Dark Flame

by Caris Roane

  A startled expression flashed in her eyes. “Brannick, I can’t do this.” He saw the flush on her cheeks, and he felt the depth of her fear.

  He got it. How many times had he made love to her in real-time then left her alone? The last time he’d made his escape, Roche had hijacked her from her dreamglide. She had reason to be wary of him.

  He also knew how she felt about him, which prompted him to drop down and kiss her on the lips. I’m not at all satisfied with our partnership. We have a few details to hammer out.

  This time, she frowned. What do you mean?

  He feigned innocence. Just as I said, we need to talk.

  Brannick, what are you saying?

  Sensing her exasperation, he turned toward her more fully. Let me be more direct, when we get back to the cottage, we’re going to talk about everything and get things settled between us once and for all.

  She blinked several times. What things?

  He smiled again, and took a swig of his beer. Just things.

  Okay, now you’re getting on my nerves.

  I plan to get on a lot more than that.

  He didn’t wait for her to respond, but turned his attention to the wolves. He lifted his mug. “To Fergus and the brave warriors of Savage. We got the bastard!”

  The cheer that went up was a roar no doubt heard several streets over in every direction. A couple of the wolves even howled.

  When Brannick had taken his revenge during the first few weeks of his arrival in Five Bridges, he’d been alone. More than that, he’d been warned repeatedly by some of his fellow officers that he couldn’t kill off high level cartel members without repercussion.

  He hadn’t listened to them. He’d been wild with grief and uncontrolled.

  And … alone.

  What had happened tonight, however, had been different in every possible respect, even down to letting the corrupt chief of the Revel Border Patrol take possession of Roche’s factory. If Brannick had let Fergus have his way and they’d destroyed the dark flame factory, the cartels would have retaliated.

  But now Brannick and Juliet could move forward in secret and begin a slow, progressive assault on the fae underworld. The first order of business would be shutting down Roche’s club. Of course it was possible with Roche gone, the club might lose its clientele all on its own. Either way, Brannick would do everything he could to rescue the women involved.

  He would include Fergus, if the wolf wanted to join in. But Fergus had already mentioned that there were a few heinous institutions in Savage that needed a correction or two. Brannick thought it likely Fergus intended to start cleaning house as well.

  After the last beer was consumed, Fergus sent his men home, since wolves were nocturnal as well and dawn was coming. He didn’t go with them, however. Instead, he asked to accompany Brannick and Juliet back to Agnes’s compound.

  Brannick wasn’t certain why the wolf had insisted on coming with them. But he wasn’t about to refuse the man who had not only helped to bring Roche down, but who had saved his ass in Roche’s dreamglide.

  As soon as Brannick touched down in front of Agnes’s compound, he turned to bid Fergus goodnight. One look at the flaring of Fergus’ nostrils, told him something else was going on. He just didn’t know what.

  Juliet, however, had more of a clue. She drew Fergus apart from the guards at the front entrance and spoke in a low voice. “Do you want to know about Mary?”

  Fergus’s lips drew into a tight line as he nodded.

  Brannick should have guessed, but it still seemed unusual.

  Juliet smiled softly. “Mary is recovering extremely well, though given the amount of dark flame in her system, it put her into a tough recovery process. Otherwise, she’s in very good spirits.”

  When Fergus glanced at the guards at the exterior of the building, Juliet added, “For my sake and Mary’s, Agnes has doubled security on the roof and around the entire exterior of the compound. She also added several snipers to the tops of the surrounding buildings. Mary couldn’t be safer.”

  “Good. That’s good. I’ve been concerned. Roche isn’t a threat anymore, but there are a lot of forces at work.”

  “You’re absolutely right.”

  Brannick caught a strong scent of wolf musk, a reminder Fergus was entering his annual mate-hunting cycle. It was also clear that whatever was going on with the shifter, it wasn’t simple.

  Fergus planted his hands on his hips and kept nodding long after Juliet stopped talking. He glanced in the direction of the front door to the compound, his brow heavily furrowed. “Please tell Mary that I asked about her.”

  He nodded a couple more times and after meeting Juliet’s gaze, then Brannick’s, he said, “I’ll bid goodnight to you both.” With that, he turned on his heel, took a few steps, then shot into the air.

  Two weeks ago, Brannick would have thought the man crazy for sniffing around a fae woman. But not tonight. Not anymore.

  When he entered the compound, he saw Mary had come to the front entrance area. She was thinner than before the abduction. “Was that Officer Fergus?”

  Juliet went to her and took her arm. “Yes, and he was asking about your recovery.”

  “I wanted to thank him for getting me out of Roche’s prison.”

  Brannick remained where he was and let Juliet walk Mary back to her room by herself. He heard Juliet’s soft, melodious voice as she no doubt shared the events at Roche’s home and the part Fergus played.

  He was glad she’d gone with Mary, since he needed to think about what he should say to her once she returned. He hadn’t shared his heart with anyone since his arrival in Five Bridges, not in thirteen years.

  It was about damn time.

  After a few minutes, Juliet appeared at the end of the hall. She moved toward him slowly but his faeness could once again tell how guarded she was. He didn’t blame her.

  When she drew close, he smiled then took her hand. He’d half expected her to pull away, but she didn’t. As he walked her to the cottage, she looked up at him once or twice. He squeezed her hand each time, but didn’t say anything. He wanted privacy for what he was about to say.

  Once inside the cottage, he closed the door and before a word was spoken, he drew her into his arms and kissed her. He could feel her hesitation and that she held back, but he kept on kissing her, savoring her the way he’d done for five months in her dreamglide, only now it was in real-time.

  Brann, you seem different or am I imagining it?

  He drew back, but didn’t let her go. His heart kicked up a couple of heavy beats. How could he have thought, for even a moment, that he could live without this woman?

  “Brann, you’ve got me really worried. What’s going on?” She laid her hands on his chest, her brow as furrowed as his normally was.

  He thought for a moment, because he wanted to get this right. He decided to speak his heart straight out. “I’m in love with you, Juliet.”

  Her lips parted and a soft gasp emerged. “What?”

  He smiled. “I love you. I think I have from the time you sat across from me at the White Flame. You were so earnest and so damn beautiful, with your wild hair and dark blue eyes.”

  “You love me.” It was a statement, but a shaky breath followed.

  “I do.” He petted her hair, enjoying the feel of her soft, out-of-control curls. “And I’m done blaming you for the dreamglide. Because you broke the law, I can stand here now and be with you. I wouldn’t have otherwise. I would never have asked you out and I would have ensured that I kept my distance.

  “Leaving you last week, however, became a death I knew I’d have to endure over and over for the rest of my life. I thought I was prepared to return to my solitary existence, until you showed up wearing a purple fringe and black leather. You took my soul by storm.” He slid his hand beneath her chin and kissed her. “I love you, Juliet, with all my heart.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Juliet stared into Brann’s beautiful, green eyes. Even the line between
his brows had eased. The fae part of her kept absorbing the phenomenal change in Brann. This was not the man who’d left her after they’d made love earlier in the cottage living room. He was no longer conflicted. In fact, what she felt most was that the man in front of her was exactly like the man she’d made love to in the dreamglide.

  They were one-in-the same now.

  And she was free to love him as much as she wanted.

  She smiled. She caressed his face and kissed him in return. Her heart felt swollen with an abundance of affection. “I love you, too. So much.” Tears brimmed in her eyes. “You mean everything to me. And like you, I’d never expected to have love in my life again. I didn’t think it was possible here in Five Bridges.

  “When you responded to me the way you did the very first time I took you into my dreamglide, I was hooked. You were the man for me, even though I lived in denial all that time.”

  He searched her eyes. “So, we’ll be together, you and me?”

  “From this night forward.”

  An odd light entered his eye. “Will you marry me, Juliet, despite the fact that I’m a stubborn vampire?”

  “Oh, yes.” The kiss that followed led Brann to pick her up and take her upstairs. He spent the next several hours, well past dawn, making love to her, speaking his love in his wonderful, deep voice, and promising to make every night special for her.

  Several times, she enjoyed him in a combination of dreamglide and real-time that had her crying out over and over again with pleasure.

  She didn’t know when they’d be able to return to her canal home. Maybe never. They were marked now, on the various cartels’ radar. But she knew how methodical Brannick could be and how his rescue tunnel system had operated for years with no one the wiser.

  He held her in his arms and talked about the future, about each of the cartels and the various men and a few women who aided the drug organizations. She knew they would have to be extremely careful and in many ways disappear from the world in order to forge a resistance operation that could eventually overthrow the ruling evil of their world.

  But time was the one thing each of them had in their long-lived alter world. What had been stripped from her when she’d unknowingly taken the fae alter serum, hidden inside a dark flame potion, had been given back in just how long their lives could be.

  She fell asleep cradled in his arms, held secure in her dreams. More than once she felt him pull her close, awakening her enough to savor the warmth of his embrace. Her heart swelled each time, at the comfort of his touch, his presence in her bed, and the way he professed his love against her ear, whispering to her in his half-sleep.

  There was work to be done in Five Bridges, of renewing a land lost to its darkest elements. But now Brann was with her and what had seemed so impossible, became filled with light, hope and the promise of a future full of love.

  Thank you for reading DARK FLAME! Authors rely on readers more than ever to share the word. Here are some things you can do to help!

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  Do you love cocktails!?! Caris has been working with the awesome paranormal romance writing duo, Trim and Julka, who have developed a series of Flame Drinks that correspond to each of the Flame books. You can find these specialty cocktails and their recipes at: http://www.trimandjulka.com/flame-drinks/ Please remember: Don’t drink and drive and don’t light these drinks on fire! Enjoy!

  LIST OF BOOKS

  To read more about each one, check out my books page: http://www.carisroane.com/books/

  The Flame Series…

  BLOOD FLAME: Find it now on Amazon

  AMETHYST FLAME: Find it now on Amazon

  The Blood Rose Series...

  BLOOD ROSE SERIES BOX SET, featuring Book #1 Embrace The Dark, Book #2 Embrace The Magic, And Book #3 Embrace The Mystery. Find it now on Amazon

  EMBRACE THE DARK #1: Free on Amazon

  EMBRACE THE MAGIC #2: Find it now on Amazon

  EMBRACE THE MYSTERY #3: Find it now on Amazon

  EMBRACE THE PASSION #4: Find it now on Amazon

  EMBRACE THE NIGHT #5: Find it now on Amazon

  EMBRACE THE WILD #6: Find it now on Amazon

  EMBRACE THE WIND #7: Find it now on Amazon

  EMBRACE THE HUNT #8: Find it now on Amazon

  LOVE IN THE FORTRESS #8.1 (Companion to EMBRACE THE HUNT): Find it now on Amazon

  BLOOD ROSE TALES BOX SET: Find it now on Amazon

  Guardians of Ascension Series...

  VAMPIRE COLLECTION (Includes BRINK OF ETERNITY): Find it now on Amazon

  THE DARKENING: Find it now on Amazon

  RAPTURE’S EDGE – 1 – AWAKENING: Find it now on Amazon

  RAPTURE’S EDGE – 2 – VEILED: Find it now on Amazon

  Amulet Series...

  WICKED NIGHT/DARK NIGHT (Boxed Set): Find it now on Amazon

  Coming Fall 2015: Book 4 of the Flame Series – AMBER FLAME – featuring Officer Fergus, the first of three wolf heroes from Savage Territory! http://www.carisroane.com/amber-flame-4/

  Now Available: EMBRACE THE HUNT, Book 8 of the Blood Rose Series

  A powerful vampire warrior. A beautiful fae of great ability. A war that threatens to destroy their love for the second time…

  Find out more about EMBRACE THE HUNT: http://www.carisroane.com/8-embrace-the-hunt/

  Coming Soon/Fall of 2015: EMBRACE THE POWER, the final installment of the Blood Rose Series! Find out more about EMBRACE THE POWER! http://www.carisroane.com/9-embrace-the-power/

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Caris Roane is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-two paranormal romance books. Writing as Valerie King, she has published fifty novels and novellas in Regency Romance. Caris lives in Phoenix, Arizona, loves gardening, enjoys the birds and lizards in her yard, but really doesn’t like scorpions!

  Find out more about Caris on her website!

  http://www.carisroane.com/

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  Author of:

  Guardians of Ascension Series – Warriors of the Blood crave the breh-hedden

  Dawn of Ascension Series – Militia Warriors battle to save Second Earth

  Rapture’s Edge Series (Part of Guardians of Ascension) – Second earth warriors travel to Third to save three dimensions from a tyrant’s heinous ambitions

  Blood Rose Series – Only a blood rose can fulfill a mastyr vampire’s deepest needs

  Blood Rose Tales – Short tales of mastyr vampires who hunger to be satisfied

  Men in Chains Series – Vampires struggling to get free of their chains and save the world

  The Flame Series – Vampires battle it out with witches for control of their world