Stormfront (Undertow Book 2)

by K. R. Conway

  Eila sat down in an upholstered wingback chair near the window and attempted to take off her boots, but bending over that far caused her to suck in a tight breath. I got down in front of her, and started unlacing them. “So besides your detour to the ground, how was your ride?”

  When she didn’t answer me, I looked up to her face. She had a weird, conflicted look to her. “What’s the matter?”

  She kept looking at me and her face scrunched in thought, “Are you sure my mark just means I have the ability to zap soul thieves?”

  “What?” I asked. I didn’t even know what spurred the question. “I believe so, yes. That’s what the legend says. And Christian called it a kill mark, so I am assuming that we’re correct. Eila – what made you – .”

  “What if it means something else? Or something more?” she asked, her eyes animated, but then her face suddenly looked more fearful.

  “You’re freaking me out a little, E. Where’s all this coming from?” I was trying to figure her out. Her sudden fear made me uneasy.

  She sighed and leaned forward ever so slightly, bringing her forehead in contact with mine. “I’m sorry. I just was riding and my mind was running with a million thoughts. You and Kian thought I was the only Lunaterra left, but the world is a big place. There may be more of my kind and what if they are hunting down Mortis, like you? Good guys, who don’t hunt humans. We just don’t know.”

  All of her points were valid, but the one thing that stood out in my mind was the fact that she called me a good guy because I didn’t hunt humans. That was going to change soon. It needed to change because I needed to be at my best to protect her. Only a human life-force could do that for me. And what if there were more Lunaterra? What if they did find out about E? Would they hunt her down? Attempt to steal her away from us?

  Good grief, the sky was falling. I needed to pull it together. She was safe with me, and our friends. There had been no Mortis in the area and her ride, aside from her fall, was uneventful.

  “I’m sorry,” she breathed, her voice causing delicate icicles to dance across my face. “I’m being obsessive. I’m just tired and my back hurts.”

  “It’s okay. We all get to freak out once in a while, especially after falling off a horse. How about you take a hot shower, and then I will check you out? I MEAN, check out your back.”

  Damn . . .

  Eila pulled back from me, but kept her face close to mine. Her eyebrow wiggled upward as she eyed me, knowingly. “Mr. Paris, just exactly what type of a girl do you take me for?”

  I didn’t hesitate. “The best type. A one-of-a-kind warrior who is kind enough to be my friend,” I said, trying to fight against the darker memories I had of her.

  Eila leaned a little closer to me. “You are far more than a friend to me,” she said quietly. For a moment I saw her again, bleeding on the floor of the coal room. But then the fear slowly gave way as I breathed her in, alive and beautiful in front of me. I could feel the tingle of the Fallen marks beginning to rise to the surface of my skin and I wanted to kiss her, fiercely. My mutinous markings were letting her know it.

  She drew a cool finger down my cheekbone, following one of the marks, and a beautiful chill followed the path of her touch. She flashed me a breathtaking smile, “Do these mean you feel the same?”

  I grabbed her wrist softly, halting her exploration of my face. Her smile fell away as I spoke, “Never doubt my feelings for you, Eila. Ever.” My voice lost its smooth quality, roughened by a want I could no longer hide.

  I studied her brown eyes, and in them I could see the connection that we had denied each other for too long. In her face was a love that ignored the darkness that I was, accepting me as a killer and trusting me as a savior.

  She bit her bottom lip, and all sane thoughts fled my head. Every decent reason I had for keeping her at arm’s length vanished, and I gently smoothed her lip with my thumb. She released a shaky breath, causing a fever-like need to shatter the wall I had so carefully maintained between us.

  I slid my hand to the back of her neck and pulled her close, admiring the autumn colors of her eyes. “I want to kiss you. I know it is not part of the deal, but I want to. Can I . . .”

  Before I could finish my question, Eila closed the small gap between our lips, igniting a riot of sensation that coursed through my body. It was as if the sun finally blazed in the sky after centuries of frozen night, and I took her face in my hands as I kissed my raven-haired angel for the first time in forever. Our lips met gently at first, but the more I tasted her and felt her bewitching burn, the more my self-control frayed.

  She ran her delicate hands over my shoulders and down my back, balling the edge of my shirt in her fingers. Small gasps escaped her when I would break from her for an instant to kiss her silken neck and flushed cheeks. Those little sounds she made could kill a lesser man, and drove me absolutely mad, sending me higher than any human soul ever could.

  I wanted to feel her, alive and vibrant, and my own hands began to boldly wander, sliding around her waist, skirting the edge of her shirt and her ribs. She slid forward on the couch, forcing our bodies into greater contact, and I forgot myself entirely.

  I ran my hands under the hem of her shirt, feeling her graceful lower back slide easily under my palms. Everywhere I touched teased my skin, like icicles drawing along my palms. I pulled her tighter, wanting to feel her electric reaction to my touch intensify, and I raced my hands up her back. But then she gasped. Really gasped, in pain.

  Her body stiffened, arching away from my touch and I snapped out of my momentary insanity. “Damn it – I’m so sorry, Eila,” I growled, ashamed I had forgotten about her abused back.

  She looked entirely flustered, as if she got caught crawling through the window after curfew. “It’s okay, Raef. Seriously.” She tried to look away from me, rolling her lips tightly together, her cheeks pink.

  I turned her face gently back to mine. “Are you . . . embarrassed?” I asked, now worried I went a little too far. I had never kissed her, nor touched her, so recklessly.

  A sheepish grin slid up her face, “I think I ignored our rules. Sorry about that.”

  “I hate rules,” I whispered, relieved as I kissed her again, softly this time, tracing my lips over the curves of her own. I knew I needed to get up – get away from her for a few moments, otherwise I might never let her leave the room again.

  Reluctantly, I pulled myself back to functional sanity, and I left E in my bathroom with a fresh t-shirt and towels. I headed down to the kitchen to find her some food, debating the possibility of throwing myself out into the harbor to calm down. As I turned the corner, I nearly collided with Kian.

  “Hey – you’re here,” I announced, which was not the smartest move. Normally I would barely acknowledge him, but Eila’s lips had rattled my brain.

  Kian eyed me warily, “No. I’m a figment of your boring imagination. Of course I’m here! What is wrong with you? You have some weird look on your face - like you’re high or something.”

  Oh, I was high on something, and she stood about five and a half feet tall and was in my shower. I just shrugged, trying to safeguard Eila’s privacy if she didn’t want anyone else knowing she was here.

  “I went hunting again. Took down a buck and a doe. Well, almost a doe. That’s all – excess energy, is all.”

  “Would that excess energy also involve a fair skinned brunette who could double as a disco ball? Because her Jeep is parked outside.”

  I had forgotten about her car and couldn’t quickly come up with a good excuse. I tightened my jaw and quietly gave in to the truth. “Fine. She’s upstairs taking a shower. She fell riding and messed up her back. She didn’t want Mae to see.”

  “Messed up her back riding, huh? Sure she doesn’t just have rug burns from you?”

  Anger cut through me instantly, and my fist connected with his jaw before I even realized I swung. The punch sent him staggering back until he hit the edge of the doorway that led to the library, wher
e all of Dalca’s things were kept.

  I began to come at him again, enraged that he dared to imagine Eila in such a degrading way. To even visualize her in such a manner. I went to swing, but he caught my curled fist, striking me in the jaw with his free hand. The hit felt like a steel bat and sent me sliding along the marble floor into the sunken living room. I had forgotten that Kian had already begun hunting humans. His hits would be harder, faster, but I didn’t care. He had insulted Eila in a way that burned me right through the gut.

  I shook my head to clear the ringing, and began to go after him again, but then I heard Eila’s voice behind me. I turned, and she was coming down the stairs, her stained t-shirt and old jeans still on. Kian and I immediately switched to a more neutral stance so she wouldn’t know we had just tried to start our own Fight Club.

  “Oh,” she said, halting on the stairs, “I didn’t know you were here, Kian. Everything all right?”

  He glanced at me, then to Eila. “Of course. I was just going to keep digging through Dalca’s journals. Ana might join me later.”

  “Really?” she asked, genuinely surprised and happy.

  He shrugged. “It will keep her mind busy.”

  She nodded, “That’s a great idea. Thank you, by the way, for helping her yesterday.”

  He shifted, looking more uncomfortable. The subject of Ana’s father was never mentioned around Kian.

  “I’m going to leave you two, so you can get back to whatever it is you have to do. I’ll be in the library.” Kian eyed me once last time as he turned to leave.

  I looked back to Eila and she gave me a shy smile. I came to the stairs and walked my way up to her, “You didn’t take a shower?”

  “I can’t raise my arms enough to get my shirt off. Do you have scissors? ‘Cause I’m just gonna cut it off – it’s old anyway.”

  “Christian probably does somewhere, but I’d need to find them,” I replied, stepping closer to her and taking the edge of her t-shirt in my hands. “Turn around,” I instructed and she gave me a curious glance, but obeyed, turning her back to me.

  With one good pull, I tore the t-shirt straight up her back, turning the top into a smock.

  “Better?” I asked.

  “Uh . . . yup,” she replied with a breathless squeak.

  12 Eila

  I spent the vast majority of Saturday up to my eyeballs in guilt.

  I hadn’t told Raef about Thor for multiple reasons, though none could ease how bad I felt about leaving him in the dark. But there was something about the man from the woods that nagged at me. I couldn’t place my finger on it yet and I needed a chance to figure it out.

  If I told the guys that some giant had approached me in the woods, I would immediately be placed back in the horrible Buddy System. Additionally, I was certain that Raef, Kian, and MJ would try to track the hunter and spy on him, or worse.

  So I kept my mouth shut, pushing Thor to the back of my mind, which wasn’t too difficult after the scorching kiss that Raef had given me.

  Holy, ever-loving crab cakes.

  Sure, I had kissed Raef before, but last night? Last night made every liplock I had swooned over in the movies look like a kindergartener’s crush. Last night I felt how much he wanted me, and it shocked me, leaving me with both a stratospheric high and a deep-set panic.

  And then there was the whole shirt-modification move.

  Dear heavens.

  But he was also a complete gentleman when he checked over my back, putting ointment on the few small cuts I had from hitting the road. But all I could think about while he tended my bruises was that kiss and the nerves it brought with it.

  Maybe I was freaking out for no reason - Raef would never push me into something that I wasn’t ready for. But that kiss wasn’t the end-of-the-road type kiss, but a turn in the road that led to a new place. A place I knew I wasn’t ready for.

  Plus, Raef had lived for nearly two centuries, and had loads of experience with female soul thieves. While I had never met one, I could only imagine what they looked like. I mean, if the guys looked as insane as Raef, Kian, and Christian . . . yeah.

  And it wasn’t like I picked apart my flaws in the mirror, but hell – Mortis females? The contrast between the women Raef was used to and me was like comparing a Stealth bomber to a paper airplane. For the first time in my life, I doubted how I looked.

  Plus, I had no experience with guys and my idea of undie excitement was a plaid sports bra from the discount store. Somehow I doubted that is where the killer chicks selected their intimates.

  Actually, I did kiss another boy once in second grade. He dared me over a bag of M&Ms and I had a chocolate addiction. That kid was so not worth the candy. Raef, I knew, was completely worth the calories. Me, however? I probably was more along the lines of artificial sweetener, which is never as good as the cane sugar.

  By the time Sunday night rolled around, I had twisted myself into such a knot of stress that even Ana knew something was up. She eyed me carefully as we shared the bathroom mirror, getting ready for the football game.

  “So are you going to cough up the details on what happened at Christian’s on Friday or not?” she asked, running her hands through her short cropped blonde hair. I had already given Ana the whole story about falling while riding, and how I went to Torrent Road to avoid Mae.

  I shrugged, hoping I could deflect her questions. “I already told you. I just took a shower, had some dinner, and came back here.”

  Ana twisted her body and hopped up onto the counter, leaning right into my line of sight, as a devious smile curled onto her pale pink lips.

  I laughed, trying to push her out of the way, but Ana was like a bloodhound, hot on the trail of something. “Eila Walker, you better spill! I know I am not getting the full details – your emotions are all over the map and I definitely get an undertone of LUST in there!”

  I blushed hot and my mind went to a vivid flash of Raef’s hands running across my back. Ana’s eyes widened, no doubt catching the heated emotion rolling off my body. Only I would have a human lie-detector for a BFF, making secrets entirely pointless. But then I panicked, worried she would somehow get a hint about what really happened in the woods.

  Ana’s face instantly fell the moment my attitude changed. “Eila – what happened?” she asked, now serious, concern written all over her face. I sighed, dragging a brush through my hair yet again.

  “He kissed me. Or rather, I kissed him. Actually, we basically kissed each other.” I tossed the brush in a drawer and dug around looking for a hair elastic.

  I could feel Ana’s eyes boring a hole through the top of my head as she watched me look through the drawer. “And you . . . didn’t like it?” she questioned, clearly trying to sort out why my emotions were all over the map.

  “Oh no. I liked it – a lot. I think he did too,” I replied, finally recovering a wayward hair tie. I refused to meet her eyes, choosing instead to study my reflection in the mirror as I pulled my long, dark hair to one side of my neck and began braiding. Primping wasn’t my thing. Like, ever. Basics. I liked the basics. I WAS basic.

  Ana scooted over slightly, giving me more room, “So then why do I KNOW I am missing some vital piece of intel?”

  I glanced at her, refusing to answer and her eyes narrowed. She huffed, crossing her arms. “Fine then. I’ll just guess. Umm - his breath stank?”

  “What? NO!” I laughed.

  “Too much tongue? Too little? None at all?”

  “WHAT?” I screeched.

  “His hands were too rough? Too adventurous?” she demanded, and I was laughing while trying to make her stop. I finally gave in, “ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! Stop!” I choked.

  She gestured for me to get on with the details. I looked at her for a long moment. “The kiss was amazing. It was, but . . .”

  “BUT?”

  I sighed. “Have you ever seen a female Mortis?” I asked.

  Ana looked completely confused. She shook her head, “No. Why?”

>   I finished braiding my hair, wrapping the tie to the end. I walked out of the bathroom to my room and Ana followed. I began rummaging through my closet for a sweatshirt to wear.

  “Well?” demanded Ana from her perch on the corner of my four-poster bed.

  I sorted through my hanging clothes, finally answering her. “The kiss was killer and, I don’t know, felt different. More . . . uh, you know – heat between us. But afterward I got to thinking about how Raef is, ya know, experienced . . .”

  “And you’re not,” finished Ana. “I get that. I do. But Raef isn’t expecting you to be experienced, so don’t feel like you should be a smooching superstar.”

  “No, I know that,” I continued, yanking a gray sweater from a hanger. I walked out of the closet and changed into a tank top while I continued talking. “It’s just that I could really feel what he wanted – really wanted. And I am not ready to go much beyond the kissing thing. Yet. What if that drives him nuts?”

  Ana pulled her feet up under her. “Even if it does drive him nuts, Raef won’t go much past the kissing part anyway, and never without your say-so. Kian wouldn’t with me either – it’s too risky, so stop stressing about that,” she replied, suddenly finding the details in the engraved wood of my bed SUPER interesting.

  I glared at her, recognizing avoidance when I saw it. “Exactly how far did you and Kian get last summer?” I asked, now suspicious of the petite blonde on my bed.

  Her face started to flush. “We, uh, got around most of the bases, just no homeruns,” she said, finally flashing a huge grin, but it slowly slipped away. A sadness crept into her body and she picked at the wood. “One night we did go pretty far, but . . .”

  “But?” I demanded, now dying to know all the details of last summer.

  “But my Dad had a heart attack,” she said quietly.

  I knew the rest of that story and I felt bad that I had dragged her mind back to those painful days. Ana slid off my bed, her mood quiet.

  “Ana . . .” I started, but she just shrugged.