Page 12 of Smoke and Flame

No.She balked.This man held her sister locked in a room.Until Morlie was healthy, she would have to keep her distance.She must.

“Take the next set of stairs on your left,” Aodh commanded when she reached the next landing.

“Are you always this bossy?”

His grunt was her only response.

How he managed to make a noise that sounded like rocks tumbling down a mountain, she didn’t know.She grumbled hard to show him that two could play that game.

“Hah.”At least his short chuckle was something different.

When she reached the top, there weren’t any more stairs, so she crossed the floor to the only door.Not waiting for another order, she turned the knob.The smooth stone door, different from the textured walls, refused to budge when she tried to open it.She wondered if it was locked.

Before she could turn and say something to the massive shadow of a man following in her steps, one of his big hands pressed against the center of the door before her and pushed the heavy structure open.Smoothly and soundlessly.

She whispered a thanks as she moved forward away from the tempting warmth at her back.

The room she stepped into was large and imposing.If she had stood on Aodh’s shoulders, she would not have been able to reach the ceiling.

Like everywhere else she had seen of this place, the walls here were stone, too.But what captured her attention was the massive floor-to-ceiling window that took up the entire room wall.From where she stood across the great room, outside the bay window was what she would describe as a landing instead of a balcony.The space was flat and wide but lacked the sides that would provide safety to keep someone from falling off.At such a height, it would kill a person.

Glancing around, she took in the furnishing of the spacious area.It was an open floor plan concept.The center of the room was empty, vastly so.There was such a great distance from the heavy, plush furniture of the sitting room to the bed across the way that there was no chance a conversation could take place.

She folded her arms and tried to take the chill away.Even with her father’s service jacket on and the warm weather outside, the stone and glass made the area cool and breezy.

“Are you cold?”He came up beside her.

“Some.”She focused on the dining room area to her left instead of looking at the dark-haired man next to her.

“Like steel, stone doesn’t hold much warmth but it’s sturdy and familiar to our beasts.”

Beasts.There was that word again.

“You look around and familiarize yourself with this space.I will set the fires.”His body brushed hers, setting off sparks as he moved past her, heading to the sitting area.

Her body warmed enough to drop her arms and walk the place.The wood table sat six people.It made sense by the size of the place, even though she’d only seen the one large bed.Her family’s place in the underground community had barely been larger than the sitting area here, and there had been four.Her and Morlie’s dwelling was much smaller, a one-room space before Kai had to sell it, and circumstances forced them to live in her dad’s old truck.“Whose place is this?Will they mind me using it while my sister is getting better?I don’t want to put anyone out.”

“It was mine.Now it is ours, mate.”

She stumbled.Mate.Halfway across the room, she’d heard him.Shocked at his words, she turned.She stared at him.He was kneeling before a fireplace cut into the wall before a long, wide couch and table.

“Aodh.Look, we need to talk about this.I may have agreed to be yours.”She swallowed.She wasn’t an idiot.With the intense way he looked at her and the heat in her core responding to his stares and touches, she knew whatever happened between them involved sex.“But once Morlie is better, we will be going.Somewhere.”

He inhaled, then let out a burst of flame into the grate.“No.”

Kai tried to look around his shoulders.Did he have a match or something in his hand?She saw nothing.

She set her hands on her hips and eyed the big man.“No?”Raising her voice to ensure he could hear her across the room, she continued, “If you’re concerned, I’ll renege on my word.I won’t.I’ll do my part, but we don’t need to commit to anything permanent.”

Aodh rose.He didn’t shout, but his words reached her.“You being my mate isallthe need.”

“I’m sure you shifters...or whatever....Have a different way of life, but we humans don’t believe in soulmates or anything like that, especially since we went underground.If two people like each other, then that’s it.When it’s over, that’s it.”She swept a hand to the side, turned away from him, and started around the room again.

Her mind raced as she headed toward the bedroom quarter of the space.This dragon man was out of his mind.If he thought she would bind herself to him for eternity, he better think again.No way, no how.When she got to the bedroom, she took in the huge bed, much bigger than she’d thought.It was just as long as it was wide.She didn’t let her mind contemplate what could and would happen between her and the big guy on the other side of the room.There was another fireplace to the left of the bed, and it looked clean and empty, as if no one had used it for a while.She hoped Aodh would find some kindling and start a fire there, too, because the blaze in the sitting area only reached half the space.The air around her was cool again.

To the right, there were two doors.She went to the first one and opened it.There were clothes inside, more pants and vests of varied shades of dark, and a few shirts, all large enough to fit Aodh.When she pushed open the second door, she recognized a bathroom.Excited to get washed up, she started in.

“Kai.”

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