by K Fisher
Tucker spoke next, his voice menacing as it echoed down the cold and empty alleyway around them.
“Then, we bring Faye home.”
Chapter Twenty-One
They quickly made their way into the rooms, the key card port flashed green as soon as they approached, Caden granting them entrance into their rooms without any further effort. None of them wanted to chance the security cameras picking up on their appearance just in case the police were taking extra measures to find the arsonists.
It was clear Tucker wanted to speak with Aiden more before watching Hazel disappear into one of the rooms with him, but there was no way the four of them would fit in the queen bed offered in each of the two empty rooms. The moment the bedroom door closed, the phone in Hazel and Aiden’s room started to ring.
When she answered it, Caden was on the other end of the line. “I’ll be checking in throughout the night, if there’s any disturbance, we will get you out of there. Set the alarm on the burner phone I gave you to six a.m., we will see you both in the morning.”
After saying goodbye, Hazel placed the phone back on the stand, staring at the device briefly before turning to face Aiden behind her. The realization that she was in a room alone with her Guardian hit her, and despite racing the clock with Danira, there was a slower energy to the world around her that had not been there before.
He stuck out like a sore thumb in the room, his suit far too pristine for the basic, white walls around him. Granted, it wouldn’t have been an outfit he worked the fields in. It was only the timing of his death and the events that had led up to it that trapped him in the attire, a story he had only told her once but she’d always remember.
Aiden was looking around the room, eyes stopping when they reached the bathroom before flashing back to her. The look in his eyes was so intense, so direct, it took the very breath from Hazel’s lungs. She could not imagine feeling the outside world for the first time in a hundred years, to engage with others and get thrown into something you thought was forever unobtainable, only to end up in a room with her. Did he even process the things in the room around him that were beyond his time? No…she was being silly. Of course Aiden was still privy to technology and the comings and goings of the world. She had ensured that when she was young, and he was still able to observe the home and the children that had lived there when she sold the house years ago.
“I know you’re angry with me for bringing you back, Aiden, but we need your help. If anyone is going to destroy Danira, it’s you.”
Hazel’s words raised his eyebrows, Aiden slowly and deliberately pulling his jacket over his broad shoulders. When it was off, he folded it over his arm and laid it down on the edge of the bed. A bed she had not had the time to worry about until he brought attention to it being the only one. God, where were they going to sleep? None of this was well planned and it left a rooted anxiety in Hazel’s mind despite the fact that they were alive, they were safe.
It rested alongside the sorrow of watching their home burn to the ground, but knew it was nothing compared to what Aiden must have felt. He did not speak at first, merely took a few steps forward before propping a foot up on a chair in front of a small desk near the TV. He took off his shoes and placed them near the door, turning once more to face Hazel.
“I am not mad. I suppose I should have accepted this long ago. There was no possible way my sister would let you go once she had you in her grasp, I should have spent time training you, preparing you to fight her instead of telling you to hide away. I just didn’t want to see someone so innocent and powerful fall into the hands of evil.”
Hazel let out a breath of air she had no idea she was holding, surprised by his words. “Thank you.” It was all she could manage to say, still stunned by the acceptance of his position with her and what she had done to him. “I want some food, and you’re getting introduced to pizza before we all surely die, but first, a shower.” She had turned to take off her jacket and place it on the other side of the bed, but when Hazel returned to face Aiden, he was right in front of her.
His hand extended to touch her arm, raising it as he observed the red hand print still on the surface, the shine from the healing skin bright in the hotel room. So close to Aiden, Hazel observed the lines in his face that had otherwise been flooded out by his power, the soft scent of peppermint, much like her home had smelled. It was a scent of comfort, something she wanted to cozy up to, a smell she wanted to take in while her face was buried in his strong neck.
Instead of asking her about the pain the mark from Danira gave her, Aiden slowly lifted her forearm, leaning down to press his lips against the handprint on her skin. His lips were warm, leaving behind a tingling sensation that slowly spread throughout her arm and up through her body. For a brief second, she wondered if he secretly had the power to heal, but when he pulled away, her skin remained the same. She was embarrassed to find the reaction had been at his touch alone.
“Shower,” he said, breaking the trance.
“Right.” She turned to leave him behind, but Aiden followed. Hazel didn’t pause, entering the bathroom as she kept the door open for him to trail inside, assuming he simply wanted to get the lay of the land. She prayed somewhere in her twisted mind that he wanted to be close to her.
Which was absolutely unorthodox, right? The mere idea that a spirit, her Guardian, a friend she had manipulated with a kiss only once before, wanted to be with her sexually. She may have known him well when she was a girl, but there was only so much information divulged to children. The truth of the matter was Aiden remained a stranger to her.
So why did her body react to his far more than it ever had to Darren’s? Or any of the other irrelevant men she had been with in the past? It was electric, the energy that rolled from his body into hers, an addiction she wanted more of, a curiosity that her body wanted to escape the horrors of the previous days with.
She made her way over to the mirror while Aiden peered behind the shower curtain. When Hazel caught sight of her appearance in the reflection, she could hardly suppress a gasp. She looked like shit. Blood had dried along her forehead and in her long brown hair and embedded in her ripped shirt along with the dirt and debris from sliding down the side of the mountain just that morning. There was the chalky remains of smoke and ash that had blown from the fire while they stood outside scattered through her hair and along her arms. Taking off her clothing would be a feat alone with how caked on the grime had become. Forget the struggle of taking off a workout bra after sweating. This was going to be a task. Why, oh why did she abandon the uncomfortable underwire for something thicker? It would have been a godsend.
“Listen, I need you to help me with something,” Hazel murmured. She had just gotten done playing out a sensual moment with the two of them, now she was about to ruin it. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Aiden in the mirror, not turning to face him. “I need to shower and get this blood off me. Help me get my shirt off, be a gentleman about it.”
No matter what Hazel tried to busy her mind with, the heat in Aiden’s gaze was not something she could deny, invoking an immediate and strong arousal that left her squirming under the bright, obnoxious light of the bathroom. Aiden made his way from the shower to Hazel, coming up behind her in the mirror as he watched her reflection carefully. His hands moved down to the bottom of her shirt, slowly pulling it up her body. Hazel hissed out a pained breath as it snagged against her skin, dried blood from a scratch slowed down the process. Instead of moving with even more care, Aiden quickly whipped her shirt over the cut, ripping off the bandage of pain before continuing until her head was being ducked through the hole of her shirt and the fabric fell to the ground at her feet.
“Where did this come from?” Aiden asked, his voice husky as his fingers lowered to touch the bare skin at her side, and the scars of the scratch the dead girl at the orphanage had left behind during the attack against her life.
“Danira, I imagine. The spirits have been angry with me lately.”
“Danira will be stopped,” Aiden said, this time the words were soft as his eyes tore away from her exposed torso and focused instead on hers.
“Is that a promise, Aiden?” Hazel questioned, taking a step backwards until her back was against the front of his body, producing a low, guttural sound she did not think possible, one that she wanted to drive from him over and over again.
“It is. Be careful. You’re playing with fire, little one.”
Fire was exactly what she was playing with, and for the first time since she was relieved of her duties at work, Hazel felt like she served a purpose. She was going to take control and destroy Danira, and despite missing Faye, they were becoming stronger and stronger. She had a lot of faith in Aiden, faith she wasn’t sure was well placed, but she had no choice except to jump into things and trust they would survive.
If they didn’t she sure as hell wasn’t going to be used and drained of power until she died without living a little bit.
In a moment of impulse, Hazel turned around and lifted her arms until they linked behind Aiden’s neck. “I need your help taking off my bra so I can get in the shower,” she said, locked in his intense and dominating stare, one that quickly melted into surprise.
This was not something she was going to think too deeply on, knowing if she waited a moment longer she’d talk herself out of everything. The doubt would creep up on her mind and she’d send Aiden into the main room to leave her be. But Hazel did not want to be alone, and she did not want him to go. Aiden was the one person in the entire world she had ever trusted, and she needed a distraction far more powerful than a shower.
“You need to be very, very clear about what you are asking,” Aiden challenged.
“I didn’t think what I was implying was very confusing, Guardian,” Hazel responded softly. “I am asking you to fuck me.”
Hazel was the most beautiful woman Aiden had ever laid eyes on. He had been certain of this when she returned home years ago, but it was nothing compared to the feel or her skin beneath his fingertips. It had been over a hundred years since he felt the body of a woman and Hazel wasn’t just a random body from a lifetime past. She was everything, always had been. Not just to Aiden, no, to the spirit realm altogether. He still remembered how her lips felt against his own.
His hands trailed up the smooth skin of her side, stopping to slide under her…bra? Torture device was more accurate. She assisted him with removing it from her body, the fabric rolling up and off her, leaving Hazel exposed from the waist up for Aiden’s hands, eyes, and lips.
Leaning down, his lips captured Hazel’s, demanding and urgent as he longed to be reminded of her. She moaned against his lips and it was the most delightful candy he had ever tasted. One hand cupped her cheek, the other moved down to explore her breasts for the first time, massaging the fullness before his fingertips softly pinched her hard nipples. Hazel’s mouth parted from his own, head falling back in ecstasy as he explored. Taking the opportunity to enjoy her further, Aiden’s lips trailed down her neck, resting at her collarbone as he nipped softly at her skin.
One of her hands rose, resting at his chest. Surely this meant she was rethinking sex and, although it tore at his control and the walls of Aiden’s reason, he’d honor anything she asked of him. Instead of stopping things, however, Hazel shocked him.
“I want you, I need you, but I need to get this blood and dirt off me. Come into the shower with me.” She leaned forward, her hand reaching to turn on the shower behind the curtain. “Hit the lights behind you,” she murmured. Aiden reached out, turning off one of the bathroom lights within reach. Her hand quickly returned to his chest, grasping onto the fabric of his white undershirt.
“Remove your pants,” Aiden growled out, but coincidentally it echoed from her own lips in the form of ‘take off your clothes’. With a chuckle, Aiden was happy to accommodate, clearly both of them just as eager as the other. He rid himself of his shirt, hands lowering to his pants as he removed them and what he wore beneath.
When his eyes looked to Hazel, they darkened instantly. Her body was strong and small, naked and exposed to him for the first time. Although he was bare as well, it didn’t mean a thing in Aiden’s mind. This was all about the goddess in front of him, and worshipping every inch of her before he tangled his hands in her long locks, yanked her head back and…
Twisted, he was twisted and had to remain under control, had to keep his power and his thoughts beneath the surface. Hazel was worth more than that, she always had been. More than the dirty thoughts in his mind and the lack of control over the darkness that threatened to take over.
The bathroom was now dimly lit, relaxing and welcoming as Hazel’s body slipped behind the curtain, hidden from his sight and under the wash of water. Her sigh of happiness against the warm pour of water was a jerk straight down to his hard cock, intensifying his need even further as he joined her in the shower. Being in the shower was an overwhelmingly different experience from the cleaning he was used to, but being in the shower with Hazel distracted him from the shock of being alive in a new world.
Aiden’s lips were on Hazel’s again, their mouths working together as he pushed her back against the wall of the shower. He wanted so desperately to be inside her, but needed to live in the moment for just a bit longer. His hands lowered to her hips, one lowering further to slide along her thigh, her legs shifting and giving him better access. His fingers moved inward until they reached the sweet heat of her need. Dipping one inside her wetness, Hazel moaned against his lips, her body moving towards his finger as he added another. The two beckoned her towards him, curling slowly within her as they caressed her and built her arousal with each curl.
She was gasping against his lips, moving with him as her body tightened against his fingers. Lowering his head, Aiden left her lips and moved downward to her full breasts, tongue swirling around her taut nipple as her body shattered around his fingers, her orgasm a sweet and delicious release he needed to feel her have.
“Oh God…” Hazel moaned, eyes half lidded as she peered down at his lips on her breasts, legs shaking. His fingers were removed from her body, lifting to his lips slowly as he licked off every honeyed drop of her orgasm from each finger.
When Hazel kissed him, Aiden boldly lowered his hands to her hips and around the firm of her ass, lifting her easily upward. Instinctually, her strong legs cupped his body, his hard cock resting right at the sweet heat between her legs. A heat he wanted to taste, explore, and ravage before he took her for the first time. But slow and steady was beyond the two of them, the need taking over as Aiden fought to stay in control. She still had her mouth fused with his, her lower body grinding against him slowly and methodically, rubbing against his hardness like a torturous tease.
He wanted to bury himself inside her in one strong stroke. No…he wanted to slowly spread her and feel her squeeze around him inch-by-inch. The conflicting emotions and desire surging through Aiden left him breathless against her lips, pulling away briefly to look into her beautiful, light chestnut eyes.
Before he had a chance to say anything, he felt her adjust in his arms, the tip of his aroused cock finding her entrance instead of sliding against it as it had been before. All control left him completely, pulling down on her body as he pushed himself deep inside Hazel’s warmth. Her gasping, feminine moan and the tightness of her drove Aiden on, thrusting hard and fast inside her, urged on by the soft yes she repeated in pleasure. He knew there was no way he’d be able to hold on for long, her body gripping so tightly onto him as he filled her. He was vaguely aware of a glow in the shower with them, unable to focus on the presence of the Affinity as they moved together under the warm water.
But soon, it was hard to ignore. Hazel was glowing a soft white, as though a light shone just beneath her wet skin. As she moaned and her head fell back to rest against the wall of the shower, he adjusted to place his hand against the wall to steady himself, body still working in and out of her.
He felt Hazel tight
en around him further, her body straining as her orgasm took over, feeling every single pulse of her pleasure around his thickness. As Aiden’s body was driven over the edge with her, he buried himself deep, allowing his own release to come, yelling out in pleasure as he did so.
For several moments after, they stayed under the spray of water with each other, body’s intertwined as they caught their breath and registered the overwhelming ravaging they had just succumbed to, Aiden’s eyes caught on a black etching on his hand. The palm pressed against the side of the shower had spiderwebs of his Affinity spreading along the skin and up his arm. In a frenzy, he threw his body away from Hazel. She grabbed onto the wall and the side of the tub, eyes wide as she kept herself steady, but the movement was too fast for Aiden to regain his composure.
Falling over the tub and onto the bathroom floor, he took the shower curtain with him as he tried to get away from her. Staring down at his hands, his eyes were wide with terror, looking up to Hazel, he prayed he’d not see the same markings anywhere on her body.
When she peered down at him with confusion and concern etched on her face, he could not help but notice the black spider web of veins trailing up her neck.
What had he done?
Tucker’s face was buried in chips from the vending machine as he sat in the queen sized bed next to Caden. Shark Tank blared on the TV as the two relaxed in solace, not bothering to converse about the day or any further plans. They were both exhausted, starving, and worried about their closest friend, not wanting to concern themselves more by playing over things over and over again.
A muffled sound was heard from the other side of the wall where Aiden and Hazel were sharing a room. Looking over to Caden, Tucker gestured towards the phone. With a grumble, Caden rolled over to his side and reached for it, his fingers already glowing white as it bled into the phone, connecting the moment he touched the device. His eyes closed, focusing as he listened in, his Affinity pulling him through the room until it gave him audio into their room. It wouldn’t give him too much intel, but just enough to know if they needed to go break down a door and ensure she was okay or not.
