He was dead serious.
Worse, horsey sense told Jacklyn it was true. She knew it in her shitty, shifting bones. It was part of the wider magical laws of things. By saving his life, she was now responsible for making sure he wouldn't get killed again.
"It's not going to work." Jacklyn wished horsey sense would stop using her to give him bad news.
The wind pushed his hair into the blue eyes. He ran a hand through it, fighting a greater force than wax and manpower could do anything about, at least when the wind came this way.
"I wish you wouldn't say that," he said. "I'd appreciate a bit of support."
"Don't go there."
She meant a place. A specific physical space. She saw flashes of yellow silk and a bad ending in his future.
"I made a really dangerous mistake," he said. "The kind where you pay the price."
He took a deep breath, scanning the surroundings, looking anywhere but at her.
"I have to try to fix it. There's no time and nowhere to run. If I stay, the Visionary will find me. You heard Jojo. Might as well try to find him first."
"And if you can't fix it?"
"He wants the Iron Heart back. I don't know where it is. You do. Strike a deal with him."
"What?"
"My life for the Iron Heart."
"That's your plan?"
"It's all I have to work with."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he put a finger on her lips. He traced the outline of her upper lip, then moved his finger from her lips to the birthmark between her eyebrows, touching it gently, stroking it.
Epiphany.
Jacklyn felt the power he had over her. He didn't even need to steal it. She'd traded it for a kiss.
Sly handsome devil.
His touch was warm, hypnotic, reassuring and his blue eyes glittered.
He was back. The Venetian, the notorious thief. Handsome, hot and ruthless. Telling her what to do.
Bastard.
His voice was silken. "They never seen nothing like you," he murmured. "When the time comes, you bring your shifting magic and you save me."
She wanted to believe him, but horsey nose smelled a crack in his performance, a trace of raw fear under the suave surface.
"That's not happening," she said, taking a step back, away from his addictive horse petting skills. "I don't believe in saving the best for last."
He pulled a hand through his hair, scanning the street, avoiding her. But on the invisible level, she felt his resolve wavering. She pushed on.
"If you say I'm responsible for you, you can't tell me to sit the first round out."
He shot her a glance that unleashed another cloud of butterflies in her stomach.
"Okay then," he said, "let's go steal a car."
YOU ARE READING
Shifting Life
Paranormal[COMPLETE] Magic is all about the rules. You mess up, you fix it. Or pay the price. Not that Jacklyn Morse has a choice. She's a new shape shifter paying the price for saving a notorious thief who is as hot as the supernatural loot he's stolen. To J...
