Darkness, Kindled (Fire Spirits 4)

The club manager looked the type.

Jai curled a lip. He hated bullies.

“What can I get you?”

“I’ll have a Glenlivet and ginger ale.” Jennifer smiled up at him. Jai liked Jennifer enough. She seemed cool, didn’t have any pretentious airs. Her boyfriend Chris seemed all right too—a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy.

“Same here,” Chris added.

The waiter turned to Ari, and Jai answered prudently before she could. “Water for us.”

“So, how did you two get into the security business?” Jennifer asked as soon as the waiter was gone.

No. The actress might be nice but they weren’t doing this. No conversation. He needed to keep focused. “Family business,” he answered shortly, hoping his tone would mean the end of the discussion.

“Oh. You two are siblings?”

“No,” Ari answered immediately, clearly as appalled by the idea as he was. He was just better at hiding his feelings. Ari let hers hang out for everyone to see. Jai really wished she’d stop doing that. It just made it harder for him not to accidentally hurt her.

He shot her a look, trying to silently communicate this, and then he answered Jennifer with a lie. “Our fathers are friends and colleagues.”

“How long have you been security officers?”

How long is this night going to last?

“A while.”

“Do you like it?”

At this moment? No.

“Yes, ma’am.”

To Jai’s relief, after a few more

questions, Jennifer finally got that he wasn’t in a talkative mood. She turned to her boyfriend and their conversation turned intimate, their bodies curling into one another.

Feeling the tension return between him and Ari, Jai hoped that intimate conversation didn’t turn into actual intimacy.

The last thing they needed was a side show.

Ten minutes later his hopes were dashed when Jennifer and Chris started making out. He knew exactly when Ari noticed because her whole body tensed. He turned his head slightly to watch her, her eyes skipping over the couples’ wandering hands. She fidgeted uncomfortably and Jai couldn’t help but smirk. If he needed any proof that anything happening between him and Ari was a bad idea, this was it. She was embarrassed by a couple making out.

Sensing his gaze, Ari looked at him. Even though five seconds later, she was glaring at his smirk, Jai caught the look that had been in her eye. She wasn’t embarrassed Jennifer and Chris were making out. She was uncomfortable … because it was turning her on.

Oh, hell.

Jai nearly hung his head, praying for someone to deliver him from temptation, when a drunken voice shouted, “Hey!”

A tall, baby-faced guy was peering in at Ari through the railing. “You wanna dance, pretty girl?”

You wanna keep your nose where it is, pretty boy? Jai slid his arm down around Ari’s silky, bare shoulders and pulled her into him. “Beat it,” he growled.

The punk disappeared into the crowd and Jai let her go, stopping himself from pushing her soft body from his like a third-grader with a crush. At the half-hopeful, half-confused look in her eye, Jai opted for a cold explanation. “We can’t leave our post.”

He felt her hurt and looked away sharply, not needing to witness the effect of his jackassery.

“You know,” Jennifer called to them loudly over the music, “I want to dance.” She hauled Chris to his feet and grinned mischievously down at Jai. “I guess that means you two better join us.”

Jesus, if it wasn’t Trey matchmaking, it was someone else. Maybe it was time to send a memo out.

Jai plus Ari equals guardian and client. Nothing more. Ever.

But he was still going to have to dance with her. Great. He couldn’t help the reluctant sigh that fell from between his lips as he stood, waiting on Ari to join him. She slowly got up but wouldn’t meet his gaze. He felt another pang of remorse. He was being a jerk.

Needing to reassure her, even though it was an incredibly bad idea, and wanting to keep her close as they moved through the club, Jai grabbed Ari’s hand, pulling her ahead of their clients so he could watch the crowd. His eyes constantly returned to Jennifer and Chris and the people around them. So far, so good.

Scowling and emitting seriously annoyed energy, Jai managed to clear a space for them on the dance floor and positioned himself and Ari close to Jennifer and Chris. To avoid any extra hassle, he held Ari gently at the waist and kept a good distance between their bodies. Like this, he could stay focused, and he did, his eyes constantly moving over the club, through the throngs of dancers.

Two hands slapped his shoulders, startling him out of his concentration. Jai scowled down at Ari as her head whipped around to glare up at him. What was going on with her now? Dammit, he did not need this. “What?”

To his surprise, Ari tugged his head down with a surprising amount of strength, her lips brushing his ear as she demanded, “Dance with me properly, or I’m going to kick you in the nuts.”

Taken aback, Jai couldn’t help but chuckle at her. His arms automatically tightened around her waist to draw her closer. It was a bad idea, and he knew it as soon her soft body pressed against his and her head rested on his shoulder. But Ari had a way of charming you with her honesty. That was one of the things he liked best about her. He always knew what she wanted. He just wished she didn’t want him. It would make this a helluva lot easier.

At the touch of her fingers stroking his nape, Jai had to repress a shudder. She smelled great. She felt great. And he felt as though he were about to burst out of his skin with frustration.

“We’re here to work,” he reminded her gruffly, hoping that it would also be a reminder to himself. “Not dance.”

We can do both, she replied using telepathy, her voice teasing but insistent.

With an inward sigh, Jai decided to give her that. I’ll keep an eye on the happy couple. You watch the crowd.

Yes, sir.

He snorted. There was that smart mouth again.

Jai didn’t know how it happened. One minute he’d been doing his job, watching … but his brain and body couldn’t shut her out. All he could smell was her, could feel her soft hair under his chin, her fingers stroking the skin at the base of his neck, her curves brushing against him from chest to thigh.

He might be a pretty powerful Ginnaye …but he was also still just a guy.

She felt amazing. She felt right.

And as he skimmed his hand down her slender back, following the gently sloping curve to rest his hand possessively on her hip, his other hand trailing in its wake to trace circles on her lower back, Jai had never been more convinced of that fact. She felt right. This felt right. She was his.

Mine.

His hand automatically gripped her hip tight, pulling her to him as his conscience did its best to convince him. She trembled a little in his arms, letting him know she felt it too.

God … this was torture. Jai exhaled heavily against her ear, nearly groaning his frustration aloud.

“You ready for another drink?”

Jennifer’s voice pierced their bubble and brought Jai back to reality with a crashing thump.

Shit.

He pushed Ari away from him, ignoring Jennifer’s questioning smile and Ari’s confused silence. What the hell was he doing? Was he trying to mess her up? Furious at himself and the sudden disappearance of his world-renowned self-control, Jai led them back to the table, deciding it best not to even look at Ari.

He was supposed to be on a job, not lusting after an eighteen-year-old girl who was more lost and confused than he’d ever been, and that was saying something. Crap. Jesus. What the hell …

Jai tried to shake off his annoyance, but it was hard with his Achilles heel sitting right next to him looking like he’d slapped her.

He heard her voice sigh in his head before she said, I need to go to the bathroom.

Great.

Jai studied her face a mom

ent to see if she could hold it in, but by the way she scrunched up her nose and wriggled in her seat like a little girl, he doubted it. He eyed the empty glasses of water on the table. Damn, she was such a rookie. He shot her a warning look. Be quick. I don’t like the idea of you moving alone. Too many wandering hands out on that dance floor.

I have Ms. Maggie, she tried to assure him.

Ah, yeah, the poltergeist that didn’t seem to like him much. But the Ifrit was protective of Ari, so … Jai gave her a sharp nod, and she practically bolted out.

Jennifer and Chris returned to ignoring him. Jai couldn’t say he blamed them. He wasn’t exactly Mr. Conversation. It didn’t bother him. He wasn’t paid to be nice or liked. He was paid to keep people alive. Speaking of …Jai’s eyes darted through the dark of the club. Ari was taking a while. Had she fallen down the toilet? He sighed in annoyance as his conscience told him she was probably pulling herself together after he’d gotten her all hot and bothered on the dance floor.

Asshole.