The Phoenix Prophecy: Nova

It’s been nearly a week since I last visited the falls. Nearly a week since Nova appeared on Kole’s doorstep. I’m itching for a swim, but I haven’t seen Kole since the attack and he’s due to start back behind the bar this evening. Luther tells me he’s ready. But I want to see for myself.

Luther thinks I’m mad at Kole for what happened between him and Nova. I’m not. Hell, if anything, it’s like a dream come true. My fuck buddy and the woman I’m crazy about getting down and dirty? Talk about ultimate fantasy.

No. It’s not the sex I’m mad about. It’s the fact he put her in a position he knew was dangerous. He knew how she made him feel—the effect she had on him—and he allowed himself to go to a place where he almost killed her.

If I’m honest, though, the real reason I haven’t seen him is that I haven’t been able to leave Nova. Not because she needs taking care of, but because the thought of being apart from her makes my skin crawl.

She sees me watching, and she thinks I’m worried for her. I’m not; if anything, she seems stronger than she did before. Sometimes, it’s like fire is glimmering beneath the surface of her skin. Like there’s a power, an intensity inside her that’s been unleashed and is now waiting for the chance to burn.

Perhaps it was having Kole between her legs. Perhaps it was fighting him off. Perhaps a mixture of both.

Whatever caused it, the heat that radiates from her now is intoxicating. It’s taken every drop of willpower I have not to rip her clothes off and fuck her. I want to make her come the way Kole made her come. I want her to call my name. I want her fingers through my hair, scratching my back, gripping my cock.

“No prizes for guessing what you’re thinking about.” Luther appears in the bar and immediately notices the bulge in my pants.

I adjust myself and breathe out heavily, shaking my head.

“Am I the only one immune to this human?” Luther asks, pouring himself a whiskey even though it’s only just past midday.

“She’s not a human.” I gesture for him to pour me one, too. “We know that.”

“No, we don’t.” Luther pushes a glass toward me. “We don’t know anything. She could be under an enchantment. Possessed.” As I frown, Luther raises an eyebrow at me. “It’s possible, Tanner.”

He’s right. It is. But every fiber of my body tells me she’s the one. Especially after what happened with Kole. “Then let’s prove it. One way or the other.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Luther takes a sip from his glass.

“A blood test. I could take her to the hospital tomorrow. We’d have the results in twenty-four hours.”

“A blood test?”

“It’ll tell us for certain whether she’s a human or a super. While we’re there, I’ll ask them to scan her for incantations, enchantments, and possessions.” I take a long drink and enjoy the burning sensation in my throat as I swallow. “Then we’ll know.”

Luther approves. He likes facts. Cold hard facts. He nods. “Do it. If she agrees.”

“She’ll agree.” I tip my glass at him, gesturing for a top up. Behind me, the bar hums with the chatter of just a few daytime customers. There aren’t many of them, so tuning them out isn’t hard.

Changing the subject, because thinking about Nova makes me want to shove my head into a pool of ice-cold water and block out the things I want to do to her, I say, “You sure Kole’s ready to work?”

Luther nods slowly. “He’s ready. Pete’s taken him to a meeting every night for the past three days. Took him a while to come down, but he’s got it under control.”

I twist my glass on the bar and watch as the circle of water beneath it changes shape.

“You should talk to him.” Luther tips his head in the direction of the apartment. When I don’t reply, he folds his arms and adds, “You can’t be mad at him forever. You know it wasn’t his fault.”

“I’m not mad at him.” I roll my eyes. “You think I mind that he and Nova…?” I shuffle in my seat, my dick throbbing as I glance over at the curtain obscuring Kole’s tattoo room. The image of her spread on the bed, his head between her thighs, makes me grip my glass so hard I think it might crack. “I was pissed he put her in a dangerous position.” I clear my throat. “But I’m over it now.”

“Then go see him.” Luther takes my glass from my hand.

There’s a moment’s pause where I consider snatching it back, but then I push my stool back and say, “Ok. Ok. I’m going.”

Upstairs, I stop in front of the apartment door. It’s been painted, but I haven’t forgotten its charred exterior. The shadow of where Nova set it on fire to protect herself.

I knock twice. “Kole? It’s me.”

There’s silence for a few long seconds, then the sound of footsteps crossing the room. The bolt slides across and the door swings open.

When I step inside, the apartment is dark and gloomy. The curtains are drawn, slivers of sunlight escaping through the gaps at their edges.

With his back to me, Kole stalks over to the couch and sits down. When he looks up, his eyes are darker than usual. There are gray circles beneath them. His hair hangs loose around his face. He’s exhausted.

A throb of sympathy tugs at my gut. Even without opening the gates to his feelings, I know he’s in pain. But as I think of him chasing Nova through the bar, her naked body fleeing as she screamed, a ball of rage forms in my chest.

As if he can tell what I’m thinking, Kole scrapes his fingers through his hair, pushing it over his shoulders, and says, “Tanner, I have an apology to make.”

I stay standing, arms folded.

“I shouldn’t have put Nova in that position. I thought I could control myself. I was wrong.” His eyes are fixed on mine. I don’t break contact. He understands. He knows I’m not angry he tongue-fucked her. I’m angry he almost killed her.

Finally, I nod and walk over. I thrust out my arm and shake his hand. As our fingers entwine, we grip each other. Hard. “Apology accepted. Just don’t fuck with our woman again.” I move my hand to his shoulder and squeeze. “Right?”

There’s a flicker in his eyes. “Our woman?”

I don’t answer him with words, just a small flicker of a smile.

Kole dips his head. “Your woman, Tanner. She can’t be mine.”

I sit down next to him, perching on the arm of the couch and resting my feet on the cushion.

“Whatever connection I have to her, it’s too much. I can’t be with her again. No matter how much I want it.” He breathes out heavily and rubs his thighs. When he looks up at me, he says, “I thought if I could have her body, I’d stop wanting her blood. But it made the hunger worse.”

My jaw twitches. “If she hadn’t cut herself…”

“We can’t take that chance again.” Kole stands up and walks to the window. “From now on, I can’t be alone with her.” He braces his hands on the sill. He’s breathing heavily. His shoulders tense. When he turns around, there’s a darkness in his face that sends a shiver down my spine. “You have to make sure I don’t hurt her, Tanner.”

I stand and walk over to him. Inches away, I reach out and pull his shirt up over his head. He’s huge. All muscle. Bigger and broader than me, and prettier too, with all the ink on his chest. I bend and lick a long, hungry line down toward his belt. He doesn’t move.

I want to ask him to tell me what he did to her. I want to know what she tastes like. What she sounds like. What it felt like when he had his fingers inside her. But I’m supposed to be distracting him, not making him remember.

“Tanner.” My name escapes his lips like a growl.

“You want me to make sure you don’t hurt her?”

Kole grunts as I tug down his jeans and cup his balls in my palm. He grunts again when I squeeze them.

“Then we’d better make sure you’re not too horny to be tempted. Shouldn’t we?”

He opens his mouth and moistens his lower lip. “I suppose we should.”