Page 23 of In the Line of Fire
12
Damien
Icircled the wreckage several times, searching for members of the coven who had remained alive during our onslaught. My father and sister did the same while the shifters on the ground dug through the rubble, and the witches and warlocks cast spells to search for survivors. When none of us found any signs of life, I landed near the trees where I’d shifted before the battle and pressed as close to the ground as I could get so my mate could safely dismount from my back.
Soleil lowered her weapon to the ground and grabbed the pile of clothes she’d set down earlier. I shifted to my human form and quickly tossed my boxers and jeans on before pulling Soleil into my arms. “Holy fuck, I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. You’re never, under any circumstances, going into another fight against an entire coven of dark practitioners again.”
Her laughter relieved some of my tension. “I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that this was an extremely unusual set of circumstances, and that’s a particular concern you needn’t worry about in the future.”
“It damn well better not be.” Logically, I knew she was hard to kill, but I wasn’t rational when it came to my mate. Now that I’d found Soleil and we’d destroyed the people out to get her, I was looking forward to every minute of our very long lives together.
We stood still, locked together until I heard the soft fall of my father’s footsteps nearing our location. I lifted my head when he asked, “You guys okay?”
“No injuries here,” I confirmed, loosening my hold on Soleil.
“We’re fine.” She slipped from my arms and turned to smile at my dad. “And that shotgun you let me use is the best. Don’t be surprised if my dad tries to misappropriate some of the ammunition if he ever visits us here.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “He’d probably call it your dowry.”
Soleil laughed, tucking her arm in the crook of my elbow as we walked over to my dad. “Yeah, I can totally see him coming up with the perfect rationalization for why he deserves at least a few drums.”
“That’d be a small price to pay for your happiness,” my dad rumbled.
“Shh, he might hear you,” Soleil teased.
I pulled my truck keys from my pocket and sent them sailing toward my sister when she and Trey joined our little group. “You guys can drive back on your own. We’re going to fly.”
“Damn, I never thought I’d see the day you’d let me behind the wheel of your precious truck.” Denica grinned at me, giving the keys a little shake. “You must have appreciated our help more than I realized.”
“Yup,” I lied.
Although I was thankful to my sister and her mate for joining us in battle; my gratitude wasn’t why I wanted to fly home. The adrenaline from the battle heightened all of my senses, and the raw terror I’d felt when the high priestess had sent that air spell at Soleil had left me with a primal need to claim my mate. I wanted to rip off her clothes and have sex like the wild, uncontrolled beast who lived under my skin. I hoped that by letting my dragon free to fly with Soleil on his back would help me regain at least a sliver of my control.
But I sure as fuck wasn’t going to share all of that with my sister. Instead, I let her believe she was right as I dragged my mate deeper into the forest before ripping my jeans and boxers off my body again and shifting back to my dragon. When she was safely perched on my back with her arms gripping my neck, I took to the air with a fierce roar.
I stayed over unpopulated areas, taking a longer route home to lower the risk of being spotted in the air. Since I was flying at full speed, nobody would’ve been able to explain what they’d seen—and we made great time.
When we reached the outer edge of the woods surrounding our house, I dropped to the ground. My desire for Soleil pounded through my veins, but I couldn’t ignore what my animal side needed. Shifting to my human form after my mate climbed off my back, I demanded, “Shift. My dragon wants some time with your phoenix.”
The smile Soleil beamed at me was blinding. “Absolutely. She’s dying to get out. But not, like, literally, you know?”
She practically tore her clothes from her delicately curved body, letting everything stay wherever it landed as she shifted to her avian form. Her phoenix was so damn majestic, standing about four feet tall with slim legs and a long tail. Red and orange feathers covered her body, and I discovered how soft they were when I stroked my fingers down her side. “So fucking beautiful.”
She let out a loud and musical-sounding cry before stretching her wings and showing me how impressive their span was. “Are you ready to fly with your dragon? You own his heart just like you do mine.”
Her head dipped, and I saw her answer in the gray eyes that I’d gotten to know so well in the days since I found my mate. Pressing a kiss against the phoenix's cheek, I whispered, “As you wish. But do me a favor and fly straight home so our human sides have the chance to bond, too. We need it just as much as you do after what happened with that damn coven, and the only way my dragon is going to give up spending more time with you is if you force him.”
I saw a gleam of humor in her eyes before I shifted to my dragon form and took to the air with a loud roar. The phoenix followed him, letting my dragon take the lead as they explored the forest surrounding our home. I gave him about twenty minutes of freedom before pushing hard for him to head to the house. Luckily, the stubborn bastard didn’t fight me for control, and we landed on the front yard five minutes later.
Once we changed back to our human forms, my desire turned to outright lust as my gaze swept down my mate’s naked body. Her nipples pebbled under my stare, and the proof of her need for me glistened on her pussy lips. My nostrils flared as I dragged her scent into my lungs. “Need you so damn much.”
“I need you, too.” She stepped closer, nearly within my reach when she tilted her head back and grinned. “I might be a phoenix shifter, but I really want to climb you like a spider monkey right now.”
“What’s stopping you?” I stretched my arms wide, desperate to sink inside her tight pussy. “I’m yours, body and soul, beautiful.”
She threw herself into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist and holding on tight when I stalked up the steps and punched in the code on the electronic keypad. After flinging the door open and kicking it shut again, I didn’t stop until we were upstairs in our bedroom. I headed straight for our bed, falling backward onto the mattress and gripping her hips to roll us until she was under me.
Her skin was flushed from our flight, her desire deepened her gray eyes to the shade of the clouds during a thunderstorm, and her dark hair flowed over the pillow. “You look so fucking amazing like this.”
