Spark of Intent

by Harper Wylde

  “I like the freedom of flying. Surely you must understand that?” He tilted his eyes down to look at me and I nodded. I did understand it. “I’m close. A few more payments and she’s officially mine. Then we can go anywhere you’d like.” He grinned, and my heart warmed with his happiness. Killian kept surprising me.

  “I’d love that.”

  “Well, then hop in. I kind of have a surprise for you, although it might not be the romantic date you may be expecting.” He looked hesitant and I reached out.

  “I just want to spend time with you, Kill. I don’t care if we just sit in the car and talk.” I shrugged. “I don’t need anything fancy.”

  Killian pushed me back into the plane with a hand on my stomach and a rumble in his chest. Moving closer, he leaned down and brushed his lips over mine in a fast little kiss. “More of that later, I hope. Let’s get going before I forget that I have plans for us and whisk you back home.” The insinuation in his voice sank low into my abdomen, and I restrained myself from pulling him back to the car and taking him up on his alternative date idea. Instead, I crawled into the plane and buckled myself in, ready to let Killian take me on his carefully planned adventure.

  “What is all of this?” My heart was still racing from the insane landing that Killian had performed on top of a fucking glacier. When he’d hinted at an adventurous date, I’d never imagined soaring through the clouds as Killian expertly flew us into mountainous terrain. What had been even more surprising was the tingle of a barrier that tickled my skin as we passed through it, plane and all.

  Killian scrubbed a hand over his hair in a nervous gesture, looking around hesitantly. “It’s a training ground. I had a friend of mine ward it for us so it was undetectable by humans.”

  Varying sizes of ice sculptures decorated the flat surface of the icy glacier, and I stared in awe at the differing distances of the figures. The area had been carefully set up in stages of difficulty, and I beamed at a questioning Killian.

  “This is amazing!” I gushed. I’d been using the targets in the backyard but I’d been limited in my practice by the space I had to work within.

  “I know it’s not candles and shit, but after everything, I thought it was more important that you felt confident in your ability to protect yourself.”

  I ran, slipping slightly on the icy ground as I launched myself into his arms. He wrapped me up, easily holding me off the ground as he spun me around, tucking me against his chest. I breathed in the unique scent of Kill, regretful when he set me back down gently.

  “Where do we start?” I tried to get my balance in the low heels I wore and Kill chuckled, jogging back to the plane to pull out a pair of snow boots.

  “With these.” He tossed them to me and crossed his arms. “While the other ones are sexy, those are much more practical. I don’t want you tripping and falling off the side of the glacier. What would I tell the guys?” He smirked, and I rolled my eyes at him as I hopped, quickly switching shoes.

  “Thank fuck. Those other ones weren’t all that comfortable. Where did you get these from?”

  “I had Ryder buy them at the mall for me the other day. I would have picked them up myself, but I was kind of preoccupied.” Rosy color rose in his cheeks at the reminder of his grand romantic gesture. I hated to break it to the bunny, but if he thought he wasn’t romantic, he was dead wrong.

  “Come over here, Nix.” Killian waited for me to join him at his side.

  I focused on letting my fire warm my body, siphoning some power into my fingers as I prepared to get to work. For the next hour we worked our way through the smaller targets, and I obliterated the icy shapes and pillars with blast after blast, getting faster and improving my aim with each one. I’d never been able to let my fire flow like this before, and the feeling was freeing.

  “I want you to work to control the blast after it leaves your fingertips this time. Whether the power is inside of you or already released, it’s still yours. It’s a part of you. Let’s start small. Instead of calling a blast, I want you to control the flames and make them simply spark from your fingertips.” I arched a brow at him, not sure how sparks would make me powerful, but I acquiesced and tried to let only a miniscule amount of fire leave my fingertips. A blast shot straight into the air, exploding in a burst of shimmering sparks reminiscent of fireworks.

  Killian barked a laugh. “Not exactly what I meant, baby. Try again.” His good mood made me smile, and I shook out my arms before lifting my hand once more, calling on my fire.

  “That’s it. Ask your Phoenix to help you, remember? You’re one with her. You and she need to work together in order to hone your skill set.” Killian was an amazing coach. You’d think he’d be barking orders but, instead, he was gentle and patient, walking me through every step and never demeaning me when I failed. He simply encouraged me to start again. The fact that he’d planned this training for our date only made me fall for him more. His recognition of my need to feel powerful and take control of my life made my feelings grow exponentially.

  This time when I called on my flames, sparks burst forth, flickering rapidly from my fingertips.

  “Yes!” Killian whooped, his cheer causing me to lose my focus as I beamed at his excitement. Adrenaline shot through my heart when I lost control over my sparks, and they popped like fire crackers before disappearing altogether.

  “You’re learning to control it.” His grin was infectious.

  A half an hour later and I was able to bend my flames to curve them around some of the ice sculptures, aiming them at others. The orange, glowing balls of fire obliterated the ice, the force of their hits shattering the ice into a million tiny shards.

  “Now try it shifted.” His grin was wicked.

  “You trying to get me out of my clothes, Abra?” I crossed my arms over my chest, sending an arching look in his direction.

  “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see that, but in this case, I want to see what your Pheonix can do now that you’ve been practicing in your human form. Besides, I’ve shifted for you twice now. I think you owe me one.” He leveled a perfectly arched red eyebrow at me, staring me down.

  My Phoenix pushed hard at my skin, wanting to take her mate’s invitation to shift.

  “Turn around, bunny boy.”

  He smirked and turned around. The way his ass looked in his jeans should be illegal. I had to tears my eyes away from him as I focused on heating my body with my fire before stripping down like a crazy person. The sun was low on the horizon and it had to be somewhere around thirty degrees outside. I shivered as my layers came off, dropping them into a pile on the icy ground.

  Heat rose in my skin as I let my Phoenix come forth, the intensity of her heat scalding just before she emerged in a fiery orange, pink, and red glow. She chirped at our mate, and Killian turned slowly.

  “Fucking stunning.” My glow radiated off his light skin and I rose into the air, stretching my wings and tail as I soared through the sky, careful to stay within the buzzing power of the ward.

  When I’d done a few laps, I returned to Killian. “Let’s see what you can do. Keep it simple. Choose a target and blast it.”

  My Phoenix scoffed, fluffing her feathers and letting out a loud cry as she sent the largest blast of fire I’d ever seen blazing toward the largest ice sculpture, melting it into nothing. Her power rose, overtaking me.

  “Fuck!” Kill swore behind me, but my Phoenix took off, flying around the training field and throwing bolts of fire at the remaining statues. She dove and ducked between them, having fun as she rained destruction on the ice, letting loose a rippling chirp almost like a laugh as she enjoyed herself.

  Twirling around, she appeared back at Killian’s side, her happiness glowing as she waited for his praise. She wanted to show off for her mate and prove her worth. I gaped internally, awed by our abilities, and she preened.

  “Well, shit.” Killian ran a hand into his hair, continuing to look back and forth between the decimated sculptures and
us. “I guess practice is over. Fuck. Wait until the guys hear about this.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and proceeded to take pictures of the devastation.

  My Phoenix chirped as I reigned her in, happy to allow me control once more as I shifted back to my human half.

  I shivered as I quickly redressed, except when I held up my black shirt, I realized it had been singed by some floating sparks that must have fallen on it during my shift.

  I slipped into it but grumbled about the burnt holes in the fabric.

  I wrapped myself up in Ryder’s jacket and met Killian back at the plane. After settling inside, he produced a plaid blanket, wrapping it around my legs to keep me warm as he started the plane and then flipped on the heater. Reaching behind one of the seats, he brought forth a picnic basket.

  Kill pulled out our spread, obviously prepared by Damien, and we dove in while we talked.

  “Listen, if you want… I could try to draw what you remember from the island. I do that after all my visions. Maybe it would help you make sense of the images playing on repeat.”

  I swallowed the bite I’d taken, pushing it down with a gulp. “You’d draw for me?” He couldn’t have surprised me more on this date than he just had.

  “It’s just an idea, but I want to help if I can. I hate the idea that we don’t have the full picture of what happened to you, or why you were taken. I know Theo is looking into the island and the the facility you’ve had flashes of, and Damien is trying to get a read on Ciarán, but I feel like we should be doing more instead of waiting for the Gala. I know that’s the plan, but it still irks me to have to wait at all, no matter how much research we do. I don’t want anyone to ever hurt you again.” He took out his frustration on the remainder of his sandwich, tossing it forcefully back into the basket.

  “They’re doing all they know how to do. We all are. Trust me, a part of me wants to storm the island and try to make sense of everything, but I also want us all safe.” The hair pricked along my arms at the thought of going back to the island, but the nightmares that haunted me were growing worse, and I feared that they were based in reality rather than the drugged hallucinations we had first thought they were. My Phoenix and I were unsettled, and that was also growing worse as the days continued. “Besides, the Council is monitoring me.” Bitterness burned through me, and I knew that Killian picked up on my scorn.

  He took my hand and played with my fingers, brushing feather light touches across my palm. “The Council can all go fuck themselves.”

  I pressed my lips together, containing a smile at his bluntness. I’d always known that the Council wasn’t held in high regard by my Puca, but his outward rebellion made me nervous, and I quickly looked around, afraid The Council would drop out the sky like vultures, ready to attack. If there was one thing I’d learned about the Council, it was that they’d never tolerate any negative words against them or their rule. I knew we needed to be careful with our investigation, and disdain.

  “Don’t worry, pretty girl. We’re safe here. They don’t have eyes and ears everywhere. A good friend of mine took care of the barrier for us and he won’t breathe a word of it. It’s temporary anyway. It should disappear in about four hours. No one knows we’re here except Theo.”

  “Theo?”

  “Yeah. The ice sculptures were all his doing. He can control water, even in frozen forms—though ice is not his favorite to work with, but any of us would do anything for you.” Warmth pooled in my belly, feeling loved. I wanted to live in these moments forever, without the stress and the threats against us all.

  “So you’re basically saying he could build me a giant ice castle like Elsa’s?”

  Pursing his lips, he thought about it. “He probably could, not that he’d want to.”

  My eyes narrowed on him and I tsked. “And you harped on me for watching Twilight?” I shook my head at him. “My, my, how the tides have changed.”

  “What?” he grumbled, “Everyone watches Disney.”

  “A sucker for a happy ending?” I leaned closer, rubbing my nose against his.

  “If it involves you, then yes.” His lips found mine, and he immediately asked me to open for him. Our tongues delved, dancing together in a passionate kiss that made my blood simmer and my body awaken. Dragging me onto his lap, Killian had me straddling him with a leg on either side of his waist. My tight jeans restricted my movements, but I could still feel the impressive length of him growing against my center. I flicked my tongue with his and licked along the sensitive parts of his mouth, enjoying his taste. The groan he gave curled my toes as need blossomed hot, thick, and demanding.

  In one swift move, Killian whisked me up, carrying me to the front seat, causing me to giggle.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I squealed as he plopped me into the front seat and started strapping the harness into place.

  “Taking you home.” The raspy quality of his voice did funny things to stomach as he went about his pre-flight check, getting us off the ground and into the air in record time—always a man of his word.

  Thirty-Two

  Nix

  Killian ran around the car, refusing to let me open the door for myself as he concluded our date, remaining the perfect gentleman. The sky was dark around us as he helped me down, the chill in the air waking me up and lifting any tiredness I’d felt from the lull of the drive home. The simmering glances Killian had been shooting me since we left the glacier had me turned on and on edge.

  My body brushed his as I slid from the Hummer. When my feet hit the driveway, I tipped my head back to look up into his handsome face. Shrouded in shadows, only the hard planes of his body were visible in the moonlight.

  “Thank you for our date.” I lingered, not wanting the night to end.

  Entwining his hands with mine, the hardened calluses on his fingers were rough over the smoothness of mine. Pulling me away from the vehicle, he kicked the door shut and then walked me backward until my back hit the smooth, cool metal of the Hummer.

  “The night’s not over.” My stomach tightened in anticipation and my Phoenix chirped happily, both of us enjoying his closeness and the way he towered over us. His body was wide and tall, and I gasped when he pulled my hands up and pinned them above my head, pressing the length of his body flush against mine. Stooping down, he kissed me over and over again, leaving me breathless and wanting.

  “Ready to go inside?” The reminder of the others inside was like a bucket of ice water. I worried what they’d think if I chose to spend more time with Killian tonight after I’d been out with him all day. So far, things had been peaceful as we all enjoyed each other’s company, but I worried about splitting time together and keeping things fair and even.

  You don’t have to worry about these things, sweetheart. We’re all very good at sharing. If things ever become an issue, we’ll all sit down and work them out like the adults we are. You shouldn’t feel bad about wanting Killian. Damien’s intrusion made me jump against Kill, and he laughed against my throat as he pressed his lips to the column of my neck.

  “If you keep distracting me, we will never make it back indoors.” I’d sounded breathier than I’d meant to, but I figured it only added to my sentiment.

  “I may be good at sharing, but I won’t lie and say that I don’t want to keep you to myself tonight.” I felt the possessiveness of his growl vibrating through his chest as he sucked on my neck, every pull seemingly connected directly to my clit.

  “Killian.”

  “Hmm?” He sucked again and I moaned, canting my hips into his.

  “You need to stop.” I pushed lightly at his massive chest, and all six feet plus of him immediately halted, pulling away as he searched my face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I laughed. “My boobs are going to freeze off for one, and for two, the guys know we’re back. In fact, Damien is probably getting a pretty interesting mental show right now. There’s no reason we can’t go find somewhere warm to continue our fun.”

&
nbsp; Well, now that would be a shame, Ryder purred.

  Bring her inside, Killian. This time it was Theo who spoke through our connection. We’ll give you guys space.

  With a surly grunt, Killian captured my lips once more in a final kiss and then pulled me indoors.

  “Nix!” Ciarán’s loud voice echoed through the entryway as we closed the front door. He appeared to be alone in the living room—seemingly waiting for us to arrive home.

  You couldn’t have warned us that he was back? Killian groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

  What fun would that have been? I could picture Ryder’s amused face as he spoke from his hidden location somewhere in the house. In fact, all the guys seemed to be hiding, leaving us to contend with Ciarán.

  “Just remember that you’re the one who suggested we come back inside,” Killian grumbled to me, already pressing his palms into his eyes.

  “Did you two love birds have fun on your date?” Ciar beamed, rocking back and forth on his feet.

  “Yes, Ciarán, we had a lovely time, thank you.” I rubbed Killian’s back and hung up the coats we’d shrugged out of, preparing to make a beeline for the stairs with Kill.

  “Look what I got you!” Ciarán practically bounced over to me, thrusting something soft into my hands. I shook it out and held it up for inspection, only to shoot him a confused glance.

  “A bunny hoodie?” It couldn’t be anything else. Fluffy and white, the hoodie was long enough to fall to my thighs. Soft, pink lined ears dangled from the hood and, on closer inspection, there was even a small, white cotton ball tail. “What is this for?”

  Ciarán’s eyes were wide, crinkling with silent laughter as he studied my shocked face and watched Killian repeatedly pound his head into his palm. “Well, Kill won’t let me be part of his fluffle. And he needs a fluffle! And since your date went so well, as I knew it would, I figure you can be a bunny now—the start of his fluffle.”