by Evi Asher
“Are the others back?” Archer yelled from his prone position.
“No, still chasing Jasmine’s lackeys.” Ath yelled back. It was taking both Ath and Kell to keep Scarlet from joining the fight.
Dani lay in a crumpled heap on the ground.
Archer felt on the ground for a weapon. He’d lost all of his in the battle, and Jasmine was advancing on him with determination glinting in her eyes.
“You will die for messing up my plans, Archer.”
Jasmine reared up and curved her sword down. Archer felt something placed in his hand. He turned his head for a split second to see the weeping angle had moved enough to put a stone sword in his hands.
He lifted the weight and braced it against his chest as Jasmine came down. Ath let go of Scarlet threw herself down, and rolled, tripping Jasmine.
Jasmine lost her balance and fell forward, her eyes widening in shock as the tip of the stone sword slid through her chest. Before she’d slid down the length of the granite weapon, she was dead.
Archer rolled out from under her, grimacing at the dead creature and the copious amounts of blood that now soaked the grave.
“It was the only thing that would kill her,” the stone statue said, then started to weep again.
* * * *
Archer felt himself almost thrown off his feet as Scarlet catapulted into his arms again. This time, at least, she wasn’t on fire.
She buried her head in his chest, and he held her tight. He’d nearly lost her again.
Geo came to stand by his side. He was staring at the tear and the Eternal dressed in strange armor that stood on the other side of the tear.
Ath stepped forward. “Desembara, thank you for standing guard to make sure none entered the portal.
“It is a good thing I contacted you by mirror, Athera, or this portal would have worked.”
Ath nodded her head. “Angelica?”
“She has been sent to the breeding buildings. I am sorry.” Desembara closed the portal, leaving Ath staring into the darkness.
“The breeding buildings?” Geo asked and Ath looked up at him.
Archer felt tensions snap across the air like steel wire between the phoenix and the Enforcer.
Ath broke the stare, and turned her back on Geo to kneel by Dani.
“What are you doing here, Geo?” Archer asked. “Not that I’m not grateful for the help.”
“I’ve been watching Jasmine since you told me what her plans were. I saw your meeting, and I was here to stop you.” The angel shrugged.
Ath interrupted their conversation. “Dani needs to be taken to a place where we can let her rest.”
Geo stepped forward and picked up the fallen phoenix in his arms as if Dani were a child. “Come. I’ll take you all back to the Outsiders building.”
Archer was still holding Scarlet. “Since when do you travel by car?” he asked Geo.
“I don’t. I’ll steal Dimi’s,” Geo said as he walked the phoenix down to the place where the cars were parked.
Archer waited until they were out of sight before he separated Scarlet from his chest by an arm’s length.
“I don’t know if I must kiss you, or shake the hell out of you. You were supposed to stay in the building—and where the hell is Heath?”
“We knocked him out. He’ll be okay, don’t worry.” Scarlet hiccupped.
Then, Archer noticed she was crying. His ultra-strong female who had just hours ago told him to go get knotted, was crying.
“Why are you crying...are you hurt?” He started to look all over for injuries.
She shook her head and hiccupped again. “No.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Fresh tears started to fall and Scarlet wailed, “Jasmine nearly killed you!”
Archer pulled her close to his chest and spoke soothing nonsense. He felt a small smile pull at the corner of his lips that became a grin and soon he was laughing.
Scarlet pushed away from him to glare up at him. “What’s so damn funny?”
“You are the toughest woman I’ve ever met and you are crying ‘cause maybe I could have died.” He laughed harder.
“You almost did, you jerk, and I don’t see why that’s funny.”
Archer bent and hooked an arm under her legs, then swung her up into his arms, and started walking out the cemetery, sill laughing.
“Archer, if you don’t tell me what’s so funny, I’m going to flame up in your arms and give you some third degree burns.”
He paused in his laughter to tell her. “Seems your mate is immune to your fire, belan, or I would have burned when you jumped on me earlier.”
Scarlet considered that for a second then said, “Oh, well I’ll punch you then.”
He laughed harder.
“Archer, I’m not kidding...what is so damn funny!”
“You love me.”
Scarlet gasped, then slammed her teeth shut. She wasn’t going to give the gloating jerk what he was after, not right now.
“Can’t say you don’t, huh?” He laughed again, but they’d reached the car, and he deposited her in the back with Zane. The other Outsiders had made it back to the cars.
“Come, let’s go home.”
He got in, started the car, threw it into gear, and sped out the cemetery.
* * * *
It took a Dani a few hours to recover, and everyone in the building was on tinderhooks until the phoenix opened her eyes and said something.
“Don’t you know what stay with us means?” Ath scolded Dani.
The phoenix sat up in the bed and groaned, holding her hand to her head. “Sorry, Ath. I saw a flicker of light and it caught my attention, and next thing I know, that goon had his hand clamped around my arm.”
Archer stood at Scarlet’s back, his arms wrapped around her as they stood in the corner of the room. Heath sat on the end of the bed with a pack of frozen peas pushed against the back of his head where the women had left an egg that would make an ostrich proud.
He just grunted, then groaned, and closed his eyes.
“Just as long as I don’t get babysitting duty again,” he muttered, and Archer laughed.
“You should have watched them more carefully.”
“You do it next time.”
“There won’t be a next time.” Scarlet spoke up, and Ath nodded in agreement. “If there is fighting to do, we phoenix are more than capable of holding our own.”
“Perhaps,” Archer hedged. “But you need some serious hand-to-hand training first.”
“Agreed,” Kell said. “But you aren’t going to keep us out of the loop. Our people tried that before—the whole, men-are-better-than-women in a fight, and what did it get us?”
“Point taken, but could you make your point in a lower volume next time?” Heath asked.
“Where are the rest?”
“They are in the living room. They are having a long chat with Geo,” Archer said. He then noticed the flicker of interest in Ath’s eyes as he mentioned the Angel’s name.
“We are going to leave you to it.” He slid his hand down Scarlet’s arm and took her hand.
“I’ve got a job to do.”
“What job is that?” Heath asked.
“I have to wring a confession out of my mate.” Archer grinned and dragged Scarlet out of the room, down the hall to his She’s room.
Archer slammed the door closed it behind them as they entered the room.
“What confession are you planning on wringing out of me?” Scarlet laughed as he grabbed her around the waist and tossed her onto the bed.
“The one where you admit you love me.” He jumped, catching his weight on his arms, but lowering his body over hers, his lips dipping down to hers for a searing kiss.
He broke the kiss and looked down at her.
“Don’t stop, Archer,” she complained. He’d made her blood heat again, and Scarlet wanted more.
“You get no more until you admit it.”
Scarlet gave him
a grin. “Admit what?”
He kissed her hard, and when she was breathless, he broke the kiss and started to get up.
“No, wait.” She grabbed him by the front of the shirt.
Archer raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
She tried to tug him closer. “You know I do.”
Archer kept his body away from her, not letting her get a grip on him.
“I don’t know anything.”
“Yes you do.” Scarlet sat up, forcing him up, and grabbed the bottom of her shirt. She tugged it off, revealing the black lace of her bra.
Archer hitched in a breath as she reached for the clip at the back.
Scarlet knew she could get what she wanted and never have to admit a thing to her big wolf, but she’d already decided it was time to tell him.
She unclipped the bra and let it fall. “Archer.”
He jerked his eyes from her bared breasts to her face.
“I love you.”
With a groan, he was on her, kissing her as if he would never stop. He broke the kiss just long enough to say. “I love you, too.”
Hours later, Scarlet was lying with her head on Archer’s chest. They were both awake, talking quietly. She saw something out of the corner of her eye. She sat up, then got out of bed.
“Where are you going?” Archer grumbled.
He watched her pad over to the dressing table, then reach out her hand. Archer was amazed to see when Fluffy—Poe’s tarantula--climb on to Scarlet’s hand, and Scarlet didn’t go crazy.
“I thought you were scared of the spider?” he rumbled, putting his arms behind his head as he watched his mate walk naked to the door and open it a bit to let the spider out of the room.
Scarlet closed the door and walked back, climbing into bed and curling up her head on Archer’s chest. “I’ve realized something.”
“Oh, what is that?” He dropped one arm so he could trace patterns on her bare back.
“That I’m safe as long as you are near.” She leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth.
“Thank you, belandandre.”
“What does that mean, I know belan is fire, but what does belanda—” She stumbled over the pronunciation of the word.
“Belandandre,” Archer helped her. “It’s difficult to translate.”
“Try.” She nipped at his pectoral.
Archer grinned. “Okay, I’ll try.” He was quiet for a moment as he formulated the translation. Then Archer pulled his She up, and captured her lips in an incendiary kiss, breaking it for only a moment to say, “It means, For you, I will be forever burning.”
About the Author
Evi is a die-hard romantic who firmly believes in happy endings and loves all things paranormal. She lives in South Africa, with her (very patient) husband, two children, and too many pets, including a cockatiel who loves to sit on her desk and chew the pink rhinestones off Evi’s mouse while she’s trying to write.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
About the Author