Touch of Fire

by Michele Callahan

  Shifting position until she moaned and held her breath, he kept stroking her with his hard, thick length until he felt her lose control, her inner walls pulsing and squeezing him deep inside her. Helpless to resist her, he buried his face in her neck and let himself go over the edge.

  When he could think again, he rolled them both until she rested on top of him, still connected as their breathing settled. He traced the curve of her back and hip, filled with a peace and contentment he’d never dreamed possible. Her cheek pressed to his chest, she seemed content to lie with him until he grew hard inside her. He had no idea what her reaction would be, but she lifted her head to look at him with a smile on her face.

  “Again?”

  He couldn’t stop his answering grin. “You make me crazy, Kayla. I can’t help myself.” She made him crazy, all right. The loneliness he’d felt for years melted away as her fire chased the emptiness from his heart. He loved her. She was everything to him, his home and his light in the darkness. His hope for the future and a reason for being. He’d taken care of the earth for years, balanced the power of nature wherever he found them out of sync. He’d reignited hot springs. He’d rerouted lava flows beneath the earth’s surface to stabilize fault lines. He’d saved lives, human and animal. But he’d never loved before, never felt this connection to another living creature.

  Kayla was everything to him now. Everything.

  Her smile was full of mischief as she shifted position, pushing against his chest to sit across his hips, straddling him. The new position buried him deep as Kayla moved her hips on top of him, driving him crazy.

  Unable to resist the vision above him, he reached up to play with her breasts, to touch the curve of her hip and hold on to her ass, pulling her more tightly to him as she moved and drove them both to another release.

  But as he came apart beneath her, he knew he hadn’t found a true release. He was caged. His heart was her prisoner, his body hers to command. There would be no escape, and no turning back. He belonged to her now, body and soul.

  They spent the rest of the morning swimming and laughing. He made love to her in the water. They lounged in the sun and ate the picnic he’d packed for them naked. It was the best day of his life, but as the shadows chased each other across their small glen, he noticed her eyes begin to lose some of their sparkle. Her smile was not quite as bright. Her sadness ate at him, and he knew exactly what she was thinking about, because he couldn’t keep tomorrow from his own mind.

  Tomorrow she was leaving him, going back to her old life. Her job. Her friends. Family. Tomorrow he would be alone again, his soul fading day by day as he suffered being separated from his one true mate.

  Unless he could convince her to stay.

  Digging in the picnic basket, he searched for the one small item he’d hidden there this morning. He lifted the black velvet bag and dumped the contents into his palm. Curious, she knelt beside him on the blanket to see what he was up to.

  “What is that?”

  “Pure gold.” He inspected the shimmering collection of raw metal nuggets he’d been collecting for several years now. There was gold from the Carlin Trend area in Nevada. He’d used his power to heat the tiny particles of gold into nuggets he could take with him and save for his mate.

  He closed his hand over the nuggets, making a fist as he called on his power. She lifted her hand to touch his now glowing hand, but he warned her away. “Don’t touch me. I’ll burn you.”

  Settling back with her legs bent beneath her, a feeling of pride and satisfaction filled his chest with pressure as her eyes grew wide. He wasn’t sure, at first, how to shape the metal, but instinct took over and all four elements rushed through his body over the next few minutes, forging the metal into a visible symbol of their bond, the same symbol all mates of the cursed sons wore.

  When the fire and heat died down, he opened his palm to reveal a striking gold necklace and pendant. The pendant flashed and shimmered, even in the shadows, until it looked like a living, breathing flame.

  Kayla gasped, her delicate fingers reaching out to trace the passion-filled edges of the flame. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s yours, Kayla.” Lifting the necklace, he settled the pendant just above her breasts and secured it around her neck, where the clasp closed with a magical jolt that rocked straight through his body to stab his heart. This was all for him, more binding than any human marriage or mortal promise. The necklace would never come off. It could not be cut from her body. Could not be stolen. The magical pendant would hide from enemies and magically call out to his cursed brothers should she ever need aid. It would connect him to her until death took them both.

  He was hers. Irrevocably.

  Now all he had to do was convince her to stay.

  Chapter Ten

  Kayla spent the day with Xander, the heat of the necklace he’d made for her a constant reminder that he wasn’t exactly human, he was more.

  And she wanted him. But as she fell asleep that night with his arms around her, she couldn’t help but think she had made a terrible mistake making love to him. The sex had been incredible, his touch setting fire to her blood and melting her into a puddle of desire at the first hint of his lips on her skin.

  He’d made that small slice of paradise in the desert just for her. It was their special place, their private sanctuary, and the more time she spent with him, the harder it was going to be to leave.

  But she had to go back to her life, to her job, her research, the future she had planned since she was twelve years old. She didn’t want to live out the rest of her days in a tiny, one-horse town in the middle of nowhere.

  She slept in his arms, woke cold in the night and reached for him. When she woke in the morning she was wrapped around him, their legs entwined and her cheek nestled against his chest as his heartbeat pulsed beneath her in a comforting rhythm. As dawn streaked the eastern sky he made love to her again, slow and sweet and so heart-wrenching that she was nearly in tears as her orgasm rocked her body and stole her air.

  Pulling free of his embrace was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do, but she thought of her student loans, and her new boss, and all the animals and potential people her research might help someday. She thought of her future as she stared down at the most beautiful man she’d ever met and she felt as if her soul were being ripped in half.

  She couldn’t stay, but she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him behind.

  Years of self-discipline got her up and dressed as he watched her with eyes gone dark as night and a face carefully devoid of emotion. After seeing the heat and longing in his gaze for the last few days, this new coldness hurt her almost as much as the thought of leaving him behind.

  And then, she had a brilliant idea. She had just stuffed the last of her belongings into her travel bag when she turned to him. He was pulling on his pants, covering up that magnificent body, donning his clothing like it was armor. “Xander, you could come with me. Back to Colorado.”

  He shook his head slowly, his gaze locked to hers. “I can’t. The magic ties me to the land, Kayla. And even if I could, I can’t leave Glitter and her children. They still need me here to protect them.”

  He spoke the truth, but that didn’t make the words less painful. “I know. But I can’t stay.”

  “Why not? I love you, Kayla. I want to spend forever with you. No one will ever love you as I do. No one.”

  She stuttered, trying to come up with an answer, with words that made sense as her heart struggled to beat. He loved her? He stood proudly, shoulders square, pain in his eyes as she prepared to walk away from his life, his bed, and his love. He laid his heart on the line for her. No one had ever done that before. But it changed nothing. “My research. My job. I have bills to pay. I can’t just…I can’t.”

  “You could do research here.”

  Harsh laughter bubbled up from a deep well of pain inside her. “On what? Cactus and lizards.”

  “No. On unicorns and fairies.
Witches and trolls and werewolves. There are amazing things here. Magic. Me. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

  “I can’t do that. They won’t let me take blood and tissue samples. I don’t have the right equipment. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  “I’ll buy it for you.”

  Her brows arched. He had no idea what he was talking about. The equipment required was expensive. “It’s too much, Xander.”

  “Money is not an issue, Kayla. I can take gold from the earth itself. I can make diamonds from coal with the touch of my hands. I have had years to amass a fortune. I know this house looks simple, but I can give you everything you want.”

  “Except…”

  He walked to her, cupped her face in his big, warm hands. “Except what? I can give you everything, Kayla. Stay.”

  She shuddered under his gentle touch, unable to express the thoughts tearing her in two. “I can’t.”

  He sighed, lowering his head to kiss her and it felt like goodbye. Tears welled in her eyes and her heart clutched in her chest. She couldn’t ask a man she’d barely met to support her, to pay off tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. She couldn’t walk away from a prestigious job at the top of the field that would allow her to support herself, finally be independent and financially secure. She’d worked too hard, too long, to throw it all away on a fling, a one-week romance going nowhere but this small town in the middle of the desert.

  No. No. No.

  She had to leave. It was the wise choice. The right choice. But as his lips left hers, it felt like he’d shoved a dagger into her heart.

  The sensation came again and she gasped.

  *.*.*

  Xander stared down into her tear-filled eyes and knew he’d lost her. He couldn’t force her to stay, to choose him, but he could love her enough to let her go.

  He kissed her because he had to, because not kissing her was tantamount to telling his heart to stop beating. She was soft and pliant in his hands, trusting and warm, gentle and fearless. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped with a gasp and clutched both hands to her chest.

  Xander wrapped her in his arms to keep her from toppling. “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh my God. Something’s coming. And it’s hurt. Really hurt.”

  Xander felt his heart begin to pound in alarm. “Coming here?”

  “Yes.” She took a step forward and grabbed his arm. “Take me to the exam room. It’ll be here any minute.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He helped her navigate the halls until they reached the door to the strange room he’d built for her. At least he understood the need for it now, even though she wasn’t going to stay and use it. The large, sturdy, stainless steel exam table could hold the weight of a werewolf or a small pony. Hell, it would probably hold a dragon.

  As soon as they reached the exam room she shoved her way out of his embrace and raced for the sliding glass door. She unlocked the door and slid it open as a loud, screeching dragon skidded to a landing at her feet and collapsed onto its side, chest heaving.

  The beast was slightly larger than his mother in dragon form, and very male. Unlike his mother’s blue-green coloring, its scales were made up of a multitude of shades of blue and silver. But the brilliance of its scales was clouded and dimmed, coated in blood.

  “Oh, no!” Kayla reached for the dragon before he could stop her, completely ignoring his bellowed warning. He had no idea who this stranger was, or how he’d found Kayla. “Poor baby. What happened to you?”

  The dragon grumbled at her in a language Xander didn’t understand and that irritated him even more as Kayla stroked the dragon’s eyelid to soothe the beast before walking around behind the animal to inspect its back. Her outraged cry had Xander stepping forward, but the hardened, sharp tip of the dragon’s tail landed inches in front of him in the dirt. Before the conscious thought entered his mind, his hands were engulfed in flame. No one would keep him from Kayla. No one. “Watch it, dragon boy, or I’ll turn you into charcoal. I don’t care how cut up you are.”

  Kayla had her hands on the beast’s back, and her lovely yellow dress was soaked in blood at the knees. Her hands were covered in the dark liquid as well, and she was shaking her head, tugging hard on something Xander couldn’t see.

  Xander called up his fire until his body glowed with power to let the dragon know he meant what he’d said. If the dragon so much as twitched, or scared Kayla, Xander would fry his ass.

  Kayla sighed and scowled at both of them. “Knock it off, both of you. You’re brothers, for God’s sake.” That froze Xander in his tracks, but the dragon simply raised one eyebrow as if to shrug away the news. So, this was another cursed son of Thetis? Judging by his dragon form, his element was air. He’d never met a brother of air before. Zach was a water elemental, and Andres took the form of a lion when he shifted, as he was connected to the earth. But air? No. The only dragon he’d ever met was his bitch of a mother. “Xander, help me. We need to prep and get it out.”

  Xander tilted his head in warning to his brother and walked around to see what Kayla was doing. What he saw made his heart stick in his throat. She was studying what looked like a military-style missile that had imbedded itself just behind the dragon’s wing. “Get back. Now!” He grabbed Kayla around the waist and pulled her off the dragon, shoving her behind him as quickly as possible.

  “I need supplies, Xander. Something to stop the bleeding. A suture kit. Do you have a suture kit? We need to be ready before we pull it out.” She tried to rush past him, but he stopped her, trapping her in his arms. When she stopped struggling and looked up into his face, he lowered his mouth to hers and gave her a quick kiss before explaining.

  “That looks like a rocket grenade, Kayla. I have no idea why it didn’t explode on impact, but if you pull it out, it might go off and kill us all. It won’t matter what you have to patch him up if we’re all dead.”

  “Oh, shit.” Her eyes rounded in horror and she turned to inspect the back half of the weapon where it protruded from the dragon’s back. “Why didn’t you tell me, Drake?”

  The dragon answered her in perfect English, with a Southern accent. The jerk. “Don’t worry about me. I won’t bleed to death.” The dragon turned an eye on Xander and met his gaze head on. “I did not mean to endanger your mate. I wasn’t sure what it was. I’m sorry. I was flying over Nevada, and the next thing I knew, this was in my back. I felt you here and flew as fast as I could to get here. I almost didn’t make it.”

  “How long has this thing been in your back?” Kayla pushed gently against Xander’s arms and he reluctantly let her go so he could inspect the weapon.

  “Almost two days.”

  Kayla raised one blood-coated hand and pressed the back of her wrist to her mouth in horror. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. Why the hell would anyone shoot at you?”

  Xander had an idea. “Probably because he was flying over restricted government facilities. Area 51, perhaps?” Xander stepped forward and inspected the weapon where it protruded from his brother’s back. There was probably another twelve to eighteen inches buried beneath the dragon’s scales.

  “Hey, the truth is out there, right? No one thinks we’re real either. I wanted to see if I could find proof that aliens exist. Maybe catch the army boys flying one of the reverse-engineered spacecraft.”

  Kayla actually chuckled at that. “Apparently, there are a couple aliens running around town right now. And a perfectly good crashed ship a few miles from here. You went to the wrong place, my friend.”

  The dragon’s head whipped around to face her, its eyes spinning with curiosity. “Seriously?”

  “Yes. Topper, the witch, said an alien crash landed here a few days ago.”

  Xander couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. “Topper also said the alien was extremely dangerous, if you recall.”

  Kayla shrugged as if that small detail was completely unimportant, then returned her at
tention to the problem at hand. She stepped forward and slipped her hand into his, as if seeking reassurance. And damn, if her touch didn’t feel perfect. “How are we going to get that out of him if it’s just going to explode when we do?”

  “I don’t know, but I have an idea.”

  In the end, he texted his brother, Andres, who arrived a few hours later. Kayla washed up as best she could and kept Drake company, reading to him and generally driving Xander crazy. He didn’t miss the way Drake’s eyes followed every move she made, inspecting her curves as if he wanted to touch them. If the damn dragon wasn’t three quarters dead already, Xander would have been tempted to put his brother out of his misery. No one touched Kayla. No one but him.

  Andres arrived on a custom-made motorcycle that was capable of speeds almost three times the legal limit. Xander was sure that his wild brother pushed the edge of the envelope every chance he got.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kayla left her patient and followed Xander around to the front of the house as a large black motorcycle pulled into the drive. A strikingly handsome man with dark brown hair that fell past his shoulders climbed off the bike to greet Xander with a quick, manly hug.

  Kayla practically rolled her eyes. Men were so weird.

  “Thanks for coming, Andres.”

  “How could I miss out on a dragon?” The other man turned startling green eyes to her and Kayla stepped next to Xander, waiting to be introduced. Xander grinned down at her and pulled her under the shelter of his arm, as if she were precious.

  “This is Kayla. Kayla, this is my earth brother, Andres.”

  Kayla held out her hand to the gorgeous man and smiled. Did all of these brothers have to be lethally beautiful? Add in the black leather and the motorcycle, and Andres was bad-boy sex on a stick. “You must be the one who helped build Glitter’s garden?”