by Lynda Aicher
Pulling back, he tugged her hand to follow him as he moved to the bedroom. The energy was thick with anticipation as they walked past the large bed that beckoned and into the master bathroom. He felt her question, her emotions so tied to his that little could remain hidden between them.
Instead of terrifying him, the sensation was one of rightness. Of what he had been waiting to find only he never realized it until it was there.
He dropped her hand and started the water in the shower, the pattering sound of the spray filling the space and echoing off the marble. Turning back to her, he had to laugh at the unsuppressed delight that covered her face.
“Shower first,” he said around the deep chuckle that lingered. “Then we’ll talk.”
A coy smile curved over her lips as she began to unbutton his big coat, the one she’d worn for almost two days now. The one that now belonged to her more than him. He stepped up to help slip it off her shoulders, the scent of cinnamon surrounding and drugging him with its intoxicating lure to her.
“Maybe we could shower and talk,” she said, shooting a shy but calculated look over her shoulder as he hung the coat along with his ruined leather jacket on a hook.
He turned and pulled her back to his chest, the soft strands of her hair rubbing against his skin in a taunting slide of seduction. Her head settled on his shoulder, a low moan escaping her lips. He ran his hands under her shirt, the smooth skin of her stomach burning hot embers of desire into his flesh.
“That is the best suggestion I’ve heard all day,” he murmured into her ear.
She laughed, a throaty sound that notched up his need. “It wasn’t hard to top the offers we’ve been given today.” She turned, her hands sliding around his neck as his palms skimmed across her stomach to rest at the small of her back. A spot he fully intended to explore with his lips in the very near future.
She looked into his eyes, the golden tones of her own eyes darkening to the color of deep, aged amber found in ancient trees. “Do you question this?” she asked, the snippet of doubt and fear threading through her energy.
“No,” he answered honestly, pouring all his conviction into his energy, his voice. “Not you. I can’t question such a gift after so many years of emptiness.”
She looked down, her lip disappearing between her teeth. “Not even the speed of it all?” Her gaze met his again. “Is there a chance it’s all wrong?”
“No. Not a chance,” he insisted, tugging her against his length. “There’s no way this is wrong.”
He bent his head, descending upon her with a heated kiss of affirmation. She opened her mouth in acceptance and met his passion with an urgency that matched his own. The desperation of the connection speared him deep in his chest and almost dropped him to his knees.
She dug her hands into his hair, pulling his head down tighter into her embrace as she sucked longingly on his lip. The steam from the shower billowed out of the stall, banking the space in a moist, heated cloak of seduction.
His erection rubbed tauntingly against her lower stomach, aching for release from his jeans. A demand he needed to heed.
Pulling back from her lips, Damian slipped her shirt over her head to drop it carelessly on the floor. He disposed of her bra just as quickly so she stood before him naked from the waist up, the stone shimmering seductively between her breasts. His breath left his chest, one big exhale of disbelief at his fortune.
Her breasts were round, fuller underneath and tipped with coral nipples that begged him to take them. Touch and suck them until she moaned in bliss.
“Gorgeous doesn’t even begin to describe you.”
Her cheeks darkened to a deep tint of red, a beautiful part of her that only complemented the midnight hues of her hair and made her even more alluring. But she didn’t look down or shy away from him or his words. Instead, she reached for the waistband of his jeans, the brush of her fingers against his stomach his undoing.
He groaned and stepped away, jerking a hand through his hair. “Shower.” He pointed. “Now or we’ll never make it there.”
She laughed, her head tossing back in levity, causing her hair to shimmer and dance down her back. “Right, shower.”
He turned away. It was either that or take her on the cold tile floor, and she deserved better than that. He stepped into the closet and stripped away the rest of his clothes. He took a deep breath and waited until he heard the click of the shower door closing.
His erection bobbed hard and insistent against his stomach as he walked to the shower. The blurred outline of her naked body taunted him behind the glass as she tipped her head back into the water, her beautiful chest thrusting upward with the action. The smoky tendrils of heat curled around her, weaving a dance his hands itched to follow.
He bit his cheek and cursed. How did he deserve her?
Whatever the case, he wasn’t letting her go. Their future was still up in the air, but he knew without doubt that his would be with her, whatever she decided.
Opening the door, Damian stepped through the steam and into her arms. His dragon growled and tightened possessively around the phoenix, a deep sense of connection rippling over his nerves and into his heart.
She slid her arms around Damian’s neck, pulling him down for another soul-searing kiss. The hot water streamed down Amber’s back, heating her skin as Damian heated her soul.
She belonged in his arms. This she knew even without the energy telling her so. Her CEO. He was what she’d waited for, what the energy had been pushing for her to recognize for the last three years. He was her other half that now blended smoothly within her. Complemented her and washed away all the doubts and insecurities she’d held for so long.
Her phoenix cooed softly within the tight embrace of its dragon. Contentment settled gently within its heart as it tucked its feathered head against the warm scales of its mate.
Damian gave one last caress of his tongue over hers before he lifted his head. His eyes had deepened to the dark, taunting shimmer of early dawn. He skimmed his hands down her back, her breasts pressed erotically against his chest, the hard length of his erection trapped between them.
“Turn,” he ordered as he grabbed her hips and flipped her around. She grinned and tipped her head back, letting the water caress over her neck and down her chest.
“I told you before you were going to kill me,” he growled into her ear. He massaged her scalp, rubbing shampoo through the long mass of her hair. His touch sent sharp, fiery snaps of need down her body to settle low and hot in her core. Combine that with the gentle way in which he took care of her, and she was lost.
She let the small moan of satisfaction release from her throat before she responded. “I believe it was you who killed me,” she teased as she leaned into his hands. Hands that stilled and clenched at her words.
“An act that did kill me,” he said softly before he restarted his tender care of her hair.
“But you trusted the energy and me. That act of sacrifice is what kept me from Tubal and brought me back to you.” She hoped he understood that.
He smoothed his hands over her shoulders and down her arms, the scent of pine and the outdoors teasing her nose. He washed her body using long, lazy strokes of tenderness that set her cells on fire while easing her tired muscles.
“I’m done with sacrifices,” he bit out a bit harshly. “Someone else is going to have to step up and fill that need because the only sacrifice I’ll make is for you and you alone.”
She turned in his arms and cupped his face in her hands. “No more sacrifices needed. I have everything I want, everything I need right here.”
His gaze held her; his hands moved back to her hair as he threaded his fingers through it to rinse away the shampoo. “And the future? What does that hold?”
She pondered her next words, wanting to ensure that they came out right. Her thumbs grazed over his jaw, the rough stubble scraping against her pads, the sensation snaking down her arms to further tighten her already aching nipples.
>
“Is it a sacrifice to be who you were meant to be?” His hands hesitated in her hair, a flash of doubt sparking in his eyes. “Do you still question who you are? Do you not know the strength and power you carry within you? They are the same qualities that allowed you to found and lead a corporation that has a fundamental impact on the earth’s energy. It is your solid belief in doing what is right despite what others say that makes you who you are. Those qualities have always been within you. It’s what your people need right now. They need you.”
“Our people,” he said. “Our people need us right now. Are you up for all that it means? For all of the changes it will make on your life?”
“Have you not listened to anything that’s been told to us the last two days?” she chided. “This is my life. Evidently, this is why I was born. To be with you, at your side. Where I want to be.”
“Really? No hesitation? No doubt?”
She smiled. “I didn’t say that. Of course there’s hesitation and doubt. But not about you. Us. What we’re supposed to do. Walking away feels safe, less daunting. However, it’s also the weaker path, the one chosen by those who can close their hearts and minds to the pain and suffering their actions will inflict on others.” She searched his eyes, reached into herself and felt his energy, the swirling turmoil of emotions that pulled at him. “I don’t think that’s something either of us can live with. We may be many things, but selfish has never been one of them.”
His hands rubbed down her back, over the rounded humps of her bottom, up her sides until they cupped the tender sides of her breasts, leaving a trail of blazing heat in their wake.
“Selfish, no,” he agreed. “Except where you’re concerned. If you’re not all right with all of it, I’d walk away and not look back.” He swallowed, looked away then back into her eyes. “Trust is hard for me. It will take a while before I can fully extend that emotion—if ever. But I trust what the energy is telling us to do. Most of all, I trust you.”
“So we’re good on this?” She licked her lips, her stomach knotting in a quick tug of finality. The impact of what they were discussing settled in with the leaden weight of responsibility it held. “Are we to rise, Damian? Will you be the leader they need now?”
He tipped his head to rest his forehead against hers in that intimate way of his. He cupped her face, his touch so gentle and possessive that it melted away the tension, loosened her stomach muscles until she exhaled and relaxed into his hold.
“I can only be that person with you by my side.” A roughened edge of vulnerability lined his words, a trait he allowed only her to see.
“Always,” she assured him.
He exhaled, the stress leaving his body just as hers had done moments ago. “It won’t be easy,” he challenged, one last wall of defense going up.
“Where’s the fun in easy?”
He kissed her, a hard, sharp burst of happiness. He pulled back, his voice husky with emotion as he spoke. “I love you, Amber. I swore I’d never say that. Feel that. But you crashed through the walls so fast, I couldn’t stop it. Couldn’t stop you.” He eased his hand under her hair to grip the back of her neck. “You’re mine, and I’m never letting you go.”
Her heart raced even as it melted. The security that came with belonging settled into her like the warm water and hot steam that encased them in its soothing cloud of protection.
“Mine,” she assured him, reinforcing the word with a sharp tug on his hair to pull his lips closer to hers. “You’re mine. My love. My heart. And you are so not getting away.”
She reached her lips to his in an all-out crush of possession. All that mattered at that moment was the man in her arms. Her phoenix arched its head and let out a long, lilting song of joy. The dragon released a fiery breath of agreement as it coiled its long body closer to its mate.
The energy pulsed hotter and brighter with each caress of his hands and thrust of his tongue. The stone throbbed and burned, his hard, water-slicked chest pressing it into hers. And once again, she felt the stone absorbing their combined energy as it flowed between them in an unfiltered blending of power and strength.
The knowledge slipped into her like the soft flutter of settling wings.
The Chosen One and Marked One—together they would rise.
Epilogue
They stood poised at the base of the long rise of white, stone stairs that stretched into the early morning sky. Damian looked down at Amber, his chest expanding in pride and love.
Her long, midnight hair shimmered and glowed in the soft light of the breaking dawn, subtle hues of red and yellow dancing over the silken mass from the line of torches that lit the courtyard. She lifted her golden eyes to meet his.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded. “It’s almost time.”
He looked around at the gathered group, meeting the eyes of Cronus first then his father’s. His mother stood regally next to his father. Even with the distance, he could see the tears that shimmered in the firelight before she blinked them back. He would ease those tears soon.
Flanking them were his brothers.
Phelix stood tall and somber next their father, his face a mask of hardened pain that was lightened slightly by the gentle depths of his eyes. Phelix had been but a boy when the events had started a millennium ago, having to endure the fallout and live with the burden for as long as Damian. There was much they needed to work through, but he hoped one day they could reconnect that bond that held brothers close.
One he’d had with Khristos and finally wished to establish with his other brothers.
Loukianos stood strong and assured next to their mother, his arm around Airiana. They were another surprise in the list of revelations that Damian would need to unravel. They would be powerful weapons in the war to come. But first, Louk was his brother, one he wanted to know.
The families from each of the Houses were also gathered within the courtyard. He quickly caught the gaze of Xander as he stood with his family, the House of Fire and then Ladon with his family, the House of Water. Two friendships he hoped to reestablish.
“When this city was built thousands of years ago,” Cronus said, his deep voice vibrating through the dark and ringing with authority, “measures were put in place to secure its safety. The shields have held strong, forged with ancient power and pure energy. But the threat that looms before us will be greater than what we have ever had to face. Gog will come for us, and the people of earth are primed and ready to follow him.” Cronus looked solemnly around at the gathered group. “Damian and Amber hold the key that will unlock the last level of defense that we can erect to protect this city. The Sacred City.”
Cronus looked to them. In unspoken unity, Amber lifted the hem of the long, white robe and placed her foot on the step in time with Damian’s. He kept his back straight, his eyes locked on the small platform one hundred and forty-four steps above them. He knew the number without counting.
A light breeze swirled around them, pushing at his hair, tugging at the silk of the robe. On its wings, it brought the warm scents of spring and the hint of new beginnings.
Of forgiveness and blessings to come.
They reached the top and stepped up on the small dais as the earth slowly revolved into place, the incremental movements indiscernible to man, but so significant in the daily passage of life. In the center of the platform rose a stand, its top the size of a large platter with a sculpted design that was divided into four quadrants, each section separated by long channels that ran from the center opening to the outer ring. The etchings within each quadrant represent the blending of elements as they merged with each other and aligned to the four navigational directions.
Damian looked up from the center compass point and took a second to absorb the sight before him.
“Home,” he murmured, warmth blanketing him in an open presence of welcome.
“Tell me about it,” Amber encouraged as she followed his gaze to the shadowed outlines of the city that lay quiet in the
pre-dawn light. “Share your world with me.”
“The Energen lands stretch five miles in each direction,” he told her. “The compound built within a protective circle when man was just beginning to inhabit the continent. This is the exact geographic center of what is now North America. A centering of navigational energy and a source of the very power we pull our strength from.”
He turned and pointed. “To the East resides the House of Air, in the South is the House of Fire, West is the House of Water, to the North lies the House of Earth, and here, in the middle, is the House of Spirit. Each direction pulls on an elemental power and every Energen possesses one of these powers.”
“Some of us more,” Amber said. The light danced in her eyes and he almost laughed despite the seriousness of the moment. She turned away and pointed to the east. “That’s where we entered last time? You had said we were at the eastern entrance to the enclave.”
Of course she would remember that. “Yes. There is a gate in each direction that allows entrance to the enclave. The energy shield allows for Energens to port in and out, but I had been exiled, my permission to enter revoked. Xander had to verbally sanction our entry into the city in order for us to cross the shield gate and enter the enclave through the house.”
Damian exhaled as he looked to the direction of the rising sun—a symbol of new beginnings and reawakening. A long worshipped entity of life and rebirth.
It was also the object they waited for.
For its alignment with the earth. The exact time when day equals night, light equals dark and the energy is balanced as it can only be twice each year. And in the center of the city, the center of the power, the compass awaited its key.
“Soon,” he said with a tip of his head towards the lightening eastern sky. “The vernal equinox is almost here.”
Amber inhaled a deep breath of freshness and renewal with the rising sun. It seemed so appropriate for the vernal equinox to occur at this time, just before the sun made its appearance on the land.
