mind visions of naked limbs and long nights best spent in bed. And that mouth, such soft, sultry lips made for sucking cock.

Owen had often pictured his hand wrapped in Ian’s hair while he guided Ian’s mouth toward him. A fantasy he intended to make real sooner than later. The little thief blinked at him, and Owen raised a brow in question.

Ian’s face darkened. “I don’t trust that look.”

“You shouldn’t.” Owen said nothing more, just sipped his bourbon and stared at the fading sunlight going down over the water.

“I…” Ian sighed. “Oh hell. Give me what you’re having, would you? And while you’re at it, you want to tell me what really happened the night Linda Cavendish died in your office? ’Cause one minute she was going to shoot you, and the next she dropped dead of a heart attack seconds before you passed out cold. I think I’m entitled to an explanation. I haven’t said anything to the cops or Jack about it, you know.”

“I do know. That’s why you’re still alive. I think you’ll be quite useful to me, Ian. You and I have some work to do together.” He stared at Ian over the rim of his glass, taken once again with Ian’s good looks. Stunning, was all he could think.

Ian seemed unsure of himself, and Owen hid a smile. Good. The forger took too many liberties with his safety and the law, always one step away from getting caught. But this time, Owen had set his trap, and Ian belonged to him.

He just didn’t know it yet.

Content

Entranced
PowerUp! - 7
by
Marie Harte

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten