Cloudburst Ice Magic Page 7

  Zach growled and grasped her hips with his hands, holding her where he wanted her as he speared her pussy with his shaft. The hot, thick intrusion flooded her senses with delicious pleasure. Lily wailed and froze, savoring the erotic tightness of his hard flesh within her. She closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation of being filled.

  God, I could stay right here forever.

  But Zach wasn’t in the same frame of mind. He withdrew his cock only to thrust back in hard until he sat balls deep within her. Lily gasped and met his gaze. His eyes blazed with feral intensity as he pulled out slowly until only the head sat within her grasping sheath.

  “Do you want me, Lily?”

  “Oh, God, yes, Zach. I want you so much.” Her voice hadn’t been this breathless in months.

  “Are you mine? My ice princess, my lover, my mate?” His hands tightened on her hips, the tips of his talons digging into her flesh.

  “Yes, Zach. I’m yours. I’ll always be yours.”

  “Then ride me, princess. Ride me and take me for your own.”

  He plunged his shaft into her as he shoved her down onto his lap and Lily wailed as pleasure swamped her awareness. Her hips and body seemed to have a mind of their own because she rocked on him with abandon, no longer tired from the day.

  Green fire flared in Zach’s gaze as he reached up with one hand and plucked her nipples, sending extra pleasure into the building maelstrom. Hard, wet sounds of flesh meeting flesh echoed off the equipment around them and the scents of spices and flowers perfumed the air. Lily’s attention narrowed down to the hard cock she rode and the blazing joy in the face of her Demon. He’s mine and I’m never giving him up. She grinned at him and rocked her hips harder, wanting him to lose as much control as she would.

  “Zach. Oh, God, Zach. I’ve missed this so much.” She slammed down on him, squeezing her inner muscles as she dragged her clit along his shaft.

  “That’s it, princess. Ride me hard and take me with you. Make me yours.”

  His words combined with his thrusting cock set her orgasm ablaze. But before she gave into the exploding ecstasy, she clenched her pussy and ground her hips against his. Zach’s eyes widened and he threw his head back with a roar as he pounded into her. Blinding pleasure erupted through Lily and sent her hurtling toward the stars as Zach gripped his hands to her hips.

  Some instinct deep inside her made her lean forward and clamp her jaws into his shoulder as her orgasm thundered through her. She hadn’t meant to bite him or break the skin, but when his own teeth sank into her shoulder, the fireworks of ecstasy blew away her intentions.

  Waves of euphoria surged through her as something like peppermint coated her tongue. Lily let herself get carried away with the bliss and the sweet taste. She flew among the stars as pleasure continued to swamp her body.

  But when the effects of her orgasm faded, so did her sense of well-being. Pain blossomed like a rancid flower and her belly cramped as if someone had driven a spike through it. Lily gasped and opened her eyes, releasing Zach’s shoulder. Silver blood decorated the pristine white of his skin and chagrin rose in her chest.

  “I’m so sorry, Zach. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  He gave her a lazy smile. “It didn’t hurt, princess. You marked me as we mated. We’re now truly bonded forever. You’re mine and I’m yours.”

  Relief and satisfaction tripped across her awareness just before another wave of pain hit her gut. She gasped again, this time folding until her forehead braced against his chest.

  “Lily, what is it? What’s wrong?”

  Zach tried to lift her to meet his gaze, but the pain kept her doubled over too tightly.

  “It hurts…so much.”

  “What? What hurts?” His voice sounded tense. “Did I hurt you inside?”

  “No…” She shook her head. “Belly hurts. Can’t breathe it hurts so much. Oh, God.”

  A long drawn out moan cut the rest of her words off as the agony built. What is wrong with me? She had no answer. Another surge of pain took her breath and awareness, and she gratefully surrendered to oblivion.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lily slumped against Zach’s chest in apparent exhaustion and his gut sank. “Lily, what hurts?” Sweet Goddess, she’s damn near boneless. She didn’t respond and her breathing had turned quick and shallow.

  “Lily?” Unease shifted to screaming panic and he pushed her back to look into her face.

  She toppled sideways, nearly cracking her skull against the side of the jeep before he caught her. Sweet Freya, what’s wrong with her?

  Silvery liquid marked her lips as her head lolled on her shoulders and he brushed them with his fingers, sniffing. The scent of his own blood hit his nose and memory crystallized to the moment she’d bitten him. It had been erotic and sensual, but now it left him feeling nothing but dread. She bit me. He’d never met anyone who mated with a human so knew nothing about how his blood would affect her.

  From the looks of things, it affected her badly.

  “Lily!” He wanted to shake her awake, to have her look up at him with a mischievous smile. But she lay in his arms like a limp doll.

  “Hot fucking hell.” He laid her flat on her back and tested her pulse, trying to ignore his own pounding heart. Her blood pounded in her veins like she ran a marathon, but her body lay inert. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she moaned as if in pain, her brows contracting. A distant echo of pain hit his gut through the remnants of their connection, and he grunted.

  Zach felt her forehead and hissed as heat seared his palm. She burned with a raging fever.

  “What the fuck?”

  Zach’s mind raced. He had to get her cool or she’d bake her head to death. Rising from their nest beside the jeep, he carried her closer to the door where the air cooled considerably. He’d dealt with all sorts of injuries out on the slopes rescuing people, but never a burning fever. His own people rarely suffered from them unless they hit the lowlands.

  He searched his memories as he wrapped Lily in her mummy bag to keep her skin safe from harm. He couldn’t recall a time in all his hundred and seventeen years where he’d witnessed a fever in his people, much less nursed someone through one. And he knew next to nothing about fevers in humans. All he did know was they couldn’t get much above 105 degrees Fahrenheit without suffering permanent damage.

  Think, Snow! Who’d know what to do about this?

  The only answer blazing across his mind held the face of the Matriarch of Mistweaver Tarn. Zach stared hard at Lily’s sweating body as he calculated the distance between the equipment shed and the holy place of the Oro Creek Ice Demons. It wasn’t far for an Ice Demon to travel in his natural form, but it’d be cold and Lily could freeze on the way.

  Looking at her flushed face, he realized he’d have a better chance of her surviving the weather than if they stayed. Usually he hesitated to go out in his natural form, but no humans would be out in this weather and their rescue wouldn’t return until the next day.

  “Come on, princess. Looks like we’re going for another hike.”

  Lily moaned and her lips twisted in pain, but she didn’t protest. Dread ate at Zach’s gut as he zipped her into her bag and tucked her into his arms. Her flushed faced offered a pink counterpart to her rich, purple bag, and he kissed her fevered lips. “Hang on, princess.”

  Zach threw the door open and stepped into the storm. Stinging flakes of snow melted instantly against Lily’s hot skin as he tested the wind. The direction told him it’d blow them downhill, but he had a little control in directing it toward the Tarn.

  “All right, princess, ever been wind-surfing?” He cinched the bag around her face and took a deep breath. “This isn’t like what they do on the water. This is literally wind-surfing, and it can be a wild ride.” His throat closed a moment at her still face. “You’d probably love it if you were awake.”

  No chance of that if he didn’t get her to someone who could help. “Hang on, Lily.”

  He tightene
d his grip and stepped into the wind.

  Under normal circumstances, Zach loved wind-surfing. The dips and swales of the air currents full of snow made the ride better than anything humans put together in an amusement park. But with his arms full of his dying mate, Zach’s attention remained focused on direction and speed, neither of which was very controllable during the Spring Fling. Still, he arrived at the gates of the Tarn in less than twenty minutes and asked to see the Matriarch while the guards stared curiously at his purple bundle.

  The mists formed a tunnel and the guards gestured Zach through. “Almost there, Lily. Just hold on a little longer.”

  The scents of the lake intensified and he found his feet sinking into the rocky shore at the edge of the water. Snow swirled in artful designs and the songs of the individual flakes tickled his hearing, but he shoved the beauty away as he searched for the Matriarch. He remembered Cade’s words about remaining calm, but the pain inside Lily had grown over the minutes of their trip. He gritted his teeth against the rising agony and panic.

  “Welcome back, Mr. Snow. How are…” The Matriarch’s voice trailed off in dismay as she caught sight of her guests. “Holy Freya. What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know, Matriarch, but I need your help.” Zach laid Lily on the beach and unzipped the bag. The heat rising from her body sent out a puff of steam into the frigid air and she shifted as if trying to avoid some internal pain.

  Icedora crouched beside Lily, her crystalline dreds falling over her shoulder with a musical chime. “What happened, Mr. Snow? How did she get into this condition?”

  “We…” He hesitated, knowing Lily didn’t like to share their private life. “We mated and she bit me. I think she swallowed some of my blood, but as soon as she did, she said she was in pain.”

  “Ah, I see.” Icedora nodded, her expression grim. “Ice Demon blood is poisonous to humans. The only reason she hasn’t died yet is because you mated her already.”

  Zach swallowed hard. “You said yet. What can I do now? She’s already swallowed the poison.”

  “Pray.”

  “What?” Zach rounded on the woman. “Are you serious? Pray?”

  Icedora sighed and met his gaze with sad determination. “You must take her to the ice cave on the north edge of the Tarn, just there.” She pointed over Zach’s right shoulder. “You must tuck her into the bed of snow until she is surrounded by ice. No sleeping bag. Then you must pray to the Goddess that she’s strong enough to survive the change.”

  “Change?” Zach picked Lily up again, her heat seeping into him from the bag.

  “Yes. She’s becoming half Ice Demon and her body’s trying to either reject or assimilate your blood into her own.” The Matriarch smoothed some of Lily’s blonde hair away from her face. “She’s very strong, but she’ll need your help and your prayers. I’ve only seen this kind of shift work a few times in my life.”

  “How many of the humans survived the change?”

  The Matriarch’s gaze filled with sorrow. “Six.”

  Zach’s stomach clenched and his gritted his teeth against the panic. “Lily is strong. She’ll be lucky number seven. She’s from Vegas and seven is lucky there.” I hope.

  “Come. Let’s get her into the snow bed and I’ll leave you to it.” The Matriarch drew him with her to the north shore of the Tarn.

  “Is there nothing else you can do?” Zach kept his gaze fixed on a blue crevice increasing as they approached to hold back his fears.

  “I will send prayers like you, Mr. Snow, but in reality it really depends upon you and your mate’s desires.” Icedora glanced down at Lily’s still face. “She’s strong and healthy so if her spirit matches her body, she’ll pull through. All you need to do is let her know you’re here for her and focus on her pulling through.”

  Zach’s gut clenched tighter. Had he managed to convince Lily he had no interest in the other female human? He hoped she’d remember despite the pain she endured. He could feel a shadow of it through their bond and he wanted to roar with his helplessness. This wasn’t something he could fight with brute strength. The change would come no matter what. Everything depended on Lily.

  The Matriarch led him into the most beautiful ice cave he’d ever seen in the New World. Ice stalactites formed great columns and arches much like the old world cathedrals and misty shrouds fluttered around a large plush-looking bed. Lacy designs scrolled across the snowy duvet like a cloth quilt and marbled ice in blues and whites made up the floor.

  “Set her in the bed and tuck the snow bedding around her.” Icedora pointed at the bed.

  “Will it turn down like a traditional bed?” Zach opened Lily’s purple bag and peeled it off her. Rivulets of sweat slid over her sides and froze like pearls on the floor.

  “Yes. We have some amenities when we choose, Mr. Snow.”

  The Matriarch gave him a quick smile as she helped him pull back the snow quilt. He set Lily down onto the frosty mattress and she sank as if in a feather bed. At Icedora’s urging, he pulled the icy sheets over Lily and tucked her in, settling onto the bedding beside her.

  “I shall leave you to your vigil.” The Matriarch waved on the mage lights, softly glowing balls of fractaled snow as she headed for the cave entrance. “Focus on her survival, Mr. Snow, and on your love for her.”

  “Thank you, Matriarch.”

  As the older Demon left, Zach snuggled down in the fluffy powder beside Lily and made sure the bedding stayed tucked around her. Her skin remained scalding to the touch and her breathing shallow.

  “Please, Holy Freya, help Lily survive this change. Help her be my mate.” He bowed his head and kissed Lily’s hot cheek. “Please, Lily. Fight for me. Fight for us. I love you.”

  ****

  Lily found herself in a familiar landscape of crystals, all pointing in various directions. This time, the crystals seemed to shift in color, from white and clear, to blues, pale lavender, and soft pink of rose quartz. The temperature where she sat reminded her of summer in Las Vegas, where heat shimmered off the buildings and sidewalks like a living thing.

  Lily picked up her lacy fan, a delicate white embroidered confection, and waved it at her face, hoping to cool herself down.

  “Holy cow, it’s hot out here.”

  She threw her head back and waved the fan, trying to cool the sweat rolling down her neck and between her breasts. A breeze picked up and someone settled beside her on the color-shifting crystal where she sat. Lily opened her eyes to stare into the bluer version of them set in a masculine face.

  “Linus? What are you doing here?”

  Her older-by-ten-minutes twin brother grinned at her. “Checking up on you. How are you doing, Lil?”

  Contentment welled up inside her chest. “Good. Really good. I took your advice, you know.”

  “Oh, yeah? Which advice was that?” His cocky grin said he knew but wanted to hear her say it.

  “I got busy living and went to play in the snow.”

  “It’s about time you saw reason.”

  Lily smacked his arm. “Dork!” He laughed. “But seriously, what are you doing here? I didn’t expect to see you again. I thought you’d moved on.”

  “I was going to ask you the same thing, Lil. Something you want to tell me?”

  Linus looked so serious a seed of dread grew in her gut. “No, nothing that I can think of. I got a job as a Search and Rescue professional in Cloudburst and I’m helping save people on the slopes.” She searched her memories. “Zach and I are good. He’s been working in Nevada, but he drove out to Colorado to…to help me. We were stuck in a blizzard. He came to help us get down.” She frowned as she scanned the crystalline landscape, wishing it could be cooler here.

  “You’re sure everything’s good?” Linus looked concerned.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “’Cause the only reason you’d be here is if you’re on the way out.”

  “Out?” Lily’s eyes widened. “As in out of life? Bought the farm? Dying?”

>   “Yeah, all those, and any other death euphemism you can come up with.” Linus grasped her hand. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

  Lily frowned, searching her memories as she stared into her brother’s blue eyes. “I don’t know of anything. Zach and I were…” She stopped and her cheeks heated more than the arm air could account for. “We were together and everything was good. But then…”

  The memory of pain arrowed through her mind so sharply, she gasped. “I don’t know, Linus. Something painful, something bad. Why? Am I dead?”

  “No, not yet. This place is a hub of choices, Lil.” He squeezed her hand and gestured to the pulsing crystals around them. “There are many paths you can take from here. Some lead back to your life. Some lead onward. You’re at a crossroads and you can choose which way to go. I’m here because you are.”

  She filtered through his words to get the essence of them, but it had become difficult to focus. And it was so hot.

  “So I could choose to stay here with you?” That seemed like a good idea. Sort of. But a thought nagged at the back of her mind, as if she missed something important.

  “For a little while, then we’d both have to choose our next path.” Linus’s smile turned distant.

  “Will it always be so hot?” Lily wiped her brow with her arm and waved the fan again.

  “That is all you, Lil. You’re the one burning up.”

  His words meant more than just what he’d said, but she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning. It was so hard to think with the heat. Think, Sinclair. You’re missing something.

  “What about Zach? Will he be here, too?”

  Linus’s smile became vibrant again. “No, he’s back in your life, waiting for you.”

  “Waiting for me to do what?”