Seared by Desire

by Jennifer T. Alli

  “If I didn’t know better I’d think you didn’t care Lucian.”

  “I don’t,” he answered coldly.

  “You wound me,” he laughed.

  So this is William, Sara mused, letting her eyes wander over the man’s frame. A surge of anger filled her at the mere sight of him and she felt overwhelmed by the urge to hurt him. It was his fault that Lucian was suffering and it was because of him that they weren’t together right now. Her skin didn’t warm as anger filled her and she was shocked to realise that she felt cold. There would be no attacking William tonight if she let herself remain so weak. Never once in her life had she been cold so the way her body shivered was a new experience, one that she didn’t particularly like she quickly decided. Her eyes scanned the room, a smile creeping onto her lips when she saw the roaring fire on the other side of the room. She stood, waving a hand dismissively to those who were urging her to sit down. The vampires’ concern for her well-being was kind but unnecessary at the moment. She flashed Lucian a reassuring smile from behind William, telling him that all was well before she moved to sit beside the fire.

  The heat from the flames flitted over her skin when she sat on the stool right in front of the fire but it wasn’t enough to warm her. Holding her hands out to the orange flames also proved an exercise in futility and it was on an annoyed groan that Sara sunk her hands directly into the flames. That’s it, she purred. Heat was slowly but surely returning to her even as the flames dwindled as she absorbed them into herself.

  “Well what do we have here?” William asked. His voice was too close for Sara’s liking and she spun to face him, pulling her hands from the flames as she stood, feeling slightly rejuvenated.

  Her eyes narrowed in disgust at the predatory way his eyes were roaming over her especially when they continued to watch the rise and fall of her chest. “When you ask someone a question, it’s customary to look at their face not other parts of their body if you want an answer.”

  William lifted his head to stare directly at her. “You’re a feisty one aren’t you?” He sounded pleased by that fact. “I like my women feisty and I would be delighted if you told me who you are.” His voice when he spoke was low; almost as though he was trying to purr the words and Sara got the distinct impression that he was trying to sound appealing to her. She shivered now for an all together different reason. Revulsion.

  “Firstly, I’m not your woman.” I’m Lucian's. “And secondly, what does it matter who I am?” she asked, relieved when she saw Lucian walking towards them. “You should be talking to Lucian, discussing the terms of your peace treaty. I’m not important in that respect.”

  William moved closer. “But my dear you are very important. Nothing much has changed about Lucian since I last saw him, nothing but you. You are clearly a fire elemental and yet you travel alone with a group of vampires. It is strange. Strange but delightful. You’ve captured my interest; I want to know more about you. Won’t you tell me?” He wrapped one of her curls around a beefy finger, gently stroking her hair.

  His body was beginning to make her feel crowded. She pulled her hair free from his grasp, cursing at the pain coming from her scalp. “Don’t come any closer,” she hissed angrily. I have to stay calm. I can’t hurt him. Lucian wants peace. The power of her recovering flame was useless before William; she couldn’t hurt him without jeopardising Lucian's peace. “I don’t want to talk to you. I want you to go back to Lucian and talk with him like you said you wanted to do in your letter.”

  “Ah but things are different now. When I wrote that letter I had no idea that Lucian would bring such a delightful little morsel with him.”

  “Seeing as you drink people to death I’d rather you not think of me as something you can sink your teeth into.”

  “It’s true that I have drunk humans to death but you’re not a mere human. You’re a fire elemental, I’m sure you could have me checked if I began to take too much. I wonder what you taste like. From here your blood smells delicious, won’t you let me have a little taste?” William’s hand shot out to grab her own, his eyes widening as he took in her exposed palm.

  “William,” Lucian growled, prying his thick fingers away from Sara’s wrist and silently wishing he could break each and every one. He’d let Sara leave him to warm herself and let an increasingly inebriated William stagger away thinking he was returning to the bar to fill up on his ale. When he’d seen the two of them together, he’d seen red, wanting nothing more than to let the monster beneath his skin lose to tear William's head from his shoulders. “You’re drunk. Leave her be.”

  “The comet,” William gasped, ignoring Lucian's words. “You’re the Quicksilver.” His eyes wandered assessingly over her frame, this time in disbelief. “It can’t be. You can’t be the sword maker.”

  Her spine stiffened at his words and her shoulders shot back defiantly. “And why exactly is that?”

  It was becoming increasingly apparent to Sara that she was an anomaly in the outside world when it came to crafting swords. She had been the only sword maker in her village and because she’d never been allowed to leave it she had no idea what other sword makers were like but apparently none of them looked like her.

  “You’re a woman.”

  “That much is obvious.”

  “Yes it is,” William leered, his eyes lingering on her breasts.

  “Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I can’t make swords.”

  “But you’re weak. Your arms don’t look strong enough to carry a sword let alone make one.”

  She was getting tired of hearing him speak. “My name is Sara Quicksilver and I am a sword smith. You don’t have to believe me, the proof of my words will be found if you decide to continue this war.” She turned her eyes to Lucian a silent question in the blue depths and he nodded in confirmation. “I’m making swords for Lucian now. Every member of his army will carry my swords into battle. It’s a good thing you decided to talk peace when you did otherwise you would have been massacred.”

  “Come work for me,” he purred, once again trying to sound seductive. “I know how to please a woman. You’ll enjoy working for me I know it.”

  Lucian growled angrily but Sara spoke before he could threaten William’s life. “Lucian has something that you will never ever have and that is why I work for him. I will do anything to see him win this war. Anything. And considering the motivation behind this meeting do you really think it’s wise to be trying to take Lucian's sword smith from him? Some might consider that a sign of aggression.”

  A dangerous glint came into William’s already wild eyes and he ran his beefy hand up the length of Sara’s exposed arm. The delicate silk had been burnt away when she’d thrust her hands into the fire and she now regretted trying to warm herself more than anything in the world. Stay calm, she chanted. I’ve got to stay calm for Lucian to have peace. Stay calm.

  “Yes, some might see it that way but I don’t. Even if we were all united under one leader, vampires would still be divided. There’s no reason for me not to want my men to have the best. Lucian isn’t the only adversary in the world.” His grip on her skin tightened. “Now by anything do you really mean anything?” His lecherous leer made the meaning behind his words abundantly clear.

  Lucian's dark eyes glowed a dangerously wild red and he ripped William's hand from Sara’s skin. The aggressive change in Lucian's normally calm demeanour seemed to pull William back from his drunken stupor. He’d faced Lucian in combat several times and it was only in the heat of battle that he let this side of himself be seen, only when he was surrounded by the bodies of the dead and dying that the monster was unleashed. For him to let it out now had to mean something.

  Lucian pulled Sara close to his body, wrapping his arms around her in a show of possession. “She’s mine William and if you touch my bride again I’ll kill you.”

  Grey eyes widened in understanding. “Your bride?”

  “Yes. She’s mine, all mine.”

  “I see what you m
eant now by Lucian having something I’ll never have,” he said to Sara seemingly unaware of the look of bewildered shock on her face.

  “I think we’ve spoken enough William. We’ll talk peace tomorrow night.” He didn’t even wait for William to respond, pulling Sara towards the bar. “I want your best room,” he told the tavern owner. His men could fend for themselves. The tavern owner led them up a flight of stairs showing them inside their room for the night before being unceremoniously pushed out by Lucian. He and his bride had important matters to discuss.

  Chapter Thirteen – Possession

  Sara’s mind was reeling at Lucian's words, hope for their future welled within her but she squashed it ruthlessly. It couldn’t be true; he must have said it simply to make William leave her alone. Her mouth was moving, the words spilling from her lips in no way in line within what her mind had just decided. “Your bride?” she gasped before she began to pace the length of the small room.

  “Yes Sara, my bride.”

  “But you said…”

  He’d been watching her unmoving, confused as to what to say to her. In the face of William's blatant attempt at seduction he’d confessed his biggest secret and given his enemy potential ammunition to use against him. The implications of his actions on the war should have been his main concern but instead all he was thinking about was the consequences for his relationship with Sara. His mind was replaying their passionate encounter that morning in excruciating detail and he was suddenly struck with the realisation that they were alone, in a room with a bed. He moved then, drawing the thick curtains shut before returning to her and stopping her pacing by gripping her shoulders firmly and forcing her to look at him. “I know what I said Sara but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re my bride.”

  “You said the odds of finding your bride were slim to none.”

  “Well I was lucky. You stumbled into my life and saved me the trouble of having to go looking for you. I was being honest with you this morning Sara. I have you, why would I want anything else? You drive me crazy. I should be thinking about the war, I should be holding a strategy meeting right now, planning our next move but I can’t seem to think straight anymore. I want you to the exclusion of everything else.”

  Her eyes were beginning to water. His words were touching, touching but false. “I can’t be your bride Lucian. I can’t be.”

  “Sara, trust me there’s no one else for me. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you that first night when you crashed into me, collapsing at my feet. The smell of your blood told me everything I needed to know.”

  She shook her head fervently. “I’m sorry Lucian but I’m not your bride.”

  “Yes Sara,” he growled angrily, “you are.” Her rejection of him was frustrating. She’d been more than happy to lay with him that morning but she was balking at the idea of something permanent? It made no sense. “I’m not going to let you leave me Sara.”

  “But that’s the point Lucian!” she screamed in aggravation. “I’m going to leave you one day and there’s nothing either one of us can do about it. I’m mortal Lucian. One day I’m going to die. I’ve made my peace with that fact, I accepted that right around the time I realised that I could never be your bride. I’m really sorry but that’s the way it is.” Tears were beginning to well in her eyes as she spoke. “I wish it were different, I would give anything for things to be different, for us to have a chance to be what you’re saying we are but the sad truth is that our time together will be brief. I’m going to die in what to you will be the blink of an eye.”

  “No Sara, I’m not wrong about this. You’re the one; it’s always been you. It will only ever be you.”

  “But I’m going to DIE Lucian! There’s nothing you can do to change that fact. I might not know much but I know that we are what we are in this world. You’re a vampire and even though I’m an elemental I’m still mortal. It isn’t as though I can just decide that I want to be a vampire and change. It’s impossible. We’re impossible. You have to accept that I’m going to grow old and you’re not and then one day I’m going to die. The only way this could end differently is if I were like you, a vampire.”

  “I can’t turn you into a vampire Sara. There’s something about the blood of fire elementals that makes them reject the change. If I tried to make you like me, I’d end up killing you. Even if I could make you a vampire, I wouldn’t want to. I want you exactly as you are.”

  “Then I’m going to die one day Lucian, you have to accept that.”

  Wrong, Seraphina laughed.

  Shut up, Sara snapped in response. She didn’t have time to deal with the childish whims of a vengeful spirit.

  Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong, Seraphina chanted.

  About what! she snapped, annoyed with the unrelenting voice of discord.

  Fire never dies. Fire is eternal. We are eternal.

  Seraphina this isn’t the time for jokes.

  Sara and me will live forever and ever and ever. Only one body for me so Sara will live so I can live! The spirit laughed, her harsh tone suggesting that the gift of life she was bestowing on Sara was not a pleasant one and that their years together would be difficult.

  Seraphina’s words swirled around in Sara’s mind, confusing her as she tried to make sense of what the spirit had said. “What?” she murmured aloud.

  “Sara, are you okay?” Lucian asked, gently stroking the exposed skin of her neck and arms.

  “She…Seraphina…”

  His grip tightened in preparation for Seraphina’s arrival. “What has she done? Is she hurting you?”

  A broad smile broke out on Sara’s face. “She said, she said, she said I’m going to live. Seraphina is the spirit of fire Lucian; she’s lived forever and will never die. As long as I have her, I can stay with you.”

  “So she’s cursed you to death and given you life all in the same action?”

  “If you knew her as I do then you’d understand that makes complete sense for her.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and moved closer to him, the distance between them so small she could feel his chest brush against his when they breathed. “So what does this mean for us?”

  “I would have thought my actions this morning said everything loud and clear Sara. I told you you’re my bride and we’re you’re never going to leave me. I’ve known what our future would be since the moment I saw you.”

  Lucian's words sunk slowly into Sara’s emotionally distraught mind and as they did her sorrow was burned away by the red-hot coals of anger. “What do you mean you’ve always known it was me?”

  “Vampires always know who their bride is Sara. How they know varies but the instant they meet, they’ll know.”

  “So you knew this morning when I was crying my eyes out!” Her hands turned into fists and she pounded angrily against his chest. “Why didn’t you just tell me then?!”

  Sighing deeply, he gripped Sara’s hands and stopped her frustrated venting. “The war has been my life for so long and I didn’t want to jeopardise anything now when it seems that it could be coming to an end.”

  “And how exactly would telling me jeopardise your chance to win? You know I’m willing to help you.”

  “I also know that when it comes to you I lose all sense of composure. I can barely think straight let alone strategise. It was bad enough when you didn’t know the power you held over me but now not only do you know William does as well. People know that you’re my Achilles’ heel. They know how to make me mindless and that’s the best time to attack me.”

  “I had nothing to do with William finding out, that was your doing.”

  “A prime example of what you do to my control. Damn it, I’m a vampire we normally have a better grip on our emotions that this.”

  “And what does that mean exactly?”

  He pulled her flush against him, the heavy weight of his erection pressing against her. “It means you’re mine. I won’t let anyone take you from me and I won’t let you leave me.”

  “Possess
ive aren’t you?” she purred, running her fingers through the dark strands of his hair.

  “With you? Yes.”

  He didn’t give her the chance to respond, pressing his lips against hers in a demanding kiss. She moaned, the sound shooting straight through Lucian, making him grow harder and longer in a single beat of his quickening heart. Her hands tangled into his hair, keeping him close though he couldn’t imagine ever trying to pull away. The kiss this time was tender, unhurried, a slow build to pleasure rather than the rushed race to completion that had preceded their last encounter. He nipped gently at her lush bottom lip, gently coaxing her to join him rather than demanding she submit completely to his wishes. He groaned, his lips moving more insistently over her own, deepening the kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth, tangling with hers and catching her breathy sighs. His kiss was literally stealing her breath and when she eventually pulled away she was panting, her warm breaths ghosting over his face.

  “Lucian,” she breathed. Her face was flushed, her grip on his chest tight and unrelenting.

  His fingers moved over her own, extracting the fabric of his shirt from her firm grip. “Turn around,” he purred, the soft words against her ear making her shiver.

  She turned slowly her mind racing. He hadn’t given her a moment to think that morning when he’d taken her by the lake but now, his measured attempts at seduction were giving her the chance to think and she was nervous. As the pariah of her village, she’d never interacted with men, had never kissed one before Lucian and had most definitely not lain with one. Lucian was her first on so many levels but she knew with the utmost certainty that she wasn’t his. Would she be able to please him? Her knowledge of the relationships between men and women was significantly hampered by her mother’s unwillingness to even talk to her. All that she knew she’d learned from secret conversations with Abigail and stolen glimpses of the couples in her village. She was quickly feeling out of her depth.

  Lucian's nimble fingers worked quickly, untying the ribbon that kept her bound in her dress. “You’re nervous,” he began, lightly kissing the exposed skin of her neck. She moaned, the sound sliding over him like a sensuous caress and making his fingers work faster; he wanted to feel her bare skin again. He wanted to touch her everywhere, to draw those unknowingly sexual sounds from her lips. He wanted to make her call out his name in the heat of the moment as ecstasy washed over her.