Burn

by Belinda McBride

  She nodded and Rion felt relief spill over him. He also felt tension in the air, the faint presence of unsavory creatures. In moments they were on the street, and he couldn’t help looking into the faces surrounding him, wondering if one harbored an unwelcome rider.

  They traveled deep into Chinatown and quickly left the heavily populated tourist areas, moving into alleys where laundry fluttered high over the street. Haunting strains of Chinese opera drifted up from basement windows. The weak light of day gradually faded, and fog came in. And yet Rex guided him with confidence.

  “Stop!”

  The voice came from the mist. It was soft and female and quite stern.

  “Carly,” Rex called softly. “It’s Rex and Rion.”

  “I know who you are. Stop anyway.”

  Rion came to an obedient halt, feeling the warm presence of Noemi behind him.

  “Who is with you?” Carly slowly emerged from the mist, her long hair a tumble of gold that illuminated her space. She wasn’t trying to hide her glamour at all. Rion glanced around, making sure there were no onlookers.

  “This is Noemi… Dr. Gastineau. Rex is injured, she helped us.”

  Carly moved forward, concern washing over her face as she looked at Rex. “What happened?”

  “I was attacked by a demon, Carly. Bitten, as well. I need to enter the Other Place.” Rex sounded weak, and in truth, it had been a grueling day. “Noemi has agreed to wait wherever we need her to wait. She senses demons in the area.”

  Carly gave the other woman a suspicious glance. “They’ve become aware of the gate here. We are preparing to seal it.”

  “Carly, I need to take him in. He’s very sick,” Rion said.

  The gateways to the Other Place tended to morph from place to place. Rex always joked that the streets in Chinatown moved at night, and in truth, every city that held a portal to the Other Place was similar. The entry masked itself somehow. Rion had never been able to locate the portals without Rex’s guidance.

  Carly looked from the men to Noemi and back. “She waits here. Rion, you can bring him over the portal, but then you must wait outside.”

  “Why?” Rion grew very nervous. The last time they’d been separated this way, Rex had spent a day in Edinburgh, and Rion had spent a year without him. Rex’s aunt was a Mistress of Time, and used it with brutal effectiveness.

  “I’m only following Brita’s instructions. She says for you to return in the morning.”

  “Oh God.” Rion’s head dropped in despair, and Rex leaned into the angel’s shoulder.

  “What does this mean?” Noemi sounded hard. Frightened.

  “Time runs differently in the Other Place. I’m afraid I won’t see you for a very long time, lass.”

  Noemi looked at Rion for confirmation. He nodded.

  “So it’ll be overnight for us, but longer for you?”

  “Possibly. I don’t know what my aunt has planned.”

  “She is not a cruel woman, Reux.” Carly’s voice was angry. She shot another look at Noemi. They were such a contrast. Two angry women, one light, one dark. If Rion wasn’t mistaken, each woman was jealous of the other. But it was Noemi who ended the stand-off.

  “Rion, I feel something moving closer. You three need to go. Now.”

  “We can’t leave you here alone.”

  “Yes, you can. This is what I do, Rion. Now take him and go. I’ll wait here.”

  “Fuck.” Rex’s voice was thready and weak. “Noemi…”

  “Now!” She pushed Rion in the direction of the beautiful blonde who waited. “Rex, we’ll be here at dawn, waiting for you.”

  Rion looked down at her hesitantly. She was bundled in a denim jacket with a scarf around her neck, her black hair was loose and spilled in a dark sheen down her back. She glanced to the side, clearly sensing something.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Emi.”

  She gestured to Carly with her chin. “She’s waiting. Go.”

  He went, feeling Rex’s weight in his arms and seeing Carly’s bright image to his front. But his mind was with the dark beauty to his back. He turned, watching her vanish into the fog, a flash of silver in her hand.

  * * * *

  Rion was good as his word. No more than five minutes had passed when he returned to Noemi’s side. He touched her lightly on the arm, and they began to move though the dank, trash-filled alleys. Above their heads, clothing fluttered on lines like ghosts in the darkness, and she shivered. The demons had begun to converge, but when she’d sent them the amulet’s medicine, they’d retreated, readying themselves for another advance. With her knife, she could fight one, maybe two, but this felt like many.

  None were major powers, but still, they could overwhelm her by sheer force.

  Rion seemed a different man. Gone was the crippling fear, the uncertainty. He moved with confidence now. He didn’t speak until they reached the brightly lit streets.

  “Brita, his aunt, she guaranteed that she would return him in the morning.”

  “But how long is she actually keeping him there?” They passed the Golden Palace Restaurant. Lights and the sound of many voices spilled from the popular eatery. Just a few doors down, Canto-pop music washed out onto the street from a movie store.

  “She told me it will be many weeks. He will sleep through most of it, but she won’t allow him to come back until he’s fully healed.”

  “That’s a wise decision, considering what we’re facing back home.” Noemi slowed as an elderly woman stepped in front of her. They didn’t talk again until they reached the motel. Her stomach growled and Noemi realized they hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

  Rion took her by the elbow and guided her into a small restaurant with a moon gate at the entrance. It was a bit less touristy than the restaurants they’d already passed. She noticed, with a smile, that he seated himself facing away from the roasted birds that hung on display. She’d hunted and prepared hundreds of birds to cook over open fires. They didn’t bother her at all.

  They ate quickly, keeping their conversation to a minimum. Absently, she noted that the food was excellent, but she was more interested in the man across from her. He watched the room carefully and used his chopsticks with expertise.

  “Have you spent time in China?”

  “Some. Not as much as we’d have liked. Even with Rex’s skills, we stood out too much. Hong Kong is a bit easier for us because of all the tourists.”

  “I’ve never been to China. I’d like to go, but…” She shrugged. “I don’t really know why I’ve never gone there.”

  He smiled and sipped his tea and his gaze roamed the room, rarely settling on her face.

  “Who’s Carly?”

  He blinked in surprise. “She’s Sidhe, one of Rex’s people. One of the first people I met early on.” His cheeks tinged with a hint of color and Noemi immediately knew there was more to the relationship than that. She opted not to mention it.

  “Odd…”

  “What?” She took a sip of water, watching his blue, blue eyes.

  “You remember her. She’s a nymph of sorts. She brings forgetfulness to those who suffer. Most people outside the Other Place forget her soon after meeting her.”

  “Well, I’m not suffering, so perhaps I’m immune to her spell.” How could anyone forget that incredible gold hair, that exquisite face? Noemi felt more than a pang of jealousy toward the woman, and it wasn’t all over Rion and Rex.

  They rose and paid their bill, and walked to the motel. Instead of taking the elevator, they slowly climbed the stairs. Once she unlocked the room, Rion carried chairs out onto the open balcony, allowing them to watch the streets below. Headlights were haloed in the mist and the pavement gleamed with moisture.

  “Can you sense anything?”

  She cradled the amulet and shook her head. “I’m afraid they were tracking Rex’s injury. The venom put a marker on him.” She hesitated. “They seemed to react shortly after you left, and right before you returned. I believe they sen
sed the portal.”

  Rion folded his arms. “Carly did say they were going to seal the portal here. I suppose that’s why. Someone here has some powerful magic.” He turned his head and looked her over slowly.

  “Is the skill to track demons yours, or is it that amulet you wear?”

  She shrugged and slipped it over her head, handing the small carved whalebone to Rion.

  He cradled it in his hand for a moment. “I feel power, but nothing else.” He examined it, admiring the fine detail of the scrimshaw.

  “If there is something malevolent nearby, it puts out a slight vibration. I honestly don’t know if that’s how it reacts for everyone, or just me.”

  He handed it back, watching as she looped it over her neck.

  “Ahnah told me that it had the magic of all the women who had ever held it. It’s served me well over the years. Someday my daughter will carry it.”

  He propped his legs up on the rail and sighed, looking up into the foggy sky.

  “One night. Just one night apart and already I feel so empty.”

  Impulsively, Noemi reached out and clasped his hand, holding it in her own.

  “But you aren’t as frightened as you were yesterday.”

  “I stopped being frightened when you came to our door, Noemi.”

  And when he looked at her, the breath stopped in her chest. Her heart seemed to pause. His fingers tightened on hers, and slowly, he bent toward her, settling the gentlest, lightest kiss on her lips.

  Noemi blinked, her body immediately ran into sexual overdrive. As though responding to her unspoken need for him, he angled in a bit, his mouth slanting over hers. When his tongue gently urged her lips open, she gasped.

  And it began. He was out of his chair, pulling her to her feet, and Noemi found herself enfolded in the most powerful embrace she’d ever known. He lifted her, set her on the narrow rail high above the sidewalk below, holding her steady and safe in his arms.

  Rion pressed kisses to the corner of her mouth, to her lips, her jaw, and when he dropped to nibble and suck lightly at her throat, she wrapped her legs around his hips, urging him closer to her body.

  She felt fevered and hot and desperately needy as he nestled in-between her legs, rocking his shaft into the soft cushion of her mons. Her clit felt electric, heated fluid began to surround it. Her nipples peaked, the skin on fire as his hand skated over her breasts. She glanced at him—he appeared nearly as wild and as desperate as she felt. His dark eyes blazed in his pale face and the slight glow of his skin told her his glamour was slipping.

  It had been so long…so long since she’d been touched.

  Into the room… They should go into the room, but he’d wrestled her top off and, lifting her, was working at the fastening of her jeans. For her part, Noemi had pulled the long-sleeved shirt loose from the waistband of his pants. Her hands roamed greedily over the taut muscle of his stomach and chest. She slipped to the concrete and wrested his jeans open, moaning slightly as the long alabaster column of his penis came to her sight. She ducked her head, taking him greedily between her lips, sucking hard and dipping her tongue into the eye, and she tasted the unique flavor of the angel.

  “You’re like clouds and rain.” She reached up and pulled his jeans farther down, cradling his balls in her hand.

  “Oh, Noemi…” His head fell back as she lowered her mouth to his cock. She trailed her tongue the length of his shaft and swallowed him as deeply as she could. His hands on her head, the tone of his voice guided her, and she began to remember how to make a man putty in her hands. She tasted him, sipped at him, and ran the tip of her tongue around the hooded edge of his glans.

  Then she was up in the air once again, perched on the rail. Rion’s silken hair trailed down her naked thighs. He nudged her legs farther open, burying his face against her belly, dragging his tongue down the seam between her thigh and groin. She rocked back precariously as one hand opened her to his invasion. She cried out as his firm tongue dragged through her slick channel, catching and swallowing her juices.

  “You taste like…fire…and heat…” His voice was more gravelly than usual, and before she could process what he intended, he stood, angling his cock into her opening. He paused and made her look up into his face.

  “Yes?”

  “Please…yes…”

  She gave her permission and he thrust, only his great strength holding her safely on the rail. He withdrew and thrust again, burying his length deeper, tighter into her body, and it hurt, dear God it hurt, but it was the sweetest pain Noemi could remember. When he continued to pump into her, she grew wetter, he moved easier, and the pain gave way till there was only pleasure.

  Noemi wasn’t a virgin, but sex had never been pleasurable before, and as the angel fucked her up above the sidewalks of San Francisco, she soared, her body suddenly a harmonic, beautiful instrument that he played so well.

  “Noemi…” He thrust faster, harder, and shifted her position slightly, the head of his cock bringing delicious sensations to her sheath. Tension rose, and to her wonderment, Noemi realized that she was about to orgasm. She held him tightly, arms and legs wrapped around his neck and hips, and she danced with him, finding the elusive rhythm that carried her up and caught her on an endless high before finally setting her free.

  Her body twisted against his, and she heard him groan as his body shuddered, his hot seed spilling deep inside her. But it didn’t stop, not just then. He kept her climax cycling over and over, along with his. Rion buried his head against her shoulder and she felt hot tears on the skin of her neck. His body went heavy against hers, nearly limp, and for a moment, she feared that they’d both go over the rail.

  He was whispering against her skin, a language that was old, as old as time itself, and while she couldn’t quite hear him, she caught the guttural sound of a name. And that name didn’t belong to Noemi.

  Nor did it belong to Rex.

  Anahita.

  The name made her shiver as though someone had stepped on her grave. It made her wrap her arms around him fiercely, holding him tight.

  She held him and stroked his hair as the angel came apart in her arms, his glamour all but gone. Silky long hair trailed over her body and great white wings shielded them from curious eyes.

  He lifted her, carrying her into the door of the room, and they lay together on the bed in silence until they both slept.

  Chapter Ten

  Dawn was still far away when they rose and dressed. Rion had to retrieve Noemi’s shirt from the planter below where it had landed. Their laughter broke the silence of the still morning. Together they walked through the quiet streets, not speaking of what had passed between them, but on occasion, their hands brushed and their fingers linked.

  They’d walked several blocks when Rion spoke. “I don’t regret what we did, Noemi, but I wish Rex had been with us.”

  She moved close and bumped her head against his shoulder, bringing a smile to his face. He didn’t tell her, but he’d spent several days in the Other Place with Rex. Brita had put him back nearly when he’d entered, so Noemi hadn’t noticed his long absence. The men had slept much, he’d watched the slow healing begin, and the sick fear of Rex’s possible death had begun to fade away.

  That had left him thinking of the woman who was waiting outside. As hours had passed into days, Rion had found himself missing her. He’d sat next to Rex as the Sidhe lay in a healing sleep, reflecting on the sense of strength that he drew from Noemi. It didn’t lessen what he felt for Rex, rather, he felt more secure in his relationship with the other man. The sometimes-hostile world didn’t seem so frightening with her at their backs.

  She’d handled that knife as though she knew what she was doing. She might be a healer by profession, but she was a warrior by nature.

  When the healers had come and awakened him, Rex had looked around the room in confusion, his eyes settling on Rion then continuing the search. He had been looking for Noemi. She’d settled into his heart as well, it seemed.


  He’d had sex with the woman, sex that hadn’t been gentle or loving, but desperate and rough. He’d taken her where anyone could have seen them, and he’d been so shaken he’d lost his glamour.

  He’d hurt her, and yet she’d clung to him, clearly needing the contact as much as he had.

  Had he been unfaithful to Rex? Perhaps, but his heart—his conscience—didn’t ache as he thought it should. He was glad. He was grateful, and she wanted what he did—the three of them together. At least, that’s what he prayed she wanted.

  Sometimes, Rion still prayed. He wasn’t sure who he prayed to, but still, he prayed. And he believed his prayers had been answered.

  “It should be around here somewhere.” They came to a stop and Rion surveyed the dark alley they’d come to. Rats scurried away, but beyond that, they were alone. Noemi wore her hair in two braids on either side of her face, the austere style highlighted her striking features. She pulled the jacket around her body tightly.

  “Are you cold?” Rion wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of Noemi’s slender body in his arms. It felt good. It felt…familiar. Safe.

  “I don’t like the cold,” she admitted. “Odd, since I live in the mountains.”

  “I imagine your hunt for Kelet has taken you to some unusual places.”

  She sighed and snuggled tighter. He felt the warmth and power of the amulet between their bodies. Her breasts were soft, he remembered the feel of their silken texture under his hand, the feel of her nipple between his lips.

  He got hard.

  “I want you again.” He nuzzled her ear, worrying the delicate lobe between his lips, biting gently. He carefully backed her to the rough wall, lifting her to his hips so they were face-to-face. Her arms linked behind his neck, tugging at his braid.

  “What happens to all that hair?”

  “It’s still there. I loop the braid up and it has the illusion of being shorter than it is. Close your eyes when you feel it.”

  She closed her eyes, and he loved the way they angled up at the corners. He loved the slight downward curve of her nose. He bent and kissed her gently, feeling her lips turn up in a smile.