Embraced by Fire

by Delamore, Louise

  ****

  Kait stared at the closed door, hand pressed to her throat. Another time, had he really said that? Another time suggested something beyond his stint as her bodyguard. He couldn’t have meant it like that. Could he? No, he was probably just being polite.

  She quickly got ready for bed and curled up under the covers, wishing his arms were still around her. Closing her eyes, she tried to get the sleep her body clearly needed, but images of her evening with Ryu kept her tossing and turning.

  Lying together on her couch, her head on his chest, his heartbeat a soothing rhythm against her ear. Magical. His arms around her, his fingers creeping under her shirt. She shivered with pleasure. When she’d felt his fingers on her skin, she’d wanted nothing more than to reciprocate by running her hand under his t-shirt, feeling the power of his chest for herself. He’d said she was strong, but she wasn’t, she was a coward.

  Instead of living her fantasy, she’d been paralysed, lying there trying to memorize the sensation. Pretending she hadn’t noticed him touching her. Then she’d fallen asleep. Mortification burned through her veins. He’d carried her and put her to bed like a child.

  She didn’t want him to think of her as a child. She was a woman.

  She rolled over and stared at the ceiling lost in the darkness. Maybe she could engineer another similar situation? Perhaps if she were prepared, she would be able to make a move, let him know she was interested. She nibbled her lips at the idea of setting it up, it would be logistically and emotionally exhausting but, if she asked, Rachael would help.

  Talking with Rachael today had been…odd, but good. As if they’d removed their masks and returned to the friendship they’d shared years ago. Yes, Rachael would help.

  Goose bumps pebbled her skin as thoughts of having his hands on her again took shape. Not just fingertips under her shirt, but the whole deal. A sudden thought struck her. She went cold. What if he hadn’t even noticed? What if he was so used to holding women in his arms it was an instinctive, idle response…

  He hadn’t said anything, hadn’t moved his hands—either away or to take full advantage. He’d probably been totally absorbed by the movie. After all, it wasn’t as if she was the first woman he’d touched. That little bit of skin wasn’t a novelty.

  She was making something out of nothing. She rolled over. The trouble was, Ryu was such a nice guy. It wasn’t only his body making her crazy, he made her laugh, he listened to her. Heck, he even cooked.

  No, she wouldn’t engineer a situation, with or without Rachael’s help. Aside from anything else, Ryu wouldn’t do anything while he was protecting her. To him she was part of his job, not a woman to seduce.

  She closed her eyes determinedly. Sleep, that’s what she needed.

  The door creaked open, a shadow flickered through the darkness. The covers slithered and a warm male body joined her in bed. Solid heat pressed against her back and his arm circled her waist.

  “Kait.” His breath was a heated whisper against the back of her neck.

  She groaned silently as a shiver ran down her back. His tongue and teeth played with the lobe of her ear, and his hand rode up her ribs then caressed her breast, toying with her nipple until it peaked and madness threatened to overtake her. Twisting in his arms, she pressed her aching breasts against his naked chest. Naked?

  Yes, completely naked, and not just his chest. She ran a hand down his back, finding he’d stripped off his jeans before joining her. She gripped his butt and pulled him closer, loving the feel of him against her. His mouth came down on hers, devouring her.

  Her heart pounded, this was it. She fell into his kiss. The world could have ended and she wouldn’t have noticed. Her every sense was filled with him. She slid her leg up the outside of his until it rested over his hip. Open to him, she delighted in her vulnerability.

  The kiss went on forever, stretching reality.

  “I love you, I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you,” his words were a whispered confession.

  “I love you, too. How could I not?” she whispered silently.

  He kissed her again and the magic between them intensified. His hands slid beneath her nightgown, exploring her. His lips moved and he tasted her throat. She arched, trembling, aching for more.

  She shifted and together they pulled her nightdress over her head. Naked at last, she pressed against him skin to skin. This was the furthest she’d ever been with a man, even in her dreams…Only in her dreams.

  Her eyes flickered opened. She stared at the empty bed beside her. If only she had the courage to make her fantasies come true.

  Chapter 24

  Fire!

  Ryu sat bolt upright on the couch, pillows tumbling to the floor, sheet slithering down around his waist. Momentarily disorientated, he wasn’t sure what had woken him. He shook his head trying to focus. Then he smelt it—smoke.

  He scanned the area, his eyes widening when they reached the kitchen. Bright plumes of flame climbed the kitchen curtains, and raced over the bench. The fire chuckled as it latched onto the cabinets, quickly turning the white paint first orange then black. Smoke hung in a dangerous miasma near the ceiling, creeping closer as he watched. A crack as the heat split one of the cupboard doors, broke through his shock and sleep befuddled mind and spurred him to action.

  Thank goodness he was dressed, and not groping for his pants in an emergency. He threw aside the sheet and ran for Kait’s bedroom, his bare feet practically flying over the carpet. Slamming her door open so hard it crashed into the wall, he leaped inside. Relief flooded his system when he saw the flames hadn’t reached her room.

  Kait was lying in a sleeping sprawl in the centre of her bed. At the sharp crash of her door she jerked into a sitting position. The neck of her nightdress slipped down to expose her shoulder and the top of one breast. Her hair poked up around her head in a sleep distressed mess. Wide-eyed, she stared at him in shock.

  “Wha—”

  Ryu ignored the half-expressed question. A couple of quick steps took him to the bed. Scooping her up, he carried her into the lounge. The bright flare of fire ate through the kitchen, racing toward them. Shit! Without stopping he eased his dragon loose. His eyes and the inside of his nose changed as smoke began stinging the tender membranes. With dragon-sight he scanned the kitchen. There it was, the ignition point. Someone had shoved something through the now partially open kitchen window.

  The edge of Kait’s hand wacked his jaw before he could fully register the implications of a deliberate fire. She was panicking, squirming in his arms, making her almost impossible to hold. He dropped her feet to the floor, grabbing her hand instead.

  “Fire—out now.” His words left no room for misunderstanding as he towed her toward the front door.

  He knew the moment his words sank in, Kait started running. He made sure she reached the door first, knowing his body would act as a shield for some of the heat. He had to protect her. While she scrabbled with the door lock, he grabbed her handbag and his gym bag. The door opened with rush of cool air. Ryu kicked the door closed with his heel as they left, desperate to keep the fire enclosed as long as possible. Then they were outside, running for safety.

  Once they reached a safe distance, they stopped on the sidewalk. Kait bent at the waist, her hands clutching her knees as she gasped for air. Ryu reached into the side pocket of his bag and pulled out his phone. Quickly, he pressed in the emergency number, glancing at Kait as he dialled. She now stood straight, staring open-mouthed as flames licked though her home. Unless the fire department arrived in a few minutes it would be little more than a charred ruin.

  “Oh God, Sookie.” He only heard her words because he was looking at her, the roar of the fire dominating the otherwise silent night.

  He’d forgotten the damn cat. His eyes flicked between Kait and the house. He shouldn’t risk it, but…

  He couldn’t do it; he couldn’t let the cat die.

  He pushed the cell phone into her hands. “Talk to them.”<
br />
  She blinked dazedly at him then lifted the phone to her ear. He gave her a quick smile then ran back to the house, pulling his off his t-shirt and holding it over his nose and mouth as he went. The air burned hotter the closer he got to the blaze.

  Black smoke swirled around him like hungry wraiths hiding him from view. Once the smoke completely obscured him, he rapidly switched his clothes into Elsewhere. The door swung open drunkenly as he approached, the fire welcoming him in. He leapt through the gap, shifting as he moved.

  Fire enveloped him.

  Scales, not skin, met the blaze.

  ****

  “NO!” Kait screamed the word as if sound alone was enough to stop him.

  “No! No, no, no.” Her voice was raw as she screamed again. “Oh, dear God, no.” The last a broken whisper.

  Ryu didn’t stop. She watched in horror as he ran toward the house, fire turning his skin to copper and shadows.

  “Miss? Miss?”

  The voice on the other end of the phone finally broke through her distress and she realised the emergency operator was trying to get her attention. Her fingers were griping the handset so tightly they were cramping. She lifted the phone to her ear as if moving through water, answering the operator’s questions automatically, never taking her eyes off the burning ruin of her house and the doorway where Ryu had disappeared like smoke in the wind.

  By the time she stopped talking she was no longer alone. Neighbours came out of their homes and stood watching the destruction of hers. They couldn’t know her house wasn’t the only thing burning.

  Her breath strangled her, locking her throat. Her eyes watered, how much was from smoke and how much was because Ryu was lost in the flames she couldn’t tell. Tears dampened then dried on her cheeks. She couldn’t wrench her gaze away from the fire.

  Why did I mention Sookie? The question would haunt her for the rest of her life. Why had he run into the fire, the idiot? He should be standing right here, next to her. She choked on a sob.

  Her house was insured and, much as she loved Sookie, she could get another cat. Ryu’s life was irreplaceable. After years of living in her dreams he had finally walked into her life. She couldn’t bear to lose him now. He’d saved her, carried and dragged her away from the ferocious flames. Why couldn’t he have saved himself? Why did he have to sacrifice himself in an act of supreme bravery and stupidity?

  There was a horrendous crack as the fire ravaged her home—her heart felt as if it was being devoured.

  Bite by flaming bite.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, her hands pressed to her face. The cell phone tumbled to the ground unheeded as her face crunched in misery. Soundless sobs tore through her body. The fire roared like a ferocious beast.

  She forced herself to look up, staring at the flames through a world filled with tears.

  Wait…something was moving…in the doorway. She blinked rapidly, trying to focus. Against the raging, red light, she saw a silhouette in smoke and shadow. A huge dragon with glinting copper eyes flew out of the inferno on wings of flame and darkness.

  She blinked.

  The dragon was gone, an illusion of tears and fear.

  Ryu walked toward her, his golden skin smeared with ash, his sweatpants covered in scorch marks. In his arms, Sookie lay wrapped in his t-shirt. Kait gasped. Her feet moving, running toward him before she could even think to send them that way.

  “Are you all right?” She patted his chest and ran her hands over his arms, amazed he wasn’t burnt to a crisp.

  Finding him all in one piece, she flung her arms around him, burying her face against his naked chest and the trembling cat.

  “You’re alive. You’re alive.” Her words were lost against his skin. “How did you survive?”

  “I’m fine. Sookie and I are safe,” he murmured, freeing one of his hands and stroking her hair reassuringly as her breathing and heartbeat struggled to return to normal.

  The distant sound of approaching fire engines pushed them apart.

  “Here.” Ryu pushed Sookie into her arms.

  The cat didn’t make a mew of protest. Losing one or two of her nine lives seemed to have left Sookie in a state of shock. Kait watched as Ryu unzipped his bag and pulled out a fresh t-shirt, his muscular torso vanishing behind cloth. He’d survived. The realisation was as shocking and unbelievable as the fire itself.

  Once dressed, he reached down and picked up the phone she’d dropped and slipped it back into his bag. Needing to reassure herself he was alive, and not some figment of an overwrought imagination, she gripped his arm and rested her forehead against his shoulder. Breathing in deeply, she pulled the scent of smoke and spice that always surround him into her lungs—hating the way the smoke almost killed the spice.

  The clamour of the fire, and groans of a house under strain, filled the night. Heat buffeted them and smoke hung like an evil cloud.

  Chapter 25

  Ryu gazed down at the top of Kait’s head, the colour of her hair echoing the flames behind him. Wrapping his arms around her, and the cat she still held, he pressed his lips against her hair. He turned them slightly so she wouldn’t look up and see what was happening to her house. She’d have to deal with that soon enough.

  Her body trembled against his, and he thanked the powers-that-be the smoke had woken him. He hated knowing he’d scared her, running back into the flames, but knowing he’d given her back something she’d have lost tonight made it worth it.

  The howl of sirens broke the night and flashing lights bore down on where they were standing. Fire engines screeched to a halt and fire fighters leapt into action. Behind them an ambulance pulled to a stop and two paramedics jumped out, hurrying over to where Ryu and Kait were standing.

  “Anyone inside?” asked a Nordic looking paramedic.

  “No,” Ryu said, when it was clear Kait was struggling to answer.

  The paramedic called out, letting the fire fighters know they didn’t need to worry about anyone trapped inside.

  Ryu watched Kait as she watched the fire fighters turn their hoses on her house, a lost expression in her eyes. If only he’d caught the fire earlier, he might have been able to put it out, but whatever had been thrust through the window burnt hot and bright. Without knowing what accelerant was involved, and with flames spreading like a river which had broken its banks, he hadn’t dared risk Kait.

  “Either of you hurt?” The other paramedic, a short, dark contrast to the first, asked.

  Both paramedics were looking at them with concerned eyes. Actually, they were looking at him. He glanced down, glad he’d pulled on a fresh t-shirt before they arrived. However, his arms, and he guessed his face, were covered in dark ash.

  Knowing his appearance suggested otherwise, he said, “We’re both fine.”

  “You look like you got close to the fire, sir. You may have inhaled smoke. Checking you both now could save problems later,” said Nordic.

  “If you’ll come with us, please,” said the other.

  Kait nodded jerkily and Ryu shepherded her toward the ambulance.

  Waiting patiently while the paramedics checked him out, Ryu silently thanked Kait for not saying anything about his mad dash into the burning house. The cat, which had done a complete about-face regarding her opinion of him, was now leaning against his leg as though glued in position. He reached down and ran his fingers through the soft fur, hoping he hadn’t made a mistake going back for her. If anyone had seen…He let out a short breath, nothing he could do about it now.

  Once the paramedics gave him the all clear, Ryu left Kait at the ambulance and went to find a fire fighter. The blaze was under control and he found the man in charge watching his team finish up.

  “Your investigators are going to find for arson,” Ryu said by way of introduction.

  The tall, patrician man turned and raised a slow eyebrow.

  Ryu introduced himself and filled the man in on what happened. He also handed over a number where Adrian could be contacted to back
up his reason for being at Kait’s house, and the potential threat surrounding her. Once he’d finished, he glanced over at where Kait still stood talking to the paramedics.

  One of the men spoke to her as he dabbed something on her arm. Kait was totally focused on what the man was saying. Ryu’s eye twitched, he hoped she wasn’t badly hurt. He took a step toward her, then changed his mind and turned in the other direction.

  Before returning to Kait, he wanted to take a walk around the side of the house. He needed to know what happened tonight and he couldn’t afford to wait for the arson investigators.

  He scanned the area, wishing for the clarity of daylight. He moved slow step, by slow methodical step, toward the window where the fire started. His jaw was so tight it ached all the way to his ears. If he missed anything tonight because of the meagre moonlight and smoke…He shook his head unwilling to finish the thought. He couldn’t afford to miss anything. That this happened on his watch, while Kait was under his protection, made rage burn his stomach like acid.

  Getting as close to the kitchen window as he dared, he examined the ground for anything that might give him a clue as to what happened. Smoke, fire and water contaminated the scene but not beyond the scope of his dragon. Small scuff marks in the dry earth lead him toward the hedge. Near a leafy overhang, lingering under the burnt smell, he caught the one scent he’d been dreading. Johnny.

  Crouching down, he peered at the ground. The soil and fallen leaves were disturbed and several of the hedge branches were bent or broken. Ryu turned slowly trying to piece together the scraps of information. It looked like a man had been standing here watching the house. Standing for a while if Ryu’s senses didn’t mislead him.

  The idea of someone watching the house while he and Kait were inside creeped him out. Thank goodness Kait had fallen asleep and he hadn’t been able to follow up on the urge to kiss her. What started as a kiss might have gone further than Ryu wanted a spectator seeing, and Kait would no doubt have been mortified.