Keeper of the Flame Read online

  Finally, with a sigh of pleasure, Flame settled his mouth against her and began to feast in earnest. Kendall shrieked as he lashed at her, invaded her feminine space, exciting her senses as her back arched off of the bed. With a skill that she had never thought passable, Flame inserted his tongue into her, laving at her inner walls.

  Kendall’s hands reached down to grab at his head, to hold his hair, to find a center in the vortex of swirling heat and desire that he sent her plummeting through, but the touch of his hair almost seared her with its power.

  She reached another level of lust as this new sensation poured over her, though her, inside of her. She wailed as he began to nibble tenderly on the petals of her feminine lips, lapping up her moisture as if she were spun candy and growling his pleasure as he went back for more.

  One stiff finger began to penetrate as his lips latched onto her clit, gently but firmly holding it captive in the hot cave of his mouth. His finger speared her, filling an emptiness that had begun to grow within her, making her long for more.

  “Yes!” she breathed as he writhed on the bed, lost in total ecstasy. “More!”

  Another finger joined the first, stretching her, preparing her for his possession, the lubrication her body gushed with easing his way. Just as she thought she could take no more, be begun to hum as he pressed his tongue against her captive clitoris.

  It flowed upon her! Her muscles clenched, her body strained and began to quiver from deep within. She felt her emotions spiral out of control, fighting for release. Her inner walls tightened as the tension increased until it snapped.

  “Yes! Flame, yes!” she roared, her inner walls clenched rhythmically, her release poured over her in waves....

  Then she jerked up in bed.

  Breathing harshly, she ran a shaky hand through her tangled hair as she eased out of the dream state, her muscles still quivering from the primal release that her dream forced upon her.

  “Oh Lord,” she panted as she eased back to the bed, struggling to regulate her breathing and return to the sleep state.

  Still wondering about her mysterious visitor, she realized that it had been a long time since she reacted that way with any man, let alone the stranger who had just given birth on her new couch!

  “I need to sleep!”

  That said, her mind filed that fantasy away for future personal use and closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm. Having Flame around might be a good thing!

  She fell asleep with visions of stars and rockets planted in her head. She scarcely remembered that tomorrow should have been her wedding day, or that the man with whom she'd be sharing the day or her fantasies with was not Richard.

  Chapter Two

  Dressing in a pair of her favorite jeans and a pastel-colored T-shirt, Kendall drew her hair back into a bun and raced downstairs barefoot. She thought of all the wonderful things she could introduce Flame to as soon as the house was clean.

  Said house was empty, though, and the mystery man had disappeared. Even the dresser drawers that had provided temporary cribs for the babies were out of sight. There was absolutely no evidence that someone had given birth or taken up residence in her home.

  “Did I dream it all?”

  She stood in the doorway of her living room. It looked just as she had left it before leaving for work yesterday. Even her couch was spotless, the flowers reminding her of her beautiful garden out front.

  There was a knock at her door. Thinking it was Flame, Kendall raced to open it, only to slam it closed again. A large shoe stopped the door from closing, but the loud curse uttered as the door crushed on that foot made her smirk.

  Her curses had indeed doubled back on her. The good doctor, the bane of her existence and the bringer of pain, was standing trapped by one foot on her doorstep.

  “Open up, Kendall!” his low voice growled from the opposite side of the door.

  “What do you want, Dick?” she fairly screamed at him, knowing he hated the dreaded nickname. With renewed effort, she put her back into her foot-breaking efforts.

  “To talk. You owe me that.”

  What did that fool just open his mouth and say? Infuriated, she stopped trying to smash his foot and let the door swing open.

  “I owe you? I owe you, you bastard! After what you did?”

  “I thought that...that I could handle your little problem Kendall, but I was wrong,” he stammered. “I still want to be your friend.”

  Kendall eyed him from the tip of his hand-made loafers to the top of his perfectly-styled head and fought to hold back her tears. “My little problem didn’t seem to matter when you were climbing into my bed at every opportunity, friend,” she growled. “In fact, my little problem seemed to make you hotter than a dog in heat in the middle of July, if I recall correctly.”

  He blushed to the roots of his blond hair. “That was rather crudely put,” he managed, looking down at the sleeve of his blue suit. He couldn’t meet her direct gaze.

  “And how was I supposed to put it, Doctor?” she asked, fighting to keep her voice from cracking. “It was rather crude, what you did to me.”

  Raking his hands through his hair, he turned away, muttering under his breath.

  “Do you want absolution, Doctor?” she asked quietly, her eyes filled with menace and her voice strained to keep her anger from boiling over. “Okay. I absolve you of all guilt. Go! You’re free! Do as you please!” She made shooing motions with her hands before trying once again to slam the door.

  “Damn it, Kendall!” he roared, turning and grabbing her by the arms. “Let me try and explain!”

  “You would do well to release her,” a new voice interrupted. “Now!”

  They turned to see Flame standing behind them with his burnt auburn hair flowing around his stern visage. Richard was so startled, he dropped his hold on Kendall and took an involuntary step back.

  Flame stalked towards Kendall, the force of his anger a physical thing. Tension fairly crackled in the air as his anger manifested itself in the piercing gaze of his eyes.

  “Who is this?” Richard demanded trying to gather his wits about himself. “What's he doing in your house?”

  “Has he caused you any harm, Mistress?” Flame’s piercing gray eyes took in the measure of the good doctor and obviously found him wanting.

  Shocked by Richard’s outburst, Kendall was even more stupefied by Flame’s appearance. He was dressed in all black, from the form-fitting leather pants to the long trench coat that fell to his booted feet. Flame looked intimidatingly male at about six feet seven. He managed to make Doctor Richard Tanner look small, washed-out, and insignificant. The brilliance of Flame’s person appeared to dim the bright sun shining through her open door.

  “No,” Kendall managed after a deep breath. “Richard was just leaving.” She owed Doctor Dick no explanations.

  “Kendall,” Richard started only to be abruptly cut off.

  “Go tell it to my sister. She’s probably waiting for you now.” Kendall closed the door on his stricken face and turned toward Flame.

  “So, we need to get car seats for the babies and some necessities before we leave. The trip takes about six hours and we need to head out soon.” Kendall brushed back a bit of hair that had come lose from the bun at her nape and began to make mental lists as if nothing had happened. In true Kendall fashion, she plowed straight ahead when confronted with a problem she refused to face.

  Flame looked at the door she'd slammed shut behind her. “Who was he, Mistress?”

  “He was nothing. A mistake from my past.”

  “On Testrios, no man would ever shout in anger at a woman or dare to touch her without her permission.”

  But Kendall wasn't listening. She had begun to shake in earnest. Her mind needed an outlet, a way to reduce the tension that was eating her alive. Her release came, but it shook her whole body with its discharge.

  “May I hold you, Mistress? You need comforting.”

  Kendall looked into his deep gray eyes and los
t all control.

  Flame's mind flashed back to his childhood lessons on the proper way to hold and comfort the woman to whom he was given. “A touch is a powerful thing, my son,” his father intoned, pointing to the spectacle taking place before them.

  On a pedestal bed, a man and a woman, both naked, lay in the aftermath of erotic splendor. The woman, breath still sobbing in relief, sprawled against her male. But Flame noticed the man’s hands, caressing her back, easing her breathing, soothing her in a way that a father would soothe his son after punishment or injury.

  As he recalled these memories, he found his hands making the same gentling gestures that he had seen after almost every lesson in sexual propriety.

  After a few moments of wild sobbing, Kendall realized she was sitting on the floor of her hallway with Flame. He was holding her in his strong embrace and humming in a soothing monotone. The brightly lit hallway showed where her tears had dampened his black shirt.

  “I’m sorry,” she gasped, pulling back from the warm comfort of his arms. She ground the heels of her palms into her eyes and whispered, “I didn’t mean to do that.”

  “Tension must be released, Mistress. Were you on Testrios, I would be required to take you to Vaporbath and work the tension from your muscles. You should never be allowed to redden your eyes with tears.”

  Kendall smiled at this wonderfully sensitive man. How many guys would sit on a hard floor in a cramped hall while a virtual stranger sobbed out her problems on his chest? Then she remembered the word he'd used. Required.

  Sitting up she looked at him closely. “You said required. You didn’t have a choice?”

  The sun highlighted features suddenly cast in sadness and another indefinable emotion as he answered. “I am but a man, Mistress.” The tenderness left his eyes.

  “But you could say no? Right?”

  “I had a choice.” He released her, rising with amazing grace considering his sheer size and bulk of muscle. “But then I would suffer the consequences for making of the wrong choice.”

  Kendall was horrified. Never would she have believed that type of blackmail would exist on such an advanced world. When she thought of a planet ruled by women, she thought of a peaceful place where freedom would be encouraged. Then she recalled the Execution Squad and the implication that his own family would murder his children.

  “We have to get you out of here,” she declared, springing to her feet. She would deal with her own problems later. Right now, she had to help these people. “Can they track your ship?” Kendall peered cautiously through one of the windows designed into her front door.

  Flame looked puzzled for a moment, then gave a negative shake of his head. “I sank my ship in your lake. They can only estimate my trajectory from the course I programmed into my navigational program. I knew they'd located me when their computer downloaded the information. I compromised that information before they could determine my exact location, but they have a general idea of where I am hiding. They cannot scan under water for my ship. I was salvaging necessary equipment when the man, your past mistake, arrived and began to treat you disrespectfully.”

  He'd sunk his ship. That explained the lights she'd seen while driving home. “Where are the children?” Now that she knew they had some time, she calmed a little. She had yet to hear the children and with all that yelling, the noise would have awakened anyone.

  “They are safe,” he replied warmly as he led her to the kitchen.

  In there, two small clear boxes floated about three feet in the air, emitting a low humming sound. Inside were the children, safe and content. Sunlight lent a warm glow to the room, its reflections cast through a bank of windows that overlooked the lake behind her house.

  “What are those?” Kendall gasped in awe at the devices that cradled the sleeping children.

  “Education cubes. They soothe and teach.” He looked proud of himself standing in her kitchen overlooking Spark and Ember. Both children sported bright fuzzy red hair and strongly resembled their father, or at least they looked like he did when he slept.

  “Teach?” She walked over to touch one and smiled at the low vibration she felt under her hand. The children seemed content, each dressed in an odd sac-like gown and lying on their sides with their knees drawn up to their chests.

  “They are learning Testrios as well as Earth languages subliminally.”

  “Testrios?” Her tongue stumbled over the unusual word as she turned to face him.

  “My home world. It's the only spoken language.”

  “The only language?” She felt a bit like a parrot, repeating everything he said. “There is only one language spoken on your whole planet?”

  Smiling, he nodded, his loose hair sliding over his shoulders and catching fire where it was kissed by the sun.

  “The Founding Mothers felt that it would breed harmony if everyone spoke the same language. The five ruling houses met and decided on the universal language. All others were outlawed and soon forgotten.”

  “All five continents agreed to this?” She was incredulous. All of that history lost! She sat at her small wooden table and gestured for him to do the same.

  “Tell me more.” Then she added, “Wait! Five continents, five houses. Is each continent ruled by a single house?”

  “It is so.” He smiled at her grasp of the rules that governed his home planet. “The House of Sky, The House of Land, The House of Wind, The House of Ice, and The House of Fire. The Five Supreme Matriarchs rule the planet, though, officially there are only four houses left. My mother now controls the House Of Fire and The House Of Ice.”

  “You’re a flippin’ prince!” Kendall realized with some awe as she looked at the humble man who sat in her kitchen. He was royalty, yet he obviously loved his children enough to give it all up to save them. Then again, on his planet he was still little more than a slave.

  “Yes, Mistress. On your world I would be considered thus.” He lowered his eyes in humble acceptance of the title that was so hollow on his planet.

  Eyes rounded in wonder, Kendall murmured absently, “Call me Kendall. Your Highness.”

  * * * * *

  People stopped to stare at the spectacle making its way through the Baby Boutique. Not often did the eclectic group of women see a man, let alone a man wearing a double harness, dragging a reluctant woman through the baby powder-scented aisles with the enthusiasm of a three-year-old.

  Kendall groaned as Flame spotted yet another baby innovation in the next aisle. They should have been on the road an hour ago, but big daddy of the year had to see what new wonders this Earth had produced in the field of childcare.

  “What is cir-cum-cis-ion?” he questioned as he quickly scanned the latest pop baby-how-to manual he picked up from a nearby display. On the cover was a photo of the newest guru to hit the baby circuit. He probably didn't even have children, she thought as she watched Flame quickly scan through the book.

  “They remove the foreskin from the penis of a newborn.”

  A pregnant woman who paused in desperately scanning the book section turned to stare at his odd question. “English is his second language?” Kendall offered as an explanation.

  “Ahh. We have a similar procedure, but it is done before the chosen male is given to life-mate with his mistress. It assures pureness in the male, to keep the skin in place until then. The women of Testrios find an uncut manhood repugnant.”

  Kendall blanched. “This was done to you?”

  Flame nodded, unconcerned, as if adult circumcisions were an everyday occurrence.

  “I hope they gave you a good anesthesia,” Kendall grimaced.

  “No. It is a test of strength to assure proper masculinity in the man. He is not to cry out. It only hurts for a brief time,” Flame added when he saw the shock on her face.

  “Are you planning on...you know...with Spark?” In the short time since she delivered the babies she, well, had become attached to the little guys. She didn't want her solemn-faced little Spark to have to en
dure that. She peered over Flame's shoulder as if to reassure herself that Spark was okay.

  “Oh no. He is legal citizen now. I read in your laws that once a child is born here, he is allowed to stay here. He is an American now like his sister and will be like other Americans. He will be cir-cum-cized,” Flame pronounced the word slowly, “when he is ready.”

  Kendall shook her head at yet another Testrios oddity and they were legion. Flame had to dress in black as befits a mated man and he had to wear the long coat to hide his form. It wouldn't do to have a lady ogle another's property. He had to wear his hair loose to proclaim him altered and fertile. He had to carry both babies to show his reverence for life and his willingness to die in the protecting of them. The list went on and on.

  All of the women in the store thought that she was the luckiest of wives. They assumed that he carried both children, one on each side of his broad chest, to give the new mommy a rest. One woman went as far to say that not all men would take such an interest in newborn babies. Flame just beamed like the proud papa he was.

  “What wondrous things are these?” Flame asked as they rounded another corner and he spotted a display of children's clothing. Kendall could only smile as Flame's gray eyes lit up at a sight of tiny sailor suits and dresses.

  “Kendall!” he cried in awe at the vibrant colors and intricate embroidery. “We must have one of each color for each of them.”

  She pushed their already overflowing cart beside him. “Take it easy on the old charge card, daddy. I only have so much money in the bank to spend.”

  “American currency?” he asked with one raised eyebrow. At her nod, he opened a small pocket on his coat to reveal a wad of hundred dollar bills. Her mouth dropped open as he added, “I also have a bank account, a driver's license and a social security card.”

  “Put it away!” she hissed at him as she glanced around to see if anyone was listening. “How did you manage to get all of that!”

  He gave her a small frown. “People of your planet are not considered very intelligent.”