by Kimber White
“Gemma, who is that guy?” Lacy Corbett asked. We’d graduated in the same high school class together. Lacy wasn’t part of the coven. She was just a normal girl attending college at Sacramento City College. But, she was fresh from a Finn encounter.
“He’s staying at Mary Harris’s,” I said. “I don’t know much.”
Lacy rested her chin on her palm at the counter. Finn was right across the street, chatting it up with Sheriff Long. Heat flamed my cheeks.
“He’s gorgeous,” Lacy said. “I mean, like underwear model hot. I heard he’s moving here permanently. God. Please let that be true. There’s nothing but old men and little boys in Durness anymore. All the good ones are spoken for.”
I clenched my fists and tried to force a smile. I busied myself straightening rows of homemade candles on the shelf. Lacy kept chatting away. I gave her an obligatory aimless nod but tried to feign disinterest. From the corner of my eye, I saw how much better Finn was at this. He was smooth, casual, with a ready smile for anyone who crossed his path. Sheriff Long made a joke. Finn threw his head back and laughed, turning slightly.
He saw me. My knees turned to water as he paused for a fraction of a second and locked eyes with me. The back of my neck flamed hot.
“That’s it,” Lacy said. “You only live once. I’m going to go find a reason to bump into him.”
Lacy reached for me. The moment her fingers grazed my arm, I shot off a white spark. Lacy jumped back. She thought it was just some static electricity. My heart raced. I hadn’t meant to make fire. God. Just like the other day. Thankfully, this time it was just that little jump, not the inferno that nearly leveled the forest.
Lacy’s face went white. She didn’t know for sure I was a witch. Sure, everyone in town heard rumors about me and the rest of the coven members. Hushed whispers. Innuendo. But, we hid in plain sight from non-magic users and shifters.
“Well, I better go,” Lacy said, holding her hand against her chest. Dammit. I could have seriously hurt her. I felt Delia’s eyes boring into my back. Of course she’d seen the whole thing too.
The bell chimed above the door and Jonas Landry walked in. I’d never been so glad to see him. He had a stern look on his face as he headed straight for me. He’d be my brief reprieve from both Lacy and Delia and that little uncontrolled magic.
“You have a second?” Jonas asked. He gave Lacy a polite smile. Jonas was actually one of the few other eligible bachelors in town. Lacy had made a play for him last summer. But, she was far too young for him and completely not his type.
“Sure,” I said. With Lacy’s exit, the store was momentarily empty.
“Don’t mind me,” Delia said, her needles clicking away. “I’ll just yell bloody murder if someone walks in.”
“Er...thanks,” I said. I gestured to Jonas and he followed me into the back storeroom.
I expected Jonas to launch into a flurry of legalese. Maybe his firm had some new angle to try and break Finn’s contract with the county. I braced for it, saying a silent prayer that he’d found something, anything that would put the Five off for at least a few days.
“Gemma,” he said. “You have to tell me the truth. I’ll know if you’re lying. Did you start a fire out in the woods the other day?”
My heart turned to ash. My breath caught and I took a step back. “Did I what?”
“I told you, you have to tell me the truth. I heard my mother talking. You know she works with Karina Burnett at the post office. Karina’s daughter Chelsea said she saw you out there last week.”
“Saw me what?” My brain spun. God, sometimes I hated this town. With a population just a hair over eight hundred, people lived in each other’s business. I hadn’t sensed anyone else out there that day. But, I wasn’t really watching out for it. I’d been too busy trying to decloak a dragon shifter.
“Gemma, don’t. I already know, okay? Chelsea’s just a kid. But, she had no reason to make anything like this up.”
“Jonas, what are you asking me?” My heart jackhammered in my chest. Chelsea Burnett was ten or eleven years old. She hadn’t yet declared to the Source. It would have made perfect sense for her to be out in the woods that day on her own trying to tap into her power. We all did it. And the moment Jonas said it, I knew it was true. Chelsea had likely seen something.
“She said you looked like you couldn’t control your fire.”
I hated myself for the next thing I said. “And Chelsea is probably the last person who would understand exactly what she was seeing, Jonas. She’s a kid. A novice. Not even a novice. Karina came to Delia about her last year worried that maybe her powers had skipped a generation. What is she, eleven? I mean, if she hasn’t declared by now, maybe she…”
Jonas’s nostrils flared. “Gemma, what did she see? What happened out there? And don’t lie to me because I’ll know it. I went out there this morning. After my mother…”
Ice shot through my veins. “Jonas…”
“There’s a circle of ash just past the waterfall. The kind of heat it would have taken to burn that much that fast…”
“Jonas…”
He ran a hand through his hair. To his credit, Jonas looked miserable. His eyes were bloodshot and he had uncharacteristic stubble shading his jaw. He likely hadn’t slept since whenever he caught wind of the rumor about me.
“You have to tell me the truth,” he said.
Something hardened inside me. I was scared. Of course I was. But, I also knew damn well what I was.
“Jonas,” I said, my voice dropping an octave. “You need to be very careful before you accuse me of something.”
His eyes widened. “Gemma, I’m your friend. Hell, I’m your brother. I’m on your side. You know that.”
“Are you? Because it feels like to me that you just barged in here with your mind already made up.”
“I didn’t. Dammit. I wouldn’t have. But, something happened out in those woods. And I know you’re involved. I could sense it. It...it smelled like you out there.”
I started to pace. This was awful. Catastrophic. If Jonas or Paula went to the others with proof that I’d lost control, they were within their rights to challenge me on it.
“Look,” he said. “This is really simple. If everything’s okay, then prove it.”
I whirled on him. “Excuse me?”
“Before rumors get out of hand. Just, call a meeting and show the council that you’re fine.”
I put a hand on my head, afraid it might pop off. “Jonas, you’re on dangerous ground here. We shouldn’t even be having this conversation. You’re not one of us. I can’t even officially admit that I am. If your mother has something to say to me, she knows where to find me. You’re out of line.”
His shoulders dropped and his face became ashen. “Gemma, I said I’m on your side. You know me. I don’t talk about people behind their backs. I would never do that to you. So, I came here to talk to you face to face. You realize I’m pretty much betraying my own mother by doing that much. She doesn’t know I’m here.”
I felt like a first class asshole. He was being a good friend to me. My fire swirled inside of me, rising. It clouded my vision, my judgment too probably. In an instant, a spark went off in my heart. I needed to be alone. I felt the flame rising. The little spark I let off in front of Lacy would be the least of it.
“Thank you,” I said. “And I do appreciate it. But, now I need you to go.”
“Gemma…”
“I mean it, Jonas,” I yelled. My tone shocked him. I’d never raised my voice to him before. He took a faltering step backward. If he were a fire mage, he would have sensed the danger in me immediately.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll go. But, this isn’t going away, Gemma. My mother plans to call Miles.”
As if on cue, my cell phone vibrated in the back pocket of my jeans. Heart racing, I pulled it out. Sure enough, Paula sent a text. She wanted me to meet with her tonight at eight after I closed the store.
“Thanks,” I said. I
wanted to touch Jonas, reassure him. But, I couldn’t trust myself not to bring the fire. He put his hand up in a weak wave. He gave me a tight-lipped smile and let himself out the back of the store.
Delia called to me, but I couldn’t face her. She’d likely heard every word Jonas and I had said. No, I thought. Not now. I needed to get as far away from the witches of Durness as possible.
I waited a full minute, then tore out the back of the store. I couldn’t breathe. I could barely see. Instinct took over and before I knew what was happening, I found myself racing across Main Street. I didn’t look back. Didn’t make eye contact with him. But, Finn was still standing halfway down the block.
I took a shortcut behind the liquor store, then raced through the back alleys until I could jump the short fence, landing smack in the middle of Mrs. Harris’s rose garden.
Gasping for air, I went in the back door. The house was empty, but Finn’s scent was everywhere. My knees knocked. The fire inside of me swelled. I passed a hall mirror. I didn’t recognize myself. My hair stuck out, charged with static. My eyes had gone shimmering gold, flames licking behind them.
Heavy footsteps fell on the hardwood floor leading off the kitchen. I doubled over as my magic went through me like rocket fuel. It was just like the woods. God. What had I been thinking? I should have never gone indoors.
“Gemma?” Finn’s voice was filled with concern. He reached me in three powerful strides. He took me in his arms and met my eyes. His own flickered with fire.
“I can’t…” I gasped. He should let me go. I couldn’t control myself. My magic felt strong enough to devour us both.
Everything else happened so fast. One look. One touch. I was filled with desperate need. Finn’s fire rose. I saw his dragon, shimmering in front of me like an optical illusion. One second, I saw Finn, with his tanned muscles and golden hair. The next, his blue and silver dragon spread its wings and lifted me to the sky.
He did lift me off my feet, but not in flight. We stumbled clumsily down the hall and into the first-floor master bedroom. Finn’s bed. Need heated my core. My fire shifted, wrapping around both of us. Finn’s touch stoked the flames, but I felt more in control because of it. It was impossible. It was perfect.
The other day when he kissed me, I felt like I saw his soul. Now, I was desperate for him. I hadn’t planned it. But, now that we were alone and my fire burned so bright, I knew with absolute certainty why I was here.
It was him. It was Finn. It was impossible. And yet, his touch was the only thing that made sense.
I wrapped my arms around him and managed to gasp out a single word. “Yes!” Then, Finn carried me to the bed.
Chapter Eleven
Finn
I was born three centuries ago. My brothers and I are more powerful than any other shifters alive. I have loved other women. But, until a witch named Gemma Hayes kissed me, I never knew myself.
She was heat and light, elemental magic. The sun, the stars. I wrapped my arms around Gemma’s waist and lifted her off the ground. We floated. Her power and mine joined. Tiny tendrils of flame circled around us as I led her to the bed.
I hadn’t planned for it. Every rational bone in my body told me it was too soon. We didn’t know enough about each other. Her coven had been an enemy to my kind in centuries past. She had admitted to me that those she served with wished to do me harm now. But, as Gemma’s body heat rose, as her scent enveloped me, nothing mattered but the two of us.
“Finn,” she gasped. She lay on the bed, writhing, reaching for me. I don’t remember her taking her clothes off, or mine. She was naked though. Her skin milky white and smooth. Her pert, dark nipples stood on end. She had long, strong legs and delicate feet. I trailed my fingers over the toned curve of her shoulder. Then, I licked along her collarbone, loving how she threw her head back, exposing her throat to me.
I put a hand on her knee, then gently pushed it flat. She moaned, arching her back, presenting herself to me. I leaned back, kneeling at the edge of the bed as I stroked myself. I wanted to look at her forever.
I’d never seen anything so beautiful. She glowed. Her magic stoked, her skin had an amber sheen. Her lids were hooded. I reached for her, running a finger up her thigh, teasing her folds. When her eyes snapped open at the pleasure I gave her, the pupils were gold with living flame. My fire witch. My fated mate.
“I want you,” I said. “I wanted you the second I saw you. Before that even. Your fire drew me here. I’m sure of it.”
“Please,” she begged. “I can’t talk. I can’t think. I just...I want!”
She reached for me, letting out a growl worthy of a dragon. She spread her legs wide. Oh, God. She was beautiful there too. She opened for me. Her sex glistening. I had to taste her. Gemma squealed, her lust rising as I ran the tip of my tongue over her tiny, sensitive bud. Then, I plunged it inside of her, drinking in her nectar. She was just as sweet as I dreamed.
She was mine.
I knew it all along. Mine. I would never leave her. She could turn me away, but I would never let any harm come to her. I made a silent oath as she thrust her hips, finding an ancient rhythm, spurring me on.
“Finn,” she whispered. “Please. I need you. I can’t wait.”
Oh, I wanted her to beg. I loved the idea of teasing her, pushing her to her limits. I wanted to tie her to this bed and take my time with her, savoring every moan, every sigh, every plea for release. But, something changed in Gemma. Her fire gathered strength. As she pumped her hips, her body begging to be filled, she was starting to lose control again.
Sparks skittered along her arms. I moved up, licking her hard nipples. She threaded her fingers through my hair, pulling me down to her. “More!” she gasped. “I need more!”
She raked her nails down my back, fire shooting from her fingertips. She scored me. An instant of pain blossomed to irresistible pleasure. Oh, yes, I wanted her to mark me. Brand me. Later, when the time was right, when she fully understood what it meant, I wanted to do the same to her.
She found my cock, sliding her fingers gently around it. I ached for her. I twitched in her hand with pulsing pleasure. Gemma pushed me back on my heels. She rose, looking up at me with the most sinful expression. Her eyes still glinted gold and her seductive smile melted me.
She was a virgin. I don’t know how I knew. But, the fire she wielded was far too strong for her to risk this with just any man. The moment I thought it, a territorial rage shot through me. I let out a roar that shook the foundation. Gemma quieted me with a gentle lick along my shaft. She took me in her mouth, stroking me at the root. God, she was unschooled, but her instincts were perfect.
She was so good. Almost too good. My lust rose. Pressure built. Another moment of her sweet mouth and I’d lose control. She wanted me to. I wanted something more. I wouldn’t brand her today, but I would make her mine another way.
I guided her back to the bed. My cock ached to leave her sweet mouth. I pressed her knees flat and she arched her back.
“Are you sure?” I whispered.
She nodded, gasping. “Please! If we don’t...oh, God. Oh, Finn. It’s getting away from me.”
It was. Her fire crackled. The lights flickered, brightened, then went out. She’d caused an electrical surge. This was dangerous. I should have waited. I should have taken her somewhere safer, outdoors, far away from Durness or civilization. There was no time to lose.
I positioned myself between her legs, guiding my cock home. She screamed my name as I entered her. She was so open, so wet. But, my instincts were right. I was her first. God, her heat. Her tight little walls twitched as I edged inside of her. Gentle at first. Then, Gemma’s instincts and lust took over. She reared up, wrapping her legs around my waist. She drew me down on her, pulling me as deep as I could go.
I held myself steady, letting her set the rhythm. She was wild, out of control. Her fire raged, threatening to set off an explosion like she’d done in the woods. I knew what to do. I let my own fire come. I let my dr
agon out just a little. Scales sprung over my shoulders. My vision brightened and I knew she could see the flame behind them.
She came. An explosion of light. Flame shot up, spreading over the ceiling. I held it for her. With each wave of her orgasm, I took her magic into me. I let her go wild from it. She sparked. A ball of fire hit me squarely in the chest but bounced off, harmless. She grew wetter, opened even wider for me. On and on her orgasm went. My own began to rise.
As Gemma crested down, my heat simmered. I grabbed her ankles, gently pulling her legs up and out, spreading her into a wide vee. She was so limber. So pliant. I was so deep. Then, I took my pleasure. Her fire joined with mine and grew stronger. A column of blue flame circled us, but didn’t burn. She controlled it. She took what she needed from me and kept her magic in check. I exploded inside of her. I let out another roar that shook the house.
We were a tangle of limbs. Gemma’s fire cooled. So did mine, but a new heat burned in my core. This was just the beginning. I had so much more to show her.
Gemma slept. I studied her. She had a long, straight nose, high cheekbones, a delicate arch to her brow. She had just the tiniest cleft in her chin. Beautiful. Like some fire goddess.
“Mmm.” She finally stirred. “What time is it?”
“It’s late,” I said, stroking her arm. Her eyelids fluttered and she stretched. She smiled, realizing she was still completely naked. She didn’t cover herself though. She let me look. I could sense the heat rising in her core. I knew if I slid a finger between her legs, I’d find her wet and ready for me all over again.
“Or, it’s early,” I said. “Just before dawn. You’ve’ been asleep for hours.”
