Charred Heart (#1, Heart of Fire)

by Lizzy Ford

  “This is just foolish,” he said with more heat than he intended. “You’ve got nowhere to go, and the cabin won’t let you out anyway. Why would you do this?”

  Her breathing was erratic, her body tense.

  “I’ll fix you up once and that’s it,” he said.

  “You have a magic cabin.” There was both awe and confusion in her voice.

  He placed one arm around her waist to keep her warm, soft body close and maneuvered her close to the fire, jostling her without letting her fall.

  He sat on a stool then motioned for her to sit in front of him on the ground. She glanced around then did so, seating herself cross-legged.

  Chace took one hand and summoned the supplies he’d need to fix her up. They appeared on the table beside him, and she winced.

  “How many shifters have you helped slaughter?” he asked. He felt her gaze on him, her consternation clear.

  “None.”

  “But you admitted to helping others track them.”

  “Yeah. We haven’t had to kill any, though. We just take them in.”

  “To where?” He pulled one hand free of its manacle and carefully began to clean her forearm and wrist of blood.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Fixing you up.”

  “But why?” The exasperation in her voice was enough to make him look up. Meeting her gaze was dangerous, because the familiar bloom of desire flared to life within him.

  “Obviously, I don’t want you dead,” he said, amused.

  That just seemed to confuse her more, and she shook her head.

  “Where do you take the shifters?” he asked again.

  “Somewhere where they can be rehabilitated and made safe for human society,” she replied.

  “Rehabilitated?” he repeated, lowering his hands. “What right do you have to do that?”

  “What right do you shifters have to set buildings on fire and kill innocent humans?” she retorted.

  “I have never hurt anyone. Not at the storage facility in Phoenix or anywhere else!”

  “Whatever.” She yanked her hand back from him. “Don’t bother to fix me. You’ll just fry me anyway when you get what you want.” She stood and went back to the hook in the middle of the cabin. The manacle didn’t respond to her, and she tugged at it in frustration.

  His magic was slipping again, getting ready to turn him into his other form whether or not he wanted it to. Chace closed his eyes for a moment, willing himself to calm down. The fire was already growing, a sign he hadn’t been able to make it five minutes with the slayer before his emotions got the best of him.

  “Sorry.” There was a tremor of fear in her voice. “Just, um, don’t flip out.”

  He was tense enough that her soft touch on his forearm made him snap. Chace snatched her arm and twisted, yanking her to the ground and holding her in place beneath him with his weight. He pinned her wrists above her head

  Fear fluttered across Skylar’s expression. She didn’t try to fight him but gazed up at him with blue eyes that helped ground him, her breathing irregular and face flushed. Her tongue flickered out to wet her lips, drawing his gaze towards the plush lips he’d experienced several times already.

  The tension between them was thick, his body remembering too clearly what it had been like to lie on top of her like this before, except without clothes. Her large breasts were pressed to his chest, her rounded hips against his crotch. He was inches from the mouth whose flavor made him want to dive in head first, even if she meant to kill him later.

  “No dragon craziness,” she whispered. “Okay? Just … stay like this until you’re … uh, calm.”

  Chace liked the way her body felt too much to argue. He lowered his head to her neck. She flinched, and the pulse at her neck was rapid.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, sensing her fear. Something about you drives me insane.

  Closing his eyes, he focused on the musk of her skin and the peach essence of her hair, letting it wind through his senses the way the world did when he was in his dragon form. It stirred his blood in a different way than he was used to, tugging at his magic like his emotions did – without releasing it. He listened to her uneven breathing for a long moment before he realized something very, very different was going on inside him.

  The magic was receding. In his thousand years as a shifter, it had never backed off. Some days, he was able to postpone the inevitable shifting until he was some place safe and private, where no one would see or get hurt. But it had never, ever calmed of its own accord like this.

  Was it … could it be her? The dragon slayer who came to kill him?

  That makes no sense.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Right now? Praying you don’t eat me.” Her light tone indicated she tried to joke, but he heard her fear. “Sex makes you calm. If you need a little peck on the cheek or something, I’m game. Rather that than be turned into fried chicken.”

  “Don’t tempt me.” His body surged with desire in response to her tongue-in-cheek offer. He wasn’t at all certain he’d have the same sense of humor in a similar situation, but her disarming delivery and soft tone took the edge off his tumbling emotions.

  He digested her words, realizing she was right. Once before, the night they’d met, she’d managed to soothe the dragon side of him while they made love. Was it her or was it what she said? Sex? Physical contact? Something else?

  It didn’t seem possible that she was so unaware of what shifters were really like or what effect she had on him. Was she that crafty of a liar? Reviewing what little he knew of her, he was having trouble convincing himself either way. She’d taken his bait at the warehouses and surrendered to save the innocent people she was convinced he went around eating for dinner. That took guts, especially after he burned through her lasso.

  But she openly admitted that she’d kill shifters if they didn’t go with her voluntarily.

  “Something isn’t right here,” he said finally.

  Whatever she was and whatever she lied about, she was scared right now, and no part of him pitied her. Fear was the least she deserved for hurting his kind.

  Chace assessed his magic once more, unable to accept that it had just decided to go dormant. A glance at his hands indicated that his nails were back to normal.

  Unable to account for what was causing his magic to retreat, he eased off Skylar’s body, straddling her hips and releasing his grip on her hands. He sat back and gazed down at her, not at all certain what to think of someone who seemed both unaware of the horrors she committed yet determined to continue doing them.

  She moved slowly around the lethal predator, and sat up, pulling her legs out from under him.

  “Fix your wrists,” he told her curtly, motioning to the first aid kit on the table behind her. “Then it’s back to hanging from the ceiling.”

  “Great. Can’t wait.” The sarcasm in her voice was lost in its breathless quality. Her hands trembled as she reached up to grab the kit.

  “This rehabilitation,” he started. “You brainwash people? Pull out their fangs?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, focus on her wrists. “My job is just to find you and turn you over. I don’t think the rehab program is that bad. We all go through some form of it before we’re allowed to integrate into society.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Slayers. We’re born with magic that lets us find you guys. We have to be trained, too, so we can use our magic right. It’s done in the same facility as the rehab program. We call it the reprogramming tank.”

  “Reprogramming.” He wasn’t able to keep the anger out of his voice. “I wasn’t born a shifter.”

  She looked up at him. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really,” he replied.

  “Maybe that’s why I can’t track you,” she murmured pensively. “Or rather, I can only when I’m near enough for you to turn me into fried chicken.”

  “Good to know.”


  Her gaze flickered to him then away again quickly.

  “If I leave, do I need to tie you or will you stay here?” he asked.

  “Well …” she glanced around. “You’re totally freaking me out.”

  At least she’s honest. It was a strange combination: honesty and lethality.

  He said nothing, though, watching her expertly and quickly dress her wrists. By the smooth, practiced motions, he began to think that this was part of her training.

  “What did your family think of your reprogramming?” he asked, unable to pinpoint what was off about her. “You leave the house normal and come back with a taste for blood?”

  “I don’t have a family,” she replied easily.

  “You did at some point.”

  “They died when I was young. Probably got eaten by moody dragons,” she said pointedly.

  This keeps getting weirder. Something wasn’t right about her story, and he wasn’t entirely certain she was going to be any help. After all his years alive, he knew a thing or two about the darker side of humanity. She didn’t question the story she’d been fed, but he did.

  “What if you did have a family?” he pushed. “What if your reprogramming just made you forget them?”

  “You think I was brainwashed,” she said, a troubled expression flickering across her features.

  “Sure looks that way. I’ve got a thousand years of knowledge under my belt, and this shit you’re saying makes no sense. You’ve never questioned any of this?”

  “Yeah.” The expression she gave him was thoughtful. “But what does it matter? My job is to keep you from eating people.”

  “I don’t …” His magic stirred with his anger.

  She froze, staring at him, fear in her gaze again.

  Chace stood and crossed to the door. This time, the magic ignored his silent plea to leave him alone. What made it listen while he was lying on top of her and not the next time he asked?

  “By the way, this is not a dragon scale.” He yanked open a drawer of the small desk near the door and pulled free the weapon she’d tried to use against him. “This is sandstone. Dragon scales aren’t rigid like this. They shift and bend. They have to – it’s part of my defensive mechanism.”

  He snapped the stone knife in his hands and dropped it on the desk.

  “Okay. Chill, dragon” she whispered. She set aside the first aid kit, her wrists bandaged.

  Chace sensed she was debating making a run for it. He reached down and took her forearms, pulling her to her feet.

  “Don’t,” he warned her.

  The connection of her skin made the magic inside him pause while it incited his blood.

  “Being good,” she responded. “Just tie me up and do your thing.”

  “Ditching the girl scout thing again, I see,” he observed, unable to help the smile that tugged free.

  “If that what it takes,” she retorted, face growing red. “I definitely didn’t not enjoy it last time.”

  She ducked her head, confusion on her features. She seemed hard to ruffle, confident and unflappable with a quick wit, which made her blush all the more charming. He had a feeling she’d respond to his kiss just as eagerly as she had before, even if she was also scared of him transforming into the human-eating beast she considered him.

  He willed the manacles to reform around her wrists then lifted her hands above her head quickly enough to put her off balance. Her body collided with his, and sparks of a different kind of fire went though him. Her breath caught, her gaze on his mouth, and they stood frozen for a moment.

  Chace waited for the hook to move and slide under the chain between her bound hands then traced her arms and sides again, his palms settling on her hips.

  Her breathing was erratic, like his, the faint scent of her arousal apparent to his delicate senses.

  Skylar met his gaze, studying him closely. “You’re starting to turn again.”

  “I could just leave,” he said, the offer clear.

  “You could,” she agreed, the light of need in her eyes. “Or you could untie me and I can help you calm down.”

  I need to keep my distance. He hesitated.

  It was enough of a pause for her to lean forward and brush her lips to his again.

  “Is this some ruse to escape?” he asked.

  “One way to find out,” she said cheerfully.

  Chace withdrew, eyeing her. She was smiling.

  “I have an idea,” he decided.

  Before she could ask him about it, he kissed her, hard and quick, his arms wrapping around her. She responded with the hunger he anticipated that made his arousal turn near-feral.

  “Let me down,” she ordered softly against his mouth.

  “Hell no.”

  He kissed her quiet then shifted his hands down, tracing her hips and ass before moving to unfasten her pants. He broke away to push them down her body and took off her shoes to slide them completely off.

  “Come on, Chace!” she urged.

  Instead of standing, Chace knelt and took her bare ass in his hands, pressing his nose to the apex of her thighs.

  “Just tell your magic cabin to …”

  His tongue flicked between the folds of her sex to reach the swollen clit.

  She gasped.

  Chace lifted one of her thighs over one shoulder then the other, willing the cabin to make sure the cuffs didn’t hurt her wrists again while she dangled from the ceiling.

  He buried his face into the soft, slick center of her womanhood, hungrily drinking from her core then tracing the path between her opening to the tiny button of a clit with his tongue. Her scent drove him insane with need. This time, though, he needed to make her come, to feel her body shudder around him and hear her call his name the way she had weeks before.

  Her firm thighs clenched his head, her heels digging into his back as she strained to intensify the sensations.

  This is heaven. Chace licked and lapped at the clit, listening to Skylar’s gasps and murmurs to guide him. He released her bottom with one hand to slide fingers into her core and moved them in and out slowly to match the rhythm of his tongue stroking the sensitive skin between her nether lips and suckling the clit.

  “Let me down, Chace!” Her demand was breathless, more of a groan. “I want you inside me.”

  He almost relented, unable to think of anything he wanted more than to feel her slick, tight, hot sheath gripping his dick. He forced himself to stay where he was with this head between her thighs, savoring her sweet flavor and gently torturing her with his mouth and teeth. His fingers worked her G-spot at a slow, unrelenting pace while his lips and tongue swirled, sucked and tickled the sensitive clit.

  Her body stiffened around him, her thighs clenching his head while she tilted her hips towards him and arched her back in a sign she was close to coming. He slowed his pace and received a kick in the back from one heel in response.

  “I can stop now,” he teased, lifting his head from the core of her womanhood.

  “Please don’t!” Her voice carried a desperate note.

  He freed his fingers from her core and gripped her ass hard to hold her in place, leaning forward to taste her again then run it along the sensitive path to her clit. He licked her hard and slow.

  Her tense body shuddered in anticipation with each flicker of his tongue. He circled the straining clit then sucked hard.

  “Oh, god!” Skylar cried as her orgasm broke.

  Chace lifted his head as her body began convulsing. Her breathing was ragged, and he slid a finger into her core again to feel her tight sheathe ripple around it.

  Her body climaxing was almost too much. Her scent intensified, her soft gasps turning him on almost beyond control. He waited as long as he could for her pleasure to calm then slid her thighs off his shoulders and stood.

  Her face was flushed, her eyes glowing.

  Chace wrapped one arm around her and kissed her hard, one hand sliding down her belly once more towards her core. He slid fing
ers inside of her, loving the sensation of her orgasm as it gripped his fingers in waves.

  His magic had retreated again, but it was the woman in his arms who had his attention. She was kissing him passionately, silently trying to cajole him into staying. Every part of him wanted to slide his hands around to her perfect ass and pull her onto his hips then drag her into bed for the next day, week, month, year. However long it took to satiate the inhuman need to claim her.

  But her strange claims about rehabilitation nagged at him, made him think he wasn’t the only one who was oblivious to what was going on. She, too, didn’t know a thing about what really went on beyond the surface of the slayers’ duties.

  One of us has to figure this shit out.

  Reluctantly, he dropped his hands and moved away, determined to find someone to help him unravel this mystery.

  “You aren’t going to finish what you started?” she asked, dazed and surprised.

  “The cabin will let you put on your clothes and clean up in the bathroom,” he answered shortly. “But you can’t leave.”

  Chace dressed fast and left, before the beautiful woman with sexiest body he’d ever seen and the calming touch could completely derail him, make him stay in bed with her for days instead of uncovering what was going on.

  I need to keep my distance. With a sinking feeling, he began to wonder if it was too late for that.

  Chapter Ten

  Mr. Nothing didn’t respond when Chace went searching for him in the last two places they’d met. Fed up after a few hours of waiting, Chace went to the bar, hoping at least Mr. Nothing would eventually respond to the text he sent.

  He sat in his normal corner, tapping the sweating glass of beer before him. It was his favorite amber ale, available only during autumn. Normally, he drank it like others did water.

  “So you’re saying these slayers are behind the disappearances of our shifters, who have been taken somewhere to be brainwashed,” Gunner said slowly.

  “But the slayers themselves are also brainwashed,” Luke added.

  Chace’s eyes flickered from one to the other. Gunner appeared equal parts thoughtful and concerned while Luke’s brow was furrowed in confusion. Max sat with them, the burly man on edge.