Frozen Heart of Fire (4 page)

Chapter Six

“I can’t tell you anything because I don’t know,” she whispered as Joshua nodded. He’d said he couldn’t protect her, but he’d lied. He didn’t know what it was about her, what drew him to her, but neither his cousin nor anyone else would get their hands on her.

“Follow my lead,” he warned, his words whispered into her towel-dried hair. She smelled of almond shampoo, his favorite, although it smelled better on her than it ever had on him. His arm was firm around her shoulder, as he guided her back into the living area where Noah stood by the plasma screen with a larger man. Both turned as they re-entered the room.

“Prince, it’s always a pleasure to welcome you to my home.” Josh held his free hand out as they neared his cousin. Prince was tall and dark like the two brothers, but that was where the resemblance ended. This man was ugly, although it wasn’t his looks distorting his face. His eyes were dark, framed by ebony lashes and brows but his envy, and hatred warped his handsomeness into a vicious portrait of loathing. His eyes were narrowed, with deep grooves in his brow pitted by his persistent glowering.

“Cousin, it is an honor to enter your home,” Prince spoke, his tone barely peeking above freezing, but his eyes danced immediately to the face of the woman sheltered beneath Joshua’s shoulder. “And who is this sweet little thing?”

“Eva, this is my cousin, Prince,” Joshua tightened his hold on the woman as she shuddered. “Prince, this is Eva, my woman, my soulmate.” He ignored the heated look Eva flared at him. He’d told her to follow his lead, how would she handle this? Would she go along with it?

“Your soulmate? I hadn’t heard…” Prince cast his eyes over the strange- looking woman. Her pale hair was damp as was Joshua’s and they both wore robes although she displayed a tantalizing peek of cleavage and her slim, bare legs showed beneath the hem of the soft robe. “I had heard you were ill.”

“If you’re concerned because I haven’t been active in the club, I am confident in Noah’s ability to deal with business without my presence—especially since this delightful woman walked into my life. I have realized my purpose in my life is to secure the title of Prince to our people and have been busy with my Eva. I didn’t realize how much fun fulfilling my duty could be.”

“Your soulmate?” Eva leaned up to hiss into Joshua’s ear. She didn’t understand what was going on but was intuitive enough to realize she shouldn’t dispute anything Joshua said to his cousin although that didn’t mean she couldn’t devise her own method of revenge. Soulmate indeed!

“Prince?” Eva turned her pale eyes to the man staring back at her. His interest was apparent in the way he stood, his hips pushed forward a little too much, his lips formed into what he believed to be a sexy snarl. “Oh my God, Josh, you were right,” she giggled, a hand reaching to cover her mouth as though she’d just committed a terrible social faux pas as she looked up into Joshua’s face.

“Right about what?” Prince immediately jumped on her laughter-filled comment. He read the joke and his anger began to build. How dare this woman join in on the joke when he, as family, wasn’t included?

She’s good,
Noah chuckled inside Josh’s mind.
She’s growing on me.

“I love your sense of humor, sweetheart.” Joshua lifted her face as he lowered his mouth to her lips and, although she struggled a little against the arm holding her to his chest, the kiss deepened, changed and she found she no longer wanted to pull away. His lips were a furnace burning her skin and his tongue pushed like a determined flame between her lips. She didn’t want this; didn’t want this man taking advantage of her, but she would kill him if he dared to stop the kiss before it had run its course. It was the touch of his hot hand on her skin, touching her breast, inching its way to where her nipple awaited his caress which caused the deep sigh to escape her throat. His fingers coaxed her, embracing, encouraging her passion but her need for this man was only just igniting.

“What are they doing?” Prince stepped back at the show of passion between his cousin and the intriguing woman.

“They’ve been like this for days; you get used to it after a while. They might disappear into the bedroom but they’ll be out in an hour or so. They’re like bloody rabbits,” Noah lied, grinning naughtily at his cousin’s discomfort.

“He’s not ill?” Prince asked with disappointment. His hopes were quickly dashed by Joshua’s obvious vigor.

“Does he look ill?” Noah smiled wider, enjoying Prince’s disenchantment. “Come have a drink; they might be a while.”

“I heard he had a bad headache,” Prince muttered, following Noah to a bar on the other side of the room. Joshua up, although he regretted the loss of contact on the woman’s chilled lips. Her eyes were closed and her lips moved to an involuntary smile. She’d enjoyed it. Joshua’s eyes locked onto Noah who slowly shook his head. No, he hadn’t told anyone about Joshua’s headaches. No one knew except the two of them, the Ice Witch and the creator of the pain.

Noah scowled with suspicion at Eva as she turned her head and opened her eyes. The energy of the room had changed and was back to what it had been when they’d first brought her there. Joshua raised a hand, a finger rubbing at his forehead. Was the headache coming back or just the memory of that pain lurking inside his mind? Was the woman in his cousin’s employ and able to remove the pain because she’d caused it?

Chapter Seven

Joshua’s arm tightened on hers as he led her to the sofa and pulled her down onto his lap. She stiffened but obeyed. His hot arm wrapping itself around her, appeared to be a familiar embrace and not the prison it was.

“I didn’t realize you had found your soulmate,” Prince muttered again, one hand holding a tumbler of Joshua’s expensive scotch and staring at the woman’s bared legs as she perched lover-like on Joshua’s lap. “I’m pleased for you but my woman is already carrying my child. We await his arrival with great anticipation.”

He’s lying,
Noah whispered in his brother’s mind.
He’s the one behind the headache.

I know,
Joshua spat, astonishing Noah with his cold, caustic tone.
Is Eva involved too? Can you read her?

Not with Prince here; he always interferes with the process.
Noah admitted. He didn’t like to think that the man had any power at all but, although Prince didn’t have the strength to read thoughts nor the patience to learn, his energy was enough to interrupt Noah’s skill.

“I’m pleased for you,” Joshua lied, his hand on the woman’s exposed thigh and, although she tried to remove the hand and cover up her skin, Joshua’s determination wasn’t to be defied. “Obviously once we are certain, we will notify you of our own good news.” The hand around her shoulder dropped to rest over her abdomen, a sign of ownership, and of fatherhood. Eva had only known him for a short time, but she knew he would be a proud father, and an awesome lover, and that pleased her.

“I look forward to the announcement,” Prince smiled, a cold unforgiving grin. “But I didn’t come here to brag or to assure myself of your good health. I heard rumors of the presence of an Ice Witch and wanted to offer my help in detaining and destroying her.”

“The Ice Witches are dead, cousin. Don’t you remember?” Noah’s eyes caught his brother’s once more, and saw the frown growing on his brother’s brow. Joshua’s head dropped, his mouth touching Eva’s ear, a lover’s sweet nothing, a loving touch.

“Do you know this man?” he asked, demanding the answer.

“He’s your cousin. That’s all I know,” she muttered back. His breath on the skin of her neck, sent a hot tremble along her spine. What was it about him? How did he cause such a reaction from her? She wanted to find out more; she wanted to run. He was dangerous and would have no qualms about causing her death, like any of his kind. But there was something that held him back; something inside him wanting more than her death and that made her shiver more.

But Joshua believed her; Prince had never been a good liar despite his lifelong practice. Noah had never needed to use his skill, his power, to know that but Prince showed no sign of recognition. He’d never been that great an actor, although that led to other questions. How many Ice Witches had escaped the slaughter and how much danger did they represent? How had they escaped?

“Listen, don’t speak,” Joshua told her and she nodded to show she understood how dangerous it was for her to be in this room. He nodded at Noah, who whispered a soft spell, drying up any words Eva might try to say. It was a handy spell, although its effect was only temporary.

“My father was right about them. The Ice Witches were a disease in our world. The best thing we ever did was rid our planet of their filth.” Prince took a last mouthful of the priceless single malt before holding it out to Noah for a refill, then settling into one of Josh’s comfortable chairs.

“Your father?” Josh urged his cousin for more information. Something in the way Prince spoke, the pride in his voice, suggested things were not the same as their own father told them. Their uncle Mathias never made a secret of his hatred of the Ice Witches and had been the one to bring news of their rebellion, their declaration of war upon the other species. He was the one who initiated the slaughter of the tribe of Ice Witches after their betrayal.

“Yes,” Prince boasted, under the influence of his second glass of single malt. “My father was the savior of our people. He saved us all but no one gave him the recognition he deserved.”

How did he save us?
Noah asked, a touch of humor in his words. Uncle Mathias was a born-again coward—always the last to join in battle and the first to hide in his sumptuous but surreptitious hideaway. Even now, he hid away, somewhere close, but unknown to them. Was he the originator of Joshua’s pain?

“How did he save us?” Joshua repeated Noah’s words; his hand watched by both men as it dipped lower, disappearing beneath the cover of the robe, its arrival at its objective causing a startled gasp from the woman on his lap.

“He brought about the end to the Witches,” Prince gushed, his words a little slurred. “Everyone believed him but none offered him praise.”

“The Witches betrayed the treaty.” Joshua’s words were cold and his arm tightened around the woman. His brief journey around her body was terminated by the woman’s determination to get free. She couldn’t speak, could barely move, but no one seemed to notice her need to kill the man who boasted of her family’s destruction and  laughed at the slaughter her parents had suffered. He’d had pain inflicted on Joshua and she wanted to bring a modicum of that pain to Prince’s head. If only she could get free.

“Yes, they all believed it,” Prince giggled.

“It wasn’t true?” Noah gasped. His father had been convinced of the Witches’ betrayal by his own brother. He believed the strange tribe of Ice Witches had committed the deepest of treachery.

“Not a word,” Prince sniggered.

“This is a moot point since all the Ice Witches died that night,” Joshua hissed as unpleasant thoughts danced inside his head. Could they have been wrong? Could his clan have committed the worst of sins? He stared at his drunken cousin as Prince’s head dropped and he surrendered into a noisy drink-induced slumber, his mouth open with saliva dripping down his chin.

“Let me go,” Eva hissed, her mouth free to speak as she dug her sharp nails into Joshua’s hand. But he held on tight, not wanting to relinquish his hold on her as the realization of his family’s mistake struck him. It had led to the destruction of this woman’s entire species. How did anyone correct that?

“Make sure he gets home.” Joshua stood up, the woman struggling in his grasp as he lifted her into his arms. He nodded at their sleeping cousin.

“Let me go, you bastard,” Eva snarled, breathing deep and searching out her chilling power. She could freeze the blood in his beautiful body before he took another step. She could gain a measure of revenge, of peace, for her family. But it wasn’t there. Her own power hid from her touch.

“We need to talk,” Joshua hissed in way of an explanation, but he didn’t know what he was going to say. What could he say?

“We don’t need to do anything,” Eva struggled, her nails digging into the skin of his neck. She didn’t want to spoil his face. Oh no, his face was too fine to mar. He carried her through to his bedroom, lowering her to his unmade bed, ignoring her struggles and her threats. Unless she was going to reintroduce that brain numbing pain, he was determined to show her how sorry he was for his family’s immense error.

Chapter Eight

“Let me go .”Eva sent her hand across his face but Joshua barely felt the slap.

“Shut up,” he muttered as her robe fell open. The delicious sight of her beautiful breasts stole his need to talk as another desire rose in his body. His hand pushed her flat onto the bed, his lips kissed her skin from her neck down to the softest part of her body, his hand delving, lifting the tips of her breasts to his hungry mouth. Her hands entwined in his hair, an effort to force him away, but it felt so right, he felt so right and the hair pulling him away began to hold him to her. His lips were just as hot, his tongue lapping at her flesh.

Her head fell back against the soft pillows, Joshua’s multi-colored hair falling on her skin, a silky caress as he suckled sweetly at her breast. She groaned faintly, a gentle echo in her throat as Joshua’s target changed. He slid down her body, the belt at her waist tugged open on his journey. He smiled as his head rested on the curve of her hip, his hand gently stroking the feminine triangle of pale hair. She wasn’t fighting him, wasn’t defying him. She wanted this too.

His hand moved lower. She knew she should stop him, but this power he had over her held her still. She wanted to know what he would do next; she needed to know more. The excitement in her body, the building tension needed fulfillment and he could do it to her, and only he. An urge within her needed to know how he would feel inside her. How big was he? His arousal leaned against her leg, rubbing, announcing itself like a present to be opened. She wouldn’t deny him now; she couldn’t.

A slow warmth built as his fingers touched her in that special place, gentle probing, flicking, creating such delight, and when his tongue caressed her inner core, she gasped in pleasured surprise.

She was his—she would always be his now. He would mark her as only his; he would never let her go and he knew the only way to possess a woman for life was to make her want him. He laughed at the sound of the woman as she shuddered in pleasure, her hips rising from the bed seeking his tongue, his fingers and he heard a whimper escape Eva’s throat.

“My turn,” Joshua’s voice was tender but firm. He wouldn’t be denied, not now. He wanted her body full of his seed, his child in her womb. He wanted her to be his, forever.

He moved over her, his knees resting between her thighs, his hands on either side of her head as she stared with those strange pale eyes. He waited for her consent—he wanted this to be right— but desire stole any rational thoughts from his mind. He was swollen with need and only the soft warmth of her body could ease his wanting.

Eva reached out, her eyes darkening with her own desire. She’d never been in this situation before but it felt right, damn it felt wonderful. Her hands touched his neck, urging him closer. No man needed more reason than that as he slid easily inside her, her legs wrapping around his thighs, welcoming him home.

She felt a moment of pain, a mere second as he eased past her innocence and laid his full length inside her and she heard his sigh, as he began to move, a rhythm born of nature, a dance of love neither of them could refuse. She was so tight around him, her flesh so willing, so welcoming.

He cried her name out loud as need crashed around him and he exploded inside her, his arms holding her to him, refusing to let her go. She was his woman now and nothing could tear them apart. He moved to his side, pulling her with him, refusing to relinquish his hold on her.

“That wasn’t talking,” Eva’s voice was soft.

“It was better than talking,” Joshua replied, a proud grin on his lips, his tongue poking out to taste her on them.

“I don’t understand. What happened?” she asked. How had it happened? She didn’t know him and she wasn’t the type to leap into bed with a man she didn’t know. What did this make her?

“You are mine,” Joshua declared, leaning on his elbow to stare into her delicate face. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, that damned frown returning to his brow. She hated that frown.

“Only for a moment,” she told him, “but it was amazing before and after. I never realized how wonderful it could be.”

“You’re mine,” he told her again, as though he needed to be convinced too.

“I don’t know you, I don’t know anything about you,” she gasped, realizing he really did believe that soulmate rubbish. She didn’t admit to how she did know about him—she’d read all the available data on him but little of that related back to him. Being with him, touching him, negated every dangerous detail she’d learned about Joshua Ravenwood.