Caress of Flame (19 page)

Isis at once became aware of the chirping sound of crickets in the night. Her anger cooled and she tried to pull the sword Foil back within her body. She didn’t know how to do it. She tried over and over again, willing it to retract, frustrating herself.

“I can’t make this go away,” she growled, shaking her hand as if that would dislodge the blade.

10Flare looked over at her, relief filling his eyes now that he knew Isis was going to be all right after her ordeal. He smiled at her warmly. “It’ll retract. Don’t fight it so,” he instructed her.

Isis let her hand fall to her side and the blade of her Foil scraped the dirt on the ground, jarring her. Isis looked around her at the devastation. There was a mammoth hole in the ground and ash and soot were everywhere, covering everything in a thick coat of the horrible stuff.

Looking around for her family, Isis found them huddled together on the ground beside the porch. “Are you all right?” she asked, caring only that Maria’s baby hadn’t been placed in any danger.

Neither of them answered. Instead they huddled there, clutching each other desperately, panting and moaning as if what they had just seen had driven them mad.

“Get away from them, Isis,” Flare commanded. He put his arm on her shoulder and pulled her back against him. Flare eyed her family disdainfully. “They look great there together, cowering like children. Don’t you think?”

Isis chuckled and turned, placing her hand on Flare’s chest and tracing little circles on his pecs. “Let’s leave them here to clean up this mess,” she said. “I think they’ve been through enough tonight.”

Flare looked as if he wanted to argue. Isis shushed him with a finger at his lips.

“Just let it go. I have,” she said. “You never have to think about them again. I know I won’t.”

Her Shikar warrior kissed her gently on the temple. “If that is your wish.”

“It is,” she said with a relieved breath, grateful that he would not push the matter.

Pulse came to stand beside them. “I have no such duty to see to your pleasure, Isis.

So here is my gift to them.” Lightning streaked out of the sky, hitting the dilapidated house, setting it instantly ablaze. “There. I feel better all ready.” Pulse chuckled as he watched his own handiwork play out. Then he sobered and as the sky brightened with the light of the blaze that was now roaring through the old house, he turned to his comrades.

“Let’s go home,” he said. “I must tell the Council about this incident. Canker-Worms are not at all common on the surface. They are most difficult to capture and there’s not enough methane in the air to sustain them up here for long. The Daemons went through a lot of trouble to claim you, Isis. I think in time we’ll know why. Once your powers blossom.”

Isis entwined her fingers with Flame’s and looked up at him from behind a tangle of her hair, which did nothing to shield her from the sight of her childhood home burning down around them. “Let’s go home now,” she urged.

Flare gathered her close, gave one last disgusted look at her still-cowering family, and took her forever away from the place of her greatest suffering.

10
* * * * *

They arrived, alone, back in Flare’s apartment. Pulse had chosen a different route to Travel, no doubt to afford them the privacy they needed, and was nowhere to be seen.

“You should have let me kill him,” Flare murmured into her hair as she settled into his strong embrace.

“I think it’s better this way. What they saw tonight will trouble both my stepdad and my sister for a long time to come. I say let them suffer through it, with no answers to explain away their fears.”

Flare grinned down at her. “That scenario is quite amusing to think on, is it not?”

Isis locked her gaze with his. “I am never going to think about them again,” she said firmly.

She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was proud of her resolve, even if he did still want to kill her stepfather. With a wince, her Foil retracted back into her bones and she flexed her hand wonderingly that it had not pained her at all.

“Come on,” she said, tugging him along. “Let’s take a bath and get all this crap off us.”

Flare’s wicked smile did something magical to her insides. “Let’s.”

They helped each other undress and put their clothes in a bin whose contents, Flare told her, was collected and washed by some of the women. They filled the tub with hot, steaming water and they both groaned their delight as they sank into the liquid. Their muscles relaxed, their cares and worries of the day washed away. Isis scrubbed herself vigorously and Flare was no different. Soon the bathwater was black with impurities.

They climbed out of the bath and Flare dried her off with another of his ultra-plush towels before drying himself off in that strange way of his. Once the flames had died down he held her tight against him, kissed her softly on the lips and lifted her easily in his arms.

Isis rained kisses along the strong ridge of his jaw. Her hands roved hungrily over his hot naked skin, reveling in its hard, unyielding smoothness beneath her fingertips.

Flare laid her down on the bed and spread her legs with his strong, rough hands.

He immediately bent his head and darted his tongue out to taste her. He lingered, using his lips, teeth and tongue to torment her. Isis cried out and clutched his head to her, writhing beneath his wicked kiss.

He stayed with her, lips nibbling at her clit, his tongue delving deep. He replaced his tongue with two fingers, stretching and penetrating her, feeling the quaking of her form around his hand. He licked her clit then sucked upon it, making her scream and thrash and pull his head even closer with desperate hands.

Minutes later he showed no sign that he would stop his sweet torture. Isis felt like her skin was swollen all over, full of sensations that stole her thoughts and her breath away. Her hips bucked against him as his teeth scraped her clit. When his fingers 10unerringly found her G-spot, scraping back and forth across it with the rough pads of his fingers, she came up off the bed with a roar and instantly climaxed.

Chuckling his satisfaction, he pushed her back down onto the bed and claimed her lips. The taste of her was heady on his tongue and she moaned around his probing. He was so hot that Isis was sweating from the stifling heat in the room. Flare darted his tongue out to capture a bead of her sweat from her brow before returning to her lips to tease and torment her mercilessly.

His fingers toyed with her breasts. Squeezing the plump globes before tweaking her overly sensitive nipples, he settled himself between her open legs. He found her core and surged into her, making them both gasp and quake with lust.

Isis threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the passion she possessed. Their breath mingled, their hair tangled together and their bodies slid against each other, eased by the slipperiness of her sweat-coated body.

“You mean everything to me,” he murmured against her passion-swollen lips.

Isis clutched him tighter to her and wrapped her legs around his waist. She met him thrust for thrust, gasping and moaning breathlessly. Her fingernails dug into the skin of his back, leaving little half moons behind in his flesh. Flare growled and thrust harder, faster into her.

They came at the same time, their bodies truly one in that moment of utmost bliss.

Isis screamed and her body milked him of his seed. Flare growled and let her have all of him, holding her close.

“You’re mine,” he said firmly, possessively.

Isis could only nod as she fell limp against the mattress underneath her. “I’ll always be yours,” she whispered moments later.

Flare gathered her close and they settled into bed. In the space of a few breaths they were both asleep in each other’s arms, Flare’s warmth soothing her into the deep relaxation of one loved and cherished by her mate.

10
Epilogue

Months passed and Isis spent most of her waking hours honing her Shikar skills. It had become apparent that she would be a Hunter Caste from the first, but she still needed to learn to control her Foils and her incredible strength. It wasn’t easy, yet the time passed as swiftly as if it had wings.

Isis and Flare spent all their nights together talking, making love and learning more about each other with each passing day. She and Flare moved out of his apartment and moved into a new one deeper within the city—specifically designed to meet Flare’s requirements, plus a few of her own. They made their home together and there was much talk of the future.

Flare wanted children. Isis wasn’t ready. So they struck a bargain. Once Isis turned thirty they would consider starting a family together. In the meanwhile they enjoyed each other’s company immensely. They seemed a perfect match—their temperaments not as dissimilar as they might have thought in the beginning.

Isis met several more Shikars. And each one was as beautiful as a flower in bloom—

their genes much more complicated than a human’s. A woman by the name of Agate helped to train her in the afternoons—teaching her to hone her Hunting instincts.

During the day she practiced rigorously with her Foils, finally grasping the art of unsheathing and retracting blades through her skin.

She no longer thought about her past. It was wiped clean from her thoughts as if it had never been. Her heart healed and she grew more confident in herself, learning to make a home out of her and Flare’s new apartment. Making the first real home she’d ever known. It was far more wonderful than she ever could have imagined, simply being a part of the Shikar world.

There were no more nightmares. Flare had banished those with his endless love for her. Isis no longer felt alone, cut adrift. She felt like she was part of something grand and magical, and she was. Everything about the Shikar way of life interested her and soon she’d overcome her antisocial behavior and made friends with their neighbors, especially with her instructor, Agate. Isis had never had a friend and it was a heartwarming experience, one she treasured.

Flare went back to his patrolling of the Territories. He was gone for six hours every day, but Isis grew used to the separation. While Flare was gone she decorated their home and trained, honing her body into a fighting machine, a weapon.

One day, Flare invited her to join him on the surface world. Isis jumped at the chance. Before she could go, however, she was required to wear the strange, latex-like paint that served as a strong armor against bodily damage. She wore it under her 10clothes, growing used to it like she might a second skin. When she was ready, Flare took her hand and Traveled to the land of the Territories.

They arrived in Hawaii at dusk. Isis could tell where they were by the flora of the land and the crystal clear ocean along the coast. Flare took her hand and led her deep into a vegetated area. Minutes later they came to a clearing and Isis gasped in surprise at what was waiting for them there.

The area was littered with blossoms of every hue and texture. A big, soft bed of white rose petals lay under the shade of a palm tree, awaiting them. She looked at Flare with pleasant surprise.

“I don’t have to patrol tonight. I thought maybe you would like coming here with me.”

“You did all this?”

Flare smiled at her tenderly and traced a fingertip down her soft cheek. “For you,”

he answered.

Isis laughed delightedly before regaining her control. She eyed Flare seductively and turned away from him. Without urging from her mate she began to dance for him.

She sensually removed all of her clothing, stripping down to nothing, teasing him mercilessly with her decadent performance. Flare shucked his clothing in record time and before she could blink he had tackled her to the ground, turning at the last minute so he took the impact of their landing onto himself.

The smell of roses filled their senses, making them drunk with desire. Isis straddled Flare and ran her hands all over his chest and belly, reveling in the feel of him between her legs. His cocked rubbed deliciously in the wet channel of her pussy, but Isis was careful not to let him penetrate her. At least, not
yet
.

Flare grabbed a fistful of rose petals and flung them into the air. They showered down upon their hot, eager bodies like a soft rain. Some of the petals tangled in their hair, making them both look like exotic wood nymphs.

“I love you,” she said and kissed his left nipple, teasing it with her tongue.

“And I love you,” he returned with a moan, his own fingers seeking her breasts to toy and play with her thick, erect nipples. “More than you’ll ever know,” he finished breathlessly.

They both lost the ability to speak as passion took control. Flare ran his hands all over her body, pausing to squeeze her breasts and her ass roughly. He pulled her hair, making her lower her head for his kiss. His tongue entered her like the caress of a flame and she suckled gently upon it, fusing their mouths together.

Flare’s fingers moved between their bodies and found her clit. It was swollen and aching and he dipped his finger lower to gather Isis’ own moisture to ease his caress over the tiny nubbin of flesh. Electricity shot through her and she cried out, moving on his hand uncontrollably, undulating her hips in a way she knew would drive him wild.

10His body thrust into hers, filling her completely. Isis shrieked her pleasure and arched into his movement, welcoming the thick weight of his cock within her body.

There was no more tenderness between them—both were too eager for that. Isis rode him hard, rotating her hips on him, bouncing up and down on his wet, glistening cock.

Those magic finger of his teased her, one at her nipple, one on her clit. Before she knew it she was moaning over and over and with one, violent thrust she came around him.

Flare arched up into her and found his own release, shouting his triumph to the heavens as he spurted deep within her. He sat up and took one of her breasts deep into his mouth. He was still hard inside her and before too many seconds had passed he was moving inside of her once again.

He rolled them, pressing her down into the soft bed of rose petals. He spread out her hair to admire its bright fire among the white petals. Taking hold of her ankles, he put her feet on his shoulders, tilting her just so, so that he could penetrate her more deeply.