Wicked Waves: Solsti Prophecy #2 (23 page)

C
HAPTER
16

T
HE
TRILL
OF
R
ANIERO
’
S
GEM
phone roused him from a deep, contented sleep. He cursed under his breath, not wanting to untangle his limbs from Ashina’s. But he needed to take the call. In the last month, Torth had gained a healthy dose of craziness. Increased and unprovoked attacks on peaceful creatures. Kidnappings. Demons acquiring previously-unheard-of abilities. And then there was the re-emergence of the legendary Solsti.

Dragging himself out of the warm bed, he strode across the room to retrieve the phone from his pants pocket. He glanced at the number and recognized Cale’s private line. With an inward flare of hatred at his corrupt employer, he stepped into the kitchen and answered the call.

“I have your next assignment,” Cale said.

My next assignment will be to shove your balls down your throat
. Raniero drew a deep breath, forcing restraint into his voice. “What’s the job?”

“A Lash demon named Kai.”

Kai
. The name pinged around his brain with a tinge of familiarity. After a second, he remembered. Though Raniero had never met him, Kai was a friend of Gunnar’s. They worked together on Earth. Why had Cale targeted him on Torth?

Raniero cleared his throat. “Any known residence or location?”

“He recently escaped from Draven’s compound at Stroehm. A female may be with him.”

“Stroehm?” The rest of the story crashed into place. Kai held the dubious status of having the highest price on his head of any rogue on Torth. The centuries-old rumor was he killed Draven’s father and escaped the fortress-like security of the gladiator ring. He was also one of Arawn’s men and therefore, one of Raniero’s comrades.

“You know the drill, demon. Kill the mark. Do whatever you want with the female.”

Kill the mark
. A familiar order, but this one came gift-wrapped with a shiny layer of complications. It went against the Watchers’ oath to harm one of their own. Every one of Arawn’s warriors was honorable.

He clenched his teeth. Nothing would come between him and Ashina again. Even in the next room, her sweet heartbeat reverberated in his chest.
Mine.

“Consider it done.” Raniero ended the call.

Brooke stood in a small dark room, her back against a wall. Acrid smoke filled her nostrils. A female, cloaked in evil, blocked the way out. Long blond hair swirled around a petite frame, black eyes glaring as she drew closer. The creature didn’t walk, she
floated
across the warped, broken stone floor.

Heart thundering, feet frozen, Brooke pressed into the unyielding wall. The female opened her mouth, shrieking words in some foul tongue. Her eyes turned red as she hovered close enough to touch. Mouth curling into a hideous grin, fangs erupted from her gums.

Brooke shrieked and tried to push the thing away, but her arms had turned to dead weight. Spindly hands shot out to grab Brooke’s shoulders. The creature laughed as she descended on Brooke’s neck.

A scream tore from Brooke’s lungs. Desperation kick-started her heart.
No!
 
The female’s arms were a hell of a lot stronger than they looked. Brooke thrashed and twisted.
Shit!
 
She was pinned, her upper body immobile. Kicking backward, she heard a low-pitched grunt behind her.

A voice called her name, faint and distant, tugging at her consciousness. She knew that voice…

“Brooke!
 
Wake up!”

She gasped and stilled. She couldn’t see a thing. But she could smell river water. Leather. Man.

“Shh, Sprite.”

That voice, his voice, meant safety. But…
No!
 
That thing is about to kill me.
Her hands squeezed into fists.
Where did she go?

Brooke tried to twist around, tried to see behind her. But she couldn’t move. Strong warmth wrapped around her.
Not pinned—held
.
 
Her senses struggled to unscramble image from reality.

“Brooke, baby. Wake up.”

Kai.
Her body went limp with relief. The adrenaline deserted her veins, replaced with shuddering chills. Needing to see him, she turned.

A soft amber glow shone from his eyes. “That was one hell of a nightmare,” he murmured. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”
 
Still trying to regulate her breathing, she snuggled against his broad chest.
Safe.
She was safe with him.

He drew his hand up and down her back until her breath calmed. Smoothing lazy circles on her skin, he moved to her waist before sliding down to rest on her backside. Which was bare. She shifted her legs, feeling nothing but Kai’s thigh wedged between her own, and sucked in a tiny breath. Reflexively, she tried to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, and was stopped by the blasted handcuffs. At least her shirt and bra were on.

The events of yesterday rushed back, pushing the nightmare aside. Running through the stone tunnels. Jumping into the river and harnessing its raw energy. Kai’s huge, powerful body surging under hers. Heat bloomed along her skin.

She studied his handsome face, inches from hers. The soft flare of gold under thick lashes provided just enough light for her to take in his sensual mouth and perfect straight nose. Concern cut through the twinkle in his eyes.

“You sure you’re okay?”

She nodded.

He returned a dazzling grin, making her feel warm and protected.
I could get used to this
. All of him. All the time.

All the time?
 
She shook her head, startled by the thought. Which part of her sleep-addled brain had produced that little gem?
 
Needing to switch mental gears, she dipped back to her dream. “Are there vampires on Torth?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“One was in my dream. It was a female with blond hair, red eyes, and fangs. She was about to bite me.”

His brows knitted together. “Vampires aren’t powerful. Hardly any exist on Torth. They’re kind of like second-class citizens.”

“How do you mean?”

“They’re weak. Not glamorous at all. They live off animal blood because most other creatures can overpower them. As far as I know, they don’t live in organized groups. You may find one here or there, but it’ll probably be alone.”

Brooke pondered his words. “The one in my dream had immobilized me. And she floated like a ghost.”

“It was only a dream, Sprite.” He kissed the top of her head.

She hoped he was right. Brooke didn’t want to think about the previous dream she’d had about the blond-haired creature.

His warm hand moved from her rear to her hip and up to her hands. “Remember what we get to do today?”

Have sex again?
 
Brooke squeezed her eyes shut, wondering why she couldn’t get her mind off his body. “Um, no,” she mumbled into his pectoral muscle. She felt heat in her cheeks and was glad he couldn’t see her blush.

His fingers tapped her handcuffs. “We’ll see Rosa and get these off.”

Brooke’s relief at the prospect of having her hands free was tempered with apprehension about meeting the witch. She didn’t know why.
Maybe because she’s three thousand years old and has more power in her little finger than I have in my whole body
. But Nicole had said the witch was the picture of hospitality.

God, her sister must be going insane with worry. Brooke didn’t even know what day it was. Time lost meaning in Draven’s dungeon. She nibbled her lower lip and frowned.

“Brooke?”

“I’m fine,” she said, relishing one more minute of his warm body holding her. She needed to shove her jumbled thoughts aside and focus on today’s goal.
Find Rosa and try not to get captured or killed.
That should keep them busy enough.

She wiggled away from him, trying to put enough space between them so that she could push up to a sitting position. Out of habit, she looked around for her clothes. And couldn’t see a thing.

She sighed. “I can’t see where my clothes are.”

“I can.”
 
Kai’s voice was husky as he traced a pattern across the tops of her feet. He hadn’t moved from his position on the ground. She could barely make out the shape of his body facing her.

“Guess you’re gonna have to help me get dressed.”

“Never done that before.”

“Done what?” She tilted her head to one side.

“Helped a woman get
into
her clothes.”

She huffed out a sarcastic breath. “Whatever. There’s a first time for everything.”

The air in the cave shifted and a rush of heat betrayed his presence in front of her, hands on either side of her face. “There sure is, Sprite.”
 
He brushed his lips across hers once, sending an arrow of heat to her core.

Her lips parted and she leaned toward him, eager for another taste of his delicious mouth. His hands moved down to stroke her neck with his thumbs, eliciting a soft sigh from her. But he kept his pace slow, rubbing his nose with hers and then pressing another feather-soft kiss to her lips.

Her lower lip tingled like she was plugged into a socket. Needing a harder, deeper kiss, she bit his lip. He groaned and nipped her back, his hands gripping her shoulders before sliding his tongue inside her mouth.

She moaned in relief at the slick pressure. Too soon, he broke away.

“You’re a tortuous little vixen.”

“You like it.”
 
She loved the smile dancing in the soft honey glow of his eyes.

“Hell, yeah.” One hand dropped to tap her bottom. “And I’m gonna like it a whole lot more…later on. For now, we have to keep moving. We don’t know if we’re being followed.”

She swallowed. He was right.
What was I thinking?
 
Oh, wait—I wasn’t using my brain at all.
Not after that teasing little kiss. “So help me get dressed already.”

He helped her into her panties and jeans, then her socks and boots. A scraping sound echoed around the small space as he pushed the rock away, allowing a sliver of gray light to stream into the cave. Darkness returned briefly as he squeezed through to the outside.

After a minute, he called, “C’mon, Sprite. All clear.”

She wiggled and squirmed her way out of the cave, blinking even though the sun hid behind gray clouds. Making a quick detour into a clump of bushes to relieve her bladder, Brooke stopped and yanked at her jeans button. It popped open and the zipper slid halfway down. She shifted her weight in frustration as she awkwardly shoved at her pants with her bound hands.
Damn it!
 
If she managed to get them pulled back up, there was no way she’d be able to do the button and zipper. She would have to ask Kai for help again.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the greenery with her jeans gaping. Kai folded his arms over his chest, mirth shining in his eyes.

“Forget something, Sprite?”

“Go ahead and laugh. Stupid magical handcuffs,” she muttered.

He strode over to her, chuckling. “This makes two times I’ve helped you into your clothes.”
 
His fingers found her side belt loops and gave a little tug, his thumbs grazing her skin as he trailed them around to the button and closed it. The air crackled between them when he dragged those sinful fingers down her fly to the zipper tab.

Her breath hitched at the warmth of his hands, even through the denim. She swallowed hard. Her eyes locked on his bare pectoral muscles, and it took every ounce of strength not to lick his golden skin and push her hips into him.

He lowered his head until his lips brushed her ear, slowly closing her zipper, notch by notch. “And only one time I got you out of them. That’s gonna change, Brooke.”
 
He took her lobe between his teeth and scraped across her delicate skin. “Soon.”

Her whole body shivered and she couldn’t suppress a gasp at the heated promise in his tone. She gazed up into those gorgeous brown eyes.
Yes, please
.

“Ready?” He grinned at her.

She nodded.
Could I be any more flustered?

“Let’s go.”
 
He kept a hand at her back, one finger tucked into her belt loop, as he guided her down the slope.

The terrain was made up of rolling hills strewn with boulders and small rocks. Pebbles the size of gravel littered the ground. The same mix of trees towered around them, gray scattered throughout the green. Small bushes cropped up here and there. A rough semblance of a trail cut through the scene, and Kai led her toward it.

“How far away is Rosa’s place?” Brooke asked.

“A few miles.” Kai stopped to grab a clump of berries from a bush. In the light of day, they looked like blueberries. Their taste was a mix of blueberry and cranberry, and her mouth watered at the memory. As if reading her thoughts, Kai reached over and fed her one.

“Nicole met Rosa in a forest that was so pretty, she said it looked enchanted. Obviously not this place.”
 
Brooke looked around. “It’s convenient that she’s so close when we need her.”

“From what I’ve heard of Rosa, she moves around a lot. Goes wherever she wants. All I know is, the coordinates from HQ say she’s in this forest.”

“She has coordinates?”

“She has them if she wants to. And since she does, she’s expecting us.”

Brooke opened her mouth to ask him what that meant, but froze as she caught a sudden motion up ahead. Kai spotted it too. He made no move to hide.
Thank goodness he grabbed those daggers from the guards.
 

Kai drew a deep breath. “It’s an elf. Afraid and alone. There’s a chance it could be armed, so stay close.”

They walked farther along the path, and Kai stopped near a large boulder. “Come out, elf. Your scent betrays you.”

Leaves rustled in the shrubs on the far side of the boulder, then Brooke found herself looking at one of the smallest adults she had ever seen. He stood about four feet tall, with orange-red hair and pointed ears. He wore a dirty gray button-down shirt, brown pants, and brown boots. A slight breeze kicked up, bringing the scent of pine to her nose.