Ember of the Lost Flame

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The instant Ember slips in the back door, rage fills my gut. My dragon flares, on the verge of losing his s**t. It's only an entire lifetime of practice that allows me to keep him under control.

I can smell the blood.

Holding on tight to my restraint, I set down the exhaust pipe for the '67 Camaro I've been "fixing up" for over a year now. It's not like I was really working on it anyway, what with Ember being on her way.

It's not like I've made much progress on it at all.

Between my dad constantly bossing me around and the vigilance required to keep the people I love safe, I don't have a lot of time for tinkering. At this point, I hold on to the garage more as a meeting spot for me and Ember than as a place to work on the car.

I stalk around the rear bumper of the Camaro and out into the back office. Ember has her back to me as she sets down her bag. Angry as I am, my body can't help but react to finally having her in the same room with me after days without seeing her. She's f*****g gorgeous. Slim but curvy in all the right places, with pale skin, her hair hanging in long, black waves to half-way down her spine. Dark blue jeans hug her hips, making me want to put my hands on them and tug her close. Grind my rapidly hardening c**k against her ample rear end.

Then she turns around.

My dragon hurls himself at my ribs again, and a growl escapes my throat.

She's a mess. She doesn't use a lot of make-up, but the black stuff around her eyes is smudged. A line of blood runs down the center of her chest. The dark gray, beaded T-shirt she's wearing is torn, and I don't even have time to notice the fact that I can see the tops of her full breasts.

I curl my hands into fists at my sides. "What did they do."

She shakes her head, but her eyes shine with unshed tears. She's always been so f*****g strong. So intent on keeping her pain inside.

"It's nothing."

"Bullshit." I cross the space to her and curl my hands around her shoulders. I have to stop myself from grabbing her too tightly, from hurting her when all I want to do is keep her safe.

Guilt churns deep in the pit of my stomach.

Hurting her, when all I want to do is keep her safe. That's basically all I ever seem to do.

The reasons I had for texting her today fly out of my head. I wanted to see her, of course. Needed to touch her and feel her soft body against mine. But I needed to talk to her, too--to warn her.

The only thing I can focus on right now is what my asshole brother and his friends did.

"This is not nothing," I growl.

She swabs at her eyes and lets out a dark ghost of a laugh. "It's nothing new."

My heart squeezes. I'll never understand why everybody in this town seems to love torturing her so much. Can't they see she's special?

Or is that exactly why they do it? Ember practically gives off light, she burns so bright. She's different, though. Ever since she appeared out of nowhere a decade ago or so, she's stuck out. Part of it was just who she was. Beautiful and strong and worldly in a way that nobody around here could ever hope to be. It was how she acted, too, though. She dared to question people. And for that, she's still paying the price.

Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her in. I kiss the top of her head and clench my eyes shut tight. "I'm so sorry they do this to you. If I could..."

"You can't."

It kills me to hear her say it like that, so matter of fact. Even though we both know it's the truth.

Ember's been an outcast since the moment she arrived, and I've been drawn to her for exactly that long. I couldn't let on--at least not publicly. My brother Fury is the Air Dragon King's heir, and he announced open season on her within days of her showing up. I had to seek her out when no one was around.

We met up in the library, when only old Mrs. Grady was around to notice us bonding over books and stories, doing our homework together and just...talking. Even then, I could tell her things I couldn't share with anyone else. My hopes for the future, my conflicts with my brother and my father. I couldn't tell her everything, but she knew more about my fears than any other person on this planet.

It started out innocently. Then slowly, a handful of years ago, something between us changed. She started blushing whenever we got close. It wasn't as if I hadn't known she was a knock-out, but around the time she should have had her first Emergence, the sight of her sent me over the edge. Even after what happened, her spell on me remained. When my own dragon came to me, the fire of passion became too much to resist.

One night, my possessive instincts--and my hormones--got the best of me. I pressed my mouth to hers. Not only did she let me, but she pulled me in, wrapped her arms and legs around me and tackled me onto the floor. Our clothes melted away beneath the flames of our need. Nothing has ever felt so right as sinking into her for the very first time.

And now here we are. It feels impossible to be separated from her, but I'm captured by my own golden cage.

Fury may be the heir, but I'm right behind him in line for the throne.

Our father has expectations.

He also has a temper that puts the Fire Dragons to shame. Not that anyone would dare to say that to his face.