Page 20 of Primal Bonds

“Okay,” she said in a strangled voice. “Okay. I’m the good guy, all right? The one who’s trying to help you.”

He huffed a breath and waited, his head against the back of her hand.

At last she understood. Her hand turned and she stroked his head.

Ah… He pushed back against her hand, rubbing his scent onto the skin. Then he got his head between her hand and hip and that was even better.

He breathed in her spicy feminine aroma and rubbed his head against her hip, taking her scent on him and marking her with his. His chest was rumbling again.

“Are you purring?” She let out a high, nervous laugh. But to his satisfaction, she relaxed.

He pushed her hip, herding her toward the couch.

“You want me on the couch?”

He gave her another nudge.

“Okay, but you must be thirsty. Why don’t we get you some more water first?”

That seemed like a good idea, so he followed her to the kitchen and watched as she filled a large bowl with water and set it on the floor. When he lapped it up, she gave him some more.

Then he went to the back door and waited. He needed to keep voiding the iron in his system.

This time she guessed immediately what he wanted and unlocked the door. He paused on the small concrete landing to test the air. He could smell his own blood, but just a trace—the kid had done a thorough job. There were other scents—a dog, a nearby car engine that had only recently been turned off—but he couldn’t pick up the noxious, graveyard odor of a night fae.

He padded down the stairs, pissed on a patch of grass next to the driveway, and then came back to where Evie waited in the doorway to let him in.

Back in the living room, Evie got the sheet from the easy chair and sat on the couch. He figured she wouldn’t want him on the couch with her, so he lay down on the floor in front of it. The jaguar wanted to stay close for two reasons—his animal liked how she smelled, and it feared the night fae would return. Or another shifter might show up, one who’d scented Jace’s weakness. This way, Jace would be between Evie and any danger.

Evie curled up, her head on the pillow he’d been using. He could see her watching him in the darkness, and then she sat up and patted the cushion on the other end. “That floor’s got to be hard.”

He didn’t need a second invitation. He heaved himself onto the couch, circled once and then settled on the cushions at her feet with a contented sigh.

Evie lay back down. He could tell from her breath that she was awake, and he felt a twinge of guilt at disturbing her sleep. Well, tomorrow he’d be gone and her life could get back to normal.

But he’d been right to shift. The fever had broken, and even though the shift had drained more energy from his quartz, he could hear the tiny crystals humming a healing song. The quartz had recovered enough energy to aid in his healing now, although he was still shaken from the nightmare.

Merry’s fine, he reminded himself. She’s safe at Rock Run.

But if he died, what would happen to her? Sure, Rui and Valeria had given her the family Jace couldn’t, but they were river fada, not earth fada. Someday Merry would probably want to return to the Baltimore clan, to be with her own people, and Jace wanted to be there to ease her way. Not everyone in the clan would welcome a mixed-blood with open arms.

And only another earth fada could teach Merry the secrets of her quartz. Yes, Adric would instruct her if Jace died, but by tradition, it was Jace’s right as her only living family.

Evie nudged him with her knee. “It’s all right,” she murmured. “Go back to sleep.”

He edged closer, waiting until her breath smoothed out and she went boneless with sleep, then laid his head on her thigh. Even through the blanket and her jeans, he could smell her. Summer and lavender.

He inhaled deeply, imprinting her scent on his mind.

Someone was at the back door. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.

Evie jolted upright, because it was barely dawn, and there was no good reason for someone to be knocking on her door so early.

Jace-the-panther was already off the couch and disappearing around the corner into the hall. She hurried after him into the kitchen to find him with his nose to the door.

She crept up next to him. He stepped back, indicating with a twitch of his head that she should open the door.

“You know who it is?” she whispered.

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