Crux

Chapter 10

Mackenzie woke with a start, bolting upright in a strange room she’d never seen before. Panic rose in her as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings and looked at the man’s shirt she wore. I don’t feel hung over…

A sound drew her attention, and she let out the breath she’d been holding when she saw Jackson in a chair next to the bed. “What happened?”

He closed his phone and gave her a relieved look. “You were in a bad way. Sick, I guess you could call it. But we fixed you up.” He reached over and touched her forehead gently. “How do you feel?”

“I feel—” She laughed when her stomach rumbled loudly. “Hungry.”

His laughter joined hers. “Steven said you probably would be, so Mahalia’s been cooking all afternoon. Want to go see what she rustled up?” He pulled her clothes, washed and folded, off the nightstand. “Do you need some help, or have you got your land legs already?”

“Steven?” She frowned as she swung her legs to the floor. She felt so shaky standing didn’t seem like a good idea. “Who’s Steven? Where are we?”

“We’re at Mahalia’s house.” He unfolded her pants and handed them to her. “Steven is her friend. He’s a cougar, like you.”

She digested that as she held the pants in her hands and stared at the floor. The last thing she remembered clearly was Jackson bringing her to his office after they’d realized someone had broken into his apartment. Now they were in Mahalia’s house, which he’d said was—

“We’re in Florida?” She jerked her gaze to Jackson’s face. “Jesus Christ, what time is it? What day is it?”

“It’s about seven in the evening,” he answered evenly. “Monday. We left New Orleans last night.” He placed her laundered shirt on the bed next to her. “Like I said, you were in a bad way.”

A bad way. It wasn’t the most informative description of how she’d lost a day of her life, but she wasn’t sure she wanted the details. Not yet, at least.

Her stomach rumbled again, reminding her that hunger was more important than answers right now. She stood and pitched straight into Jackson when her wobbly knees refused to hold her.

He caught her easily, sliding strong arms around her waist. “You okay?”

The warmth in his eyes made her feel wobbly for an entirely different reason. She stared at his face, so close she would only have to move a few inches to brush her lips over his. His chest was strong and solid, and desire rose in her with alarming speed. With it came memories from the previous twenty-four hours. She remembered heat, and need so strong there was no word for it but lust. She remembered pressing herself against him and sliding her tongue along his ear as she all but begged him to touch her.

Heat rushed to her face, and she dropped her forehead to his shoulder so she wouldn’t have to meet his eyes. “Oh, God. God, I think I’m starting to remember…”

“The ants in your pants,” he supplied gently. “Yeah, you were practically humping my leg. But that’s all right. It wasn’t really you.”

Mackenzie lifted her head and studied his expression. He seemed completely calm and understanding, as if women with magically induced lust climbed all over him on a regular basis.

On the heels of that thought came insane jealousy. She didn’t want other women crawling all over him. She wanted to crawl all over him. Though not under the influence of magic…

He held her, his arms firm around her waist. She slid her hands to his shoulders as she relaxed against his body. “It wasn’t me,” she agreed in a quiet whisper. “I’d like to think I could be a bit more subtle.”

He loosened his hold on her and straightened. “That makes two of us,” he whispered, his gaze fixed on her mouth.

Though she’d been on plenty of dates and kissed a fair number of men, the way he stared at her lips brought a nervous flutter to life in her chest. She brushed her fingers lightly along the side of his neck. “I’m sorry.” His skin was warm and smooth under her fingers, and she stroked higher until his hair tickled the back of her hand. “I’ll try to be more subtle next time.”

He leaned closer. “Right. Next time.” The words were a puff of breath against her lips, and his mouth landed on hers in a soft caress that stole her breath. One of his hands twisted in her hair, urging her head back.

Oddly, he didn’t seem compelled to hurry. Even after all the flirting, all the tension and what must have been an interminable drive through several states with her literally trying to climb into his lap, his mouth stayed slow and easy on hers. He kissed her with a determined thoroughness that made it clear he knew exactly what he was doing and planned on taking his time about it.

Oh, dear sweet Lord… Nowhere near as patient, she parted her lips with a soft moan. His touch made her body hum, his mouth made her hot with need—

And insistent hunger made her stomach rumble so loudly she heard it even over the frantic pounding of her heart.

Jackson smiled against her lips and pulled back, his breathing uneven. “Do you like fried chicken?”

Mahalia’s fried chicken would have been heaven even if Mackenzie hadn’t been starving. She ate a healthy serving of rice and corn along with it, enjoying the easy conversation Jackson and Mahalia kept up during the meal. As if by unspoken consensus, no one brought up the topic of why she and Jackson were there. Instead, Jackson related to Mahalia the latest gossip about the regulars at the bar, giving Mackenzie a chance to satisfy her hunger without feeling like she needed to talk.

Steven sat in silence, for the most part, sipping his iced tea and watching Mahalia and Jackson’s animated discussion. Twice during the meal he excused himself to take phone calls, stepping into the other room so they could only hear the quiet murmur of his voice.

Mackenzie had just turned down a third helping of chicken when Steven returned from taking another call. His sober expression caught everyone’s attention, and the relaxed atmosphere in the room shifted subtly.

He reached for his glass and took a sip before speaking. “That was John Peyton. He’s agreed that Michelle’s presence is necessary. He’ll be making arrangements.”

Mahalia turned to Jackson. “Call Nicole. She’ll need some time, if she’s going to leave the bar.”

He nodded and wiped his mouth with his napkin before rising. He headed out to the sun porch, digging his cell phone out of his pocket as he walked.

Mahalia fidgeted with a fork and smiled sheepishly when she caught Mackenzie watching her. “Times like this, I wish I hadn’t almost quit smoking.”

Mackenzie wrapped both hands around her glass. “I—I don’t suppose you could tell me what sort of time this is? I don’t really understand what’s going on.”

“It must be a lot to digest,” Steven said, his voice gentle. “Jackson told me that, until a few days ago, you didn’t know anything about the world you come from.”

The way he said it sounded like she was from another planet. “I didn’t. I mean, I always knew I was adopted. My parents—my adoptive parents—didn’t hide that from me. They always told me there’d been an accident and both of my birth parents had died when I was young. But I’ve never even seen a picture of them, much less heard that they were”—freaks—“shapeshifters.”

“I have a picture here.” Steven pulled out his wallet. “When May called and told me Jackson had stumbled across the little Evans girl, I got this out of my files before coming.” He found a small photo and slid it across the table.

Mackenzie picked it up with shaky hands. At first glance the woman in the picture could have been her. She had the same features, long, black hair, and smile. The eyes were different; where Mackenzie’s were bright blue, the woman had brown eyes so dark they almost looked black.

The man next to her was the complete opposite. Freckles dotted his pale skin, and bright red hair curled wildly around his head. What caught her attention, though, were his eyes. They were the same blue she saw in the mirror every morning, friendly and surrounded by smile lines even though they looked tired and worried in the picture.

“These are—” She couldn’t quite form the words. Her gaze went back to the woman, and this time she noticed the hand resting protectively on the prominent curve of her mother’s stomach. She looked six or seven months pregnant, but the expression in her face wasn’t one of happiness. She looked just as worried as the man, maybe more so.

Mackenzie flipped the picture over out of habit, and was rewarded with words written in neat block letters. “Simon and Janice,” she read aloud, her voice barely a whisper. “My birth parents?”

Mahalia leaned over and looked at the picture with a poignant mixture of sadness and nostalgia in her amber-colored eyes. “That was right after Steven told them,” she remembered. “That’s why they look so…” She let the words die. “They gave up everything to protect you from Talbot.”

“Talbot? But the man after me is named Foster. Marcus Foster.”

“The man after you is Charles Talbot. He adopted Marcus as a child.” Steven’s expression was just as troubled as Mahalia’s. “I wouldn’t say the boy isn’t dangerous, but he’s not the one behind all this.”

Jackson came back through the sliding glass doors. “Michelle already called Nick. She’ll be ready to fly down by the time Peyton gets his clearance from the board.” He stopped behind Mahalia’s chair. “I called Alec too. Figured we might need an extra pair of hands.”

“Smart boy. Now, sit so Steven can get on with it. There’s a lot to tell, and there may not be much time to get it all out there.”

Mackenzie resisted the urge to slide her hand into Jackson’s when he sat back down. Instead, she stared at the picture again. “You said this guy—Charles. He has a plan, I guess. But what is it?”

Steven looked at Jackson. “How much does she know?”

“I didn’t want to overload her.” He turned to Mackenzie and took one of her hands, wrapping his much-larger one around it. “Remember when I told you that only the wolves can transform others? Talbot’s trying to change that. That’s why Marcus kept insisting the two of you have to have babies. If you did—if it worked—that baby would be able to…” His voice lowered. “To make others like you. To change people into cougars.”

“Change?” She tightened her fingers around his. “But didn’t you say they do it by attacking people? What is this kid supposed to do? Go around clawing people up?”

He hesitated. “Biting, I guess. I’m not sure how it happens, but yeah. Attacks.”

“Just like the wolves,” Mahalia interjected. “It’s up to you, sweetie. If you think it sounds like a good idea, we’re not going to stand in your way. But Jackson led us to believe you’re not too fond of the thought of cooperating with their plan.”

“I thought he was crazy.” She closed her eyes. “He just kept telling me we had a destiny. He tried to tell me about the shapeshifter thing, but I didn’t believe him. God, I don’t know what to believe.”

“Do you want to see it?” It was Steven’s voice, quiet and steady. “Do you want to see me change?”

She didn’t. She wanted to hide her head under a pillow and go back to a world where everything made sense and no one thought her destiny was to have magical babies. But that world wasn’t there anymore. What’s more, she liked the people she’d met in the new world—Nick and the regulars at the bar, and even Jackson’s standoffish partner.

And Jackson. Her fingers tightened around his again, and she opened her eyes to find him watching her with concern. “All right. I want to see it.”

They ended up in the back yard by the swimming pool, surrounded by a high privacy fence. Steven had already stripped off his shirt, showing off a body that was in impressive shape for a man who claimed to be over fifty.

He looked up as he pulled off his shoes and socks. “It’s not like the movies and stories.” He folded his socks neatly and put them in his shoes. “Unless you’re wearing something very tight, changing forms is not going to produce dramatically ripped clothing. More likely, you’ll just look absurd while you wiggle out of it. A cougar stuck in a pair of boxer shorts isn’t a very intimidating sight.”

She tried not to picture it, but the mental image formed anyway. She found herself choking back a laugh, and Steven flashed her a smile as he reached for his belt. “I normally wouldn’t strip naked in front of a group of people to change, since I do retain the slightest hint of modesty, but I think it’s important you see the transformation itself.” The corner of his mouth quirked up, and he addressed Jackson. “Whether you stay to watch is up to you.”

Before he could answer, Mahalia let out a low whistle. “Show off.” The words were softened by the admiration in her eyes and voice.

Jackson groaned like a kid watching his parents kiss. “Yeah. Wouldn’t miss it.”

Mackenzie had to stifle another laugh as she caught Steven winking at Mahalia, and the emotional undercurrents she’d sensed between them at dinner made more sense.

She did her best to keep her eyes on Steven’s face as he unbuttoned his pants and let them fall to the ground, but she couldn’t help sneaking a glance at his naked form as he stepped back again.

He was in really good shape for a guy over fifty. Let’s hope that’s a universal shapeshifter benefit.

Steven cleared his throat, and she blushed when she realized he’d caught her wandering attention. He nodded once when she met his eyes again. “Here we go.”

She’d braced herself for a horrible transformation with snapping bones, rending flesh and pained noises. Instead she saw a brief shimmer, almost as if her vision had blurred, and Steven was gone.

A large cat stood on the grass, watching them with obvious intelligence. His head came up to her waist, and he paced forward with an easy grace that did nothing to hide the predatory danger in his stride.

Mackenzie crouched and put herself on eye level with him as she reached out a shaking hand to touch the side of his head. His fur was soft and the same reddish-blonde of Steven’s hair and beard. He remained still under her careful touch, not moving even when she stood again and backed away. “Holy shit. Holy shit.”

“That about covers it,” Jackson said in a low voice. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

Mahalia appeared at Mackenzie’s elbow. “Are you going to be okay?” She sounded nonchalant, as if people turned into animals in her back yard every day.

Mackenzie glanced at the woman next to her and tried to smile. “I’m not sure. I think I need some time to process it all, honestly. It’s a lot.”

“You said it, honey.” She rubbed a comforting hand over the middle of Mackenzie’s back. “I’m going to get the pie out of the icebox and start some coffee.”

“That sounds great, May.” Mackenzie looked up at Jackson’s words and found him watching her carefully. “Just let me know if you feel like you’re going to freak out or throw up, okay?”

The idea of freaking out was appealing, but it wasn’t the best use of her time. Instead she rested her forehead on his shoulder. “I think I’ll make it.”

“Good.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “Wouldn’t want Steven to think seeing him naked is that traumatic.”

“I heard that.” Steven’s voice drifted from behind her, and she hid her smile against Jackson’s shirt. “I’m going inside. You two take your time.”

She felt the chuckle rumble up in Jackson’s chest. “Don’t feel too bad for him. The bastard knows he has no business looking as good as he does. Damn shapeshifters, making the rest of us look bad.”

Mackenzie felt her smile grow as she slid her arms around his waist. “I don’t think you need to worry about looking bad.” She trailed her fingers absently up his back, savoring the strength and warmth she felt even through his shirt. Simply touching him was soothing in a way it shouldn’t have been, a way that had nothing to do with the sexual tension that had sparked between them the first moment they’d met.

“Yeah, tell me that in twenty years, when you still look thirty. I’ll be pushing fifty and looking every inch of it, unlike our friend, Steven, there.”

“Oh, quit whining.” She made a face at him. “Fifty-year-old men bag thirty-year-old women all the damn time.”

“Amen.” He gave her a warm grin. “Come on. Let’s go get some pie. We have more stuff to talk about.”

Two hours later, Mackenzie soaked in the bathtub as she mulled over everything Steven and Mahalia had patiently explained. Listening to convoluted descriptions of magical spells over pie and coffee was so surreal she’d felt the urge to pinch herself once or twice to see if she was dreaming. In some ways, she almost wished she had been.

Jackson had kept the details of their trip from New Orleans blessedly vague, saving her the embarrassment of having them know how close she’d come to killing herself just to get into his pants. She’d made it through their discussion of the deteriorating spell, and how Mahalia and Jackson had managed to strengthen it before she held up both hands and begged for a break.

It was too much to process all at once. She doubted she’d be able to work her way through it in a month, much less several hours. Thankfully, Mahalia had silenced Steven with a pointed look when he seemed about to insist they finish their conversation.

Half an hour of quiet reflection in the bath had led to one conclusion: she had to stop thinking about the entire situation or she was going to end up as crazy as she’d accused Jackson of being to begin with.

Luckily, he’s an excellent distraction. She rose and wrapped a soft, oversized towel around her body. She had to use a second towel to wipe fog from the bathroom mirror, but she smiled at her reflection as she picked up a comb and worked it through her hair.

Yes, Jackson would be an excellent distraction. Maybe once they figured out how to save her from the power-mad shapeshifter with dreams of dynastic domination, she could settle down and see if maybe Jackson could be more than a distraction. If New Orleans could be more than a pit stop.

Maybe she could have a life again.

Mackenzie was still smiling when she stepped through the bathroom door, her hair in a damp braid and her clothes exchanged for one of the comfortable, expensive silk nightgowns Nick had insisted on adding to their purchases during their afternoon of shopping.

Jackson sat on the end of the bed, his phone to one ear. “No, Nick. It’s not—” He sighed. “It’s fine for now. Just wait and come when Michelle… Yes, she’s right here, and we’re taking excellent care of her. Yeah.” He held out the phone. “Nick wants to talk to you.”

Mackenzie accepted the phone and perched on the bed next to him. “Hey, Nick.”

“Are they breaking your head with all the supernatural crap?” she demanded immediately. “I told Jackson I’ll kick his ass if they’re freaking you out.”

She couldn’t help laughing. “No, they stopped when I begged them to. I have a feeling I’m going to be getting more remedial supernatural lessons tomorrow, though.”

“Christ.” Her boss’s irritation was clear. “Tell them I said to lay off, all right? They’ve had years, even their whole lives, to learn this stuff. You need time.”

“Maybe.” She tugged her braid over her shoulder. “But I don’t think I have time, Nick. Not with some superpowerful lunatic after me.”

“Well, you being crazy, too, isn’t going to help anybody.”

She was about to answer when Jackson snatched the phone back. “Nicky, I love you, but your alpha bitch is showing again. Rein her in, why don’t you?” He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right back at you.” He closed the phone and grinned. “Luckily, she’s in another state and can’t actually kill me right now.”

Mackenzie raised an eyebrow. “I thought she was coming here to meet her sister.”

“Michelle won’t be able to make it for a few days.” He leaned back on his elbows. “It isn’t easy for her to get away. The Conclave has to approve her involvement in potentially sticky situations like this.”

It was impossible not to let her eyes wander with his lean body stretched out next to her. He was handsome as sin, all right, and exactly the sort of man she’d never been able to resist. She inched higher on the bed and curled on her side with her head propped on one hand. “Nick’s sister can’t travel without permission?”

“Nope. She’s powerful, dangerous. The Conclave maintains complete control over her all the time. She even has a bodyguard who’s… Well, he’s not so much there to protect her as to spy on her and report back.”

That distracted her momentarily from thoughts of kissing Jackson. She studied his face, her eyebrows drawing together in a frown. “You’re serious, aren’t you? That’s—” Terrifying.

“It’s crazy, I know.” Jackson rolled to his side, his pose mimicking hers, and flashed her a look that was equal parts sympathy and apology. “Supernatural society, on the whole, isn’t any different from the human one you’re used to, Kenzie. There’s bigotry and fear and horrifying realities I generally prefer not to think about too much. It’s not always pretty, but it’s the way things are.”

“Not always pretty” was an understatement. She rolled back and stared at the ceiling as she considered the things she’d learned. “Are there good things? I mean, you’d think having that power would be an advantage, but so far it seems like the only people who aren’t miserable or crazy are the ones who have nothing to do with supernatural society.”

“Well, Alec and I have been able to help a lot of people thanks to our abilities. Nick too. But there are responsibilities, real ones and the ones other people try to lay on us.” He rubbed her arm reassuringly. “I guess it all depends on whether you want to let other people’s expectations define you.”

“I guess.” She caught his hand and twined their fingers together. “I think I’ve had enough deep thoughts on the universe for the night.”

Jackson stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. “Good. I’m getting tired of focusing on the negative when, usually, things aren’t really so bad.”

“Things don’t seem so bad right now,” she agreed quietly. “I got great homemade food, a nice long bath, and now I’ve got a handsome gentleman to cuddle next to. My life hasn’t been this nice in a long time.”

“That’s too bad. I think you should get this pretty much all the time.”

Their banter could have gone back and forth for a while, but Mackenzie didn’t have the patience to wait. Not with the memory of his earlier kiss, not with the way his voice made her heart pound. He wanted her as badly as she wanted him, and there was no reason not to give in. No reason at all.

So she leaned in and kissed him.