“We don"t hunt Andausians, Quest,” Copper scoffed.
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“Maybe we should,” he retorted, rolling his eyes in her direction.
“I"m sorry, are you…?” Blaze shifted in her chair like she was suddenly
uncomfortable. “Are you seriously arguing with us about this?”
“All of ya"ll need to slow your roll. This has no bearing to our current
situation. And we don"t divide over pettiness,” Steel grumbled, his head dipped
and his hand clasped at the nape of his neck. “Focus on what lies ahead.”
Quest"s expression was bleak, and then it softened. “Naw, I"m just saying…”
With the faint shake of his head, he dragged his hands down his face. “Forget
about it. I"ma go check on Jade.”
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Chapter Eighteen
Troubled Mind
Jade sat on the floor, silently gazing through the window and listened to the
conversation between her team members take a sharp turn to the south—super
demons, a warlock, and the Dragon Queen. It had the whole team flustered.
They weren"t used to getting beat down by any hell-raised creatures. They"d
always been the victors. Now they faced something that sowed uncertainty
throughout the group. Would they get out alive or be destroyed by the very
creatures they"d battled all their lives?
The odds didn"t tip in their favor.
As she blocked out the ongoing discussion, she rested her head against the
window frame and tightened her fingers around the sacred piece entrusted to her.
Sluggishly, she opened her hand and looked down at the gold wing-shaped amulet.
Attached to a gold choker spiraled with silver streams, it gleamed radiantly. It"d
been a part of her ever since she regained consciousness.
The promise she"d made to Father Hamiway moved into her thoughts.
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For the past couple hours, she"d been trying to think of a way to tell her
team she had to find the most feared creature in the world and deliver the amulet
to him. Demetri Bithanos. She"d been calling to him through the airways ever since
she opened her eyes. He hadn"t responded, but she had a feeling he heard her.
Cursing under her breath, she lost her fingers in her thick fro. Somehow she
had to get him to respond. It wasn"t guaranteed they"d make it out of Tokyo alive,
and she"d be damned if she was taken away before fulfilling her promise.
She gazed at the heavenly crafted jewel and a question dangled on the edge
of her mind. Why was she supposed to give this scared item to Demetri? What was
the vampire"s connection in all of this?
The amulet hung off the side of her hand. The flickering light from the small
candle in the corner of the room teased the intertwined strands of silver. The
design became animated, casting flashes of brilliant colored patterns along the
wall.
“Wow,” she breathed out.
Taken by the sight, she moved it closer to the dancing flame. The wings of
the fetish expanded then absorbed the light from the wick until the flame died
down to nothing.
Her attention snapped to the fusuma door when it slid open. She closed her
fingers around the amulet.
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Quest appeared in the doorway like a sultry dream. He ambled in with a
tray of food balanced on one hand. Those dangerous orbs boldly caressed her. She
squeezed her thighs together and swallowed back a whimper.
“I brought you some sashimi, miso soup and Sake.” He set the tray on the
low bed and squatted next to her. “Mrs. Kahuro got a lot more where that came
from. I swear, that woman cooks almost as much as my mom used to. She"s slick
like my mom too.” He tapped the bottle of Sake. “She strained medicinal herbs into
the Sake. Guess she thought she had to be sneaky about it.”
Jade eyed the food calling to her stomach then dragged her eyes up to meet
his smoky grey gaze. Huffing, she turned to face the window. He sensed her
attraction to him and that alone irritated her.
God, why did he have to be here, taunting her with his masculine beauty?
In an effort to put some distance between them, she scooted closer to the
wall and drew her knees to her chest.
“You have to eat something, mami,” he coaxed softly.
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block his voice out, but her lust for
him was relentless. “Go away. I want to be alone . ”
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“Don"t,” she whispered harshly. “God, Quest, there are times when I need to
hear your voice in my head.” She pinned him with a pleading glance, before looking
back out the window. “This is not one of those times.”
“Jade, I just wanna help.”
“Then please…leave me alone,” she begged, resting her temple against the
edge of the window frame.
Ardently, Quest watched her, willing back his rising desire. Her rich
swarthy skin tone was a beautiful contrast to the loose, flower printed shorts and
the abbreviated kimono. She had unraveled her cornrows. A wavy afro rested along
her shoulders.
He peered down at her injured leg where the demon had latched onto her.
The gauze Fabian used as a bandage wrapped all the way up to her sexy, muscled
thigh. Biting down on his bottom lip, he fought the urge to graze the frazzled
material with the tips of his fingers.
“Go away, please.”
His brain, the surprisingly stable part of him, told him to get up and leave
her alone, but his body ran solo. She"d been though a lot and he should respect her
wishes, but he had a deep down feeling that leaving her alone wasn"t the best thing
for her.
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He slid the tray of food from the bed and set it in front of her. She shifted her
eyes from the window down to his hand. He picked up a piece of sashimi with the
chop sticks, dipped it in the soy sauce and brought it up to her lips.
“Quest, what are you—”
“Eat,” he ordered in a seductive whisper.
Those big, beautiful emerald eyes sliced toward him and he thought his
heart would stop. She plucked the fish from the chopsticks and tossed it in her
mouth. “I don"t need any help feeding myself.” Without taking her eyes from his,
she snatched the chop sticks from his fingers. “And I don"t need you here, right
now.”
She placed slice after slice of sashimi in her mouth, hardly taking a breath,
focusing on everything but him. “Jade—”
“Every night!”
He jerked at her sudden outburst.
“Every damned night, up until our mission you had some skanky ass
Japanese girl all up on you!” Her alluring African accent deepened with every
word.
“Que? ”
“Just, just get out of here and leave me the hell alone!”
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“No.” He pushed the tray of food out of the way and inched closer to her. “I
thought we agreed not do this, Jade. I thought we agreed not to let that kiss break
us.”
Months ago, on a night after a vicious battle, he gave into his desire to kiss
those thick, luscious lips. A kiss he"d always wanted to give her, but feared it
would ruin their friendship, which it did. It started out heavy, blood
pumping,
adrenaline rushed. They were literally ripping at each other"s clothes. He"d been
ready to make love to her until they both lacked the energy to go on, but then she
confessed he would be her first.
That night, he slammed on the brakes hard and walked away from her sad
emerald gaze.
He wasn"t worthy. Such a gift should be given to someone who would be
true to her. Not someone like him, a man with a physical weakness for beautiful,
exotic women.
She glared at him in disbelief. “You are unbelievable,” she sneered though
clenched teeth.
Pushing at his chest, she tried to stand up, but he grabbed her arm and held
her in place.
“I know you"re a hoe. The whole team knows you"re a hoe. But that"s not
good enough. Every chance you get, you flaunt your playthings in my face!”
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“What girl, I"m not flaunting anything in your face.”
“Let me go, Quest!” she demanded, writhing in his grasp.
“Don"t do this Jade. Don"t push me away.”
She landed a blow to his jaw and knocked him on his back. Immediately, she
shot to her feet. “I told you, I don"t want to hear your voice in my head right now!”
She stepped over him and headed for the door, faster than he"d expected her
to move. Determined to keep her in the room, he pushed up from the floor, ran
after her and grabbed her from behind.
In a quick spin maneuver, she broke out of his grasp, then swung her fist to
punch him again, but this time he caught her hand. Gripping her arm and mid-
section, he tossed her onto the bed. Before he could pin her down, she rolled off,
stood and got into a battle stance.
“You picked the wrong day to mess with me, Quest.” She struck him with a
hard glare. “Wrong! Day!”
“A"ight.” He yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. “You
want to kick my ass? Fine. Let"s do it.” He matched her stance. “But you can forget
it if you think I"m „bout to walk out the door and leave you alone.”
Her eyes grazed down to his bare chest. The tip of her pink tongue darted
out to wet her luscious lips. Her hardened nipples pushed out against the silky
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fabric of the kimono. A hint of her arousal lit up his senses, flared his nose and
increased his blood flow.
Aye cono, she was doing it to him again.
Jade brought her gaze up to his and for a second, he saw pure lust gleaming
from those hypnotizing green eyes. A violent shake of her head cleared the spark of
desire instantly and gave way to daggers.
She advance and propelled her leg toward his head. He reared back to dodge
the strike. The heel of her foot missed his head by inches. As soon as her foot
touched the ground, she struck his jaw with her fist. The taste of his own blood
swirled about in his mouth.
Rattled, he stepped back to avoid her next attack. She came toward him
again with a flying fist, her eyes burning silver. He spun out of her path and
grabbed her arm. Her shin dug into his ribs, and dropped him to one knee. Just as
she was about to bring her leg down on his head, he crossed his arms up high,
blocked it then swept her other leg from under her, bringing her down.
Once she hit the floor, her foot struck him in the side of the head. She
scurried away then was back on her feet in no time.
Turned on without a doubt, he rose laggardly and palmed his head with a
smirk. Bothered by his enjoyment of the battle, she delivered a kick to the center of
his chest, pushing him back against the wall, which he accepted willingly.
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Not even an injured leg could prevent her from kicking ass. There was no
way she could"ve gotten any sexier than she was right now. His hardening cock
strained against the woven material of his pants.
“Want some more?” He beckoned her with a crook of his finger.
Fury swept across her face. Her lips tightened and eyes twitched. She
clenched her teeth as if she was about to snarl, then proceeded toward him again,
her fists clutched tight. He shifted to the side on the first strike, caught her arm on
the second, spun her around, and then twisted it behind her back.
Grunting, she threw her head back, knocking him in the chin, but that
wasn"t enough to grant her release. With her free hand, she reached between their
bodies, grabbed his semi hard length and squeezed.
Aw shit!
Biting back a groan, he wrapped his forearm around her neck. “Let me go,”
he demanded in a hoarse whisper.
She squeezed harder and his body jolted. “No, you let me go.”
He tightened his hold on her neck and pressed his lips against her ear. “I"ll
never let you go . ”
She stomped down hard on his foot.
“Aye c ono, Jade,” he grumbled before releasing her.
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Stumbling away, she turned and glowered at him. “Why do you keep doing
this? Why can"t you just leave me alone?” she shouted.
Words were suddenly lost to him.
Jade"s eyes shifted from emerald, to silver, then to a horrifying shade of
white. The lights flashed and dimmed. The furniture in the room elevated.
Maybe he should"ve left her alone. “Baby—”
“No, Quest!” Fat tears formed in her colorless eyes. “It was stupid of me to
believe that night meant anything to you! I"m just another piece of ass! You"re just
waiting for somebody else to break me in, so you can have a stab at it, right?” She
put her hands out. “What Quest! You like „em seasoned? You don"t want my virgin
blood smeared all over your fine Latino dick?”
“What da― chica you talking loco shit now! You know damn well that"s not
how I feel about you!”
“Quest, everything alright in there?” Steel asked cautiously from the other
side of the door.
“I"m handling it.”
“Okay dude, I want to believe you. I really do,” Spade chimed dubiously.
“But uhm, it"s kind of hard to do when everything out here"s…floating in midair!”
“I"m handling it,” Quest repeated in much calmer voice. “Stay clear of the
door, a"ight.” Carefully, he crept toward her, his arms out, praying his invitation
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would calm her. “Baby, lemme hold you for a lil" bit. Lemme ease the pain that"s
burning your heart.”
Shaking her head violently, she stepped back. “No.”
He reached out to take hold of her against her will, and then realized his feet
were no longer on the floor. Her white eyes narrowed at him.
Uh oh.
Pushing through her force, he lunged forward, palmed the sides of her face
and pressed his lips to hers.
Everything that was airborne dropped to the floor, including him. He landed
on his feet, and quickly embraced her. She melted against him and wept like a
baby. With a sigh of relief, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed.
“Uh, she okay now?” Steel asked.
“She"s releasing,” Quest replied.
“Good. Hopefully she gets it all out before we have to face those demons again,” Spade
added.
“I"ll make sure she does,” he promised, spooning against her.
Hands covered her fa
ce and she cried uncontrollably. He brushed her course
hair back from her temple and noticed something sparkly looped around her
fingers. It was the amulet Father Hamiway had given her—the sacred jewel she
refused to part with. Keeping it in her possession had to rub salt in her internal
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wounds, but asking her to put it down for the sake of her emotions would
guarantee another punch to the face.
As time passed, her pain-filled cries died down to soft whimpers and
sniffles. Quest held onto her the entire time, hoping the warmth of his body gave
her some sort of comfort.
“Why are you still here,” she whispered between sobs.
“Sabes por qué,” he replied softly, rubbing his nose along the rim of her ear.
“You know why I"m still here.”
“Don"t do that.” Her body shuddered in his embrace. “You know I hate it
when you talk Spanish to me.”
“Mentirosa.” Sensing the gradual rise of her body temperature, he tightened
his grip around her waist. “You know you love it.”
A sweet moan seeped from her lips as he pushed his hardened cock against
her ass. Yeah, a brave move, but he couldn"t help himself.
“Quest…” She wiggled her ass along his length, drawing out a strained groan.
“Don"t do this to me again.”
“I won"t do anything you don"t want me to.”
She pulled away. “You can"t be this close to me. It"s messing me up. Please
stop.”
He drew her back against him. “It"s calming you.”
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“It"s making me horny.”
“Yeah?” He brushed his hand across her injured leg.
She rolled onto her back to look up at him with puffy eyes. “I appreciate you
staying with me, but I think you should probably leave now.”
“Not a chance.”
He drew up on his knees and tugged on the bandage. Looking for a sign of
pain, he watched her eyes. When he saw none, he grabbed her ankle, rested it on
his shoulder and grazed her inner thigh. Her hips jerked and her leg trembled.
“Quest, please don"t do this now. We"re in somebody"s house.”
Like that would stop him.
He started at her ankle, carefully unraveling the cloth to expose more of her