by Scott, Amber
A strange shiver ran between them, almost a shockwave. Her eyes fluttered, her lips parted as she waited for his agreement. His heart thrummed a staccato. One kiss, one honest kiss that held nothing back.
What could it hurt? His body hardened.
“Agreed. I am more grateful than you can ever fathom,” he said, his voice throaty. Heat flashed again over his chest, aware of her breasts pressed against him. He held her closer, his mind spinning as he flew them lower, closer to the ground.
He had no business being attracted to her, no matter what she’d agreed to or would become. He had no business wanting her. Yet he did, so intensely in that moment that nothing seemed at stake.
Not her transformation. Not Crusoe. Nothing.
He met her mouth hungrily, holding her close. She tasted so sweet. She let out a whimper. Her tongue tangling with his. His erection almost hurt, pressing against her welcoming heat. His wings strained. He forced his eyes open and focused on the horizon but damned if he didn’t feel dizzy.
He sucked at her tongue. Sadie moaned, undulating against his hard flesh. The horizon warbled in his view. He broke their kiss.
“Elijah,” she gasped.
“I can’t,” he said, his voice hoarse with passion. He was behaving like an animal, exploiting her human attraction to him. He had to control himself. Never again. Not one more touch. Not even the thought of it. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.”
He’d never experienced attraction to a mortal. It went against everything he believed in. But she wasn’t human, not really, was she? She was a changeling.
It shouldn’t matter. He wouldn’t let himself justify taking advantage of her or manufacture a loophole to wriggle through. He could never have her. Period.
As soon as they landed on the northeast face of the mountain, he sensed Holly and Lyric’s presence. Sadie winced as he set her down and backed away. A new image flashed into his head. “Holly,” he mumbled.
Sadie squared her shoulders. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. Can you walk?” he said, and the skin on his chest burned. He rubbed at the area.
“Yes, I can I walk. Tell me what it is, Elijah.”
The sensation moved to the inside of his chest, a tugging. Charity. “It’s nothing. Lyric fed me an image. We don’t have a lot of time.” His chest tugged again.
She averted her eyes. “Did they find me?”
He scanned for signs of the changeling after Sadie. He shook his head. His chest ached harder, stronger. It felt almost like heartbreak, but in the wrong place.
“So, where are you going to torture my feet off to next?”
Awareness prickled over his skin, up his spine. He took her hand. “Shh,” he said.
Sadie’s palm sweated in his. He pulled her near, listened for Charity. “We aren’t alone,” he whispered.
Sadie’s hand twitched. Elijah held on, shaking his head. He focused on the sounds around them. The same familiar sound lingered. Cloaked under the cacophony of humans.
He had to conclude Charity knew about Sadie and might be after her. He listened for Lyric, put an image in his mind, hoping the feeder would see it. “We have to go.”
“What?” She pulled away. “Why? Tell me what it is.”
He walked after her. “I can’t explain right now. There isn’t time. I need you to trust me.”
She retreated. “This is craziness. You can’t fly me all over the place and explain nothing. You said you wanted to show me something. I’m not a child. Tell me what is wrong.”
He came to a stop, recognizing the electric quality from yesterday. She could shock him. “Look. You asked why you should trust me. You have no reason to, I know. But you also have no reason not to.” He reached his hand out. “Lyric and Holly are coming. Something dangerous is here. I don’t want to expose you to violence.”
Rather than earning her cooperation, his words incited her. “If Lyric and Holly will be here, I say we stay. Contrary to what everyone seems to assume, I don’t scare that easily. Running is worse than anything I would have to face.”
If she were more fully transformed, he might stay. He hated fleeing. But he refused to see her killed or worse, taken. Charity was the most powerful immortal he’d ever encountered. The rapture she fed off in that church made her stronger than any bloodthirsty vampire. Sadie couldn’t appreciate what she would be up against, even with immortal help.
Elijah’s sense of dread loomed closer. He couldn’t be sure how dark Charity’s powers were or if the changeling lingered out there as well. Prepared to be zapped, he took Sadie by the hand and pulled her body to his. Her breathing hitched. She might not forgive him for what he was about to do, but so be it. She’d be safe.
Slowly, so as not to overwhelm her, and though he probably didn’t need to, he released his magnetism. Her eyes grew heavy lidded and her pulse quickened. He kept his eyes locked to hers. “They won’t be long now. We’ll wait here.”
Sadie nodded. Her lips parted. Her weight leaned into him. Elijah drew her hands up to rest on his chest. The breeze swept a lock of her hair forward. He tucked it back behind her ear, letting his finger rove over the outer shell. “Did you pack sunscreen?”
Sadie’s brow furrowed. “Sunscreen?” she asked, breathless.
Elijah nodded, trailing his finger along her jaw. Once he numbed her anger, he’d be safe from her electric shockwaves. “Such fair skin in the Arizona sun.” He tipped her chin up. Hope and lust lit her eyes, vibrating off her body in waves. “We can’t have you getting burned.”
Her eyelids lowered a bit. His nearness would be heady as a drug, his magnetism unleashed full-force. Guilt stabbed through him. He hated manipulating her and vowed to never do so again. He played with fire. His own fire. The more she reacted, the more he did as well. He wanted her. “Practice and protection?”
Sadie nodded mindlessly, her arms wound around him, her body leaned full weight against him. Her reaction heightened his own. The tugging worsened, his erection hardened. Oh, the things he could do to her. “Now, close your eyes.”
He had to get her off this mountain and wrong or not, he needed her compliance. He bent his head and touched his lips to her throat. He suckled a trail of kisses up to her jaw. Sadie’s back arched. His mouth found hers. She gasped into his kiss, moaning. His erection throbbed. His drunken senses swept the vicinity for the threat.
Sadie melted into his arms. “Wrap around me,” he whispered. Her pulse sang from her veins. Elijah lifted her. Her legs encircled him. She hungrily pressed her heat against his erection, grinding in circles. “There,” she whispered. “Like that.”
Elijah groaned, struggling to stay focused. The tugging in his chest snapped taut. Charity was closing in. No doubt, relaxing his shield for Sadie in turn created a blaring beacon to feed off.
He bent at the knees, his mouth returning to hers, melded his mouth to hers. He caressed her lips, tasting her sweetness, tantalizing her tongue with his. He broke the kiss for a second. Sadie moaned, pulling at him. “Please, don’t scream. Don’t shock me.”
His chest burned. Sadie’s arms trembled as they tightened. She smelled like honey and it was all he could do not to beg her to stop him before he ravaged her in flight.
He shot upward a hundred yards into the morning sky. The trail carved mountain shrank below them. He did his best not to jostle her. Tempted to transport her, he first had to re-shield and erase their trail. Elijah would risk a battle. With Sadie, in the air, vulnerable and at risk.
His vision blurred slightly. Sadie’s mouth moved to the sensitive part on his throat, her teeth grazing his skin. “God, Elijah, I want you so bad,” she said.
Elijah held tighter to her hips, wishing he could tear off her pants and drive his body into her wet heat. She was so hot and damned if he didn’t feel moisture penetrating his pants. Her moisture.
Maybe he should touchdown, conceal her and face Charity instead. Then ravage Sadie and make her forget every last mortal on earth.
<
br /> No! Elijah shook himself.
First, see if Charity would follow. The farther he flew, the less he stung. He inverted his magnetism, circled the sprawling metropolis in a long wide loop, keeping low to avoid inter-realm traffic, then headed south. The wind rippled through his wings, plastering Sadie’s hair around his shoulders and neck.
She clung to him, kissing his neck, panting. Her hips moved up and down his dick’s length. Her tits rubbed against him. Elijah held her ass with one hand and reached up her shirt with the other. Each breast fit so perfectly in his palm, heavy and round. His body screamed for him to land. His wings ached to wrap around her body, to feel her hands stroke every inch.
He couldn’t let her make him climax!
The sting receded, Elijah inched his shield back into place and pulled Sadie to face him. He had to get his lust under control. Her life was at risk.
“Forgive me,” he said, guilt choking him. “I had no other choice.”
It took a moment for realization to register on her features. “You did that on purpose? To distract me! Not because you wanted to?”
He heard the angry change in her. “We’re close to the safe house. Try not to shock me. I promise you, Sadie, one day soon, we will no longer run.”
The accusation and hurt in her gaze felt like a kick in the gut. When she looked away, the kick went deeper. But she didn’t shock him. He flew in silence, dipping, rising, doubling back. An occasional strand of her hair tickled his face. She shuddered every few minutes and he imagined she fought to control her anger.
She would not be mortal much longer, he rationalized, and not so vulnerable to his magnetism. Still, he’d broken his own vow. He’d exploited her human nature. He couldn’t admit he’d wanted to kiss her, and refused to acknowledge just how much he wanted her.
She shuddered again.
“Are you alright?” he asked against her ear.
She nodded, stiff in his arms. Too late for regrets now. He’d have to trust her steady, even vibration. She was okay. He’d make certain she stayed that way. Somehow.
Elijah focused on the horizon, only a few more miles left. Sadie shuddered again and with the shudder came that telltale static energy. He cursed himself for not keeping his mouth shut. He should have ravaged her the entire flight home.
He had to land. He directed them to the nearest highly populated area he could think of. The mall.
Hopefully, the risk of a public confrontation getting back to High Council would deter Charity. Plus, an Enforcer or two were bound to be around, anonymously guarding.
He set down and Sadie backed out of his arms.
Keeping the mall’s exterior imaged in his mind, he set down near a rear employee entrance. Quickly, he checked his trace while listening for sounds of Charity. He checked for the changeling too and called Lyric.
Snapping the phone shut, he said, “Lyric and Holly will meet us here instead. We need to get inside quickly. Whatever trace we’ve left will blur better inside.” Elijah stopped glancing about and dropped his compass. “And I do believe I owe you some shoes.”
Sadie radiated irritation. She cocked an eyebrow and tugged at her shirt, torn at the collar. “I’d say you owe me a bit more than shoes.”
He’d torn the thing? “Right. So, I owe you an entire wardrobe. Where do you prefer to shop?”
She smiled begrudgingly, something in her eyes he couldn’t define. Her eyebrow cocked higher. “I think what you mean to say is, ‘how much’?”
“Alright,” he said. “Try not to create a spectacle. We’ve earned enough attention.”
Sadie snorted, and headed toward the nearby glass doors.
Half an hour later, Elijah sat outside a ladies dressing room planning how he’d kill Holly and Lyric for taking their sweet ass time. They were probably taking extra cloaking precautions but damned if it didn’t feel intentional.
Sadie popped out of the dressing room in a pair of jeans that could have been painted on. The dark indigo material hugged every delectable curve. He had to look away. “You may want to consider something with a bit more give in the material. Training, remember?”
“Actually, Elijah, these have plenty of give. See?”
He shouldn’t have looked. She stood with her arms cocked, hands fisted, one toe pointing above his head. She looked like a ballerina pugilist and the line of her raised leg drew his eye to her hottest spot, perfectly outlined in denim.
“Flexible,” he said. “Here I thought librarians only read and researched.”
“I had a life before the library, Elijah. Maybe if you asked about it, you’d see I’m not a little bunny scared of the nearest wolf.”
“Once you meet one or two, you might be.”
She lowered her leg but kept her chin high. “We’ll see, won’t we?”
He liked the daring look in her eye, the stubborn set to her chin. “We need to finish here.”
“What about Lyric and Holly?” Sadie asked, ripping tags off and handing them to him.
“I’m not sure they’ll make it. Doesn’t matter. What matters is leaving before Enforcement catches our scent. Or did you actually want to meet a wolf today?”
He paid for the jeans, a pair of shoes, two shirts and a hoodie, then reached for Sadie’s hand. He grabbed nothing but air. A high-pitched whine pierced the hum of the department store. Damnit! His senses were completely out of whack. He hadn’t detected any Enforcer approaching.
“Sadie Graves, you little tramp!”
Elijah spun. So did Sadie. “Ben! Hi.”
Elijah frowned. How had he mistaken this human for Enforcement? Paranoid, he checked his compass. Not a single nearby immortal vibration.
“I cannot believe it,” Ben cooed. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you hooking up with a dude isn’t so far-fetched no matter what your sister told Cynthia, but I had no idea in my wildest dreams you’d snagged this delicious morsel of man. Hi. I’m Ben.”
Elijah shook Ben’s hand. “Actually, I did the snagging,” Elijah said. He pulled Sadie to his side, hating how much he liked her there, how readily he gave into another excuse to touch her. “Once I finally got up the nerve to ask Sadie out, she refused.”
Ben gasped. “You’re lying! You turned him down? Really?”
Sadie nodded, pressing her lips together. “I did. He—uh—came on a little too strong and I thought he was a little weird, actually,” she said, that dare still in her eyes.
“Weird?” Elijah said, taking her bait. “Well, I suppose a spontaneous picnic on top of a desert bluff isn’t exactly your average first date.”
“Picnic?” she said, but Ben spoke over her.
“Oh! How romantical! I admit it. I’m dying of envy here. When did all this happen? If you kept him a secret all this time, Sadie, I will never forgive. Oh, okay, I will, but you owe me every detail. Now!” He stomped his foot.
Elijah trusted his senses this time, detecting an Enforcer looming and steered Sadie into a walk. Ben tagged along.
Sadie wound her hair around her fist. “You said my sister came by the library?”
“Mmm, hmmm. What’s up with her, anyways? Don’t take this wrong. I adore you, honey, but your sister is a hag. And she don’t like you verra much. Fab jeans, by the way. You could snap a quarter off your ass. Do they pinch?”
The Enforcer trailed their path. Elijah dug out his compass and found Lyric’s trace on the ground level of the mall, a few stores ahead. Blame it on the muddle kissing Sadie created or too many sounds to track, but he couldn’t sense Lyric or Holly’s vibrations. “I’m sorry to cut your visit short, Sadie, love, but we have to be going.”
Ben’s eyes lit ever brighter. “Oh, don’t let me keep you two. Where are you off to?”
Sadie shrugged, glancing at Elijah. “Paris, right?”
Actually, leaving the country might be a good idea. The safe house might be compromised and Sadie couldn’t yet cross realm lines. “It’s a surprise. First, we need to meet up with our travel companions.”
“Need any more of those?” Ben winked, trotting along. “Kidding! A little. No really. I’m dying of jealousy. I cannot wait to tell Cynthia. She will bust at the seams, girl.”
“Tell her what?”
“About you snagging the hunk every last woman in the building drooled over for the last six months. Yes, you’re the hunk. Yes, I admit it, me included. Don’t act like you don’t know you’re beautiful.”
Elijah could strangle the guy. Not only was he slowing them down, he was making Sadie uncomfortable. Static emanated off of her. The wrong word and she’d shock him right there in the middle of human shopping havoc. Okay. Not havoc. But enough traffic to warrant Enforcement swooping in. Speaking of, the Enforcer following them got closer and brought a friend. At least Elijah hoped it was a friend. With his senses so skewed, it could be an army.
Holly’s flame-tipped hair caught his eye. He breathed easier. Meaningfully, he squeezed Sadie’s hand. “Good meeting you, Ben. Unfortunately, we have to run.”
Ben gave him a measuring look but nodded. “Alright. Call me, okay Sadie? Details. Promise?”
As Ben left, Lyric and Holly joined them.
“Get over it,” Holly hissed at Lyric.
“Sweetheart, I’ve been over it.” Lyric smiled cruelly. “You know what they say, fool me once.”
Holly rolled her eyes, sparks spit off her fingertips when she dismissed Lyric with a wave. “Shut it.” To Elijah, she said, “What happened back there on the mountain?”
“We have an audience,” Lyric said, projecting images of four separate enforcers. By the look of them, feeders. Would they recognize Sadie as a changeling?
Elijah couldn’t risk the slim chance. He decided quickly, and hoped he wouldn’t regret it.
He grasped Sadie by her shoulders. “Remember how we talked about trust? We’re about to be neck deep in the human equivalent of the CIA. I need you to go with Lyric. Now.”
Sadie opened her mouth but didn’t argue.
“Lyric?” Elijah said.
“Consider us gone.” The feeder took Sadie’s hand and ducked swiftly around a corner. Elijah met Holly’s gaze and before he had time to address the anger sparking there, a steely hand gripped his bi-cep.
