Flame's Embrace

by Pillar, Amanda

  With a shake of his head, he grabbed two of my heavy bags and started toward the car half of us were sharing.

  “You think they’d notice if I got back in the car and went home with you?” I asked Salem.

  She snickered. “Uh, yeah. And they’d follow you and haul your ass back.”

  I blew out a breath. She was probably right.

  “I’m not cooking my food over a campfire. Or singing Kumbaya or some shit. And,” I continued, really feeling my tirade, “if someone tries to make me do a trust fall, I’m gonna sucker punch them.”

  “I can’t really see Nocturna cooking anything over a fire, except maybe her enemies,” Salem mused. We looked over at the head fae with her lavender hair and sharp eyes. Yeah, the fae might be vegetarians, but they were cutthroat assholes, too. “But if you manage to get Dom the Fuckface to sing Kumbaya around a campfire, I want a video. Strictly for blackmailing reasons.”

  Both Graves and I rolled our eyes as Dom slammed the trunk on the SUV shut.

  “You know, for blackmail to work, you’re not supposed to say you’re going to blackmail someone before you do it,” Dom said.

  Salem shrugged. “Keep Rembrandt from eating anyone out there, will ya, fuckface?”

  “I don’t just eat people,” the vampire complained loudly.

  “I mean, you kinda do—” Salem started again.

  “For fuck’s sake,” the warlock rep groaned. “Can we go already?”

  “Hotdogs,” Nocturna muttered. “Fucking hotdogs.”

  I stifled a laugh as my best friend hugged me, or rather, I clung to her. It was only a certain reaper’s deep, sexy, somewhat irritated cough that made me let go.

  “It’ll be fine, Tam,” Salem said to me. “It’s just two days. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  As I released her and looked at the SUV with Dom leaning against it, I couldn’t say what I really thought. It wasn’t Farrow’s Square I was worried about.

  No . . . with his dark brown eyes focused intently on me, I was pretty sure the only thing I should be concerned about was myself.

  Dominick

  My fingers tightened on the wheel as I turned down the road. Four hours and twenty-six minutes of her sitting next to me, and it was pure hell.

  She smelled like jasmine and honey.

  Her voice called to me like a siren as she sang along to the shitty pop music on the radio.

  In the backseat, Serena, head of the werewolves, slept the entire way, her snores drowned out by Tamsin’s singing.

  I pressed the gas a little harder and cracked the window beside me. The shudder of the windowpane made Serena sit up and growl. Tamsin winced, her voice warbling off key.

  “What the hell?” she snapped.

  “Fresh air is good for people,” I said. It sounded lamer out loud than it did in my head.

  “So is being able to hear. Roll up the damn window,” Serena grumbled. I took a tight, tense breath and did as she asked. Serena complained under her breath some more and rolled over in the back seat. I hit the gas right as we drove over a pothole and the back end bounced.

  She seethed silently in her seat, and Tamsin chuckled.

  “Trying to see how far you can push her before she tries to rip your head off?” she asked under her breath.

  “I heard that,” Serena said. “And for your information, my pack knows better than to wake a sleeping alpha unless there’s an emergency. The reaper is just lucky that pack law doesn’t apply here.”

  Tamsin chuckled—at my expense, I was sure—and I felt my neck and shoulders tense up as I swallowed a nasty comeback. With less than fifteen minutes until we reached our site, getting into a pissing match with a grumpy werewolf seemed like a bad idea, even if it would give me an outlet for some of the pent-up tension. It felt like two knots had settled under my skin and I tilted my head side to side, trying to ease the ache.

  Riding with Tamsin had been a mistake. I should have fought harder for Nocturna to come with me, but that would have left Tamsin in the backseat with that asshole warlock. There was history there, and something about the idea of those two cozying up made me want to send my fist through a window.

  It was probably just the side effects of her succubus allure making me feel that way. There was no other reason I should feel any kind of possession when it came to her. Any self-respecting man knew better than to trust the way they felt around a succubus. Especially since they were creatures literally created to manufacture and manipulate feelings of desire. Nothing about them could be trusted.

  My fists tightened on the wheel. Not that my dick got the message.

  “You hold that thing any tighter, it’ll fall off,” Tamsin said, eyeing my death grip with amusement.

  I forced my hands to relax.

  I could feel Tamsin’s curious gaze and fought hard to keep my expression blank and my eyes on the road. Just keep your shit together for a few more minutes.

  “Are you giving us the silent treatment now?” Tamsin teased.

  “I deserve a damn medal for not throwing you out of this car three hours ago,” I muttered.

  “What the hell did I do?” she asked, her brows flying high.

  “Your singing could make a man’s ears bleed. I’m pretty sure the dogs in Farrow’s Square are howling from all your squawking.”

  Even though my eyes were still trained straight ahead, I could still see her in my periphery. Her mouth fell open.

  “I do not squawk.”

  She didn’t. Not at all. But maybe the insult would make her think twice before torturing me with the sultry sound of her voice. Insults were my default coping method when it came to being around her for any extended period of time.

  Although lately, if I were being honest, I seemed to find more and more reasons to be around her. Case in point, this damn car ride.

  After glaring at me for another few seconds, Tamsin cranked up the volume and started singing louder.

  Fuck my life. I should have known better.

  She seemed hardwired to do the exact opposite of what I wanted her to do.

  My foot inched toward the gas once more. The engine revved. We shot past a crop of trees, but too late did I see what waited on the other side.

  “Shit.”

  It was all I could manage to get out before the lights flipped on. Red, white, and blue lit up my rearview window a moment before the siren slipped on.

  Serena sat up, her nails turning to claws, as she pulled back her lips and let loose a feral snarl.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said.

  “I wish I was,” I muttered, pulling onto the side of the road. I cut the engine and leaned back, my head hitting the headrest and my eyes closing right as a rap at the window jarred me.

  I held in a groan of annoyance and rolled it down.

  “Yes, officer?”

  “Are you aware that you were going eighty-three in a fifty-five mile an hour zone?” A man with a thick bushy mustache and a deep southern drawl asked.

  “No, sir. It’s been a long drive. I must have not been paying attention.”

  “Mhmm,” the officer hummed suspiciously. He leaned in, his watery blue eyes focusing on Tamsin, then flitting to the back toward Serena. “I’m going to need to see your license and registration.”

  As I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket, Tamsin uncrossed her legs to lean forward and open the glove box. Officer Mustache tracked her every move, stroking his facial hair with his forefinger and thumb. I didn’t like the way he leered at her. Not one bit.

  “Here,” I snapped, too harsh given we weren’t in Farrow’s Square and my word meant nothing. I was just a twenty-four-year-old punk as far as this cop knew.

  He paused in his ogling of Tamsin and adjusted his crotch, lowering his sunglasses. His eyes narrowed on me and his mouth settled in a firm line.

  “You got a problem, son?”

  “No, sir.”

&
nbsp; He glowered, making a show of sniffing the air. “You kids been drinking? Smoking something?”

  “No, sir.” The asshole knew damn well we weren’t. This wasn’t going to go well. He wanted to take someone to jail no matter what. And he clearly wanted a reason to search Tamsin.

  “Hmm,” he hummed again. His eyes lowered to the documents I handed him briefly, not long enough to truly read them. When he lifted them again and sucked the air between his teeth, I knew his mind was already made up.

  “Please step outside the vehicle.”

  I lowered my eyes, staring at the wheel.

  There was a holster at my back, where I kept my pistol, and a loaded shotgun in the trunk.

  Fuck.

  My heart started to race, and my palms sweat a little as I reached for the door.

  “You should do something,” Serena said quietly. Low enough the cop wouldn’t hear it.

  “Like what?” Tamsin whispered back. “It’s illegal to use our powers on humans. You know that.”

  “A lot of things are illegal that we do anyway. We make the rules—”

  I didn’t hear the rest of her reply over the rushing of blood in my ears. I unclasped my seatbelt and stepped out of the SUV.

  “Close the door,” Officer Mustache said.

  I kicked it closed behind me.

  “Everything all right—”

  “Put your hands behind your head.”

  Double fuck.

  Tamsin was right. It was illegal to fuck with humans. It was the whole reason the council existed. Well, that and to keep supes safe from each other.

  I didn’t have a permit for the pistol strapped to my back. In Farrow’s Square, I didn’t need one.

  I must have taken too long to comply because Officer Mustache slammed me against the side of the car and kicked my legs apart. “Now, son.”

  My jaw clenched as I ground my teeth together and raised my hands. “Officer, I—”

  “Don’t speak unless I ask you a question.”

  When he started patting me down, I knew it was only a matter of seconds before it went from bad to worse.

  His hand moved around my back.

  My eyes squeezed shut as I contemplated my next move. I could easily get out of this, but to do so could risk expulsion . . .

  Sweat dripped down my neck as his hand crept closer to my holster. Either way, I tried to tell him I was armed. There was never a chance this would have had a good outcome, but at least I could prevent it from becoming something dangerous. “Officer—”

  I grunted as he slammed his forearm into the side of my head, pressing it further into the car. “What did I just say?” he asked, his hand finally sliding over my piece. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

  Time’s up.

  Tamsin

  I swiftly weighed my options, but when the cop slammed Dom’s head into the side of the car, my decision was made for me.

  Clicking off my seat belt, I opened the door and moved around the front of the car, calling on my power as I did.

  “Officer,” I purred, letting my tendrils of seduction weave themselves around the fat bastard.

  He turned his head my way, his eyes already glazing over.

  “Let him go.” My voice was thick with my compulsion.

  The cop dropped his hands and turned to fully face me.

  “That’s right. Come here and show me what a good boy you are.”

  He took a few swaying steps toward me.

  “Down on your knees,” I said, my voice filled with sexual command.

  The officer obeyed, the anticipation on his face making my skin crawl. I wanted to puke. Generally, a succubus used her power to enhance the sexual experience and feed off the residual energy. But this guy was a serious douchecanoe. Something about him was all wrong. I didn’t want to be tainted by his residual anything.

  Dom used his freedom to push away from the car and pull out his gun.

  My eyes flashed to his, trying to silently convey that I had things handled. When it looked like Dom was going to pistol whip him, I gave a sharp shake of my head. Dom’s hand faltered and then he nodded once, slowly lowering his weapon.

  “Now,” I said, attention on my target once more. “Can you do something for me? Something that will make me very, very happy?”

  “Whatever you want,” the officer panted.

  “Good boy. When I say go, you will get back in your car and drive away. You will forget you ever saw us. Do you understand?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “Wonderful. Go.”

  I infused the word with as much punch as I could. From the slightly deranged look in his eye, I might have overdone it a tad bit.

  The officer scrambled to his feet and rushed back to his squad car.

  It was only when the lights turned off and his car was nothing but a plume of dust in the distance that I finally eased enough to release a tight breath. I walked back around to my side of the SUV and climbed in, closing the door firmly.

  “Tamsin, I—”

  “Just drive,” I said, my tone pinched. A thread of my magic still laced it, and I immediately felt bad when Dom shifted into gear. He had to, whether he chose to or not. Judging by the way his hands strangled the wheel as he pulled back onto the dirt road, he also wasn’t thrilled about my command.

  From the back seat, Serena looked between the two of us.

  “You two good?”

  “Fine,” we said in unison.

  I turned my chin to eye him and he did the same.

  “You sure—” she started.

  “We’re fine,” Dom repeated in a hard tone. His eyes flashed in the rearview mirror and Serena lifted her hands.

  “Okay, we’re fine. Just to be clear, though, we’re not telling the rest of the council about this, right?” She tilted her head to the side, hands clasped together with her elbows on her knees.

  “No,” I said. “We’re not. And if you breathe a word of it to anyone, I’ll compel you to chase your own tail at the next council meeting.”

  The half eager look in her eye fizzled. “Fine, whatever.” Serena leaned back against the side door.

  Council members. Ugh. Dom took his job as a reaper seriously, and that’s not to say the others didn’t, but they were a lot more concerned with blackmail and one upping each other. Serena in particular was a total bitch about things when she felt you ‘owed’ her.

  Which meant sometimes I had to be a bigger bitch.

  But if Nocturna or Rembrandt got word of what happened . . . nope. I wasn’t even going to think about what they’d do, because they weren’t going to find out.

  I’d handled things. They were all completely under control.

  We just had to get through this stupid weekend and then everything would be back to normal.

  Dominick

  I couldn’t get to the cabin soon enough, and it seemed Tamsin felt the same way. As soon as the SUV was in park, she was out the door. I sighed under my breath, trying not to let it bother me as I went around to grab the bags.

  What happened with the cop unsettled me. Yeah, I’d broken the law. Though speeding was likely one of the most minor infractions I’d committed in the last few years, given I also made the law. Unlike Tamsin and Salem, or even Serena, I tended to stick to the books.

  But what she did back there saved my ass, the cop’s, and put her own on the line.

  I needed to talk to her.

  Loading two suitcases on my shoulder and carrying another one in my hand, I was halfway up the sloped driveway when voices carried.

  “You can’t be serious,” Tamsin was saying.

  “Look. I know it’s not convenient, but there’s only so many beds—”

  “Then why the hell am I being paired with him? None of you are sharing rooms.”

  Silence. Mumbled things I couldn’t make out. I dropped the suitcases next to the front door on the giant wraparound por
ch before stepping inside.

  “What’s this about sharing rooms?” I asked.

  “Nocturna didn’t book a big enough cabin. Two people have to share a room.” Tamsin crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her golden eyes on the fae leader.

  Nocturna shrugged apathetically, clearly not giving a shit.

  “You were the last one here,” she said. “It’s only fair.”

  My eyes narrowed even as my heart slammed in protest. I needed distance from the succubus, not to share a damn room with her.

  “Convenient excuse,” I said flatly.

  The fae woman didn’t so much as blink. “It’s the truth. Like it or not.”

  “Drawing straws would be just as fair,” Tamsin pointed out.

  “Why can’t Tamsin and Serena share, then?” I asked.

  “Oh, no you don’t. My sleep has already been impaired by the two of you enough this weekend. I’m not sharing a room with anyone. Besides, my foot crossed the threshold before yours,” Serena said, already sprawled out on a plaid armchair.

  “Only because I carried your luggage,” I practically snarled, desperation sounding a lot like anger.

  “Glad to see you’re as excited by the news as I am, reaper boy.”

  I glared at Tamsin. As if things weren’t already complicated enough between us, now we had to share a room? The universe was seriously fucking with me.

  “It’s that or the couch,” Nocturna said.

  “Couch it is,” Tamsin said, clapping her hands. “I’ll go grab you a pillow.”

  I looked toward the furniture and didn’t actually see a couch. I saw a two-seater love seat and a lot of armchairs. I grasped her elbow before she made it more than a step. “That’s not even a real couch. I can’t fit on that. Look, I’m not happy about it either, but if those are the only options, we’re just going to have to deal with it. I can be an adult about it if you can.”

  Tamsin studied me for a second, one of her eyebrows raised in a way that made me uneasy.

  “Fine,” she finally snapped.

  She stalked off down the hall to what I could only assume was our room. Sighing, I turned around and headed back to the car for the rest of our suitcases.