Awakening Fire: The Divine Tree Guardians (The Divine Tree Guardians Series Book 1)

by Larissa Emerald

  Emma moaned as she came awake, and his chest ached. What he wouldn’t give to be in human form right now and hold her.

  Like she’d allow that.

  “Emma?” Mrs. Grant called from somewhere outside the dining room.

  Emma groaned louder, rolling her head from side to side.

  Venn glanced at the doorway where the old woman would probably appear any second and took off in the opposite direction. He beat his wings, clipping one of them on the light fixture overhead. His strained emotions made him woozy. He changed direction and flew out the still-open front door, following the path Io had taken moments earlier.

  “Oh my goodness!” He heard Emma’s grandmother’s ruffled exclamation as he fled.

  It was a knife to his heart not to be there to comfort Emma when she awoke.

  Once outside, he circled back to the window, perched on the sill, and peered in again. He could see Emma pushing herself to her feet and listing sideways as she assured her grandmother she was fine. She explained that she couldn’t remember what had happened—one minute she was talking with Io and the next, she awoke on the table.

  Both Emma and Mrs. Grant glanced about.

  “Well, where is he?” Emma asked.

  “I…I don’t know. Wait, he said something about getting together another time,” her grandmother said. “I wasn’t really paying attention, dear.”

  Venn heaved a relieved sigh. Now that he knew Emma was safe, his sense of panic and fear calmed. Emma seemed to come out of the mind-wash with ease, her movements growing more fluid with each moment. He regretted having to do it to her, but she didn’t need to see the ugly side of things, yet. Let her remember their past first. Let her join him in thwarting the evil beast. Then she’d be more likely to accept their relationship. In the meantime, he had to push Io away, keep the demon at a distance. Having him out of the picture meant Emma would live another day.

  All at once, his vision clouded with wavy spots and his stomach gave a nauseous churn. Venn knew he was about to unwillingly change. On occasion, when his emotions became too involved, his control went haywire. The glitch happened most often when he was with Amelia—now his Emma. He’d forgotten that hiccup from their previous life.

  He flapped to the edge of the porch when the transformation began. His body burned with energy, a flickering sort of feeling. In human form, he crouched near the railing, the molecules that would make up his clothing starting to settle into place.

  Three things kicked through his brain as his senses acclimated. One, he sure as hell didn’t want Emma to catch him. Two, Io was gone, along with the SUV. And finally, his cell phone was in his pocket, so he could at least call Henry to pick him up. Good deal.

  A phone rang then, but it wasn’t his. He listened carefully as Emma answered from inside the house. “Hello?”

  Just the sound of her voice made him feel better. He breathed in a fresh sip of pine, earth, and flowers that filled in the air. She was okay.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed I passed out. I don’t know what happened… I don’t even recall you leaving,” she said, her voice climbing to a higher pitch.

  Io. Again. His exceptional hearing even caught the demon’s jeering response on the other end of the phone. Standing beyond the scope of the window, he grabbed the porch rail, fighting the urge to snap the wood and wishing it was his enemy’s neck.

  Protect. The mantra dominated his thoughts as he tried to keep his cool. Going ballistic like he did moments earlier couldn’t happen again.

  In order to keep her safe, he would have to earn her trust. And damn, what’d he do? Put her to sleep. Wasn’t that smooth.

  The front door squeaked and started to open. He vaulted over the railing, landed in a bed of snow-covered pink and yellow flowers, then booked it around the building where he got cozy with the clapboard siding.

  He heard the scrape of Emma’s feet on porch planks and the change of rhythm that sounded when she traveled down the front steps. Holding his breath, he glanced around the corner. With her back to him, her long auburn hair fell to her waist as she glanced up, searching the sky and trees. She was looking for something.

  The hawk?

  His jaw ached from the grin he was holding back. From over her shoulder, he glimpsed the twirl of a feather she held with the tips of her fingers. Evidence he’d somehow left behind. She may not remember what happened in the dining room, but she obviously recalled the rest of the morning.

  She turned, her expressive brows furrowed as she palmed the phone closed, then ran the feather across her cheek and lips.

  Venn swallowed hard.

  She patted her hip, then shoulder. “My camera.”

  He ducked as she glanced around, and his phone chimed “Everybody Dance Now.” He grimaced, reached for his pocket and hit the “mute” key. Shit. His practical joker of a friend, Kianso, would pay dearly for changing his ringtone. But that wasn’t even the worst of his problems right now.

  What would she think if she found him snooping around? That would require one helluva explanation.

  “Jacob?” Her feet smacked the deck in a rush, getting louder as they approached him.

  Venn moved faster. With superhuman speed, he sprinted for the dense shadows of the forest fifty yards away and folded his large body behind an immense tree.

  “Jacob? Is that you?”

  Like an animal camouflaged in the brush, he peered out between the branches. Emma stood with her fists on her hips, searching the area he’d just left. He could hear her shaky exhalation as she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. He could smell her confusion, mixed with a hint of fear.

  Not a bad outcome if she turned suspicious of Io, make that Jacob. He needed to remember the fabricated name. Yes, he hoped to capitalize on her ray of doubt.

  “Well, damn.” She spun on her heel and walked into the house.

  As she retreated, the image of her sexy swaying hips was seared into his mind. Time couldn’t pass fast enough until their date that evening, when he’d get a chance to make her remember the past life he’d never put out of his mind.

  Reconsidering his original inclination of having Henry pick him up, he instead texted Henry with instructions to have a meal prepared. He would need to eat to keep up his strength. With his feet as heavy as cinderblocks, he trudged off the roadway and into the woods, changing into wolf. He felt emotionally drained, but worse, hoofing it gave him way too much time to think…and agonize over what to do.

  He needed a plan that enabled him to be with Emma all day and night.

  CHAPTER THREE

  That evening, Venn parked his Harley in the Grant’s driveway and cut the engine. He was eager to feel Emma pressed to his back, her arms wrapped around him. But a red flag flashed in his brain, telling him to slow down and not push a physical relationship. It wasn’t easy to control the beasts within, though, especially when he knew time wasn’t on his side.

  He set the kickstand, removed his helmet, then strode to the front door. He knocked, and Mrs. Grant swung open the door wide.

  “Oh my. What time is it? I’m sorry. We both lost track of time.”

  “I take it she’s not ready?” he asked with a chuckle.

  Emma’s grandmother angled her head to the side. “She’s in the garage…working.” Her voice beamed with pride.

  “Thanks.” Venn nodded to the older woman and she pointed him toward the garage, which was detached and set to the back of the house. He passed the area where he’d hidden earlier this morning as he approached, the blast of a blowtorch growing louder with each step closer to the garage.

  He paused at the door to absorb the picture. Emma wore heavy work gloves and a tinted face shield. She wound barbed wire into place as the heated metal glowed red. Even with the project in an early stage, he could easily make out the form of a tree and branches. The Divine Tree?

  She tilted her head, concentrating, dabbed some solder, then stepped away to assess her progress. He enjoyed watchin
g her, studying her.

  He waited and watched, admiring the fit of her blue jeans over her curved hips and the pattern of a lacy bra beneath her T-shirt. Of all the powers he possessed, x-ray vision wasn’t one of them, unfortunately.

  He swallowed hard, then spoke. “Hi there.”

  She jumped at his voice and shot him a glare.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  She sighed heavily. “Well, you did.” She looked down at his feet, perhaps wondering how she’d missed the scrape of gravel. After removing a glove, she cut the torch and yanked off the face shield. “I didn’t hear you.”

  “You wouldn’t with that thing going.”

  She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it quickly. She shook her head. “Never mind.”

  “So, are we going to dinner?”

  She bit her bottom lip. “Oh, uh, I got lost in my work. I’m not ready.”

  “I’ll be glad to wait while you change.”

  She hesitated, her eyes searching his, and he sensed she was about to object.

  “Come on.” He held out a hand.

  She set her equipment aside. “Okay.”

  Emma avoided his touch, moving just beyond his reach, which teased his senses. Venn followed her out and helped her ease the massive garage door to the ground. She set the pace as they walked briskly around the house.

  A gazillion sounds competed for his attention. Birds chirped and flapped wings, a squirrel scurried across leaves, car tires squealed on the interstate miles away, a dog barked in the distance. But the soft throb of Emma’s heart surpassed everything else; it held the power of her love. Finding her again transformed him: new expectations erupted, new plans formed, life had meaning again.

  They bypassed the side entrance, which indicated he was clearly still company. And he wondered how long it would take for her to remember their past together. He clasped a hand to the base of his neck and stretched tired muscles. What if she didn’t?

  When Emma rounded the porch and caught site of the motorcycle, she hesitated. She peered over her shoulder at him. “You can’t possibly expect me to ride that.”

  He suppressed a chuckle. Most of the women in town seemed to like the bike. “Racy, huh?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t even know you and you expect me to ride with you on a motorcycle?”

  Her brows pinched as she scurried up the porch steps. To his surprise, her heart rate increased. Again, he could smell her anxiety.

  “Wait,” he said. She stopped and politely turned, but he could tell she’d made a decision. “Please. I’ll run home and get the car if it bothers you that much.”

  Her jaw dropped, and then a flush suffused her cheeks. She exhaled sharply. “Really, we can do this another time.”

  Not on your life. “You need to change clothes, and I don’t live far.”

  She searched his eyes, and her mouth curved into a little grin.

  “Ah, you’re smiling.”

  She glanced again at the bike, perhaps reconsidering.

  “Trust me. It’s your call. But I’m a very good rider.”

  * * *

  Emma tried to ignore his gorgeous, persuasive eyes. She couldn’t think when she looked at him. Which was ridiculous.

  She paused with her hand on the doorknob, deliberating. She abhorred timid, lackluster characteristics. Just look at her mother. Perhaps it was time to live a little wild.

  My life. My terms. My mistakes.

  Without glancing back at Venn, she straightened her spine and said, “I’ve changed my mind. We can take the motorcycle.”

  “You sure?” he asked. Was that a smile in his voice?

  She rotated the knob and walked in, allowing him to catch the door behind her. Remembering her manners, she asked, “Would you like something to drink while you wait?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “I won’t be long.”

  “No rush.”

  In the living room, Izzy greeted them, and as soon as he saw Venn, the pup scooted over and nudged against his leg, asking for attention.

  Emma jogged up the stairs, the clap of her feet echoing off the wall. Part of her couldn’t get away from him fast enough, yet another part was fascinated by his dark, mysterious presence. He was all scruff and bicep but tied up in an elegant package. And she loved a good mystery.

  In the small bedroom she always stayed in when visiting—it had the best view of the sunrise and it hadn’t belonged to her father—she quickly flipped through her clothes, selecting black jeans and a long-sleeved, green V-neck sweater. Hands loaded with clothing and toiletries, she tucked her hairbrush between her arm and chest and dashed across the hall to the bathroom.

  Dropping everything to the floor, she twisted the faucet, adjusted the temperature, and shed her work clothes. She grabbed a fresh bar of soap from her bag and stepped beneath the spray of water. As the water cascaded over her skin, the awareness that Venn waited downstairs made her as uncomfortable as it did turned-on. Which was so not cool.

  She began to wash, an image of Venn—naked—invading her mind. His muscular arms and chest… Firm, ripped abs… A scar over one hip bone.

  Man, was her imagination vivid. She was even giving him fake war wounds.

  She straightened, staring at the aqua-colored tile.

  Yeah, definitely not cool. She barely knew the guy and he made her hot in a way Todd never had. Guilt seeped through her. Why was she going out with a stranger? He has an honorable aura, Grams had said.

  She flipped on the shower radio, grateful for any distraction, and rolled her eyes at the selection. Elvis night. Yep, definitely back in Georgia. Reaching for her back, she scrubbed herself clean.

  As the final guitar chord of “Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog” twanged, she blinked at the soap. The last remnants melted across her open palm. How? Was she beginning to heat up everything she touched? It had always just happened with metal before. Panic began to rise in her chest. What was going on with her now?

  She drew a calming breath. It’s only nerves, she told herself. This date is just a bad idea and my body is reacting.

  She knew it, yet, she couldn’t resist. Didn’t even truly want to resist.

  After dressing and quickly doing her hair, she declared herself ready. She patted her cheeks and applied a dab of lip gloss. She wasn’t aiming to impress him anyway, right?

  As she descended the stairs, he came into view—ankles to narrow hips, hips to solid chest, chest to roguish grin. She nearly missed a step, she was so distracted. She’d fought to control her racing heart in the same way she controlled her sculptures, a little at a time. A picture in her mind that she brought to life. Only—

  Oh God. How was she going to get through this date when lovely pictures of him kept bombarding her?

  This was not the reason she came back to Tyler. But he was already here, and she’d already agreed. One dinner, she decided, and then she’d avoid him for the next few days until the statue project was done and she was on her way home to Paris.

  * * *

  It took every ounce of strength Venn had for him to stay put at the bottom of the stairs. She looked fabulous. Her hair was draping in silky waves over her shoulders, her green eyes flashing. Her chin eased a tad higher, going for a confident declaration even though she’d said earlier that she didn’t like motorcycles, and he’d felt her nervousness.

  That was his strong Amelia.

  No, Emma.

  “I hope you weren’t too bored,” she said to him, eyeing her grandmother as she approached.

  “What? No faith in me,” Mrs. Grant retorted.

  “I know you, remember,” Emma shot back playfully.

  Venn chuckled. “I’ve just gotten a little history lesson.” But he decided not to add, About you.

  She slipped on her jacket. “As I feared, bored to death.”

  “Never.” He opened the door, allowing Emma to exit first, saying to Mrs. Grant, “I’ll take good care of
her.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Minutes later, Emma stood beside the bike and shifted from one foot to the other as Venn fastened the helmet clasp under her chin. She swallowed, causing her neck to brush ever so slightly against his fingers. A pleasant shiver coursed down her spine. Then her brain kicked in.

  She was going to die.

  Not because they might get into an accident, but because an odd sensation grew from deep within her, a hot volcanic sensation threatening to explode, and the knowledge that Venn was somehow responsible made her anxiety inch higher. He was so close. So powerful. So appealing.

  For no apparent reason, the episode at Aunt Fay’s flashed in her memory. So hot.

  “There. Ready?” he asked as he strapped on his own helmet.

  She forced bravado into her voice. “Whenever you are.”

  He straddled the seat. “Hop on.”

  She did. She stared at his wide, muscular shoulders. She didn’t quite know where to place her hands. This was their first date. Revision—their only date. The required intimacy of her chest pressed against his back, well…it had all come about too fast.

  He gunned the throttle, and she tensed.

  “Here we go,” he said over the roar of the engine.

  The cycle took off, shifted gear. Emma clapped her arms around Venn’s waist, holding on as if she were dangling over a cliff with a five-thousand-foot drop.

  Oh no.

  She was going to be ill.

  “You okay?” he asked as they exited the drive and veered onto the road.

  “Yeah.” It was a lie and her tummy knew it. She swallowed hard, ignoring a spasm.

  Get over it, Emma. Breathing deeply, she tried to focus on other things. The wind whipping her clothes. The trees and scenery flashing by. Venn breathing in and out.

  He felt solid and warm and in control.