His Darkest Embrace (Jaguar Warriors 2)

He held her gaze for a few moments, fighting the questions inside of him that demanded answers. He quickly stood up, retrieving a water bottle from one of the supply bags. He also grabbed four granola bars. He was hungry, but after an entire day without food, Skye must be damn near starved.

She took the bottle from him, draining it in several long gulps, and then ripped open the granola bars, eating them greedily.

His gaze fell to her fingertips and he noted that the clawlike talons were no more, replaced instead with long, elegant human digits. She caught his stare and sat up a little straighter, pushing her chin forward, her features now shadowed with a hint of insolence.

A spark of admiration glimmered in him; it was fleeting but there nonetheless. The woman was his enemy and involved in some seriously fucked-up shit, but there was something about her that pulled at him.

Hard.

Christ, the sight of her lips as she chewed hit him in the gut.

Jagger wanted to turn away but found that he couldn’t. So he watched, eyes hooded, face a mask.

When she was done, she pulled herself up to her knees and looked at him expectantly. By now the sun was beginning to break through, and streaks of gold, red and orange bled across the morning sky.

The jungle sounds had resumed their loud, robust nature, the air alive with the shrieks of birds, monkeys, and anything else that went bump in the night. Things had pretty much returned to normal in this little corner of the world, but Jagger knew it was all a facade. Window dressing to hide what was really going on.

He looked at Skye in silence, her body barely covered by Declan’s T-shirt, and while the anger was still there, riding just below the surface, there was a glimmer of excitement, too. It was something he’d not felt in years.

He frowned. What the hell did that say about him?

“So what now?” she whispered, her voice still rough.

Jagger rose to his feet, his frown darkening as he stood above her. “What’s your connection to the DaCostas? Why are they after you?” His face was shadowed as he moved closer to her.

Skye’s eyes widened slightly and she looked at the ground. So this is how it’s gonna be, he thought. He bared his teeth and crouched in front of her.

“I have questions and you will answer me, Skye, because if not,” he said softly, dangerous, “the consequences will be very painful.”

Her fragrant scent hung in the air, teasing him. His eyes darkened and he felt the animal inside begin to make noise. Oh, he’d enjoy making her talk.

Her delicate throat moved as she swallowed and he could see the internal struggle that was taking place. Her eyes shifted from his and then moved back again. She opened her mouth to speak, closed it and turned away before inhaling raggedly. She then looked him straight in the eye.

Skye squared her shoulders and seemed to have come to a decision.

“What do you want to know?” she asked softly, though her voice was still rough and dry.

Jagger’s eyes narrowed and his gaze was piercing. Skye didn’t flinch. There was a clarity present that brought a spark of life to the shadows that dulled the blue of her eyes.

“What the hell is your involvement with Cormac O’Hara?”

Revulsion, pain, and anger washed over her face as she bit her lip. She shook her head. “I’m not involved with Cormac, at least not in the way you think.”

“Well, why don’t you enlighten me? If you’re not screwing him, what exactly is your relationship with the bastard? And what the hell is his connection to the DaCostas?”

He watched as Skye bit her lip, felt the snarl that rippled along inside of his mouth.

“Cormac is working with the DaCostas because they’re both looking for something.” She paused for a second, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. “A valuable Aztec artifact that my people have guarded for eons.”

Jagger looked at her, surprised. “Aztec?”

Skye frowned. “You really have no clue what I am or the history between our people, do you?” she snorted, and muttered, “Why does that not surprise me?”

“I deal in the here and now,” Jagger whispered hoarsely, not liking her condescending attitude at all.

“Really. So that’s why you disappeared for three months? Felt like a break from the here and now, did ya?”

“How the hell would you know any of that?”