Centaur Legacy (37 page)

A voice so welcome, I nearly
cried out spilled into my thoughts. 
 
“I’m
here. 
 
Take my power.”

Heath! 
 
I only had a split second to
think, to act. 
 
I called his power to me; it
radiated into me like sunrays through a breaking thunderstorm,
slipping over me, buoying me up. 
 
Zach’s face twisted in
rage.

My arms glowed so bright my
eyes squinted. 
 
Power built up in me gaining
strength until I had to release it or explode. Lightning
erupted from my fingers and connected with Zach’s
chest. 
 
His body flew backward, smashing into a tree ten feet behind
where he just stood. 
 
He lay there
lifeless. 
 
No matter how badly I wanted to help him I couldn’t risk her
coming to. 
 
I needed to leave.

That was the last I saw of him
before I drifted away…to the man I love…to the man I should have
never left.

It took me no time to lock
onto Heath, as if some force guided me
along. 
 
I emerged from the matter stream in a place so dark my eyes
took several seconds to adjust. 
 
Heath snatched me up in less
than a second, filling my soul with his
essence. 
 
I buried my face into his neck, reveling in the feel of him
next to me. 
 
Tears came unbidden. 
 
“I’m so sorry, Heath. I
should have listened to you.”

He
laughed. 
 
“Well, that’s not something I thought I’d ever hear you
say.”

I pulled back, joy
overwhelming me as I studied his face in the
candlelight. 
 
I could never get enough of
him, not in ten million years.

“
Wow, if I’d known this was how
you’d greet me, I would have shipped you off to Zach
sooner.”

I frowned at
him. 
 
“What are you talking about?”

“
We had to know for
sure.”

I recoiled away from
him. 
 
“You knew about this!”

Tabitha stepped out of the
shadows. 
 
“I’m sorry for putting you through that, Rayla, but it was
necessary.”

My body went limp, and I
stumbled. 
 
Realization slammed into me. 
 
They’d set this whole thing
up—to see if Ainessa controlled Zach. 
 
Anger raged through me,
stiffening my muscles, hardening my mind. 
 
I took turns looking at them,
but I was angrier at Tabitha. 
 
I’d given everything up
because of her
 
visions
. 
 
“How could you do that to
me? 
 
I
trusted you.”

Her face stayed serene as
ever. 
 
“I told you hope was not lost.”

Strong arms wrapped around
me, pulling me so close every inch of me was pressed against
Heath’s body. 
 
“You had to have known I would
never let you go so easily.”

But I
didn’t. 
 
I couldn’t.

His jaw brushed my hair back
from my ear, sending a quiver along its
wake. 
 
“We can talk about this later because right now we have
unfinished business, remember?”

I whirled on
him. 
 
“Not so fast, one track mind.” 
 
Shaking, I shot out a halting
finger that touched his broad chest to keep him from pulling me
closer again. 
 
“I’ll deal with you in a
minute.” 
 
He smiled. 
 
I shook my head fighting the
distraction.

With a fraying leash on my
temper, I faced Tabitha. 
 
“Where’s my
family?”

She didn’t react, keeping
her voice as calm as her expression. 
 
“They are safe, as are the
Elementals who have not been bonded.”

I relaxed a little bit, but
something unexplainable kept the wariness in my
mind. 
 
“Where are we?”

Creed’s voice came from
behind me. 
 
“Don’t tell me you’ve already adjusted to being
here. 
 
Last time took you hours.”

The dark
realms? 
 
A smile found my mouth. 
 
His were the hands I’d felt
guiding me here. 
 
He’d brought me where not even
Ainessa could touch me.

Every time I saw him lately,
his face was more human. 
 
His skin had paled again to a
light gray. 
 
It could have been the lighting, but I figured soon he’d be
back to his old self.

“
Thank you,” I said, finding
it hard to use my voice. 
 
This was twice he’d helped me
get away from Ainessa, and this was twice I had no words to express
how grateful I was to him.

“
As I told you before, we are at
your command, my lady.”

My jaw
tightened. 
 
“In that case, I need you to do me a
favor.”

“
Anything.”

Zach had mentioned
Travis. 
 
If I didn’t act fast, they would take him to use as leverage
against me. 
 
“I have a cousin that needs rescuing, and unfortunately, I’m
not able to leave the realms.”

“
I will dispatch a team posthaste,
but, my lady, are you sure you want to bring him here?”

Why wouldn’t I
be? 
 
“He’s important to me.”

Creed
nodded. 
 
“I only ask because some of your family members have not been
happy about their…accommodations.”

Some? 
 
No. 
 
Aunt Grace most likely. 
 
“I’ll talk to
them. 
 
We appreciate your hospitality.”

He gave me a nod before he
vanished.

I had so much more to talk
to Creed about, but now was not the time. 
 
I’d need every last member of
the dark realms if I had a chance of defeating Ainessa, and it was
about time they were rewarded for good
service. 
 
I fully intended to name all of
them. 
 
It’d be hard to come up with that many names, but I’d
manage.

Heath took his place at my
side, capturing my hand. 
 
His voice came out soft,
alluring, making me aware of his body that was deliciously close to
mine. 
 
“Might take him a while to find that one.”

“
Why do you say
that?” 
 
Travis was hard to miss in a crowd with his dark eyes that
looked almost black and his bright blond
hair. 
 
It was such an odd combination. 
 
Something nagged at me about
him, but I couldn’t name it.

Heath moved in, crowding me
deeper into the room. 
 
Tingles exploded across my
skin where he touched me. 
 
He gave me a look that shot
heat to my toes. 
 
“Answers
later. 
 
I’m not waiting another second to have
you.”

My whole body
flushed. 
 
Tabitha made some excuse to leave that I didn’t make
out. 
 
I
couldn’t hear anything above the beating of my
heart.

Heath pulled me into the
corner where more candles illuminated a bed decked out in red
velvet. 
 
Soft music washed over me. 
 
I
gasped. 
 
I knew that song.

I’d picked it out a long
time ago as the song I wanted to play the first time I…my hand
covered my gaping mouth as I took in the rest of the
room. 
 
Every detail set the tableau of my dreams.

I turned in Heath’s arms and
settled my fingers on his chest. 
 
The growing warmth of passion
ignited my mind. Seeming to be all I could manage, my voice
came out in a whisper. 
 
“How did you
know?”

He smiled down at me with
his too tempting lips. 
 
“I know everything there is to
know about you, Rayla.” 
 
His eyes grew dark with
promised pleasure. 
 
The spicy scent that could
only belong to him lingered around me, luring me deeper into his
spell. 
 
“Now, enough talking.” 
 
Warm lips met mine, carrying
me away to a blissful shore.

I took everything he gave me
before I ventured into my own seduction, setting my fingers to
explore every inch of his body. 
 
He clasped my hands, stopping
my downward progression.

“
Heath,” I said, doubt twisting my
insides.

He stroked my fingers before
he placed my arms at my sides. 
 
“Not
yet.” 
 
He gave me a wicked once over then
smiled. 
 
“First, let me make you mine.”

I nodded, vaguely aware his body
pressing against mine, of my clothes disappearing, of the warmth of
his skin, of his hands straddling my back before he lifted me into
his arms.

My mind surrendered to him
completely, no longer capable of thought, all I could do was
feel.