Hold Tight (The Embrace Series)

by Cherie Colyer

  “Thanks.”

  He kissed behind my ear. My cheek. My lips. My heart did a tap dance in my chest as his fingers followed the lace waistband one more time on their journey up my side, over my sweater, and down my arm. I became aware that my hand rested on his upper thigh, but I didn’t move it. My powers danced on the tips of my nerve endings, and I begged them to retreat to the safety of the locked room in my mind.

  “I think you may have caught me,” Isaac said, his voice low and husky. His warm hand rested on my bare stomach again.

  “Caught you how?”

  “The whole detox scheme was a ploy to get you to spend the night with me.”

  His lips met mine, saving me from having to answer. Our tongues did a slow tango, and the voices from the TV grew distant. Isaac kept our kisses brief, giving me every opportunity to keep my powers under control and to slow things down if I wanted to. My hand journeyed under his shirt and traced the hard lines of his chest as he rubbed the tender skin on my ribs, brushing my bra with each stroke. I pulled my sweater over my head. Isaac practically ripped his top shirt off and then grabbed the back of his T-shirt with both hands and tugged it over his head. With his body pressed against mine, we continued our dance of brief kisses. He rolled me on top of him.

  “You taste amazing,” Isaac whispered. He trailed a line of kisses down my neck and then met my gaze. His powers trickled through me like the warmth of the sun until they found mine, only this time they didn’t collide.

  “Did your powers just caress mine?” I asked.

  He smiled. “They did, compliments of a spell I recently found in my grandfather’s grimoire. I’ve been dying to try it.”

  I giggled and kissed him again. Most of my powers remained at bay, but what did escape seemed to merge with Isaac’s, eliminating the shock that usually happened.

  “You should have tried this spell the second you found it.”

  “I was waiting for the perfect moment.”

  I didn’t think it could get more perfect than it was right now.

  He tucked my hair behind my ear. “I need to know how far you want this to go.”

  I glanced at the bottom of the stairs. “What about your parents?”

  “They’ll be upstairs by now, Mom reading her novel and Dad catching up on the news.”

  I brushed my lips against his. “Then don’t stop.”

  He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me again, rolling us over so that he was on top, balancing the bulk of his weight on his elbows. His lips held the same urgency they had at the lighthouse as they traveled down my neck to my collarbone. I wrapped a leg around his, pulling him even closer. When his mouth crushed mine again, a moan rose from my chest.

  Suddenly, we were the only beings in the universe.

  Chapter 26

  Ultimatum

  I woke the next morning with my back cuddled against Isaac’s chest and his arm draped over my waist. Slowly, I twisted until I was on my stomach and could see him. He looked so peaceful, hair tousled, breaths deep and steady, muscles totally at ease.

  A smile graced my lips. We’d managed to break the code that had kept us from taking our relationship to the next level. To have Isaac’s powers flowing inside me, mingling with mine, had felt like pure ecstasy. Every touch of his lips and caress of his fingertips had sent elated tremors coursing through me.

  I brushed his hair away from his eyes with my thumb and then traced his lips. His mouth opened, just enough to let his tongue skim my finger. The simple gesture awakened my senses and sent an excited shiver racing through me; it settled just below my belly. His deep brown gaze met mine.

  “Morning,” I whispered, removing my finger from his lips and kissing him.

  “Morning to you too.” He cupped my cheek in his hand. His powers trickled through me as they had the night before. “Is there something special you wanted to do this morning that you’re up at—” he reached behind him, groping on the bedside table until he found his cell phone and glanced at it “—six fifty-two?”

  “I was worried that your mom or dad might come downstairs.” I nibbled on his bottom lip. “But I think I’m willing to risk it.”

  He pulled me on top of him, kissing me tenderly. The thin T-shirt he’d lent me was the only thing between us. His hands traveled down my back and over my waist, stopping on my butt. Mine were tangled in his hair. His arms around me felt right. Being with him felt right. I wanted to spend the morning exploring his body.

  “Isaac!” Mr. Addington’s voice rang down the stairs.

  “Is the whole house up before the sun?” Isaac groaned as he grabbed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt off the floor and put them on. On his way up the stairs, he said to his dad, “Madison’s still asleep.”

  That was all I heard of their conversation, but I took the hint not to let on that I was up too. Although, having the parent of my boyfriend interrupt our make-out session was enough to kill the mood for me.

  I slid out of bed and into Isaac’s bathroom. By the time I had freshened up, he was back. He looked at me: fully dressed, hair brushed, and makeup on.

  “No morning shower?” he asked, playfully.

  “Not if there’s a chance your parents are going to call again.”

  He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. “There’s not. My aunt is having problems with her heat. Dad and Mom are going to see if there’s anything they can do to help. But I’ll take a rain check on the shower. How about breakfast?”

  I kissed him. “Perfect.”

  Isaac and I stood in his driveway with winter’s breeze ruffling our hair and our mouths hanging open. His Jeep was covered in a thick layer of ice.

  “What the hell,” Isaac said.

  “Humans always have such colorful ways of expressing themselves,” Reed said from behind us.

  Isaac and I spun around. Reed stood near the garage. He hadn’t bothered with his glamour, and the fact that we could see him meant he wanted us to know he was there. Isaac raised his hand, sending a gust of hot air to circle his Jeep. The ice glistened and began to melt, but at the rate it was thawing, it would take several minutes before we could open a door.

  The hunger I had quelled the night before came flooding back. I took a step away from the house, knowing the best way to fight the emptiness inside me was to keep my distance from Reed. Isaac gave me a sideways glance, and then spearmint and vanilla enveloped me, wrapping me in his powers and effectively blocking Reed’s magic.

  Reed took a step forward, his hands relaxed at his side. He looked at Isaac and said, “I didn’t come to fight. I have a proposition for Madison.”

  The breeze circled us and brought with it the sweet aroma of bacca wine.

  I glared at Reed, knowing he’d created the wind to prove Isaac’s powers weren’t strong enough to negate the pull he had on me. “Bastard.”

  Reed grinned.

  “Enough games, Reed,” Isaac said. “Let’s hear it.”

  “I never play games,” Reed replied. “If Madison accompanies me to the Winter Solstice Celebration, I will leave the people she loves alone. One day, then she can choose if she wishes to stay in Sanctus or return here.”

  “You’ll promise never to harm my family and friends?” I asked, mildly intrigued that he’d agree to let me come home. But then again, his realm was one big drug to humans. It would mess with my mind like the breeze was doing now.

  Reed inclined his head. “Not even Isaac, who has gotten on my last nerve.”

  “It’s a trick,” Isaac said.

  “I know.” I had only made the offer to test if it was a myth that humans couldn’t return from Sanctus. “Is there no spell to protect me while there?”

  “I’ve read every book there is on Fae and Sanctus, Madison. That type of spell doesn’t exist.”

  “It’s an offer I will only make once,” Reed said telepathically. His scent brushed my skin, making it hard to think straight.

  I felt myself become weightless. I knew Isaac pl
anned to teleport me to the safety of his room, but before I disappeared, an ice prison surrounded me.

  “Tsk, tsk,” Reed scolded, his finger waggling from side to side. “I will not have you excluding Madison from this discussion.”

  “You just don’t want her having the ability to think straight.” With a flick of his wrist, Isaac held a bright orange orb of fire. His brow pulled low over his narrowed eyes. “Release her!”

  “No.”

  Isaac rocketed the flames at Reed, who vanished, then reappeared the moment the fireball had passed. Reed spat something in a language I couldn’t understand. Then in English he said, “Are you trying to burn your house down?”

  “The only thing these flames will burn is Fae.” Isaac whipped another fireball at him.

  “What, no eternal flames in your realm?” Reed taunted.

  Isaac shrugged. “I’m not suicidal.”

  “Some would say challenging a Winter Fae is suicide,” Reed said.

  Isaac smirked. “What, didn’t tell anyone back home how I kicked your ass last time?”

  “As I recall, you struggled to hold your own,” Reed retorted. He threw a black dagger.

  Isaac deflected it easily. In the next moment, over a dozen foot-long icicles hovered around Reed—each pointed at Isaac. Reed signaled with a flick of his hand, and the icicles sailed toward Isaac at a frightening speed. Isaac thrust his hands forward, palms flat as if he’d slammed them against an invisible wall. The icy rods crashed into his magical barrier.

  “Stop!” I screamed, sending out a gust of my power in an effort to weaken my prison. Again and again I did it. Small cracks formed in the wall in front of me. I kept at it as they kept battling.

  “It’s too late for her. She needs me to survive,” Reed gloated.

  With him nearby, hearing his voice again, I feared he was right.

  “Does she have the shakes?” he asked menacingly. “Has she told you she thinks of me when I’m not around?”

  Isaac’s gaze darted to me. No guy wanted to find out his girlfriend thought about another guy—especially not after the night we’d just shared. I wanted to explain, to reassure him, but I could smell Reed—a crisp, icy river laced with tantalizing wine—and I didn’t trust my words not to betray me.

  “How about we let Madison choose if I stay or go.”

  No, no, no. Not a good idea. I both wanted him to go away and wished they’d stop arguing already so Reed would give me what I needed to fill the growing void inside me.

  Isaac widened his stance, his hands held at his side and his palms facing forward. With barely a jerk of his arm, a blue stream of power shot up at Reed. He missed.

  Reed retaliated with two black daggers aimed at Isaac’s chest. Isaac barely had time to create a new shield. The daggers collided with it, falling to the asphalt with a clatter. Had Isaac been a microsecond slower, one would have pierced his heart.

  “Enough!” a voice bellowed.

  I tore my gaze from the daggers at Isaac’s feet. Wearing only a pair of faded jeans, Caden stood between Reed and Isaac. Flames suddenly licked at the outside of my prison, quickly melting the ice.

  “Since when do Fae attack humans?” Caden asked.

  “He attacked. I defended,” Reed replied. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Isaac.

  “Your fight threatens a human who owes me. Leave or you will be fighting me and Isaac.”

  Holding two more daggers, Reed looked at Caden. Isaac armed himself with energy balls. Caden raised his hands—one palm facing Isaac and the other facing Reed—as if ready to knock them both out with magic of his own.

  I held my breath and prayed Reed would leave. To my relief, he let the daggers fall to the ground near his feet.

  “This isn’t over,” he said and vanished.

  Caden sighed. “I’d be surprised if it were.”

  Isaac turned to face me. Caden’s flames ate the last of the ice and extinguished themselves.

  “Don’t go trying anything witchy on me,” Caden said as he walked by Isaac. “I’ve already been yanked away from All-Legs Tiffany, a bottle of Dom Perignon, and a bowl of fresh strawberries. Roasting a power-charged high schooler sounds good right about now.” He studied me with bright red eyes. “That faerie really did a number on you.”

  “Appears so,” I replied. Mentally, I could only deal with one supernatural problem at a time. If Caden was there to collect on our deal, I’d have to go with him, but I was pretty sure whatever it was I’d be required to do would be my breaking point and I’d burst into tears.

  Caden held my chin and stared deep into my eyes. “I will torch you,” he said calmly when Isaac went to knock his hand away.

  I squinted, wondering what Caden was looking at. My soul, maybe. What did a witch’s soul look like? Better yet, what did a demon’s soul look like? I leaned closer, trying to get a glimpse of his. His pupils were bottomless black dots. Couldn’t see his soul, though.

  “I can reverse what’s been done,” Caden said.

  “You’re here to help me?”

  Caden’s eyes faded to warm brown, and he let go of my chin. “Yes.”

  My first thought was, What are you waiting for!

  “For a price,” Isaac spat.

  Of course it wouldn’t be that simple.

  Caden shrugged. “That’s generally how it works. Are you offering your soul as payment?”

  “No! He’s not,” I said forcefully. “I’m not that bad.”

  “Really? How long has it been since you ate or drank anything Reed’s given you?” Caden demanded. “By the color of your soul, I’m going to guess seven days.”

  “Five.”

  “That’s worse. It means your cellular structure is changing quicker than an average human’s.”

  “I just need more time for his poison to get out of my system.”

  “How’d you know she was here struggling with this?” Isaac asked.

  I was glad for the distraction.

  Caden waved a hand dismissively. “My investments are linked to me. It’s how I keep tabs on them. Most of the time, I get a low signal like background noise. About fifteen minutes ago, Madison’s went supersonic.”

  “You never said anything about being linked to me,” I said.

  “It’s in the fine print. You only need to ask, and I’ll undo what Reed has done.”

  I was about to ask the price when Isaac stepped between Caden and me.

  “We’re handling this our way,” Isaac said.

  “How’s that going?” Caden snapped. “Look at her! I bet she’s wishing she had a glass of faerie wine right now.”

  “Am not!” It was too early to drink. I was thinking a bacca ball would be nice, though.

  “Liar.” Caden’s stone-cold glare dared me to argue.

  It annoyed me that he could see past the brave façade I put on for my friends, but I bit my bottom lip to keep from saying something I knew I’d regret later.

  Isaac stood rigid in front of me, rubbing his thumb against his fingers and creating a visible charge of white energy. Caden’s threat loomed heavy in the air. He’d set Isaac on fire once; I really didn’t want to see that again.

  I laced my fingers through Isaac’s to show a united front. “Caden, I’m fine. I just need another day.” Or twenty.

  “You’re no good to me this way,” he said, looking past Isaac.

  “You can’t make her ask for your help,” Isaac challenged.

  Maybe not, but Caden could ask me a carefully worded question that I would have to answer honestly—and at that moment, if he’d asked, Do you want the emptiness taken away? I’d have said yes. Or, if he really wanted to be a jerk, he could threaten to tell Isaac we’d kissed. I’d have hastily given him anything he wanted to keep that a secret.

  What he did say was, “You have twelve hours to solve your faerie issues, Madison. This time tonight, you’re either clean or you ask for my help. Do we have an agreement?”

  “Yes,” I replied before Isaac co
uld say anything. One way or another, I needed to be rid of Reed permanently.

  Caden raised an eyebrow.

  “I promise,” I added reluctantly.

  We watched Caden leave and then went back inside, no longer hungry.

  We needed a plan, and help that didn’t come from a demon. We called Josh.

  Josh leaned against the dresser. “Refresh my memory. How’d you convince Reed to go home the last time you guys met?”

  “I threatened to roast the entire Seelie Court,” Isaac replied. He sat on the bed next to me.

  “So we know his weakness. I say it’s time for a repeat performance.”

  Isaac combed his fingers through his hair. “Can’t. I promised Reed I wouldn’t harm a member of his court.”

  “You did. We didn’t.” Josh pointed to me and himself, a self-satisfied expression etched across his face.

  I was trying to decide if threatening a vindictive faerie was the best course of action when Isaac spoke up.

  “Still can’t. We know the door is located in Madison’s house, in the spot where she first summoned Brea, but it’s invisible to everyone except faeries. Unless Fae reveal it, we can’t access the portal between realms ourselves.” He glanced at the clock on the DVD player.

  “How’d you find the door last time?” I asked, tucking my legs underneath me.

  “A spell from my grandfather’s grimoire.”

  One day I was going to have to read this grimoire. It seemed to be a collection of very interesting and useful spells.

  “So we cast it again,” I said. Hell, we should have done that the day Isaac had found out Reed was here.

  Isaac let his head fall back. He looked at the ceiling and replied, “Can’t. Tore the page out of the book and burned it.”

  “Why’d you do that?” Josh asked.

  “It was part of our agreement. Reed didn’t want anyone else finding a door and sending some deadly spell through it.” Isaac laced his fingers behind his head as he thought.

  “He’s smart,” I commented. “You have to give him that.”