EXCERPT

The Elementals: God of Fire

by Marteeka Karland

cover art by Bryan Keller

"Hello, little one." The man's voice was musical. Dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans, he straightened from where he leaned against her kitchen counter. His arms were crossed over his chest and one hip rested on the Formica. Chiseled cheeks, a sharp, hawk-like nose, and long dark hair accented a deeply tanned, muscled body and devastating good looks. She had never seen this man before, but she had absolutely no doubt who he was.

Chaos!

"I don't want you here." Allison's heart raced. Chaos was loose!

"I'm not inclined to care what you want… at the moment." His smile wasn't the least bit friendly. In fact, it was downright menacing.

"What do you want?"

"Why, you, little Allison. You hold the key to both fire and earth, though the tie you have with fire is much stronger. With you as my link -- and my mate -- I can finally begin to gain control of all the elements once again."

Allison backed away. This wasn't good. Not good at all. The clock above the stove ticked away the seconds loudly in the silence.

"You can't use an unwilling link. There must be balance for anyone to control the fire. Besides, I can do nothing with earth. I would be of no use to you there even if I were willing." Her agitation fed the restlessness of the fire. She could feel the pressure begin to build again.

Chaos laughed. "You don't have any idea of the true extent of your power. With my help, you could be a goddess."

"Trying to seduce me with power won't work. I have no desire to be a goddess. I have enough to worry about as it is."

Chaos took a step toward her, advancing slowly. "Nevertheless, you will aid me. I will rule the world -- the universe -- again. If you won't help me willingly, then I'll find a way to force your compliance, and I promise it will not be pleasant."

"I will not help you. You cannot force me."

Chaos smirked. "You think to mate with Pyros? Do you think he will ever completely trust you when your connection is not with him alone? Part of you will always reach out to earth."

"What does that have to do with anything? And who says I want Pyros for my mate? I don't even know him!"

Chaos took a step toward her. "His jealousy over you will be his undoing. And the world's."

Allison backed away. Chaos's masculine, spicy scent surrounded her, making it difficult to breath. The fire was getting so out of control, she thought she could actually hear the crackle of flame in her mind. Her skin burned and tingled and every sense she had was on the verge of overload.

Then there was calm.

"There was a reason you weren't able to keep the throne all those millennia ago, Chaos." Pyros spoke softly, standing naked at the kitchen door, smoke rising from his skin, once again black in the fire's rage. How he broke through her magic didn't concern her at the moment. He was there to save her. That was all that mattered. "You talk too much."

A fireball shot from Pyros's eyes, engulfing Chaos in flames. The ancient god's angry, pain-filled shriek hurt Allison's ears with its intensity. She fell to her knees and screamed as she watched Chaos burn right before her eyes.

"Damn you, Pyros!" Chaos screeched, his voice no longer a magical seduction, but a rasping, sickening scream. The smell of burning flesh singed Allison's nose before Chaos dissolved with one last enraged bellow.

The silence that followed was just as deafening.

The fire still struggled for release, though not as strongly as it had hours before. Reaching out with a gentle touch, Allison tried to calm the raging inferno, only to be overwhelmed with the energy. Taking a deep breath, she tried again.

You do not have to do this alone. Pyros's touch was both mental and physical. His hand on her shoulder served as an anchor in the midst of the troubled sea of fire.

Using his strength, she "pushed" subtly, then a little harder. Finally, she pushed with all her might and drew on Pyros's strength as well. When all that wasn't enough, she instinctively built layers and layers of sediment and rock between the surface of the earth and the surging magma -- just like earth had been containing fire earlier. It wouldn't stop the flow, but it would slow it down long enough for the fire to settle.

"How did you do that?" The whisper caressed the back of her neck, for once not causing the ever-present rush of lust.

He was in awe of her.

Pyros gently turned her to face him. "You controlled not only fire, but earth as well. What is your connection to earth?" The last was an almost angry demand. The fire swelled in response.

"Pyros, you must calm down. Can't you feel what you're doing to the fire?"

He grabbed her upper arm almost painfully, pulling her to him. "Can't you feel what you're doing to me?"

"We have to get this under control, Pyros. The magma is getting hotter, becoming too liquid. If this keeps up, any eruption at Yellowstone could devastate the world. You know that." She pleaded with him.

"The only thing I know is that I need between your legs," he growled.

Pain and anger and lust and confusion radiated from him, feeding the fire once again. If she couldn't get him under control, he could very well cause the disaster they had prevented earlier.

The only way she knew for sure for either of them to control a surge this large, was for them to either be dead calm, or consumed with passion. Calm was definitely out, so Allison did the only thing she could.

"God of Fire, you talk too much." Allison lunged for his mouth as she spoke, and when her lips met his, she poured every emotion she had been holding back from him into her kiss. He would know the depth of her budding feelings for him, would know how much her body longed to be consumed by him, but he would also know the depth of her fear she would lose herself in him.

And he would know the extent of her abilities.

She told herself it was for the good of every living thing on the planet, that her giving into the overwhelming urge to simply fuck Pyros until they both were cross-eyed was not for her benefit.

At least, she told herself that.

Pyros's kiss was filled with anger and jealousy -- she could feel it in the fire. His touch was possessive, demanding. He would accept nothing less than her full surrender to him.

Allison let him delve into her mouth with his tongue, let his hands caress her breasts and ass as he tore the clothing from her body. She willingly explored his body, lightly touching his muscled chest and arms, wrapping her fingers around his erect cock when he guided her there, thrusting into her palm.

"You are mine. Mine!" Pyros's growl was as primitive as the act of sex itself.

All Allison wanted to do was scream "yes!" at the top of her lungs. She wanted to be his. She wanted to know that this level of passion and love could really exist for her, but she couldn't. She'd surrender her body to Pyros -- she had to in order to divert the energy into something they could control -- but she would not let him have her heart.

At least, she told herself that.