AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Heat erupted between her legs, which only infuriated her more. How the hell can he do this to me? After all this time?
She closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than for him to disappear.
“If you want, I can bend over and give you a real treat.”
The words slid out into the space between them, and Jaden’s eyes flew open, her hand going for the knife as adrenaline kicked in.
But it was too late. A flash of white teeth and a shimmering blur of air rushed at her. Jaden barely had time to roll to the side, and she jackknifed her body, landing in a crouch, with the dagger held in front of her.
Only to feel the heat of him at her back.
Fuck!
She reacted instinctively and swung her hips to the side, kicking her right leg out, intending to drop him hard. But it was she who took a tumble as large hands gripped her shoulders and spun her around like a top until she ended up on her back, splayed out like a total loser.
The knife clattered across the tiles, teasing her from several feet away. Jaden clenched her teeth and fought the urge to curse a torrent of foulness. She’d just pulled a total newbie move and had no one but herself to blame.
Julian stood over her, and, slowly, her eyes moved up his long frame, skipping over the impressive display of manhood, up his taut belly until she saw a sight that was immediately sobering.
Jaden swallowed heavily and couldn’t look away from the macabre display of scars that crisscrossed his chest in perfect precision just under his left pectoral. They looked raw and painful.
“Didn’t anyone teach you it’s impolite to stare?”
Jaden’s eyes jerked up to rest upon a face that was every bit as arresting as she remembered, if not more so.
Even in the dim light, she saw the flare that lit up his golden eyes, eerily so, yet the smile that fell over his mouth didn’t reach them. A shiver ran over her body.
Julian Castille was not the person she remembered. At all.
“I’m sorry . . . I . . .” she began, and actually blushed as she stammered like an idiot in front of him. “I didn’t expect . . .”
“To find me in my own home?” Julian took a step back, and Jaden carefully got to her feet. She eyed him warily.
“Where have you been?” she asked as she moved closer to where her dagger had fallen.
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “I know you,” he said softly.
Jaden’s eyebrows arched, and harsh laughter fell from her lips as she snorted. “Ya think?” she asked sarcastically. Christ, is he brain-damaged?
He regarded her in silence, and a sliver of something flickered in the depths of his eyes but quickly disappeared as his lips thinned.
“You’re a DaCosta jaguar. You were there in Belize just before . . .” His voice trailed off, and Jaden was surprised at the level of violence she sensed beneath the surface. There was a darkness inside him that was lethal. A shiver rolled over her skin as she gazed at him.
But then his words sank in, and her anger exploded. He honestly had no memory of their past? Of what they’d shared together?
“You’ve got to be joking,” she whispered harshly, more to herself than anything. “You really don’t remember who I am? Was I that forgettable?”
The air around him shimmered, and before she could blink an eye, Julian was at her back, his arm across her chest as he pulled her in tight to his body.
She had no time to react and dazedly wondered what the hell had happened to him. She was the warrior, not he. Yet it seemed he’d ingested a bit of superhero dust wherever the hell he’d been.
“I know who you are.” His breath was hot against her neck. “Jaden DaCosta.”
She began to struggle, but even with her superior strength, he was too strong. Several moments later she gave up, her breaths falling in pants as she tried to calm herself.
His heart beat heavy against her ribs, the rhythm steady, and the heat of him scorched her flesh.
“Why are you here?” he whispered, his breath warm against her neck as he nudged the mess of hair that lay there with his nose. Small bursts of electricity fell across her skin, and she shivered, pissed that she had no control over her body.
