Free Phoenix's Fate (RARE Series, #2) by Dawn Sullivan

back, his gaze on Rikki, drinking her in.  Reaching out, he wrapped a long strand of her hair around his finger.  “You okay?” he asked Rikki as he tugged on the curl gently and then slowly let the shiny dark hair slide free to fall softly on her shoulders.  Phoenix watched in amusement as Rikki’s eyes widened and she struggled to speak.  Then she seemed to close down.  Reaching over, she grasped Phoenix’s hand in a tight grip and quickly letting go, she hurried out of the room without a backward glance.
    Jeremiah’s phone rang, and swearing under his breath, he walked over by the window to answer it.  After a few minutes, he hung up and turned towards Phoenix, the frustration clear in his voice.  “That was the office.  We have a lead on a case I’ve been working.  I need to go.” 
    Phoenix looked at Jeremiah in surprise.  “Aren’t you going to tell Rikki that you’re mates?  I think she should know.” 
    “Look,” Jeremiah growled.  “She’s obviously still not ready.  Before this happened, I was ready to pressure her into mating with me, but I have decided I am not going to push it.  I don’t want to lose her before anything even gets started.  She means too much to me.”  He walked over to the door and then turned back.  “Keep an eye on her for me, please?” he asked shoving his fingers through his dark hair.
    Phoenix laughed.  “She’d roast your balls on a stick if she knew you asked me that, man.  You know she likes to think she can take care of herself.  But yeah, I got your back.”
    Wistfully looking at the way Phoenix held his mate, Jeremiah turned and left the room.  Phoenix sighed deeply.  He did not know for sure what had happened to Rikki in her past, but he knew that she and Jeremiah had a difficult road ahead of them.  After running away from foster care at 15, Rikki learned to rely only on herself.  It was very hard for her to trust anyone.  As far as Phoenix knew, Rikki had never been in any kind of a personal relationship.  It was going to be interesting watching Rikki dance around Jeremiah, and he was going to sit back and enjoy the show.  He just hoped there was a happily ever after for the two of them.  He planned on making one for himself and Serenity. 
    Leaning down, he gave Serenity a kiss on the tip of her nose, and then he closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep.
    ~
    S tanding near the back corner of the hospital, Rikki watched as Jeremiah Black walked out the door and moved towards where Jaxson stood talking to Nico by the SUV.  Her heartbeat sped up as she traced his body with her eyes, from his thick brown hair, to his broad shoulders, down his back to the tight butt she wanted to reach out and squeeze.  She was curious, was it as hard as it looked? Rikki wanted to go talk to him; she loved the low tones of his voice.  But she was scared.  Jeremiah made her feel things she had never felt.  Every time he was around, she froze.  Her body, her voice, her mind; everything froze.  She felt off balance, and Rikki hated that feeling. 
    As she watched, Jeremiah said something to Jaxson, climbed into the back of the vehicle and slammed the SUV’s door shut.  Raising his eyebrows, Jaxson sent Nico a short wave.  Moving around to the driver’s side, Jaxson opened the door and slid behind the wheel.  As he backed up, Jeremiah glanced over and found Rikki.  When his eyes met hers, he lifted his hand and placed it on the window.  Slowly, she lifted her hand and held it straight out, mimicking him.  The last thing she saw was his sexy grin as Jaxson drove away. 

Chapter 16
    A ngel was at a loss as to what to do.  In one room, Trace was with Jade.  Jade, the daughter Angel had not seen in too many years.  The guilt Angel felt over not being able to find Jade, then discovering she had been the General’s captive for the past 20 years, was excruciating.  She had gone over the night Jade was taken numerous times in her mind,