Set In Flames (Morningstars Book 1)

by Sam Destiny

  “… captured in the confines of the base. I’d stay back with Lara, so the fighting can’t be your only problem! This bond between us happened and it won’t go away just because you don’t remember me when I’m out of your sight,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone that went totally against the pleading her words implied.

  Didn’t remember her? Didn’t remember her? He was always aware of her. He might not know what she was thinking, but he always knew when she was close.

  “Origins are a burden because through the bond you’ll be able to feel everything she is feeling. That is, all but love.”

  That stopped her in her tracks.

  “All emotions go through the bond? And why doesn’t it include love? Shouldn’t that be the most important thing going through this stuff?”

  Jaden looked at her for a very long moment. She looked pale, smaller than when he had first met her. Being confined to one room didn’t do her any good. He knew that. Hell, he even understood it, but he couldn’t change the situation. They needed her close and yet away from him.

  He always had wondered, too, why love wouldn’t be felt by the mates. Now though, looking at her he was glad. She was obviously falling for him and he didn’t need to have those feelings putting pressure on him once they’d become a true couple.

  “In a bond like we are supposed to share…” He trailed off, knowing they already shared that after all. In a way it made him wish that Maya would never fully understand the vampire world. “In a bond like we are supposed to share, you wouldn’t need to feel that love in the other one because…”

  Why was it so hard to say those words?

  “Because unless you’d want to get rid of your Origin you’d be able to see it on her face; feel it in your mates’ touch. Understood,” she finished for him and her voice broke at the end.

  “Cupcake,” he started, wanting to make her feel better, but he had no idea how to go about it.

  “Don’t, Jaden. Really, I think we both know you want to be anywhere but here, so don’t give me any nicknames that could make me believe I’d mean anything to you. You can leave. I won’t keep you any longer.” She turned away from him, her dark waves brushing her bare shoulders. He quite enjoyed those tops she wore.

  He was smiling until he noticed the purple and brown lines starting at her shoulder blades.

  Before he even had considered his actions, he had brushed his fingertips over her markings. She shivered under his touch, withdrawing.

  “What does your mark represent?” he asked, his voice husky with the need to pull that top away and see more, much more of her bond markings; of her.

  “They are just lines, nothing pattern wise,” she replied, pushing that little material up right above her jeans. The skin she showed was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.

  Jaden knelt behind her, brushing his knuckles over the almost parallel lines on her lower back.

  “Stop, Jaden. Stop touching me,” she pleaded breathlessly, shivering even more under his hands. He couldn’t have stopped himself if he wanted to.

  “Can’t. This thing between us is calling out to me,” he replied, leaning in to kiss the hollow of her back, brushing his nose over the sensitive skin.

  His fangs filled his mouth now and he got up, his hands on her bare hips under the top. He didn’t give her the chance to turn, just pulling her against him, pressing his palms to her stomach. He nuzzled her neck and wanted to bite her then and there. She was his and he wanted to make it official. But he wasn’t allowed to and still, he needed just a tiny taste of her.

  With a quick movement he turned her around, catching her surprised glance before he crushed his mouth down on hers. He caught himself before a satisfied moan escaped his lips. She was eager against him, compliant even, and it made him feel empowered; stronger and braver than ever.

  Their kiss turned rough and he couldn’t believe his luck when she jumped up and wrapped her jean-clad legs around his hips.

  He felt his own need hot and heavy pressed against her now, pushing the top up so he could see more, feel more of her skin. She moved against him, rubbing until he almost lost his mind.

  “Shit, Maya, stop moving!”

  He held her in place, his fingers strong enough to leave bruises if he wasn’t careful. He pressed her as close as he could and yet it still wasn’t enough. Lust, white and hot, burned through his veins, took hold of his thoughts and didn’t ease up when he heard her happy giggle. She nipped on his lower lip, making him let his head fall back. Her lips traveled over his jaw and then down to his neck, playfully teasing him there with her still human teeth.

  Primal need rushed through him. He brought her up against the window they had been standing close to and she shivered as the cold glass touched her heated skin.

  She was beautiful all flushed and ready. He wanted her.

  She was still grinding against him and his control was about to snap.

  More than once he kissed her shoulder; not trusting himself with her pulse.

  “Please, Cupcake, please…” She needed to stop. He needed her to stop. He just couldn’t get himself to put her down yet.

  “Let go of me then if you’d rather be away,” she teased and Jaden melted at her playful tone. Problem was, he had to move away, needed to remove the temptation. And he would have to find someone who could take care of that burning hunger he felt.

  This bond sure brought him to his limits.

  The moment Maya stood back on her own two feet she wanted to scream in frustration.

  It was more than obvious that Jaden wanted her. Hell, she still saw the bulge in his black pants that told her very clearly what he wanted and yet he extricated himself from her grip, framing her face then.

  “You want me,” she panted stubbornly and he brought out a strained laugh, brushing his thumbs over her lips.

  “I do. I’m only male after all. The way you threw yourself at me, any unmated warrior would have wanted you, too.”

  She felt all color leave her face at the words he said; the things they implied.

  “Threw myself at you?” she repeated, her voice low even to her own ears. She felt as if she was about to explode or break into tears. Maybe both at the same time. He didn’t seem to notice tough.

  “I could have taken you right here against the window. You wouldn’t have minded or stopped me,” he challenged and she felt tears prickle behind her eyelids, refusing to let them fall though.

  She wouldn’t give Jaden the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

  “Yes,” she said slowly. “You could have, but trust me, that will never happen again. Throwing my heart out to you like that is a mistake I make only once,” she whispered, pushing him away and towards the door.

  To her utter surprise he went without protest. And, to her utter disappointment, without apology, too.

  Jaden fell silently back against the door after he closed it. His heart was driving him crazy, beating an unsteady rhythm against his ribcage. He stood there for an eternity before heading home.

  He knew he’d find his twin there.

  He had no idea why he had said the things he had said; especially when just the thought of her with someone else made his blood boil; and not in a good way.

  He had heard her sobs, too, and it brought him to his knees now. He had picked her up on the street, had promised her safety and yet, now he wasn’t sure she really was safe. He was a monster that most likely would tear her apart. Besides the fact that he didn’t want to tell her he’d have to leave, he knew he’d be back in that room with her eventually. Just like he knew he’d try to get her exactly where she had been earlier: flush against him, soft, warm and ready.

  Weeks from now she wouldn’t be a prisoner any longer.

  Weeks from now she maybe wouldn’t need him anymore anyways to make her feel better because she’d have courtiers. A lot of them. A whole bunch of females constantly would be around her, taking care of her, making sure she forgot all about the asshole warrior who had crushed
her heart by passing her off when he had done the deed.

  Weeks from now she wouldn’t look to him for anything anymore because she’d have a task to fulfill and friends to spend her time with.

  The thought made him bury his dagger to the hilt in the wooden wall of the cabin.

  “Wow, what ate your good mood? Oh, wait, you haven’t been in one since you handed Cupcake over to the Order,” Kaden taunted, finding himself up against the wall in the blink of an eye.

  “Yeah, figured that,” Kaden went on. Jaden released him, rubbing his chin.

  “This Origin-thing is driving me crazy,” he fussed, hammering his fists into the wall until his knuckles were raw and bleeding. Unfortunately the pain wouldn’t hold long.

  “Is that so?” Kaden asked innocently and Jaden stared at him.

  He was a mess and all his brother did was make fun of him.

  “I want her. I want her so much it makes it hard not to sink my fangs into her,” Jaden whispered. He knew that he shouldn’t share with Kaden what he felt simply because things would get too real then, but if he kept that in any longer he was surely going to explode.

  “Look, there’s something Colbin mentioned to me,” Kaden said, his voice careful, pacifying even. Jaden picked up a brow, waiting.

  “I know what you have been telling yourself, all that stuff about not really being into your Origin or needing her, but… You will fall in love with her. There’s practically no way around it.”

  Jaden stared at his twin for a long moment before he broke out in a laugh. He couldn’t fall in love with her because that would mean he’d want her around. He knew how mates in love were. They always wanted to be together.

  He needed to let Maya go though. Falling in love would be about the stupidest thing he could think of.

  “Right… It’s not love, Kaden. It’s the bond. It makes me want to be close to her and comfort her when she is all whiny and emotional,” he protested. “Whenever her purple eyes fill with tears I just can’t help but be nice to her,” he went on, hearing Kaden snort.

  “You got anything to share, brother?”

  “You treat her like shit most of the time, or better you let her be treated like shit. Being nice to her might actually be a good idea considering that you’ll have to sleep with her and bite her and all of that. Or let’s say, maybe you can be lucky if DNA makes you be nice to her,” Kaden snapped and Jaden felt fury sizzle through his body.

  “She’s the fucking Queen, Kade!”

  His brother sat down on the bottom step of the stairs, staring at him in disbelief.

  “Truly? You ain’t lying to me?” Jaden shook his head. His heart feeling heavy at all the things this title was implying.

  “That is amazing! That means she’ll be protected at all times! You would never have to worry about her. I don’t get why you push her away. Every reason that you had; everything that spoke against you having an Origin is nullified if she is the Queen!”

  Kaden’s excitement just made Jaden’s mood darker. Just like him Kaden had no idea what it meant to be mated to the Queen. Kaden was just as clueless.

  Somehow though Jaden wasn’t in the mood to educate his brother.

  “You do realize that you won’t be the most important person in my life anymore if I’m mated? It’s not just us anymore then,” he smiled, trying his hand at humor to hide the desperation he felt. Kaden was oblivious to his dilemma, grinning wide.

  “I might move to the base then. That’s okay, Jay, she is beautiful and I love her like a sister!”

  Jaden’s growl made him change his wording.

  “She already feels like family to me and…”

  “I won’t fall in love with her and she will not move in with me. Kaden, I have my duty to the Order. They always came first and always will come first. No little brunette could ever change that.” The moment the words were out he knew they were a lie. Still, he shook his head as if to emphasize his words.

  “Do you feel like going out? I need blood. And…”

  “Don’t even think about ending that sentence.”

  Kaden had sobered up remarkably in just a few short seconds. Getting up from the stairs he stood in front of Jaden, appearing taller and more serious than Jaden had ever seen him.

  “It’s almost daylight outside. And I won’t help you drink away the things you don’t want to believe. You can’t change what will happen even if you try. Besides, I will never help you to stab Maya right in the heart, twist the blade and make her bleed to death, because you sleeping with another woman would do exactly that to her,” he said quietly.

  Jaden shook his head, thinking about a million retorts, deciding for the one that would be a lie the least.

  “She wouldn’t find out.”

  “If I remember correctly she found out the very first night,” Kaden gave back and Jaden closed his eyes.

  Cheap booze and even cheaper women…

  “She won’t see me in the morning. Or the evening. Or any time at all in the next … until I turn her. At least that is my plan.”

  He walked passed his brother, ready to go up the stairs.

  “I noticed you haven’t been sleeping at home much in the last days. Don’t think I don’t know where you were. I’m your twin, Jaden. I know you as well as you know yourself. Maybe even better than that. You can’t stay away from her. Make sure she won’t fall for you, because playing with her like that? Yeah, it would give the word cruel a whole new meaning.”

  Jaden decided to simply act as if he hadn’t heard those last words, pushing open the door to his room.

  Maya’s smell was everywhere and he remembered too late that she had been the last one to sleep in his bed.

  The daytime hours surely would be fun, trying to forget the female whose smell was granted to haunt him.

  Jaden had left what had to be hours ago. Maya couldn’t say for sure since she actually had sat at the window until the shutters had been closed for the day. She wouldn’t mind some sun, some warmth to remind her that she was human, and not a caged animal.

  Turning away from the window, she grabbed a thick sweater, glad that Lara had bothered to actually fill her closet with things that Maya didn’t own, but still loved to wear.

  She was tempted to head out barefoot, just to feel the grass beneath her feet, but they were going towards November and even though fall was usually gorgeous around here, it was getting icy outside. Especially at this hour.

  She opened her door, stepping out into the hall after pulling sneakers on. She hadn’t expected to see anyone, but jumped when Lex stepped from the shadows.

  She instantly smiled. Without really knowing him she felt as if he was one of the only friends she really had.

  “I feel honored, little princess,” he smiled, reminding her that he could read thoughts. She tried to put up the walls she once before had so easily put in place, but it just didn’t happen for her this time.

  Additionally her sight and hearing all but fully left. It was as if she suddenly stood in an unlit alley during a new moon’s night.

  Only faintly Maya could hear Lex call her name.

  This could not be happening. She wanted to be outside. She wanted to be away.

  “Relax, okay?” Lex asked of her and she took a deep breath.

  “I wanted to relax outside, get some air, get some perspective. Why are you patrolling the hallway in front of my door? Were you afraid I’d run away?” she snapped, feeling helpless. All her thoughts were open to him and she never had felt more exposed.

  “I can stop doing the reading thing, but it won’t happen if I have the feeling you won’t be honest with me,” Lex explained. She could hear him only faintly, as if her ears were stuffed with cotton. It was enough though to make out his words.

  Besides, she needed to have his company so she knew that she hadn’t gone fully deaf.

  “Fine, don’t read. I’ll be honest. No need to keep secrets anyways,” she whispered. She didn’t even hear herself and it scared h
er.

  Opening her eyes wide she hoped to get more light in, to see more, but except for a barely there blurry scheme she didn’t see much of the vampire at her side.

  “As if my night wasn’t bad enough,” she added and then felt how he took her hand, pulling her into the room and over to the window, sitting down close enough so they were side by side, his body almost fully touching her. It was nice because she could feel him breathing. She could even feel him reacting to her movements, his body stiffening slightly.

  “Haven’t been next to too many women in a long time, have you?” she asked and he laughed.

  “I’m usually the wingman. I don’t need that meaningless sex they all value so much. I help them get the girl and then I get out. It’s been a while, too, though.”

  She liked that. It was a nice change to have a non-player at her side.

  “So you do relationships?” she wanted to know and then felt him shrug.

  For a long moment he was silent.

  “I just don’t know, to be honest. I don’t feel the need to get my hands on a girl. I would love to find one I can spoil, you know? Candles, music… All that stuff. I want my Origin, nothing else. What use is there to invest into a relationship only to know that you’ll end up breaking her heart? If the right one comes along, the one I’ll be burning for, I will leave the other girl with a shattered heart and I won’t even think about it. I just can’t do that.”

  “It might be a decade until you find that woman. You want to stay alone all that time?” she asked, gently feeling her way along the windowsill. It was a wide one and her favorite spot in the room. Maya leaned back against it pulling up her knees. She didn’t feel him anymore, but the shadow she saw for now was enough to convince her she hadn’t lost all her senses.

  “A decade is nothing for me, honestly. I’ve been alone far longer than that now.” She silently nodded and then decided to ask what was on her mind.

  “Why did you call me princess?”

  He shrugged. Or at least that was what she thought he was doing.