Held by Heat: Wings Wands and Soul Bonds Book 3

  Held by Heat

  Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds Book 3

  Terry Bolryder

  Copyright © 2020 by Terry Bolryder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover art by Yocla Book Cover Designs

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Epilogue

  Also by Terry Bolryder

  Author’s Note

  Held by Heat is book 3 in the Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds series. Every book has a new couple and a happy ending, but reading them in order gives the best experience!

  Here’s book 1:

  Found by Frost

  And book 2:

  Defended by Darkness

  1

  Flynn

  I keep my shoulders up, hunched, to hide more of my face from view, as I glance around the club surreptitiously.

  Across the floor, Ian waves, dancing as if nothing is wrong while throngs of women surround him.

  Ian likes contact with human women now and has gotten good at gently pushing them back. I suppose it’s because of his life as a distant, lonely light fae, but he tends to love any kind of company.

  Right now, he’s keeping the women distracted from me as well, so I have to be grateful to him.

  I don’t want anything to do with human women. Fae women. Anyone, really. I’m just here to work hard and prove myself as a fae warrior.

  Prove that I wasn’t meant to just be harem fodder, fought over by elite princesses but never truly bonded.

  I’m a prince, and I’m tired of fire princes not being taken seriously for anything but their sex appeal.

  Seriously tired of it.

  “Hey, sexy,” a drunken voice slurs next to me. “You come here often?”

  I glance over to see a red-haired woman slumped partially over the bar, winking at me with green eyes that only emphasize the redness of the whites of them.

  “Not interested,” I say softly, putting one hand over the bracelets on my wrist that keep my true form suppressed.

  The woman rolls her eyes and stumbles off the stool and back toward the dance floor, her drink waving precariously in her hand.

  “That was awkward.” A soft voice gets my attention as a different woman sits on the other side of me, waving down the bartender.

  “Yeah,” I say casually, taking another sip of my drink and trying not to be too rude. I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone. Ian and I are here on surveillance, and—

  “I’m Callie,” she says, turning and putting a hand out toward me.

  “Flynn,” I say, turning to shake her hand. As I touch her, it feels like the world warps around me. My skin feels electric, all my hair standing on end.

  As I look into the eyes of a blond angel.

  Her skin is as pale as her hair, and she has light, moss-green eyes. Her coloring is unlike any I’ve seen on a human, and her smile is warm and pleasant, utterly peaceful despite the loud, rowdy environment and booming music.

  This must be the woman we’re looking for. The beacon.

  We came here from our world to help the humans fight an invasion of chaos fae, and finding human women with latent powers, called beacons, is our most important duty.

  Because if the chaos princes find them first, then we’re all in big trouble.

  I tense for a minute as she studies me, but she quickly releases my hand and turns back to the bartender.

  I raise one eyebrow because I was half expecting her to jump me like every other woman I’ve been remotely nice to.

  Instead, she calls for another drink. I glare down at the other two empty shot glasses in front of her, doing some calculations.

  Perhaps that explains the peaceful look on her face.

  While she grimaces and focuses on downing her shot, I take a minute to study her.

  Luscious curves, though I can’t make out her height when she’s sitting. She’s soft. So soft. Chubby, humans would call her, I suppose.

  I would call her perfect.

  “Mmm,” Callie says next to me. “Liquid courage.”

  “For what?” I ask mildly, intrigued by this odd little human.

  “Asking someone to take my virginity.”

  I nearly fall off my stool as I turn to glare at her, meeting mossy eyes that look like pure, endless hills.

  My heart beats hard again, like it’s echoing.

  “Callie, can I offer you some advice?”

  “Yes?” She smiles up at me, her light-blond hair in soft, full waves around her face. She’s wearing a green sweater that just reaches her tight, stone-washed jeans that hug every curve and tuck into cute little black boots.

  “Don’t,” I say.

  “Don’t drink?”

  I shake my head. “Don’t ask someone to do… what you said.”

  She grins, swaying slightly on her chair as I reach out to steady her. My hand grazes her back, searing me before I can even realize what I’m doing, and I quickly jerk it back.

  “Why not?” She rights herself on the stool. “Why shouldn’t I? I’m drunk. It’s my thirtieth birthday. Time to stop waiting for my prince to come…”

  I let my eyes run over her slowly, let her watch as I carefully note each asset. “Hang in there, gorgeous. He might still be on his way.”

  Literally, since unbeknownst to her, she’s a fae princess.

  Instead of being charmed by my compliment, she wrinkles her pert little nose and lets out a snort.

  “You’re nice,” she says, smiling at me as she turns to the bartender and waves down another shot. “But you don’t understand.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She lets out a forlorn little sigh. “Look, based on what I just saw, you don’t have any problem with people wanting you. How many men have come up to me?”

  I glance from her to the rest of the club, and I can kind of see the reason. She isn’t dressed like the others, so she doesn’t really fit in here. There’s something much softer, a sensuality that is warm but not obvious. Quiet.

  She’s someone you would have to gently pull back the layers off, until you got to the hot, silky center of her.

  And damn, now I’m hard while I’m supposed to be on surveillance duty.

  Not the time for sex, Flynn.

  I can already imagine what I would do to this woman, the way her hair would look after she twisted her head against her pillow for hours of sheer pleasure.

  The way her green eyes would roll back when she came over and over.

  The sweet feel of soft curves against hard muscle.

  I grit my teeth, trying to stay focused. “Why would you want to lose y our virginity anyway? If you haven’t met the right person, you just haven’t met them.”

  She sighs, and the sound makes me want to make everything bad in the world go away. “I don’t know… It’s just… The world could end tomorrow, and it feels like I’ve barely lived. I mean, I have my life, my books, my cats—”

  “You have a cat?”

  She nods. “Three.”

  My brows come together as I try to picture such a thing. The closest thing we have to pets in my world are dragons, and generally, even that is looked down upon.

  “Well…” I’m at a loss for what to say now. I should call Ian over, tell him I’ve located the beacon and—

  “You could do it, you know,” she says, eyes sparkling prettily as she looks up at me.

  I take a deep breath, looking away from her to firm my resolve. “No,” I say quietly. “I don’t do sex without commitment.”

  She wrinkles her nose and lets out another adorable snort. “Who are you? You know, that’s the exact opposite of most men right now.” She turns on her stool to survey the club, swaying slightly. “I bet anyone else in here would say yes.”

  My chest tightens, and it’s suddenly a bit harder to breathe, imagining her in someone else’s arms.

  I clear my throat. “Probably.”

  She sighs a little. “But I’m picky.”

  I glance sideways at her. “That’s not a bad thing.” I sigh. “I think people aren’t picky enough, given how serious it is to give ourselves to someone else.”

  She raises an eyebrow at me, looking suspicious now. “You aren’t one of those purity people, right? That thinks women are worth more if virgins?”

  “Hell no,” I say, glad that human vernacular comes easier to me every day we’re here. “I just think we make ourselves vulnerable, emotionally and physically, and even when we say we aren’t, we are putting our heart on the line.”

  “I don’t need a man in my life in general, though,” she says, nodding to herself. “But I would like to try sex, just once.”

  I swallow against my tight throat. “Once again, I really would recommend against something so reckless. Especially when drunk.”

  She nods. “Your disapproval is noted.”

  It rankles. It shouldn’t rankle because I know she’s going to be paired with Ian, probably. And besides, we aren’t supposed to interfere more with the beacon than necessary.

  She doesn’t even know what she is, let alone why I would be here.

  Deep down, she’s a princess, endowed with the strongest powers a fae can possess. I can feel her power emanating from some mysterious place inside her.

  But right now, she’s just a human woman in a bar, recklessly considering going home with some random human male just because she thinks something is wrong with her.

  I suppose I might have to get violent tonight, should she attract undue attention.

  I also suppose I don’t really mind.

  “Well, it was nice to meet you, Flynn, but I’ve got business to attend to.” She slips off the stool, and against my better judgment, I catch her by the hand, stopping her.

  “Wait,” I say carefully. “How about a dance?”

  She looks me over, her green eyes heating as she runs them down my body and up to my face. They dart to my lips. I stay there calmly, allowing her perusal, feeling a bit like a lion being appraised by a deer. “No, I don’t think I should dance with you. It would just give me ideas, and you already said no.” She continues walking away.

  “Wait.” I get off the stool, slamming a bill down on the bar so I can follow her as she makes her way onto the crowded dance floor.

  I hate human clubs, and I can’t believe I’m walking into the middle of a crowd willingly.

  Ian looks over at me from where he’s currently mediating between two women trying to dance with him, and he jerks his head at Callie curiously.

  I nod tersely. “That’s her,” I mouth over Callie’s head.

  Ian nods, and for a moment, I think he might come over. But then he just winks at me and makes a gesture that clearly says, Go ahead.

  As if I need his permission.

  I might like the light prince now that I’ve gotten to know him, but I don’t let anyone tell me what to do.

  I’ve spent my whole life being told to be one thing and fighting against it, so I guess fighting is just in my nature.

  Callie stops when she reaches the middle of the dance floor, disco lights overhead flashing, lighting up her pale, wavy hair.

  She looks lost for a moment, and I wish she was back at home with her cats, safely curled up, maybe with a fire fae prince outside keeping watch over her…

  Damn, something’s wrong with me.

  She walks over to a man and reaches up to tap him on the shoulder, much to my shock at her audacity.

  He turns and, while he looks surprised at first, quickly gives her a smile and puts out a hand to dance with her.

  It takes everything in me to stay back and watch him take her in his arms.

  “So she’s the beacon?” an amused voice says from behind me, catching me off guard.

  “Yes,” I say, narrowing my eyes on the man holding Callie. “I’m sure of it.”

  I run a hand through my hair, wondering why I’m getting more and more upset about the way the man is holding Callie, though he seems to be perfectly proper.

  “You like her,” Ian says because the big, dumb, angelic-looking doofus is oddly perceptive.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I say, folding my arms. “You gonna make a move?”

  “No.” He shakes his head. “But you should.”

  “You don’t feel resonance?” I look up at him.

  “No.” His mouth firms slightly. “I’m not sure why. She’s gorgeous. Seems nice.” He shakes his head. “Damn, I thought I would match with the next one.”

  “They aren’t prizes,” I say.

  “Yes, they are,” Ian says firmly, folding his arms over his massive chest. “I’m not objectifying them. I’m just saying I want one.”

  I snort out a laugh, but it’s cut short when I see Callie trying to extricate herself from her dance partner, who is trying to lean in for a kiss.

  “Do you want to play hero, or should I?” Ian asks.

  But I’m already walking over there, ready to tear the man’s head off for not reading the fact that she doesn’t want what he has.

  I tap him on the shoulder as Callie looks up at me, still pushing against his chest, her pale cheeks flushed, her lips parted in shock.

  Her partner lets her go as he turns to face me, and I let my fist go—straight into his face.

  Damn fire fae temperament.

  “Flynn!” Ian is there, trying to hold me back, but it’s pointless because I only had to punch him once.

  He’s out, on the ground, and the crowd seems to have barely noticed until security steps forward and Ian grabs me by the arm to pull me away with him.

  “That was foolish,” he says, dragging me to the door. “You stay here. I’ll retrieve the beacon—”

  But Callie is there, following us to the door, twisting her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

  Chaos is breaking out in the bar, so I simply shake my head as Ian practically drags me out and Callie follows.

  When we’re outside, walking down the street from the bar, I turn and jerk my arm away from Ian to face Callie.

  “See? What did I tell you?” I shake my head. “Bad idea.”

  She rubs her arms. “I should be able to dance in a club without problems.” She shudders slightly.

  I shove my hand through my hair again, knowing it’s surely standing in all directions at this point.

  This is not how I pictured my night unfolding. I’m going to have to go home and explain to Tanner that I assaulted a human.

  Even if said human deserved it, it’s fairly looked down upon, given the difference in strength.

  “Thank you, thou gh,” she says over her shoulder. “I think at this point, I might just head home.”

  “That would probably be best,” I say, but guilt washes over me when I see a gleam of tears in her eyes.

  I step forward immediately, and she doesn’t resist when I draw her into my arms, resting a hand on her shoulder while I use the other to wipe away a tear from her cheek. “What’s wrong, princess?”

  She laughs, looking up at me. “I don’t know. Maybe I thought something magic would happen if I was bold and tried to have a big adventure. Instead, I just caused trouble.”

  “It wasn’t any trouble,” I say, not sure where to go from here.

  I can understand how she feels, somewhat. I, too, used to try and make connections, hoping someone would want to do more than grope me.

  It’s not how the world works. Mine or hers, apparently.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Ian asks, coming forward.

  Callie’s eyes move up to him and widen in surprise. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is this your boyfriend?”

  Ian laughs, and my face goes red because she isn’t the first one who has asked this.

  I don’t know why humans are so odd about male-to-male bonds of friendship. As fae, we bond with everyone in our sphere.

  Ian throws an arm around my shoulder as Callie steps back, wiping her eyes and looking cheered up. “No, he wouldn’t have me.”

  I shove his arm off me. “Plus, we’re not gay.” I sigh. “Callie, this is Ian. Ian, Callie.”

  Callie giggles again, and I’m at least relieved to see she’s slowly cheering up. “Well, thanks for what you did in there. Both of you.”

  “What did he do?” I ask.

  She smiles. “He got you out of there before you could get caught.”