Violet Flames: Primordial Gods Book 1, page 11
“So, Zayn, who is going?”
“All seven of us.” Shit.
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“It will be fun, Red.”
“I’m going to be embarrassed.”
“Why would you be embarrassed? You look great.”
“Well, thank you. I’m just nervous.”
“Oh, because Val is coming.” My eyes went wide as my head whipped over to Zayn.
“Why would you think that?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Just an assumption.” He smiled teasingly at me and winked a blue eye.
“It’s not like that.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he said. My mouth dropped open, and he laughed. “It is okay to like him, you know?” Zayn had an empathetic look on his face.
“I don’t like him.” My response was quick.
“Are you sure? We are friends now. You can be honest with me, even if you can’t be honest with yourself.”
“Is it bad if I do?” I sighed.
“Not at all,” Zayn said sweetly.
“What if he doesn’t like me?”
“I mean, would you rather not try and miss an opportunity or take a risk and possibly have something magical?”
“The magical stuff sounds cheesy, Zayn.”
“I’m a man, and I don’t think it is cheesy.”
“You read romance novels, so you are not a normal male.”
“Hey now, I read those for educational purposes.” He ran his hand through his shaggy hair.
“Sure, you do. You’re just a softy, even if you can’t be honest with yourself.” I threw his own words back to him as I grinned in accomplishment.
“And you’re an evil redheaded spawn,” he replied. We both laughed hard as we crossed the wards.
Once we were past the wards, we met up with Zila, Asher, and Valarian. I immediately felt embarrassed and wanted to die when I saw them. I made sure my shield was still up.
As he cracked his knuckles, Asher gave me a surprised face, then quickly looked away. Valarian locked eyes with me and looked down at my towel-wrapped body. He raised his eyebrows as one side of his lips curled up. I quickly averted my eyes.
Looking around, my eyes landed on Zila. Since she was in a bathing suit, I could see her King’s Guard tattoo on her chest. It was a quarter moon with a wolf’s head over it. The wolf’s head had its mouth open like it was howling. It was a beautiful tattoo.
“I love your tattoo, Zila.”
“Thank you. It is Strength in Transformation,” she said as she smiled at me. “I love yours too, Ember.”
“Let’s go have some fun,” Cash said and galed away. Then Zila and Asher galed too.
I locked eyes with Valarian and dropped my shield. I want a female to take me.
“Cali, can you take Ember?” Valarian galed away, as did Zayn.
“You look amazing. Don’t worry, it is just friends having fun.” Cali put her arms around me and galed us away.
My mouth dropped open when we landed. It was not the beachy ocean by the bonfire that we were swimming. We were standing on rocky terrain and looking down into what looked like a water-filled crater. The view was phenomenal.
I wondered how we would get down there since we could not gale over water, but then Asher ran and jumped off the side. I gasped as he fell through the air, then he hit the water. It was a far drop. My heart started racing with fear and excitement. Cash jumped next. I heard a loud woohoo from him as he was falling.
Then, to my surprise, shy, sweet Zila ran and jumped. She pulled her knees up into her body, and as she fell, she let go of her knees, rotated, and dove into the water headfirst. Woah. Valarian looked at me with a curious face. I dropped my shields as I met his eyes.
I can’t do this. I shook my head. He walked over near me.
“It is not as high as it seems, only about thirty feet. You can gale as far as it will let you. It will get you a little closer, probably about ten feet over the edge, but you will still be close to this height.”
“Come on, Ember.” Cali took off running and jumped. She did a summersault then dove into the water.
“Ember, do you want me to wait for you?” Zayn asked.
“You go ahead first, Zayn.” I smiled, trying to fake being okay. I was not okay. Zayn smiled at me. He then took off running and dove into the water.
“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Ember.” I looked up and met Valarian’s breathtaking eyes. “But I have a feeling you’re going to love it. You just have to try first.”
“I can’t physically make myself, Valarian.” My body was trembling as he walked up close to me.
“Would you like me to hold you?” The thought of being in his arms did make me feel safer.
“If you don’t mind…I mean, you don’t have to.”
He did not hesitate as he grabbed my hand.
“Come on, before you change your mind.” We strolled over to the edge. “Are you taking the towel?” he asked. I looked down at the death grip I had on the towel.
My hands slid to where I had tied the towel at the top. I pulled it apart and dropped it. I watched as Valarian looked down at my body. His eyes went wide as he quickly observed every part of me.
He ran a hand over the back of his head and cleared his throat.
“May I?” he asked. He seemed slightly nervous. It made me smile.
He was once again asking permission to touch me. I did not answer him. Instead, I walked up to him and put my arms around his waist first. I was still shaking, and I was hoping that holding onto him would stop it. Plus, I liked being close to him and smelling his skin.
He wrapped his arms around my body and looked into my eyes. I could feel every inch of his warm body on mine as I looked up at him. My lungs suddenly felt like I could not get enough air.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Absolutely.”
I laid my cheek against his chest and closed my eyes. I could hear his heart beating fast—just as fast as mine, surprisingly.
He galed us about ten feet out over the edge, and then we dropped into the water together. The rush was exhilarating—the wind flying past my body and then a slash into the water. Valarian let go of me, and I let go of him as we sank. I had sunk about ten or fifteen feet before I started to swim up.
I came up from underneath the water and took a breath. I was wiping water from my face when Valarian swam up next to me.
“Well?” he asked.
“That was amazing! Even better than killing a bear!”
“Good job, Red. I am proud,” Zayn said.
“Woohoo. Go, Ember!” Cash yelled from about twenty feet away from me. He was the most excited, carefree person I had ever met. I heard Cali clapping.
I laughed at Cash and then looked into Valarian’s eyes. “Thank you, Valarian.”
“Do you want to go again?” I did not even have to think about the answer.
“Absolutely,” I said with a huge smile on my face.
We swam up to the rocky area along the edge. I climbed out of the water first, then slid and almost fell back into Valarian. He assisted me by pushing up on my butt, right before it almost smacked him in the face. I did not even feel embarrassed for it. I had a curvy butt, and the thrill of his hands there made me more excited.
Once we were standing up on the small rocks next to the water, I saw Valarian looking at me again. It felt good being the one who was looked at instead of being the looker. Well…I was looking too.
I was checking out his chest and stomach every chance I got. I was also looking at other things lower, and it looked impressive behind wet shorts. I just made sure he did not notice me this time. For once, I was doing good at being stealthy. He, on the other hand, was not being as subtle. I locked eyes with him after he looked at my breasts.
“I’m sorry about touching your….” He ran his hand across the stubble on his face. “Uhm, touching you.” He seemed shy suddenly. That was not like him.
“It’s fine.” I smiled brightly at him; his shyness excited me. He put his arms around me and galed us back up to the top.
“Are you going with me or alone?” I wanted to go with him, but I also wanted to go alone to prove that I could.
Once again, I did not answer his question. I looked him in the eyes and gave him a mischievous smile, then I took off running as fast as I could and jumped off the ledge. I pulled my knees up and flew, then landed in the water. I was swimming up to the surface when there was a splash next to me. Valarian had jumped too. We both resurfaced from the water.
“You did it,” he said while smoothing his black hair back and removing water from his face.
“I did. I can’t believe it.”
“You’re fiercer than you give yourself credit for, Ember.” His words did things to me. They made me believe in myself. They made me excited, hot, vulnerable, and everything in between.
Without even thinking, I threw my hands around his neck and hugged him. Surprising to me, he wrapped his hands around my waist under the water and hugged me back.
“Thank you for saying that,” I whispered into his neck.
I pulled back and looked at his face. He was smiling, and so was I. Nothing but happiness between us both.
“Want to see something amazing, love?” he asked while still holding me.
“Always.” My heart sped up as I stared into his eyes.
“Come on then.” He let go of me and swam off, and I followed behind him.
We swam over to the rocks, and he climbed up first this time. He reached down a hand and helped me out of the water. I was a curvy girl, but he barely pulled on me, and it was like I weighed nothing. He was so impeccably strong.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. It is this way, love.” He nodded his head in the direction we were going.
We walked along the rocks and went into a small cave. I had to duck down to get inside. Once we were in, I saw that there was a small pool of water that was formed from a tiny waterfall. I gasped at the beauty of it. There was moss trickling down and around the stream of water.
“This is amazing,” I said, my eyes going wide with wonder.
“Yeah, it is.” He leaned against a wall, watching me.
Looking at how beautiful it was and unable to contain myself, I walked over to the small waterfall and went underneath it. My breath caught, and I gasped at how cold it was. I did not realize the water would be colder in here than out there. I ran out from under the waterfall and over to Valarian.
“I did not know it would be that cold.” I was shivering now.
“Here, this might help,” he said as he ran his hands up and down my arms, trying to warm me. I looked up into his eyes as Zayn’s words replayed in my head, and I decided to be brave.
Holding his gaze, I slowly stepped in closer. I very lightly licked my lips, preparing them for what I was about to do.
Placing my palms on his chest, I ran my hands up slowly as I stared into his beautiful eyes. He leaned down slightly toward me like he was offering. My lips were mere inches from his, both of our breaths were ragged.
His facial expression showed me that he wanted this just as much as I did. My heart thundered against my chest as I felt his breath on my face.
This was my moment to be fierce like he said I was. To be brave and do what I want to do without thinking of the consequences…so, I did. I slid my hands around his neck and stood on my tippy toes to close in on his mouth, and I kissed him.
Nervousness filled my body from my actions, but it eased when he leaned down more and kissed me back. He put his hand in my wet hair and grabbed it, pulling me closer to his mouth as he consumed me.
My body was on fire as I ran my hands down his hard muscles and around to his back, pulling him even closer. We were both into it, and it started getting extremely passionate. I would lay myself on this cave floor, bare for him, if he asked me to.
He slid his tongue into my mouth, it was warm and wet, and it felt amazing. I decided to add a little bit of tongue too, so I slid mine into his mouth and rolled it around his tongue. A slight moan left my body. I felt a fang lightly graze my tongue, and shock hit me, so I pulled away.
“I am sorry.” I was breathless and scared, but somehow, the danger was exciting.
“For what?” He looked at me, confused. His breathing was just as heavy as mine was. His hands were still on me, still entangled in my hair.
“For kissing you, I did not mean to. I should not have done that.” I was scared. Not because I feared him or his fangs. I was afraid because I liked it. I reminded myself to make sure my shield was tight.
“Don’t ever be sorry for that,” he whispered.
The hand on my lower back pulled me in; the other tightened in my hair as he leaned toward my face. My mouth slightly parted, ready for him to kiss me again, my body willing itself closer to his. I had missed the feeling of his body the minute I pulled away. I would never be able to resist him, I realized. His lips barely brushed against mine when I heard Cash speak.
“What are you guys doing in there?” I jumped in shock and pulled out of Valarian’s arms as I glanced toward the opening of the cave. I saw Cash’s shadow squat down. I quickly stepped further away from Valarian as the Angel entered the cave.
“Nothing, just talking to my buddy, that’s all,” I said. Valarian’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as he looked at my panicked face.
“Yep, just talking to my buddy,” Valarian said. He smiled at Cash, bent down, and left the cave. He didn’t even look back at me.
“So, Ember. Do you want to go skinny dipping?” Cash stood there grinning at me. I had a love-hate relationship with that Angel. I sighed.
“Shut up, Cash.” I punched him in the arm and laughed.
“Ow, you hit pretty good for a girl.” He rubbed his arm as I bent down to leave the cave. “I was being serious, though.”
“To the Gods, Cash, I will stab you.”
“That might be fun too,” he said as we emerged into the sunlight once again.
“Not going to happen.” I shook my head at him.
Cash grinned and ran and jumped in the water. I made my way back to the edge of the water and sat there quietly for a while. I watched everyone as they had fun.
Valarian swam around with the other men, who were all goofing off, taking turns jumping, and trying to dunk each other. Asher was using his air magic to make the water rise like mist. It was amazing to see. Zila and Cali got out and were sunbathing now, I noticed.
After a while, I got back in the water but mainly stayed away from the group of males. I was swimming alone for a while, then I was just floating around thinking about everything. I don’t know if I should have kissed Valarian or not, but I know that no matter what happens from here, I would not regret it.
We all swam for a little longer and then gathered to leave. I did not converse with Valarian again, I also tried not to look at him either. I knew where I was going, so when everyone started galing home, I galed myself home too.
Confusion was eating me from the inside out. I liked him, but I did not want to make things awkward. I would have to live in the same house as him for many years. We do not mate where we live, that is what Cali said.
Everyone stood outside of the manor, talking and laughing when we got back. I secretly took off and walked back to my room. I could not stop thinking about the kiss.
Once I was back, I took off my wet suit and hung it in the bathroom to dry. I threw on some lounge clothes and plopped on my bed. Since I had left my book downstairs on the hall table, I had nothing to do. I guess I would have to visit the library.
My heart raced in fear or hope that Valarian was at my door when I heard a knock. Hopping out of bed, I quickly walked over and opened it.
“Oh, hey. Come in,” I said to Zayn.
“What happened?” Zayn asked before he was even in the room.
“What do you mean?” I quickly shut the door.
“You were fine and having fun. Then you went into a cave with Val. Then, when you came out, you clammed up. You avoided everyone, and swam alone, and—”
“Okay, okay…I get it.”
“So, what happened, Red?” he asked with a concerned look on his face.
“I kissed Valarian.”
“Oh.” His face looked surprised, then he smiled.
“Yeah.” I looked down at my feet.
“Well, did you like it?”
“Maybe a little too much.” I blushed and looked up at the Angel.
“Did he like it?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Then what is the problem?” he asked.
“Well, for one, Cash came in and interrupted us, so I practically ran away.”
“Why would you run away?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t think it is anyone’s business.”
“Okay, that is one, so what is number two?”
“I felt a fang against my tongue.”
“Oh. Well…” He stood there in contemplation, like he was carefully choosing his words. “I haven’t kissed a Vampire yet, but I think that is to be expected.”
“That wasn’t the real problem,” I said while biting my lip.
“Did it scare you?”
“No, completely the opposite.” I could feel my face reddening and getting hot. “I liked it a lot.”
“That may not be a bad thing.” Zayn winked, and we both laughed.
“Shut up. I’m being vulnerable here.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just teasing.”
“I know.” I let out a slow breath. “I’m just confused.”
“That is understandable. Val is one of my best friends, I’m sure if you tell him how you feel—”
“I will not, and neither can you. Promise me.”
“Of course, I won’t, Red. I don’t want you after me. You’re mean.”
I went to punch his arm, but he grabbed my wrist before I made contact and pulled me close. He hugged me like a sibling would, crushing me in a headlock. I laughed and wiggled away.
“Don’t be hard on my friend. We don’t need a Vampire running around with a broken heart.”
“Maybe you two can read romance novels and cry together.”
“Evil, pure evil. I love it.” Zayn put his hand up, and I high-fived it. “I have stuff to do. We will talk later.”
