She was such a temptation, it was hard to remember that she held his life in her delicate hands—hands that knew how to stroke over his skin in a way that made his blood heat like no other woman ever had.
“I’m ready,” she said, zipping her coat into place.
He wasn’t, but it was time to get that way. Thoughts of Dakota touching him and just how good they’d be together had to be expelled from his mind. He couldn’t afford the distraction, not when he was about to show her how to tap into a vast pool of power that could get them both killed. One misplaced blast of fire and they’d be charred spots on the cold ground.
Time to focus.
Liam dressed and led the way out back to the middle of an open cornfield. It was wet from recent snowfall and perfect for practice.
Years of meditation and ignoring his pain allowed him the ability to shove all other thoughts from his mind except the task at hand. “First you have to be able to touch the power inside of me. And then, once you do, you need to direct it to do your bidding.”
She grinned at him like he was telling some kind of joke. “My bidding? Like summoning flying monkeys or something?”
“Let’s hope not. Try something small. Pick a cornstalk and see if you can light it on fire.”
“Why? Matches are easier.”
“Yes, but magical fire can kill a lot of demons. It’s the next best thing to chopping off their heads.”
She grimaced as if the thought made her queasy, but gave a firm nod. “Yeah, I’m not so much one for the head chopping part.”
“That’s why you’ve got me. Now concentrate.”
She nodded slightly. “Okay. I’ve picked one. Now what?”
“Feel the luceria around your neck?”
“Yes. It’s warm.”
Good. He liked the idea of her staying warm out here. The fact that he’d been instrumental in keeping her that way was pleasing on a gut-deep level. He’d always been conscious of the weaknesses of those around him—it was one of the things that kept him alive in battle—but he’d never before enjoyed seeing to the needs of another the way he did for Dakota. Maybe it was part of the luceria’s magic, or maybe it was just that he cared about her, but whatever had caused it was part of him now. Whether or not they stayed together, he knew that she’d touched his life in an indelible way.
His voice was rough with unwanted emotions he had no time for. “There’s a tiny conduit stretching between us, going from your necklace to my ring. Do you sense that?”
She closed her eyes and frowned. “There’s a part of it that’s humming, like an electric wire.”
“Perfect. I want you to pay attention to that spot. I’m going to try to push a little bit of power to you so you can feel what it’s like.”
Liam had never done this before, but his instincts were strong, and he’d spent centuries thinking about this very moment, planning for it, praying for it. Even now he had a hard time believing that any of this was really happening.
The power churning inside of him was easy to find. It rose up to his summons as he directed it through the luceria into Dakota.
She let out a long, breathy sigh filled with pleasure. “Oh. Wow. Do that again.”
It was only when his hands grew warm that he realized he was holding her hips, tugging them close against his as she faced away from him. He could smell her shampoo and the sweeter scent of her skin lingering beneath. He buried his nose in her strawberry blond curls and wrapped one arm around her body, just under her breasts.
She felt good pressed against him like this, fitting his taller frame perfectly.
“Again,” she said, this time with more eager demand.
Liam did as she asked, shoving another throbbing pulse of power through their link, into her body.
She trembled against him and grew warmer. Her warmth sank into him until the cold wind whipping around them became a meaningless annoyance.
“Let the power I sent into you free,” he told her. “Focus it. Try to light the fire.”
“It feels too good inside me. I don’t want it to leave.”
His whole body clenched in desire at her words and the images they brought to mind. It took him three tries to find his voice. “I’ll give you more. All you want. Just let it go.”
She tensed, reached out her hand, and a white shard of light shot from her fingertips. It sank into the ground, dissolving in a hissing sizzle of sparks.
Dakota sagged in his grip. He tightened his hold to keep her upright and pushed another pulse of power through their link.
“That’s exhausting,” she panted. “And it didn’t even work.”
“You did great.”
“There’s no fire.”
“But there was something. That’s more than I would have expected from a woman who didn’t even know she could channel magic this morning.”
She tilted her head back against his shoulder and looked at him. “Good point. Let’s try this again.”
“When you’re ready. There’s no rush.”
“Yes there is. That trail gets fainter by the minute. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to follow it.”
And if she couldn’t follow the trail, then they couldn’t kill the demon. And if they couldn’t kill the demon before two days had passed, then her promise to wear his luceria forever would never be fulfilled.
Liam would not allow that to happen, so he did as she asked and sent another heavy pulse of energy through their link. The connection was wider now than it had been only a moment ago, making the task easier.
Dakota went boneless in his arms, letting out the sweetest sigh of enjoyment he’d ever heard in his long life.
“So warm.” She shivered in his embrace.
The underside of her breast pressed against his forearm, and he had to fight the need to turn his palm up and cradle her soft flesh. There were other, more enjoyable ways to keep her warm. He could carry her back into the Gerai house and strip her bare. He could cover her with his body and take her slowly, making the heat build between them until it was raging out of control. Making love to her for hours would be easy. Power churned inside of him, giving him more than enough strength to please her over and over again.
“Give me more magic,” she whispered. “I want it.”
Her words helped him remember his task here. His mind had wandered to a lovely, scenic place filled with glistening skin and cries of pleasure, but that could not be.
At least not yet. Once they were permanently bound, then he could give into his baser urges. There’d be plenty of time for him to dwell on every inch of her body and give it his undivided attention. But right now, right here, he had to keep his head. He’d never before been so close to having everything he’d ever wanted. If he let it slip through his fingers now because of a lack of discipline, he wouldn’t live long enough to forgive himself.
“Then take it,” he told her. “If you want my power, come get it.”
Her breathing sped, and he could feel her body trembling in his arms. Sparks danced between them, spilling out over the cold ground.
“Mine,” she growled, her hands gripping his arms hard enough to leave marks. “I want it.”
“Reach through the luceria and take what you want. I won’t stop you.”
He felt something between them shift and strengthen. The conduit stretched and through it roared a column of power. It flowed into her, making her lighter. She began to lift from the ground, but he held her against him, refusing to let her go.
“Release the power,” he told her.
She didn’t listen. Instead, he felt her pull in more energy.
Her skin began to crackle. Sparks leapt from their bodies, spraying a shower of light out into the air. Heat built around them. His hair stood on end.
“Let it go,” he said, this time using the voice of command.
“So good.”
She was drawing in too much at one time. Panic began to nibble at the edges of his calm.
“L
et the power go, Dakota.” He tightened his hold around her ribs and gave her a small shake. “Now.”
Her soft noises of pleasure began to shift. Her pitch went higher and an edge of pain tainted her sweet voice. “Liam? What’s happening?”
“You’re pulling in too much energy,” he said, trying to keep his tone calm. “You need to let it go. Start the fire.”
She lifted her hand, but it fell back as though it were too heavy for her to support. Liam grabbed her wrist and did the job for her.
“Now, Dakota.”
She began to pant faster and faster. Her hair rose from her shoulders. A fountain of sparks spewed from her calves. The air began to hum and then light exploded in Liam’s vision. His feet left the ground. A sense of flying spun through his head, but he couldn’t see to figure out what had happened. It was only when he landed hard that he realized that he’d been knocked back.
Dakota was still in his arms, but she’d gone limp.
“Dakota? Are you okay?”
She didn’t answer. He felt her breathing and knew she was alive. It was the only thing that kept him from panicking.
He held her tight while his vision cleared to keep her from touching the cold ground.
She let out a deep groan of pain.
Liam sat up and cradled her in his lap. Her face was pale. Her hair was a wild mess. Soot stained her fingertips. His, too. He left behind smudges on her face as he stroked her cheek, trying to wake her.
“Open your eyes. Let me know you’re okay.”
Her eyelashes fluttered open. Once again he was struck by how amazingly blue they were—a rich, clear turquoise he’d never seen before.
“I’m okay,” she said.
Liam’s whole body sagged with relief. He hugged her close and rocked her, giving thanks that she was safe.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “One second I was feeling like I was bathing in happiness and the next my whole body was on fire.”
“You tried to take in too much power. It’s too soon for that.”
“I guess so. Like eating too much chocolate—it’s great right up to the point where you get sick.”
“Except chocolate isn’t likely to kill you.”
She pushed against him, so he let her sit up in his lap, but didn’t let her move away. He wasn’t completely sure she was unscathed, and until he was, she wasn’t leaving his sight.
Her gaze fixed on something in the distance. Liam followed it and saw a tree standing at one side of the cornfield. It had been snapped in half like a toothpick and the jagged remains of the trunk were smoking.
“I did that?” she asked in disbelief.
“Looks like.”
A slow, proud smile stretched her lovely mouth. “That is awesome.”
“It will be even more awesome when you don’t nearly kill yourself doing it.”
“I want to try again.”
“No. Absolutely not. It’s too soon.”
“It is not. And we don’t have a lot of time for me to get the hang of this.”
“I want to find that demon as much as you do. Perhaps more. But we can’t be careless. If this had been a real fight, we’d both be Synestryn chow right now.”
“Not if I’d killed them all first.” Excitement lit her features, making her even more beautiful than she’d been only moments ago. “I want to try again.”
It wasn’t safe, but Dakota was nothing if not independent. She had to learn things her own way at her own pace.
Time for another lesson—one he wasn’t going to enjoy teaching.
“Fine,” he said, setting her ass on the ground and rising to his feet. “But you can’t fight lying on the ground. Stand up.”
Dakota’s arms were shaking from the effort of merely supporting her weight. She tried to push herself up, but wasn’t strong enough and spilled back down to the cold ground.
Liam had to clench every muscle in his body to stop himself from reaching down to help her. This was one of those things she had to learn on her own, and it was safest if she learned it sooner rather than later.
She looked up at him, anger tightening her mouth into a small ring. Determination burned in her eyes as she tried again to get up. And once again, she was too weak to stand and landed sprawled on her side in the mud. Her jeans were wet now, and he was no longer sure if her shaking was due to fatigue or cold. Either way it took every bit of self-control to stand there and simply watch her.
Her breath came out in pale swirls of mist. “You’ve made your point.”
“Have I?” he asked.
“Magic is hard. I’m a weakling.”
“You’re not weak. You just need more time.”
She bowed her head in defeat. “How much?”
He took her hands and pulled her to her feet, using her weakness as an excuse to hold her against his body. “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s different for everyone.”
“We need to follow the trail. We can’t wait until I’m as strong as the women I saw in that vision. That could take weeks.”
Years, more likely, but he didn’t see any reason to discourage her by saying so. “We’ve already come a long way tonight. Can you feel how much our connection has grown?”
“I think so. I—” Her eyes widened and her grip on his shoulders tightened. She looked past him, out into the night. Fear sputtered through their link and he instantly recognized it as hers. He was so caught up in the new sensation—so thrilled by the thought that he could feel her emotions—that he almost missed the importance of the fear she was feeling.
“What is it?” he asked even as he spun around to face the threat.
He saw nothing in the distance but cold and dark.
“The trail,” she whispered. “I can see the end.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The demon that killed my brother. It’s here.”
Liam looked out and saw sickly green lights wink into existence, appearing amidst the line of trees across the cornfield. Glowing demon eyes. Lots of them.
Chapter Six
Dakota had wanted to find her brother’s killer so badly that she hadn’t stopped to think about what would happen when she actually did. Her focus had been on the hunt more than the reality of the kill.
Fear poured through her like ice water. Her muscles clamped tight, and she held onto Liam’s shoulders, shaking with more than weakness.
“You’re going to be fine,” he said, his tone so sure and calm that she believed him.
“I can’t even stand on my own.”
As she said the words, a rush of power slid into her, giving her limbs strength. Warmth shoved away the chill of fear and the wet denim clinging to her legs. The stinging pain in her palms where she’d scraped them on the rough cornstalks disappeared.
She recognized Liam’s power instantly and wrapped herself in it like a blanket.
“Get inside the house,” he said. “I’ll deal with this.”
Glowing green eyes appeared in the distance, revealing several demons. It had only taken one to kill her brother.
“I can’t leave you out here to fight them alone.”
He spared her a momentary glance, but that brief look was intense enough to shock her with his determination. “If anything happens to you, I’m a dead man. You’re not ready to fight yet. I need to know you’re safe. Now go so I can do my job.”
He was right. She wasn’t ready to do what she’d seen those women in the vision do. They’d practically glowed with power, radiating confidence and strength that she could only dream of having. Not once did they falter or make a mistake. And they hadn’t been afraid as she was now, shaking so hard she’d likely end up blowing Liam’s head off rather than help him.
She didn’t yet know how to use magic. A rifle on the other hand . . . that was something else altogether.
Dakota turned on her heel and sprinted for her weapons. Behind her she heard demons growl and Liam roar back in defiance. She didn’t dare stop to se
e if he was winning. The vision had shown her battle after battle that he’d fought, and she’d never seen any man as skilled with a sword or as fast on his feet as Liam was. She had to believe that this time would be no different.
Still, her fear for him beat through her, making her heart pound faster. It was only her fragile link to him that kept her moving in the right direction. She could feel his vitality, his life, through that link and she clung to the knowledge that he was safe.
It took her only a minute to find the rifle. She grabbed up an extra box of ammunition and shoved it into her coat pocket. She was slow with fatigue and her hands were sweaty with anxiety, but she managed to load the weapon.
It was then that she saw the smear of blood on the cardboard ammunition box.
She held out her hand and saw a scrape across her palm seeping blood.
That’s why the demons were here. She’d drawn them here with her blood. And now Liam was out there, fighting for his life because of her.
Shame and guilt flickered through her for an instant before she shoved it away. She refused to let another man she cared about die because of something so small. She was going to kill those demons before they could take Liam away from her, too.
She found a rise of high ground and dove onto it, lying on her stomach the way her father had taught her to do. Only a few yards away, Liam fought for his life, holding back three nightmarish monsters. Two more decapitated creatures lay at his feet. A wounded demon was limping away, dragging its injured leg, and another one was slowly closing in, searching for an opening.
The faint trail of light led to one of them, but they were all too clumped together for her to tell which one.
Rage burned inside of her, lit by her need for revenge. One of those fucking monsters had killed her brother. All of them were going to die.
Dakota took aim at the demon slinking along the ground toward Liam. It was farthest away from him and his rapid blows. He moved so fast it was hard for her to see his body flowing from one strike to the next, much less predict it. Her best bet was to pick off the ones she could without risking hitting him as well.
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