Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy) (12 page)

His warm hand completely enfolded hers, sending heat up her arm and into her chest. She smiled and looked back to the stage, riveted. The actors added different items to their routines, interchanging plates and stacks of glassware held up on batons. Pyramids of people balancing champagne flutes stacked three tiers high. Through all the tricks, the performers never stopped moving.

She was barely aware of time passing, but she was constantly aware of the man beside her. Mathias rubbed his thumb back and forth along her palm, creating a delicious, tingling torture that drove her crazy. It made her want to collapse into a boneless heap, and climb on top of him at the same time. She shifted and recrossed her legs.

Mathias pulled free of her hand and draped his arm around her shoulders.
Was I that obvious?
She nestled against his side, wanting to purr in satisfaction, and leaned her head on his shoulder. The subtle scent of his cologne curled around her, and she dropped her hand to his leg, ready to be mesmerized by him. Never mind the stage, which was whirling with colors and lights.

Only when he shifted beside her did she peek at his watch and see ninety minutes had passed. The stage went dark.

“Is this intermission?” she asked.

“No. It’s almost over. They’re setting up for the finale.”

“Oh. I can’t imagine what they’ll do.” She tilted her head to meet his gaze. “This show is amazing.”

His eyes twinkled and he tightened his hold. “Glad you like it.”

The music changed to a slower rumba, and a single spotlight illuminated a woman twirling on a thick rope suspended from a metal frame. Two other ropes hung on either side of her, all with loops placed at various intervals. She climbed up and shimmied down, always changing her hold. Sometimes she dangled from one ankle, swinging in wide, graceful arcs.

Two more performers backflipped out to join her, taking to the empty ropes. They swung and swayed, winding satin ribbons around themselves and the ropes.

“It’s so beautiful. It’s like a ballet in the air,” Gin whispered. “How do they not get tangled up?”

“It’s called aerial adagio. This group does it a little differently than most others.”

“How do you mean?”

He leaned in close and murmured, “If I tell you, then I’d have to kiss you.”

Her eyes went wide, riveted to his full lower lip. She opened her mouth to speak, but a new group of performers took to the stage in front of the adagio girls, drawing her attention. They began a complex series of baton twirls and tosses, first among themselves, then alternating with the girls on the ropes.

Gin had always thought of herself as coordinated and in shape. She taught dance, for heaven’s sake! But these women displayed a whole new level of physical strength and stamina. Batons flew back and forth from the floor actors to the adagio girls, never once clattering to the stage. Everyone whirled in bright circles. Constant motion, in time to the music.

Then the baton twirlers all caught their batons. In unison, they lowered them to the floor in an exaggerated slow movement, then raised them with a flourish. Gin gasped, her hand tightening on Mathias’s leg.

No!
Horrified shock raced through her veins.

The batons were on fire.

“It’s okay, it’s part of the show.” Mathias pulled her closer.

She couldn’t speak, only squeeze his thigh and watch. She couldn’t tell him the reason for her breathlessness.

Oh God. When was the last time she’d been around an open flame? Ridiculous anger and panic chased around in her mind. She would never have come if she’d known this was part of the show. Why hadn’t Mathias told her?
Because no one else freaks out about fire, you idiot
. She drew a deep breath and tried to picture anything else. Icebergs usually calmed her down.
Think North Pole, think blizzard…

But the dancing flames pushed into her psyche. They swirled and dipped, each tendril of flame like a crooked finger commanding her attention. Every ball of fire moved with fluid allure. The flames beckoned to her, insistent and so beautiful. The fire seemed to want to show her its grace. She blinked but remained still, unable to look away.

Her panic subsided, pushed away by a wave of something magnetic and new. The twirlers tossed their batons high above the stage. Wisps of flames danced and bobbed, weaving around the tips of the batons as they dropped back to waiting hands. Up again, dancing, whirling, twirling in wild arcs that seemed to come alive. The fire licked up and out farther from the baton edges each time they were tossed.

Gin tilted her head and gazed into the flames, spellbound. Why had she shied away from this? The fire was showing her what it could do…
No! That doesn’t make any sense!
A thread of rational thought wove through her mind, only to be singed away.

Each floor performer now flung a baton high in the air to the adagio girls. The routine of tossing back and forth between the groups repeated, this time complemented by fire. Ribbons of flame spun out and back in with each toss, pulsing to the music.
How is that possible?
A lightness infused her, making her feel like she was in two places at once—her seat next to Mathias, and on the stage among the flames.

The adagio girls tossed the batons to each other. Gin didn’t know if it was her imagination or the lighting, but the fire seemed to grow bigger with each toss. Mesmerized by the airborne fire, she realized it was definitely brighter than it had been a minute ago.

One toss, one catch. Another toss—

One girl missed her baton. It fell, bouncing and sliding against the lower end of her rope.

Fire flared along the rope. Free. Wild. Inviting.

Gin sat frozen. The rope swayed in wild circles from the girl near the top, scrambling to climb higher. Flames swung out in lazy loops around the rope, then drew back in and licked upward.

Screams erupted from the audience. Too high up to drop, the girl reached the metal supporting structure and clambered on top.

The fire raced up the rope, flickering with purpose.

No!
The noise and sudden chaos of people rushing to the aisles startled Gin from her reverie.

“No!” she screamed, bolting to her feet. Her voice was hardly audible over the din of the crowd, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t talking to them. This had to stop. “No!”

At once, the fire went out. On every baton. On every rope.

Sprinklers came on over the stage. Performers scrambled to help the adagio girls get down. The house lights brightened above them.

Gin’s fists clenched at her sides. Her whole body shook.

Mathias’s strong arm wrapped around her waist. “Are you okay?”

She looked up into concerned hazel eyes, her breath coming in shallow gasps. “No. I have to get out of here.”

“You got it.” He tucked her close to his side and maneuvered them through the sea of faces. People darted around, cellphones out, while security personnel directed everyone toward the nearest exits.

Their seats were near the front, so Mathias guided her toward the exit at the side of the stage. Stage hands dressed in black darted among the wet equipment. Someone had sprayed a fire extinguisher, and globs of white foam dotted the stage. As they passed, a tingle of dread slithered up her spine. She couldn’t look at the workers.
This is my fault
.

What the hell had happened?

“Almost there.” Mathias’s voice anchored her as surely as his body did.

She leaned into him, grateful for his presence and strength but unsure of what to say.
I’ll just pretend I was really scared. That’s it.
No way could she tell him the truth. That a girl had nearly been injured because she had gotten lulled by fire? No way. Not only would he not believe her, he would think she was crazy for even suggesting such a thing.
Freak, freak, freak
! Panic bubbled up, along with the questions that kept her up at night.

Why had this curse come to her? Why fire? Her sisters absorbed their abilities into their lives seamlessly. It all made no sense.

They reached the door and Mathias shoved it wide, revealing an alley. Bursting into the chilly night, she took a deep breath, then another. She nestled deeper against him.

“Shit, our coats are still in the coat check. You want me to go back?” He pulled her into an embrace, wrapping both arms around her.

“No. I don’t want to go back in there. And,” she looked up into his eyes, “I don’t want to be alone.”

“Hey.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m not going anywhere. Let’s go to my car. We’ll crank the heat up for you. I can come back for the coats tomorrow.”

She nodded and they made their way along the alley to the street. Their shoes crunched on the salty pavement. Emergency vehicles pulled up to the front entrance of the building, their lights throwing bursts of red and blue against the glass walls.

“I’m hoping that’s only a precaution.” Mathias inclined his head at the ambulances.

“Me too.” Her voice was tiny, seeming to dissolve like puffs of breath in the cold air.
Please let everyone be okay
.

A minute later they were in the parking garage, nearing Mathias’s SUV which was already running thanks to the remote start on the key fob. He helped her into the passenger side, then climbed into the driver’s side and turned on her seat heater.

With shaking hands she rubbed her bare arms but remained frozen. The heat from the vent and from under her bottom had no effect. Her muscles clenched and her teeth chattered. Mathias reached for her awkwardly over the center console, but there was too much space between them. He frowned.

“Let’s get in the back,” he said.

“Wh-what?”

“I’m not being forward.” With his finger he drew an X over his heart. “Honest. You need to get warm fast. It’s twenty degrees outside and your date made you walk around with no coat. You need body heat.”

“Y-you didn’t make me, but okay.” Anything to stop her body’s shuddering.

They both jumped out, slammed their doors shut, and got into the bench-style back seat. She slid across and scooted into his waiting arms. Her shoulders trembled as she pressed her face against his soft shirt, trying to absorb his warmth.

“I d-don’t know why I can’t stop sh-shaking,” she muttered.
 

“It’s okay. You had a scare and then walked outside into the freezing cold.”

She glanced up, grateful for his strong arms around her, and nodded. “That was s-scary.” Easy words to say, but he could never know that it frightened her on more than one level. She buried her face in his chest, trying to block out the fiery images.

“That was some crazy shit.” He rubbed his hands up and down her back. “I’m still trying to figure out what happened in there.”

She froze. Panic roared back through her heart.
I don’t want you to figure out what happened!

His hands stilled. “Gin? What did you say?”

Oh no
. Had she spoken out loud? “Um…”

Mathias waited. The scents of cinnamon and orange teased his nose. Her words, murmured into his shirt, rang in his ears. Her sweet little mouth had clearly said, “I don’t want you to figure out what happened.” But she had no way to know that his acute hearing would register that little gem. So how would she try to spin this?

“Uh… I uh, hope they figure out what happened. You know, the show’s staff. So it doesn’t happen again.”

“Yeah.” He resumed his pattern of tracing her slender back. “Let’s hope.” He had entertained the wild thought that she might open up to him right then and there. He’d watched her during the show. Her reaction to the fire had been unexpected, as her facial expression switched from horror to a dreamy daze, complete with a racing heart and shallow breaths.

The way the flames had formed eerie curls seemed to beckon to her. Was it always like this with her and fire? Or was it trying to coax her, just as he was? If Gin had avoided fire all this time, was it tired of waiting? Were her sisters’ growing powers giving impetus to Gin’s own?

She sighed and snuggled into him, laying one hand on his chest. So delicate, yet her skin was hot, warming him through the cotton of his shirt. He gazed at the smoothness of her hand. He’d seen the flames dancing today. He’d seen Brooke use the power of her mind to bend water to her will, and Mathias could only imagine the power Gin held in that petite hand of hers. Her breathing slowly evened out, and her heart beat a steady rhythm against his chest.

Impulsively, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. He wanted her on his side, that was for damn sure. For some reason he couldn’t explain, he wanted to be the one who got through to her. Make her see it was safe to unleash her power. Hell, he could summon demonfire. They could work together. Maybe she just needed a bit more
convincing
.

She drew back, smiling. The fear was gone from her eyes.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Because you,” he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “owe me something.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “I do?”

He nodded and took her hand. Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he dropped a kiss to the center of her palm.

“What do I owe you?” she whispered.

“You said something yesterday about pecan hot chocolate.”

“Oh!” A faint flush crept up her cheeks. “Oh yeah. Hot chocolate. At my place.”

He chuckled. “What did you think I meant?”

“Um…I’ll tell you later.” She grinned.

He shook his head slowly. “Nope. Tell me now.” He knew he was pushing her, but he needed to see how far she’d bend before snapping at him. And
if
she’d snap, or let down her guard.

Her eyebrows shot up. Then her expression changed, the mischievous twinkle back in her gaze. “Make me.”

His primal side roared, loving her sass and the challenge in her eyes. The impish tone in her voice sent blood rushing to his groin. She still wanted to play, just like in the coffee shop and on the dance floor. That kiss yesterday hadn’t been enough.

“You should know I love a challenge.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “And I never lose.” He kissed her inner wrist, brushing his lips across the vein at the center. “Tell me.”