Winters Rising Read online

  Holy Gatekeeper, he tasted so good.

  He tugged on her shirt. “Let go,” he said, against her lips.

  Her hand. His birthmark. Their bond.

  “It’s not about that,” he said, tugging on her bottom lip with his teeth. “Let go, sweetheart.”

  What was it about then? Sex? Him needing release after his hard day? At this exact moment, did she really care? Deep down, yes, a part of her really did care.

  His hands cupped her face being careful to avoid touching the side of her neck. Jax pulled away, and drowned her senses with his brilliant green eyes.

  “I’m not discarding you after tonight, or after we bond. You’re not replaceable. I don’t want to replace you.”

  “You don’t even know me,” she breathed.

  “I look forward to a lifetime of getting to know you.” He kissed her nose.

  Brea melted and her hand let go of his birthmark. Where the strength came from, she didn’t know.

  Jax grinned, before pulling off her shirt.

  His was next.

  “This is hate sex,” she said, crawling backward to the headboard, but found herself uncontrollably smiling at him.

  Jax chuckled, following her in a crawl, exposing his chiseled body, until their noses touched. “Would you shut up, and kiss me?” he said.

  She didn’t like being ordered around, especially by a Gatekeeper...but at that moment...she would do anything he said.

  Chapter Eleven

  BREA FELT JAX stir against her, disturbing the deepest sleep she’d had since arriving at the Winters’ estate. She didn’t want to break the skin-on-skin contact with him, or leave the protectiveness of his arm wrapped around her. She didn’t want to face reality, or even face him. In a way, besides bonding, she’d given herself to him, to this life, to her destiny. It scared her...terrified her, making her want to simply lay here a little longer with him and not think about what came next.

  What time was it? Morning? Lunchtime? Afternoon?

  Time was different as a Gatekeeper. Gate-keeping wasn’t a nine-to-five job, like her secretarial position had been back home. She’d worked in a school, silently observing the way teachers taught Seconds. She didn’t approve of their methods. Whether it was working in their estate, teaching their kids, or bonded to marry a Gatekeeper. Seconds spent their lives being taught they were put here for the simple purpose of serving Gatekeepers.

  Did Brea still believe that? Yes.

  Being with Jax hadn’t changed her beliefs. The entire Seconds teaching system remained flawed. Not only did it lack background information about their society, which would help Seconds understand their destiny better, it also stripped a Second’s confidence, leaving them loathing the Gatekeepers who looked down on them. And Gatekeepers did look down on Seconds. It had become apparent to Brea in the way the Winters had treated her. They held no respect for her.

  Something had to change.

  Maybe, after the unavoidable council meeting, something would change. She prayed the council would listen and comprehend her side, the Seconds side. She wondered if they would look down on Jax for failing to control Brea.

  Would Jax protect her then? If she fought with council, would he stand up for her the way he had with their bonding? The two topics were so different and yet almost equally serious.

  Brea felt his morning moan grumble up his chest and his body stretch beneath her. He was preparing to rise. Too bad.

  She didn’t open her eyes, wanting to keep her senses on full alert and not dull them with the complications of her life. She relished his skin against her cheek and his strong abs beneath her hand. Her fingers trailed a groove down his middle. He was rock hard and all hers.

  Her brain jerked awake.

  Would she ever get used to the fact that Jax was hers for the rest of her life? And, even better, that he’d promised he wouldn’t abandon her after their bonding? The worry had been eating away inside her and now, a contentment she’d never known, settled in the spot.

  Jax kissed her forehead. “You awake?”

  She didn’t want to be. “Yes.”

  “Hungry?”

  Brea peeked up at him, finding his sleepy morning grin waiting. She appreciated how adorable he looked when his anger wasn’t overriding his features. “You cook?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “I know how to, but I don’t like to.”

  Brea groaned and hid her face against his chest. “I sound like a rebellious child.”

  She felt him chuckle beneath her. “At least you can admit it.”

  She shook her head, and felt him stroke her hair. “Brea?”

  “Yes?”

  His fingers found her chin and brought her eyes up to meet his. “Before you fully wake up and remember I’m an asshole you hate; I want to ask if you will spend the day with me.”

  He was cute when he teased. Handsome, adorable, cute, sexy...trouble.

  “Doing what?”

  “Skipping breakfast with my family for starters...”

  Brea smiled and let out an appreciative sigh. “That sounds wonderful.”

  “A shower. Separate...or together...your call...”

  Together.

  “I have a few more ideas,” he winked at her. “If you’re interested.”

  She hadn’t been more excited to do anything since she’d arrived.

  “A girl has to eat and shower.”

  FOLLOWING SEPARATE SHOWERS, she’d needed the time to herself after all, and an interesting breakfast of cereal and milk which Jax had been very proud to prepare for her, Brea stood back in the library with Jax and Gabrielle.

  Brea’s first instinct had been to run out the door and never step foot in this room of evil memories again. But, with Jax’s hand giving her the support she needed, she found herself trusting him enough to calm her anxious legs.

  “Can you envision the place Brea decides on and send us there?” Jax asked Gabrielle.

  Send them there? He was planning on the two of them time ripping together?

  Gabrielle’s emerald colored eyes lit.

  “You’re going on an early honeymoon,” she squealed, jumping and clapping her hands together. “This is so romantic. Dad’s going to flip, but what else is new.”

  Brea frowned. This whole family was going to despise her if she continued to get Jax into trouble.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t,” Brea said. “Everyone’s already so tense with council on their way...”

  Jax touched the small of her back, soothing her reluctance. “This isn’t about anyone but you and me.” He kissed the side of her head, a compassionate gesture that touched her heart. Not her soul, not her birthmark, but her heart.

  “Awe,” Gabrielle held her hand to her chest of her floral dress. “My big bad brother is falling in love...”

  Jax straightened, clearing his throat. “Less talking, more visioning.”

  Gabrielle squeezed her hands in front of her. “Alright. Where do you want to go Brea?”

  She hadn’t thought about it...ever. “I don’t know.”

  “Do you want to sight see or have alone time? Or a little of both?” Gabrielle waggled her perfectly primed eyebrows, highlighting her cat-eye eyeliner.

  Brea found herself smiling and looking up at Jax for an answer. “A little bit of both...” She felt her cheeks turn a light pink in the admission of wanting alone time with Jax.

  He smiled at her appreciatively.

  “I have the perfect place. A little adventure, but privacy.” Gabrielle rubbed her hands together like a witch brewing up a spell. “I’m ready,” she said to Jax.

  Jax nodded at his sister, but his attention stayed on Brea. “When the gateway opens, hold my hand and don’t let go under any circumstance.” He slipped his hand into hers. She never wanted to let go again. “Your first reaction will be to pull away and the more you struggle, the harder it is on your body. Let go of your instincts, feel the time rip, accept the unfamiliar way and let it take you. Okay?”

&nbs
p; His explanation summed up their entire relationship. Both were as equally terrifying and thrilling.

  Brea nodded.

  “Make sure to have Declan on call when we get back,” Jax told Gabrielle, before opening the gateway.

  The same vortex appeared. Only this one was beautiful, swirling yellow like a sunny day.

  “Aye, aye, captain,” Gabrielle said.

  Jax frowned then, looking over his shoulder at his sister. “You’re not sending us on a boat, right? You know I’m not a fan of boats.”

  Brea would love to go on a boat.

  “Just go.” Gabrielle shoved them into the time rip and her laughter followed.

  Jax was right. The second Brea’s body stepped inside the energy, she wanted to pull away...she did pull away. Her mind grasped to remember his exact words: let go and accept it. But the feelings overpowered her to the point her body thrashed back towards the opening that was no longer there. Where did it go? Jax wrapped one arm around her waist and she relaxed...a bit. But it was all she needed. With her face pressed against his chest, she let him take care of her.

  After her initial reaction, the rip happened so fast, and like a snap of her fingers, her body stilled.

  Brea slowly opened her eyes, anticipating her first time travel.

  Scant light attempted to break through velvet curtains hanging over the dirty windows. The streams of light that succeeded fell on wooden plank floors and wood beams above. Candles flickered from the bedside table. The antique furniture scattered around the room piqued Brea’s curiosity to the time period they’d travelled into.

  She looked down finding Jax pinned beneath her, stripped naked. His wrists were tied to the headboard of the bed. Honeymoon was right. He yanked on his hands, looking up to see what held him.

  Last night, she’d been so consumed in having him, that she hadn’t taken the opportunity to really look at him. She might have glanced a few times, but never from this position, straddling his thick body. Dips and grooves teased her thighs, especially as he struggled to escape. His arm muscles bulged, flexing with each movement. Her mouth watered, wanting to lick his skin, including the area underneath her...

  “Are you going to flog me?” Jax asked, catching her checking him out. Amusement played across his features.

  “Flog you?” she asked.

  Jax glanced at her hand. She followed his look and gasped. She held a whip in the air, ready to bring it down against his gorgeous skin. She would never.

  “I don’t know. It looks that way. Do you want me to?”

  “I would prefer it if you would untie me.”

  Brea looked around the room first. “Where are we?” she asked.

  “We’re on a boat. Gabrielle’s idea of a joke.”

  “What kind of boat?” Brea heard the excitement in her voice.

  “Sweetheart, if you don’t untie me I’m going to be sick all over your naked body.”

  Brea glanced down.

  “Brea?”

  “Yes?”

  “Untie me.” When Brea heard the displeasure in his tone, she dropped the whip. Stretching over him, she reached for the material bound around his wrists. After loosening one hand, she moved to the next one, feeling him wiggle impatiently beneath her. As she struggled with the second knot, he pulled his hand out. Free from his restraints, Jax flipped her on her backside, landing on top of her.

  “Naked wasn’t what I had in mind.” He bent down and kissed her. This was exactly what she wanted. Her feet dug into the mattress, which felt more like clumps of straw, but she didn’t mind. Her body arched against his. With her hands wrapped around his neck, the kiss escalated and when he pulled away, they were both breathing heavily.

  “And if we weren’t on a boat you could flog me all you wanted,” he told her.

  Forget flogging, just never stop kissing me. Did he have any idea how intoxicating his mouth was?

  Then, as quickly as they’d moved through time, Jax leapt off the bed. Coolness stroked all the warm places his body had touched, bringing her down from the ecstasy place only Jax could take her.

  If she’d been asked yesterday morning what her plans with Jax would have been for today, she would never have envisioned this. Except, apparently, she had.

  Brea boosted herself onto her elbows, and heard Jax getting sick. She grimaced. Sitting straight up, she saw him across the room heaving into an old wooden bucket.

  Brea grabbed the blanket from the bed and draped it over his clammy skin. Slowly, she rubbed his tense shoulders until he calmed.

  He grasped her hand. “We need to find a gateway,” he grunted.

  She patted his shoulder. “There’s a door right there.” She left him sitting with his back against the wall, wrapped in the blanket, and looking weak for a man who seemed so strong.

  Picking up pieces of clothes from the floor, she held them against her body in the mirror. She startled, and jumped away from the unknown woman staring back at her.

  “You take over a body when you rip time.” Jax barely got the words before and another excruciating groan left his lips.

  Brea stepped closer, combing her fingers through the luscious red locks in the reflection. Hair, that would, in today’s world, be tamed with a can of mousse.

  “Won’t they remember? Or remember losing time?”

  He groaned. “No. There’s three time rips. Didn’t you pay attention in school?”

  Brea frowned at him, but realized his eyes were shut. His fingers wildly massaged his temples.

  “I’m a Second, remember? I don’t know much about Gatekeepers or what they do or how many rips you take.”

  But she knew she loved the dark-colored, long-layered dress she held up to her body. The magnificent stripes, ruffles and ribbons would accentuate every curve of her body.

  “There are three time rips,” Jax began, sounding like a frustrated school teacher. “But only one stays on the time track. There’s the correct one, the tainted one, and the one we travel on. If nothing is changed, the correct time rip continues on the time track and no one even knows we’re here. If a Gatekeeper fails their mission and time is changed, the tainted one remains on track. The rip we travel on rarely exists on the track.”

  Brea gasped suddenly, not from the lesson, but from her awareness of their surroundings. Glancing around the room, she noted the old map on the desk beside a feather pen dipped in an inkwell and an antique gun. Thickly carved antique furniture held old frames with old pictures, weapons and clothes. A thick, bold colored rug underneath was covered by what she assumed was Jax’s pirate attire on the floor. She couldn’t contain how much she was enjoying this.

  “Oh my gosh! Am I a pirate wench?” She looked back at her outfit in the mirror. “I am. And you’re the captain. Aye, aye, Captain.” Brea laughed so hard her stomach hurt. “Gabrielle is fantastic.”

  “Gabby is evil.”

  Brea dressed quickly, loving the off-the-shoulder dress and corset front. She pulled on the strings tightly and pain washed through her stomach. All this pain was worth it.

  “I wonder what era we’re in. Or what sea. Or what boat. Or what captain you are. A captain who made history? That would be amazing.”

  A wooden humpback trunk caught her attention and she couldn’t resist touching the metal detail on her way past, as she carried Jax his pirate clothes.

  Jax grunted at the clothes she offered, but didn’t move. As amusing as big bad Jax letting motion sickness get to him was, her heart hurt for him.

  “Let me help you get dressed,” she said, bending down beside him. Her nose caught a whiff of the pail containing his breakfast and she recoiled.

  “I don’t need clothes,” he barked at her. She knew it wasn’t at her, but rather directed at his stomach.

  “Okay.”

  When he started to stand, she tried to help him balance. Twice the size of her, it was like a raccoon helping a bear. She tumbled, he tumbled. They were a mess. They got to the door, just as there was a knock.
r />   One of Jax’s arms draped around her shoulder, while the other held the door frame. He stood buck naked and she tried to steady his heaviness to prevent both of them from keeling over.

  “Captain?” A woman’s voice came through the door.

  A real pirate, thought Brea. From a real pirate ship.

  Curiosity overtook Brea and she pulled open the door, eager to see the person on the other side.

  A woman, about Brea’s age, with a head full of black dreadlocks, stood on the other side of the doorway with her hands firmly planted on her hips. Brea’s eyes took in another fabulous striped and ruffled outfit, and examined the woman’s lace up, high-heeled boots. When Brea looked up, she found the woman frowning, but her eyes smiling.

  “He’s a little sloshed,” Brea said, trying to straighten her excited face. “Had a bit too much to drink, I would say.”

  Should she add an aye? Or argh? Or shiver me timbers? It all was overwhelmingly wonderful. Maybe walk the plank. Was it wrong that she wanted to watch someone walk the plank?

  “Who?” the woman asked.

  Brea looked at Jax, the supposed captain of this ancient ship. The bold woman pushed the door further open, seeing Jax’s pale expression...and more. Allowing a smirk to steal away her frown, the pirate-lady raked her hungry eyes admiringly over Jax’s naked body. Jealousy pinched Brea immediately and her hands were tempted to slam the door in this woman’s face. But remembering Jax was in another man’s body made Brea wonder exactly who the other woman saw. What did Jax look like to her? Brea saw her husband, and all his gorgeous grooves and muscles, but who was he to this woman? She wished she’d tilted the mirror to catch a glimpse of Jax’s new body.

  “Well, Captain, you said you were going to enjoy him.” The lady let out loud laughter. “Looks like you did that.” More laughter, Brea held back a smile at the next fun realization.

  She was the captain? Could this rip get any better?

  Who was she? What ship were they on? Couldn’t they stay a little longer? Too bad Jax hadn’t packed some motion sickness pills before they left. Too bad her husband hated boats.