Jessie smiled back, but it faded. “I hope this blood thing works.”
He didn’t know exactly what to say about that. The thought of her having Kade’s blood injected into her didn’t exactly have him doing cartwheels. But if it saved her from Braden... “Cara seems to think it will help.”
“Yeah.” Jessie eyed him. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“No, of course not.”
“Tonight when we practiced, you didn’t use the same memory that you used at Cara’s.”
Zach stiffened. “No.”
“That memory—it was a car accident. I got that much. Pretty horrible.”
She didn’t word it as a question, but she didn’t need to. “It was bad. My entire family was in that truck. We got hit head-on by a semi that lost control on the ice.”
“Oh, man, Zach. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No, it’s okay.” He took a deep, steadying breath. “I was the only survivor. Was in a coma for two months. Woke up like this.”
“You didn’t have any empathic ability before then?”
“No.” He paused. “At least, nothing this strong. I’ve always been able to talk to animals.” He huffed a laugh. “I mean, got along with them. I’m no Doolittle.” He glanced at her. “How about you? Do you have family?”
“I was adopted as a baby. Never knew my birth parents and haven’t really been interested in digging them up. My adopted parents split when I was young. My mother remarried. I talk to her on birthdays and Christmas. My father died of cancer a while back. My sister lives in Toronto. We text on occasion. That’s it.”
Although her words were matter of fact, they were accompanied by pulses of complex emotion. And underlying it all, was pain. Jessie wasn’t as nonchalant about it all as she seemed. Nothing got under your skin like family, he supposed.
She sighed. “When I was held captive, it occurred to me that no one would notice I was gone. Not a reassuring thought.”
Zach leaned a little closer to her. He wanted to touch, to at least reach for her hand, but he wasn’t sure what would happen if he did. The two of them together were kind of explosive. So, he searched for words instead.
“Well, if you went missing now, it would be noticed.” He winced. It sounded so trite.
But she looked at him. “You’d miss me?” Her smile lit up the night, the teeth flashing very white in the yard’s dim light. She leaned into him.
Their bare arms touched, and it was like being hit by lightning. Although he’d read her surface emotions, they were nothing next to the roiling complexity of what lay deeper. But one thing was crystal clear, and it gave him the confidence to lean down and capture her lips.
Her lips were soft and responsive beneath his own. His senses came alive. Flowers. He smelled flowers, in her hair and on her skin. He deepened the kiss, reaching for her hand, dimly aware of their racing heartbeats syncing as if they were one person. Every nerve fiber zinged to life. Stealing his breath. Igniting every inch of him.
Jessie leaned into him, running a hand up his arm, her fingers caressing as she explored his hard muscles. Electric pulses chased down his spine, tightening his entire body. He cupped fingers around her jaw and trailed his lips down her throat. She moaned, a low vibration that sent thrills racing through him.
He moved his hand behind her head and pulled her closer...
At their feet, Spike barked and then growled.
“Will. You. STOP.”
The tone was savage, as though torn from deep within, and the pulse of rage that accompanied it split the pair apart like guilty children.
Kade stood in front of them, muscular arms held out to his sides, the hands flexing lethal claws. The Sabre’s eyes not only glowed, but the pupils had contracted to his beast’s slits. His entire face was morphing back and forth between animal and man and his gold eyes spat fire.Anger.And something that came at Zach—fast and furious, but unmistakable.
Kade didn’t want Zach touching Jessie.
Zach shot to his feet and took a step toward the Sabre. “You do not dictate what I can and cannot do.”
Kade’s muscles writhed beneath his skin, threatening the safety of his shirt. A seam gave way as the Were struggled with his inner beast.
Zach’s rage blasted across the yard.
