Firebinders: Marek (The Firebinders Book 1) Read online

  Marek watched his friend’s retreating back. His eyes darted to see Gwen looking at him before she quickly turned to speak to Zac.

  He bowed his head, hands on his hips.

  He was losing time.

  ****

  Gwen’s brain was too tired to continue. Her train of thought kept looping around the blood needing a separate component to make it work but she could no longer fathom what it meant. It was way past nine in the evening and hadn’t it been for Zac asking if she wanted to call it a night she would have continued and fallen asleep in front of her laptop. She could have resumed the next day but after making a fool of herself for the second time over a man, she wanted to finish her research and give her findings to Marek so that she could leave for good. Thinking about finally leaving slightly eased the weariness seeping into her body. She was conscious once more of Marek working on his own laptop in the living room. Rogue had left to watch over Lia once more and Hank had gone to meet with another client. Faith was out in the courtyard talking to her solicitor.

  Gwen stifled a yawn smiling tiredly at Zac. “Wish I had your stamina.”

  Zac’s mouth twitched. “You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

  She hitched a shoulder. “That’s how I am.” Then grimaced when she stretched. “I can’t wait to get some sleep.”

  They both stood just as Faith entered the dining room and Marek came in from the living room. Faith looked pissed.

  “Something wrong?” Zac enquired as he helped clear the lab. Vials went back inside the refrigeration unit. Papers that had been strewn over the table were stacked neatly into one place as Gwen logged off.

  “Nothing I can’t handle,” Faith replied. “It’s the London problem.”

  “Ah…” Zac’s face cleared. “It’ll sort itself out.”

  “Just what I thought.” Faith’s lips tilted.

  “Faith, mind if I talk to you in private?” Gwen asked as she closed her laptop’s lid.

  “Sure.” Faith disentangled herself from Zac’s side.

  Just as they stepped out into the starlit courtyard, Marek appeared.

  “Gwen, can we talk?”

  They all looked at Marek whose hands were in his pockets. Gwen wanted to leave and wanted to stay at the same time.

  “Please.”

  She stared at him, at his rigid jaw. She was angry at herself because she wanted to be furious at Marek. But when she saw his pleading gaze she couldn’t find it in her heart not to hear him out. Marek didn’t need to explain himself to her because who was she anyway? But her conscience taunted her for deep within her was her desire to be more than some random chick he saved and pleasured.

  “What was it you wanted to tell me?” Faith squeezed Gwen’s arm. “We can always talk tomorrow.”

  Gwen took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay. Tomorrow’s as good a time as any.”

  Faith wasn’t convinced, her face concerned. Her glance bounced between Gwen and Marek.

  “Are you sure?”

  Gwen nodded, hands on her hips so she could gently twist her body to relieve and stretch her spine. She knew her heart was in danger by staying in the house alone with Marek. Bloody hell, why was it so hard to leave? Why did a seed of hope have to show itself every time she thought of moving away from the man she couldn’t have?

  Marek visibly relaxed, thanking her with an imperceptible nod.

  When Zac and Faith left, Gwen crossed her arms over her chest. Like that was going to stop her heart’s hard thudding.

  “What did you want to talk about?”

  Marek raked a hand through his hair. “I want to apologize for last night.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about, Marek.” She looked down at her trainers. Her forehead puckered. When did the laces start to fray? She needed new pair.

  “Look at me, Gwen.”

  She squeaked in surprise when Marek appeared in front of her that she unconsciously stepped back.

  “I’m not with Lizette.”

  “Marek, please.” She puffed out a laugh. His nearness was starting to wreak havoc on her senses again. “You don’t have to explain anything. It’s nothing really.”

  “It is,” he said fiercely before he gently cupped the back of her neck. Shivers of pleasure shimmied up her spine. “We had something last night. I don’t want that to disappear when it’s not even had a chance to start.”

  Her heart softened and ached at his words. If only he didn’t hurt her.

  Suddenly Marek swore under his breath. “Stop!”

  “Stop what?” She looked up, startled.

  “I am not going to hurt you.”

  Her mouth hung open and irritation marred her brow. “Stop reading my bloody mind!”

  “How can I not read it when you’re starting to move away from me?”

  “Because nothing is going to come out of this,” she cried. She turned away so quickly, Marek let go of her.

  Gwen no longer knew what she thought or felt. Anger, sadness, and a host of other emotions in between. But God, she wanted to give in. Wanted to believe in the promises Marek hinted at.

  “Don’t move away from me, Gwen.” He whispered, “Please.”

  Her breath left her parted lips. Taking the path of least resistance was so easy whenever Marek used that deep velvety tone that never failed to make a quiver of pleasure trail down her spine.

  “Is this the southern hospitality I keep hearing about?”

  His mouth twitched but his eyes were serious. “Southern hospitality doesn’t extend to my bed.”

  She blinked as blood rushed to her face. Everything shrivelled inside her. Didn’t she have any shame?

  “Right.” She smiled brightly to hide her humiliation and hurt. Her laugh was brittle. “It’s getting late.”

  “Gwen…”

  She pivoted on her heel, making her way to her room. Something wet landed on her cheek and dropped on to her T-shirt, the cloth greedily absorbing it. Even before she reached the guest room the hot mess finally spilled from her eyes.

  “Gwen!”

  The lights from dining room partially illuminated the corridor but she didn’t need this to find her way to her room. Her face scrunched up as her emotions threatened to overpower her. She clamped her hand over her mouth when a sob rose from her throat.

  What did she fucking expect? That Marek would take her to his bloody bed?

  Put on your big girl panties and deal, Fraser! Just a few more days and you’ll be flying away to relative peace, safety, and obscurity And just maybe, you’ll be lucky enough not to leave your heart behind.

  But Gwen knew there wouldn’t be any peace after Marek. Only a scab over a painful memory she’d always remember until time robbed her of all thought.

  She stifled a scream when Marek caught her. Heart in her throat, her pulse beat faster than a hummingbird’s wings. Heartache, apprehension, and excitement filled her in equal measure.

  “Shit.” His eyes bored into her even in the dark at seeing the wet trails on her cheeks.

  She couldn’t stop staring at his eyes that pulled her into those orbs of blue green fire. Pain slashed his features before he brushed her tears from her cheeks. Gwen closed her eyes to lock the memory of Marek’s touch in her mind. So much for being a bloody rational scientist!

  “Why did you run away?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

  She leaned into his hand and he willingly gave it. Her heart folded unto itself as mortification threatened to overwhelm her.

  “I need to get sleep,” she said. The tide of unshed tears clogged her throat. She was being unreasonable, she knew that. But the spectre of her past relationship kept surfacing. She didn’t realise how deeply she had been affected by someone’s betrayal. She closed her hand around his. “Let me go.”

  Marek exhaled, tucking her hair behind her ear. He moved in, his lips making feather light kisses on her forehead. Even that innocent of kisses caused her to close her eyes in unrequited need.

  “Marek, are y
ou listening to me.” It was her turn to plead.

  “Yes, I am. But I won’t do what you want me to do.”

  “Why?”

  They were nose to nose. His mouth so tantalizingly close all Gwen had to do was tilt her head and his mouth would belong to her. The light in his eyes disappeared when he closed them and she would have felt as though she was all alone in the universe had it not been the warmth of his body and the fire in his hands. Gwen breathed him in, wishing she could bottle up his scent and take it with her.

  “Because I’ve tried,” he whispered. “And I can’t.”

  A bubble of hysterical laughter rose up from her throat. Wouldn’t she ever learn?

  “Yes you can’t. I still have to test your blood,” she said. “You’ll have my findings the moment my tests are done.” She pushed him away but it was like pushing against a wall. “Marek…”

  He pinned her with his body against the wall. Her body came alive as it recognized the one who owned it.

  “You didn’t let me finish.” His growl vibrated against her body. Instead of scaring her, the soundwaves ramped up her desire. “It isn’t southern hospitality that will take you to my bed, Gwen. It’s a firebinder’s one.”

  The he kissed her, teased her.

  Punished her.

  Her resistance crumbled as Marek demanded entry beyond her lips. She was caught up in the frenzy of his kiss, pulling him close by grasping the collar of his shirt. She opened up for him allowing his tongue to swipe against her own, fuelling the fires she kept banked the entire time she hurt. She acknowledged the weight of his body against hers, of his arousal, hard and stiff between them. Marek lifted her, her legs going around his waist. She gasped against his mouth when his shaft bumped against her wet sex. He coaxed her away from the path of a broken heart back to the strong yearning she was too tired to repel. Gwen tilted her mouth following Marek’s lips where he wanted her to go. He raised his head, their eyes meeting before looking down at her mouth. The next kiss rocked Gwen to the core. Her lips already bruised opened, unlocking the rest of herself for him. She moaned when she felt Marek’s hand cup the underside of her breasts before his thumbs rubbed her already hardened peaks. This was what she had craved since the moment Marek had her in the plane. Abandoning herself without having to worry about someone intruding on them.

  “Gwen…”

  Her arms unlocked around his neck, grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling it upwards, her thighs tightening around him. His scent intoxicated her with a need that defied even her own definition of need. She craved him with a fervour that scared her but which her body knew how to find. And she ached for him with a yearning her rational mind couldn’t even begin to understand. Marek undid her shirt to unclasp her bra and free her breasts only to reclaim them with his hands.

  “Beautiful…” he murmured huskily, dipping his mouth to take one pointed peak while rolling her other nipple in between two fingers as he cupped her breast.

  Her back arched against the wall and her eyes rolled back in bliss as she felt liquid heat gush from her. Marek’s arms supported her while his mouth laid claim to her peaks. She felt every detail of his tongue, the gentle abrasion of it against her flesh that brought bolts of pleasure down to her sex. Her hands clumsily trailed down his back, following the ridges and planes before she unlocked her thighs around his waist and stood, breaking his feast. Her hands fumbled for the button of his pants. Desire rocked her the minute she felt the upper part of his firm ass. Marek’s own hands were busy removing her own jeans, taking her panties with it. Without the encumbrance of clothes they explored each other. Gwen whimpered when Marek cupped her, his fingers rubbing her before taking its rightful place inside her. Marek sucked in a harsh breath the minute Gwen nipped at his skin and placed her own tongue against his nipple while she held his cock in her hand. A burning hunger to taste Marek filled her. Slowly she knelt in front of him, his shaft hard and long and his balls nestled against the dusting of hair. Shadows surrounded them but Gwen knew Marek could see her. She kept her gaze locked on him as she held his cock aloft and ran her tongue from the base to his bulbous tip before taking him into her mouth.

  He hissed, his body tensing.

  Her heart felt like bursting out of her chest, humbled by the power she had over him.

  He was huge and thick that she had to open her mouth wider. He was hard within a glove of soft skin that became taut under her hand’s movements. He tasted salty but her feelings for him added a certain sweetness to it. A sweetness that was bittersweet because what they had would eventually end. Still, she continued to give him pleasure because it fueled her own. Committing to memory Marek’s groans, every exhalation of breath, each hiss, every inch of flesh her mouth and tongue tasted and touched. She flicked her tongue against the thick vein that ridged his cock before pursing her lips to run them up and down his length like a flute before turning her attention to his balls. She conducted a rhythm that left Marek at her mercy. Her cheeks hollowed and her head bobbed, hands gripping his thighs. Marek twisted her hair around his hand keeping her tresses away so he could see. She let go of his cock when he held her head firmly and fucked her mouth, his flesh rubbing against its caverns. His breath caught in his throat when she moaned, keeping her steady as he bucked his hips slowly until the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat. She took over, sucking him faster.

  “Fuck, baby. I’m going to cum…” Marek tried to ease out of her mouth but she held fast. “Gwen!”

  She sucked him without let up, his shaft bumping the end of her throat until she heard his harsh groans and his warmth poured into her.

  Gwen closed her eyes, drinking in everything he gave and gently sucked for more, tears squeezing through at the happiness she felt.

  And for the loneliness that would follow.

  ****

  Marek’s knees nearly buckled at the force of his release. He was spent and incredibly satisfied and the thought of Gwen’s mouth around him made his cock twitch once more.

  Fuck.

  He slid down beside Gwen, his ass clenching against the cold hardwood floor. It was Gwen’s turn to stand up. She walked softly away from him, giving him an unimpeded view of her pert ass before she disappeared into the shadows and her door closed.

  He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.

  What the hell happened? Weren’t they getting it on like stones sparking to ignite an inferno? He was not even close to satisfying his lust for all things Gwen Fraser. She’d given him a blowjob he was not likely to forget. So why the hell did he feel as though he had gotten the shorter end of the stick? Reluctantly, he stood, bracing his hands against the wall behind him so that he didn’t stumble over his jeans and boxers that pooled around his ankles. He put them on once more and looked down at the clothes Gwen left behind. He knelt down, balancing on the balls of his feet while he folded her clothes like they were the most precious garments on earth. He left them neatly on the floor by the door to the guest room, like an offering to a goddess Marek sought favour from. Then he walked towards the courtyard in his bare feet.

  He ran his hands through his hair, feeling his muscles strain and stretch as he raised his arms. God, he needed a cigarette and he didn’t even smoke.

  The thick foliage of the courtyard hid them from prying eyes. It was a small sanctuary his family used a long time ago, the place where his parents told them of their extraordinary heritage. Leaning against the jamb of the patio door, his hands deep in his pockets, his gaze narrowed as he watched the happy ghosts of his past take over the place like wraiths blown haphazardly by a strong breeze from the Mississippi. He watched his younger self look up at his father, Atticus while his mother, Claudia braided Lia’s hair. He heard the sounds of laughter and heated discussions, of Lia’s tantrums and his mother’s calming and soothing voice winning over his father’s firm one. He smelled the memories of barbecues as a family and with his parents’ friends whom he saw only every decade. Back then, he hadn’t known
that the visitors had also been Firebinders. He used to sneak behind one of the bushes when his father stepped away with two of the men, their voices hushed but enough for him to hear the term ‘Shadows’ and ‘Death’ said in the same sentence. His father had the sixth sense and knew that Marek had been listening.

  He turned towards the dining room, everything hidden in shadow. Ten years after he first eavesdropped, Marek watched his father carefully put the Chronicles inside the canvas knapsack he used during his archaeological digs. They all had places to go to—he had to meet Rogue to check on the latest joint investment they had in Brazil while Lia went to Nova Scotia to see friends. He had kissed and embraced his parents goodbye, everyone agreeing to see each other in a week’s time for their regular barbecue.

  It was the last time he saw his parents alive.

  Instead, he had to ask Rogue to go on to Brazil without him when he got called to take care of a North Sea conflagration only to have someone give him a satellite phone to be told about his parents’ death.

  The wraiths disappeared, replaced by the crack of thunder, lightning’s blinding flash, and the shrieks of strong winds. Marek could still feel the wetness of the storm on that fateful day on his skin and the coldness that wrapped around his heart at the sight of his parents lifeless bodies in the morgue. He had spared Lia the anguish, only allowing her to see them after they had been cared for and dressed for the funeral. Jarred, Hank, and Rogue were with him together with Lia and her friend Veronica. The rest had been his father’s acquaintances and colleagues from Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts and his mother’s staff from the blood bank. Even though he understood why, Marek couldn’t stop resentment from rearing its ugly head when none of the firebinders came to the funeral. His parents’ death hadn’t been accident. They had been killed by the Shadow. Only he and Rogue knew The Shadow’s signature. There were lines around Atticus and Claudia’s throats that the coroner concluded came from the collision’s impact that broke their necks. The Shadow’s signature were their melted windpipes which asphyxiated them with fire. The Chronicles hadn’t been taken which left Marek taking the responsibility for keeping them safe and the duty of finding the rest of the firebinders.