His Darkest Embrace (Jaguar Warriors 2)

She closed her eyes and turned her head away.

Jagger pulled away. “We’re done. Get dressed.”

Skye kept a wary eye on him as she gingerly reached for her clothes. In less than thirty seconds she was dressed, unsure of what to do next.

“Come here,” Jagger commanded, yet this time there was no desire, warmth. In fact there was pretty much nothing at all.

She hesitated, but the look that he threw at her quenched any desire to ignore his request. The man was pissed, and now that several moments had passed, Skye was starting to think that he had every right to be.

Her eyes swept the area once more and nothing seemed out of place. The jungle was just as it had been. Silent, dark.

What the hell was wrong with her?

She held her head high and walked over to him, surprised when his arms went around her. But this was no gentle touch. He had a rope tied around her waist before she even knew what was happening.

It was long and he motioned toward the tree where her bag lay. “You bed down there. If you so much as move an inch I’ll be all over you.” His eyes narrowed cruelly. “And trust me, it won’t be fucking I’m after.”

Skye stared down at the intricately knotted rope that was tight and secure and then she looked back at Jagger.

“You’ve got to be kidding. This

is not necessary,” she ground out from between clenched teeth as her own anger rose up from deep inside to answer his.

Jagger just shook his head, ignored her, and pulled his T-shirt back down over his body. He wrapped the other end of the rope securely around his hand, crossed to where the two of them had lain together and flopped down.

Skye stared at him for several long moments, trying to control the anger that left her limbs shaking.

Un-fucking-believable!

She began to walk toward her bag, but realized the rope didn’t allow enough distance to do that. For a few seconds, she stood there, uncertain, pissed, tired as all hell.

Skye felt her strength begin to fade, like air leaking from a balloon, and she knew she needed to rest. She glanced over at Jagger and made a face. He looked like he was resting comfortably.

As she slid her body up against what was left of a stone wall, she made a vow to make the bastard pay for his arrogance. Her fingers fell to the rope that was tied a little too tightly around her waist. It was no use. The knot was intricate and much too tight.

Skye rested her head against the hard surface and closed her eyes. She began to shiver once more and wrapped her arms around her body, looking for what little comfort that she could. Her blanket was over by Jagger, but damned if she was going anywhere near him.

It was going to be a long and miserable night. She sighed tiredly and tried to sleep.

She was almost there, too, when the voice that she feared above all others, more than Cormac or any of the DaCosta scum, slid through her mind.

Azaiel’s seductive whisper was like a dark promise. Skye’s eyes flew open, wide with fear. She wanted nothing more than to flee, to run as far and as fast as she could. To reach for the golden sun when it rose and to shift so that she could fly away from all of this madness.

“You are so close, my little bird, I can almost taste you.”

The words spoken in her mind seemed as if underwater. She could understand them but they faded in and out, muffled. Skye swallowed thickly, trying her best to dampen the fear that clogged her throat. “I will never let you touch me,” she whispered hoarsely.

There was no response, and for a brief moment Skye wondered if in fact she was going crazy. If the hallucinations she’d had since a young child were just slivers of a madness that was finally manifesting.

Dully, she once more rested her head and closed her eyes. It didn’t matter. If he was real, she’d meet Azaiel once the portal was sealed.

In hell.

Chapter 13

Jagger was awake well before dawn. He’d managed a few hours of shut-eye, which was a fucking miracle considering he’d had a raging hard-on that wouldn’t go away.

His eyes swept across to the tree where Skye slumbered still. A million curses slid through his brain but he remained silent. There was no use getting all worked up. He needed to conserve his energy. He’d get his hands on the goddamned portal and make her beg for it.