Page 34 of Take

I WAS STILL SHAKING WHEN the plane descended and my ears popped. Then a thump and the tires skidded down the runway. It had been an hour since Jasper had tried to see my Ink and every inch of me was screaming at the memories of Drake’s voice as he calmly held me, whispering soothing words in my ear. But nothing was soothing. His words were a knife stabbing me with every syllable.

I couldn’t walk for weeks after he killed my Ink.

“Max.” Jasper stood beside my seat, his hand rose as if he was about to touch my shoulder, but he lowered it to his side.

I counted to ten, bringing the shield down over my mind. I couldn’t let him get to me. I wasn’t that vulnerable girl anymore. I knew how to fight. I knew how to protect myself.

I titled my chin up. “Touch my Ink again and I’ll kill you.”

He met my stare head on, and for a second, I thought he was going to shoot back a smartass remark, but this time he surprised me and gave an abrupt nod. “Yeah.” He walked to the side door, opened it and strode down the steps.

When I came down the stairs, he was leaning up against the plane, arms crossed with the confidence of a proud lion defending his mountain and the mountain was Fiona. I walked over and reached for my blades he had in his hand. He put them behind his back and with his other arm, snagged me around the waist and pulled me tight to him. My hands automatically went to his chest, one palm flat against his heart.

His voice was low and graveled with that panty-dampening hint of an accent. “I’m sorry, Max. I shouldn’t have . . . fuck, I’m sorry.”

My breath caught in my throat. There was no cocky grin, no playful gleam in his eyes; instead, I saw concern with furrowed brows and lips pulled downward.

I was so taken aback by the simple yet powerful words that I remained quiet and still in his arms. I knew something had changed between us in that moment. His ability to apologize and mine to . . . yes, I accepted it because I knew getting those words from Jasper was monumental.

“What happened to you, Jasper?”

His expression immediately hardened. He put his finger under my chin and his thumb slowly caressed the dimple. The softness in it completely contradicted the harsh, cold look in his eyes. “I’m good at three things: killing, fucking and not caring whether I’ve done either one.” His fingers trickled over my chin, down my neck then between my breasts and lower. Then he was under my shirt, his skin touching mine as he lightly graced the pads of his fingers over my naked skin. Suddenly, his hand left me and he moved away. “Max, I want you to . . . I need you to never forget that.”

I couldn’t understand him. He was playful and flirted, yet was cruel and unkind as if he wanted to hurt me. But I felt something when we touched and it was more than desire. It was stronger, and if either of us gave in to it, I had a feeling it would be the destruction of who we’d become.

“Max?”

I gasped at the familiar voice and turned. Xamien shut the door of a black Audi and walked toward me with a broad smile on his face. The tension in my shoulders instantly disappeared as I met the bright warmth in his eyes. If there was one person in this world I cared about, Xamien was it. Every time I saw him, the memory of him lifting me up in his arms and carrying me out of Drake’s hell brought a wealth of relief.

It was like being saved all over again.

I knew he wouldn’t hug me. I’d kept my distance from everyone, including him, but something had shifted in me and I wanted to feel the familiarity of Xamien around me.

I stepped toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist. It took him a second before he embraced me and then kissed the top of my head. I pressed my cheek to his solid chest and he squeezed me. The Taldeburu exuded an intense sexuality with the way he held himself. Tall and muscular with aristocratic features and an air of confidence. He had never pushed me to tell him anything about myself and now I knew why . . . he’d known I was a Healer and probably suspected I was hiding it because of what I’d been through. It didn’t matter though. Xamien had given me a home and most of all, he’d trusted me when I’d given him nothing to trust.

“You okay?”

I nodded and pulled back. “Yes, sir.” I heard Jasper grunt.

My gaze shot to him and I noticed his eyes flicker down to Xamien’s hand still settled on my waist. The glare . . . it was filled with irritation. I was a Healer and couldn’t feel emotion like a Scar Reflector, but no one needed an enhanced ability to feel the tension radiating off him.

Xamien was obviously pretty immune to Jasper’s assholishness or knew that it was a cover because I was learning fast that everything out of Jasper’s mouth wasn’t the truth.

Jasper’s eyes trailed back up to my face and his scowl deepened. All those little things he noticed about me . . . how he watched me . . . how he looked after me when I had the nightmare . . . those things couldn’t be actions of a man who didn’t care.

And that realization made my heart skip a beat as we stared at one another until Xamien’s voice drew us apart. “I can sense the attraction between the two of you.”

Xamien was a Reflector and could read emotions; however, a Reflector didn’t have to break through your shields to feel them. When I looked up at his face, it was murderous as he glared at Jasper. What made it worse was Jasper shrugged.

“It’s not like that,” I quickly said.

Xamien ignored me, his focus on Jasper. “You told me you wouldn’t. I warned you to keep your hands off.” The words were ground out one by one, like a fist pounding on a drum. “I should’ve known better. I did know better.”

The tension between them caused the air to shift and I quickly put my hand on Xamien’s arm to draw his attention back to me. “Xamien, I’m fine. We’re okay.”

“I don’t give a fuck about him.”

Whoa. I hadn’t expected something like that coming from Xamien. He was always laid back and casual, but this was the side others feared. Xamien reached forward and pushed my hair back from my neck. I heard Jasper cough and mutter something under his breath. Xamien must have distinguished his words because he started to go for him, but I latched onto his arm.