Fused in Fire (Fire and Ice Trilogy Book 3)

by K. F. Breene

  We need a miracle… Darius’s thought looped around my mind.

  The claw touched my side, and the foot closed, nearly surrounding me. It wanted to capture, not kill me.

  My father’s dragon was about to capture me. Did he know?

  My toe hit a step and I tumbled forward. Darius grabbed my arm and yanked. The world tilted. Sucked at me.

  My face hit the hard ground. Darius landed on top of me before quickly rolling off. I jerked around, staring wide-eyed at the horizontal line in the sky. The gate.

  We’d made it.

  “Holy—” I sucked in a breath, relief flooding through me. “Crap.”

  His hand moved over mine. “Yes. We made it.”

  We took a moment to just breathe, but all too soon, reality returned. We had gotten through, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t come after us. Did it? “Should we run? Will they come through?”

  “I don’t know, but let’s err on the side of caution. Unless it is day in the Brink. I’ve lost all sense of time.”

  I was up and running before he was. We didn’t worry about passing any wide-eyed creatures, and we didn’t. Soon enough, the black of the sky leading to the gate melted into the burnt orange of night. It would be night in the Brink. Thank all that was holy.

  A while later, we stood at the gate. Adrenaline surged through me. My heart raced. Laughter bubbled up.

  I stepped through first, waited for Darius, and then threw my arms around him. My laugher grew louder as Darius turned to me. He stroked my face. A small smile curved his full lips and his honeyed eyes sparkled. “We made it.”

  A tear squeezed out. I took his hand. Yes, we had. Miracle of miracles, we had accomplished the impossible, and made it back in one piece.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The next day, I rubbed at my sandy eyes and wiggled a little closer to Darius. We’d headed straight to his house in the French Quarter, and I’d barely found the energy to climb up the stairs. We had gone straight to bed. No food, no canoodling, just sleep.

  I glanced over at the clock and did the thinking equivalent of scratching my head. Could that be right?

  It had been nearly twenty-four hours since we’d hit the bed. Holy crap.

  I ran a hand across Darius’s defined chest, relishing in his heat, in the steady beating of his heart, which I felt in his chest and through the bond. I had made it out because of him. Hell, I’d made it in because of him. He’d been right: I had needed him. Without question. He had just the right amount of knowledge, ability to strategize, intelligence, and daring to shine down there.

  I was really lucky.

  And really horny. The jaunt through the lust sect hadn’t completely left my system. A lot of the underworld hadn’t completely left my system. There were parts I actually missed. That I’d like to visit again. I hadn’t expected that. I hadn’t expected the peaceful feeling in some areas, and the adrenaline rush in others. I hadn’t expected to belong so well.

  It was not meant to be. My home was here. In safety. With Darius.

  I let my hand trail over his six-pack and under the covers, then slid my palm against his velvety skin. He breathed out and turned his head to me. I claimed his lips while stroking. He reached for me, pulling me tightly against him.

  I threw a leg over his hips and straddled him.

  “I enjoy waking up to you,” he said, pushing his hips upward. I moaned into his kiss, rubbing against him until he was ready, then pausing so we could properly line up.

  “Me too,” I said.

  I fell into his kiss. The feel of him.

  Sitting down was bliss, flipping my stomach and eliciting a long moan. I moved against him. A fervor came over me, and I needed him in a way I couldn’t put into words.

  His hands drifted up my chest and cupped my breasts, teasing my nipples as I swirled my hips. A moment later, he lowered a hand to below my stomach, working me to a fever pitch with his tricky fingers.

  I let my head fall back with a loud moan. This felt ten times better since the bonding. Magnified from our normal lovemaking.

  On the edge, my body gloriously tight, I squeezed my eyes shut. An explosion of sensation rocked me, making me cry out. He shuddered a moment later, crushing me to his chest.

  After taking a moment to come down, I asked, “Do you need to feed?”

  “Yes. After you eat?”

  “Sounds great. How long do I have you for?”

  “Eternity.”

  “No, I mean, until you have to work. I assume you missed a lot of…whatever it is you do.”

  He slid his hands down my back and to my butt. He lifted me away and then immediately pulled me back, ready for more. “I have no idea, since I don’t know how long we were down there, but I will make time for you, Reagan. I will always make time for you.”

  I didn’t mention that he was a vampire, and really had nothing but time. It was a nice sentiment. I didn’t want to ruin the moment for once.

  He thrust into me, lighting up my senses. Then again, so deep and right. Faster and faster he moved, pulling me down as he pushed up. My body wound up, gloriously tight. Wetter than normal.

  I frowned at that stray thought, but it wouldn’t shake loose. Half of me soaked in the delicious feel of him. Of the emotion attached to this action. Of our love. But the other half of my brain realized something wasn’t the same. It reminded me of sex with a human…somehow.

  An orgasm hit me, making me clench my teeth. More hot wetness invaded my thoughts.

  Something was definitely different.

  “We need to eat,” I said, moving off him as I tried to identify what was weird.

  “What is the mat—” He cut off, staring down at himself.

  I followed his gaze before checking my lady bits with my fingertips. “Is that what I think it is?”

  He went unnaturally still.

  I touched the gooey stuff. Stuff that vampires shouldn’t be able to produce. “I am really glad I haven’t stopped the birth control, or I would be freaking out right now. But is that for real? Did you ejaculate?”

  He sat up slowly. “How is this possible?”

  Something the red demon had said smacked into me. I repeated it with perfect recall, since my memory was freaking awesome now. “We do not need any more of your half-breeds.” I shook my head. “Does that mean what I think it means? Is Lucifer closing the gates to keep species like you from breeding naturally within the magic down there?”

  Darius’s face came around, his eyes shining. “I’m not sure. Hindering the reproduction of magical species would certainly weaken their power. If we hadn’t discovered the unicorns, vampires would be slowly dying out. That would please the elves. I’m not sure how it would affect Lucifer. But Ja didn’t mention it. This could be another effect of the bond. And while it seems I can ejaculate, that doesn’t mean I can produce offspring. I must do more research. Track down and talk to older vampires.”

  “Yes. Track down people and ask questions, because we are not doing research using reproductive Russian roulette, I’ll tell you that much. I can barely keep myself safe. No way am I bringing kids into the mix.”

  Darius stared at me for a long moment, the emotion overflowing in his eyes. I threw up a hand and hopped off the bed. “Don’t tell me what you’ve always wanted and didn’t think you could have. I don’t want to know. What I do want is food. Lots and lots of food.”

  I was back to ruining the moment.

  Darius let the matter drop, thankfully. Because while it was a very big deal to him, it was a return to normality for me. I’d dated a few humans, after all. I knew how the birds and the bees worked. I just didn’t need them working on me, now or probably ever. Not with the life I lived. The possibility that he could reproduce, as strange as it was, didn’t change anything. Except cleanup.

  The next few days we didn’t do much but eat, sleep, make love, and avoid calling the dual mages, because I was a huge coward. Callie was going to kill me. I did send them a note saying
I was okay and I’d meet them soon for an in-person apology and thank-you, which I hoped to walk away from alive.

  I shivered. No, I was not looking forward to that meetup.

  It turned out we had been in the underworld for four days. Always moving, often fighting, and no sleep for four days. No wonder I was done in.

  Finally, after five days of recuperation in Darius’s residence, where I was waited on hand and foot by a very surly Moss, I was ready to head home. I wanted to resume the life I’d risked my freedom for. I wanted my own space.

  The town car stopped in front of my house and Moss’s eyes flashed into the rearview mirror. He didn’t move to get out.

  “No, no. I got it. Don’t go to any trouble.” I pushed the door open. “I’m a lady of the modern era, after all. I can open doors myself.”

  I shut the door behind me and watched the black town car pull away before turning toward my house. No Good Mikey was sitting on someone else’s porch step down the street from our places. No one ever complained when Mikey sat on their porch. They knew better.

  “Hey,” I said, sauntering over and leaning against the banister. Paint flaked off and drifted to the ground.

  “Hey,” he said, looking me over. “You’re clean. That’s new.”

  I glanced down at my new hand-stitched leather pants and designer black tank top. Darius was predictable and ridiculous. “I took a shower.”

  “I see. Still no eyebrows.”

  “We can’t have everything.”

  “And a larger, more noticeable fanny pack.”

  “Are you into fashion all of a sudden? Since when do you notice what people are wearing?”

  “Since you’ve been gone. All I’ve seen are normal people wearing normal clothes. The difference is staggering.”

  I squeezed my lips together, half frowned, and did heavy eyes—all that to say I wasn’t impressed. He grunted and stood. Clearly he spoke Face.

  “What’d I miss?” I asked, falling in step with him and heading toward our houses.

  “Several break-ins, all to your house.”

  “Well, at least you start with that. I usually get that news as an aside from Mince.”

  “Do you want to hear this or not?”

  “Sorry.” I made a show of zipping my lips.

  He huffed. “First came the usual: those people bringing groceries or whatever they do. Next came that old couple you always have hanging around. I didn’t know it was them, though. I heard the news from Shotgun Joe.”

  “Who?”

  “The neighbor in back of you.”

  I hadn’t known his name. I kind of wanted to go back to that time, since something told me he hadn’t earned it by doing crafts.

  “I kicked my way in there to see what the hell was going on,” he said. “Startled the old man. Didn’t startle the old woman. She hit me with something fierce before I could even get my gun up. Didn’t see it coming. Like a chokehold or some shit. I woke up at the bottom of the porch to Smokey arguing with them, telling them I was your neighbor.” He rolled his shoulders. “At least I didn’t piss myself. Chokeholds can do that.”

  “Wow.” I didn’t mention that chokeholds also required touching. Physical choking, if you will. I was pretty sure he didn’t want to admit he’d been hit with magic. I was good with that.

  “They were legit, so I tried to let them be, but the old woman forced me inside and practically poured whiskey down my throat.”

  “She’s a bully at the best of times. She does it to everyone, don’t worry.” I felt a familiar pang of guilt. I needed to meet up with them. I couldn’t stall anymore. That would only make them madder.

  “I’m not the type of guy who gets bullied. I do the bullying,” Mikey said.

  “Well, it seems you’ve met your match.”

  He huffed out a laugh but didn’t comment. I was pretty sure he now had a soft spot for Callie.

  “Right, fine.” I stopped in front of my porch, newly swept and with the chairs placed just so. Darius’s people left no chair untampered with. “After that?”

  “A suave-looking mamajama. Real sleek and easy-like.” He slid his hand through the air, like he was passing a bill over a saloon countertop.

  “What are these words and weird body movements you’re using?”

  “He came with another dude. Short and shifty-eyed. That second guy didn’t seem like nothin’ except for the high-dollar suit, but he had a messenger bag draped over his chest. That seemed out of place. High-dollar bag, but still, I’ve seen witches sneak into the cemetery with that kinda thing.”

  Magical drifted out of his thoughts, and I gritted my teeth. I’d been practicing shutting out people’s thoughts, because while demons—and Darius—had figured out a way to keep their thoughts to themselves, non-demons didn’t know there was a need. I didn’t want to hear what people keep private. Too much baggage.

  “So Mr. Suave and his well-dressed sidekick busted into my house?” I asked.

  “No. Walked in. It was locked. Those other dudes always lock it. I’ve checked. But this guy just sauntered through.”

  The small hairs rose on my arms. Clearly it was a vampire and a well-paid, and therefore high-powered, mage.

  “Suave, you said? Debonair?” I already knew who it was, but needed to be sure before I thought about why he had come.

  “Yeah.” He slid that imaginary dollar across the dusty bar again. “Real easy-like.”

  I rolled my eyes. “What did they do?”

  Mikey sat down on the second step and looked through the opening of the cemetery across the street. “I didn’t want to go in after them. After what happened with your older friend, I figured I should call someone.”

  “I hope you didn’t call Smokey…”

  “No. I called that old broad. She had given me her card.” He rubbed a spot on his cheek that I was sure had a scar at one point. “I figured she’d know what to do. I thought she’d come barreling down the street with her husband in tow talking placidly about killing things. That guy is nuts. Anyway, they rolled up real slow, stopping down the street where I usually hang out. She had me give her more information: appearance, dress, walk. Even after that, she didn’t burst in with guns blazing. She almost seemed timid.”

  Crap. It was definitely Vlad. No one went in blazing where he was concerned. Not even me.

  “Did you go in with her?”

  “Are you kidding? She said not to in a very calm voice. I know that voice. That’s the voice of a woman about to cut a bitch. I’m not trying to mess with that, her shit”—he meant magic—“and that rich dude and his shit? Girl, you gotta screw loose.”

  I held up a hand. “I’m not blaming you. So what happened?”

  “Nothing I would have expected, as I said. She went in, no bangs or explosions happened, and then the suave dude came out.” Mikey scratched at his neck and shifted uncomfortably. “Here’s the thing. I was at the side of my porch in the shadows, staying real still and quiet. Nobody else noticed me. But this guy…he walked out like he did”—there was that hand gesture again—“and stopped. His shifty-eyed friend kept walking, but he stopped. Slowly, real fucking slowly, okay? He moved just his head until he was looking right at me. Right fucking at me.” Mikey half jumped and half shifted, then shivered and rolled his neck. I’d never seen him move so much.

  Definitely Vlad.

  “He stared at me for a moment, right at me, and gave me a little smile. Reagan, it was the worst fucking smile I have ever seen, and I’ve seen some shitty fucking smiles. Serial killers don’t smile like that.”

  Vlad was the ultimate serial killer, so yes they did, but I didn’t want to tell Mikey that. He probably already had nightmares.

  “And then he just kept on going. Walked down the stairs as if nothing had happened.” Heavy silence hung down on us for a moment. “He knew it was me who ratted him out.”

  I nodded slowly. It made sense. The question was, would anything come of it? I’d have to ask Darius. Vlad picked
and chose what he cared about. I had no idea how that selection process went. I also had no idea why he was wandering around my house with a mage. Trying to find out more about my secrets, no doubt.

  “They got in their Honda and drove away. A second later, I was forced into your house by the old pair for more whiskey.”

  I held up a hand. “Wait. A Honda?”

  “Yeah. He wasn’t driving the kind of ride your guy likes. Gray Honda. Accord, I think.”

  “And he was dressed nicely, with another nicely dressed guy with him?”

  “Yeah. He stood out, know what I’m sayin’? But the Honda was plain.”

  “Huh.” I thought on that for a minute before shrugging it off. Another question for Darius. “Anything else?”

  “Isn’t that enough?”

  “If you only knew, Mikey. If you only knew.” I trudged back to my house and up the steps, my good mood from the last five days draining away.

  Once inside, I poured myself a glass of wine and sighed, taking a moment to enjoy the comfortable feeling of my own house and all my stuff.

  I sat down on the couch and sipped my wine, thinking about turning on the TV.

  A knock jerked me awake.

  I blinked and looked around wildly. Where am I?

  Another knock.

  My living room came into focus. My TV, the screen black. The wine spilled down my new shirt, across my new hand-stitched leather pants, and into the cracks of my really expensive couch.

  Awesome. I’d fallen asleep.

  A strange sensation had me tilting my head as the lock turned over.

  I couldn’t place the emotion, but I did place the intruder, who had just stopped in front of a hovering ball of my hellfire, guaranteed to split a sucker in half with minimal effort.

  Whoop-whoop.

  “Reagan,” Moss said, his voice frayed at the edges.

  I sat forward, struggling to process what was going on. How could I still be tired after all the sleeping I’d done? And why had I let Moss so totally into my little world of magic?

  Another issue for Darius. Poor guy. I was racking up quite a tab on his behalf. Although, let’s be honest, he was now above Vlad on the knowledge scale, so I’d call that even.