Dark Flames (Blood Bound Book 6)

Chapter 9

“I want you,” Tiara leaned backwards and put her fingers up, touching his lips the moment he started to lower his head toward her, “as part of my team.”

Guy felt a momentary rush of disappointment when she finished speaking and kissed her fingertips instead. “You can want me for anything and I’ll do it,” he whispered seductively.

Tiara felt heat flash across her midsection to match the look in his eyes. This was another warning her mother had given her and Tiara knew she could not ignore it. Soon she would have to choose more than just team members if she wanted to survive. Her very life depended on finding a s****l partner to keep her alive if the call of the darkness became too much for her to handle.

Making sure someone was always available for that purpose wasn’t going to pose a challenge at this rate.

Zachary’s stomach was on fire and his body temperature had risen a few degrees. He felt like he was about to spontaneously combust when Guy lowered his head to kiss Tiara. The feeling vanished when she elaborated on how she wanted Guy and Zachary had to fight the urge to smirk at the presumptuous man.

When Guy didn’t immediately let go of her, Zachary decided at that point he was damn tired of being a spectator. Rising to his feet, he stepped forward in order to break up their annoying intimacy.

“Fine,” Zachary growled, “you’ve proven yourself worthy to be on the team… at least in Tiara’s eyes. But thanks to what you did, Tiara's weakened now and needs to rest so she can handle what’s coming tonight.”

Guy glared at Zachary wanting to tell him where to shove it, but again stopped himself. He didn’t know all of the ins and outs of the relationship Tiara had with Zachary, nor did he really think he wanted to know.

“He’s right, I am a little drained,” Tiara said and locked eyes with Guy, waiting on him to put her down. She felt like such a child in his arms… small and helpless.

“Good idea,” Guy agreed and c****d an eyebrow while looking toward all the steep steps leading back up the cliff. “You should rest.”

Much to Zachary’s chagrin, Guy lifted Tiara’s legs and carried her bridal style up the path to the castle. He caught her quick glance when she turned to see if he was following them.

Growling silently to himself, Zachary followed not entirely sure why he was angry to begin with. It didn’t matter to him one bit that he wasn’t the one carrying Tiara… although he did watch to make sure Guy’s hands stayed in respectable places on her body. Guy’s power merging with hers had weakened the necromancer… so Guy could damn well carry her.

Tiara smiled softly and relaxed her head against the curve of Guy’s neck. She figured he had carried his sister around like this sometimes and let him continue to carry her. It was probably soothing some of the emptiness Carley’s death had left in his heart. Minutes later, she found herself inside her room.

Zachary leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded over his chest as he watched Guy lower Tiara to the mattress. “So I guess we have a team of four instead of three tonight?” he asked.

Before Tiara could confirm it, Guy answered for her, “Her mother used to have six people with her at all times. Tiara lied about the headcount because she was avoiding me.” He winked at Tiara causing her to blush and sit up.

Zachary frowned wondering why he hadn't figured that much out on his own… he’d been a part of Myra’s team a couple times. For some reason, meeting Tiara had dimmed the memory of her mother. He was going to have to start paying closer attention to what was going on around him.

Tiara felt strange now that the two men were in her room… alone with her. Out of the two… she would have been more comfortable with Guy. She’d seen Zachary from afar a couple times when she was younger and the PIT teams had crossed paths. Zachary had always looked at her mother so strangely that it had caused her to create a childish fear of him.

However way she looked at it, Zachary really was a man to be feared if you stopped to think about it. There was a lot about Zachary that no one really knew with the exception of Storm and maybe Ren. Even his profile in the PIT database was little more than his name and current mission. The simple fact that Storm had given him a top position spoke volumes about his power.

She’d heard stories about Zachary from some of the other PIT members. Tiara didn’t put much stock in the stories and rumors, but it was enough for her to remain afraid of him. But that childish fear had always been tinged with a strong curiosity that was only growing stronger now that she’d met him.

When she’d first been summoned here, Storm had told her Zachary would be instructing her team. It had surprised her downstairs in the meeting when Storm announced that Zachary would be part of her actual team. She’d thought with someone as important as Zachary, that he’d simply be telling her team where to go and what to do on the jobs… not truly going with them.

Guy lifted her hand in his and gave it a quick kiss before releasing it, “You need to rest. I’ll be back about an hour before dusk.”

“Stay for a few more minutes,” Storm said from behind Zachary, making him flinch and look over his shoulder. Zachary moved to let Storm into the room.

Chapter 5

“Storm,” Tiara acknowledged, then smiled warmly at him when he walked over and sat down on the bed beside her.

Storm looked over at Guy with an unreadable expression on his face. He’d seen Guy carrying Tiara up the stairs with the same care he had shown his sister. “Did I miss something?”

Guy refused to fidget as Storm looked directly at him. He’d seen the time walker grab a man once in a fit of anger and the man had simply disappeared never to be seen again. Considering what Storm was, Guy sure as hell did not want to end up in the Stone Age.

“I will protect Tiara as a permanent member of her group,” Guy informed the time walker stoically.

“So I did miss something,” Storm mused. This was new to him and he was getting a kick out of finding out things the old fashioned way. Looking over at Zachary, Storm noticed the not-so-happy expression on the other man’s face and sighed inwardly. “Zachary, care to fill me in?”

Tiara’s lips had parted to defend Guy but she stilled when Storm moved his gaze to Zachary inquiringly. She lifted her gaze to Zachary’s, feeling safe to do so now that his attention wasn’t trained on her.

Zachary flicked his gaze to Tiara’s, frowning when she immediately looked down at her hands. Why was it that she was more comfortable with the man that had just knocked her out than she was with the one that hadn’t hurt her?

Was she drawn to bad boys like her mother had been? Would she be attracted to a demon? Maybe Storm had been right in putting him in charge of her safety. There was a very good chance they would need to protect Tiara more from herself than the demons running around.

“Guy wanted his sister back so he and Tiara struck a deal and combined their powers. They didn’t raise Carley from the dead… but Guy can now summon his sister’s ghost and everything is hunky-dory,” Zachary told Storm sarcastically with a light shrug of his shoulders.

“Really now,” Storm tried to hide his smirk at the obvious feelings Zachary had and was doing a bad job of hiding. “And they did this with no side effects?”

Zachary pinned Guy with a dark look as he added, “None… if you don’t count the fact that the spell knocked Tiara back about ten feet and left her out cold for a few minutes.”

“I figured as much by the bruise that’s already forming on her chest and right wrist.” Storm said and raised an eyebrow at Guy.

Zachary growled under his breath and stalked across the room to the bed where Tiara was sitting with every intention of looking for the bruises in question.

Tiara grabbed a throw pillow from the bed and hugged it tight to hide the edge of the bruise that was visible above the cloth covering her breasts. She blinked up at Zachary feeling the temperature in the room rise by several degrees.

Storm looked at Guy curiously, “It is intriguing that you can combine your power with Tiara’s. That was a bit unexpected and might be handy in the future. But from now on, keep in mind that even though she is powerful, she’s human and heals like one.”

“That’s what I told him,” Zachary pointed out glaring at Guy. It didn’t miss his attention the way Storm brought up the possibility of Guy’s power being compatible with Tiara’s necromancy. He fought back the urge to growl once more and crossed his arms over his chest to avoid hitting something… namely Guy.

“And Guy will heed that warning,” Storm nodded his approval even though he could tell Zachary didn’t agree with his judgment to let Guy join Tiara’s group. Zachary’s jealousy was very obvious to him. He just hoped once Zach emerged, he’d be able to keep it under control

“I will protect her,” Guy repeated and returned Zachary’s glare with the stubbornness of his own. “I owe it to her for what she’s done for me and Carley.”

With the lecture over Storm smiled, “Now, let’s see that sister of yours.”

“Carley,” Guy had to keep from crossing his fingers and praying the spell would work as planned. He sighed thankfully when his sister suddenly appeared between him and Storm. She had a mischievous smile on her face and Guy could tell she was up to something.

“Can you see her?” Tiara asked Storm curiously.

“Not even a shadow,” Storm admitted and rubbed his finger across his chin thoughtfully. “This could be really good for PIT.”

“What’s he talking about?” Carley asked out loud even though Guy and Tiara where the only ones who could hear her. “Oh wait… great minds think alike.” She smiled in excitement keeping her attention on Storm. “Come on… say it.”

“Zachary, can you see her?” Storm asked.

“No,” Zachary confirmed.

“Tiara, tell Storm I would be the perfect spy,” Carley shot her brother another huge grin then pouted at him when he frowned at her. “It’s not like it would be dangerous… I’m already dead, dummy.”

Tiara echoed Carley’s words for Storm and Zachary … even the ‘dummy’ comeback she’d given her brother, making the other men in the room chuckle. She felt more confident now that she had proof Guy was a great choice for a prominent team member.

“Carley seems excited,” she commented, smiling at the ghost only a couple feet in front of them.

“I would love to still be a part of PIT!” Carley nodded vigorously.

When Guy repeated her words to Storm, Storm glanced over at Zachary, seeing him just shrug as if it didn’t make a difference to him. If he knew Zachary at all, it probably didn’t.

“It’s not like she’ll bother me… I won't even know she’s there.” Zachary relaxed back against the wall leaving it up to Storm. Secretly, he thought it was a great idea because it would give Guy something to do besides worship Tiara. “As long as she doesn’t peep in on places she’s not been invited, then everything will be fine.”

“How would he know?” Carley muttered making Tiara grin and Guy stare at her like she’d just morphed into an alien.