Into the Fire (Flame in the Shadows Trilogy #1)

23. Tommy

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

TOMMY

Mel’s dead on her feet.

As we head through the passage back to the caves, she stumbles along with the crowd, one arm slung around my neck and the other around Sam’s. I have to grit my teeth against the pain that throbs in my ribs, but I don’t let her go.

It’s a battle of will to keep my eyes on the tunnel ahead. Mel’s absolutely radiant right now. A wide smile lights her face; her eyes sparkle with joy. No one can question her loyalty after this.

But at what cost? I hope Lisa doesn’t make her a permanent member of the mission team, at least not yet. The number of times she almost bit it tonight… Where would she be now if I was incapacitated?

In an interrogation room.

It takes longer than usual, but eventually we reach the housing wing. Mel, Sam, and I stop in front of Mel’s door while the others continue to their rooms, murmuring good night as they pass.

Bitter envy stings in my chest as Mel wraps Sam in a warm embrace. I wish I could let myself get close to her like that. Unguarded, with no secrets and no fears.

Blinking, I tear my eyes from them and look toward Cait’s room at the far end of the hall. Hunter must’ve really thumped her for her to still be out cold, and she is. If she’d woken up, I’d know.

Ugh. I’m not eager for the verbal lashing that’s no doubt on the way. If the situation were reversed—if Cait had defied orders and risked her life—I’d do the same. Still, it won’t be a fun conversation.

With an angel’s smile, Mel releases Sam, who turns and folds his arms around me.

I pat his back, cheeks hot. It’s uncomfortable to realize how much it’ll hurt my friends if I don’t make it home from a mission.

Sam pulls away. “Cait’s right. You are an idiot.”

Mel covers her mouth and snickers. Sam glares. “You too, Melanie Louisa O’Hanlon Snow. I’m glad you guys got the bill of lading, but please don’t scare me like that again. Either of you.” He glances between us.

“Don’t worry about me,” I tell him gruffly. “I’m always fine.”

Mel flashes him another warm smile. “Sorry. I won’t.”

“Good. I should go help Aaliyah with Cait. ’Night, you two.” With a wave and a frown, he walks away and disappears into Cait’s room.

No one’s left in the hall now besides Mel and me. I turn to her, intending to make sure she’s all right before heading to bed, but I meet her eyes, and the way she’s looking at me, it’s … oh, damn. An echo of the wildfire from last night flickers to life, low in my gut.

“Tommy,” she breathes, stepping closer, so close we’re almost touching. “I … when you were shot, I…”

She touches my damaged vest, carefully tracing the spot where the bullet hit. Her eyes squeeze shut. “I thought…”

A tear rolls down her cheek. I want to wipe it away, to hold her like I did in the car, but I don’t know how to comfort her without blurring the line between us more than I already have. So I just stand and watch as more tears fall, feeling wretched.

Mel looks up again, those glistening eyes brimming with some kind of profound emotion. The sight cuts straight through my core, stealing my breath and shredding my resolve on its way.

“I don’t want to lose you,” she whispers through quivering lips.

Lost for words, I hesitantly wipe the wetness from her cheeks. Her skin is so soft. Smooth, like satin. Instead of dropping my hands, I savor the feel of it under my fingers.

I don’t want to lose you either.

Mel raises a shaking hand to trace my cheek, my jaw. My eyes drop to the curve of her lips, a slow, fierce burn seeping under my skin. With an intensity I never could have imagined, I crave her.

Before I can get a handle on myself, Mel wraps her arms around my neck. Our breath mingles as she murmurs, “You’re important to me, Tommy.”

Her eyes shine. Deep, pure, honest. She cares about me. Despite all the mistakes I’ve made, despite my role in her parents’ murder, she cares.

Glittering warmth surges through me, staggering in its potency. It melts my heart; it shimmers in my racing blood; it lights even the darkest corner of my ravaged soul. I stare down at Mel in awe, marveling as the radiant feeling consumes me. Remakes me.

“Mel,” I sigh, and her name is a prayer on my tongue.

It’s too much. Her call is too strong. Winding my arms around her back, I pull her tight against me and press my lips to hers.

A low moan rises in her throat. Her hands float up, tangling in my hair as her tongue skims my upper lip. Scorching, delicious shivers devour me whole.

I run my hands over her hips, crushing her closer and deepening the kiss despite the pain in my ribs. There’s only Mel; the exquisite taste of her, the feel of her body arcing into mine, her scent swirling in my head—cherry blossoms and peaches and wild, wild passion. I’m lost in a blistering haze of desire.

Mel pulls away, her gaze a dark, undiluted flame. My blood sears in my veins as she tugs me toward her room. Struggling to clear my mind, I suck in a shaky breath and hold it.

A kiss is one thing, but what will happen if I let Mel pull me in there? What about all the careful lines I’ve drawn? The secret I haven’t shared?

You’re important to me, she said.

Everything I am yearns for her, but I don’t move. I only stare, warring with myself, utterly torn.

Mel’s perfect mouth lifts in a sweet smile, her eyes warm. She unbuckles her vest, slowly lets it fall from her shoulders. It hits the ground with a dull thud. “I think kissing would be better without these vests in the way, don’t you?”

My heart shines, a soft chuckle rising to my lips. What a Mel thing to say at a time like this. She’s irresistible. A siren call I can’t refuse.

I take a tentative step toward her, then another, then I’m pinning her against the door, my mouth insistent on hers. She kisses me back feverishly, slinging a leg over my hip. The way she’s pressing into me … it’s … oh, yes. I shudder, the heat between us blazing white-hot.

My control wavers and I grind into her, unraveling more with every moan on her lips, every stroke of her tongue, every press of warm pressure right where I want it.

I’ve never kissed anyone like this. Not even close, and I need her, need that silk-smooth skin under my tongue, need to bury myself inside?—

Stop. I need to stop.

Now, while I still can.

It’s fucking hard, but I take my hands off her and step back.

“Are you sure?” My voice is rough. Intense. “This is what you want?”

The corner of her mouth turns up, her darkened eyes dancing, fanning the flames that lick through my blood. “Yes. So much yes.”

And there’s something deeper in her expression too. Something that glows, that mirrors the radiance still glimmering through every part of me.

She cares.

I move forward again and angle my mouth toward hers, waiting for that final yes. Mel cups my face in her hands and raises her lips to mine in a soft, gentle brush. The contact zaps through my overheated system like a shock, and I back her into the door as she kisses me again, deeper.

With a turn of the handle, Mel sends us stumbling into her room. I don’t let her go as I kick the door closed, trailing kisses across her jaw and down her throat. She unbuckles my vest as we stagger to the bed, pulls my shirt up over my head. I slide hers off too, desperate to free her from it, from the simple black bra underneath. Our clothes leave a path on the floor behind us until we’re in nothing but our underwear, Mel’s stunning body on full display.

She’s luminous, standing there smiling without an ounce of embarrassment. A goddess.

She runs her hands over my chest and gently kisses the ugly purple bruise above my heart. I hiss at the throbbing ache, at the way it spikes the burn in my veins.

I need her. Now.

I grab her around the waist and press her down onto the bed, grazing her earlobe with my teeth, then nipping my way down her neck to kiss the hollow at the base of her throat. Her breathing turns ragged as I skim lower, relishing the way she trembles for me, the soft moan on her lips. She arches off the bed, her fingers dragging down my back, painting my skin with fire.

I’m not in control anymore. Something feral has taken over, driven by Mel’s every touch, her every sigh. She is my muse, and my canvas, and my salvation, and I’ll worship every inch of her until she’s crying out my name, until she loses herself in the half-light of the dying embers.