Prince of Fire

by Tawny Taylor

  When she didn’t lift her eyes, he cupped her chin and gave it a gentle nudge.

  Slowly, her gaze climbed to his. She didn’t say a word. She didn’t have to. He could feel her pain, like a dull blade, sawing at his insides.

  “I’m not making anything up. I’m trying to explain so that you’ll understand what’s about to happen. This is eating me up inside because it was my weakness that brought us here. And now I am utterly powerless to do anything to stop what’s coming next.”

  “What’s going to happen next, Talen?”

  Silence.

  How could he say it? How could he make her understand?

  “I’m going to die,” he stated.

  Shock raced across her face then tightened her body.

  As if she was searching for some sign, her gaze swept over his face down his body then climbed back up again. “Are you sick?”

  “No. I’m…” Would she believe him? Probably not. But he still had to tell her the truth. He owed her at least that much. “Cursed. It’s the price I must pay for my crime.”

  “Crime?” Her eyebrows sank over her eyes. “You’re what, then? Going to be executed?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “I don’t understand.” Her voice reflected all the confusion he saw in her eyes.

  “Sometime later today the man who attempted to kill you will try again. And I will step in and stop him. But in doing so, I’ll die.”

  “How can you be so sure that’s the way things are going to happen?”

  “Because it’s my destiny. It’s how it was supposed to happen earlier.”

  “Shit.” Keri slid off his lap and rambled around the room, scooping up her clothes and lobbing them onto a chair. Then she hauled the bundle into the bathroom. When she came out, she was fully dressed. She stood next to the bathroom door, stared at him for several long moments. “This doesn’t make any sense.” Once again, she started hurrying around the room. Tidying clothes, making the bed, gathering her things.

  Tracking her movements, he struggled against the need to capture her in his arms and soothe her. “It sounds like complete insanity to you. I realize that. But that doesn’t make it any less true.”

  She stopped in the dead center of the room and stared at him for a heartbeat before jerking her gaze away. “Okay, did some psychic tell you this? Or are you perhaps a schizophrenic who forgot to take his medicine?”

  Desperate to help her accept a truth she couldn’t possibly understand, he jumped to his feet and caught her upper arms, forcing her to look at him. “Listen, sometimes you just have to believe things, even when they are illogical. Don’t listen with your head. Listen with your heart.”

  Long moments stretched between them. The air felt hot and heavy, and currents of electricity leapt between their bodies, making him jittery.

  And then the sickening feeling returned, and he knew the killer was nearby. His time with Keri was short. Somehow, he had to make her listen. He had to hear she’d forgiven him for what he’d done. He had to know she wouldn’t do anything foolish after he died.

  “Please, just tell me you’ll forgive me. I wanted to be with you. Desperately…to hear your voice, and feel your touch. I defied the gods. And then when the chance came again, I refused to take the fatal blow. I needed some time to explain…I didn’t even know if it was possible…”

  “That’s enough.” Her eyes were cold, her voice clipped. She pulled away, shrugging out of his hold. He watched his fingers uncurl from around her arms. “You honestly believe this? Why was spending time with me that important, if it’s going to cost you so much?”

  He stared down at the floor, regret burning him up inside. What a bastard he was. She’d never believe him. Never. What had made him think she could? Let alone, be able to forgive him.

  He slumped onto the bed and listened to the soft rustle of cloth as she hurried around the room. Words drifted through his mind, and he just let them come. “Can you imagine what it feels like to be virtually invisible to everyone? To not exist?” He glanced up.

  The sharp edge in her gaze softened a little. Her lips parted, her chest rose and fell several times, but she didn’t speak for a long time. Finally, she whispered, “Maybe.”

  “Then we have that much in common.”

  “I guess we do. But it’s my choice.” Apparently running out of clutter to tidy, she plopped into the chair tucked in the corner of the room. She bent her knees, wedging her feet up tight against her bottom and wrapped her arms around her shins. “If you fly under the radar, no one expects anything from you. Right?”

  “Sure. But why are you hiding?”

  “Long story. Tell me yours.”

  He knew she didn’t want to hear his, not really. She’d never believe it. But she’d been pushed into a corner, figuratively, and she was looking for an escape route.

  She had no idea how grateful he was for the chance to tell his story, to feel like he mattered to someone, even if it was for such a short time. And even if she wasn’t sure how to react to him.

  All that mattered was she was here, with him, listening, talking, connecting. This was what his humanity craved, what he had been denied for so long.

  “I’ve been living in this hellish place, a continual cycle of empty existence, loneliness, sacrifice, followed by agony and resurrection. I get only a brief glimpse of peace before the cycle begins again. When I’m here, among the living, I stay in one place for only a short time. I can’t afford to let anyone get close because I know what’s coming next. It’s not fair to them, to you. It’ll hurt to watch me die.”

  Her gaze was probing, as she sat with her chin on her knees, arms hugging herself tightly. “But with me…?”

  “I couldn’t stop myself. That’s why I’ve asked for your forgiveness. Because soon I’ll die. For you. And you’re going to grieve.”

  She paled. Her lips thinned.

  “It was my choice to talk to you. To touch you. To kiss you and hold you, to let myself…exist…in your world, rather than just lay down my life and go on to the next one.” He could hear his voice deepening with grief and regret.

  “Not that I’m totally buying this, but what if you didn’t…die?”

  “It’s either you or me. If I don’t…” He honestly didn’t know the answer to her question. What would happen? He’d never dared to challenge the will of the gods before now.

  Too jittery to sit, he surged to his feet and headed to the window. Summer, fall, winter, spring, rainy, sunny, cold or warm. It didn’t matter what the weather was outside. It never stayed the same for long, not for him. And yet, his hand went to the curtain. He pulled it back and peered out.

  The sky was a crisp, clear blue but to the west, grey clouds hung low, fat and heavy with rain. The sun hunched low to the east yet. Morning.

  Despite the uncertainty weighing so heavily on his shoulders, today was a good day to die. He shouldn’t feel this way, but for once he was ready to face the moment when he’d leave this life. Because for once he wouldn’t die alone, with nobody having realized he had even lived.

  “It’s ironic. So much has changed since I walked upon this earth as a mortal,” he mused, watching the people below amble down the street, passing in and out of the buildings flanking either side of the road. “Yet human beings are still the same. They haven’t changed much at all.”

  “How much has the world changed, Talen?” Her voice was closer.

  Twisting, he glanced over his shoulder, surprised to see she was standing only a few feet behind him. Her arms were hugging her torso like they had been earlier, but the disbelief that had once pulled her pretty features into tight lines was all but gone. “I doubt you’d believe me if I told you.”

  “Could it be any more shocking than you telling me you are like some kind of human phoenix, living and dying over and over?”

  “Maybe not, but it’s interesting you compare me to the phoenix, because that’s precisely what I am. Before I was cursed, I was the prince of a Ph
oenician city-state, a ruler who was known as the Prince of Fire or the Black Phoenix. I’d never have guessed my name would one day be my curse.

  “Over the millennia, I’ve watched war destroy millions of lives. A savior be born, slain and resurrected. A new church form in his name. Great civilizations crumble. Man battle man with machines, and now chemicals. Buildings rise from the ground, first made from the earth, then wood, metal, glass. Streets hewn into the countryside, widen and multiply, cutting the landscape into a patchwork of stripped forests and crowded cities…”

  “So much.” She sounded awestruck. “I mean, the ‘savior’ you mentioned, that was Jesus?”

  “Yes.”

  She blinked, several times. “Really? The Son of God? Jesus?”

  “Yes.”

  “You met him?”

  “I did. Once.”

  She inched back, pushed her hands through her mussed hair, sending the deep brown waves cascading over her shoulders. “Uh…wow. That means you’re more than two thousand years old.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “I feel so…I don’t know. This is beyond weird, actually talking to a human being who lived during the time of Jesus.” Her gaze lurched away, and she spun around, wrapping those slender arms around herself again. Her steps faltered as she hurried back toward the chair in the corner. Turning, she stood in front of it, one hand braced against the back. “I’ve often looked at the Mrs. Goodrich downstairs and imagined what kinds of changes she’s witnessed in her lifetime. But you…”

  He couldn’t help smiling. “The lady in 1B.”

  “She looks ancient.” A dark pink tint colored her cheeks. “I mean, for the average person, she looks pretty old. To you, her lifetime is like a…”

  “A blink. And an eternity, both.”

  “Yeah.” She straightened up, seeming to be able to stand on her own. She stared at the floor, lost in her thoughts.

  Once more, a heavy silence dropped between them, pushing them apart. He sensed Keri’s inner struggle, could see it in the confusion churning in her eyes like storm clouds when she lifted them.

  Finally, she whispered, “What kind of gods would do something so cruel, Talen? Nobody deserves the kind of hell you’ve been dragged through.”

  “I don’t blame the gods for my punishment. I blame myself. I was the one who committed the crime.”

  Something flashed in Keri’s eyes again, something he couldn’t read. She moved closer, and the air filled with the fresh, damp scent of her skin and hair. His body tightened at her nearness, blood surging through his veins, warming his skin. He ached to pull her against him and bury his nose in the crook of her neck. To taste her skin. To kiss her.

  If only he could die with the flavor of her kiss still clinging to his lips. What a great comfort that would be. But, in all truth, he didn’t deserve any comfort, including that one. Especially now.

  No doubt, the gods would be even crueler with this death. And the last one hadn’t been painless, not by a long shot.

  Tentatively, she lifted her fingers and extended her arms. When her fingertips grazed the backs of his hands, she looked into his eyes. “Do you know when it’ll happen? When…?”

  “I feel a burning sensation here.” He rubbed the back of his neck, which was tingling, although the heat was slight. “The closer we get to that time, the more painful the sensation becomes.”

  As if she’d feel it too, she reached for his nape, fingering his warm skin. He looked down at her sweet face, determined to commit every miniscule detail of her features to his memory forever. Long, dark lashes. Sparkling blue eyes the same shade as the sky outside. Full lips that tasted sweet like a ripe peach. Faded freckles sprinkled over the bridge of her nose.

  “Here?” she asked.

  “Yes, there.”

  She tipped her head up to him. “How much longer do we have together?”

  “A few hours, I’m guessing.”

  “That’s all?” Her lips pursed into a slight pout. “So little time. What should we do?”

  “I’m content to just stay here and talk…touch. What do you want?” He placed his hand against her cheek, relishing the satiny smooth texture of her skin. So warm. He felt a smile tugging at his lips.

  “Will you do more than touch me on the face?” She rested her flattened hand against the back of his and then slowly pulled, dragging his palm down the side of her neck, over her collarbone, to her breast. “Maybe I’m not a zillion years old like you, but I’ve been lonely for a long time too. And maybe there’s a reason why you’re here with me now, instead of lying dead in my apartment. Maybe your gods aren’t punishing you. Maybe they’re rewarding us both. With a chance to have something neither of us has been able to accept in a long time. A connection with another human being.”

  Another emotion swirled in his gut, threatening to fill his eyes with hot tears, but he tamped it down. What kind of woman was Keri, that she was not only willing to accept what he’d told her, but eager to share these last few hours with him, so that he’d be able to pass on to the next life having known, for a few precious hours, paradise?

  “You understand what I’ve said?” he asked, unable to disguise the emotion in his voice. So many feelings were churning inside of him now.

  “Yes.”

  “And you still want to…are you sure?”

  “How’s this for sure?” Keri looped her arms around his neck and pulled, rising on tiptoes. “Take me again, Talen. Fuck me until there’s no more time left.”

  Chapter Four

  Pure, sweet joy tugged at his heart as he bent to kiss his sweet Keri. Her words still echoed in his ear, Take me…fuck me until there’s no time left.

  He’d finally found paradise, and how joyous a place it was. Warm. Glorious. Absolutely exquisite.

  Her mouth softened beneath his, her lips parting to let him taste her. Their breath mixed, his and hers, their inhalations and exhalations working as one. Their tongues caressed and tasted. His mouth filled with her decadent flavor. The most delicious, intoxicating wine he had ever tasted.

  More.

  This time, he would force himself to go more slowly than the first time, to relish every stroke, kiss, sigh. After all, he would never again experience such magnificent joy. It would have to be enough to last an eternity.

  He was determined to show Keri how grateful he was for her sacrifice. He would use his mouth, his hands, his tongue, lips, teeth, cock, every part of his body to show how much he appreciated her.

  There was no way to tell her with words how much these moments meant to him. Only actions could communicate the depth of his emotions.

  He flattened his hands on her lower back, pulling her tighter against him. Her clothed curves fit so perfectly against his harder angles and planes, one of the few differences between them. In so many other ways, ways that counted most, he felt like they were identical.

  He slid his hands lower, over her round bottom and tipped his hips to grind his rigid erection against her.

  Her lips still soft beneath his, she gave a quiet mewl, the sound tasting like sweet nectar as it slid over his tongue. “Talen,” she whispered as she reached for his shoulders. “Ohmygod.”

  He smiled as she shuddered, fully appreciating the way her body responded to his every kiss, caress. “Mmmmm. How responsive you are.”

  “I can’t help it when I’m with you.”

  “I’m glad.” He let his hands wander up her back, fingertips tracing circles over her spine. In response, she arched slightly, pressing her abdomen even tighter against his hard rod, and dropped her head back.

  Smiling to himself, he trailed tender kisses down the slender column of her neck, tarrying for a moment over the pulse beating strongly beneath the surface. It pounded quickly, seemingly in perfect timing with his thrumming heartbeat, and again he marveled at how perfectly their bodies worked together. How each touch and whimper ignited fires throughout his body. Her sighs whipped glittering sparks through his bloodstream, like
burning embers exploding from a kicked log.

  He ached to possess her hard and fast, to throw her to the ground, tear away her clothes and feast on her flesh. But he tamped down his feverish lust, vowing to take his time for both her sake and his.

  She was touching him, holding him. Oh gods, the bliss.

  For how long had he lived wrapped in a cocoon of icy air, an invisible bubble that he wouldn’t let anyone break through? An eternity. Longer. He hadn’t been held, kissed, or even enjoyed the simple pleasure of a hand in his for so many years. This was much more than a simple touch, the sensations so overwhelming, he almost became lost in them.

  He pulled away, just letting his gaze wander over her, committing the sight of her beautiful face to his memory. That was the image he would keep with him as he passed from this world, those lovely eyes, perfect nose, lush mouth. He marveled at every detail of her face. Each freckle and eyelash, crease and curve. Arched brows. Smooth cheeks blushing a soft pink. Little chin, feminine and pointed.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, her brows pulling down.

  “Absolutely nothing.” His gaze moved lower, halting at the neckline of her top. “Actually…”

  Seeming to read his mind, she smiled, curled her fingers over the bottom edge of her shirt and pulled it up. Inch after inch of smooth porcelain skin was revealed.

  He dropped to his knees, dragged his hands up the backs of her legs while simultaneously exploring every inch of that softly rounded surface with his tongue. His nose filled with her musk, and she quaked, bracing herself by planting her hands on his shoulders.

  “You make my knees shake,” she whispered.

  “I feel them.” He skimmed his hands back down, gently bracing her knees, helping to support them. Meanwhile, he continued to feast on her stomach, not able to let a single inch of skin go untasted.

  With every thump of his heart, her weight bore down harder on his shoulders. Her shaking grew more violent. Her moans more urgent.

  “Talen.” She whimpered. “Help me.”

  Gently, he helped her to the floor, easing her onto her back. Their gazes met, and she smiled at him. Hair fanned around her face like a halo. So lovely. So perfect.