Fire Danger Read Online Free Page A

itself. Although much of it could not be made out, she got an image of a contemporary structure with a generous property line.
    Only a plaintive meow could be heard from the carrier. JT had to be too terrified to do any more than cling to the inside of his kitty mover and pray whatever prayers cats made. Normally, Rachel would have reassured the animal wedged between their bodies, but all she could do was keep her arms around Phoenix. The world seemed far away and a long way down. Rachel shivered.
    What time was it anyway? Three? Four? She had no idea how long the “earthquake” had gone on. Or why the red-eyed vampires wanted her.
    “Shadow people.”
    The mind speak was going to get old really fast.
    There was a light on outside the house. They continued toward it, and she caught glimpses of soft rugs she imagined were to assist landing.
    Phoenix executed a turn, rotating until they were perpendicular to the deck, his orange-and-red wings slowing their flight until they hovered. Then they landed, their feet barely making a thump on the surface. Phoenix pushed the alarm code on a lighted pad and led her into the house.
    He waved his hand, and the room lit up. It was a clean, neat, light-wood contemporary living room, sparsely furnished. A black leather sofa stood in the middle of the room, with a large TV mounted on the wall.
    “Do you have a small room or spare bathroom? I want to put him somewhere safe.” JT lurched from side to side inside the carrier, making it rock.
    Phoenix indicated a door. “Through there,” he said. “I’ll get him a bed and some food. Then we need to talk.”
    After finding the bathroom tucked away off a back room, Rachel closed the door and let JT out. He cowered in the carrier, his nose twitching for a moment, then jumped out and ran behind the toilet. Once there he glared at her, his mouth opening in a soundless hiss.
    “I know, honey.”
    After a cursory knock, Phoenix came in with two bowls and a large towel. He moved past her and arranged the items next to the shivering cat. Phoenix’s torso was still naked. When folded, his wings lay smoothly along his back, blending in with the strong musculature. Only the colors gave away what they were.
    Winged men do not exist , she reminded herself. She wondered if she was still in a fugue state. Maybe she only thought she’d woken up from a dream but was, in fact, still dreaming. That would explain the non-earthquake, her oddly heated body and the red, glowing eyes. A fugue state was the most likely reason.
    She spread her fingers until they strained against the bone. It felt as if she was awake. Maybe the other fugue states had been like this as well. Wanting to blank the voices in her head, Rachel began humming an old nursery rhyme. It filled her brain until all she could think was “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”.
    His head rose. “That will do for a start,” he said aloud. “You will need to learn to cover your thoughts better than that, but you have innate ability.”
    Phoenix met her eyes. He was as gorgeous as she had envisioned in her dream, if she wasn’t still dreaming. With a face like an angel created by a macho god, he had great features and a body that would be at home on a fitness magazine cover. She was five foot ten, and he was six inches taller than her. And broad. His wingspan was wide, about twice the length of a person, in perfect proportion to his chiseled torso. Sweats covered his legs, but the loose fabric let her know that they were as well sculpted as the rest of him.
    “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose,” she thought.
    He smiled, his lips curling back like a feral dog. Like a wolf. Wolves.
    “Come. Your cat will be safe here. You look like you could use a drink, and we need to have that talk.”
    He made no comment that he’d heard her impetuous thoughts. Not that it mattered. After the last weeks, she understood now that her life would never be the same. A little admiration of