The Wicked (8 page)

Before I could say a word, she blasted out a wave of water, soaking me completely.

“Thanks a lot! Give me a chance to prepare myself for Christ’s sakes.” I coughed. Just as I finished clearing my throat, Zennah threw out a gust of wind drying me completely. “Thanks.”

Yep, things have gotten better. Maybe there was a respect there now, which I can’t say I wasn’t glad for. I hate bitches and if I needed her to guide me—it was better if we could at least play nice.

“Focus then,” Zia said. “Tell me when you are ready.”

After I closed my eyes, I focused on what I was thinking of when Zennah’s magic was coming at me. I didn’t want it to touch me or come near me. Suddenly, I began to remember what surrounded me at that exact moment was that sensation of power. The little spark of energy. I drew on that, focused myself around that odd sensation that lived within me. Immediately, the energy grew and began to flow through me. Air was cool, Fire was hot, and Spirit sent adrenaline rushing through my blood—this just felt like raw hard strength. I snapped my eyes open. “Let’s have it,” I told Zia.

Seconds later, her water came at me like a tidal wave. The instant it hit my shield it moved in big waves, crashing loudly behind me.

Zia withdrew her magic and keeled over laughing. “That was unbelievable.”

Zennah nodded in apparent agreement. “I have never seen anything even close to that. That was…way, way too cool.”

Abruptly, Haven’s voice was shouting through the meadow, “Did I really just see that right?” I glanced toward her and she was running full speed down the hill.

“You had like a bubble around you,” she gasped out of breath when she reached us. “Did I see that right?”

“Neat, huh?” I responded. It was a bit hard to deny that having this wasn’t a special treat. Not only would I be a giant Band-Aid for everyone else, I’d be one for myself. And knowing me, that was going to come in handy.

“Neat?” Haven replied, astonished. “That is friggin’ incredible.” She glanced to Zia. “Is that the Spirit Element?”

Zia nodded. “Must be.”

Haven glanced back to me and looked almost dreamy. “You are special. I always knew it—my soul-sister special.”

“Okay, let’s not go that far,” I said. “It’s just something different that’s all. We all have different talents. Your ability to recreate imprints is pretty damn incredible too.” An imprint was a moment in time—a little like time travel. The Council used Haven’s ability to recreate the scenes of a murder so that the Guardians could identify the killer. Can’t get much cooler than that.

“Yeah sure,” Haven retorted, “but I’m not the only one that can do that.”

I glanced between them as they all stared at me in awe, feeling more than uncomfortable. “So…” I fiddled with the hem of my kilt. “Did you need something, Haven?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot. Kyden wanted me to come and get you. Willow…ahhh…” She was hiding her smile—that was obvious. “Pissed on your pillow.”

“She did not?” I exclaimed.

Haven’s smile now beamed across her face. “She did and Kyden said it’s your cat, yours to deal with.”

“That little vermin is in deep shit,” I growled, and left the others behind as I ran up the hill. No matter how pissed she was at me…peeing on my pillow! That’s how she gets back at me? My pillow—my comfy, squishy pillow that I finally broke in. Months of working on it to get it just right and now, it was garbage. This cat was very close to becoming a kitty shish-kabob.

The door to our residence slammed behind me and our splendid living room was before me. Think cottage escape—large stone fireplace, furniture made of dark oak, beige comfy couches. But the best part of this space was the delicious Guardian sitting on the couch.

“Where is she?” I blasted at Kyden.

He chuckled. “In the bedroom.”

I stormed past him and entered the bedroom. Willow was cleaning her ears like a perfect little lady. I stopped in front of her and poked her side. “You are a bad, bad kitty, Willow.”

Kyden laughed from the living room. He was probably getting a real kick out of this and feeling pretty righteous right about now.

“That was a perfect pillow and now you’ve ruined it!” I roared.

“Serves you right! That will show you for making me bounce around like some circus animal. Try that again and I’ll poop on it.”

I glared at her and tossed her off the bed. Yeah, it’s true cats really do land on their feet. “Go get me a new pillow. Now.”

“I’m a cat. How am I supposed to get a pillow?”

“You think I give a shit how you do it?” I shouted, pointing at the door. “It had better be nice one too—comfy, feathers, the whole shabam. You hear me?”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you. No need to shout at me. You know a cat’s hearing is better, don’t you?”

I pointed again. “Go.” She strode out the bedroom door and I followed behind her, opening the door to let her out. “Don’t come back until you get one.” I slammed the door behind her and looked back at Kyden. “Don’t you dare say one word about this?”

The side of his mouth arched up slightly. “I wouldn’t dare think of it.”

I snorted at him and made my way to the kitchen. It fit the country charm—rustic oak cabinets, thick pine table in the center, and resting on the large island counter was a plate of chicken parmesan and fettuccini. I nuked it then came back out to join him on the couch. Not only was he sexy as all get-out, but he could cook too. Sometimes I was even jealous of myself.

“How’d it go today?” he asked, turning off Sunday night football.

“It can be summed up in one word—Zennah.” He arched a brow. “You got it. She was my instructor.”

“Was she now?”

“Yes, but I believe we may have worked out our differences.”

His arched brow rose higher. “Is she still alive?”

“Of course she is,” I said appalled. “You’d think I’d kill her just because the two of you had a roll in the sack?”

He was thoughtful for a moment then said, “I believe you are capable of such a thing, yes.”

I threw a pillow at his head. “Well, if you hadn’t done her in the first place we wouldn’t have these conflicts, now would we?”

He tucked the pillow under his arm. “Good point.”

Suddenly, I heard scratches at the door, followed by a loud meow. I put my plate down on the table and went to open it. “That was fast,” I said to Willow.

She walked in dragging a pillow beside her with her teeth—not an easy job for a little kitty. She dropped it to my feet, panting.
“There, are we settled?”

I picked up the pillow and it was perfect—goose-down. “This will do.” Then, I glared at her. “Let’s make a deal, I won’t use magic on you and you will not defile my bed. Deal?”

“I can agree to that.”

After a firm nod, I headed back over to Kyden and began to devour his delicious dinner. God, it was delicious. He usually made most of our meals. My cooking amounted to spaghetti and tacos. Anything too complicated would end up tasting a little like Haven’s contraptions.

“Tell me then, what happened tonight?” he asked.

By the time I finished giving him the details, Kyden looked about as shocked as the rest of them. “You can deflect magic away from you?”

“It appears so. That could come in handy?”

“Yes, it could.”

Once I practically licked my plate clean, I took it back to the kitchen and washed it. After I put it away, I turned around to find Kyden leaning against the wall looking intent and eager.

“Come on, we’ve got something to do.”

My gaze swept by him as it hit the bedroom. “We do?”

He nearly pounced forward, pressed his body tight against mine and his erection sat hard against my stomach. “You feel just how much I wish I could finish that thought of yours, but we must be somewhere.”

As much as I could feel that, he was passing up sex, which meant something was up. “What’s going on?”

“You’ll see.”

I gave him a look. “You know how I feel about surprises?” He knew I hated them.

He kissed my hand but said nothing as he led me toward the door.

Within minutes, we were down the hall and into the foyer. My hopes were shattered when he walked past the door to the portal—there went a romantic night out. Instead, he headed straight for the Council’s Hall. “We’re going out on an assignment?” My hopes restored—I bounced a little. “Aren’t we?”

Kyden shook his head as his answer.

Damn!

When we entered through the Council Hall’s doors, to say I was taken back was a
huge
understatement. The Cathedral was completely full of supernaturals. The Council was all here, plus Haven—who gave me a little wave—and Finn too. There were also hoards of Guardians and Witches.

“What’s this all about?” I asked Kyden, hesitantly as we stepped farther into the room.

“As I said, you’ll see,” he replied, firmly with that devilish grin.

Before I had a chance to force the truth out of him, Talon said, “Are you two ready?”

“Ready for what?” I said, slightly confused and more than a little irritated.

“Kyden, you did not tell her?” Talon rebuked.

Kyden’s grin remained, and he shook his head. “No. I wanted to surprise her.”

“Okay, fess up,” I snapped. “What the hell is this?”

Talon answered, “As Guardians, we are always tested against each other in challenges. Whoever remains the strongest will battle against me, and if they were to ever overtake me, they could gain the seat on the Council.”

“I have a really bad feeling,” I grumbled. “I’m not going to like where you are going with this.”

“I’m sure you won’t,” Talon responded, “but there is not much you can do about it. Since your strength has grown and your level of skill has exceeded your peers, you will need to challenge Kyden to make sure he should still remain the elite Guardian.”

“Can’t I just decline?” I inquired.

“No.” Talon’s face showed just how absurd that line of thinking was.

I met Kyden’s gaze and whispered, “I have to fight you?”

“Sure do, sweetcheeks,” he said, giving a firm slap on my ass.

Talon handed us our practice swords. They were sharp enough to cut—to prove that indeed the kill was made, but it wouldn’t end a life.

“Why can’t I just have an easy day? Just once.” I pouted, replacing my sharp shiny steel blade with the duller one then handed it Talon.

“Off you go then,” Talon said, leaving Kyden and I—alone in the center.

Kyden leaned in to kiss my lips. “I’ll take it easy on you—wouldn’t want you to look like too much of a fool.”

“Since I know you are trying to piss me off I’m going to ignore that smart ass comment,” I said, and began to circle him.

“I would never resort to such behavior, Álainn. I’m just saying a little thing like you needs to be handled with care, is all.” He slightly turned and with that comment came a hard punch to his jaw.

Damn arrogant ass!

“Going to be like that, is it?” Kyden smiled as he mirrored my moves, circling in tighter. “Alright then, give me all you’ve got.”

Those were the last words spoken for an entire hour. Back and forth, we came at each other—blocked, dodged, weaved our way around each other’s blows. We were both soaked entirely with sweat and panting heavily. I expected Kyden would be getting annoyed, angry, anything like that. But he wasn’t. The longer we fought the more his eyes smoldered. Trying to keep my focus with his hungry gaze intent on me was near impossible.

With a hard kick to my side, I stumbled back and immediately drew in air to sweep him off his feet. He fell flat on his ass and gave me a look of pure amusement. I smiled in return. No one said I couldn’t use magic here.

Instantly, I was shocked to realize I had just called on my magic so quickly. That was definitely a first. It wasn’t even a thought. I wanted it, needed it, and it came forward.

Too bad I couldn’t really appreciate the moment since Kyden lunged forward, pummeled me with the full force of his body, sending us flying straight across the hall along the floor.

Just so happened, when we finally came to a stop, he was positioned directly on top of me. His thick body cradled between my thighs and the gaze I witnessed earlier wasn’t misread. The erection resting against me proved that fighting was far from his mind.

Before I could even move, he took my mouth with enough passion to send the place blazing. I responded immediately, feeling the heat right along with him. Fighting is the equivalent to a serious amount of foreplay, and after this battle, we’d both need a release from the building tension.

He ground against me. His lips crushed against mine. I reached up and ran my hands along his strong back, which flexed beneath my touch. God, he tasted good, felt amazing. His kisses were everything passion is made of, which left me to feel nothing but raw unadulterated desire.

Suddenly, Zia’s amused voice came into my mind.
“Nexi, you are not alone.”

“Yikes,”
I thought back, moving my hands from Kyden’s back to his shoulders where I pushed a little. She was right, we weren’t alone considering the hundred of Supes watching us gettin’ hot and heavy.

Kyden willingly moved with my push, leaned back to meet my gaze. Zia thought this was inappropriate and I was inclined to agree with her.

Kyden, however, appeared to totally disagree. His molten eyes and tense expression, said only one thing—he wasn’t done here, not even close to it. In a move faster than I could anticipate, he was off me, and standing. Yanking me to my feet, he threw me over his shoulder and began to stalk out of the room as I dangled against his back.

“Kyden,” Talon shouted. “The challenge has not been ended.”

“It has now,” was Kyden’s reply.

The crowd erupted into shouts and loud applause as Kyden tore us from the Council’s Hall.

We hit our residence in two seconds flat. Kyden kept one arm tight around my ass as he opened the door. It slammed closed behind us as he continued to stride forward with urgency. Quite forcefully, he pulled me off his shoulder then threw me over the back of the couch.

Without so much as a word, I heard his kilt drop to the floor. Then he threw up my kilt, tore off my shorts and dove into me with such force it sent a scream of rage from my throat. Not in pain necessarily, it was just unexpected, and the position I was in was new. He had yet to treat me to this delectable angle—didn’t like that my face was hidden from him—he told me. He had been holding out on me. The sensations that came along with it were mindboggling. Whatever spot he was hitting was a damn good one. I moaned loudly, my mouth parted in an attempt to take in more air. He ran his hands the length of my back as he thrust eagerly against me.

His thrusts increased as he tightened his hands around my shoulders. He used the anchor to move harder against me, thrusting upwards. And I nearly saw stars. With only a couple more of those movements, my legs curled up, my hands gripped the pillows on the couch as my orgasm rippled through me.

It never stopped him. It never urged him to finish. He was taking me in animal regard and it brought that side out of him. He was grunting loudly as he slammed into me, which sent the couch to move against his rough thrusts.

His pace never slowed. I wasn’t even sure I had been released from my first release, but when a deeper sensation was building, I thought I might have died and gone to heaven. He grasped my hips, his hands gripping my sides as he used it to level me. I could hardly catch my breath. Hardly make a sound since he didn’t give me a chance to. The second one ended, another began, and I could only whimper as he drove me into immobilization.

He leaned down over me. His body closed on mine as his strokes came deeper, filling me to a point that was unfathomable. His weight was heavy against my back as he proved just how male he was. Showing me that I couldn’t move against him—couldn’t free myself from his hold. He was overpowering me and I relished it. I loved being possessed in bed. It was the only place he could do it and he indulged in it as much as he could. He was naturally dominant. This was one place where he could show me that dominance openly, and where I would accept it.