SeducetheFlame by Ella Drake Page B

shivered
and shuddered as a response rose deep inside her to expand out in a shivering,
clenching wave. The melting feeling of bliss flowed over her.
    Rain dropped on her face and his back. Her grip on him went
slick. He groaned and kissed her cheek as hot steam rose from him. In a dim
part of her mind, the only part functioning beyond her lassitude, she directed
a wall of water to crash down over the wheelhouse.
    The fire dispersed and steamy seawater rushed all over her.
Ray hadn’t moved. His cock was still buried inside her and his hips still
slowly rocked. But the tension of reining in his power to keep the fire from
spreading left his body and he hummed a deep, contented sound.
    “Damn woman. If you wanted a shower after sex, I have a
really nice one at the house. You couldn’t wait?” He laughed and rolled to the
side, carrying her with him to splay on his chest. The motion made his cock
pull free and she clenched as if she could cradle him there forever.
    “I’ll hold you to that shower.”
    Ray grinned. It had a lighthearted quality he’d rarely shown
but she’d seen more of when they’d first met. Over the years his brooding had
gotten darker, more common, and she’d missed the flirty smiles. But they’d
finally overcome the hurdles.
    And that smile showed he knew what she did. When they’d
joined, their powers had clicked home. They wouldn’t bleed each other dry. She
was sure of it.
    “Let’s get back to shore. Get Vince settled in with Jonah,
behind a locked door this time.” Ray found his wet and sodden pants on the deck
and slipped them back on. And though they couldn’t stay out here, stranded,
with an unconscious sick man below deck, she hesitated to bring an end to the
moment.
    “Sure. Let’s go home.” She glanced down at her pale skin
even as she gathered her powers about her, commanding the water to turn them
about and guide them back to the river.
    Her mage strength rushed through her veins in a comforting
wave. With it came the knowledge of just how far out they’d drifted, exactly
where they were, and how far she’d need to push the waves to get them to dock.
But she didn’t know one thing. “Except exactly what will I be wearing when I
step off this boat?”
    Ray gave a sly smile. “You mean, besides me?”
    She snorted.
    But her hands trembled when she reached out. Did she have it
in her to get them home?

Chapter Eight
     
    Clarissa did have it in her.
    Her arms trembled by the time she navigated them into dock a
few hours later, but she did it. Her skin chapped from the wind and pink from
the sun, she stood tall and proud. And nude.
    “Damn clothes, anyway,” Ray grumbled then whistled low as he
pointed at her and twirled a finger in the air.
    A smoke-scented blanket formed around her body like a dense
cloud. The smoke didn’t bother her. Strangely, it reminded her of how Ray
hadn’t been able to keep the barriers between them.
    They stepped off the boat at Jonah’s dock and her knees
nearly gave out.
    “You got us home,” Ray murmured in her ear and the pride she
heard in his voice gave her renewed strength.
    Standing on the dock awaiting them, Jonah sighed and tied
down the boat.
    Just beyond the dock, the entire Cinder clan awaited them.
Anxious and loving faces stared at them in a mixture of laughter and relief.
    “I called them in when you disappeared on me,” Jonah called
from the dock. “Here. This one is waking up from his beauty sleep.”
    Vince stumbled down the dock and blinked in confusion. But
he didn’t appear to have it in him to run off again—not with the gathering CTF
crowd all glaring at him.
    “Yeah, and you’ll have hell to pay for bringing me to
Savannah,” Griffin grumbled. “Astrid and I were leaving for our honeymoon. Good
thing you turned up when you did. I didn’t relish spending the next few days
combing the water for your can’t-swim-worth-a-damn-ass.”
    His brother punched Ray in the arm before he caught him in a
one-armed