Page 25 of True Sacrifice
“I can move objects with my mind,” he purred.
I couldn’t quite describe it, but it was like he stood taller. Or maybe it was confidence. Yes, something along those lines. Before he had a sulking hotness to him, now he was more of a in charge panty wetting type.
“Focus,” Jax snipped. He did nothing other than stand at the foot of the bed watching me.
“I’m sorry, was I supposed to untie them, or did you want me to stay still while you told me about your powers? I mean, I’m good either way. There was just like an awkward pause in the conversation, and I wasn’t sure if it was my turn to do something or if, like, I should wait and see…” I sort of trailed off.
Jax looked confused. It was a good look on him. It took away some of the assholeness.
CHAPTER11
JAX
Seeing her there on my bed, tied up in fire resistant binds, made me breathe so much easier. I could try to have a conversation without worrying that she was going to touch me. Everyone in Hell knew to stay away. I refused to let my mind consider the other enjoyable aspects of having her stretched out on my bed.
“I have planned ahead; you cannot burn those ropes unless you use fire hot enough to light the bed and the rest of your clothes. I don’t imagine you want to train wearing only ashes, but the choice is there for you.” Things would go so much smoother if she would just listen.
“Well, are you going to get on with it, then? This isn’t exactly the most comfortable position to be in unless I’m getting something out of it, too. Right now, all I’m getting from you is a lot of anger, when you haven’t even bothered to get to know me. Your problem isn’t with me, it’s what I represent, and that’s so not fair to me.” She was right, of course, but there was no way I was going to admit that to her.
“My first and prominent power is telekinesis, moving objects with my mind as I have showed.” She could never force me to admit anything to her. She wasn’t one of us, one of the pack. I trusted my brothers and I would live or die for them. We decided a long time ago against taking a mate. It wasn’t even a question of how bad that would be. I didn’t fault Jasper in answering the call. None of them knew I answered the call, too, but I got there a moment after Jasper. I stood back in the shadows and watched him accept her as our mate and then her heart stalled out. If he hadn’t shown up, I have no idea what I would have done.
“Yes, and we can talk in people’s minds.” She quipped into my head. Her voice was soft, with a little bite on the edges. “Are there any limitations to this power? How far can we communicate? Last night, I assumed you were in your room, so that would have been a pretty decent distance. Oh! And how do I make sure none of my inside thoughts get sent out along with it? Like the dungeon thing, definitely didn’t mean to send that one out to you and now I have to ask Justice about his dungeon. Do I really want to see…”
“Stop.”I cut her off. She really had a tendency to go way too far with her thought train. That thing just choo-chooed its fucking heart out. “You broadcast a lot to me. We will work on the blocks first and then we can work on the trickier aspects.”
Mental shields fucking sucked. They were a constant low-level drain on your powers. Usually, you could let your shields down while in protected rooms; like a bedroom with spells cast into the stone. But many times, I shielded anyway. Old habits died hard, and I formed some habits for a reason. The constant drain from the shield, along with normal power usage, was more than the standard recharge you got in Hell, which meant I needed a power boost during the days.
Morrigan seemed to run rather low. She was only beginning her transformation, so I didn’t expect she would have much power yet to begin with. She tried and mostly failed to build a mental wall inside her mind and within a few tries, we entirely zapped her of power for the day. Without a boost, we wouldn’t be able to continue today.
“What do we do now? I’m all tapped out,” she panted, relaxing her body against the mattress.
I wasn’t sure what to do. One side of me screamed to go to her, that our bond would be even greater than that of the pack. The other side told me to just stay away from her. I was strong enough to resist any temptation.
“That’s all for today. You are drained, and thus worthless for tonight.” I sneered at her, releasing the ties from her wrists and ankles using my power. She glared at me, scratching her wrists. She sat up but stayed in the middle of my bed.
“You don’t get to talk to me like that.” She bit out, putting her hands on her hips like it made her intimidating or something.
“It is true. All the training I have for you requires the use of power. You have none.” I had expected her to bolt from the room the moment I had freed her.
“Then how do I get more power?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. She fucking wanted to learn; I could see it all over her expression. Learning these powers was exciting and enriching for her. I hadn’t felt that way about learning, ever. It was always a requirement. More and more power. It was never enough, but I didn’t want that.
“Demons and demonlings regenerate their power slowly while in Hell, drawing it into us from the very air we breathe and food we eat. They made our entire bodies of the very essence of Hell. That is why we can shift our appearance and wield the power we have. When we are not in the Hell realm, it cuts us off from the supply. That does not mean we cannot give a temporary boost to our powers. You need to get the heart rate up. It circulates the blood and the essence of Hell in our veins, which we can draw on. Now we only have so much of it, and we need to return to Hell to replenish. A faster heart rate in Hell will also increase your recharge.” I considered being blunter with her. It wouldn’t help me on my stay away from her path, but I was also curious to see her reaction. “Sex is the most efficient, solo or with a partner. With another demon you draw in some of their power, which is really helpful.”
She looked shocked at first but quickly twisted it into a smirk and that had me feeling very nervous. I wish I hadn’t released her from her binds, so I acted on instinct and grabbed her again, spreading her out across my bed. Couldn’t have her getting any ideas about touching me.
“Are you volunteering to give me a power share, Jax?” she asked seductively, and I knew I was fucked. The way my name sounded rolling off her lips instantly making me hard. I would make it through today, maybe even a few years, but she would break me down one day. I wanted her. Selfishly, I wanted her.
“I have a strict no touching rule. That applies to you and everyone else. If you want to go that route, I’m sure you could find Justice and finish what you started in the record hall. I just have a few end point ground rules and you can enjoy your evening as you see fit. First, do you agree not to touch me, accidentally or on purpose? If so, I will unbind you, you just looked a little grabby a few minutes ago.”
She looked offended at least. “I wouldn’t have grabbed you. I already noticed the no touching thing. I’m trying to be cautious of that. What other rules did you have?”
I hadn’t expected her to have caught on to the touching thing yet. She was observant. I scoured my mind trying to think of the other rules I had for her. My mind not only blanked, but also pointed out that not touching her had already proved impossible. The hallway, the feast. No doubt the bond at play moving us like magnets toward each other. Resisting would be like telling a snowman not to melt in Summer. I released her again, feeling like somehow, I was the asshole here.
“That’s all I can really think of today,” I murmured, looking down while rubbing the back of my neck. It was a soothing gesture that had always helped me to calm down. I’m pretty sure I completely failed at teaching her absolutely anything of use against anyone that might try to attack her.
“Ok, I’m just going to go to my room then.” She got up awkwardly and left.
I didn’t move a muscle the entire time. She’s nothing like I expected. Once the door closed behind her, I locked it with my power. Exhausted, I got up onto my bed. A small divot remained from where her body laid. I could smell her; I hadn’t thought about that. Now her scent enveloped my face. A smoky sweetness, like taffy cooked over an open flame. I was fucked. So incredibly fucked.
