Fire's Daughter

by India Arden

  Up until that day, I’d never been kissed by anyone—not like that. But when Rain’s lips met mine, I didn’t have time to marvel over locking lips with two different men in such a short span of time. Rain’s kiss was as unlike Ember’s as water is from fire. There was just as much force behind it, but it swept in smoothly, parting my lips and claiming my tongue. Soft, and wet, and inexorable. He kissed with the confidence of someone who couldn’t be denied, and he stole my breath as surely as the outgoing tide.

  Luckily, he still had his arms around me when we eventually eased his lips from mine. My knees were literally weak. “As much as I’d love to keep you all for myself,” he said softly, “I’d better let everyone else know I found you. To say they’re worried is the understatement of the year.”

  He thumbed in a quick text to the guys, thanked the search party and told them that Princess had been found, then looked deep into my eyes and said, “Let’s get you home…Aurora.”

  We took the long way back to the warehouse, switching cars three times and walking the last several blocks. When Rain described the Bonding to me, I couldn’t help but wonder how long my brother had known about this phenomenon, and where, exactly, our educations had diverged. Yes, I’d been well aware that his Arcane knowledge ran deeper than mine, but the realization of everything he’d kept from me was a difficult one to wrap my head around.

  It pained me that I couldn’t be more help to my guys. If they could get a handle on this Arcane Bonding, then so many of our problems would be solved. How much better would it be to handle situations that threatened to turn ugly by simply disappearing? The Bonding seemed to be the ultimate in nonviolent solutions. If only they could make it work at will.

  Back at the warehouse, there were relieved hugs and kisses all around—though none with as much tongue as the kiss Rain planted on me back at the gas station. Once the other three guys had given me a squeeze to prove to themselves that I was okay, we settled in for a serious talk about our next move over a quick meal of peanut butter crackers and energy drinks.

  Sterling said, “Obviously, we can’t stay here. Sidehustle led the SWAT team practically to our door.”

  Zephyr said, “But I checked the video surveillance, and the disappearing act couldn’t have come out more freaking cool. It was like, poof, he’s there, then he isn’t, and then, bam! This flaming sigil right where he was standing. Just like some Vegas magician. Totally.”

  “And the cops?” Ember asked.

  “Spent the next couple of hours combing through the overgrown field, then went back the way they’d come.”

  Ember scowled in thought. “That doesn’t mean they won’t be back.” A golden flicker danced across his eyes. “Rain, you and Zeph pack up everything we can’t replace, and be ready to move. Sterling and I will scout a new location, and we’ll leave at dawn.”

  Sterling cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t we get a vote?”

  Color pinked Ember’s cheeks. “Fine, everyone in favor?”

  The other three men raised their hands. “Aye.” And then they all looked at me expectantly.

  “What?” I asked.

  Zephyr said, “If there’s a reason you didn’t vote, let’s hear it. It’s always best to weigh all the options.”

  No reason, other than the fact that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had any say whatsoever in my own fate. I shook my head, raised my hand, and said, “Aye.”

  The next few hours were a flurry of activity, but frankly, I had the sneaking suspicion I wasn’t entirely useful. Not only did I have no idea what was of use among all the odd merchandise, but I hadn’t the faintest idea how to pack. On the rare occasions I’d left the compound, all the arrangements had been handled for me. And as much as I tried to fake it, Rain and Zephyr must’ve known I wasn’t any particular help. “Why don’t you get some sleep?” Rain suggested, after I packed the fourth tube of toothpaste. “We’ll need someone on our team tomorrow who’s at least marginally alert.”

  I wanted to protest, but not only did I think there was some merit in his idea, but I was tired to the bone. I slipped into the pink Princess room they’d created for me and eased myself onto the wad of packing foam and sheets and did my best not to wallow in the grief I felt over having to give up the room—the very first place in which I’d felt cherished.

  A small knock sounded at the door, and Zephyr poked in his head. “Hey, I’m not bothering you, am I?”

  “It’s fine. I’m still awake.”

  He turned on a string of fairy lights, shouldered the door shut behind him, then shoved his hands in his pockets and stood there awkwardly. Stuffing his hands in there was no mean feat. His pen-decorated jeans were so ultra-skinny, they looked like they’d been painted on. He shuffled his feet in his mismatched Chucks, and I realized he was at a loss for words—which was nearly as shocking as seeing everyone disappear.

  “So, I’m totally not a pig,” he said.

  “O…kay.”

  “That thing I said before—and especially that gesture—it wasn’t even me. I just mimic the type of things cool guys say to try and convince myself I know what I’m doing. I totally suck with the ladies. I’ve always hoped Rain’s confidence would rub off on me, but it never has.”

  I wouldn’t consider myself much of a judge of character, but Zephyr really did strike me as sincere. Frankly, he’d been nothing but sweet and deferential toward me since I met him. In fact, he’d even managed to make me like him a little bit. Even when I thought he was willing to kill me.

  “I believe you.”

  He brightened. “You do?”

  “I’ve known enough real creeps in my day to get the difference.”

  His pale eyes darkened and he went serious. “Did they hurt you?”

  “I think I dodged a bullet, for sure.”

  He crossed the room and folded to his knees beside the makeshift bed, grabbed my hand in both of his, and said, “The thought of anyone—anyone—lifting a single figure against you stirs up something inside me that I didn’t even know was there. Does that make sense?”

  I nodded. I felt a deeper connection to these Rebels that went beyond normal understanding.

  “These creeps you mentioned. Were they there, back there at the park?”

  I swallowed dryly and nodded.

  His eyes darkened further. Unlike Ember’s, which flickered pale, Zephyr’s irises grew stormy. “That thing I said about shutting you up might’ve been BS. But those guys? I see them again? I might not be able to stop myself….”

  “Let’s all calm down.” We looked up and found Rain lounging in the doorway. Zephyr didn’t seem particularly surprised he was there. “No one’s shutting up anyone right now. Unless it’s with a kiss. You did kiss her, Zeph…didn’t you?”

  Zephyr closed his stormy eyes, steeled himself, and came in for the kiss. It should’ve felt weird, him doing it in front of Rain like that. But after he’d suggested it, somehow, it made sense. Or maybe I just wanted it to. Zephyr’s breath caught and played across my lower lip in a way that sent a shiver straight down my spine. He wasn’t a confident kisser, not like Rain, but he was wound up so tightly that my own excitement ratcheted up to meet his. He tasted like the first breath of winter, probably because he’d just eaten a Tic Tac. But underlying that trace of peppermint was something that ran far deeper, hinting at forces that could stir curtains or knock down houses. His tongue toyed with mine, then retreated. Unsure. But hopeful.

  And when Rain stepped over me to settle against my back again, I shivered, and sighed against Zephyr’s mouth. Rain pressed his lips to the back of my hair. “This doesn’t happen unless you want it,” he said.

  Nervously, Zephyr added, “Although I will point out that we’re not likely to get another chance anytime soon where no one else will barge in on us.”

  “Shh,” Rain chided him, and the word hissed tantalizingly across my scalp. “Don’t oversell it.” His hand slid down my thigh, and need blossomed hot and hungry between my legs.
“It makes you look desperate. And, believe me, this proposal is definitely a win-win…win.”

  He eased his hand lower and trailed his fingertips across my inner thigh. I wasn’t just turned on—I was suddenly drenched. My entire body tingled with the need to be touched, and my nipples peaked against my bra.

  I didn’t merely want these men—I needed them. Words failed me, but my body understood what it had to do. I clasped Zephyr’s head, knocking off his hat, threaded my fingers through his long hair, and drew him into another kiss. Deeper, this time. And when our tongues slid together, it was mine coaxing a reaction from his.

  “Does anyone have a condom?” Rain asked.

  Zephyr shook his head. I was too blown away to answer. What would I say? I’ve never needed one.

  “It’s all good.” Rain’s words sent mini-shockwaves rippling across my scalp. “Anyone who thinks the only way to get off is by shoving Tab A into Slot B is showing a serious lack of creativity.”

  Given that there were two Tab As involved, I wasn’t exactly surprised we’d need to be creative.

  When Rain slipped the T-shirt over my head, I shivered. Partly from anticipation, and partly from the cold. But then I felt the telltale flex of Arcane energy, and the air around us warmed. “Don’t waste your magic on making me comfortable,” I said against Zephyr’s mouth.

  “Hardly a waste,” he said. “When I touch you, it’s like I’m plugged in, and the power supply has no limit.”

  Rain said, “Same here.”

  Was he using the Arcana to make me wet? I didn’t think that ability was in the Water Master’s repertoire…. Then again, Rain didn’t need magic to get me aroused.

  He slipped out of his shirt, and chest hair tickled my back. as he rubbed up against me. “You feel so good,” he murmured. “I could get used to this.”

  So could I—scary thought.

  It seemed reckless to get attached to anything when we didn’t even know where we’d lay our heads tomorrow. And yet, maybe that uncertainty was part of the reason I craved these men so badly. I needed something in my life to count on. Something to look forward to.

  Zephyr slipped a hand down the front of my yoga pants. “Is this okay?” He breathed against my lips. I nodded. “Oh my God,” he whispered, and worked a single finger past the elastic waistband of my panties. “So wet.”

  I shivered violently, not just because someone was touching me there, but the need in his voice answering the need in my body. Rain slipped his hands down the back of my pants and eased them down my thighs. He cupped my ass two-handed, kneading and squeezing, rumbling his approval against the nape of my neck. I arched my back to encourage him. He wet his forefinger and slipped it between my legs from behind, daubing it in my wetness. I writhed between the two men, unsure who I was straining toward, but hungering for their touch. The three of us moved together, strangely synchronized. Rubbing. Touching. Aroused.

  My hands fell to Zephyr’s waistband and I struggled with those skinny jeans. Behind me, Rain took that as his cue to lose his jeans as well. He got out of his quicker than Zephyr—much less struggling—and then I felt it.

  His cock.

  He pressed it into the cleft of my ass. Not as if he would sink in, but to stroke the length of it up and down between my cheeks. His breath hissed across my bare shoulder and we both moaned. “Your skin is like silk,” he said. “I want to touch you everywhere. All of it.”

  He was in a good position to do it, too. His upper hand roamed the length of my side, from shoulder to ribs to knee, tracing every peak and valley. By the time Zephyr finally got his jeans off, my whole body was tingling. And when he pressed his mouth to my aching nipple, I started spiraling toward my peak.

  Somehow, they knew. Either it was my surprised gasp, or the way I stiffened all over…or that elusive thread I felt when either of them worked magic, the pull of the Arcana. “Mm, yeah,” Rain murmured, and humped his hard cock against my cleft with actual purpose. “If this is what sex is like on Arcanum….”

  “So good,” Zephyr breathed, a caress against my wet nipple. He slipped his hand between my legs again, parted my folds.

  “Wait,” I said. “Make it last.”

  “She’s so close,” Rain said, nudging Zephyr’s hand away from my needy clit. “Can’t you feel it too?”

  Zephyr’s breath hissed. “I know, but….”

  “Self-control isn’t exactly his strong suit,” Rain murmured. “Maybe you should distract him.”

  When I reached for Zephyr, the small part of me that was observing the experience in shocked, prudish detachment said, You’re touching a dick.

  I am, I answered firmly.

  And I wanted it.

  Zephyr was rock hard, so turned on that his cock pointed straight up. When I wrapped my hand around the length, he arched into me hungrily and made a tiny, broken noise in his throat. I had no idea how to stroke it, and it didn’t seem to matter. Just the fact that there was contact at all had him squirming with pleasure.

  And then Rain wrapped his hand around mine. “Set a rhythm,” he said. “And squeeze a little harder. He won’t break.”

  This is actually happening, I thought, even after he let go of my fist to cup both of my breasts and hump his thick length against my ass. I imagined it inside me…both of them inside me…and my sex clenched greedily at the thought of being filled and filled and filled.

  Rain breathed into my hair, and said, “Now tell me, Princess, how may I serve you? Your wish is my command.”

  I don’t think the answer he wanted was yes, but it was the only word my brain would produce. Thankfully, Zephyr was never without words, even in the middle of a three-way. “I used to think two mouths and four hands were pretty useful for showing a girl a good time…but even with that advantage there’s only so much ground you can cover.” I felt him flex his Arcane power even as I saw the Air sigil on his solar plexus glow blue-white, like a bright-hot neon tube pulsing just beneath his skin. But before I could open my mouth to ask what he planned on doing, the air around me stirred, then hummed. I wasn’t sure if it tickled, or itched, or…my back arched as every exposed inch of my skin buzzed. Softly, at first, then building in intensity.

  But there were a few places that air couldn’t reach—not with Rain’s dick sliding up and down against my rump, and not with my legs closed. My arousal climbed high, then plateaued just beyond reach of an indescribable peak.

  Rain sighed into my hair. No doubt the atmospheric vibrator was working him over, too. “This gives me an idea for an incredibly stimulating jacuzzi….”

  Zephyr focused, and the air around us all rippled and thrummed. Erogenous zones blossomed all over my body, from the soles of my feet to the tender spots inside my elbows to the tip of my chin. The sensation was inescapable, however I shifted, however I squirmed, there was nowhere to go where I wasn’t being stroked and sucked and vibrated.

  At some point, I realized, there was nothing to do but give over to the pleasure. Something shifted inside me as my peak became inevitable, and in the way I sensed the budding of an Arcane event as a subtle shift in the atmosphere, Zephyr and Rain felt the build of my release. “Now,” Rain said, twirling both my nipples in a grip that skirted deliciously on pain, while Zephyr slipped a hand between my legs to touch me in a place the air couldn’t reach. He flickered his fingers over my clit so deftly, my orgasm slammed in like a sudden storm. I bucked into his hand. Breathless. Straining.

  And finally, replete.

  “Don’t suffocate her,” Rain said.

  “S’okay, dude, mouth-to-mouth is on the way.” The air-tingles abated as Zephyr’s lips met mine. All traces of Tic-Tac were gone. He tasted like the ozone looming after a lightning strike. Vaguely, I was aware of semen cooling on my belly and low back. But mostly I was reveling in the gentle aftershocks of my climax and struggling against the silken grasp of sleep.

  30

  I was alone when I woke. Disoriented. It felt like the thing that had happened last
night with Zephyr and Rain must have been a dream—wish-fulfillment, perhaps. But I was naked…I never sleep naked. And the bed-pile smelled like sex.

  A bottled water and neatly folded washcloth, still with tags on it, sat beside me. I cleaned up with half the water and drank the rest, then took one final look around the Princess room. I’d always figured the first time I was intimate with a man, it would be in the compound, on a king-sized bed with fresh sheets, and maybe silk handcuffs. I never pictured a disused office hung with pink bedspreads and twinkling with fairy lights.

  And I never thought I’d actually enjoy it.

  I found Ember and Rain in the warehouse doing a final round of packing. The shoe bin was upended, with several women’s shoes paired off. “‘Morning, Princess,” Rain called out. The condescending edge I’d originally heard in that word was gone. Having it whispered into my hair in that sexy voice while we were grinding together put a whole new spin on it. “No glass slippers whatsoever. But I dug up some hiking boots that look promising.”

  I went over to the shoes and slipped my foot into one, then the other. Was it strange of me to think this interaction was anticlimactic? I’d changed—I was no longer as freakishly pure as the driven snow—but for the Rebels, it was business as usual. What did I expect, after all? Hugs and kisses? Proclamations of love? What I got was a pair of hiking boots. And that was a lot more practical.

  And yet, when I stole a glance at Rain, I did find his eyes on me—and his gaze still had that sultry edge to it that left me weak in the knees. But then, just beside him, was Ember. And thinking back to that single passionate kiss Ember had given me, it felt wrong to be flouting what I’d shared with the other Rebels in front of him.

  As if he felt my attention on him, Ember turned to consider me. It seemed as if he came to a decision. He pointed to the hall with his chin and said, “Aurora, come here a sec.” I almost dreaded whatever he had in store—not because I didn’t like him. If anything, I was fiercely attached. But the closer I got to him, the more intensely I felt the guilt. What if he tried to kiss me?