Kissed by Fire

by Kimber White

  I shrugged. “I told you. It wasn’t me they were after. Their focus was on Marvin, the shopkeeper. After he was mortally wounded, they went for Shae. I don’t think they saw me shift. I mean, I cloaked myself in time. And like I said, their Alpha wasn’t in the building.”

  “But she saw you.” Kian stepped forward. Blue flame swirled in his eyes. He spoke so little these days, the sound of his voice cut through me.

  “Yeah,” I said. “She saw me. “There was no help for it.”

  “And she’s human,” he said. “I mean...how is she okay with any of this? Did she know what Marvin was?”

  “She knows,” I answered. “And she knows about shifters too, obviously.”

  “I’m sorry, but this is bad,” Finn said. “She’s a human who’s been working for a mage. Who the hell knows what other contacts she has? What about the dragonstone, Xander? Do you have it?”

  I let out a sigh. It was a stupid question. If I’d found any trace of the stuff, it’s the first thing I would have told them. “I don’t think it was there. I think this was just another one of Avelina’s dead-end rumors.”

  “So what was that wolf pack after?” Gideon asked.

  “I don’t know. It could have been anything. Like Finn says. Who knows who that old man was connected to? Maybe he owed someone something and those wolves came to collect.”

  “Well,” Gideon turned to face me. “We’re going to have to figure it out. You’re probably right about the dragonstone. But, like it or not, we’re involved in this now. I know you said you cloaked yourself before you let your dragon out, but how can you be absolutely sure they didn’t sense what you were? They’re still alive. That pack is out there. If they have even a hint of dragon blood, you know what that means. We’re all fucked.”

  “Avelina’s going to throw a fit,” Finn sighed.

  “I’ll talk to her,” Loch offered, but the color drained from his face.

  “No,” I said. “I’ll talk to her. I did what I had to do. She’ll understand....I hope.”

  “So what’s your plan in the meantime?” Gideon asked. “About Shae?”

  It was my turn to pace. God. This was a turning into a damn nightmare. Sure, I’d saved her. But, I’d also unwittingly dragged her into a dragon shitstorm.

  “I’ll talk to her too,” I said. “I’ll try and make her understand.”

  Kian let out a bitter laugh. “Understand what? And who are you kidding? Let Loch or Gideon talk to her. You aren’t thinking straight where that girl is concerned.”

  The logical part of my mind seemed to separate from the rest of me. Sure, I realized the irony of my reaction, but it damn well didn’t matter. I charged Kian. “I don’t want anyone else near her!”

  Kian’s lips curled back and he dropped his fangs. The blue fire in his eyes turned to gold. My own fire rose to match it. Loch got between us, putting a palm on each of our chests. He shoved us backward.

  “Enough!” he said. “Agreed. Like it or not, Shae’s going to have to be our guest for the time being. If those wolves are still looking for her, this is the safest place for her. And until we know why her boss was targeted and what else she might know, it’s safest for us too.”

  “Fine,” Gideon said. “Xander, you talk to her. Make her understand she’s not our prisoner.”

  “Except for the part where she can’t leave,” Kian said, snarling. There was no denying it. My brother was having an even harder time controlling his dragon rage than I was. It was getting worse.

  “I’ll explain it,” I said. “Somehow.”

  “Terrific,” Finn said. “The rest of us will figure out how to explain this to Avelina.”

  I let out a sigh, dropping my shoulders. That was a battle I’d fight tomorrow if I had to. For now, I wanted only two things. With a fiery intensity that turned my dragon inside out, I wanted to be by Shae’s side and to keep my brothers as far away from her as possible.

  Chapter Four

  Shae

  I don’t know how I made it through the rest of the night. Grief wrapped itself around me until I felt numb from it. I went through the motions. Twice someone offered to bring me food. First it was Loch, one of Xander’s brothers. He kept an odd distance, calling me from the long hallway leading to another set of elevators. Then, an older woman with a kind face and steel-gray hair came in. She found me with my forehead pressed against the window glass, staring out at the lake.

  I watched normal people, doing normal things. Boats churned by. Colorful kites caught the wind flying high across the horizon. Centennial Wheel at Navy Pier made its steady circles.

  “You sure I can’t get you anything, honey?” Marie. Her name was Marie. I forced myself to remember and smile back at her.

  “I’m okay,” I said.

  “Okay. You just buzz that intercom on the coffee table. I’m line one. I’ll be here until at least nine tonight. Mr. Brandhart has a room prepared for you. First door on the right down the hall. You should find everything you need.”

  I fingered the gold, round locket around my neck. Its solid warmth grounded me. I knew on some level I should be terrified. I suppose I was, but it mixed in with the grief and it was all too much to process.

  “Thank you,” I said. “I’ll be all right.”

  Marie smiled then turned on her heel. I watched her brisk steps as she moved down the hall and disappeared into the elevator. When the doors closed behind her, I finally ventured into the hallway.

  I’d jogged by the Brandhart Building at least a hundred times on the trails near the water. There was nothing outwardly special about it. Just a twenty-story high-rise with mirrored glass windows. There were dozens like it. I had no idea anyone lived here. I suppose I’d never really given it thought. But, Marie was right. The place had everything I needed.

  I couldn’t help but gasp as I opened the first door on the right. It led to an apartment just as opulent as the sitting room Xander brought me to. Floor to ceiling views of the skyline, rich creme-colored leather furniture. State-of-the-art appliances in a kitchen that looked straight out of Architectural Digest. This was the kind of place I could never afford in a million years. The monthly rent had to be more than Professor Marvin and I made in a year.

  At the thought of him, my fingers flew back to the locket I wore. That and the oversized man’s watch on my right wrist were the only things connecting me to my blood family. They’d done nothing but reject and disappoint me. Sometimes, I didn’t know why I held on to these things. The watch had never kept time since I took it. It belonged to my real father. I’d lived with him until I was five years old. Then, one day, he took me to a park and left me there with two social workers. It took weeks before I finally accepted he was never coming back. When they brought me back to my house to pack some things, I took my father’s watch from the nightstand and the locket from where he hid it under his mattress.

  I opened it now. Inside was a faded picture of a woman with red hair like mine and a beautiful smile. She held an infant in her arms. Me. At least, I think. You could only see the back of my head as I nuzzled against her shoulder.

  Everything in that picture had been a lie though. Years later, after I turned eighteen, I saw my case file. My mother had been a drug addict. She’d abandoned me with my father probably days from when this picture was taken. Until I met Professor Marvin, everyone in my life had abandoned me just like she had.

  “Oh, Marvin,” I whispered. I went through the motions. I found the master bedroom. Someone...probably Marie...had laid out several sets of clothes on the bed. Jeans. T-shirts and blouses. A few summery dresses that looked like they might have been on some runway model. I checked the tags and let out a low whistle. These were brands I could never hope to afford and she’d guessed my sizes perfectly.

  I went to the bathroom and stepped into the walk-in shower. Rain jets blasted warm water from three directions. I washed away the dirt and grime and blood. Afterward, I slipped into the plush, white robe hanging on a hook by th
e door. I barely remember making it to the bed. I sank into a deep, hard sleep.

  Fire lit my dreams. I was soaring, breathless over the Chicago skyline. Xander. I whispered his name on the wind. He was everywhere, his touch warming me, comforting me. He was in me. Around me. Over me. I looked up and we were standing on a cliff made of the blackest rock. Onyx. A canyon stretched far below us. Colorful geodes sparkled from the rocky walls. Further down, red and gold flames shot from molten lava as it cut channels into the rock.

  I went up on my tiptoes, reaching for him. Golden fire flared in Xander’s eyes. He was human again. I slid my hands up his bare chest feeling each granite-hard muscle. I wanted him like this. A shiver of pleasure went through me as he circled his arms around my waist and lifted me off the ground.

  “Shae.” My whispered name on his lips sent me reeling. I wanted the man. I wanted the dragon. He kissed me and it freed my heart. My sex throbbed, craving him. I wanted to lay myself bare, spread wide in offering. I came, arching my back, clawing at him. The orgasm tore through me, opening me, remaking me in fire.

  Lightning stabbed through me, jarring me awake. Gasping, I had gotten tangled in the sheets. I was stark naked, my nipples pebbled and hard. I slid a hand between my legs and found myself wet, dripping with desire. My God. The dream had felt so real. I’d never come in my sleep like that. Ever.

  A light knock on the door made my heart hammer again. I scrambled out of bed, tossing the sheets aside.

  Clothes. I needed clothes. My sex still ached with the echoes of pleasure from the dream. I felt a little drunk from it.

  Tearing the tags off, I found a simple red tank top and pair of jeans. I dove for my black combat boots. I vaguely remembered throwing them in the corner sometime last night.

  “Shae?” Xander’s deep voice sent a fresh wave of pleasure through me. The dream had been so vivid. Part of me wondered if he’d be able to read it on my face. No. That was crazy thinking. It was the trauma of the last twenty-four hours scrambling my head.

  “Just a sec!” I called out. I finger combed my hair and twisted it, then tied it in a top-knot. After a quick toothbrushing, I rushed to the apartment door and flung it open.

  Dreams are one thing. Xander in the flesh was something altogether different. Impeccably dressed in his tailored black suit, he wore a day’s worth of rough dark stubble that gave him an even more rakish appearance. His eyes darted quickly over me and again, I felt the blush of my dream.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said. “I figured you might be hungry.”

  My traitorous stomach growled an answer. I put a finger to my lips and smiled from embarrassment. Xander smiled. I realized it was the first time I’d ever seen it. He was gorgeous, but with an intense stare that probably intimidated the hell out of his adversaries. But, when Xander smiled, it split his whole face, making deep, curved lines in his cheeks. In that moment, I realized I wanted to see it more often.

  “Are you comfortable? I mean, did you find everything you needed last night? I can have Marie…”

  I put up a hand and opened the door wider. “No. It’s fine. Everything’s perfect. It’s too much, really. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble. As soon as I get back, I can return everything…”

  My sentence died on my lips. The gravity of what I’d just said hit me like a sledgehammer right between the eyes. When I get back. Back to where? I lived in a studio apartment above the bookstore. Professor Marvin didn’t even own the place. He was three months behind on his rent. Now that he was gone, I wouldn’t be able to afford to stay. That was even if I could stomach going back there.

  “Oh, God,” I said, my knees going weak. I would not do this. I would not cry.

  “Shae,” Xander said, reaching for me. I took a step back and held two fingers to my lips. If I let him touch me now, if I let him comfort me, I didn’t think I’d have the strength to pull it back together.

  Laughter spilled from me. I went a little hysterical. “He was dying. Did you know that? He didn’t think I knew.”

  Xander scowled. He cocked his head to the side. “You’re sure?”

  I nodded. “Lung cancer. He tried to fight it for a while, but it was eating him from the inside out. He knew he didn’t have long. A few months at best. It’s funny. I mean...if he was here right now, Marvin would have said it was all for the best. He would have liked going out in a blaze of glory.”

  I let a single tear fall. Xander put a light hand on my arm, caressing me. The heat of it started my heart all over again.

  “And you really have no idea what those wolves were after?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I really don’t. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  “Did he owe money? Did he have dealings with dark mages? I mean…”

  I threw up my hands. “I don’t know. He tried to keep that side of it away from me. The truth is, well...maybe. He’d leave sometimes for weeks at a time. He’d get some lead on an artifact he said would make him a fortune. It never did, of course. But, it kept him busy. Xander, I don’t know what to tell you. Professor Marvin was just a sweet, doddering old man who was slowly losing his magic. He wasn’t even a real professor. It’s just something he called himself long enough that everyone else just did too. You know what his name was? Marvin. Marvin Marvin. I mean, who does that to a kid?”

  This got a half-smile out of Xander. He drew his hand away from me and my skin felt cold.

  “I don’t know what to do now,” I said. “I was saving money to go to school. I can’t do that now. I don’t have a place to live. I don’t have a job.”

  Xander’s expression grew grim. “About that. Listen, I know this is a lot. I know I’m a lot. You haven’t asked me a single question and I know I owe you answers. I’ll give them. I promise. At least, as much as I can. But, Shae, know this. You’re safe here. As long as you’re with me, I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear on my life.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Why would you do that? Why have you done any of this?”

  He cleared his throat. “It’s complicated. But, like I said. I’ll find a way to give you the answers you need. In the meantime though, there’s something I need you to understand. It won’t be easy. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about this. I’m asking you to take a lot on faith. But, those wolves, that pack? They’re still out there somewhere. It’s in my interest to know exactly why they acted that way. The one thing I do know, is that they were after you. It’s not safe for you out there. I can’t let you go back. I’m asking you to trust me. And I’m asking you to stay here.”

  I took a step back. My heart beat a mile a minute. He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know on some logical level. But, now that he’d reduced it to words, fear gripped my heart. Beneath that, the thrill of desire sparked in my blood. Stay here. With Xander. Oh, God.

  “It’s crazy,” I whispered. “I don’t know. I’m probably still in shock or something. But, I believe you. And there’s something I haven’t told you.”

  Xander’s eyes flickered.

  I smiled and went to him. It was my turn to put a light hand on his arm. “Xander,” I said. “No matter what else happened in that shop, I know if you hadn’t been there, I’d be dead right now. So, thank you. I owe you my life.”

  Fire flared in his eyes, turning them gold. A ripple of fresh longing burned through me. I wanted desperately to call his dragon forth. “And I meant what I said. Dragons don’t take their oaths lightly. As long as there’s still fire in my lungs, I’ll make sure you stay safe.”

  I think he meant to say something else. He bent his head forward and the air went out of me. I felt suspended in time, waiting for his lips to touch mine.

  A fresh knock at the door broke the spell. Xander cleared his throat and turned, putting his body between me and the door. When he opened it, Finn stood there. For brothers, the two of them couldn’t look more different. Where Xander was dark, Finn was light. He had platinum blond hair, almost white. His
swirling blue eyes matched the color of the lake behind us. Xander’s resting face was more of a brood. Finn’s twinkled with mirth.

  He cleared his throat. “I...uh...good morning, Shae. Sorry to interrupt. We started breakfast without you, but everyone’s eager to get to know you.”

  I felt a rumble go through Xander. He kept his shoulders squared. I had to peek around him to see Finn.

  It was a gorgeous, clear, sunny day. But, all of a sudden, lightning split the sky and the ground shook. Xander stiffened. Finn’s smile dropped.

  “Oh,” he said. “That’s...uh...the other thing. We should probably get down there sooner rather than later. Avelina’s just landed. She’s going to want a full report.”

  I didn’t know who or what an Avelina was. But, from the instant tension in Xander and Finn’s postures, I knew it couldn’t be good.

  Chapter Five

  Xander

  Her timing could not have been worse. Just when I’d gotten Shae used to the idea of staying here for now, Avelina had shown up bringing her dragon’s fire and fury right along with her. I would have given anything just to spirit Shae away to one of the lairs and keep her all to myself. God. The second that thought popped into my brain, my inner dragon shouted a resounding YES! The second after that, Finn arched a brow. He knew. At least, he sensed it. I couldn’t help it. Instinct fueled me and I put myself between Shae and Finn again.

  “Xander?” Shae said, clearing her throat. She put a light hand on my shoulder and looked from me to Finn. “Is there something I should know about?”

  Finn barked out a laugh. I glared at him. “No,” I said. “I mean...yes.”

  “Come on,” Finn interjected. “The longer you wait, the worse this is going to be. Let’s just go downstairs. Strength in numbers and all that.”