Free Burning Bright (Ivy Granger) by E.J. Stevens

Harborsmouth hadn’t escaped the
morning’s fires unscathed.  I clenched my fists.  Someone was going to pay for
the damage to my city.
    I remembered the fleeting glimpse I’d caught this morning of
a fire imp dancing in the flames by the waterfront.  If it hadn’t been for the
current situation with Jinx, and the added matter of my bargain with The Green
Lady, I’d be out hunting the little bastards right now.
    Too bad my hunting partner had been exiled halfway around
the planet, my best friend was stuck inside a magic hamster ball to keep from
dying, and my mentor in all things paranormal had gone missing.  Oh yeah, and
when she returned, we’d have to address the small matter of me being pledged to
kill her.
    I blinked hard against the smoke filled air and stomped
toward Private Eye, the detective agency I ran with Jinx, and the adjacent loft
apartment we both shared.  The loft was situated on the floor above our office,
but I hesitated before reaching out for the door that led to a flight of stairs
and the promise of a shower.  Someone, or something, was hunched in our office
doorway.
    I hadn’t been into the office today, but I’d heard Jinx
clearing our schedule before walking to Kaye’s earlier today.  Had that really
only been this morning?  She’d sent out calls, emails, and text messages to our
clients, so who was lurking on our doorstep?
    With the philosophy that it was better to be prepared than
dead, I flicked my wrist to release one of my throwing knives from its sheath
and with the other hand slid a holy water dipped stake to rest along my thigh. 
I really wasn’t in the mood for vamp games or fae politics and there was no way
I’d take on a new case right now.  Whoever it was needed to leave…or face the
consequences of a very grumpy wisp princess.
    I stalked forward, careful to keep my weight balanced, ready
to strike or dodge as need be.  Thankfully, I wouldn’t need my blades, this
time.
    Ceff sat there waiting on my doorstep, a smudge of soot on
his face.  His eyes fluttered open and he waved me off.
    “What…?” I gasped.  “Are you okay?”
    Wincing, he pulled himself upright.  He wobbled, unsteady on
his feet, and I hurried forward.  I reached out to steady him, but he took a
step away.
    “I am uninjured, just…tired,” he said.  “No need to risk a
vision.  Unless, of course, you would like to join me in a shower?  I seem to
have acquired an inordinate amount of filth while fulfilling your wish to
extinguish fires throughout the city.”
    His dark eyes gleamed and warmth spread through me and
tightened my belly.  God, Ceff was gorgeous when he smiled.  The smudge of soot
did nothing to mar the chiseled features of his face.  In fact, it made me want
to touch him all the more.  Sharing a shower?  Yeah, that sounded like a grand
idea.  Too bad this was neither the place or the time.
    I shook my head and took a step back, putting more distance
between us, struggling to keep my hands to myself.  If I touched Ceff now, it
would be awhile before I could stop, and I didn’t just mean sex.
    Coming into contact meant experiencing visions of every
significant, emotionally charged moment in the immortal kelpie king’s life. 
We’d shared those visions before.  It was a necessary part of our relationship,
one that had brought us surprisingly close, but it did have a downside.  There
was no such thing as a quickie where Ceff and I were concerned, and right now I
didn’t have time to play in the shower.  We could go horizontal when everything
else in my life stopped going sideways.
    “Come on, we can talk upstairs,” I said.  “And I do mean
talk.  It’s been one hell of a day.”
    “Of course,” he said.
    Ceff waited patiently for me to lower the wards and unlock
the door before crossing our threshold and mounting the stairs to the loft.  My
human blood, as well as the door ward’s custom design, allowed me to enter, but
Ceff was a pureblooded