Wind Kissed, Fire Bound

by Anna Hackett

  When his big hands clasped her face, she knew what he wanted.

  He looked into her eyes, his gray ones stormy with emotion, and she knew she couldn’t deny him.

  When he found his release, the blazing heat of his power poured into her as his seed did.

  He’d warned her that healing hurt, and he hadn’t lied. Her body erupted, pleasure and pain pouring into her soul. She screamed and rode them down into the dark abyss.

  Chapter Eight

  Rafe held Livia, his chest heaving under the lash of his own pleasure and the strength of the agony flooding him.

  She convulsed in his arms, her sobs tearing him apart. He saw every one of her dark memories, suffered every degree of her breath-stealing pain.

  “Hold on, baby.” He wanted to go back, to destroy every man and woman who’d done her harm. But all he could do was offer her this gift of healing. “I’ve got you.”

  She collapsed on him, her head sinking to his shoulder. Her chest rose in the same ragged cadence as his, and her heartbreaking sobs ate at him.

  Goddess, he hated that he’d done this to her. He pressed his cheek to her hair and closed his eyes. He should never have touched her.

  “Please, baby, don’t cry.” It was killing him.

  “I’m okay.” Her tone was watery.

  “Must be someone else crying then.”

  She lifted her head, blue eyes shimmering, her face flushed. “The memories are still there.”

  He brushed her hair back. “They always will be.”

  “But they don’t hurt anymore. I remember, but the wounds are closed.”

  She’d carry the scars from those wounds for eternity, they made her who she was, but now they wouldn’t haunt her. He inhaled her clean, cool scent. The biggest miracle was that in healing Livia, his own anger had dimmed. With her in his arms, the sight of blood and the stench of burning flesh were just a hazy memory.

  He knew his mother would be happy he’d used his legacy to heal this woman.

  Abruptly the howling wind outside stopped. The deafening silence was sinister.

  “Dio!” Livia scrambled to her feet. “The winds, we must get to them.”

  As she pulled on her clothes, Rafe watched her eyes turn ice blue. She was no longer the warm lover. She was once again the Keeper of Winds.

  He tugged on his jeans and didn’t bother with his shirt. She would always be the Keeper. Like his mother, her duty to her power would always come first.

  But now he felt nothing but pride in her. As his mother had, Livia gave everything, even her humanity, to protect others. While he wanted to be selfish enough to enjoy the time they had together, it wasn’t fair to inflict more sorrow on her by forcing her to watch him age and die.

  Somehow he had to find the strength to leave her. The strength to stay away when he knew he’d think of her every day.

  Dawn’s weak light crept over the island. It illuminated the mess the Tempest Winds had left. Livia stared at the trees and wreckage strewn across the ground. The roof of the main stable was half torn away.

  Her heart thudded dully in her chest. She would face the winds here, and she knew they were more powerful than they’d ever been.

  She, meanwhile, had never felt more unsteady. She felt different. Emotion swirled inside her like a hurricane, so many different feelings she couldn’t separate them.

  Somehow the warmth of the sun, the coolness of the breeze, Rafe’s spicy scent and the beat of her own heart were more acute than ever before. She felt more alive.

  The specters of her past still hid in the back of her mind, but they’d lost the power to hurt her. Rafe had given her that. She realized the emotion didn’t make her weak. With Rafe by her side, she was stronger than before. She glanced at him. One emotion rose in her, more insistent than the rest.

  Was this bright, bursting feeling love?

  They’d only taken a few steps outside when a horse broke through the doors of the adjacent stable with a furious scream.

  The black stallion was big, its eyes glowing demonic red. It was the one infected by anger.

  Livia’s heart hammered, hard and violent. She raised her hands.

  Rafe ran forward, leaping between the horse and her.

  “Rafe!” She knew what he was trying to do. Trying to connect with the beast, even knowing what lived inside it. Trying to reach the poor creature that had become evil’s prison.

  It wouldn’t work. The horse’s rage flooded the air. The need to conquer and destroy.

  Sharp hooves slammed into Rafe, glancing his temple and hitting his chest. Livia’s scream echoed in her ears. Her insides twisted as her heart raced like an out-of-control train.

  He went down under the horse, blood running from the gash on his forehead.

  Time slowed, as if some god had slowed the clock. She ran and called her power. She didn’t care the if the wind was free. All she cared about was saving Rafe. She wouldn’t let him die.

  But no wind answered.

  Her heart skipped a beat, then another. Her steps faltered. She summoned it again. Nothing.

  Her power was gone.

  Everything inside her drained away, leaving her dizzy. Her numb hands dropped to her sides. This couldn’t be happening.

  Time clicked back in. The horse reared dangerously close to Rafe. As she watched, Rafe rolled, then reached up and gripped the stallion’s legs. Flames flickered on his hands, and a searing flash of red light blasted out.

  Blinded, Livia brushed at her stinging eyes. She thought she heard the distant symphony of voices raised in chant. Her vision cleared and she saw the black horse standing there, docile and dazed, tears streaming from his red eyes. She knew he wouldn’t stay quiet for long.

  She sprinted to Rafe. He lay motionless on the ground, his eyes closed. His lips were blue.

  “No.” Frantic, she pressed two fingers to his throat and a palm to his chest. A fluttering pulse tickled her fingers, but his chest was still.

  He wasn’t breathing.

  The stallion stamped a hoof. For a second, she tore her gaze away from Rafe’s bloodstained face. The wind-infected horse was coming out of the daze.

  But what stood behind him made her lungs freeze.

  Behind the stallion were three other massive beasts—a bay roan, a gray and a white stallion.

  Her focus narrowed. She had to decide. Did she do her duty as Keeper, even without her powers, and try to stop the Tempest Winds from escaping?

  Or did she save the man she loved?

  Without another glance at the winds, she leaned down and pressed her lips to Rafe’s.

  She forced air into his lungs. She did it again, praying, begging for him to breathe on his own.

  “Breathe, Rafe.” She clutched his face in her hands. “Breathe, damn you.”

  For three hundred years she’d commanded the wind, spawned storms and controlled hurricanes. She’d lived and breathed that power. But now, she felt powerless to save Rafe.

  He needed air and she’d been the master of it, yet all she could do was force the tiniest breath into his lungs.

  “Please,” she whispered.

  When he coughed, dizziness overwhelmed her. She pressed her hands against his chest, felt it rise and fall.

  The sound of clapping had her head jerking up.

  The stallions were gone. Four well-built men stood in front of the stables, lit by the morning sun. The one clapping had a tough face and a dark beard. The two men flanking him were tall and lean, one with a fall of silver-blond hair brushing his shoulders, the other with a shaved head.

  “A great show, Keeper,” the bearded man said with a final clap. “Nothing like watching a Keeper forsake her duty.”

  Rafe sat up and when he saw the men, stilled. “The Tempest Winds?”

  She nodded, failure a heavy load on her shoulders. Aeolus had trusted her and she’d failed. With an arm around Rafe’s back, she helped him to his feet. He pulled her tightly against his side, angling his body between
her and the men.

  “The emotion on your face is incredible, Keeper. The shock, the anger, the fear.”

  Livia stared at the bearded Caecius, the Northeast wind, and leader of the Tempest Winds. He was also the holder of anger, renowned for his vicious temper.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce your friend?” The final man spoke from where he leaned against the wall, a smile flirting with his lips. He was striking, looked as if he’d stepped out of a painting by some Italian master. His gaze raked over Rafe. “He’s quite a specimen.”

  She ignored Corus, holder of lust and the Northwest wind. She couldn’t believe, after centuries, the Tempest Winds were free.

  And there was nothing she could do to stop them. She stared at her hands. God help them all.

  Caecius looked out into the brightening morning, an eager smile on his face. “I regret we must be leaving now.”

  “Livia?” Rafe stepped forward, his dark gaze moving over the men. “Why aren’t you calling the wind?”

  She swallowed and forced her head up. “I can’t.”

  Rafe’s stormy gaze met hers. “What?”

  She couldn’t find the words to tell him. When he’d healed her, it had removed her reason for becoming the Keeper. And, in turn, it had taken away her powers.

  Caecius filled the silence. “Her powers are gone.”

  Rafe glanced at the Tempest Wind, then back at her. “He’s lying.”

  “No,” she said quietly. “When you healed me, it took away my powers.” A wealth of emotion churned inside her. Fear and failure, but also the newer feelings of hope and excitement.

  “I never meant for this to happen.” Rafe moved closer. “Let me help. How do we stop the winds?”

  “We don’t.” Strangely, she didn’t regret what she’d lost. Not when she knew what she’d gained with Rafe. She turned back to the Tempest Winds. The Venti brothers will come after you. You will not get far.”

  One of the men beside Caecius laughed. His too-pretty face and long mane of hair told her he was Africus, holder of pride and the Southwest wind. “The WindKeepers do not scare us. We have had many years to contemplate how to defeat our rivals. We know their weaknesses.”

  Livia bit down on the inside of her mouth and tasted the rusty tang of blood. The Venti brothers were powerful and would hunt down the winds. But she knew that now the Venti Tempesta were free, the four brothers would be susceptible to the dark vices the wind carried.

  The Tempest Winds embraced the vices, the WindKeepers rejected them, but it would be a difficult battle.

  Rafe gripped her arm. “We have to stop them.”

  The so far silent man with the shaved head stepped forward—Apeliotus, keeper of greed and the Southeast wind. “Let us leave this place.”

  With a wave of his hand, Caecius pointed in the direction of the Italian mainland. “Farewell, Keeper.” His dark eyes narrowed to slits. “After the Venti are dead, we will return. I’ve a hefty score to settle with you.”

  Heart contracting, Livia watched the men’s human forms disintegrate into dark winds. They streamed into the early-morning light, like a cloud of dark insects.

  Rafe swung her around to face him. “We’ll go after them. We’ll hunt them down.”

  She studied his fierce face. “I can’t. I am their warden, not their hunter.”

  “We can’t let them get away!”

  She shook her head. “That job is for the Venti brothers.”

  “Then we have to warn them.”

  Her gaze moved to the horizon. “They already know.”

  Silence fell between them. She sensed the tension building in him. Then he tugged her up on her toes until her nose brushed his.

  “I’m not leaving. I can’t find the strength to leave you.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Don’t make me live without you.”

  For an answer, she leaned up and pressed her mouth to his.

  After a moment he raised his head. “I love you, Livia. I know you don’t believe me yet, but I’ll prove it to you. For as long as we have.”

  She pressed her hand against his bare chest, careful to avoid the ugly bruise forming. Inside her, happiness washed away much of the shock from realizing her powers were gone and the Tempest Winds were free.

  “Ti amo, Rafe. I love you, too. You’ve shown me how to love.”

  “That’s it? No argument about your being immortal and I’m not?”

  A ghost of a smile tilted her lips. “I’m not immortal anymore.”

  His brow creased. “What?”

  “My immortality was tied to my powers” She forced air into her lungs, still unable to believe what his powers had wrought. She breathed out. “When you healed me, it took away the pain. Took away what made me the right person to be the Keeper

  She pressed her hand to his cheek and she knew he had to feel the warmth of her skin. She was human again, full of the feeling she’d avoided for a lifetime. And it felt amazing.

  “You gave me back my humanity. After I nominate a new Keeper, that person will take over the duty of the winds. As soon as the Venti brothers capture them.” She tried not to worry. To trap the winds, they would need to summon a storm the proportions of which the world hadn’t seen for hundreds of years. She could only hope the WindKeepers were strong enough for the coming battle.

  Rafe hugged her tight. “I’m not letting you go. So don’t get any ideas about giving up your humanity again.”

  He didn’t have to worry. She wanted a lifetime with the man she loved. A lifetime of reveling in the emotion he generated inside her. With Rafe by her side, she knew they were strong enough for whatever evil the Tempest Winds unleashed.

  A light breeze stirred, brushed over her face like a caress, touched her lips like a kiss. Like a gentle goodbye. She closed her eyes, her hand clutching Rafe’s as the wind danced through her hair.

  Now the wind no longer cooled her or swept away her emotions. Now all she felt was the warmth of the love she had for the man beside her.

  Read about Dante Venti’s mission to recapture the Tempest Winds—and his encounter with a sexy assassin—in Taken by the South Wind by Anna Hackett, available October 2009 from Silhouette Nocturne Bites.

  If you liked this story, be sure to check out SAVAGE DRAGON by Anna Hackett, on sale now from Silhouette Nocturne Bites.

  For more about Anna and her books, visit:

  Her website - www.annahackettbooks.com

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  Her Twitter - http://twitter.com/AnnaHackett

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  ISBN: 978-1-4268-3987-0

  Wind Kissed, Fire Bound

  Copyright © 2009 by Anna Hackett

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