by J. L. McCoy
She reached behind her head, smoothing hair from her nape to the top of her head where it was piled neatly in some kind of bun. “But we hardly have a chance to spend time together anymore. I want you here.” She looked at the dance floor and swayed left and right. “I want to dance with you. You’re always so serious all the time. So intense. You never have fun.”
“Oh, I have fun. Plenty of it. With my wife.” It was a cheap blow, its childish bite magnified by the look on Willow’s face. She looked offended that he would bring Fire up at a time like this, but it was more for his benefit than hers. He had to be reminded that he belonged to someone else, a dragon that would eat them whole and spit out their eyeballs. Knowing their destinies did not include death in the near future, did nothing to make the image in his head of Fire eating them seem any less likely.
“I don’t want to fuck you. I just want to dance. I thought it would be nice to, you know…hang out as friends, instead of us just working together all the time.”
His heart thumped harder as he caught the motion of her tongue licking her bottom lip. But I don’t trust myself around you. Her eyes narrowed so subtly, no one else would probably have noticed. It had happened, letting him know she’d caught her effect on him. She clamped her mouth shut and looked away.
Good thing she never did anything intentionally. If she ever tried to seduce him, he’d be weak. Working with her and being bonded to her was already too much. She was forbidden fruit, ripened to his liking with a big stamp on her forehead that said DO NOT TOUCH. She’d done her best to make sure nothing sexual transpired between them. At least in that regard, she had shown herself to be someone who respected him. Even inviting him to a public place under the disguise of recruitment showed she wanted to keep things platonic. At least it hadn’t been to a hotel room. She genuinely did consider him to be her friend. Somewhere underneath the overwhelming animalistic need to drive his dick in her deep, he felt the same way about her.
If only Fire had been off tonight too. He could have given the excuse that he wanted to spend the evening with her. Willow would have accepted that.
Enough of the wussies. He hadn’t been scared of a woman since he was a boy. He was a grown-ass man. He could do this. He was already here. The music was nice. No harm in dancing with her.
Punch offered one hand out to hold one of hers. She smiled triumphantly and took it. They both winced as the low electric current pulsed where their palms met. That had started happening ever since she’d become a maistress and he a pack leader. The power between them was literally electric. They had been practicing how to harness that power so it would reach its full potential by the time it was necessary. During the times they weren’t practicing, they did their best to pretend it was nothing more than static electricity produced by shoe soles on carpet. Even when there was no carpet.
He placed his other hand flat and chaste against her side, high enough that he didn’t feel her hour-glass waist curve into her luscious hip. He found a strobe light in the ceiling to stare at to avoid concentrating on how good she felt in his arms, and the irony of them slow dragging as Alicia Keys and Maxwell sang “Fire We Make” through the speakers.
Though the hand holding her mask gripped his back intimately, there was still space between them. He was grateful for that. Grateful and comfortable. He let his guard down and tucked his chin on the top of her head. Sway to the left. Now to the right. Repeat. She leaned further into him, resting her head on his chest. He got a good whiff of her scent. It was still all Willow, but it had changed somewhat. He closed his eyes to savor it. Sniiiiiiff. She was aroused. Being this close to him, touching him had started it. Her arousal aroused him.
No. On second thought, he couldn’t do this. If that made him a pussy, so be it. He stepped back suddenly, letting her go before she called the wild beast in him to the surface. “Thanks for the dance. I’m going to go now.”
The loss of his body had caused her to stumble forward, but she regained her footing quickly. “Why? We just got started.”
“You lied.” He adjusted himself through a pants pocket with more conspicuousness than intended.
She looked puzzled. “I really do believe there will be supernaturals here to recruit for our team and to take back to the safety of—”
“You lied about not wanting to fuck me.” He tapped his flared nose. “This doesn’t lie, and neither does your scent.”
She stared at him for a moment as if contemplating whether what he’d said was true. After getting bumped a few times by other dancers, she finally nodded a confirmation of sorts and returned her mask to her face. Arguing against Punch’s nose and her desire for him was futile. “Well, shiver me timbers. No matter how hard I try, there’s no escaping my nature, is there, bucko?” She smiled real sweet, the kind of smile that made his dick twitch. “I swear I had the purest of intentions, but—”
It happened so fast, there was no time to react. One second, his and Willow’s eyes were locked on each other again, fighting the temptation to indulge. The next, they were surrounded by people dressed in black uniforms with guns drawn. The floor was covered with fabrics from costumes that had been ripped in half and slipped to the floor. A quick glance around, and he noticed different members of their entourage had several black-uniformed humans with guns trained on them as well. The sudden silence was more deafening than the music that had been setting the festive scene.
Guess the party was over.
With Punch’s instincts on high alert now, he had a really bad feeling it had been a trap all along. The whole ball was a sham. He’d walked right into a setup on his night off. He looked down into Willow’s startled eyes and snarled. This was all her fault. Arrrrrrrr!
Thank you for reading Chapter 1 of WOLF’S FIRE. The full novella is available in paperback and ebook formats: http://amzn.to/1tv3oAd
Other books by Dicey Grenor
The Narcoleptic Vampire Series:
Sleepy Willow’s Bonded Soul (Vol. 1) http://amzn.to/1p0GUSZ
Sleepy Willow’s Heartless Soul (Vol. 2) http://amzn.to/1tpEAu4
Sleepy Willow’s Loosed Soul (Vol. 3) http://amzn.to/1tv2wLV
Zeek’s Loving Thorn (Vol. 3.1) http://amzn.to/1pVwF7p
Shameful (Taboo) http://amzn.to/VICCJ3
How to Have a Perfect Marriage (Dark Comedy Novelette) http://amzn.to/1q2Zdec
Divine Merit
The Divine Series – Book One
V. Cantrell
Divine Merit (Book 1)
Divine Merit Copyright © 2014 V. Cantrell
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Published By: V. Cantrell
Cover design by: AM DesignStudios
Edited by: Hot Tree Editing
Copyright by: V. Cantrell
Formatted by: Angels Indie Formatting
This work is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely Coincidental
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Copyright © 2014 V. Cantrell
All rights reserved.
Chapter One
“She is a child playing games, nothing more,” she heard Caeden say from the other side of the doorway. The cold tone in his voice sent a shiver through her entire body and froze her in mid-step. Her handsome soldier was upset. This was a side of him she was not usually permitted to see. In her presence, he was always polit
e, if a bit distant and reserved. Everything about Caeden fascinated her; even his anger, and she couldn’t help but stop to listen.
It would be extremely embarrassing for the Princess of Velius, the future ruler of the island of Cashile, to be caught eavesdropping at the door of the soldier’s keep, but Amira was willing to take a chance for the opportunity to glimpse the real Caeden. He was strong, determined, loyal, a pure warrior — her warrior... well, maybe not hers yet, but she could dream. She knew she spent entirely too much time focused on him, but despite his usual aloofness, there were times she would catch him watching her with an unguarded expression. She was inexperienced, but she could almost swear it was desire she read on his face.
That was the reason she now found herself sweaty and tired from their weekly self-defense lesson. It was against social etiquette for females, especially one of her stature, to participate in such a crude activity. She had originally asked him to train her solely for the chance to spend time with him, but she had actually grown to enjoy the physical activity of it as well. Unfortunately, they had just finished a particularly frustrating lesson on how to immobilize an attacker. She knew Caeden had been disappointed by her lack of attention and her unwillingness to take a swing at him, but she just couldn’t force herself to hit him. She would look into his ice blue eyes, feel herself melting inside and be unable to think of anything else. The lesson had ended badly and she didn’t want to end their encounter on a negative note, so she was using the excuse of returning a towel to the training room as an opportunity to see him one more time before they both went about their duties.
Standing in the hallway, she could picture in her mind the look of frustration in his intense blue eyes and the tension in his squared jaw. She envisioned him carelessly pushing his honey brown hair out of his ruggedly handsome face. She wished she were brave enough to run her fingers through his shoulder-length hair, brushing it away from his face for him. She’d let her hand rest on his broad shoulder before slowly sliding it down to explore and memorize his muscular chest and hard, flat stomach. Amira barely caught the sigh that nearly left her lips at the fantasy inspired by his masculine beauty and lethal grace. He had the build of a perfect warrior. As captain of the elite Royal Guard, which served her family directly, he was responsible for leading the army of Velius.
Legend said the people of Cashile were the descendants of the union between angels and humans, the fabled Nephilim. The angels had created the island as a sanctuary for their offspring to protect them from persecution by man for their strength, beauty, and longer life span. The island was located in the northern hemisphere and was protected by a shield, which surrounded the hidden island. Amira had never seen any of the angels who they were supposedly descendants of, but she could imagine Caeden’s powerful and flawless body rivaled that of the mighty angels. Just the mental image of his body was so enticing and distracting; she almost forgot where she was until the conversation beyond the doorway continued.
“True, she hasn’t reached full maturity, but that hardly makes her a child,” came the even response from Trevin, another member of the Royal Guard.
Their people reached full maturity at the age of twenty-five, when their aging process all but stopped and a type of maturity took over. After reaching full maturity, they became immune to disease and, although they could still be injured, their bodies healed quickly and would leave no marks. Their life span was almost ten times longer than a human’s and they could live for near to a thousand years before their bodies settled into an eternal rest. Before reaching full maturity, they were extremely vulnerable and fragile in comparison.
Amira rarely heard Trevin speak unless he was directly addressed. This was indeed a candid moment between the soldiers. Trevin was the quietest and most deceptively calm of all of the Royal Guard. His even manner often made others forget how absolutely deadly he could be. She had once witnessed his swift defeat of a soldier who thought to challenge him. He had reminded her of a snake waiting for the exact moment to strike, and then it was all over.
“She reaches her maturity in less than two years, but I’m not talking about her actual age,” Caeden said, still sounding frustrated. “These training sessions are unbearable.” A loud bang, like something hitting the wall, made her jump. “She is just so damn naive, following me around, seeking my attention,” he said on a sigh. “The way she looks at me...”
Amira’s whole body turned to lead at hearing those words. They were discussing her!
“What is wrong with it? She looks at you like a girl who has just received a gift from the angels.”
“That’s very poetic of you, Trevin,” Caeden responded dryly. “What’s wrong with it is I’m her guard; she shouldn’t look at me like that.”
“And why not?” Trevin asked again.
After a slight hesitation, he answered firmly, “It chases off all of the other females; that’s why not. They don’t even want to be seen with me for fear of upsetting their beloved princess.”
Child... naive... OTHER FEMALES!
She couldn’t listen to another word. She could barely breathe; hopefully, she would make it to her chambers before she made a complete fool of herself and broke down into tears in the hallway. The towel she had been returning fell silently to the floor as she turned and ran.
***
Trevin burst into laughter. “Glad to amuse you, Trevin,” Caeden said sardonically. He could tell his closest friend was struggling to contain his enjoyment. It was rare to see him laugh, but this subject never failed to entertain him.
Typically, he’d get an enigmatic smile on his face, but today, it seemed he was in an unusually talkative mood as he said, “I didn’t realize you knew this island had any other females.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”(
“When was the last time you were with a female?” Trevin asked knowingly.
Caeden had to admit to himself it had been a while. There were plenty of opportunities, despite what he said about the princess chasing them off. The truth was, he just wasn’t interested. Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone else.
“I’ve been busy with my duties,” he said as an excuse. Caeden could still see the grin Trevin was trying to hide and knew he wasn’t fooling his friend. Trevin was the type of person who often saw far more than you wanted anyone to see. His stoic nature made him easy to confide in and the fact he rarely spoke made him a great listener.
“Yes, your duties—guard rotation, soldier training, and, of course, your personal hands-on lessons with Princess Amira,” Trevin pointed out with a smirk. He was the only other person who knew Caeden had been secretly instructing the princess. “If you’re overwhelmed and she is really a burden, I could take on her weekly lessons.”
“No,” Caeden answered instinctively and watched as a full smile split across Trevin’s face. “I mean, she found the courage to ask me and it is not a huge burden,” he tried to explain. He couldn’t admit there was a part of him that craved this time spent with her. His princess was usually so poised and polite, but in the training lessons, she was unguarded and excited; she had a fire in her eyes he rarely saw, like a dormant part of her was coming to life. Give that up? No.
“Technically, I shouldn’t even be teaching her. I’ll face the consequences if we’re found out, no need for you to be involved further. The rule is archaic, but it’s still a rule; although, it hurts nothing for a female to learn a few basic moves to protect herself. Not that the princess will ever have need or opportunity.”
That was the Royal Guard’s job. His job.
“You don’t have to defend it to me. My point being, you have sanctioned the time spent with our princess and have enjoyed her attentions. What male wouldn’t?” Trevin said with a wicked glint in his eyes.
Indeed, what male wouldn’t? He could picture all the males who would gladly stand in a line just to have a conversation with his princess or even a touch of her hand. The thought of another male touching her made him want to
snarl with fury. And that was exactly the problem. She wasn’t his, would never be his; so, he had no right to feel possessive of her. He was Princess Amira’s guard, nothing more.
“As I said, she plays a childish game with me; flirting and trying to get my attention. I know it’s all innocent, and I highly doubt she would know what to do with my attention anyhow. I’m sure she simply feels it’s safe to behave this way with me because nothing can come of it. But, I am a male, Trevin. I only have so much self-control. She’ll get over this infatuation soon, but until then...” he trailed off on a sigh.
It was difficult for him to admit this weakness, even to his closest friend. Caeden prided himself on his control and hated not being able to let go of this all-consuming attraction he felt for his princess. There. He admitted it, at least to himself; he was attracted to the princess. She drove him to distraction with her delicate frame, her big grey eyes that flashed silver when she was excited, and the sweet scent of vanilla that seemed to trail after her. Her waist-length, rich, dark brown hair was an incredible sight. At 5’4, she was unusually short for their kind and his 6’4 frame dwarfed her. Princess Amira was so small and looked so delicate; it was no wonder he felt overly protective of her. The truth was, she was delicate and vulnerable, at least until she reached her maturity.
While he was being honest with himself, he had to admit it was her age which scared him most of all. He feared all of the possible things that could happen to her. What if she were injured or became ill? Caeden was unused to the cramping fear he felt in his stomach at the thought. He couldn’t let himself even consider such an incident. It was his job to protect her and he would, even from himself.
“What if it’s not a game?” Trevin asked quietly. “Not to her. Stop fighting it and stop trying to control it. Let things take their natural course.”