Embers of Passion

by Genna Love

  When she did, she saw the burst of flames bursting from her palm. The orange blaze felt hot, but it didn’t burn her skin.

  Slowly, Taariq removed his hand and stepped in front of her.

  Even without his hand on hers, she kept the flame alive. The child in her jumped in delight. The brief moments she’d used magic before had been accidental, and nowhere in her control. But this was marvelous. She’d never felt so alive.

  “Now, pull it back into you,” Taariq said. “Just like inhaling the air around you.”

  Zarah imagined the fire retreating into her palm, and the flame disappeared. She inspected her hand. It looked just as normal as it had before she’d used magic. “Amazing.”

  “That’s only the beginning, Princess.”

  She grinned, wondering just how much she would be capable of doing with practice. As she willed the fire to return, her vision flickered. She blinked, urging her eyes to work properly, but it didn’t help. Moments later, darkness enveloped her.

  “Zarah,” someone said, his voice quiet. “Wake up.” Something gently patted her cheek. “Please open your eyes.”

  Using all the energy she could muster, she lifted her lids.

  Taariq sat on the ground with her in his arms, staring down at her with a concerned expression.

  “What happened?” she asked, her limbs heavier than they were before.

  “After you harnessed the fire magic, you blacked out.”

  “How long was I out?”

  He brushed the hair out of her eyes.

  She hadn’t noticed the freckles that covered the bridge of his nose until now, or the thin scar that cut into his skin above his eyebrow, reaching across its outside half. She reached up and touched it. “What happened?”

  “Oh, that,” he laughed. “When I was a kid, me and a friend decided to catch a rabbit from the woods. As I was chasing it, I missed the low row of branches ahead and nearly took out my eye.”

  “Woods? You weren’t raised in the city?” She’d never been in a forest of any kind before. Oh how she would have loved the endless rows of trees to climb.

  He shook his head. “Now, c’mon. Let’s get you up and inside. Then I’ll get you some water to drink.”

  Another mention of his childhood had ended in a change of the subject.

  She let it go, but she couldn’t help but wonder what about his past he was hiding.

  Zarah

  Using the fire power she’d pulled from Taariq had worn Zarah out, and so they’d gone inside to wait for Eli. When he hadn’t returned hours after nightfall, she excused herself to her bedroom and, shortly after her head hit the pillow, fell asleep.

  The next morning, she found Eli cooking in the kitchen.

  “I’d worried you’d abandoned us,” Zarah said as she entered the room. It wasn’t true. Perhaps, she should have had such fear, but she hadn’t a single doubt that he’d return.

  He stirred something in a medium-sized iron pot. “My apologies. There was more to do than I predicted.”

  “What are you making?” Something sweet-smelling permeated the room. She moved to him and leaned over the pot.

  “A breakfast porridge.” He stirred four more times then lifted it from the fire beneath it.

  Just as Eli dished up the concoction he’d made into three bowls, Taariq came downstairs.

  The three ate breakfast together, this time with little conversation. Once they were finished, Eli called them into the living room.

  Two piles of clothes hung over the back of the couch.

  “I bought both of you some clothing to wear while you’re here.” Eli hovered a few feet away as Zarah moved to the brightly-colored fabrics.

  He’d chosen dresses made from delicate silks and chiffons, ranging from a pastel pink to a deep aqua blue.

  “They’re beautiful.” Since Taariq hadn’t moved from the doorway, she inspected his pile. His color palette was more neutral, but the quality of the tunics were just as impeccable. They couldn’t have been cheap. “Thank you.”

  “I hope those will be sufficient for you,” Eli said to Taariq.

  “They’ll suffice.” Taariq leaned against the wall. Although he hadn’t started any arguments today, his opinion of Eli hadn’t budged. Would the two ever get along?

  Eli pulled out a velvet pouch from his pocket and tossed it to Taariq. “That should cover whatever it was you were gambling to earn.”

  “I don’t need your money,” Taariq said, jaw tight.

  “You can pay me back later. Going to any more pubs will only put Zarah in more danger, so you’re better to owe me than someone else.” Eli rolled up the sleeves of his tunic, which was sage green in color. “I have to leave again, this time for the night.”

  “Where must you go?” She wasn’t sure why, but she hated the thought of him being gone for that long.

  “I have some trading business to take care of just outside the city. I should be back tomorrow, and then we can focus on getting you out of here.”

  “You’ll be missed,” Taariq quipped, the bag of coin still in his hand.

  Eli laughed. “I’m sure I will.” He glanced at Zarah, causing her to blush. “I’ve left a few extra coins in a bag in the kitchen in case you need more food.”

  He was so thoughtful. Zarah wished she knew how she could ever repay him and Taariq for all they had already done for her.

  Soon, Eli was gone, leaving Taariq and Zarah alone for the rest of the day.

  “Are you going to take your landlord the coins?” she asked Taariq, who was sitting on the couch reading a book.

  He shrugged. “I don’t need some rich bastard paying my debts.”

  She understood his stubbornness. The men had barely met, and not under the best of circumstances. The only thing tying them together was Zarah, and their willingness to protect her. Besides that, they seemed quite opposite. Taariq was stubborn and hot-headed. He had no problem sharing his thoughts. His emotion controlled him and his actions.

  Eli, on the other hand, was not only older, but more restrained. He tended to hesitate before speaking, as if carefully contemplating the exact right words he wanted to use. He didn’t seem to like Taariq anymore than he liked him, but he’d bit back any animosity and bought him close and offered him money to pay back his landlord because it was the wisest thing to do.

  “You can return the money with interest someday,” she said, hoping to change his mind. “And that way, if this house gets compromised, we can return to the boarding house.”

  He closed the book and tossed it onto the side table next to him. “Fine. I’ll take Viktor the money and be back shortly. I promised him I’d pay, and if this is the only way that can happen, I have no choice.” He sighed. He might be proud, but he was also honorable in his own way.

  Zarah found a book to read while she waited for Taariq to return. Being alone left her on edge. How long would it be before Prince Marius would order door-to-door searches for her? She stood little chance on her own if that happened. But Penrith was a large city, and she could only hope it wouldn’t come to that before she found a way to escape.

  As hard as she tried, she struggled to focus on the words she read. Every few sentences, she lost herself in her own thoughts. After reading the same page over four times and still not retaining anything that happened, she gave up and went out to the garden.

  The backyard was shaded as the morning sun hid behind the townhouse. She walked around, admiring the array of botanical life. Had Eli really planted all of this himself? He was a man of many talents. From sailing on the sea, to cooking gourmet food, and growing his own garden, she wondered if there was anything he didn’t excel at.

  And what about her? What had she mastered in her life? None of the lady-like qualities her mother promoted, that was for sure. She couldn’t stitch, play the piano, or sing. The only skill she’d acquired that would earn her mother’s approval was keeping the thoughts in her head from escaping her lips, and even that she’d occasionally fail at
.

  Although she was no professional archer, she had good command of the bow. And even though it had earned her many disappointed sighs from her mother, she could ride a horse bare-back. Not exactly princess-like skills, but she was proud of her more athletic abilities.

  She never understood why men should get to have all the fun?

  Stitching a rose on fabric was hardly thrilling, but hanging tightly to the reins as a horse galloped at full speed sent adrenaline bursting through her entire body. Getting bucked off hurt like hell, but it was worth the pain.

  Later that night, after Taariq returned, he lit the fireplace in the sitting room and he and Zarah sat down on the couch.

  “Did you see any guards in the area earlier?” she asked as she watched the wood in the hearth crackle.

  “Not around here. I had to go the long way to get to the boarding house, though.” He created a flame in his hand and tossed it into the fire, causing it to pop. “They seem to be flooding the area around the tavern.”

  She glanced at him. His expression was more relaxed than it had been since they met Eli in the pub.

  “You mentioned both your parents were mages.” She hadn’t wanted to pry with Eli around, but now that they were alone, she couldn’t hold in her curiosity. She desperately wanted to get to know him better. “Did something happen to them?”

  He shifted his body so it angled toward her. “They were both farmers. We lived in the fertile lands north of Lyria.” His gaze fixated on the flames. “When I was ten, Cardasian soldiers attacked our village. My parents used their gift of fire in public for the first time ever, but it wasn’t enough. My powers had only surfaced a few months before, and my mother looked me in the eyes and made me swear to remain out of sight. I hid beneath an outdoor table as an arrow struck my mother straight through her heart. After the warriors did enough damage to leave their message, they retreated. My father was injured, but he’d survived. We buried my mother and he brought me to the city.”

  Zarah took Taariq’s hand and pulled it onto her lap. Watching your own mother die at ten years old would scar any child. “I’m so sorry.”

  “My parents had buried their fire so deep, they had lost the rage it creates within. But with my mother gone, there was nothing left to quell my father’s fury. He dropped me off at an orphanage and promised he’d be back to get me once he made the Cardasian’s pay for what they’d done, but he never returned.”

  Zarah leaned onto his shoulder and brought his hand to her heart. How much blood would continue to be spilled now that she had ruined the chance for peace? “My marriage was supposed to end the war with Cardasia. Marius will no longer have me, of that I’m sure. But if I turn myself in, there may still be hope for an alliance.”

  Taariq stiffened, tilting his head toward her with horror in his eyes. “You will do no such thing. Sacrificing yourself is not a gamble worth taking.” She could feel fear and anger roll off of him in waves. It was as if his emotions in that moment were hers.

  “I don’t want people to die for my idiocy.”

  “The wars of our kingdoms aren’t your fault. The crowns will do what they will, but don’t you dare give your own life. I’ve lost enough from them already.”

  He closed the small space between their faces.

  His lips crushed into hers. This was no peck like she’d teased him with the day before. This was desire, pure and whole. His mouth devoured hers, and at first, she let him have control as she focused on remembering to breathe. She’d never been kissed like this before.

  His hand cupped the back of her head as his lips trailed to her neck. She tipped her head back as he nibbled at her ear. A tingle began at her lobe and continued to her core.

  “You are everything,” he purred as he cupped her breast over her dress. He leaned back and met her gaze as his finger swirled around her nipple.

  A thousand emotions bounced through her like sparks of a fire. Nervousness tickled her chest as her hand reached down and found his hardness protruding from under the fabric of his pants. She’d never touched a man like this before, but everything about it felt right. She moved her hand up and down his thick member, earning a pleasure-filled groan from his parted mouth.

  He kissed her again, his tongue grazing her lower lip this time. A shiver tingled between her thighs. Mouths fused, Taariq lifted her from the couch. Her dress bunched at her hips as her legs straddled his body. He hands gripped her ass firmly, his bulge pressing into her womanhood, separated only by fabric.

  As he carried her upstairs to her room, her lips explored his neck, his skin salty from being in the summer sun earlier that day. When her tongue tickled the bend above his collar bone, he squeezed her closer. They turned into her room where he set her on the floor.

  Seconds later, she pulled the shirt off over his head and tossed it to the ground. The muscles across his stomach tightened as he took heavy breaths. She trailed her hands down the muscles of his chest and abdomen, stopping at his waist.

  She peered up at him, a seductive smile curving on her lips. Her fingers lingered underneath the band of his pants, teasing him. Hunger filled his stare as their gazes locked.

  “I’ve never touched a man before,” she confessed.

  His hand cupped her face. “Are you afraid?”

  She shook her head. “Not of you.”

  When she’d thought of this moment in her daydreams, she’d worried she wouldn’t know what to do, or that somehow, she’d mess it all up. But now, her hand waiting to finish its journey, she had no trepidation.

  Finally, she finished the journey to his manhood.

  His skin was soft and hot in her hand. As she played with his cock, he slipped her dress and chemise over her head—Zarah pausing just long enough to pull it over her arm—and dropped the discarded fabric to the ground.

  Zarah held her breath as he took in her figure. She’d never felt so exposed, but as the hunger in his gaze grew, she’d never felt so desired. His hands traced her curves as he angled his head to her bosom.

  His mouth latched onto her nipple, licking then sucking the sensitive tips of her breasts as they hardened into buds. Her grip on him tightened as her need for him caused heat to rise in her center. Slowly, he led her to the bed and guided her to the mattress.

  She pulled her hand away from him as he lowered his pants and exposed himself fully. Unlike when she saw him in the boarding house, his cock now pointed upward, more massive than she’d imagined.

  Taariq hovered over her, his eyes locked on hers as if giving her a chance to ask him to stop.

  But that was the last thing she wanted. She meant what she’d said. Nothing about the moment brought her fear. This was better than any of her wildest imaginings.

  She raised her mouth to his, as she gripped the base of his head with her locked hands. Fervor laced each kiss as her yearning for him grew, wetness forming between her legs.

  “I want you,” she purred, never knowing how much such words could be true. Despite all the books she’d read of women falling in love with princes and knights, she’d never envisioned just how consumed by longing she could be.

  Slowly, he lowered his body onto hers. He pressed his lips to hers again as he rubbed his erection up and down her slit. In a gentle motion, he entered her.

  She opened her mouth as a new sensation swelled inside her. A rush of heat spread from her womanhood to the tips of her fingers and her toes.

  First, Taariq moved slowly. As his erection taunted her by only partially entering her, he reached down and softly flicked her bud.

  She arched her back as her body trembled beneath his touch.

  After a minute of playing with her clit, he removed his hand and slipped his manhood entirely inside her. A quick burst of pain flared, but as he continued, it eased. He grunted as his thrusts quickened, pumping into her deeper and deeper.

  She panted as her muscles contracted and pleasure spread from her center in powerful throbs. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he slid in and
out, each probe bringing her closer and closer until she arched her back as bliss exploded though her.

  As she fell from the high of ecstasy, Taariq pulled his cock from her entrance and groaned as he exploded all over her stomach, his wet seed warm on her skin.

  She closed her eyes as her heart rate slowed and she regained control of her breathing. She’d spent countless hours predicting what it would be like to be fucked for the first time, but she’d never envisioned such fervor. In the darkness of the past few days, this small escape had been perfect.

  After Taariq cleaned her off, he got into her bed, slipping under the covers next to her, both of them naked.

  “You are everything,” he whispered again as he had earlier.

  Zarah rested her head on his chest as her body curled around his. His foot found hers, their arches pressing together.

  The passion between them had happened unexpectedly, but it was better than anything she’d ever dreamt about.

  There was so much uncertainty in her future, but she wouldn’t focus on that now. Instead, she would enjoy being there in the moment with Taariq.

  Taariq

  Taariq brushed his finger along Zarah’s arm as the early morning sun brightened the room. His naked body spooned hers, the warmth between them undoing any need for the blankets now kicked onto the floor.

  Her skin was softer than any he’d ever touched. Having access to proper baths and lotions as a princess her whole life had definitely paid off.

  He used to think that all nobles were snobs, with no care for anything outside of their small piece of reality. After meeting Zarah, he was embarrassed of all the ways he’d judged those who lived inside the palace or were of noble birth. Although he had no new expectations that many wealthy people were, in fact, lost in their privilege, he was now eating his assumptions.

  As he trailed his finger down her arm, he thought of all the ways she had surprised him. She was nowhere near as proper as he’d have pictured a Princess of Lyria. And she was much more adventurous. He’d seen the nerves on her face when she’d distracted the merchant, but any fear she’d had hadn’t stopped her. Once they were done, she’d also shared how guilty taking something from someone had made her.