Summer of Frost (23 page)

“You’re on.” I laughed wickedly. “Don’t get
mad when you get your ass beat.”

He winked. “I’ll take my chances.”

My muscles ached, but I made sure to give
Alston a good beating. “I think we’re done with weapons for a
while. By the way, where did you learn to do what you did with your
spear? I know Oren and your brother didn’t teach you those moves.”
He paused and furrowed his brows, looking off into the distance.
“It actually kind of reminds me of how the Summer Fae fight.”

After he said that his body tensed, but when
he saw me watching him he relaxed, even though it looked forced.
“Well, I don’t know where I would’ve learned it from,” I claimed.
“Not unless someone from the Summer Court trained me.”

Alston laughed nervously. “No, that couldn’t
be it. You don’t ever spend time with anyone from the Summer other
than Calista and Meliantha, and they aren’t even Summer Fae
anymore.”

I didn’t need magic to hear the bold faced
lie in his statement. He still wouldn’t even look me in the eye
when he spoke either.
Now all I needed was to come up with a
plan, but what?
I wondered. My momentary distraction cost me a
swift kick to the leg from Alston, making me fall to the ground
with a loud thump. The breath whooshed out of me when I made
impact.

“Ow!” I groaned furiously.

Alston appeared above me, smiling. “You
weren’t paying attention, baby. Besides, it was funny watching you
fall on your ass.”

I scowled at him and quickly got to my feet.
“You’re going to pay for that,” I hissed. All I needed was a few
good hits on him to incapacitate him, and then I could make a run
for it. By no means was I afraid of Alston, so if he did catch me I
could defend myself, but I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. My
main concern at the moment was contacting Oren.

Alston’s wicked grin didn’t help my growing
anger as we circled each other. “You are so damn sexy when you’re
mad. It makes for good make-up sex.”

I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t count on
it.”

“Oh come on, Sorcha, you know you want it.
You’ve always been an insatiable woman,” he teased.

“Will you shut up?” He was goading me and I
fell right into it. He loved to see me angry, and he got his wish.
I dodged his attacks, except when the opportunity presented itself
I went in for the hit. I landed a hard jab to Alston’s jaw, making
his head turn away from me with a snap. Not wasting any time, I
made a run for it, and didn’t look back.

“Sorcha!” Alston yelled. He chased after me,
and with his long legs and my magic dampened I couldn’t use my
earth abilities to help slow him down. I didn’t get too far before
his weight barreled into me and he landed on top, crushing me to
the ground. I struggled to breathe as his weight pinned me beneath
him.

“What the hell was that?” he growled in my
face.

I smirked. “It was a love tap,” I said
sarcastically. “You deserved it for pissing me off.”

He rubbed his jaw and shook his head. “I
love to see you pissed, but not like that. It still turned me on
though,” he teased.

Huffing, I sighed, “Whatever, Alston. Do you
mind getting off me?”

He pushed his body into me further, and I
could definitely tell my anger turned him on from the hard bulge
pressing up against my leg. His forearms closed me in as he leaned
on his elbows, looking down at me. “I kind of like it here. You’ve
never complained about me being on top before.”

Alston lowered his head to kiss me, but I
turned my head away before our lips could touch. “Well, I’m
complaining now. I’m going to ask again, do you mind getting off of
me?”

His growl was menacing, but he slowly lifted
up his body and got to his feet. “What happened to you? We were hot
and heavy back home, fucking anywhere and everywhere we could.”

“Yeah, maybe ten months ago,” I mumbled.

“Excuse me,” he said quickly, alarmed.

I waved him off. “Nothing, just forget I
said anything.” His grip was bruising when he encircled my arms,
pulling me up against him. “Alston, you’re hurting me,” I warned,
gritting my teeth.

He didn’t let me go, but held me there,
studying my face. “You know something, don’t you?”

“Like what?” I asked incredulously. “You’re
acting as if you have something to hide. Maybe
you
know
something I don’t.”

We stared each other down until something
caught his eye over my shoulder. “Fuck!” he hissed. Grabbing my arm
forcefully, he hurried me in the direction of the house.

“What’s going on? What did you see?” I asked
anxiously.

He kept dragging me behind him, and when I
snuck a glance behind me I saw nothing. I tried to root my feet to
the ground, but instead of me standing my ground it only infuriated
Alston more. He picked me up and slung me over his shoulder,
running the rest of the way to the house. When we got there, he
kicked the door open and dropped me on the floor. Thankfully, I
landed on my feet and not on my ass again.

Glaring at him, I crossed my arms over my
chest. “I hope that’s not the way you take your wife over the
threshold when you get married,” I quipped sarcastically.

“I just did,” he sneered. “Welcome home,
honey.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

His sneer grew into an all-out wicked grin.
The mask had been lifted from his face, and what I saw was not the
Alston I knew and cared about months ago. His eyes showed the
cruelty and possessiveness that I’d always known was there, but
hidden. He stalked toward me with long and determined strides,
saying along the way, “You’re mine, Sorcha, and no one is going to
take you away from me.”

I began taking steps back to get away from
Alston’s predatory gaze, but he kept advancing. “Why did you rush
me in here? What’s out there? Or better yet … who’s out there?”

“It doesn’t matter who it is. You’re not
going anywhere.”

“Like hell I’m not,” I warned him. “Tell me,
at what point did you decide to turn on our people?”

He stalked closer. “The moment I lost
you.”

“That doesn’t flatter me, Alston. Did you
think you wouldn’t get caught?”

He furrowed his brows and opted to ignore my
question with a wave of dismissal. “What I want to know is how you
found out. Your memories are gone.”

I laughed sarcastically. “I may not have my
memories, but I’m not stupid. You may have the house concealed, and
my magic blocked, but I can still feel that something’s wrong with
you.”

“You know, I’m shocked they found you. No
one knows of this place, and since they can’t see it or sense us
they’ll pass right on by. I would love to be able to see Drake’s
face if he knew I fucked you while he was just yards away. You
will
be mine and mine only for the rest of your life. You
might as well get used to it, even if I have to force you.”

“Wait!” I held up my hand. “Are you saying
he’s actually out there right now?”

“Yes, it’s him and your worthless guardian.
Isn’t it a shame you can’t join them. Oh well, at least you’ll be
having fun with me in here.”

“Not likely.”

He was stalking me like a lion would before
he pounced. The door was too far away, and my only chance to get
there was going to be to fight my way there. I took off for the
door only to be tackled to the floor by Alston’s hulking frame. He
pinned my arms above my head and immediately began leaving bruising
kisses along my jaw down to my neck. His laugh sounded evil in my
ear, making me cringe away from him. He held both of my wrists with
one of his hands while the other began ripping away my armor. I
struggled against his grasp as he lifted my shirt and ran his hand
over my bare breast. He was so heavy on top of me I couldn’t move,
he was just too strong. He forcefully separated my legs with his
knee and ground me into the floor by thrusting hard against me.

“It turns me on when you make it hard on
me,” he growled low in my ear.

“Is it going to turn you on when I kill
you?” I hissed back angrily. “Because once I get out that door,
you’re dead.”

He laughed. “I guess it’s a good thing
you’re not getting to that door then, huh?”

“We’ll see about that!”

With all my energy, I bucked my hips as hard
as I could. Once his hand wavered, I freed one of my arms and
slammed my elbow hard into the side of his face. He grunted with
the impact and his body moved enough that I was able to knee him in
the groin. He toppled over to the side and tried to make a grab for
me, except I slipped out of his reach just in time to make a run
for it. Scrambling across the floor, I made it to the door and
pushed it open. Drake’s eyes caught mine the moment I became
visible, and relief flashed over his face.

I bolted straight for him, but the pain that
radiated through my ribs stopped me. A snarling Alston was behind
my back with one arm squeezing the breath out of my lungs, and the
other holding a very sharp, iron knife at my throat.

The moment she appeared, I wasted no time in
running toward her, except I didn’t get too far when I was stopped
by an invisible force. It felt like a thick, unbreakable glass
wall, sturdy and indestructible. Oren ran up beside me and punched
it with all the force he could muster. The only sounds I heard were
his audible cry of pain, and the bones that broke into tiny pieces
in his hand.

Alston bellowed, “Having problems getting
through?”

“You’re done, Alston! Let her go!” I
ordered, gritting my teeth.

Sorcha was angry, her chest heaving with
furious breaths as she searched for an escape. Our eyes met
briefly, and I hoped she understood the message I sent to her. Just
off to her left, on the ground, was her spear. It was the only
weapon there that could kill Alston, other than Oren’s dagger he
had strapped on his belt. However, that was a lost cause since Oren
and I couldn’t go past the barrier.

Panic showed behind the surface of Alston’s
gaze, but he was trying to hide it. I could usually handle tense
situations, but this one was more difficult considering Alston was
unstable with a knife to Sorcha’s throat, and it wasn’t just an
ordinary knife either.

“Do you see what I see?” I pointed out to
Oren.

He shifted angrily on his feet.
“Unfortunately, yes. The knife is made of iron.”

Alston planned it well. He held the iron
knife in a gloved hand. If he wasn’t wearing that glove, the iron
would’ve eaten through his skin in a matter of seconds. “She’s not
going anywhere,” he said, squeezing Sorcha tighter against him. The
knife grazed her skin when he moved, causing it to sizzle and burn
on contact.

She hissed in pain. “You’re going to pay for
that!”

“Not if you’re dead,” he replied darkly.

My anger boiled over the edge, the dragon
stirring underneath my skin, ready to kill. No one threatens what’s
mine, except I knew Alston’s admission was not a threat. He would
kill her to keep her from me. I could see in his eyes how obsessed
he was with her.