The thought of Pell and Kane made Amber’s hand tighten on the door handle. “Have you been with him?”
“With Kane? God no. He’s not my type. Hey, I don’t care if you’re getting cozy with a Fallen. To each their own, you know? I’m sure lots of humans do it with the Fallen. I know I have.”
They headed for the alley. There were days Amber wished she could tell Pell that she was an Elemental, but she knew it was better if no one knew. It was dangerous enough that Pell knew about the Fallen. Amber looked out over the crime scene. Could she have Kane and her job, too? She didn’t want to think about it now.
Chapter Seven
After a full ten hour shift at the station, Amber needed breathing room to process the situation with Kane. That had her slamming out the back door of her historic apartment building in search of water to play with. Strolling through The Battery helped her think and clear her head after a rough day. She went to the fountain and sat down on the edge, drawing her feet up. Amber let her fingers trail through the water flowing from the statue into the fountain. There were tourists around, but none nearby. They were all taking pictures and enjoying the cloudy sunset. Amber focused her energy down to the tips of her fingers. Her mind cleared, and her senses focused. Every so slowly the water changed to pebbles of ice.
Amber sighed, feeling refreshed. She needed the playtime. She felt edgy when she didn’t release her pent-up energy. Twilight was teasing the horizon. Rough water slammed against the pier in the distance and the salty beachfront. A storm was on the horizon. She thought about Kane. It wouldn’t be long before he wanted to know more about her Elemental ability. She suspected that he already knew something of it.
She had discovered her ability by accident when she was ten years old. At the time, she was watering her grandmother’s garden. Amber had dipped her fingers into the cool spray, and the water had frozen in an arc that stabbed into the ground. She had screamed loud enough to shatter the ice.
Her grandmother had seen the discovery through her kitchen window and run outside. It was then that her grandmother had explained that all Elementals were of Native American descent. Amber’s grandmother was Cherokee, and her father was English. She was also an Elemental, but the ability didn’t pass on consistently. Amber knew that her mother had had no abilities. Her mother. Amber had long ago let go of her parents. They were gone.
Her grandmother said that Elementals were created from the tears of the gods. Her grandmother had also taught her how to hide what she was. A water Elemental.
When she was growing up, her grandmother had told her stories about the Fallen and the war. About how the Fallen were evil and not to be trusted. Amber had grown up thinking that all those stories were true. Now that she knew Kane, she wasn’t so sure how accurate the stories had been.
Confusion was burning her up inside. The leader of the Fallen was a powerful warrior who probably always got his way. As one of the Fallen, he was at one time an angel.
Amber walked away from the fountain and stopped on the edge of the seawall. She closed her eyes, absorbing the quiet hum of tourists around her. She thought of her element of water. She craved the rain. She needed it to fall down upon her. Rain was rebirth for her powers. It was a dry, hot summer. Drier than it should’ve been. The clouds rolled, and the wind picked up. The tourists started to scatter for shelter as the weather pushed in. Amber stayed where she was at, loving the feel of the wind whip her hair around her face.
Suddenly, drops of rain began to fall from the sky. Amber grinned, laughing as the rain fell upon her face. All the remaining tourists ran for cover, leaving Amber alone. She lifted her hands up as the storm broke apart the sky. Amber channeled her energy down to her hands. Ice formed on her palms, and pebbles of hail rained down from her hands.
“Amber.”
Amber snapped open her eyes. Kane stood a few feet away. He was gorgeous, standing in the rain. One of his broad shoulders leaned against a tree. His steady gaze demanded that she submit to his attention. Her breath caught when their eyes met. He was not afraid to meet her gaze. Amber felt her Elemental urges flow. She curbed them before they would make her golden eyes glow. She didn’t want to be seen as just a sexual creature to him. Amber joined him under the cover of the tree. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
He reached into his pocket and came out with her bracelet. He held the chain carefully, protecting it from the rain. “This is yours. You left it. I didn’t want it ruined when I restrained you.”
Surprised, Amber stared at the chain. She didn’t remember him taking it off. She closed the distance. “Thank you.”
“Does it have special meaning for you?”
“A friend of mine gave it to me when I graduated from the police academy.” Amber let her fingers brush the chain before she slipped it into the pocket of her cargo pants. “Were those angels being punished at the arena?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I never imagined that the myth was true.”
Kane lifted his fingers to the top button of his silk shirt. One by one, he undid the buttons until there was a gap. He trailed his fingers lower, pulling apart his shirt. Under the soft glow of the street lights, Amber saw old scars cut down his chest. He’d been tortured.
He took off his shirt and turned to show her his back. Tattoos engraved in gold, written in an ancient language, were branded within his skin. The muscle rippled, coming alive. Amber stepped closer, disbelief having a lot of time in her head.
“Why?”
“It was not my destiny.”
This was his destiny? The muscle and skin were scarred where wings had once been. The need to soothe his residual pain was an overwhelming urge. She could. Her Elemental side wanted to be of service to him. She wanted to ease his pain.
“Why did you scar?”
“I am not pure.”
Amber reached out, skimming her fingers lightly over the scar as she aligned her energy to his. She closed her eyes and saw the past through his eyes.
“Beg.”
Kane stared at his brethren. He wouldn’t beg for his life. He’d be cursed if he survived the transition. He might not survive at all. Mortality felt suddenly like a siren flicking him off. Kane spit the blood gathering in his mouth.
“I will not beg.”
He flexed out his wings defiantly, their white-gold color catching the ambient light. How many times had he done that same thing? Thousands? Close to millions? Would he miss them? Would he feel less?
Kneel.
His neck was pushed forward while his arms were yanked wide. Kane felt the burn of his wings being ripped from his shoulders. He gritted his teeth refusing to scream from the searing pain that tore through his flesh. Fire raked down his back, punishing and brutal. Blood mixed with the mud at his knees.
Fate picked a feather from his wings, and every one of his brethren did the same. His wings were flung to the ground. Kane watched in horror as the feathers burst into flames, turning to ash.
“You will lead them.”
The words were a crack of lightning through his skull. He thrashed at the chains that bound him. Thunder rolled across the hillside. He roared. The iron shackles were snapped open. He fell forward into the mud. Weakened, he was unable to catch himself. It didn’t matter. He was ready to die.
“You will not die immortal. You are Fallen.”
Kane cried out as the pain burst in his head with the words. Fallen. Vampire. No! He would rather die than become one of the bloodthirsty creatures. He got to his feet to challenge his former brethren, but they were gone. Fate stood across from him the way a proud father would a child getting to his feet for the first time.
“You will serve me well, vampire.” Fate cocked a grin and dissipated before his eyes.
****
Kane turned and grabbed her fingers. They were shockingly warm to her cool wet hands. Heat traveled lightning fast down her arm, landing hotly between her thighs.
Amber wanted him. The corners of his mouth lifted showing a hint of his fangs. She could tell that he knew it, too.
“How did you do that?” he asked.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”
She didn’t want to feel seduced. Their eyes held tight. He was a true warrior. Amber felt her heart quicken. Her thighs tightened at the possibility of more playtime on her pussy. He inclined his head. The challenge made her Elemental juices flow. Her seductive side wanted to come out to play.
She felt as though time was closing in on both of them. She wondered if he could feel it, too. Amber had felt it the moment she met Kane. Like Fate had sped up her life to this moment, and everything was about to change. Everything else before didn’t matter. That thought gave her pause.
She didn’t like change.
“Are we...” She didn’t know how to put it. “Are we dating?”
“I have taken you as my lover. You are bound to me, Amber.”
She was bound, but she wasn’t going to agree to things on his terms. She liked things done her way. He came in close, backing her up against the old oak tree. Her heart raced as her palms went flat against his chest. “What are you doing?”
“Protecting you from the rain,” he said.
“I love the rain. I need the rain.”
“Do you?”
She felt suddenly breathless when he held her so close. “Yes.”
“I’m about to kiss you, my love. May I?”
She pretended to think about. “Yes.”
Amber wrapped her arms around his shoulders as their mouths connected. She melted against him, feeling the power of his kiss spasm through her body. Her lips parted. Kane’s tongue flicked across her lips, taking possession of her mouth. His hand slid up her side to caress her full breast. Amber felt drunk from his kiss when their lips parted.
“Your place or mine?” she asked.
“Yours.”
She gasped as his arms came around her waist. Dark energy swirled up from their legs and they disappeared. She opened her eyes as they materialized next to her apartment door. She unlocked the door.
“Don’t you need permission to enter my home?”
The corner of his mouth lifted, flashing one of those sharp fangs. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pushing open the door. “The only thing I need permission to do, is to get you naked.”
He slammed shut her apartment door, engaging the lock. He let her slide down his body. “Undress.”
“We better be quiet. I have human neighbors.”
“We’ll see how quiet you are.”
She loved the way his gaze smoldered as she pulled her wet T-shirt over her head. Amber flipped the hooks on her bra, letting it slide off her arms. She toyed with the snap on her cargos before dropping them to the ground. He murmured a sound of approval when her pants slid off her legs. Amber stood naked before him.
Kane crossed the room, pulling out a dining chair. He tilted it up against the table. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes. Completely.”
“Come here, my love.”
A shiver spun through her body as Amber sat on the edge of the chair. “Are you going to spank me again?”
“No. I’m going to do something even better. Sit down and place your hands here.”
Amber obeyed his order to put her palms on the back edge of the chair by the back legs. Kane kneeled before her. He pulled bands of leather from his pocket, tying her wrists to each corner of the chair. Kane leaned in, giving her a possessive kiss that made her toes curl into the carpet. Amber felt her pussy wet as she rocked forward into his kiss.
Kane broke his lips away. “Not so fast, love. Legs up.”
Her hips were pulled forward until she was sitting on the edge of the chair. Kane rolled her ass up as he positioned her knees up, spreading her legs wide. He tied each ankle to the front corners of the chair, too. Amber felt completely exposed to her lover.
“You look absolutely delicious.”
Amber’s breath caught in her chest as Kane kneeled before her and started to lick her pussy. He had the softest lips and the roughest tongue. His tongue swirled around her clit, sucking it into his mouth. Her legs fell wide as her head flung back against the back of the chair. Kane’s tongue darted south, thrusting in quick short strokes into her pussy folds. Kane slid his hands beneath her ass, squeezing her cheeks. His fingers slipped between her ass cheeks, rubbing over her anus. Amber’s heart hammered wildly in her ears as she gave him everything he wanted.
With quick, smooth strokes, Kane flipped his tongue over her clit, sending an orgasm rocketing through her body. He licked and sucked her pussy as she came hard. Her eyes were glazed with satisfaction as she opened them. She felt him pulling away. The sounds of his zipper going south had a smile playing at her lips. He undressed fast. Kane positioned the tip of his cockhead on her pussy and pushed in fast. Kane’s palms were anchored on the dining table. He thrust in and out. Amber’s breasts bounced as she was taken.
The antique chair creaked. “The chair isn’t going to hold.”
He grinned. “It will. Trust me.”
Amber’s ass lifted off the chair as the wood protested with each pounding stroke. Kane’s balls slapped against her anus, sending sensations rippling over her rim. Their eyes locked within the throes of passion. He leaned in, taking control of her mouth. He pulled away as her pussy locked down tight on his cock. The chair screamed under their weight.
“Kane!”
“I’ve got you. Let go for me!”
Amber was so close. The chair banged against the table. “Kane!”
“Come for me.”
She felt her orgasm crash through her pussy and shatter against his cock. Kane growled as he came hard, shooting his spunk deep within her. Kane dropped his mouth to the throbbing vein her neck. He hadn’t bitten her this time. She felt oddly disappointed that he hadn’t marked her that way.
“Did I please you?” he asked.
“Very much.”
She bit her lip, wondering where things were going between them and worrying about how fast things were taking off.
Kane came in close. “The only thing I need of you is your love. I’ll take care of everything else.” Kane pulled his cock out of her pussy, leaning back on his haunches. He adjusted himself and then untied her wrists and ankles. He dressed.
“I have to go,” he said. “I have to ... feed.”
Amber couldn’t hide her surprise or her insecurity. “Oh? How do you feed?”
“I have an arrangement with an angel named Jade. She comes to me once a month.”
Amber picked up a hoodie she had on her couch and pulled it on. “Could you feed from me, or do you need angelic blood?”
“I can feed from the Fallen, Elementals, or angels. It’s better if the blood is pure.”
“Not humans?” she asked.
“Human blood doesn’t last as long. It’s like water versus Gatorade.”
“So you could feed from me?”
“Is that your wish?” he asked.
There was a quiet hope in his eyes. Amber felt breathless in front of him. “Yes.”
“I must inform Jade that our time is over.”
Amber couldn’t keep herself from asking. “Do you have sex with Jade?”
Kane came in close, kissing her gently. “We only have an arrangement. There has never been any sex between us.”
Relief poured through her body. “Good.”
“I must go now. I will see you soon.”
Kane dematerialized right before her eyes. His warmth lingered on her body. She couldn’t believe she was being pursued by the leader of the Fallen and that she wanted to feed him. She smiled, feeling the warmth he left spread through her heart. She was really falling hard for him.
Amber was halfway down to the shower when her cell phone rang. She went back to the kitchen and reached for the phone on the counter. She checked the ID. It was Pell. She decided to call her back later. She just didn’t want
to spoil the moment. Amber set the phone down and went to the French doors. The rain was still coming down hard.
She hadn’t used her powers consistently in ages. She was getting rusty. She was getting more human everyday by denying the urge to use her ability to manipulate water. Amber headed toward her shower, feeling confused by her feelings for Kane. The scent of Kane’s loving was hot upon her skin.
Chapter Eight
Kane materialized in the living room of the Armory. His hand moved down his zipper where he adjusted himself. The wind kicked up and howled around the stone fortress. Kane focused his energy, and the wind calmed around the Armory. His Elemental blood often stirred the air around him. He didn’t know how to control it, only calm it after it happened. Kane was anxious to deal with Jade. He knew she probably wouldn’t take the news of their time ending well. He flinched as the wind rattled the stone again. He really needed to learn how to control his element. Kane knew the wind tantrum was tied to his emotions.
He adjusted again, all the while wishing he had more time alone with Amber. He needed to find a way to incorporate her completely into his life.
His home was an old fortified military Armory converted into a mansion, a haunted mansion. Ivy clung to the old stone building, giving it an enchanted quality. A lighthouse sat on the outer edge overlooking the Atlantic. Kane had bought the Armory nearly sixty years ago. He had spent that entire time building back up the empty artillery chambers fifty feet below ground. There was enough down there to make any leader of a small country hot with envy. Kane could officially run with the big boys if he wanted. He just chose not to.
The Armory was hidden deep within old growth oaks and pines. Golden brown pine needles littered the forest floor and made footfalls silent. Despite the renovation, he hadn’t been able to shake the ghost who moved around at all hours of the night.
Five years ago, Kane had had the ten-foot high stone historic fence reinforced. By all outward appearances, the Armory still looked official. In all reality, it was a place Kane used for nursing the newly Fallen to health. The ghost came with the Armory. Kane suspected that her tragic demise was connected to the ocean a hundred yards away. He didn’t mind sharing the space.
Dark Caress (The Fallen) Page 6