Fire

by Helen Scott

  I gave up pushing toward the other entrance and turned back to the statues. As soon as I did, the wind, or the magic, pushing me away from the door stopped, and I could stand there normally. There was something about the place that was so familiar, and it felt like it went beyond the fact that it was simply a temple. Each of the worlds had a temple or a place of worship for whatever religion had manifested over the centuries. We all prayed to different beings and things, but there was something about the temple on Atlantis that reminded me of the temple my mother used to take me to by the home I grew up in.

  Statues, windows, openings, it was all different, and yet it was all similar. What I didn't understand was why? Why did I feel this similarity, when nothing was the same as it would be at the temple I had gone to as a child? Was it just the feeling of peace I got when I was standing here? I shook my head. None of it mattered at this moment, and I could ponder the feeling later, but for right now I needed to go back and make sure Tessa was okay.

  A bird cawed from just outside the opening and I took the hint, heading out into the bright light of day once more. As I left the temple, the sight before me stole my breath. I'd known Atlantis was an island on a world that was mostly water, but seeing the horizon extend to nothing except the meeting of sky and sea was something else entirely, especially when my home had been without water since it broke away from the origin world. The only thing that had allowed us to survive was magic. Unlike my battle brothers, I could go weeks or months without water, as my people had when we'd first been separated, until we'd found a way to manipulate magic enough to manifest the small amount of water that we needed.

  It was a long while before I could move again. My gaze and my mind were so thoroughly fixed on the ocean before me. When I did I took off at a run, worried about what had become of Tessa while I had been distracted. Part of me hated Atlantis, hated all they had that they took for granted, but that didn't mean I could neglect my duties, and protecting Tessa was top of that list. While I didn't think anything would harm her while she was here, I didn't know that for sure.

  When I got to the area where we had split up and she was nowhere to be found, I started to panic. I should have brought her with me, or at least closer than at the bottom of the mountain.

  "Tessa!" I yelled her name spinning in a circle, hoping for her voice to sound in response.

  When none came I wasn't surprised. Terror crawled up my spine, making me feel sick to my stomach as I wondered what could have happened to her. There was nothing I could do except search the surrounding area. I began to circle the trees that enclosed the pathway, expanding ever outward, calling for her over and over again until I started to wonder if I'd ever find her.

  A splash of water sounded off to my left and I followed, instinct telling me that I needed to investigate. One thing that I knew I could rely on, no matter where I was or which world I was on, was my instincts. I'd spent years honing them to the best of my ability. I could fight blindfolded if needed, I could taste a multitude of poisons, anything that could threaten me, or us, and I was prepared to fight and fight well. If I didn't win then I'd give my life trying, that was one thing I was certain of. What I found in the water, though, was the one thing I could never have prepared for in my whole life.

  5

  Tessa

  "Griff!" I squeaked as my warrior appeared through the grove of trees. I'd wandered off after he'd been gone for so long, and I knew he'd be angry when he found me, but the scowl on his face spoke more of fear than anger, and that warmed my heart more than I cared to admit.

  The water that lapped at my shoulders and collar bones was warm and relaxing as he growled, "Didn't you hear me yelling for you?"

  "I'm sorry. If I would have heard, you know I'd have responded," I said gently, not moving from where I was treading water.

  "Come on, you wanted to get to the temple before everyone else, so let's go."

  "We still have time, don't we? You could come for a quick swim with me?" I asked. I wanted him to relax, to be the flirty, teasing man I'd first met instead of this gruff warrior that was standing before me. Although, I couldn't say that his attitude and fight-ready stance wasn't doing it for me because it definitely was. I felt like the guys were still so much of a mystery to me in so many ways, and yet I trusted them implicitly. I had since I'd first met them.

  My suggestion seemed to throw him for a loop, as though he couldn't quite make sense of the situation or what I was asking of him. "A swim?" he repeated as the confusion left his face and his eyes went wide. "Shit, I'm sorry," he mumbled as he turned around.

  "What are you sorry for?" I asked with a smile, as though I didn't already know.

  "I didn't realize you were naked." He sighed and gestured to my small pile of folded clothes that was sitting at the bottom of the tree next to him.

  "It's just a body, Griff," I said, trying to quell the anxiety I had about my scarred hand. If I kept it under the water, then neither of us would have to see it, and that would be for the best.

  "It's not just a body it's your body."

  "I didn't realize that my body was so horrible," I replied, trying to get a rise out of him.

  When he spun on his heels to face me, I dipped further into the water to hide my smile. The scowl on his face was enough to have me trying not to laugh. What I didn't expect was for him to start stripping. My eyes went as big as saucers as his leather top came off revealing the sinful ripples of muscle underneath, and when his hands went to his belt buckle, I turned.

  “It's just a body, Tessa." He sighed dramatically as he threw my words back in my face.

  It was a dare, that much was clear. If I expected him to be able to look at me naked without jumping me, then I had better be able to do the same. As his belt slid through the loops on his pants, I couldn't help but relish the feeling of anticipation that settled low in my belly. His fingers deftly unbuttoned his fly and as his pants slid lower. I knew I was blushing. I couldn't help it though; the man was wearing what amounted to a very small jock strap under his pants and that was it. The tiny slice of material was having trouble containing his cock, especially as it seemed to be growing as I looked at it.

  I jerked my eyes to his face and saw a satisfied smirk resting there. Part of me wanted to slap him upside the head while the rest of me wanted to ride him into tomorrow and forget about everything that was going on around us. I didn't let my gaze drift from his face. Even as I saw him get completely naked in my peripheral vision, I kept my eyes locked with his.

  It was only once he was in the water up to his waist that I allowed my gaze to move. His chest and abs were perfectly defined, with only one thing marring them, and that was a large scar right over where his heart should be. I'd never seen it before, and from the placement and angle, I was willing to bet that it was something to do with the scar being right where his leather harness sat.

  The closer he got to me the more my anticipation grew. I felt like a magnet being pulled to its other half, except I had more than one half. I was more like a lock that was able to be opened with multiple keys, so to speak. I could swear that the water was getting warmer, or maybe that was just me and the proximity to Griff. The man ran hotter than a furnace most days.

  "How'd you get the scar?" I breathed, trying to be cool and collected as we swam naked together. I was failing, but at least I was trying.

  "Training." It was all Griff said as he got close enough to reach out and touch me. He gently pushed some strands of hair out of my face, the connection between us flaring to life as he did so. I didn't know if he felt it too, or if it was just something I was imagining, but my blood seemed to turn to lava in my veins, hot and languid as it rolled through my body, warming me from the inside out.

  "Training?" I asked, a few moments later, finally breaking through the stupor that his touch put me in.

  Just like that his hand dropped, sliding silently into the water as he backed away from me slightly. I wanted to chase after him, to demand answers o
r attention, I wasn't sure which I wanted more. I held my ground though, and eventually he spoke. "I'm from El Dorado, the lost city of gold. It's not gold as you or any origin worlders imagine though. It's fire. The flames that surround the city burn a bright yellow-gold color. When I was young, I displayed an aptitude for physical strength and combat skills, so I was taken and placed into the training academy for candidates that could go to the origin world. A professor gave me this when I first arrived as a reminder that just because we were training didn't mean that the situations and weapons that we were using weren't real."

  "A teacher hurt you when you were a child?" I asked, incredulous.

  He nodded tightly. "I'm a warrior, the finest that El Dorado has to offer, and as such, I had to start somewhere. I thought I was hot shit when I got to the academy. This," he gestured to the scar, "was just a gentle reminder that I was as vulnerable and green as all the other students there. And believe me, it was only my skills with weapons and movement that kept me safe from many more scars. There were students there who ended up much worse than I did."

  This time I did swim over to him, sensing that he hated the memories that I'd brought to the surface with my questions. When I reached him his back was to me, and I slid my arms around his waist pressing myself against him. "I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry."

  “It's okay, Dove," he said, his voice just above a whisper. "I haven't been home in a long time, that's all."

  Gently, Griffin pulled my hands just far enough away from his waist so he could turn and face me. I felt his muscles pull and move under my hands, his skin sliding against my own in the delicious way that only water can provide. His arms looped around my back, and for a moment we just held each other like that as warmth and contentment spread through me in a way I hadn't felt in such a long time.

  His hands came forward and took my own from around his waist, bringing them up to his mouth and kissing my knuckles. I tensed at the contact on my scar. I wasn't used to people touching it, or even knowing about it really. The tenderness he showed as he kissed it melted my heart even further and made me wonder what I'd done to deserve such a touching display.

  When he lowered my hands into the water and pulled me against him once more, I was trembling. Not from fear or from being overwhelmed, but because I was having trouble restraining myself. I wanted to climb him like a tree, but I also recognized that he might not want to go that fast or do anything at all. What if he could only have sex on his homeworld like Finn?

  The thought of the other man cooled the fire that was burning within me. What was wrong with me? How could I want both of them? No, that was a lie. How could I want all three of them? Still a lie. Heaven help me, but I wanted Kai as well. That kiss in the kitchen haunted my dreams. I wanted all four of them. There, I said it. Maybe not out loud, but at least I admitted it to myself, and that was step one, right? Now I just had to figure out what the hell I was going to do about it.

  I glanced up at Griff only to find him watching me with curiosity sparking in his eyes. "Don't ever play poker," he said with a laugh. "Watching your thoughts fly across your face is like reading a book."

  "You're not as cryptic as you think either, mister," I huffed.

  "Oh no? Then what am I thinking now?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a small grin

  "Probably something to do with us being naked," I blurted out, when really that's what my mind had reverted to.

  "Actually, I was doing a math problem."

  "A math problem?" I frowned. How could he be doing math at a time like this?

  "Yep. If I take one woman and add four men, then that makes five people, but if my bed is only designed for three people, can all five actually fit?"

  "Your bed is designed for three?" I squeaked.

  "Mhummm," he rumbled as he scooped me up and kissed my neck. "I'm the adventurous sort."

  "I see," I panted as he rained kisses all the way from the hypersensitive part of my collar bone all the way up to my ear and then along to my jaw. My body was screaming with desire by the time he reached my mouth. As soon as we connected, I seemed to bend to his will, giving in to his dominant side with abandon as I let him position me as he wanted and just enjoyed the sensations. His tongue wound around mine, flicking and licking me between him nipping at my lower lip. As his hands grabbed my ass and held me in place, I wrapped my legs around his body, feeling his hardness exactly where I wanted to.

  When he pulled away, I whimpered at the loss of contact, and when my eyes flickered open I asked, "Why did you kiss me?"

  "Because I wanted to." He paused, studying me. "I want you, Tessa, and I'm willing to share if that's what you want. All I know is that I want to make you happy. These last few months training you and spending time with you have been some of my favorite. I don't want that to end."

  "Who said it has to?" I asked, concerned at someone trying to dictate my life.

  "No one, I'm just trying... I'm doing a shitty job at this. I'm trying to tell you how I feel. That I want more between us than friendship or a casual fuck."

  "I want that as well," I breathed. When his mouth descended on my own once more there was a hunger there, but it was tempered with tenderness, which I didn't expect. As we kissed, Griff moved us over to the edge of the lake, until both of our feet were touching the bottom of the small lake that I'd been paddling around in. I broke the kiss briefly. "I want you, Griff. I don't want to wait unless you want to."

  "Dove, you know I can't resist you," he growled, before picking me up and claiming my mouth again as he walked us both ashore.

  6

  Tessa

  The grass that was growing around the pond was thick enough that it felt like a carpet when Griff laid me down on top of it. I looked up at him and could swear that I saw fire burning in his pale eyes, a fire that warmed me to the depths of my soul. His hands traversed my body, sliding up from my waist to my breasts where he cupped them, squeezing ever so slightly before his fingers found my nipples. He flicked his fingers back and forth across the taut peaks until I broke from the kiss to moan with pleasure at the sensation. It was enough to drive me insane and have me rocking my hips up against him to try and get some friction where I needed it the most.

  "Slow down, Dove, we've got plenty of time," he whispered in my ear before nipping at the lobe.

  His mouth traveled from my ear to my neck and down to my breasts, the hot trail of his tongue leading right to my nipple as he sucked it into his mouth and swirled around it. There was nothing more I wanted at that moment than the sensation of him touching me and kissing me anywhere and everywhere. I felt like an addict, and each swipe of his tongue was getting me higher and higher.

  My hands clenched in his hair as I pulled him tightly against my chest, unwilling to let him stop the sensations he was sending over my skin. He chuckled against me, and after a moment pulled free and pushed back up to my face where he kissed the tip of my nose delicately before claiming my mouth once more.

  "My little dove, so innocent, yet so eager," he murmured against me.

  "I'm not as innocent as you seem to think," I managed, before I groaned as his hand moved from my breast to my hips and trailed inward.

  "You are to me," he said, punctuating the statement with a kiss that made me feel as though I was going to burn up from the inside out. "Now, how about I make you scream my name, so everyone in Atlantis knows that you belong to me?"

  "I don't belong to anyone," I growled, enjoying this game of dominance that we were sharing.

  "For now, you might feel differently in a few minutes." He grinned and sat back out of my reach. My gaze trailed over his body, appreciating it for the fine art that it was, especially as they locked onto his cock. The thick length jutted out from him and had my mouth watering and pussy tightening in anticipation. Just as I was about to reach for it his fingers found my core. I scowled at him for distracting me as one of his fingers parted my folds. When it slid inside me though, my head lolled back and I found myself al
most grinding against his hand with the need for more stimulus. "Watch me," he commanded.

  My eyes flicked open to find him staring at me. Just at that moment he thrust a second finger into me, taking away any protests that were going to leave my lips. I lowered my gaze until I could watch his hand as he slid his fingers in and out of me. The sight was so erotic that I all but lost my breath. This time when my eyes slid shut and my head tipped back, he didn't seem to mind. It may have had something to do with the moans that fell from my lips. When his thumb began brushing my clit, I lost my damn mind. Each stroke and circle drew me closer to the edge of my orgasm until I couldn't hold back anymore.

  A shriek escaped me, and my body clenched with the power of the rush of pleasure. Each muscle moved in a rhythmic motion that had my pussy tightening and releasing around Griff's fingers. The last thing I had expected was for him to swipe the sensitized flesh of my folds with the rock-hard head of his cock.

  "Please, Griff, don't tease me," I murmured as the head of his cock flicked against my swollen clit.

  I wasn't prepared for what happened next. With one hard thrust he was inside me, a growl erupting from him while I let out a cry of pleasure. There was nothing I loved more about sex, other than an orgasm, than the first time a man entered me. That brief moment of pain that explodes into pleasure in my mind. The feeling of my body moving and adjusting to this foreign presence. Everything in that moment was amazing.