then the impossibly tall bookshelf listed and fell. It slammed into the back of
the couch, just a couple feet above our heads. Books rained down on top of
Jaxson’s back, and one struck me in the corner of my eye.
Silence.
I struggled beneath the weight of Jaxson’s muscled form and a hundred
books. “Jax! Are you okay?”
I was shouting but could barely hear my own voice above the ringing.
He was breathing, though. I felt his chest rising and falling against mine,
and the powerful scent of his body intoxicated my mind.
His deep growl reverberated through my body and down into my core.
With a swift motion, he heaved himself up and hurled the shelf out of our
way. Books poured off to either side of him as he climbed free. Then he held
out a hand.
I grasped it, and he pulled me up and into his arms. His eyes burned with
possessiveness and desire. It was too intense, and I looked away, my gaze
landing on Amal’s singed and crumpled form. “Amal!”
“Here,” she said, picking herself off the floor with a groan.
Jaxson let me go, and I met his hard stare. I forced a smile. “Thanks for
that. Who knew a little reading could be so hard on your body?”
Wordlessly, he extended his claws and moved toward the door.
I peeked around him. “Holy shit.”
The room was blackened to its core. The paintings on the walls were
gone, as were the cabinets and glass cases.
“Cases like those that hold dangerous and deadly magical objects are
often protected with magical traps. You managed to detonate them all,”
Jaxson growled.
I nodded. “Okay. That’s pretty obvious now, but it wasn’t an entirely
flawed plan. Maybe I got him?”
Jaxson shook his head and began making his way carefully through the
smoldering wreckage. “Step lightly. If any of the traps survived the