Flying Through Fire (Dark Desires)

by Nina Croft

  Now he stood back and took a good look at her. Physically, she was really no different, though her hair was longer, reaching past her ass and plaited into a thick rope. She was maybe a little thinner than before, but he would soon fatten her up. She was wearing one of the jumpsuits that had been standard issue on the planet when his people had lived there—ochre colored, with laces down the front that strained against her full breasts, and the legs tucked into flat boots.

  She was a little grubby, and smelled of a mixture of sulfur, spices, and sweat. “I missed you, too,” he said as the silence stretched out between them.

  She snorted. “It’s been how many days?”

  “I thought you were lost. There was no trace. No sign. But I knew you weren’t dead.”

  “No, I’m not dead. I’m alive. And I’m back. It was so long.” She kicked off her boots and then tugged at the laces on the jumpsuit, snapping them in her impatience. Her breasts were full and perfect, her skin golden and unblemished. She pushed the material down over her hips and stepped out of it, and then she was naked and so beautiful his heart ached.

  He was almost scared to touch her, as though she would vanish, leaving him alone once more.

  “I won’t vanish. I’m here to stay. Touch me, please. I’ve dreamed of this for so long.”

  The words echoed in his mind, a reminder of all that had changed. He stared into her purple eyes, mirrors of his own, and felt a ripple of unease. He pushed it away. Now was not the time to worry. Soon maybe, but not now.

  Closing the space between them, he trailed a finger down over her cheek, then lowered his head and kissed her. He meant it to be slow, deliberate, but as soon as their mouths fused, his control snapped, and they were kissing frantically. Her hands grabbed at his shoulders, her body pressed up against him so he felt her along the whole length of him. The blood drained to his cock and it stiffened almost painfully. He pushed her backward toward the bed, frantic with lust and love and a craving to be part of her. She backed up and then tumbled onto the mattress. He followed her down without ever breaking the kiss, his hands clutching at her breasts, his knee shoving between her thighs. One hand swept down over her flat belly, between her thighs, found her soaked, and he lost the last of his restraint as instinct took over. He tore at the fastener of his pants, freeing himself, and found the entrance to her body, shoving inside. Only once he was deep inside her, filling her, did he pause for a moment. Tangling a hand into her hair, he held her still and stared down into her face.

  “Don’t ever fucking leave me again.”

  “I won’t.”

  He withdrew and pushed into her, losing himself in the drag of her tight muscles, the little moans and sighs that came from her throat.

  Through his mind, he heard a continuous litany of want and need, pleading with him to hurry, to take her, to make her forget the years.

  So he did, flexing his hips and pumping into her, faster and faster, harder, hearing her cry for more, feeling the moment she broke apart and came for him so beautifully. A second later he came, too, pleasure shooting up his spine, flooding his balls. He collapsed onto her, wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his side, then his back, so she sprawled across him. That had taken all of five minutes. But already he wanted her again. And next time they would take it slow.

  They lay in silence for long minutes, while his heart slowed. He traced patterns on the skin of her shoulder, her breasts, her belly. He couldn’t stop touching her.

  She raised herself up on one elbow and screwed up her face. “Holy Meridian, but I smell.”

  He grinned. “I didn’t notice.”

  “Yeah, right. I’m going to take a shower. Do you know how long it is since I had a shower and warm water? Too long.” She reached across and kissed him quick, then rolled off him and padded naked to the bathroom. Unease flooded him as soon as she was out of his sight. He lay for a second, then pushed himself up to his feet and followed her. Maybe he should tie her to him, not let her farther than a foot away.

  They would have to leave to meet the goddamned dragon shortly, and he didn’t want to be separated for a moment of the time they had together. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but he had a feeling that soon they were all going to have to make choices. A sense that maybe he’d had his time, and anything now was extra and he needed to make the most of it.

  As he headed to the bathroom, he stripped off his clothes so he was naked by the time he entered the water. She moved over to make room for him. He stood for a moment, letting the warm spray wash over him. He’d been pushing down his fears for so long, since that last glimpse of her, and now was finding it hard to believe she was here.

  Reaching out, he slid his hands around her waist, turned her so she faced him, then lowered his head and kissed her as the water washed his fears away. Whatever happened, she was here now, and there was something he needed to tell her. Because maybe time was running out for everyone.

  He cupped her face in his hands. “I love you.”

  Something flashed in her eyes, and she touched her fingertips to his face in wonder. “I think I’ve loved you all my life,” she said. “I didn’t recognize it at first, and then I resented you, but I always loved you.”

  He stepped back, loosening her hair, spreading out the long strands so the water rinsed through it. When she was clean, he picked her up, carried her out and back to the bed, laid her down, and came over her.

  This time he took her slowly, every movement a promise for the future they might never have, a slow deliberate grind of his hips. He reached into her mind, read her needs and her wants, and took her as though he loved her and this might be the last chance they ever had.

  “I love you.”

  He wasn’t even sure who said the words, but they echoed in his mind as the pleasure rolled over them both in waves, then finally withdrew, leaving him at peace.

  The beep of the comm unit woke them. How long was it since he had slept? He couldn’t remember. And without dreams. Just peace. He thought about ignoring the insistent sound, but while he was still contemplating answering, Candy’s hand reached out and pressed the button. “Yes?”

  “Time to go, lovebirds.” Rico sounded irritatingly cheerful. It almost made his teeth hurt.

  Maybe he could persuade her to stay a little while longer. The vampire could wait. But she was already on her feet.

  “Can I borrow some clothes?” she asked.

  “Help yourself.”

  She rummaged through his drawers. Everything was way too big, but she pulled on a pair of pants, rolled up the legs and tugged her boots on top. She found a belt and tightened it around her waist, then finished the outfit off with a black shirt which reached her knees. She tied it in a knot at her hip, and then dragged her hair into a ponytail.

  She turned to look at where he still sprawled naked on the bed, and her expression softened. “We have to go. But things will work out. We’ll be back.”

  Did he believe that? He couldn’t shift the feeling that time was running out. For him, at least. And it filled him with a deep sadness. He wanted nothing more than to spend another ten thousand years getting to know Candace.

  But who knew what the future would bring.

  “You look melancholy.”

  He shook off the feeling and grinned. “Maybe I’m too old for this shit.”

  She looked at him then, really looked at him, her head cocked to one side. “Kronus says you have to want to go on. You have to find something you care about. That’s what happened to the dragons after they killed all the females and trapped themselves in their own universe. They sort of gave up and eventually withdrew into themselves. Slept.”

  He had lost just about everything he cared about. There was still Saffira, though she didn’t need him anymore. She had Devlin. He was pathetic. This need to feel needed.

  He returned Candy’s scrutiny and it came to him that she no longer needed him, either. She’d changed; there was a sense of purpose to her now. The way
she’d taken control in the galley had shown the extent of her growth. She’d spent so much time looking after everyone else and hunting for the people who had betrayed her parents that she had never had time to get to know herself.

  He’d always seen it, and now maybe she saw it as well. In that other universe she’d had years to discover who she really was and what she could be. He hoped she would have the chance to live up to all that potential.

  He got up and pulled his clothes on quickly, conscious of her eyes on him all the time.

  “It will be all right,” she said as he strapped a laser pistol around his waist.

  Whatever happened, he would make sure she got that chance.

  …

  He’d gone all melancholy again. It worried her a little. She’d hoped he’d show some sort of excitement about the coming meeting, but he’d hardly asked anything about Kronus, as though he didn’t really care.

  She gnawed at her lower lip, wishing they could have days together. Days of nothing but making love, and she was sure she could pull him out of his apathy.

  He loved her.

  But was it enough?

  He’d lost so much.

  Rico was waiting for them at the foot of the ramp to one of the larger shuttles. They would need to make good speed to get to the rendezvous.

  He cast a look from her to Thorne and back again. “Ready to go?”

  She nodded and headed up the ramp, Thorne behind her. The shuttle had two seats in front of the console and then two farther behind. Thorne took the seat behind the vampire and she sat next to him. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed. She wanted to tell him again that it would be all right. But she already had, and she was pretty sure he didn’t believe her.

  And to be honest, she had no clue how this was going to play out.

  The shuttle took off and they were through the docking bay doors and out into the night. They hovered for a second and then shot directly into space.

  If Thorne worried her with his disinterest, Rico more than made up for it. He wanted to know everything.

  “Are there more of them?”

  But this time Thorne answered. “Yes.”

  “How many?”

  He glanced at her, and she gave a shrug. “Probably thousands. I spent a lot of time exploring the planet. It’s littered with mountain ranges, and I think most of them are dragon-made.”

  “Why do they make them?”

  “It keeps out the…noise. Allows them to sleep. It also protected Thorne’s people from the poison, though that was a side effect.”

  “And they plan to go back to sleep after they’ve dealt with Saffira.”

  “Yes. Or at least, that’s the plan for most of them. I presume Kronus has other ideas. I think he’s got a new lease on life after coming here.”

  And if a millennia-old dragon could get a new lease on life, then so could Thorne.

  “And he’ll help us?”

  “Maybe. He wants something, and he needs to have something to offer in return.”

  “He wants Saffira?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but at a guess. He wants to meet with Thorne. He believes Thorne can give him what he wants. And I also think he’s curious—he wants to know how we turn out when we are changed, and Thorne is the oldest.”

  By the time they settled into an orbit around the moon, her mouth was dry from all the talking. She reached out with her mind and found Kronus already waiting.

  “He’s here.”

  Rico twisted around in his seat. “Will we be able to talk?”

  “He’s learned our language—he can project it into your mind. You can speak to him as normal.”

  “Good.”

  Rico followed her directions, and they touched down on the moon. This particular moon had always been uninhabited, and with good reason. It was nothing but a hunk of rock. No water, no vegetation. They landed in a valley between two massive outcrops. The sky was dark blue, and the suns had just disappeared behind the planet, leaving them in twilight. The atmosphere here was breathable, if a little thin, and the air was warm and dry.

  She scanned the viewer before the doors opened and found Kronus crouched at one end of the valley. As they approached across the rocky terrain, he watched them out of unblinking eyes.

  “Christos, he’s fucking big,” Rico muttered. “You don’t get it when they’re in space.”

  It wasn’t only the size, though. Kronus radiated a sense of age and power. Staring into his eyes was like staring into eternity; a person could get lost in there and never find their way back. He rose up as they approached and spread his wings.

  “Stop showing off,” she told him, and received a chuckle in reply.

  …

  Thorne glanced at her sharply, then at the dragon. He hadn’t really understood it until this moment—hadn’t believed it was possible—but they were friends. Somewhere over the last twenty years together, they had bonded. Would that help them? He had no clue.

  “What’s going on?” Rico asked.

  Thorne shook his head. He wasn’t sure. But it was time to find out.

  “I just told him to stop showing off,” Candy said.

  “Let’s get this done.” Thorne took a few more steps closer and raised his head. “What do you want?”

  “I want the time-mancer.”

  Hardly a surprise, but why would the dragon think they would give Saffira up now when they hadn’t before? “Never going to happen.”

  “Then you and all your people will die.”

  “My people are already dead.”

  Kronus was silent for a moment. “I am sorry. It was not my decision.”

  “And now you expect us to hand Saffira over so you can kill her as well.”

  “I do not intend the time-mancer to die.”

  “So what do you intend?”

  “That is not your concern.”

  “Well, let me say it again—never going to happen. So you can fuck off back to your friends and tell them that.”

  The dragon’s wing tips twitched. “They know nothing of this meeting.”

  So, he was working alone. Or was this another ruse?

  “He can’t lie,” Candy said from beside him, picking up his thoughts, or more likely seeing the skepticism on his face. “Or won’t lie. Whichever, it doesn’t matter, but what he says is the truth as he sees it.”

  Rico stepped up beside him. “I’m not picking any of this conversation up. Why?”

  Candy turned to Kronus. “Can’t you talk to him?” she asked out loud, no doubt for Rico’s benefit.

  “No. His mind is different. I cannot get into his head. This is the one you call a vampire?”

  “Yeah.” She turned to Thorne. “Can you get into Rico’s head?”

  “I’ve never tried. Though, I could never control his mind as I could the others.” Thorne probed the minds around him, but Rico was closed to him. “Nothing.”

  “Well, I’m a little pissed off that I’m excluded from the conversation, but not too unhappy about the mind-control thing.”

  “He can hear you, though,” Candy said.

  “What does he want?”

  “Saffira.”

  “Well, he can’t have her. What does he want her for, anyway?”

  “He won’t say.”

  “Well, ask him nicely.”

  “Why bother?” Thorne said. “And does it matter? It makes no difference.”

  Smoke trickled out of the dragon’s nostrils. He was clearly following the conversation and not happy about it.

  “So,” Rico said, “what happens if we don’t hand Saffira over?”

  “Your people will all die. Those who survive the poisoning will be incinerated.”

  Thorne relayed the answer to Rico.

  Rico snarled, showing one sharp white fang. He stepped up closer to the dragon. “You know,” he said, “I’m getting really pissed off with people threatening to incinerate me. The Church never managed to do it. I’m willing to take my cha
nces with you guys.”

  His hand rested on the laser pistol at his side, but it was posturing; the weapon would be useless, and Rico must know that.

  “You’re doing this on your own, I’m guessing,” Thorne said. “So even if we did give you Saffira—which we won’t—how do we know the rest of your lot won’t come after us anyway.”

  “They will follow my lead.”

  “And what if they don’t?”

  “They will.”

  “It’s irrelevant anyway.”

  Candy shook her head. “What if Saffira went with him of her own accord?”

  “No. I don’t trust them.” He turned to stare into her face. “Can you say, one hundred percent, that he would not harm her?”

  Candy looked from him to Kronus. “Sorry,” she said to the dragon. “No.”

  “Then we’re done here.” He turned.

  “Wait.”

  He turned back.

  “As a sign of good faith, I will let the abominations live.”

  “Good of you, but why?”

  He gave some sort of dragon shrug. “They are no danger. The one they came from had not the ability to pass on the time-mancer powers.”

  “So you don’t all hold the potential to time travel?”

  “The females of our kind…to some extent. Some of the males carry the power, but it is latent. The one that came through to your world did not. The females will never have the power to manipulate time.”

  “You still can’t have her,” Thorne said.

  “More of my people will come. You might destroy a few, but there will always be others to take their place.”

  He knew the dragon was right. More would come through the hole at Trakis One. “Then I’ll destroy them.” Something occurred to him. “Can any of your people do what I did? Could you all kill with your minds?” He thought not. If they could do that, then Saffira would be dead by now.

  “No. That is some sort of byproduct of the specific DNA mix.”

  “I bet that makes me popular.”

  Kronus gave a snort. “They want you dead almost as much as the time-mancer.”