Homecoming (Fire Cursed Book 2) Read online

  CJ grabbed my forearm.

  I stared at the flames near enough to my face to feel the heat, and the shock of it sent a chill through me. The fire went out, and I looked beyond my hand at CJ’s concerned stare.

  “Let’s try something different.”

  “Okay,” I said, relieved when he led me to the lounge chairs and took a seat on one, indicating for me to sit on the one next to him.

  “We are going to try to isolate the grace within you. You have both Lucifer’s grace and Raphael’s grace. I’ve got Michael’s, Gabriel’s, and Uriel’s grace. I’m going to pull Michael’s into my hand, and I want you to try to pull Raphael’s out, okay?”

  I was glad he hadn’t asked me to pull Lucifer’s because I wasn’t sure I could without causing major damage at a cellular level.

  “Think of your hand as a magnet and the grace as a cluster of steel pieces inside you. First, close your eyes and imagine those pieces pulling together into a tight ball in the center of your being.”

  I closed my eyes and concentrated, using each inhale as a sweep of more pieces of the fragmented light shone in the center of my body. With each breath, I could feel that mass growing, solidifying into a power source all on its own.

  “Now the magnet,” he said.

  I put my hand over my chest, and I arched into the pull. The orb inside nearly flew out of me like a grenade launcher. Heat fanned my hand, and I opened my eyes. The bright glow of grace radiated from between my hand and my chest.

  I glanced at CJ and the equal ball of light trapped between his hand and his body. He grinned.

  “Now push it back in.” He pushed the light back into his chest, and light radiated outward from his skin before settling back to his usual aura. His quirky grin matched Alex’s.

  I repeated his actions, and the same anomaly occurred. My skin shone like a beacon before fading back to my normal hue.

  “That looked pretty effortless for you.” He glanced across the expanse of the backyard at the can of beer he had placed on the rock wall and tapped his palm. “Magnet,” he said and aimed his palm at the beer. “Aluminum.” The beer can flew across the yard and into his waiting hand.

  I got the concept that he was trying to teach me, and I glanced at the partially melted Gatorade bottle sitting on the rock wall. I put out my hand, hoping I didn’t make the thing explode or something equally as embarrassing as the rest of the day had been. The power I’d used to pull the bits of grace into a ball flared, and I tapped into it, imagining my hand as a strong magnet.

  The bottle trembled on the rocks, then burst into flames and fell into the ocean on the other side of the wall. I stared at the spot as my mouth popped open. I hadn’t shot a flame over the distance. I had envisioned it coming to me the way his can had come to him.

  CJ pressed his lips together. I couldn’t tell whether he was aggravated or suppressing a smile. “Well. That was certainly interesting.”

  I closed my hands into fists. “I tried...”

  He put his hand up, and I quieted.

  “I know you tried. But the opposite of what you wanted happened. What happened was what you actually hoped wouldn’t. I think your underlying expectations are sabotaging your powers.”

  I huffed and crossed my arms. “Don’t psychoanalyze me.”

  I yawned. All this work was making me tired, and I had no idea why I couldn’t just do things as easily as Tom considering I’d absorbed his power.

  “You need to master this shit,” CJ said. “Because a storm is coming that I don’t think you’ll be able to weather without using these powers.” He sighed and rubbed his face.

  “My dad is right,” Alex said, moving my legs to the side so he could sit on the chair with me. “You need to figure out why it worked yesterday with the car doors and again with my bedroom door. Once you figure out why it worked in those situations, then maybe you’ll be closer to the key.” He took my hands in his, and the heat in my palms cooled.

  I squeezed his hands. If only I knew what I had done in each case.

  I met his gaze as the truth clicked. “You are the common denominator.”

  Alex laughed.

  I pulled my right hand out of his grip and pointed my palm towards the wall, wishing for the bottle to come to my hand. When the blackened plastic catapulted across the lawn like a stray bullet, my eyes widened.

  It crashed into my hand, and the sea water still coating the plastic sprayed us. I stared at it and then dropped it like it was still on fire. My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t have Alex with me when I faced off against my father.

  I looked at CJ. His expression matched my horror.

  I pulled my other hand out of Alex’s and met his gaze. “You can’t be near me when I try to take down Lucifer.”

  “Faith,” he started.

  I shook my head. “No. I’m not going to let him get his filthy hands on you. Understand?” My nightmare flooded back, and I shivered. I swallowed hard and got up, then walked across the blackened grass to sit on the rock wall. I crossed my legs and stared out at the ocean towards the light house where Tom and I had dumped my mother’s ashes.

  I needed my mom. Tears tugged at my eyes.

  “Faith.” Alex’s hand landed on my shoulder. “I can hold my own against Lucifer.”

  I glanced up at him and then over where we had been sitting. CJ had left us alone, but I already knew his thoughts on the matter. He knew better than anyone here. He wanted Alex as far away from the devil as humanly possible. And I couldn’t have agreed more.

  “No, you can’t. Even with all the power your dad has, he still got duped by Lucifer, so you haven’t got a prayer against him. And if he gets his hands on you...” I shook my head and glanced out at the ocean again. “I can’t let you walk into the devil’s lair with me.”

  He sat next to me and tilted my chin so I would look at him. “If you go, I go.”

  I went to speak, but he covered my lips with his. The kiss muffled my thoughts. By the time he pulled away, my mind was swimming with the connection between us.

  “If you go, I go.” There was no leeway in his tone, or the tight set of his jaw. “If you die, I die,” he added softly. “I don’t want to be left here without you. I’m still me when you are around.”

  He had said that before but this time, I was privy to his thoughts, his fears. He wasn’t kidding. The small amount of time I was away with Tom, he had lost the capacity to feel emotion. That was only hours.

  I caressed his cheek. “I can’t have you with me. I can’t chance it.”

  His gaze grew hard, and he stood up. Before he could march back to the house in anger, I grabbed his hand. He stared down at the connection and then at me, unswayed by my physical contact.

  “If Lucifer gets you and possesses you, I do die. I’ve seen what April has seen and it’s horrifying.” I blinked back the sudden sheen of tears and looked away. “I know you’re scared. I feel it every time you are near me, but I... I can’t.” I swiped at my hot cheeks and met his gaze. “I care too much about you.” Both desperation and a darker component of the grace inside gripped me like an icy vise.

  “I resisted him at Bridget’s house, so what makes you think I won’t be able to do that again?”

  “You were locked in the car.”

  He laughed and looked out at the water. “He didn’t try to coerce me when I was in the car. It didn’t happen until I was in the house just far enough away from my father that he chanced it.” He pulled his hand out of mine and crossed his arms. “We aren’t ever going to agree on this.”

  I fisted my hands, frustrated with his lack of understanding. I wondered if he would be this way with his soul, and deep down in my core, I knew soul or no soul, this is who he was. He would never let someone protect him from harm.

  “Damn it, Ty,” I whispered.

  He froze in place, and the smile that appeared flashed in one of the memories I’d downloaded from Tom, another gift, along with the transference of his powers. Alex
looked exactly like his grandfather had. I had no idea whose memories I possessed, but that grin and the light, impish, dancing in his eyes was a mirror image.

  His reaction was immediate, and he stepped close. “You really shouldn’t use my given name unless you mean it,” he purred in my ear and then licked a line down the side of my neck.

  The sudden switch from anger to seduction spun my head and warmed my skin.

  “Alex.” The sharp call from the house interrupted whatever had ignited.

  A cloud of irritation passed over his eyes, and he turned, staring at his father in the doorway. The tight set of his jaw was back, and he headed towards the house in that funky, aggravated mood again.

  “What am I going to do about you?” I whispered, staring at his back. My gaze lowered to his tight pants. I looked away, but not before the urge to ravage him surfaced.

  I stood and started across the yard, but motion from the property next door made my heart pound. I turned and started to raise my hands.

  “Don’t. It’s Naomi,” CJ snapped, and I closed my hands.

  I didn’t feel like talking at all, so I bypassed CJ and the crew in the family room, including Bridget, and headed down into the quiet of the cellar.

  Before I could slump on the couch, Alex grabbed me around the waist and backed me into the computer room to the farthest corner where access to their panic room resided. He pressed the code and maneuvered me into the dark room before I could drum up an argument. The door closed, encasing us in blackness, although Alex’s aura was bright enough for me to see his face. He navigated to the far wall and pushed me down on the couch.

  His aura was in chaos, dark and light pulses. Reds predominantly swirled, announcing his mood like a wild tribal beacon. He ripped at my shirt, tearing buttons off as often as unthreading them.

  “I need you,” he whispered against my lips, and then crushed down in a kiss that was part passion and part desperation.

  I had a door into his mind, and heat filled every inch of me at his explicit thoughts. Moments flashed like an iconic movie in my mind, bringing with them the embarrassment of walking in on someone, but also the heat of the greatest love story this side of heaven.

  Would our story be as brutal? Would it be full of a love so deep neither of us could breathe without the other?

  I gasped as he kissed my throat and moved lower and lower, peeling off clothing as he went. I couldn’t reconcile the ancient memories with the insistence of Alex’s hands and mouth. It all blended into one blinding moment when Alex penetrated me, claiming me, making me nearly cry out in the dark. His irises nearly glowed, and the colors threading through his aura heated as much as I did.

  We moved like we belonged together, frantic at first, then languid as if we had all the time in the world. His kisses became soft and as loving as his caresses.

  “I need you, Faith,” he whispered. “Even more than I love you.” His voice squeezed tight and his arms followed. “Oh Christ.”

  Everything inside me exploded into an array of lights, blinding me. I clenched my fists, praying. For what, I didn’t know.

  Not to harm Alex, not to forget this heavenly feeling, not to burn the house down. But most of all, I prayed I would experience this magic again.

  Chapter 6

  Alex stayed on top of me, just running his fingers through my hair and tracing my lips. He sighed. “I wish I could see your face.”

  I put my hand out over the open space and willed my flame to lick my fingers. The soft glow lit up the room, and he glanced at my hand and then smiled at me.

  “I forget you can do shit like that.”

  He had no idea that I could see him throughout. His rapture, his absolute bliss washed over me like a gentle wave. I was sure I would have never hit that plateau that had reached almost a religious experience without him.

  I couldn’t speak. I was too choked with emotion. I hadn’t anticipated our first time to be so frantic and beautiful at the same time. I also knew we were in a ton of trouble.

  Alex traced my lips, his eyes tracking his motions, and he sighed, meeting my gaze. “My dad knows, doesn’t he?”

  It wasn’t totally framed as a question so I shrugged. I didn’t want to run into a lecture right now. I just wanted to feel him against me for just a little longer.

  “Are you okay?” he asked after studying me.

  “Yes and no,” I whispered, and closed my eyes at the concern that bloomed in his gaze and the thoughts galloping through his head. “I would have said no if I didn’t want this, Alex,” I said, my voice snippy at the direction of his thoughts.

  Worry bled from him making his shoulders sag with relief. “So why aren’t you okay?”

  My chin quivered. “Because now that nightmare is so much worse.” Tears blurred my vision, and I bit my lower lip. “There is no way in hell I’m letting you anywhere near either of them.” I kissed him, silencing whatever argument he had lined up.

  I sobbed with the kiss, and he hugged me, pulling us into a sitting position with my legs still wrapped around him. I closed my fist around the flame lighting the room.

  “I want to see you,” he said.

  I glanced towards the light switch, wishing I could reach. Lights flooded the room and I looked up at the ceiling and back to him.

  “That is really handy when it works,” I mumbled.

  He ran his hands through my hair, pushing it away from my face before he got a clear look at my chest. His blue eyes glistened with interest, and when he glanced back up at me, he tilted his head to the side. A slow smile spread across his lips, accentuated with deep dimples.

  “Say my name again,” he whispered in the huskiest of tones.

  “Ty Alexander Ryan,” I replied slowly.

  His look smoldered in a way that was way too raw, too powerful for a sixteen-year-old.

  Enough!

  I winced at the volume of CJ’s voice in my head. From Alex’s tightened grip on my hips, I knew he heard it too. Any heat between us fled with the anger in that single word.

  “No. It’s not enough,” Alex growled under his breath and met my stare.

  His hips circled under me, but I was too terrified at the ramifications of not listening to his father to respond in kind. I climbed off him, frantically gathering my clothes.

  “Shit,” Alex mumbled as he looked at the couch. He glanced at me and ran a hand down his face. He nodded towards another door. “You might want to clean up in the bathroom,” he said, his cheeks blooming as red as the thin streaks on my legs.

  I felt like I should’ve been embarrassed, but there was something completely disarming about Alex’s half smile and shrug. He was totally endearing. I crossed to the bathroom, glanced in the small pantry for a wash cloth, and then cleaned myself up.

  My shirt hung on my frame. Half the buttons were missing, and I stepped out into the room, holding the soiled towel. The couch had no sign of a stain, and I cocked my head at Alex.

  “I turned the cushion over. I’ll have to clean it up at some point, but not right now. Right now, we are going to get reamed. But it was worth it.” He came to where I stood and cupped my face between his palms, then kissed me with the same bravado as he had earlier. “Marry me,” he said when our lips parted.

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. We were only sixteen. There was no getting married and having a happily ever after, at least not yet.

  “You don’t want to marry me?”

  “Someday I do.”

  Then why did you laugh? His thought filled my head as he searched my eyes.

  “We are only sixteen.”

  “Then marry me on my eighteenth birthday.”

  “Ask me on your eighteenth birthday, and then we can have this discussion. My wedding day is not going to be on either one of our birthdays.” I pulled out of his arms and headed towards the door at the far end of the room. There was no door handle. Keypad tones rang, and the door whooshed open.

  CJ stood on the other side, his arms crossed
so tight I thought his shirt was going to rip. His eyes blazed, and when they landed on his son’s barely concealed grin, I thought CJ was going to slug Alex.

  “Don’t give me that look. You lost your virginity when you were my age.” Alex crossed his arms. His cocky gaze was enough to set anyone over the edge, and I wasn’t sure he realized just how close his father was to flying off the handle.

  “Not under my roof.”

  “No. It was under her parents’ roof,” I blurted as the memory barreled from the mental file cabinets. I blinked and threw my hand over my mouth.

  CJ glared at me.

  I could feel my eyes widening despite my attempt at playing it cool. Memories were just coming forth willy-nilly. It was irritating that I couldn’t clamp down on my mouth in response.

  Alex burst out laughing. “Really?”

  I nodded and more information poured out. “He got caught, too.”

  CJ’s face reddened, but it wasn’t from embarrassment. He grabbed both our arms and hauled us back into the room. The panic door closed behind us, locking us inside with him.

  If I hadn’t been scared before, I was when the sofa cushion flew across the room.

  CJ pointed at Alex. “You are going to clean that up. Understand?” His teeth clenched so hard that I thought they might crack.

  “Yes, sir,” Alex said, but his amusement hadn’t abated.

  It was as if my mouth and his expression were tied together. I couldn’t stop the actual facts from pouring out as soon as they came forth, and Alex couldn’t stop smirking. The next set of images flashed forward, and I gasped.

  “Put your gloves on, Faith,” CJ said. This time his voice was cautious like he was talking someone off a high-rise ledge.

  Alex stepped behind me, and before I realized what was happening in the present, his hands wrapped around mine, closing them into tight fists.

  “Tom didn’t have a tongue?” A litany of memories assaulted me, blinking off like a gruesome slide show. The things my father did were awful, but this family had been through much more at the hands of humans.

  “What’s happening?” Alex asked, his voice strained and very far away.