Up in Flames

by Trista Ann Michaels

  He looked up at her and saw the slight flinch of pain on her face. “You’re tight,” he said.

  Her gaze shot to his, and she swallowed. He’d thought the same thing about her pussy this morning. Had he said it out loud then? Was that why she gazed at him in surprise before the light in her eyes shifted to a look of longing that made his chest tighten?

  He knew of patients who fell in love with the doctors who nursed them back to health. It would be easy for Cara to do that, especially in her weakened emotional state. But that love wouldn’t be real, nor would it last. As soon as she realized she’d only latched on to him because he nursed her back to health, been all she’d known during her recovery. But as for him, he had a sick sense of dread his feelings for her would last a very, very, very long time.

  “Lie down on your stomach, and I’ll stretch your legs,” he said.

  She nodded and rolled from the bench to the floor. Hayden got down on his knees next to her. With his hand on her ankle, he bent her knee and pulled her foot back to her behind until he felt resistance.

  God, her ass looked good. Firm and round and so tight he could bounce a gold piece off it. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on this woman’s body anywhere.

  “What kind of training did you do?” he asked, trying to get his mind off her ass. “When you were a Mundi?”

  He lowered her foot, letting her leg relax a few seconds before repeating the stretch.

  “Mostly physical stuff. Endurance, speed, strength. I was trained separately for my telekinetic ability. They helped me make it stronger.”

  “That’s all?” he asked.

  “No. I was also taught to kill.” She sighed. “I can kill a man in over a hundred different ways with my hands. I can also kill a man without even touching him.”

  Hayden frowned. “How so?”

  “I can choke him with my mind.”

  Hayden raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. Interesting talent. How many times had he been angry with someone and wished he could do that very thing? Ignoring the temptation to follow through would be difficult sometimes. Since she didn’t feel emotion, she would never make a rash decision and kill someone in a fit of rage. Maybe it was good she didn’t feel.

  “I was also taught politics.”

  He blinked, trying to stay focused on the conversation. “Why politics?” he asked as he repeated the stretch a fourth time.

  This time the resistance was less, meaning her muscles were beginning to loosen up.

  “I always wondered that too,” she said quietly. “I guess now I know why.”

  They’d schooled her in politics because they’d wanted her to rule. Cara’s question had merit. How had an order whose members didn’t feel emotion suddenly become greedy? Was it possible the elders did?

  Hayden moved to the other leg, and Cara let out a totally relaxed sigh. “This is almost as good as what you did this morning.”

  Hayden closed his eyes briefly at the reminder. The now painful reminder. The ache in his cock was enough to make him groan out loud. He’d finally begun to get his mind off sex, only for her to bring it up again. “That doesn’t say much for my skills if stretching is anywhere close to what you felt this morning.”

  “The stretching relaxes me. What was that I felt this morning?”

  Hayden’s hand slipped off her leg. He rolled his eyes and put it back. “That was an orgasm.”

  “Huh.”

  She didn’t say anything else, and Hayden hoped that was the end of her questions.

  “You were using your hand,” she said softly. Hayden swallowed his groan.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “Can I do that to myself, then?”

  Hayden almost choked, imagining her touching herself. “Yes, you can give yourself an orgasm.”

  He set her leg back down. Cara turned and sat up. She looked at him with a slight frown. “Then I actually don’t really need you at all.”

  “Ah… Well…” He scratched the back of his head. He should tell her yes, but he couldn’t bring himself to, although he wasn’t sure why.

  God, now he knew how his parents must’ve felt when Miya started asking all those sex questions. The funniest was when she’d found the handcuffs in their father’s nightstand drawer.

  “That will work for a little while, but eventually even that won’t be enough.”

  “Why?”

  “Well…” Damn. He was a doctor. This should be easy.

  “Hayden,” Beena called down the stairs. “Are you still down there?”

  “Yeah. What is it, Beena?” he asked, thankful for the interruption.

  “You have a call. Ambassador Dorn.”

  “I’m coming,” he said as he stood and quickly headed to his father’s office, Cara close on his heels.

  Once in his father’s office on the first floor, he jogged behind the desk and started to hit the button on the computer screen to open the channel back up, but Cara’s words stopped him. “Are you sure that’s secure? The signal is traveling through open space.”

  “Trust me. If there’s one thing my dad knows better than anyone, it’s security. Stay back,” he said.

  She frowned. “Why? It’s Alex.”

  “Just in case he’s not alone.”

  She shook her head and began to argue. “He wouldn’t risk me like that. He would never call here if he had someone with him.”

  “Humor me,” he said.

  Cara sighed and moved to the other side of the desk. As Hayden opened the computer, Cara paced before him, adorably biting her thumbnail.

  “Good afternoon, Ambassador,” Hayden said with a grin. “I assume all went well with the senate.”

  “Damn straight,” Chris said as he stepped into view behind Alex’s chair and bent forward slightly so Hayden could see him through the screen. Alex, Hayden noticed, shook his head slightly as though irritated.

  “Beena didn’t tell me you were there, Chris,” Hayden said with a smile.

  “Sorry. I was taking care of something out of sight. Alex isn’t ambassador anymore. You’re now addressing the new Chancellor Dorn.”

  Cara’s eyes widened. She ran around the desk and stared in surprise at Alex.

  “Cara,” Hayden growled, but she ignored him.

  “You’re chancellor? When did Dad appoint you?”

  “When he found out about the Mundi. That way, if he was killed, the title would automatically revert to me and hopefully at least stall the Order’s plans for you. I don’t think he ever expected them to start a war.”

  “It didn’t take the Mundi long to go after Alex once it was made public his new position as leader of Bellara,” Chris explained. “They must’ve been watching him due to his connection to Cara. Watch your back, Hayden. We’re not sure he wasn’t followed to Daego. If they’re there, it won’t take them long to track her down.”

  Hayden glanced up at Cara, whose eyes suddenly went wide with concern.

  “Son of a bitch,” Hayden growled. “I doubt they’re here. As an exclusive resort town, Daego keeps a close tab on who’s allowed in. It’s unlikely they got clearance.”

  “I agree, but just in case.”

  Hayden nodded.

  “Dad and Uncle Taron are on their way to escort Alex back to Daego for now. A fact he’s not exactly thrilled with.” Alex rolled his eyes. Hayden smirked in amusement. Not being thrilled was an understatement. “Dad told him to shut up his bitching about it, or when he got here he’d tie his damn tongue.”

  Hayden snickered. “He’ll do it too, Alex.”

  Alex’s lips twisted, making Hayden grin.

  “They should be there sometime tomorrow evening,” Chris said.

  “How many Mundi went after Alex?” Cara asked.

  “Two,” Alex replied. “I had the advantage of knowing they were there without their knowledge, thanks to the security system Sidious installed. It was the only thing that gave me the upper hand.”

  “Were you hurt?” Cara asked.


  “Nothing serious. How are you holding up?”

  Cara shrugged. “Other than nightmares, I’m okay.”

  “She’s actually healing very quickly. Much faster than I expected. By the time you arrive, she’ll probably be at her previous strength. Physically, at least,” Hayden offered.

  “Dad said to reset the parameters of the security system, and for God’s sake get the staff out of the house,” Chris said. “Just in case they’ve found her.”

  “Beena will refuse to go.”

  “Beena always refuses to go when we’ve used the lake house as a safe haven. Tell her Dad said so. She’ll listen to that.”

  Hayden snorted but didn’t say anything more. He knew Beena. This was her home, and she’d always refused to leave it unless his mother was leaving with the kids; then she went wherever the kids went. If Hayden stayed, mostly likely she would. She trusted his dad to keep them safe, but Sidious wasn’t here. It was just him.

  For the first time in his life, he wished he’d had the combat training Chris and Jonah had gone through. He knew how to fight, and he could certainly hold his own against most foes, but a trained killer with skills of a Mundi was another matter. The fact that Alex had defeated two impressed the hell out of Hayden.

  Alex shifted in his seat, his eyes narrowing in pain. Hayden looked closely at Alex’s creased brow and sweaty upper lip. He was hurting. It looked as though Alex hadn’t come out of this as unscathed as he wanted Cara to believe.

  “Cara?” Hayden said. “Would you go to the kitchen and get Beena for me, please?”

  Cara frowned for a second before nodding and leaving the office. Once she was gone, Hayden turned back to the screen. “She’s gone. What happened to Alex?”

  Alex eyebrow rose in surprise. “Damn, you’re astute.”

  “I’m a doctor. I recognize the signs of pain on someone’s face. Talk.”

  “I was stabbed twice. Once just below the ribs on the left. Once in the lower right side. That one was his long sword, which went clean through and out my back. My jaw was broken, as well as my eye socket. Not to mention the bones in my right hand when I decided to try and fight back. Chris found me trying to get up off the damn floor.”

  “Yeah,” Chris drawled. “Imagine my surprise finding Alex here lying between two dead Mundi.”

  Hayden snorted. “You’ll have to explain to me later just how the hell you managed that.”

  “I’m sure it’s on the security cameras. Do not tell Cara,” Alex ordered.

  “No, trust me. That’s the last thing she needs to hear. I’m assuming since you’re talking you’ve been looked at.”

  “Yes. It’s not life threatening. Just hurts like a son of a bitch.”

  “Pain will be gone by tomorrow,” Hayden said. “Provided you don’t do anything stupid.”

  Alex snorted. “Famous last words, considering I apparently live for stupid. Today’s actions are proof of that.”

  “Don’t we all?” Hayden smiled. “I think leaping without thinking is built into the Marcone male DNA. Looks like you fit right in, Alex.”

  “Oh, trust me,” Alex drawled. “You definitely don’t want to think when attacking a Mundi. If you did, you’d realize just how stupid that is.”

  Hayden snickered softly.

  * * * *

  Hayden clicked on the computer controls that would turn on the shading in the windows. Once the windows darkened, no one would be able to see in, even if the lights were on. It was an unusual security feature designed by his father and Uncle Taron that literally made the house invisible at night.

  Beena stuck her head in the office door. “I’m heading to bed. Would you like something before I turn in?”

  “No, Beena. I would feel better if you go with the rest of the staff.”

  Beena stepped into the room, a soft smile of understanding and motherly love on her face. “I have always stayed with you boys, Hayden. Always. If your father was protecting someone here and you and your mother left the house, I left with you. If you stayed, I stayed with you. I never had children. You, Chris, and Miya are as close to my own as I will ever have. I’m not leaving.”

  Hayden stood and walked over to her. He grasped her upper arms and gave her a firm look. “Beena, you’re almost as stubborn as my mother.” He bent down and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Good night, mother hen,” he said.

  She touched his cheek before leaving the room. Cara walked in just two seconds later, a cup of hot tea in each hand. “I wasn’t sure if you would want tea.” She shrugged. “So I just brought you one.”

  He took it from her outstretched hand and smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Is everything in place?” she asked.

  Hayden took a sip of tea before responding. “As my mother would say, it’s locked up tighter than Fort Knox.”

  She frowned. “What’s Fort Knox?”

  “Something from my mother’s world.”

  “Where’s she from?” Cara asked.

  “Earth.”

  “Isn’t that the planet that helped defeat the prime minister—what was it?—over thirty years ago?”

  Hayden nodded and leaned his hips against the desk. “Sort of. The prime minister was in the process of invading Earth when the rebellion finally got the upper hand.”

  “And your father and uncles were behind that rebellion, right?”

  “Yes. My father was in the militia, pretty high in rank actually, but went in for the sole purpose of being a mole for the rebels. He was in for ten years.”

  “That’s a long time to be undercover.”

  “It is, but it was in that tenth year when he met Mom. She was a slave taken from Earth. So despite how long it took them or how tired he was of it, he believes that things happened the way they were supposed to.”

  Her gaze took on a wistful look. “Does he love your mother very much?”

  “More than anything,” Hayden replied softly. “They’re always touching each other, smiling at each other. Boy, they can fight, though.”

  Cara smiled slightly. “Fight?”

  “Oh, yeah. Mom has a temper. Dad does too, but Mom… She can put Dad in his place and good.” He smiled softly at the memories. “I think as kids we were more afraid of her than Dad. My baby sister, Miya, is just like her.”

  “Are you like your dad?” Cara asked, genuinely curious.

  “Mom says I am. Dad says he sees more of Mom in me. Chris, though, is just like Dad.”

  Cara stared into her cup of tea. “I have no idea who I’m like. My father always said I had the personality of a stone.”

  He watched sadness fill her eyes and wanted desperately to take it away.

  “I have no idea what marriage looks like. Or love for that matter. My dad didn’t… He spent all his time working, moving our home toward a peaceful union with the senate. I’m not sure I ever saw Alex date anyone either. Not seriously anyway, but then what would I know about relationships and love, so who knows? I just know I don’t remember him being affectionate toward a woman.”

  “I’ve seen personality in you, Cara. It’s developing more and more every day.”

  She looked up at him hopefully. “Really? What’s it like?”

  “You’re inquisitive.”

  She scoffed. “That’s just because I’m an idiot when it comes to emotions.”

  Hayden’s lips twitched again. “You’re stubborn.”

  She inclined her head. “Dad was stubborn.”

  “You’re playful.”

  She frowned. “Playful? What exactly is playful?”

  “You like to tease and laugh.”

  “Oh.”

  She held his gaze, making Hayden’s cock twitch in need. She looked good tonight, with her hair down and damp from her shower. The jeans clung to her thighs and hips perfectly, outlining her impressive hourglass figure.

  He really needed to think of something else besides how good her body looked or how much he wanted to kiss those full lips. Otherwise he’d
find himself in the same predicament as this morning.

  “I think you’re sexy,” she said softly. “That’s not really a personality trait, though, is it?”

  Hayden snorted. “You’re definitely not subtle.”

  “I’ve always been blunt. I had no reason not to be. Because I didn’t feel emotion, I had no reason to lie to preserve someone’s feelings. I’m not even sure I know how to lie.”

  “That’s a good thing, Cara. Too many people lie, in my opinion.”

  “I suppose,” she murmured. “So what do we do now? It’s too early to go to bed. I suppose I could eat again.”

  Hayden chuckled. “Where do you put it?”

  She glanced down at herself and shrugged. “I’ve always eaten a lot. I work it off.”

  Hayden’s mind went to other ways of working off calories—like sex. After the way she bucked and screamed this morning, Hayden had a feeling sex with Cara would be one wild ride. He’d thought about it all day. Pictured all the different ways he could take her, all the fun things he could show her, experience with her.

  Shaking his head, he told himself he had no business doing that. He was supposed to help her get better, not initiate her into the wicked world of sexual exploration. Unfortunately, with every day that passed, it became harder and harder to keep his hands to himself.

  “Of course…”

  Hayden looked across the room at Cara as she leaned her shoulder casually against the door frame. She licked her lips slowly, and his cock tightened behind his zipper. The woman made him crazy without even trying.

  Desire sparked in the light blue of her eyes, and Hayden wondered if maybe she was trying.

  “Of course what?” he asked.

  “We could always do what we did this morning again.”

  Hayden swallowed. He wanted to—really badly—but there was no way in hell he could make her come with his hand and not take her.

  “Oh, yeah. Definitely not subtle,” he murmured. “This would be one of those times when it’s okay to lie.”

  “Why would I lie?”

  Sighing, Hayden tried to think of something to say. “I’m your doctor, Cara. I’m supposed to be making you better, not seducing you.”

  She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.