by Claire Davon
“We will,” he agreed. “Let’s hope the others do as well.”
For a moment she had forgotten there were four Challenges to complete, or five if they had to face a final group Challenge. “What happens if some win or some lose?”
He pulled her back onto the bed, away from the window. His casual nudity sparked a slow burn in her, making her want to smooth her hands over the hair-roughened skin of his thighs.
“When I lost my Challenge in the six hundreds, my fire Demonos foe burned the Library of Alexandria prior to the larger Challenge. He was a different demon back then, but I have forgotten his name.”
She let out a slow whistle. “The Elementals were responsible for the burning of the Library of Alexandria?”
He flexed his fingers inside their joined hands. “He did the burning—took great delight in it too. It wasn’t as bad as the legends say, but it was a tragedy. Many of the important works had been moved prior to the final burning, but there is no question that a great body of human knowledge vanished in that fire. Every time we fail, it sets humanity back again. The big Challenges do the most damage, causing horrible decimation to the population. When we lose all Challenges, or the final one, the aftermath is devastation. But the human race endures.”
“Is this time different?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She kissed him, fear curling through her. If they failed, if even one of them failed, the consequences would be dire.
“I fear…” He paused, searching for the words. “If one or more of us loses and we have a final Challenge, I fear the consequences.”
“I wish we knew why this happened,” she said with a frustrated groan.
“I have wondered that so many times. There’s something else involved, something controlling the Challenges. But we don’t know what, and we don’t know why. I was a worshipper of old gods when I was made into the Phoenix. My faith has come and gone in the centuries, but I know there has to be something bigger that created this. There is a reason for our tests. There is a reason we were created and that we have counterparts. There is something that…wakes up every so often. Something that doesn’t calculate time like we do. I don’t know the answers. I just know that we have to succeed, or we all fail.” He brushed a kiss over her hands. “There are many gods. But none of them are the ones who created this.”
“Have you met your old gods?”
He chuckled, but his eyes were serious. “Charlemagne had begun converting Europe to Christianity a century before, but we were far away from his influence. I was a follower of what they now call old German paganism. Woden was my primary god, but I also worshiped Donar, who people more commonly call Thor in these times. I’ve met many gods, including him. They are, for the most part, an arrogant bunch. There are so many different pantheons, and each think they are the ultimate pantheon. I was star-struck when I met Donar. I was still young.”
There was a story in his mind, an indication that the meeting didn’t go the way the young Aleric had expected it to. “Does Donar like the way he is portrayed in the movies?”
He rolled his eyes. “Griff sees him periodically in Iceland. He is angry they get his name wrong and will complain to anyone who will listen that he doesn’t have a hammer. He does command lightning, much the same way Zeus does. As with most legends, his is mostly nonsense.”
“Why aren’t they a part of this?” She wondered what it would be like to meet a god. After a moment’s reflection, Rachel decided she could live for a long time without sighting one. Her experience with the few paranormals she had seen so far had been mixed.
He shrugged. “The gods prefer to live their lives without caring about humans. Most of them are indifferent to the battle. You will have to meet them eventually.”
Deciding she’d had enough history lessons, Rachel kissed Phoenix with a bold smack of her lips against his. “I want to make love to you, Aleric. I want to hold you and touch you and sense you inside me.”
He growled. “Come here, woman.”
He touched her hair, sliding his cheek over the short strands before moving to nuzzle her ear. She shivered at the puff of air. His teeth nipped lightly on her earlobe and he hardened against her belly. The fact that he was so much bigger than her gave her a sense of being cherished. Secure.
Phoenix urged her all the way down onto the bed and straddled her. He met her eyes and the mind link settled between them lightly, like a loose garment. She saw as if in double, up to his body and down, like a ghost image, herself in a different kind of reflection.
“I love that you are so much woman, without all the trappings of today’s modern female.” He feathered his hand through the hair at the juncture of her thighs.
Her passion for him, and fortunately his for her, never seemed to abate. “I love that you love it,” she managed, tendrils of need curling through her. She smoothed her hands over his shoulders and down his chest, his short chest hairs tickling her palms, and then back around to his powerful lats, made stronger by the need to support his wings. He flexed, the muscles rippling under her hands. His cock, full and hard, pointed toward her.
“Touch me,” he said in a growl. “Now.”
She obeyed, her hands sliding between his legs. The angle made it awkward, so within the mind link she told him what she wanted.
He grinned.
“Oh, yes.” Even in the mind link, his voice was low and husky.
Phoenix pivoted until his body was over hers with his head near her legs and his pelvis over her head. His breath washed hot on her body, first on her thighs and then where his hand had been a minute ago. With her tongue just darting out, she tasted his tip and heard him gasp. He did the same, moving the curls to find her clitoris and lick it in return.
There was the ghost sensation again, partly hers and partly the desire pounding through Phoenix. It enhanced her passion, making her want it now.
She tipped her head slightly and engulfed his tip with her mouth, licking just behind the head. He was big, too big to take it all in, so she settled for taking him halfway down and wrapping her hand around his base. She mouthed and tongued him, and Phoenix stiffened further. A few drops of precome leaked from him and she took them in her mouth gladly.
Phoenix bit her clit. She jumped.
Then he began licking her, licking and tasting and taking small bites. He moved down, opening her lower lips and probing inside. The wetness coated her from inside her body, aided by him.
Rachel gasped, losing the rhythm on his cock, and he pushed deeper inside her mouth.
“Come for me,” he demanded.
She shuddered, her world narrowing down to his mouth on her body. He licked her clit in a circular motion, around and around. She pulled her mouth free of his cock, afraid what she would do in the moment.
Then she was soaring, the orgasm stripping her of sense and reason. Her body coiled and arched, and she screamed her release. It seemed to go on forever.
Before the ecstasy had subsided, he moved again, pulling free of her hand. He pushed her open, wider. There was intensity in his gaze as he feasted his eyes on her body.
“So beautiful.”
Without further words he took her, sliding his cock within her ready body. She welcomed him, his hands on her inner thighs, keeping her legs wide. He plunged so deep it was like they were one, all the way to his root.
He settled between her thighs, his body keeping her open to his. She let her legs splay out, allowing him access to everything she had.
“Look at me.”
She did as he commanded and saw the love and need within him. He thrust once, twice, a claiming that went all the way to their souls.
* * * * *
Phoenix moved again, taking her hands in his and pushing them onto the bed, their joined fingers linked near her head. His primal need, the drive to own her, to put his final c
laim on her, to tell the world that she was his and only his made him roar, his eyes wild.
He thrust again. His body stiffened, and his mind opened to hers as the orgasm took him. It was primitive and it was raw and it was all the way. It started at his base and rippled to the back of his skull. It pounded through him and triggered her. She cried out and arched up into him. Release took both of them in a mutual outpouring.
Whatever the rest of the week held, this moment was perfect.
Chapter Thirteen
The day of the Chicago mayor’s visit to San Francisco didn’t feel any different.
All around the city, people were rising and beginning their days. Human minds chattered and hummed as they stirred into wakefulness, some by the natural rising of the sun and others more rudely, by clock or phone alarms. Soon the daily crush of commuters would begin, clogging the city with their mass. The mental waves were relatively quiet now, but that would change in a few short hours.
Around the world, Phoenix knew the others were also fighting their battles. He could sense their dramas playing out around the world. Their minds and bodies were occupied by their tasks, and their foes, just as he was. It had happened again and again in his time as Phoenix, and this one was no different.
But it was.
Rachel made all the difference. The woman whom he loved, his fire maiden, changed everything.
A familiar tingle on his back was his only warning. Phoenix jumped off the bed to a standing position right before his wings appeared. They exploded on his body, lengthening and unfurling. They reached toward the ceiling, a stance of readiness. This told him more than words ever could that their instincts had been right about this time and this day.
If Rachel had been sleeping, she wasn’t any longer. She leaned up in the bed and admired his form, complete with red-and-orange wings.
Her eyes glittered. Within her mind he sensed fear but also a ripening excitement, as if she was ready for the battle. “It is time.” She swept her gaze first over his naked body and then over the wings. “This is real.”
“Yes.”
JT meowed at them, not seeming at all fazed by the red-and-orange wings now on Phoenix’s back. He gave Rachel a pitiful glance and jumped off the bed. His soft paw pads made no sound as they carried him out of the room, but it was clear he was heading for his food bowl. Rachel rose from the bed.
“I’ll feed him and shower and then I guess we should go.”
If something went wrong, Phoenix had made arrangements for Rachel and JT to be taken care of. If she survived the upcoming battle but Phoenix didn’t, Rachel would have the power of Elementals, Inc. at her disposal. If neither of them made it, he had left instructions about the care of JT. If they got through this, he would be sure to introduce Rachel to the idea of being a part of their company. He had been happy to leave the company to Sphynx and their employees, but that would change. Things would be different, if there was a future for them.
It was still new to him, caring about anything other than his job and the Elementals. And they had been good friendships, those with his fellow protectors. But there were walls between them. There were things unspoken that would likely never be said. With Rachel he had brought down his walls and let another being in. If it wasn’t all the way yet, that would come in time. If they had time.
He heard the shower go on. He found her desire to have things in their proper place humorous. As if clean hair and proper grooming could stave off the beginning of Apocalypse. It had taken him a long time to learn the value of cleanliness. It hadn’t been natural to the fighter who lived for battles.
When she came out, naked and with wet hair, he wanted to toss her back on the bed and make sweet love to her. He wanted to bury himself in her body and forget the task at hand. It would be so good. She could ride them both to completion and he could see her body arch above him as she came. So good.
Then, with regret, he pointed to the front door. “Let’s eat out.”
She looked at his wings and then back at him. The expression of puzzlement and concern told him she wasn’t yet used to the idea that humans couldn’t see the paranormal.
“They won’t see my wings.”
“What about Haures? And her helper?”
“If we’re in the open, we might be able to draw her minion out.”
The corner of her mouth curved up in what he decided was an attempt to smile. Her shield was down. Dread, anxiety and a deep fear of the unknown beat inside her. But there was also a thrill that she could put her newfound fire talents to the test. It was a warrior’s thrill, the idea that combat was upon them. Whatever happened today would help shape their destiny and the destiny of all mankind.
“How are the others doing?”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “They are also engaged in their Challenges.”
“Hence, you can’t help each other.”
“We never can.” He pulled the shirt on and buttoned it. His wings slipped through the slits and settled along his back, folded until they almost appeared like a large muscle group. “It is the way of it.”
“I’ll get dressed,” she said.
* * * * *
Phoenix’s tablet told them that the mayor and the caravan would begin their journey at eleven in the morning. Streets had already been cordoned off for blocks around the hotel, and the sidewalks cleared of foot traffic.
Rachel was still amazed that nobody could see anything different about Phoenix, although humans gave him a wide berth. Mortals might not have the same senses as paranormals, but they also weren’t entirely blind to the idea that something odd was in their midst.
The sidewalk café, several blocks from the hotel, was quiet between the morning breakfast rush and lunch. They could see the cordons a few blocks away, and police sirens chirped from time to time, as if in reminder of the increased security. “What happens now?”
He took a sip of his coffee, for all intents and purposes casual. But his gaze darted around, assessing, weighing the situation.
Their breakfast was simple, croissants and coffee, and their check already lay in front of them. Rachel had felt the relief of the waiter when Phoenix had asked for it concurrent with the small meal.
“Thank God,” the waiter had thought. “They aren’t going to stick around.”
Money was under the sugar bowl, the cost of the meal covered in case they had to make a quick getaway.
The buzz and hubbub of human mental energy swelled around them, but Rachel had a very strong shield up against the ambient noise. She didn’t put up the complete wall she’d learned the day Arella attacked, as it kept Phoenix and others out too. They would need the communication.
“He must have a room somewhere where he can see the caravan,” Phoenix said. “I think…” He trailed off, his brows furrowing and his forehead wrinkling. Rachel had a quick glimpse of what he’d be like if he ever grew old. “There are bombs. Her human is close. I can sense his scent on them, and their fire gives me the power to feel them.” He gestured to his fingertips, and for a brief moment, flames danced on them. “Bombs are easy.”
He seemed disappointed, as if he had expected something more complex from Haures and her underlings.
She picked the position of several of the concealed bombs out of his mind. While she knew little about them, these didn’t look strong enough to kill someone in a heavily protected car. They were crude, slapped together with a simple timer. She understood what Phoenix thought—these didn’t seem sophisticated enough for a plot designed by a centuries-old Demonos.
“What do we do?” She also sipped her coffee and picked at the croissant. It was delicious and flaky, but tasted like crumbs in her mouth. Still, she forced herself to eat it. You might need the strength, she told herself.
“I stop this.” He said nothing else, and his mind was maddeningly blank. “I am trying to see if I can trace
him through the signature on the bombs, but I still can’t pick him out. That blocker is too strong.”
Rachel breathed out a sigh of relief. There was no more thought in his mind of walking away and leaving humanity to its fate. There was only the desire to protect—her first, the other Elementals second. And distantly, more as a simple task to complete, the need to stop this plot and do his part to save humanity.
“What do I do?”
“You wait.” He gripped her hand. “I should have taken you somewhere safe, but I can’t help thinking that without you this doesn’t work. Do not put yourself in danger. You wait. I’m the Elemental.”
Like hell I wait, she thought privately, where he couldn’t hear her.
“I’ll deal with the bombs.” He paused. “I can defuse them.”
“He’ll have a backup plan. He’ll have guns.” Rachel shuddered.
“I don’t want you in danger.”
“Too late for that.” Her tone was emphatic.
Fenley and her grandfather approached them, threading through the café until they stood in front of the small table. Both of their faces bore grim expressions. Their gazes darted around from the café to the street beyond and back again.
Phoenix and Rachel took in their expressions. She raised an eyebrow. There was no surprise in his mind, only satisfaction and relief.
“There is little time,” Fenley said without preamble. He ignored the dismayed looks of the people at the table next to them when he wedged his huge body close to Phoenix. “We have been watching your human. We know where his traps are. Where he is.”
Kamal, the man she was still getting used to as her grandfather, was watching her, his look unreadable.
“I thought you wouldn’t help,” Rachel said, her relief clear in her voice.
Fenley’s mate Brienne stood a short distance away. She was as slight and sleek as she had been the day they met the wolf pack. She motioned to the busy street. Her muscles moved under her skin, and Rachel remembered that Brienne was stronger than she appeared.
If they survived this, she was going to take up kickboxing or karate and get tough. Rachel wanted to be strong now. All she had was fire.