Wild Flame (9 page)

“Don’t talk as if you were there and experienced it,” she stated angrily and walked to the door.

Before she reached it, she was yanked against Christian’s hard chest. His bright blue eyes were alight with some emotion she couldn’t place.

“I’ve experienced you, Ivy Pierce,” he murmured before he kissed her.

CHAPTER TEN

Christian had known it was a mistake to pull her against him, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. He’d needed Ivy, like she was a basic ingredient to his survival.

The tightness in his chest loosened when her arms snaked around his neck. He deepened the kiss, his body responding instantly to the heady feel of her.

By the time he ended the kiss, they were both breathing heavily. Christian leaned his forehead against hers.

“Don’t give up,” he urged.

Ivy smiled and traced his lip with her finger. “I’m not. But you need to be realistic. I might die.”

“There’s a chance I might die every night I go out hunting,” he argued.

She kissed his jaw before she rested her head on his chest. “If the worst happens, it won’t be because you didn’t do all that you could.”

Christian tightened his arms around her. There was a way to save Ivy. There was always a way. He just had to find it.

“I should get back inside and do more research.”

Christian didn’t let her move. “Not yet. You need to have a bit of downtime.”

“You’re probably right. I really don’t want my last day to be filled with books and computers.”

He hated that she was able to be so flippant. It was Ivy’s way of coping, but Christian didn’t have to like it.
 

Neither of them spoke about the kiss or the fact they were embracing. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Ivy didn’t want to be alone. Since Christian only wanted to be with her, it worked out perfectly.

Every time he thought about her dying, there was an ache in his chest. It had started small, but it was growing rapidly.

“Do you really never want to fall in love?” she asked into the silence.

Christian wrapped one of her curls around his finger. “My parents were deeply in love. They did everything together. There were many nights I’d wake to hear music downstairs. I’d go to the railing and look down to find them dancing.”

“What a beautiful memory.”

“It was. I remember barely being able to wait until I could find such love. Then my mother was killed. I can still hear the bellow that echoed through the bayou when my father found her body. That sound...” he paused and swallowed. “It haunts me to this day. It was like his heart had been ripped from his chest. The desolation, the anguish of that sound was horrible.”

Her arms tightened. “I can’t even imagine.”

“Later that night, he died. He wanted revenge. My father normally had such a cool head when he went hunting. He taught us patience and control, but he had neither after my mother’s death.”

“You fear you’ll be the same.”

“I know I will.” He kissed the top of Ivy’s head. “I know if I ever fall in love it’ll be deep. It’ll be the kind of love my parents had. I’ve always known that.”

“So you’ve protected yourself.”

He rested his chin atop her head. “I have. Even as I watched my brothers fall in love. It’s in my face on a daily basis, but I know what’ll happen to them if their women are killed.”

“Most people don’t understand why we push others away,” she said. “They crave being with another, to have that connection. We do, as well, but we know it comes with a price. It’s a price some can’t pay.”

“It’s a price some don’t want to pay.”

Ivy lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. “You’re a good guy, Christian. You have a strong family. You shouldn’t push love away if it comes your way. You deserve to be happy.”

“And you don’t?”

She smiled. “I’m healthy. I fear being that sick again, of being that helpless. It’s terrifying. I always figured that I could have one or the other – health or love.”

“Your mother sold her soul for you to be well.”

“Will it last?” she asked with her brows raised. “What if a miracle happens and we get the Hounds off my scent. Will the Demon of Souls be content with things then? Or will he take away my health?”

“You live in fear.”

“And you don’t? You fear loving someone so deeply that if they die, you die.”

Christian shook his head in denial. “We’re talking apples to oranges.”

“Says the man who has never been in the hospital for months at a time,” she retorted.

Christian stroked a finger down her face. “What if the Hounds leave you alone and you stay healthy?”

“What if love finds you?”

He feared love had already found him. It stood in his arms looking up at him with hazel eyes. “I asked first.”

“Those are big ifs, but if it happens, I might have to reevaluate things.”

“Me too,” he answered. There was no way he could tell her that he felt something for her. Not now. Not after the talk they’d had the night before about not wanting relationships.
 

She returned her head to his chest. “This is nice.”

“Very.” Christian closed his eyes and began to pray for a miracle.

~ ~ ~

“I told you,” Beau said to the others as they stared out the window watching Christian and Ivy.

Davena elbowed him in the side. “You weren’t the only one who saw it.”

“I was the only one who said anything.”

Lincoln turned away from the window as worry set in. “We better work faster.”

“Why?” Vincent asked.

Linc faced the others. “Seeing Christian just now brought back a memory of when we were just boys. Riley was only a baby at the time. Christian told me he couldn’t wait to find a love like Mom and Dad had.”

“That’s not good,” Beau said with a frown.

Ava shook her head in confusion. “Why? Wouldn’t that be good news?”

Linc looked at everyone in the room. “Christian changed his mind about falling in love after our parents’ deaths. If he’s falling for Ivy and she dies-”

“It’ll crush him like it did Dad,” Vincent finished. He slammed his hand into his thigh. “Fuck!”

Olivia took her place on the sofa. “Then we’d better get reading.”

“Especially since we don’t know how long Davena’s spell to mask Ivy from the Hounds will last,” Beau said.

Linc returned to the window. Christian and Ivy hadn’t moved. He ached for his brother. Here he had a chance at love, and it could very well be snatched from his grasp.

It wasn’t right. Christian was the type of man who loved once and loved deeply. Whether he had already fallen for Ivy or was in the process, Lincoln wasn’t going to rest until they found a way to save her. His brother deserved happiness.

~ ~ ~

Ivy spent the rest of the afternoon on the porch with Christian. The smell of dinner drifted to them. She snuggled back against him as they lounged on the swing.

Most of the time had been spent in silence. It was a comfortable silence, the kind where each was content to just be with the other.

The few times they had talked had been as he told stories about his family and their exploits. Ivy was amazed she had lived her entire life in Lyons Point and had never heard of the Chiassons.

If she had been well enough to go to school, there was no doubt Christian would’ve snagged her attention. He was too gorgeous not to.

His question from earlier still rolled around in her mind. If the Hell Hounds released her, and if she remained healthy, would she allow herself to love?
 

She would only admit it to herself, but she would if it was with Christian. Ivy was able to be herself with him. He made her feel safe and sexy. He inspired wicked thoughts about tearing his clothes off and having her way with him.

It didn’t help that she had come to realize he was the type of man who would stay by her side whether she was healthy or not.

“I feel bad that we’ve been out here so long,” she said.

Christian chuckled. “I don’t.”

“Okay. I don’t either,” she said with a smile as she tilted her head back to look at him.

He touched her face with the pads of his fingers. “I’ve enjoyed this.”

“I didn’t know I needed this. Thank you.”

Christian flashed a charming smile. “Any time.”

Ivy lowered her head. “We’ll have to go in soon.”

“No, we don’t. We can eat out here.”

“Won’t that be rude?”

He tugged on her earlobe. “Nope. We can do whatever you want.”

“Eating out here sounds fun. If you’re sure the others won’t be upset.”

“They won’t,” he assured her. “What else do you want to do?”

It began to mist, with the droplets growing in size a few moments later.
 

“Well, there goes me lying on the ground to look at the stars.”

“I’d have taken you to the roof to get you that much closer.”

It was such an innocent sentence, but Ivy smiled in joy because no one had ever done anything like that for her.

“After that?” Christian asked.

Ivy sat up and turned to him. “Will you sleep with me tonight?”

“Absolutely.”

She smiled and leaned in to kiss him when a distant howl turned her blood to ice. Ivy froze. Christian jumped up from the swing and pulled her protectively behind him.

“They’re a ways off,” he said as he scanned the front yard.

“Not that far.” They’d found her. Davena’s spell had given her a few days, but it looked like her time was up.
 

Christian took her hand and walked to the door. He yanked the screen open so hard it busted one of the hinges. The front door flew open before he could reach for it.

Lincoln stood in the entrance. He pulled Ivy inside while Christian grabbed his weapon and rushed in the house.

All around her was chaos, as everyone gathered weapons and Davena began to chant, their focus solely on the task at hand. Ivy, however, had eyes for only one person. Christian.

If only she had been able to stop time and have a few more hours with him. She wouldn’t have left him after they’d made love. She would’ve stayed in his arms, watching the rain. Now her choices were about to be taken from her once and for all.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 
Christian held his crossbow, knowing that the weapon would do him no good against the Hell Hounds. The Hounds only went after their target – unless someone tried to stop them.

He was going to try and stop them. There was no other choice for him. It wasn’t just because he’d promised Ivy he would keep her safe, and it wasn’t just his duty as a Chiasson. He would do it because...he loved her.

“Get Ivy to the shed!” Vincent bellowed.

Christian’s head swung around to Ivy. He looked into her eyes and saw the stark fear in her hazel depths. She was waiting for his agreement before she did anything.

He rushed to her, grabbing her hand as he walked past and tugged her after him into the kitchen. Beau ran around them and out the back door. He held the screen open, his shotgun pointed up as he looked around.

“Go,” he told them.

Ivy stayed next to Christian as they ran from the porch, across the wet grass, and to the shed. Christian whirled around once she was inside to cover Beau as he followed them.

“You should be with Davena,” Christian said.

Beau grunted. “She told me you would need me out here.”

Christian glanced at Ivy, who stood against one of the large cages. Then he looked at his brother and said in a low voice, “Don’t put yourself in the way of the Hounds. You’ll get killed, and Davena will be pissed off enough to bring me back from the dead only to dispatch me again for letting you die.”

“You think you’ll be killed tonight?”

“I’m prepared for it.”

Beau nodded slowly. “Does Ivy know?”

“Know what?” Christian asked.

“That you love her.”

He looked away. “No.”

“Interesting.”

Christian returned his gaze to Beau when he heard him dialing someone from his cell phone. He gave his brother a questioning look, but Beau just smiled as he turned the speaker on. After two rings, a male voice answered.

“Kane, we’re in a bit of a rush. We need y’all’s help.”

Their cousin in New Orleans said, “Hang on. Let me get the others.” With the phone held away from him, Kane yelled, “Hey! Everyone in Myles’s office. Now. It’s an emergency!”

Christian looked at Ivy to find her still in the same spot, her arms wrapped around herself. She was doing a good job of holding it together, but it was obvious by the way she shook that she was unraveling.

“We’re all here,” Kane’s voice came through the phone. “What’s going on?”

Christian turned his attention to the cell phone. “Hell Hounds.”