From the Ashes (Witches of The Demon Isle Book 8) (21 page)

It left him hungry. Starving for more. There was no way to get enough.

Pull away. Let go of her,
he ordered himself.

This request was not obeyed.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around that tiny waist and secured her to his body, lifted her like she weighed nothing and stormed down the stairs into the cabin. With a thrust of his arm the door slammed shut and their bodies crushed against it. Lizzy gasped, the wind knocked out of her.

Eyes met and linked on each other.

Hers on fire, the flames licking out at him, boiling his blood. Waking up every hungry nerve. His burnished in silver, intent heavy on his lids.

“I’m feeling selfish.” His voice was gravel, an effort to talk. It was supposed to be a kiss. Nothing more. Not today at least. Just a kiss. Nothing to tempt the wolf into uncharted waters, which was too late as it scratched at his skin making it too tight for his body. It was testing his willpower to the maximum.

“I’m okay with selfish,” Lizzy breathed out heavily. “I really like selfish.” She trusted him, even if he didn’t trust himself. Or maybe it was just the hormone craze pulling them both down under. Neither able to kick hard enough to swim back to the surface and breathe the fresh air.

Lips locked.

Hands tangled in hair.

Just a few more minutes behind closed doors. Then they’d leave and go to work.

He shouldn’t be in here. Warning bells went off.
This is a bad idea.

Instead of his hands releasing her, they gripped tighter. Instead of freeing her lips, he drove in deeper. Lizzy matched every thrust of his tongue, attacking with her own ferocity that pushed out a guttural growl through Charlie’s teeth.

The wolf was fighting hard to overpower the ring. Or was it Charlie, giving permission for the wolf take over, just a little more. His mind wove around many thoughts and arguments; he needed some Lizzy free air to think straight for a minute.

A kiss. Just one kiss… why hadn’t he stuck to his original plan. Stupid lack of self-control. It was going to get them into serious trouble. So little standing in the way of sweet disaster.

He kissed her furiously.

Would it be so bad to let go? Completely? To give in and disappear. To keep her in this cabin until both of them were so satisfied they couldn’t move out of exhaustion.

Not yet.
He fought against it.

Crazy let-it-all-go fun had to wait. Too many what ifs.

Teeth strained toward her neck.

Damn it.

Don’t bite her.

Don’t bite her.

Don’t freaking bite her…

He yanked his mouth away with a gasp
.

But her shoulder remained a perfectly smooth creamy surface. No bite mark. No blood drawn. No instant and permanent curse infecting her.

Air. They needed air. For the moment, he’d try a few inches of space.

He gently let her body slip down until her feet hit the floor. But kept the distance between them tight.

“I only meant to kiss you,” he told her breathlessly. “Just a simple, first kiss.”

She didn’t say anything. He looked down to see her gaze affixed on his. A drunken haze in her eyes. No words willing to escape her lips.

“I finally rendered Lizzy Deane speechless.”

She grinned like a girl floating in the clouds.

“I came too close to hurting you. We need to be careful. Although, I’m not the least bit sorry right now.”

“Shouldn’t be,” she breathed out. “We’re adults who know what we want. Why wait?”

That two-word question was overloaded.

“If I had some guarantee I wouldn’t hurt you…” his hand caressed her cheek. “The idea of hurting you kills me in a way I can’t even express. But so help me, Lizzy, I’m still feeling completely selfish. And what I’m feeling right now, is so… wrong. I am glad some distant relative of mine hated you. And cursed you so I can have you. I can’t think of a less romantic thing to say. But it’s true. You were stolen from another life. But you belong in mine.”

“I think I do.”

Lizzy reached up and caressed his lips with hers. A soft kiss. Gentle.

For a moment, content. Peaceful. Telling.

“I have been wondering,” she whispered. “If perhaps being in this time was meant to happen. All those long years being captive outside my body… for so many years I’d given up believing I’d ever get the chance to live my life. That fate had forgotten me. Betrayed me. I was so angry. Lost. Alone…”

“Never again,” Charlie determined. He’d never let her be those things again.

“I can’t explain it well. It’s like a fire burning wild, telling me to grab hold and ride the flames, but being in this time feels right to me. Looking to this new future, it’s like the only future I was meant to live. I don’t want to push here, Charlie. That’s not what I’m trying to do, I just…”

“Don’t want to wait. Don’t want to slow down. Just let fate take the reins…” he finished.

“It can’t be like that. I know it can’t. Still, it’s a bit like fate working in very harsh and mysterious ways. But if this is the future I get to have, I’m okay with that.”

“Fate can have a sick sense of humor,” said Charlie. His thoughts on their recent weeks, and on the unsavory task ahead of them.

“She does always get what she wants in the end.”

Charlie closed his eyes, breathing raggedly. Their lips were so close he was afraid if he kissed Lizzy again they’d never leave and get home. How did they become so all consuming, so quickly? He didn’t want to leave. Wanted to forget about anything but
them.

Instead, he backed away a few more inches. The air was still far too much Lizzy. She understood what he was trying to do and grinned, letting out a shy laugh.

“Are you upset that I didn’t go further?” he asked her.

“No. I understand why you didn’t. But you do have the ring.”

“Today. Maybe tomorrow. But next year? In ten? It worked tonight, but I wanted so much more just now. And it rips me apart thinking about what will have to happen if we are together. I don’t think there’s any way you can stay human, Lizzy.”

He watched for any hesitation, listened to her heart beating… nothing. No fear over that most likely of futures. Although he worried she didn’t comprehend what it truly meant. And honestly, neither did he at the moment. More of those unanswered questions.

She traced the ring on his finger, calmly. So many unknowns hiding inside an unassuming little black piece of jewelry.

“No one can take the ring off your finger, Charlie.”

“It doesn’t mean I’m invulnerable. There are ways to force it off my finger.” People he loved could be used against him, if someone was smart enough to try. Just remembering how close he’d come with the mermaids; they’d almost mesmerized him into removing it. That was all Eva’s doing, of course. “I refuse to let my future be determined by a single piece of jewelry.”

“Then we answer all those questions swimming around your brain. I have a few of my own too.”

Things that would have to wait as they had a heavy task ahead and had to face the rest of the day no matter how badly they didn’t want to.

Charlie was such a mix of emotions right now.

A bit high, like walking in the clouds.

Relieved, he hadn’t taken things too far.

Content, Lizzy Deane was his. A woman stolen from her time and freed into his…

Broody. Dread pooling in his gut with each step they took off the boat, to the jeep, each roll of the wheels taking them closer to home. Closer to that task none of them wanted to do. Nausea threatening to make him pull off the side of the road. His high, crashing fast, drowning in despair over William’s inevitable demise.

Mack was most likely already in the Howard’s kitchen, a dismal meeting about to begin. To officially make the decision to kill their friend. To kill William, if he was the one responsible for murdering the tourists.

Charlie wanted to crush his eyes closed and pray to any deity in existence. To whatever power in the universe that had any control over life and death… please let it not be William. By some miracle of miracles, let it be someone else. Someone nameless. Faceless. Someone completely vile and evil, and easy to take out of existence.

There was a tingle creeping up his arm, he remembered he was driving and refocused on the road, noticing Lizzy had grabbed his free hand. Her message, silent. Powerful. Needed.

It didn’t matter if they were physically touching each other, they would always be like this. She’d always have his hand in hers.

It split him down the middle. This being in love thing.

To have his heart bursting to its limit, so fast.

How did people manage life, and love, in a world filled with so much uncertainty?

And then it hit him like a ton of bricks… love is the stability. Love is the one thing that’s never uncertain. True love never fails you or leaves you.

Charlie had to pull the jeep off the side of the road.

“What’s wrong?” asked Lizzy. “We’re almost…” he leaned across the seat soaking up the rest of her sentence with a telling kiss.

Lizzy… the one unchanging certainty that was all his.

He pulled back, certain the kiss said it all, but still needed to say it aloud.

“I love you, Lizzy Deane. I cannot believe those words are coming out of my mouth. It hardly seems like enough time has passed to think it true. But I’ve never been more honest in my life. You have ruined any other woman for me, you’re all I’m ever going to want in this world.”

She sat with her pouty lips parted in shock, a ruby flush in her cheeks.

“I guess when Charlie Howard sets out to be romantic, he doesn’t leave a stone unturned.”

“I was only an idiot because I didn’t want to mess things up, which I almost did anyway. And I fully realize we still haven’t officially been on a date yet. But we’ll get around to that.”

Lizzy opened her mouth to reply but Charlie pressed his fingers against her lips.

“Don’t say anything. I can see what you want to say, it’s written all over you. But I can’t hear your voice say those words. Not today. I’m so out of myself right now. It’s too much. It’s so much it kind of hurts. I don’t mean to move things so fast, especially since I’m the one trying to slow them down. I guess I’m going about this all backwards. But I don’t… I can’t hold this thing back. It refuses to let me.”

The feeling was mutual but she held her tongue. Her mind spinning like a drunk girl about to topple over. It had started with the wolf earning her respect, seeing him at his lowest and his strongest. There was that first time he’d looked at her differently, like she’d gone from witch cooking up potions in his kitchen, to Goddess, Mother of the Earth, in a flash of a moment. Her body had responded with an all over flutter and so instantly wanted to be that woman. A look with such promise and virility she swore life bloomed inside her… an odd experience since she’d never felt that before. Had never desired it before.

But this was a lot. Much more than she expected, so fast. And yet not too much or too fast she decided. She’d already made up her mind she wanted him. But this outpouring, it stirred something deep inside her. Another something she’d never felt before. And didn’t know how to name it.

Love?

Real, honest, true love?

How is it possible to feel like this for the first time?

She’d been engaged before cursed into her ghastly form. Hadn’t that been love? She’d been so sure about it at the time. Unwavering even against anyone telling her to slow down, take her time. Not rush into things…

Her fiancé was impetuous, loved the wild side of life. Was always about a good time. But also protective. Overly jealous at times. Not necessarily the best provider. Or stable. He was moody and cranky a lot. Beautiful to look at. To touch. Be touched by. He was a devoted soul who’d given his, to her. And had loved her enough to take his own life after thinking she’d died.

So why did this thing with Charlie feel so different?

These words spewing out of Charlie’s mouth rolled across her nerves giving her a sense of peace, security, and excitement. A fulfillment she never had while engaged in her old life, and never worried about before. She’d been young. An age when you still feel immortal and don’t realize your life will end at some point. She was technically still the same age, but her years in captivity had changed her. Made her realize how precious each day breathing in her own body really was.

Charlie pursed his lips, recognizing the turmoil in her gaze. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to start some existential crisis.”

The corner of her mouth turned up in a timid grin. Charlie found he liked her shy side.

“You didn’t set off any crisis. Quite the opposite. You keep me on solid ground.”

“It’s so easy to forget you recently didn’t have that option.”

Lizzy caressed his face softly. “I don’t ever want to be off solid ground again.”

He gave her a quick peck on the lips. “If by grounded, you mean I can turn you over my knee…”