A Touch of Flame

  Since the room opened up to the living area, the first thing he saw were the faux furs now piled up on the couch.

  Memories of having sex with her rushed back like a torrent. Mixed with sudden desire for her were images of the Landing wolves and their deference to her then of her kindness to the fae female.

  He caught her elbow and whipped her toward him. The momentum caused her to fall against his chest. She chuckled, but he wasn’t laughing. Instead, he gripped the back of her neck and kissed her. Hard.

  He felt her gasp for air, then a moan followed as she melted against him. They’d both been without lovers for a long time. Maybe too long to be sensible.

  His hips connected with hers and he let her feel his arousal, grinding into her. This is what I’m going to do to you later. Do you understand?

  Oh, hell, yeah.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss.

  What started out as his demanding thrust into her mouth, became an erotic duel of tongues. She gripped his shoulders hard and actually used her levitation skills to force her sex tight against his erection.

  He was panting when he drew back. “This would take about two minutes.” Was she with him? Would she do it?

  She nodded, her lips swollen. “I’m game if you are.”

  He hadn’t planned this, but it took about fifteen seconds to get his pants down and hers off. He carried her to the couch, laid her out and pierced her core.

  She moaned heavily. She was wet as hell. He started slow, just savoring but she began clutching at his back and digging her nails in. “Faster, dammit. I’m about as close as I can get.”

  He felt like he was sixteen again. He put his hips in motion and went wolf-fast which had her scratching at him some more and making odd howling sounds with her throat. Her alpha-mate scent poured off her, all lemon and lavender, which brought his balls pulling in tight.

  He probably muttered a few obscenities. He wasn’t going to last.

  “Give it to me. Oh, Braden.” A few choice words left her throat as well.

  He angled his head, bit her neck hard, and began to come. The sounds she made and the way her body rocked then arched, helped him to know she’d flown over the edge with him.

  Pleasure pulsed and he roared, nothing held back.

  He slammed into her until she was shouting along with him. Waves of ecstasy rolled through him and over him. He released her throat and as the last pulses made his entire body jerk, he caught sight of her creamy complexion flushed with ecstasy, her lips parted and her eyes glazed over as she slid down the other side.

  Her voice was rich with passion as she said, “That felt so good. I can’t believe we just did that. And your Madagascar scent, Braden. I want to bake a cake or something. Or eat one. Or both.”

  He chuckled. His wolf loved her earthiness.

  He grabbed his t-shirt from the floor and as he withdrew, he tucked it between her legs.

  “Thanks. I appreciate it. You’re very productive.”

  He laughed again. He then leaned down, and since she was sprawled on the couch and relaxed, he took some time kissing her.

  She responded with one hand in his hair then his nape.

  He drew back. “Thanks for this, Maeve. For all of it.”

  “Ditto. It’s given me some peace. No, that’s not it. Relief. Your presence has relieved me.” Her turn to chuckle. “Stupid thing to say, but that’s what this feels like. As though my life had created pressure on the inside of every part of me. Then we made love a few times, practiced some magical hand-killing power and I felt as though the window opened and a whole torrent of fresh air blew inside. Am I making any sense?”

  “I could say the same thing. I just can’t make any promises.”

  “I don’t need promises, Braden. I don’t expect anything. I think it’s foolish to have any expectations in this alter world of ours. So please don’t fret, not on my account. You’ve given me so much already. You’ve given me, okay, this is going to sound so trite, but I feel hopeful like I never was before. Like maybe things will be okay.”

  He stroked her arm and kissed her palm. “Maybe we’ll both be okay.”

  He checked his internal clock. “It’s coming up on two AM. We’ve only got a few hours or so until dawn. If we want to rescue Kiara, we’d better get going. If I’ve understood the process, you need a new spell”

  “Right.”

  She wasted no time, but jumped up and got busy. She gathered up her clothes and headed to the bathroom. The shower, this time, lasted about a minute. He took care of business as well and when he returned to the living room, she called to him from her spellroom.

  “Come down here.”

  He tried to levitate down the stairs like she’d done earlier but ended up smacking his shoulders a couple of times.

  He was rubbing them when he landed at the bottom. Maeve was near her worktable. Sheba stood guard on the sink counter behind her.

  “I could have told you not to bother. You’ve got shoulders like an SUV and both my stairwells are too narrow for you.

  She drew close. “All right. So, I need to bump up my witchiness if we’re going to be able to reach Kiara’s cell.”

  “If you can make telepathic contact with Kiara from here, she might be able to help us both get through. Just a thought.”

  “Better communication can’t hurt. But the real problem is that I need to strengthen the spell I use to roll back Veyda’s security spell. In fact, to have even the smallest chance of busting her out of that place, that’s what we’ll need. It’s been as difficult to make my way out of the spell as to get to her in the first place. If we’re caught as a team, we’d be in real trouble.”

  “Where do we start?” This was her world.

  She turned away from him and headed to her worktable. “While you were showering, I gathered a few herbs, powders, stuff I know has made a difference before.” She then frowned. She drew a metal box close to her mortar. “Then there’s this.”

  Braden joined her at the table. He lifted the lid. A clear plastic case was inside containing a familiar, green powder. “So, this is your stash of emerald flame?”

  She was stone serious as she met his gaze. “I know you’re opposed, but my instincts tell me we’ll need to use this.”

  The drug was rampant in Savage. Alpha Warren had said the main cartel producing and distributing the drug in Savage had taken over two packs in the past few months alone. “It’s one of the worst flame drugs ever created.”

  “Except for one thing. When used in really small doses, it can do some good.”

  Emerald flame had been a curse in Savage from the time Braden had entered as an alter wolf. When he’d become an alpha and established his own pack, one of his rules was no drugs, emerald or otherwise. “I don’t want to do it this way.”

  “Drugs aren’t inherently bad. The abuse of them is. I’m not condoning casual use, either. But for medicinal enhancement, I’m a proponent.”

  “This isn’t medicinal. You’re talking the enhancement of your powers.”

  “Maybe. The truth is, I don’t know why it works. I also know Veyda uses this drug in a similar way, though in much larger doses. I smelled it on her that night.”

  “You never saw her, but you smelled her.”

  “Yes. She stood near me the entire time. I’m telling you, I could smell her. And I could smell emerald flame.”

  “This is a slippery slope.”

  She compressed her lips. “Here’s what I know. I ended up killing women the second week I was in Elegance Territory. Before that, I had a hard time killing flies. I think it’s one of the reasons I do the rescues. I’m trying to make up for what I did. I hate being here, being an alter witch. Half the time, my mind races in circles I’m so upset. But if it takes a small particle of emerald flame to save Kiara’s life, I’ll do it and won’t think twice about it. Or use it in an infuser to complete your healing.

  “We’re dealing with an enemy deeply entrenc
hed in the dark arts. She has her watchdog on our asses. The park incident is proof. If I don’t do this and we go in blind, we’re all dead.”

  Braden turned away from her, hands on hips. This wasn’t a simple thing she was proposing, not in his books. He turned back to her. “This is against everything I believe in, everything I fight against as a Border Patrol officer. I want a drug free state.”

  “I know. But this is fire-with-fire. Also, I’m the one at risk, not you.”

  “I thought this would be for both of us. We’d both be taking whatever potion you created.”

  She shook her head. “This is essentially a witch battle.” Her lips curved. “You’re the muscle and gorgeous muscle at that. But the rest is on me.”

  All right, he liked the compliment. “Don’t try to flatter me.”

  “One more thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I haven’t done this before.”

  He laughed out loud. “Wait a minute. You’re proposing going into battle, high on a drug you’ve never tried before.”

  “First, it’s not a high and I didn’t say I hadn’t tried it before. The amount I use in my potions is incredibly small. When I said ‘a touch’, I meant it. What I meant was, I’ve never been over to Veyda’s prison in an enhanced state.”

  “Why not?” He drew closer to her, his concerns mounting.

  “I was afraid. I had no idea what the consequences could be. If I was able to smell the drug on an invisible Veyda, could she do the same with me? Would she somehow know I was there because I’d used emerald flame?”

  “So, you’ve been waiting for back-up.”

  “I guess you could say that. Are you game?”

  It seemed the question of the hour. “Let me see your process.”

  She nodded. Her lips might have curved a little. But overall, she was dead serious about what she was doing. He liked that. New weapons required a respectful attitude.

  Sheba jumped from the counter to the worktable and took up a place near the mortar as well. She seemed to approve of what Maeve was doing. Oddly, it gave Braden confidence.

  She pulled her mortar forward and used a clean dry cloth to wipe it out. She showed him the cloth. “I’ve already rinsed this in water and scrubbed it with a brush. It’s been dry for some time. When I start a potion, I make sure the vessel is clean.” She dropped the cloth in a basket beneath the worktable.

  She began adding ingredients one at a time, using her fingers for the most part. “I’m going by my alter witch sense as I focus on Kiara, the prison, and getting her out.” She took mint from the pouch dangling on the leather around her neck. She added things that sounded like she was making a soup: Bay leaf, tarragon, basil. Kitchen herbs. A bit of lavender.

  Then she stopped. “This is the right combination.” She ground the herbs together into a fine powder.

  Sheba meowed, adding her two cents.

  The odd thing was, he could sense it as well, that she’d gotten the mixture right, as though his proximity to her witchness was affecting him. He’d felt this before, an alignment with Maeve he didn’t understand unless it was part of the alpha-mating process.

  She grew very still. He felt her nerves. This was no easy thing she was doing. Good.

  She opened the plastic lid, but this time she didn’t use her fingers. Instead, she took a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass and damn if she didn’t pluck particles out of the emerald flame drug, individual grains that had to be the size of powdery sand.

  “When you said ‘a touch’ you meant it.”

  She put them in a small glass bowl not much bigger than a quarter. “I only needed five of these.”

  “I know.” And he did. But how did he know? What was happening here?

  She set the tweezers down and lifted up. She even turned toward him. “What do you mean, you know?”

  He parted his hands. “I seem to be connected in some way to what you’re doing. I know as in know or sense, or whatever, that you’ve got it right.”

  “But that’s a warlock ability, Braden. What do you think it means?”

  “Haven’t got a clue. We seem to be connected.”

  “Actually, now that I think about it, I know what you mean. I’ve been feeling your wolf as well. Maybe because you’ve got my blood roaming around in your body.”

  He frowned. “That’s right. You transfused me.”

  “I did.” She turned back to the table. “Okay, we can figure that out later. Let me get this potion made.”

  She was all business, this solid witch with red hair. He’d come to love her curls and held back a sudden impulse to run his hands through them. His heart flipped a couple of times in his chest. Longing surged. He wanted this woman and for a soft, sudden moment, he knew he needed her, too.

  He wrangled his thoughts in and set them aside.

  She handed him the magnifying glass. “Have a look.”

  He took the glass and bent over to peer into the small dish. There they were, five irregular grains of one of the flame drugs that had torn through the human world and created a whole new set of addicts.

  Five grains.

  He set the magnifier on the table then stood upright.

  She drew in a deep breath. “I won’t go forward if you don’t want me to do this. I respect your position.”

  He’d already gone through the process. He understood and valued her decision. Besides, his gut told him this was the way to set Kiara free.

  “I’m in. And I know you’ve got the formula right.” The latter part of his statement was the deciding factor. That, and the infinitesimally small amount of the drug she was using. When Sheba meowed in support, Braden petted her which set her to purring once more.

  A question surfaced. “If this is the right portion for you, do you have any idea how much Veyda was using? You think it would explain her powers?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I believe she’s an addict. Beyond that, I can’t speculate about why she’s as powerful as she is.”

  She picked up the glass dish and watched as each granule slid into the mortar. With her pestle in hand, she took some time grinding all the ingredients together.

  When she was satisfied, Braden watched her pull a small pewter cup from her shelves. She carefully coaxed the powder from the small mortar into the cup. She then took a feathery brush and swept the remaining powder in as well.

  She lifted the cup to her nose and inhaled.

  Her eyes shifted back and forth. Her nostrils flared. Finally, she released a deep sigh. “This is it.”

  She took a glass jar from the small fridge. “Distilled water. And I’ll have to hold my breath until the drug dissolves. You should do the same or step a few feet away from the table.”

  He wanted to see everything, so he stuck close, but did as he was told and held his breath.

  She didn’t seem concerned about quantity of water, since she didn’t measure. She poured it straight into the pewter cup, then swirled slowly. He watched the powder blend into the water until all that was left was a clear green liquid.

  Braden waited, but his heart had started thumping. A touch of flame with a few herbs and a witch’s power. What would happen?

  She took a breath. He did as well.

  “It’s ready.” She showed him the liquid.

  “With only five grains of the drug, yet it’s emerald green, just like its name.”

  He took a step back. Even he could feel the power latent in her potion. “You sure you want to do this?”

  “I am. I need to. I know Kiara is running out of time.”

  “All right. I’m with you.”

  “Braden. Suddenly, I’m scared. I wasn’t, until just this moment.”

  “That’s a normal reaction. You’ve never done this before and it might expose you to Veyda.”

  “I think she’ll know.”

  “I have no doubt she’s seen you as a threat from the beginning.” He might have been concerned at the outset because th
is was a flame drug, which often created unexpected reactions. But he’d come around to her way of thinking. “Drink it. Now. I’m with you and I’ll support you.”

  She stared at the cup for a moment then lifted it to her lips. She tilted her head back and drank quickly.

  He had no idea what would happen next.

  Chapter Seven

  The brew tasted like heaven, like she was swallowing everything fine and wonderful in the world and that she would always be okay from this moment forward.

  A typical reaction to a mind-altering drug and it had worked fast. But she needed to experience it all even the addictive properties.

  She closed her eyes. Though she listed, Braden was right there and kept her upright.

  The potion was warm and soothing down her throat and even warmer in her stomach. The gentle heat continued to spread.

  “What’s it like?”

  “Heaven. Comforting.” She opened her eyes and turned to face Braden. He now had a golden aura and looked more beautiful than ever. She cupped his face and searched his eyes. She wanted to see inside him, all the way through, to his depths.

  She slid her hand to his throat and gripped him, but not too tight. She just wanted to hold on while she explored.

  The sensation felt familiar as though it had been done to her. Maybe it had. Maybe in some form Veyda had done this to her and searched out her potential.

  The mint in the potion came to the fore and began to ease through her body and into her mind. Braden’s eyes were now gold-rimmed.

  “Are you shifting a little?”

  “Yes. I can’t seem to help myself. You’re having an effect.”

  “Can you pull away if you needed to? Or do I have control of you. I think you should try.”

  He slid away easily enough so she breathed a sigh of relief. “But you might have more control than you think. You might be able to apply pressure especially on those less powerful. Try again. Try to control me.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  He chuckled. He even smiled. “I know. I know who you are. But if we end up in a battle, you need to know what you’ve got.”