Shadows of Fire (The Shadow Realms, Book 1)

by Brenda K. Davies

  “Thank you,” he said.

  She bid him good night and closed the door.

  CHAPTER 36

  Cole found Lexi in the library again the next day and settled into the chair beside her. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at her as she lowered her book and beamed at him. That smile warmed his heart and could light up all the realms. He basked in its radiance.

  “How is Brokk?” she asked as she set her book down. “I poked my head in to check on him, but you were both sleeping.”

  “He woke in the middle of the night,” Cole said as he rubbed his beard. “He was up long enough to drink some blood before passing out again, but he was talking, and he’s getting stronger.”

  “That’s great news.”

  It was certainly a relief to him. He’d never been so happy to hear his brother call him an asshole for leaving Becca’s establishment.

  “I hope you don’t mind if we stay,” he said. “I think it will be a few days before he’s strong enough to travel.”

  “Stay for as long as you need.”

  He picked up the book he’d been reading yesterday, but his gaze continuously shifted to her as she sat with her legs dangling over the side of the chair. Her feet kicked leisurely back and forth as she turned the pages of her book.

  He’d dreamt about her last night, and it was the first time since the war ended that he hadn’t had a nightmare.

  Instead of blood and death, his dreams were filled with her smile and the warmth of her body. In those dreams, he stripped her bare and tasted every inch of her before taking her. Instead of waking with a scream trapped in his throat, he awoke aching for more.

  He’d been about to rise and pad down the hall to knock on her door, but as he was contemplating going to her, Brokk woke up.

  After that, he couldn’t leave his brother’s side.

  However, his hunger for her was growing, and he didn’t know how much longer he could deny himself. He didn’t understand why he was restraining himself. The only reason he could come up with was that he believed her to be innocent. If he moved too fast, he might scare her away.

  He’d never done slow before, but he could if it meant getting her in his bed, where she belonged.

  He read for a bit, but he watched her more. Finally, he gave up and lowered his book. “What’s your favorite music, Lexi?”

  He’d learned a lot about her yesterday, but he was eager to learn more.

  She set her book down as she met his gaze. “I love the songs the pixies create and rock music like Five Finger Death Punch and Disturbed. What about you?”

  “I enjoy pixie songs and Creedence Clearwater Revival.”

  “Oh, they are good,” she agreed.

  He spent the rest of the morning alternating between checking on Brokk and learning more about her. The clock was striking twelve when she rose from her chair and stretched.

  “I have some work I have to do in the gardens. Is there anything I can get you before I go?” she asked.

  He buried his disappointment; if he had his way, she’d never do menial labor again, but it was not his place to get involved in her life. Unless it resulted in getting her in his bed. An image of Del rose in his mind, but he pushed it away. His friend was dead, and his daughter was an adult who could make her own decisions.

  “No, and I know where the kitchen is if I do need something,” he said.

  She smiled at him before leaving the room. It felt emptier without her, and he didn’t like it. Rising from the chair, he took his book upstairs and returned to Brokk.

  • • •

  The next morning, Lexi found herself staring at the clock more than her book as she waited for Cole. When the clock struck nine and he still didn’t arrive, she began to fear he wouldn’t come today.

  She squelched her disappointment and kept reading, but she couldn’t concentrate on the words. At nine thirty, she almost shouted with joy when he strode into the room and smiled at her.

  And then she cursed herself for being an idiot. He’s a dark fae!

  The reminder should have doused some of her excitement; it didn’t. It was difficult to keep her distance when she was growing to like him more and more with every passing day.

  Freshly showered, his hair was still damp and tousled as he ran his fingers through it. She’d found a few more articles of clothing for him and had given them to him last night, but none fit him properly. The shirt was far too tight through his shoulders and chest, and the pants stopped a couple of inches above his ankles.

  On anyone else, the clothes would have looked ridiculous, but he somehow managed to wear them with a sexy confidence that was entirely too tempting. Her mouth went dry as he plopped into the other chair and sprawled out his tall, powerful form.

  “Good morning,” he greeted.

  “Good morning,” she replied. “How’s Brokk?”

  “Better. Sahira came in a little bit ago to put a new salve on him, and he stayed awake throughout it. He’s talking, he’s fed more, and he’s healing. I think he’ll be back to normal in a couple of days.”

  “That’s good.”

  She was glad to hear that, but she dreaded the day he left. She enjoyed talking to him, and he brought a bit of excitement to an otherwise dull and, she was beginning to realize, rather lonely life.

  She glanced at the book in his hand, but she already knew he was now on book three when she discovered it missing from the shelf this morning. He must have come down sometime last night to get the book. Deciding to leave him to Harry Potter, she opted for a little bit of horror and chose a book of short stories instead.

  “You’re enjoying the books,” she said and waved at the book in his hand.

  Cole glanced at it. “Far more than I thought I would.”

  “Good.”

  “That Snape guy is an asshole.”

  Lexi laughed. “Oh, just wait.”

  He smiled as he settled into the chair, and when they lapsed into a comfortable silence, she returned to her book. When he got up to check on Brokk an hour later, she finished her book and rose from the chair.

  She returned the book to its place on the shelves and clasped her hands behind her back as she circled the room in search of her next read. She scanned the numerous spines until they landed on Jaws.

  She’d read it a couple of times, but it had been a few years, and she was in the mood to revisit an old favorite. Standing on tiptoe, she stretched for the book. Her fingers had just brushed the spine when she felt Cole against her back.

  CHAPTER 37

  She hadn’t heard him return, and it had been days since they last touched, but she would never forget the exquisite sensation of his body against hers or the way he could turn her bones to liquid.

  “I’ll get that for you,” he murmured.

  It took everything she had not to lean back into him as she dropped down from her tiptoes. When his hand settled possessively on her hip, it sent a shiver down her spine. He plucked the book from the shelf and handed it to her.

  When she took it from him, their fingers brushed and a fiery spark shot through her. Her legs trembled, and she was afraid her knees might give out. Instead of stepping away, the hand on her hip pulled her back and nestled her against his chest.

  “Jaws,” he murmured as he turned the book over in front of her. “One of my favorites.”

  His breath stirred her hair, and he lowered his head until his lips nearly brushed her ear. Despite knowing she should keep her distance from this man, she’d dreamt about his kiss often and wanted another one.

  She shouldn’t do it, but she found herself lifting her head and turning toward him. Her eyes held his as his hand slid from her hip to her belly. His muscles bunched around her, and when he growled, his eyes shifted to silver.

  The abrupt color change, and what it represented, astounded her, but before she could react, his head bent and his mouth claimed hers. And there was no doubt it was a claiming kiss as it was relentless, possessive, and so demanding
the only thing she could do was yield to it.

  When her mouth opened and his tongue swept in, the book slid from her fingers. It thudded against the floor. She wanted to turn and wrap her arms around him, but he held her so firmly against him that it was impossible to move.

  Then his hand slid beneath her shirt, brushed against her skin, and caused her knees to shake. His touch left her desperate for more.

  Each caress of his fingers and stroke of his tongue awakened something inside her that she’d never known existed. She knew what it was like to wake aching from dreams, and she’d satisfied that with her fingers, but she could never douse this hunger with anything less than him.

  Was this what it was like to be shadow kissed? The possibility should terrify her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care as his fingers skimmed up her belly and across the bottom of her bra before his thumb circled her nipple.

  When her knees gave out, his other arm cinched around her waist, and he held her up as he touched her more intimately than anyone ever had before.

  She wanted—no, she needed more.

  This time, when she tried to turn, he let her. She moaned when his hand fell away from her breast, but then he gripped her hips and lifted her off the ground without breaking the kiss. Her legs instinctively encircled his waist, and the rigid evidence of his erection rubbed between her thighs.

  She clung to him as he braced one hand against the shelves while his other hand cupped her ass. Her pulse raced as every part of her became centered on him. It felt as if the very fabric of her being was shifting and becoming something different, something more alive and free.

  She’d never expected to feel this way, but she relished the freedom, abandon, and carefreeness she’d never experienced before.

  Over the years, she’d read countless romance novels and seen more than a few love scenes in movies and on TV, but she’d never expected this all-encompassing yearning for another.

  Her fingers sliding down the front of his chest pushed aside buttons until her hands met his flesh. Beneath her palms, his skin was hot, and she felt the solid, thundering beat of his heart. When her nails scraped his flesh, he nipped her bottom lip with fangs he didn’t have only seconds ago.

  Only when he first arrived and was out of control with his terror for Brokk had she seen his fangs and silver eyes. Those two things were signs a lycan was losing control, and a lycan on the verge of losing control was extremely dangerous, but his slipping composure only excited her more.

  She didn’t know what that said about her, and right now, she didn’t care.

  When he bit her lip again, she mewled and wiggled against him. She stopped caring that he was part dark fae or that he would probably feed on her and break her heart if she wasn’t careful; she just wanted more of him.

  CHAPTER 38

  Before she could experience that more, a heavy round of knocking reverberated throughout the manor. A tingle of annoyance shot through her, but she ignored it, just as she ignored the knocking.

  Her fingers entangled in his hair, and the kiss deepened. When her fingers brushed over the tips of his ears, he groaned. She loved the feel of the point beneath her fingers, and if his response was any indication, he enjoyed it too.

  However, when another round of knocking sounded, she couldn’t ignore it anymore.

  She reluctantly tore her mouth away from his, and Cole’s hands tightened on her. Lowering his head, he kissed her neck before sliding lower to her collarbone.

  The heat of his mouth caused Lexi to shiver, but another round of knocking dampened her lust. Like a bucket of ice water was dumped on her head, reality returned.

  She’d been about to give herself to a dark fae in her library. With the doors open, Sahira could have walked in at any time, and Lexi could end up one of the many mindless, shadow kissed souls if she wasn’t careful.

  The hairs on her nape rose at the possibility. She liked him, but not enough to become one of them.

  The knocking grew louder and more incessant. The last time someone sounding more than a little annoyed was pounding on her front door, Cole arrived with a half-dead Brokk in his arms.

  Now, she had no idea who stood on the other side of her door, but it didn’t sound good.

  Releasing his hair, she rested her hands on his shoulders and unlocked her legs from around his waist. She slid down the front of him.

  The friction between them created a new firestorm in her body. Her legs wobbled when her toes touched the ground, and she almost jumped back into his arms.

  “Ignore them,” he whispered in her ear before he nipped her lobe.

  She wanted to do exactly that, but Sahira had to walk past the library doors to answer the door, and her aunt couldn’t find them like this. At the possibility of such a thing happening, her cheeks started to burn.

  “I can’t,” she said.

  His arms locked around her, and for a second, she didn’t think he was going to release her. Then he let her go and stepped back.

  Lexi’s eyes widened as she took him in. His silver eyes burned like hot coals, his fangs were clearly visible behind the lips flattened into a thin, white line, and his shoulders hunched forward in a way that said he was straining to retain control.

  She recalled some of the horror stories she’d heard about lycans who lost control. They became beasts that shredded everything in their path and tore through their victims like they were no more than pieces of paper instead of flesh and bone.

  She didn’t think he would hurt her, but she didn’t dare move. And then, she spotted that cipher near his temple again.

  Something about her rattled not only his control over the lycan part of him but also the dark fae. She didn’t know if she should relish that knowledge or be terrified of it.

  Either way, she became aware that the power Cole revealed to the world was only the tip of the iceberg. Far more of it thrummed beneath his surface.

  Enthralled by him, Lexi almost jumped when another series of loud knocks bounced off the walls.

  “I have to get that,” she said and was happy when her voice didn’t tremble.

  Cole stepped further away from her, but when his gaze swung toward the library doors and his lips skimmed back, she worried he might attack whoever had arrived.

  Lexi gulped, but she couldn’t let the knock go unanswered, and she couldn’t let Sahira find them like this. They weren’t touching anymore, but her aunt would know something had happened.

  Lexi straightened her shirt and threw back her shoulders. He started to reach for her, but his hand stopped and hovered in midair before falling to his side. They stared at each other before Lexi edged away from him and started for the doors.

  She almost glanced at the fireplace but stopped herself before she did. It couldn’t be Orin at her door. He was probably growing increasingly angry at her for not returning to him, but he was still safely tucked beneath the manor.

  Or she assumed he was. When she hadn’t returned, he might have gotten pissed off enough to leave, but she doubted he would risk capture by coming to her front door afterward. At least she hoped he wasn’t that stupid.

  • • •

  Cole inhaled a shuddery breath as he strained to regain control of himself. He was no longer just battling the lycan part of himself but also the hungry dark fae. It had been over a week since he last satisfied his dark fae urges.

  He hadn’t gone this long since childhood, and he hadn’t realized how ravenous he was until now. However, as he stared at the wall of books and willed his erection away, he tried to recall when he last fed.

  He didn’t remember the woman, but that was nothing new; he didn’t remember most of them. The rare few made return appearances in his bed, and it was never because he wanted more of them, but because they ran in the same circles, like Becca.

  But as Cole recalled the last time he fed, he realized it was before meeting her. His head swiveled to watch Lexi as she glided toward the doors, and his softening erection stirred again.<
br />
  Shit, he sucked a breath in through his teeth and fisted his hands. His nails dug into his palms as he willed himself to let her go.

  Not only was he hungry, but every part of him craved her, and it was only a matter of time before he had her. He would not be denied much longer.

  He rested his hand against the shelf as she vanished into the hall, but another round of knocking, and not being able to see her anymore, spurred him into motion.

  She was at the door when he stepped into the hallway. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sahira emerging from the hall leading to the kitchen. She was wiping her hands on a dishtowel as she walked. When her eyes met his, he saw the concern in them as she stopped a few feet away.

  Lexi cracked the door open, but she didn’t open it enough for him to see who stood on the other side. However, a familiar scent caused his hackles to rise.

  “Elexiandra,” Malakai purred from the other side of the door.

  Sahira stiffened, and when he glanced at her again, he saw a hardness that had never been there before. Not even when she was warning him away from Lexi had she looked so tense. Her chin jutted out as her eyes met his again.

  She gave a subtle nod of her head toward the door. Cole didn’t need her to tell him to intervene in this, he already planned to do so, but it astounded him that she found him less of a threat to Lexi than Malakai.

  He hurried to intervene.

  CHAPTER 39

  Lexi’s hand tightened on the door as Malakai rested his hand on the frame and leaned toward her. His brown eyes burned with an intensity that made her stomach churn. A cruel maliciousness burned in those eyes as he smiled at her.

  It took everything she had not to step away from him, but she managed to hold her ground. The unraveling control of the dark fae prince made her a little uneasy, but Cole never made her skin crawl like Malakai did.

  Malakai was smiling at her, in complete control of himself, and couldn’t make her one of the shadow kissed, but he was far more of a menace to her than Cole.