Healing Fire (7 page)

Unable to stop himself, he reached for
her shoulders, pulling her flush against his body. Her surprised gasp gave him
what he wanted, and he wasted no time in claiming her mouth.

Her flavor burst across his taste
buds, sweet and addictive. He lifted her a little higher and lowered her onto
the bench behind them. He slid his hands up her arms to cup her neck and hold
her captive while he delved deeper exploring every recess of her mouth, her
tongue tangling with his. Unexpectedly, she wound her arms around his neck and
kissed him back with a hungry passion of a woman long starved of a man's
attention. He wanted to devote hours, days, centuries to give her all she
needed, all she wanted.

It wasn't enough. He needed to feel
her skin under his fingers. His search netted him the hem of her top. He pushed
it up and slid his hand underneath. He groaned into her mouth at the feel of
her soft skin under the palm of his hand. So good, so soft, he needed more and
so did she.

Summer bucked her hips toward him in
open invitation.

He sucked at her lower lip before
trailing open mouth kisses along her chin and down her neck. At the same time
he tore at the top of her jeans, pushing them open with one hand and delving
down towards her center.

He took her lips again, nipping at
them before licking away the sharp sting. She shuddered and moaned. When his
fingers found her core, he slid them into her wet heat, finding her little nub
with his middle finger.

She shuddered and mewled. As he
circled, she gasped, throwing back her head and pushing herself against his
hand.

He rubbed a little harder and faster,
supporting her back with one arm as her body began to tremble. Her eyes closed,
her lips parted and she panted, straining towards release. He longed to see her
come apart in his arms.

Her breath hitched, and he knew. He
crushed his mouth over hers capturing her cry as she shook in his arms reaching
her peak.

"So beautiful, my lady, my
Summer. I want to worship every inch of you, let me touch you."

He pulled out his hand and gently
stroked her, laying soft kisses over her face and hair. Slowly, she came down
from her climatic bliss.

"Mom, are you coming?"
Blossom's voice shattered the sensual spell of what they just shared.

Her head shot up, her eyes widened. He
could see the guilt written all over her face. She shoved urgently at his chest
and struggled to get off the bench.

"I'm coming, baby," she
called, her trembling fingers fumbling with the buttons on her jeans.

"Here." He brushed aside her
hands and smoothed down her top and re-fastened the top button of her jeans. He
gently set her on her feet, so not to jar her injured leg. Melor grabbed her
arm before she could escape him fully.

"Do not regret what we just did.
I do not, and want to see you flush with pleasure many times. I will make love
to you. I will make you mine."

Her mouth opened but slammed shut
again. She pulled away, shaking her head.

"No, I…can't…please…I can't."

She tugged on her arm and he let her go.
She limped hurriedly down the hall.

"Mom, are you okay?" he
heard Blossom ask.

"I'm fine, baby. Let's get you
tucked into bed." Their voices trailed off.

Melor
tried to shift the fabric of his turrets, but nothing eased the painful ache.

He moved about the house to secure it
as Summer did every night before he retreated to the wash chamber to take care
of his own needs.

He knew things were moving faster than
he'd anticipated, but he'd been unable to help himself. What they started was
far from over. No, it was just the spark of a bigger flame.

~ * ~

Summer managed to hold it together
while reading a bed time story to Blossom. She hugged and kissed her good night.
Her daughter didn't need to know the emotional minefield going on in her mother's
head.

"See you in the morning, my
little koala." Quietly, she closed her daughter's door.

The house was silent except for soft
sounds of water running in the shower. Summer moved about to check the house
was locked up only to find Melor had already done it.

She hobbled to her bedroom, sinking
down on the edge of the bed. She stared off into space, seeing nothing, only
feeling the turmoil and confusion swirling inside faster than a twister.

Her guilt and grief over Tyler's death
ate away at her soul like a cancer. She realized it was the driving force
behind everything she did; her decision to stay and raise Blossom in the U.S.
instead of flying back to her family in Australia. The reason behind keeping a
distance from every man who showed the slightest interest in her.

Her throat constricted, knowing she
only had herself to blame for the dull, lonely ache gnawing at her soul.

Melor, in one heated moment, made her
feel more alive than she had when she'd been with Tyler for five years. Her body
still tingled from the climax he'd given her, yet he'd not demanded anything in
return, just his bold statement.

I will make love to you; I will make
you mine.
Melor's
words echoed in her head. The mere thought of him touching her intimately
again, making love to her, made her heart hammer in her chest, her body flame
again with desire.

He is a beautifully sexy man. Many
women would lust after him. Why would he even want a scar riddled, overweight
woman like her? It only proved he was more insane than she first thought.

Warm tears spilled from her eyes,
running down her cheeks, and dampening her shirt. She grabbed at the Kleenex
box by the table, yanked out several white tissues and blew her nose before
lying down on the bed.

What was she going to do? She couldn't
have a relationship with a crazy stranger. Despite how he made her feel inside,
it was utter madness. She needed to be responsible. She had a daughter to take
care of for goodness sake.

Simply thinking about what Tyler would
have thought of her made the tears fall faster.

God, she missed him so much, even
after three years. How could she betray his love like this?

Melor needed to go before it got out
of hand. Hell, it was already out of hand, but it was time to bring it to an
end, once and for all. She needed to get her life, sanity and her body back
under control before it controlled her.

Slowly, she pulled herself up and
prepared for bed. She couldn't face Melor again tonight;
tomorrow
she
promised herself.

Tomorrow, I will be stronger. I will
make him leave.

Chapter
Six

The gleam of his crystal dagger on top
of the kitchen bench caught Melor's eye. Beside it lay his sword and the small
items from his pockets along with the protector's bracelet.

His jaw clenched in anger knowing what
this meant; she wanted him to leave. He picked up the bracelet and shoved it
into his pocket. His crystal blade he slipped into his boot.

He had not asked for his belongings,
knowing Summer had not stolen them, but put them in a safe place away from the
reaches of Blossom, forever the little
Breven
mother protecting her
young.

"Good morning, Melor."
Blossom ran down the hall.

He
smiled, knelt down to greet her as she threw her arms around his neck giving
his cheek a kiss.

"Good morning, little Blossom.
Did you sleep well?"

"Oh yes. I dreamed we all went to
Kell, and you helped Mom get better."

"'Tis a fine dream. One I wish
could come true for you and your mother." With all his soul he wanted to
make Blossom's dream come true, somehow prove to Summer he was in earnest,
prove to her Kell existed and he could heal her. He had little time to do so,
if she truly wanted him gone. Then he would have no choice but to leave.
Forcing her to journey to L.A and to the agency would only make her fear him.

Melor removed his sword from the bench
as Blossom curiously eyed it.

"What's that?"

"My warrior's sword, Blossom.
Your mother was looking after it for me. But it is not for the hands of little
girls."

Blossom's lower lips stuck out in a
pout. "May I see it, please?"

Melor shook his head. Despite wanting
to give in to her wide pleading eyes, he had promised Summer not to mention
Kell to Blossom. "Perhaps another time; I will put it away for now."

He quickly moved down the hall to his
allocated bedchamber and placed it on top of the tall wardrobe before returning
to the kitchen.

Summer appeared. Her lovely dark hair
hung about her shoulders in damp tresses. He longed to slide his fingers
through it.

"Good morning, Melor." Her
tone was flat and formal.

"Good morning, Summer. I hope you
slept well." He remembered to conform his speech patterns to the human way
of talking. He wanted to make her feel more at ease around him. She glanced up
and he could see her bloodshot eyes, suggesting she had slept very little.

"Fine, thank you."

He knew what she was doing; her walls
were up and she was shutting him out. Melor sat down and clenched his fist
under the bench. All he wanted to do in that moment was sweep around the
counter and pull her into his arms, kissing away her stubbornness until neither
of them could think.

He watched her take more of the little
white pills which helped her to manage her pain before she began to move about
the kitchen and prepare breakfast.

"I will mend the porch steps today
and the bushes along the back fence line. Do you wish me to cut them back?"

"Um, yes, thank you. Blossom,
could you take the basket and go pick some blueberries by the stream. I'm
pretty sure they're ripe. I know Melor would like some on his pancakes this
morning." Summer directed a loving smile at her daughter.

"Sure, Mom. Blueberry pancakes
are the best!" Blossom grinned at Melor. She wriggled off her stool,
running to the front door where a few baskets sat along the windowsill. The
door swung shut behind Blossom.

Melor turned back to find Summer
staring at him. The longing he saw in her face she quickly masked with one of
stern resolve.

"I need to take Blossom into town
today; she has a dance lesson in the afternoon. I will pay you for your work,
but I think it best if you go back to wherever it is you came from."

"I have no desire for payment.
You owe me nothing, and I have no wish to leave you. Have I not proven myself
helpful?"