Chapter Seven

 

Kat pulled away from his kiss. Her pulse rate rocketed. She touched her lips with her fingertips, her hand trembling.

His touch… The taste of him, his scent, his hot lips … Oh dear God, his kiss.

His incredible kiss had left her a quivering wreck. No man had even come close to doing that to her. It was almost as if he had her under some kind of spell. Maybe he had.

There was definitely magic in the air; its sugary scent made her lightheaded. Or maybe it was him and the way he was gazing at her.

Intense, desirous, and oh so dangerous.

A danger she yearned to embrace, to succumb to the way her body was reacting to his, but something still held her back.

Did she know him? Surely if his kiss evoked such a reaction, she would have remembered it.

“Nicholas… I…”

He drew air in through his teeth and took a step back, disappointment clouding his handsome features.

Had he not enjoyed their kiss? She certainly had; her damp panties proved it.

“My name is not Nicholas.” He turned away, scrubbing at his neck.

“What is it then?” I knew he didn’t look like a Nicholas.

“I can’t tell you.”

She frowned. More secrets, and yet, instead of angering her, his lie intrigued her more. “Why would you lie about your name? Did I do something wrong?” Kat had no idea why she said that, but he gave her the distinct impression she was missing something.

Nick faced her again. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I did.”

“That kiss didn’t feel wrong to me.”

“Tell me, what did my kiss feel like to you?” She didn’t care for the note of sarcasm in his tone. He was confrontational too as if he sought to goad her into an argument.

Confused didn’t come close. Her gut feeling was telling her she knew him, and who knows, maybe she had known him intimately in the past. She had half a mind to snap back some snarky, flippant reply, but whoever he was, demon, Greek god, whatever, this gorgeous guy and the connection she felt towards him was the closest she’d come to a clue about her identity.

She quelled her desire to fight back. If she had any chance of finding out more, the last thing she needed to do was antagonise him further. Although why he seemed annoyed was beyond her.

His kiss was like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, a tiny part of a picture depicting something wonderful, yet terrifying too, but now she’d started the puzzle, she had to know what the completed picture would be.

Quelling her fears, Kat met his gaze. “That kiss felt magical to me,” she answered truthfully.

He stared back in silence.

Birds chirped in the branches above her head.

Slowly, the anger drained from his face and the corner of his mouth curved upwards.

Her belly tingled. No dimple yet, but she could work on that. “I don’t know about you, but I could do with that drink about now.”

His half-smile widened to a full-on grin. “Me too. You’re infuriating, you know that?”

The dimple appeared, adding another piece to the jigsaw puzzle. “I could say the same about you.”

As the last of the sunlight peeked through the leaves, Kat followed him through the woods and towards a picturesque cottage nestled between mature oak trees.

For some strange reason, the sight of the thatched cottage produced a warm, fuzzy feeling in her belly. Odd. She didn’t even like old-fashioned cottages in the middle of nowhere. She preferred her modern apartment and living in the heart of town—well, it was Selene’s apartment, but she was happy there, wasn’t she?

Nick, or whatever his name was, opened the door, flicked on a light and gestured her inside.

She hovered on the doorstep.

“If you’ve changed your mind, I can walk you back to the pub… or I could call a taxi for you?”

“No, I haven’t changed my mind. I’m getting a weird sense of déjà vu again. I don’t know, call me crazy, but this place feels like…” Her whole body trembled. Home. “It feels like I’ve been here before.”

Nick regarded her for several seconds. “If you’re crazy, then I am too. You said you wanted to know the truth, and what I’m about to do could ruin everything, but if I don’t take a chance, I’ll never know.” His tone was deadly serious, but the undercurrent of hope was unmistakable. “Are you willing to take that chance with me?”

She had no idea what he was talking about, but she couldn’t ignore the mixture of fear and anticipation fizzing inside her belly.

He held his hand out to her. “There’s something I want to show you.”

Without a word, she hung her handbag next to a few coats by the door and took his hand.

He led her into a tiny lounge decorated with a squishy, well-worn sofa and dark wood furniture. A bookcase crammed to capacity adorned one wall, and an open fire nestled in a stone fireplace. A faint smoky aroma filled the air, its oaky scent strangely familiar too.

Nick stopped in front of a picture hanging on the wall.

Kat’s jaw dropped.

Her own face stared back at her, as did Nick’s, but the picture was not one she remembered posing for. It was faded and old, sepia-colored and, judging by her flapper dress and bobbed hairstyle, Kat guessed it was taken around the 1920s.

“It’s not possible…” And yet it could be. She knew she’d lived many past lives, glimpsed no more than snippets in her patchy flashbacks, but she’d never seen any actual evidence of them.

“It is.” Nick squeezed her hand.

“We know each other,” she stated, as though saying it out loud would do more to convince her. It didn’t. Or maybe it did. “You’re like me.” Kat swallowed. She could hardly believe her own words. She’d finally met another supernatural being who had to live with the burden of reincarnation, of never remembering their past lives or who they were.

“Yes, you and I are similar.”

Her knees buckled. Her vision blurred. The pretty cottage swirled around her.

Powerful arms caught her. Nick held her close as her vision cleared, and all she saw was him, gazing at her, his eyes brimming with a happiness that warmed her soul.

Confused emotions charged through her system; fear, curiosity, elation. The truth was so close she could taste it, and yet… did she want to know the woman she was back when the photo was taken? A hundred questions buzzed inside her head, chaotic theories that made no sense.

Nick fixed her with an intense gaze. “Are you all right? I know this must be difficult for you.”

Her heart beat frantically. This was all too much… she only met him a few hours ago, and now he was showing her a picture of them in the 1920s. This was crazy, insane even, and yet with his protective arms around her, he instilled her with a sense of calm. “A bit freaked out, but yes, I think I am okay.”

“I’ve waited so long for you, Katarina.” His voice was thick with emotion. “I probably shouldn’t do this,” his gaze sought her lips, “but if I don’t, I’ll go mad. If I’m damned to Hell, then it will be worth it.”

He kissed her with an urgency and passion that negated all other thoughts.

Her whole body responded to him with a thrilling rush. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, so much of her past lives still a mystery, but she wanted this more than anything.

She wanted him.

Kat returned his kiss, matching his fervour with her own. She looped her arms around his waist and crushed her body to his.

“I couldn’t tell you,” he gasped between kisses. “You had to find out yourself.”

What he said made no sense, but she didn’t care, her thoughts consumed by the throbbing between her thighs. She tugged at his shirt, yanking it from his jeans.

He grabbed her backside and squeezed, hard.

She threw her head back as he buried his face in her neck and nipped her earlobe. The sprig of bluebells fell from her hair.

“I… we just met…” she uttered in a breathless rasp. “I don’t usually do this sort of thing…” At least not until the second or third date—she had some standards—and technically this wasn’t even a date, but everything about this felt right. Not to mention he was making her damn horny.

He chuckled and pulled back, his dimpled smile loaded with sin. “We can stop if you want?”

“No, don’t stop.”

“Have you any idea how sexy you are?”

“Have you?”

He lifted her and wrapped her legs around him. She felt his erection between her thighs. Nick half stumbled, half ran towards a narrow staircase, knocking over a table lamp on the way. Something else clattered to the floor, but she was way past caring enough to look what it was.

His large hands were everywhere, tugging her clothes as he climbed the stairs.

“What about that drink you promised?” she said, her request half-hearted.

“Forget the bloody drink.”

In his hurry to get her upstairs, her elbow scraped against the rough plastered wall, her knee banged the other wall, and she lost a shoe.

She giggled, fisting her hands in his soft waves.

The stairs led straight into a bedroom set in the eaves, the moon shining through a tiny window offering the only light. She barely had time to register the masculine, neutral décor before he plonked her unceremoniously on the bed.

Kat giggled. “Not exactly the gentle type, are you?” She sat up, admiring him as he stood at the end of the bed.

“You better believe it.”

Her arousal hit record highs. She had a penchant for a little rough and tumble between the sheets; she liked to give it in return too. Nothing too kinky, but she didn’t consider sex good unless she had a spanked arse and achy legs afterwards.

Slowly, seductively, she untied her halter-neck top and let it slip to her waist, her breasts bare, her nipples peaked, ready for his touch.

He didn’t disappoint, cupping her breasts with hands so hot it made her gasp.

Needing to see a hunk of flesh herself, she tugged his shirt up his torso. He stopped what he was doing and yanked his shirt over his head, his moves urgent, as if he couldn’t wait to jump her bones.

She wasn’t dissatisfied either. The guy was built like a Greek god—the one she’d suspected him of being earlier—with smooth, bronzed skin and a well-defined six-pack she wanted to trail the tip of her tongue down, towards his…

“Fuck me, you’re hot,” she blurted out before she could stop herself. And not just the way he looked either, or how his muscles rippled when he moved. No, the heat radiating from his body was really something… she’d even go so far as to say it was scorching, as if he had his own internal heat source.

Weird, yet incredibly sexy.

He laughed. “I know I’m hot,” he replied with a confidence that alleviated her concerns. “And believe me, I intend to fuck you.” In a move so swift it took her breath away, he lifted her bottom and slipped her jeans down her thighs, her knickers too.

His sinful appraisal of her nakedness sent erotic signals straight to her core.

He arched an eyebrow, his striking eyes gleaming with mischief. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Not so bad?” she teased. “I was hoping for a little more flattery.” She flicked off her remaining shoe and removed her jeans from her ankles. “Have you seen how long these legs are?”

He trailed his fingertips from her ankle to her thigh. “I’ve noticed all right.” Goosebumps danced across her skin. “How about stunning sex goddess?”

It would do for starters. “Keep going.”

Nick moved his hand between her thighs.

“I meant with the compliments.”

“I think not.” He slipped his fingers along her slick folds, so wet for him.

She whimpered, wrapping her arms around his neck and urging him closer.

His body heat consumed her. So gloriously hot. Her own body reacted to the scorching heat with a coolness that swept over her skin, the sensation like she’d walked into an air-conditioned building on a hot summer day.

Odd, that had never happened to her before, but Nick appeared to like it.

“My Katarina,” he murmured against her ear, his hot breath puffing her hair.

Was she his? At that moment, and crazy as it sounded, she wanted to believe she was his with her heart and soul. How insane was that? No man, supernatural or otherwise, had ever touched something so deep within, a part of her she never knew existed until she met him.

Swept up in the moment, Kat undid the button on his jeans and slipped her hand inside.

No underwear. Holy shit, even his cock is on fire.

She stroked his length, curled her fingers around him.

Kat stifled an untimely giggle as the tune of Great Balls of Fire suddenly came to mind; one of Selene’s medley of old songs she insisted on playing all the time.

Of its own accord, her body temperature dropped again, this time like she’d fallen into a chest freezer. Her fingers cooled to the point where she thought she might get frostbite, and yet she didn’t feel cold. This felt normal, natural—but how could turning into an ice queen be normal?

What the hell are you doing, Kat? Stop trying to analyse everything and just have sex with the guy.

Judging by the guttural groan that escaped Nick’s lips, he didn’t appear to mind her Elsa-from-Frozen impression.

“You’re good at that,” he whispered, his voice husky.

With a playful smile, she said, “You better believe it.”

He grinned, and that sexy dimple appeared, rendering her helpless to his charms. Removing his hand, he then stood and yanked his jeans down impressive footballer thighs, his erection bobbing up and down. “I need you. Now,” he commanded.

She was more than willing to submit to his demand, opening her legs for him as he leapt on top of her.

Kat snaked her hands around his waist as he entered her and gyrated his hips, his actions hard and fast. She matched his tempo, grinding her sex into him, running her hands over his back, the muscles bunching beneath her touch.

He was burning up, his skin red hot and dry, but her own coolness seemed to counteract it, and she continued, clawing her fingernails along the length of his spine, hard enough to cause welts.

A groan of masculine pleasure rumbled deep inside his chest.

Taking great enjoyment in his response, she grabbed his tight butt with both hands and squeezed.

Then, she forced him to roll over, so she was on top. Her hair fell forwards as she straddled him, taking charge.

He chuckled and administered a spank to her backside. She squealed in delight.

Nick lay beneath her, his wavy ebony hair like a halo around his handsome face as they satisfied their desires.

He slowed their wild lovemaking, his eyes piercing her soul. Tenderly, he cupped her jaw, stroked his thumb pad across her cheek.

He trembled; he was close. So was she. She couldn’t remember the last time she had sex as fantastic as this.

Kat kissed him. Pressing her breasts to his chest, she clung to him like she never wanted to let go. He wrapped his strong arms around her. His heat warmed her as she turned ice cold and cooled his fiery skin.

His movements slow and sensual now, he took her to dizzying heights of pleasure, their bodies in unison, the air around them sizzling, like when ice meets fire, the sensation more erotic than she’d ever experienced.

“Nix,” she whispered against his ear. Her eyes widened. Why did I call him Nix? Was that his real name?

“Katarina,” he murmured back.

She kissed him again, hoping he hadn’t heard her faux pas. To her relief, he returned her kiss, tangling his fingers in her hair. Just to make certain, she looked him in the eyes.

But he looked different.

Still gorgeous and sexy as hell, but it was as though her vision had changed.

Everything around her seemed clearer, more vibrant. The champagne-colored bedsheets, the furniture in his bedroom, the moon outside all focused as if she’d had laser eye surgery and could see clearly for the first time.

Goosebumps appeared on her already freezing skin, raising the fine hairs on her arms. Frost clung to the hairs, glistening in the moonlight shining through the window.

What the hell…?

Terrified, she attempted to make sense of whatever was happening to her. She blew out a breath.

Her hand shot up to her mouth. She’d breathed ice.

Actual ice.

The miniature icicles showered downwards. Icy shards instantly turned to steam, sizzling as they landed on Nick’s hot skin. Or Nix.

Phoenix, a voice echoed inside her head. Fire.

Visions flashed to the forefront of her mind, more vivid than they had ever been before, as though she was there, living, breathing, touching the memory.

Flames and heat. Ice and frost. Destruction. The intense, liquorice-like aroma of aniseed; evil magic. Wind thundered in her ears. Flying. She was flying. A hooded figure stood on the ground below.

A sorceress.

That would mean she was… No, she couldn’t be…

Confusion reigned supreme, but at the top of her jumble of thoughts was denial, refusal to accept what she might be.

Fear shot up her spine.

As she looked down at Nick—Phoenix?—seeking some kind of reassurance that this wasn’t happening to her, his eyes changed.

His pupils elongated into black, vertical slits, like her previous vision, except this was real.

Too real.

Fear coursed through her with the ferocity of a tornado. Kat scrambled off him.

“Katarina…?” He grabbed her wrist, his skin scorching.

“I need to go.”

In a split second, his features darkened, anger ablaze in his eyes, the pupils still black slits. “What the hell do you mean, you need to go?”

“Something’s wrong with me.” She yanked her wrist from his grasp. She didn’t have time to explain; her only thought to control whatever was happening to her and to get the hell out of there. Kat grabbed her knickers off the floor and whipped them up her legs.

He leapt off the bed and seized her forearm.

Kat tried to tug away, but his grip tightened.

She glowered at him, warning him to let go, but as she stared, her bravado slipped away.

His body shook, his muscles rippled. Then his skin darkened and shimmered, the flesh transmuting into—she swallowed—scales.

Sheer terror seized her, its vice-like grip a hundred times worse than his fingers digging into her flesh.

“Get the fuck off me, you freak!” she yelled.

He dropped her arm like it was on fire.

Except it wasn’t. A band of ice covered her forearm, and beneath it, pale-blue, iridescent scales.

Kat bolted for the stairs.