Dark Flames (Blood Bound Book 6)

Chapter 23

He’d told her to choose a lover and she’d just done exactly that.

Zachary pushed himself back up and over her, slowly pulling his finger from her intoxicating wetness. As he continued to caress the sensitive bundle of nerves, he slid up between her legs until his pulsating hardness was flush against her small opening… not quite inside but so achingly close he almost forgot how to breathe. His arms began shaking as he resisted the urge to thrust forward hard and deep.

Tiara reared her head back as she felt every one of her nerve endings explode at the same time… sending shockwaves of heat through her body as she took the life force of his passion and came for the first time. She opened her eyes as she pulsed around the head of him and stared in awe at the fiery god above her.

Feeling her life-force surge, she wanted to share something with him in return… the breath of necromancy. Quickly moving her hand back up and around his neck, she pulled him down and met him halfway until their lips were but a breath from each other.

Zachary experienced several things simultaneously as she breathed against his parted lips. Hot liquid slid over the tip of his erection, coating him thoroughly as she came for him.

Wanting to see her face, he pulled back just a little and gasped when a silvery ribbon of ghostly mist rose from her lips and shot toward his. He didn’t even have to inhale as it seemed to have a will of its own and entered him like artic air sliding down his fiery throat.

Tiara sighed when the power transferred to Zachary and felt the lingering souls begin to slide away in disappointment. The whispered voices were so distant now that she had to strain to hear them and the fear she’d been feeling vanished. Something hot and fiery replaced that fear and pumped hard through her veins.

The ache between her legs came speeding back and slammed into her making Tiara rub herself against the hardness that he had pressed almost inside her. She arched her body enough to feel the smooth head of him start to stretch her and wanted to scream in frustration when he froze in place instead of thrusting forward.

Zachary growled at the distraction when he felt the power explode inside him and watched the ghostly hands appear all around them with his new sight. They were coming up from the ground and straight through his coat to touch her. He could even hear them murmuring as they sank back into the ground.

Had those hands been clutching at her this whole time? Had they been trying to drag her into the grave with them while he’d been touching her? Not liking the thought of true death being so close, Zachary backed up keeping his body protectively surrounding hers as he did so.

Hastily wrapping his coat around her, he stood up, holding her bridal style against his chest. He quickly inspected the shimmering ground they’d been laying on and backed away in disbelief.

Some kind of dark portal had opened beneath them and was swiftly closing. His eyes narrowed on the ghostly forms still vanishing into the depths. What had they been waiting on… for her to die in his arms so they could take her soul from him?

“I don’t think so,” Zachary hissed and flames seared the grass they had just been laying on into ash letting him know the portal was not something he could burn.

Zachary glanced around them and narrowed his eyes again. More ghosts were coming into the graveyard and hovering around them or peeking out of their hiding places. He frowned figuring these must have come back to the graveyard after she’d put the first batch back to sleep.

“They won't hurt us,” Tiara said feeling the sting of his rejection and hid her face against his neck still barely able to think straight.

Her body inwardly burned, not only from what Zachary had just done to her, but also because she could still feel his hardness pressed against her hip and wanted it just as much as she had when he was pressed against her opening. She squeezed her legs together trying to ease the ache.

Disappointment flooded her because she’d wanted him to make love to her… not just bring her to such a high and then leave her feeling so frustrated. The hunger she was now feeling was caused by him… not her necromancy. It was a stern reminder of the kind of man Zachary was… the same man who had said he would take only the breath of sight tonight, then tomorrow she was to choose a lover.

She felt her face flame with the reminder. The only reason he’d done anything was so she would share the breath of sight with him. Storm had practically ordered him to seduce her, which lent more disappointment to the situation.

She glanced to the side seeing some of the souls staring at her with longing expressions. They were waiting on her to help them. She felt the embarrassment start to make way for determination to help them and went with it because it was overriding what was left of the hunger.

“Let me down,” Tiara ordered and started to wiggle around in his arms.

Zachary tightened his hold on her and shook his head. He wasn’t about to let her down with all the free-floating specters spying on them. Shifting her a little bit, he paused when she hissed very quietly and looked down at her. Looking her over, Zachary’s eyes widened when he noticed a little bit of blood on his fingers where they rested against her side.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” he demanded, angered that she hadn’t said anything. He didn’t like that she’d been hurt, it made him want to find what had hurt her and burn it to cinders. At the moment he could burn the whole damned graveyard and it wouldn’t have made a dent in his frustration.

“I was busy,” Tiara exclaimed kicking her feet for one more attempt at being put down. “And I can walk just fine. Besides, you, Jason, and Guy were hurt worse than me.”

Zachary started back toward the car ignoring Tiara’s protest to be let down. So the little erotic princess was mad at him again now that she’d gotten what she needed huh? Seriously, what the hell had he expected? She hadn't wanted him before the hunger. As a matter of fact, it had looked like she’d chosen Jason.

Something dawned on him like a dirty thought in a nice clean mind… the hunger would be back and he’d make sure he was there waiting on it.

“Next time, let someone know when you’re hurt. The last thing we need is for our exorcist to get herself killed before she can even do her job,” Zach growled feeling one of his turns coming on.

Feeling mortified at being chastised like a child, Tiara pushed her small arms into the sleeves of the trench coat and wrapped it around her as best she could. She was a full grown woman and there was no reason for Zachary to talk to her like that. Besides, it was only a small wound… nothing to get that excited over.

Tiara looked over his shoulder at all the spirits still in the graveyard and couldn’t resist the evil little thought that barreled through her mind. The way she saw it right now, if Zachary didn’t stop manhandling her, she’d sic all those free-floating souls on him. She couldn’t help but smile at the mental picture and seriously contemplated doing it just to get a good laugh. It would definitely serve him right… jerk.

Zachary continued through the cemetery until he reached the car. Opening the passenger side door, he didn’t release her until she was safely buckled into the passenger seat. He slammed the door shut ignoring the way she flinched away from it.

He could tell by her expression that she was mentally stringing him up somewhere. Not that he really cared at the moment, his mind was going a mile a minute and all of his thoughts kept coming back full circle. He felt that he’d failed in protecting her by almost bedding her on a blanket of souls.

He turned around to face the ghosts who had watched them like sick little voyeurs… his hands fisting when he envisioned them touching her in places they were not welcome. Ignoring them, he walked deeper into the graveyard to the tree and hastily picked up their discarded clothing, shaking the dirt off of it.

Needing a moment, he leaned his head against the tree and took a deep breath. The vision of Tiara’s face during the throws of passion instantly rose to haunt him. She’d been so beautiful and he had been so weak. Letting himself be tempted had put her in danger because he’d only been focused on her and not on their surroundings.

The memory of pressing his hardness against her wet opening shot through him making him flinch and harden all over again. He jerked back when he heard the suspicious sound of wood crackling and glared at the flames already darkening the bark where his head and hands had just been touching the tree.

“Damn it!” he growled and slammed his fist into the tree, sending sparks flying and the tree tilting. He was tempted to just keep hitting it until it fell over completely but stopped himself in time.

Zach glared at the tree in self-loathing. Who the hell did he think he was kidding? He had wanted her and damn the consequences. It was a good thing he didn’t have Storm’s powers because if he did… he would go back a few minutes in time just to bury himself deep inside her.

He was frustrated beyond belief and wanted to scream. She had only let him touch her because of Storm’s order and the need for the whole team to gain her sight. As desperate as she’d been tonight, he could have been Jason or any other member of the team and it wouldn’t have made a difference to Tiara. Without a mate, she would have to reach for the closest man… just like Myra had done.

He stopped his mental rant, hearing an almost silent murmur. Zachary swung his gaze back to the rest of the graveyard, noticing the souls were fleeing… hiding from something. The rustling of the leaves above him made him look up and he cursed when the wind started blowing erratically.

A sinking feeling in his gut told him something was out of whack and he took off running back toward the car. He had to make sure Tiara was protected.

Tiara sat waiting in the passenger seat, sulking at Zachary’s attitude. He’d acted like it was her fault she got hurt, but it was part of the job. Everyone in PIT had gotten hurt at one point or another. Quite a few more had died in the line of duty to make the world safe for humans and peaceful paranormals. Why had he gotten so upset? It was almost as if he really cared.

She touched the tips of her fingers to her swollen lips and frowned thoughtfully. He’d kissed her like he’d meant it, but once she’d given him the power of sight he’d returned to treating her like a child. Her eyes widened in horror when she realized that was the problem. He thought of her as a child… not a woman and it was starting to tick her off.

She slowly unsnapped the seat belt, not wanting to feel like a toddler who had just been strapped into her car seat.

“I am not a child,” she said huffily as she opened the door and got out.