Aflame (Apotheosis) (13 page)

Where was Zander? Would he speak to her again? If he were smart, he’d be halfway to the moon by now. Probably much safer there.

Soul mates? Yeah, right. Soul mates wouldn’t try to kill each other. Proved his theory wrong. She turned on the television to distract her mind from traveling to the dark place it wanted to go.

“Oh fucking hell.” Jane’s face was on the big screen in glorious high definition. Grayce fumbled with the remote.

“The body of Jane Christine Montgomery, owner of Jane’s Bar in downtown Chastain was found today in this apartment complex.” The pretty reporter gestured to Grayce’s building. “Police are not yet releasing the tenant’s name, but have confirmed disturbing evidence was found inside.”

Grayce sat up and feverishly tried to find the volume button. “Sources are telling us Ms. Montgomery has been missing for over twenty-four hours. An anonymous phone call led detectives to this address.”

She flipped through channels hoping to find more information. A bleach blond woman wearing too much eye makeup talked to the camera with an almost believable pretending-to-care face. “Authorities have confirmed the victim appears to have been tortured.” The camera panned behind the reporter and scanned the parking lot.

Grayce’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. Oh, God. Please, no. As the camera angle widened, she got a spine-chilling gander at a tall, dark and demented nightmare. Beyond the crowd of police officers and curious onlookers, leaning casually against the exact black sports car she watched Jane drive away in, stood Tyr. Smug as shit, looking straight into the camera and smiling. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. He killed her. Holy shit. Grayce threw off her blankets and came two feet short of the bathroom before her lunch made an unwelcome reappearance.

After cleaning herself and the floor, nervous energy nixed any desire to return to bed. A pale blue sundress hung neatly over the back of the chair. No doubt left by Zander. He seemed to have a thing for short, barely-there attire. She dressed and headed outside to the patch of grass she’d admired earlier.

The sun, despite its biting heat, eased some of the unrelenting itch. It also reminded her of Zander and the sun kissed glow he carried. She sat and stretched her legs. It was safe there. Even with the knowledge that Tyr was close, she felt sheltered, hidden from the world. For a moment she allowed herself the luxury of accepting this place as her home.

As she lay on her back in the spongy grass and inhaled the summer air, Grayce hoped that someday Zander would be able to forgive her. She’d never desired absolution, nor had an inclination to offer any. With him, everything was different. The rage needed to be tamed. What if someone else had angered her? Somebody who didn’t have Zander’s strength or power or whatever the hell it was?

Under Tyr’s control, she hadn’t been allowed to show anger. Couldn’t show any emotion without being punished. If she’d known her power back then, the fuck-head would be stewing in a lake of fire, somewhere between Hitler and Charles Manson. The mental image brought a wicked smile to her face.

Why kill Jane? Did he think she’d go to him if he threatened people around her?

“Firecracker.” The familiar tingle jetted down her spine and ignited the energy explosion through her veins.
Oh thank God, he’s here.
In an instant she was flushed, swollen between her legs, and tempted to pounce like a cat on the hunt.

“Zander.” Shit. Where did she start? How did one apologize for attempting to annihilate the other? He crouched, flaunted his dimples, and she knew in an instant, forgiveness was hers without having to ask. “I thought I killed you. I thought...” He placed his index finger over her lips to silence the unnecessary explanation.

“You can’t hurt me Grayce. I’ve told you that before.” He traced her bottom lip with his forefinger. “I’m sorry for the things I said. I needed to know how far you’d take it.” He stood and brought her with him. “Walk with me?”

They strode hand in hand through the small meadow just beyond the ancient maple tree. “I didn’t think you’d come back.” The forest floor passed in a blur as she stared at her feet, unable to bear the weight of his gaze.

Exasperated, he sighed. “There’s nothing you could do to keep me away. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me firecracker.” Zander grabbed Grayce’s hips and effortlessly swept her over a bubbling brook that trickled through a patch of tall grass.

“I’m completely blown away by you.” He whispered as he set her down.

“Blown away? You’re joking.” Grayce fought hard not to smile. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m sorry. Hey, I want to show you something. Come this way.” Zander grabbed her hand again and led the way to a small footpath that took them up a hill through a dense patch of pines. On the other side, it opened to a grassy area that overlooked a deep wide valley thick with wildflowers and blackberry bushes.

“This is my favorite spot.”

“It’s beautiful.” Grayce turned her attention to Zander. Hungry, heated blue eyes stared down at her. A gaze so intense, so filled with promise, her sex clenched.

“You’re beautiful.” He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand and let it rest at the nape of her neck.

Her dark side wanted to push him away, while the rest of her wanted to eat him alive.

He teased with a feather light kiss. Squeezing his eyes closed, he pleaded through gritted teeth, “Let me love you, Grayce. I can wash the dark stains away.” Slowly he opened his eyes and searched hers for a response.

With a force she’d never felt, her heart pummeled against the restraints of her chest. The familiar burn of insatiable need rose through her center. How was it possible, this intense desire? Why would this perfect man want her, when she was so damaged? Fuck her, but at that moment, she didn’t care. The formidable ache in her soul, in her heart, overrode the self hatred.

Rising to the tips of her toes, she placed her hands around his neck and pulled him toward her, never breaking eye contact. Powerless to say no, or refuse him anything when lost in those eyes, she licked his soft, full lower lip, then grabbed it with her teeth and nibbled. The moment she released him, a groan rose from his chest and he devoured her mouth.

With lips locked, Zander lifted Grayce by the waist and wrapped her legs around his middle. His scent, mixed with the flavor of his kiss, sparked a hunger that disintegrated any and all inhibition. He walked with her coiled around him until he found a soft patch of grass. As he released her mouth to let her down, Grayce protested with a whimper. It hurt to be separated for the few seconds it took him to remove his shirt and lay it in the grass.

“Holy fuck.” Grayce mouthed to herself. He was so impossibly perfect and sexy kneeling there, shirtless. Not a flaw anywhere, only muscle that bulged and writhed, performed a mating dance under his taut skin. Grayce’s own muscles tightened as heat swirled and churned in her belly.

“Grayce.” He whispered as he slid his hands up her thighs and under her dress. With adept fingers he explored and rubbed her abdomen, then made his way to her backside. “I need to tell you something.”

“Shh. I don’t want to talk. Please, not now.” A warm glow spread across the surface of her skin.

“My firecracker. You’re hot for me already.” Pulling her close, he guided her panties down her hips and thighs, her calves and ankles.

He pulled the hem of her dress over her waist and held it in place with one hand at the arch of her back. With the other, he traced her scar, pulling her near to kiss the spot where it met her hipbone. Shockwaves rocked her body as his lips brushed against her skin. Weak in the knees and head spinning, she rested her weight on his shoulders to stay upright. Nimble fingers leisurely made their way across to her navel, his lips in hot pursuit.

Trailing kisses downward and stopping at the apex of her thighs, he cupped her ass on both sides, squeezed and pulled her closer. A yearning groan escaped his lips as he buried his nose in her moist folds that ached with need, then inhaled deeply. “Good God, baby. You smell like heaven.”

Grayce gasped as he guided her legs apart and his tongue invaded her like wildfire, doing things she never could’ve imagined, let alone considered pleasurable. With her head tossed back, she buried her fingers in his hair and pulled him harder into her. Strong arms held her steady as he massaged her trembling rear. Her hips swayed and pushed against him as he continued his slow sweet exploration.

Greedy for more, needing him deeper inside her, she lifted her leg and rested it over his shoulder. His tongue and lips explored, pleasured and pushed her body beyond any emotion, thought or reason as they circled, kissed and loved her down there. Her hips ground against his mouth as her body hummed and her blood turned to warm oil oozing through her veins.

Molten once again, the fire swelled, a good burn, not angry, and definitely not out of control. Her climax built rapidly. She wasn’t ready, didn’t want the pleasure and escape to end. But shit, how she needed the release. With a death grip on his head, she gyrated, harder and harder against him until... “Oh fuck. Oh Zander. Fuck.” Grayce came undone and collapsed into the strength of his arms. Zander supported her full weight through the last jagged breath, last quiver and last whispered profanity.

After one final lick of her sensitive nub, he lowered her to his lap. His erection rubbed against her moist sex through his sweatpants. “Kiss me, baby.” He begged.

Grayce lifted her chin to oblige and was shocked by the flavor and scent of her arousal on his lips. “Now that wasn’t a gentlemanly thing to do, was it?” She moaned and licked the taste from her lips.

“I did ask first.” Zander leaned forward on powerful haunches and lay her on the shirt he’d spread in the grass. As he stood to remove his unwelcome clothing, Grayce gasped at the sight of his erection jetting between his prodigious thighs. It bounced thick, proud and heavy. How, in the name of all that was holy, did that thing fit inside her?

“Grayce, I can’t hurt you, remember?” He knelt next to her. “We were made for each other. Every inch of our bodies.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant. In that moment, she didn’t give a shit. She only wanted him on her, in her. Wanted him to fill her until there was no room for loneliness, fear or self loathing.

“Let me love you, Grayce.” Laying next to her, he peeled one spaghetti strap off her shoulder, then the other. One at a time, he circled his thumb over her nipples then pulled the bodice of her dress down to free her breasts. He leaned in to kiss her chin, her neck, then her shoulder. With each brush of his lips across sensitized skin, shivers danced through her soul. Cupping one breast in his hand, he nudged it to his lips, then paused to meet her gaze.

Grayce fisted the grass at her sides. She couldn’t help but swivel against the erection that lay heavy and heated across her leg. Warm summer air swirled around them and filled her lungs with the scent of pine, wildflowers and sex.

“Your body makes me crazy.” His tongue flicked over her nipple and her body spasmed. He pulled it into his mouth, teased, taunted, pulled and sucked. Grayce squirmed under him, tried to control the fire that seared her insides. Fuck. How could she feel pain and such intense pleasure at the same time?

“Zander, please,” she whimpered.

“What, my little firecracker?” With liquid heat, his tongue danced across her chest toward the other breast. “Tell me what you need.” The neglected nipple was sucked and nibbled while he rubbed his hand down her stomach to her heated, moist sex. Tenderly, he brushed his thumb back and forth across her swollen clit. “Is this what you need?” He rubbed in a slow circle with torturous pressure.

“Oh fuck, Zander.” Her body temperature spiked. The red energy swirled with rampant need and enveloped Zander in her fiery shield. “No!” Grayce shouted as panic attempted to punch through her wall of ecstasy.

“Look at me Grayce.” He grasped her chin and turned her head to meet his lusty gaze. “You have to trust me.”

She was captured, lost in the sea of blue, drawn into him alone.

“We can do this,” he whispered as he eased her legs apart.

Her insides clenched at the husky promise.

“We can do this,” he repeated. The energy surrounded them, warm and comforting like a favorite blanket.

Zander positioned himself between her legs and eased the tip of his erection into her swollen folds. She stared into his eyes and bit back a scream when he fully sheathed her and a current of purple light flashed across his retinas. With each thrust, the color intensified until the blue had changed to an electric purple that flared and popped like a lightning storm.

Mesmerized, she cupped his face and rubbed the pads of her thumbs across his cheeks.

As he invaded her, stretched her with agonizing pleasure, Grayce met him thrust for thrust, bucked wildly to meet his hips and pull him deeper inside. He pounded with relentless force, leaving no doubt he was staking his claim. She took it all. Wanted more.