Page 19 of Jordan

Chapter Six

Jordan doveinto the bathing pool. The water was warmer than his body wanted or needed at the moment but it would work. The burning desire to take Nina, claim her and make her his own was still all consuming. It had taken everything in him to walk away from her. When he’d seen the tears in her eyes, something inside him broke.

She didn’t want him. She’d only accepted him because of the mating pull, nothing more.

She’s a bitch. Be happy she saved you from yourself or you’d be stuck with her the rest of your life.

As the words played through his mind, Jordan knew they were a lie. Nina was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman, and so much more. She wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself, she was intelligent and sexy as hell.

Go back and admit you were an ass. Tell her how you really feel. Tell her she’s all you ever think about.

He broke through the surface of the water to find Manna sitting near the edge. Her dark gaze was centered on him. Jordan was thankful he hadn’t come all the way out of the water because he was nude, and while he wasn’t exactly shy about it, he wasn’t an exhibitionist either.

Manna let out a long breath, not seeming fazed in the least by the knowledge he was naked.

Wonderful, no woman wants me.

“Your mate has agreed to join me for dinner.” She glanced behind her. “Can I speak frankly?”

“Uh, Nina isn’t my mate, and yes, you can.”

Manna chuckled as if she didn’t believe his announcement that Nina wasn’t his mate. Part of Jordan didn’t believe it either but he kept that to himself. “Nina’s a brave woman. A warrior. I can sense it in her. I also sense something else.”

Jordan walked closer to the water’s edge, careful to keep his lower half covered. “What do you mean you sense something?”

“I am Head Priestess here and have the ability to know certain things. As you already know, I can read thoughts with ease.”

Jordan let out a long, shaky breath. “And what do you know about Nina?”

“Aside from the fact she is your mate?”

He licked his lower lip and glanced away, refusing to answer.

Manna laughed. “You’ll stop denying it soon enough. That isn’t what concerns me, Jordan.”

“What does?”

“I believe Nina has a mission in mind. A final mission, so to speak. One she will not return from.”

He put a hand up. “I know. I heard about how she doesn’t plan on coming back to the planet if she can’t find her brother.”

Manna shifted awkwardly. “I do not mean returning in the same way you do, Jordan. I mean, I’m not sure she will live through whatever her mission is. Her body already eats away at her from the inside out. This side of her that she has denied for so long will be what kills her.”

His chest tightened and for a split second he thought for sure he’d felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.

Nina dead.

No.

He refused to accept the warning. He shook his head and backed up, fighting for breath. “No. You’re wrong.”

Manna stood slowly, and the very fact she didn’t argue told Jordan she wasn’t wrong in what she’d sensed. Lorelei, his brother’s mate, was a priestess as well, and she tended to foresee events at random. Jordan knew better than to question Manna’s abilities—and he also knew he wasn’t about to let Nina out of his sight. While he couldn’t stop her from going off-planet, he could stop her from doing anything foolish.

He locked gazes with Manna. “Where is my mate…erm…I mean Nina?”

Manna suppressed a smile and pointed towards the path leading to the village. “She is still within my home.” She bent, grabbed his discarded pants and threw them at him before walking off, leaving him to dwell on his slip of the tongue.

My mate.

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