Fire's Ice Read Free Page B

couldn’t bear the thought of her twin alone forever trapped with her selfish heart. Though she was angry and weak, she had faith Arianne could change. Hope. Give her hope. And he was that hope. Fire.
    Wrench her free. Love will fail and your chains will hold .
    As Devin drifted off, he realized he had been going about this all wrong. Chained. Break the chains . But how?
    * * * *
    Satin moved sinuously over his body. Soft feathery kisses whispered across his skin. Smooth fingertips caressed and aroused him. Devin breathed in the scent of vanilla, felt the silk of Ari’s hair brushing his chest as she bent down to bring her lips to his. She tasted of hellfire and magic. Of promises.
    “Devin.” The devil whispered his name. Another dream. Here he could take all he wanted. Damn the spell and to hell with the consequences. Knowing every inch of his woman, the texture and taste of her skin, her touch, Devin let his hands and mouth explore at will. And he was utterly, hopelessly in love with the Arianne in his dreams.
    “Come to me, Devin. Free me.” Words he had heard so many times.
    “Ari, I can’t.” Still, he poured himself into the kiss, his tongue mating with hers in a lover’s dance as she sank down on his length, engulfing him in hot velvet. Claiming him. Bowing underneath her, Devin pushed deeper, matching her rhythm. His fingers clutched her hips as she moved like lightning.
    “My turn.” Rolling with Ari on the cool sheets, Devin let his weight pin her to the mattress. She linked her ankles together at his spine, wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
    “I wish you were here, Ari. I wish this was real.”
    Her whispered reply brushed his ear. “It can be. Quick as a flash. Come to me.”
    He made love to her slowly, achingly until he shattered in her arms. “I love you, Ari. I love you. Don’t torture me like this.”
    “Devin, I–”
    He woke with the fire still crackling in the hearth, vanilla scenting the air, the sound of his name on her lips. Arianne’s words came back to him as he waited for his heart to level out. Quick as a flash. Of course. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? So simple. So easy. Smiling, he floated off back to sleep.
     

 
    Chapter 3
     
    Arianne waved a hand over the mirror she used to scry for him and froze the image reflected there. Fierce tawny eyes–lion’s eyes–stared back at her with desire and something more. His dark mahogany hair hung straight, perhaps just a little too long, and tended to fall into his eyes as he made love to her in dreams. Devin. His name held a thousand heartaches, pleasures, and hopes.
    Her body was on fire. She ached for his touch, to know what his hands would feel like on her skin. Were they rough? Smooth? Craved the chance to know how it felt to be held by a man in love beyond the shadowy realm of sleep. Before she thought to stop herself, Ari brushed a finger down the reflection’s face, instantly distorting the image.
    I love you, Ari. Those words ripped at her heart. No one had ever given them to her before. Yes. He was dreaming and probably said them out of habit. She didn’t like to think about all the women he must have lain with over the course of a thousand years. She was a virgin, but wasn’t ignorant in the ways between women and men. Etain–her nursemaid–had educated her on the subject; convinced Ari would seek temptation and find herself alone with a babe to raise. Knowledge is power. As a healer, she had helped birth children, tended the wounds of men and listened to the women’s hushed gossip.
    Her father, a warrior, was killed in battle while her mother lay in childbirth. She had never known her parents. Would they have loved her? All the elders had seen was her dark power. Her gift damned her in their eyes. Brie had never shown her love, nor her nursemaid. Even the seven guardians had been wary of her, though they had bigger problems than one woman’s powers.
    Sometimes a glimpse of him would come through the