Heated Moments
Siralaine
If he knew what I was, he wouldn’t be here protecting me. He’d leave me to die.
His previous words replay in my mind as he carries me through the sky, far from the reach of the fire fae.
We’re both silent, but that’s mostly because the wind whipping past me makes it hard to breathe.
He has his face covered, and I settle for burying my face in his chest. In the chest of a man whom I should hate, a man who is my enemy, but here I am, far too aware of the way his broad chest feels beneath my hand, the way his heart beats, the way he holds me, and the way he smells. It’s an addictive scent.
What is happening to me?
We land after a while, his boots hitting the ground as he places me down and stands, his wings unfurled behind him as he turns his back to me to look out to the distance.
I stare up at him, admiring the way his feathers shine. They look like velvet, glistening breathtakingly. They start off black, then blend into brown, and then into a stunning gold.
It’s the first time I’m seeing a sky siren this close, but I can safely say he is the most beautiful one I have ever seen. He’s deadly, yet somehow alluring. His wings are huge, too, and the urge to touch them makes my fingers reach out.
“Stop staring.”
I blink and quickly look away, snatching my hand back. “I wasn’t.”
He now turns and glances my way, lowering his face mask. Mmm, I wouldn’t have minded if he kept it on; it makes him look even sexier and more mysterious.
Stop, Siralaine, what on Earth are you thinking?! I scold myself.
He arches his brow. “Work on your lying skills,” he remarks coldly. “And you can make a start by telling me why they were hunting you.”
He walks towards me as he shifts, his wings disappearing. I open my mouth. I have to tell him something at least, but I stop, seeing the blood dripping from the cut along his flank.
“You’re hurt! When did that happen?” I ask, jumping to my feet.
“Don’t look so worried or I might think you care…” His eyes are unreadable, but his voice makes my core knot.
“I don’t care, but you’re all I have since you brought me into this world.”
“About that, how about you begin talking and spit out why the fuck you’re being hunted without trying to change the subject.”
His eyes harden, and I look at the bag he had managed to bring along. “I’ll tell you whilst I bandage that up for you.”
He doesn’t reply, and I walk over to the bag, unzipping it. If he wants me to stop, he’ll tell me.
“Sit down.” I motion towards one of the boulders on this high-up terrain that he’s brought us to. One of the perks of being a sky siren is that he has the entire sky at his mercy, but it’s still dangerous. We may be found.
“I don’t take orders, darling.”
“Please?” I add sarcastically, my voice poisonously sweet.
He looks away, but he strides over to the largest rock and, sitting down on it, he touches his hand to the wound, blood covering his fingers.
“I hope I didn’t leave a trail…” Kai murmurs.
“I don’t think so; we were too high up, and if any blood did manage to reach the ground, it would have been intercepted by the trees. I think we’re fine.”
He observes me for a moment as I take out the first aid kit and kneel before him.
“You said that with a lot of confidence. Do you have any experience with tracking?”
I’m silent before I nod truthfully. “A little.”
“Oh yeah? So how about you start spitting out the truth?”
I open the healing balm and scoop some out. What do I tell him? I reach for his flank with hesitation. I glance up at him, but he’s simply staring at me, his golden eyes unblinking.
I take a deep, shuddering breath, gently placing my hand on his side. He doesn’t even move, and I slowly smooth it over the wound. Luckily for him, it’s not too deep.
He’s waiting, and I’ve delayed long enough.
“I didn’t lie to you when I said my sisters slandered me; it’s the truth.
I’m different, and everyone hates me. I’m the outcast, the lone one who doesn’t fit in with my people.
They say I’m cursed, just like my mother was, because I look different.
I am different and, apparently, I’m the harbinger of everything bad.
” I smile humourlessly, remembering the beatings, the discrimination and the hatred I faced at the hands of my stepmother and sisters when I was younger.
The physical abuse was more back then, but as I grew older, the things they did were hidden behind masks and carried out by others, so it couldn’t be traced back to them.
“I think that’s my title. But wouldn’t they be glad you’re gone?”
“I guess, but when I ran, I heard from his… men that he wanted me dead. I know my father is angry because I disobeyed him, but I don’t know what I might have done that triggered him so badly that he wants me dead.”
“So your father wants you dead… then what does Morcant have to do with this?” Kai’s voice is low.
I stiffen, fear erupting within me, and I shake my head.
“He’s a close friend of my father.”
“Hmm, so close that Morcant is helping him in retrieving you?”
“That’s why I’m so scared… I didn’t think he’d go to the King,” I lie again. I want to tell him the truth, but he’s a sky siren.
“Why is your father so desperate to get you back?”
I wipe my hands before picking up the bandage and unravelling it slowly.
“I’m not sure; something might have happened in my absence.”
“Running isn’t always the answer.”
“Yeah… but when you’re me, sometimes there’s no other option.”
“There’s always an option, darling, always.”
I look up at him as I begin to weave the gauze around his waist, leaning closer to reach behind him as I wrap it.
“Maybe when you hold the power of a king’s army behind you…
But when you’re alone in the world, sometimes there is no option,” I whisper, hating how I sound.
I’m not weak, but I wasn’t strong enough to stay and face it when they’ve sealed a part of me away.
He reaches down, placing two fingers beneath my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I don’t need an army to win anything. Do you see my army with me right now? No, because I’ll conquer this kingdom without it.”
My heart thuds at the confidence he exudes.
“I could do with some of that confidence,” I whisper, looking into those molten gold eyes.
“And I could do with a taste of you,” Kai murmurs. My breath hitches, and then his lips are on mine, kissing me hard. My heart pounds as an explosion of pleasure dances through me, running through me like a current and resting in my core.
My heart slams into my ribs. The kiss is hard, demanding, searing straight through me. He doesn’t ask, he takes. My gasp is swallowed into his mouth as pleasure rips through me, sharp and consuming, like a current that makes every nerve spark alive with ecstasy.
I have kissed others before, but never like this.
Never with such reckless hunger, such dangerous force.
My arms wind around his neck, clutching on as though I might drown without him.
His arm snakes around my waist, dragging me flush against his chest, so tightly I feel the hammer of his heartbeat against my own.
We shouldn’t be doing this. We are as different as the sea and sky, literally, two things that should never collide.
But I cannot resist him. He devours me, his tongue sliding into my mouth, claiming, conquering, his teeth grazing mine as he deepens the kiss. I try to match him, to fight for control, but he dominates me effortlessly, kissing me as though he means to own me entirely.
A moan slips free before I can stop it, and his other hand is on me instantly, gripping my ass with a force that makes me gasp into his mouth. He growls low in his throat, using the sound to part my lips wider, his tongue plunging deeper, ruthless and hungry.
He tastes of something rich, of heat, passion and something dark and intoxicating. And the longer he kisses me, the more I forget who I am supposed to be.
His one hand roams my back, the other holds my face.
This is wrong. We are born to be enemies, yet in this moment, it feels like the only thing I have ever wanted.
“Kai…” The name escapes as a whimper – a half-plea, half-surrender.
He freezes. His hand slides from my cheek to my throat, fingers closing firmly around it, tightening.
I choke on my next breath, my pulse fluttering wildly against his grip as he breaks away, breathing hard.
His eyes bore into mine, searching for something, fury and desire burning together.
For a heartbeat, I think he might break me completely.
Then he shoves me back, releasing me so suddenly, I stumble. His face is hard again. All the hunger locked back behind his usual cold control. He rises to his feet as though nothing just happened.
“We rest until dark. Then we move out.” His voice is flat and cruel, as if my lips had not just been on his.
My knees are still weak. I stay where I am, trembling, fingers brushing over my swollen lips. His taste clings to me, bittersweet, sinful, and unforgettable. I have never felt anything like it.
But slowly, the cold truth that I just kissed the enemy settles over me, and it was the best kiss of my life. Wrong in every way, yet unbearably, exquisitely right.
When he looks back, his eyes are unreadable. He says nothing before he turns and walks to the edge of the cliff.
But the ache he left behind is proof of one terrible truth: I want more than just a taste.
What am I doing?!
A few hours have passed, and we have been continuing on foot for a while as he studies a map, trying to figure out where we are. I couldn’t help because all around me, all I see is land.
If I could see even a little of the sea, I would be able to assist him.
Walking for this long is tiring, and my legs feel weak. The lack of water is also taking a toll, and the fear that my skin will soon take on its iridescent blue tinge is making the worry inside of me grow.
“We’re going to have to blend in better, and that means hiding your hair.”