Fires in the Darkness

by Nora Ash

  “No,” I sobbed again, trying to blink away the tears that were now coming hard and fast. “I love you too. I can’t live without you.”

  “Yes, you can,” Lightning said. “And you will. I know you love him, too. You will get through this together and live a long and happy life.”

  “Yes, well, this is all very touching and stuff,” Bright interrupted “but I have a city to conquer, and a superhero to defame in front of millions of anxious citizens. To be quite honest, the thought of seeing the hope of salvation from their beloved Lightning crushed in all their little faces when I dangle you from the rooftop makes me kinda giddy. But first, how about we all see who hides behind the mask, shall we?”

  Lightning held my gaze as Bright reached down and grasped at his mask. The villain pulled, ripping the fabric as he removed the cover that hid Lightning’s true identity from the world.

  Blond hair spilled out, framing high cheekbones and a very familiar square jaw.

  My quiet gasp was echoed from behind me, because even though his eyes were still glowing blue with the mark of a superhuman, there was no mistaking the man kneeling in front of the corrupt mayor. Nick Coleman, the city’s most famous reporter—the man who spent his professional life fighting for the weakest members of society.

  It wasn’t just when he was wearing the mask he worked for justice and protection of humans—it wasn’t just about some secret agenda to gain favor with the city. Lightning—Nick—was good, to his very core, despite his cocksure attitude.

  And now, he had finally sacrificed everything he could. For me.

  “Ha! Oh, this is too good!” Bright’s triumphant laugh cut through my shock, rang through the office, and drowned out the surprised mumbles from the superhumans behind me. “Of course you’re Nick-freaking-Coleman. Saving pitiful humans by night wasn’t enough, was it? Ha! If there ever was more of a poster boy for foolhardiness, I haven’t met him! This is going to be so good. You know what, I think we’ll make a slight change in tonight’s plans. We’ll have Nick Coleman explain to the good people of St. Anthony how they are now slaves for their new masters. That should go down a little easier, shouldn’t it, Nick?”

  Lightning finally looked away from me to level a glare at Bright. “I have no idea how you think your sick plan will ever work. There’s a reason no one’s tried this since we lost our original form, Wilkins. The humans far outnumber us. You know this. You are leading our Brothers and Sisters to their deaths. You may slaughter thousands of humans, but ultimately, they will win.”

  This time, Bright’s laugh was so cold, so dark, it raised goosebumps all along my arms and back. “But that’s the beautiful part. That’s what makes my plan so brilliant, if I do say so myself. I have found a way for us to ascend, as the true Masters of the World we were meant to be. By daybreak tomorrow, we will rise as dragons again!”

  Whoa. Dragons? They were dragons? Dragons were a thing? Despite the horrific situation we were in, some part of my brain had enough energy left to be surprised.

  Cheering erupted from the group behind me, victorious whoops mixing with the chorus, making it clear that every last one of them were here for the promise of gaining their dragon form, however that was possible.

  “Speaking of daybreak,” Bright shouted above the cheering. “Brothers, Sisters—it is time! Grab the traitor and let’s get moving! And you—” The last part was aimed at The Shade, who had kept quiet during the full exchange. “If you want to live happily ever after with the human, you best take her now and get out of the city. After tonight, it won’t welcome anyone who ever opposed our true rule.”

  The supe who’d kept me immobilized up until that point shoved me forward and into The Shade’s embrace. He closed his arms around me in a steel cage of protection and turned, letting me see Lightning one last time as the supes pulled him out of the ruined door to his doom.

  Then I felt a pull behind my navel and the world vanished into swirling darkness.

  Five

  The Shade

  Eliath watched in silence as Kathryn stumbled the few feet from his embrace to his bed after the teleport. She sat down as abruptly as if her legs gave in.

  He had taken her to his penthouse—the one no one ever came to, because it was the one place in the world he knew was safe. No supe knew this place belonged to him. Now that Lightning was gone, there was no longer a need to stay on the neutral grounds of her apartment.

  Dammit! The knowledge that he could now keep her in his own domain should have brought nothing but pleasure, as should the fact that he no longer had any competition for her. How fucking typical of Lightning to ruin what should have been a perfectly good triumph with his noble heroics.

  His archenemy had sacrificed himself so that she could have a future with Eliath—even though Eliath had stepped forward, too.

  The place behind his ribs, where he felt the connection from the mark he’d put on Kathryn keenly, ached at the realization that Lightning had as much as given him his damn blessing to ride off into the sunset with the woman they both wanted as their own. They had been bitter enemies for so many years now, the idea that Lightning’s last free act had been to give Eliath the one thing he wanted more than he had ever wanted anything else in his life was unfathomable. Even if the sacrifice had been for Kathryn, more than it had been for him.

  A soft sniffle from the bed brought him out of his musings, and his heart spasmed unpleasantly when he realized Kathryn was crying.

  Damn Lightning and his ability to make what should have been the best fucking day of his life utterly miserable.

  She loved Lightning—there was no doubt in his heart, not after seeing them in bed together and hearing her sobbed confession today. And as for Lightning, he had clearly also given in to the idea of them being soulmates, rather than it being the instinctive urge to breed messing with their magic core.

  Eliath scrubbed his hands over his face, and then pulled the mask off. There was no need anymore. Kathryn knew his true face, and there was no need to hide who he was from her.

  His old enemy had been right about one thing, at least. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for the woman quietly crying on his bed, even fleeing his city and his position here.

  Eliath sank down on the bed next to Kathryn and wrapped his arms around her so he could pull her in close. He didn’t have much experience with comforting weeping women, but it felt instinctive to hold her and offer his strength to her.

  She pressed against him, clutching tightly to his chest, which seemed to confirm his reaction as the right move. It also made his cock rise, as if awakened by the sheer proximity of her.

  Eliath suppressed a groan and shifted his hips as to not prod her with his erection. As much as he enjoyed being buried inside of her, he didn’t think she’d take too kindly to his shifting focus in the middle of her tears.

  Kathryn looked up then, and he prepared himself for her outrage. But she just reached up a hand and stroked the side of his face, letting her fingertips trail up over his shaved scalp, exploring his face as if she was seeing it for the first time. Which, in a way, she was. He hadn’t bothered suppressing his naturally glowing eye color as he normally did when in his human disguise. No one had seen him like this since his parents died.

  “He’s gone,” she said, her voice wavering a little. “Lightning’s gone.”

  Eliath didn’t reply, didn’t know what to say to ease her grief. His own tumultuous feelings on the subject were much too confusing—and surprising—to work out, so he wasn’t exactly qualified to help her with hers. Instead, he cupped the back of her head in one hand and stroked her tangled hair gently, hoping his physical presence would be enough for her to find some comfort.

  Much to his surprise, it seemed to be. Without warning, Kathryn reached up and pulled his head down with both hands before pressing her mouth to his in a desperate kiss. Her lips separated as she gasped for breath against him and her fingers dug into his skull until he let his mouth mirror hers. She tasted salt
y from her tears, but he didn’t mind. Kissing Kathryn was only second to fucking her, and he relished the rush of ecstasy brought on by losing himself in her kiss.

  It was impossible for him to not feel her desperation to forget the pain from losing Lightning, even if it was just for a little while, but he invited the oblivion with open arms. When he was with her like this, nothing else mattered, and she wasn’t the only one who craved a few moments relief from any and all thoughts.

  “I need you,” she gasped against his lips when he pulled back to let her suck in a few breaths of air. “Please, I need you.”

  He had heard her say those words before, but this time, it was different. It wasn’t as much the sex she needed as the assurance of their connection. He knew, because her plea resonated with the inexplicable void in his own chest left behind by Lightning’s sacrifice.

  Eliath growled low in his throat, only too keen to escape the complicated emotions by burying himself inside of his woman. His cock throbbed painfully, as if her plea had gone directly to his crotch—which, judging by what little experience he had with her, it might well have. His suit suddenly felt unbearably restrictive. With another growl he ripped it off, not caring if he burst a few seams, and then descended on her already shredded clothes.

  Kathryn squirmed against him as he tore at her shirt, easing his quest to get her naked as best she could. When she was completely bared to him she wrapped her arms around his body again.

  Eliath caught a groan in his throat when he felt her tightened nipples press into his chest, followed by the soft press of her full breasts. He slid his hands down over the generous swell of her hips and pressed her closer still, losing himself in softness of her curves. Her naked flesh against his was the sweetest sensation he’d ever known, equally arousing and comforting.

  “Eliath,” she murmured before stretching to nibble his earlobe. An electric jolt shot through his nervous system in response, ramping up his urges. This time, he didn’t manage to keep the groan in. She made that soft noise that always drove him wild when he caught her lips in a scorching kiss. His hands were pressing her down on her back before he’d made the conscious decision to move things to the next stage. It was always like that with his Kitten—his animal instincts were in the driver's seat from the moment her intoxicating presence overpowered him, until he spilled himself deep in her womb.

  Eliath crawled in over her, capturing her lips again, but she soon pulled back from his kiss and pressed his head further down. He smirked and let her, only too happy to obey. When he closed his lips around a pert nipple Kathryn moaned and spread her legs in invitation. He let his fingers trail down to the thatch of hair and split her lower lips with a couple of fingers, testing how close she was.

  As always, she was soaking for him even before he’d gotten to tease her. His cock pulsed with need, urging him to ignore further preparations. She would be able to take him now, even if her pussy would protest his size for the first few thrusts. He knew from their previous couplings that she liked when he was forceful, preferred it even, but this time they both needed more than hard and rough.

  With a gentle stroke Eliath slid his fingers up to her clit as he sucked harder on her breast. Kathryn’s breath exploded out of her lungs and her back arched. He loved how responsive she was, though it made it even harder for him to control of his urge to flip her over and rut her like a beast.

  Teasingly, he swept his tongue around her nipple, flicking it a few times while he gently rubbed her clit until he could feel her muscles tense and relax in rhythm with her hard gasps. Then he switched to her other breast at the same time as he let a couple of fingers slip inside her tight sheath, rotating his hand so he could continue rubbing circles against her clit with his thumb.

  “Ohh!” Her moan went straight to his cock. Fuck, he wanted to be inside of her more than anything else. His fingers were covered in her slickness and clutched tightly by her internal muscles, reminding him all too well of what it felt like when it was his cock forcing her wide.

  Eliath lifted up off Kathryn, ignoring her protests as his hand came away from her entrance. Gone were any thoughts of this being more than primitive needs needing to be quenched—whatever it was they were both yearning for, they would have to find it while he drove into her as deep as she would take him.

  But when he knelt between her thighs, the intoxicating scent of her pussy washed over his face. Eliath groaned with want and, before he knew it, he was flat on his stomach between her thighs with his face pressed to the source of her very being.

  Superhuman pheromones were said to affect humans quite strongly, but he doubted anyone had ever been as addicted as he was to this little human’s scent.

  Kathryn moaned and squirmed as he lapped at her soaking slit. When he found her clit and flicked it teasingly, her nails found his scalp and dug in. It might have hurt, had he not been so high on lust, but now, it only made him all the more determined. He captured the stiff little bud between his teeth and bit down ever so gently.

  The effect was immediate. Kathryn screamed and tried to clamp her thighs together at the intense burst of sensation, but he forced them open wide again with both hands and wrapped his lips around her clit, sucking deeply.

  It worked as intended.

  Kathryn’s scream broke off into a high-pitched whimper. Her entire body convulsed once, twice, three times until he relented, licking her with broad, full strokes as she rocked against him, moaning incoherently. The tang of her climax bathed his tongue and made his vision blacken with the intensity of his own need. But he wasn’t stopping his worship of her, not until—

  “Enough. Please, stop!” Where she had clutched him to her before, she now frantically tried to shove his head away from her oversensitive flesh.

  Eliath complied and pulled back. Her sex glistened with her fluids and his saliva, and the petals leading the way to her innermost sanctuary were open in invitation. He breathed in deeply in an attempt to let her rest before demanding his own pleasure, but that only gave him a facefull of her delicious pheromones.

  He moved without conscious thought, climbed on top of her and spread her thighs wide with his own so he could nestle his hips in between them. His cockhead parted her lower lips without effort, and then he was met with her tight, incredible heat.

  “Fuck!” he snarled as the connection with her snapped into place the second her tight pussy wrapped around his flared tip. An electric current traveled all the way up his spine. More; he needed more.

  “Oh, God! Fuck!” Kathryn braced her hands against his shoulders, slowing his penetration. It took all he had not to just slam in to the hilt, but for once, he obeyed her attempt at setting the pace.

  The result was exquisite. As much as he loved ravaging her soft, little body until his nearly unquenchable thirst for her was sated, there was something utterly perfect about the slow slide into the depths of her very core. He felt every ripple in her channel, every twitching muscle as he drove in. Her face alone was a study in tense pleasure. Looking into her eyes as he filled her made something from the place he was connected to her by the mark reach out, as if to penetrate her very soul like he did her body.

  When he was finally fully seated inside of her, the world held still for three long seconds—until she raised her hips to urge him on and shredded his self-restraint.

  “Yes!” She gasped her approval out as he moved, slid her arms around him, and held on as if he was the most important person in the whole world. He was vaguely aware of his own grunts and moans for every time he bottomed out in her, but mostly, he was lost in her eyes and the eternal clenching of her pussy around his thick cock.

  Eliath was so consumed, he didn’t think to protest when she nudged his shoulder and rolled him over, slipping off his hard length as she moved. He just allowed her to push him, until suddenly he found himself on his back with her straddling his hips, the length of his cock pressing hard against her stomach.

  Her mouth split in a teasing smile, and he
realized his facial expression must have shown some measure of shock. He was pretty shocked—as far back as he could recall, he had never let another put him in a submissive position before, not inside nor outside of the bedroom. He was always in control, always the dominant party in any situation—always. Every instinct in his preternatural body should have been roaring to roll her back over and punish her long and hard for her nerve, but all he could think about was how much he needed to be back inside of her, position be damned.

  “You look like I just pulled out a strap-on,” Kathryn said, sliding her hands up his tense muscles in a half-soothing, half-inciting caress. She rocked her hips, rubbing her clit against his cock, and moaned at the contact. “Don’t tell me this is your first time getting ridden.”

  “Get on it, woman, or you’re getting flipped over,” he growled, his patience rapidly declining for every second he was left without her wet embrace.

  Kathryn smiled and raised up higher on her knees, nestling Eliath’s pulsing cockhead against her slick entrance. Slowly, so slowly—he had to bury his hands in the sheets to stop himself from grabbing onto her hips and forcing her down—she took him in. Her tight heat never stopped sinking, until finally, he was all the way in and she was resting against his groin, breathing deeply from the pressure.

  When she began moving, he tore the sheets to shreds.

  It was so different than what he had known up until now, the way her muscles moved around his cock as she rose and fell on him, pulling him closer to his release rather than allowing him to chase it. Eliath groaned and panted, caught between his desire to let her ride him so he could enjoy the agonizingly slow climb, and the primal urge to reach the blissful end.