by Storm Savage
The funnel cloud grew darker and blacker, swirling faster and faster until with a screaming whoosh, the earth sucked it down into the ground. She swept tangled hair from her face with one hand, mesmerized by what she’d just seen. Coop’s soul must’ve carried the guilt of endless souls to be taken from this world with such fury.
When the air cleared, she saw Von standing on the other side of the clearing. His expression paralleled what she felt—something between awe and terror. Their eyes met. He walked toward her.
“Can you really force your boyfriend into a fate such as this?” Von asked with a penetrating stare.
Flame pushed to her feet and dusted herself off. “What is the kiss of death?”
Chapter Nine
Von hesitated. Her fast thinking caught him off guard. He wasn’t prepared for this.
She grabbed his left hand with both of hers. “What is it?”
Damn, him! Damn Cooper O’Toole to hell! In his last dying breath, Coop managed to point the finger back at him one last time. “I’m not telling you.”
“Why not?” She stomped on his foot and glared.
He didn’t flinch. “You’ll use it to bring Raef back. I’m not gonna let you do something you’ll regret forever.”
“You don’t care about Raef, or me, or anyone except yourself. You want to win so you don’t follow Coop into the bowels of hell.”
“I admit I don’t want to go out like he just did, but you’re wrong about me. Maybe I don’t care about Raef, why should I? If you and he had your way, I’d be dead and he’d live the happily ever after with you.” He unclenched the fist in her grip so she could see his palm. “For some inexplicable reason I do care about you and I have since the day we met. Don’t ask me why. I haven’t felt anything toward anyone since Coop dragged me into this hell.”
She stared at his palm and waited before speaking again, then looked up at him with those expressive dark blue eyes—the eyes that had pierced his heart months ago.
“We can never be. Don’t you understand?” Sadness touched her pretty face and longing hung on her sweet voice. “If I allow myself to fall for you then history will repeat itself. My mother failed because she gave in to her feelings for my…for that man. Look where that got them.”
He sighed. There had to be a way around this. He wanted her and now he’d just jumped off a cliff and professed his love. Love, he thought. Is that what I feel? Has this woman stirred my humanity back to life? He pondered their previous encounters and the motivating factors. When he’d snuck her away from Aiden, it had been to spare her more agony at the hands of the people who’d brutalized her. He’d had every intention of resuming his seduction but not to hand her over to Twilight, he burned with something he couldn’t quite place. In her presence, he forgot what he’d become and remembered the man he used to be.
A familiar yearning had crept into his soul the day he’d taken her hostage then aborted the plan in order to save her. The image of her standing outside the hospital grief-stricken over Raef’s death flashed through his mind. He’d warned her that the next time they met he’d not be a gentleman, yet seeing her with that forlorn look in her eyes made him feel sorry for her. Feel…there’s the key word. I actually felt something more than desire for her…at least twice. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to comfort her and ease her pain.
“How do I know that your motivation for helping me kill Twilight’s original tool was not just to have your own revenge?” Her voice broke into his meditative state. “After all, Coop is the reason you’re a Satellite. You told me you wanted him dead. Maybe your reasons for wanting him dead go beyond the lust for revenge. Maybe you and your master decided he needed to die before he spilled his guts to me about things I am not supposed to know…like the kiss of death.”
“You’re not the easiest woman to love, do you know that?” He pulled out a fresh smoke and lit it.
She let out a little laugh. “My mission in life goes much deeper than earning the love of a man.”
“That’s right, Ms. Independent warrior woman who refuses to give her last name to anyone she doesn’t trust.” He stared at her through narrowed eyes. “Tell me, sugar, did Raef know your last name?”
Fire flickered in her eyes. Her face tensed. “That is none of your concern,” she huffed, then turned away.
Von swung around in front of her, catching her eyes with his. “You never told him. You were still on the fence about Raef, too? We are not much different. You don’t trust anyone either.”
Her flustered expression indicated he’d struck a nerve. Her evasive response was a clear sign that her heart was still open.
“I loved Raef. Love is a gift. Trust must be earned.”
He snuffed the half-spent smoke on the sole of his boot. “If I earn your trust will you give me your love?”
“Didn’t you hear me? We can never be.”
Framing her face between both hands, he searched her eyes. “What about all that talk of pulling me over and helping me get in touch with my feelings? Was it all bullshit?”
“No!” She scowled, openly offended.
“You really are like me. Everything you do is about winning this war.” He refused to let her wriggle free. “Wait, I take that back. We are different in one way. I told you the truth.” He thought for sure she’d try to dagger him right there by the hot look in those sultry eyes. Yet she didn’t move a muscle. “Once you pull me over to the supposedly good side, then what? What will you do with me then?”
“Set you free because I sure as hell don’t want to team up with you no matter whose side you’re on, regardless of what the high rulers want.”
They stood still, locked in a heated gaze. “Really? Cause I didn’t get that from you when you had your legs wrapped around my waist on the beach.”
She reacted with impressive speed. Her hand was less than an inch from his jaw when he caught it with his. “I told you before, woman, don’t ever do that again.”
Not a hint of fear showed in the blazing eyes focused on him now. He suspected that if she had the power, she’d torch him telepathically without flinching. Her sheer fury actually felt somewhat alarming. He’d never seen so much fight in a woman. He took tight hold of both her dainty yet powerful hands and held them to her sides.
With a relenting sigh but a willing heart, he pulled her to his chest and placed his lips close to her ear. “The kiss of death…” he began in a slow murmur, “is the only thing that can kill me now.” Brazenly, he nipped at her ear, then drew a deep breath at her neck, taking in her enchanting floral scent. “And the only woman able to deliver such a kiss is you.”
She pulled back only as far as he let her. “You’re telling me how to kill you?”
“Yeah…what point is there to this fight if I can never have you the way I want? I’ve never had to force myself on a woman and I’m not gonna start now.”
“And just how do I perform this kiss of death?” Her eyes shimmered with intrigue.
“It’s quite simple. You simply have to catch me sleeping and place a kiss of genuine desire on my lips without waking me. Only then will your Sai be effective on me again, but you must strike me down before the kiss wears off.” He released a slow sigh. “And from past experience, I know a kiss from you doesn’t wear off…ever. That would buy you a lot of time.”
“That’s it?” She looked shocked. “You’d think the Twilight Realm would come up with something more challenging to protect their most powerful tool.”
“Surprising, isn’t it?”
“Kind of, yeah, but also rather cold. Maybe it’s not as easy as it sounds.”
He grinned then gave her a wink. “Do you think you’re clever enough to catch me sleeping?”
“I’ve been channeling your powers since we did the blood-bond. Don’t underestimate me.”
“Whoa…you’re a tricky little thing, aren’t ya?”
“There are no rules in Twilight War.” The confidence in her voice was a major turn on.
She stared up at him, lips softly parted, eyes brimming with conflict as she panted gently for breath. He saw the hot desire, the passion for victory and the reluctance to give in flicker in those watery depths. He read her easily. She wanted him to take her as badly as she wanted to win this damned battle between them. Her mind was wide open and her heart was not far behind.
He kept his voice low and steady. “Now you know.”
“Yes.”
“Trust me yet?”
“Almost.”
“I told you my deepest secret.”
“Yes.”
“What more do you need?”
“I don’t know.”
“I do.” He lowered his head.
“What?”
“After I make wild love to you, I will help you kill every fucking member of your ex’s family and flush Aiden out of hiding. Then we’ll find out who he really is.”
She gasped in open surprise. “They belong to Twilight. You’ll be cursed forever.”
“Not if you pull me over first.”
“This is a trick.”
“Is it?” He lifted his left palm for her to see. “You’ve been in my head since we did this. You tell me.”
“You’ll do this for me?” Her focus shifted to his open hand.
“For you…yes. If you still want to kill me and bring Raef back when it’s done, then game on.” He moved his lips very close to hers. “But be warned, your boyfriend won’t be the same if you do. He might even hate you for sealing his fate.”
She gazed into his eyes. “Consider me warned.”
The arousal between them had risen to staggering heights. He felt her luscious body tremble against him. Her breathing had become erratic and her focus fixed on his face. The painful tightening in his jeans was unbearable. Everything and anything that mattered up to this point fell away as he spiraled past the invisible line of logic.
He knew as well as she did that there would be no seduction scene this time.
At the same moment he sealed his lips to hers, she grabbed handfuls of his hair and pulled his head down. His arms swept up her slender back then one hand slid into the thick of her lustrous mane of gold. He filled her mouth with his tongue and she sucked it to the back of her throat. A feral groan rose in his chest. He crushed his body against hers, pressing the aching bulge in his jeans into the soft curve of her hips.
She staggered backward, taking him along until her back was against the massive tree behind her. Towering over her petite yet curvy body, he kissed her hard, hungrily tugging at the sweetness of her lips while pinning her hands with his overhead to the tree. She whimpered and returned his kiss with blazing heat. They swung around and this time his back hit the tree as they clung to one another in a fierce round of sweltering passion.
Von gripped her thigh and lifted one sexy leg off the ground. Instantly, she wrapped it around his waist and moaned her approval. His erection strained against the denim as it became nestled between her thighs. They kissed wildly, throwing inhibition aside. Undeniable hunger presented itself. She was clearly starved for a connection, whether to relieve the searing pain of grief or to satisfy the burning fire in her soul, he couldn’t quite discern. Maybe a mix of both, he thought.
They went down in the dirt with him on his back. She straddled his waist and literally shredded the t-shirt from his upper torso. He let her take the lead for now. He was on fire for her love. Her lips blazed a trail of wet kisses down his chest then over his abs. He kept his hands buried in her hair, writhing beneath her powerful touch. He’d met his match in this one.
She grappled with the fly of his jeans. He rolled her over and unzipped her jacket before pushing it from her shoulders. Eyes like rain gazed up at him. He dropped his head to her bare breasts and lavished hot affection over them, taking one hard nipple at a time into his mouth. She gasped and cried out for more.
Upon lifting his head, he caught the urgency of her need. Her body quivered. The look in her eyes was hotter than hell. She licked her lips. As if sharing the same thought, they fell together for another round of intense kissing. This time she explored his mouth with her tongue, nearly driving him senseless with desire.
They got to their knees, still locked in a scorching kiss, and tore at each other’s pants. Within minutes, both were naked and tangled around one another. His lips went to her neck, biting and nipping at her sweet skin. In the next moment, they tumbled to the ground in a reckless embrace. He could barely catch his breath. The emotion emanating from her soul blew him away. He literally felt everything she was feeling.
For the first time in over five decades—he felt something real.
“Flame,” he murmured at her neck. “I can feel you. I really do love you, sugar.”
Her head jerked back so that their eyes met. A million questions swept across her beautiful face, then she gave him a warm smile but said nothing.
Perfection. Any other woman would’ve ruined that moment with words but not her. He knew right then that she owned him now and he’d stop at nothing to protect her. He had already been halfway toward betraying the evil realm when he’d asked for a second chance.
Flame had just won.
His heart and his loyalty, despite the risk, whatever the cost—even if she chose to kill him in the end—would forever belong to her. At least he’d always know that he’d done this his way and finally stopped Twilight from calling the shots.
“Baby, baby,” he purred. “I can’t hold back another minute. Give yourself to me.”
“You were right,” she said on an airy breath. “You do know what I need.”
“We’re going all the way this time, no holding back?”
“Hell yes.”
“I will keep my word. We’ll kill the evil pricks.”
She let out a light, breathless laugh. “You have my kind of pillow talk.”
He almost exploded on impact when his sex slid into her hot, wet depths. She eagerly welcomed him into her body, wrapping those killer legs around him. He drove into her slow and easy, basking in each blissful stroke. As she adjusted to his size, they picked up pace. She fit him beautifully as if made for each other. Her hips rose and fell, matching his rhythm beat for beat as her teeth bit at his neck.
Soaked in sweat, lost in a euphoric haze, he forgot about everything except the amazing woman lying under him right now. She tasted, smelled and felt better than anything he’d ever known in this life and the one before. Nothing compared to the feelings she invoked in his soul. She literally had brought it back to life.
Their mouths found each other’s again. She kissed him back with equal heat, engaging him in titillating tongue play. Her body tensed and her sex tightened around his hard length. She was on the edge. He thrust deep, using calculated strokes to bring her home. Her nails raked down his back then dug into his skin, pulling him closer, deeper. She moaned against his mouth as her body shuddered with the first stage of climax.
“Ah yeah,” he broke the kiss. His lips brushed her cheek. “Sweet, sweet thing.” His body jerked with force as a stream of liquid heat jetted into her sex. He came hard, very hard.
Her body responded to his in perfect timing. She cried out as wicked spasms gripped her. They wrapped around each other, shaking in simultaneous release.
“Von…” Her voice caressed his name in silken waves. “Don’t stop…I don’t want this to end yet.”
He lifted his head and stared into her eyes. What he saw in those mesmerizing depths blew him away. She was genuinely into him. They had reached an unanticipated connection that surpassed comprehension.
“Never,” he whispered while tenderly petting dampened strands of hair from her face. Those passion-glazed eyes would forever remain etched in his mind no matter what happened. “I want to taste all of you.” He slid down her body while his erection geared up for another round. He’d keep
her high in the meantime.
“Ohhh,” she moaned when his tongue found the silky folds of her sex.
With both hands holding her satiny thighs apart, he fed in those most intimate places where a woman concealed her essence, reserved only for those lucky enough to peel away her inhibitions. He longed to hear her cry out again in utmost pleasure as he buried his face deep in that hidden zone of erotic heaven.
She stroked his hair with a tender touch, sparking his humanity back to life with each move of her hands. That he’d drawn sincere affection from the Sai warrior woman was more than he’d expected. When first sent out for this mission, his foremost desire was to experience sexual intercourse with the prodigy whether she truly wanted him or not. That was the goal of Twilight, not to win her love but to mate with her and steal her soul by placing his seed in her body.
Von never considered that she’d steal his.
She tasted incredible, sweet, and hot like a perfect blend of sugar and spice with a bit more spice that left a lingering heat in the back of his throat. Drinking her in was heady—addictive—something he could and hoped to enjoy on a regular basis. His tongue dipped deeper, drawing a surge of cream into his mouth and another moan from her quivering body. He didn’t let up. She squirmed on the ground but gave no indication of wanting him to stop. On the contrary, her hold on his hair tightened and she arched her back, offering herself freely to him.
They merged into something supernatural. Time became meaningless. All that mattered was their open desire for one another and an innate need to connect. She lay open before him, allowing him to claim her submission repeatedly as he took her to multiple peaks. When his potency returned, he eased back up her body then licked her essence from his lips.
“You taste amazing,” he purred with heavy eyes. “Like the appetizer, main course and dessert all rolled into one. I could eat you forever.”
She arched slender brows. “I’ve never heard it put quite that way before.”
