Authors: Rebecca Zanetti
Wicked Burn (20 page)
Chapter 25
Nick unfolded the cell phone that Bear had passed him before escorting Simone to dinner. He peered at the face. Seriously. Where had Bear found the ancient device? Who still used phones that actually folded? Taking a deep breath, wondering whether his emotions had taken over for his logic, he stood close to the glass wall and quickly dialed the number.
“What?” Zane Kyllwood growled into the phone.
“Zane? It’s Nick.” Maybe the older phone actually worked better in these crappy conditions than a new one, but there was still a crackling along the line.
“Nick? Where the hell are you?”
Nick shut his eyes and tried to focus. “I need you to send help, but I’ll understand if you refuse.” What the hell was he doing, asking Zane to risk himself and the demon nation? But it was for Simone, so he didn’t have a choice. If he was on the other end advising Zane, he’d tell him to say hell no.
Static echoed for several moments. “I said, tell me where you are.”
They were losing the connection, damn it. “I’m going to type in coordinates to the best of my knowledge, but they could be off. We’re on an island in the middle of the Northern Atlantic Sea that isn’t noticeable until you’re actually on it.” Man, this was a terrible idea.
“The fucking witches have a secret island?” Zane barked.
“No.” Nick cleared his throat. “Dragons.”
Static and silence. Then Zane, “Dragons.”
“Yep. Simone and Bear are half dragon—long story—but the dragons are going to try to kill me tomorrow. Simone is here and I need to get her away.” Nick leaned against the chilled glass. “Send a demon who can teleport to get her.”
“Send the coordinates.”
“It’s dangerous, and it’s unfair of me to ask.” But for Simone, he’d do it.
Static overcame whatever Zane said.
Hell. The line went dead.
Nick hurriedly typed in the coordinates he and Bear had figured out and said a quick prayer that they would reach Zane and not put the demon soldiers he sent into the rock. The text seemed to load.
Then he waited.
Two figures suddenly appeared in the freezing sea outside.
He bellowed and hurried toward the glass.
Zane’s eyes widened, and suddenly, the two were inside the room, gasping for air. “Close coordinates, my ass.” Water sluiced off him. His green eyes sizzled, and water slicked back his thick, black hair. The wet clothes revealed a hard line of muscle and strength.
Nick gaped at him and at Adam Dunne, the Coven Nine Enforcer. “What in holy hell are the two of you doing here?”
Zane coughed. “It’s good to see you, too.”
Nick shook his head. “I wanted you to send a couple of soldiers, not come yourself. Jesus, Zane. You can’t be here.” He glared at Adam. “Neither can you. The Enforcers can’t know about this place.”
Adam Dunne was a Coven Enforcer and one of the smartest people on the planet, but right now, his face was turning blue and water dripped out of his nose. “You said Simone was in trouble, and as an Enforcer, it’s my fucking job to know where she is.” He wiped seaweed out of his shorter brown hair. “She’s also my cousin.”
Nick looked from one hulking man to the other. “What were you two doing together?”
“We were trying to find you and Simone, obviously.” Zane rolled his eyes. “When your call came in, the witch here wouldn’t let me teleport without him. So you get two for the price of one.”
“And if you teleport Simone out of here?” Nick asked, stepping back from the spreading pool of water.
“I’ll come back for Adam and for you.” Zane lifted a shoulder. “Unless there’s another way off this weird place.”
“There is.” But he would not ask Bear to shift into dragon form ever again. “You get Simone and Adam out of here, and I’ll figure out the other way.” If he survived the fight, and if Bear survived, then they’d find a boat or something. “Sorry about the coordinates.”
“That’s all right. You are in the middle of nowhere,” Zane said.
Nick held up a hand. “This isn’t right. It’s my job to protect you, not put you into danger.” He couldn’t sacrifice Zane, the leader of the entire fucking demon nation, like this.
“He
is
a pain in the ass,” Adam said to Zane, as if agreeing to an earlier comment.
is
a pain in the ass,” Adam said to Zane, as if agreeing to an earlier comment.
Zane grabbed Nick’s hand and sliced a knife across the palm. Pain rippled.
“Hey.” Nick tried to yank back, but surprise gave Zane the advantage.
Zane quickly ripped the blade across his own hand and smashed it against Nick’s palm. “There. I’ve always considered us family, but if you need to share blood, now we do.” He released Nick and wiped the blade off on his wet T-shirt before turning to Adam. “Why does everything always have to be such a pain?”
“Dunno.” Adam shrugged and leaned over to sneeze. “Shouldn’t we be fighting somebody?”
Nick gritted his teeth and sent healing cells to his palm, more touched than he wanted to admit. “Thank you.”
Zane nodded, his green eyes deadly serious. “Family, Nick.”
“Family,” Nick repeated, his chest warming. He stepped over the puddle toward the door. “We have four hundred and twenty-three steps up, and there are probably soldiers set every ten steps or so.”
Adam looked at the depth of the sea out the glass. “I hate to think it, but could we go through there and swim up?”
Nick shook his head. “If we break the glass, an electrical jolt is sent out.”
Zane winced. “Thank goodness it only happens if the glass breaks and isn’t on a motion sensor.”
Nick nodded as a pit dropped into his gut. “Plus, the living quarters are far above sea level, and swimming won’t get us there.” He eyed his friend. “Our other option is for you to teleport us up, but then will you be strong enough to get Simone and Adam out of here?”
“I won’t be able to fight right away, but I can get Simone to safety.” Zane winced. “Not sure I can make a jump back here and then cart Adam out, though.” He took out a smartphone and glanced at the face. “I think we’re screwed for service.”
Nick flipped open his phone and saw no bars. “Shit.” They couldn’t call in anybody else. “It’s just us.”
Adam cleared his throat. “I say we teleport up, and then Zane gets Simone to safety.”
“What about you?” Zane asked.
Adam shrugged. “Nick and I will have to figure another way off the island. My job is to protect my cousin, and her life is paramount, even if it wasn’t my job. Does everyone agree?”
“Yes,” Nick and Zane said in unison.
“Good.” Adam shook seawater out of his shirt. “Any chance we could get better coordinates for wherever Simone is?”
Nick tried to clear his head. “I think straight up should do it.”
“You think?” Zane asked, stepping toward him while also grabbing on to Adam’s arm. “All right, then. Let’s all give a quick prayer I don’t put us into a stone cliff somewhere.”
Nick nodded and wished that weapons could teleport and that Zane had brought some. “Let’s do this,” he muttered, closing his eyes and sucking in air to hold his breath.
Zane clamped onto his arm, and the earth fell away.
Simone calculated the distance from her position to the dining room. There wasn’t time to grab a weapon for Bear. “Desmond, you need to stop this right now. Bear hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Desmond shook his head. “Last chance. What do you and the demon have planned?”
“Why don’t you ask the demon?” came a low voice from the doorway.
Simone gasped as Nick entered the room, followed by a dripping wet Zane Kyllwood and her cousin, Adam Dunne, who had seaweed in his wet hair. How in the world? Her eyes widened, and she turned toward Bear.
He grinned. “’Bout time you guys got here.”
Desmond pulled the trigger. Green lasers shot from the barrel, striking Bear’s thigh and turning into metal. Blood spurted from his artery.
Bear roared and jumped forward at Desmond, throwing them both into the bookcase. Books and candlesticks rained down.
Soldiers, at least five of them, poured in from the shadows outside.
“Cover Zane,” Nick ordered Adam, running forward to plant his body between Simone and the attackers.
Adam shoved a pale Zane into the wall and held his hands out. Fire, dark and blue, billowed down his arms to form balls, which he started hurling toward the soldiers. One hit a man in the face, and he screamed, turning for the doorway.
The other soldiers ducked, grabbing swords and coming out swinging.
Nick grabbed a three-pronged candleholder and defended himself against a sword that was so sharp its edge glinted in the dim light. He moved and parried, keeping the metal between him and the blade.
A soldier made it past Adam, and Zane punched him in the face, kicking the sword from his hand. They dropped to the ground, grappling and punching.
Simone jumped back onto a chair, formed fire, and belted it at Flynn.
“Hey,” Flynn yelped, jumping back. “I’m on your side.” Without waiting for an answer, he pivoted and took down a soldier running toward Nick.
Simone halted her next attack, her mind spinning. “Bear? Is he on our side?” she yelled.
“Yes,” Bear bellowed, punching Desmond in the face and sending him into a backflip.
“Oh. Sorry.” Simone winced. From her perch on the chair, she looked around for somebody to help. They were all fighting man to man, punches landing and swords parrying.
If she threw fire, she might hit the wrong person.
A ruckus sounded from the dining room, and pounding footsteps echoed through the night.
Excellent.
Her heart thundered, and her breath burst out of her, but she set her feet against the arms of the chair for balance. Fireballs formed on her hands, and she threw them with all her might into the other room.
Yells of pain came back.
She teetered on the chair and formed more fire, quickly lobbing ball after ball through the entryway. While she couldn’t see her targets, she could sure as hell keep the doorway clear. Anybody who stepped near would be burned.
The air shimmered.
“No!” Flynn yelled, leaping across the fray and tackling Simone off the chair. He flattened her with his body. “Everybody get down,” he bellowed.
More
pop
s filled the air.
pop
s filled the air.
Simone struggled against her brother, but he held her fast, tucking her under him so that not one part of her was exposed.
A flash of light exploded, and a static boom reverberated.
Even safe under Flynn, Simone winced as her brain concussed.
Flynn jumped up and brought her with him, shoving her behind his back.
She gulped in air and peered around him.
A huge brown dragon took up most of the room, its beady eyes surveying the men trying to get up off the ground, most bleeding from the ears.
She swallowed. “Shifting isn’t fair, Desmond,” she yelled.
He turned her way, opened his mouth, and blew fire.
She grabbed Flynn and yanked him down behind the chair. Flames flew over their heads to ignite the curtains.
The dragon moved his head, spreading fire toward Nick and Zane. Both men rolled out of the way as the room caught fire.
Simone stood.
Flynn leaped up and tried to push her behind him.
“Knock it off.” She shoved him in the ribs and centered herself, calling on her own fire. Taking a deep breath of the smoke-filled air, she waited until Desmond had inhaled and started blowing fire again.
Simone threw plasma balls at his face. The second her fire hit his, sparks ignited and an explosion ripped the atmosphere. He screeched.
Nick grabbed a fallen sword, rolled, and came up quickly, jabbing the blade into the dragon’s belly. He ripped up.
Desmond roared in pain.
“The neck,” Flynn yelled. “The base of the neck.”
Nick used both hands to yank the blade free and then shoved up again, this time below Desmond’s dragon chin. Then he wrenched the blade to the left and the right, cutting the tendons.
The dragon hissed and dropped to the ground.
Nick jumped onto its back with the blade and cut from the other side. Within seconds, the dragon’s head rolled away from the body right before the entire room went up in flames.
Chapter 26
Nick slid off the dead dragon and ran for Simone, lifting her up and racing toward the dining room. A quick glance showed everyone on his heels. They reached the dining room and plowed through more soldiers than he could count.
One grabbed his arm.
Flynn jumped onto the dining room table. “Cordon off this area, immediately.” He kicked a glass full of water onto a flame about to ignite the tablecloth.
“Where is Desmond?” a soldier asked.
Flynn stilled. He looked at Nick and then at Bear. Finally, he coughed out smoke. “Desmond confessed to killing Roman a hundred years ago, and he took Bear’s place in rightful death. Your leader died following our laws.”
Nick kept his gaze stoic and returned Flynn’s short nod.
“Get out of here,” Flynn ordered. “I need to shift to counter the fire with my own flames, and if I do so with you here, you’ll all be on the ground again.”
Nick nodded and ran with Simone out onto the balcony. There was a more than fair chance the soldiers wouldn’t accept Flynn’s explanation, but for the moment, he had to protect Simone. He waited for Zane. “Get her out of here.”
Bear hurried over to them and jumped over the railing and into the wild breeze.
Nick stopped breathing.
Simone started struggling. “Let me down.” When he did so, she ran over to the railing and looked down. “Bear?” she yelled.
Bear in dragon form flapped his massive wings and came into view.
“That wasn’t funny, Bear,” Nick yelled, wanting nothing more than to mind attack the damn shifter. Maybe the reason he couldn’t was because Bear didn’t have a fucking brain.
Bear laughed, the sound raspy and full of pain. “Zane? Get Adam out of here.” Without waiting for an answer, Bear scooped up both Nick and Simone, tucked them into his belly, and flew over the railing and into the lightening sky.
Simone screamed.
Nick grabbed her hand, trying to keep his legs from dropping and causing wind resistance. His heart beat rapidly, and his lungs filled with more panic than air. “Don’t move, Simone. The less you move, the better he flies.”
She turned wide eyes on Nick.
He glanced down at the bulging arm around her midsection. “Bear? If you drop anybody, make it be me,” he bellowed.
“No problem,” Bear said clearly.
“This wasn’t the plan,” Nick couldn’t help muttering.
Bear lost altitude, and Simone screamed.
Nick tightened his hold on her hand as whitecaps flew by below. Water sprayed across his face. Bear flapped, and they rose into the air again. “Jesus.”
“I had to go with a new plan because you killed Desmond,” Bear intoned in his dragon voice. “The soldiers saw, and I’m not sure Flynn will be able to keep them from coming for your head. You need to go somewhere safe until I figure out what to do next.”
Nick wanted to struggle, but that would just end up with him in the ocean freezing his ass off. “I don’t need your help.”
“We’re family, dude,” Bear said cheerfully.
“No, we are not.” Why in the world did everyone suddenly want to be his family? If Bear tried to cut him and create a blood bond, Nick would have to shoot him. For now, he had to worry about his woman. He eyed a very pale Simone. “You okay?”
She shook her head, and her skin turned a light green. “I don’t like flying.”
“It’s all right.” He tried to reassure her, but her color got worse.
She gagged.
“No,” Bear muttered. “Do not puke.”
Simone breathed in. “I’m trying. Stop being so bumpy.”
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to fly the two of you?” Bear asked, sounding wounded. “I’m doing my best.” They dropped again.
“I’m going to kick your ass when you feel better,” Simone hissed. “I told you not to shift like this ever again.”
“God, you’re bossy,” Bear muttered.
The air chilled and blew into them. Simone’s hair billowed all around and plastered to Bear’s dragon belly. She shut her eyes and visibly drew in several deep breaths.
Dark clouds rolled around, right at them.
“Ah, hell,” Bear muttered. “They’re too thick to go above them.” Rain slashed them.
A small dot came into view surrounded by tumultuous waves crashing against rock walls. Bear changed his angle of flight to straight down.
“Oh God,” Simone moaned, her free hand going to her belly.
“It’s okay,” Nick whispered. “Slow the hell down, Bear.”
“I’m getting wet,” the shifter complained.
The island appeared to be about a kilometer across, surrounded by jagged rocks. Trees dotted most of the landmass. They approached the island at breakneck speed. Nick slid his arm between Simone and Bear, so he could wrap himself around her if they landed hard. “Get ready for impact,” he whispered to her.
She gave a strangled sound.
Bear landed and flipped over onto his back, tossing Simone and Nick into the air. Nick tucked her close and rolled through rain, getting them in the right position before landing on his feet and falling to his knees in sopping wet sand.
The dragon slid along the sand and impacted a pine tree. It cracked with a loud protest.
“Duck!” Nick yelled, holding Simone tight and throwing them both out of the way. The tree fell and bounced twice, right where they’d been a second ago.
Bear rolled over, his reptilian eyes blinking. White sand covered his scales and his nose. “Sorry.” He sneezed.
“Jesus Christ, Bear.” Nick set a trembling Simone on her feet, and she sank in the sand. Wind smashed sand and pine needles into them, while the waves crashed higher as the storm gained force. Nick looked around to see a stone cabin set just beyond the odd beach. “What in the world?”
Bear’s dragon ears twitched. “I can’t fly you guys through that storm, and I need to go back up Flynn in case he needs help.”
“No,” Simone snapped. “You need to change back to yourself and let us help you to heal.”
“Nope.”
“What is this place?” Simone asked. “Are there medical supplies? Will any help you?”
Bear shrugged. “My island. Sometimes when I wanted to see either you or Flynn, I’d sneak here and try to get glimpses, you know.” A sadness filled the dragon’s voice that he failed to mask. “I have to take a boat and not fly, obviously. Right now, nothing can help me but sleep and protein, so stop hovering.”
Nick winced as thunder rolled across the sea. “Is this place safe?”
“Pretty much, unless there’s a huge storm surge, and then it might flood. There’s a generator behind the cabin full of gas, and there’s food in the pantry. Stay here, and I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Bear squinted toward the dark clouds.
“No—” Nick started, but Bear bunched his legs and shot into the sky, doing a funny flip as he rose.
“I am so going to kick his butt when he gets back,” Simone murmured, her gaze on the rapidly disappearing dragon. “If he gets back.”
If not, they were screwed. “Tell me you have a phone.” He’d lost his in the fight.
She shook her head. “They took my phone away when I landed in dragon land.”
“Fire Island,” Nick said absently, scanning the area for threats. Nothing. They were alone in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a storm coming their way. “Let’s check out the cabin.”
“I can’t believe we survived that,” Simone murmured.
Neither could he. He turned and studied her. Her silk clothing clung to a fit and feminine body with curves, an abundance of them, in all the right places. The wind whipped her thick hair around her face, but those eyes. The unique hue of them had never been duplicated by man or nature. Deep and mysterious, and so damn powerful.
His entire body hardened to the point of pain.
She lifted her chin, and her full lips, pink now, curved. “Nicholai?”
The way she said his name shot to his heart every damn time. As if his name was a secret, and she alone held the code to opening him. Which she probably did. “You’re beyond beautiful, Simone.” The word didn’t come close to doing her justice.
She smiled then. A confident woman with a storm raging around her. “So are you.” Slowly, deliberately, she kicked off her flats. Her bare feet sank into the sand, and she moved toward him, her hips swaying.
He almost stepped back. “What are you doing?”
“Enjoying the oncoming storm.”
The words held multiple meanings, but before he’d considered each one, she’d reached him. Her hands moved up his chest to his neck, and she gave a happy hum, tracing the line of his jaw.
“We should go inside the cabin,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.
“I like the storm.” She stepped into him, a siren dressed in silk as the wind whipped her dress.
His dick tried to punch through his jeans, and his hands, of their own volition, gripped her damp hair. The mass trapped his fingers. “Simone.” He had to get her to safety, and the incoming storm might hit before he could do so. Rain pelted down around them, all over them.
She chuckled, and the sound licked right down his torso to his balls. She hooked a foot through his leg and shoved. He chuckled and allowed her to drop him, landing on his ass and taking her weight. The woman sprawled above him, pulling her knees up to sit on his groin.
Sand cushioned his head and was shoved up the back of his shirt. “This is crazy.” He no longer really cared.
“I know.” She smiled then through the rain, and his heart turned over just for her. Her hands cradled his jaw, and she chuckled as roughness met her palms. “I like your uncivilized side as much as your smooth and cultured one.”
“The smooth and cultured is part of the job.” Deep down, where he lived, Nick fought to find civility.
“Aye,” she whispered, leaning over, her mouth a bare inch away. “Come on, Nicholai. Do you really want to go inside when you can do anything you want right here and now?”
She’d always been a temptress, but he’d never pushed her. Years ago, she was young and vulnerable. Now, after her success in life and business, she could handle all he had to give. The idea caused a growl to rumble up from deep in his chest.
Her eyes widened in surprise and then feminine anticipation. “I do love that sound.”
“You’re going to hear it again,” he said, jerking down the top of her dress to reveal her round, high breasts.
She gasped, and he reached out, cupping both. With that simple touch, he forgot all about the dragons, the witches, and even the demons. Only Simone and the storm existed, and the storm came in a far second. He tweaked her nipples, enjoying how she shoved herself down right on his cock.
She moaned and pressed into his palms, more than filling them.
Every damn time with her was new. He could spend the next five centuries exploring her, every facet of her, and he’d never know all.
She leaned down and licked the rain off his lips, her face protecting his from the drops. Everything in him wanted to flip them over and drive into her hard and fast, but he didn’t want sand irritating her skin. Besides, the woman seemed to enjoy being on top.
For now.
Her dress slid up, revealing her smooth thighs bracketing his hips. She kissed him, a wild force, stronger than nature. His hold tightened on her hair, and she moaned into his mouth, making little movements against him.
He tweaked her nipples with enough bite to force a shudder down her back that he could feel. So damn perfect.
Her nails scratching, she reached down and plunged her hands up his shirt to his pecs.
The rain sharpened, hitting them both. Sand and water popped up all around them.
He allowed her to play, sweeping his mouth with her tongue, caressing his chest. Finally, she bit down on his neck, her hands sliding down his body at the same time. Her nimble fingers reached his jeans, and she freed each button, scooting farther down his legs.
He caught his breath and released the hold on her hair. She had to struggle with his wet and sandy jeans, but Simone was nothing but determined, thank God. She pulled them down enough to release him. He sprang free, straining for her.
She chuckled again, the hoarse sound filtering through the pouring rain.
He closed his eyes against the deluge, wondering when he’d lost the sense of self-preservation he’d always held so dear. Then her lips closed over his cock, and he no longer gave a shit.
Heat edged with fire engulfed him, making him jerk hard inside her mouth. She tickled him with her tongue, running it down his length and back up, once again enclosing the tip with her hot mouth.
He arched against her, his fingers now digging into the sand.
Electricity and raw hunger ripped through him, radiating from her talented mouth.
Thunder cracked.
Lightning struck, the sound a sonic boom. His eyelids flipped open to see a nearby tree smoldering. Holy shit. In one smooth motion, he sat up, yanked Simone off him, and leaped onto his feet with her in his arms. He shuffled, as fast as he could, with his pants caught between his thighs and feet.
They reached the dark cabin in mere seconds, and he put his shoulder to the door, shoving it open. A pause and cursory check of the interior revealed no threats.
He crossed the threshold and kicked the door closed.
She laughed. “That was fun.”
Was? Oh, hell no. “We’re just getting started, little bunny.”
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