Phoenixfire: A paranormal reverse harem romance (The Rogue Witch Book 8)

by KT Strange

  I choked on the coffee I’d just taken a swig of, and swallowed hard.

  “We’re not taking a private jet,” I hissed at him.

  “First class’s good as private.” He shrugged. “C’mon, doll-”

  “Nooooo. No,” I said, but my cheeks burned and I couldn’t help but smile up at him.

  “Don’t let that reprobate drag you down into scandal and ruin,” Eli drawled, wrapping an arm around me from behind and tugging me into his chest. He brushed the hair away from the side of my face and kissed the curve of my ear. “Besides, if anyone’s gonna-”

  “Oh my god, are you the twins from Phoenixcry?”

  Eli let out a quiet sigh of breath that I felt more than heard, pulling away from me to turn to a fan that had materialized out of nowhere.

  I hid my smile as the girl, probably only about fifteen, manhandled the two of them in for a quick selfie and then stared up at Finn with doe-eyes until he signed her plane ticket for her.

  “Let’s go to the first class lounge,” Eli said, although there was a smile tugging at his mouth when we walked away. Cash fell into step with us.

  “Never gets old,” he said, stretching his arms up above his head with a sigh before letting his hand descend on my shoulder. I leaned into him, enjoying the heavy warmth of his body bumping against mine as we walked.

  “Nope,” Finn replied, giving me a side-long glance. “Sure wish we didn’t have to be so damn private, though.”

  “Tickets, please,” said the counter attendant, holding out her hand to check to make sure we were, y’know, actually allowed in the first class area and all that. Eli smiled in that easy way of his, handing over the folder of tickets for her to look at. Cash hugged me closer. For a moment I felt the counter girl’s eyes on me, her gaze flicking between me and Cash, before lingering on Finn for a moment. Confusion creased the skin at the corners of her eyes. Finn was right.

  It would be a relief if we could’ve been open about our relationships. Everyone needs a little bit of scandal in their life, right? Not like I haven't already had enough of that, right?

  “You’re thinking so loud right now, sweetheart,” Cash murmured as we stepped into the elevator to take us up to the first class lounge. His arm was still firm around me when we exited, trailed by the twins. Ace and Charlie had wandered off to go look at some Lego display, the adorable nerds.

  “I just feel like I’m still holding my breath,” I said, before seeing a huge plane barrel down the runway; eventually the laws of physics thrust it up into the air. “Wow.”

  “Sure beats taking a boat.” Cash squeezed me. “The only reason you should be holdin’ your breath is when I’ve got my face between your-”

  “Annnnnnd there’s like five kids over there,” Eli cut him off. “Can this wait?”

  Cash rolled his eyes hard.

  “As if you’re any better,” he said. “Getting your hands all over her whenever you’ve got a hot minute.”

  “Hey, assholes,” Charlie interrupted us as Finn returned with a hot chocolate for me from the self-serve beverage bar.

  “Done looking at toys?” Cash asked, and I ducked out from under his arm to take the drink from Finn. One sip warmed my belly, and I tried to just enjoy the taste and relax as best I could.

  “They had the Liberty Bell,” Ace said, before giving me a funny look.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Uh, I was thinking-”

  “Here we go.”

  “You ever wonder that maybe we should’a beat all the thoughts out of him when he was still a pup?”

  Ace was undeterred by the pack commentary, and snuck up close to me.

  “So… I was sorta.. I was wondering if…” He cleared his throat as I frowned.

  “What?”

  “Can you maybe notuseyourpowersinspace?”

  I blinked.

  “Space?”

  “We’re not going into space, dummy,” Cash said, cuffing Ace on the side of his head. Finn quirked his lips.

  “The sentiment has value though,” Finn said before grinning at me. “Maybe calm it down on the zappy-zap when we’re up in the air.”

  “We might as well be going into space,” Ace muttered, sullen glare at Cash burning holes. Cash ignored him and I shook my head.

  “I’ll keep it under control.”

  Charlie stared at me thoughtfully.

  “What?” I felt defensive.

  “I wonder if you can… y’know, make the plane faster. Winds and weather things.”

  “Uh-uh,” I said. “I am not messing around with our plane.”

  “You could make the flight smoother if it gets bumpy, right?” Ace asked hopefully.

  “I’m gonna go drink my hot chocolate around the people who aren’t asking me to mess with the weather while we’re flying in a tin can,” I said, taking a sip of my drink and walking off as Charlie and Ace started up a heated discussion over the physics of it, and whether it was likely that I could make everyone on the plane puke or not.

  I wish I had good memories from my flight, maybe actually getting lucky a mile high with Finn… but to be honest, once we were at cruising altitude, I passed out for most of it in my reclining bed. First class was, in one word, amazing. I’m pretty sure I slept through everything, even some turbulence that had Ace a little wide-eyed and alarmed after we touched down at Heathrow Airport.

  “We’ll get your bag,” Eli said, pulling my carry-on off my shoulder for me. My cheeks went pink as one of the flight attendants eyed me up, then looked at Eli meaningfully.

  How were we supposed to keep our top-secret relationship a secret when the guys were always falling all over themselves to show me how much I meant to them? Somebody was gonna catch on. Many somebodies. Somebodies like all the busy-bodies on the internet that stalked the band’s every move.

  “Smell that?” Cash asked once we’d deplaned, stretching his arms out to his sides, his chest expanding to fill his shirt as he inhaled hard.

  “What?” I glanced at him and tried not to appreciate too much the way the shirt cut into his muscles and showed off how fit he was. He shot me a wicked little grin that had my breath catching in my throat, then reached out and twined his fingers with mine.

  “Freeeeeedom,” he said, his blue eyes glittering as I stepped up to him with a gentle tug of his hand on mine. “No witch council, no hunters-”

  I frowned.

  “What?”

  “Oh, there are witches here in Europe, they just never got a taste for mass-murder like we Americans,” he said.

  “That we know of,” Eli muttered, voice dark as he walked by, shouldering my bag. “C’mon, the driver’ll be waiting for us.”

  “Driver?” Ace perked up. “That mean you’re not driving, Eli?”

  “He can’t. Or he won’t. Said driving on the wrong side of the road is for peasants,” Charlie snickered, falling into step with me and Cash.

  “I did not,” Eli shot over his shoulder.

  “He’s just worried he’ll have an accident; if Darcy gets hurt, he’ll never forgive himself. Sensible. I wouldn’t forgive him either.”

  “You guys are impossible,” I said. “The label arranged for a driver. We’re going to be too busy for Eli to navigate and put up with your ridiculous bickering. We’ve got techs with us this time, but they’re local guys, so be nice. We’re foreigners; let’s not perpetuate the typical, loud American stereotype while we’re here, okay?”

  “Doll, we’re rockstars,” Cash said with another smile that had my insides shivering. He needed to stop. I had to focus. There was work to be done, and my heart rejoiced at the simplicity of a tour that was only music and had nothing to do with magic. “Being quiet isn’t in our blood.” He edged closer to me as we made our way to the baggage claim area. “But you are,” his voice dropped down nice and low, thrumming through my lungs. I closed my eyes as Ace ran off after one of our bags that was circling the luggage belt.

  “You need to stop being so flirty,�
� I said.

  “Yeah, she’s mine,” Finn teased, pulling me from Cash’s grip, and wrapping me up in a hug from behind. I leaned back against him.

  “And, you, don’t rub it in.” I tilted my head to look at him upside down. His grin was unshakeable.

  “I’ll stop telling the world how much I love you when we set it on fire,” he said, bending to kiss me slowly. I melted into it, aware of the other guys’ presence, but their heavy gazes weren’t jealous. When I finally pulled away from Finn to catch my breath… Cash was grinning, raucous and wild.

  “Can’t fucking wait to get you in the green room,” he breathed, his voice quiet and only for us as we waited. “Work you over until you’re crying out into the palm of my hand while Charlie or Eli fucks you to breaking.”

  “Cash,” I whispered, my cheeks flushing hard. “There are kids everywhere.”

  Finn hugged me tight against his chest.

  “Yeah, pervert, there are kids,” he mocked lightly, but his touch on my wrists was oddly possessive, his fingers circling my arms to hold me braced and still against him.

  “There’s the last of our bags,” Eli said, his eyes dark as he set them down in front of him. “Let’s go get through customs, and get to our hotel, yeah?”

  4

  Darcy

  Jet lag was an absolute bitch, and I was miserable and exhausted by mid-afternoon. The guys, assholes all of them, didn’t even seem to notice the time difference.

  “It’s the heartstone,” Ace admitted as he jogged out of a little cafe near our hotel, holding up a coffee for me. “Makes us feel like we’re sixteen again.”

  “Maybe you do,” Eli said, “I got some aches that’ll never go away.”

  “Old men! Maybe Darcy should take off with us young bucks, and never mind the geriatric club,” Charlie replied, ducking as Cash took a swipe at him.

  “Guys, guys, I have a headache,” I said, taking a grateful sip of my coffee. It splashed down into my gut, and I hoped it’d kick in shortly. Or I was going to murder at least one of my pack.

  We’d arrived at our hotel, transported there by a sexy limo, and had gotten settled before heading out.

  The label had scheduled it so we’d be spending an extra day in London to sight-see and do some radio spots, as well as get over our jet lag. Too bad I was the only one who needed the extra time. The guys were overflowing with energy, bouncing all over the place and nearly jumping out of their own skin.

  “I wanna head out to the woods and fields,” Eli said as we strolled down a sweetly cobbled street. It was nothing like Harry Potter had told me London would look like, but it was beautiful anyway. Little doorways made me think that the guys would have to duck to get into any of the shops.

  “Yeah? Why’s that?” I asked, sticking close to Finn, his arm heavy around my waist. I didn’t mind. I needed him to steady me, considering how exhausted I was. Maybe they could give me a piggyback ride…

  “We want to try shifting,” Cash said, a hint of longing in his voice I’d never heard before.

  “What? Really?”

  “The heartstone is making us feel better than we have in way too long… so we might be ready. We just don’t want to do it around the mundanes.” Finn gestured wildly to the street.

  “Imagine what the papers would say? They’d think that we’d gotten loose from the zoo.” Ace laughed. “They might try to take us back there.”

  “They could try,” Eli’s tone was dark. “It wouldn’t end well for them.”

  “Yeah, I never asked what you thought of wolves in zoos?” I changed the subject slightly, because Cash had made an equally menacing face at Eli’s words, and Finn’s arm on my waist went tight. Only Charlie and Ace seemed relaxed at the prospect of animal control being called on them.

  “We don’t talk about zoos,” Cash said after a moment. “Hey, didn’t you say you wanted to try macarons at La Duree here in London? Isn’t that it?” He pointed to a pastel-colored shop down the crossroad we’d just walked to.

  My headache faded into the background when the thought of the sugary pastries filled my mind. I took eager steps toward the shop before stopping.

  “You guys don’t mind? It’s gonna be super girly. They do this afternoon tea thing-” I was cut off as Eli scooped me up in his arms.

  “The woman wants pastries, boys,” he said.

  “Mission accepted,” Ace said, and I kicked my legs helplessly as they marched toward the shop, my heart beating hard in my chest. No one had ever been loved like I was loved by my pack, I was sure of it.

  A familiar face met us at the venue the next day, after most of my jet lag had worn off, and we were ready to soundcheck for the show later that night.

  “Hey there, Phoenixcry,” Seth said, stepping out from backstage as we stood on stage, looking out over the empty music hall.

  “Seth!” I breathed out his name and ran to him, my senses tingling all over as the innate feeling of magic that suffused his whole being washed over me. The unicorn wrapped me up in a big hug, lifting me off the ground.

  “Shit, aren’t you all a sight for sore eyes,” he said, kissing me on the forehead.

  “Where’s Chelsea?” I asked, looking behind him.

  “At the hotel. She and Dean are-” He licked his lips and smirked.

  “Oh,” I said, my cheeks blushing.

  “Hey, man,” Eli greeted Seth, hugging him tight. They didn’t fuck around, none of that ‘awkward man back-pats,’ but leaned in close and hugged each other like they meant it.

  “What’re you guys doing here? The whole glory?”

  “Eh, we’re not playing shows, just taking a quick break from the busy music life. We asked Troy if we could meet up with you guys in England, maybe tech for your shows.”

  “You want to tech for us?” Cash asked, incredulous. Seth laughed.

  “Now that you guys are blowing up bigger than we’ll ever get? Hell, yes! Even before, I’d have done it.”

  “It’d be a damn honor,” Finn said. “You guys know more than most techs I’ve met.”

  “You’re moving into bigger circles,” Seth said with a shrug. “I figured I’d get in on the ground floor with you.” He blinked and took a step back. “What’s that?” He shot me a look, his eyebrow quirking. “Did you-”

  “What?” I asked, looking behind me, in case there was someone there.

  “Shit, you made one,” his voice went breathy, an awed look on his face. “You made a damn heartstone.”

  “That’s our Darcy, she’s a miracle-worker,” Ace said, his arms coming around me. I leaned into him, taking strength from his lean-muscled body.

  A bright smile crossed Seth’s face.

  “Maybe there's hope, after all,” he said.

  “Didn’t you hear? We pulled the witch’s council down around their ears,” Eli said, the pride in his voice filling me with an unspeakable happiness. We had. We’d pulled off the impossible, and we’d lived… mostly.

  “Wait, where’s Max?” Seth asked, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them, even as he winced as our expressions changed.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” Cash offered. “I’ll fill you in. You know any good bars around here?”

  “They call them pubs,” Seth said.

  I took a shaky breath as the two of them walked off.

  “It’s going to get easier, right?” I looked at the four wolves who remained with me, their expressions sober.

  “It won’t feel so goddamn awful one day,” Eli said, his voice hollow. “Maybe you’ll even go a day without thinking about her.”

  “Never,” I whispered. “Never… ever.” I wouldn’t… would I?

  The lights were hot; I could feel the difference in the air between onstage and backstage as I waited for the openers to finish up. The guys were in the green room, getting themselves hyped up, but I needed some quiet alone time in order to feel more in my own skin. We’d spent the rest of the afternoon sound checking. The rest of the guys from Glor
y Rev and Chelsea arrived to help set up the guitars and drums to make sure that Phoenixcry had the sound they wanted for their first international show.

  It had been a sweet, but painful relief to see Chelsea again. I ran to her, nearly crying into her shoulder as she held me close. She knew. In his absence, Seth had told her what had happened with Max, and even though she didn’t utter a word, the pain and sorrow in her eyes spoke it all for her.

  It was almost, almost like losing Max all over again. It felt more fresh than it had in days, and now I needed several minutes to myself, precious time alone, to try to pull myself together for the show.

  I wasn’t needed at the merch booth, no, we were far past that: this tour had a full crew. We had Glory Rev on tech, making sure that all the guitars sounded right, and that there were extras waiting in case the guys busted strings while on stage. We had a driver, and a full bus with bunks, waiting for us outside of the venue. We’d be moving our things from the hotel to the bus after the show. We also had merch girls, and a merch guy, slinging t-shirts with their tattooed fingers. They were all hardened road warriors, native to England, but having already traveled the world over. I wondered where Ginny and Shara were, and what they were doing now.

  I felt more than ever like I had to protect my heart, and not get too close to these newcomers. Maybe it was to protect myself, because I couldn’t bear to get close to new people and have them ripped away from us… we’d be on tour for a few weeks, and then back in North America again. I’d probably never see them again.

  A light touch on the back of my neck made me startle, and I turned.

  Ace stood there; he gave me a hesitant smile.

  “Shh,” he said, before I could say anything. His fingers wrapped around mine, and he pulled me deeper into the shadows between two heavy, black curtains. His mouth found mine in the darkness, and I melted up into it, giving myself over to him. After a moment, his hand brushed over my cheek, feeling the wetness there.

  “It’s harder than I thought it would be.”

  “It always will be,” he said. “I’m sorry. I can’t promise you it gets better. It does, and it doesn’t at the same time.”