Treasure of the Fire Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 4) (27 page)

“Oh,
I spent hours looking into the Banished Phases already, hoping they were up to
something we could heroically stop.  But nope.  They aren’t plotting much of
anything besides more gladiator games.”  It was soooo disappointing.  “They’re
way
more scared of Job than he’ll ever need to be of them.”

“I
told you they were idiots.”

She
waved a dismissive hand.  “So forget about them.  We’re past it.”  She leaned
forward conspiratorially, enjoying the way the heat radiated from his body. 
“No, I would like,” she drew out the words, “a poodle skirt with sequins.  And
some of that awesome Bakelite jewelry from the 1930s.  The kind with the big
bunches of cherries.  I’m thinking earrings.  Those are really hard to find. 
And… Oh,” she blew out a “decisions, decisions” sort of sigh, “a purple and
yellow striped sweater. 
Also
with sparkles.  And sequins.  And fringe. 
It’s cold here.”

Kingu
was quiet for a long beat.  “Are you joking?”

“No. 
I think the Cloudland is terribly chilly.”  She gestured towards the balcony. 
“It’s the lack of volcanoes.”

“I
mean about the clothes!”

“Of
course, I’m not kidding.  You said you’d get me whatever I wanted, and I want
to wear something besides beige.”

Kingu’s
brows drew together.  “That’s… it?”  His voice was almost vulnerable.

“That’s
it.  Don’t look so surprised.  I’m not trying to manipulate you.  At worst, I’m
just teasing a little bit.  You need to learn how to have fun.”  She went up on
tiptoe and crooked a finger at him.  “Kiss.”  She ordered.

Kingu
lowered his face towards hers as if in a trance and Hope closed the last
distance between them.  His mouth slid across his softly and then she slipped away
before he could grab her.

“I
am
going to rescue Lycus, though.”  She continued.  “I just don’t need
to use our sex life to do it.”

Glazed
red eyes stayed locked on Hope as she sashayed back to the closet.  He watched
her like he might blink and she’d disappear.  “We have a sex life?”  He asked
hoarsely.

“Of
course.”  She pulled a bra from one of the closets’ built in drawers.  “Now,
what did we just learn?”

“That
you think we have a sex life.”

“Besides
that.”

“That
I’m going to take your door off the hinges, so I can watch you get dressed
every morning.”

She
shot him with a mock frown.  “What did we learn about our connection?”

“That
you’ve enslaved me, just as I knew you would.”

That
one didn’t sound teasing.  It sounded almost morose.  Aw, poor Kingu.  Luckily,
she knew how to cheer him up.  Hope made an award-winning production of
slipping on her panties, appreciating the “holy shit” he whispered in response. 
Such a good audience.

“No
silly.  We’ve learned that I’m not a liar.  At least, not about anything as
important as my feelings for you.”

“Uh-huh.” 
Kingu sounded drugged, his eyes on her white underwear now.  He snapped his
fingers and it became a black lace thong.  With garters.  And little red bows.

Hope
considered the sudden playfulness a good sign.  “And we’ve learned that I am
perfectly safe in this house with you, so there’s no reason to try and scare me
with your scowls.”  She began putting on her practical tan bra.  “And we’ve
learned that we’re both super attracted to each other, so no more telling me
that I don’t want you, okay?”

Kingu’s
response to that was to snap his fingers again and turn the cotton panels of
her bra transparent.  Hope jolted as it became black see-through lace right in
her hand.  She pursed her lips, trying not to smile.  “Pervert.”  She examined
the barely there straps and Playboy shoot nipple holes, then she glanced at
Kingu.  “You really want me to wear this thing?”

Kingu
slowly smiled, like her question was hilarious.  “Oh yes.”  It was such a
genuine, spontaneous expression that Hope was momentarily blinded by its
beauty.  “If I admit to being ‘super attracted’ to you, will you let me put it
on you?”

Hope
tried to remember how to breathe.  “With your hands or your powers?”

She
could sense him weighing the odds.  “Powers?”  He tried warily.

“Really?” 
Hope went for an innocent expression.  “You wouldn’t want to touch me?  Because
the Cloudland is soooo nippy.  I know
I’d
like it if someone warmed my
skin with his big, strong palms.  Rough hands fondling my breasts and tugging
at my taunt…”

“If
you let me touch you for real, I will get you the most colorful wardrobe in the
entire realm.”  Kingu interrupted.  “I’ll build you another castle just to hold
it all, if you’d like.”

“Are
you trying to
barter
with me for sexual favors?”  Hope gasped in
exaggerated outrage.

“Hell
yes.  Is it working?”

“Hell
yes.”  She teased.  “Okay.  I’m easily bribed by sparkly things.  Let me see
this fabulous new wardrobe and I’ll
think
about it.”

Kingu
was starting to catch on to the game.  “Noooo, treasure.  You first.”

Hope
was enjoying this.  Today’s seduction was working way better than yesterday’s. 
Either Kingu was finally understanding he belonged to Hope or he’d just given
up resisting her feminine wiles.  Either way, it was real progress.

“You
drive a hard bargain.”  She moved closer to him again, pretending to think
about it.  “But… you
have
been well behaved so far.”

Kingu
sucked in a deep breath as Hope handed him the flimsy scrap of fabric and
turned her back towards him.  “Really?  You’ll really let me do this?”

“Um-hmmm.” 
She leaned closer so their bodies nearly touched.  “I think I can trust you not
to renege.”

“Even
though I don’t deserve it, I would love it if you trusted me.”  He slowly
stroked her shoulder blade as if he still expected her to recoil.  “You would
be the first to even want to try.”  His voice went deeper and softer when she
didn’t pull away.  “You are the very first everything, Hope.”

No
one
trusted him?  That was crazy.  He was a warrior.  They all had a code. 
Sometimes they were the only ones who understood it, but it was always there.

“I’ve
trusted you from the beginning, Kingu.  I pushed you in acid and you didn’t
hold a grudge.  I dragged you into a gladiator fight and you were okay with
it.  I just got completely naked and tormented you, but you never moved one toe
across my threshold.  You knew I was playing and you let me.”

She
pushed her curls aside so he could see what he was doing as he studied the
bra.  She could tell from his slight frown that he wasn’t exactly sure how it
worked and he was worried about ripping it.  That charmed her. 

Hope
lifted her hand to run it along his cheek.  “I trust you right down to my
soul.”

“Thank
you.”  He sounded humbled.  Amazed.

“I
didn’t do anything, monster.  It’s all you.”

“No,
it’s you.”  Kingu’s hands shook as he looped the bra around the front of her
and slipped her arms through the straps.  His fingers were so big that they had
trouble with the latch in the back.  But once he got it done, his touch trailed
up her spine.  “You’ll never know what it means to have you here, at last.”

“I
think I do.”  After all, she’d waited for him, too.

“No,
you couldn’t understand what it’s like.”  His hands slipped inside the cups of
the bra, carefully positioning her breasts in the lace.  She could feel his arousal,
but he wasn’t pressing take things farther.  “You look at me and you hardly
ever back away.  You treat me like I’m a man.  You
talk
to me.”  He
shook his head like it was a miracle.  “I’ve never had anyone who’d talk to me
before.  Even when we argue, I only feel passion from you.  Never disgust.”

Hope
felt her heart turn over.  “I
feel
passion for you.  Why would you doubt
that?”

Kingu
ignored the question.  “You make me feel hope that I thought was bled from me
long ago.”  He sighed, in contentment as he finished adjusting the bra and she
remained before him, letting him touch her.  “I’ve been alive for so long that
the centuries run together, but this short time with you has been the greatest
joy of my life.”

Hope
titled her head back to look at him thoughtfully.  His words reminded her of
the way people had reacted to him yesterday.  How the Banished Phases had whispered
in pitying or frightened tones that she was “The Monster’s Woman,” as she
walked through the Cloudland.

This
man was so alone it made her want to cry.

Kingu
needed her so much.  His aloof mask was already slipping and she could see his
desperation to have someone care for him.  To have
her
care.  Through
their connection, he was exposed to her in a way he never could have been with
anyone else.

No
one had ever
needed
Hope, before.

It
was an amazing feeling, even if it pissed her off that the other Phases didn’t
show him the least little bit of understanding for all he’d been through. 
Being held as a slave would make anyone suspicious and moody and lacking in
self-esteem.  The other Elementals misjudged him and then left him alone,
starving for companionship.

Morons.

Kingu
had survived hatred, isolation, slavery, torture…  How did he retain his
sanity?  Keep his tenderness?  The man must have a will of iron to endure that
kind of degradation and come through it with his soul intact.

She
needed to prove to Kingu that they really were destiny.  Until Kingu really
believed it, he would never be able to relax and let go of his past.  He would
always be worried about his “missing” soul, or his exotic looks, or whatever
other bizarre concerns he had.

He
would never be free.

She
stared up at him as he caressed her breasts.  Kingu wasn’t trying to turn this
into a prelude to sex.  He was just exploring her body like he was mesmerized
by the feel of her skin.  As hot as the fire inside of her was burning, Hope
was content to just soak in his touch.

“You
make me happy, Kingu. 
Very
happy.  Even when you’re being stubborn.” 
She whimpered as he brushed his fingers over her exposed nipples.

Kingu
swallowed thickly at the soft sound of pleasure.  “Why are you allowing this? 
Why aren’t you scared of me?”

“I
told you.  I like monsters.”  Hope’s hand slid over his, holding it in place
over her breast, pressing it even tighter.  “I like
you
.”

Kingu
liked her, too.  That was pretty obvious.  He cleared his throat, his
expression lost.  Like he was standing in the middle of a foreign landscape and
he knew that he was never going to find his way back to where he started. 
“Hope, I really would do anything for you.  I told you that and I meant it.  I
will give you
anything
, if only you’ll stay with me.”

“Well,
I’m still waiting for the poodle skirt.”

He
lifted one hand and gave his finger a loud snap.  The outfit she’d requested
lay on the bed, looking surprisingly like she’d envisioned.  Hope hadn’t really
described all the details, and the ones she had rattled off had been kinda
weird, but Kingu just… got it.

Hope
felt tears burn the back of her eyes.  How could he not see that they were soul
mates?   She’d just have to
make
him see.  “Thank you, monster.”

“I
promised you more.”  He snapped his fingers again and racks of clothing
appeared.  So many different styles and colors that it dazzled her to look at
them all.  They filled her room, the hallway, and every other spot she could
see.  There was no way she and Kingu were even going to be able to walk through
the house without getting lost in rhinestones and feathers and sequins.

Hope
bit back smile and regarded the thousands of outfits seriously.  “I think I’ll
just take one at a time.  Less of a storage problem.  Can you just make me
something new every morning, instead?  Would that be okay?”

“I
would
love
to start each day watching you get ready.”  He snapped his
fingers again and the clothes went away.  “Can I help you put your bra on
tomorrow?”

“I
already forget how to do it without your expertise.  Kiss.”  Hope leaned up to
brush her lips against his again, satisfied that this time he followed orders
and kissed her back.

“I
have already forgotten what I would do without you at all, Hope.”  Kingu’s eyes
glowed with something warmer than just lust.  Something bigger.  Something that
made Hope’s heartbeat speed up.  “I’m sorry I was… short with you before.  Of
course
,
I will see that Metal Phase free, if you want.  It was a small thing to ask.”

Hope
wrinkled her nose.  “Well, you can’t help free Lycus,
now
.”  She shook
her head.  “Absolutely not.  If I let you do that, you’ll twist it all around
in your head and start getting paranoid that I’m a harlot, again.  And not in a
good way.”