Licked by the Flame (9 page)

For now, he could allow her to rest. Once he got out to the mountain to investigate these readings, he would know better what further exertion would be needed. He’d keep Lianne close. With luck, next time desire took them over, neither of them would have to settle for some quick groping in the dark. He would see just how much passion she truly possessed.

T
here, what’s that?” Kyne pointed off toward the distance.

They had left the strange little box that had affected them, and gone higher up on the mountain. Raea blinked against the wind and could make out dots of faint light clustered on the stretch of flat plain that spread out from the base of the mountain. It was not magical light—it was very obviously human-made. A settlement, out here in this uninviting wasteland? No, those lights were more than likely evidence of the scientific group Baylor had told them they’d find working here. Clearly, they would have to stay very far away from that area.

“Well, at least we know where not to go,” she said.

“I don’t know, maybe we should check it out.”

Had she heard him correctly in the din of the wind? He couldn’t possibly have suggested they go that direction, so far out of their way and so dangerously close to people. Once Kyne had triggered that sensor, there was no telling who might have been alerted. Anyone could be searching for them now. More than anything, they needed to avoid habitations.

“There could be dozens of humans there,” she pointed out, although how he could possibly overlook that fact she had no idea.

“Exactly. Whatever is going on, anyone from our Realm will intentionally avoid that human jobsite. They’ll be hunting for us here on the mountain, but they won’t think to look for us there.”

“But the humans—”

“We’ve been hiding ourselves from humans all our lives, Raea. We know how to do that. What we don’t know is what some of our own kind are doing working with the humans. We should hide ourselves where they’d least expect us so we can plan our next actions.”

She hated to admit that he made perfect sense. Baylor had been right; fairies knew how to hide in plain sight. The last place the Fairy Council—or anyone else—would think to search for them would be around humans. Perhaps this would give them time to learn a few things before ending up face-to-face with an enemy.

“All right. We’ll go there,” she agreed and shuddered at her own words.

Kyne grasped her hand. “We’ll wait a little while, though. We both need to catch our breath.”

She knew he was just fine. He was stronger and more resilient than she was, but she appreciated that he was careful not to make her feel frail. Kyne was proof positive that sometimes being half-human had its advantages.

She dropped her head on his shoulder as they scanned the landscape below. “Thanks. There’s no telling who we’ll run into down there. I just need a couple more minutes to be ready.”

“Take your time. Those humans might be the least of our worries.”

Well, that was a sobering thought. As if she had ever in her life imagined that she’d rather run into a human than another of her own kind! How disturbing.

The world had somehow flipped itself upside down lately. She’d accepted help from a human, come to distrust her own council, and now here she was being battered by winds over the rocky terrain of someplace called Iceland. Yet all it took was one quick glance at Kyne, one glimpse of his confident wing strokes and the determined set of his golden features, and she knew there was no other place on earth that she wanted to be.

She
had
to be here. For him, for herself, and perhaps for everyone else. If this unnatural union between the mundane and the Forbidden Realm was as dangerous as Baylor seemed to fear, then there was far more at stake here than Raea’s own feelings of comfort or security. The very Veil itself depended on what they were able to accomplish here.

“We should go now,” she said, taking a deep breath and pretending she wasn’t afraid. “I feel better. We need to get this done.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

She took a step away from him in order to appear more confident. “Yes. Let’s go. Maybe we should head down that way, following that deep, shadowy rift. That way there’d be less chance that anyone…Hey, what is that?”

She pointed toward a small construction way down at the very base of the mountain.

“It looks like a building of some sort,” Kyne said.

“Do you suppose someone lives there?”

“Pretty odd place for a house. And there aren’t any windows. It could be an equipment shed, a place where they store things or house machinery.”

“Machinery is what we came to investigate,” she noted.

“Let’s go check it out.”

“Just be careful,” she reminded. “And don’t kick it.”

The wind whipped around them but the rift she had pointed out ended up being an excellent way to stay hidden and avoid some of the more buffeting gusts. The tiny lights of the scientists’ dwellings they had seen in the distance were disappearing behind the rise of the landscape as they made their way lower and lower down the mountain.

There was no sign of life anywhere. It seemed they were totally alone out here. If circumstances were different and they weren’t in mortal danger, it could actually be kind of romantic.

“Do you think this equipment shed belongs to the science group, or is it a part of whatever the Fairy Council is involved in?” she asked as they approached.

“Who’s to say the two things aren’t related? It seems like a pretty big coincidence that a research project would suddenly appear here, right beside the very mountain where Baylor says that mystery equipment is being shipped.”

She had to agree. They were very close to the shed now, so she refrained from speaking. It was time to be cautious and keep a lookout for anything suspicious. Kyne was tense, his gaze darting around, clearly on high alert. They paused just a few yards away, listening for anything that might give them alarm. Nothing. The world around them was vacant and dim.

It was full of magic, too. She could feel it flow through the air, immersing her body like warm water. It was similar to the magic she felt in their own Fairyrealm, yet different. Whatever this Iceland place was, it was ancient and it was magical. Humans had not yet pushed the Veil away as they had in her homelands. This place was still free and wild, and her skin prickled with energy as she alighted beside Kyne, drawing in deep breaths of the air and the magic and the essence of her very being.

“Come on,” he said softly.

She followed him closely. He led her to the little building. They flew silently, carefully, circling it once, then twice. There was no sign of danger, so she nodded to him. He circled once more, then found a safe place to settle.

There was a little nook at the base of the shed, protected from view and from the tearing winds of the landscape. They landed there, sheltering next to the building. It had been constructed at the juncture where the mossy rocks of the plain gave way to the bare, soaring rocks that rose up to form the foundation of the ancient mountain. A concrete slab had been constructed and the shed was built onto it. As they’d noted, there were no windows. The lone doorway was locked securely with a chain.

Raea stood on the lip of the foundation that protruded from beneath the shed. She pressed her ear to the wall, listening.

“Do you hear anything?” Kyne asked.

“I don’t know. My ears are still ringing from all the wind we’ve been in. What do you think?”

He leaned in next to her and listened. “Some kind of machine, maybe. That doesn’t tell us much, though.”

“Humans certainly do like their tools and machinery. I guess that’s because they don’t have magic. I feel kind of sorry for them.”

“Don’t. They get by just fine.”

Of course that was true. Their lack of magic never seemed to keep humans from doing whatever it was they wanted to do in their world. Often it was to the detriment of the beings who did have magic. So what was their involvement here on this huge, foreboding mountain?

She turned her back on the shed and focused instead on the wasteland of jagged rocks spread out before them, shadowed by the mountain. Even as enormous as it was, it still could not block out the vast expanse of stars. They were beautiful. It was an alien world to her, yet as she stood here, close beside Kyne, she felt more and more at home.

Her tired muscles began to relax, Kyne noticed, turning to lean against the building with her and look up at the stars. It felt so peaceful and safe that she allowed herself to sag against him. He put his arm around her, his lips brushing the top of her head and sending a thrill that coursed through her, top to bottom.

“I’m glad I’m here with you, Kyne,” she said with a sigh.

It really didn’t seem to matter whether she was with him in Iceland, or safely back in that little cottage where they had forgotten the world and spent days enjoying the passion they’d so long denied themselves. She would be happy anywhere she could be with him, where his skin could touch hers and stir the embers of desire.

She snuggled close to him. Magic kept their bodies warm, even in this frigid place, but Kyne made her warmer. She reached to touch him, skimming her hands over his muscular form. Vibrations from whatever was inside the building thrummed through her, Kyne’s earthy scent filled her senses. There was no danger, no worry, no emptiness here. Kyne made her feel safe, and passion made her feel daring.

She moved his light clothing aside to feel the breadth of his chest. He pulled her closer, lifting her and then lowering her as he found a comfortable place to sit. She curled onto his lap and she raised her face toward his. Her lips fairly begged for his kiss, and he’d never yet disappointed her. He took her mouth with enthusiasm, his kiss ardent and long. She responded by wrapping herself around him, straddling him where he sat. She could feel him pressing against her, ready to give in to their passion again.

And her body was equally eager. It crossed her mind that she should probably be a little more focused on their reason for being here, that she ought to catch her breath from their travels before she engaged in wild carnality, but the heat was growing stronger within her, and Kyne tasted so very, very good…she had to have him. This longing was rapidly taking over her conscious thought, her reasoning ability. The familiar abandon of lust and longing had possession of her mind. It was almost as if…

“Raea…wait…” Kyne said, his voice raspy and tight. “Something’s not right.”

“We’ll make it right,” she assured him, raining kisses over his face and running her hand down between them to free that straining organ that could release the explosion inside her.

“No, I mean…we shouldn’t be doing this.”

She argued silently, grinding herself against him. His breathy groan only served to make her hotter. She threw back her wings and pressed her body against his.

“We’ve felt this before,” he murmured as he nibbled her neck, cupped her breasts in his hands, and sent violent jolts of pleasure through her as he fingered her tender nipples.

She sighed. “Yes…over and over again.”

“I’m talking about what we feel around the strange machinery, like back in the forest, or at that sensor we found.”

What, could he be right? Was she falling prey to the strange equipment
again
? By the Skies, the human world was packed full of those insidious machines now. She and Kyne were helpless under their influence as the machines sucked up their magic and left raw instinct to take charge of them. Passion would overtake them completely, leaving them vulnerable and helpless against their enemies.

“Is that what this is?” she asked, not hesitating a moment in her exploration of his hard, throbbing maleness. “You believe we’ve found more of these machines and that’s what’s making me want you so badly?”

He made a weak-willed attempt to brush her hands aside. “You know when you touch me like that I can’t think straight.”

“Then I’ll never stop touching you, Kyne. I need to feel more of you…all of you.”

“Damn these machines! I can’t control myself, Raea.”

He gave up his defense and began working at her clothing, sliding her skirt up and feeling his way. She chewed his lip and sucked in a ragged breath when he penetrated her in hurried fervor. There was no need for games, no teasing or foreplay. She rocked into position, taking him fully inside. Her body welcomed him with greedy response. He groaned and she cried out in pained pleasure.

He grasped her backside, she clutched his shoulders. The feel of him possessing her, filling her as he did, made her dizzy. Waves of passion and sensation rose to carry her. She kissed him, nipped at him, felt his hands on her skin and his body writhing with hers, tumbling toward that blissful edge where her climax would send them both into momentary oblivion. She shifted, riding him with all her might, determined to drain every ounce of sensation, every heated groan of passion from this fiery union.

Even after their days of eager lovemaking back in the cabin, she found herself nearly frantic for more. He was huge and she moaned with utter bliss as he chafed his body against hers, his solid shaft sliding deeper, then pulling away to torment the throbbing void he left behind. Over and over in increasing abandon, the motion ignited flames of need that burned to her very core.

“The machines, Raea…” He panted as his fingertips dug into her flesh. “I can’t contain myself anymore. The passion is too strong. I can’t stop.”

“I don’t want you to stop,” she rasped in reply, grinding herself against him and shuddering as the first floods of climax washed over her senses. “By the Skies, I can’t let it end. I only want more and more of you, Kyne.”

“You can’t bear more of me, Raea. You know what will happen. We have to stop now.”

“I can’t. I need this too much. I have to have all of you.”

She wrapped herself more tightly around him. The sound he made was pure agony and she thrilled with an animal energy at it. She could feel how he struggled to maintain some shred of control while she gave in to every instinct, sliding herself over him again and again.

She knew what would happen when he lost the battle—of course she did, but she no longer cared. His climax would overwhelm him, and his body would take on his human form. He would cease being a fairy and become fully human, in every way. Her tiny body could never accommodate a human. She knew this, yet desire was her master and there was no reasoning left in her. She could only cry out to the stars, calling Kyne’s name as the passion raged through her, and her muscles worked him in a fury of desperation.