The Fire Within Series: Books 1 - 3

by Ella M. Lee

  If Nicolas heard my musings, he said nothing. Fifteen years with the ability to read minds had taught him tact, and I appreciated that he didn’t prod me over every thought even if he heard them all.

  Instead, he merely kept my hand in his comfortingly. We studied the sky as it faded to twilight, and then indigo, and then cobalt with the first pinpricks of precious stars. We were silent for so long that I was startled by Nicolas’s smooth voice interrupting the quiet night.

  “May I take you out for dessert now?”

  Chapter 8

  We did wind up in the city for dessert.

  We parked in a dark, dingy alley, and Nicolas’s magical specialty in glamour magic came in handy as he used his power to make our expensive car less noticeable, its wards meant to deflect attention and redirect people away from it.

  Nicolas held my hand as we made our way through throngs of people on the street, ending up at the base of a slightly rundown building on Kowloon Peninsula.

  I yelped as he swept me into his arms and carried me up six flights of stairs. Once again, I was completely bewildered—until he opened a door into a small elegant rooftop café. The espresso bar and several of the tables were glassed-in, but there was also an open seating area outside.

  The owner was an older gentleman with green eyes and graying blond hair. He greeted Nicolas warmly with a kiss on each cheek, and Nicolas introduced me in French.

  The café was empty, and I wondered if Nicolas had bought the whole place out just for us. The temple had been completely empty, too. I didn’t know to what lengths Nicolas would go for us to have private time among the hustle and bustle of the city, and I was almost afraid to ask.

  The owner’s name was Jean, and he led us out to the rooftop. He spoke English and took my coffee order after seating us. I was entirely distracted by our surroundings. Stretched out below us was a cacophony of light and sound. Closer inspection showed me it was a market, reaching down the street endlessly in either direction with colorful fabric roofs covering makeshift stalls.

  “This is Temple Street Night Market. The market itself is mostly full of tourist trinkets, but isn’t it pretty from above?” Nicolas said. “I know Jean from when I was growing up in Paris. He moved here a decade ago. No one makes better French pastries in all of Hong Kong.”

  As if on cue, Jean returned with a tray of eight different colorful and beautifully styled desserts. I had an alarming moment of decision paralysis before thinking “fuck it” and picking two. Nicolas didn’t select a dessert. Instead, his coffee was served with a plate of French cookies—miniature palmiers, madeleines, and other small delights.

  I took a sip of my coffee and sighed in pleasure, content to listen to the clamor of the market below.

  Nicolas seemed similarly pleased, and I liked that we could be comfortable without talking. In fact, this was the quietest date I’d ever been on. Not that it was an awkward silence, not at all. We both spoke on and off in a completely natural way, but neither of us needlessly babbled. Right now, Nicolas was staring off, seemingly deep in thought.

  “What’s on your mind?” I asked, interested in his wistful expression.

  His eyes refocused on me, and he smiled. “Merely being reminded of how much I love my city. There was a time when I thought I’d die before seeing it again, and I’m glad that didn’t happen.”

  “Did you live in Sydney the whole time you were in Smoke?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t hate me for bringing up his former clan.

  “Most of it, yes,” he said. “I completed my master’s degree here in Hong Kong while in Smoke, but I mainly split my time between Smoke’s Sydney clan house and the Royal National Park base—outside the city—where my own lab was located.”

  “Did you like it there?”

  “Sydney?” he asked, laughing. “No, not at all. And I’m not simply saying that because of Smoke. That city is not my style, and I never considered it my home.” He waved a lazy hand around. “This place is my home, the place I love most.”

  “I honestly wouldn’t have guessed,” I said. “It seems too dirty and busy and loud for your taste.”

  He laughed again lightly, and I was glad he still seemed relaxed.

  “Is it hard for you to be out in a crowd like this?” I asked.

  He was able to hear anyone’s thoughts in a fifty-foot radius; that had to be worse when there were more people around.

  “Sometimes,” he said. “I’m fine right now. It depends on a lot of things: my mood, my general mental state, the tenor of the crowd. I’ve gotten very good at filtering and streamlining information, and I can usually manage to focus on one thing and push the others out.”

  “Is that me tonight?” I asked. “Your focus?”

  “Yes, lamb. I would never be so rude as to not give you my undivided attention on a date.”

  “That’s better than most guys I’ve known,” I said. “I once went on a date, and the guy talked to his sister on the phone the whole time. Really—the whole time. Am I that uninteresting?”

  Nicolas laughed. “I find you captivating. I didn’t even bring my phone with me. See?” He patted his jacket pockets exaggeratedly.

  “I’m flattered,” I said. “I’ve never seen you without it. What happens if someone needs to get ahold of you?”

  “They can contact Daniel, and he’ll handle it,” Nicolas said, shrugging. “What’s the point of training a highly competent lieutenant if I can’t use him? He’ll be up for commander nomination soon enough. He can handle basically anything.”

  “What if someone needs you specifically? Like, a complete emergency?”

  “Even without my phone, I still have three location trackers on me tonight. Teng could hunt me down.”

  “I have a feeling Teng could do anything,” I said. “He is frightening. It will take me years to get even a quarter of the way to his level of awesomeness.”

  “Teng is unique,” Nicolas said. “I wouldn’t compare yourself to him.”

  “Where did you get him?”

  “Teng?” Nicolas asked and laughed. “He came to me, actually. The day I became a council member, a couple of months after my commander appointment. He approached me, said he wanted to work for me. He wanted to leave his group, citing differences with his commander. One look at what he could do both in and out of combat, and I hired him on the spot.”

  “And you and Teng get along?” I asked, skeptical.

  “Of course. We’re old friends.”

  Nicolas’s tone was bewildered, as though he couldn’t imagine why I would think they weren’t. I shrugged, still trying to figure out how to make my own connection with Teng.

  After a few more minutes of comfortable silence, I stood and walked to the edge of the roof, leaning on the railing and looking over. A moment later, Nicolas joined me. I thought he would stand next to me, but instead he settled himself slightly behind me, putting one arm on either side of me, trapping me against the railing.

  “How did I do?” he asked quietly in my ear. “Did you enjoy yourself tonight?”

  “Tonight was amazing,” I said. “I can’t believe you managed this with only a single day’s notice. What could you do with more time?”

  He laughed. “Do you want to find out?”

  “Yes,” I said. “You are officially planning all of our dates, because I could not do anything this spectacular.”

  “Have you been to Paris?” he asked. He pronounced the city’s name the French way.

  “Yes,” I said. “It’s a lovely place, very grand.”

  “How about Florence?” he asked.

  “No, but I love Italian food.”

  He laughed again. “Then our next date is in Florence.”

  “How long do I have to wait for that?”

  “I could make a phone call and have us on a plane in an hour,” he said. “Or, fuck it, I can have Keisha port us there. I’m her boss. I can clear her schedule.”

  I turned my head to look up at him, smiling. “You are very
determined. That would be a massive waste of money, all for one date.”

  “I have money to waste,” he said. “I would waste all of it for you.”

  “I’m going to swoon off this rooftop if you keep up all of that outrageous charm. I would never have guessed you were such a romantic.”

  He leaned even closer, and my breath caught. “It’s very hard not to be, with you standing here so beautiful and completely enticing. I would give you anything you wanted right now.”

  I couldn’t breathe, but in the best way. I spun to face him, resting my hands on his arms. Most of our bodies were pressed together, and I loved being close to him. I loved his alluring scent, and his very deep eyes, and his broad shoulders, and the way he laid his magic lightly against my skin so that it played with mine.

  I watched the light from below shift across his face and thought I had never seen someone so attractive. Movie stars, models, and airbrushed magazine ads had absolutely nothing on his chiseled good looks or his mountains of poise.

  I couldn’t resist him.

  I slid one hand over the smooth lines of his jaw to the back of his neck and brought my lips up to touch his tentatively.

  He returned the kiss, pressing into me gently. One of his hands slid over the skin of my back as if he couldn’t stop himself, couldn’t bear to not touch me.

  Each beat of my heart sounded like a drum in my ear as I tried to focus on the pleasure of his mouth on mine. His lips were soft and eager and molded to mine perfectly. It took every fiber of my will to pull away the slightest bit, to give myself a half-second break during which to breathe. Otherwise, I really would faint.

  Nicolas’s eyes met mine, molten gold and startlingly sweet.

  What was that for? His silent whisper in my mind was pleased.

  Because I wanted to, I responded. In that moment, there had been nothing I wanted more.

  His quiet laughter was in my head as his lips touched mine again. I pressed against him, wanting to stay like this forever. His lips left mine and brushed against my neck and jaw and ears. I laid my cheek against his and breathed him in, loving his warm skin on mine. His hands slid further around me, pressing into my back and holding me close. I was melting and reforming around him. Each breath was something new with him so near to me. I was light-headed and unable to think, my whole body tight and ignited under his touch.

  “Would it be terrible if I admit I’ve wanted to do that for days?” he murmured.

  “No. I think I have, too.” I could barely speak. I wasn’t even sure the words had come out sounding comprehensible.

  I pressed my lips into his soft skin and sank my fingers into the hard muscles of his back, clinging to him.

  It was crazy and improbable, and I was probably going to hell for it, but being this close to Nicolas felt great. I thought of Violet and was pretty sure she would have laughed at me. If she were in this position, I certainly would have laughed at her. I could almost see her eye roll, almost hear her bell-like voice as she told me to go for it.

  At least this all worked out for one of us, she would have told me. I had a feeling she would have gotten along with Daniel and his practical outlook on life. I was starting to think similarly.

  I somehow managed to keep myself from collapsing into a shattered puddle as Nicolas tipped my chin up for several more long, lingering kisses. Christ, I wanted him. I couldn’t get enough of him, and when I studied the smoldering affection in his eyes, it seemed like he felt the same for me.

  After several more moments, I rested my head against his shoulder. He tightened his arms around me, pressing his face into my hair and taking a deep breath. Both of our hearts were pounding. His lips brushed my temple, and I shivered, feeling destroyed in all the right ways.

  “Mon Dieu,” he whispered. “How have we not done this sooner?”

  “I have no idea,” I said, sighing, unable to stop myself from kissing him again.

  Nicolas was in a blissful daze as we returned to the clan house. I thought I’d seen him relaxed and uninhibited before, but I was wrong. The Nicolas who carried me back down the stairs, who guided me back to the car protectively, who drove home with his hand in mine the whole time? He was another creature entirely, full of glowing warmth, radiant smiles, and seductive touches.

  I didn’t care at all that he wasn’t careful with his hands anymore, that they brushed over me and lit me on fire with their touch. My body was hot and cold and numb and electrified by him, confused in the best way.

  He toned down his exuberance automatically once we were inside the clan house, and I instantly missed the brilliant and beaming side of his personality. Once we were back on our floor, he stopped in front of my door.

  “Can I convince you to come home with me?” he purred, pulling me close to him.

  “Convince?” I asked. “Are you kidding? Give me five minutes to get out of this dress, and I will be running to your door. Did you think I wouldn’t?”

  His smile lit up. “I would never assume I have your affection.”

  Those words were telling; they showed how much he cared, and I appreciated them. Nicolas was the kind of person who dominated everyone with his personality. He was a commander, and that title was both ceremonial and also quite literal with him. He was the type who gave orders and expected to be obeyed, who took what he wanted without much regard for how it affected others, who exerted extreme control over people and situations.

  That he was giving me the choice, that he was seeking to prove himself, that he wanted assurance of his worth to me? That meant more than anything else he had done all night. He could spend all the money he wanted on gifts and food, and it wouldn’t faze me. I cared more that he had offered me respect.

  When I let myself into his apartment—happy to have washed my face and let my hair down and changed into something casual—Nicolas was holding a glass of wine. He was gorgeous in just a dark T-shirt and dark shorts, all the lines of his body long and appealing.

  “Can I offer you something to drink?” he asked, the words beautiful in his lazy drawl.

  “No, thank you.”

  He was seated on the couch, and I immediately pulled myself into his lap, collapsing against him. He kissed the top of my head affectionately, prompting me to press my lips into the warm skin of his neck.

  “Good night?” he asked, running his fingers through my hair.

  “The best,” I assured him.

  He trailed his fingers up the side of my body over the thin fabric of my shirt, and I gasped, arching into him, my fingers tightening into his skin.

  “I simply love these reactions of yours,” he mused. “Someday—not tonight, but soon—I would like to find the whole range of them.”

  “Why not tonight?” I asked, breathless.

  “Because I will not take advantage of your clouded judgment.”

  “Clouded judgment?” I echoed, letting my fingers trace the muscles of his arm gently.

  He touched my chin and tilted my head so that he could look at my face. “Ah, yes, I love your eyes,” he said. “Such an exquisite blue, and so expressive. Right now, they tell me that you would do anything I asked—anything at all—and I’d rather give you a moment to think before jumping into something you might need more time to consider.”

  “You’re not just letting me down easy because you don’t want to go further?”

  He leaned in, pressing his lips to mine for the briefest moment. “You are misunderstanding me completely. It took every ounce of self-control I possess to not drag you back here and peel you out of that dress millimeter by millimeter. Next time? I will.”

  His expression was vivid and passionate, and I believed every single word. I was dangerously on the verge of hyperventilation, a second away from passing out.

  He smiled and touched his lips lightly back to mine, running his hands over me in long, soothing strokes. These gestures were meant to calm me. They were playful and sweet, and I uncoiled slowly under his touch.

  “Relax,
lamb,” he said, pulling me closer. “There is plenty of time for us. No need to rush.”

  I awoke the next morning to Nicolas’s fingers exploring my skin mischievously. His warm touch wandered over the plane of my back, sending tingling spirals of pleasure through me. My breathing tightened into a gasp, and I opened my eyes to be met with his playful gaze.

  “Bonjour,” he murmured.

  Beautiful dawn light filtered through the windows, and it was comforting to wake up in his bed. I ran my fingers through his hair, and he stretched against me like a pleased cat.

  “What a nice way to wake up,” I said, sighing. “Thank you again for last night. You are fantastic. I can’t wait to see what you do for your next trick. You’ll have to be pretty impressive.”

  “I like a challenge,” he said, his eyes glinting.

  Both of us had busy days, and he let me go after only another two minutes of running his hands over me. I was still aching with desire as I made my way back to my own apartment and checked my schedule.

  Not even a cold shower could completely clear my head of Nicolas’s lips and smile and intense gaze, but I managed to focus by the time I got to the training room and pushed myself into my work.

  Daniel and Ryan seemed to think I was capable of handling accelerated magic learning, and I could see I’d be draining myself each day to work on the types of magical strengthening they wanted to see from me.

  Magic was mainly focus and practice. The trick to being good with magic was being able to instantaneously react with it, as though it were any other skill or muscle. That meant ingraining the feelings and actions of using it so deeply that they could never be forgotten.

  I had a head start from Flame, but Water was different enough that I still needed to relearn everything, rememorize everything.

  My head ached by the time I got back to my apartment after dinner. When I finally found a free moment to check my phone, I saw a text from Nicolas.