His Darkest Embrace (Jaguar Warriors 2)

She paused and he felt her excitement as if it was his own. Jagger broke into a grin and loved the way her eyes lit up as she looked at him.

“I wonder …” Skye’s voice trailed off and when he felt the warmth of her hand on his own, everything inside of him liquefied. Seriously, he felt like he could melt into a puddle of need and want. The intensity of emotion that she tugged out of him was incredible.

He now knew exactly how Jaxon had felt about Libby.

He hissed softly as she cradled his hand and followed as she tugged him forward, not paying attention to her actions. Not caring, really. The fact that he was with her, that her warmth and touch was on his skin, was enough for him. For now.

“Look,” she said softly, and his eyes lifted away from her face to follow the direction of her gaze.

He felt the energy tingle along his forearm but he wasn’t prepared for the magnificent vision that appeared beneath his hand. The hand guided by Skye.

“What the …” His eyes widened at the intricate display before him and he shook his head, smiling down at Skye in wonder.

“You see it? Now?” Her words were breathless and they trembled from her soft lips.

“It’s amazing,” he answered, and in truth, it was one of the coolest things he’d ever laid eyes on.

Ancient markings in a dazzling display of color were displayed across the entire rock wall of the cave. Many he recognized from books and drawings he’d seen in his youth, yet a lot were strange.

There were various pictures of eagles in flight, some in half shift, showing both their human and animal side. The jaguars that could be seen were depicted as dark and evil, but they only added to the drama of the markings, and he grinned at them.

Jaguars were dark, powerful creatures.

The markings and symbols shimmered against the hard surface as if they were holograms and the light that filtered between them was luminescent.

“What do they mean?” Jagger was curious.

Skye moved closer and kept her hand over his. He looked down, loving the look of concentration and wonder that consumed her features.

She bit her lip, cocked her head, and it was nearly his undoing. He wanted nothing more than to claim her lips and kiss her like she’d never been kissed before. His grin widened even more. He felt like a giddy freaking schoolboy.

Yet Skye was totally unaware. With her free hand she pointed to the various symbols that swept across the wall.

“They’re not words or sentences so much as meanings, warnings.”

Jagger’s eyes followed the arc of her hand as she continued to trace the strange and exotic drawings. She pointed to an exquisite rendering of the sun set in the mouth of a large eagle. It was encircled with symbols that shimmered and glowed beneath her caress.

“This"—Skye turned to him, her face flush with excitement—"is the symbol of my people.”

She turned back, her eyes full of concentration as she murmured, “I wish Finn were here. He was always so much better at this kinda stuff.” Her words ended on a soft note and Jagger felt her pain as if it were his own. There’d been no word about her brother and as far as they both knew, he’d perished in the jungle when the jaguars had first attacked.

She inhaled a shaky breath and whispered, “These symbols are my history.” She looked up at him. “And yours. Our people were once united, but now …”

She knelt down and her hand slipped from his. Immediately, the shimmer and translucent images fled from his eyes, leaving only bare, cold gray walls.

Silence fell between the two of them and a sense of foreboding washed over Jagger. He shivered slightly and squared his shoulders.

“We need to go there.” Skye stood and he followed her along a narrow passage that ran underneath the waterfall. It was icy cold and the artificial light illuminated the breaths that came from their lungs and lay in the air like small puffs of smoke.

The roar from the water could be heard as it slipped over the rock face on the outside and Jagger had a hard time shaking the feeling of dread that was fast rushing through his bloodstream.

He didn’t like it here. He sensed some bad mojo.

As they trekked further along, light could be seen filtering through the gloom a hundred yards ahead. Skye turned off her flashlight and the natural light was a much softer illumination, blanketing the cold gray in some bit of warmth.

She began to hurry and Jagger had to jog in order to keep up. When they entered a large chamber he stopped, surprised and amazed at the scene before him.

The entire cavern was alight with a radiant glow, and as far as he could tell there was no source for it. It was warm, comforting, and he looked at Skye, his heart stopping at the shadows that fell across her face.