by May Dawson
“Don’t say it,” I warned.
“Firestarter.”
I blew on the blackened part of my marshmallow to cool it before I wrapped my mouth around its spun-sugar sweetness. “I like them burned a little.”
“Of course you do.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, watching his handsome face in the ever-changing light and shadow thrown by the flames.
“You want to do something?” he asked.
“We are doing something.” I made a give-me gesture, and he tossed the bag of marshmallows my way. I threaded a new marshmallow onto my stick.
“I want to show you something,” he said.
I waggled my eyebrows at him.
He said, “You’re incorrigible.”
“It’s not my fault.” After all, destiny compelled me to want him. I wondered what that had been like for all those other Liliths, in times when having sex outside of marriage was no-bueno. But then, Ryker and Levi seemed to think that one day, I’d marry all of them. “Okay, fine. Show me.”
Ryker grabbed my hand. My fingers knit with his. His palm was warm and dry, and I felt the thick callouses that ran across his knuckles under my thumb. There was something intriguing about a dangerous man who was so sweet to me.
Together, we made our way along the edge of the river, which rippled and flowed, reflecting moonlight back up to the sky. The night air was cooler now, and I leaned into Ryker, seeking his warmth.
I heard the waterfall before I even saw it, the constant rush of water, and then we turned a bend in the path along the river. The shine of the river ended abruptly, a glimmering ribbon that fell away into nothing but deep star-studded sky.
“We come out here sometimes to go cliff-diving,” Ryker said.
“Of course you do,” I said. “Because camping isn’t enough. You have to go cliff-diving.”
“It’s perfectly safe, Ellis.” He stopped at the edge of the water, facing towards the river, and pulled his t-shirt quickly over his head.
Ryker’s broad shoulders and muscled back gleamed under the dim light, and I wanted to run my hands over his back. I would choose a different adrenaline rush.
“I’m scared of heights,” I said.
“Then tonight’s a good night to conquer your fears.” I heard the whisper of his belt sliding open, and then he stepped out of his jeans and boxers. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at me, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Come on, Ellis. If you’re afraid of heights, then this is good training.”
“Am I going to have to scale buildings in the afterlife or something?” I demanded.
“You’re going to have to face all your nightmares in the Far,” he said. “Might as well start with something easy.”
“It’s not easy,” I said. “I’ve been afraid of heights all my life. Ash talked me into climbing to the top of the monkey bars once when we were kids, and then? Panic. I just frozen there. For like an hour.”
“It’s not even easy when you’re with me?” His lips quirked up slightly.
“Are you going to miraculously protect me from falling to my death and having my head bashed in and then drowning? Which, by the way, I am also terrified of drowning?”
“Yep,” he said. He held out his hand to me.
Well, that was hard to argue with.
“Fine,” I said. I yanked my shirt over my head and threw it onto the mucky ground next to his. “Only because you said this counts as training. And I am dedicated to the cause.”
“That’s my girl,” he said.
The pride in his voice always sent a thrill through me that settled into a warm glow in my chest. Ah, fuck it; I’d do anything to hear him say that, in that voice. Fear couldn’t compete.
I kicked off my boots and pulled off my jeans, feeling the soft earth squish up between my toes. “This is madness.”
He stepped out onto one of the rocks along the waterfall. “Our whole lives are madness, Firestarter. Might as well embrace it.”
He turned to face me, and no matter how much anxiety made my stomach twist, I couldn’t help being a little bit distracted by his chiseled abs and the tattoos that ran up his thick biceps and over his pecs.
“Don’t you think we could just have sex?” I grouched at him as I started to cross the distance between us.
He grinned at me and took a step back with one foot, his bare foot hovering over nothingness.
“Ryker Alexander, stop that,” I said. “You’re scaring me. Why don’t I know your middle name? I definitely need to know your middle name.”
“It’s Duncan. Like my father.” He crinkled his nose at me. “I hate it. I don’t feel like a Duncan.”
Ryker Duncan Alexander was on my lips to scold him. But before I could, he fell backwards. I watched him arch away from me, his body all lean grace, and then he was gone.
I ran forward to the edge of the slick rock and peered out into the churning, silvery water below. This waterfall wasn’t too steep, I guessed; only ten or twelve feet. Ryker broke the surface, grinning up at me, and waved.
Ten or twelve feet is enough, really, when you’re afraid of heights. I felt a little dizzy just leaning over the water from this height, because I could feel how cold and slimy the rocks were under my toes. I was certain I would slip. And then fall to my death.
“Jump,” he called up to me. “I’ll be here.”
“And I’ll be splatted,” I muttered. “How deep is the water? Are you sure it’s safe?”
“It’s deep,” he said. “I’ve been jumping these falls since I was seven, Ellis. You’re safe.”
“Are you trying to shame me because seven-year-old Ryker was tougher than I am?”
“Does it help?”
I shook my head.
He held his arms up, treading water, as if he’d catch me. “Just jump. You’ve done scarier things already this week.”
I wondered what he meant by scarier things. Racing towards a machine gun, throwing fireballs at men with guns, trying to get Jacob to open up to me?
I was shaking my head at my own stupidity as I crouched slightly, gathering all my power, and jumped. I pinched my nose with my hand, my arms braced across my chest, and squeezed my eyes shut. My stomach rose with the fall. And then my feet crashed into cold water, which parted around me. I kicked out hard, swimming up with the bubbles and churn until my face broke the water. I gasped.
“Nice,” Ryker said.
He swam towards the grass at the edge of the river, and I crossed my arms over my chest. “Are we really done?”
“Nah.” He grinned at me. “That’s just the little baby one to get you started.”
“You drive me crazy,” I said.
I could see his shoulders shaking with his laughter as he stepped back up on the shore, water streaming off his body. And despite my better judgment, I swam after him.
Twenty minutes later, we’d jumped every part of the waterfall except the last. I stood hand-in-hand with Ryker, standing on slick rock and listening to the constant rush of water falling.
“Forty feet,” Ryker said. “Important to keep your feet together on the way down. Hurts like a bitch if you don’t.”
I nodded. He suddenly threw his arm over my shoulders, hugging me into his side. “It’s okay, Firestarter. You don’t have to jump. I don’t want to push you.”
“You’ve been pushing me the whole time!”
He looked abashed. “They were just the little ones. You were actually scared?”
“Do you know what it’s like to be afraid of heights? Or, you know anything?” I poked his chiseled chest with my finger. Good lord, what were these Hunters made of?
“I’m scared of things,” he said, almost defensively.
“Name something.”
He bit down on that plush lower lip, staring at me, and I thought it was because he couldn’t answer.
“I’m scared of going into the Far,” His voice was low. “And finding out my mom’s in Hell. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Your mother wouldn’t be in Hell.” I felt horrified by the thought.
He tilted my chin up with one finger, his eyes steady on me. “You didn’t know her, Firestarter.”
“But you love your mom.”
“Yeah,” he said simply. “Never said she was one of the good guys. Just that she raised me to be one.”
I ran my hand over his droplet-studded bicep briskly, hoping to comfort him. The fear that someone you loved was suffering for eternity was the worst I could imagine. I thought of how I saw Ash over and over: she ran towards the flames in desperation to get away from something, looking back at me over her shoulder to make sure I was on her heels, her face twisted in horror.
My relationship with my mom was on the dysfunctional side these days—given that I had set her house on fire and she’d sent me off to an abusive reform camp for mutants—but at least I was pretty sure she’d end up in a good place. My hand slid down his arm to curl around his fingers. I would do whatever I could to distract Ryker and myself from our nightmares.
“I’ll jump. Just give me a second.”
He hesitated, like he was going to tell me again that I didn’t have to jump, but then he just said, “Point your toes.”
“You know what I like about you,” I said, squeezing his hand before I let go. “You might want to protect me, but you don’t treat me like some delicate flower.”
He grinned at me, all boyish mischief despite that muscled, dangerous, all grown-up body. “Less talking, more jumping.”
“Jackass,” I accused him, and then before my own sense of mortality could catch up to me, I jumped out into the deep night sky.
For a second, it felt as if I hung there, high above the water, and then I plummeted. I squeezed my knees and ankles together, one hand pressed over my mouth and nose. I could see the world around me, the forest that lined the riverbanks, as a dark blur, and then I squeezed my eyes shut. I was ready to hit the water, to have it be over, but I was still falling.
And then my feet slapped the water, hard enough that the soles of my feet stung as if someone had whipped them with a belt, and I pressed my lips tight against the cry that filled my mouth. Then I was underwater, pushed deeper and deeper into the peaceful, dark blue. As soon as my descent slowed, I kicked out, frantic to break the surface. And possibly to punch Ryker in the face. My lungs ached as I struggled towards the surface.
And then my face broke the water, and I breathed in a quick, sudden breath, and all my fear turned to delight. Even the pain in my feet had faded to just a warm tingle now. I found myself smiling, amazed at what I’d just done.
Ryker broke the water next to me, raking his short, water-spiked hair back with one hand, and grabbed me around the waist. We bobbed in the water together. He grinned like he was even happier than I was.
“You did it!” he said. “So you’re not afraid anymore?”
I laughed shakily. “I don’t think that’s how this works.”
“We could do it again next week,” he offered.
I looped my arms around his shoulders, shaking my head. “You’re being a jackass again.”
“You mean I stopped? Between there,” he pointed up to the cliff we’d jumped from, and I looked up, following his finger; from here treading water, it seemed like a long way back up that shining wall of water. He pointed down, “And here?”
“Yeah. There was a moment when I liked you for convincing me to jump. Because it does feel pretty good.” I crinkled my nose at him, the way he had when he told me his middle name. Which reminded me…. “Ryker Duncan Alexander.”
“You’re not going to use that against me, are you?”
“Every chance I get,” I promised him.
He growled, pressing his nose against mine, and I laughed. The sound seemed to split the night air, and he grinned back at me. His fingers tangled in my wet hair, holding my face still as he treaded water, and he pressed his lips to mine tentatively.
I kissed him back, helplessly, my lips parting against his, inviting him in. His tongue swept against the inside of my top lip, and I felt my tongue slide against his, the slickness of our tongues together reminding me of the way our bodies fit together so perfectly.
I turned my face away from his, biting down on my lower lip to stop myself from smiling. “No. I’m freezing. We are not making out in the water.”
“I’ll warm you up,” he promised, his hands settling on my hips, drawing me close. “And it wasn’t making out that I had in mind.”
I felt my thighs sliding against his leanly muscled abs before they tightened around his narrow waist. His arms wrapped around me tightly, holding me up as we bobbed in the water. He brushed against me, hard and ready between my thighs.
I quirked an eyebrow at him. “That is definitely a supernatural gift.”
He grinned. That sexy smile of his always made my heart beat a little faster, and I hated to lose sight of it when he lowered his face to my neck. He kissed his way down my throat, paying special attention to the base of my throat, and my head fell back as shivers of pleasure ran through my body. The water swelled around my ears, and I could feel my hair buoyed up by the water, floating around us. His hard forearm was tight around my lower back as he kissed his way down my clavicles, the curve of my breast.
He glanced up at me, his eyes full of mischief, and then flicked my nipple with his tongue.
I gasped.
“Still cold?” he teased.
“I understand friction produces heat,” I said, pulling him in tighter to me with my thighs. I could feel him press against me, teasing between my thighs, but he ignored me.
His tongue made a slow circle around my nipple. Then he suddenly drew my nipple into his mouth. My fingers sunk deeply into his broad shoulders. I could see him grin around my nipple, enjoying just what he did to me.
I reached between his legs, intending to make things fair. But the second I took him in my hand, he flicked his tongue over my nipple as his mouth worked steadily, and my back arched involuntarily. My grip on him loosened.
“Oh, is this a challenge too?” I muttered. “It’s not enough to go cliff-diving. You Hunters have to make everything difficult…”
He raised an eyebrow, his lips a whisper away from my nipple as he tilted his head to look at me. But instead of answering, he ran his free hand down the curve of my waist and hip, up the outside of my thigh, and then up the inside. His thumb brushed against my inner thigh. I bit down on my lip, holding back a sound of raw desire.
“It’s not a game to me,” he said, his voice low and husky.
He wrapped his hands around my thighs and carried me up out of the water. I felt the water fall away from us in sheets, and the warm Virginia night air wrapped around my body like a towel. He set me down on the edge of the lake, in the grass, and knelt before me. He pressed my thighs apart, his grip firm even though I tried to close my knees, and pressed a tender kiss to the inside of my knee.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” he said. “There’s nothing I want more than to taste you.”
I let my knees fall open. He moved slowly up from my knees, kissing his way up my thighs, taking his time, and I squirmed in anticipation. Each soft kiss on my thighs sent another wave of desire crashing through me.
He pressed a kiss to the very top of my thigh, the shadow of beard stubble on his jaw brushing roughly against my clit, and I gasped. He turned his face into me, wrapping his arms tightly around my thighs so he could hold me still, and he kissed my very center. I thought I was going to lose my mind right there.
But then he slipped his tongue inside me, his mouth worked steadily against me, and the shivers of pleasure I’d felt turned into a steady beat. My body shivered with his rhythm as he trust his tongue inside me over and over. With each thrust, I felt a hum from my g-spot spread through my whole body. My thighs began to shake against his hard biceps just a second before I shattered. No matter how cold the water had been, pure heat washed over me. The stars far above us seemed t
o wheel and shatter, silver cascading down to earth as my vision blurred, as I went out of my mind.
He was grinning, watching me. When my shivers and shakes had subsided, he kissed the inside of my knee again. “I’d better get your clothes, Firestarter.”
“Nothing doing,” I said, and reached for him again. “I’m not letting you off that easy.”
Adrenaline and sex. This night couldn’t be more Ryker.
4
The next morning, Ryker parked the Jeep in the garage. As the door rumbled closed behind us, I stopped with my legs already canted out of the car, reluctant to step out onto the cement. Then our date would really be over.
“It was nice,” I said, “Having some time. Just us.”
“Yeah.” His sexy voice was husky, and I wanted to lean over and kiss him all over again. “Let’s do it again.”
“When we aren’t saving the world? Apparently, there’s a lot to live up to.” I leaned in towards him. Casually. Sure.
“Can’t save the world every week.” He quirked an eyebrow at me, also leaning in slightly.
“Do you promise?” I rested my palm against his chest.
His lips met mine again, tender, even though his hand on my cheek was firm and possessive. When our lips finally parted again, he muttered, “I would promise, but I don’t remember what we were talking about.”
I grinned. It was funny to think of this gorgeous man being as smitten with me as I was with him.
He stroked his thumb over my cheekbone, his expression fond.
For some reason, Jacob flashed into my mind, with his mocking smirk and his haunted eyes. I found myself saying, “This curse is a hell of a drug, huh?”
Ryker pulled back slightly, his warm green eyes intent on my face. “Something bothering you, Firestarter?”
I shook my head, just faintly, because I didn’t want to leave the warmth of his touch behind. “It’s been a weird week. The good stuff… it’s as hard to make sense of as all the bad. Maybe harder.”