Sin of Fury (31 page)

“
That is a shame,” she said
archly, lifting her hand higher to brush her hair away from her
face. “Although I am loath to say this because of his wrong towards
my sister, I will consent that I am...sorry for your grief. I
assume that this is the reason you have requested a meeting with
me.”

Auro nodded his head, looking her
straight in the eye. “I know you have the power and the desire to
find Talon. Help me kill him,” he suggested, smiling at her with
dead eyes. Nothing he could do or say would ever be lively again.
Without his brother, he was nothing but a shell that was filled
with nothing but the need to avenge and kill.

“
Because of your timing, I
will consider your request. I have given Talon enough pain to
recompense for his wrong against me. I must ask; has he found his
lady love?” A soft brush of the chiffon against the ground, sifting
through the dead grass, signaled her movement closer to
him.

Her voice, more melodic than before,
carried over him, lulling him. He watched her with fascinated eyes.
Was she coming so close to him, to brush her hand along his arm? To
give him a taste of her earthly power? His heart, if he had had
one, would have been pumping with anticipation.

A soft light surrounded her.
Everything about her was soft, he realized dimly. Her hair, her
eyes, her skin, her movements. She was as old as the earth, as
graceful as the wind.

And right now, her hand was
on his shoulder. His body froze as tendrils of power and amazement
surfaced, rising deep within his deadened body. Nothing had ever
been so fulfilling, so
real
-- nothing except his brother.

He let out a hoarse cry as her hand
began to burn, seeming to go through his clothing and straight to
his non-existent soul. “What... what are you doing to me?” he
gasped, breaking every rule that had ever been given to them about
the witches and grasping her wrist. As it became unbearable, a
bloody tear streamed down his cheek -- and still, she did not let
go of him.

“
I am doing what I should
have done so long ago. You and your brother will have eternal rest
-- I will take over from here. But I will need your body...” A
peaceful smile lifted her lips, and it was so becoming and
beautiful, that he almost smiled back.

That is, until, her eyes shot to black
and nothing but a white pupil remained. It was then that the great
Auro, so fearless and unbreakable, began to sob and, ultimately,
die.

“
You have taken my kindness
to you for granted... You wish to bring a man that has already been
cursed with loss and pain... And most of all? You wish to use
me.”

Her voice became indifferent, so
opposite of her previously caressing voice. He could no longer feel
the pain -- there was too much of it to account for. Instead, he
listened with tears streaming down his face, body crumbling before
her.

“
Do not worry,” she
whispered, hair falling around her glowing face as she knelt before
him, touching a tear of his. Her polished fingernail raised to her
lips, and a pink tongue darted out to taste it. His body convulsed
as fire flashed through him. “I will grant your request -- with a
price. The woman will die, but Talon will have the choice of what
to do with you. He will either give you rest with your brother, or
a lifetime of torture at his own hands.” A small smile had her
flawless face shining even brighter.

Smoke started to curl around his limbs
and hers, once again cloaking her in a black mass of swirling
tendrils. Her face was the last thing he saw before she vanished
from his view completely, the only thing remaining a single black
diamond. It was what he had used to call her, and it was what she
left behind -- only when she had the intention of
returning.

Except, her lilting voice remained in
his head, even as the will to live faded. “But I doubt he will be
so generous once he learns that you are the reason his lover has
perished...”

Auro’s flesh burst into particles of
smoke and dust.

“
I can tell you where she
is...” a voice whispered, caressing his cheek and ear.

Chris jerked awake, grasping the
covers. He looked around the room, eyes frantic and wide. “Who’s
there?”

“
The woman who scorned you
for another man... I can help you with the revenge that you
seek...” Shadows curled around his body, tendrils and wisps of
smoke running gentle, airy fingers along his skin. It became a
trance, holding him still as a dark, streaked light entered the
room.

Before him, forming out of thin air,
was a woman. A beautiful woman. He stared at her in awe as she
seemed to float to his bedside. Curls of smoke flowed from behind
her, and he stared with horrified yet astonished eyes as one of her
hands came to touch a curl of his blond hair.

It was as if he were still dreaming. A
light was in his room, and not from the natural rays of the sun.
No, it was because of the woman. She was so...beautiful, unique.
Angelic. Unreal. Everything that he had found in Jamie, and then
have taken from him...

“
Would you like my help?”
she whispered, her voice but a soft caress against his pale skin.
Chris stared up at her with eyes as large as baseballs. He gasped
lightly, reaching up to touch her cheek. She pulled back with a
graceful movement, stilling his hand with her own.

“
Answer me, Christopher
Smith. Do you want my help? I know that you love to be the bigger
man, that you like to take control of her... I can give that you
to, Christopher.” He shivered at the note in her deep voice. It was
so persuasive, so beguiling.

Chris didn’t know exactly what she was
saying, only how she was saying it and how much he loved to listen
to her. Her eyes were a pale white, cream and calm and bright. He
nodded numbly, dimly aware that he might be agreeing to something
that would change his life completely.

But how could he say no? She was so
beautiful, so...charming and convincing.

“
You will find her with her
lover at the Alley Cat,” she said softly, pushing her hand into his
hair in a massaging motion. He should have moved away, pulled back
from her. Something was different. “In a weeks’ time, you will go
to her and you will kill her. Do not take her from the building.
Lead her to a small room in the back and kill her
there.”

He was nodding mutely, completely
enchanted. He would listen to anything she wanted to tell him. He
would do anything she wanted him to. If she asked, he would walk
off a cliff with a smile on his face...

“
Go to sleep, Christopher.
You will remember all of this within a weeks’ time, and you will
know what to do and will have your revenge. In the case that you
fail me, I will be very....displeased with you. Please do not let
that happen,” she said in a lilting voice, her fingers trailing
down his cheek and to his jaw.

“
If you fail me, you shall
die.”

All he could do was nod.

God, she was beautiful, he thought,
tracing her lips with a light touch. His other hand was holding her
hip, trying to make them come together even closer.

At her soft sigh, and the flush of red
that came over her delicate face, desire rose within him sharply.
He leaned down and kissed her, opening her mouth and delving in
deep. One hand grabbed her wrists and help them above her head
while the other pushed down her shorts.

Jamie moaned softly, making him
shudder above her. It was such a delicate sound, so soft and
beautiful.

And then her nails dug into his
back.

He gave a soft growl and nipped her
lip, moving down her body and pulling up her shirt. Her pants were
thrown to the side, now all he had to do was take off the rest of
her clothing and then he’d make a feast out of her.

Fire curled in his gut before dropping
straight to his groin. Heavy, thick, and ready to take his female,
it was all he could do not to rip the clothing from her body right
then.

He had every intention of being
gentle, of worshipping her -- he really did. But when her
fingernails scored his back and left a burn that was spreading all
over his body, it became apparent that that might not happen. At
least not for now. He slid his hands up her waist, under her shirt,
and to the underside of her breasts.

Talon didn’t stop there though. He
pushed up the shirt gradually, kissing up her stomach with feathery
touches, palming her breasts and then reaching around to unclasp
the damn bra. When it snapped softly, her back arched as if she was
silently telling him to take it off and replace it with his
mouth.

He was all too happy to oblige. This
time, he didn’t stop himself from tearing off her shirt and
throwing the remains of the soft fabric to the side. With no
barriers between them, he pressed his lips against her collarbone.
Her little mewl that came from the back of her neck was enough to
make him want to ravage her - with his lips. They curled in
anticipation, and kissed their way down her chest, to her
breast.

At the soft contact of his
lips against her delicate, pale skin, Jamie’s back was arching off
of the bed and thrusting her breast right into his mouth. God, she
was so sweet. So soft. So...
delicious
. He curled his tongue
around her nipple, licking and then biting down and using his other
hand to tease her core.

The sounds she made were perfect,
amazing. He touched her softly, teasing her. Jamie’s nails dug even
deeper into his back, and he flexed under her hands, biting down on
her nipple as punishment. She whimpered, panting softly. Talon
looked up at her, taking in her appearance with complete
possession.

Her face was flushed, eyes glazed over
with a filmy look of lust. Long lashes hovered over darkening eyes
as she stared at him, begging him not only with her voice but with
pale blue irises that practically screamed desire and
need.

Talon was all too ready to please her.
He sat back on his knees and stripped of his black T, tossing it
away from them. Next was his pants. The whole time, Jamie stared at
him with that hungry look, her hands clenching and unclenching as
if she were trying not to grab onto him.

That must have been it, because the
second the pants were off, she was grabbing for him and tugging him
to her body, pressing her breasts against his chest and moving her
lips against his. He tilted his head for her, opening his mouth and
loving the taste of her.

She was like a blast of fresh air on
his senses. Every movement she made, every breath she took, every
gasp she made. He was aware of it all.

He was
also
aware of when she really got
into it. It was like a complete change had overcome her - fuck, he
wasn’t complaining though.

Jamie pushed at his shoulders, and he
followed her. Her legs parted over his hips, rocking against his
length and practically drenching him. He groaned roughly, holding
her waist. It was too much, too --

Fuck
. The breath hissed between his chest as she reached down and
grabbed onto him, robbing him of breath. Her lips grazed over his
neck and down to his chest, and her eyes were locked on his as her
tongue darted out, tasting him. His chest was bare of any scars, of
any past pains. In the weeks that he had come back, his body had
begun to heal and his powers were maturing within him. Maybe that
was what had him so turned on -- fuck, he was pretty sure it was
just Jamie and her bottled up passion, but he was willing to bet
that his strength also came from --

“
Oh, sweet
fuck
,” he cursed, trying
to grab her shoulders as she dipped down and, suddenly, her face
was even with his hips. That sexy smirk on her face wasn’t helping
anything either. He swore, every ounce of blood in his body dropped
to his cock and the next thing he knew?

His hips bucked as her lips surrounded
him. Talon groaned another curse, trying to make her stop yet
making her stay. Fire wrapped around him. Burned him. Seared him.
Left him branded and almost dying as Jamie continued to lick him
like he was her favorite meal of the day.

When he was pulsing and close to
coming, it took everything inside of him to grab her shoulders and
push her body under his. He wrapped his fist in her hair and pulled
her head back, burrowing his lips in her neck, hot breath fanning
over his. His body was so strung he felt like he was going to snap
at any second, and it was hard not to take her right then, to be as
gentle as he knew he should be with her.

She wasn’t ready for him, not
yet...

“
Talon,” she whispered in
his ear, his name coming from her lips making his cock jerk in
reaction. He held her hair firmly, turning his head and staring
into her eyes.

“
You aren’t ready
yet...”

“
I am, I swear I am...
Please, I need you,” she begged, wrapping her arms around his neck
and trying to guide his lips to hers.

His head shook, but he gave in to
kissing her before using one hand and sliding it down her body. It
cupped every curve, caressed every dip and peak. By the time his
hand finally made it to her waist, she was writhing under him and
her head was twisting -- well, as much as it could. He hadn’t let
go of his hold on her.