Without another word she tore out the door and down a hall, the scent of char wafting towards him.
Like a damn idiot he stood there, confused as fuck. Did he follow? Where did she go?
Stupidity taking a backseat, he took off down the hall, the scent of her mixed with the scent of smoldering flame.
Kal stopped as he stepped from the hall back to the bar he remembered.
“Maddie?” he said, scanning the space.
The bartender glared at him. “She’s here.” Rolling her eyes, Ellen pointed down behind the bar.
Taking one more survey of the space, he decided that his brother had deserted him. No other threats appeared. Maddie was all that mattered right now.
He took the floor in six long strides.
“What did you do to her?” asked Ellen.
He braced himself against the bar and leaned over.
He jerked his head back and looked again. “Maddie?”
“Maddie, get your damn head out of my freezer. That’s seriously against like every damn health code,” said Ellen.
“What have you done to her?” he asked, this time.
“What have I done? I’m not the huge asshole that she just came out of the back room with. I’m guessing you did something,” scolded Ellen.
Kal snarled. He didn’t like the way this female looked at him.
Ellen laughed. “Is he that hot, Madds?”
She pulled out, steam rising as her skin melted the ice she ran down her skin.
“I’ll fix it. Just let me cool down. I’m hot. Is it hot in here?” Maddie rambled.
The bartender grinned at Kal. “I’d be too if I’d just been locked in the office with this one.”
He shrunk back as the female licked her lips. Kal would worry about the fact he wanted no other females any longer later, and the fact that Maddie had him worried. He didn’t do worry.
“I don’t understand, is this normal?” He turned to Ellen. He needed answers.
Ellen laughed. “What? To burn up like a campfire? No. I mean, we have strange stuff here. But no. Can’t say that’s normal.”
He nodded and started to step away. What the hell should he do?
“Don’t you dare leave. Not until you fix me,” Maddie said. She dumped a handful of cubes down her shirt.
She closed her eyes. “You have no idea how good that feels.”
His dragon began to paw and scratch. His skin rippled. He’d be fucked if she died, but he didn’t know what to do.
He listened to his soul; the dragon growling. He would need to pull the fire from her. The fire spoke to him, he could pull it into his soul.
“Maddie, can we please go somewhere more private?”
This wasn’t something he understood, but he understood fire. He understood energy. He understood his need to save her. This wasn’t part of the mating ritual. It was almost as if she’d absorbed part of him within her and he could only think of one way to get it back.
The warrior within took control as his senses honed in on her heart rate, her breathing, everything faster. Not like before though, not when she had wanted him. This was much too different.
Maddie grabbed a rag and started to toss cubes in it.
“I’ll bring this back,” she said, placing the bundle against the back of her neck.
Ellen nodded as Maddie took off.
He followed her, she teetered and staggered to a back door. Kal barely caught her as she nearly fell.
“So hot. It’s so hot. Help me, Kal.”
3
Maddie swatted away Kal.
Hot.
She tore at her shirt. Maddie pushed, trying to get away from Kal.
“Maddie. Stop. Please. Let me do as you asked. I can help.”
Heck, no. He wasn’t coming closer. The heat burned hotter when he touched her.
Holy hell. She backpedaled. Turned around. Reached for the brick wall of the alley. Something, anything. Her magic didn’t respond when she called it. Or If it did, she couldn’t be sure it knew what she wanted. She didn’t know what she wanted. She needed to clear her damn head.
Was this what it felt like to burn at the stake? Thank God, witch trials were long gone. Her body was on fire. Literally. If she started to burn up, it might be a relief. She looked down at her arms spidering with odd markings she’d never seen.
“What did you do, Kal? Is this like an infection? Are you a body snatcher?”
He backed off a bit, but he didn’t step away. Probably best in case she fell or fainted.
“What? Body snatcher? That species is extinct if memory serves.”
What the hell was wrong with this guy? “No. It’s a movie. What the heck are you talking about? Never mind. God, I need a pool. Forget that, I’ll take a horse trough. Hell, I’d dunk my own head in a toilet. What is wrong with me?”
She jolted to a stop. Kal stood in front of her.
“Maddie. Stop. You need to let me help.”
“Please Kal, get out of my way. I need to cool -”
She gasped as his lips closed on hers and stole the words.
His lips commanded her. The fire burning within her seemed to form a line from her toes to where their bodies touched, ready to take orders.
Sweet relief.
She opened for him as his tongue danced with hers. After a few brief seconds, the pain subsided and the relief he gave her was enough to let her submit to this man. Then, a new heat filled her, this time not painful. Need.
She wound her hands around his neck, pulled him closer, the feel of the leather of his coat annoying to her roaming fingers. Logic burned away as she lost touch with reality and just felt him.
She needed him. She wanted him. A desire so strong, caution blew away on the wind. Was this how it felt to go for it? Take what you wanted? Use the man just as he would use her?
God, please use me.
She trailed her fingers down,
