Deception (44 page)

She wrapped her arms around his neck and headed for his throat, but she’d barely gotten started when he lowered her feet to the closet floor.

“May I put a different dress on you?” he asked, helping her out of his shirt.

She looked down and furrowed her eyebrows. “Um… I guess. Why?”

“That one's too tight,” he answered, running a forefinger along the cord of satin daisies trimming the empire waist.

“Oh.” She still didn't understand, but if he wanted her in something else, she’d wear something else. “Go for it.”

He smiled and leaned in for a kiss, and when he pulled away, she was in a different dress. “Stunning,” he approved, scanning her from head to toe.

Layla looked down and lost her breath. “Quin.” Then her throat and heart swelled as she raised quivering fingers to a braided strand of green tourmaline. She started to tell him he shouldn’t have, but somehow forced her mouth shut before letting it slip.

He reached out and touched her sealed lips. “I told you, you'll have to learn to live with it.” He turned her toward the mirror. “They look beautiful on you.”

She did look amazing; perhaps even worthy of the word
stunning
. The dress was made of bright-white silk – soft, light and shiny; and the straps rested on the outside edges of her collarbone, gathered with clusters of tiny crystals. The deep v-neck dipped to her navel, showing ample cleavage, but the gown retained its elegance by barely hugging her breasts and hips before loosely flowing to the tops of her feet. The chrome tourmaline necklace hung perfectly within the neckline, as though the two were made for each other, and the bracelet to match glittered on her wrist.

She swallowed a lump as she ran her fingers along the shiny, green gems. Then she flipped her gaze to Quin's reflection. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

He turned her away from the mirror and laid a palm over her new necklace. “You deserve everything I can give you, Layla, and the jewelry's only beautiful because you're wearing it.” He gave her a soft kiss then whispered against her lips. “Will you go flying with me?”

She was putty in his hands and would do whatever he wanted her to. “Yes.”

“I'm going to cast a spell that will keep your jewelry in place.”

She felt a tingle where the gems touched her skin, but the sensation faded when he removed his hand. After one more kiss and a dose of magical warmth, they donned their cloaks and flew from the terrace, soaring over the moonlit sea.

He rolled over, letting her lie on his chest, and she closed her eyes, opening her other senses to him and the wondrous feeling of flight. Narrow streams of air swirled inside the velvet framing her face, and its current carried traces of his scent as it slipped under her cloak and between her breasts, slithering to her twitching thighs.

She had no idea how long they flew or where they went, but she could have stayed that way all night. He, however, had other plans and eventually descended.

Once their feet found earth, he pulled one of her palms to his lips and filled her with magical heat. Then their cloaks disappeared, exposing flesh to bitter wind and tickling her spine.

“Where are we?” she asked, scanning the dark outlines of towering trees.

“Our cliff,” he answered, kissing more heat into her wrist.

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yep. Through those trees.”

She kissed his heart then grabbed his hand, pulling him along as she took off walking. “Well what are we waiting for? Let's go.”

“I'll have to take you to a taller cliff sometime. Up the thrill.”

“I like
this
cliff. It's my dream cliff.”

Moonlight filtered through the trees ahead, and she turned toward the silver glow, but before she could pull Quin any further, he took a large step and swept her off her feet. “You are very excited, Layla Love. I like it.”

“I really like this spot,” she explained, walking her fingers along his shoulder. “Actually, it's not so much the location as the way I felt the last time I was here.”

“I hope it doesn't disappoint.”

“It won't.”

She laid her cheek on his arm, and he left the forest, not stopping until he reached the edge of the granite. “Ready?”

Her heart rate spiked as her head jerked up. “Ready for what?”

“For me to jump.”

“Um… I uh…”

He laughed and gave her a squeeze. “I'm kidding.”

“Oh,” she breathed, feeling silly.

“I could jump,” he added, “and you’d be fine, but it's a bigger thrill to jump by yourself.”

“Are we going to play first?” she asked, looking toward the nearly full moon.

“Sure.” He took a step back and lowered her feet to the ground. “What would you like to do?”

“Umm . . . ” She tapped her bottom lip as she thought. “Can we combine our fire?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I can cast a fireball, and you can cast one, and they can combine in the air, but I'm wondering if we can combine our fire magic before it becomes a reality, before it leaves our bodies. Then we could make one big fireball all at once.”

He thoughtfully stared at her for a moment then shook his head. “There’s a way to strengthen individual spells by holding hands, but I've never heard of anyone trying to combine their magic before it hits the air.”

“Want to try?”

“I have no idea how. The attempt could burn us.”

“Hmm . . . ” She lifted his arm and examined the inside of his palm and wrist. Then she touched her forefinger to his. “Can you feel that?”

His eyebrows drew together as he stared at his finger. “Yes.”

“Does it burn?”

“No.”

“Is it hotter inside than it is outside?”

“Yes.”

“See if you can push it through your fingertip.”

He obeyed, his eyes widening as a tiny fireball, about the size of a grape, rolled from his skin. “You're brilliant, Layla. Do it again and I'll add mine.”

“Okay. Tell me if it gets too hot.”

Quin watched in awe as she moved her forefinger to the inside of his elbow then trailed it to his wrist, filling his arm with warmth. Once she reached his hand, she pulled her finger away, and he took a deep breath, hoping his arm wouldn’t combust when he combined his heat with hers. He took a chance, summoning magic into his forearm, and while the heat was intense and slightly uncomfortable, it was tolerable.

He flipped open his hand, casting their magic from his palm, and their smiles glowed in the firelight as they leaned away from the heat. The flames were big enough to engulf a semi truck, and they crackled louder than fireworks as they charged the gray water. When the blaze sizzled against the waves, a large puff of smoke rolled into the air.

“Fantastic,” he exclaimed, pulling her finger to his lips. “How did you do that without burning me?”

“What do you mean? I just made it so. Isn't that what you do when you heat me up?”

“No. The warmth I send into you can't be expelled as flames. It's not the same type of magic.” He grinned and shook his head. “Now you're teaching me tricks, my love. You're incredible.” He kissed her finger and raised his eyebrows. “Want to try a bigger one?”

“Did it hurt?”

“It was a little uncomfortable, but nothing unmanageable.”

“May I try?”

His smile fell. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't know how to do it, and I won't risk burning you.”

She stared at him for a long moment then bowed her head. “Okay.”

Her easy concession was harder to watch than those he fought for, and his heart squeezed as he swept a finger over her cheek. “Do you still get the rush?”

“A little, but not like usual. How about you? Did you get the rush?”

“Yes, and it was much stronger than usual.”

She grinned as her eyes lit up. “Finally! I've finally found something I can do for you that you can't do for me.”

Yes she had, and he didn't like it one bit. The rush of their combined magic felt incredible, and he wanted to share it with her, but couldn’t bring himself to risk it. Her spirals fluttered across her smug smile, and he swept them aside before kissing her nose. “I'll have to find a way to repay the favor.”

She laughed and shook her head. “I'm glad I finally get to please you while leaving myself out. I know the situation is different, and you're definitely getting the short end of the stick, but it still feels good to have the upper hand in the pleasure department, if only for a moment.” She played with her bottom lip while contemplating the situation. “Let's see. You've sexually pleased me four times while receiving nothing in return, so I think we should break this into four separate spells. We've done one, and we'll keep making them stronger as we go. The fourth will be the finale.” She flashed a smile. “What do you think?”

“I think you're the most amazing person I've ever met.”

“Thank you,” she returned, laying a hand on his bicep. “Shall I give you your second?”

He couldn't stop smiling as he held out his arm and aimed his palm at the moon. “Sure, love. Let's see what you got.”

This time she trailed three fingertips down the entire length of his arm, and not only did her flames fill his arm, they filled his shoulder, neck and side. She'd summoned more fire magic into him than he usually summoned himself, and like before, it wasn't uncomfortable until he added his own. But the irritating heat only lasted a second before he pushed it from his palm, replacing the burn with euphoria and adrenaline.

A fireball about the size of a modest house flew from his hand, and at least seven seconds ticked by before it lost height. He usually had to fill his entire body with heat to achieve such a big flame, and his heart quickened as he contemplated his finale.

“You've been holding out on me,” he accused, finding her profile. “You're far stronger than you've led me to believe.”

“I have not been holding out on you,” she laughed. “I just don't know what I can do, so I haven't reached my limits.”

“Are you testing them on me?”

She stopped playing with his arm and met his stare. “Well, I guess I am. Does that bother you?”

He smiled as he shook his head. “Not at all. You're showing me wonderful things, my love, and I'm ready for my third.”

She grinned and placed five fingertips beneath his shoulder blade. Then she slowly slid them up and over his shoulder and across his arm. When she reached his wrist, she cupped the back of his hand and opened her eyes.

Her magic warmed the entire upper half of his body, so he spent extra time imagining its exit route before adding his own heat. His temperature spiked as the sting caught his breath, but he quickly expelled the magic from his hand, casting a fireball four times the size of the last one.

Quin had never seen anything like it. He'd seen smaller fireballs combine in mid-air to form one that large, but he'd never seen a single person produce such a massive ball of flames.

“Was that good?” Layla asked, watching smoke slither up the moon. “It seemed good to me, but you've seen more than I have.”

He was bursting with adrenaline, and the magic was blowing his mind. “Yes, Layla Love, that was very good, but I don't know how much longer I can stand here, so you better give me my finale.”

She grinned and moved behind him, placing both hands against the small of his back. “Hold out both arms,” she instructed, and he quickly obeyed.

She slowly ran her palms up his spine, and her fire appeared in his feet and calves. When her hands slid over his shoulders, the flames worked their way up his thighs and hips. She hovered from the ground so she could reach across his arms. Then she rested her chin on his shoulder and kissed his ear.

Yes, his entire body pulsed with warmth, and it felt amazing. He'd filled himself with fire before, but hers was different. Not hotter, but more condensed and more intense in the way it throbbed and tingled his insides. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for the uncomfortable part of the experience. Then he attempted to match her flames before pushing the magic from his palms.

The result was unreal. Separately, the two fireballs were monstrous and could have been burning manors flying side-by-side, but then they combined, and it looked as though the sun was falling from the sky.

“Incredible,” he whispered, watching their creation slowly lose height. It hit the ocean with an audible sizzle. Then a mushroom cloud of smoke billowed into the air and blotted out the moon.

“That was crazy,” she exclaimed. “It's a good thing there aren't any boats down there.”

He laughed as he found her face. “I'm sure a lot of people saw that. Coastguards will be swarming the area soon.”

“Do we need to leave?”

“Yes,” he answered, shifting her from his back to his chest, “but not without completing our purpose for being here.”

He walked backward while showering her face in kisses. Then he stopped at the tree line and gave her a dose of magical warmth and tingling electricity. After lowering her feet to the ground beside him, he took her hand and grinned. “Running start, two front flips. Ready?”