Sin of Fury

Chapter 18





Devlin had gone missing, Lucian was becoming more and more grouchy, and Jamie was in complete heaven. Talon spent much more time with her, making sure to tend to her every whim and need. Lucian would see her in the hall, walking hand in hand with Talon, and give them the worst look ever.

It was amazing.

He came to bed early and made love to her all through the night, kissing every part of her and making her feel like the woman she was becoming. They would stay up after that, cuddling and enjoying each other’s presence. A week after the incident with Chris, it became apparent that what she felt for him was much more than desire.

It was hard for her to keep back the three words that wanted to slip free, to watch him smile down at her with the same look that she knew was mirrored in her own face. Every smile and kiss had her heart fluttering and her body humming, and he seemed to know it.

When she slept, she had the weirdest, most surreal dreams. It was of her and Talon, in many different places. In stables, in a castle, in a pasture, living out their days and making love each time. But in each dream, something happened. Either he would die before her eyes, or she would wake up screaming with the image of his agonized face haunting her.

She assumed it was because she died.

And even though she was so sure that he was dead, or he had left her, she always woke to him kissing the tears from her face, wrapping her in his arms, and telling her that everything will be alright.

Jamie had managed to convince him to take them out, and while he was talking to Vladimir outside in the hall, she was getting dressed in her best outfit. She’d blow-dried her hair and curled it with a curling iron that Jessica had let her. All too happy to help with what she thought was a date, Jessica had even brought in new clothes for her, along with make-up. Everything had been left at the hotel, and she wasn’t missing any of it.

Smiling, she looked at herself in the mirror. It wasn’t hard to gauge whether Talon would like how she looked. Lately, he’s seen her in everything...and nothing. Her cheeks heated.

Because of her dark hair and pale eyes, Jamie had given her a smoke eyeliner color and dark mascara. Besides some eye shadow, she didn’t need much besides that. Her legs were covered in black skinny jeans, gray heels, and a white flowing shirt that reached midway to her butt. It was a decidedly elegant and classy look for her, and with her hair around her shoulders and down her back, Jamie even though she looked good.

As weird as it was, she was nervous. Talon and Lucian had been talking in the hall for a long time, and she had no clue about what. With her heart in her throat, she looked at Jessica who gave a little grin. Despite how much the woman talked, she had become a.... friend of sorts. Much like she had with Jessica, she was warming up to Vladimir.

He gave off a snotty, absorbed attitude and loved to flaunt how gay he was, but she knew that he wasn’t as bad as he seemed. And now that Devlin was gone, he was much more happier.

Vladimir had been explaining important people in the building and who to watch out for, and despite the immense hate he held for her, he had explained who Devlin was. By the time he was done, they had rounded the corner and there she was.

Crying.

And cursing.

Vladimir, instead of feeling pity for her, had straight-up laughed in her face. Jamie had been horrified, but had looked the other way when the redhead stormed past them, jostling her shoulder and calling her a “bitch” under her breath.

Any sympathy that Jamie might have felt for the woman fled in an instant. Talon, coming back to her later that night, had looked tense and it had only taken a couple of soft touches to soothe him. She smiled as she remembered the way he had practically worshipped her body afterwards.

Now, though, as she fixed a wayward strand of hair and stood before the large mirror in the bathroom, her nerves were about to burst.

“Don’t worry! You look so pretty, I’m sure he won’t think of anything except getting you out of those clothes –“

Jamie groaned, reaching up to smudge the eyeliner better. “That’s not what I want, though.”

“Well, either way, you look amazing! And the clothes are on the company, so don’t worry about them getting shredded and torn up,” Jessica said casually, acting like her comment was completely normal. Jamie’s face heated.

“They won’t get torn up,” she said defensively, not completely truthful.

“Yeah, right. My cousin Jamil said the same thing when she met her boyfriend? And you want to know what happened to those clothes?” Even though Jamie was shaking her head, Jessica still talked. “They found them outside of their windows. Torn up. Like an animal had ripped them from her body. But it wasn’t an animal, it was her boyfriend!”

When she started laughing as if she had just told the best joke, Jamie glared at her and moved to the door, opening it and pointing.

Jessica stopped laughing, covering her hand with her mouth. Her brow twisting, she looked behind her and also froze.

There, in a black jacket with dark jeans, was Talon. Looking straight at her as if he were going to shove her against the wall and take her right there. His brows were drawn over his dark eyes, and the hunger in them kindled a fire in between her legs.

She swallowed.

“Jessica, you can go now,” he said roughly, grabbing Jamie’s hand and pulling her to him. She flattened her hands on his chest, staring up at him as invisible tendrils of desire wove them together. Why did this feel so different? Her face started to turn pink, while all he did was stare at her with eyes that only got darker.

Her friend left. Talon kept his hold on her, cupping her cheek and bringing his head down. “You look gorgeous,” he said quietly, before lowering his lips to hers and kissing the daylights out of her.

Jamie brought her hands up, digging her nails into his shoulders. They were so strong, so big. And yet he was as gentle with her as he would be with the rarest gem. Her breath left her body, and then he was kissing her deeper, consuming her, opening her mouth with his and taking control of her.

He crushed her body to his, walking them slowly into the wall. Before she knew it, though, he was pulling back.

Jamie reached up for him, licking her lips.

His head shook while he pulled back from her. “If we keep going, your pants are going to be around your ankles and everyone who walks by will get a look at what’s mine. Today we’re going out…and not going to act like teenagers about it. Okay?”

Flushing, Jamie nodded and settled for holding his hand. He gave her a heated look before reaching around her and closing the door. They walked in silence through the hallway before a sudden thought struck her.

“Are we taking that metal death trap?” she asked, not faking the strain in her voice.

Talon’s baritone laugh wrapped around her senses and pulled her in deep. She moved closer to him, praying that they wouldn’t be. He looked down at her with a soft look in his eyes, shaking his head. “No, we aren’t taking ‘the metal death trap’. I have a Benz that I like to drive. Comfy seats, dark interior, just me and you alone.”

She liked the thought of that. A lot. Them being out in public, sharing each other’s time other than at night, and being a normal couple. It was exactly what she wanted, she only prayed it went well. Talon was still a heartless bastard on occasions, but he had never directed it at her. Jessica and her had walked in on him and a thinner man with a receding hairline and a greasy face. Talon had said some harsh things, but he hadn’t apologized to Jamie for it.

She didn’t want him to. Whatever the man had one, he deserved it. Talon wouldn’t go off on the innocent like that; she was positive of it.

They passed Jessica, who gave her an over exaggerated wink.

Jamie had to keep from gritting her teeth. The woman was going to make her go insane, she thought. Talon squeezed her hand, drawing her attention back to him.

It was mid-noon, very bright out, and the snow was almost completely melted from the ground. When they got to a thick piece of ice, Jamie hesitated. She was in heels and even though she had worn them enough, she didn’t trust herself on –

Talon sung her into his arms, carrying her all the way to the car. She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re going to mess up my hair, Tally.”

He growled, spanking her butt lightly. “What have I told you about calling me that?”

“Nothing at all, Tally,” she said innocently, looking up at him with wide eyes. She loved the look of annoyance on his face. It had first slipped out as a joke, and his reaction had been more than hilarious. That had been a couple of days ago, and now she was calling him the name every chance she got.

“I’m pretty sure I did, angel. It was something along the lines of me kicking your butt if you say it again,” he growled, tightening his arms around her. He stopped in front of a shining black Benz, and opened the passenger door one handed.

“I don’t remember that, though!” She couldn’t help but laugh as he set inside the car and closed the door, striding around to the other side of the car. When he got in, he turned on the car and glared at her.

“You just want to be punished,” he teased, tugging on a lock of her hair.

Jamie nodded honestly, grabbing his hand. “Punish me, master.”

He visibly tensed before his growl resounded through the car. “You little tease.”

She grinned, and he fell silent while rubbing a thumb over her knuckles and driving. She stared at him, thinking. What would it have been like for them, if they had met under normal circumstances? No violence or threat of death? Maybe their passion for each other wouldn’t be as strong, she thought.

The books she read, where people fell madly in love under the direst situations, came to her mind. It had always been a ‘what if’ to her, about whether it was the situation pulling them together, or their feelings. With Talon, she felt like it was both.

Uncertainty warred in her. He was different around her. That meant something, right? Jamie prayed that it was, and dropped her eyes from his profile. He had on the most relaxed expression she had seen on him, except from their love-making aftermath. Was it because of her?

“What are you thinking about?” he asked her, twining their fingers together as they pulled into an alley, parking. She hid her mild confusion and tried to smile at him.

“Nothing much. Just about our first ‘date’. Have you been on many?” she asked, trying to change the subject. Feeling that she would be disappointed by his response, Jamie was surprised when he shook his head and unlocked the car, taking the keys giving her a solemn look.

“I’ve been on dates, but this is more than that. To me at least. Stay here while I go talk to someone; I’ll be back in a second.” Then he was out of the car and striding from it, from her. She fidgeted with her hands, looking out of the window nervously.

It was dark, closed off, and very ominous. Her gut tightened, waiting for Talon to come back. When it turned to a minute of waiting, then five minutes, she got bored. Bored enough that she was curious about his car. He would kill her if she left the car and roamed into the dark alley after him, so she settled with opening the center counsel and found it mostly empty. A can of Axe -- she snickered -- a couple of papers, and a silver pen.

Jamie closed it and reached forward, to the glove box. It clicked open and a paper fell on the floor, rolling under the seat. She reached down with a sigh, her forehead resting on the airbag compartment as she reached under her seat for the --

Smooth. Cold. Metallic. The breath rushed out of her chest as her hands slid tentatively along the smooth contours of the metal, knowing that with just the wrong movement, it could slice her fingers. Shaking, she found a solid handle with cold leather punched at the end.

She pulled it from under the seat, staring at it.

Did he even know how to use this? Did she even want to know? The intricate blade fell to her lap with a barely audible thump. How many times had he used it? Jamie’s back tingled and her hands fell away from her body, away from the knife that laid with waiting danger.

She swallowed. He had never seemed like the guy to know modern weapons, or to prefer them. She had no doubt that he knew how to use them, but by the looks of the knife... he obviously preferred the old-fashioned way of fighting. He probably fought -- but with what?

Auro and Lyne? Lyne was dead but Auro hadn’t seemed like such a long-term threat that he would have to learn the arts of weapons. She grasped the knife by the handle, curling her fingers around it. How many men -- or things? -- had died by his hands because of this.

Her stomach turning, she shoved it back under the seat just as the door to the car opened.

Talon had on a relaxed expression, not telling her whether he had seen her with the knife or not. She smoothed a hand over her jeans and tried to smile at him. “Hey.”

“We ready?” he asked, reaching for her hand. Jamie let him help her from the car and stood next to him awkwardly. Suddenly, she felt exposed in her clothing. Her hands curled as she remembered the way the cool metal had felt against them.

“Yup,” she said, forcing herself to get over it. Her hand curled around his.

He smiled down at her, and began walking towards the entrance of the alley. “I was thinking we could go to the movies, which is down the street. Or we can skip that, find a hotel room, get some chocolate and take off your clothes --”

She slapped a hand over his mouth, gasping. “No! We’re on a date, okay? Not on some sexpedition.” She felt the warm lick of his tongue on her palm before she yanked it back, face red.

Talon laughed, a deep baritone that only made her redder. “Calm down, love. I was planning on waiting till after dinner to do that. Dessert comes last,” he murmured, smiling at her now chagrined expression.

“Pervert,” she hissed, stalking away from him. He came after her, wrapping a hand around her waist.

“You like it, Jamie.” As always, she shivered when he said her name. Too bad that he was right, wasn’t it? She leaned into his side and walked with him, entering the downtown streets. Couples of all ages milled around them as they caught into the stream, passing sidewalk shops and kiosks. When she smelled the sweet scent of funnel cake, her stomach rumbled.

Talon must have heard, because he steered them toward the kiosk. The elderly lady stared at him with wide eyes before snapping to attention. “One funnel cake,” he said, not even glancing at the woman. His eyes were trained on Jamie and her ecstatic expression.

“Please,” she finished for him, watching as the old woman scooped up powder and sprinkled it over the already fried bread. Jamie reached for into her back pocket, pulling out a couple of ones to pay the woman.

“I got it.” Talon took the ones from her hands with an arrogant grap, shoving them into his pockets. He took out a ten and handed it to the woman, raising a brow at Jamie’s frustrated look. “What? We’re on a ‘date’. That means, as the man, I have to pay. Not you.”

The woman handed him the funnel cake, stopping any argument that she had. Jamie stared at it, mouth watering. Talon tore off a piece and ate it, obviously trying not to laugh.

She turned puppy eyes on him.

It was almost as if the beautiful powder was gleaming in the light, calling to her every need. Talon didn’t hand her the plate, instead tearing off another piece. He held it out to her, and she grinned. “Thanks, Tally!”

He started walking again, so she followed. He would hand her pieces of the funnel cake, watching with amusement when she licked her fingers, and making sure no one else bumped into her except himself. Jamie was in heaven. It was bright out, she was happy, and so was Talon. Every smile he sent her had her stomach fluttering.

Maybe that was the funnel cake, though. Either way, she was happy as could be.

“So,” he said as they passed a gaming room, still holding her hand. “What do you want to do? We can pass on the movie if you have something else in mind.”

Jamie smiled up at him, stealing his piece of funnel cake and eating it. “We could just go to the park. Or Barnes and Noble. Or,” she said, laughing, “we could find a hotel room, get some chocolate, and...”

His large hand covered her mouth, silencing her. Jamie couldn’t help but laugh, even as he stared at her with heated eyes. “Not yet. I was serious about waiting till after dinner. Why don’t we go...”

“Rock climbing!” Jamie blurted around his hand, almost dying of laughter at the look on his face.

“Do you have any idea how much those damn harnesses hurt a man? I’d be content to watch you, but I won’t be doing it.” He shook his head, handing her the last bite of funnel cake and then throwing the plate away in a nearby trash can.

“Well, that wouldn’t be much fun,” she pouted. Talon entwined their fingers together, causing her heart to flutter.

He nodded absently, pulling her closer to his side as they walked. She could feel his heat pouring into her, warring off any cold that threatened to overcome her. He was like a torch -- it was no wonder their passion was so explosive. Jamie swung their hands between them, wondering what he was thinking about.

“Talon?” she asked, peering up at him. He smiled down at her.

“I know the perfect place.”





Lucian stalked down the hallway of Sinclair, grabbing a beer from the freezer and downing it in a gulp. It was cold, but it did the job. He threw the can in the trash and leaned against the wall, cursing himself. There was still a full pack left; why wasn’t he going at it?

Probably because he was past the point of caring.

About anything.

Now that Devlin was gone, everything was...dull. Dead. He shook his head, running a hand over his face. The light five o’clock shadow had grown to almost a full beard, his eyes had bags, and he hadn’t slept in a whole week. Was it really getting to him that badly?

He pushed himself to his feet, watching the walls tilt at awkward angles. He’d only had one beer, so he assumed it was because the lack of sleep. Lucian could hold his beer better than any other guy around.

The main room of the gas station only had a couple of customers, both looking at the soft drink section. They paid him no attention as he strode past them as if he were a drunk man feigning sober. Which, he assumed, was accurate. Everywhere he went, he could see red. Fiery red hair, glaring and curling down slender shoulders. Pulled back from an exotic face. Flowing around his pillows.

God.

It was pure hell. Devlin was gone, and after the three day mark, it had become apparent that she wasn’t coming back. No matter how psychotic and sexy that woman was, she wasn’t going to come back to him -- or his group.

Why did he even need her? he thought angrily. He had managed to keep his lust for her under wraps for years -- why now, when she was gone, was he letting his cock get the best of him?

He walked into his office, ass slamming into his chair. It felt like it might have broken, but he ignored the crack that shot through the room. He could replace it -- when he wasn’t so hung up on a crazy...cruel...seductive...sexy woman.He brought his hands to his face and tried clearing his mind.

Thinking of her like that wasn’t going to do anyone any good. He had no clue when the king was going to show up, and that was what he should be most worried about. Talon had told him about Auro, but Vladimir had volunteered to take him out -- as a wedding present, he had flaunted with giddiness. It appeared the vampire was looking forward to planning a wedding soon, also.

Just more that added to the list. Talon hadn’t told Jamie about the ring he had forced Lucian to buy with him, or the fact that she had a fiance. Whatever, though. Lucian wasn’t going to concern himself with his partner’s weird-ass affairs. Jamie made the bastard happy, and more clear-minded.

Wasn’t his problem.

His head dropped to the desk as weariness overcame him. Or was it weakness? His hands curled into fists. Why the f*ck was he so...helpless right now? Devlin must have done something to him. He swore it was because of her. What else could it be? His neck tingled, a warning that he mistakenly thought was because of Devlin.

He had to find her. Had to tell her... what? What did he have to tell her? His brows dropped. Had he really fired her because he had thought she was a liability? Or because he feared for her safety? Lucian shoved himself back from his desk, the chair slamming into the wall. He barely noticed.

In less than a second, he was going to his file cabinet and using the fingerprint scanner to open it. One metallic slide later, it was open and he was holding a manilla folder in his hands, opening it up. He hadn’t looked into the file since before Devlin had left. What he read was nothing less than a shocker, but he shoved it aside and knew that Devlin had come through.

She was one of his strongest fighters. She was determined, strong-willed, and controlled. Would doing what he was thinking about doing get her to come back to his team? To... him?

He fished his phone out of his pocket, dialing her number. The dial tone rang on for what seemed like forever, a second longer than the last. Finally, when he was about to hang up and, ultimately, give up, she answered.

Lucian felt his eyes close when her smooth voice carried over the line, asking a polite, “Who is this?” Lucian realized that, for the first time, he had called her on his cell.

Reached out to her.

Personally.

“It’s Lucian,” he said, gripping the edge of the filing cabinet. In front of him, the manilla folder was like the Holy Grail. He heard a couple of clicks and then complete silence. She was going to hang up, he thought. “Don’t go. Let me talk. Alright?”

If he thought waiting for the dial tone was bad before, it was nothing compared to the anticipation that he felt right now as he waited for her to answer. A whole minute went by before she replied, her tone completely changed. It was almost like a robot had taken over her.

“Okay.”

He took a breath, preparing himself. Never in his life had he grovelled before -- even when he had been at the hands of a merciless general, in enemy camps, riding to his death...not ever. He wasn’t going to now, either, but it was cutting it close.

“I only said you were off of the field, not fired.”

“Same thing, right? What else would I do if I can’t go on rotation with everyone?”

“Paperwork. With me. You could...be a trainer. We need new recruits; I’ll let you handle that.”

“Talon is in charge of that,” she said into the phone. He could just picture her, leaning against a maroon colored wall with her arms over her chest, phone between her ear and cheek. He didn’t know why, but he could see her rocking a maroon and orange house, with brown couches and a nice big TV. It was a cozy image, one that almost...appealed to him.

“He’s going to be taking less responsibilities. Jamie and he are engaged.”

“Let me guess,” she said with her familiar sneer. “She doesn’t know about it.”

“You guess correctly. Listen, you know that folder you gave me a while back?”

There was a silence on the other end. The tingle in the back of his neck worsened to a full blown itch, spreading down his back. Lucian ignored it.

“I didn’t give it to you -- you took it from me.”

“Same thing,” he said, rolling his shoulders. God, his back.

“Whatever. What about it?”

“I read over it, and I want you to come over. And...go with me. To the meeting. With Zyn.”

“You sure you want that, boss?” she drawled. He hadn’t noticed it before, but she had a slight accent. Damn, how much hotter could she get? He crossed over to his desk, opening a drawer.

“I have your badge and gun ready, if you want to meet me at the place. You know where to go, right?”

“Nope,” she said, acting as if she didn’t care. Something told him that she did know where, though. He told her anyways. When she answered with an “okay” and hung up, he grabbed her gun and badge. Whatever was crawling up his back, it was getting annoying. He was doing the right thing by inviting Devlin to go with him. Wasn’t he?





Talon led her to the large indoor court. He had a basketball in one hand, and a volley ball in the other. Going by the way her eyes were trained on the volleyball, he could only guess which one she wanted to start with first.

Never in his life had Talon played volleyball. Not in his younger days at school, not at the beach, or even for fun. Football and basketball had been his calling when he’d been younger, but he had had a feeling that Jamie was physically active. Her fit body and the way she moved was proof enough of that.

The building was large, spacious, and full of everything you could imagine. He could bet that she was tired of watching movies, so going to the Hunger Games would have to wait till later.

“Talon, I’m not dressed for this. I’m going to look stupid!” she complained, shoving her bangs behind her ear only to have them flop forward again. He shrugged, walking to the opposite side of the court. There was two volleyball nets set up, and he chose the one closest to the exit.

“You could never look stupid. Plus,” he said with a smirk, “they have showers for when we’re done. And I know the owner, so this place is reserved just for us. If you want, you could actually just get naked right now and save me the pleasure of stripping you naked later on...” He threw the ball to her, realizing that that had been a bad idea when the ball came flying straight at his face.

He caught it easily, laughing. Her face was red and her hands were crossed over her chest as if that would stop his rampant thoughts. He couldn’t help but laugh even harder when she stormed off after he waved his brows at her. She sat down on the ground in a huff, slipping off her heels.

Talon threw his jacket to the side and smirked at her when she came back to the court. “Don’t be too upset when I beat you, alright?”

Jamie rolled her eyes at him, and he served the ball --clumsily. When she got the ball, she bumped it back and he barely managed to hit it. For a second, he thought she was going to miss it -- and then she spiked it. Right at his chest. And going by the look in her eye, the small slap of pain he felt because of it had been intentional.

Talon grabbed the ball, glaring at her.

“I’m going easy. You’re a little rusty,” he said defensively, serving it again. When the ball landed in the same exact place with the same exact force, he was done. “That’s it. We’re playing basketball. Now.”

Jamie laughed, and he swore it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Although, he thought that about everything she did. And the next thing was always more beautiful and perfect than the last.

He was jogging over to the basketball court when Jamie shot in front of him, stealing the ball and running to the hoop. When she tried shooting and failed miserably, he couldn’t help but laugh. Ms. Perfect wasn’t so great at everything now, was she? He caught the rebound and checked her, making his first shot from the free-throw line.

She stamped her foot angrily, opening her mouth. “Now, that isn’t fair --”

He didn’t hear her after the large bang, and then a flash of light shot through the room.

Everything burst into flames.