Passionate Flames, page 10
The tension in his shoulders seemed to relax. “You’re right. That must be it. Now where were we?”
Angelique smiled and then reached between them to grab his cock. “I think you can figure out what comes next.”
Thane’s body lit up gold, and it was the most beautiful sight in the world. The grotto water shimmered off the walls, making his eyes more leafy green than teal.
As Thane’s tongue plunged into her mouth, he spread her legs wider with his knees, and then drove into her. Euphoria swamped her. It was almost as if she’d been put into her body for this precise reason. They wouldn’t mate tonight, but they would soon. Very soon.
When he retreated and plowed in again, all thoughts of the future disappeared and were replaced by the total bliss prickling her skin. Erotic lust encased her as her glow increased.
Wanting it harder and faster, she pressed the soles of her feet onto the life preserver and lifted her butt. Her hands roamed all over his body, unable to fully satisfy her needs. With each stroke, her second orgasm brimmed.
“I can’t get enough of you,” Thane panted.
His words held such passion that Angelique could no longer hold back. On the next thrust, she came. With her eyes closed, she let the glory infuse every cell of her being.
Thane lowered his hands to her waist and hammered into her once more. A second later, his seed exploded, and they became one. Her joy was so great, a small tear leaked out of her eye. It was at that moment that she realized how much she loved Thane Sinclair.
He slipped out of her, stood, and held out his hand. When she reached out for it, he helped her to her feet. Thane carefully led her the few feet to the water.
“One more quick rinse before we head back. We don’t want to piss off the canoe ranger and arrive after dark,” he said.
She laughed. “Totally.”
After they thoroughly cleaned—and kissed many more times—he helped her out of the warm grotto water. They both dressed in relative silence and headed out the way they came.
As soon as they exited the cave, Thane stopped and looked up.
“What is it?” she asked. Angelique had never seen Thane this intense.
“Griffin and Declan are circling up above. Something’s up.”
“You told them we were coming here. Maybe they just want to make sure Mange didn’t get us. After all, we ditched the canoe in plain sight.”
“Could be, but it’s not like them. Let’s hoof it back. I’d fly us, but the foliage is pretty dense, and I don’t think you’d appreciate being scraped up.”
“I don’t mind if it’s for a good cause.”
He reached out and dragged a knuckle down her cheek. “I’m sure they can wait a little longer.”
Once they reached the river, Griffin and Declan were waiting for them.
“We’ve been screeching for half an hour. Didn’t you hear us?” Declan asked, sounding a bit agitated.
“Yes, but I thought you might be passing by on a mission,” Thane said.
“No. Something happened. And it isn’t good.”
Thane stiffened. “What is it?”
Griffin glanced over at Angelique and stepped closer to her. “I’m sorry to tell you that there was a fire at your coffee shop.”
Her knees nearly buckled. Thane slipped a hand around her waist that kept her from crashing to the ground. “A fire? How bad was it? Was anyone hurt?”
“No one was hurt. Melissa rushed everyone out in time, but there’s quite a lot of smoke damage.”
Angelique sucked in a deep breath. “Do you know the cause of the fire?”
Griffin shook his head. “I’m sorry. Josh Gerrard, the arson investigator, is on the case. I imagine he’ll know more when you get there.”
She looked up at Thane. “I’d like to go now.”
Declan stepped over to the canoe. “You three take off. I’ll return the canoe and the gear. Then I’ll catch up.”
“Thanks,” Thane said. He faced her. “We’ll head back to your place to change. Then we can go to the coffee shop.”
“Yes, that sounds good. Thank you.”
The trip back was wrought with worry. Angelique hoped the fire was just an accident in the kitchen and not that Mange had set it. If only she knew whether he was trying to drive her back to her realm or if he was threatened by her assignment, she might be able to figure things out. Sure, his goal in life was to cause disruption, but why target her?
After a rather grueling flight, they landed on her front lawn.
“Do you sense him anywhere?” Thane asked.
She inhaled and then closed her eyes to calm her anger. Angelique needed all of her senses alert. No telling what that ass was capable of. She let out her breath. “No.”
He held out his palm for the key. While she was quite capable of letting herself in, Angelique understood Thane’s need to be in charge—and his need to protect her. She unhooked the key that she’d attached to her bathing suit bottom and handed it to him.
Once inside, he insisted on looking in every room first before he allowed her to walk about freely.
“All clear. Why don’t you pack for a few days,” Thane said.
“Sure.” It didn’t take her long to throw her clothes in a bag. “I’m ready,” she said as she returned to the living room.
Thane slipped the case from her fingers. “Let’s take your car so we can move about the city easier.”
After they stopped off at his place for Thane to change, they drove into town. Fire trucks lined the streets in front of her shop, and her stomach spun. “The front looks undamaged at least.”
“That’s a good thing. Hey, there’s Josh. He should have some answers by now.”
As soon as they approached, Josh ended his conversation with someone and came over to them. “Ms. Carson. I tried to reach you before.”
“Thane and I were out of town. How bad is it?”
“The kitchen sustained some damage, but you were lucky. Someone put out the fire almost before it began.”
She looked up at Thane and then back at Josh. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t either. According to one eyewitness, some dragon shifter was flying overhead. He must have smelled the smoke, because one minute he seemed to be minding his business, and the next he’d torn a hole in the roof and shot enough water into the kitchen to put out the fire.”
That sounded preposterous, but she wasn’t from this world, so maybe there were such things as water dragons.
Thane nodded. “Do we know who this mysterious dragon is?”
“No, but he made our job easier. We’re working to drain the inside of water now. Thankfully, the damage was contained to your shop.”
That was good luck. “Tarradon is full of heroes,” she said.
“So it appears,” Josh said.
“Could you tell how the fire started?” Thane asked.
“I’m working on it. My preliminary guess is arson.”
“What about Donald? Was he in the kitchen at the time?” Angelique asked.
“He was knocked out cold. That is one reason why I’m saying it was arson.”
Thane slipped her hands into his. “Let us know if you find out anything more. Can we go inside?”
“Not for a few more hours. Not only isn’t it safe to breathe the air, the floors are still slippery. I’ll call you when you can return and begin cleaning up.”
“Thank you,” she said.
As Thane escorted her back to the car, she briefly sensed evil nearby, but by the time she thought she identified the location, it was gone. Angelique should probably mention it to Thane, but he’d insist on locking her up in the safe house while he left to investigate, which would be the worst thing he could do. She wished she knew how to convince him that no amount of dragon power could defeat someone—or rather something—as evil as Mange.
Griffin was waiting for them back at the car. “How bad is it?” he asked.
Angelique gave him the rundown. “It would have been a lot worse if it hadn’t been for some water dragon.”
“That’s the second time he saved someone or something that we know of,” Griffin said. “My sister Nessa was the first to run into him. He saved her and her mate.”
“Wow. I’m guessing that dragons don’t usually go around spewing water?”
“No. He’s the only one I’ve heard of.”
That gave her pause. “He must not be from around here then.”
“I doubt he came from here originally. He might even be from another realm.”
She wanted to meet this water dragon to see if he was some white entity who helped others in a different way.
Griffin faced both of them. “I’m going to hang out here for the night. I’m sure there will be other security, but I want to be here just in case.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past this ass to return to see the havoc he caused.”
Her heart squeezed tight at that terrible thought. “That is so nice of you, but if it is Mange, he will be dangerous.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Thane placed a hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “Ask Stone to take over for you if you need a break. We should have someone here twenty-four-seven, or at least until Angelique is up and running again.”
That made her feel so indebted. “You don’t have to do that. I can hire a firm to watch my place. Thane, you and your family have done so much for me already.” The problem was that she doubted the cops had the manpower to be here all day.
“Griffin’s right. Our family needs to be in charge.” Thane said. “I don’t trust Mange not to take over one of the bodies of someone hired by the security firm.”
Shit. That was an even scarier thought. “Who says he can’t take over yours or Griffin’s body just as easily?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Because we’re Guardians.”
“That didn’t mean he can’t. You aren’t invincible.”
“We’re at least aware of what he can do. I’m hoping we have the skills to fight him off.”
She wasn’t going to argue with him, but even she alone didn’t have the power.
After saying goodbye to Griffin, and thanking him once more, they piled into her car. Instead of heading back to the mines, Thane stopped at the police station.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
He shut off the engine and faced her. “I want to see if Anderson has found any more dead bodies.”
“Mange has no reason to change bodies unless he suspects someone saw him light the fire—assuming he is the arsonist.”
“I agree. Do you have security cameras at the coffee shop?”
“In the main area, sure, but not in the kitchen. Even if Mange entered the shop, he could have taken over any of the people in there. I’m betting he’s learning how to fool the family and friends of this person into believing he hasn’t changed. No one would even report their loved one missing in that case.”
Just saying those words scared her.
“Good point. Where do you keep the copy of the surveillance footage?”
She smiled. “In the cloud. No one can access it except for me or my two assistants.” Reality dawned. “Crap. I’m calling Melissa and Shannon to see if anyone approached them about accessing the files. He could have had a timer to set the charge and then pretend to be from the security company. He’d want to erase the feed or tamper with it somehow so he couldn’t be identified.”
“That is a scary thought.” Thane pushed open his car door. “Let’s bring Anderson up to speed and see what he suggests.”
Once inside, they asked to speak with him in private.
“Let’s head on into one of the offices. They’re nicer than the interrogation room.”
“Thank you. Do you know anything more about the fire?” she asked.
“Nothing more than the arson investigator told me.”
Once they were seated in the office, Thane told them about his theory that Mange might have been involved. Angelique pulled out her computer that she’d picked up from home and accessed the video of her shop. “Nothing looks out of place right before the fire. Just customers ordering and such.”
“Did anyone approach Melissa or Shannon?” Thane asked.
“The camera isn’t aimed at the offices.” Once she opened the shop again, she’d change that.
Angelique watched a bit longer and then stilled. “Oh, no. I think we have a problem.”
“What is it?” Anderson asked.
Chapter Twelve
“Someone tampered with the feed,” Angelique said, as she twisted around her screen. “See the woman with the red shirt and short brown hair?”
“Yes,” Thane said. “What about her?”
“Keep watching. She comes up again a minute later. At first, I thought she was placing a second order, but then Jamie Sanders—the girl in the yellow shirt—walks up next to her as does some man whose back is to us. Those same two people ordered again and stood in the exact same spot.”
“Are you saying someone created a loop?” Anderson asked.
“It appears so. Mange must have known about the cameras and then chose the right person to inhabit.”
“Are you implying that if Mange takes over someone who is gifted technologically that he would have those skills once he enters them?”
“That appears to be the case.”
“Damn it.” This complicated things.
Anderson leaned forward on his elbows. “Do you have any idea how to find Mange now?”
She shook her head. “He always finds me. Personally, I don’t want to run into him again, especially considering what happened the last time. I just want him to disappear, but clearly, he wants something from me.”
“He needs to be stopped.” Thane placed a hand on hers. “I’m going to insist you not leave my side, and if I can’t be with you, I’ll ask someone else to stand watch. Are you okay with that?”
“If it means I can supervise my business and get it up and running again, you can put twenty armed guards on me. Just make sure everyone is aware of what we’re dealing with. Mange isn’t like an ordinary dark lighter that just does spells. I need to be the one to deal with him—not them.”
“I’ll make that perfectly clear.”
Someone knocked on the office door and poked his head in. “Anderson, sorry to interrupt, but I thought you’d want to know that we found another body like the ones before.”
Thane fisted his hand. “Are you saying this person has a burn pattern on his body?”
“Yes.”
Anderson pushed back his chair. “Rest assured, we will find him. This Mange fellow will pay.”
“He’ll pay all right, if it’s the last thing I do,” Thane said.
The big question was how many more would die before he and Angelique could kill him for good? As much as he wanted to wait a bit longer before they mated, things were heating up too fast for that luxury.
Angelique’s jaw had clenched, and he could only guess what she was going through. She probably believed this was all her fault somehow.
He turned toward her. “How long did it take you to go from your realm to ours?” It might be as quick as the portal jump between here and Earth—which was almost instant—or it could take days.
“One second. Why?”
Shit. “I was just trying to figure out if Mange exited your realm with you, or if he came at a different time.”
“The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that Fate let him out. I believe I would have sensed him if he’d come with me, despite the short duration of the trip.”
As long as he lived, Thane might never understand the universe and its mysterious ways. He stood and then took her hand as she got up as well. “Let’s go back to the safe house and forget about all of this for one night—if we can,” he said.
Her smile came out weak. “I’d like that, but I’ll need something to distract me.” Angelique planted a hand on his chest.
That made him smile. “You’re speaking my language.”
They were halfway back to the safe house when her cell rang. Angelique checked the screen. “It’s Melissa.”
“Good. Maybe she can fill you in with what really happened.”
“Melissa, how are you?” Angelique said with a lot of concern in her voice. “I’m putting you on speaker so Thane can hear too.”
“I’m fine. Shannon is here with me also. We’re both good physically. Mentally, we’re still shaken.”
“I can only imagine. Tell me what happened.”
“It was terrifying. All I can say is thank goodness for that dragon shifter who put out the fire. People were yelling, smoke was pouring out of the kitchen, and…”
“Whoa. What? Slow down, and start from the beginning.”
“Okay, okay. When the fire started, I was in the office,” Melissa said.
“And I was working the cash register,” Shannon chimed in.
“Did you see anyone suspicious, like someone heading to the kitchen around the time of the blaze?” Angelique asked. “I know the bathrooms are down the hallway, but something might have seemed off.”
“No. I had no idea anything was wrong until I heard a commotion in the kitchen. It sounded like pots crashing,” Shannon said. “When I went to check it out, I found Donald on the floor out cold with a spatula still in his hand. His lip was split as if someone had punched him. Just as I bent down to see if I could help, I smelled the smoke. It wasn’t long before I realized the stove was on fire.”
“Did you try to put it out?” Angelique asked.
“Yes, but the fire extinguisher wasn’t where it normally is.”
Angelique looked over at Thane. He failed to unclench his jaw or release his tight grip on the wheel. He wanted to destroy Mange worse than anything.
“I checked the extinguisher the other day,” Angelique said.
“I know you did. The arsonist must have done something with it. I was about to call for help when I was hit on the head.”
Angelique nearly dropped her cell. “Oh, my goddess. You said you were all right.”
“I am now.”
“Oh, Shannon. I’m so sorry.”
