by Rose Wulf
The man pulled in a long, suffering breath, released it heavily, and said, “And do you also suppose I should forgive the injuries done to my son this afternoon, too?”
“Asks the murderer,” Nate spat, fists clenching at his sides. “What’s to stop me from throwing you over the cliff and calling it a night?”
A dark look shone in his eyes and the man who had just confirmed himself as Eric’s father replied, “I think that would draw a bit of attention to you when the authorities found a man’s crippled body beneath the cliff beyond your private property.”
“Only if you didn’t wash away with the tide,” Nate said pointedly. “And, honestly, the more I think about it the more I think it’s a good idea.” The wind around them kicked up again, swirling around the pair in a tight circle.
Eric’s father arched an eyebrow at him and lifted one hand to shoulder height. Clouds began regathering overhead and his hand sparked, crackling audibly as thin streams of lightning coiled around his hand. “You underestimate me, boy,” he said coldly.
“Nate!” Madison cried as she suddenly ran around the corner of the house. Her eyes were wide with concern, and she came up short when she realized their enemy was still standing nearby.
Nate’s eyes snapped to her, and relief poured through him when he realized she wasn’t hurt. Whatever the old man had thrown that lightning at, it hadn’t hit her. But his relief was short lived when he realized the old man was apparently trying to rectify that. “Run!” Nate shouted as he watched his enemy lift his crackling palm toward Madison. Even as he called out the command, however, he knew she wouldn’t be able to run fast enough. So he lurched forward, redirecting the air around them to propel her toward him, and he caught her in his arms just as the lighting ripped free of its wielder’s palm. He shot them sideways and up as fast and hard as he dared, his arms tight around Madison’s body.
The lightning crashed into the ground just beyond where she’d been standing, igniting the grass in front of the house.
“Are you all right?” Nate asked as he held them aloft. Madison’s hair was whipping his face from the force of his wind, but he didn’t care.
“Yes,” she gasped into his shoulder. She clutched tightly to his shirt, her body tense.
“Impressive reflexes,” Eric’s father called up to them. “But how many times can you dodge my lightning before the ambient electricity starts to affect you?”
Nate’s arms tightened subconsciously around her. One more time would be plenty if I cut it that close again. He had no intentions of revealing that, however, so he only replied, “That’s hardly gonna matter; why don’t you give up?”
“Surrender is unforgivable,” the older man declared, a cold determination in his voice.
Before Nate could decide on a safe place to land, or Eric’s father could release another bolt of deadly electricity, a solid ring of earth tore free from the ground and clamped around the older man’s torso, trapping his arms against his sides. The ground rolled, then, and a layer of dirt landed on the steadily spreading flames, smothering them.
“You’re outmatched,” Logan declared evenly as he walked up, stopping several paces back from their enemy.
Nate released a breath and directed himself and Madison to the ground just behind his brother. “Try to stay back,” he whispered, holding Madison’s gaze for a long moment. It was clear she didn’t like the request, but it was also clear she understood, so she nodded and stepped back several paces.
“How cute,” Eric’s father said, sounding less than worried about his predicament. “You think I’m cornered because there are two of you. Did you forget that the two elementals I’ve already erased from existence were your predecessors?”
“No,” Logan assured him unwaveringly. “We also know they were ambushed. To their dying moments they probably never realized they were actually being targeted.”
“Very true,” the older man agreed. “But that changes nothing.” His eyes sparked and a bolt of lightning struck the rock holding him in place, shattering it. “And now for you,” he added, throwing an arm forward as the lightning again coiled toward his palm.
Nate leapt past Logan, throwing his own arms forward and sending a harsh rush of air directly into their opponent. Logan took the opportunity to simultaneously pull up a thick wall of dirt and rock, protecting them from the attack. The newly-built wall exploded outward a heartbeat later, and though the residual electricity caused a wave of nausea to roll both brothers’ stomachs, neither stumbled.
“I can do this all night,” Eric’s father declared, climbing to his feet before spreading his arms out and offering them a deceptive smile. “Can you?”
“Let’s find out,” Logan challenged. His fists clenched and the ground lurched in response, dislodging his opponent’s footing.
“Let’s,” the older man agreed as thunder boomed loudly overhead.
Nate took a deep breath, prepared to blow out the storm once again, and Logan braced his feet as he drew on his own power. But neither expected what happened next.
There was a hiss of air and suddenly white foam was blasting toward their opponent. It quickly covered him, building upon itself relentlessly. Three pairs of widened eyes turned to see Madison wielding a fire extinguisher, an angry glare in her eyes and a determined set to her jaw. She held the nozzle steady until she had emptied the entire container onto him, and then she hurled the metal object at him for good measure.
“I like her,” Logan declared as they watched the can collide with their shell-shocked opponent.
“Get in line,” Nate replied in a similarly flabbergasted tone.
Madison turned her attention toward them, oblivious to their exchange, and said, “I think we should go now.”
Her words jerked them back into motion and Nate held his hand out for her as Logan said, “My truck’s up front. It’ll hold all of us.” Madison took Nate’s hand and together the trio turned, moving quickly toward their getaway vehicle. None of them expected the fire extinguisher to stall their opponent for long, and continuing the fight wasn’t high on the list of things they wanted to do at the moment.
Logan didn’t miss a beat as his truck came into sight, quickly beeping it unlocked and jogging around to the driver’s side. He’d parked just a few feet behind the BMW, which was parked in front of Nate’s front porch. But Nate and Madison paused when their eyes landed on the BMW. An unnaturally large boulder had been magically dropped onto the center of the vehicle, smashing the roof and rendering it utterly inoperable. Even the tires had been flattened from the force of it.
“Remind me not to leave my car alone with him,” Madison decided as she reached for the handle of the passenger door. Nate chuckled behind her and they quickly climbed into the cab. By the time they had managed to secure their seatbelts, Nate’s house was already behind them.
****
“Sorry you have to meet my family like this,” Nate murmured as he and Madison trailed behind Logan down the large hall. Most of the lights were off, but the familiar, muffled drone of a television led them deeper into the house.
As they passed the spacious, darkened living room Madison whispered, “I’ll forgive you.” Later, once her heart rate had slowed and the last of the adrenaline had worn off, she was sure she’d be half horrified at the differences between Nate’s childhood home and her own. Even now, as the noise of the television grew louder, she felt a little like the dirty street orphan sneaking through some stranger’s palace. The feeling was chased away almost as soon as it had formed, however, when Nate’s hand gave hers another reassuring squeeze.
And then they were standing in another room, Madison half-behind Nate, and her eyes landed on the three seated figures at the same time as their attention shifted—clearly startled—up to them. The three, whom Madison assumed were Nate’s parents and sister, were seated on a long couch, at a slight angle to the hall entrance and opposite a large, wall-mounted flat screen television. There was a window on the wall beyond th
e chaise end of the couch, covered by thick, dark curtains that just barely grazed the top of the hardwood floor.
Christopher lifted the remote and turned off the television as he asked, “What happened?”
Logan moved and claimed a seat beside his mother, leaving the open chaise for Nate and Madison, as he said, “They’re retaliating.”
“Are you hurt?” Angela asked quickly, gaze darting between her brothers as guilt and worry built in her eyes.
“No,” Nate assured her. “And I called the others. They didn’t say they’d had any run-ins yet. But they should be on their way. Kirk, too.”
Christopher nodded, accepting Nate’s words silently.
Lillian took a deep breath, smiled, and let her eyes land on Madison as she said, “You must be Madison. I’m so sorry we have to meet under these conditions.” Introductions were exchanged before Lillian pushed to her feet and exclaimed, “I’m going to make sure we have enough open rooms. Angela, could you put together a snack for your brothers?”
“Sure,” Angela agreed, standing as well.
Over the course of the next hour, Nate and Madison told and retold the story of the attack, pausing in between to make official introductions as Dean and Kirk arrived. When the house finally settled again and everyone had been brought up to speed, it was agreed they couldn’t continue to stand by and wait to see what happened next. But it was also agreed that such a difficult, heavy decision should not be made near midnight, nor on an empty stomach. So everyone headed upstairs, Lillian and Christopher departing into their master suite to let the rest figure out how they wanted to divide the rooms on their own.
“Hope this is all right,” Nate said quietly as he shut the bedroom door behind himself. “My parents probably didn’t have a situation like this in mind when they had this place built.”
Madison turned from her casual catalogue of the room to smile at him. “It’s fine,” she assured him. “I don’t think it would occur to me to need more than six bedrooms at one time, either.”
Nate chuckled and moved toward her, pulling her into his arms and brushing his lips over the hair at the crown of her head. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
Curling her hands into the sides of his shirt, Madison’s lips lifted and she said softly, “Yes, I’m sure. You really don’t have to keep asking me that.”
Nate released a breath and lifted one hand to tangle it in her hair, letting his thumb massage her scalp as he replied, “I know, I know. I was just … worried.”
“Nate,” Madison began, gently pulling back enough to meet his gaze, “I have an idea. Right now—in this moment, in this room—let’s forget about all of the insanity that happened earlier, and all of the insanity that’s still waiting for us, okay? Right now it’s just you and me.”
He smiled slowly, his hands trailing to her hips, and said, “That sounds good.”
Madison’s hands released his shirt to trail up his chest, arms curving around his shoulders loosely. She held his gaze as she said, “You should be warned. I’ve been accused of hogging the covers from time to time.”
Nate grinned now, pulling her closer. “That’s all right. Half the time I wake up and find I’ve kicked mine onto the floor, anyway.”
A teasing glint in her eyes, Madison asked, “You’re not going to try kicking me onto the floor, are you?”
“Hell no,” Nate assured her, his voice quiet and thick. His lips descended over hers a beat later. She was immediately swallowed up in the intensity of his kiss. In the hunger.
Her body reacted on instinct, arms tightening around him as their tongues danced and she arched against him. He was hard all over and as his fingers slipped beneath the hem of her shirt, his tongue stroking hers rhythmically, Madison relinquished her control.
She could have lost him that night. She could have died herself, too, but it was the possibility of having lost Nate that rattled her.
As their lips parted, one of Nate’s hands entirely beneath her shirt now, she gasped, “Please tell me you have a condom.”
She felt the grin of his lips before he teased the underside of her jaw with his tongue. “Just one,” he said. “You sure you wanna use it tonight?”
Madison slid her fingers into his hair and found his ear with her lips. “We can go shopping tomorrow.”
Nate rumbled appreciatively and nipped at her throat as he pulled her body flush against his. She craned her neck for him and he wasted no time backing her into the bed. Her shirt was up and over her head, followed by his, and they rolled in a tangle of limbs toward the center of the mattress. Her skin tingled everywhere Nate’s lips lingered. Down the side of her throat and over her collarbone before he lifted one breast from the cup of her bra and sucked the nipple into his mouth.
Madison arched on a gasp and dug her nails into his shoulders. “Nate…”
His tongue rolled around her nipple and her breast vibrated with the rumble of his throaty chuckle. He lifted her up, reached behind her, and popped her bra free before pulling it off altogether and leaning back to take in the sight. Reaching out and taking her other breast in his hand almost reverently he murmured, “God, Maddie, the things I want to do with you.”
Madison couldn’t believe how breathless she was just from a touch. And all of a sudden she had her own ideas. Catching his extended wrist lightly, she grinned and whispered, “Me, first. Take off those jeans already.”
Nate arched a brow, gave her breast a final squeeze, and rolled to his feet in order to obey her command. “Just the jeans?” he asked with his own grin as he set the promised condom on the nightstand and popped the button on his jeans.
Raking her eyes over all of his subtly sculpted muscle and the way his hips narrowed promisingly at the waist, Madison shook her head slowly. “Nope.” She swallowed as Nate’s pants and whatever underwear he wore—she never even saw it—hit the ground a moment later. He’d already removed his shoes and it didn’t take him any time at all to dispose of his socks.
“Well now I feel like I’m at a disadvantage here,” Nate teased, gesturing to the pants she still wore.
Madison swung her legs over the side of the bed and patted the mattress. “Take a seat, lover,” she said. “I’ll help you with that feeling.”
Nate obliged her, reaching out and trailing his fingers through her hair, down her back. “I’m sure you can,” he murmured.
Chills raced down her spine and Madison stood, knowing he likely anticipated she’d be shedding her own jeans next. And shed them she would—but not immediately. Instead she stepped into his personal space, sliding herself between his knees and letting her hands land on his chest. She stared into his beautiful blue eyes and smiled seductively. “First,” she whispered, “I should thank you properly.” She gave his chest a shove and her hands landed on his hips deliberately.
“Maddie,” Nate started even as his back hit the comforter.
“Hush,” she said as she lowered to her knees and trailed her fingers slowly up his hardened length. He was long and thick and ready. All she really wanted to do was impale herself on him, but she’d promised herself she’d pleasure him first. And she wanted to do that, too, if she was being honest.
Nate groaned when she wrapped her fingers around his cock. Her other hand slipped down and grazed his balls as she squeezed his shaft, pumping slowly at first. He shifted beneath her, releasing another appreciative groan, and she picked up the pace. She let him get used to her hands before leaning forward and running her tongue lightly over his balls. Nate sucked in a breath and she lifted her lips to the base of his cock, licking there, too.
She dragged her tongue up his length, caught the base with her hand again, and wrapped her lips completely around him. With a swirl of her tongue she leaned forward, taking as much of his length into her mouth as she could.
“Maddie,” he groaned, voice thick, as a hand landed in her hair. He threaded his fingers through it as if holding on for the ride and she fought a grin.
Sliding
her tongue around him every way she could reach, Madison bobbed her head a couple of times before sucking hard. She sucked until her cheeks hollowed out and pumped her fist sharply up and down on the base of his cock. Nate’s hand tightened in her hair and his hips bucked subtly. Madison released the pressure, resumed a pattern with her tongue, and shifted her angle just a little.
“God, Maddie, careful.” His voice was deliciously strained now.
She released him, licking and kissing up one side of his cock and down the other, before pumping his whole length again with her hand. She waited until she was sure he figured she was done and took him back in her mouth, immediately sucking.
Nate cursed, his hips bucked sharply, and his seed shot into her mouth.
Madison eased the pressure but kept her tongue pressed against him. She let him feel the pulse of her tongue as she swallowed.
“Shit, Madison,” Nate said on an inelegant grunt. “Get those pants off and get that ass up here already.”
More than ready to give him what he was asking for, Madison released his cock and stood, quickly shedding her remaining clothing. She snatched the condom from the nightstand and crawled over him on the bed.
But Nate was done playing submissive it seemed because he rolled her immediately over, catching her mouth in a hard kiss even as one hand flew down her body and dipped between her legs. He must have liked finding her wet because he rumbled against her lips and traced the length of her folds with his fingers. Madison moaned into the kiss, her body screaming for more.
He didn’t keep her waiting long before slipping two fingers deep inside her. His thumb found her clit and teased it, never quite applying the pressure she so desperately craved. Instead his hand picked up a steady rhythm, pumping in and out of her quickly.
Madison gasped for breath as the kiss broke. “Nate!” She wanted to tell him to quit playing with her, but she didn’t have the air in her lungs for such a large declaration. Fortunately he seemed to take the hint.
Nate nudged her knees apart and withdrew his hand as he settled between her thighs. “Do you want me, Madison?” he teased as he reached up and caught one of her breasts in his palm. He flicked her nipple deliberately.
