Winter Kiss

by Deborah Cooke

  He laughed. “We’re not interested in human laboratory protocols,” he said with a sneer. “Let’s find out what happens when you drink it. That’s the really interesting proposition.”

  “You can’t make me!”

  “You’ll find that we can be very persuasive.”

  The dark one carried Ginger toward the Elixir as she squirmed and fought. He was stronger and much bigger than she. The blond watched, his amusement not reaching his eyes. This guy would be able to torture anyone—he might even enjoy it.

  That wasn’t a good sign.

  The blond knew, Ginger guessed, that she was about to die a horrible death. It wasn’t her favorite idea, but the dark-haired Slayer held her in a relentless grip. He caught the back of her neck in one hand and pushed her face toward the Elixir. It appeared to swirl more quickly, as if it responded to her presence.

  Ginger held her breath, not wanting to smell the Elixir. She averted her face, not wanting to look at it. She felt its chill, though, felt as if she’d develop frostbite on the tip of her nose.

  If she lived long enough for that. She shuddered and struggled, which only made the blond laugh.

  “Do it, Mallory,” he said, and Ginger blinked.

  Mallory. The Slayer holding her captive was Mallory. He was the Slayer Delaney had struck down that morning, the garnet red and gold one whose body had been defended by the agate dragon.

  He had been dead, or as good as, just hours before. He held Ginger tightly and she heard his breath rasp. He seemed pretty lively to her in this moment.

  Which meant he’d drunk the Elixir.

  He was undead.

  Yuck. She was in one of those midnight ghoul movies.

  But Jorge’s cast proved that the Pyr and Slayers carried their injuries between forms. Mallory had had his eye torn that morning, but he’d also had a major gash on his shoulder. Ginger couldn’t remember which one, but she knew she’d only have one chance to fool him.

  She went limp, as if she’d passed out from the fumes.

  “No fun,” the blond had time to say, before Mallory’s grasp loosened just a little bit.

  It would have to be enough.

  There was a porte cochere before Magnus’s front door and Delaney turned into it, taking the curve too fast. The car swerved and slid, the passenger side slamming into the front of the house.

  There was an announcement of his presence, if they’d missed the first one.

  Delaney leapt out of the car even as Balthasar flung open the front door. He’d been about to send a message to Niall in old-speak, but didn’t want the Slayer to overhear it.

  He’d have to hope for the best.

  “How rude,” Balthasar said. He had a black eye from being chucked head to head against Mallory that morning, and looked resentful.

  “I didn’t think Magnus was taking visitors,” Delaney retorted, backing away from the driver’s side door. He’d already popped the flap on the gas tank from inside the car. “Given the wound he got this morning.”

  The alarm rang and rang, but Delaney was busily unscrewing the cap from the gas tank, holding his hand behind his own hip. His fingers fumbled as the dragonsmoke flooded his body with pain and he feared that he was taking too long. He shoved the gas-soaked rag he’d brought into the opening and knew he had to tempt Balthasar to come around the vehicle.

  “No one walked away unscathed,” Balthasar said, stepping out of the doorway. “Especially you. Have you come for a restorative sip of the Elixir?”

  Delaney let him take two more steps closer. Balthasar was in front of the car, and just a couple more steps would do it. “No, I came to finish you off, since you were the last one left standing.” He shrugged and stepped backward, moving toward the trunk of the car. “I dislike loose ends.”

  Balthasar took the bait, following Delaney down the driver’s side of the car. “In your dreams,” he hissed.

  “Sorry, but when I dream, it’s not of you.” Delaney shifted shape, knowing Balthasar would follow suit.

  The Slayer did, becoming an agate and gold dragon. Delaney retreated as quickly as he could. Balthasar lunged toward him, furiously breathing dragonfire.

  He was right beside the driver’s door when the rag lit. The gas tank was half empty, ensuring that there was a lot of oxygen at the ready. The gas tank exploded instantly, and the car burned like a Roman candle.

  Delaney retreated as quickly as he could, but his tail was still singed by the fire. B althasar swore and followed right behind Delaney. His feathers were in flames, his scales blackened from the explosion.

  But that quick pursuit was the only thing that saved Balthasar’s life. Just a heartbeat after the gas tank, the fertilizer exploded. The explosion destroyed the porte cochere, sending chunks of brick flying in every direction.

  It also decimated the front of the house, reducing it to rubble.

  Perfect.

  Ginger didn’t wait for a better chance. As soon as Mallory loosened his grip, she wriggled. She twisted and dug her fingers into his shoulders as hard as she could.

  It was the left shoulder that had been wounded. Ginger could feel the scab beneath her hand and she burrowed her fingers into it, trying to inflict as much pain as possible.

  It had healed quickly but not completely, and she showed no shame in ripping the wound open again with her nails.

  Mallory screamed and tried to pull from her, stumbling against the basin of Elixir. His momentum was enough to tip the bowl, and the Elixir spilled over the patio.

  Ginger dug the fingers of her other hand into his injured eye. She was fighting for her life and it was no time to be squeamish.

  Mallory shouted in rage and backed across the atrium, trying to pull her off him. She felt his fingers change to talons and feared he would rip her to shreds right then and there.

  But she didn’t stop.

  “Fool!” the blond shouted. Mallory hauled Ginger free of him and cast her against one glass wall. Her body hit so hard that the glass vibrated. The impact left her dizzy. She slid down the glass, landing heavily in the snow, as Mallory shimmered blue before her.

  He didn’t look happy.

  The blond was on his hands and knees in the middle of the atrium, lapping up Elixir as it spilled from the bowl. “Straighten the basin!” he commanded, evidently having no intent of doing that himself when he could devour more Elixir.

  “Do it yourself,” Mallory snarled. A puff of smoke came out of his nostril as he eyed Ginger. His lip curled, his eye and his shoulder bled black, and he stepped toward her with purpose.

  There was nowhere to run. Ginger had time to think that she was in even bigger trouble than before, when an explosion shook the house.

  The sliding glass door behind Ginger cracked right in half. She stumbled backward, falling through the broken pane. Mallory roared and snatched after her, his claw scattering the glass.

  Ginger didn’t wait for an embossed invitation; she ran.

  Out in front of the destroyed house, Balthasar screamed and swore. He raced after Delaney, his eyes blazing with fury. Delaney took flight as the Slayer closed fast.

  To Delaney’s delight, Niall dove out of the sky and attacked the Slayer from behind. Surprise gave Niall the upper hand, then the two locked in furious combat.

  Delaney caught his breath at the fiery caress of the firestorm. It was a different kind of heat that the burn inflicted by dragonsmoke. It was sensuous and warm, sending desire through his body and making his heart pound with anticipation.

  He knew why he was feeling it. Delaney turned and saw a small redhead picking her way through the smoking rubble with remarkable speed.

  Ginger!

  He didn’t know where the other Slayers were and he didn’t care. He pivoted in flight as he headed directly for his mate.

  “On your back,” Thorolf declared, and Delaney started at the sudden appearance of the moonstone and silver dragon. Thorolf’s coloring gave him good camouflage in a snowstorm.

 
Once again, he was glad of the Pyr’s assistance. The pair swept toward the house together, Thorolf muttering at the pain inflicted by the dragonsmoke. “It’s getting worse!”

  “It will.”

  “I can’t take any more.”

  “You don’t have to. Just cover my back and take care of yourself.”

  Thorolf hung back, hovering vigilantly behind Delaney. Ginger, to Delaney’s delight, was clear of the house and running for the broken gate. He saw no signs of pursuit by the Slayers, which was odd, but he’d take any break he could get.

  Ginger glanced up, maybe guessing at his presence because of the heat of the firestorm. She smiled, telling him that she wasn’t so furious anymore. The sight of her pleasure made the pain easier to endure.

  It made him glad to be alive.

  Delaney held his breath and dove toward her. He snatched Ginger up in one claw and sparks flew into the snow as his grip closed around her. The heat of the firestorm raged through him, kindling his desire. Ginger felt small and feminine in his grasp, so vulnerable and precious that his breath caught in his throat.

  He rocketed into the sky, getting both of them out of harm’s way as quickly as possible. She cheered and shivered, and he held her more tightly against his chest. The firestorm’s heat teased and beguiled him, reminding him of what they had done together.

  And what they hadn’t done. He recalled the heat of her surrounding him, her sweetness and passion, then glanced down to find her eyes twinkling. That she could have a sense of humor even in a dangerous situation amazed him.

  Then it fed his admiration and his desire.

  “You’re a mess, hotshot,” Ginger said lightly. She glanced over him, clearly assessing the state of his singed scales. “What have you been doing while I’ve been freezing my butt off?”

  Delaney found himself smiling, liking that she felt sufficiently confident of his motives to give him a hard time. “That’s the effect of dragonsmoke.”

  “The perimeter mark,” she said, and he knew someone had told her about it.

  “We use it to mark territory. It burns any Pyr or Slayer who crosses it uninvited.”

  “I didn’t see any smoke.”

  “It can’t be detected by humans, although some feel a chill when they walk through it.”

  “More of those superperceptive senses?” she asked, her tone teasing.

  Delaney nodded. Ginger shivered again as she nestled closer to his heat and he closed his claw more protectively around her. He was fiercely glad she was all right.

  He wanted to celebrate that fact, alone with Ginger.

  “They were going to make me drink it,” she admitted quietly, her words sending a stab through his heart. He didn’t have to ask what she meant.

  “Who?” Delaney was angry enough to go back and demand penance from the Slayers for what they’d tried to do to his mate, but he knew he had to ensure her safety first.

  “The blond and Mallory.”

  “Jorge.” A cold resolve settled within Delaney and he knew that he’d ensure somehow that Jorge paid for even threatening Ginger with that possibility. He could feel the galloping pace of her heart and knew she had been more afraid than she let on. It was like her to disguise her vulnerability and her fear. He held her closer, relieved that he’d come in time.

  Who would defend his mate if he died destroying the Elixir?

  It was a question Delaney would have preferred to evade, but it echoed in his thoughts with unwelcome persistence. Could he expect his fellow Pyr to take her cause as vigorously as he would? Why would they, without the firestorm’s insistence driving them back to Ginger, over and over and over again? Why would they, without this fierce admiration for her strength and audacity, one that made Delaney believe she was the most perfect mate possible?

  But what choice did he have?

  Niall and Thorolf appeared on his flanks again, neither of them obviously wounded.

  “Piece of cake,” Thorolf said at Delaney’s glance.

  “They’ll all be drinking the Elixir now,” Niall said, more rueful than triumphant.

  “Why was Delaney the only one to fly through the dragonsmoke?” Ginger asked. Delaney smiled at her need for information.

  Niall laughed. “He was the one with the motivation.”

  Delaney felt Ginger watching him and wondered how much she guessed of the obligation he felt toward her. He wouldn’t sweeten what he had to do with an emotional confession—that really wouldn’t be fair. He knew his fate, although its price was feeling higher with every passing moment.

  “I got you into it,” he said gruffly. “I got you out.”

  She eyed him for a long moment and he avoided her gaze. She ran the flat of her hand across his chest, a casual gesture of affection that sent a pang of lust racing through his veins. Delaney wanted as he had never wanted before.

  But he had to respect Ginger’s plan for her own future.

  “Was that your rental car?” she asked finally.

  “I’m guessing the deposit is forfeit,” he said deadpan, delighted when she laughed.

  “And what was in it?”

  “A whole lot of your fertilizer.”

  “Right.” She nodded, thinking about the plan. “Well, that’s a good use for it. Luke and I have been arguing about it for a while.”

  Luke?

  Who was Luke? Delaney felt a stab of jealousy that caught him by surprise. He didn’t feel he had the right to ask questions about Ginger’s personal life, given his own plan to leave, but he wanted that right.

  Badly.

  Delaney looked down at her in surprise, but Ginger was frowning in frustration. “Luke refuses to buy anything organic. He refuses to spread anything organic on the fields that he rents from me, because it’s not the way he’s always done it. It drives me crazy. I refused to let him use that crap on my land, so it’s been sitting there ever since.”

  “He works for you?”

  Ginger made a little sound of annoyance. “So to speak.”

  “Luke,” Niall murmured in old-speak, taunting him. “Lots of energy there.”

  Thorolf snickered.

  “I wonder what Luke knows about raising Pyr babies,” Niall mused, and Delaney thought about decking his old friend for unwelcome commentary.

  Ginger looked between them. “What are you talking about?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Delaney said.

  Ginger bristled. “We had a deal. . . .”

  “I’m razzing him about Luke,” Niall supplied, and Delaney could sense Ginger’s pleasure that he was concerned. He felt a whole lot less pleasure over Niall’s interference, but that didn’t make any difference. He was being drawn into a web of connections with Ginger, one that would only make it harder to do what he had to do.

  Too bad he couldn’t stop thinking about the pleasures of seducing her.

  “My neighbor,” Ginger said lightly, evidently unaware of the storm within Delaney. Maybe she didn’t feel the same urge, even with the firestorm radiant between them, sending lust through Delaney’s body and feeding his amorous thoughts. “Well, he’s Silas’s son, actually. They rent my fields and work them, and Luke helps me with the girls.”

  That told Delaney everything and nothing, but he refused to ask more. He didn’t want to give Ginger any ideas about him sticking around. He was getting enough ideas on his own.

  “Seems to me that anybody planning to commit suicide shouldn’t be worried about your employees,” Niall said, his manner sly.

  “Seems that way to me, too,” Ginger said.

  They both eyed Delaney, consideration in their expressions.

  Delaney ignored them both.

  He concentrated instead on checking the horizon for signs of pursuit. He didn’t want to think about what Ginger might read into his curiosity. He didn’t want to think about why he even resented this Luke guy, and he wasn’t going to wonder about Ginger’s relationship with him.

  He certainly wouldn’t ask for details.
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  The silence seemed to be filled with questions, questions that Delaney didn’t dare answer or ask. The last thing he needed was more temptation.

  Having Ginger pressed against his chest was dangerous enough. As if she knew the effect of her touch on him, she ran her hands over his chest and shoulders lightly, caressing him almost absently, her touch driving everything else from his thoughts.

  If that wasn’t treacherous, Delaney didn’t know what was.

  Chapter 12

  “Thanks for not using my truck,” Ginger said as they approached her farm and the red pickup became visible through the falling snow. There was impatience in her tone, although Delaney was fighting to keep his hold on her casual.

  Brotherly.

  Instead of the passionate embrace he wanted to share.

  “I’ve been presumptuous enough,” Delaney said. “We need to fix the roof on that barn, too.”

  “Damn that Jorge!” Ginger said. “It’s a new barn, too.”

  “We’ll fix it as well as we can, then I’ll leave you money to have it repaired properly.”

  “Leave nothing but a footprint, huh?” Ginger asked, wry amusement in her tone. “Oh, and a baby.”

  Delaney was embarrassed, and Niall’s chuckle didn’t improve his mood. He sounded so callous when Ginger put it that way.

  Worse, he was starting to feel callous. He felt Ginger watching him, probably trying to read his thoughts, and kept his expression neutral as the Pyr descended in unison.

  “Close your eyes,” he advised Ginger, his tone terse.

  “Forget it. I know what to expect, and I want to see all of it.”

  Delaney knew from her stubborn tone that he wouldn’t change her mind. He tried to shift quickly to make it easier for her, noting that again she didn’t even allow herself to blink.

  When his feet were on the ground and he was in human form, he held her in his arms. She was pale but hadn’t passed out.

  “Ha! I did it!” she said, grinning in triumph.

  The firestorm burned with greater intensity as Delaney looked down at her, sending sizzling heat from every point they touched. Was it stronger because he was in human form, or stronger simply because they hadn’t satisfied it? Either way, it burned with more vigor, pushing thoughts of anything other than Ginger out of his mind.