Aflame (Apotheosis)

by Daniels, Krissy

  “Just get the fuck on with it please,” Grayce growled under her breath.

  “People like us. Or I should say, women like us, we are bonded with our soul mates.” She said soul mates with a careful hesitance.

  Grayce was a blink away from losing it again.

  “We are forever linked with them from the second we connect. Sometimes it’s a touch. For most, it only takes eye contact. Everybody is different.”

  That much Grayce had figured out already.

  “Our gifts emerge, or if they’re already present, grow stronger or reach their full potential after the first time we...” She scrunched her face. “You know, have sex.”

  “Or consummate the bond,” Zander piped in, face full of playful grin. Why did everyone think this was funny?

  “You make it sound like a marriage,” Grayce snapped.

  “Grayce, for all intents and purposes, it is a marriage.” Chelsea grabbed her hand and held it to her chest. “Once we’ve bonded, we cannot be separated—physically, mentally or emotionally. We just can’t do it. You felt it today. He was only away for a few hours and you were having a hard time. We’re like a drug to each other. So yes, we call it consummating. We’re sealing the deal so to speak.”

  Grayce seethed. “So, I’m stuck with him forever? I don’t get a choice in the matter?” Any woman would kill to be with this man. She should consider herself lucky, but fuck, this was a bombshell she hadn’t expected.

  “So, the other night, when we...” She cocked her head and raised her eyebrows. “You knew we would be bound together, forever?” Still wearing the boyish grin, he nodded. “And you didn’t stop to think that maybe I should know what I was getting myself into?”

  His smile turned to a pout. “Come on Grayce. Do you honestly think it would’ve mattered? Did you forget already what happened with your body?” He shrugged his shoulders. “I couldn’t have stopped if I’d wanted to.”

  God he looked sexy. She wanted to jump into his arms and suck on those pouty lips. Grayce gave herself a mental slap across the face. Pissed, remember? Stick to the subject.

  Would there ever be a time when she’d be in control of her own life?

  “So, why was I having Zander withdrawals after a couple hours, when most can last at least a day, like Chelsea said earlier?” She pounded her hands to her hips.

  Riddle me this, Batman.

  “I have a theory about that.” Nikolas closed the wall panel and stepped to the table in the corner of the room. A computer rose from the center. “And you should know, you lasted a couple hours. Z only lasted a few minutes.” A heavy crack echoed through the room as Nikolas slapped Zander on the back. “Poor bastard was going out of his mind down here.”

  Nikolas typed on the keyboard and pulled up a clip from the news. “It’s him.”

  Tyr’s face filled the screen.

  “For the holy fucking love of everything.” Grayce clapped her hands over her mouth. “Please, not him.”

  “He’s the reason.” Zander inhaled sharply. His jaw clenched tight and a pulse of heat emanated from his body.

  “What in fuck’s sake does Tyr have to do with this?” Would she ever be free of this monster? He needed to die.

  “It’s quite simple really.” Nikolas tapped a key on the keyboard and the image enlarged. “You’re in danger. As long as you’re in danger, the two of you need to stay close to each other. Remember, you’re stronger together than you are apart. Your bodies know that, your brains just need to play catch up.”

  “What do you mean, danger?” Grayce was afraid to ask. “If we have these powers, how can we be in danger?”

  Nikolas enlarged the picture and zoomed in on his face. “Look at his eyes.”

  Holy shit. They were black as coal, but his irises were outlined in red. Blood red. His favorite color.

  “He’s one of us.” Grayce shook her head. How could this be?

  “I’m going to kill the motherfucker.” Zander disappeared in a frenzied gust of heat and wind.

  “I’ll never get used to that,” Chelsea grunted and patted her hair back into place.

  * * * *

  Ready to burst with rage from the information that’d just been vomited all over her, Grayce excused herself to her new room. She assumed it was her room, anyway. It was the one she’d been sleeping in with Zander. Her heart swelled. Yeah, she could share a bed with someone. Enjoyed it even. Although, if what she’d learned was true, it couldn’t have been anyone else. Her body knew better than her brain. How fucked up was that?

  Zander had been gone for hours. No idea how long exactly, but it drove her crazy to watch the clock tick. Her agitated stated made it impossible to sit still. She decided to visit the home gym. If she could find it again.

  The workout room felt empty and stark but Grayce needed to burn off the negative energy that boiled to a steamy crescendo with Zander’s absence. She couldn’t let her cork pop inside the house, so she put on her headphones and cranked the volume. Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” seemed a fitting way to start her workout. It was precisely what she needed to do, get lost in the pound and hum of the music and push through the horrendous burning itch that devoured her sanity.

  She opted for the treadmill. Running seemed the right thing to do. Running, although not in the literal sense, was what she did best. The faster she pumped her thighs, the better she felt. So, she pushed on and soon became lost in thought as she pondered the events in her life that brought her to this mansion. This room.

  Grayce was eighteen when the monster had sucked her into his black hole of a soul. She hadn’t been hard to catch. She had been so damned easy to manipulate and deceive. A product of an alcoholic mother who somehow managed to hold down two jobs and shuffled through men faster than Grayce changed panties, she never stood a chance. She’d always felt alone, unworthy, and she had, for the most part, raised herself.

  When she met Tyr with his striking handsome features and obvious wealth, which he brazenly flaunted, it had taken all of two seconds to fall head over heels. The man had spoken exactly what she needed to hear. Master manipulator and seducer, he’d filled her head and heart with promises of fairytale romance, unyielding love and rescue from her desolate life.

  What a stupid fool she’d been.

  She hadn’t protested when he moved her into his penthouse, nor had she bothered to tell her mother in person, figuring a note would suffice. Who would turn down the chance to move from a rodent infested motel to a castle in the sky?

  Her virginity was the first thing he’d stolen from her; her freedom was the second.

  Mere days passed before the obsessive behavior started. He controlled her meals, clothing, even trips outside the home. Buffed, shined and polished to perfection before put on display in his social circle, Grayce hadn’t time to notice the subtle shift from fairytale princess to prisoner.

  Their first evening, and incidentally last time out as a couple, she’d been surrounded by rich, prominent men. Wanting to please her prince, Grayce had smiled, laughed and made polite small talk with the gentlemen. Tyr had appeared to be proud of his shiny new trinket. However, his bright mood shifted to darkness the moment they’d returned home. Out of the spotlight, out of the public eye.

  “Did you like those men? Did you like the way they made you feel?” He’d chastised her in a jealous rage. That was the first time he’d forced himself on her, then introduced her to his playroom. The following night, he had thrown his first exclusive Grayce party. Only the most distinguished members of his social circle had been invited. The men that wanted Grayce, that paid her the most attention the previous evening, were the ones that paid a small fortune for a tiny amount of time with her in the privacy of his playroom.

  To these men, for reasons she couldn’t begin to understand, she was more potent than any drug. Tyr knew that if he controlled her, he controlled the most powerful men in the state. There was nothing he couldn’t gain by dangling his little dove in front of them.

&nbs
p; Fuck, enough reminiscing. Grayce looked at the clock. Two hours had passed. What the hell? Thirty, maybe forty minutes of cardio usually kicked her ass, but two hours? Impossible. Stranger still, she wasn’t shocked to find the red glow hovering over her skin.

  She stepped off the treadmill and was hit with the familiar buzz through her bloodstream. He was back. She turned to find Zander leaning against the door jam, arms folded with a hungry grin stretched across his face. Holy fuck, he was a sight for sore eyes.

  “How long have you been standing there?” Grayce asked, a little too loud over the thump of her headphones. Her legs wobbled underneath her. Not because of the two hour run, but because he was so overwhelming to look at.

  He laughed. “Too damned long.” He ran his hand through his tousled hair. “Firecracker, you look so sexy right now.”

  Grayce removed her ear buds and took a slow step toward him. With a malevolent smile, Grayce took aim, threw her energy and hit him dead center. The beast didn’t budge. A low, sensual growl rose from his chest as the red heat fizzled and disappeared into his skin.

  “What was that for?” He glared through lowered lids.

  “You left and it hurt like hell,” she growled back. “Don’t ever fucking do that to me again.” Grayce closed the distance between them, leapt into his arms and claimed his mouth. Damn he tasted good.

  “Grayce, do you realize what you just did?” Zander mumbled under the assault on his lips.

  “Hmm?” She hummed.

  “You just controlled your energy.”

  She chuckled, and came up for air. “Not really, I burned it off on the treadmill, lucky for you.”

  Supported fully by the strength of his arms, she kissed him slow and savored the flavor of his lips as he carried her back to bed.

  7

  “Where did you go?” Sprawled naked and limp across Zander’s chest, Grayce straddled him with arms hung lifeless over his sides. Mind, body and soul, he was completely satiated after having brought her to the height of ecstasy three times in one hour. There hadn’t been time for talking, only sex. The bedroom was destroyed, but if that’s what it took to replete the emptiness and hunger they suffered from being separated, so be it.

  Zander sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist. He could lie like that forever, never have to eat, drink or breathe again as long as he had Grayce, safe and happy by his side.

  Now he had to tell her he failed. He left to find the monster and destroy him. He wanted so badly to tell her it was over, Tyr was finished, and he would never hurt her or anyone again.

  “I searched everywhere. I searched the whole God damned town. That bastard is a ghost. I wanted to keep looking, but Chelsea called me back. She was right to do that. Being away from you drove me insane.” The thought of being separated from Grayce again sent a shudder through his body. She responded to his quiver by hugging him tighter.

  “We need to search together, Zander.” Tender kisses trailed across his chest, no doubt planted to ease the blow of the insane suggestion thrown at him.

  “Like hell.” He stiffened. “The only thing worse than being away from you, would be to put you in danger.”

  “He’ll keep hurting people. Won’t stop. He wants me, and he’ll tear apart everyone on this God forsaken planet until he finds me.” A single tear rolled over his chest and down his ribcage. “We have no choice.”

  Oh, he had a choice. He could kill the psychopath, rip him to shreds and leave nothing of him but a bloodstain on the ground. Even that would be too kind. Nothing short of grisly torture followed by a personal escort straight to the depths of hell would be suitable.

  “No. End of discussion,” he snarled.

  Grayce fell to the bed as Zander turned on his side. He assumed their usual sleeping position and pulled her into his protective embrace.

  “End of discussion?” With gritted teeth and a grunt, Grayce tried to push herself free. “Fuck you. I’ll discuss this further if I damned well want to. Who in the hell do you think you are?” She kicked and punched to no avail. “This is my fight, not yours.”

  A growl rose from his chest and tickled his throat. The ferocity of the warning surprised him. Driven by a primitive, dominant need to protect, Zander caged Grace. He straddled her thighs, pinned her arms to her sides and returned her fiery glare with his own. “This is my fight. You are my fight. You are my life. Get that through your thick skull. I won’t let you near him. Do you understand? Even if I have to tie you to this fucking...” He regretted the words before they left his lips to hang in the air like a poisonous gas.

  Rage and hurt dulled the shine in her eyes as she sunk lifeless into the mattress beneath him.

  Shit. Stupid fucking short fuse.

  “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have—” An explosive force blasted through the room and he landed upside down in the corner, underneath an overturned chaise lounge chair. As Grayce rose from the bed, crimson waves of heat danced and swayed across her skin.

  God she was beautiful.

  “Tie me to what? This bed? Is that what you want? Me tied? At your mercy?” With hands fisted at her sides, her murderous glare warned off any sudden moves.

  “God no.” Zander righted the chair, rose to his feet and backed himself to the wall. “That’s not what I meant. I would never want that.”

  “I’ve been a kept woman.” She prowled closer.

  Merely an arm’s reach away, her heat buzzed in his ears. He didn’t move.

  A tempest brewed in her eyes. “I’ve been at the mercy of a sadistic fuck. It won’t happen again. I’m here by my choice. Get that through your thick skull. I’ll leave by my choice, not yours. If I want to go after him...” He cringed as she stabbed his chest with her finger. Not because it hurt, but because he’d hurt her. “My choice. Don’t ever fucking forget that.”

  He resisted the temptation to scoop her into his arms. His erection rose to full attention as heated blood surged through his veins. The need to dominate, to protect and prove his worth as her man, diminished, replaced by the primal hunger to feel her heated flesh, silky and slick caressing the full girth of his sex. Hands down, she was the most tempting creature he’d ever laid eyes on with her petite, curvy frame and soul piercing hazel eyes. Every moment of their time together was a struggle, a constant battle to control his mating instincts.

  But hell, when she was in her fiery form, he was downright insatiable. The need was painful. If it weren’t for the torment in her eyes, he’d have her pinned to the wall and be buried balls deep in her sweet flesh. It shamed him to feel that way, knowing how she’d been objectified. He’d never consider himself in the same league as the men who abused her, but he understood the attraction. When it came to describing Grayce, irresistible would be an understatement. Her pull was stronger than any drug. Her aura was a bright beacon, a siren’s call, the strongest magnetic force. Her spirit filled him with an all-consuming need to be near, and fuck if it wasn’t tearing him apart.

  A hand around his hardened flesh nearly brought him to his knees.

  “You’re a damned lucky bastard, you know that?” Stormy eyes peered at him through lowered lashes. Holy shit.

  “Why’s that?” he asked with a hoarse whisper.

  Grayce gave him a good squeeze. “If I wasn’t desperate to have you inside me, you’d be burning along with this room.” She lowered herself to her knees.

  Zander looked down at his broken lover. Her beauty almost overshadowed her vulnerability. But it was there. Vulnerable. Scared. Out of place.

  No. This was all wrong.

  With a shaky grip, Grayce stroked him.

  He grabbed her wrist and held her steady. “Stop.”

  “Isn’t this what you want?” She stared at his sex. Her eyes void of any emotion. Why was she doing this?

  “A frail woman at your beck and call?” She continued to stroke him, her lips dangerously close to the head of his erection. “A woman who’ll bow to your every whim, obey every command?”

/>   The floor bounced as Zander’s knees hit the floor. “Never.” He cupped her face and forced her to look up. “I never want you on your knees. I never want you lowering yourself, degrading yourself for me. Holy Christ. Have I given you any reason to think I want that from you?”

  A salacious smile spread across her face. “That’s what every man wants, right? A toy, a plaything. A beauty to put on display. Someone who won’t talk back. Someone who’ll laugh at every joke. Suck his cock. Stroke his ego—”

  “Stop.” Zander scooped Grayce off the floor, pinned her against the wall and held her at eye level. “Listen to me. I am not like those men. I am not like him.” He searched her eyes for something, anything to tell him he was getting through.

  “We are not all bad. I’m sorry for what you went through. I’m sorry for the shit in your life. I would take it away if I could. But I can’t. What I can do is protect you from any more shit. That’s why I don’t want you going after him. God damn, Grayce. I don’t want to control you. I want to shield you. It’s my fucking job. Let me do my fucking job.”

  “Why?” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she melted against him.

  “Because I would die if anything happened to you. I would die. Simple as that.” He choked back his own emotion, couldn’t find any more words. The thought of losing her was too much to bear, let alone try to articulate.

  “Don’t ever threaten to tie me,” she whispered.

  Not a problem. Lesson learned.

  A new light flickered in her eyes. “Kiss me.”

  Also, not a problem. No need to ask twice.

  “I promise, it won’t happen again.” He smiled and found her mouth soft and welcoming. She wrapped her legs around his waist and shifted to allow him entrance into her molten, silky folds. It was heaven.

  He took his time filling her, and basked in the tightness and heat, the stretch of her flesh, the small spasms that gripped him when fully sheathed. Grayce cried out, her voice an anthem. He clamped an arm around her hips. With the other, he cupped her head, held her tight against his chest as she rode out her orgasm. With a final thrust, he found his own release and buried his face in her hair.