Protector of the Flame (49 page)

“That I’m…” Her lips, rose-colored and full, moved but no sound came from her mouth.

“You and I are
kabashem
, two halves of one soul.” He lifted her fingers to the mark on his chest. “We’re meant for each other.”

“What? Soul mates?” she scoffed, skimming the birthmark.

“Not in the distorted way you think of today. Our affinity is far more complex.” He struggled to clarify. The feel of her fingertips gliding across his chest brought him peace of mind, even though he could practically taste her fear and confusion. They were together. The rest would fall into place. “We’re one soul, split into two different bodies. Our kind—”

“Our kind?” She pulled away, brushing his hand from her hair, and pressed against the car door. “I asked you to tell me something that made sense.”

Coldness seeped into his skin down to his blood, penetrating bone. He needed her touch and the warmth of her body.

He gripped her hands, determined not to let her go. Heat cascaded through his flesh, sparking his arousal. He needed to taste her. To have her open for him so he could bury himself deep inside.

Desire whipped at his mind, urging his body to action. He strained to focus on her questions to help her understand.

“You’ve suffered from violent outbursts or depression since you hit puberty,” he said, not knowing exactly how severe things must have been for her, separated from the collective. “You’ve never been sick and if you’ve had an injury like a broken bone, you healed faster than others, than humans. You feel like you’re waiting for something, and once you find it your life will make sense.”

She stared at him wide-eyed. He could sense her fear draining, but some other emotion was building. Her chest no longer rose and fell. She was holding her breath. She was in shock.

“Breathe.” He cupped her face. “I know this is sudden and overwhelming, but I’ll help you through it.” He wanted far more than to help her. He wanted to feel her hot body writhing with the need to have his. Above all, he wanted to protect her from every awful thing in the world.

Serenity clutched the car seat, fingers biting into the buttery leather as Cyrus’s words resonated within. She had experienced episodes of depression for as long as she could remember, but what child who had their parents ripped out of their lives wouldn’t? She must’ve had strep throat or the flu at least once. She combed her memories, but couldn’t recall a single instance when she’d been sick. Yet what he said couldn’t be right.

“This isn’t possible,” she said. “Energy weapons, instant healing, Kindred aliens—”

“We’re not human, but we’re not aliens. You and I are halves of the same soul, meant for each other.”

The idea of predestination or that she had no control over her future didn’t ring true.

“Are you saying I need you for my life to make sense?” Every instinct screamed for her to slide her hands over his legs, chest—the birthmark—to ignite sparklers of heat in her flesh, but she tightened her fingers into fists instead. “I determine what’s important in my life, and what’s real.”

“How can you determine what’s important, when you don’t know who you are or where you come from?”

“You don’t know me.”

“Let’s suspend the idea that you need me, and let’s entertain the idea that I need you.”

He grazed her cheek and lips with his thumb. She stared into the dark pools of his dynamic eyes. Animalistic hunger reflected back.

A moan rumbled in his chest, sounding distinctly similar to a growl.

“Imagine living in a world with constant overcast skies,” he said. “Picture an arid land, where nothing green can flourish, barren of natural majesty such as flowers or rain. Then one day, you see the sun and the ocean. You feel warmth and the sprinkle of saltwater on your tongue. Imagine smelling a gardenia for the first time or walking on dew-covered moss with your bare feet. How could you go back to an empty world of gray? I couldn’t, even if I wanted.” He sighed. “I don’t know how else to explain what I feel right now, touching you, being near you.”

Heat simmered in her midsection, rushing up to her scalp and down to her nether lips. He seized her face in his hands and claimed possession of her mouth. His tongue swept in, delving deeply, intent on conquering. He clutched her tighter. The ferocious urgency of his need overpowered all of her restraint, and she surrendered to the embrace of his arms.

A burning desperation to satiate his hunger dominated her mind. She wanted to please him, to take as much of his energy as she could offer in return. Their greedy tongues entangled. Her back arched, his fingers commanding her body to mold to his.

A swell of desire broke upon her soul, quenching a thirst she never knew she had, effacing all doubt. She didn’t care about yesterday. She didn’t know about tomorrow. Only this sweet, reckless moment mattered, and she never wanted it to end.

She explored his firm chest and back, delighting in his sculpted muscles and smooth skin. Cradled in silky warmth, she wanted more of him. Buds of pleasure flourished in her core, winding through her body, deepening between her thighs.

One strong hand curled around her hip. Cyrus slid her body down underneath him, resting her head on the seat. Spreading her legs with his hips, he pressed his body to hers, rubbing the bulge in his pants against her pelvis. Swooning from the weight of his body bearing down on her, she threaded her fingers in his thick hair. He subjugated her with his hot mouth, his rapacious tongue demanding more.

His savage hands—intense yet in complete control—tugged at her clothes and swept through her hair. She ran her fingers along his spine and buttocks, bringing him closer. His thick erection pressed against her moist sex, their clothing an irritating barrier.

Waves of his energy washed over and through her, merging with hers. She opened herself to him, ready to share all she had to give. His body hummed like a tuning fork made of chiseled flesh.
 

The vibrations of her energy attuned to the flow of his. Visceral threads stretched from her core, connecting them together through their current of energy, anchoring her to him.

Ecstasy and lightness ballooned inside her, until her body was a buoy floating on pure energy. Pleasure blossomed in layers, deepening, rising…so close to a peak.

“We’re home,” Cassian said, somewhere in the distance.

She never felt the car stop and had no idea how long they’d been at a standstill. Her eyes fluttered open. Yearning left her breathless. Cyrus sat up, hovering over her.

The young man peered at them through a crack in the partition. He must have been quite intrigued by what he saw. His entire body was turned toward them, his nose pressed to the glass.

“Cassian, get out,” Cyrus said in a low, husky voice.

The boy hopped out.

Cyrus caressed her face, drawing closer until he kissed her, a quick brush of his mouth on her lips and cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his waist, running her hands up his back. His fingers slid her shirt up, baring her stomach.

Her car door opened and bright sunlight intruded.

She tilted her head back. Glaring light hit her, bringing her back to her senses. She jerked away from Cyrus, scooting upright while adjusting her clothes.

A little talk of soul mates and she had completely lost her head.

An attractive man with steely gray eyes scrutinized them. “Cyrus, the team is on the way here. We have to euthanize another with blood frenzy. The situation is dire. It can’t wait.”

“All right, Abbadon. I’ll be ready by the time they arrive.”

Chest heaving, Cyrus stared at her, his eyes wild with raw hunger like he wanted to gobble her up. Something told her she’d enjoy every nibble and lick.

Love blooms across species, cultures, and time.

Scent of Salvation

© 2013 Annie Nicholas

Chronicles of Eorthe, Book 1

Stranded in another dimension, on a primitive version of Earth, Dr. Susan Barlow needs to find a way to survive. There’s no electricity, no cities, and to her shock, no humans. Instead, she faces a population of werewolves, vampires and incubi. The people are vicious but she must find her place among them. And live.

An illness is killing Sorin’s pack. As alpha it’s his responsibility to save them, but it’s a battle this warrior doesn’t know how to fight. Then a blue light in the sky brings a creature he’s never seen. She calls herself human, but to him she smells like hope.

Sorin offers Susan a safe haven in return for a cure, but she’s not
that
kind of a doctor. She’s a doctor of physics, not a physician. Yet as they search for a cure to save a dying people, they find something special—each other.

But even with Sorin’s protection, Susan can’t help but wonder how long she can survive in a world without humans…

Warning: Feral shifters, power-hungry vampires, and a sole human female suffering culture shock.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Scent of Salvation:

“What are you?” the female asked.

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was speaking to him. “I—I’m a wolf shifter, alpha of the Apisi.” Taking a slow step forward, he sniffed close to her body. “What in creation are you?” Now that he stood only a few inches from her, he could see her un-callused hands, as if she’d never seen a single day’s hard work. No scars on the exposed skin of her neck and face. Apparently, she’d never fought for dominance either. Even her fine, tailored clothes appeared too rich for the area.

She struggled to free her arms but only made things worse. “What?” Cocking her head to the side, she stared at him. “I’m human.”

“Stay still.” He snapped the order. Sorin released his retractable claws on one hand, sliced the vines, and freed her arms. “I’ve never heard of hu-man. You must live farther south from the vampires.” So he’d been following the scent of a human.

She clutched her neck with shaky hands. “Vampires?” Her gaze never left his claws as he slowly sliced her legs free.

Once done, he gave her space. Her fear scent excited his beast since fright usually accompanied prey. He tapped his foot, his claws clicking against the stone floor. “What are you doing on Temple lands?”

“I’m lost.” The human spoke so softly he had to strain to hear. She kept glancing between him and golden-furred Peder as if waiting for one of them to pounce.

He tried not to stare so hard. Soft creatures didn’t survive in the wild long, and this female was filled with all different kinds of softness. He sighed. “Did you see the blue light?” All he had wanted was a few moments of peace. Instead, he found…her.

“No, where was it?” She sidestepped toward the Temple exit.

“Right above our heads, not long ago.” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know how you missed it.” Since she fell out of it. He’d seen her limp form tumbling in the air from the light just before it winked out.

She trembled, and her scent changed. “I—I—oh yeah, the blue light. Weird phenomenon. Scared the shit out of me.” She quickened her steps to the exit. “I should be heading home.”

“How?” The scent of her untruths grew stronger. Everyone knew you couldn’t lie to shifters. Why was she trying? “You just said you were lost. Will you wander unaccompanied through our forests until someone worse than me finds you?”

Peder quietly stepped behind her to block the exit. He might be submissive for a male, but he was smarter than most and could work without guidance. Sorin would make a hunter of him if it was the last thing he did.

The human blinked her large brown eyes, such an unusual color. Everyone he knew had amber, blue or green eyes, never the rich darkness of mother earth. Life came from the earth, which was why they returned their dead to it. Did this human bring life with her?

“Maybe the Goddess sent her?” Peder’s softly spoken question quieted Sorin’s doubts.

Fanning his ears, Sorin stepped closer to her. “Did she send you?” What little hope he’d sheltered for his people had vanished this morning when he’d spoken the burial rites over the graves. This stranger shed some light through his despair.

She shook her head. “N-no.”

“You will return with me.” Sent from the Goddess or not, he couldn’t afford to take any chances by letting her go. So much for not dragging an unmarked female to his den. It would make hunting and defense that much harder since his healthy hunters would strut through their canyon home and beat each other senseless over a stray.

Her gaze darted to the doorway just before she slipped under his arm and past Peder’s reach. Swift as a jackrabbit, she scrambled down the stairs and squeezed into the thick brush surrounding the Temple.

As he watched her escape, Sorin shook his head. He really was tired. Too many sleepless nights in a row were affecting his reflexes. The odd blue light, her sudden appearance and his need for a miracle were too coincidental.

He pointed at Peder. “Go get the flowers and bring them to Lailanie. I’ll take care of the female.”

“Chasing will only frighten her more, Alpha.” Peder still stared at the floor, but at least he offered his advice without being coerced.