Savage Shifters Box Set, page 174
A hand slid over her cheeks, possessively intimate. She blinked before her eyes flew up, watching the flash of desire in the man’s eyes.
“I’ve always been curious what it feels like to kiss a boy...no, a young man. You have the most fantastic pair of lips I’ve seen. A taste would do me well.”
He leaned down, and Jade finally realized with horror that her cover wasn’t blown—but this man didn’t care about that, because he didn’t want to kiss a woman. Panic slid in her brain, making her duck down in reaction.
“I think I hear them shouting for the spirits!” she blurted out before she was hurrying out of there. Footsteps followed from behind, making her run faster towards the deck, which was still far up ahead—
A hand yanked her, making her yelp as the wooden cups fell from the tray. She was dragged to the side, where she was about to render out a scream.
“Damn it, stop resisting. Miho is still trying to follow you. Come with me.”
She’d recognize that voice anywhere.
There was a bit of annoyance there, one that she latched on to as she followed Jison immediately. He led her towards one of the basement spaces, which was dark and had her stumbling on the first few steps on the stairs. Footsteps sounded from the floorboards above, making her freeze again.
Jison’s hand slid up her waist, and she could only quietly gasp as she felt herself lifted with ease and deposited to the floor below.
A lamp was lit and thankfully made her able to see. She looked around, where she found rows upon rows of wooden barrels with corked holes and mechanical devices. The coldness of the air here made her realize exactly what those barrels contained, which had her fascinated.
The liquor here could fuel an entire army for years.
There was a muffled curse above, followed by Jison scowling when he finally headed down. He rubbed his jaw in frustration, then took a deep breath.
“Thanks for that,” she said promptly.
“Hmm. Now we’re trapped.”
Jade blinked, having expected a gracious welcome. “What?”
“This storage space locks from the outside. Someone went dutiful up there and locked us in.”
Her eyes widened. “They’re going to look for me in the kitchen.”
“They’re going to look for me in the celebration.”
They stared at each other, obviously lost in their worries. Then they both sighed.
“What were you doing out there with that man, anyway?”
“What do you mean? I was just delivering the spirits when he cornered me. Don’t tell me you think I’m at fault here?”
“I never said that,” he said easily. “But Miho isn’t exactly the aggressive kind. He must have been studying you for quite a while now.”
“Oh, really? And how exactly do you know him so well?”
Jison shrugged. “He’s my bird-catching partner.”
“Bird-catching...? I...” Her words trailed off as she remembered how the cook complained about the birds and how ugly they looked—and how those ugly birds made the cook lose concentration in his cooking. There had been talk about decapitating them, about letting the blood sprinkle on the ships to ward the others off. “You’ve been part of the crew killing birds? How could you?”
“Hold up. I wasn’t killing birds. I was capturing them. They’re not exactly the friendly kind.”
“They’re still living creatures who don’t deserve cruelty. They’re a part of nature. Why are you capturing them?”
“Golden Man’s orders. They want the birds’ nest, which apparently contains unparalleled kind of treasure.”
“What kind of treasure?”
Jison shrugged again. “Beats the hell out of me.”
He ran a hand through his hair before sitting down, then sighed again. Jade studied him closely, quietly, finally understanding what was off. The jolly, grinning vampire-siren was gone, replaced by a man with shadows under his eyes and an everlasting worry.
“Jison...you haven’t been sleeping well, have you?”
“I’ve been sleeping okay. You?”
“Hmm. Same, I suppose.” She tilted her head. “Have you been missing blood?”
Jison looked at her, studying her the same way the pirate named Miho did. Oddly enough, she didn’t feel any discomfort in the look as she eyed him back. He didn’t directly answer her question, making her suspect that she was right.
“Talk to me about your time here,” he urged, voice soft and low—an almost-whisper of a precaution.
“We’re not going to call for help?”
“And rob ourselves of the opportunity of talking without eyes and ears monitoring us?” he pointed out.
He had a point. Jade sat down beside him, leaning her back against a standing barrel. She thought over her days spent here as an errand boy, recalling every minute detail.
“I’ve been running errands, and they’ve surprisingly been treating me well. Of course, they can’t help twisting my ear every now and then for my rudeness, because of the image you crafted about my reputation. I had to maintain it.”
A smile crossed his lips. “Good one. Have you discovered anything?”
“There’s nothing good about getting your ear twisted,” she said, almost petulantly. Then she returned to the topic. “I haven’t found anything in my time here. I’ve used the errands portion of my time to explore the ships—and so far, there’s too many pirates for me to keep track of. I can’t exactly look them all in the eye.” Her memory flashed back to the hotel, where she saw the bloodied John crumpled on the ground. Then it shot to the abandoned building, where she felt the pain in her stomach before she could even adjust her eyesight. “But I’m sure of one thing: that I haven’t seen him yet. Unless he’s in a disguise like us, which I don’t think he’ll be doing here. I’d recognize his eyes anywhere.”
“Hmm.”
“What about you?” She raised a brow. “Other than the bird-catching?”
Jison leaned back against the barrel beside Jade. His wig was a neat little thing, and the bandanna over his head was a new one with a bold purple print. He even had an eye patch over his head, though he didn’t use it. “I’ve been befriending Octo. Have you heard of him?”
She scanned her mind. “Yeah. One of the right-hand men. The Golden Man?”
“Sea’s harder to get close to, considering he’s mostly a watcher from afar. But I’m easing my way into the crew. Hopefully, I’ll be less monitored soon.”
Jade sighed. “How are we going to find him at this rate? And the package? What if it’s no longer with him?”
“It’s with him,” he said firmly. “Whatever the case, I’m sure it’s not with this crew, as they don’t know shit about any other world than this. As for the man...” He slid a hand in his pocket, took a piece of clothing out—the cloth that he had Rina detect.
Jade’s eyes widened when it glowed subtly, especially visible in the dark.
“Is that...?”
“He’s here,” Jison murmured quietly. “Somewhere. We just have to find the right time to find him.”
She nodded, understanding all about timing. Timing was what had her escaping from her tyrant father, after all.
A cold chill entered the air, and she felt Jison moving beside her. The clink of items came, followed by a cup of liquid being offered in her direction. She blinked.
“Might as well drink our asses off while we’re here,” he said. “Just a cup to keep you warm, though.”
Jade scoffed and took the cup, downing the content in one gulp. It tasted sweet and slid down her throat warmly. “Are you kidding? One cup is for pansies.”
His eyes widened at her language, and she could almost see the green in them sparkle. Then he chuckled and drank the second cup before offering the third to her.
“So long as you can handle it...”
In response, Jade simply took the cup and drank without pause.
* * *
“Do I have to finish a whole barrel to prove to you that I have a surprisingly high tolerance for drinks?”
It was a challenge that was met with a grunt, as Jison shook his head and took the next cup. She was feeling all fuzzy but otherwise fine, which was a rather great feeling. Beside her, she could tell Jison was still the same, not at all affected by the amount of alcohol they’d drunk in the past hour or two.
“No need. I can tell you weren’t kidding,” he said wryly, sipping more than gulping now. They’d settled into a companionable murmur when they realized that they weren’t going to be rescued for a while, particularly as the party above still raged on. Maybe tomorrow. “Which meant Kaori must have put something in your drink in the club.”
She scoffed, then coughed. Jade put a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound, though she was pretty sure no one above could hear. “Boo her. I shouldn’t have trusted her in the first place. Are all sirens naturally mischievous?”
“I can’t say for sure, considering I’m not fully one. Plus I’m a swindler, so I’m naturally mischievous. But the ones I’ve met are rather lovely, all sunshine and rainbows.”
She snorted. “Are all vampires assholes, then?”
He grinned, and it was such a Jison grin that she found herself staring. She realized it was a grin she missed, particularly in a tense environment where she couldn’t fully trust anyone. Oddly enough, she trusted him with her whole heart, and the revelation made her feel all warm and fuzzy.
A shudder ran down her spine, making her teeth chatter. Belatedly, she realized that despite the warm feeling, the liquor storage was still cold, and she was freezing her ass off despite the alcohol. She tried to hide it from him as she subtly rubbed her arms, hoping to gather some warmth.
“Vampires can be assholes, yes,” he replied after a while. “Particularly when we haven’t had blood in a while.”
She looked up at him, sidling closer. “You can have my blood. I don’t mind.”
Instead of looking excited, Jison frowned down at her. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because contrary to popular belief, I’m not out to get you in trouble in this mission. Plus I’m not a full vampire, so I can tolerate not having blood for a while. Food is more than enough, thank you very much.”
She frowned in return, trying to analyze him. Only coming up with one thing. “You probably think my plainness also means my blood is plain, huh?” She shrugged. “It’s okay, I understand. But I do hope you get some other source soon, or else you’ll...”
Her words trailed off in a quiet gasp as she felt arms wrap around her before she was being yanked towards him. Within seconds, Jade found herself pressed against a warm hardness, one that was familiar and gave her pause.
His voice was low when he next spoke.
“You’re cold. And trust me, your blood is unbelievably delicious by smell alone. I can only imagine how it would taste. But no, I’m not going to.”
It was a rejection and an assurance at the same time, with one message clear: that he respected her enough not to take advantage. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, shifting their positions until they were lying down on the floor—or rather, on his jacket, which she hadn’t realized he’d placed there. This allowed her to be covered by the barrels, but also allowed his front to protect her back, where she was intimately pressed against.
His words reverberated in her mind, sending a low, stirring ache that shocked her.
Warmth breath slid near her ears.
“No comment? That’s a first.”
The stirring ache became a jolt, pulling at her stomach and sending tingles there. She bit her bottom lip, trying to calm her beating heart. Her reaction puzzled her, as she’d been stuck in situations like this with him before. Heck, she was even on her deathbed in his home, where he caught her at her most vulnerable.
But her mind whispered that this was entirely different, despite being terrifyingly blank.
“I...I guess I’m just sleepy,” she said, grasping at the first excuse she could find. As if her body caught up to it, she yawned. She felt her bones sinking into the comfort he offered, the body heat that was almost addictive. She refrained from sniffing, not ready to smell him and be tempted all over again.
Because she couldn’t be. It was preposterous.
"Can your energy generate heat for us again?"
"I don't think it's safe here," she muttered. "Someone might have the ability to detect it. And it's hibernating again."
“Hmm. Sleep,” he murmured, mouth buried near the nape of her neck. He sighed, and in that sigh, she heard the tiredness of his being and the relief he felt that they had this moment to rest without eyes on them. “We both need it.”
They really did.
She must have slept at some point because Jade woke up with a start and found her surroundings dark, as the lamp had finally died. There was soft snoring behind her, the arms around her still wrapped tight and comforting. One of his hands was on her stomach area, while the other was just below her breast—which, to her mortification, had started tingling in realization, her nipple puckering. His head was buried somewhere near her hair, where his hot breath warmed her up further.
Something hard was pressed against her butt, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was.
Jade bit her lip as she tried to clear her mind—but especially as she tried to fight the sudden urge to press further against him. This was Jison, her mission partner and the man she was undercover with. This was Jison, the vampire-siren whom she once thought evil, but had helped her in so many tight situations that she owed him her life.
This man was her friend, although she wasn’t sure he felt the same way.
He wasn’t someone she should feel hot and aching over.
That thought remained in her mind as she closed her eyes, yawning again. Maybe she was reading too much into things—like his hard, pulsing cock against her being nothing about desire but everything about the morning things men experienced. He was an experienced man when it came to pleasure, and he wouldn’t want anything to do with someone as inexperienced and proper as her. She was too tame for him.
Even though part of her was curious.
Even though that part pulsed so strongly now...
When Jade next woke up, it was to movement beside her. She gasped when the hard, hot body pressed tighter against hers, practically grinding against her butt. There was a soft curse, followed by hands turning her around until she was facing him.
She held her breath when her eyes finally met his, which were sleepy and aroused at the same time. Something throbbed in her core in response, the desire so intense that she almost moaned. The look he had was one that made her want to run her hands through his hair, just to see how soft it was beneath the wig. It made her want to do things that were reckless and wild at the same time—things that involved hands and a mouth and...
“I’m so damn sorry. I thought you were...”
Reality crashed in like glass breaking, making her snap to attention. Horrified at her earlier thoughts, she tried to scramble back—
Sudden light blasted in their direction, freezing her in place—tangled in Jison’s arms. Jison froze, too, but it was too late to move and push back as only the last second of footsteps registered before a shadow fell on them. She squinted her eyes, the brightness of the outside world and the darkness of the liquor storage contrasting and making it hard to see clearly. She blinked a couple of times, enough to let her eyes adjust. She stared at the man in front, who was smirking down at them.
Jade felt her world tilting when her gaze landed on the man’s rust orange eyes.
“Well, well...what do we have here?”
Chapter 270
“Explain yourself.”
The words weren’t necessarily hard and angry, but there was a certain calmness to them that made Jison think of the calm before the storm—a violent storm that would wreak havoc in a moment. Sea Malone had given him that voice before, albeit in a softer version. But Jison had been able to talk his way out of it and gain them entrance to a treacherous pirate world in the air.
This time, Jison wasn’t so sure if they would make it alive.
He tried to sift through the words in his mind, torn between using the same charm as before to sweet-talk, or to act all contrite and find humble excuses. His body fought to tense in contradiction, as beside Sea stood the man they were here for: the killer with the rust orange eyes. Jade’s stilling earlier had been enough of an indication, followed by her pinching his hand before they were asked to get out of the liquor storage.
Now here they were, with a private audience—one that could cut off their hands if he weren’t careful. A plan formed in Jison’s mind, and he almost opened his mouth.
Almost.
Before he could, someone bumped against him. Then, again, indicating it wasn’t accidental on Jade’s part. He glanced in amazement, unable to follow as she stepped forward all of a sudden.
As she dropped to the ground, just as deliberately as she bumped against him.
“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, and I want to explain everything to you!”
Jison’s eyes stayed frozen on her at her male, panicked voice, one that was remorseful and frightened at the same time. Her body trembled as she bowed her head towards Sea, who was looking down at her with a frown.
“Do I even want to hear it?” Sea asked casually.
“First off, Jison isn’t at fault,” she said, as if his question was permission. Sea raised a brow at her candidness but didn’t say anything else. Jison wanted to tell her to shut up, but she was already on a roll. “I was just happily serving drinks to the party—you can ask the cook about this—when one of your pirates tried to...” She gulped. “Make a move on me. He said he wanted to kiss my pretty male lips, and he was so much bigger, and I didn’t want to kill him. So I ran off, but he followed me. And Jison found me and tried to hide me.”
She gulped again, exhaling dramatic breaths now. “We tried calling for help, but no one came. It was so cold below that we ended up taking drinks. Getting drunk. Sleeping...” Her shoulders trembled so hard that part of Jison worried that she was trembling for real.
