Phoenix Burning Read online

  He wasn’t certain why he worried about Phoenix. It wasn’t as if she were some mortal woman who would be almost helpless if confronted by a mugger. Tantric vampires had the strength, stamina and powers of regular vampires and pity the man who thought he’d found an easy mark. That made his lips curve.

  Until he realized that she was hunting.

  He choked back a string of curses. This complicated things. He’d noticed her becoming more and more nocturnal since he’d moved in, but he hadn’t realized she’d reach this point so quickly. The idea of Phoenix feeding on the orgasmic energy of any other man made his fangs drop. It was purely possessive—a vampire male ready to fight for what was his.

  Ivar clenched his fists, retracted his fangs and swallowed the growl. The streets here were empty, but he didn’t have much time to make a decision—did he watch her feed from another man or did he offer up himself as her prey?

  Sex got knocked off center stage as Ivar felt a flicker strum his senses. It was light, a mere whisper against his nape, but it caught his notice.

  He’d been so locked on Phoenix that he’d forgotten all about scanning the vicinity for potential threats. It was a stupid mistake. Reading energy was second nature to vampires, but whoever—whatever—he’d picked up was trying to hide himself from detection. He simply wasn’t quite powerful enough to remain completely invisible, not with Ivar’s strength.

  Now that he was paying attention, the brief shimmers were as distracting as a strobe light. Scowling, Ivar pushed out farther with all his being, trying to pick up additional information, but the identity of the other remained unknown.

  Not a human, that much was obvious. Only the wizards had the ability to block him and he was certain this wasn’t a wizard, not with the telltale crackle of magic missing from the short flashes he discerned.

  Vampire or demon?

  He didn’t know, but what Ivar sensed was pure malevolence and without question it was aimed at the woman walking ahead of him. His talons extended from his fingers, and this time when his fangs dropped, he didn’t force them to recede.

  Someone meant Phoenix harm and no damn way would he allow anyone to hurt her.

  Chapter Three

  Ivar scowled. The protectiveness he felt for Phoenix was unwelcome, but it couldn’t be denied. Even as he shook his head over his idiocy, he tried to locate the threat. The flashing energy might have caught his attention, but it also made it difficult for him to pinpoint where the stalker had concealed himself.

  Studying the area, Ivar tried to use his years as a warrior, his centuries as an enforcer, to narrow the options. In a fraction of a second, he took in the trees and bushes, the underground parking garages, the shadowy doorways and alleys, and grimly realized there was no shortage of good cover. The enemy could be anywhere and could attack Phoenix from any direction.

  She continued walking and the distance between them widened far enough that Ivar had to battle his instincts. He wanted to be beside her, ready to defend her, and he couldn’t be. He needed to stay back, to ensure that he didn’t leave himself vulnerable when the attack came.

  And it would come. His instincts said as much and they were too finely honed to dismiss.

  He knew when the hunter moved to keep pace with Phoenix and Ivar trailed behind them, still searching. The fact that his adversary was mobile ruled out a few of the hiding places he’d tagged as possibilities, but it didn’t eliminate enough of them to make a difference in his tactics.

  The clouds that covered the moon thickened, leaving the streetlights as the only illumination as Phoenix approached a corner. Once she turned, she’d be on a street with a lot more activity. Ivar flexed his talons and shifted, putting more weight on the balls of his feet, preparing himself to run. To fight. His instincts weren’t wrong.

  At the first hint of motion, he raced toward Phoenix. Her surprise made her slow to react, and even with his preternatural speed, Ivar knew she’d be on her own for a few seconds, long enough for her to be hurt badly.

  Long enough for her to die.

  But in less than an instant, Phoenix began to defend herself. She wasn’t practiced in hand-to-hand combat, that was obvious, but she wasn’t cowering.

  Long, sharp talons slashed toward her throat. Raising her forearm, Phoenix blocked the blow.

  Blood dripped from her arm and Ivar dug for more speed. He reached her in time to prevent a second strike. Grabbing the assailant by the shoulder, Ivar spun him around.

  Masked. A vampire then, he decided although the other continued to shield his energy. A demon wouldn’t need to conceal his identity, but another vampire might.

  Talons raked toward his eyes.

  Ivar knocked the strike off target, but the tips ripped his cheek open. He grunted and put the pain out of his mind. Vampires healed fast and his body had already begun to repair the damage.

  He used his own talons, striking with speed and accuracy. The vampire connected with his chest, his arms, even his jeans, but Ivar ignored the blows and focused on his next attack.

  Phoenix, though, growled her outrage and leaped at the enemy. She didn’t have fangs, but she had claws. They were short, but looked as sharp as his own. The masked vampire spun clear. But Phoenix had slashed with power and the lack of contact left her off balance, staggering to remain standing.

  The need to go to Phoenix, to help her steady herself overwhelmed Ivar for an instant, long enough for the assailant to regroup.

  A few seconds too late, he plunged after his enemy, but the delay cost Phoenix. The talons sliced open her sweater, leaving ragged slits in the weave. An instant later he saw the blood flowing from her wounds.

  A red haze coated Ivar’s mind. No one hurt Phoenix and got away with it. He launched himself at the bastard.

  His assault held little finesse, but he fought with the ferocity of a berserker. His claws and fangs tore at flesh, uncaring where he struck, only that he caused maximum damage. And the other vampire continued to try to get through him, continued to try to reach Phoenix.

  Ivar’s rage grew. Emotion had no place in battle—he knew this—and yet he couldn’t tamp it down.

  The tip of his claw nicked an artery.

  His enemy hissed. Not a sound of pain, but one of frustration, and then turned and ran. Ivar tensed, ready to pursue, ready to hunt down the attacker and tear him to pieces, but a soft touch ran over his back. Because it was Phoenix, he didn’t snarl and bare his fangs, but it took time to pull back from the blood lust.

  He turned toward her. “Why’d you stop me?” he asked when his mind cleared enough to form a sentence.

  “Because you’re hurt.”

  It was only then that Ivar became aware of the dozens of cuts covering his body. A few were deep enough to have bled copiously, but all had already begun to heal and none of them were serious. Ivar shook his head. “You should have let me go after him while he was weakened, before he had a chance to heal from that final blow.”

  “It was a woman, not a man,” Phoenix said.

  That shocked Ivar into momentary silence and he ran through everything he could remember about the attacker. Nothing said female to him. “Many male vampires are relatively short.”

  “Yes.” She hesitated, then asked, “Do you know what I am?”

  He didn’t bother to play dumb. “I know.”

  “Then you’re aware that I don’t feel things the same way that you do and that male and female energy reads very differently to me. The vampire who jumped me was a woman, there’s no question about it.”

  Ivar filed that information away in his brain, but before he could ask any more questions, Phoenix came closer, and for the first time, he noticed she wore no bra. Her hard nipples peaked through the holes in her sweater. A different kind of haze swamped him, driving all thoughts of the other vampire out of his head. He retracted his talons and teeth, not wanting to risk hurting her.

  As he scented her arousal, his own body reacted. Things fell into place. She’d stopped him
from pursuit because of this, because adrenaline had pushed her desire to feed to the point of no return. To the point where she couldn’t wait long enough to find someone else.

  He growled low in his throat. As if he’d allow any other man to touch her. He’d fought for her, would have killed to keep her safe. She was his.

  Phoenix continued forward until she invaded his space. She didn’t ask permission before reaching out and stroking his cock through his jeans. He’d already been about half-hard, but she quickly coaxed him to full erection. Her eyes never left his, trying to read him, his willingness, and his state of excitement. He met her gaze without flinching and did his own studying.

  Her skin was flushed, her eyes darkened. His attention drifted downward, lingering on her breasts again, before heading farther south. Her skirt was short, making her legs seem impossibly long, but he didn’t linger over his admiration. Phoenix had her thighs clenched tightly together and was shifting, giving herself pleasure as she stroked him. He put his hands on her hips, holding her in place. “No, my little tantric. The next time you orgasm, it will be while I’m deep inside you, not from your rocking.”

  “Hurry,” she demanded and arched her hips, trying to push herself against him.

  Ivar relaxed his grip and Phoenix immediately pressed her body into his. The sensation of her nipples brushing his chest through their shredded clothes all but shattered what little remained of his control.

  Wrapping his arms more firmly around her, he lowered his head to kiss her. Her mouth opened beneath his before he could ask for entry and he teased her tongue with his own. He wasn’t going to be able to hold on much longer and she was new to this. Curses ran through his brain, but it did nothing to calm him.

  He pulled his mouth from hers. “How careful do I need to be?”

  “What?”

  Ivar nearly growled again. “I know you’re newly Awakened. How careful do I need to be?”

  The confusion cleared from her eyes. “I’ve used vibrators, dildos. Take me as hard and fast as you want.”

  Chapter Four

  Phoenix felt the final threads of his self-command snap, but it didn’t prepare her for the way his blue eyes morphed white. Or nearly white. There was a slight bluish tint to the color of his irises and they were outlined in black, but it was freaky. The unease didn’t last long; there was too much need.

  He shifted his hold, and with a burst of speed, pressed her against the wall of the nearest building. His arms took the brunt of the impact, but Phoenix couldn’t stop a soft gasp.

  His mouth covered hers. She expected his kiss to be a demand, but instead he coaxed. It threw her mentally off kilter, and she reached out, resting her hands on his shoulders, using them to anchor her body. Hard muscle tempted her and Phoenix closed her eyes and leaned into Ivar. She opened her mouth, inviting him deeper. His tongue traced along her bottom lip and a sigh escaped her as she allowed him to take more of her weight.

  It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She’d told him hard and fast, he’d driven her into the wall and pressed his body into hers. Why was he wasting time?

  Moaning her frustration, her desire, Phoenix stroked his shoulders. That small touch ignited an undeniable craving to caress all of him. Her hands trailed down his back, paused at his waist and then slid downward. Ivar caught her hand before she could stroke his cock. She wanted to protest, couldn’t find the words, and settled for a growl.

  He raised his head, dark hair falling over his eyes. She forgot to breathe. He wasn’t going slowly because he didn’t want her, that was plain to see.

  “Hurry,” she said, her voice hardly more than a whisper.

  “When I’m good and ready.” His hands pulled her as close to his lower body as she could get without them being naked. Without him being inside her.

  “You said you knew what I was. I need to feed. I’ll die if I don’t.”

  “No, you won’t.” Ivar’s smile showed a small amount of fang had lowered. “We’ll both be coming long before you’re in danger of starvation.”

  He stepped back.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, but before she could complain, he pulled her into a shadowy doorway.

  “We don’t want the LAPD interrupting us and having sex on the street is a good way to get arrested.”

  Phoenix shook herself enough to look around. Maybe they weren’t on the sidewalk, but the alcove wasn’t deep and they were directly across from a large apartment building. A curtain fell back into place and she spotted a few faces at other windows. Instead of worrying her, it sent a shiver through her body and her nipples became harder. She tugged his T-shirt out of his jeans and sent her hands under the fabric. His skin seemed to burn her, that’s how hot he was. “No more teasing,” she said, her tone almost an order.

  “Patience, young one.”

  Patience my ass. She reached for the zipper of his jeans, pulled it down and discovered he’d gone commando. Phoenix’s fingers tightened around the hard shaft of his cock and began to stroke. A shudder went through him, but she couldn’t appreciate it, not with her own need going from blaze to inferno.

  Ivar freed himself from her grip, imprisoned both her wrists above her head, and used his free hand to torment her. His thumb brushed her breasts where the torn sweater left her exposed before gently pinching her left nipple. Phoenix arched, wordlessly inviting more. He ignored her. She was thrashing against the door, all but insensible, and he was playing with her, denying her.

  “More.” There was nothing but command in her voice. “Now.” Breaking free of his grip, Phoenix jumped at Ivar. She caught him off balance and drove him into the wall on his side of the doorway.

  Grasping his shirt in both hands, she tugged until the fabric ripped, leaving his chest exposed. He caught her before she could rip his snap open. “So be it,” he said as he opened his jeans. Without hesitating, Ivar tugged up her skirt, exposing her except for the tiny thong. That didn’t stay in place long before he drew it aside.

  He slipped a finger between the lips of her pussy and ran it up and down, brushing her clit enough to make her shiver.

  “More.”

  His gaze was locked on her face, his fangs completely extended as he slid a finger into her, then a second one. Ivar pushed in and pulled out, fucking her with his hand. Her moan was serrated, rough and unsteady as he drove her higher. And still she needed more. She needed his pleasure, his arousal, his orgasm. The noise she made wasn’t human. Phoenix released him and took hold of denim, sending his jeans down his thighs. His cock jutted out, the crown moist with pre-come.

  Riding his hand, she shimmied, rubbing her breasts against his chest, letting the light sprinkling of hair abrade her nipples. “Not enough,” she gritted out between gasping breaths. “Fuck me.”

  Ivar pulled his hand back. Her juices were on his fingers, in the palm of his hand—she could see the glow in the streetlight. He licked one finger, his eyes sliding half-shut. “Next time,” he promised.

  Her breath hitched in her throat. The idea of his going down on her made her even wetter. Phoenix could almost imagine his beard teasing the inside of her thighs, marking her.

  Claiming her.

  With the hand he’d used on her, Ivar stroked himself, spreading her moisture over his shaft. Her knees gave out then, but he caught her before she fell.

  His hard body pressed her into the wall, his hot cock sliding along her stomach. Ivar slid a hand down her thigh until he reached a point just above her knee and lifted, hooking her leg around his waist. Now his head teased her clit and Phoenix all but melted into him.

  Sweat beaded his brow, dampened his hair. “Now,” she said, the word more air than sound.

  For an instant, his knuckles brushed her belly and then he was guiding himself inside her. Phoenix tipped her head down to watch. Beautiful. The sight of his cock halfway in her pussy was the most perfect thing she’d ever seen. She rocked forward, trying to take him deeper. “Hurry, damn it.”

  Iva
r thrust, not stopping until he was balls-deep inside her. Phoenix let her head drop back, allowing her body tell him how much she loved it.

  He pulled back and then fucked forward, moving more powerfully with each stroke into her. Yes, this was what she wanted. What she needed. Hell, what she’d been fantasizing about since he’d moved next door.

  His cock. So big. So hard. So perfect.

  Her eyes shut and she could do nothing except feel. Nothing except keen every time his balls slapped into her skin.

  His lips grazed her chin, moved to her jaw, and Phoenix tipped her head to give him better access. His fangs pinched the skin of her neck, but before she could do more than figure out what had caused the sensation, he pierced her. The pain was momentary and on its heels came the most excruciatingly intense—

  The orgasm took her by surprise. But the twin possession by fangs and cock was too much for her. “Come for me,” she murmured against his ear as he continued to drive into her. “Come now.”

  Phoenix sensed his own orgasm bearing down on him. Her receptors came out, plunged into his aura, ready. Waiting.

  Ivar tensed and as the ripples of pleasure tore through him, Phoenix fed. She drank deeply, taking and taking until she was completely sated. She lolled back against the wall, eyes shut. He licked the wounds on her neck, closing them, although there was no need—her body had begun to heal the instant he’d withdrawn his teeth.

  His cock remained half-hard, still pressing insistently into her pussy.

  “Now that we’ve entertained about half a dozen neighbors,” he said, “let’s go back to the apartment and fuck a little slower.”

  That forced Phoenix out of her lethargy. There was nothing she wanted more than to spend a week in bed with him, having nonstop sex, but even though she’d fed tonight and fed deeply, she’d still take from him whenever they pleasured each other.

  It was too dangerous for him.