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  “I don’t understand,” Liv protested.

  “She had brought down the price on all of us. We would be trapped here until three of all our blood calls to love and accepts the pain and joy without condition. Daemon and I will be free and Arianne will be imprisoned here with her own jealous heart.”

  “Those were the conditions of his spell? He did this to you and yet you love him still?”

  “Yes. Without condition. It was the only other way. I see now he had no choice.”

  “Three? You think me and my brothers are the ones to break the spell?”

  It was incredible. Why did she have to find this out now? What if what she felt for Jack was just the result of magic, not real? She wouldn’t believe it. She loved him. Didn’t she?

  “I don’t want any of this!”

  “Life is hard and has to be cruel at times. How else would we grow? You’ve met your young man and wonder what this means in what you have together. Love is the most powerful of all magic. Never doubt your heart. You must do as it tells you in all things. Danger comes. You will not be able to prevent what happens from now on. Watch, listen, and prepare for it. Time grows short.”

  The world went black around her as Liv slid from one dream into the next.

  * * * *

  Jack couldn’t sleep, trying everything, counting sheep even, and nothing would let him rest, there was just too much on his mind to sleep. Pacing a path in the carpet on the office floor, he’d lain awake for hours thinking about Liv, just down the hall, sleeping soundly, safely. Keeping her that way was killing him. When it had occurred to him that he lay in the same spot where she had been only nights before, he’d abandoned his bedroom and fled to his office with the hope of driving her out of his thoughts with work. Jack had long since set aside his own writing. He couldn’t concentrate with Liv in the house and people plotting to kill them both. When it was over, maybe they could go away for a while. He liked the idea of that, spending time getting to know each other under less intense situations. They’d been practically thrown into each other’s arms. They were living together, albeit an entirely different situation for now. How long could he hold out against the sexual frustration and tension? Did Liv feel the same way he did? Was she fighting this lust? Why the hell should they?

  He shoved his hands into the pockets of the worn out jeans he had pulled on, but shut the door quietly when he left the room. No need in waking up Liv just because you can’t deal with all the things going on in your head.

  Coffee. Lots and lots of it. Coffee cures all, his weary mind reasoned. What did he care if it was two in the morning? His alarm clock would go off in another three hours anyway. Sleep wouldn’t come before then. Jogging down the stairs and into the kitchen, Jack found the filters and coffee right where they should be, if he had a habit of putting things where they were supposed to go. Since he didn’t, he figured Liv had done that in here like she had every other room in the house. Yesterday morning he’d been able to find matching socks, without searching. They had been folded and balled together in a nice little pile in the sock drawer. It had been a momentous occasion.

  She liked to bake little things. He grinned when the thought came to him, and began to scout out the cookie jar. Mmm, chocolate chip, he thought as he stuffed one of the homemade gooey treats into his mouth. If he could have coffee at two, why not have cookies to go with it? His hand in the mouth of Serena’s favorite Santa Claus jar, Jack heard Liv scream. The jar shattered when he dropped it and bolted back up the stairs toward her room. He spared only a moment to grab his pistol out of the desk in his office. Liv’s keening wails carried down the hall, swamping him with fear.

  His heart still skipping every other beat, he burst into the room.

  All the breath in his body whooshed out on a sigh of relief. She sat in the middle of the poster bed holding her pillow to her chest.

  * * * *

  It still hurt so much. Oh sweet Jesus, her Jack. That was how she thought of him. Only a nightmare, Olivia, shake it off, she tried to tell herself. How was it possible for a body to stand so much pain? She could still see him stepping in front of her, into the bullet, saving her, watching in slow motion as it struck him in the head, his blood and brain splattered onto her face. It had been a nightmare, but her body and heart hadn’t quite caught up to reality. Liv cried his name over and over into the pillow, thinking she was alone.

  Jack went to her, pulled her into his lap and stroked her hair as if she were a child. “Liv, it was just a dream. It’s okay.” He soothed, but when he gently pushed her away, she shook her head and clutched him close.

  She wrapped her mind in the feel of his arms and the scent of him. He was safe, alive. Not dead. She had known, but she had been so afraid. It had seemed so real, and it had been her fault.

  “I’m sorry.” She shivered. “I’m sorry I woke you, Jack. It was awful, so awful.” She looked up into his eyes and for a split second she saw what she had witnessed while sleeping.

  “Tell me. Get it out of your head. You’ll feel better for it.”

  “You tried to save me. You were killed in front of me. Oh, it hurts so much. When I woke, I thought it had really happened. You were dead and it was my fault.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You’re okay and I’m still breathing. You didn’t wake me. I was raiding the kitchen for your cookies.” That made her smile. “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Was that the crash that woke me?” She tried to imagine actually wanting the disgusting combination of chocolate chip and coffee at two in the morning, but couldn’t quite manage it.

  “I must have dropped the jar. I wasn’t really paying attention. I was downstairs when I heard you screaming.”

  She snuggled in closer to him, as if it were possible to do so, and became aware of the fact that all he wore was a pair of unsnapped jeans.

  “Why couldn’t you sleep?” She was yawning now, in spite of her nightmare. Sleep was trying to claim her again and she was fighting it like a warrior. She couldn’t bear the thought of going back to that horror.

  “I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since you’ve been here. I lie awake thinking of you just down the hall. Not being with you is driving me crazy. My pillow still smells like your shampoo. I wonder how your skin would feel under my fingertips and…” He stroked a fingertip down her cheek.

  “Not the best thing to say to slow the heart. We’re in a right fine mess. Aren’t we, Jack?”

  His laugh was little maniacal when he agreed. “Yeah, I guess we are, and I’m not trying to slow your heart. I want it wild and racing for me, but I can be patient. Maybe. Try to go back to sleep. I’ll go down and fix you a cup of hot tea.”

  She reluctantly peeled herself away from him. “I could ask you to stay and we’d be with each other, but we would both question the reason in the morning. I don’t want that for either of us.” Or did they know each other better than she thought they did?

  “You’re right. Bad timing, and I’d really hate having to turn you down.” He laughed at himself. “If I could.”

  “So instead, I know it’s silly, but I’ll ask you to stay until I fall asleep. Will you? If you’re here, maybe the dream won’t come back.”

  “Okay.”

  She sighed in relief and said as he walked out to make the tea, “Mind the broken crockery, Jack.”

  * * * *

  He wished he’d had a chance to hold her while her breathing slowed and became deep. I want to watch you dream. Jack pulled the quilt up to her chin. He could slip, and Liv would never know if he’d been there and gone. He took a sip of the tea, now wasted, set it on the nightstand, then lay on top of the quilt beside her. He couldn’t help the shudder that rippled through him when he pulled her close.

  He lay awake for a long time, watching her sleep, listening to her breathe softly. Liv was twisting something in him. He felt it turning slowly each day that passed, and wondered how he’d be able to give her up when the time came. He couldn’t love Olivia, bu
t he needed her, just to be there with him. He wanted, cared, and needed, but would she let it be enough? How can I let you go? He twined his fingers with hers, brushed a kiss across the knuckles, as he’d done so many times by now he’d stopped counting. The words slipped from her lips while in dreams. “I love you, Jack.” His heart shattered. No, it would never be enough for Liv. He held on tighter and willed himself to fall into dreams with her.

  He floated somewhere in a half world. One where everything is reality, yet nothing is fact. It is the one place where your sweetest hopes and wishes are there for the taking, while fear haunts you unmercifully. Dreams whisper back life’s hopes and feelings like an ethereal mirror. Lord knew he needed that mirror right now to work out all he felt, past and present. Then maybe he could finally look to the future. Could he have the future with Liv that he couldn’t with Serena?

  In that world, Liv turned to him and pillowed her head on his bare chest. Her sigh set his blood racing and sent his heart soaring. “I love you, Jack. I always will.” When he tried to shake her away she clung tighter. “You belong to me now.”

  “Don’t love me, Liv. I’ll only hurt you in the end.” Jack pushed her aside and walked from the room. Only to see Sissy standing in front of the room they had once shared.

  “She’s wrong. She’s only a passing fling. You belong to me, Jack. I’m dead, but you will love me forever. She can’t have you. No one but me ever will, no matter how many others there are. I’m the only one who can hold your heart.”

  Panicked completely, he ran back to the stairs only to find Liv coming up them, arms outstretched and welcoming.

  “I’ll take care of you. I’m all you’ll ever need.” She hugged him close.

  Sissy caught his shoulders. “No. I’ll always be in the back of your mind. There will be no one but me.” The ensuing tug-of-war woke him with a start. It was like being a rope. He felt tied to the past and drug along by the future. He’d be better off to let one go, but how could he choose? Now what? Liv had said she loved him, and he was sure she wouldn’t remember having said it. He decided to keep his inner war to himself. It was his problem and Liv had enough on her plate. They were going to have to deal with it sooner or later.

  The next thing he realized was that he was alone. The bed felt cold and empty beside him. Gone? Where was she? He sat up and looked around. His mood immediately foul, he would have liked to have waked beside her, snuggled into her, maybe even have talked her into more, now that the morning had come. Two things fizzled out the frown. She had pulled her quilt over him, tucking the edges around him, and he smelled coffee. Not sludge, either, which is what he usually made, but heavenly coffee. The smell of it lured him out of bed and into the shower. He let his thoughts bounce around inside his head while the hot water streamed. Maybe things would settle on their own.

  Chapter 13

  Liv had woken up early and found Jack curled on the bed beside her, his arm around her waist and his head snuggled into the curve of her neck. She’d watched him sleep for what seemed like an eternity, but he hadn’t stirred. Not even when she brushed a dark curl of tousled hair from his forehead. She hadn’t been as asleep as he had thought. She remembered what she had said, and desperately wished she had kept her mouth shut for once in her life.

  It would get in the way now. When only she had known, it was still for her to deal with. Things would change between them. She wasn’t ready for change. They’d have to stumble around it to find each other again. She’d wanted so badly to curl into him until he woke, but because of it, she had left him sleeping.

  When she heard the shower turn on, she cringed. Jack was awake and she knew he was wondering, trying to work it out in that puzzle-solving mind of his. What would be the best way to tell Liv I don’t love her? Ugh! He would be nice and polite. Liv gripped the spatula in her hand until her knuckles were white and it threatened to bend. She was afraid she’d have to kill him if he was. She stayed where she was, there in the kitchen cooking, props to give her something to do with her hands. Oh, he would be kind to her. She was sure, and that would be worse. Some things one can’t politely discuss and dismiss. Love is one of them. Then the man she’d come to love more than her own breath would walk out of her life. Jack would not risk the hurt his wife’s death had caused him twice. Maybe he’d just forget? Okay, she knew it was a desperate thought. Maybe he would ignore it because it would be uncomfortable. Why was she even worrying about it? She couldn’t take it back and she couldn’t change how she felt. Liv spooned up eggs out of the skillet. The air changed, became heavy with tension and she knew Jack had walked into the room. She didn’t have to turn around to know it. Her entire being instantly went on full alert. Please God, not yet. She wasn’t ready to face him.

  He didn’t speak, just walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. Pretend to concentrate on what you’re doing, she schooled herself. She’d break in a minute, down into sobs if he didn’t step away. She smelled the soap from his shower and felt her knees weaken.

  She painted her voice cheery and said, “Good morning to you, Jack. Did you sleep well?”

  It was a stab at what had become normalcy for them. Normal, except for waking together after sleeping the night in each other’s arms. Normal except that he knew she loved him. God. She wished she’d never come here. She suddenly wanted to erase the past weeks from her mind. Her heart was breaking and the pain of it outweighed the joy that came with new love. The love. Help!

  Jack held on. “No, I didn’t. I was disappointed. I woke and you were gone. I wanted to watch you wake up. Why did you run from me, Liv?”

  “Please just forget I said anything. I can’t talk about this right now! Let me go, Jack.”

  He just turned her, held her close, and let her cry.

  “We’re going to have to talk about this, Liv. I don’t want to forget it and I’m not letting you go. I just don’t know what I can give you in return. I want to try and that’s a big step up for me.”

  “Have I asked you for anything? No. They’re my feelings. It’s me who has to deal with them.” She tried to storm off, but he held her fast.

  “Tell me now, while you know what you are saying. I want to hear it.”

  She thought about slapping him. “If you think I’m going to feed your ego, you’re sorely mistaken. Back off and let me be. You’ve had your fun.”

  His eyes went dark and hot. She hadn’t known they could be so black. She could see so much swirling under their surface no longer restrained with niceties like control. For some perverse reason, it steadied her.

  “Please. I need to hear you say it.”

  She was caught in those eyes, as she had been when they’d met, and would have given or taken anything he wanted her to. She sighed and caught his face in her hands. “I love you. God help me. I can’t seem to find the good sense not to. Sure and I knew you were going to be trouble from the first of it.” What she had been going to say next was lost as her breath was stolen when his mouth came down and turned her own to flame. Liv breathed him in and everything else blissfully fell out of existence.

  “The best kind, Liv. I don’t know what I have inside me for you. I know that I care and that I need you, more than is safe for either of us right now. Be patient with me.”

  “We need some time to sort this out. I wasn’t expecting any of this. So much has happened.”

  “We will finish this later, Liv, but right now I want those eggs, even if you are burning them.”

  Laughter bubbled out before she could stop it. He gave her another cocky smile and turned her loose to see to them. Just like that, he’d shifted gears.

  * * * *

  Devin paced in his hotel room and glared at the phone, weighing his options. He could call Gueraldi and tell him just where he could go and what he could do with his bloody diamonds, or he could accept this new job. For anyone else it would have been dangerous, even deadly, to do the first. That wasn’t what worried him. His gut told him to accept would be a mistake.
He could enjoy the money and the thrill, but deep down he didn’t want to do it. Maybe he was suddenly having a very belated attack of conscience, a thousand years too late.

  Devin lived his miserable existence as he pleased once he realized he was stuck until the spell worked itself out. Some would say his lifestyle was morally and legally wrong. They were right. What did he care? Magic, not mortal laws, ruled his fate. At least that’s how he looked at it. Some would have said it was exciting. That much was true. Still others would say heartbreaking. That was the truest of all. He was to be forever alone, or be damned to live with that woman. He was avoiding thoughts of her now merely on principle. He wasn’t a man who liked to be shoved into things.

  In frustration he dragged his hands through his hair, sending the curl of it every which way. His power kept him in tune to things others might miss, and right now it was making him edgy. Something somewhere was happening. ‘Christophe’ was going to need an escape hatch if he took this job. Then he was going to make certain Gueraldi couldn’t find him. He huffed out one breath, then two, and picked up the phone and slipped on his French persona. “Bonjour, Gueraldi. How are you?”

  “You may dispense with the pleasantries, LeFleur. Have you given careful consideration to my offer?”

  Devin rubbed at the worry nagging his gut.

  “Oui, I have and I accept.”

  “A wise decision, don’t make any mistakes. You have a week. A man of your skill shouldn’t have any problem with that.”

  Devin floundered. A week? Even for him it was going to be near impossible. He swallowed against the nerves he’d never had and said, “A blind man could do it in a week.” He hung up before he could talk himself out of it or say any more. The next call he made was to Nicolette.