Marie Harte - The Fire Within

The earth swallowed the bodies whole, then settled as if nothing had happened.

Still staring at the scene in disbelief, it took Samantha a moment to gather her bearings.

“Up here!”

She glanced up to see Marcus and Cadmus atop the rock wall staring down at them. She could see the glare of car lights piercing the dense treeline and wondered how they had known to look down here for them. She and Darius had broken no railing when they’d rolled down the hill.

She took no more time to wonder, however, as Darius collapsed to the ground. Rushing to his side, she took off her jacked and placed it beneath his head. Stroking his bloodied hair, she prayed with all her might that he’d recover. His face looked paler than before, his strength apparently sapped from having saved her.

Cadmus and Marcus appeared quickly and in little time they headed to their home, where Cadmus assured her Darius would receive aid.

As she stared down at the head she held in her lap, she willed him to get well. She grasped one of his hands, holding tightly to the palm now cold against her skin. They had a lot to discuss, specifically the appropriate and inappropriate times to discuss feelings.

He squeezed her hand, a flare of heat passing between them, and she closed her eyes with a small smile.

“Concussion or not, you can’t put me off forever, Darius Storm.”

She thought she heard him chuckle before she drifted into sleep, clutching his hand as if she’d never let go.

Darius opened his eyes to find Cadmus staring down at him, concern darkening his eyes to black. “Give me some room to breathe,” he grumbled, startling a chuckle out of his brother.

“It’s about time. You had us worried.”

“Us?” An obvious glance told him he slept alone in his bed.

Cadmus rolled his eyes. “She’s in the other room catching some sleep. We had to forcibly carry her from your side. Happy?”

Cadmus had a tendency to exaggerate, but if what he said were true, Darius was indeed a happy man. Recalling Samantha’s deep welling of love after he’d been pummelled in the woods, he couldn’t help feeling like the luckiest man in the world. Now he only had to convince her to leave this tired realm behind and journey to bigger and better things.

Wincing, he sat up and rubbed at his head.

“Arim sent us medicine.” Cadmus nodded to Darius’ temple. “He told us you suffered from a serious head injury. But one swallow of the blue juice and the injury healed.”

“Then why the headache?”

“That’s the juice you’re feeling. It’s only temporary.”

Darius grumbled his thanks and slowly slid his legs off the side of the bed. “I take it Marcus and Aerolus are okay?”

Cadmus frowned. “Marcus is upstairs in his room preparing for work tomorrow, if you can believe that. Once he knew you were okay, he muttered something about overly competitive co-workers and started grabbing files left and right. But Aerolus still isn’t here.”

Darius froze. “Still? How long was I out of it?”

“Two days.”

“And in all that time we haven’t heard from him?”

Cadmus shrugged. “Arim said Aerolus is fine. Apparently our brother is up to some sorcery the big guy won’t mention. Not my business, according to chatty Uncle Arim.”

He sounded miffed, and Darius felt a smile wind its way past the pain in his head. “Relax, Cadmus. If Arim said Aerolus is fine, then he is.” At his brother’s raised brow, he reluctantly explained. “I don’t always agree with Arim, but I trust him. He’s never let us down.”

“How quickly you forget the ‘Knowing Crystal’.”

“It was tampered with, remember. And that wasn’t Arim’s fault. I should have known it was a fake. I thought it odd it didn’t react to Samantha until we were set afire.”

“Odd, hmm?” Cadmus smirked and Darius knew he’d said too much. “So you knew as soon as you put it on she was your intended?” He batted his eyes mockingly. “That’s sooooo romantic.”

“Shut up, you idiot, and help me to my feet.”

Once standing free of the bed and his brother, Darius walked around the room slowly until he could move on his own without flinching. He needed to find Samantha, to see her with his own two eyes, and in private. They had a lot to discuss and he had neither the inclination nor the patience to wait another minute.

Cadmus muttered something about rushing things while Darius gingerly dressed in a pair of loose-fitting boxers. “Don’t bother me for at least another hour. No, make it two.”

“Go easy, bro.” Cadmus opened the door for him and stood back. “You’re not a hundred percent yet. And Samantha’s been through a lot since she’s met you. Don’t go pushing her around about Tanselm. Try finessing her for a change,” he said wryly. “She needs understanding.”

“I know.” For once he didn’t disagree and his calm acceptance surprised Cadmus into silence.

Walking downstairs, he felt more like himself. The headache didn’t hurt all that much, and he had to admit his body felt in fighting form—so much that thoughts of Samantha in bed had their desired effect.

Sporting a rock-hard erection, his patience thin at best, he knocked on the door and entered without waiting for permission. To his delighted surprise, she was in the midst of undressing and wore only a bra and panties. She looked tired though, her hair framing a pale face, her eyes shadowed by fatigue. Yet nothing could make her look less than beautiful in his eyes.

“I missed you,” he said simply.

A huge grin lit her face, chasing away her tiredness with the radiance of sheer joy. “It’s about time you woke up.” She slowly approached him, her hips swaying with timeless feminine grace.

“That’s what Cadmus said.”

“We’ve been worried.” She drew close, their bodies sharing the heat he generated. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she tugged him down to her. “Don’t do that hero stuff again.” She kissed him with a hunger that made his cock spike even harder.

Unable to stop from moving against her, he pressed his desire forward, needing to ease the building ache. She moved her lips to his throat and he smelled the rich perfume of her shampoo, filling his head with all sorts of ideas about where he’d like to feel her hair over his body.

“Samantha, love,” he paused to ravage her mouth. “ I need you.”

Cupping her breasts in his hands, he heard her swift intake of breath before she returned his kiss with a fire that made him burn to have her. Lust raced through him with a vengeance, desire for her growing until he was consumed with it.

After ripping her bra and panties from her body, he forced himself to slow down lest he spill right then and there. He stepped back and stared at her, awed that she belonged to him. She knew it as well as he did, though they had yet to say the words. The omission bothered him, but damned if his body cared.

His cock ached, needing to fill her hot, wet little pussy with his seed. Just thinking about it pushed him nearer the edge, and he decided to keep his boxers on, weak deterrent though it was.

Samantha, however, would have none of it. She smiled, a sultry grin that had his attention focused on her full, ripe mouth. Then she licked her lips and he couldn’t help the groan that escaped. Staring down at his huge erection, she grasped his underwear and slowly dragged it down his legs, her face coming uncomfortably close to his cock.

He wanted to shout with frustration when her breath fanned his shaft.

“I want you, Darius. Here, now, my way.” Boldly taking the lead, Samantha made his heart stop when she knelt and took him into her mouth.