Up In Flames (Netherworld Series Book 2)

by Olivia Hutchinson

  “I warned you.”

  “Yeah, but still.”

  He shrugged his shoulders and turned toward the cabin, much to her relief. The last thing she needed was to continue staring at him. Although how could she not? In the low moonlight, he was glorious. His sheer size made her feel even smaller than she already was. The musculature of his body trapped raw force just beneath the surface of his flawless, bronze skin. He could break her in half.

  Jumping over the first broken step, he stood on the porch and waited for her to follow him.

  “I want to go back to town,” she told him, folding her arms over her chest.

  “We’re not going anywhere tonight. You need food and rest. We’ll worry about your friend later. Come on,” he said, opening the door.

  She sighed. He was right. She was exhausted and would love nothing more than to sleep off the past few days close to him where she could feel secure. Even if he was a dragon that lived in a shack. It was far more preferable than the fae village or any place where he wasn’t, as much as it was an uncomfortable thought to have.

  She climbed up the steps and walked through the open door. She couldn’t see more than a foot in front of her and she was terrified of taking another step and falling through the floor.

  “There’re no lights?”

  “Not up here,” he said, holding his hand out for her.

  She took it. “Up here? If there’s an ‘up here’ I’m assuming there’s also a ‘down there’?”

  “There is,” he said, pulling her toward the back of the cabin.

  It suddenly occurred to her how little she knew about this man, this dragon, who lived in a shack in the middle of the woods. By himself. Away from civilization. Who apparently also had a secret basement. She wasn’t going to even think about how creepy that was.

  The smell of mildew and rotting wood stung her nose. What she needed was a hot bath, followed by some good food. After that she could take a nap and convince him to take her back to civilization in the morning. It sounded like a pretty good plan to her.

  He opened the door to what at one time must have been a bedroom. From what she could see by the moonlight that shone in through the broken window, the room was bare but covered in a thick layer of grime. Boot prints, both coming and going, were buried in the dust and she tried the best she could to step in those since she figured they’d be free of cobwebs. A narrow door sat on the far wall. Liam opened it and stepped to the side to allow her to enter. When she stepped through and he closed the door behind them, any light that had been in the room disappeared and she stood, surrounded by darkness.

  “Go on,” he nudged behind her.

  “I can’t see where I’m going.”

  “Oh.” He lifted her from the ground in one smooth motion, cradling her in his arms against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he descended what she could only imagine as being stairs. His body was hard and warm against her and she couldn’t help but hold him just a little tighter.

  “I have a hard time remembering the weaknesses of the witches. You have your usefulness, I’m sure.”

  “Um, yeah, about that...” she started when he stopped suddenly and set her on her feet. It wasn’t wood she was standing on anymore. She could feel the stone through the thin soles of her sandals.

  The darkness turned to light when she heard him spit. The fire came out in a small ball, igniting the torch she hadn’t known he held.

  He lifted the torch above him, lighting the small room. The walls were a solid dark gray stone. When she glanced behind her, she saw the narrow wooden steps he had descended. In front of them were two wider passageways. He chose the one on the left and she followed him.

  “About what?” he asked. As soon as he had spit fire, she had forgotten what she was going to tell him.

  “Huh?”

  “You were going to say something.”

  “Oh, I don’t remember,” she said. After following him for several more yards, she asked, “How much further is it?”

  “Here.”

  He stepped to the side and held the torch high for her to see. The cavern she stepped into was huge. The ceiling was at least two stories high, tall enough for him to be able to change into his dragon form if he wanted to, she was sure. It was sparsely furnished, most of the pieces pressed against the smooth, dry walls. Chairs and even a large, welcoming couch sat in front of a large fireplace that had been carved out of the rock.

  He left her standing in the doorway and walked over to the fireplace. Tossing the torch in, it ignited the rest of the wood, the flames raging up for a second before dying back down again.

  “You live here?”

  “Aye.”

  “Nice. It’s like your own private oasis, isn’t it?”

  He didn’t answer her. He looked around the room as if seeing for the first time what she saw. She doubted that up until that point he ever truly appreciated the magnificence of his home. Even the floors were covered in throw rugs that were decorated in ornate patterns. Her feet sank into them as she moved further into the room.

  “I’m sorry,” he said after a second, “but I have to take a quick shower. Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded although he didn’t wait for her approval. He went straight through the large wooden door against the far wall and disappeared, leaving her alone in his living room. She hadn’t been able to help watching him go. It wasn’t every day she got to see the hind end of a gorgeous man in the firelight. Especially one who had saved her life and also happened to be a dragon.

  In all of her wildest dreams, she never could have imagined herself here. She would probably never leave home again when it was all over, but now that they were relatively safe the other part of her couldn’t wait to tell her friends everything. She was Heidi, she didn’t come with fantastical tales of crazy fairies and heroic dragons. The stories she told had to do with how much her mother got on her nerves that day or how she was never going to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. Not anymore.

  Heidi’s mouth was suddenly dry. The earlier alcohol and exercise had made her dehydrated. Going over to the large mantle, she pulled down a candle and lit it in the flames of the fire. Holding it in front of her, she made her way to the back of the living room in search of a kitchen. She found what she was looking for in the adjoining room.

  It was a full kitchen, something she hadn’t expected. Maybe a wood burning stove or something, but this room was complete with a gas stove, a refrigerator, and a sink. A small round table with two chairs sat in the middle of the room. Her fingers trailed over its tile top as she headed toward the large granite sink.

  If his home had been in a real house above ground, she’d be uncomfortable in its loveliness. As it was, it was beautiful but there were things here and there—from the slight dampness in the air to the rock under her feet—that reminded her she was still in a cave below the surface of the earth. That in itself was almost comforting to her after days of feeling exposed in front of the fae. Besides, it was fitting that Liam—a dragon—lived in a cave.

  She smiled at the thought as she opened one cabinet after another, holding the candle up in front of her so she could see the contents. The first held canned goods and she pulled down a can of peaches, her stomach beginning to rumble. The next cabinet held what she was looking for. A few tall glasses sat on the bottom shelf next to the mugs and she pulled one down. After placing the candle on the counter and filling the glass in the sink, she downed the contents.

  Two more full glasses of water and she started to feel a little better. Her head wasn’t swimming quite as much as it had been and she no longer felt as if she had been chewing on cotton balls. She set the glass on the counter next to her candle and opened the can of peaches. Using her fingers, she dug out the fruit and made quick work of her little meal.

  After rinsing out the can, she searched for a trashcan which she found next to the fridge and washed out her glass before dry
ing it and putting it back in the cabinet. His home was clean and she didn’t want to be the one to make a mess of things.

  “Find everything you’re looking for?”

  His voice startled her and she jumped, almost dropping the candle she held. Her hand flew over her chest as she spun and looked at him lounging in the doorway. She didn’t know how long he had been standing there but from the way he leaned against the wall, his arms folded over his massive chest she guessed it had been a minute.

  “You scared me,” she said, lowering her hand to her side.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He dropped his hands and stood upright. His hair was loose and wet, hanging down past his shoulders. He wore a pair of sweatpants and hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt. Not that she minded. His chest was broad and not unpleasant to look at.

  Stop, she reminded herself and looked back to his eyes when she felt her own wandering.

  She cleared her throat. “Can I perhaps use your shower?”

  “Of course,” he said. “This way.”

  She followed him back into the living room and through the same door he had gone through earlier. She hadn’t expected to walk straight into his bedroom. The bed itself was massive, easily larger than even a king size. She supposed he needed it. After sleeping with him on the cot, she knew how much room he required. She doubted his feet would hang off this bed.

  The thick red blankets and fluffy pillows were calling her name, but she had more urgent business to take care of before she begged for a nap in his bed. There was a fireplace in the bedroom as well as a small round table and an armchair that sat in front of it. Bypassing the furniture, he pushed open the next door.

  This was what she had wanted. A wide claw foot tub, complete with a shower took up most of the room.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited for a shower as I am at this second,” she said.

  He smiled at her. “I’ll leave you alone. Help yourself to whatever you want. Towels are in the cupboard.” He pointed to the painted blue wooden cabinet that sat flush against the wall. He lit several other candles that were placed around the room before stepping back toward the door.

  “You don’t happen to have any clothes that would fit me, do you?” she asked, glancing down at the tattered and dirty dress. Her run through the woods and the fight she had with Cliona hadn’t done anything for her outfit except make it almost unwearable.

  “I’ll find you something and set it out on the bed.”

  “Thanks!” she said as he closed the door between them, leaving her alone in the room.

  The shower was the best she had had in her life. She scrubbed herself until she was pink and had even managed to find a disposable razor in a drawer to shave her legs with. When she thought being any cleaner was an impossibility, she turned off the water and stepped out of the tub. After drying herself, she wrapped the thick towel around her middle and stood in front of the mirror.

  Her hair was standing almost on end and so she dug through his drawer again, happy when she came up with a comb. After battling with the knots and tangles, she began eyeing his toothbrush. She wasn’t one to normally share toothbrushes, but the state of her breath was becoming worse by the minute.

  Finally relenting, she brushed her teeth twice and then thoroughly rinsed the toothbrush with water and again with mouthwash just for good measure. If someone ever used her toothbrush at home she would’ve chucked it as soon as she found out but as it was, she was just grateful for a clean mouth and breath that wouldn’t knock over a horse.

  After blowing out all the candles save the one she had walked in with, she opened the door and stepped into his bedroom. A large fire was blazing in the fireplace lighting up the room and there was Liam, sitting on the bed, watching her.

  She hadn’t expected him to be sitting there and she instantly held onto the towel that was the only thing keeping him from seeing her completely naked. The towel ended at the top of her thighs, so she was hardly decent, but something was better than nothing. Blowing out the candle since the fire provided more than enough light, she set it on the bedside table.

  “Feel better?” he asked her.

  “Yes.”

  “You smell better.”

  She was sure she did, although she hardly knew what to make of his comment. “Thanks,” she said after a second’s hesitation.

  Why was he looking at her like that? His blue eyes travelled slowly over her form, from the smallness of her feet, over her legs and back up to her eyes. He looked hungry and all of a sudden she was feeling like a fresh piece of meat.

  The kiss they had shared earlier entered her mind. She remembered the way his lips had felt on hers and how easy it had been to lose herself with him. She remembered the way she had wanted him and how desperately she had wanted to be alone with him. And now here they were. Utterly alone.

  Why couldn’t he get the thoughts of kissing her out of his mind? The way she had reacted to something so simple had thrown him. He had smelled the want on her and while he hadn’t anticipated it, he had loved it. What had started out as a simple kiss so he could excuse them from the feast without looking suspicious had turned into something else. There had been nothing simple about it. It had been passionate and had left him shaking.

  He would give anything to pick up where they had left off, but guessed from her reaction to his dragon form earlier that she might need a little bit of time. He never realized that she hadn’t known what he was. He hadn’t missed the surprise on her face earlier when she finally saw him.

  It was what he had come in here to talk to her about. He had retrieved a shirt for her from his chest of drawers—a simple white T-shirt had been the best thing he could find for the moment. After setting it on the bed, he had sat down and waited for her to be done in the bathroom.

  He had thought she would just peek her head out. He hadn’t expected her to come walking out in nothing but a towel. A very small towel that left little to his imagination. Her legs were short, but shapely. All of her was shaped just right, from the roundness of her hips to the narrow indention of her waist to her breasts which were neither too big nor too small. She was perfection.

  She hadn’t smelled bad before her shower, but now she smelled of the soap he used and him. He had rubbed off on her a little bit, but it wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted his scent to cover her. He wanted everyone who was close enough to smell her to know that she was his. She belonged to him.

  “I wanted to talk to you,” he said when he finally remembered why he had been waiting for her in the first place. She was inching closer to him, her eyes glancing toward the shirt that was behind him. He pretended not to notice. He didn’t want to help her find something else to wear. Not when she looked so good in what she had on now.

  She stopped where she stood a few inches in front of him. “About what?”

  Curiosity was written on her face, but there was something else there too. He knew she was thinking about what they had shared earlier. The pink of her cheeks and the sudden change of her scent told him as much. She still gripped the front of the towel, but he ignored that and met her eyes.

  “About earlier.” Her face turned from a pink to a deep shade of red and he knew he had been right. He’d question her later about what she really was because a witch she was not. But for now, he didn’t want to know, because knowing would prevent him from doing what he was about to do. That was something he wasn’t willing to sacrifice even for the truth.

  “I’m confused,” she said, hesitating.

  “I want to talk to you about kissing you.”

  7

  Her cheeks heated. She felt the warmth spreading from deep in her gut. Her heartbeat instantly picked up in her chest as soon as he uttered those words. It was impossible for her to ignore the pounding now.

  Finding her voice she asked, “What about it?”

  “I want you to know that kissing you wasn’t just something I had to do to get us away from there.”

 
; His words weren’t what she had been expecting to hear, but they made her feel better. The thought had crossed her mind but she hadn’t realized just how much it had been bothering her until that moment.

  “Oh?”

  “I wanted to kiss you,” he said, his voice husky. “I want to kiss you.”

  The breath caught in her throat as she stared at him, unsure of what to do next. His hands were on the bed next to him. The muscles of his arms were tense. He was waiting for her to make the next move. For a split second fear and wariness clouded her mind, but she pushed the uneasy feelings away just as fast as they entered. A dragon he may be, but he was still the same man who had saved her life. The same man who had made her want him as fiercely as she had earlier in the evening. Who made her want him now.

  Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward until she was only a few inches away from him. She stood in front of him and let her hands fall away from the towel. It stayed in place under her arms as she ran the back of her hands along his cheekbones and into his still damp hair. Sitting in front of her, he was only a few inches lower than her. A few inches separating her mouth from his.

  His eyes closed as she combed her fingers through the long, silky strands. Just to touch him sent shivers down her spine. She loved watching him, the expressions on his face as she touched him. Even the slightest graze of her fingertips and she could see his reaction, the way the muscles in his arms and chest tightened. The way his fingers gripped the bedding next to him. He was restraining himself and she wished he wouldn’t.

  She let go of his hair and brushed the tips of her fingers along his jawline. The stubble that had been there earlier was gone and her fingers glided over the much smoother skin. She missed the beginnings of his beard, she realized.