Shadow Visions: Shadow Warriors, Book 2 (9 page)

He could sense her loss of control and the deep grief that clung to her heart. “I understand you better than anyone. My arrogance cost me my family, and for that I paid the ultimate price, but it is not your fault, Ixa—you were a child and not to blame. Galante stole your family away, not you.”

She shook her head, her braid coming undone in the wind.

“Please, I need you to stay with me. Your emotions are feeding the wind. You must remain calm.” He reached over to pull her into his embrace but she turned and fled the cabin. His eagle screeched. Manuel took off after her.

“Ixa, wait!”

She came to a halt and turned around. “No, you wait. All my life my abuelo believed my abilities were a gift, but they are a curse. Everyone I love dies because of me. What you are asking me to do will ultimately get you killed.” Color leached from her face. Fear shone in her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Ixa wrapped her arms around her torso. A cold blast of air cut through the desert heat, kicking up dirt and tumbleweeds.

A cloud of sand gathered on the horizon. He could sense the eagle’s restlessness. Irritation at himself bubbled in his chest. He was botching this mission. He had to convince Ixa that she was capable of controlling her power. Failure meant his enemies would get the best of him. He’d vowed never to go down that road again and he’d meant it.

He stepped toward her with purpose, leaning into the wind. Bits of sand pelted him. Frustrated and afraid the damn woman would manifest another tornado, he pulled her into his arms. Her body pressed against the length of his. He took her hand and placed her palm over his heart. He looked deep into her eyes, willing her to feel everything he felt for her. “Ixa, you can’t hurt me. You are a guardian. You bear the hummingbird mark and you are my spirit mate.”

The air whipped around them. Anguish built inside her. Surely there was another way to fight against this evil, one that didn’t require her to tap into her power. She wanted to believe, but every time she unintentionally used her powers, people got hurt.
They died.
Why couldn’t he understand that?

She stared up into Manuel’s eyes and saw his trust and acceptance. She barely knew the man. And yet, he was willing to believe in her.

Her abuelo believed in her and she had let him down. She had chosen to fit in over accepting her heritage, and she may have put her abuelo at risk because of it. Worry, confusion, guilt all collided within her, pulling her to a place she feared to go. She felt like she was teetering on the edge of an abyss. Below her, a dark, fathomless pit awaited. She was terrified of falling into it, of never being able to find her way out. What if it sucked her up and she found herself with nothing to hold on to? What if she lost herself in that darkness?

Around her, the air grew stronger as if pushing her towards that edge. Pebbles hit the windowpanes of the cabin and debris from the ground slammed against their legs.

“You don’t understand. I can’t control it. These powers are not a gift—they are a curse. Horrible things happen.”

“I can help you.”

“No one can help me. Not even the gods want to help me.” Inside her, a storm of emotions fought for dominance. She had to get farther away from the cabin. So many memories were tied to this house, this land. She couldn’t let it all be destroyed because of her freakish ability. She pressed her hands against Manuel’s chest. “I’m sorry.” With a shove of power, she blew him back.

Ixa ran towards the car, ignoring Manuel’s shouts behind her. If she could get in the car and drive away, maybe, just maybe…

With each step, the wind kicked up a frenzy, swirling all around her. She brought her hands up to protect her face. Sand and wind blasted her from several directions. A dust cloud of towering proportions roared up before her, blocking her path to the vehicle.

“Get down!” Manuel appeared in front of her, massive wings billowing out from his back taking the brunt of the sandstorm. He grabbed her, pushed her down to the ground and huddled her into the curve of his body. Cocooned in feathers and strong arms, she heard only the sound of dirt and wind pounding down around them.

Chaos ruled, yet in his arms she found a safe haven.

Her tattoo flared to life. Her breath caught in her throat. His hands wrapped tightly around her, holding her, cradling her.

Huddled within Manuel’s protective arms, the despair of ever living up to the legends of her ancestors didn’t seem such an insurmountable burden. His breathing feathered against the back of her neck, warm, sensuous, sending liquid heat to her core. Like a cat, she arched back against him, unable to resist the temptation of rubbing up closer. His body jerked. His arms tightened. Then his hands moved, spanning her waist before slowly moving up to cup her breasts. She shuddered. Around them, the storm raged, but within their self-made cocoon, she could only concentrate on the feel of his hands lightly squeezing her, of his fingers rubbing against her nipples, of his erection pressing against her backside.

The emotional chaos that had driven her outside subsided, replaced by sexual heat so intense she thought she would burst into flames. The sound of the sandstorm died down abruptly.

Manuel rose to his feet, pulling her up with him. He didn’t give her time to speak. He whirled her around and his mouth slammed down on hers.

With everything she had, she kissed him back, her hands greedily thrusting into his hair, tugging his head down even as she lifted up on her toes. She understood the power of a volcano, all that intense heat searching for a release. Her body burned, burned for this one man. None of it made sense, and maybe when she found her sanity again she could figure it out, but right now, she simply wanted to let the heat consume her and forget reality.

Manuel hungered for her. He had ever since he’d seen her in that warehouse. She belonged to him. His mouth devoured hers, needing to brand her, to make her realize that she was the other half of his spirit. Without her, he had no hope.

He let his feelings pour into his kiss, saying with his lips and his tongue what he couldn’t say in words. And even if he did, would Ixa listen? She had closed herself off from her roots. Her mind warred with her instincts.

His hands stroked her back from shoulder to bottom. He shaped her buttocks, pressing her against his erection. He desperately wanted to be inside this woman, to feel her womanly heat surround him and milk him until he had nothing left to give. She moaned into his mouth, making him deepen the kiss. She tasted of the sweetest honey, an intoxicating elixir that made him crave more of her. He wondered what she would taste like lower down. A hunger to lick and taste every inch of her had his blood thrumming in his ears. Her soft, warm curves grew hot in his hands. Within the cocoon of his wings, he sensed the air crackle and heat.

He tore his mouth from hers. Light filled the darkness of the small enclosure his wings had made for them.

“Your tattoo.” His eyes fixed on the light emanating through the fabric of her shirt.

He felt an urge to run his fingers over her skin, but she covered the tattoo with her hand.

She spoke softly. “The wind has died down. We should go.”

Manuel let out a breath. He willed his libido to calm.

Slowly he retracted his wings, folding the massive feathers away. His eagle peered out and screeched.

“What the—? Did I do this?” Ixa looked around them in horror.

Manuel stared about him, seeing the damage. Large sand dunes covered the landscape, one of them nearly blocking the entrance to the cabin. The SUV sat buried in sand halfway up the passenger doors. It would take time to shovel it out.

“Come,” Manuel urged. The utter anguish on Ixa’s face tore at his heart.

She tried to back away. “No. I can’t. I’m dangerous. Can’t you see? Look at what I did.”

“What I see is my spirit mate, a beautiful woman, a guardian chosen by the gods to protect mankind. You have been gifted with the power of the wind from your great-grandfather. You have much to learn, but you
can
learn. Will you let me teach you? I can show you how to control your powers so this does not happen again, unless you choose for it to.”

She bit her lip and glanced away. Slowly her head turned back to him. “You can really show me how to control this…ability?”

“Of course.” He could read the indecision on her face. He didn’t understand it and they had so little time, but he couldn’t force her. She had to make the choice on her own. “The sun is beginning to set. Let us go inside to discuss this further.”

She nodded and let him hug her close to his side as they made for the front door. She fit against him perfectly. Her scent teased his nostrils, filling his lungs and setting his nerves on fire.

When he had his hand on the doorknob to the cabin, he paused. She looked up at him questioningly.

“Be very sure. Once you cross this threshold, there is no going back. Our paths will be one.”

In the deepening twilight, she kept her gaze locked on his, searching, seeking answers he supposed.

He had nothing more to say. He simply held the door open and waited.

Ixa crossed the threshold with trepidation. Every nerve in her body hummed. His kiss lingered on her lips and she could still feel the sensation of Manuel’s hands on her body. Her head told her to focus on the task at hand. He’d promised to teach her to control her power, but her body wanted him to teach her something else, something more carnal and basic.

Manuel went to the potbelly stove and lit a fire. The small fire illuminated the small space. Firelight danced on the walls and across his chiseled face.

She shivered—not from the cool desert night air pressing in through the cracks of the cabin, but from the determined look upon Manuel’s face. He chanted in a foreign language. She wanted to concentrate on the words, as they seemed familiar, but the shimmering air around him distracted her. His modern suit dissipated and was replaced by ancient warrior garb. Feathers adorned his hair and hung like a mantle over his bare chest. Her eyes followed the length of his flat stomach down to his slight hips covered with a white cotton loincloth embroidered with gold. Her mouth went dry.

She should have never stepped back into the cabin. She should have stayed outside instead. The windows rattled.

“Ixa.” Her head snapped up, only to discover a pair of eyes glowing gold fixed upon her. He approached softly with the steps of a predator tracking prey. “That’s right. Look at me. Concentrate.” He moved around her and came to stand behind her. She felt his hands slide up her arms and cup her elbows. Her tattoo flared to life.

“I can feel your power,” he whispered into her ear. She stiffened.

He rubbed his thumb back and forth along her skin. The soft touch made her arms quiver. “Relax. Tell me what you are feeling.”

“Scared.” The single word was barely voiced.

“Good. Take the emotion you feel and focus it on the fire.” He lifted her arm and pinched the pressure points at her elbow. Her fingers parted.

“No, not fire. It will spread all over the place.” Images of her sister and mother engulfed in flames popped into her mind. The air kicked up. The firelight flickered. Fear crawled in her gut. She squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head. “No. I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.” He pressed his body closer to hers. “You have to conquer your fear, and the only way is to face what frightens you the most. We can’t change the past but together we can take control of the present. Take a deep breath. Think of the wind and its strength. Use the strength within yourself to blow out the fire.”

“I’m not that strong.”

“You are stronger than you think.”

Her heart skipped a beat. His belief in her touched her. For so long, she had hidden her abilities, afraid of what others thought, and had learned to hide behind a badge and a rulebook, denying who she was. Afraid that if her colleagues found out what happened that fateful night, they would blame her. Manuel didn’t blame her. With Manuel, she didn’t have to hide—he understood and accepted her.

A new emotion replaced her fear. It welled in her breast, suffusing her with warmth. She didn’t examine it too closely—rather, she let it warm her, fill her and give her hope. She focused on the stove. Strands of wind extended from her fingertips. The air billowed the curtains. The flames flickered and sputtered.

“That’s it, my hummingbird.”

She felt the heat of his hand on her arm and the conviction in his voice. Her tattoo grew warmer.

A stream of wind flowed out from her hand and extinguished the fire, throwing them into darkness.

“I did it!” Ixa let out a whoop of joy and turned in his arms. She hugged him. “I controlled the wind.”

“Yes, you did.” He lifted her off the ground and kissed her on the lips.

Chapter Seven

The kiss threw her off-kilter. Her head spun at the energy that flowed between them and her entire body came alive. She should tell him to put her down, but in his strong arms she felt protected and feminine. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her tattoo hummed and warmed on her bicep. His feather-soft hair tickled her hands. She stroked her fingers through his hair, eliciting a groan from him. Ixa took it as an invitation to be bolder. She pressed her mouth harder against his. His tongue slipped between her lips and swept inside. Her body burned. She wanted more of him. His hands moved down her back in long, languid strokes. Effortlessly he lifted her up off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his hips.