Page 14 of A Spark in the Ash

And within one minute, my Jaxon stands there again.

A sly smile begins to curl on my lips. Something hot and fiery begins to build in my lower stomach.

"I knew you could do it," I say.

"It's a good thing you believed, because I wasn't sure I could," Jaxon says. It’s so good to hear his normal voice again. Despite the fact there are several other people around us, his eyes remain fixed entirely on me.

"So, what do you think, you coming out of this vault anytime soon?" I ask. It's really, really difficult not to let my imagination run wild. My mind is going back to that night in the parking garage on the Strip. It's remembering the taste of his lips. The feel of his hands on my body.

Everything in me is beginning to ache with need.

"Trust me, baby," he says. He rocks forward onto the balls of his feet, as if he wants to come closer, but doesn't quite trust himself yet. "I'm dying to get out of here. But…"

I see it in his entire body. He still shakes. There's something about his fingers and the way they curl into fists. He still wants to kill me. He still wants to take out everyone in this compound.

"Can you all give us a minute?" I ask as I look over my shoulder at the others.

Most of the others immediately walk away. But I watch as Ascelin glares Jaxon down. And just as he walks past me, he reaches a hand out, once again brushing his fingertips along my lower back.

My skin crawls at it. Not because I am disgusted by Ascelin. But because I see the look of death deep in Jaxon's eyes.

But this is working. He doesn't burst into flames again.

"We need him to touch the gate again soon," Davorian says. "The darkling gatekeeper might be found any moment. If anyone is watching on that side, we need to let them know that the ultralight gatekeeper is here." Davorian looks up at Jaxon. "I can only imagine how hard this is, but we need you to rein it in. We need you out here."

And the director walks away.

My eyes shift back over to Jaxon. He stands there for another moment, opening and closing his fists. I see his nostrils flare as he works to control his breath. But finally, he takes a step forward. It's tentative, but when he doesn't lose his control, he takes another step forward. And then another.

Finally, he is standing just barely on the other side of the glass.

"Am I shit at this?" Jaxon asks. "Everyone seems to be getting a little…impatient. It doesn't usually take this long, does it?"

I don't want to answer him. I don't want to shake his self-confidence. All he needs to focus on is getting better at control. But I also don't want to lie to him.

"I mean…occasionally it takes a while. Some guardians have exceptionally strong instincts. You're one of those, obviously. It's not a bad thing, it's just…like you said, everyone is getting a little impatient. Now that we’ve found you, now that we know you're the gatekeeper, it's hard to keep being patient."

The look in his eyes intensifies. I see a spark of…anger. And heat. "What about you, Serena? Are you losing patience with me?"

I swallow once. When I agreed to this, when I accepted Ascelin’s help, I knew this moment was going to come. "Never." I want that to be enough. But Jaxon and I never made any promises to one another. The sum total of our relationship, our time together, was only two weeks. I owe him something more than one word. "It's been an issue for a while now. I should have shut it down long ago. Ascelin is lonely. He's been watching Renwick and Philomena keep each other company for a century. But I promise, my head has never gone there, not even once." I lean in closer to the glass. My breasts press into it. Immediately, Jaxon's eyes drop. "I'm yours, Jaxon. Somehow, it has to be enough."

Once upon a time, I had been engaged. He was a simple man, a printer's apprentice. We had known each other for a year. I liked his sweet smile. I liked that he was shy. I liked that he was kind, and that my parents approved of him.

I think I loved him. But it was so long ago. Mostly what I remember is anger. I was so angry with him because he didn’t know if he could still love me when I became a darkling.

But I had never,neverfelt what I feel for Jaxon right now.

The chemistry between us is electric. It was instant. It all sparked one night at the club, over the span of forty-five minutes.

I burn for this man. Just as hot as he burns in ultralight form.

"I wasn't making anything up when I told Vivian that you are mine, and not hers anymore," I say as my voice drops low, my words rough. "I'll fight anyone for you, Jaxon. I'll destroy this entire compound if I have to. I'll take on every member of the Gray family. I'll fight Vivian to her last breath if that’s what it comes to." My fingers curl into the glass as I imagine all the details of what I would do to pry him from his mother's grasp. "You're just going to have to deal with it, Jaxon. Your mine now."

With every word I speak, the hunger in Jaxon's eyes grows. And he is a man, so I can see the physical reaction in his body my words are causing. It’s exceptionally satisfying to know that I can cause that kind of physical reaction with only my words.

But he only has so much control. His body once more bursts into flames, light shining from every pore in his body.

A satisfied smirk pulls on my lips.

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