Touching Fire (Touch Saga)

by Airicka Phoenix

  “That’s kind of gross,” I decided.

  “We didn’t have a lot of choices,” He murmured. “You were bleeding too much…” he trailed off. His hand gave a tremor when he reached for the wet wad of toilet paper. He drew his bottom lip in between his teeth. Long, dark lashes lowered over his stunning eyes as he pitched the wet ball into the toilet. It hit the water with a loud splash. “I tried giving you blood. I thought it might heal you, but you weren’t drinking and I’m sorry it’s not what you were hoping.”

  I stared at him, trying to determine if he was a) being sarcastic, b) being serious, or c) being funny.

  “You saved my life.” I shook my head in disbelief. “Yeah, it was gross, but I’m not angry, or anything.”

  Eyes the vivid blue of electricity rose up, met mine, locked. Without ever breaking eye contact, he reached around me and snatched a facecloth off the rod behind me. He dampened it in the sink and moved towards me. His free hand went to my waist. I was maneuvered in front of the counter and pushed back into the ledge.

  “Good, because I would have let her pump concrete into you if it meant I wouldn’t lose you,” he said with an absolutely straight face. He touched the rag to my side. “She wasn’t going to. Ashton made her do it. She thought it was too late. But I knew…” He let the rag slide down my side and he stared at my injury. “It couldn’t be. I could still feel you. I knew you wouldn’t have given up that easily.” Those magnetic eyes lifted to mine. “You wouldn’t leave me.”

  Damn it. How was I supposed to stay focused when he was that close, staring that intensely into my eyes and slipping the fingers of his free hand along my side to cup my waist? I had no idea when he’d moved. His front was pressed right up against mine and I was breathing nothing but him. Not that I was complaining. If I had a choice between suffocating on air or the rich scent of him … who needed air? Clearly rationality was not at the top of my list. How could it be when his blood was a warm pulse beating against me? I could feel it in the thin bit of space between us. I could taste it when I slipped my tongue out and ran it over my lips. It was smooth and warm and sweet and I wanted it.

  The rag in his hand was tossed aside, and in the same movement, before the rag even hit the inside of the sink, he had his top removed and I had all that beautiful, golden skin pushed into my waiting hands. My nails anchored into the taut flesh of his broad back, a cat holding a mouse hostage and I jerked him harder against me as I pushed myself up to get a better line on the vein in his throat. It hammered fast and strong. My insides trembled, reminding me just how much blood I had lost.

  He arched his head to the side, an open invitation to me. His hands closed around the back of my thighs and I was lifted and seated on the ledge of the counter. My knees were drawn apart and his hips were filling the space in between as his hands moved up, took my hips and drew me forward.

  This is wrong! But even the voice in my head didn’t sound convinced. Not one inch of me really cared that we were in a motel bathroom, or that my father and stepmother were somewhere outside the door, or that I felt no need to stop. I knew I should. I knew I had to. This would be drink three. It would be my second drink from him in a matter of days. The intake was too close together. Too frequent. It was dangerous. I had to stop.

  “Don’t stop.” His voice was low and husky and a whispered plea directly into my ear. “Don’t.” He pushed me back until I was half slumped against the mirror. His lips grazed my throat. His hot breath washed over the skin, making it burn. Making me burn. “I need to feel you. Please.”

  It was strange how quickly everything else seemed to melt away. I suddenly had no worries. I didn’t care about anything but that moment and the man molding me between his body and the counter. My hands closed in the rich locks of hair tumbling free of their restraint and I dragged his hungry mouth away from my neck. I framed his face in my hands and peered into liquid ink spills spreading across the entire shape of his eyes, filling them until there was no color but black. His nostrils flared above curled lips.

  I tightened my hold on him. “Kiss me.”

  With a vicious snarl that clawed down the length of my spine, he crashed his mouth to mine. His hands curled into my shirt. Fabric tore. Cool air kissed exposed flesh a second before his hands were there, flattening against my back and lifting me to him. I slid further down the counter until I was nearly half off. My legs wound about his hips, the ankles anchored around his ribs.

  “Fallon…” Desperation, pain and the same ravenous need that whipped through me laced his plea. “Do it.” One hand fisted into my hair. My face was pushed into the curve of his neck. “Bite me.”

  He didn’t even need to ask. I could feel my incisors pricking my bottom lip. I could feel the maddening need cutting a hole into my gut. There was no turning back.

  Warm, smooth skin broke beneath my attack. Delirium swarmed me in a velvet cocoon of pure rapture. My body rose in a high that no drug in the world could ever provide. It burned and I burned. The world burned. Everything was fire, bright and brilliant.

  In my arms, Isaiah groaned my name. The sound was guttural and delicious. His powerful body shuddered and I was struck by how much I loved that, loved knowing I could make him, someone so big and strong, tremble. I loved knowing I was his weakness as he was mine. And when he whispered he loved me, I smiled as I ran the flat of my tongue over his marks, catching the last drops before the punctures vanished. But I continued, tracing the line all the way up his throat to his lips with the tip of my tongue. I nipped lightly on his bottom lip as I watched euphoria play across his face. His eyes were shut, his head thrown back. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

  Heavy lashes swept up and I was struck by the change in his eyes. The blue had returned, chasing away the consuming black. His chest rose and fell rapidly against mine. I could feel his heart drumming wildly.

  “Okay?”

  I felt myself grin. “Don’t I look okay?”

  His gaze darkened, the pupils pulsed. “No.” He lowered his head so his lips hovered inches from mine. “You look very distracting.”

  I tipped my head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “And you look very—”

  “Fallon?” A discreet, but very firm knock broke our moment. I cringed as I recognized Ashton’s voice.

  Isaiah drew back and gently lowered me onto my feet. His arms remained securely fastened around me as I gained my footing, which I didn’t mind. Any day in his embrace was a good day. I would have closed my eyes and leaned into him if we had the time. Instead, I had just enough time to run quick hands through my hair, adjust my wrinkled, stained and slightly torn top and clean most of the blood off my face before Ashton got weary of waiting and let himself in.

  His hazel eyes went from me to Isaiah and I busied my eyes and hands folding and unfolding the rag Isaiah had used to clean my side.

  “If you are finished, we should discuss what to do next.”

  I nodded. “We’re finished.”

  Ashton ducked out and Isaiah, after scooping his top up off the ground, followed him. I took a moment longer to study my rumpled reflection in the mirror before joining them.

  The group was back together. Archer sat at the table. Celia stood at the foot of the bed next to Ashton and Isaiah was standing next to the bed.

  I exhaled. This wasn’t awkward at all. Boy did I miss my days alone with Isaiah. What happened in the bathroom would probably have been followed by us curling up in bed to watch TV, not getting scowled at as though we were children.

  Looking at no one, I moved to the bed and sat. I dragged the sheets up over my bare legs.

  “I think we can all agree that any plans we may have had regarding your escape are now null and void,” Ashton began, eyes on me. “This matter requires a more thorough investigation. In the meantime, it would be best if you were taken to a secure location.”

  I stared back at him. “Is there such a place? I’m pretty sure every inch of this province is being heavily monitored
.”

  Ashton shook his head. “Not all.” He exchanged a glance with his wife. “There is still one place Terrell won’t find you.”

  It was pure curiosity to witness this mythical place with my own eyes that propelled me to shower and pull on my jeans and Archer’s shirt, even though it was spattered with blood and stained with venom juice. Everyone was still in the same place I had left them, still unnervingly quiet, and I couldn’t imagine how tense it had been there in my absence.

  “Are we taking the nexus?” I asked.

  “No,” Ashton replied. “We don’t need the guard on our case on top of everything else.”

  I glanced at the alarm clock on the table. “It’s after six. The curfew will be in effect.”

  Ashton paused in mid stride to the door. He glanced back. “Curfew. Of course. And I can’t risk using power.” He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “We’ll have to spend the night.”

  “Here?” Celia didn’t outright say it, but the disgust was like a neon sign in the slightest twitch in her lips.

  I would have laughed if it didn’t make me want to throw the lamp at her face. I never had a home. Motels were my home. In some twisted, disturbed way, it was like she was turning her pert little nose up at it because she spent her perfect life living in a castle.

  “What’s wrong with here?” I demanded.

  Cool cat eyes met mine. “Nothing, of course. However, we cannot stay.” She turned to Ashton and placed a small hand on his arm. “It is not safe for you. There is no one here to protect you.”

  “Celia’s right,” Archer said before Archer could open his mouth. “You should go. Ike and I’ll stay. She’ll be fine.”

  Ashton’s gaze went to me. “I can stay.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not safe.”

  He ignored me. “You should head home.” Ashton turned to Celia. “I need to stay with Fallon.”

  Open mouthed shock took over Celia’s pretty face. It was evident she hadn’t been expecting him to refuse.

  “But, Ashton, that is too much of a risk!” she protested.

  “I will be fine,” he assured her. “Go home to Lally.”

  “What about you?” Her small hands balled at her sides. “Lally needs you home as well.”

  “Now isn’t the time for this, Cissy. I’ll be home soon.”

  Anger shot splotches of crimson into her cheeks, but she straightened her spine and replied stiffly, “If that is what you wish.”

  “Cissy…” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “Archer, could you make sure Celia gets home safely?”

  Archer was next to them almost instantly.

  “I can make it—”

  Ashton shook his head. “I insist.”

  It was Celia’s turn to bow her head before she turned on her needle-point heels. Archer followed her to the door and led her out.

  Ashton moved to the other side of the room and the table. He sat. “She means well,” he murmured. “Being here makes her edgy.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Because of the humans?”

  He shook his head. “Because of the creatures that walk alongside the humans. You’ll see them more now that you have the mark on you.”

  “Yeah, I realized that when we left the nexus the last time,” I muttered, remembering the strange creatures at Stanley Park. “So what exactly should I expect to see now?”

  “Hidden beings,” Ashton answered simply. “Lilims, cardinals, warlocks and demons to name a few. You won’t see many of them during the day. Their world only opens during the hours of midnight until dawn.”

  That explained why I didn’t see any of them during our drive.

  “So what do these things want?”

  Then, in the straightest face I've ever seen, he replied, “They eat us.”

  Awesome.

  “But don't worry about that right now. Rest. I'll take you somewhere safe in the morning.”

  “Where?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Chapter 20

  The next day found us sitting in a sleek, red BMW that was faster than anything I'd ever been in, except maybe Isaiah's bike. Maybe. But even the rushing scenery wasn't enough to quench the anxiety I felt the more miles we put between us and the city. This place was somewhere secluded. Safe. That's what Ashton said. I would be safe there. For how long? Even he didn't know that.

  “Until we figure out what to do next.”

  “How did you not know the world was like this?” I asked as we passed a military caravan.

  A trio of soldiers had stopped a group of pedestrians and were asking them to show something, papers or documents. We passed them too quickly for me to get a good look.

  “I knew,” He said. “It was why I sent the camping gear. In case you needed to disappear into the foliage. It was the extent of the situation that I wasn't aware of.” He said this while sending a pointed glance at an honest to God tank parked on the side of the road.

  “How far is this place?”

  “Not far.”

  Ashton drove with me in the seat beside him. The radio was kept off and, despite our battered state, the atmosphere was reasonably comfortable. But even then, I couldn’t seem to shake the unease creeping through me. My gaze swiveled from side to side every so often as though anticipating an attack. Maybe it was because I wasn’t used to such a long period of calm. Or maybe it was because I kept waiting to be recognized as the girl who started a massive earthquake. Neither thought was comforting.

  “Relax,” Isaiah said through our link from the backseat.

  “Easy for you to say,” I said back, with no real heat.

  I felt the soft stroke of his fingers along the nap of my neck through the gap between my seat and headrest. He tugged lightly on a curl and scattered shivers all along my spine. It took all my willpower not to turn in my seat and take his hand.

  The bond between us hadn’t spiked as intensely as it had back in Luxuria after my second feeding. I felt close to him. I felt drawn to him. But I wasn’t obsessed with him. I could touch him and then walk away without being crippled with pain. I’d come to the conclusion that the severity of the side effect depended entirely on how long I’d gone before feeding. Less the time, less the intensity.

  Isaiah had loved my theory, but only because it meant I would have to feed more and not starve myself.

  I watched as a sign zipped by, labeling the road we were on as Sea to Sky Highway. We drove for nearly two hours, going further and further away from the safety of the city to the tangled chaos of the forest and mountains, before Ashton took a turn down an unmarked path and delved deep into the heart of the forest. We came to a rolling stop at the bottom of a mountain almost an hour later and my entire body tensed.

  There were no other roads or paths around us. We were entirely surrounded by towering trees and a mountainside that was a solid wall.

  Ashton reached up and lightly pushed on the garage door opener clipped to the sun visor above his head. It was such an out of place gesture that I actually frowned. My gaze swung over the windshield, curiously wondering if I had missed a house somewhere.

  No house. But the ground all around us gave a shudder that rocked the car. A low grinding rumble sliced through the air, growing steadily louder with every violent quake from beneath us.

  “What—?” My question was answered when the mountainside began parting like elevator doors. My jaw dropped. “Did you just open sesame that mountain?” I exclaimed in awe.

  Ashton grinned. It was his only response before putting the car into drive and easing into the dark chasm. The headlights spilled across dirt, illuminating only a few feet ahead of us at a time.

  I twisted around in my seat to peer back through the rear window. The doors slid closed behind us, sealing us into the unknown. Green lights from the dashboard splashed over our faces, casting an eerie glow throughout the cabin. I dropped back into my seat and watched as we progressed through the narrow rift towards endless darkness. The crunch of rocks beneat
h the tires filled the silence. I held my breath when shards of light splintered the blackness from somewhere ahead. My chair squeaked as I shifted forward, anxious to see what we were coming upon.

  The light was shattered, running like illuminated water down jagged stones. I squinted as I tried to make out what I was seeing. Then we were passing through and the windshield was overrun by long, squiggly things. Vines, I realized, watching as they parted like the cloth wipers in a carwash. The hood of the car broke through first, then we were blinded by a flood of sunshine. I winced, but kept both eyes open, too afraid of missing something.

  The cave opened to a dirt path and a wild tangle of wilderness barricading either side, herding us deeper into Alice’s rabbit hole.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Nearly there,” Ashton replied, pressing down a little harder on the gas so the trees blurred. Planks of light spilled through the branches and splashed over the windshield in patches. The road crunched beneath the tires as we rolled off dirt onto gravel. The trees parted, sweeping dramatically to either side in a vast halo that seemed to go on for miles around a perfect clearing.

  We pulled into a U shaped driveway. He parked beneath a set of dirty steps leading up to a set of double doors that looked weather worn and battered sitting etched into the front of a massive stone building. Grimy windows glowered down at us, dark and judging as we climbed out of the car.

  “What is this place?” I asked, glancing around at the enclosure with a sense of apprehension.

  Without answering, Ashton reached into his pocket and removed a set of keys. He flipped through them until he found the one he was searching for and started up the steps. Archer was instantly on his heels, but Isaiah remained with me.

  I followed, a bit slower.

  The doors swung inward with a loud groan, reminding me of an old man climbing out of bed in the morning. Bits of dust clung to the beams of light spilling through the opening, fluttering and glittering like fairy dust. Our shadows stretched across the marble foyer to drape at the base of an open doorway across the expanse. I gulped.