Read Online Fire Danger by Claire Davon - Free Book Online Page B

She staggered a little, and Phoenix went to her, putting his arms around her.
    “Twenty minutes,” Phoenix said, and his voice had a rough quality, as if he had been shouting.
    Rachel breathed out a sigh of relief—there was no evidence that she’d set anything on fire. The room held the heavy scent of char, and Griffin went to the sliding glass door and flung it open. Cooler air rushed in, gliding over her heated body.
    “Interesting.” Oddly, Griffin seemed more relaxed, as if whatever had just happened had made sense to him.
    “Explain,” Phoenix said. “What are you thinking? We know she’s not dragon. They do not mate with humans.” There was something else behind the word dragon that left Rachel wondering what the beasts did do.
    Griffin’s look held a wealth of shared history and experience.
    The feel of Phoenix’s wings was an unexpected sensual pleasure. They were warm and soft, with just a hint of danger at the tips and along the tendons. Those same muscles could break bones, but they also protected her and kept her safe.
    “She is not Cherufe either.” Griffin’s lips curved at the look on Rachel’s face. “A being of rock and magma. You’re definitely not a hellhound, and if you were a Lampad you would gravitate to the evening more. Hecate always liked her maidens to come out only at night. You may be driving Phoenix mad, but for different reasons. There is only one possible explanation.”
    Rachel felt Phoenix tense and she grew still. While the buzzing in her ears had receded, her mind was whirling. She was on the precipice of something huge, something that would change her life irrevocably.
    The thought came to her unbidden. Change it or…make it right.
    “Ifrit,” Griffin said, and although the word meant nothing to her, it echoed inside. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
    She snorted, drawing a quick look from Phoenix. “What is an Ifrit? Wouldn’t I know if I were a…a…whatever an Ifrit is? Phoenix leaned forward, his casual attitude at odds with the fierceness of his eyes. For a moment Rachel thought that they had changed color and shone with an amber cast. Then the image was gone.
    Rachel tried to stay calm as the heat of anger rose in her. Phoenix’s wing stroked her, soothing the jagged edges of her temper.
    Unaccountably, Griffin chuckled, and Phoenix relaxed slightly.
    “You’re a cool one. I’ll give you that.” Griffin said.
    “She’s a hot one. Rachel, a line of flame ran from your hands up your arms and down your torso. You are fire, which explains much.” Phoenix continued to hold her, stroking her arm as if soothing a scared cat.
    “Fire calls to fire,” Griffin said, and his tone was flat.
    “It’s very sexy.” Phoenix’s mental voice was husky, his eyes lingering on her breasts.
    “Kids.”
    She flushed guiltily and saw a similar stain on Phoenix’s cheeks. She noticed with pleasure the hardening of his strong length as his penis pressed against his jeans.
    Griffin made a disgusted sound and clicked his tongue. “Phoenix, you may be twice as old as me, but at least I know how to shield my thoughts when aroused.”
    “You’ve had more practice than me.”
    Griffin studied her for a minute and then rose. Leaning over to where she and Phoenix were sitting, he brushed a hand over his eyes. “Rachel.” He still had that flat quality to his voice. “The world is at stake. You came out of nowhere as Challenge was starting. Che coincidenza! as we would say in Italian. A fire being showing up at the fire Elemental’s door is too neat. We haven’t survived this long by being stupid.”
    She put aside that she knew nothing about what an Ifrit was. She would find out. Rachel turned to Phoenix. “I thought you were immortal.”
    “Elementals have extremely long lives, but we’re not immortal. We can be killed.”
    His voice was so matter-of-fact, Phoenix might have been discussing a grocery list. Rachel held up her hand. “Stop. Just stop. I