Soulfire (3 page)

Her brother’s expression softened to one of understanding. On a level of rage, I still teetered between two and three. If pushed closer to ten, I could rip them in half and never bat an eye. He hauled up his asshole friend and headed to their car. “Kraven,” I called, sensing the man at my back.

“Yes, Lucius.”

“Destroy any video evidence of this mess.”

“Immediately.” He disappeared back into the club.

I watched till they were gone, then returned inside, catching her scent the second I crossed the threshold. A slow burn sparked in my chest, a flame of lust yearning for the body I’d held flush against mine moments before. A growl rumbled low from deep within. I clenched my fists and leashed the beast. I had no time for distractions, especially not a human woman. Not even a human with long hair brushing lush curves, dark eyes that could seduce a saint, and a full mouth that made my imagination wander, my body harden. She stirred the dragon on a primitive level. Only one thing to do. After clearing the club, I’d head upstairs and get rid of the girl.

* * * *

Sorcha came clip-clopping up the stairs about ten minutes later. I hadn’t moved. She swished over and plopped in the plush chair next to me.

“Wow.” She flashed her most devilish grin. “
That
was interesting.”

“What? Watching my brother destroy a perfectly good time. Yeah. Fascinating.”

“No, Jess. I mean Mr. Nightwing.”

“Who?” My heart stuttered.

“He’s the head of security, Corbin told me. I watched him singlehandedly toss your brother and his minions out on their asses. I think he broke Aron’s arm.”

“What? Seriously?”

“Yeah.” She fiddled with a broken spaghetti-strap, tucking it into her strapless bra. “This actually looks kind of cool, doesn’t it?”

How Sorcha could think about fashion at a time like this, I had no idea. I knew my brother. If he was manhandled and thrown out by a Morgon, a Nightwing at that, he’d be in a rage right about now. He would surely set the blame on me for daring to defy our father’s orders by associating with Morgons. I stood up and peered over the edge of the balcony. “Where’s Ella?”

“Conn took her backstage with Jed and the band.”

A hard beat of wings and Corbin flew through the railing gap, landing right beside me. I jumped. Slade followed, shirtless, revealing a broad, toned chest. A streak of blood crossed his neck. Possibly not his. Corbin’s cheek puffed with swelling, but otherwise he looked unharmed. “You girls okay?”

Sorcha sashayed over to him. “Yes. Thanks to you.”

Corbin returned her smile.

Sorcha, this is no time to flirt.

Slade strolled over; something darker replaced the former charm in his eyes as he moved toward me. Violence or testosterone or sheer male ego pumped him to new heights. He hooked a thumb in his front jeans pocket and gestured toward the parking lot.

“I hate to say it, Jessen, but I think your brother is waiting outside for you.” He didn’t appear displeased by this at all, edging farther into my space.

“Damn it.” I rubbed my temples. A serious headache throbbed below the surface. “He’s obviously been drinking or he wouldn’t have lost control. I can’t reason with him when he’s like this.”

Sorcha stood next to me. “I’ll pull my car up to the entrance and we’ll make a quick get-away.”

“He’ll only follow us. And he’ll be so pissed by the time he catches us, he’ll—” I broke off, realizing Corbin and Slade listened to every word I said. I wouldn’t incriminate my brother further. I knew he could be violent, but he was still my brother. I blew out a frustrated breath. “That would be worse.”

“I’ll take you home.” Slade’s mouth lifted into a crooked smile.

“How?” I asked. He pointed up to the skylight. Chills ran up my spine. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble.”

He grinned, flexing his abdomen and chest. “It would be no trouble at all.” A familiar hungry look sparkled in his gaze. “Your brother couldn’t follow us. Wouldn’t even know you were gone from here.”

He was right. Still, there was no way in hell I would let Slade get his hands on me and be at his mercy. I knew that look. I’d seen it in Aron’s eyes often enough. “Um, well, I appreciate it, but—”

“I’ll take her home.” The deep, bass voice behind Slade made my heart slam against my ribcage.

We all swiveled. My dark rescuer stood three feet away, a sculpture of fuming stone. Suddenly, the thought of leaving with Slade wasn’t so bad. I gulped, remembering the press of all that hard muscle.

He moved forward, folding outspread wings against his back with a soft
whoosh
. How could a man that large move with such grace? Corbin and Slade took a step back as if the man demanded more space. Hell. He did. He turned his angry gaze on the two Morgons. “It’s time for you to go.”

Not a suggestion. A command. He glanced at Slade’s bare chest, pinning him with a murderous glare.

Without a word, Slade flew over the edge and out of sight.

Corbin turned to Sorcha. “Let me escort you to your car.” I’d never seen Sorcha speechless. She jumped to Corbin’s side, took his hand, and followed him down the stairs. Then I was alone with Mr. Dark-and-deadly.

Oh, shit.

I clasped my hands in front of me, unsure what to say. I was alone with a Morgon man—a stunning, jaw-dropping, scary-as-death Morgon man. Somehow, I kept my chin upright, pasting an air of nonchalance into my features. He moved toward me, lithe and lovely. An aura of power pulsed against my body like a living heartbeat.

“My name is Lucius Nightwing.”

His deep voice brushed against me like rough leather
. Be calm, Jessen. Be calm.
I couldn’t even open my damn mouth, much less form words.

He arched a black eyebrow. “You’re Jessen, correct?”

I nodded dumbly, clearing my throat. “Yeah, um, how’d you know?”

He didn’t answer. “Do you have any idea how much damage you caused tonight?”

I flinched, taking a step back. “What? Me! I didn’t cause all this.”

“I beg to differ. There were no problems till you walked into the place.” His gaze flickered down my body like a heavy caress.

“Excuse me. I came to watch my friend’s band. I had nothing to do with all this.”

“Funny, because you were at the center of the riot. But you had nothing to do with it. Right.” He shook his head, practically sneering. “Human women.”

Condescending ass! Anger flared, knocking me out of my stupefied state damn fast. “Just because men are brainless, testosterone-filled fuckwads who can’t resolve anything without their fists doesn’t make this my fault.” I’d pushed into his space without realizing it, fueled by indignation. I poked a finger in his sternum at eye-level. “
Men
are the ones who trashed this place. Not me!”

His eyes dropped to my finger. I removed it. One side of his mouth twitched. “Fuckwads?”

I fumed, biting my tongue.

His face remained placid. “I’m assuming you have a last name.”

“Yes.”

Pause.

“Is it top secret?”

“No.”

Pause.

“Would you give it to me?”

“Why?”

One brow arched in challenge. I dreaded telling people my name because of my father’s famous, and sometimes infamous, reputation. This was doubly true for this guy. The power play between our families had been long and notorious.

He tilted his head lower, pinning me with a menacing stare. “Because I’m now responsible for getting you home safely, even though you got yourself into this predicament, and I’d like to know who I’m dealing with or whose family might raise hell about this precarious situation.”

By precarious he meant a human daughter carried home in a Morgon man’s arms. I knew a few girls who’d slept with Morgon men. The stories they told made my toes curl, but no human would be caught publicly in the arms of a Morgon. Not from my neighborhood anyway. And definitely not from my family. Somehow, he’d deduced I was the kind who didn’t mix with Morgons.

“Don’t worry your precious head about it,” I snapped. “I’m not telling anyone how I get home tonight.”

He glared. “Your last name.” A command. I understood why Slade leapt off the balcony lickety-split.

“Cade.” I ground my teeth together. “It’s Jessen Cade.”

“Ahhh. I see.” His granite face cracked into a smile.

My heart pumped faster. I thought he was stunning before, but that was nothing compared to this smiling god.

“As in Cade Heights.”

I nodded.

“Cade Technologies.”

I blew out a breath, propping a hand on my hip.

A smirk creased his hard features. “Cade Enterprises.”

I rolled my eyes.

He laughed, a rumbling sound, melting me inside. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, princess.”

“Don’t talk about my panties.” My thighs squeezed together of their own volition. “And
don’t
call me princess.”

He crossed his arms across his chest. “Not a princess, eh? What title should I give you? Is queen or empress a better suit? No, maybe not lofty enough. How about goddess?”

I could barely unclench my jaw to mutter, “Arrogant ass.” He chuckled again, making me madder. “How about you, Mr. Nightwing?” My tone dripped with disdain. “As in Nightwing Security. Nightwing Armament and Munitions. Nightwing Industries. Let’s see, what title would suit you best?” I tilted my head, giving him a too-sweet smile. “Prince Pompous Prick? No. How about King of Fucking Everything?”

His eyes flared with a wicked gleam. His voice dropped low. “Come, princess.” He splayed large hands around my waist, burning through thin silk straight to my skin. “It’s time to get you home.”

My breath hitched. He scooped me into both arms and leapt off the balcony. I screamed. Massive wings beat us higher and higher. The skylight glass was open. He shot us straight through like a rocket, up into the balmy night. Panicked, I coiled my arms around his neck, pressing my upper body into his, and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Shit, shit, shit…”

A rumble of laughter vibrated from his chest to mine. His charged energy tingled my breasts. I straightened my torso, trying to keep his electric aura away from me.

“What’s wrong, princess?” A lopsided smirk. “Scared of heights?”

“No.” Like I’d admit it. Or the fact his close proximity had my heart racing.

We plunged downward. I screamed again, clinging closer.

“Quite a set of lungs you’ve got there.”

“Stop it!”

“It’s okay to admit your fears. It’s natural for a land-lover to fear heights. Take a chance and open your eyes. You might enjoy the view.”

The challenge was enough for me. I cracked one eye open. Then the other. The sight took my breath away. We skimmed below the clouds. The stars were giant gems winking through the cloud cover, so close I could reach out and touch them. The city glittered in a myriad of lights, like crystals by candlelight.

“Oh, my,” I breathed in a whisper.

I felt his eyes watching me, but couldn’t peel my gaze from the view below. If I had wings, I’d never come down. How unbelievably thrilling.

Lucius began to descend slowly. “I take it you live near campus?”

“Yes. Cade Heights. Emerald Isle Villas.”

“Of course.”

I ignored the condescending tone. How he knew the place was the most luxurious in college residency was another mystery about the man. I didn’t question. He descended lower, circling over Emerald Isle, my stomach fluttering at the sudden drops. Without a word, he banked straight up into the clouds. My heart lurched.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“You have a villa on the top floor, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Your brother and his friends are waiting on your balcony.” His voice dropped low, edged with danger.

“What? How could you tell? You saw them from here? Are you sure?”

He slanted an arrogant glance at me.

Dragon eyesight. I forgot.

“Damn. I thought my brother would wait till morning to chew me out.” He must have been seriously pissed to let himself into my apartment and wait for my return. “Look. I’m sorry. I know you’re ready to be rid of me, but can we go somewhere in your district and I’ll call Sorcha to come get me.”

Without responding, he angled a hard right back in the direction we’d come. We flew over buildings to the Morgon district. Because my eyes had been shut when we shot out of Acropolis, I hadn’t noticed ornate tile designs decorated each flat rooftop. “That’s cool.”

“What is?” He banked left toward the outskirts of the city.

“The rooftops. Sort of a bulls-eye to know whose house you’re at from above.”

He chuckled. “More like a house number, but yes.”

I watched someone land on a distant roof. “What if there’s no moonlight? How can you see it in the dark?”

“I’m a Morgon. I can see in the dark.”

“Oh. Yeah. I forgot.”

He dropped suddenly as he aimed for a particular rooftop. The Nightwing crest was known to me—a circle of three black dragons, wingtips touching, a flaming heart at their center.

“Are we—are we going there?” I stammered.

“Yes.”

I looked at him for the first time since we’d taken flight, his face close to mine, trying to ignore the alluring masculine scent of him. Hard, high cheekbones and square jaw set in shadows, the wind gusting black hair away from his face. Magnificent, powerful wings beat above us. Reality suddenly slapped me in the face. I’d placed my safety, my life, in the hands of a Morgon man. Not just any Morgon. One of the Nightwing clan—the most powerful and most hated by my family. And he was taking me to his private home, straight into the dragon’s lair.

Lucius landed with a gentle thud, setting me down within the tiled circle of his clan’s crest. Without a word, he walked across a large terrace scattered with cushioned seating, small tables, and tall potted palms whose fronds rustled in the breeze. He walked through a set of thick columns that led under a high-ceilinged awning. Pulling a remote from his back pocket, he clicked, and a steel door slid up, opening a wide archway into his home.

Left alone, I took in my surroundings. The Nightwing crest sat dead center of the terrace—a mosaic of black, cream, and crimson tiles—the grandeur and size as intimidating as the Nightwing clan itself. I’d seen the symbol enough times on letterhead in my father’s office, knowing he did business with Morgons.
Business is business
, he’d say when I asked why it was okay to do commerce with them, but never socialize. His turn of phrase never had answered my question. I dared not step on the crest, afraid to cross some invisible line that would take me farther into a world I didn’t belong.