Wicked Waves: Solsti Prophecy #2 (40 page)

“Yes, you would,” Brooke agreed. “But I have a feeling I’ll be back.”
 
She stood and kissed his red hair. “Take care of your brothers.”

She took a step back and slipped her hand into Kai’s. “I’m ready,” she murmured.

He winked at her and fished the transportation amulet out of his pocket. He muttered a few sentences in demonish, and a shimmering iridescent ring appeared in the air before them. It wavered and wiggled, catching the sunlight and refracting a myriad of rainbows across its surface.

“Oh—before you go—catch!” Mathias tossed a small fabric satchel at Kai.

Kai caught it and peered inside. He nodded at Mathias. “Thanks, man.”

“Just in case you run out. Although if you do, I’ll probably be sent over there to help,” the Hunter said.

“What is it?” Brooke asked.

Kai turned to her, his brown eyes radiating a depth of feeling she’d never seen. “I heard your question in my mind, and out loud.”

“You did?”

I did.

Brooke sucked in a breath.
This rocks!

Kai flashed his most devilish grin at her.
First thing I’m going to do to you, when we get home, is—

Stop it!
 
She beamed at her mate.
What’s in the bag already?

Have I told you you’re tenacious?
 
It’s hells bells. You didn’t get to collect very many before uh…you know…Draven found you.

She frowned at the memory, but shoved it aside.
He’s gone
. Turning to the Hunter, she smiled. “Thanks, Mathias. You’re welcome to stay with us any time.”

Mathias waved, as did the others. Kai tucked the bag of hells bells into his pocket, then pulled her tight against his chest. “Goodbye, Stroehm forest.”
 
They stepped into the portal.

Brooke gasped at the feeling of hurtling down the steepest drop on a roller coaster, despite having done this several days ago. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in Kai’s T-shirt, trying to regulate her breathing. The steel of his arms wrapped around her as she heard his voice in her head.

Almost there, Sprite. You’re doing great.

His soothing timbre calmed her, chasing away the nausea threatening her stomach. A minute later, they landed with a thud in the backyard of Demon Central.

She opened her eyes to find herself sprawled on top of him. “How do you do that?”

Do what?

Land on the bottom
.

I’m happy to be on the bottom if you’re on top, baby
. He spanked her rear.

She smiled.
I just don’t want you to get hurt
.

We’ve had this convo, Brooke
.

Hey, I’ve had to save your ass twice. I’m interested in your safety
.

I’m gonna start calling you Tenacious B
.

I like Sprite
. She dotted kisses along his jaw.

Do you now?
 
Since when?

Since that Neshi attacked me
.

“That was a while ago. You’ve been holding out on me.” He sat up and pulled her with him, tickling her ribs.

She giggled, about to protest, when the back door burst open and Nicole rocketed out in a flash of blond.

“Brooke!
 
Oh my God, Brooke!
 
I’ve been so worried!”

Brooke straightened up just in time to get caught in her sister’s fierce embrace.
 

“That’s it. Neither one of us goes to Torth again without the other one. Ever!”
 
Nicole said, squeezing Brooke in a vise grip.

“I’m cool with that,” Brooke said on a gasp. “A little too tight, Nic.”

“Sorry.” Nicole released her but held onto her hands. “You had problems over there. Damn it. I hate that I wasn’t there for you.”

“Yeah, we ran into some trouble. But as it turned out, I was able to do some pretty cool things with my power.”

“She even saved my ass. Twice.” Kai piped up, grinning ear-to-ear.

“Now this I gotta hear,” rumbled a deep voice behind Nicole.

“Really?” Nicole kept her grip on Brooke as Gunnar’s hands landed on her shoulders.

“Yeah,” Brooke said. She pulled out of her sister’s hold and reached for Kai’s hand, gazing into the endless deep amber of his eyes. “And I’d do it again and again.”

Kai pulled her close for a quick, searing kiss, cupping her jaw as his lips moved demandingly over hers. Too soon, he broke away, grinning. He jerked his head in Nicole’s direction.

Brooke turned to her sister, whose mouth hung open.

Nicole’s eyes went saucer-wide. “No way!”
 
She whirled to face her mate. “Did you know?”

Gunnar shook his head and held up both hands. “Nope. Not a whisper.”

“Brooke?”
 
Nicole’e eyes darted between her and Kai. “You said he was always rude to you.”
 
Confusion flickered across her face.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Kai nodded, keeping one arm around Brooke’s waist.

“I found out he was doing it because he liked me.” Brooke winked.

“Oh, well, sure.” Nicole rolled her eyes. “We should have remembered that trick from first grade, huh?”
 
She moved to embrace Brooke again. “
Really?
 
You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Then I’m happy for you,” Nicole whispered into Brooke’s ear.

“Me, too.”

Nicole stepped back and glanced at Brooke’s tousled waves. “Gin’s gonna have a fit when she sees your hair.”
 

Brooke’s hand flew to her head. “Oh my gosh. Did it change already?”

“No, not yet,” Nicole said. “I’m just warning you.”

“Will you do the Skype chat with me?” Brooke asked.

“Always.” Nicole grinned and tugged on Brooke’s hand. “Now let’s go inside. You two have a lot of explaining to do.”

C
HAPTER
28

T
HE
SUN
HAD
JUST
MADE
its appearance in the pink-hued sky when Brooke pulled her second tray of homemade cinnamon rolls out of the oven. She set it down on the black granite counter, her fingers lingering at the cool stone edge. Her condo’s tiny set-up couldn’t hold a candle to the bells and whistles—and three ovens—of Demon Central. Between the heat from her baking and Kai’s huge sweatshirt, she was finally warm.

October mornings in Chicago could be warm or cool, and this one was downright frosty. She lifted the neckline of the sweatshirt to her nose and inhaled. Her mate’s scent wrapped around her like an embrace, sweeter than the cinnamon and butter fragrance that permeated the kitchen.

She hummed to herself as she gathered the ingredients for the icing.
Let’s see, powdered sugar, milk
…Plucking a bowl from the glass-fronted cabinets, she slowly combined the ingredients. Too fast, and the kitchen would be full of white powdery clouds.

She smiled, warmed by the memory of waking up next to Kai. He and the other males had spent last night fighting Neshi demons, several more of which had made their ugly appearance along the river. Arawn had his Watchers working every corner of Torth to discover who was sending the Neshis.

The good news was that in the meantime, Demon Central was about to get a dozen Watcher guests. Also, fighting the orange beasts wasn’t as difficult now that they had the hells bells, though they still had to ensure the creatures were truly dead. Which meant using the Neshi knife.

“Ugh,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose.

Ugh, what?
 
This kitchen smells like a food orgasm
. Kai’s words teased her mind. Her stomach flipped at the sensation of him.

She bounced a quick glance over her shoulder to see him leaning against the door frame, all sleep-tousled hair and bedroom eyes. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I missed you.”
 
He prowled behind her and wrapped her in his arms, hooking his chin over her shoulder. “What’s that?”

“Icing for the cinnamon rolls.”

“We’re all gonna get fat if you keep this up.”

She turned in his arms. “Fat Lash demons?
 
I can’t see that hap—” She gasped as she looked up at him, now getting a closer look. “Your hair!”

Near the front of his blond hair, one lock of chestnut brown stuck up haphazardly. She reached for it reverently and smoothed it down. “Wow,” she breathed.

“Wow, yourself.”
 
His voice was rough with possession as he lifted a lock of her hair and slid it between his fingers. Blond. “I didn’t think it was possible for you to look any sexier. I was wrong.”

Brooke wiggled out of his grasp and bounded to the small mirror hanging by the back door. Her jaw dropped as she took in the new, inch-wide stripe of blond in her dark hair. Front and center. If she did a middle part, she’d have a thin blond piece hanging down each side.

Beaming, she turned to him. “I love it.”

“That’s good, since it’s permanent.” He propped one hip against the counter.

She crossed the kitchen and melted into his arms. “I love you.”

I love you too
. “I like my sweatshirt on you. It’s like a sweatshirt-dress.”

She giggled, then remembered the food. “Oh—the icing!
 
I have to stir it or it’ll get hard.”

“I’ll show you what’s getting hard.”
 
He grabbed her hand and brought it to the fly of his jeans.

Her body trembled as the double shot of her own desire, mixed with his, ignited in every cell.
Oh God, this is so intense,
she thought to him
.

We’re not even naked yet
. He drew her earlobe between his teeth.

Let me finish. Two minutes.

No
.

She narrowed her eyes, but couldn’t hold back a grin. Leaning far enough to grab the bowl off the counter, she dipped her finger in and lifted it to his mouth.
Taste this
.

Grabbing her hand, he oh-so-slowly licked the length of her finger. Her stomach muscles clenched at the sensual promise in his eyes as he laved the sugary concoction from her skin. When he swirled his tongue around her, she knew he would do the same to the rest of her body. A tiny moan escaped her lips.

He released her finger with a pop. “Get upstairs.”

“But—”

“The rest of the crew will have to eat their cinnamon rolls plain. Whenever the hell they wake up.”

He took the bowl from her hands. Her gaze flicked up to his eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, and in a heartbeat she found herself lifted in one strong arm and thrown over his shoulder. Ass in the air, she sneaked a glance quick enough to see that he never set down the icing.

What are you doing?
 
Her voice was a delighted shriek in their minds.

I decided it’s time for breakfast in bed.
He stalked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. His shoulder jammed into her stomach, but she didn’t care. They weren’t going far. Any discomfort was negated by the carnal pledge flowing from his body to hers.

He didn’t put her down until he’d kicked the door of their bedroom shut. He dumped her unceremoniously on the bed and set the icing gently on the bedside table.

She pretended to pout. “I didn’t know you had a caveman side.”

“Thought that was your first impression of me.”
 
He pulled her up to a sitting position and yanked the baggy sweatshirt over her head, sucking in a breath as he took in her breasts coverd in blue lace.

“Hmm, well you
were
a little rough around the edges.” She laughed, full of joy at her mate’s playfulness.

He pushed her back to tug off her leggings. “You like it rough.”

I like anything with you
. She’d given him her heart somewhere in the hopeless wasteland of Stroehm, and she trusted him to cherish it with every ounce of his being.

I know
. He pressed her down, licking the skin of her breasts along the scalloped edge of her bra.

She squirmed and grabbed the hem of his T-shirt. It stuck when she got to his massive shoulders. “Off.”

With a grunt, he obliged. The fine blond hairs of his chest tickled her, and she sighed in delight at the sensation of his bare skin.

He scraped his teeth across her upper arm and bit tenderly, eliciting a moan. She loved when he did that. Sharp teeth and tender lips. Hard and soft. Opposing sensations that drove her from calm to fuck-me-now in two point five seconds.

Moving to the base of her neck, his tongue swirled in lazy circles, sending sparks dancing down her arms. Goose bumps erupted across her skin. He chuckled as his roaming hands discovered them.

“You, my mate,” he kissed just below her ear, “didn’t get to taste your own creation, did you?”

“No,” she gasped.

“You’ll have to wait a little longer.”
 
Bringing his hand to her hip, he slid one finger under the waistband of her blue lace thong. He pushed it down just far enough to trace her hip bone with his thumb.

Jolts of pleasure fired through her belly at his possessive touch.
I thought you were hungry.
 

Oh, I am
. He pushed up on his forearms, gazing down at her with molten eyes.
Where should I start?

Waves of heat rolled off his body, further warming her over-heated flesh. She shifted her legs and hips. Her skin was on fire, prickly. Achy.
 
Kai.

He folded the lace cups of her bra down, exposing her nipples, plumping her for his touch. With a sensual wink that stole her breath, he reached for the icing.

He dipped two fingers in, coating them with white sweetness. Her nipples hardened in anticipation, but instead he rested his hand at her throat. Dragging a line down her sternum and between her breasts, he followed his fingers with his tongue.
I love how strong your scent is, right here
, he murmured in her mind.

She rocked her hips against him, her mind hazing over with need. His need and hers. Her senses careened out of control, yet he was torturing her so expertly. Strategically. If not for their bond, she would’ve thought he was almost calm.
Need more
.