Licked by the Flame

by Serena Gilley

  He was losing his grip on the other team members in the nearby buildings, too. He could feel their minds slipping away from him. They were clearing, coming back to their senses, and they’d soon wonder what they were doing. He had to collect them, put them under his spell once more…but it was too hard. His energy was too low and his hunger too great. Damn this rampant need that flooded him; it nearly washed him away.

  “What is it, Nic?” she asked, facing him as her delicious, feminine curves were silhouetted in the narrow doorway. Something’s wrong. You need something from me.”

  “I need you,” he growled and reached out for her.

  This time he reached with his body, not with his mind. His fingers dug into the soft flesh at her arms and he pulled her back into the supply room. He kicked the door shut, plunging them into darkness. Alone.

  He wrapped her in a viselike embrace that she would have no hope of escaping. His lips sought for hers in the darkness and he was all human, all passion. He had no idea what she was thinking and he didn’t care. He would have her any way that he could.

  She didn’t fight him, so he pressed her against the door. His cock was hot and throbbing. So was the rest of him. Her hands skimmed over his back, her fingernails rasping as she ended up clinging to him. He lifted her, raising her just enough that his cock could grind into her, if not for all their damn clothing. Still, she groaned at the sensation. He rubbed hard against her.

  “Let’s go back to my room,” she sighed into his ear.

  He was too far gone for that. He could barely form words, as a matter of fact. “We can’t. It has to be here.”

  She accepted his reason without comment. The passion in her own mind, in her own body, made her every bit as desperate as he was. She pushed him slightly away, just enough that her hands could reach down to unfasten his trousers.

  He lowered her so that her feet touched the floor again and reached his own hands for her pants. Damn, this would have been so much easier if they were back in her bed with plenty of room for ripping clothes off and privacy for making all sorts of animal noises. Somehow they were just going to have to make do.

  She had her hot little hands on his cock already, gripping him as if she were happy to greet an old friend. He wished for enough dragon senses now to be able to see in the dark, but it was probably just as well. The sight of her fondling him would have sent him over the edge. He was nearly there already.

  But with their limited space, their surplus of clothing, and his very particular need, there was only one thing he could do.

  “Turn around,” he said, taking her by the shoulders and encouraging her to do as he asked.

  She did, hesitantly, and he was quick to make it worth her effort. His fingers worked their way into her blouse, finding her luscious breasts and liberating them from her bra. Her nipples puckered under his efforts and he stroked them lightly. She seemed to like this, and she pressed herself closer into him, her hot little ass rubbing him just right. He slid his hands down to her waist and then pushed her pants lower, taking the delicate lace panties with them.

  She murmured encouragement for him when he pressed the burning skin of his bulging cock against her naked ass. He growled and hoped that she knew how hot she was making him. She must have, because she wiggled a bit. He reached around in front and took her heated mound in his hand. Yes, she was burning up and wet.

  They were dealing with space issues and all sorts of other drawbacks here in this tight, dark closet, but he was as turned on as he ever had been. He pulled her tight, propping her up just enough so that his cock brushed that taut little ass while his fingers explored as they would. She moaned and shifted. He dipped two fingers inside her, his other hand going back up to enjoy the plump feel of her breast.

  She was so hot, so ready to come for him, that there was no question he’d have her panting and gasping in a short matter of minutes. For himself, he pressed against her, dragging his cock over her soft skin, being pleasured just by the texture and heat and the soft, primal sounds she was making. His desire was so great that all he needed was contact, and the feel of her climax.

  He held her up closer to him. She was breathing heavily now as he stroked her, finding the tender spot that made her arch against him and urge him for more. Her muscles were tense, so he pressed his cock between her thighs. Ah, it was hot and it was tight. He let instinct take over, sliding against her and feeling her body react, molding itself around him.

  Her breathing was getting louder now, so he pressed his lips against her ear.

  “Hush. The others could come by; they might hear you.”

  She nodded slightly, clearly straining to stay silent as he continued touching her, stroking her, rubbing his length against her but never quite filling her. He needed her to come for him completely, so even in his urgency he would take his time.

  “I want you inside me,” she moaned in a hoarse whisper. “All of you.”

  “Soon. Let me make this good for you,” he said, teasing her with the heated tip of his cock.

  She barely choked back a moan. Now she was as lost in their passion as he was, and clearly neither of them were thinking of anything but finding fulfillment. He could feel the climax rising within her.

  “Let go for me,” he begged her. “Show me how I make you feel.”

  “I feel like I could do this forever,” she said, but then her voice caught and her body spasmed against his.

  She was coming. He held her, breathed her, kissed her neck to taste the salt of her sweat. She rocked against him, rewarded him with moans and trembles and the promise of more. He drained her desire, soaked up the energy that she generated. Even as his own body responded, his cock pulsing against her, he felt himself fill with much-needed power. He clung to her for a few moments, taking in as much as he could, letting her body recover and her heart rate slow to normal again.

  Then he reached out his mind. His strength was returning. She was weak and depleted while he was gaining his control once again. He held her mind with his and felt the warm glow of pleasure that fully engulfed her.

  “God, that was good,” she murmured. “Do you think anyone heard us?”

  He was already touching the minds of the others on-site. They’d not yet fully realized that their actions preparing for his trip to the mountain were not entirely their own. Good. The longer he could keep them from questioning things, the better. Soon they’d be back in their beds and he would not have to worry about them for a few more hours, at least.

  “No one heard,” he assured her.

  Her body felt so damn good against his that he hated to give up this hot, physical connection. But he had to. He’d gotten what he needed from her and now he had things to attend to. If he was smart, he’d take over her mind again to ensure that she cooperated and didn’t ask too many questions. He was hesitant, though. He loved the feel of her mind, the way her unfettered thoughts mingled with his.

  He couldn’t give himself the luxury of enjoying that, though. His focus had to be on his task, not on this human female. No matter how fascinating she might be.

  He wrapped her thoughts carefully and pushed them aside. He felt her mind giving way to his suggestion. She was exhausted and still warmed from his loving, so he merely urged her to remain in that state.

  “It’s time to go out to the mountain,” he whispered. “I’ll help you straighten your clothes.”

  She was silent but he felt the fog returning to her mind. She moved away from him, shuffling in the darkness and doing his bidding. He felt the rest of the humans on-site, each one easily obeying his prompts. His power had returned, thanks to Lianne’s powerful release. He did not know how much more effort would be required to control all these minds for an extended time, but for now Lianne had given him what he needed to carry out this next phase of his mission.

  Lianne had proven to be invaluable. He responded to her remarkably well. For so long he’d had to ration his powers to make certain he would have strength when he nee
ded it. With Lianne such a willing partner now, there was hope that he could increase his efforts. Her brimming passion could be the source of constant renewal he needed to finally finish this job once and for all.

  For now, he could allow her to rest. Once he got out to the mountain to investigate these readings, he would know better what further exertion would be needed. He’d keep Lianne close. With luck, next time desire took them over, neither of them would have to settle for some quick groping in the dark. He would see just how much passion she truly possessed.

  Chapter Nine

  There, what’s that?” Kyne pointed off toward the distance.

  They had left the strange little box that had affected them, and gone higher up on the mountain. Raea blinked against the wind and could make out dots of faint light clustered on the stretch of flat plain that spread out from the base of the mountain. It was not magical light—it was very obviously human-made. A settlement, out here in this uninviting wasteland? No, those lights were more than likely evidence of the scientific group Baylor had told them they’d find working here. Clearly, they would have to stay very far away from that area.

  “Well, at least we know where not to go,” she said.

  “I don’t know, maybe we should check it out.”

  Had she heard him correctly in the din of the wind? He couldn’t possibly have suggested they go that direction, so far out of their way and so dangerously close to people. Once Kyne had triggered that sensor, there was no telling who might have been alerted. Anyone could be searching for them now. More than anything, they needed to avoid habitations.

  “There could be dozens of humans there,” she pointed out, although how he could possibly overlook that fact she had no idea.

  “Exactly. Whatever is going on, anyone from our Realm will intentionally avoid that human jobsite. They’ll be hunting for us here on the mountain, but they won’t think to look for us there.”

  “But the humans—”

  “We’ve been hiding ourselves from humans all our lives, Raea. We know how to do that. What we don’t know is what some of our own kind are doing working with the humans. We should hide ourselves where they’d least expect us so we can plan our next actions.”

  She hated to admit that he made perfect sense. Baylor had been right; fairies knew how to hide in plain sight. The last place the Fairy Council—or anyone else—would think to search for them would be around humans. Perhaps this would give them time to learn a few things before ending up face-to-face with an enemy.

  “All right. We’ll go there,” she agreed and shuddered at her own words.

  Kyne grasped her hand. “We’ll wait a little while, though. We both need to catch our breath.”

  She knew he was just fine. He was stronger and more resilient than she was, but she appreciated that he was careful not to make her feel frail. Kyne was proof positive that sometimes being half-human had its advantages.

  She dropped her head on his shoulder as they scanned the landscape below. “Thanks. There’s no telling who we’ll run into down there. I just need a couple more minutes to be ready.”

  “Take your time. Those humans might be the least of our worries.”

  Well, that was a sobering thought. As if she had ever in her life imagined that she’d rather run into a human than another of her own kind! How disturbing.

  The world had somehow flipped itself upside down lately. She’d accepted help from a human, come to distrust her own council, and now here she was being battered by winds over the rocky terrain of someplace called Iceland. Yet all it took was one quick glance at Kyne, one glimpse of his confident wing strokes and the determined set of his golden features, and she knew there was no other place on earth that she wanted to be.

  She had to be here. For him, for herself, and perhaps for everyone else. If this unnatural union between the mundane and the Forbidden Realm was as dangerous as Baylor seemed to fear, then there was far more at stake here than Raea’s own feelings of comfort or security. The very Veil itself depended on what they were able to accomplish here.

  “We should go now,” she said, taking a deep breath and pretending she wasn’t afraid. “I feel better. We need to get this done.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  She took a step away from him in order to appear more confident. “Yes. Let’s go. Maybe we should head down that way, following that deep, shadowy rift. That way there’d be less chance that anyone…Hey, what is that?”

  She pointed toward a small construction way down at the very base of the mountain.

  “It looks like a building of some sort,” Kyne said.

  “Do you suppose someone lives there?”

  “Pretty odd place for a house. And there aren’t any windows. It could be an equipment shed, a place where they store things or house machinery.”

  “Machinery is what we came to investigate,” she noted.

  “Let’s go check it out.”

  “Just be careful,” she reminded. “And don’t kick it.”

  The wind whipped around them but the rift she had pointed out ended up being an excellent way to stay hidden and avoid some of the more buffeting gusts. The tiny lights of the scientists’ dwellings they had seen in the distance were disappearing behind the rise of the landscape as they made their way lower and lower down the mountain.

  There was no sign of life anywhere. It seemed they were totally alone out here. If circumstances were different and they weren’t in mortal danger, it could actually be kind of romantic.

  “Do you think this equipment shed belongs to the science group, or is it a part of whatever the Fairy Council is involved in?” she asked as they approached.

  “Who’s to say the two things aren’t related? It seems like a pretty big coincidence that a research project would suddenly appear here, right beside the very mountain where Baylor says that mystery equipment is being shipped.”

  She had to agree. They were very close to the shed now, so she refrained from speaking. It was time to be cautious and keep a lookout for anything suspicious. Kyne was tense, his gaze darting around, clearly on high alert. They paused just a few yards away, listening for anything that might give them alarm. Nothing. The world around them was vacant and dim.

  It was full of magic, too. She could feel it flow through the air, immersing her body like warm water. It was similar to the magic she felt in their own Fairyrealm, yet different. Whatever this Iceland place was, it was ancient and it was magical. Humans had not yet pushed the Veil away as they had in her homelands. This place was still free and wild, and her skin prickled with energy as she alighted beside Kyne, drawing in deep breaths of the air and the magic and the essence of her very being.

  “Come on,” he said softly.

  She followed him closely. He led her to the little building. They flew silently, carefully, circling it once, then twice. There was no sign of danger, so she nodded to him. He circled once more, then found a safe place to settle.

  There was a little nook at the base of the shed, protected from view and from the tearing winds of the landscape. They landed there, sheltering next to the building. It had been constructed at the juncture where the mossy rocks of the plain gave way to the bare, soaring rocks that rose up to form the foundation of the ancient mountain. A concrete slab had been constructed and the shed was built onto it. As they’d noted, there were no windows. The lone doorway was locked securely with a chain.

  Raea stood on the lip of the foundation that protruded from beneath the shed. She pressed her ear to the wall, listening.

  “Do you hear anything?” Kyne asked.

  “I don’t know. My ears are still ringing from all the wind we’ve been in. What do you think?”

  He leaned in next to her and listened. “Some kind of machine, maybe. That doesn’t tell us much, though.”

  “Humans certainly do like their tools and machinery. I guess that’s because they don’t have magic. I feel kind of sorry for them.”

  “Don
’t. They get by just fine.”

  Of course that was true. Their lack of magic never seemed to keep humans from doing whatever it was they wanted to do in their world. Often it was to the detriment of the beings who did have magic. So what was their involvement here on this huge, foreboding mountain?

  She turned her back on the shed and focused instead on the wasteland of jagged rocks spread out before them, shadowed by the mountain. Even as enormous as it was, it still could not block out the vast expanse of stars. They were beautiful. It was an alien world to her, yet as she stood here, close beside Kyne, she felt more and more at home.

  Her tired muscles began to relax, Kyne noticed, turning to lean against the building with her and look up at the stars. It felt so peaceful and safe that she allowed herself to sag against him. He put his arm around her, his lips brushing the top of her head and sending a thrill that coursed through her, top to bottom.

  “I’m glad I’m here with you, Kyne,” she said with a sigh.

  It really didn’t seem to matter whether she was with him in Iceland, or safely back in that little cottage where they had forgotten the world and spent days enjoying the passion they’d so long denied themselves. She would be happy anywhere she could be with him, where his skin could touch hers and stir the embers of desire.

  She snuggled close to him. Magic kept their bodies warm, even in this frigid place, but Kyne made her warmer. She reached to touch him, skimming her hands over his muscular form. Vibrations from whatever was inside the building thrummed through her, Kyne’s earthy scent filled her senses. There was no danger, no worry, no emptiness here. Kyne made her feel safe, and passion made her feel daring.

  She moved his light clothing aside to feel the breadth of his chest. He pulled her closer, lifting her and then lowering her as he found a comfortable place to sit. She curled onto his lap and she raised her face toward his. Her lips fairly begged for his kiss, and he’d never yet disappointed her. He took her mouth with enthusiasm, his kiss ardent and long. She responded by wrapping herself around him, straddling him where he sat. She could feel him pressing against her, ready to give in to their passion again.