Fairy Magic (20 page)

“Yes,” she said, her legs wobbling as she rose.

After a few steps, her spasming muscles settled down, and she could walk without jiggling like a rubber chicken. Makani kept his hand on her back, as though afraid she’d fall flat on her face. He led her up to a solid rock face wedged between two wood houses. Wow, a mountain in the middle of the city. She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, there was also a forest in the middle of the city. Makani didn’t stop moving. He just kept walking right at that wall of rock.

She opened her mouth to protest, but they were already passing through…whatever it was. A tingle of magic buzzed on her skin.

“An illusion?” she asked.

“No, not an illusion. It’s a barrier,” he told her. “This place is protected by an enchantment that doesn’t fade, not even here.” He waved his hand to indicate the rocky tunnel. “Magic inside of this cave is preserved.”

“How?”

“The spell is much like your magic. Spirit magic. It’s an old spell I learned long ago. It’s one of the reasons I’m still alive. I’ve been masking my hiding spots with magic for years. Think of it like a safe house.”

“And the key to this safe house?” she asked.

“The key—the way through the barrier—is to match the barrier’s magical resonance.”

“Clever.”

“Yes,” he said with all the modesty of a dragon prince.

He led her down the hall to the quaint oak door at the end. Beyond the door, the secret ‘cave’ opened up into a cozy living room. Makani’s safe house might have looked like a rock face from the outside, but the inside was a picturesque cottage complete with a fireplace. There wasn’t any reason to burn firewood for heat in hell, but it did give the place a nice, homely look.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“I’m starving. Hopping realms is exhausting.” She smirked at him. “So is saving dragon princes who always manage to land themselves in hot water.”

“Then allow me to return the favor.” He circled around a small table, pulling out one of the chairs. Whoever said chivalry was dead had obviously never been to hell.

She took her seat. Rather than taking his, he lingered behind her chair. His hands brushed across the side of her face, soft and sweet as a feather’s kiss. He slid the tip of her ponytail away from her neck, then his hands dropped to her back. Strong, powerful, they kneaded the tension from her muscles. He started with her back, then moved up to her neck. His fingers tugged on the band binding her ponytail, releasing it. Her pale, wavy locks cascaded down over her face. His hands ran through her hair, massaging her scalp. It felt like every battle, every struggle, every care that had been weighing down her head just melted away. She sighed, leaning forward to relax against her elbows.

“That’s it,” he said, his breath caressing her ear.

She shivered—and it wasn’t from the cold this time. “What?”

“You’re finally relaxed,” he whispered against her jaw.

His hands lifted from her skin. He set the table with a basket of fruit and a pair of candles that wafted magic, then he sat down opposite her.

“Do you bring all your dates to your secret cave?” she teased him.

“So you think this is a date?”

She was very aware of his leg as it brushed against hers. Her pulse jumped, and fire crept into his eyes as her smile wobbled. He was close—too close. She was beginning to think this table was small for a reason.

She laughed over the panicked gallop of her magic. “Going to hell, storming a castle, escaping the camp of a demon’s warlord, then having a picnic in an enchanted cave? Yeah, that’s pretty standard first date territory.”

“You are a fascinating woman.” His eyes sang with sinful promise.

She struggled to remain focused. She was in control of this conversation.

Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that,
said some part of her—the part that had already given up. The part that yearned to see if Makani could live up to the wicked promises burning in his eyes.

No, she was the wicked one. She braided her fingers together and rested her chin on them. “Of course I’m fascinating.” She winked at him. “My life is full of exciting, dangerous moments. Just the sort of thing you enjoy.”

He smirked. “So you are asking me to be a part of your life?”

“I’m asking you to be a part of my fight against Darksire.”

He straightened in his chair. “My fight is here.”

“Darksire wants to build his army from the prisoners of hell,” she pointed out. “Your fight and mine are one and the same, Makani. You’re fighting demons who want to take control of all the spirit realm. If they succeed, what will their next target be?”

“Earth,” he said.

“Exactly. Ghosts can move freely between here and earth. Imagine you’re a demon like Bael. You have power over ghosts, and you want to take over the earth. What do you do?”

“Send ghosts to earth to manipulate some idiot into summoning me,” he replied immediately.

Naomi nodded. “And then you bring your army through the tears in the veil and take over the world. Darksire is doing the same. If you help me stop him, send his groupies back to hell, and mend the tears in the veils, then that’s also a win against the demons. See? Same goal. Win-win for both of us.” She smiled at him over her glass of wine.

He was silent for a moment, then he said, “I’ll do it.”

“Really?” she asked in surprise. Maybe he wasn’t immune to her powers of persuasion after all.

“Hell is pouring into the real world. Yes, I’ll help. But I want your help in fighting the demons too.”

“What can I possibly do against a demon?”

He grabbed a date from the fruit bowl. “You are a Spirit Warrior. You have magic here, where others do not.”

“I don’t know how to use it. Not really. I need to have more control over it.”

“No, you need to stop worrying about controlling it and just let it flow,” he said. “I knew Spirit Warriors long ago. I can help you figure out how to let the power flow through you.” He traced the top of her hand with his finger. “But be warned. I am a difficult teacher. No patience. No tolerance for failure.”

She smirked at him. “I can crack any nut. I’ll have you eating out of my hand before the week is up.”

His hand continued to stroke hers. The other reached for the basket. He flipped open his palm, revealing a dried apricot inside.

She shot it a longing look. Between the troubles on earth and here in the spirit realm, she hadn’t eaten much today. Plus, she loved fruit.

He extended the apricot toward her. “Or maybe I’ll have you eating out of mine,” he said, his brows lifting with promise.

It was a promise that he would strip every last shred of control from her, and that scared her more than all of his magic combined. So she did what any sensible fairy would do: she danced around the dragon. She plucked the fruit from his hand and slid it into her mouth, licking her fingers with exaggerated slowness. All the while, she kept her gaze locked with his.

But instead of losing control, he leaned back in his seat, hitting her with a stare that terrified her to her very core. With him, she always felt out of control. That’s not how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be in control. She was always in control.

She tried again. She slid her hand out from under his and traced her fingers up his arm.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to taunt a dragon?” he asked.

“Of course.” She smirked at him. “But I’m a stubborn student.”

She bit back a gasp as his magic poured across her body like a river of flames. Smugness burned in his eyes like dragon fire. Ok, desperate times called for desperate measures. It was time for the old standby, the weapon that never failed. She leaned forward, arching her back to push out her breasts.

His eyes dipped to her chest, then back up to her eyes. “Where is your sense of self-preservation?”

I left it somewhere on the other side of hell. Along with my self-control.

He chuckled. Crap. She must have spoken that last bit aloud. She clamped her lips together and focused on the fruit bowl. They finished their meal in silence. They didn’t need to speak. Volumes could have been filled from the symphony of unspoken words between them.

After awhile, drowsiness crept in. Consciousness was fleeting. She blinked at the empty bottle of wine on the table. She should have known better than to drink wine during a dinner date in hell. Her head was heavy. She could barely keep her eyes open.

She felt herself being lifted. She opened her eyes to find Makani carrying her across the room.

“What is it?” she muttered.

“Shh, try to get some sleep. Tomorrow we have to fight a demon’s army.”

“Yay,” she said drowsily.

With surprising gentleness, he set her down on the bed and tucked a blanket over her. She rolled over and fell asleep.

* * *

Naomi woke from sleep feeling surprisingly rested. Not even dreams had touched her, which was a nice change of pace after the marathon of realm-hopping mind gymnastics over the previous few days.

She opened her eyes to a sky of floating magic lights bouncing against the ceiling. No daylight penetrated the walls, which wasn’t all that surprising considering this house was inside of a cave.

She peeked over her blanket. In the middle of the room, Makani was stretching out in a fluid sequence of exercises that was better than anything television had to offer.

“Good morning,” he said without turning toward her.

She smothered her guilt inside of a big yawn, then sat up.

He looked up at her from a stretch that no mortal man should have been able to do. “Come. Join me.”

Naomi wiggled her naked toes. He must have pulled off her shoes while she was sleeping. She set her feet on the warm stone floor. It felt like it was being heated from a fire below.

“Where’s the ladies’ room?” she asked.

“Ladies’ room?”

“I need to pee,” she said bluntly.

He pointed down toward a door. “Through there, end of the hall.” Then he tucked his hand behind his back and began doing one-armed pushups.

Naomi passed through the door. At the end of the hall, she found a room with a hole in the floor. She sighed, bemoaning the lack of indoor plumbing. Though she probably shouldn’t have been surprised about the lack of amenities. This was the underworld, not a resort. In fact, a hole in the floor was probably five-star living around here. It sure beat peeing in the woods while keeping an eye out for monsters.

After she was done, she went back to the big room. Makani had switched to pushups with the other arm. Naomi lingered in the doorway. She could watch that all day, but it probably wasn’t good for her mental health. Besides, she should stretch out too. She didn’t want to pull a muscle the next time some hell beast attacked them. She glided up beside him and began her morning yoga routine.

“You slept for a long time.” He rolled up into a handstand and began doing pushups in that position. Ok, now he was just showing off.

“I haven’t slept in a long while.” Naomi slid down into a standing split.

She smirked as his brows lifted.
That’s right, baby. You’re not the only one who can show off.

“You looked peaceful in your sleep,” he said. “I haven’t seen someone so at peace since I left earth.”

She rolled down to the ground and stretched out one leg. “The people here should all try doing yoga too. It’s calming.”

“This is hell. I don’t believe it’s meant to be calming,” he said, stretching out his back. He looked almost wistful.

She switched to pulling on the other leg. “Well, there are other benefits.”

“Oh?” His leg brushed against hers. “Like what?”

She grinned up at him. “Flexibility.”

His eyes lit up, then he slid down into the splits. Holy shit. No one that buff could be that flexible.

“Flexibility serves you well in battle. Among other things,” he added, his voice thick with ruthless sensuality.

As Naomi looked away, he chuckled. This was
her
game. So why was it that every time she went up against him, she lost? Time to change the subject to something less dangerous.

“How were you imprisoned here?” The words just flew out of her mouth.

“I’m a beast,” he growled.

A sexy beast. Crap. So much for less dangerous subjects. If she didn’t want danger, she shouldn’t have taunted a dragon. Maybe it wasn’t too late for a strategic retreat. She shifted her weight, trying to put some distance between them, but he caught her hand as she moved away.

“Let’s drop all pretenses,” he said. “You are attracted to me. Don’t try to deny it. I can feel it in your magic. It’s been feeling mine up since you came here.”

Her mouth opened in outrage, but he cut off her emerging protest. “And now that you’re here in your full glory…” He shot her a sexy smile. “I’m afraid your magic has been quite persistent. Do you honestly expect me to sit back and do nothing while you do that to me?”

“I… I don’t know what to say.” She tried to contain her misbehaving fairy magic, but it really,
really
didn’t want to behave.

“Don’t do that,” he said. “Don’t try to force your magic. Just let it be.”

“But it’s out of control!”

“Magic doesn’t lie. It’s the most honest, most beautiful thing in the world.” His hands closed over her shoulders, turning her to face him. “You are a stunning woman, and your magic…” He closed his eyes, sighing as he opened them again. “It’s magnificent. I could bathe in it all day.” His fingertips traced her sides. “I want to make it ignite.”

His power poured over her like a river of flames, hitting every note of her magic in a perfect symphony of sensations. It felt amazing—too amazing. Her control was unraveling faster than she could pick up the pieces. She pulled away, but he held to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“This isn’t the time,” she told him, swallowing back a moan as his magic slid lower.

“We fought together, we ate together, you slept in my house. You yourself called it a date.”

“A joke,” she gasped.

“Was it really?”

“Yes,” she said weakly.

His mouth dipped toward hers. Her body ignored her brain, leaning into him.