“We protect the world from your kind
and
from Shadows,” Wyvern said.
Erion gave a mocking laugh. “Self-appointed judges.”
Wyvern’s eyes flashed. “You had no inhibitions about destroying the Fire Element.”
“To protect Kenna. Now shift into your natural form and get out.”
They looked at Kenna.
“Never mind her,” he said. “She’s not going to your precious Ghen. I’ll see to that.”
“But Airiana,” Kenna said.
“I’ll take care of Airiana.”
“But how? You can’t—”
His eyes blazed. “Can’t what?”
This time, she couldn’t halt the tears. “You can’t go for her. But I can.”
****
Blood rushed through Erion’s ears in a deafening roar. “Never!” He seized her shoulders.
Tears rolled down Kenna’s cheeks. “I’m just as responsible as you. I know how much you loved her, and that no one can take her place. I have to—”
“No one can take her place?” he repeated. “You think I love her?”
“I understand. I didn’t expect—”
“I love
you
.”
Kenna’s eyes widened.
“Didn’t you hear what the Drakaura said?” Erion’s fingers dug into her shoulders. “You’re my mate.” He stared hard into her hazel eyes. “But I can’t be the man—the Element—you need until I fix this.”
She searched his face. “How can you do that?”
He hesitated but knew she would never let him walk away without hearing the truth. He also needed answers. “There is a way back.”
“Siusaidh can return him,” Wyvern said.
Erion released Kenna and faced the Drakaura. “So the legends are true?”
Understanding flashed in the man’s eyes, followed by anger.
Erion grunted a mocking laugh. “That’s right. I wasn’t sure. But you just confirmed what I needed to know.”
“Siusaidh?” Kenna said. “The creator of the Ryalda?”
Erion shot Wyvern a menacing look. “Did you outline our entire history while I was gone?”
“The history of the Ryalda also belongs to her. And she would not be denied.”
Erion gave a derisive snort, despite the fact he couldn’t wholly blame the shape-shifter. Even the great Drakaura didn’t stand a chance against his woman’s fury.
“What are these legends?” Kenna demanded.
“Siusaidh still lives,” Erion said.
“How is that possible? My God, where is he?” Her eyes widened. “How old is he—how the hell long do we live?”
Hysteria tinged her voice, and Erion said in a calm voice, “You must know we don’t measure time as humans do. Our lifetimes are not like theirs.”
“How long will you be gone? How will you return?”
How could he tell her? But he didn’t have to. Understanding dawned in her eyes.
“You don’t know when you’ll return. Or if you will.”
Erion traced her cheek with the back of a hand. “I need the truth, and I need to be whole again.” He smiled gently. “I have to find Airiana.”
“You said
we
.”
“What?”
“‘
We
don’t measure time as humans do.’ But you’re not part of that
we
anymore. How many lifetimes before you have your answers,
Eric
?”
He stiffened. She understood, and he couldn’t fault her anger, but that didn’t lessen the sting. “I may not find the answers in my human lifetime, but I’m sure as hell going to try.”
She shoved away from him. “I’ll end this now.”
He recognized the igniting of fire in her core almost before it began. “Kenna!”
He grabbed her arm. Heat coursed through her, warming his fingers. He couldn’t stop her. “Think!” he shouted. “There’s no way in hell you can find her.” He lowered his voice. “If they’re right, you found me only because we’re mates, parts of the same whole.”
Kenna frowned, and he could see the wheels turning in her head. “I can find her.”
Erion gave her a hard shake. “Even if you did, she’ll strip you of your element as she did me. Who will bring you back? Them?” He jerked her head in the direction of the Drakaura. “You’ll leave me here alone to die in agony, Kenna. Stay for Eric, the man. Please.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I can’t lose you.”
Kenna’s fire flickered, but her resolve was anything but vanquished. It was now or never.
Despite the heat in her flesh, Erion hugged her to him. “Get out of here!” he shouted at the Drakaura. “Now! You can’t stop her, but I can.”
Their dark leather jackets melted into feathers as they spread their wings and lifted into the air above the cabin.
Kenna burned against Erion’s bare chest. He held her tighter. “Baby, don’t go. Remember when you asked me to stay. I didn’t listen. I’m sorry, but listen to me now. We can still be strong together.”
His heart broke. He had chosen. He would remain here with Kenna. Airiana would remain in Ghen until he could find a way back to her and to the truth.
Kenna continued to heat.
“I can’t feed you, can’t merge with you—dammit, Kenna.”
He kissed her. Her lips, warm with the igniting fire, cooled. She opened for him without hesitation. He thrust his tongue inside, soothing her, touching, tempting her to stay and face endless nights with this and more, so much more.
Kenna threw her arms around his neck and pressed closer. Erion groaned and slid his hands beneath the shirt. Her bare ass molded to his palms. He needed her more than he needed his next breath—the breath of wind he might never again hold.
“Erion.” She reached between them and traced the rigid line of his erection through the fabric of his shorts. “I need to touch you.”
He leaned his head back and hissed through his clenched teeth. “Then touch me.”
Kenna pulled the snap free on his shorts and lowered the zipper. Cool night air rushed over his skin. Blood rushed into his shaft with pleasurable pain. With deliberate slowness, she slipped her fingers inside, teasing him, causing his balls to draw close to his body. He wanted inside her
now.
She wrapped her hand around the girth and stroked from base to tip. Pre-cum leaked from the slit and trickled over the engorged sensitive head.
“Continue to stroke my cock, and I’m going to fuck you right here on the ground.” He hesitated. “Are you aroused, Kenna? Even knowing I can’t stoke your fire, can’t breathe air into your element?”
She kissed his jaw, then dragged her tongue along the whisker stubble of his jaw. “Touch me and find out.”
Erion pulled the T-shirt up and over her head. The fabric dropped to the ground beside them. Naked in the moonlight, she appeared so vulnerable, so human. Only he knew the power of her inner strength.
“You’re beautiful.” Threading his fingers through hair, he fanned her fiery locks around her shoulders. Glints of simmering fire sparked in her eyes. Pressure built in his chest, and the magnitude of all she’d done for him crashed in on his heart.
“You make me feel beautiful,” she said. “Like the fire in my glass, I burn when I’m with you.” Her eyes darkened.
“Promise me you won’t try to return to Ghen,” he said. “Not even for Airiana.”
Kenna hesitated. “You would leave her there?”
“No, the Drakaura have confirmed there’s a chance of saving her.”
“What if they’re right, and she doesn’t belong in our world?”
“We’ve shared the same body for decades. Ghen hasn’t crumbled without her essence. “Either way, I—we—need the truth.”
Kenna cupped his face in her hands. “Then we’ll find her.” She drew his lips to hers.
Her lips had cooled. He pushed aside the sadness the realization caused and pulled her close. Her body molded to his hard muscles. Her mouth opened, and he thrust his tongue inside. Hot wet strokes and gentle sucking intensified his need.
Erion slipped his arm behind her knees and lifted. Kenna threw her arms around his neck. Cradled in his arms, one pebbled nipple grazed his chest. He strode into the cabin and headed for the brightly lit bedroom. Kenna took an earlobe into her mouth and sucked. He tensed when his cock flexed.
In the bedroom, he released her legs and slid her nude body down his length. Her feet touched the floor, and she trailed one long wet kiss across his neck.
Kenna nuzzled his ear. “Make love to me, Erion.”
Erion stepped back and dropped his shorts. Her gaze traveled down his torso to his cock. Quivers trembled in his stomach when she sat on the bed and wrapped her fingers around the root. She leaned forward and took him into her mouth.
He groaned and put a hand on the back of her head, guiding her to take more of his length between her lips. Her tongue caressed the shaft in sweet agony as she milked his cock and sucked the head. Flicking her tongue against the slit, she lapped the seeping pre-cum. Taking him into the heat of her wet mouth again, she sucked hard.
Erion gritted his teeth. The torture was exquisite, but he wanted inside, wanted her pinned beneath him as he thrust into her, reaffirming that their bond surpassed Element and went to the core of a man and woman in love.
Erion eased his cock out of her mouth, then bent and swept her mouth with a passionate kiss. Her arms circled his neck. He shoved the folded clothes from the bed, then, holding her, he scooted them higher on the mattress and settled between her thighs.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He fit the head of his cock to her opening and, in a full, hard thrust, filled her. Kenna cried out, arched her hips, and wrapped her legs around his back. Her heels dug into his ass as she reached back and braced herself against the headboard. Erion poured his soul into her with each rhythmic plunge into her heated sheath. He couldn’t feed her element, but he understood the needs of the woman.
He gave, held off his release until her pussy closed around his shaft in a viselike hold of orgasm. Pleasure rolled through him at the sensation of her vibrating internal walls clenching his cock. Bracing his weight with his arms, he shifted his hips and sank deeper. Her skin flushed, and her nipples puckered.
“I love you, Kenna. I would die for you.”
She moaned. “Thank God, you didn’t.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Make love to me, Erion.
“For eternity.”
Epilogue
Erion set the newspaper on the table beside Kenna’s marver.
She turned the pipe holding a piece of glass she was working, then glanced to the open page of the newspaper. The small headline read, REPORTS OF UFO OVER CANDLEWOOD LAKE STILL TRICKLE IN.
Kenna groaned. “God, will they ever let it be?”
He grunted a laugh. “A UFO that bright is big news.”
She shot him a deprecating look. “UFO, my ass.”
“Your ass is correct.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “That’s what you get for combusting on a moonlit night and streaking across the city. When you get a chance, take a look at page three of the art section.”
She halted in working the glass. “Really?”
He nodded.
Kenna looked wildly around, clearly wanting to put the glass down, but had nowhere to put the molten glob. He watched for a couple more seconds before she looked up at him and scowled.
“Don’t just stand there. Do something.”
“What would you have me do? Without the socks on my arms, I can’t get near that stuff.”
Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t use socks on her arms anymore, not since her fire emerged. “Read the review.”
“Ahh,” Erion replied, his voice dripping with innocence, and picked up the paper. He flipped to page three of the art section—he’d already dog-eared the page—and began reading.
“Michael Laird has once again unearthed a diamond. Last Saturday, the
Origins
show featured four pieces by glass artist Kenna Lang. The first three pieces,
Supernova Passing in the Night
,
The Cosmic Barrier
, and
Starlight
grab the senses in a world of brilliant color bursting upon deep space. But as much as those pieces depicted the synergy of color and dark in a world of shape and form, the fourth piece,
Lost in the Darkness
, portrays darkness as a merciless void where color suffocates. This critic will not soon forget the tiny sparks of light and color that were hidden among the shadows.”
Erion looked up.
Kenna stared, her eyes swimming with unshed emotion. “I don’t believe it.”
“It’s in the paper. It must be true.”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, blinked back moisture. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“You did it the hard way.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Smart-ass.” She began turning the pipe again.
“Marshall called,” Erion said.
Kenna glanced up sharply.
“He made it back to Dallas just fine. I told him you were in the workshop.”
She nodded, and Erion read relief in her eyes. Marshall had stayed through the show, then went home, accepting—if not completely satisfied—that the
break-in
was the work of hoodlums. Her secret was safe.
Erion returned his attention to the paper.
A moment later, she asked, “Did you get the airline tickets?”
He paused in rereading the review but didn’t look up. He’d tried every trick in the book to make her see reason, but she was intent on following him halfway around the world in search of the answers he needed.
“Erion,” she said. “Remember, we do this together.”
He shifted his attention to her. No fear shone in her eyes. No reflection of the promise he’d extracted from her given in exchange for his promise that as soon as he learned something of Siusaidh, they would set out together. Simply, she was his partner, in pursuit of answers…and in life.
“It’s going to take time to track down any of the ancient ones. This isn’t likely to happen anytime soon,” he replied.
She shrugged “I don’t know why not. How many old wizards do you think are hanging around? Besides, I’ve always wanted to see the cradle of civilization.”
“You’ve always wanted to visit southwest Asia? Uh-huh.”