Capturing Their Flame [Stone Passions 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Rebecca Airies

  “Yes, Cim.” Isaac threaded his fingers through hers and gave a small tug. She didn’t hesitate to go with him.

  She didn’t know what to expect from the leaders. She’d hardly seen them, and with the Branal, the leaders took little interest in everyday life. Unless it affected the whole of the Branal, there tended to be few limits.

  With the two communities, she had a feeling that wasn’t the way things happened within the Gargoyle. Those two men seemed a little intimidating. In fact, those men made her warier than Agali Callista did. She knew the Agali would listen and ask questions. She had no idea what these men would do. They might act first and look at everything individually later.

  They walked back to Isaac and Neil’s house. It wasn’t a short stroll. Isaac had brought her to the park on the opposite side of the community from their home.

  “How mad did I make him with that question?” She glanced over at Isaac once they walked down the street and no one could hear them.

  Isaac chuckled. “Not much. They’re even tempered. You don’t know us or how we work. He knows that, but you might try addressing him as Cim every once in a while.”

  “Don’t know if I can. I don’t know their names. I’ve seen more of Dante than I have of them.” She shrugged, enjoying the treat of messing with him. She’d call them Cim.

  “That’s because we live in this community and the Cim live in the other one.” Isaac released her hand and curved his arm around her. “How does it feel to have something locked inside of you? Something’s that not you?”

  “You mean the soul. It’s something extra, alien. It won’t ever feel right no matter how many times I manage to take one into me. It’s held here.” She pressed her hand on her stomach, just below her ribs. The spirit energy swirled inside her, adding to the tumult caused by the extra energy she’d taken into her.

  “Did you know you glowed like your Agali did? Not as much, and you didn’t have the wisps of energy that surrounded the Appari, but you had a hazy glow coming off of you.” Isaac glanced over at her.

  “I didn’t notice the glow, but it sounds logical. Once I began drawing the energy from the Appari, the stuff I pulled will become visible.” She shrugged. “I don’t have the experience that Agali Callista does.” Or the power, although she didn’t say that.

  “Your Agali Callista has a lot of experience and is from a powerful family.” Isaac smiled.

  She didn’t admit it, but she knew Callista had power on a scale that Naomi couldn’t hope to meet if she trained in battle all her life. She leaned into Isaac and exhaled.

  She couldn’t change that and wouldn’t. Callista had a lot of responsibilities because of that power. That Agali hadn’t had much choice about what she would do with her life.

  “Yes, but she wasn’t given a territory to rule. She’s watching over the territory that her brother will rule eventually.” Naomi didn’t understand it.

  Isaac looked over at her for a long moment, his gaze unblinking. “You’re not quite as unsympathetic to your Agali now. What brought on the change?”

  She shook her head, but didn’t give him an explanation. It wasn’t that big of a deal. On top of that, she didn’t know what caused it.

  “I’ve got to say that I didn’t think you’d soften toward her. Maybe you might see other things differently soon.” He continued walking. “They gave her the duty of watching over the territory because her family has known for a while that she wouldn’t stay with the Branal.”

  She had the feeling that he missed nothing. Although, she only caught his gaze on her every once in a while. With a long sigh, she lowered her gaze to the gray asphalt.

  “Yeah, I think you said something about that, but it doesn’t change the fact that she rules the Branal now and has certain ideas about how the females should behave and be taught.” She didn’t understand the need for everyone to learn. And the woman hadn’t stopped pushing.

  “I hate to tell you this, but it’s the entire younger generation of her family who believe that women should be taught the methods to defend themselves as best they can. Even if her brother had taken over his rule instead of her, you’d have been introduced to it regardless.” Isaac rubbed his hand up and down her back.

  She knew he found her attitude toward the Agali funny and wasn’t quite sure why. “How far is this hospital?”

  She’d hit yet another of the “haven’t ever done” things. They couldn’t teach returning a soul without having the person take down an Appari carrying a soul. Anyone who tried to contain those things asked for trouble. They couldn’t be kept around because of the danger to anyone who came into contact with them. On top of that, the longer a soul remained with the being, the weaker it got. That didn’t happen fast for Branal or Gargoyle, but it took a toll.

  “Not far. Let’s go see if you can find this person who this soul belongs to.” Isaac pulled out his keys as they approached the house.

  Dread built in her. What if she couldn’t find the person who this soul belonged to? She didn’t have some communication with it. It was within her. She should be able to sense who it belonged to if she got close to their body, but she couldn’t be sure of that.

  Chapter Twenty

  Neil walked into the hospital. It was Gargoyle run and partially funded, but some humans worked here. Human patients also used it. The Gargoyles usually were kept to one specific floor.

  Isaac had called while he and Naomi drove there. At first, he’d been concerned that she’d been hurt. Isaac had reassured him that she was safe. Neil didn’t like that she’d been involved in a fight with one of those Appari. He’d rather she be kept safe from it all, even if he did acknowledge that she could handle the beings better than a Gargoyle could.

  If she could return the soul to one of the men left existing in a near coma state, he’d gladly celebrate that. The Appari seldom killed outright when they got a victim alone. They would kill if there was more than one. They’d remove the biggest threat first and then attack the weaker to take her soul.

  Most of the time, they tried to go for lone victims. Which made the latest attacks on them stranger. These last few attacks had been on multiple people. So far, there hadn’t been fatalities in them.

  He shot off a quick text to Isaac, hoping he hadn’t shut off his phone. He wanted to know where they were and not wander around the hospital. He shouldn’t arrive too long after them. The hospital was located in the city and not outside of it like the community.

  Heading to the fourth floor. The reply came back quickly.

  Neil hurried for the elevator and pushed the button for the fourth floor. He hoped that she could help one of these people. The victims had families who worried and waited to see if they’d wake from the unconscious state.

  The elevator arrived on the fourth floor. He stepped out and looked down the hallway. They wouldn’t all crowd into a room even if they had found the man who the soul belonged to. He should be able to spot a sign of them. He strolled down the hallway, trying to eat up as much ground as possible without loping through the ward. The nurses frowned on that type of behavior.

  He spotted some people near the waiting area which had been arranged close to the nurses’ desk. He didn’t slow until he neared the group Isaac stood among. Isaac’s arm appeared to be around someone. Naomi must be right in front of his friend, safe.

  As he came up behind Isaac, he put his hand on his shoulder. “How is it going? Any success in finding who the soul belongs to?”

  “Can’t look yet. There are two humans wandering on the ward. One’s a doctor. He won’t be easy to get rid of. We’ll have to go down to the cafeteria for a little while because he won’t accept us on the ward.” Isaac turned and smiled.

  Naomi stood in front of him, looking sweet and tempting in her jeans and t shirt. She grinned at him. He accompanied them down to the cafeteria. Having to work around a human presence was part of the hazard of having their people in a hospital that wasn’t exclusively for Gargoyle, but they’d need
ed access to the type of machines in a hospital.

  In the elevator, she sidled over and slipped her arms around him in a quick hug. He returned the embrace. They had to deal with the inconvenience if they wanted the advantages.

  They returned to the fourth floor about a half hour later. The families milled around waiting near the nurses’ station. Everyone looked at them as they walked down the hallway. He could see the nervousness in the fidgeting of some of the waiting family. He understood it. They waited see if their loved one would be walking out of here soon.

  “Who is it?” An older woman stepped forward. “Get him to tell you who he is?”

  All eyes turned to Naomi. She shook her head. “I’m not… This is my first time. I don’t have that kind of connection to them yet or know how to communicate with them.”

  “Give it time. That knowledge will come.” Bram said from behind him. “Why don’t you walk down the hallway and see what draws you.”

  “If you don’t know how to communicate with them, then how will you know which one the spirit belongs to? How do you plan to return it to him?” A young woman asked, staring at Naomi.

  Neil put his hand on her back. He understood how it felt to do something for the first time. Sometimes, it was hard to know how something came about when it happened the first time.

  “I might not be able to converse with it or know its name, but I’ll feel when I get near its body. Once I’m near him, the rest should be easy. The spirit doesn’t belong to me. I won’t hold onto it. It will go back to the one it belongs to.” She exhaled. “If you’re relative is not with me, there is hope. The Branal return the spirits they draw from Appari. We have no use for them. They’ll bring him if he’s found.”

  Neil could see that Naomi was nervous, but she tried to reassure the woman. That endeared her to him more than her sexy body. And he worshipped her body. He stayed at her side. Isaac remained on the other.

  At present, the hospital had two men with this condition. Naomi paced down the corridor. He found the click-click of her heels on the tile floor reassuring. As she passed one door, she hesitated and then moved back to it.

  Neil glanced over at Isaac. He wondered if this was one of the rooms. He hadn’t seen any of the family walking to or from it. Isaac shrugged. He obviously didn’t know.

  “I need to go in here. Is it all right if I do?” She glanced over at the nurse who walked near them.

  “Yes, it’s all right if you go into the room.” The nurse nodded. “Don’t touch anything.”

  “I shouldn’t have to touch the man.” Naomi nodded.

  Neil pulled the door open for her. She walked into the room and nodded as she strode over to the bed. She stopped near the foot of it. A white haze began to emanate from her. It dissipated, but he saw it float toward the man lying in the bed before it disappeared completely.

  “He’s back within the body.” Cim Bram’s voice came from behind them. “It will take a little while, but you did well, Naomi. With a little training, you’ll be able to handle the Appari more efficiently and with less danger to yourself.”

  That would be something he appreciated. He did not like her in the line of danger at all. Neil put his hand on her shoulder.

  “How do you feel after your first go with an Appari where you didn’t get smacked around?” Neil asked.

  “As if I could run two or three miles without a problem.” She smiled up at him.

  Her eyes glowed with the energy pulsing through her. He had a feeling she tried hard to stay still. She seemed bubbly at the moment. He’d thought she’d be ready for a quiet night at home. Maybe some reassurance that that wouldn’t be happening often.

  “What would you like to do with that? We can take you running if you’d like.” Neil glanced over at her.

  “No, running is out tonight. I have definite ideas about how I’d like to burn through it.” She grinned over at him.

  “Why don’t you tell me what you’d like to do?” Isaac curved an arm around her.

  She relaxed against him completely at ease. Neil enjoyed seeing her like this. Not overthinking the situation or trying to put distance between them. Perhaps she finally saw that she belonged at their side?

  Isaac took them over to the group near the door. He said good-bye to those there. Neil saw her smile as they began walking down the hall. He wanted to get her home and discover what she planned to do tonight. The look in her eyes indicated she wasn’t thinking about winging it. Not that he’d mind that if her decisions involved exercising in an intimate way.

  “When we get home, I’ll tell you. No use getting all of us all excited when we can’t do anything about it.” She swept her gaze over his body from his head to his toes

  “Sounds delicious. Remember that you have two men to burn away that energy.” Neil drew his hand up and down her back

  She chuckled. “As much as my energy is revved, it will take both of you to get it back to a manageable level where I can sleep tonight.”

  “That much, huh? Is it always that way? Your Agali didn’t seem ready to burn through more energy.” Isaac turned to face her as the stepped into the elevator.

  She shrugged. “My guess is that she’s too used to it to show it. She’s had more experience at this than I do. It might become easier to deal with when you’ve done more than two or three.”

  “If this is something that continues with you, you can count on me to help you get rid of the energy you draw into you.” Neil patted her hand before he clasped it and drew her close to him as they waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor.

  He walked with Isaac out to the vehicle, buckling her into the front seat before he went to his vehicle. They’d both need their cars tomorrow. Otherwise, he’d be tempted to leave his car here and use the ride to the house to help her with her energy.

  He pulled into the garage and parked beside Isaac’s suburban. When he arrived, he saw no sign of Naomi and Isaac. He got out and went to the door into the kitchen, eager to get to their woman, and help her burn away some of that energy. He clicked the lock on his car as he opened the door.

  He stepped into the kitchen. He’d have to go to the bedroom to find them. At least, that’s what he thought until he noticed Isaac backed up against the kitchen island with Naomi plastered to his front.

  Isaac cupped her buttocks, lifting her off her feet so that she could kiss him. Damn, what a fierce kiss that was. She ate at Isaac’s mouth and thrust her tongue deep in a bold claim.

  He could tell by Isaac’s scent that she drove him wild. She drew her hands over Isaac’s shoulders, stroking and petting, but he could also see that on each foray, she slipped a button free.

  “Woah, baby, you’ll have me coming in my pants.” Isaac pulled his mouth away from her. “You’re rocking against me and it’s driving me right out of my mind.”

  “You look like you’re enjoying the assault though. Force your back against the wall, did she?” Neil stepped forward, grinning at his friend’s predicament. He had a wild woman on his hands and tried to stop her with words.

  “Well, against the island and yes, she did. You would have had to go around to the front if I hadn’t slipped away from her at the door. She tried to push me up against the door into the garage. Believe me. I would not have wanted to budge.” Isaac drew in a harsh breath. “Baby, why don’t you go show Neil how high your energy is while I try to get myself under control.”

  Isaac lowered her to her feet and turned her around to face Neil. Naomi’s eyes locked on him. He could see the heat in her blue eyes. Hell, sensuality and hunger shimmered off of her.

  She took a slow step forward and smiled at him. That curve of her lips did not reassure him. He wasn’t dealing with the same woman he’d made love to this morning. This woman was infinitely more aggressive. She had no qualms about grabbing what she needed. He loved this side of her.

  “Do you think you can handle me, Neil?” She strolled toward him.

  With each step, he watched her hips sw
ing back and forth in a mesmerizing rhythm. He had no idea if he could handle the sexual energy blazing through her. He would willingly try though.

  “You say when and where, baby. How about we get out of the kitchen though? I can think of a couple of more comfortable places to play with you than in this room. In spite of the energy pounding through you, I’m sure you’ll need a little heating up before you take us on. There’s no way I want to leave you hanging because we didn’t prepare you.” Neil extended his hand to her. The living room would be a perfect close place to play with her and let her ride him until she found her release.

  “We can go somewhere else, but I think you’d be surprised at how ready I am for you.” She slid her eyes down his body. She took his hand. “I think you two will have to be up for more than one round each tonight. I don’t see one round burning through the extra energy pounding in my veins.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “We can handle that.” Neil tightened his hand around hers and tugged her out of the kitchen.

  “Well, that’s one good thing about being with two men. One has time to recuperate while the other is keeping me busy.” She took a few quick steps forward to walk beside him.

  “And this is another.” Isaac said as he came up behind her and scooped her off her feet.

  She yelped, pulled her hand away, and grabbed for Isaac’s shoulders, but started laughing. “This is an advantage?”

  “Well, not exactly this, Naomi, but having one of us to hold you while the other gives you a little pleasure to make sure you’re as ready as you say you are.” Isaac strode forward and stopped in front of the couch.

  Isaac began stripping her out of her clothes. Her shirt went flying, followed by the jeans she wore. Neil took off his shirt, but he didn’t bother to look down at the buttons. He kept his eyes on the sweet flesh being revealed by Isaac’s agile hands.

  “I thought you couldn’t handle my squirming and rubbing.” She stared at Isaac.

  “I can’t let him have all the fun right now.” Isaac sat down on the couch and pulled her into his lap. “Besides, I’ll enjoy his torment and watch you ride Neil. I know he’ll be in exactly the same position when he helps get you ready for my touch.”