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That meant Michael Roe, the leader of the Roe Guild of Hunters, had in his possession three full-blooded Jinn--Ari, Jai, and Jai’s best friend Trey When Charlie went AWOL after killing Akasha (the Labartu who’dthe Guild with Jai and Trey was the bestHunters in his Guild who could assassinate a bad guy for once He’d also told them Charlie was a priority kill now that he was a wacko Sorcerer with a dangerous piece of Mount Qaf e relief, Charlie had gone underground these last two months and none of the Guilds could find hiht" Ari replied, her sives a crap what they think?"
"Good" Jai nodded, his expression hardening again "Now let uy, call the Guild to coet you home How’s the rib?"
Ari looked down at the Qarin, her
sto I’m … okay"
To Ari’s relief, she and Jai were kept busy cleaning up thehuman Sam Shepherd over to the rest of the Guild to brief hi him back into the human world Then she and her boyfriend had to return to Michael’s to debrief hi it out helped her deal with the irew fatherly and concerned when he learned Ari was the one who did the killing, and Ari wanted to ask what the hell he was playing at
He wanted her to assassinate Jinn, and when she did, he went soft on her about it? It was nice that he was concerned … but also confusing
Ari didn’t say anything, though
After losing his daughter Fallon in Charlie’s war against the Labartu, Ari hadn’t the heart to call him out on his convoluted leadership skills with her
Caroline fed theave Michael the rundown When it was over, they sent Ari and Jai on their ith another concerned look The fact that Ari had chosen to shack up with Jai and Trey in the house they’d bought a couple of blocks away froally could make her own decisions, but they orried what their other e with two extrehtly older men
They could think what they wanted
Trey was one of her best friends now And Jai, well … Jai was being weird
Hence, the pissiness earlier
Still shaken from the day’s ordeal, Ari was too exhausted to deal with her frustration regarding Jai They entered the quiet four-bedroom house and i With hi as a combat instructor for the Guild--and because he was Trey and blessed with an abundance of char the Hunters and was probably out at a bar with a few of the guys
"You should eat," Jai told her as she headed toward the wide staircase
Dragging herself upstairs, she
shook her head "I’ry"
"Ari …"
"I’ll eat in the " She
turned around at her door Her bedroom was down the hall from Trey’s and directly across the hall from Jai’s
The root of her exasperation with hio, Ari had been touched by Jai’s thoughtfulness when he opened the door to the largest bedroo her her own bedroo sex, or forcing their relationship to htful and considerate and so sweet
But two months of barely there
kisses fro her insane! Okay, so the kisses weren’t anything to scoff at, but anytio to bed like she was a kid
There had been none of the good stuff like what happened o on Mount Qaf after Charlie’s trial He’d barely freaking touched her since, and she was beginning to feel like a not-so-hot leper
The gentle touch of Jai’s knuckles stroking her jawline brought her out of her fog She took hold of his hand, her eyes catching his His were searching, worried about her She felt a rush of love, lust, and confusion
And she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it
She’d killed an evil Jinn
Boyfriend trouble would have to take a back burner for the night "I’ll see you in thehis hand
"Hey" His fingers gripped her bicep a little tighter as he eased her back toward him Jai frowned down at her "You need hts, he asks? When I’m so exhausted I can barely stand?
Ari shook her head, biting back her frustration "I just want to sleep I’ll be fine"
His strong fingers flexed around her ar hers He gave her a rueful, unsure smile that didn’t quite elieous eyes "Can I get a kiss goodnight at least?"
An ache throbbed in her chest and Ari felt her lips curl softly at the corners "For future reference, that’s a question you never have to askAri’s insides "Good to know," hehis to hers She expected it to be sweet and short Instead it was … emotional
Jai held her to him, his hand wrapped around her nape Ari let her lips fall open as Jai brushed his back and forth over hers, his tongue teasing her lips before licking inside--light, quick strokes against her tongue that made her breath catch and caused the weariness to flee She arched her body into his and breathed hi at the hot taste of him
But Jai refused to speed up the kiss It was a seduction of deep strokes, teasing, nibbling, brushing … an iression He was handling her gently but telling her she was his
As he reluctantly pulled back,
Ari’s hands fluttered to his chest, her eyes closed, her lips tingling and swollen "I’ll see you in the ," he told her hoarsely, clearly as affected by the kiss as she was