Flying Through Fire (Dark Desires)

by Nina Croft

  “Hey, baby, what’s the matter?”

  She raised her head and took a deep breath. “Nothing, Daddy, just pleased to see you.”

  For a second, his gaze warmed, and then a flicker of amusement flashed in his eyes. “Why do I suspect there’s something more?” He gave her a last hug and put her down on her feet. She peered over her shoulder, but there was no movement from Thorne’s shuttle. She turned back to her father. Behind him, her mother appeared, hurried over, and she was hugged again. When she stepped back, Angel was beside her, and Candy hugged him as well. She loved her brother and was, in some ways, closer to him than anyone else in the universe. But they were totally different. Angel took after their mother, while she was more like her father. And she was happy with that.

  Her family, all together. Her eyes pricked.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Alex asked, and Candy pulled herself together, blinking hard until she was sure she wouldn’t embarrass herself, and then shrugged nonchalantly. “I shot up Thorne’s shuttle, and I don’t think he’s very happy with me right now.” And that was the understatement of the millennium.

  Jon raised an eyebrow. “And why would you do that?”

  “He was going to leave, and I couldn’t let him. He’s not himself right now. If he goes, I don’t think we’ll see him again.”

  Jon looked beyond her to where the shuttle stood, still with no sign of Thorne. She didn’t think he could repair it—the damage was too extensive. Was he in there sulking, or plotting his revenge, or planning to steal this ship? Always she’d been able to predict what he would do, but in this mood, she had no clue.

  “He must be hurting,” her mother said. “I’ll go speak with him. I’m sure we can persuade him to stay. Rico wants to talk to him.”

  Candy wasn’t convinced, but if anyone could persuade him to stay, Alex could.

  “I’ll go with her,” Jon said. Her father hadn’t been happy letting Alex out of his sight since they’d been rescued. Candy watched as they headed toward the other shuttle. The door was still open and they disappeared inside. When nothing happened—they didn’t reemerge, but there was no flash of lasers or screams as heads exploded—she released her breath.

  “You managed to seduce him yet?” Angel asked from beside her.

  It was weird, in all that had happened since; she’d totally forgotten that Thorne had almost succumbed. They’d been so close. He’d kissed her and touched her and it had felt so right, so good, and then…

  “Well?” Angel prompted, dragging her from her thoughts.

  “None of your goddamned business,” she muttered.

  “Hah! And this from the woman who auctioned off her brother’s virginity on his twenty-first birthday. And didn’t even tell him or share the proceeds.”

  “You enjoyed it.” That had been one of her finer moments. After all, he hadn’t needed his virginity and she’d been running short on funds. And he had enjoyed himself. As had Marissa, her friend who had won, and who had spent the next six months pestering Angel for a repeat performance, which he refused once he’d learned the truth. But then, Angel was beautiful, more so than Candy. He had their mother’s dark red hair and their father’s long, lean figure and amber eyes. He’d gotten the best from both of them, and Candy loved him far more than she would ever admit.

  “You want to run?” he asked. He’d always been able to tell what she needed the most. And suddenly, she was swamped with a need to run free.

  Night was falling all around them, the air cooling. The shuttles were parked in a clearing surrounded by a thick stand of dark green trees and the scent of resin hung on the air.

  She nodded quickly, then followed him down the ramp. They were both unselfconscious as they stripped off their clothes—they had done this too many times. The air all around them tingled with magic. She loved this moment; she’d learned to relax, and while there was still pain, it was over quickly and instantly forgotten. Her bones cracked, then realigned, fur sprouting over her body as she dropped to all fours. The change took less than a minute, and then she stood under the darkening skies, her worries falling away, all her senses acute.

  Beside her stood a huge, dark-red wolf, golden eyes glowing in the dim light.

  Together they threw back their heads and howled.

  …

  His anger dissipated as she vanished from sight. He waited for the nice, comforting blanket of apathy to wrap around his brain again. Instead, he couldn’t quite dispel the disbelief. She had defied him. He’d seen her screwing up her courage, waiting for him to annihilate her. She’d fully expected him to blow her brain, yet she’d still gone ahead.

  She was a liability to herself. Needed someone to look after her.

  Thank Christ he’d given up on any ideas in that direction. He was through looking after anyone other than himself.

  He slumped back into the seat behind him, swiveled the chair, and stared at the ruined console. No repairing that—she was nothing if not thorough. He squashed the glimmer of admiration.

  She was an undisciplined brat. Nothing to admire.

  He could probably find another shuttle somewhere on the planet. But instead, he sat in the growing darkness, legs stretched out. Perhaps he could wait for the Blood Hunter to arrive and no doubt they’d give him a shuttle just to get rid of him. But Rico had said he wanted to talk, and Thorne didn’t want to talk to anyone.

  He wanted…he didn’t know. For everything to go away, to vanish. The memories, the guilt…

  He sensed a movement on the doorway behind him and swung around in the chair, half-expecting to see Candy back and not sure how he felt about that. Instead, Jon stood in the opening, Alex beside him, her huge eyes filled with a sympathy he really couldn’t face right now. A sympathy he didn’t deserve or want. So he concentrated on her husband instead.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  Jon shrugged, but came into the room. “Are you fucking my daughter?”

  The question was so unexpected that for a moment he just sat and stared, with his mouth hanging open. He had a flashback to the feel of Candy in his arms, the taste of her on his tongue. In all the chaos that had followed, he’d actually forgotten that he’d given in. Had been about to make what he was sure was a colossal mistake and make love to Candy, an undisciplined werewolf, who doubtless saw him as a challenge and would have dumped him once she’d gotten what she wanted. He glanced back at Jon, who was standing, legs apart, arms folded across his huge chest, a scowl on his face, waiting for an answer.

  “No.”

  “Of course he isn’t,” Alex said, hurrying into the shuttle and coming up beside him.

  “There’s no ‘of course’ about it,” Jon said. “You know what Angel said—Candy wants him. And what Candy wants, she usually gets.”

  Thorne growled low in his throat. It was really none of Jon’s business. Except he was her father. So perhaps it was a little bit. Maybe he should say yes, and Jon would put him out of his misery as Candy had suggested. He was hardly ideal son-in-law material. There was the obvious age difference and then there was…

  “Well?” Jon interrupted.

  “No.” He repeated, deciding not to mention that it was a close run thing and, and had it not been for the death of all his people at a pivotal moment, his answer would have been different.

  “See, I told you,” Alex said. “Thorne is too honorable. He sees her like a child.”

  No, he didn’t. He hadn’t seen her as a child since she’d tried to seduce him at the age of sixteen. She was still too young for him, though. Always would be.

  Before he had an inkling of what Alex was about to do, she wrapped her arms around him and enveloped him in warmth. For a moment, just a moment, he relaxed. Then he stiffened, but she held on tight for a few seconds longer before stepping back. “I’m sorry about your people.”

  He didn’t reply because he wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted the pair of them gone, so he could be miserable alone. But while he was sure he
could get rid of them, somehow he couldn’t bring himself to manhandle Alex, who was about the nicest person he knew.

  While he was still considering his next move, Jon pulled a flask out of his jacket, unscrewed the top, and handed it to him. Thorne looked at it for a moment, then took a deep swallow, the whiskey warming the cold place inside him.

  “Is there anything we can do to help?” Jon asked, lowering himself into the seat beside him. Alex went to stand behind her husband, resting a hand on his shoulder as though she couldn’t bear not to touch him.

  “Give me your spaceship?” He waved a hand at the blackened, burned-out console. “Your daughter’s work—you owe me.”

  Jon shrugged. “I don’t see it that way. She’s a grown woman and not my responsibility.” He considered him for a moment. “You know, you’re good for her. You keep her in line.”

  Thorne didn’t try and hide his incredulity, with the evidence of his inability to keep Candy in line right in front of his eyes.

  Jon grinned. “Well, mostly in line.”

  At that moment a wild howl sounded from outside, joined by a second, an almost joyous sound.

  “Angel and Candy,” Alex murmured.

  They must have shifted and now were off running wild and free. He’d never been really free. He’d spent a hundred lifetimes bound by ties of his own forging. And all for nothing. Never again. He took another swallow of whiskey, then another, feeling it as a buzz in his brain. He could adjust his metabolism to eliminate the alcohol, and usually he did—but right now he welcomed the feeling. He held the flask out to Jon, who took a gulp and handed it back as if he recognized that Thorne’s need was greater. He took another swallow.

  “You could say I’ve had experience of how…tenacious a woman can be,” Jon said. “You might think you don’t want her, but really you have little say in it if Candy has decided she wants you. She’s her mother’s daughter.”

  “It won’t matter what she wants, because I won’t be here. I’m leaving as soon as I get a ship.”

  Jon ignored the comment and continued. “We’ve discussed it as a family. Alex believes there’s no way you’d touch her. I’m not so sure—which is why we’re having this conversation.”

  Thorne shook his head. What conversation were they having? He’d thought they were here to force him to stay. To help. Whatever. Now there was obviously something else on the agenda.

  When he didn’t say anything, Jon frowned. “We wanted you to know, you have our blessing.”

  “Jesus,” he muttered. This was surreal. “I do not want Candy. I don’t want anybody. Just because you can’t control her doesn’t mean you can hand the problem over to someone else. I’m done with responsibility. I will not look after anyone else ever again.”

  “Maybe she’ll look after you,” Alex put in.

  He shook his head. He couldn’t believe this conversation. “I don’t need looking after.”

  Jon shrugged. “It was something that needed saying.”

  “We love you, Thorne. We’d be happy to have you as part of the family.”

  Thorne pushed himself to his feet. He needed to get out of there. He just wasn’t sure where he was going to go. It looked like he was having that conversation with Rico whether he liked it or not. The only alternative was stealing Jon’s ship, and he wouldn’t do that.

  But this particular conversation was over.

  “I’m leaving.”

  He didn’t wait for them to say anything, to try and stop him; he strode past Jon and headed for the shuttle door. Jon spoke as he walked down the ramp, but Thorne didn’t pause.

  “Look, if you talk to Rico and still want to leave then I’ll help you. Get you a shuttle and wave good-bye.”

  “Good. Prepare that shuttle.”

  Outside, darkness had fallen. He stood for a moment; sensed Jon and Alex emerge behind him, but was in no mood for any more of their crazy talk. He peered into the forest, but, knowing his luck, he’d probably trip over Candy and Angel if he headed out there. He stared up at the stars instead, spread his wings, and headed up into the sky. He rose easily, kept going upward, until the air thinned, and still he rose. For a minute, his lungs struggled, then his metabolism shifted, and something else took over so he no longer needed oxygen. He was so high now he could hardly make out the ground.

  Off to his right, bright lights flashed, and he realized the Blood Hunter was closing in on the planet. For a second, he considered heading straight for them. Splat on their viewer screen. That’s how much he wanted to talk to the vampire. The idea almost made him smile, and that shocked him.

  Candy had once told him she reckoned he’d lost his sense of humor about ten thousand years ago—if he’d ever had one. It seemed a strange time to rediscover it.

  In the end, he flew for a while longer, swooping, spinning in the thin air, testing his speed. Finally, he folded his wings and dived for the planet surface. He fell, faster and faster, eyes closed, the air rushing past him, and then he was breathing again. He opened his eyes; beneath him the Blood Hunter had landed between the two ships. Sleek and beautiful. Black and silver.

  He spread his wings and came in to land.

  Just get this over with, and then he’d leave.

  The docking bay doors opened as he alighted, and Rico stepped out. Thorne strode slowly toward the ship, eyeing up the vampire warily. It occurred to him that he was unarmed, and that Rico might think he had a very good reason to finish him off.

  And strangely, he didn’t want to die.

  He just wasn’t ready to live again right now. It might be pathetic, but he wanted to be alone. Craved to be someplace where no one wanted anything from him, or expected anything from him. Where it wouldn’t be his goddamn fault if everything went to shit. He deserved that.

  Hell, he might even go somewhere and have some fun. An alien concept. But Candy wasn’t the only woman in the world. Maybe he’d find a nice, uncomplicated woman. Have sex. How long was it? Forget Candy and Saffira. Forget them all. Perhaps he’d use the vampire as a role model. Rico had never seemed to care about anything. Well, except Skylar. And he was fond of Tannis and even Daisy. Okay maybe not. He’d be his own man. A loner.

  And they weren’t going to persuade him otherwise.

  And really, why would they even try?

  For the first time, it occurred to him he had no clue why Rico would want to talk to him.

  Rico caught his gaze as he headed up the ramp. “I’m sorry.”

  Somehow the words shocked him, and he paused midstride. Then his eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”

  Rico grinned. “Why don’t you come on in, and I’ll tell you,” he said and turned to head into the ship.

  Thorne shrugged. “Why not?” Actually, he didn’t want to admit it, but he was curious. He followed Rico up the ramp but paused at the top as he sensed movement behind him. Candy was emerging from the tree line, pulling her white T-shirt on as she hurried across the space so he caught a glimpse of her rib cage and belly. Angel was close behind her—presumably they’d seen the Blood Hunter arrive. As they passed the other ship, Jon and Alex joined them and they all headed over.

  Great. It was going to be a party.

  Chapter Ten

  The run had cleared her mind. Everything always seemed so much more straightforward in her wolf form. Wolf knew what she wanted. Wolf had always wanted Thorne. Even when she was a child—back then she’d been drawn subconsciously to the strength and protection he offered. When in human form, Candy had fought against that, determined she would never rely on anyone again. But wolf had wanted to stay close, let him look after her, put her safety into his hands.

  As she’d matured, things had changed, and now wolf wanted Candy to shag him, mate him, make him theirs, tie him to them both with bonds he wouldn’t want to break. Thorne wasn’t a werewolf, but her wolf recognized an alpha when she met one, even if he wasn’t acting in a particularly alpha way right now. Her mother had once explained about the whole mate thin
g. How alpha werewolves tended to have one mate, like her and Jon. Her father had told her wolves who didn’t accept that usually came to a bad end. Their mate soothed the more aggressive aspects of their characters. Though, Candy wasn’t convinced she wanted her aggression soothed—she wasn’t sure what she would be left with.

  And anyway, would that work with Thorne when he wasn’t a wolf? He was part dragon; maybe that would make a difference.

  It was academic, because unless they could persuade him to stay, and persuade him quickly, he was leaving.

  He disappeared inside the Blood Hunter, and they followed up the ramp. In the transporter bubble, Angel rested a hand on her shoulder, and his touch comforted her, gave her strength.

  She knew what she wanted, and sometimes that was the hardest thing.

  Now she had to find a way to get it.

  The bubble dropped them off on the bridge of the Blood Hunter, a huge room in the center of the ship where it was protected from external attack. There were no windows, but screens surrounded the room so that when they were out in space, they could see 360 degrees. She loved this place, and had spent many hours imagining the immensity of space all around her. It made her feel small, but at the same time filled her with a sense of limitless possibilities, as vast as the universe.

  Most of the screens were blank at the moment, just a few keeping surveillance on the land around the ship and the sky above them.

  Rico and Thorne stood across the room, close to where Fergal sat at a console, working away. Daisy stood at his side, one hand resting on his shoulder as he worked. At least some of the crew were immune to Thorne’s little episodes, otherwise things would be difficult.

  Candy cast a quick look at Thorne. He wasn’t paying her the slightest of attention, though he did seem a little more with it. The blank expression was gone, but she couldn’t quite define what had replaced it. Boredom? Disinterest?

  From the forest she’d seen him take off and wondered whether he would come back or keep going.

  “What’s happening?” Jon asked as they approached the group.