Free Protective Ink (Urban Fantasy) by Misty Simon

second.
    Before he could get to him, the second man popped up off the ground and caught Jackson in the nose with a swing of his fist. He staggered back and crashed into the wall behind him as pain exploded in his head. The fizzy feeling in his blood, which he’d come to associate with invisibility, evaporated, leaving him exposed to the man who’d struck him. The other guy roared as Jackson desperately tried to turn his power back on. It didn’t work and he was forced to go hand to hand with his attacker.
    He punched and circled, kicked out and doubled back. The guy was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked. It wasn’t until Garrett tapped the back of the man’s skull with a black-as-sin hammer that Jackson was able to lean back against the wall and breathe.
    “Shit,” he said between heaving breaths, cradling his injured wrist against his abdomen.
    “Fuck,” Garrett answered. “Who the hell am I going to call to clean up after the two of us this time?”
    * * *
    Lissa walked up to her apartment above the shop and nudged the door open with her hip, her hands full of Chinese takeout and a six-pack of beer. She deserved something to ease her nerves after the worry she’d carried around all day. If she’d been certain a buzzing phone wouldn’t get Jackson into trouble, she would have called to check up on him and Garrett. But she knew it was better for her not to risk distracting him.
    He did a complicated dance to keep their boy safe. She had no intention of messing that up.
    He wasn’t in her kitchen this time. He was on her couch, all six foot plus of him sprawled out, his eyes closed. A shiver went through her body, nearly making her stumble.
    Why the hell did he have to invade her space like this? After what they’d shared the other night, it was really too much.…
    But they had to join forces to keep Garrett safe, and that meant there would be much more together time over the next several days. She would just have to get used to it, even though she really wished he would learn to use the phone again. Life had been simpler when she’d been able to block out how being close to him made her feel.
    She nudged his foot with her hip as she walked past. “I don’t know if I have enough for both of us, but I guess I can share.”
    He gave a light snore and she smiled. It wouldn’t hurt to let him sleep a little. He’d been trying to hunt down Garrett’s attacker all night, which was hardly an easy task. Perhaps he’d found him and needed to sleep off the adrenaline.
    If he had found him maybe he would stop his drop-in visits after all, and she’d get what she wanted. Her stomach dropped at the thought, which she decided to ignore.
    Setting out two plates, she evenly divided the orange chicken, beef and broccoli. She kept the spring roll for herself. Tucking herself into the chair across from the couch, she watched him sleep. He’d never looked so peaceful. Normally—at least when he was around her—his angular features were severe, his brow furrowed, his wide mouth drawn into a frown. She knew he smiled at other people, and she’d seen him share a laugh with Dory and Garrett. But he was never carefree around her anymore.
    Thinking about it was only going to make her lose her appetite, and she’d been craving Chinese food for days. She crunched into the spring roll as she continued to watch Jackson.
    An hour later, he was still asleep. Going into her bedroom, she dressed for sleep in a tank and men’s boxer shorts and grabbed a spare blanket from the foot of her bed. He could stay out there all night. He didn’t look comfortable, but it couldn’t be that bad if he was sleeping through his discomfort.
    Back in the living room, she settled the blanket over his chest then turned off the lights and stared at him for one more minute. The tingle in her midsection should be ignored, she knew, yet she couldn’t help but think she could make room for herself on the couch. Right where his stomach curved in