His Darkest Embrace (18 page)

His eyes slid to Skye’s and she swallowed thickly, sensing the danger that lurked just beneath the surface. This jaguar was volatile, unpredictable.

She held her chin up, refusing to look away even though the man unnerved her.

“I don’t trust you,” he said, baring crisp white teeth. Nico then grabbed their water bottles and disappeared.

Skye rested her head against Jagger’s fast-beating heart.

“Don’t mind him,” Jagger murmured against her hair. “He’s always been an asshole.”

Skye didn’t answer. Truthfully, her mind was on other things. There was so much left unsaid. She just didn’t know if she had the balls to put everything out there.

“We need to go.” Jagger kissed her quickly on her forehead and pulled her up, his hands caressing every inch of her along the way. They were gentle, but the light in his eyes was anything but.

“Jagger, I …”

“Sshh.” He shook his head. “There’s a lot that needs to be said, but we don’t have the time.”

He grabbed her clothes from the jungle floor where she’d tossed them earlier and handed them to her.

He flashed a smile that tugged at the very center of her soul. So much that it hurt.

Oh God, how she wanted him.

“When this is all over, I’m bringing you back to my place. We’ll spend an entire week in bed.” He winked. “And
then
we’ll talk.”

Skye looked down quickly and pulled her shorts up over her body. The bittersweet sadness that she felt was worse than anything she could imagine.

To find someone like Jagger, now, was tragically ironic.

Nico appeared from out of nowhere, it seemed, his presence cutting a sober path through a moment that really could not happen. There wouldn’t be a happy ending for Skye; she might as well accept it and move on.

“We need to get going,” Jagger said, and the urgency in his voice snagged her attention quickly. “They’re not far.”

The silent jungle bled through and Skye paused, her eyes scouring the immediate area that they were in.

Gold and red shot across the sky now and already the humidity clung to her skin, curling her long blond hair into thick waves. Hurriedly she tied it back, nervously aware of Nico’s dark eyes on her.

He turned without a word and slid into the darkened interior. Jagger motioned for her and without hesitation, she grabbed her satchel, slung it across her shoulder, and followed suit.

There were no words spoken on the long, arduous trek. The pace Nico set was tremendous and it took everything in her to keep up. Skye didn’t complain once, but when they finally stopped for a break, several hours later she fell to the ground, exhausted.

They were along the banks of a small stream, one of many that fell from the great Maya Mountains around them, weaving their way across jungle and rock as they ran toward the rivers that would eventually dump into the Caribbean Sea.

The air was heavy, thick with moisture. Skye knew there wasn’t much time until the rainy season was upon them.

She watched tiredly as Nico left yet again, melting like a ghost into the trees that surrounded them. They’d covered a lot of area, making their way south, deeper into the Toledo district.

“Where’s he going?” she asked, curious.

Jagger’s eyes followed hers and they narrowed. “He’s running a perimeter, there’s something off out there.” He rolled his shoulders. “Can’t you feel it?”

Skye shook her head. “No,” she murmured softly. But then again, she’d been distracted all morning by her thoughts. None of them pleasant.

“Do you remember anything?”

Startled, she looked up at Jagger.

“About the demon attack.”

She held his gaze and answered, “Not really.”

And that was a total lie.

She’d remembered the ferocity of the demon attack in minute detail as they’d trekked through the jungle. But it was the other memory that gave her pause.

Azaiel.
His rage and power had been earth-shattering.

Skye wasn’t sure what freaked her out more: the fact that she’d almost been cut to ribbons by a ten-foot freaking demon, or that she suspected Azaiel had destroyed said demon.

Was it possible? How else could she explain what had happened?

It scared the crap out of her to think that he had such an ability, to transcend dimensions.

Jagger studied her in silence and eventually she looked away. She’d never been good at lying.

“Nico seems a little …” When in doubt, change the subject.

“Crazy?”

Skye shook her head. “No, I was going to say ‘damaged.’ ”

Jagger shrugged his shoulders. “He’s got some issues. Hell, he’s still the grade-A prick he’s always been, but considering what he’s been through, I’ll cut him some slack.”

“Has he said … I mean, did he mention anything about my brother? About crossing paths with another eagle shifter?”

“No, that hasn’t come up,” Jagger said gently as he crossed to where she sat. “Once we get our hands on the portal, I’ll contact Cracker. Maybe they’ve come across him. Jaxon might have some intel as well. Even without the full arm of PATU available to him, he’s got a hell of a lot of contacts.”

Skye looked away, lips tight. She doubted she’d ever see her brother again. Hell, she didn’t know if he was alive and even if he was, there was no time.

She had to shut down her emotions, because when she took the time to think about the state of her life and the role she needed to play in the coming days, it was just too much.

She bit back the bitter tears that threatened and tried to keep her composure.

“Hey, you all right?” Jagger’s hand caressed her cheek and she leaned into the warmth of his touch.

“I’m fine,” she managed to say. “I’m fine.”

She was so not fine.

“Who’s Eden?” The words slipped from her mouth and even she was shocked that she’d vocalized them.

Jagger’s face went blank and she looked away, embarrassed.

“It’s all right. You don’t owe me anything.” Skye tried to move from his embrace but was held firm. She felt tears begin to prick the backs of her eyelids and she struggled to hold them back.

What the hell was wrong with her? So he had a past. It’s not like she’d never been with anyone before.

His fingers cupped her chin and he forced her face upward.

“Open your eyes and look at me,” Jagger whispered.

Even though Skye wanted nothing more than to fade away and melt into the earth at her feet, she found herself looking deep into the green eyes above her. They were full of pain. And regret?

“Eden was a woman I was …
involved
with.” He paused and inhaled deeply. She could tell he was struggling with his thoughts, trying to articulate what was in his heart.

“Jagger, really. It’s none of my business.”

She began to wiggle, trying to get away, because the truth was, she didn’t want to hear about Eden.

“She was a member of my unit in Iraq, a young woman who was under my protection.” His voice had changed, deepened, and Skye winced at the emptiness that colored his words.

“I should have stayed away from her, but I was weak and she paid with her life.” He looked down at her then and her breath caught in the back of her throat, nearly choking her.

“Seems to me anyone going to war knows what the risks are,” Skye whispered.

“I failed to protect her,” he continued, as if he’d not heard her words. His eyes were stormy, the green similar to the dark moss that clung to the jungle rocks. “I should never have touched you.”

Skye reached for him then and swept her lips against his in a kiss that was achingly sweet. “I touched you, remember?” she murmured against his mouth. “And really, I don’t need a jaguar watching my ass, I’m more than capable of looking after myself.”

A loud crackle echoed through the air. It sounded like muffled thunder. Jagger reacted instantly and shoved her to the ground just as a huge limestone boulder behind them exploded into thousands of fragments.

“Jesus fuck,” he shouted, rolling to the side and taking her with him. “Go!” he shouted, pushing her away, the mist already crawling up his body. “Now. Shift, and get the hell out of here. I’ll find you.”

Another energy blast, one heavy with dark magick, shook the earth floor violently, downing several large mahogany trees.

“Now,” Jagger shouted once more, his voice ending in a snarl when the animal inside of him took over, erupting with a fury as black fur began to ripple over his flesh.

Skye was up in an instant, the raptor clamoring for a way out.

She rushed forward, following the jaguar, and heard her eagle cry out as her body began to change.

The wind tore at her hair as she jumped high into the air. Her clothes fell to the earth and she welcomed the power flooding her cells as the great golden eagle was set loose.

Her wings caught the wind and she flew high into the sky, arcing into a circle before skimming the canopy below.

With a savage call, Skye turned and prepared for battle.

Chapter 17

H
er eyes quickly homed in on three shadowy forms along the banks of the small stream, several hundred feet from where she’d just been. They were in a triangular format, moving forward slowly with predatory ease. The one in the front, the leader, must have been the bastard that had shot the energy blasts.

They were charmed, their bodies somewhat transparent. To the jaguars below, the invisibility charm would most likely camouflage the enemy totally, making them extremely difficult to hunt.

As an eagle knight, however, Skye’s enhanced vision was a definite advantage. Not only could she see in layers, her eyes had two centers of focus, meaning she could see both in front and to the side.

As she focused on the enemy spread out before her, she could also see Jagger to the right, his dark body slipping in and out of the tree cover.

She spotted Nico farther down, coming up behind the enemy, but he was too far away to be of any help. Even though Jagger would be able to sense the magicks, he wouldn’t be able to see them in time.

She needed to up their odds of winning.

Anger sat low in her belly and everything faded from her mind but the hunt.

Skye was cresting the wind, her sleek body riding the air like a kite. She dipped her left wing, set her course and flew like a rocket toward the enemy closest to Jagger.

Her long, sharp claws lay open and as she skimmed the canopy, the wind flowing over her feathers, she tapped into the power of the sun and called upon the ancient Aztec gods Quetzalcoatl and Chalchiuhtlicue to give her strength.

She slid through the air, a silent, lethal predator, and as she approached the enemy, she let loose a war cry that echoed shrilly in the quiet jungle.

The magick within her sights glanced up at the last moment, not prepared for the deadly claws that scraped through flesh and bone. They ripped into soft tissue, and Skye tugged with all the strength she could muster. She then tilted her body slightly as she sailed by, the sharp talons digging in even deeper.

She was up and away before the bastard knew what had hit him, his cries of pain and fury following in her wake.

Shouts rang out and the two remaining magicks began to shimmer as their charm faded and then died out like a candle in the wind. The man she’d attacked had obviously been the one holding the charm in place, and it had evaporated as soon as he became injured.

No doubt he was using all his juice to mend the gaping wounds she’d left on his face.

She saw Jagger pause, his green eyes following her closely. Inside she was smiling wildly as she flew over him, rushing through the air like a golden bullet. The thrill of the hunt was exhilarating and she banked to the left, her feathers ruffling as she changed direction and headed back toward the fight.

She could hear a sizzling, crackling noise in the air as the magicks began hurtling bolts of white-hot energy, but it was the accompanying sound of gunfire that struck terror into her heart. Her eyes quickly scoured the jungle below, and while she could see Nico rushing through the jungle in an effort to get back, she knew he’d be too late.

Jagger was almost upon the leader she’d injured and the magick’s curses rang out, echoing alongside the gunfire, creating a cacophony of noise that was terribly out of place, here in the jungle.

With one more pass she could immobilize the bastard but Jagger was there. He’d look after the asshole. It was the other, the one with the gun, that concerned her more.

She called out to the jaguar as she whipped by and heard his answering bark. It was loud, aggressive. Totally pissed.

Jagger would just have to learn to deal. Skye Knightly was not the kind of girl who ever ran from a fight.

She flew lower, so low that her deadly claws could have easily snatched a small wailer monkey from the trees she passed over.

Straight ahead she could still see two forms moving quickly toward their fallen comrade. They seemed confused, scared—total newbies out in the jungle. She made a clucking sound deep from within her throat.

Dumb-asses.

They weren’t her concern. There was a fourth. The one with the gun.

The sun on her back gave her a boost and she reveled in the power that rushed over her body. Searching carefully, she almost missed him, but a quick movement to her right alerted her and she barely avoided the shot that whizzed by. She banked to the left, her large wings catching a rush of air as she rode it to safety.

She circled once more, barely ahead of the barrage of bullets that were now sweeping the empty space just behind her. They glowed a deep reddish color, obviously charmed with some god-awful thing. Skye held on, determined to take the bastard down.

Her speed topped one hundred miles an hour as she shot forward, intent on circling behind her enemy. Skye then dipped below the top of the canopy, using it for cover as she continued forward, zigzagging crazily amongst the trees.

When she caught sight of him just in front of her, she called on the last bit of reserve that she had and increased her speed to such a level, Skye appeared to be nothing more than a blur.

The eagle knight called her battle cry again and extended her long, razor-sharp claws as she swooped lower, toward her target.

She whizzed by, knocking the gun from the magick’s hands as she swept upward and then banked sharply, intent on a return pass.

As Skye narrowed again on her target she quickly became aware of a couple things. The first one being the target wasn’t a man, but a female, a tall woman with flowing hair the color of midnight.

She also brandished a second weapon, a nasty-looking crossbow, aimed directly at her.

Skye didn’t hesitate. Her large wings, spanning nearly nine feet, pulled her lower and her eyes locked on the target.

The woman held still and as Skye barreled in on course, she could see clearly, even from several hundred feet out, the woman’s dark eyes and her lethal concentration.

She was almost upon the woman, her large body twisting in the air, trying to become an impossible target to shoot at, and when the heat flashed by, singeing the edge of her wing, she felt not pain, but surprise.

It was enough and she faltered, but at the speed Skye was going she knew she was going to crash.

Her golden body shot down through the canopy and she heard the roar of a jaguar as she slid into the darkened interior and disappeared from view.

Jagger felt his heart stop. Literally.

When Skye had flown past him, a crazy blur of golden feathers, his first reaction had been anger, disbelief. Why would she disobey his order and return? Was she fucking nuts?

He took off after her, although his anger had quickly bled through a spark of admiration when he’d come across the injured enemy. The tall man was cursing the eagle knight as he held his blinded eyes.

Jagger had made quick work of the asshole and moved on. There was no time to waste. He’d heard the shots and knew the danger had tripled, and the fear he felt for Skye drove him forward with savage intent.

Two more men of magick stood in his way, but they were inferior, and while he immobilized them quickly, they did manage to slow his progress. As he took off running through the jungle, his only thought was to get to Skye.

The fear that hung in his gut was sickening and it increased sharply as the echoing sound of gunfire rent the air.

He reached the battle just in time to see her hit and watch her veer crazily away into the thick trees that lined the bank of a small stream.

He bolted toward the tree line, hearing an answering war call as Nico arrived on the scene. He didn’t look back. Nico could look after himself.

His body slid through the dense undergrowth that covered the jungle floor, large paws slicing through lush greenery. He scoured the area with his eyes and nose and followed her scent. It had changed subtly, but lay heavy in the air, agitating the possessiveness that he felt.

Jagger located her almost immediately; the flash of golden feathers called to him in a way that hurt. The mist slowly crept over his body and as the ancient magick took hold, stripping back fur and elongating bones, he tried his best to clamp down on the paralyzing fear that clogged his throat.

He approached the downed eagle, his steps soft on the moist earthen floor. Skye had landed deep within a bed of vinery, but he approached with caution. An injured animal was much more prone to striking out, and he’d seen the damage that her vicious claws could produce.

“Skye,” he whispered softly. “Baby, you all right?”

The eagle slowly began to move, her large wings unfurling, and he held back as she maneuvered her way from the thick vines and hopped down onto the jungle floor.

She was magnificent. Took his breath away, and that was saying something.

When she’d first shifted days earlier, Skye had been an incredible sight in the air as she’d followed him through the jungle. But here, now, up close he could see the true beauty that was an eagle shifter.

Her golden feathers shone, seeming almost translucent as they caught what bit of sunlight there was down here at the bottom of the jungle.

He watched in wonder as she stretched out her wings in a graceful arc and stood, silent, before him.

“Come here,” Jagger said simply as he took a tentative step toward her. He held out his arm, coaxing, pleading.

The fear that she would up and fly away was paramount and he still had no clue as to what her injuries were. She’d not shifted back to human form, so that told him all was not well.

The eagle cocked its head and as the eyes regarded him in silence. Jagger smiled to himself.

She was beautiful. Fucking amazing to look at. Her strength, spirit, bite-me attitude—all of it was there in plain sight. It tugged at his heartstrings.

The eagle shifter might not know it yet, but he had no intention whatsoever of letting her go.

As he moved closer, Jagger could sense her confusion and it gave him pause. He didn’t want to frighten Skye, but again, the thought that she would leave him, now, forever, tore at him and he went with his gut.

“Here sweets, come here.” He had to believe there was a connection between the two of them that she felt as well.

He motioned toward his arm, now fully extended, and when the eagle began to hop toward him, he stilled.

She maneuvered ever so slightly, gracefully jumping into the air and landing on his arm. Her long, deadly talons were gentle as she clung to his forearm, and he reached out a tentative hand, feeling deep possession rush through him as she let him stroke her feathers.

Jagger stared deeply into the eyes of his woman and felt such a rush of pride he needed to look away. To collect himself.

After a few seconds he turned and headed carefully back where he’d come from, toward Nico.

He found the warrior by the stream and when Nico turned around, the look on his face was priceless.

Jagger could well imagine the visual he presented. A tall, dark, naked dude, full of jaguar tats, coming out of the jungle with an eagle on his arm wasn’t something you’d see every day.

Nico’s eyes narrowed. “She all right?” he asked gruffly.

“I think so. She hasn’t shifted back, so I can’t be sure.”

Nico grunted. “She sure as hell went in hard. That was fucking kamikaze.” He took a deep swig of water and then laughed. “Something I’d do.” There was a hint of admiration in the warrior’s tone and Jagger looked at Skye with pride.

She sure as hell didn’t listen, but would he change that? Hell, no.

Jagger took in the sight of the dark-haired woman on the ground. He sniffed the air and looked at Nico in surprise. “She dead?”

The warrior shook his head. “Nope.”

“She’s jaguar,” Jagger said, his words ending on a growl.

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“What the fuck is this world coming to? Jaguars working with magicks against jaguars.”

The large eagle began to rustle, the talons digging into his skin. Jagger stroked Skye’s feathers with his fingers, his tone reassuring. “Let’s get you some clothes.”

He nodded to Nico. “What are you going to do with her?”

Nico’s eyes wandered back to the prone woman at his feet. “I haven’t decided yet. She might have information that could prove useful.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I think we’ll let her wake up and see what the bitch has to say.”

“It’s not like we have all day.” Jagger frowned.

“If she’s not awake when we’re ready to leave, I’ll deal with her.” The ugly truth fell from Nico’s mouth and Jagger turned away, suddenly weary of all the violence and turmoil.

Would it ever end?

Jagger followed the stream back past the bodies of the two men who’d accompanied the dark sorcerer until he came upon Skye’s clothes strewn about the jungle floor.