Immortal Fire

by Desconhecido(a)

  Kai licked her dry lips and remembered what he looked like naked. Right now focusing on the bulge in his pants, she couldn’t for the life of her take seriously her reasons for dropping him. Thoughts of Mitzi, however, snapped her out of it. “Where the fuck are my clothes, Donovan? And how have you involved Mitzi in your scheme to kill me?”

  His eyebrows went up, and his eyes widened. “Mitzi? Your little friend? I don’t know her. Besides, she’s small potatoes.”

  “And I’m not?”

  He shook his head, the grin he’d worn strolling into the room still in place. It irritated her. “Yes, you are. If only you knew how big.”

  She waved her hand at him, shoved off the bed to stand on shaky legs, and then went crashing down again. Blowing out an annoyed breath, she sat still until the spinning in her head subsided. “I know all about it. Do you think you’re the first immortal to try to kill me? They crawl out from under rocks at every turn. Bevin usually sends them on their way. You at least got farther than the rest. You got me in bed.” She clapped her hands to congratulate him, but winced at the clamor it made.

  Donovan strolled over to her and brushed his fingertips down the side of her face. Had she the strength, she would have punched him in the nuts. “Beautiful, Kai.” Laughter filled his voice like he could guess what she was thinking. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. No, I have something else in mind.”

  “Enlighten me.”

  “No.”

  “What?” He was the bad guy, the one with the big plans for moving up in the underworld. That kind always wanted to brag about their plans, how intelligent they are, and how they’d rise above all the competition. “Come again?”

  He leaned down in front of her, and Kai rested an elbow behind her on the bed. Being so close to him was dangerous. She might be ticked off that he basically lied about who and what he was, but her body didn’t give a shit. Her breasts strained at the nightie he’d dressed her in, and her pussy was already wet.

  Knowing how weak she was, and from more than just her hangover, Donovan nudged a knee between her legs. Kai panted. “Don’t.”

  He grinned. “Why? You want it.”

  “I’m sick,” she declared, but the hangover was passing. Her body never stayed down long. Donovan didn’t need to know that.

  “Maybe I should make you feel better.” Following his words, he dropped down between her legs and swiped at her clit with his tongue. She gasped. For a moment, she grabbed hold of his shoulder to tug him closer, but somehow she found the willpower to shove him away with one foot. He landed on his ass, eyes flashing in anger.

  She burst out laughing. “That’s what you get. Now, stop wasting my time and let my demon in or let me out. Bevin can give me a jump home.”

  “Do it yourself.” He stood, brushing himself off.

  Kai’s attention snagged on his erection. “What?”

  He sat down beside her, but she slid several inches in the opposite direction. He followed until she had nowhere else to go. “Haven’t you been wondering why you manifest your demon powers around me?”

  “I have no demon powers.” The lying bastard had pretended not to notice anything. But how could he not when her eyes glowed red when she was around him too long. She imagined that night they had made love, she had lit the entire room. Yet, she hadn’t realized, so into him as she was. Her sex drive would be the death of her.

  “Oh you have them all right. And I’ll prove it to you.” He grabbed hold of her wrist, but she tried to shove him away. He held on, flipped her backward and rolled on top of her. With ease, he raised both her arms above her head.

  “Get your hands off me!” she screamed.

  He lowered his head to her breasts and to her shock, tore open her nightie with his teeth. Her breath came in shallow bursts. Her heart hammered in her chest, and the whole violent act turned her on big time. The last of her sickness faded, and she was ready for another six hour round of sex with Donovan.

  His tongue should be registered as a lethal weapon. Thick, long and flexible, it curled around one of her nipples and teased until she arched into his touch, whimpering for more. Donovan obliged by closing his lips over the puckered bud. He sucked, and an arrow of bliss shot down to her core.

  “Yes! No! Oh, yes! Donovan . . .” Her mind was a jumble, one minute wanting him, the next trying to think of a way to escape. She fought to free her hands to no avail. “Don’t do this,” she pleaded.

  He lifted his head. “Do you really want me to stop, Kai?”

  “I . . .”

  The bastard blew on her wet skin. Her pussy clenched. “Donovan!”

  “Well?”

  “No, but . . .” She panted. “This doesn’t prove anything.”

  He released her, and she nearly wept. He slid the drawer of the nightstand open and lifted a mirror from inside. When he held it up in front of her face, she moaned. Her eyes were glowing. And now that she noticed, she touched her arms and stomach. Her body was warmer than usual.

  “This is just because I’m sexually excited. It has nothing to do with you.”

  “No? Then it happens all the time?”

  She started to lie, to make him feel he was nothing special to her, no different than any of the other men she’d bedded, but she hesitated. If there was something special about Donovan, she wanted to know what it was. Starting with what the hell he was. What kind of immortal could shift into another person—because she realized now the new man last night at the bar was Donovan—and was also powerful enough to render the spell cast over her house useless? What else could he do?

  “Okay, I’m all ears. Tell me what’s going on.”

  Chapter Ten

  She made no move to cover her bare breasts while she leaned on her elbows waiting for Donovan to explain. His hot gaze slid down from her face and paused at her breasts. She’d be lying and he wouldn’t buy it if she claimed not to want him anymore. Her nipples were still erect, still aching for his touch. With her legs crossed at the ankle in a casual pose, she hid how moist she had become just from his earlier teasing. And the black leather, of course, straining at his pectoral muscles was not helping matters. He needed to speak now before she lost all control.

  “I have a gift,” he began, and then leaned down to cover her with the sheet. She bit back a grin. “I bring out the best—or worst, depending on your perception—in a person. When my ability is engaged, I force a person to show their true selves. If they have a power, it comes out. If they are immortal and they’re hiding it, their secret is uncovered.”

  “Oh.” Despite herself, she was impressed. He was without a doubt powerful. Then she grew angry. “So you did that on purpose, to force me to be a demon.”

  “I didn’t force you. You are a demon.”

  “I’m not!” He smirked, and she relented. “Fine, half demon, but nothing more. Up until I met you, everything was fine. I followed after my human side. I don’t want this.”

  ”You have no choice.” He began to pace back and forth to the window and to the bedroom door. He seemed to search the corners of the room with narrowed eyes, and he sniffed the air. At his sides, he flexed his fingers. Tension appeared to tighten his jaw.

  She rose, wrapping the sheet around her and frowning at him. “You told me there’s always a choice. Is it dependant on what you want? Exactly what is it you want from me, Donovan? I’m tired of the avoidance.”

  His smile was tight. “You are a very powerful woman, Kai. You—” He spun away from her and faced the middle of the room. Kai followed his line of sight. She saw the man as he approached from the underworld, and stared when he stepped through to the room in the physical realm. “I told you to wait!” Donovan roared.

  Black eyes full of fire and hatred turned on them. Donovan stepped in front of Kai, but she moved out from behind him. “Who are you? Donovan’s partner in this mess? What do you want? I assume it’s not to kill me. Surely not to gain power over my father?”

  “That’
s where you’re wrong.” His voice, deep and threatening, made her mouth go dry. She took a step back, but he followed and stretched a hand out to grab her. Fear closed her throat when his long fingers curled around her wrist. “I do desire power over your father and every demon lord for that matter. They rule a vast kingdom, the underworld.”

  “Let her go, Gethin,” Donovan warned.

  Gethin sneered. “If you had done your job, Donovan, I wouldn’t have to interfere. One task! Get her to trust you so we can manipulate her! You couldn’t do that right.”

  Kai gaped. “What?” She yanked on her arm which Gethin still held. His black nails bit into her skin. She shrieked, and Gethin’s sleeve caught on fire. He jerked away. Kai spun on the balls on her feet and ran toward the door. Before she could get it open, a hand came around her waist, and she was slammed against a hard chest.

  She tried to scream, but the man’s hand covered her mouth. A deep voice muttered a spell in her ear, and the room went black as if someone had snuffed out all light. She fought the tight hold, but couldn’t break free. Although her skin must be boiling hot, the grip on her didn’t lessen nor did her captor cry out in pain.

  No shift in the air and no movement indicated that they had traveled, but a familiar scent caught Kai’s nose, and she knew where they had somehow been transported. Mrs. Dew’s shop. The rough hands released her when the room lit. Kai stumbled to the floor and shoved Donovan’s hand away when he would have helped her.

  “Get the hell away from me,” she snapped. A pressure at the back of her neck made her bow her head in pain. “Ah!”

  Mrs. Dew appeared from nowhere. “What’s this? Donovan!” she scoffed. “A demon in my shop? You know what they are, how they betray you.”

  Kai glanced down at herself. Her skin was red, her nails grown out, and running her tongue across her teeth, she discovered they were pointed. Damn it! When the pain in her head stopped, she would skin Donovan alive. But it only increased.

  “Mother,” Donovan began.

  Kai shrieked. “Mother? She told me she had never heard of you.”

  “Why isn’t it dead yet, forced into the abyss?” Mrs. Dew demanded.

  Terrified of the thought, Kai slunk away. The pain was worse. She screamed and would have crawled under a table as if that would protect her from the unseen attack, but Donovan bent down on one knee and tugged her back. “Baby, you must calm down or her spell will kill you.”

  “You brought me here to die.” Tears welled in her eyes. “You knew this would happen. Why are you trying to ruin my life? And don’t call me baby!” She swiped at his face, tearing it a little.

  “Down, demon!” his mother yelled.

  “Mother, please,” Donovan grumbled. “Let me handle this. Go and mix up a potion or something. Please.”

  If the pain weren’t so great, Kai would have laughed. Nothing tore a cool, sexy male off his alpha train like his mother.

  Mrs. Dew shuffled out of the room, mumbling something about disrespectful children being cast in the abyss behind evil demons and slammed the door she’d passed through. Donovan turned back to Kai.

  “Listen to me. It’s very important. Calm yourself. Know that you are safe, and no one here will hurt you. Unless you do that, you will suffer. The pain will get worse until you are consumed.”

  “Not helping!”

  “Kai, you’ve got to do it. Now concentrate.”

  She closed her eyes. Her head felt like it had caught fire, the blue fire of some heavy duty magic. She could almost see it in her mind with Mrs. Dew shouting, “Be gone, demon.” How could she possibly calm down when such a threat was all around her? Know that she was safe? He had to be kidding.

  Kai slumped over onto the floor. “There’s got to be somewhere else, Donovan. Please. I’m dying. Help me!”

  He let loose a string of curses.

  “Do something!” She thought she commanded her mouth to yell, but her voice was a whisper. “Take me past the front door. Please, just until I pull myself together. It hurts. I believe you don’t want to hurt me.”

  Coming to a decision, he whipped her up into his arms and marched her out through a curtain. Through half closed eyes, Kai saw that they were inside the front of Mrs. Dew’s shop. The lights were turned off, and the open sign faced them. She recalled that the place only opened at night.

  The bell above the door jingled. A fresh breeze blew in, clearing her head of both the odd smells and the pressure. Kai elbowed Donovan so that he dropped her. She landed on her hands and knees. “Bevin!”

  Her bodyguard appeared in a flash and sent Donovan flying backward to land on the ground. Kai leaped onto his thin shoulders and muttered, “Home.” The next time she opened her eyes, she was lying on her bed. She breathed a sigh of relief, before dropping into a deep asleep.

  * * * *

  Kai opened her eyes several hours later. Every joint and muscle in her body ached. She forced her limbs to stretch as she sat up. The events of earlier in the day washed over her, and despair hit. She’d manifested the demon. Her skin, her teeth, even fire had come from her. How she could have willed Gethin to catch fire, she didn’t know. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he wished her harm.

  What depressed her more was that Donovan had been in league with that evil person, that he had intended to win her trust. To do what?

  A soft knock sounded at her door. She was in no mood to deal with her mother’s ever sunny disposition. “I’m sorry, Mom, I’m not feeling well. Can we talk later?”

  The door opened a crack, and Mitzi peered in. Kai frowned. Tears glistened in her ex-best friend’s eyes. “Kai, I know you don’t want to see or talk to me, but I had to take a chance. I want to explain.”

  “Do you know what happened to me today, Mitzi?” Kai demanded. She stood and stomped over to yank the door wide. “Donovan and his partner tried to kill me.”

  “No!” Mitzi’s eyes grew wide, and she shook her head in disbelief. “He couldn’t have. He wouldn’t. I-I . . .” She covered her face. “I made a big mistake. I only wanted what’s best for you, Kai.”

  “You don’t know what’s best for me, Mitzi.”

  “I’m a poor judge of character.”

  “You said it.”

  Kai relented and turned to stroll back to her bed. She dropped down, running fingers through her hair. What was she going to do now? She could visit Ove and ask him for help, maybe get a group of demons to hunt Donovan and Gethin. Her stomach knotted at that thought. Despite all he had done, she didn’t want Donovan dead. And the demons would most certainly slaughter him, leaving no remains. She’d witnessed their handiwork years ago when Ove learned of another coop against her. That had been when he insisted she have a permanent bodyguard. She sighed.

  Mitzi sank down beside her. “What happened?”

  “Oh nothing.” Kai sighed. “Just that Donovan’s partner, some freak named Gethin tried to attack me. I sensed he had serious dark powers, and even Donovan seemed nervous about him. I don’t know what Gethin was going to do to me, but Donovan got me out of there, only to land me at Mrs. Dew’s shop where I was attacked all over again.”

  “What!” Mitzi changed in a flash to her cat form and leaped onto Kai’s lap. She knew that was her friend’s way of comforting Kai. Nothing calmed a person like soft fur to stroke. And tickling behind Mitzi’s ears didn’t hurt anything either.

  She went on. “Yes, remember how she had a spell to keep Bevin out? Well, it was kicking my ass too, because I was manifesting the demon side to me. And get this, she’s his mother!”

  Before Kai could continue, her cell phone buzzed on her nightstand. She glanced at the display to see that it was Donovan. Remembering his plot, she ignored it. After five rings, she tossed Mitzi aside and picked it up to answer. “What!”

  “Wait, Kai. Don’t hang up,” he pleaded.

  His voice did things to her insides. A flash of him stroking her with his tongue slid into her mind. She caught her breath, trying to fi
ght her desire. Damn it! “You have nothing to say that I want to here, Donovan. You have no excuse or explanation.”

  “True.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  “I want to help you.”

  She frowned into the phone. “Oh so now you want to protect me? Bull! I know I’m safe as long as I stay here at my house. I know no matter what magic Gethin has, he can’t penetrate the spell protecting me.”

  “So you’ll live as a prisoner in your home forever?”

  Her bravado faltered, but she said nothing.

  “I can train you to use your power. Kai, you’re stronger than you think. Maybe you could even be more powerful than Ove.”