Page 24 of Emerald Flame
The storm experience played over in his mind yet again. How he wished his life was different, that he wasn’t in charge essentially of an entire Territory. He’d leave the bedroom right now, hunt Kiara down and haul her back to bed. He wanted to feel his storm take possession of her once more.
He touched his chest remembering how the storm had come out of him. Savage needed a storm right now, something powerful enough to stand against Julio’s ambitions and whatever monster was behind him.
Right now, though, he felt weary. He’d dreamed of Tonya again, the way she’d been before thealterserum had turned her into something unrecognizable. He planted his head in his hands.
He’d loved her so much. She was only a shell now, something he kept hidden away from everyone who knew him in Five Bridges. She wasn’t a ghost, yet she haunted him. She had a strange power to appear in ghost form, even though she wasn’t dead.
He felt as though he hadn’t slept at all.
“Hey, there. I thought maybe you could use this.”
He looked up. Kiara stood in the doorway not far from him with two mugs of steaming coffee, one in each hand.
For a moment, time skidded to a halt. He always forgot how beautiful Kiara was until he laid eyes on her. She took his breath away. Her large eyes were an enticing shade of brown, somewhere between mahogany and chocolate. She wore her thick brown hair parted in the middle. It lay over her shoulders and chest in waves. Her purple tank was tucked into snug jeans. Maybe it was the color of her shirt, but her complexion seemed to glow.
A familiar ache drove through him, a need so strong he felt it had no end. He craved her. He wanted to go to her, to take the mugs from her hands and drag her into his arms. He wanted to kiss her into eternity.
She never stopped looking at him and her smile dimmed to be replaced with a matching desire. The sweet freesia scent of her floated in the air. His jaw quivered. His nostrils flared. She was life to him and fire and everything he’d wanted but knew he could never have.
She set the mugs on the bedside table and came to him. She dropped to her knees. When he opened his arms, she settled her head on his chest then wrapped her arms around his waist.
He felt her shudder. He kissed her temple then rubbed her back. She was feeling it as well. She matched the state of his heart and his need. Yet within her, as with himself, was a chasm of hesitation. He could sense how she felt, but more with a warlock’s ability than a wolf’s intuition.
He held her for a long time, surprised that no words needed to be said, no explanations, no judgment, just shared longing and pain.
When she drew back, she stood up and retrieved the mugs. She brought one to him, then drew a chair forward, sat down and cradled her own mug in hand. She didn’t look at him as she sipped. She appeared deep in thought.
He let her be and followed her lead.
He understood in that moment how complicated their relationship was and how equally impossible. He absently touched the ridged, tattooed scars on the side of his head. They were an ever-present reminder of the deadly nature of his world. With so many lives to protect, including his own, he couldn’t take risks. The smallest one could bring him down which right now meant Savage would fall.
He glanced at her and saw that her gaze was fixed to his bare chest. Without giving it a thought he did a very male thing and flexed his pecs for her.
Her gaze shot to his and her cheeks colored up. She smiled, shook her head then lifted her mug to her lips once more. Her voice hit his mind.You shouldn’t be so built. It would help a lot.
The compliment, especially coming from her, brought a smile to his own lips.
Of course, a dragging sensation on his heart quickly followed. He realized how much she pleased him. The fact she’d offered him a compliment when she’d been embarrassed, was the part of her personality his wolf really loved. She didn’t hold back.
He heard his cell-phone through the muffled clothes now folded up on the bench at the foot of the bed. She was on her feet instantly and said, “Don’t get up.”
He glanced at the sheet covering his lower body and he smiled again. He understood. If she saw more, she’d be tempted. She headed to the bench, fished out his cell then tossed it to him.
He caught it easily in his hand, checked the face then frowned. “It’s Ralph. Of all the people I expected to hear from this evening, Ralph wasn’t one of them.”
Warren liked Ralph because he treated his female sex workers, all wolves, with kindness. Though he was a warlock, he protected them, never allowed rough treatment and had set up several of them with human protectors who pretty much kept them as mistresses and therefore out of harm’s way. It wasn’t ideal, but the women were safe.
Ralph kept a wolf mistress as well, a woman named Susie who had been his partner for the past three years. She was one of the females he’d rescued from another club where the owner was known to hurt his workers. When she’d come to Ralph, love had struck hard. Of course, it helped that the warlock had a fetish for wolves. Warren’s own attraction to a witch had given him a new understanding of the need to engage with another species.
Beyond that, Ralph was an excellent businessman. He paid his workers well and kept violence out of his club by employing some of the most physically powerful bouncers on the Savage Strip. No one touched Ralph.
By the time he swiped the front of the phone to answer, however, the call had already gone to voicemail. As he waited to hear the message, he watched Kiara return to her chair, sit down then pick up her mug once more. She kicked off her flats then lifted a heel. She bent her leg to plant her foot on the edge of the seat. Another thing he liked about her. The witch was limber.
He listened to the voice message. When he had a minute, Ralph wanted him to call. He was concerned about rumors that Julio was planning a takeover of several of the clubs in the near future. He’d also heard he’d been targeted.
When the message ended, Warren chose not to call him back right away. He’d heard the rumors as well. After events of last night, he suspected Julio had launched a major campaign against Savage that would probably include dominating the Strip.
But he wanted to talk to Fergus first. They needed to put a plan together to go on the offensive starting tonight.
