Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) (25 page)

feed you to the wolves?” He leaned in close. “I know you’ve been betrayed in the past, but you need to trust someone, and I’m the best you have. It’ll make it easier to trust the others later on.”

Kiarra frowned. “What others? You mean Neena and your team?”

Best to get it out in the open. “You’re a Fire Talent, Kiarra. And once word gets out, an army will start gathering to protect you.”

Kiarra blinked. “Fire Talent? Like in the legends?” Some of her mother’s stories had been about the

Four Talents. While she didn’t remember much, she did recall that each Talent’s elemental magic was

stronger than other first-borns and full of tricky secrets.

Jaxton nodded and she looked away. True, her powers worked differently now than before the

experiments, but that didn’t automatically make her a Talent. Jaxton must know something she didn’t. She looked back up at him. “Why do you think I’m a Talent?”

“You can play with your abilities later, compare them with what you find in the legends, and find all the proof you need. For now, you’ll just have to take my word.”

She studied Jaxton’s face, knowing he waited to see what she’d do.

It had been so long since she’d trusted anyone that Kiarra barely understood the concept anymore. But

as she eyed the tall Brit in front of her, she remembered how Jaxton had chosen to stay with her despite the out she’d offered. No one had ever really stood by her like that, offering support when the path ahead was difficult.

Even back when she’d been faced with Cam’s sudden appearance, she’d chosen to go to Jaxton,

wanting the comfort of his presence. She’d been fighting it tooth and nail, but deep down, she’d started trusting him since that moment.

Still, the feeling was new and she didn’t quite know how to handle it, especially as everyone else she’d trusted in the past had let her down. She would trust him, but on her own terms. “I think you believe your words.” She put up a hand to stop him from interrupting. “But I want to find out more about the legends

and my own abilities before I start thinking of myself as different from other first-borns. I’m sure you’ll agree that’s reasonable.”

“Fair enough.” He released her shoulders and put out a hand to shake. “If we’re going to work together, then from here on out, we share everything. Agreed?”

Kiarra hesitated before taking his hand. Something had just shifted in their relationship and it terrified her.

Jaxton tightened his grip and she yelped as he pulled her forward. He whispered into her ear, “Look

forward to later, pet, because there’s another front I’m not giving up on either.”

“And what would that be?”

He moved closer, his breath hot against her ear. “The next chance I get, I plan to do much more than

kiss you.”

Kiarra’s breath hitched. Her body was on fire as Jaxton led her out of the room, but not because of her

magic.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Kiarra frowned at the map on the table. “So North Berwick Law is the name of a hill?”

“Law is a Scots word for hill,” Jaxton answered automatically. “Where in the watch-house ruins on

North Berwick Law did Giovanni say we can find the clue?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought my job was to get the clue while you played lookout.”

Jaxton shrugged. “Anything could happen, you know that.”

Kiarra pushed off from the table and dropped into a nearby cushy chair. Their new location was

nothing more than a studio flat in eastern Edinburgh. Small, yet cozy, with a bed, a fireplace, and a “wee”

kitchen.

It’d taken several hours to reach the flat and Jaxton hadn’t wasted a second, teaching Kiarra a few more of his tricks along the way. Jaxton’s drills of choosing the safest routes to go unnoticed and reciting

DEFEND safe-house locations had distracted her from earlier revelations. Even now, she focused on their

plan for following Gio’s instructions rather than on Jaxton’s unfulfilled promise or his claim that she was a Talent. She wasn’t quite ready to tackle either one.

She adjusted her position in the chair and said, “The clue will be buried in the only remaining corner of the watch-house ruins, under a rock, before tomorrow afternoon.”

Jaxton took out his new phone and pushed some buttons before laying it on the table. “Right, some

people are going to watch that hill for me and let me know if anyone shows up.” Jaxton walked over to her and held out a hand. “Now that that’s settled, it’s time to train for a bit.”

She didn’t take his hand and gave a pointed look around the small room. “Where, exactly, are we going

to do that? On the roof?”

Jaxton wiggled his fingers. “Are you ever going to cooperate easily?”

“No.”

Jaxton smiled. “Bloody woman.” He reached down, took her hand, and pulled her up before turning her

around and placing his hands on her waist. She should scold his manhandling, yet part of her wanted him

to move his hands higher, pull her up against his chest, and encircle her so she could feel safe in his arms again.

His hands stayed on her hips, but he did move in closer, surrounding her with his male scent mixed

with soap. She resisted a shiver at the heat of his body against her back.

Jaxton leaned his mouth next to her ear. “We’re going to work on your concentration. Call up your fire.”

Kiarra closed her eyes, but Jaxton pinched her hip and said, “Keep them open and on your target.”

She opened her eyes and elbowed Jaxton in the ribs. Hard. “All right, teacher, what is my target? The

fake plant in the corner?”

“That’ll do.”

She kept her eyes on the plant and channeled her heat outward as before. Without looking, Kiarra knew

there was a flame surrounding each of her hands. The heat tickled against her skin and she realized how

much she’d missed it over the years.

“Now,” Jaxton said, “make the fire dance in front of you.”

The air was full of elemental energy particles, each compass direction holding a higher concentration of a specific element. If she could find a way to draw the elemental fire particles to her flame, she could direct the fire to jump from energy particle to energy particle, appearing as a constant stream of flame to those without the ability.

She concentrated and sensed the change in the air, attuned to the gathering energy in front of her. The

flame jumped from her hands to its new fuel source, creating an arc of fire that extended out six inches from her chest.

Kiarra wanted to celebrate, but maintained her concentration for a few seconds before Jaxton nuzzled

the side of her head and stroked the right side of her ribcage. She was hyperaware of his touch, and before she realized it, her fire extinguished as her hormones battled for control of her brain.

Jaxton stilled his fingers and she felt his smile against her ear. “Is that the best you can do? Try again.”

Kiarra repeated the process, determined to best Jaxton. When she had another stream of fire dancing in

front of her again, Jaxton started to stroke her side, but she was prepared. The touch prodded her to expand the flame farther away, creating a larger swath of fire.

Jaxton blew into her ear. The flame flickered for a split second before she regained control, extending

its reach. Her fire was now only a few inches short of the plant in the corner.

“Now, try to surround the plant, but don’t destroy it,” Jaxton whispered.

Just as she directed the fire a little closer to the plant, Jaxton traced his finger up the side of her neck. He continued to stroke her sensitive skin, and Kiarra gritted her teeth. She would reach the plant if it killed her.

Careful not to melt the plastic, Kiarra encircled the outside leaves. The next few leaves would include

the stem, making it tricky, but she pushed forward. Then Jaxton nipped her neck and the fire disappeared, leaving behind a small branch of melted plastic.

She let out a growl and turned around to find the bastard was smiling. “Is it a habit of yours to bite

trainees?”

“Only the ones that taste as good as you.” He swirled his finger in the air, indicating for her to turn

around. “Now, try it again. If you can’t concentrate with something as small as a nip on your neck, then you bloody well won’t be able to block out the people fighting, and possibly dying, around you.”

Kiarra was about to protest, but then she had an idea. She turned around as directed, but before he

could tell her what to do, she reached back and grabbed his genitals. He drew a sharp breath and Kiarra

smiled. “If you can’t concentrate with someone’s hand on your balls, then you might not be able to block out the distractions around you when you’re fighting.”

She gave a light squeeze, surprised to find him hard. The image of his erection free of his clothing,

open to her touch and her mouth, made her lower belly tighten and her panties damp.

“Is that how you want to play it, pet?” Jaxton whispered before cupping her and rocking the heel of his

hand against her clitoris.

She gasped. No one had touched her so intimately since Ty.

No.
She wouldn’t let the past invade the present, and when Jaxton flicked her beaded nipple with his free hand, she leaned her head against his shoulder and inhaled his addictive scent. The stubborn and bossy man behind her was the only one she wanted to think about right now, especially as he rocked his hand

against her again.

Careful not to let her arousal turn her hands into coals, she stroked Jaxton’s erection through his pants, imaging how soft yet hard he’d feel in her palms. Jaxton thrust into her hand and bit her earlobe. “Are you wet for me, pet?”

Kiarra should feel embarrassed, but his words shot straight between her legs. “Yes.”

“Good.” Jaxton tilted her head at an angle and kissed her, exploring her mouth with his tongue. He put

his hands on her breasts and pinched her nipples. Kiarra moaned, dug her nails into Jaxton’s scalp, and

arched into his touch, wanting him to do it again.

Jaxton broke their kiss just long enough to turn her around, grab her ass, and pull her up against his

body. As he lifted her, Kiarra instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed against him. She purred as the seam of her jeans created a wonderful friction.

This time, she knew what she wanted, without reservations. The past would no longer control her.

“Skin,” she managed. “I want to feel your skin against mine.”

Jaxton groaned at the pressure of Kiarra rubbing against his cock. He managed to reach the bed and get

them both horizontal without disentangling Kiarra from his body.

He braced himself on his forearms and looked down at Kiarra, flushed with kiss-bruised lips. He

wanted to rip her clothes off and plunge into her wet heat, pounding until they both forgot about their

troubles.

But this was her first time with him, and after what she’d revealed about her time inside the AMT, he

needed to be careful. She hadn’t frozen at any of his touches yet, but there was still a chance she would again.

Kiarra gazed at him with heavy-lidded eyes and pulled up her shirt, revealing her abdomen. “Before this

shirt goes any higher, you’re going to take yours off.”

Jaxton was stubborn, but not daft. He took off his shirt and let Kiarra’s hands roam over his chest. But when she scraped his nipple, his patience evaporated. He leaned down and kissed her deeply, sucking and

biting her bottom lip before trailing kisses down her neck. She arched her back, jutting her breasts forward, but Jaxton avoided them on his path downward, instead kissing the exposed skin of her belly. He smiled at her noise of frustration.

His hands roamed over her abdomen before pulling her top up over her breasts and tracing around the

taut peaks of her nipples through her bra. Kiarra pushed away his hands, and Jaxton froze. But when she

pulled her top over her head and slid off her bra straps, he chuckled. “So impatient.”

“And you, sir, are a tease.”

He moved up and traced the top of her breast, just above the cup. “Don’t worry, pet, you’ll thank me

later.”

She snorted. “For a self-assured sex god, you’re not doing a very good job.”

If Kiarra could tease him, she was more than ready. Jaxton pulled her bra down and gazed at her lovely

breasts, round and full, greedy to see them bounce when she rode him. He leaned down and took her nipple into his mouth, lapping and biting the taut peak before moving and doing the same to her other breast.

Kiarra’s hands were on his shoulders, and he rubbed her forearms before kissing the spot between her

breasts, and continued lower. When he reached the top of her jeans, Kiarra’s nails dug into his shoulder. He licked her belly just about her waistband and blew. “I can’t show you the full extent of my sex-god powers unless we take off your jeans.”

Kiarra giggled, the sound a tinkle of delight he would never tire of, and her hold relaxed. He looked up and raised an eyebrow, hooking his fingers under the waistband of her jeans. “Just don’t burn me into a

crisp, okay? I’m quite fond of my cock.”

She tapped his arse with her foot, and Jaxton took that as encouragement. He couldn’t remember the

last time a woman had teased him in bed. He’d kept women at a distance since his brother’s capture,

focusing solely on his family, but somehow Kiarra had found her way around his internal barriers. Not

surprising, since the woman was as stubborn as an ox.

Smiling at the thought, he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, kissing the patch of skin just above her

knickers. This was the point of no return, but a quick glance told him Kiarra was still with him and willing.

As he slid down Kiarra’s jeans, exposing her knickers, his mouth watered; all he wanted to do was taste her.

Her legs now bare, he traced a finger up the inside of her thigh to the edge of her knickers, tracing one side and then the other, but never dipping beneath them into her dark curls. Kiarra raised her hips as she made a noise in her throat, and he said, “Tell me what you want, pet. Your wish is my command.”