Stone Cold Seduction Read online

  “What? What’s wrong with Carys? And why can’t you guys ever just spit it out?”

  “She’s in Scotland,” Jax answered, after he finished chewing.

  I blinked. Okay. Scotland. That was going to be a problem. “So…I have to go to Scotland? I can’t just call her?”

  “You have to go through the proper channels,” Teryl muttered. “When you ask the original oracle for your fate, you have to offer a token of respect. They might give more information if they like your offering enough.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. Being a regular human was so much easier. “I don’t need extra information. I just want my fate. Are you sure I can’t buy her off? Give her some free soap and lotion?” I was only half joking.

  Jax eyed me speculatively. “If you created a special blend as a gift, it might work as a token. But Carys wouldn’t take money, because it’s an insult. And you have to give her the token in person.”

  “I can’t just up and head over to Scotland.” He was crazy if he thought I could lock up my shop and waltz across the world. “We’re in Seattle, Jax. That’s not a hop, skip, and a jump from Scotland. That’s hours and hours on a plane, courtesy of a really expensive plane ticket. And who would run the store?”

  “Cassie can,” Teryl said.

  “You’re not helping. I can’t ask your sister to run my shop for a week.” Cassie was Teryl’s younger sister. She was fresh out of college and still looking for a job. I occasionally hired her to help when I had large orders. She was capable, and I knew she’d do a great job.

  “I will buy the tickets,” Jax said. “The oracle has to see you and verify you are who you say you are. There’s a ritual to be followed.”

  “A ritual? Dance naked under the moon and smear mud on my body sort of ritual?”

  “God, Elle.” Teryl rolled his eyes. “No, it’s a formality and a magical process. The way the oracles read fates is by first reading your signature magic. It’s the essence that makes you who you are and enables them to document your fate. She can’t do that over the phone.”

  I scowled. “Well, why didn’t you explain that in the first place?”

  Teryl’s expression softened. “Hey, I’m sorry. I just forget that you…” He waved his fork at me in a vague manner. “You forgot.”

  I arched a brow at him.

  “What I mean is, I keep forgetting you don’t know or don’t remember some of this.”

  “Any of it. I don’t remember any of it. And that’s another thing.” I turned and looked at Jax. “Can I get my memories back?”

  His eyes flashed silver for a moment before he said, “I believe so. If something triggers a memory, it might open the door for more memories to surface.”

  Excitement flared for a moment. “I had a memory when I touched MacLean.”

  Jax’s eyes shifted to pure silver before I quickly added, “It wasn’t a big one, just a memory of when I was sixteen. Very brief.” His eyes were still shining, so I added, “Very boring. I was getting ready for dinner at my father’s.”

  He was watching me and sitting very still.

  Teryl cleared his throat. “Well, that’s good news. Maybe meeting with the oracle will trigger more.” He flagged down the owner’s wife to ask for a piece of paper and a pen. When she brought them, he absently smiled his thanks, and immediately started scribbling notes.

  Jax and I ate in silence while I tried to digest more than spicy food.

  After polishing off his food, Jax pushed his plate away. “When we’re done here, I’ll book our flight. Teryl, you’ll come with us. Be packed and ready to leave by morning.”

  Jax’s eyes slowly began to melt back to their normal shade of gray. I couldn’t help but ask, “Are all gargoyles like this?”

  He quirked a black brow. “Like what?”

  I squirmed under his direct stare. “Ah, a little, um, jealous?”

  That wicked, sexy smile curved his lips. “Only where our mates are concerned.”

  I blushed. I couldn’t help it. Anyone would, with that smile directed right at them. “Oh,” was all I could think to say. I knew that later I would think of a hundred other things I could have said, but for now, oh was all I had.

  Jax continued to smile at me. There were times when I didn’t mind him being so quiet. He didn’t need to use words when he could smile like that.

  Teryl finally interrupted, “Well I hate to disturb this little moment, but we’ve got things to do.” To make his point, he shook the paper in his hand until it rattled.

  I wanted to crumple the paper and stuff it where he’d have no use for it ever again. Yes, it was a bad time to make googly eyes at Jax, but damn if I didn’t need the pick me up. Damn it more that Teryl was right. “Okay. What do I need to do?”

  “Jax is going to leave, and we’re going to go to your apartment and talk,” Teryl replied. When Jax turned a frosty stare his way, Teryl sighed. “Look, I want to give Elle a better idea of what she’s getting into. It might sound better coming from her best friend.”

  The men went silent.

  “Manversation,” I muttered under my breath. They ignored me.

  After a few moments, Jax tilted his head in Teryl’s direction in acquiescence. He scooted out from the booth and bent over to kiss me. It was a long, leisurely kiss. He took his time, and he made two things very clear. One, he was an amazing kisser. And two, I belonged to him. By the time he ended the kiss, I was perfectly happy with both.

  Jax brushed the back of his finger along my cheek. “Until tomorrow.”

  And he walked away. The muffled sound of his deep voice drifted our way as he went to the register to pay Mrs. Li for the meal. He managed to draw a pleased smile from the tiny woman, much like Teryl had. These guys had a way with women, that was for sure.

  I wasn’t sure what I’d gotten myself into, but I wasn’t about to complain on this front.

  “Ahem.” Teryl coughed into his hand.

  I smiled at him. I’m sure the smile looked ridiculous and sappy, but I didn’t care. “What did you want to talk about?”

  His expression was serious. “If you’re done, we can head upstairs. There are a few things we need to go over, starting with what it means to be a mate.”

  And that burst my bubble. His tone was solemn, and it made me uneasy, so I deflected the only way I knew how. “Don’t tell me. On a full moon, we’ll turn into wolves, he’ll be stone, I’ll be a shadow, and we’ll have to sacrifice a deer to show our devotion and commitment for all eternity.”

  His mouth twitched, but he didn’t laugh. “No. But you’re close.”

  “What?”

  “Ha!” He pointed a finger at me. “Gotcha. You need to take this seriously. It is a commitment for eternity. And whether it’s in the fates or not, you need to know about it. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  I slid out of the booth and waited until we hit the street. “Okay, what does it mean to be or have a mate? And if it’s fated, do I even have a choice?”

  “You always have a choice. But if it’s written in his fate and your fate, it will happen eventually. You just get to choose how.”

  I couldn’t stop the goofy grin that curved my lips. I unlocked the door to my building, and we made our way up to my apartment.

  Teryl waited for me to lock the door behind us. “If MacLean hadn’t shown up today, I would have said ‘go for it’ and given my blessing. But Elle, you shouldn’t have been able to shift the phoenix. And you did it so fast and effortlessly…”

  I remained quiet. Teryl might be a smart ass, but he was also great at seeing the big picture. I always knew when he was turning over a puzzle in his head. I just had to sit back and wait for him to work it out.

  A minute later, he rubbed a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up at odd angles. The tousled look worked for him. He looked like a handsome, absent-minded professor when he was in critical thinking mode. “I don’t understand. If your father signed the engagement contract with the Douglas fa
mily, you should already be married. You’re almost twenty-eight.”

  “Yeah, I am getting a little long in the tooth,” I said, with just a hint of sarcasm.

  “That’s not what I mean. You would have known about it and been married by twenty-five, at the latest. If there’s an engagement contract, there are usually stipulations about when and where the wedding will take place.”

  Stipulations? It sounded so cold when he put it like that. I wrinkled my nose. “So what happened?”

  “I’m not sure. Something ended the contract, but it would have to have been pretty serious.” Teryl dropped onto my couch and leaned back into the cushions. “When a contract is made between two lines to secure an alliance, both sides take it very seriously. If the contract was made null and void, it means something major happened.”

  “Like what?”

  “There could have been a disagreement between Jedren and MacLean’s father, Cian. The contract could have been tied to a business deal, and if that fell through, both would fall through. Or maybe because your abilities never surfaced, MacLean’s family could have used that as grounds to be released from the contract.”

  “And because of the screwed up kids we’d have,” I added with sarcasm. I sat in the armchair next to the couch. The smaller frame fit my body perfectly. The cheerful print fabric usually put me in a happy mood. Not today.

  “Exactly.” He noticed my dirty look and shrugged. “You know what I mean. Because the lines have been weakening, strong abilities are a requirement. That’s one of the reasons marriage contracts are so carefully made and entered into. To ensure the continued success and strength of the families.”

  From a logical standpoint, what he said made sense. But what about love and partnership? “Okay, let’s say that’s what it was. I didn’t show any abilities, the engagement was called off and…?”

  “And that might be why Jedren wiped your memories. If you had no abilities, you would be a liability to him.”

  I cringed. I couldn’t help it. From what I could remember, I had always been nothing more than a liability to him. It wasn’t something a child wanted or needed to hear.

  Teryl grimaced as he realized what he’d said. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “I know you didn’t. I know exactly what you mean. You’re probably right. But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to get back to the whole mate concept. Talking about Jedren isn’t going to help right now.” Any time my father was brought up in conversation, fury simmered just below the surface. I didn’t need to be on an emotional roller coaster right now. I was having enough trouble keeping up with the rest of it.

  “Like I said before, when you find your mate, you make a commitment. You’re bound forever. It’s like a marriage, only more.”

  “More, how?” I was genuinely curious. I wasn’t ready for marriage, and I wasn’t ready to take eternal vows. However, I did want to know why Jax was so adamant to “claim” me.

  “There’s a ceremony. The details differ from line to line, but the type of ceremony is determined by the magic involved.”

  “The magic? Meaning the abilities?”

  “Yes, exactly. To be honest, I don’t know much about them. Oracles only marry oracles, so Jax would have to tell you more about what his line requires.”

  “I don’t have to drink blood or anything weird like that, do I?”

  Teryl smirked at me. “You really need to stop watching those vampire shows.”

  “What?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Like there’s anything normal about having a mate and the ceremony that goes with it?”

  “It’s normal for our world,” Teryl said, in a quiet voice.

  I let my hands drop to my lap. I would have to start considering it my world, too, now. “Right. So, Jax is supposed to be my mate, and there’s a ceremony, and what happens depends on our lines.”

  “Yes.”

  “And Jedren is the king of shadow elves, and I’m his heir.” I refused to use the title of princess. Not even Teryl knew why. Luke did.

  Teryl watched and waited for me to finish.

  “And I can shadow and shift Jax, but shouldn’t be able to shift MacLean. Therefore, my mother might have been more than just human. If my father did wipe my memories and void the marriage contract because I didn’t have any abilities then, why are they showing up now? Is there a certain age they should appear?”

  “Yes, by age eleven the abilities have matured. Right around the time a child is presented their fate. For some it’s earlier, and for some it’s a little later, but if they haven’t shown up by fifteen or sixteen, you start to worry.”

  “Am I considered a late bloomer?” My twenty-eighth birthday was only a few weeks away, but I thought that was still young.

  “I’ve never heard of someone coming into their abilities this late.” He pulled the piece of paper from his pocket and put it on my coffee table so he could scribble a few more notes. A minute later, he looked up at me with a slight frown. “Obviously it’s not impossible, but I don’t know anyone who would believe it could happen.”

  “Do they all just,” I waved my hand in a pantomime of a fairy wand, “poof into place?”

  “Poof? No. It can take a few years, a few weeks, or a few days for them to develop. Some lines develop more slowly than others. Gargoyles usually take a few years. Oracles develop their magic within days. The shadow and light elves can vary, but I would say a few weeks to a few months on the average. It’s largely based on your line and your genetics. If your parents came into their magic within a month, you should, too, give or take a week.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I won’t be calling Daddy Dearest to ask. Besides, it sounds like I’m already not following the typical pattern.”

  “I wouldn’t even call it a pattern.” Teryl began drumming his fingers on the glass table top. “And you’re right. You’re not anything like you should be.”

  I decided to take that as a compliment. As he continued to tap his fingers, I made a mental note to get him a set of drum sticks for Christmas. I knew it was a nervous habit, but it sure wasn’t helping my nerves. One of us needed to be calm and levelheaded.

  Finally, he said, “I’m worried about what else will develop.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t think your magic is done manifesting. and it scares the hell out of me.”

  “Why?”

  He tugged at the hem of his shirt as he leaned back into the cushions once more.

  “Why, Teryl?” I pressed. “Or maybe I should ask, what scares you?”

  “You do.” And he couldn’t quite meet my gaze when he said it. “Look, I’ve gotta go get my own stuff in order so we can go to Scotland. I’ll see you soon.”

  Great. I was trying not to freak out, but how was I supposed to react when my best friend tells me I scare him?

  Chapter Six

  It’s amazing how two days can change a life. My employee was now claiming to be my mate. My best friend was scared of me. My mother was possibly not who or what I thought she’d been. And when it came down to it, I was freaked out.

  Who, in their right mind, wouldn’t be? I didn’t ask to be a shadow elf or, even worse, my father’s heir, his royal heir. I didn’t want any crazy abilities. I didn’t want to travel to Scotland, at least not for the purpose of seeing an oracle. And I didn’t want MacLean around, antagonizing Jax.

  A sudden thought hit me. Oh, crap, the stones!

  I hurried back to my bedroom. I uncovered the gems and stared at them. My hands were shaking as I slowly touched one. Without taking my eyes off of them, I backed up to my dresser and grabbed the phone. I dialed and waited for Teryl to pick up his cell.

  “Hey,” he answered. “That was fast. I just left. What’s up?”

  “Teryl,” I croaked. “The gems. What if they’re souls?”

  His curse was muffled by static on the line. Then I heard him say, “You need to tell Jax about them.”

  �
�Are you crazy?” It was a long, convoluted story.

  “Damn,. I’ll call you back in a minute. I have to find someplace to park.” He hung up.

  I’ve been stealing from my father for a little over a year. To date, I’ve skimmed an antique mirror, artwork, jewelry, first edition books, and the gemstones. Jedren likes to collect things. His house is like a museum. I’ve never understood why he needs to be surrounded by priceless things, inanimate objects worth a ridiculous amount of money. But now, knowing he’s a king, it makes more sense.

  Teryl has been able to track shipments—via the accounting records, or so I’ve assumed—of the occasional item we knew we could sell with little problem. Like I’ve said, the money went to families affected by my father’s greed or anger. I’ll give you a few examples.

  Robert Sheridan had been my father’s tax attorney for fifteen years when he decided he was ready to retire and spend more time with his wife and grandkids. Jedren wasn’t ready for him to retire, because Robert knew too much. Within three months, Robert’s investments had tanked in value and he’d had a stroke. Sure, it could have been coincidence, but I don’t believe it.

  Then, there was Marybeth Chandler. She’d been my father’s housekeeper when I was a child and teen. She’d kept my secrets and had even helped me a time or two. Shortly after I turned sixteen, the cook found her at the bottom of the winding staircase, her neck broken. Not one person voiced their suspicions. It was months before a maid let it slip she’d gone to my father to confront him about how he treated me.

  Jedren had killed her to make a statement. As if that weren’t bad enough, Marybeth’s husband is disabled. Confined to a wheelchair, caught in the vicious grip of multiple sclerosis. He had needed her in more ways than one, and in an instant, Jedren had forever ruined two lives.

  Those are only two of the victims I secretly help to support. There are a dozen more, and I expect the list to continue to grow. I help them with medical bills and whatever I can. It’s never enough. How do you compensate someone for an irreversible medical condition? For a life?