Winters awakening, p.18
Winter's Awakening, page 18
He shook his head, kissing her deeper. And hope surged.
God knew she wanted—hungered for him. As he licked inside her mouth, Brenna forgot her concerns, his tongue finding hers in a carnal demand.
She moaned and kissed him back, her mind in sensory overload. His arms tightened around her, and she pressed into him, wanting all that hard muscle against her, but nothing quite aligned. He was too damn tall.
Growling, Sebris lifted her and backed up against the wall. Her fingers threaded into his beautiful hair. Her legs tightened around him, and her dress gathered up to her hips, her core pressing against his hard abs.
He grabbed her ass with one hand, shifting her, lining them better, and he moved his hips, his hard cock rubbing her panty-covered cleft. God… A wave of pure need spread through her like wildfire.
“I want you so damn bad.” He groaned against her mouth. His tongue found hers again, and he explored her mouth as if determined to claim, possess, and mark her.
The sound of a revving engine then laughter cracked through her passion-drunk haze. Harsh breaths sawed in and out of her. She pulled back, staring into his handsome face, into those blazing, black-streaked, pearlescent eyes, and reality fell into her like a knife in her chest. He might miss her, but for him, this was just sexual. A fling. For her…for her it was so much more.
It’s probably what he wanted to talk about because his kind didn’t settle down with Others.
“No,” she breathed, her mouth hot and swollen from his sensual kiss. “You can’t do this. Not now. It’s not fair.”
“I know.”
“Then why?” she pleaded.
“Because I can’t keep away from you.”
“But you will leave once the artifact is found,” she whispered.
“It’s complicated…”
Wasn’t it always? She swallowed past the lump of hurt forming in her throat, the heat of passion fading, leaving her impossibly cold. “Let me down.”
Exhaling roughly, he lowered her to her feet. His turbulent gaze held hers. “I have Dregarus to worry about. With its insurmountable problems raining down on us, and no damn way out of this, I must go. I cannot stay, Brenna.”
“Right.” She shouldn’t be surprised at his words, considering his single-minded pursuit in saving his world. Still, pain seeped through the fractures in her heart’s shield. “Xever warned me, and still I let you close. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking—” She wheeled away.
“Dammit, Brenna, wait—”
“No,” she flung over her shoulder. She didn’t want him to see her devastation. What more was there to talk about? He would leave no matter what, and she didn’t believe in flings, not when her heart was cracking in two.
He grasped her wrist, jaw tight, a vein pulsing on his brow. “Listen—”
“No, you listen—” Pain swelled. “I’ll do what I have to, just leave me alone. Don’t kiss me and don’t touch me, and don’t look at me the way you do.” Like I’m all you see—all you want.
His eyes, edged with desire and frustration had her entire being sliding toward a meltdown, to giving in to him.
“What?” she breathed, finding it hard to talk with a throat tight with tears. “Are you saying there’s a future for us?”
“It’s not that simple—”
“Of course, it isn’t.” She laughed, choking back her hurt. Well then, someone had to do the right thing. “I’ll make this real easy for you.” She tugged her arm free and marched back to her shop, coffee forgotten.
Her sister’s teasing words from years ago, when Brenna lay in her sickbed after yet another bad asthma attack, echoed in her head like a harbinger of death.
When you fall, it will be in a blink of an eye…
Brenna had no idea then how prophetic those words would be. Or the pain they would bring her now.
Chapter 17
“Bren!” Eve grabbed Brenna in a lung-crushing hug, right in the doorway of Kat’s apartment an hour later. After the agonizing morning with Sebris, she desperately needed someone to hold her.
“You’re okay?” Kataya asked, her pale skin whiter than usual, her corkscrew titian hair spilling about her shoulders. She rubbed Brenna’s back. No, her friend didn’t hug anyone, but it was okay.
Brenna nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Good. I was so sure…” Kat’s voice trailed off, her whiskey-hued eyes shifting to look over Brenna’s shoulder to where Sebris stood. And the familiar wall of heat enclosed her. Heavens, she wanted to shut her eyes at the intimacy, and he wasn’t even touching her. Instead, she steeled her spine and introduced them. “This is Sebris. My friends, Eve and Kataya.”
Eve cast him a cautious look, and Kat narrowed her eyes. Brenna could understand their wariness. Even dressed casually in black jeans, t-shirt, and biker boots, he exuded danger. Hell, he was a dark angel, incredibly gorgeous, and utterly intimidating. He didn’t have to say anything, just be.
He gave them his typical short nod then removed his cell phone from his pocket.
A pin drop could be heard in the silence. Brenna wasn’t sure if her friends were even breathing.
He lifted his black-streaked pale gaze to hers. “I’ll be back in an hour for you,” he said, shocking her that he’d actually leave her alone. And then, as if refusing to accept her decision when it came to them, he gently stroked her back before walking away.
No, she couldn’t cave, couldn’t let her already shaky shields collapse. She’d be the one hurting when he left. Aware her friends watched her, she slapped on a smile and shut the door, hoping her inner turmoil didn’t show. “Let me get a soda, then we can talk, okay?”
“Wow, I can’t believe he actually left you alone,” Eve said, brushing back her dark hair, her deep-green eyes a stunning contrast to her dusky gold skin.
“I asked him to.” Brenna gave a one-shoulder shrug, making her way to the adjoining kitchen separated by a breakfast nook, and opening Kat’s fridge. Still, she too wondered why he’d left when he’d been dead set against it.
“Are you okay?” Kat asked, studying her intently as Brenna got out a soda.
She hip-bumped the door shut and popped the tab of her drink. “I am. Look, I know they are the Empyreans’ enemies, but despite Sebris taking me, they’ve been good to me—”
“I don’t believe it,” Kataya muttered, shaking her head, her deep red spirals bouncing about her shoulders. “Not you, too.”
“Me, too, what?” Brenna asked in confusion.
Kat shot a swift stare to the door where Sebris had been moments ago. “First Eve—”
“Good grief, Kat, no. Cut me a little slack, will you? It may be two weeks here, but I’ve only known him for a few days in Dregarus. There is nothing between us…” She couldn’t finish the lie, and instead, took a sip of her soda.
“So, what happened?” Kat, ever the practical one, demanded. “He took you to his world and…?
Brenna shrugged, walking into the living room. “Nothing much. Their healer or doctor saw to me while I recovered, having a stupid head injury and all that. Anyway, Sebris believes I have magic in my blood, and that I can find this missing artifact. I thought it was you they actually needed.” she said to Eve. At their silence, she frowned. “Why aren’t you both laughing this off?”
“Because he’s right, in a way. We only found out the truth after you were gone,” Eve hastily added.
“What?” Shock rooted her to the floor. “What do you mean in a way?”
“Damn immortals,” Kat muttered in irritation.
Eve cut their friend a quick look. “The Stone of Light existed in Empyrea millennia ago, but somehow fell into our world. It crashed into my parents’ car over a decade past, and it’s what caused the accident. The artifact shattered into fragments but the magic within found humans to house it. Their mage said it’s something about the Stone being female in its power. That’s why it chose women.” Eve’s intense stare pinned hers, her voice lowered. “The Empyreans believe you probably are one of the several chosen, Bren. Of course, they can’t be sure until you touch the mystical scroll. If you have any of the Stone’s magic, the scroll will respond to you.”
Brenna’s knees gave way, and she slumped onto the futon, so sure her entire world had shifted off its axis. She never really believed she possessed any magic, and now her trusted friend confirmed it was possible. However, Eve’s revelation about the artifact having shattered into pieces—oh, Christ, how would Sebris react? With the magic dispersed in this way, how would this help save his beautiful world, and save his people?
“I know it’s overwhelming to take in all at once, but it’s true, Bren,” Eve said, her voice soft. “I’ve been through it.”
Brenna set her soda down on the coffee table and hunched over, her arms wrapping around her midriff, feeling as if she would collapse into herself, into the hole forming in her stomach. Except, she knew her friend would never lie to her. Not about something like this.
“What happens now?” Kat asked.
Unable to remain still, Brenna jumped up and started pacing the length of the living room. “This is all so overwhelming.” She shoved both hands through her hair. Stopping at the window, she stared blankly outside then she spun back to Eve. “When I got hurt in the blast at the flower stall, is that when they—the Darkreans—abducted you?”
“Ah, right, you won’t know what happened.” Eve scrunched her nose. “Yes, the explosion caused us both to get hurt. Remember the goddess after Reynner? Well, she triggered it. She tracked me to warn me off him, and when I told her to take a hike—not in those exact words, but yeah—she got mad and caused the power blast. I’m so sorry you got caught in it, too.”
“Hey—” Brenna hurried across and hugged her friend, careful not to touch her psychic-sensitive hands. Because not only would Eve see her thoughts, but it would cause her friend undue pain considering all the turbulent emotions flaying Brenna right then. “It’s okay, I don’t blame you for anything.”
Her gaze lowered to the puckered, bumpy skin on Eve’s hand that started from her wrist and extended to her fingertips, injuries she’d sustained trying to save her parents from the burning wreck of their car crash.
“Did…” Brenna licked her dry lips. “Did any of the Darkreans hurt you when they captured you?”
“No. But the mohawk guy locked me in the basement. Yeah, hated it.” Eve shuddered. “Sebris hadn’t been pleased about it, but god, Bren, they are all so cold and emotionless. I mean I touched Sebris—only to see what his plans were—and I picked up nothing from him, no emotions at all. It was like falling into a void. Oh, I did see brief flashes of a terrible snowstorm, though.”
“Dregarus,” Brenna said.
If anything, Sebris might appear cold, but there was heat beneath all that ice, as he’d shown her during their time together in her bedroom on Dregarus, then in the alley earlier.
“That’s what you saw, the snowstorm. It’s an ice-bound domain and a part of Empyrea—Sebris’ dominion. It storms frequently there and it’s a thousand times worse than our winters here. Nothing survives on land, except for a few trees, and a lovely white Rean Forest. But there’s incredible beauty, too. Underground, they have a gorgeous garden and flowers that give off these neon lights, and then there’s this incredible hot spring with huge fungi-like florescent plants…” Her gushing slowed. Both her friends stared at her, their mouths hanging. “What?”
Kat snorted and straightened from where she leaned against the breakfast nook. “So, Brenna has to go to Exilum for this test with the scroll?”
“Exilum?” Brenna repeated.
“It’s another realm where exiled immortals make their home,” Eve said. “Reynner lives there, too. It’s a long story.” She grimaced. “But he isn’t exiled.”
Go to another realm? Why couldn’t one thing be straightforward? “That’s not going to work, Eve.”
“I know. Reynner and Sebris in the same room? There will be bloodshed. Reynner still wants Sebris’ head for abducting first me then you—ugh! And Aerén blames Sebris for the disappearance of his parents…” Eve rubbed her arms.
“I don’t want that,” she whispered, looking at both Eve and Kat. “But Sebris will never allow me to go anywhere without him especially with the Empyreans around.”
“Of course, he won’t, because you are who he wants,” Kat muttered.
“Kat, not helping here,” Eve murmured, her brow creasing. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of something.”
“I better go.” Brenna headed for the door. “I’ll call you later after I get a new cell. Let me know what time we must meet to do this test.”
“Bren…” Eve followed her, her tone cautious. “If the Darkreans forced you in any way, you can tell me. I’ll call Reynner, and he’ll be here in minutes. The Empyreans will keep you safe.”
Something inside her rebelled at the thought, and more so that they would think of Sebris in that negative way. Yes, he was cold and ruthless, but only when it came to the protection of his world and his people. She thought about gentle Erideni who lay unconscious in a healing sleep, the warmth of Adara, blushing Roic, funny Hauck, Erideni’s friendly parents, and the other brave, caring warriors.
She shook her head at her friend. “No. Eve, don’t. I lived with the Darkreans. I got to know them, and I like them. They deserve the same chance to a better future as the Empyreans.”
“But they would overthrow the reigning monarch,” Eve said, sounding appalled. “They want to rule Empyrea.”
“No, they don’t—”
“Whoa!” Kat waved her hands at them. “Let’s just stop right there before this becomes a pissing match. Eve, Bren, their world’s problems are not yours. If I sound cold, I don’t care. You both are helping them, and that’s fine. But you don’t live there, Eve, so let it go. As long as Brenna’s back home and safe, that is what matters.”
“I just want her to know we’re here for her,” Eve protested. “I’m worried because Sebris is really cold. He threatened me, and he made me bleed—”
“He what?” the words were dragged out of Brenna, a giant fist compressing her lungs.
Eve grimaced and touched an unmarred spot near her hairline. “Well, I got hurt in the blast first. It had started to scab over, but somehow he made it bleed again so he could test my blood.”
It took a moment before the buzz in her head cleared and Brenna could focus again. Sebris had told her he’d tasted Eve’s blood but not what he’d done. Deep down she understood he wouldn’t deliberately hurt Eve, yet a knot of fury spiked through her. Still, her stomach knotted at the thought he’d been that intimate with her friend—
Christ, Brenna rubbed her eyes. She was losing her mind. What did it matter anyway? She and Sebris weren’t together. Could never be together.
“Bren,” Eve said, eyeing her thoughtfully now. “Just so you know, Sebris did hand me back to Reynner when he came for me. I can’t say it wasn’t without a fight, but Sebris did. And I doubt the fight was even about me…” She frowned. “Aerén, that’s Reynner’s friend, accused Sebris of abducting his parents. They’re the ruling monarchs of Empyrea, so it could be because of that.”
“I don’t know about any missing sovereigns,” she whispered. Later-later she’d try and make sense of all this. She glanced at the time on Kat’s microwave and opened the door. “I’ll call you about the scroll test.”
Eve nodded. “I’ll speak with Reynner as soon as I go home—oh, man,” she groaned.
“I’m really sorry, Eve.” She cast her friend a troubled look. “I know I put you in an impossible position keeping our meeting from Reynner—”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll be fine.” Eve gave her a reassuring smile.
To be so secure in a relationship, in a man’s love, what would that feel like? Sighing, she headed for the stairwell. Reynner loved Eve, so Brenna was sure he’d listen to her.
And Sebris? How would he take the news that there no longer was a Stone of Light, and that an ancient scroll had to prove she possessed some of the magic the mystical Stone had imbued her with?
Brenna stepped out into the stifling heat and grimaced, the fabric of her dress sticking to her damp back. A large, warm hand grasped hers, and the fine hairs on her arms prickled in awareness. Only one person could do that to her.
“You shouldn’t have waited outside.” Sebris’ intense, black-streaked eyes swept over her before they narrowed. “What’s wrong?”
She shrugged. “Nothing. I was done and wanted to leave.”
He stared at her for the longest second. She had no idea what he looked for but his attention made her too damn warm.
“I spoke to Eve,” she said in a rush, surprised he hadn’t asked her anything yet.
“Later.” He grasped her hand and headed down the street. “Here.” He handed her a brand-new cell phone. “We keep a few as back-ups. It has all the numbers we use while on this world.”
Brenna stared at the black device, her throat tightening. He just had to go and do something nice when she had started to build those walls again. She blurted, “You hurt Eve when you abducted her.”
He stopped dead and didn’t pretend not to understand. “I didn’t hurt her, I just caused the wound she already had to bleed a little so I could test her magic. Do you honestly think, knowing who I am, she would have readily given me a sample of her blood?” he asked, tone flat. “You know I will do whatever I must to save Dregarus.”
She sighed and nodded. He continued walking, his grip tightening on her hand.
No, he wouldn’t deliberately hurt anyone, but abduct, yes. She bit her lip in worry, aware of just how devastating her news about the Stone would be. Erideni would remain in a healing sleep for God knew how long—damn, she had to run to keep up with his long-legged stride. Panting a little, Brenna looked around, recognizing the back of Kataya’s building. “Slow down, would you?”
Instantly, he shortened his stride.
“Shouldn’t we get a cab and head back to my—”
“We’re not going to the apartment.” He drew her flush against his hard, warm body, before she could scrape back an inch of sanity needed space, he dematerialized them. Brenna shut her eyes.
