Darkness, Kindled (Fire Spirits 4)

And if he had to lie and hurt Ari to make her see they would never work together, then so be it. “I’m your guardian, Ari. Ginnaye. You and I … we can’t. We can’t and we won’t.” Jai found himself lowering his eyes, struggling to find the lie that would hurt her feelings and cut him to the quick. Finally, he met her gaze and mixed the truth with the lie. For the first time in his life, Jai had difficulty finding the right words. “I don’t … look … you are … beautiful.” So beautiful it kills me.

“You’re really beautiful and you’re … great. But you’re only eighteen and you love Charlie and I … well,” here goes, “there’s someone else … in my life.”

Jai didn’t have to worry if he sounded convincing. The anguish and humiliation on her face was a punch to the gut.

He’d never been Mr. Nice Guy with girls in the past. He’d been a “love ’em and leave ’em” type, and he imagined he’d probably hurt those girls’ feelings if only in a superficial way.

But right then, Jai had never felt like a bigger piece of shit.

“I’m sorry … I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable … I—”

“Ari, it’s fine,” he interrupted, unable to bear her shaking voice, her sweet anxiety that told him she thought she was the bad guy and he the innocent. The earlier anger he’d felt toward her melted, and all that remained was anger at himself.

In truth … he’d acted differently with her. He’d talked with her, he’d held her … he’d given her signs that he felt something more. And now he’d lied about being in love with someone else so she would back off and stop enticing him to take what they both knew deep down he wanted.

For the first time in his life, Jai felt dishonorable.

“Yeah,” Ari suddenly laughed, the sound so pained it made him flinch. “Should I ask my uncle for a replacement or something?”

“What?” He felt another sharp twist in his chest at the thought of someone else taking care of her. He couldn’t trust anyone else to take care of her. The thought of another guardian watching over her, getting to be there for her, sent heat rushing into his blood. Pissed off, Jai clenched his jaw, attempting to control the inexplicable emotion. “I’m still your guardian. We’ll just forget about this and move on.”

She nodded at him, not meeting his gaze.

“Okay.”

Like any good guardian, Jai didn’t want to leave Ari when she was vulnerable. However, he needed to put distance between them. He forced himself to say, “Okay. I’m going to head out. I put my number in your cell but remember, you can use telepathy.” And because Ari was a little unpredictable, he found himself warning, “Don’t try anything stupid while I’m gone. I’ll be back tomorrow after I take care of some things. We can discuss your future, maybe train you in using the Peripatos and flying.”

Vibrant eyes now dulled, Ari nodded at him.

His guilt multiplied.

With a deep inner sigh, Jai took another step back, preparing to step into the Peripatos. “See you, Ari.” And because if he stayed one more second he was going to break and yank her into his arms if only to erase that awful look on her face, Jai let the flames enfold him, taking him away from the temptation.

“Mine”

Scorched

Skies, the club scene—Jai’s Perspective

Jai still couldn’t believe he was letting this happen, that his father was letting this happen. He paced along the checkered reception hall of his parents’ home, wondering what devil (other than Trey) had climbed inside Luca’s mind to convince him that sending Ari prematurely on assignment wasn’t an exceptionally bad idea. He was hoping it would go smoothly, considering tonight’s client was British actress Jennifer Hadley and her experienced security team would be outside the club the whole time. He and Ari just had to keep Jennifer and her boyfriend, Chris, company inside, watching the crowds for anything suspicious.

Hell, it better be that easy.

At the sound of footsteps descending toward him, Jai glanced up at the stairs.

And felt the impact of the vision before him like a punch in his gut.

Ari was a beautiful girl. When wearing a T-shirt, jeans, and no makeup, she was a beautiful girl. Not the kind of beautiful that some people found beautiful—the kind that just was.

No argument. No denying it. She was beautiful.

Tonight she’d taken it to another level and added an alarming amount of sexy to her beautiful.

She’s eighteen, Jai reminded himself. The reminder did him little good as he watched her descend toward him in a short, strapless red dress that revealed the longest, shapeliest legs he’d ever seen, and clung far too tightly to all her slender curves. Looking like that, Jai didn’t see an eighteen-year-old; he saw a beautiful young woman who was fierce, powerful, loyal, and brave. Mine, a voice growled inside him as she came to a stop. Mine. He wanted to tell her that she looked gorgeous but was stopped by Ari’s soft smile. Her eyes were bright with delight as she studied his reaction.

Great. That look in her eye was like a splash of cold water, abruptly reminding Jai that she wasn’t his and she never could be. Jai sighed inwardly. Stop giving her the wrong idea.

Deciding against reacting verbally to her appearance but still struggling to control said reaction, Jai asked hoarsely, “You ready?” He handed over her fake ID.

Fake ID.

Right. She wasn’t even old enough to get into the club. In that dress she looked old enough. Old enough for a lot of things …

Jai decided he both loathed and loved that dress.

Realizing Ari still hadn’t responded, he looked down into her face and found her frowning at him.

“What?”

Ari shrugged, her expression instantly clearing. “I’m bringing Ms. Maggie. I hope you don’t mind.”

Jai didn’t think that’s what had caused the frown but at this point, he wanted some distance from her, and that included not asking her about whatever was going on in that busy brain of hers.

“Fine. Extra protection, I guess.” He turned on his heel. “We’re driving. You could use the break from the house.”

“No Peripatos?” she asked, following him.

“I like driving.” That was true. He did like driving. But he realized his mistake twenty minutes into the drive.

It was damn uncomfortable. Not the beauty that he was driving (his father’s SL Roadster, one of Jai’s personal favorites), but the beauty sitting next to him. He didn’t want to speak and clearly Ari didn’t know what to say. It didn’t help that every five seconds, he saw her out of the corner of his eye tugging at the hem of her dress. That flash of thigh, the continued attention her movements drew to her legs caused images to burn through Jai’s brain before he could stop them. Ari in that dress, waiting for him on his bed. His hand sliding up the back of her calf, stroking her skin as his fingers brushed higher …

He felt Ari’s eyes on him and clenched his fists around the steering wheel, feeling the tension thicken, both of them perfectly aware that it wasn’t the assignment on their minds but rather … sex.

Jai winced. He hadn’t been with a woman in a while. He should do that. Take a quick break from Ari. His eyes slid back over to her, her face in profile as she stared out at the ocean. Longing gripped tight to his chest, longing like he’d never felt before, and he knew (no matter that she would never be his) while she was in his life, there would never be anyone else.

Shit.

Relieved as hell to reach the hotel, Jai breathed a little easier as he met with Ms. Hadley’s security team, the seriousness of the assignment taking his mind off his partner for the evening.

His focus was on keeping Ari, Jennifer, and Chris safe. They arrived at the club and as the paparazzi started snapping photos of Jennifer with Ari, Jai immediately used his magic to erase their memory cards. Damn Luca for not thinking this through. Ari being here meant he couldn’t focus entirely on the assignment. He was instead focusing on keeping Ari out of the clutches of The White King and the asshole Dalí. He scowled, adding another black mark against his father as he followed his assignments into the club.

They were stopped by a skinny businesswoman who simpered while she spoke to Jennifer. Jai eyed her carefully, checking out her ID. Once he was assured she was the club manager, he allowed her to show them to the VIP table. His eyes did a quick recon. Two exits north of the bar, one on the east wall, and the entrance they’d just come in. The club held about two hundred people, and Jai scanned as many faces as he could, searching for anyone who looked out of place. Most of the faces were familiar since the club was full of celebrities. Many watched Jennifer’s entrance, and more unsettlingly, a lot of the guys watched Ari, wondering who she was. Many of them were admiring, some sleazy, and some just asking to be punched.

She should not have worn that dress.

The VIP section boasted a table and curved sofa separated from the rest of the club by a wrought-iron railing.

Jennifer and Chris stepped into the area and slid into their seats. Jai closed in behind Ari, his hand falling to her lower back to guide her. He did it unthinkingly—trying to send a message to the guys who’d been watching her—and now his hand burned from the feel of her. They sat down next to Jennifer and Chris, and Jai slid his arm along the back of Ari’s seat, his body language clear to every other guy in here. She came here with me. Back off.

A waiter appeared as soon as they were seated and Jai gave him the once-over. He seemed nervous, which immediately alerted Jai. On closer inspection, however, Jai saw the worried glances were meant for his manager standing off to the side, pretending not to hover. Clearly, the waiter was nervous about doing his job well. He’d probably even been warned.