Page 1078 of One More Kiss
Chapter19
It wasmidnight when we came through the Midnight Gate. Probably a good thing. It would have been tricky to explain our sudden appearance to picnickers otherwise. I picked up my phone, right where I’d left it.
Jett kept hold of my hand as he led us along the bush track. His night vision was extraordinary. Whereas I couldn’t see a thing, he steered me expertly around rocks and under low hanging branches, then down a mountain every bit as steep as the one we’d just climbed in Faerie Land. I wondered if the landscape mimicked ours, or if the two realms existed in the same reality but different dimensions.
Nope, not going there. I’d leave that for the science fiction geeks.
Finally we made it to the base of the crater where Jett had left his car in the National Park carpark. I curled up on the front seat, resting my head against Jett’s shoulder as he drove, and was asleep within five seconds.
The iron-lined threshold of HQ jarred me awake, cocooned safely in Jett’s arms.
“You could put me down, I can walk.” I snuggled my forehead on his chest, enjoying the closeness. His only response was to tighten his grip. Guess he was enjoying the closeness too.
We wound our way up the stairs and along the twists and turns of the many corridors on the second floor, finally arriving at Jett’s office.
“Why are we here?” My voice was a sleepy murmur.
“Ssh.” He sat me down gently on his desk. “I have to put this away.”
He rummaged in his pocket and withdrew a gem.
That woke me up. I bolted upright, slapping at my own pockets, checking for the gem my sister had given me.
Jett chuckled. “It’s okay. I didn’t take yours. Prince Arundir let me keep mine, seeing as I didn’t actually betray his trust.”
My eyes widened. “His name is Arundir?”
“Arun for short. You didn’t know that? I thought Clara mentioned it.”
She might have, but I hadn’t retained it.
My fingers closed around my gem and I pulled it from my pocket. I held it out on the palm of my hand. Jett mirrored me. Side by side the two gems, gorgeous blue magical lapis lazuli, were almost identical.
“I’ve been calling him the Midnight Prince. Or Dad, but only in my head. To be honest I wasn’t sure what to call him.”
“He’s your father, like it or not. He’s family. You should call him Dad.”
“Family first, always,” I whispered.
He tilted his head, leaning his forehead against mine. Our gems were still held awkwardly between us. I moved my hand closer to his and carefully tipped my gem onto his palm. I closed his fingers around both gems, wrapping his hand in mine. “Will you keep this safe for me?”
Because I trusted him. We’d come full circle, Jett and I, and I was ignoring the irony of the fact that I’d been stealing a gem from him at the start of our story, and now I was giving one back.
“Always, Liandra. Always.”
He kissed my forehead, then moved down to meet my lips.
The kiss started soft and gentle. His mouth moved against mine and I opened slightly, tasting him. That was all it took. Our tongues tangled and he threaded his hand through my hair pulling me closer.
His mouth descended, kissing a trail along my chin then up to my ear.
“My único,” he whispered, his hot breath making me shiver.
Inside, I smiled. My único was Fae for ‘my one’. My Dad’s gift let me understand, and I wondered how Jett knew their language. It shared a lot of words with Spanish, which I’d learned in high school. But that was a question for another day.
Jett nudged my knees apart and slid in close, his hardness flush against my core. I was wide awake now.
“Off.” I tugged at his jeans, fumbling at my own as this quickly turned into a repeat of the other night. Had it only been two days ago?
