Darkest Flame, page 27
part #1 of Dark Kings Series
Just as he knew he would.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Rhi didn’t go to her queen when the Kings departed Ireland. Instead, she went to her cottage. As soon as she entered the small house, she fell face-first onto the bed of black-and-pink lace and let the tears come that she had been holding back.
Tears for Balladyn, but also tears for herself.
She hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to be around the Kings and not think of … him. Of their time together, and the wild love that had developed.
How many centuries had it been since she had last felt his arms around her?
How many since she had tasted his lips?
How many since she had felt cherished?
Loved?
Too damn many.
Rhi rolled onto her back but didn’t bother to wipe the tears that now trailed into her hair by her temples. It was odd. She thought she was past the tears, but just being around the Kings seemed to trigger the past—no matter how she tried to bury it.
And Balladyn. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact he was now Dark. Her queen was going to be devastated. Not nearly as much as she was, however.
Balladyn had always been a part of her life, even when she was just a young girl. He’d been her brother’s best friend and always around.
Then the Fae Wars had begun. Rhi could still recall standing with her mother as her father, her brother, and Balladyn gave one last wave as they headed off to war.
Balladyn was the only one to return.
Her mother had succumbed to grief a short time later, leaving Rhi all alone in the world. Balladyn had become her family, her mentor, and her friend. He’d helped her hold it all together, and in turn she’d helped him cope with the wars and coming home when her family hadn’t.
Balladyn was there when her relationship with her Dragon King was put to the ultimate test. He was there to hold her as she cried until there were no more tears. He was there to comfort her when the world no longer made sense.
He was there when she’d wanted it all to end.
Balladyn had forced her to live again. She’d fought him every step of the way, and in turn, he’d pushed her harder. Until one day, she took that first step out into the world again.
It was no wonder that everyone thought she would die of grief when, during a skirmish with the Dark, she saw Balladyn fall.
She had wanted to retrieve his body, but the Dark Fae were too many. One of her greatest regrets was leaving him. Now she knew he hadn’t died. He had been wounded. Had she only gone to get him he wouldn’t be Dark now.
Rhi cringed when she felt the pull of her queen, a sign that Usaeil was calling her to court. Rhi rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball with her arms wrapped around her middle.
She wasn’t ready to face anyone yet, not after enduring the Kings as well as being at Dreagan, which brought back too many long-buried memories.
She suddenly sat up and dashed away her tears. If she wallowed in the memories any longer they would take her. She would allow it one day, but not today.
“Not yet,” she murmured.
Rhi stripped out of her dirty clothes and riffled through bags from designer shops until she found an outfit she wanted. She tore off the tags and put on the faded skinny jeans and black blouson shirt.
She grabbed her two bottles of nail polish: a lavender named Do you Lilac It?, and a deep eggplant color called Vant to Bite My Neck? She dropped them in her Louis Vuitton purse and teleported to a storage unit. She flipped on the lights and gazed at the Lamborghini she had wrapped in black cherry matte.
She might be a Light Fae, but there were times she liked to pretend to be human. It wasn’t like she could just teleport into her favorite salon and not have someone notice in such a crowded place.
Sure she could teleport somewhere else and remain veiled until she knew no one was about, but it was just too damn much trouble.
Rhi started the Lambo and grinned at the rumbling, gritty sound of the engine. She gunned the engine, her smile deepening the louder the engine roared in the cramped unit.
“Damn, but I love this car.”
She used her magic to unlock the garage door and roll it up. After putting the car in gear, she backed out of her spot, shutting and locking the unit door with magic once more, and drove out of the parking garage and into the crowded streets of Austin.
There wasn’t anywhere in the realm of earth that she hadn’t visited. There was something about the nail salon she’d found in the swanky Lake Travis area of Texas that fit her vibe. Which is why she kept returning.
Besides, walking in and being so welcomed by the girls, especially her nail tech, Jessie, could wipe away the bad memories she didn’t—couldn’t—face.
Rhi shut the door to her memories involving him, and let the Lambo’s engine purr as she pulled into traffic.
* * *
Denae noticed the softness of the sheets first. Kellan had gotten them back to Dreagan. She’d never doubted he would. She opened her eyes, hoping to find him in the room, but she was disappointed.
She threw her arm over her eyes. Returning to Dreagan meant facing her future. How easy it had been to forget when she was trapped in Ireland with the Dark Ones.
No doubt MI5 had already cleared out her loft and put all of her belongings into storage somewhere she would never find. It was all right. The things that meant anything to her were safely ensconced back on South Padre Island.
Denae sighed and sat up. Her muscles were sore, but she didn’t feel any lasting effects from Taraeth’s blast of magic. She threw off the blanket and looked down to find she was still in Kellan’s shirt. Despite all she had been through while wearing it, she could still smell him on it.
She took it off and neatly folded it only to hide it behind a pillow in the overstuffed chair. That way when she left Dreagan, she would bring a part of Kellan with her.
Denae walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower until the water was steaming hot. Her mother used to laugh at her, not understanding how it could be nearly a hundred degrees outside but she always had to take a hot shower.
As soon as she stepped into the shower and the water fell over her, Denae let out a sigh. She tilted her head back to wet her hair as she closed her eyes. For several minutes she stood there, enjoying the heat of the water before she washed her hair and body.
She was rinsing the last of the conditioner from her hair when she was hauled up against the shower wall by a muscular form. Kellan didn’t give her time to acknowledge him before he was kissing her. He kiss was deep and thorough, calling her passion and desire easily.
Her body melted against his. She was insatiable when it came to him. He had woken a shameless wanton with his skilled touch and ravenous kisses.
His hands were suddenly everywhere, touching every part of her until she didn’t know where he ended and she began. With greedy hands she touched his steely muscles and warm flesh. His moan of pleasure only inflamed her own desires.
“You were no’ in the bed,” he said between kisses down her neck.
“You weren’t in the room when I woke.”
“We doona need a bed.”
She shook her head and then gasped as he bent and closed his lips around her nipple before suckling. “No, no bed ne … needed.”
“Do you like that?” he asked, his voice husky from desire.
Her voice would no longer work. Denae simply nodded her head.
He began to kiss down her stomach, and she hastily pulled him back up for a kiss. She knew if she let him have his way with her it would be hours before she could think straight again, and she wanted her fun with him this time.
Denae shoved him back until he was against the wall, a teasing light in his celadon eyes. “What’s this?”
“This,” she said as she ran her hands down his chest until she wound a hand around his engorged rod, “is my turn.”
His fingers flexed on her arms, but he didn’t stop her. Instead, he watched her, the hunger growing in his gaze until her knees nearly buckled from the passion running through her.
Denae knelt before him with the water beating upon her back. She looked at his impressive arousal, running both hands along his length. Then she looked up at him and slowly wrapped her lips around the head of his cock.
As she took him into her mouth, he let out a long, low moan. Denae squeezed her legs together and sucked him deeper, moving her head so he slid in and out of her mouth.
She had barely gotten into a rhythm before he had her on her feet and against the wall. He hooked an arm beneath her knee and filled her with one thrust.
“Your sweet mouth was about to make me come, and I needed to be inside you,” he said with heaving breaths.
Whatever words Denae was going to say were lost as he began to move inside her. She clung to him, her nails digging into his shoulders as her head dropped back.
There was a hurried and frantic feel to their lovemaking. He swept her on a tide of unending, frenzied passion that took her breath and thought.
With each thrust he went deeper, harder. Try as she might to deny it, Denae felt the strings of their bond growing thicker, tighter.
It frightened her, this draw he had, and when she tried to pull away, he pinched her nipple, reminding her that she was his—even if it was just for the moment.
Denae couldn’t deny him, not even when her heart was in jeopardy. She opened her body and her heart to him—whatever the consequences.
His fingers dug into her hips as he pounded inside her, the water slicing between them. The climax came with no warning, it was wild and intense, made only more so as Kellan continued to plunge inside her.
Denae was hanging onto Kellan, wondering how he could remain standing. Her body hummed with satisfaction, but she should’ve known he would want more from her.
He withdrew and positioned her so that she was leaning forward with her ass in the air. He came up behind her and filled her.
Denae moaned, her hands spread on the wet glass as she rocked forward with every thrust. The feel of his balls grazing her thighs sent a flood of desire straight to her already sensitive sex.
Then he reached around and cupped her breasts, teasing and massaging her nipples. As if on cue, her body responded to his touch.
Her second orgasm was coming closer, her body on fire once more. One of Kellan’s hands then found her clit. With one swirl of his finger, she was tumbling into another climax, this one stronger than the first.
She screamed his name, just as he gave a bellow and thrust deep and gave in to his orgasm.
For a long time they stayed as they were. Any minute the world would intrude, but each precious second was theirs. Kellan kissed the back of her neck and slowly pulled out of her.
Denae straightened and turned as he grabbed the soap and began to wash her. Laughter filled the bathroom as they washed each other, stopping for long kisses and teasing touches.
It was during one scorching kiss that a series of loud bangs could be heard from the bedroom door. A beat later someone shouted for Kellan.
He pulled back, a slight frown marring his features. “I have to go.”
“I know,” she said and made sure he accepted her forced and shaking smile. She wanted him to walk away without knowing that she was falling completely apart.
She waited, her heart in her throat, for him to say they needed to talk, or even to ask her to stay awhile. Instead, he turned off the shower and handed her a towel.
Denae held the towel against her as he walked from the shower and into the bedroom.
Just as she knew in her heart he was walking out of her life.
CHAPTER FORTY
Phelan walked into the cottage he shared with Aisley to find her sitting in the living room sharing a drink with Laura and Charon.
All three heads turned to him when he entered through the door. Charon, a fellow Warrior and a close friend, immediately frowned. Aisley was on her feet and walking to Phelan before the door shut behind him.
He welcomed her loving arms as she wrapped them around him. Phelan held her tightly, burying his head in her neck.
“You’re home now,” Aisley whispered.
They didn’t keep secrets from each other. She knew why he had gone to Dreagan, and he had kept her as up to date on things as he could. What he hadn’t wanted to tell her until he returned home was that Tristan was Duncan.
Such a secret weighed heavily upon him, and Phelan knew that as soon as he shared it with her, things were going to change for all the Warriors and Druids, but most especially those living in and around MacLeod Castle.
Aisley pulled back and ran her hands over his face, her worried gaze searching his. “You look like you could use a drink.”
“Two or three, in fact,” he said. He kissed her, reveling in the fact such a woman was really his.
She wasn’t just a Druid, she was a Phoenix—able to regenerate after death with fire. Phelan had lost her once and thought he’d have to live the rest of his immortal life without her. But when they burned her body, she had returned to him. It was how everyone, including Aisley, learned of the rare heritage passed through her family.
At least when he ended the kiss and she pulled out of his arms, Aisley was smiling. With her in his life he could face anything—even something as awful as what was coming.
“We were getting a bit worried,” Laura said as she greeted him.
Phelan smiled at the wife of his best friend and fellow Warrior, Charon. “I want a shower to scrub the stink of the Dark Fae off me, but not yet. There are things everyone needs to know.”
“That sounds ominous,” Charon said with a frown after they clasped hands and he resumed his seat on the sofa opposite Phelan. “I thought you were just going to Dreagan to chat with Con and the others.”
Phelan looked at Aisley in the kitchen, who gave a shrug.
“I didn’t know how long you would be, or what would happen,” she explained. “Had I told Charon everything, he’d have been at Dreagan himself demanding to be standing alongside you.”
Charon’s frown deepened as he looked from Aisley to Phelan. “I’m getting pissed. What the bloody hell are you two talking about?”
Laura put her hand atop Charon’s. “It looks like Phelan has gotten himself involved in something.”
“I think you’re right,” he answered, continuing his hard stare at Phelan. “And I’ve got a feeling the Kings didna bother to mention how deep the shite was before Phelan stepped in it.”
Aisley sank beside Phelan on the sofa and handed him the opened bottle of ale. He drank down three huge gulps before he set the bottle on the table between the sofas and met Charon’s gaze. “I knew the shite was deep when I agreed. I wasna fooled into helping out.”
Charon took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “How bad is it?”
“Potentially devastating.”
Phelan went on to tell them about Denae, MI5’s involvement with the Dark, Denae and Kellan being taken by the Dark Ones, and Rhi helping to locate the Dragon King and human in Ireland. He described the Fae doorways, how the Dark Fae had taken over an abandoned manor and somehow opened the Fae world beneath with tunnels, and how Phelan and Tristan helped to get Kellan and Denae out of the tunnels.
He drained the last of his ale as he told of the battle and how the Kings, along with Denae, got back to Scotland.
“The Fae opened their world up into ours?” Aisley asked, her voice shaking.
Phelan took her hand in his. “No’ yet. Rhi and the Kings are worried it might come to that. For now, it’s confined to the tunnels beneath the manor.”
“How bad is it?” Charon asked.
“Bad. Verra bad,” Phelan said. “The creatures we encountered are huge and vicious. If the Fae world bleeds into ours, the humans willna know what to do.”
Laura’s intelligent eyes met his. “Are the Light Fae doing anything about the Dark? Or are they joined in this together?”
“This was all the Dark,” Phelan said. “Rhi was right there beside us battling them. There wasn’t much said, but I know the Kings are suspicious of the Dark Fae’s alliance with MI5.”
“And just who put that alliance into motion,” Aisley guessed.
Phelan grinned. His wife had spent enough time in the midst of her evil cousin to know how villains thought. “They suspect it’s Ulrik.”
“That name again,” Laura said with a shake of her head. “I have a feeling he’s the one who came into the bar months ago. He looked lost, haunted. I wouldn’t peg him to be evil.”
“But evil has many faces,” Charon said. “We learned that well enough.”
Laura tucked her legs beneath her and twisted her lips in a grimace. “Truer words haven’t been spoken.”
“So,” Aisley said. “Where does that leave things?”
Phelan leaned back and regarded the three people around him. They were his family. For centuries the Warriors had battled droughs, or evil Druids. Aisley’s cousin, Jason, had been the last to be killed.
It would be easy to tell the Dragon Kings to fight their own battles. How many centuries had passed before the Kings had deigned to tell the Warriors of their existence? Not once did the Kings step in and help during the Warriors’ war.
Not until it appeared that the war was bleeding into the humans’ lives.
Just as things were about to now.
Phelan blew out a harsh breath. “The Kings are powerful. I saw just what kind of damage they can do to the Dark. I also saw how the Dark Ones could inhibit the Kings, all but preventing them from shifting into dragon form.”
“Fuck,” Charon mumbled.
Phelan couldn’t have said it better. “I think we need to be ready in case they do call upon us for anything.”
“I agree,” Aisley stated.
Laura and Charon nodded together.
Phelan licked his lips. That was one burden off his shoulders. He would have to repeat it all again at MacLeod Castle for the other twelve Warriors and their Druid wives.
