by Tawny Taylor
She shivered. “I see now.”
He tormented her nipples with his fingers. Tongue. Teeth. And she moaned in misery. As he pinched, licked and stroked her into a fever, he whispered promises that made her tremble with anticipation.
“I am going to make you burn.
“Your body is mine. And I will worship it.”
But as he moved lower, stroked her pussy, parted her nether lips and tasted her clit, those vows turned to sweet confessions.
“I want you so badly, I hurt.
“I want to love you, Keri.
“I just want you to be mine.”
She wanted that too. He flicked his tongue over her clit, fingers fucking her pussy, her ass. Stretching her. Filling her. Stirring her passion like no man had before. As she became engulfed in the flames, she fought against the restraints. Her struggles made things more desperate, more energized and thrilling. She couldn’t breathe. The air was too thin. Her head was spinning. So good. So right. So close to ecstasy.
“Please, Talen. Take me. Claim me,” she pleaded. “I am yours. For always. In every way.”
He entered her roughly, fucked her wildly, and she gripped the scarves binding her wrists in her hands and held on, grateful for every thrust. Yes, oh yes. Hard. Fast. Feral. Fingertips danced over her clit, and she soared higher. Her body tightened. Muscles pulled taut. Blood pumped hard. Burned. Throbbed. Her pussy tightened, inner muscles gripping around his invading cock. Desire burned hotter. Closer now. Almost.
Waves of tingling heat rippled out from her center. Yes. Oh yes.
“Tell me now,” Talen said, voice strained. “Your body is mine to command.”
“Yes, Talen.”
“Then I command for you to come. Now.”
As if her body could not deny Talen’s command, it catapulted her into the stratosphere. Talen was there with her, their bodies one. Their spirits joined. She whispered, “I need you. Talen. Like I’ve never needed another person. I love you.”
They drifted back to earth and then she was back on the bed, her arms and legs still bound. Muscles twitching. Heart pounding. Breath sawing in and out of her lungs. And those words, amazing, wonderful, liberating words echoing in the room.
While Talen freed her from the bindings, she smiled as her mind cleared. Those scarves had freed her from fear. Talen’s possession had liberated her heart.
That was a gift he hadn’t let her refuse, and she would never be able to tell him how grateful she was. Overwhelmed with emotion, she wept, her tears falling on his chest—skin, flesh and bone that housed the most beautiful heart in the world.
Suddenly, the steady beat pounding in her ear changed. Quickened. His body tightened.
Dread turned her blood to ice.
Chapter Thirteen
It was time. To die.
Talen had struggled to come to terms with this moment since he’d first touched Keri. Finally, he was prepared to lay down his life for her. It was a gift he eagerly offered, knowing she loved him.
The burning at his nape was almost excruciating, like a branding iron had been pressed against his flesh. Still, he tried to hide the pain from her, determined to make this moment as easy on her as possible. He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissed each fingertip, his eyes locked to hers.
“It’s time,” she whispered.
“Yes. He has found us.”
She visibly swallowed. “Okay.”
He stroked the side of her face, following the contour of her cheekbone. “My heart, my soul, they are yours. Forever. And if some day the gods set me free from this curse, I will find you. Even if it’s years from now. Decades. And if you will have me, I would be proud to live the rest of my life by your side.”
Her eyes were filling with tears, her lips quivering slightly as she pressed them together. “I belong to you, Talen. No matter what. I love you. Like I’ve never loved anyone. I didn’t know I could feel this way.”
Once again, his heart soared to the heavens. He swept her into his arms, clutching her tightly against him. He shut his eyes and drew in long, deep breaths, nose buried in her hair.
He wouldn’t forget her. Not one single detail. Not the flecks of gold in her eyes, or the flare of red in her hair, or the sweet taste of her lips. He would treasure every memory as long as he could. After death. He would fight to cling to them. “I need to tell you something before…”
“What?” She tipped her head up. Her eyes were dark with fear, and he hated having to tell her this now, when she was so terrified. Now was the time to comfort her, reassure her that she would be okay and the worst would be over soon. But he couldn’t die without letting her know the truth.
He cradled her precious face in his hand, brushed a stray curl from her cheek. “With the exception of only one woman—the one who killed herself—my memories of every victim I have saved have been erased from my mind. I don’t know why, but that is what has happened. I forget who they were the moment my spirit leaves this world, everything about them. I recall everything else, details about where I was, what I did, who I met. Only that one woman. It seems the gods won’t let me forget about her.” A tear slipped from his eye. “I want to remember you. More than anything. But if we ever meet again somewhere and it seems I don’t…” He swallowed. His throat tightened. Nose and eyes burned. “Dammit.”
Something passed across her face. An emotion he couldn’t identify. She placed her hand on top of his and nodded. “I understand. Maybe it’ll be different this time. Anything’s possible, right?”
“We’ll know soon.” He kissed her one last time before pulling on a pair of shorts and handing her one of his shirts. She tugged it over her head and let it fall, the material skimming over her breasts, down her stomach, over her hips to stop at the top of her thighs.
The soft click of the bedroom door’s latch disengaging sent a chill up his spine. He felt his body stiffen. He felt Keri’s do the same thing. Felt her racing heartbeat pound against his abdomen.
“I’m scared,” she whispered, her hold on him tightening.
“It’ll be over quickly,” he said against her head, pressing a kiss to it between every word. He tugged a blanket loose, smoothing it against her back. “And then we must hope.”
“Yes, hope.” She jerked away from him a split second after the door hinges creaked a warning.
The killer was in the room.
He spun around to face Keri’s murderer one final time. Instantly, as if a switch had been thrown, rage pounded hot and hard through his veins. How he wanted to tear this piece of shit apart. Inflict every kind of horrific vengeance on the bastard for hunting down his sweet Keri, scaring her, threatening her, trying to harm her. Behind him, he heard Keri suck in a gasp. He didn’t dare look back.
The killer’s upper lip curled slightly.
Like it always did, Talen’s vision narrowed and the world seemed to shrink until only the murderer and he existed.
The bastard’s eyes were dark and hollow, as soulless as the devil’s. They swept up and down, scrutinizing Talen. His fingers tightened around the handle of the knife he held in one fist. The knife that would end Talen’s life.
Not the most pleasant way to die but not the worst.
A slight movement drew Talen’s attention back to the man’s face. The killer’s eyes flicked to the left. His face tightened, and he lunged forward, aiming to that side instead of toward Talen.
Why?
Talen lurched but before he could block the assailant’s path, something struck him hard from behind. He felt like he was floating for a split second, then a sharp pain stabbed the back of his head.
As cool darkness swallowed him, he heard a scream.
He had failed. For the first time. Failed his Keri. Inside he howled in rage. Then he wept. Finally, as the blackness smothered him, a last thought passed through his mind. Goodbye, my sweet goddess. I tried. I prayed…
Knowing she was literally facing her own death, Keri threw herself at the attacker, to hell
with modesty. Instinct drove her to defend herself. She pounded at the huge man with her fists and kicked her feet, her eyes never leaving the glinting blade of that menacing knife he held in his hand.
“Why?” she shouted. “Whywhywhy?”
The man shrugged his shoulders. “Because he still loves you. The bastard has to pay for what he did.”
“Bastard? Who are you talking about?”
“Mark Hayward,” he spat, madness and hatred burning in his eyes. “Because of him, my baby’s in prison for the rest of her life.” He grabbed for her again. “I’m gonna show him how it feels, to lose the woman you love.”
“No. Please.” Desperate, terrified, she swung her arms, moving too quickly to really see where she was throwing them. Her senses were overloaded, her body propelled into frenzied action by megadoses of adrenaline.
She’d told herself she was going to take Talen’s place if that would keep him alive. He deserved to be free. He deserved to live and love, and, dammit, her life was empty and meaningless without him. But now that she was staring death in the eyeball, she just couldn’t stand there and let it happen. She was too petrified.
But then the would-be murderer dashed toward Talen. Lifted his arm.
Fury snuffed out the fear. She charged forward.
The events seemed to pass in slow motion, every tiny movement taking at least a second or two. She dove toward Talen’s unconscious body. The air blasted from her lungs when she landed, sprawled on her belly across him.
Then she felt the pain. In her back. Hot and cold at the same time. A flare exploded in her head and she felt like she was burning up. The agony. The torture.
Hurts. Please just stop.
How had Talen endured this so many times?
Keri felt her body softening, thoughts slowing. The pain was still there, pounding up and down her back and flashing behind her closed eyes like exploding fireworks.
End. Please. Now.
She was getting heavier. Sensations dimming. Beneath her, she felt Talen stirring. He was alive. She had saved him.
Yes. It was worth the pain.
“I love you,” she whispered.
She could let go. So tired. Just sleep…
Goodbye, Talen. It’s your turn. To live. To love. A gift for a man who gave so much to so many.
This didn’t feel right. Not at all.
His head hurt. And something was lying on top of him. What the hell?
Then he remembered. He forced his heavy eyelids open. The killer was standing over him, his blade already covered in scarlet blood. Talen glanced down and his heart stopped.
Keri? No!
Her body was sprawled over his.
Was she alive? Please, merciful gods. So much blood. Everywhere.
Rage raced through him, turning his blood to bitter acid. “Kill me,” he screamed, pounding at the floor with a fist. “Do it now, dammit. Right here. Before it’s too late.” More terrified than he’d ever been, he slipped out from beneath Keri and threw his hands into the air. “Kill me, forchristsakes!”
The attacker hesitated, but for less than a handful of seconds. Then, seeming to overcome his confusion, he lifted his arm. His eyes focused on Talen’s chest.
“Yes. Do it!” Talen braced himself for the pain.
Waiting. One second. Two. Three.
Heartbeat banging.
Pulse throbbing.
Body quaking.
Once again, he was slammed to the floor.
Where was the pain?
He heard scuffling. What? No!
He blinked open his eyes, muscles tight, ready to propel him forward. But just as he lurched upright, the killer’s blade sliced through the air and sank deep into another man’s chest. A stranger.
Who was he?
Where had he come from?
And what would happen now that this stranger had taken the blow that had been meant for the Black Phoenix?
He had his answer, but Talen couldn’t stomach it. He doubled over, racked by dry heaves, overwhelmed with guilt, regret and pain like none he had ever known.
Keri had no pulse. None. She wasn’t breathing. She was dead.
His fault.
He threw his head back and released the emotions churning through his system in a long, throat-ripping roar.
No. Nononono!
He pulled her limp, broken body against him, cradling her gently in his arms. He’d never felt so powerless. Nor had he ever felt so desperate.
“Please,” he begged, lifting her. He prayed, “I beg you, my gods. Please have mercy. Spare Keri. I come to you humbly, my lords. I will pay any price, no matter how high. Please, this humble servant knows he deserves no kindness, but Keri…sweet Keri…” His words trailed off as his throat closed up, trapping the rest of the sentence in his chest.
He sobbed, buried his face in the crook of her neck. Tears he had trapped inside for centuries burst forth, flowing from his eyes, an eternity of anguish feeding them.
If only he’d taken that first blow. Keri would be alive right now, free to go on with her life. He’d been so fucking selfish, putting her in danger as he had. Playing with the gods’ patience, testing them. He’d feared punishment. And what a punishment they had delivered.
Slowly, reluctantly, he set Keri down, arranging her hair, arms, body so she looked like she was sleeping peacefully. The color was fading from her skin, making the once beautiful ivory tone flat, ashen and lifeless.
He glanced at the man who had jumped to his rescue, now lying face down. Arms were thrown over his head, elbows bent. One leg was bent as well, giving the suggestion that he had been moving forward when he’d fallen. Talen checked him for a pulse. There was none.
Something snapped inside him.
This was it. He’d had enough. There was one way he could escape this hellish curse. He had lied to Keri earlier, when she’d asked, afraid the truth would hurt her too much. If he committed suicide, he would not come back to life. The cycle would end. Granted, by taking his own life, he surrendered all hope for redemption. He would burn forever in hell.
Then again, there was no difference anymore. Not to him. Eternal fire. Eternal agony.
He pushed the man over onto his back and slowly pulled the knife out of his chest. Tears blurring his vision, he pressed the knife to his throat, prepared to face the wrath of the cruel, merciless gods.
At least this way he wouldn’t be responsible for another human being’s death again.
As he pressed the blade deeper into his flesh, he stared down at the dead man, waiting for the sharp bite.
He stopped. Something wasn’t right.
His gaze traveled over the man’s limp body. He was sprawled awkwardly. Dressed in all black. His knit shirt was slightly bunched up, revealing the lower part of his abdomen.
There was blood spatter everywhere, but strangely none on the man.
No blood?
Talen pulled the man’s shirt up. He found no blood around the wound. None on the man’s clothing. What the hell? How could a human being be fatally stabbed but not bleed?
He checked the man’s pulse a second time. No pulse. And although the skin was still warm, it was cooler than normal, the color gaining the pasty pallor of death. Talen had seen enough death to know it when he saw it—and to recognize something weird when he saw that too. This most definitely fell into the weird category.
He rolled the man over, checking the floor. No blood stained the carpet. He lifted the back of the man’s shirt.
The tattoo.
Impossible. A chill swept through Talen’s body.
There, spanning the slain man’s entire back, was the mark of the phoenix. Identical to the one on Talen’s own back. A mark that had been placed on him by the gods when he’d received his curse.
This man was a black phoenix? There was another? Talen had always believed he was the only one.
He gently turned the man over, settling him on his back.
The mark of the black phoenix.
No blood.
Timing that had been too precise to be by chance.
A black phoenix had been sent by the gods? To die…for him?
What did that mean? Was he free from his curse?
The killer. He’d run away after stabbing the phoenix.
Talen rushed to the door, dashed out into the hallway, around the corner, outside.
Red blinking lights illuminated the street in an eerie strobe. About fifty feet away several black police cars and an ambulance were parked in weird angles. A crowd was huddled nearby, on the sidewalk.
He didn’t need to see anything else. The killer was dead. It was the way of the gods. He’d been struck by a car, slain in what would seem a freak accident.
Accidents didn’t happen for no reason.
A phoenix had been slain. The killer also. What did this mean?
Was he mortal now? Was he…free? But what about Keri?
Since he’d always been the one doing the dying, he’d never known what happened to his body afterward. He ran back inside, to the bedroom, and found the man and all traces of him were gone. Vanished. Only Keri and the knife remained, the blade catching the light as he flipped on a lamp.
He turned his attention back to Keri, desperate hope making his heart race. She was still lifeless, lying where he’d left her.
Dead.
Dammit. This wasn’t fair.
If he was free now, to live and love, why did he have to lose his Keri, the woman who’d given him such a precious gift? He realized he didn’t want to live without her. Didn’t deserve to.
He couldn’t accept the redemption he’d received. Not with Keri gone.
He snatched up the knife again, but before the first cut, a sound from Keri’s direction made him stop. Not sure what to think, he twisted to look at her, bending down to feel for a pulse.
Yes. Yesyesyes!
She gasped, and a pink flush suffused her skin.
Talen dropped the knife and laughed through his tears. Alive. She was alive! “Keri.”