Fire & Ice (9 page)

“Oh, that feels nice,” she whispered as I nibbled her nipples through her shirt. Perky, she definitely was.

“You like that, do you?” s
he nodded and I moved my hand up her shirt, unclasping her bra with one hand. I tossed it to the floor, along with her shirt.

“Wow, you’re good with your hands,” she giggled.

“You have no idea,” I murmured against her skin as I traveled the length of her trembling abdomen.

She grabbed my hair, tugging and running her fingers through it. I groaned and flipped her on her stomach, kissing her back while I pushed my hand up her thigh until her skirt revealed the delicious interior. She buried her face in the couch, moaning and begging for more.

Pushing her panties aside, I
found her treasure, ready for the taking
. The warmth of her body was tantalizing. Teasing her was effortless and soon she was ready for me. I pulled her up to her knees and her bottom twitched as I entered her from behind.

“Oh!” she exclaimed and repeated often as I took my time. I grabbed her hair and pulled lightly at first, warming her up. She resisted a moment, but changed her mind when I thrust deeper.

As she climaxed, she grabbed my leg and sunk her nails in, bringing on a delicious wave of pleasurable pain. My fangs descended, but I ignored it. She couldn’t see my face and I wasn’t done yet.

She peaked several more times before my own, which was equally as intense. I snuck a few drinks of my elixir while I slapped her bottom playfully. She gasped and bucked a few more times, before reaching again. Tired and spent, she slumped against the couch, breathing hard.

Chapter 13

Colorado, Present Day

We took a break of storytelling to eat and so Lia could catch up with Austin. I’m sure he wasn’t happy with wasting a day of training, but he would have to deal with it.

While sh
e was gone, I thought about the person
I was before and what made me that way. Sure, much of it was because I was taught, but I enjoyed it. I wanted to do all those things, sometimes crossing the line and killing someone for no reason, other than wanting them gone.

Remembering who I was before turning was a pivotal moment because I didn’t have to search for answers. I fell into the role pretty well, finally comfortable in my skin again. Yet a piece of me was still cold and hollow. Still searching for something I couldn’t find.

Then, Lia came along and things changed. While she never asked, I promised to be her friend and help her in any way I could. What I didn’t expect was what would happen between us. There was something alluring about her from the start. A mystery I
had
to solve, no matter the co
st. Even after finding out
she was the daughter of a hybrid, I couldn’t pull myself away. I’d been trying ever since.

Still, she was always on my mind. When I promised to stay away, something drew me back. I found if I
was
away too long, I grew cold again. I was terrified to admit
my feelings
for her, especially when she would make it harder by deliberately flaunting herself in front of me. I smiled at the thought.

“I’m sorry I took so long. Austin was being an ass,” she said
and
sat on the counter like
always
.

“I suspected as much. What are we doing now?” I looked her over. Her messy bun, pajama pants and ribbed tank top was incredibly enticing.

“Um,” she caught my stare. “I, uh, I think we should finish the story. Can we go into your room this time?”

I made a face,
“I told you, my room is nothing compared to yours. Why do you want to go in there so bad?”

“Maybe I want to make you as uncomfortable as you make me, for once,” she shrugged and hoped down from the counter.

“Whatever you say,”
I followed her to my room, trying desperately not to stare at her perfectly rounded bottom.

“Stop staring as my ass,” she said over her shoulder. “Your eyes are starting to burn holes through my pants.”

I smiled. What she didn’t know was that her clothes did little to hide her body from my vision. If I looked hard enough, I’d see everything I needed without her shedding a piece. It was
very
hard not to take advantage of that.

As we approached the door to my room, I stepped in front of her. She huffed, crossed her arms, and waited rather impatiently. I debated whether it was a good idea, but decided it didn’t really matter.

“It’s a mess, you know,” I said with a shrug.

“I don’t really care. Open the door,” she demanded. Her eyes burned into my skin and I swore I could actually feel the heat.

“Alright, alright, go in,” I said
and
stepped aside.

She looked around at my embarrassingly disheveled room. I wasn’t normally a messy person, but I was too engrossed in my research to put anything away. We knew little about Lia’s shaman heritage
and, with her grandfather’s direction
, we helplessly searched for anything useful.

“Still digging around I see,” she stated knowingly as she ran her fingers along the pages of a few open books.

“We have to. I want to make sure we can help you to the best of our abilities. Unfortunately, there isn’t as much information as I’d hoped.”

“What you’re looking for you won’t find in a book. Shamanism is about more than what others think it is. I’ve learned a lot about my connection to our world and the spirit world.”

“What
have
you learned, exactly?” I smirked.

“Well,” she looked down shyly.
“I’ve learned that sometimes things aren’t as they seem. The good can look evil and the other way around. But there’s always a balance to things. Where something is taken away, something else will replace it.”

“What does that
mean?”

“It means there’s a balance to everything. When things begin to shift off balance, it has to be righted. It’s not something we can physically touch, but we all play a part in that balance. One way or another, anyway,” she flipped through a few more pages through other books.

“I still don’t follow,” my brow furrowed.

She sighed, “Think of it this way, when you were turned it seemed bad, right?” I nodded. “Yet, for some reason you survived it. For possibly that same reason, you’re helping me now.”

“Okay, so?”

“So, by something bad happenin
g to you -your human life ending-
you are now able to project the good. You know, one door closes, another opens?”

“So you’re saying that becoming a vampire was something bad that happened because there was an imbalance?”

“It’s possible. I can only say that in theory,” she shrugged and twirled a stray curl around her finger.

“Your theory seems a bit flawed. I’m not the good guy here,” I smiled.

“If you say so,” she said as she shook her head.

I watched her investigate my room some more, undoubtedly seeking the journal she so desperately wanted to read. Smiling, I walked to my closet and dug it out from behind several other books.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” I waved it at her.

“I thought you said I couldn’t read it,” she challenged.

“Oh, you can’t. At least not right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not done with my story yet,” I chuckled.

She sad oddly on the bed and hugged herself; nerv
ousness spilled off her skin
. I tucked the journal under my arm and sat beside her.

“Why are you so nervous?” I asked sincerely.

She scowled, “Like you don’t already know.”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking.”

“I’m always this way around you.”

“Not all the t
ime. Why are you nervous now?” s
he looked anywhere but at my face as she struggled with her answer.

“It’s been a few hours that we’ve been alone. I’m waiting for you to make a break for it and leave me here alone again. I can almost feel it creeping up on me,” she whispered.

“I stole you away for the day both to give you a break and to try to salvage what pieces of our friendship still remain. I don’t have any reason to run away.”

“Not yet. Something will happen. It always does,” she smiled sadly.

I draped my arm over her shoulders and pulled her into me. Her anxiety immediately kicked up a notch, but she then relaxed a little. I pulled us up to the pillows and lay with her in my arms a while. Neither of us spoke, enjoying the silence.

“I’d like you to finish that story now, if you don’t mind?” she said into my chest.

“I’m not sure I remember where we left off,” I nuzzled her hair.

“You regained your memories after coming back home,” her voice shook. Sparks began dancing between us and I pulled her tighter to me.
Not this time
.

“Right. There’s not a whole lot of excitement thereafter. At least not until I met you,” I chuckled.

“Excitement? I think torture is a better word for it,” she wound her hands in my shirt.

“Is that what
you
think?”

“Isn’t it what you think?” she stared up at me with those big brown eyes and I melted.

When she looked at me that way, I was mesmerized. No amount of fear or will power could take away what I felt in that moment. It was raw, unshakable even, as molten flames surged through her gaze capturing me irrevocably. I welcomed the swell of heat as it radiated through my entire being, washing away the frozen hollowness that had consumed me for so long. My breath came faster as her magic took hold and, for a moment, I swore I felt my heart beat again.

“No,” I swallowed hard. “I know what torture feels like. I’d take this any day.”

“And what is
this
exactly?” s
he breathed in a
shudder
.

Words failed me. I didn’t know what it was. That’s not true, I knew exactly how I felt and how she made me feel. I knew I didn’t want to be without her and also how terrified I was to say it all out loud.

Locking my eyes with hers, I hoped she would see the answer. The question mark was almost evident on her face as she failed to understand my vague confession. Just as she began to speak, I placed a finger to her lips.

“No more talking. I think we both know that words never get us anywhere,” I smiled and so did she.

Slowly, I bent and placed my lips on hers, allowing the flames to engulf us completely. No matter what happened, I wouldn’t be able to let her go. We couldn’t be together yet, but when the time was right I would make her mine in every way possible. All along I was seeking to fill the void; to feel like my old self. I never thought the answer would be her. She was the fire to make me come alive.

And I’ll never stop loving her…

“A successful person is a dreamer whom someone believed in…”

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