Fire and Flame (11 page)

She simply had to find the solution—the compromise that would get her a portion of what she wanted in addition to doing what was demanded of her. But for the first time in her life, Sara couldn’t see any choice that didn’t involve giving up everything she’d ever wanted.

And the one person she would have gone to for advice was the reason she was in such an untenable situation.

****

Brent shoved his arm into the sleeve of his leather jacket. Sara had been upstairs thumping about as she often did before she went out. He wasn’t going to give her a chance to lose him tonight. She’d take him along if he had to handcuff himself to her.

He was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when she came bouncing down dressed in a pink tank top beneath a long sleeve white shirt and a pair of skinny dark rinsed jeans. Skinny jeans were the worst fashion invention of the decade. Spandex would have won out if Sara had ever been unfashionable enough to wear them.

The body clinging material showed her trim shape while hiding everything that mattered. The teasing hint only made him want to peel them down her narrow legs at a slow pace like he was revealing the sweet, soft interior of a banana. Then like his favorite fruit, he’d lick her until she was soft in his palm. Chills slithered up his arm even thinking it. He made himself look away from the glimpses of her collarbone beneath the shirt because he was already more aroused than he had any right to be.

“I’m going with you.” His voice sounded gruff to his ears, which meant it was probably snarling to hers.

Yet she merely laughed in her light sarcastic way as she twisted around the banister. “Are you trying to protect me or keep me from having fun?”

He was fast on her heels while she breezed through the dining room.

Sara sent him a smirk over her shoulder. “Maybe both?”

Brent’s cheeks heated because she’d voiced what he hadn’t admitted to himself. Her laughter this morning had made him want to dash her phone to pieces. This outing to the bowling alley would put his self-control to the test.

The earlier decision to seduce her resurfaced as her smirk softened into a knowing grin. Sara thought she had the upper hand here, did she? They’d just see about that.

Brent forced his face to relax into what he hoped was a flippant expression. Though his forehead still felt strained, he was hopeful that his mouth held a careless smile and his eyes twinkled. Sara’s eyebrows drifted up her forehead. Perhaps it was a good sign.

He spoke the retort as lightly as he could manage. “Maybe I’m trying to protect you and ensuring you only have fun with me.”

Sara stumbled near the kitchen island as her features widened. Brent’s careless smile was a whole lot easier to hold after that point. He strode around her to the side door.

“Where are we going?” Vanessa spoke from the corridor.

Sara’s entire body drew upright into a stiff line. Water rushed through the nearby pipes. Brent scowled because he suspected their guest had come out of the downstairs bathroom. If only they’d been a few seconds quicker they might have left without Vanessa noticing.

“
We
are not going anywhere,” Sara said in a tight voice. “You and he are staying here.”

She whirled around and grabbed hold of the door beside him. Her fragrance wafted through the air, filling his nose with its warm notes. By the Phoenix, he wanted to bathe in her.

While he was busy smelling her, she was yanking the door open. His grip remained steady. Each new exertion she undertook brought a deeper carnelian into her cheeks until her skin had a crimson sheen.

“Let go,” she snapped under her breath.

“You got away from me last night,” he snapped right back. “You’re not getting away tonight.”

“You didn’t try very hard,” she had the nerve to accuse.

“Not try?” Brent repeated in slow disbelief. “You deliberately passed someone illegally, going twenty over the limit to lose me!”

“I understand that you’re more comfortable in the passenger seat flinging fireballs than driving.”

Brent’s grip on the door went hard as iron. Was she implying he was a better killer than a driver? What hope did he ever have of softening her to his advances if she believed that? Sara wanted him to train her to be a better Fire witch so she could
stop
the violence!

His voice went cool as he fought the sting of hopelessness. “Insulting me isn’t going to keep me from protecting you.”

She stomped her heel onto the stone floor. A quiet yet shrill scream emitted from between her clenched teeth. Then her eyes narrowed in determination.

Without warning, Sara shot through the kitchen past Vanessa.

“Shit,” he swore once he’d worked out what she was doing. “Sara!”

But she was already to the front door and onto the porch. By the time he dashed through the door she’d slammed shut, she was in her car, peeling out of the driveway.

It was a damn good thing he’d turned on the GPS tracking on her phone when she’d been sleeping. Provided she hadn’t noted it and disabled it, he’d be able to track her anywhere. Just let her lose him this time.

Chapter Fourteen

Whatever tongue-lashing Sara received later would be completely worth the look on Brent’s face. It had been almost comical how livid and wide his eyes had grown. She hadn’t realized his skin could turn that shade of fuchsia. If only she’d had time to snap a photo. At least the memory would live on in her mind for all time.

He knew she was going bowling but with the countless bowling alleys in the city he’d be hard pressed to find her before they headed to dinner. Still, she was careful to take the popular route, avoiding any potential attacks from Ena witches.

The time on her phone read twenty after five when she pulled into the lot of Freddie’s favorite bowling alley. Early Monday evening seemed a good time to bowl. There weren’t many cars parked out front and those parked had left plenty of prime spaces.

Sara didn’t see Freddy’s old Kia but she wasn’t sure if he’d bought a new car since they’d last met up. In any case, he’d be at least ten minutes longer given the traffic and distance from his office. She took her time walking inside, enjoying the warm breezes passing over her skin.

By the time she’d rented her shoes and claimed the lane at the far left of the alley, she’d fully relaxed after the confrontation in the kitchen. Her ease lasted only as long as it took her to remember what Brent had said.

He only wanted her to have fun with him?

Surely he didn’t mean it. He had
sounded awfully flippant. But the hard edge to his eyes when he’d said it…

Enough worrying about Brent.

Tonight she’d get a strike first, and then demand seafood. It had been far too long since she’d had oysters. If Freddy won, she’d persuade him to choose the same with tales of aphrodisiacs.

Of course, going that route would be inviting something to happen after dinner. Sara didn’t think it was a good idea. Avoiding Freddy James wouldn’t be as easy as it had been to leave Johnathon. Freddy knew where she lived. What right did she have giving any human hope when she’d have to breed with someone else very soon?

Sara’s breath caught when that very someone else stalked through the door. She shrunk back against the wall in the hope of blending but it was no use. Brent’s glittering gaze honed in on her within milliseconds.

With each foot he closed, another of the deep wrinkles slashing across his forehead became visible. A cold chill flitted up her back when he finally reached her. The savage set of his eyes didn’t bode well. Nor did the grim line of his lips quivering in time with the furious ticking of his cheek. Sara’s attention dropped to the hands clenched at either side of his hips. One had formed a white-knuckled grip while the other looked ready to hurl fire.

God above, was Brent in danger of killing her because she hadn’t allowed him to protect her?

No sooner had the question whispered across her mind did Brent’s Fire hurling hand shoot out. He grasped her throat before she could do little more than flinch. Sara fearfully choked on her next breath.

But his fingers didn’t clench. They didn’t squeeze. Nor did they tighten. Instead, Brent’s touch was hot but shockingly gentle.

Another shiver wound its way up her back. This time it was a far different sort.

Brent pulled her toward him, stepping forward until their bodies met in the middle. His lips smashed over hers at a perfect slant for them both.

It was an angry kiss but it was a
kiss
. Sara’s skin flushed with intense warmth. Tiny prickles of sensation cascaded over her arms that had nothing to do with the roughness of the stubble around his mouth. A quiet, mortifying noise of need escaped her. Correctly interpreting it, Brent brought them closer still. Her body fit neatly between his thighs except for the hardening obstacle within his jeans. Where her upper body brushed his, she experienced her own hardening.

“If I’d known bowling got you so hot, I would have asked you here hours ago.”

Sara went cold all over at the purring voice that had interrupted. She shoved at Brent’s chest with the flat of her hand. Though he gave her the space she’d wordlessly demanded, the fire in his eyes remained. Sara took several steps back. They would need a whole lot more distance before she’d feel secure with him in the same building after that kiss.

A pair of seconds passed in which they stared at each other, bemusement swirling in their gazes. Then they glared at Vanessa almost as one. The witch’s response was a high-pitched titter as she dropped herself into one of the molded chairs at the mouth of the lane. Her pose was comfortable as if she didn’t intend to decamp anytime soon.

“Sassy Sara!” Freddy’s voice at the entrance meant this awkward party was officially over.

If only he could have arrived four minutes earlier.

****

Brent had surprised himself as much as he’d shocked Sara. He’d been ready to harm something when he’d stalked into the bowling alley. A prayer to the Phoenix for Sara’s beau to be late had been the only protection he’d taken in with him. Then he’d seen her warily watching the entrance.

He’d seen the way she shrank against the wall as if she’d thought he’d set her aflame in the middle of the venue. The image had only flared his fury that much higher. When he’d decided to kiss her instead of strangle her had been the moment his fingers brushed the silk of her skin. That had also been when he’d realized with absolute certainty for all of his shouting and blustering he could never harm Sara.

Everyone else…

His gaze narrowed critically on her friend. The curly-haired head and mischievous eyes were familiar.

“Brent?” the guy asked with a tilted head.

Wordlessly he nodded.

“What are you doing here?”

Vanessa hopped to her feet, slipping her arm around Brent’s waist. “Double date. Hiya, Freddy. Remember me?”

Freddy James. How could he have forgotten? Sara had dated him in her sophomore year of high school. He’d been a senior. Brent had hated him and only part of it was because the pair had gone to the senior prom together. She’d been devastated when Freddy had broken up with her days before going off to Purdue.

“Vanessa Aine.” Freddy’s tone was clearly appreciative, a sound that matched the wicked curve of his lips. The guy’s gaze swung back to Brent before returning to their guest. “Dating secretaries?” He winked playfully. “I’m an associate vice president, you know.”

Brent’s attention shot to Sara. How would she take the obvious flirtation? She was watching him rather than her date. Pink rose in her cheeks when she noted his gaze on her. She quickly looked away. He planted his feet on the wood to keep himself from going to her. Brent wanted to kiss her blush brighter, to push his hands into her honey hair, to lay her down atop the floor and cover her with himself…

He needed to do something productive before he got himself in trouble.

Brent faced Vanessa. “What’s your shoe size?”

“Nine and a half,” she mumbled without taking her eyes off Freddy.

“Hold up, buddy,” Freddy called after when he’d started for the rental area.

The guy easily caught up though Brent didn’t slow his pace.

“What’s the story with these two?” Freddy asked once they’d moved out of earshot. “Sara used to complain about how much she disliked Vanessa when we dated.”

Brent lifted his shoulders negligently. “Vanessa is going through a rough patch. We’re helping her out.”

Freddy turned a perplexed eye on him. “We?”

He made himself give a sober nod. “We live together.”

Brent hadn’t planned to deliberately sabotage Sara’s date. The opportunity had presented itself without him having to lie. He wasn’t about to fix it now.

“‘We’ being you and Sara?” Freddy’s tone had lost its carefree edge. Suspicion formed in the lines around his features as he glanced toward the women.

“Yes.”

“Why did she call me for a date?”

“Did she call it a date?” Brent was fairly certain he knew the answer already.

“No…” Freddy’s attention focused on Brent’s face, perhaps looking for answers there. “Why did she call me if she has you at home?”

Brent’s gaze moved to Sara. She watched him dubiously. Sara was intelligent. No doubt she had an inkling of what he was up to while he had Freddy as an audience.

Still he went on with the truth she wouldn’t have wanted Freddy to hear. “Her father died last week. I was close to him these past five years. We’ve both been very upset by his passing. I’m not very good company right now.”

“Why did Vanessa call it a double date?”

“Like I said, Vanessa is going through a rough patch. Her boyfriend has threatened violence. She feels safe with me. But we’re not together.”

“You and Sara.” Freddy shook his head, a slow movement that might have been disbelief. “You two fought like an old married couple all through school.”

Back then everything had seemed egregious. To them both, he assumed. Now… Now none of the things they’d fought about at school mattered.