Burning Ember Page 7

  “Sure. I’ll make sure she’s locked up tight in her terrarium.” He left the room, and Dimi turned to follow Zane, raising his brow at the slipping towel around Scarlet. He closed the door behind him.

  Archer was acutely aware of Scarlet’s lack of anything resembling clothing. Her full soft breasts pushed into his chest, and he could feel the heat of her body and her sex against his skin. He was fighting the urge to take her over to the bed and pin her down. “Um, Scar.” He shortened her name without thought.

  * * * *

  With the threat of the tarantula gone, Scarlet slowly became aware of heat—delicious heat. She shifted unconsciously, rubbing against Archer and causing him to groan as if he was in pain.

  “Oh, my God.” She suddenly realized she had her naked body pressed against Archer’s bare chest and stomach. She felt her cheeks flush.

  “Belan, I’m going to put you down, but I’m going to be a gentleman—even if it kills me. I’ll close my eyes so you can wrap that towel again, or put on some clothes.” His voice was low and rough, sending a spike of heat through Scarlet’s body.

  She nodded, not trusting her voice.

  “Good.” He swallowed, as if the loss of her body wrapped around his was going to be painful, then closed his eyes. He loosened his grip and Scarlet slid down his body.

  Her eyes widened when she felt the large bulge behind the zipper of his jeans. She jumped back as soon as her feet touched the ground, her eyes trailing down his magnificent body as she tucked the towel back into place. He had closed his eyes, so Scarlet felt safe staring at him. His broad shoulders and powerful chest tapered down to a narrow waist. A trail of dusky hair led her eyes farther down to an unbuttoned and half-zipped pair of jeans that were slung low on his hips. It was her turn to groan as she saw the head of his erection sticking up out of the half-zipped jeans. He was big, really big. Heat hit her like lightening, causing a surge of wetness and weakening her legs.

  So that’s what real lust feels like.

  Scarlet wasn’t a virgin, but she hadn’t been the kind of woman to go with each and every guy, so she didn’t have a lot of experience when it came to lust.

  “I’m…um.” She cleared her throat. “The towel is on again.”

  His eyes flared open, a look of disappointment crossing his features. “Are you going to be okay, now?”

  Scarlet nodded again, her own disappointment making her feel a little sick. He was just going to leave.

  What were you expecting, stupid woman—for him to throw you on the bed and have his wicked way with you?

  “Yeah, I’ll be great as long as that monster stays out of my room.”

  Archer frowned, “Which monster?”

  “The dinner plate sized tarantula.” What other type of monster is the idiot expecting? “Oh, that monster.” Archer gave her a little smile. “Belan, you do realize that you are sharing a home with two vampires, a werewolf and a chaos demon, don’t you? There are plenty of monsters around.”

  Scarlet tilted her head. “Chaos demon?”

  “Yes, Dimitri is a chaos demon, and trust me when I say I hope you never see him in his chaos state.”

  Scarlet was having trouble concentrating on what he was saying as her eyes kept dropping to his body.

  “I’m going to go now.” He gave her a look that said he knew that she was enjoying the view. “Scream if you need me.” He grinned

  “Hardy har.” She rolled her eyes.

  He turned and opened the door, looking at her one last time over his shoulder before he was gone.

  Chapter Eight

  Scarlet ran through the forest, her heart pounding in her ears, the sound nearly eclipsing the eerie chill of Luke’s laughter as he hunted her.

  Her shoulder slammed into a tree, causing her to gasp in a breath as she stumbled. She caught her balance and continued her break neck pace through the dense underbrush.

  Wait…this isn’t right—I’ve done this already—I’m dreaming.

  Her internal voice calmed her down. It was nothing more than a nightmare, a rehash of the terror she’d experienced in the forest. Scarlet reminded herself that she was safe in her bed at Outsiders Inc.

  She rolled in her sleep, in her mind, seeing herself lying on her right side.

  This still isn’t right.

  Scarlet sat up in her dream, the covers pooling at her waist, her wide eyes glued to the high back chair near the bed.

  “Geo?”

  What kind of weird-ass dream am I having now?

  “Yes?”

  He was—well, perched was the best word—on the high back of the chair. He sat on his haunches, and seemed to balance with no effort.

  “I’m dreaming right? What are you doing in my dream?” Scarlet rubbed her eyes.

  “Why wouldn’t I be in your dream? I am the hottest of the Enforcers, so you must be secretly lusting after me.”

  Scarlet made a rude sound. “Yeah, riiiight.”

  “What? An angel can’t hope?” he replied, with a cocky grin.

  “Whatever, I’m changing my dream. I did before and I can again.” She started to lie down, determined to start dreaming of butterflies and meadows if she had to.

  “‘Fraid not, sweets, you may be dreaming, but I’m in your head. I might as well be sitting on this chair while you are awake. You can’t get rid of me.”

  Scarlet sat up straighter as she felt a spark of fear shoot through her stomach.

  “What do you want?” She wasn’t going to argue that he was in her head. Too many strange things had happened to her over the last few days.

  “It’s simple. I needed to find you, and I did. You still have the Kalick on your head. Nothing personal, you understand, but I am going to kill you.”

  He shrugged, and Scarlet’s eyes widened. She was sure she’d seen wings when he did it. They had been large and glowing white, ghost-like, on the edge of being invisible.

  “I’m safe here.” She swallowed. “Archer said I’d be safe here.”

  “Annoyingly, yes, Archer is right. I can’t get you while you are in the boundaries of Outsiders Inc. I had a devil of a time just getting into your dreams.”

  “Then, go away,” Scarlet growled out.

  “In a minute, sweets, but just remember. When you leave, you are fair game, and I have a job to do.”

  “You do what you need to do.” As she uttered the words, she knew she meant them. She was sick of being hunted like a fugitive. “Don’t think, though, I’m going to make it easy for you.” She was done with it all. Now she’d start fighting back.

  She crashed down on to the bed and squeezed her eyes shut in the dream.

  Counting to ten in her mind, she opened them up again, and Geo was gone.

  “My life has become the Outer Limits,” she muttered, and the dream shifted.

  * * * *

  Archer’s eyes opened as he woke, clear-headed, but still tired. It had taken him forever to fall asleep, and he knew why. Images of Scarlet pressed naked against his chest had haunted him for hours, and he’d been forced to take relief more than once before his body would let him rest.

  Being turned on was one thing, lust was another, but what she’d made him feel was way past both.

  Now that he was awake and his mind wasn’t clouded by need, Archer did something he didn’t do often—he spoke to his beast.

  What’s the attraction, and why are you so determined?

  All Thropes, Lycan—werewolves—and Therin—other shape shifters of all species—had an inner beast. Their beast was a separate animal personality that lay dormant until triggered. Part of the transition from child to immortal was learning to become one with their beast and learning to control the raw power the beast brought with it. If they couldn’t do it, they would go insane and die before reaching immortality. It was referred to as the The Accord, and Archer had reached his Accord with his beast a long time ago.

  He felt his beast wake to answer him.

  She’s ours.

&n
bsp; Archer shook his head. No she isn’t. She’s not even a Lycan.

  She’s ours, his beast repeated.

  “You make a convincing argument,” Archer muttered, dripping with sarcasm. He knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with his beast, so he decided to get up, shower and start the day.

  He was in the kitchen frying bacon and eggs an hour later, when Scarlet pushed the door open and stepped into the kitchen. His beast alerted him to her presence with an inner roar.

  “Followed your nose?” He didn’t turn from the range.

  “Yeah, it smells good.” She went to sit at the wooden table in the center of the kitchen.

  Archer served the food, putting a plate of bacon, eggs and toast in front of Scarlet.

  “There’s fresh coffee in the pot, if you want some.”

  Scarlet pushed her chair back and walked to the coffee pot, then glanced around the kitchen.

  “The mugs are in the cabinet to the left of the sink.” He’d been watching her, and images of the night before kept flooding his mind. He almost groaned when his body started to react again.

  She looked over her shoulder at him. “Can I pour some for you, too?”

  He turned his back to her, hiding his erection. “Yes, thanks.”

  Archer found things to do at the range until his body calmed down.

  Scarlet poured the coffee and went to sit down.

  When he was sure he wasn’t going to embarrass them both, he joined her, pulling out the chair opposite hers to sit.

  “Does no one else want breakfast?” she asked as she picked up her fork.

  “It’s too early for them, and Dimi is the only other one who eats.” Archer took a large bite of food, and started chewing.

  “It’s nine A.M., how is that early?” Scarlet asked

  Archer finished chewing and flashed a small smile.

  “Eternals are nocturnal for the most part, Belan.” He took a sip of coffee, then spoke again, “The only reason I’m up during the daylight hours is because you aren’t used to our reversed day and night yet.”

  “I can understand why vampires are nocturnal, but you don’t burn up in the sunlight.”

  “It’s not about a weakness for daylight, it’s about being yourself.” He took another sip of coffee.

  When Scarlet gave him a blank stare, he paused, then spoke again.

  “I’m not explaining this right, but let me try. For millennia, we’ve had to hide what we were. History has shown us that humans are panicky, violent creatures.”

  “Bull.” Scarlet put her utensils down, and it looked like she was getting ready to defend all of humanity.

  Archer raised a brow and said three words, “Salem witch trials.”

  “Those were real witches?” Her jaw went slack for a moment.

  He nodded. “And it’s not the first time humans have persecuted the Eternal for being different. That’s why we choose to live in the shadows. It’s easier to be yourself when you are hidden in the dark.” He took another sip of coffee. “So we are nocturnal. Humans sleep at night, we live at night.”

  “So, I better get used to a dawn bedtime?” Scarlet then took a bite of her egg.

  “Yes, it might be a good idea.” His lip curled in a slight smile.

  Scarlet had just opened her mouth as if about to answer when First of the Year Equinox by Skrillex started to play.

  Archer frowned and took his cell phone out his pocket, glancing at the screen. “Excuse me, I have to take this, but don’t let your food get cold.” He got up and walked towards the kitchen door. “Eat,” he said as he pushed the button to answer the call. “What do you want?” Archer pushed through the door and walked towards the reception area. He didn’t want Scarlet to overhear a conversation with Jasmine.

  “Do you have the pyro?” Jasmine asked.

  “Yes, but don’t write any checks for the four mil. You can’t have Scarlet.”

  There was a hiss of outrage from the speaker of the phone. “How dare you. We had an agreement.”

  “No we didn’t,” he corrected her. “You tried to bully me into taking the case.” He switched the phone to his other ear. “I told you in no uncertain terms that I wouldn’t take it.”

  “But you went and found her.”

  “I did, Jasmine, but there is a playground axiom that I plan on following,” he added in an almost smug tone.

  “And what is that?”

  “Finders keepers.” He ended the call and turned back to the kitchen.

  “Four million?” Scarlet stood behind him, her face a mask of worry. “Why would she pay four million for me? I’m sure the damage to the house wasn’t near that?”

  “You are a pyro, so it has nothing to do with the house. She has some other agenda. I don’t know what it is yet, but I was planning on finding out.” He put the phone back into the front pocked of his jeans.

  “This is all absurd. You know that, right?” She threw her hands up in frustration. “I’m in the middle of some type of paranormal soap-opera. With werewolves, and vampires and… some type of demon.”

  “Chaos demon.” Archer supplied.

  “Thank you.” Scarlet started to pace the carpet of the reception area as she ranted.

  “I’ve been thrown into the middle of this all, and I don’t know what to think. The woman who helped me when I had nowhere to stay is something other than she pretends to be, and she’s willing to pay you four million to get me back. Why? I want to know why.”

  Scarlet faced him, her eyes blazing.

  “Stop and take a breath, Belan. You need a little time to adjust, that’s all. It will make sense, I vow it.” He stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

  His words apparently didn’t help. She made a sound of anger and spun, leaving the reception and going down the passage to her room.

  Archer shook his head. He could understand that she needed some time to think, so he let her have her storm-off exit. At least she wasn’t leaving, because there was no way his beast would allow her to get away.

  Archer was on one of the lower floors of The Outsiders building. The whole floor was dedicated to the vast collection of tomes and books they had collected on every breed and caste of the Eternal.

  He sat at one of the reading desks in the yellow pool of light from the reading lamp, his dark head bent over an ancient leather-bound book.

  Archer was searching for any information he could find on pyros—anything that could help him teach Scarlet how to control her fire. If he couldn’t do that, she’d be doomed to a horrible death, and he would hold himself responsible.

  Cold fear settled in the pit of his stomach, making the words in front of his eyes blur for a moment.

  Why should it matter if she died? He wasn’t a sociopath. He wouldn’t like her death to be on his conscience, but why did the idea of her dying make him feel fear?

  She’s ours. His beast decided to weigh in on the thought process.

  “Oh, shut up if you can’t say anything useful,” Archer snapped out loud.

  Archer shook his head and continued reading the passage he’d been reading.

  If unable to gain control of their ability, Pyros will be incinerated in the heat of flame. To this date, there are no cases of surviving Pyros.

  ~See also Phoenix.

  “What has a myth about a burning bird got to do with real Eternal?” Archer slammed the book closed. “Nonsense.”

  He pushed back his chair and reached for the book to put it back in the shelf. He looked up focusing on the red flashing light that had caught his peripheral vision. “Oh, shit.” He dropped the book and sprinted out of the library. The light was the panic light from reception. It would flash in all the rooms of the building.

  It was a 911 from Zane. There was something up there he couldn’t deal with on his own.

  Archer slowed as he reached reception. He didn’t want to go barreling into a situation that might get Zane killed. He allowed his claws and fangs to lengthen, leaning on hi
s beast for extra strength and speed. In truth, it was too close to the full moon to deny the wolf that resided in his skin with him.

  He put his back to the wall and tilted his head around the edge so he could assess the situation. What he saw made him shake his head and walk around the corner.

  “Put him down, or I’ll shred you.”

  Jasmine had Zane up against the wall, her hand clamped around his throat. Zane hung there looking down at Jasmine. He looked bored more than scared.

  “He pushed a button to call Dimitri when I came in,” she hissed and tightened her grip.

  “He called me. Dimi is out. Put him down, and that’s the last time I’m asking.” Archer’s voice came out in a low growl.

  She dropped Zane without so much as a blink and turned to face Archer. She dusted off her hands as if she’d touched something dirty.

  “You should have ripped her to pieces, Zane.” Archer turned and glared at Jasmine.

  “I thought I’d leave the pleasure to you,” Zane answered in a dark tone, and went back to his place at the reception desk.

  “What do you want? Tell me and get the hell out of Outsiders Inc. You know you aren’t welcome here.”

  “I’ve come for what’s mine.” She threw her shoulders back.

  Archer laughed at her before he spoke, “You’ve lost nothing here—go back to the cesspool you swam out of.”

  “I want the pyro, Archer, and I will take her by force if necessary.”

  “Really?” Scarlet’s sardonic tone made everyone turn to her as she entered reception from the tunnel. “What makes you think you have the right to take me by force?” Her face was flushed, and Archer could feel the heat radiating off her skin from five feet away.

  “Calm down, Belan.” Archer’s tone was gentle. He didn’t want to aggravate the situation further.

  Jasmine stepped back. Archer suspected she’d felt the heat coming off Scarlet’s skin, too.

  Scarlet squinted at Jasmine for a moment. “Wings.”

  That one word was filled with such disgust that Archer had to wonder what made her so upset about wings.