Page 61 of The Chosen Two

That’s a nasty surprise. Here I am, having my first official Guardian gig, jet lagged, in tight jeans and a corset, after climbing a mountain, and all this time I’ve been having my powers drained, right as I was learning to use them. Damn it. Maybe my abilities have rebounded since Lu left, but last Friday night alone probably drained them more than I could hope to recover quickly.

I go to take another swig of coffee, but my mug is empty. I set it down harder than I mean to, and Lu quickly refills it from the carafe. I thank him, because if I don’t have my coffee right now who even am I and how will I possibly get out of this.

“What are you wondering, little Guardian? You look confused. It’s been so nice getting to know you this evening, but truth be told, I want to get back to my lover.” She stands, smoothing her robe along her thighs as she does. “Any last questions I can answer before Lu takes you home?”

I hold up one finger, trying to think about what I want to know most. I mean, I’m curious if Friday counts as one seduction, or if he drained a little more each time I climaxed, but that information isn’t going to help me now. “I have one last question. Jake’s moans are keeping you around for now, fine. But he’s mortal. He won’t be here forever, and then you’ll be back where you were. You need a longer con. You know, like a 10…hundred…year plan. So, my question is this: How do I get my husband back?”

She rolls her eyes impatiently. “We know he’s mortal. That is why we just signed a contract with his firm. We are going to be stars all around the world, Miranda. People everywhere will know our names and hear our music, forever.” She crosses her arm with a self-satisfied look.

I can’t imagine their music being more than a fad. “I think you might be overestimating the longevity of public opinion. You didn’t answer my question though. How do I get my husband back from you?”

She stares at me for a long minute, then pouts. “That’s just mean, Miranda. But fine. You want Jake back that badly? Let’s just ask him. Let’s see ifhewants to go back with you. Oh, Jake? Lover? Please come here.”

My eyes dart to the bed I had been trying to ignore. Jake climbs out, naked, which shouldn’t surprise me nearly as much as it does, and covered in four shades of lipstick all over his body. The three other muses pout that he isn’t warming their bed for the moment. I close my eyes against the wave of intense nausea about to take me down and breathe deeply, in my nose, hold it, let it out slowly through my mouth, and hope that my coffee and the single bite of pastry I choked down don’t come back up.

Jake stands next to Callie, who links her satin clad arm through his bare one. Her voice is as sweet as ambrosia when she speaks to my husband. “My love, I am going to ask you something. You can answer honestly. I won’t be hurt or offended. Do you want to leave with Miranda, or would you rather stay with us?”

When he looks at me, his expression is pained. He knows he’s supposed to say he wants to be with me. Then he looks between his harem in the bed and Callie, the four sexy, young (looking), literal goddesses he’s been fucking for the last couple of weeks. Callie smiles sweetly at him, and as the pain on his face evaporates. I know Callie was right, that his need to have his wiener wanked by four gorgeous women has won.

Jake doesn’t even take his eyes off of her. “Miranda, I’m sorry. I’ll always love you. But I can’t leave this! Bring Lu home. Have your cake and eat it too. He’ll be a fine partner.” And with that absolute bullshit answer, he walks back to the bed, now full of grinning and giggling goddesses, and climbs back under the sheet.

Chapter 25

George

Assoonassheslams the car door shut, I regret it. We should have stayed together. I know I’m supposed to be her teacher above all else, but how can I expect her to do this alone?

And now, I’m watching this woman, who couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded a month ago, scale a mountain. When her footing slips, my breath catches in my throat. But then she regains control and keeps going. So high up, I pray she doesn’t look down. She seriously is incredible. This is the woman who is going to save the world time and time again. This is the woman I get to know better than almost anyone else. This is the woman who, against my better judgement, I’m allowing to get to know me better than I have ever let anyone else.

She has to make it through this. I know she feels like she can’t go back home without Jake, but if it comes down to it, I hope she does just that. She is the one who has to get through this. She is the one who matters. To her family, to the world, and to me. The connection between the Guardian and her docent does not sever with death. Docents have been known to lose their minds, become catatonic, or even die of broken hearts upon the death of their Guardian.

I wish I could sit here and watch her until she reaches the top, but the Jinn is still descending, and I need to make sure he doesn’t see her. I slowly drive up the road and toward the Jinn’s light as he approaches me. I stop when he does; he’s in front of the car’s bumper. Even though his entire body is radiant with green light, I leave the car running and the headlights on, partially for light, partially so if I need to, I can try to make a getaway.

The first thing I notice as I slam my own car door is how much colder the temperature has gotten since the sun went down. I’m sure it’s even colder at the top of the mountain. I don’t know how she can be moving up there in that outfit, much less how she can fight. Maybe she won’t need to. I wish I could hear or see something. But I can’t. And I need to get my head back in the fight that is about to start here.

Chapter 26

Miranda

I’munabletomove.He picked them. He picked the great sex over me, over our children, over our life together. Sex with goddesses. Huh. I did not see that coming. This man who was always so disgusted with anyone who cheated or was non-monogamous in any way… I would never have guessed we’d come to this moment.

As I stand there, my body starts to shiver. Warm, masculine hands slide over my shoulders, then rub down to my back and arms, over and over, trying to warm me. But I fear I’ll never be warm again. Maybe I should just lie here, on this mountain, just curl up and freeze. The hands pull me out of my chair, and the arms wrap around me. My eyes are open, but the world has faded to black. Then the blood in my veins begins pumping faster, telling me it isn’t time to freeze, not now, and my brain wakes up. My eyes refocus, and I realize the body embracing me is wearing a black suit. I tilt my chin up, and Jake looks down at me, smiling. My mouth forms a smile too.

“Let’s go home, Miranda.”

I begin to nod. Ready to accept this. Until my heart takes its beating up a notch. I drop my brow and shake my head. “Lu?”

His smile widens as he hugs me close and says into my hair “Let’s go home, Baby.”

“Lu?”

He pauses and softens the look in his eyes. In Jake’s eyes. The eyes that I looked into as I batted my own at that college coffeehouse, the eyes that teared up when he forgot to drop to one knee during his proposal, the eyes that watched as our babies came into this world with complete awe that his wife had just handled that like such a badass. Howdarehe look at me with those eyes.

I step in front of Lu and place my hands on his chest. “Lu. Fuck. Off.” I shove him back, hard. He stops about four feet away and scowls at me. “You will never be in my bed, in my house, or around my children, again!”

“Miranda, don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” Callie says. She’s discarded her robe next to the bed and is about to climb back into the orgy.

I jump into guard stance, ready to strike. Lu laughs and mocks me by waving his arms around in a similar stance. The memories of every technique I worked on with George flow into my muscles. I don’t even think. Lu charges at me. I parry, change position, and grab his head to pull it down exactly as my left knee swings up, connecting with his face hard. As he straightens, I use an outside crescent kick to get him right in the temple. He staggers.

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