Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

the life in them, warmth against his skin, as if the mosaic breathed. Once again he heard the soft feminine voices speaking from a great distance. Some speaking in an ancient tongue, others more modern, but al whispering to be strong, that they were with him. He had never sought nor wanted a family, or unity or the belonging. It wasn’t for him. Yet here he was, the house, the family, the woman, and he had shoved it away.
    Elle. Stay alive for me. Believe in me.
    He was asking from her what he hadn’t done himself. He should have believed in what El e was offering. Love. Unconditional love. El e had watched him quietly, waiting for him to recognize what was in front of him. He wanted, not unconditional love, but unconditional surrender. Her wil to his.
    He didn’t want to be out of his comfort zone, he wanted El e to come to him, bending her ways to his. He hadn’t wanted to give away the violence inside him. He’d wanted acceptance without having to give anything of himself.
    And he had lost her. He even knew the exact moment she had turned away from him and had chosen to go her own way. She had left him behind just as he expected her to do, just as he’d pushed her to do. Jackson shook his head. He had pushed her. He wanted to remain the rol ing stone, the man who refused to need anyone. He was determined to show her she was the one who would have to change. He wasn’t going to explain himself to her or change for her. She had knocked on his door, stood just outside on his porch with the ocean roaring behind her, her delicate features soft and beautiful, her emerald eyes deep and fathomless, her long red hair blowing in the wind.
    â€œMy house was obviously wrong,†she’d said. “You’re not man enough to take on this task and I’m done waiting for you.†She had turned away from him and walked away, never once looking back. Worse, he hadn’t stopped her.
    He looked around at her family, feeling the weight of the ancient Drakes who had gone before, measuring his worth. And right now, at this moment, he wasn’t worth very much and he just couldn’t give a damn that they would al see. El e was too important. Getting her back was too important; he’d just have to sort the rest of it out later. Right now, none of his wel -thought-out reasons for not believing in her lifestyle seemed to matter at al .
    Outside the open door, lightning lit up the sky in white jagged streaks, il uminating the dark turbulent water of the ocean. Thunder crashed, immediately fol owed by the angry boom of the sea. The wind rushed into the house and swirled around the women, feeding into the building energy and power in the room.
    There was no way not to believe in the strange magic the sisters had when they were together. He knew Jonas thought it was their love and closeness that somehow made them a powerful force, but Jackson knew it had to be more than that—they seemed elemental parts of the universe—perhaps blessings bestowed on the family at birth. Whatever one believed in, they were a force to be reckoned with.
    Electricity crackled in the room. Power built until the wal s undulated and the floor shifted.

    3
    ELLE could hear a woman weeping in the distance. Hopeless. Broken. The sound fil ed with despair. She wished someone would help the woman because the closer she came to the surface, the more pain wracked her entire body and the crying kept pul ing her out of her cocoon. She couldn’t imagine what had happened. She couldn’t remember.
    â€œSheena. Open your eyes. Stop crying, sweet, I’m here now and it’s going to be okay.â€
    Her body jerked involuntarily at the sound of that voice. She knew him. Knew his scent. Knew his touch. He brought pain or took it away. He had become her world. She knew nothing and no one else but him. He fed her. He took her to the bathroom. He chose whether or not she could wear clothes, or have a shower. His punishments, when she defied him—which was often—were terrible. He never changed tone. His voice always remained calm and matter-of-fact. Very powerful.
    His hand stroked over her hair. The tumbled mass of red strands was the only place on her that didn’t hurt. Her back and buttocks were fire. Her breasts burned. And between her legs it throbbed and ached, so sore she didn’t want to move for fear her insides would fal out. But the