Immortal Bloodlines Read online

  Table of Contents

  Legal Page

  Title Page

  Book Description

  Dedication

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  New Excerpt

  About the Author

  Totally Bound Publishing

  A Totally Bound Publication

  Immortal Bloodlines

  ISBN # 978-1-78184-978-1

  ©Copyright Taige Crenshaw 2014

  Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright February 2014

  Edited by Rebecca Douglas

  Totally Bound Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2014 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN

  Warning:

  This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Totally Sizzling and a Sexometer of 1.

  Phoenix Intelligence Agency

  IMMORTAL BLOODLINES

  Taige Crenshaw

  Book four in the Phoenix Intelligence Agency series

  A stubborn woman is hard to capture, but once you have, what do you do with her?

  Storm Davis does not like being told what to do. Her new partner in the Phoenix Intelligence Agency seems to think he has the right. She can’t seem to shake him like she has her previous partners. He infuriates her with his calm, unaffected boredom. When his control shatters, it is with unexpected results, and Storm isn’t one to shy away from anything.

  Killian Erutan is working through being brought back from the dead and now he’s a firebird. He is still an Amazonian Warrior but being a firebird, he has more to handle. Add to that the aggravating partner he’s saddled with and Killian has his hands full. Storm is flaky, a pain in the ass and used to having her own way. He will not stand for it. The warrior in him cannot trust such a person at his back. Yet she gets under his skin and one sizzling kiss later, he finds he aches for her with no idea why.

  When they stumble upon the dangerous man they are seeking who can bring the collapse of the world, Storm surprises him with her actions. The danger of what they are facing and their rising passion make them come together.

  Sometimes in life, you find the one who makes your immortal bloodline…come alive.

  Dedication

  To my mother who has always been my number one fan. Because of you, I love to read and write. To my big sister and second mother who has always believed in me.

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Alone: Mary J Blige with Dave Young

  Midnight Garnet Infiniti QX60: Infiniti, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

  Chapter One

  Storm Davis strolled down the sidewalk of Wall Street then glanced behind her at the towering building of the Phoenix Intelligence Agency. She smirked, but resisted the urge to do a jig. Although in New York most people wouldn’t find it strange to see someone dancing in the street, she was trying to avoid attention.

  Take that, you pain in my ass. I finally bested you. Storm turned her head then her smile faded as a man materialized before her. None of the other pedestrians on the sidewalk acknowledged his appearance and Storm knew it was because he’d made it so they didn’t see him. That was instinctual for any being that worked for the Agency. Making sure mankind didn’t know they existed, while maintaining their protection, was a rule. Storm glared at the partner she’d been saddled with.

  His rich, dark-caramel skin highlighted masculine features that were so well put together, many would call him drop-dead gorgeous. All Storm wanted was for him to drop dead and leave her alone. His cold and detached expression only added to her wanting him to go away. He tilted his head back as if in challenge—his arrogance that he could ensure she didn’t escape him had been proven true, too often. He studied her with amber eyes that were impassive and Storm really wanted to smack him in the face. The wind whirled around him, making his braided hair move in the air. Not a hair was out of place and, as usual, he was dressed impeccably in an exquisitely tailored shirt and slacks with his favorite boots on his feet—his clothing was deep brown, bringing out the blond undertones of his dark, reddish-brown hair.

  Why does he always look so composed? I bet he does it just to annoy me.

  “Your thoughts on the subject make no sense.” His silky deep baritone filled her mind as he spoke to her telepathically, creating a path just for them.

  Storm narrowed her gaze at the intrusion. He’d never done so before and she wondered how he would feel if she did the same to him.

  “You are welcome to speak with me this way.” His expression was still contained and he stood with his feet braced apart, a few steps away, watching her.

  Absently, she noticed the people passing by giving them a wide berth. She felt the pressure from the power he was sending out to steer them away. Storm glared and lifted her hand, flashing him her middle finger before she pivoted and headed back the way she had come. In moments, he was walking beside her and Storm resisted giving him a zap in the ass.

  “Isn’t it about time you accept that I am your partner?” He asked the same question he always did.

  “The day I accept defeat is the day I’ll cluck like a chicken and do a hula.” Storm glanced at him.

  He met her gaze then rich laughter spilled from him.

  Storm stopped, shocked at that sound coming from the man she had viewed as her straight-laced, pain-in-the-ass partner. Killian stopped too and continued to laugh. Her breath caught as she observed what his laughter did to his face. Before he had been gorgeous but now he was irresistible.

  Stop that, Storm. Remember he’s your pain-in-the-ass, supposed partner. No matter if at this moment you finally notice that he looks so damn sexy and you want to taste his laughter from his lips. You have more control than that.

  “I wonder what thought has put such a befuddled expression on your face, Storm Davis.”

  His intense scrutiny made Storm glad she’d blocked her thoughts. It would have been mortifying if he had known.

  “And you’ll never know, Killian Erutan.” Storm glared. “Do you ever not sound like a robot? I’ve told you many times you don’t have to call my whole name.”

  “You’ve just called mine,” Killian pointed out.

  “Only because you did it first.”

  “I wonder what else I could do first and you’d follow.” He stared at her.

  Suddenly, Storm felt hunted as he studied her. She shook it off as being too sensitive and said in a sweet tone, “Only if you’re planning to jump off a bridge, or get lost, so I never see you again.”

  “Although you say the words you don’t mean them, Storm Davis.” Ki
llian’s surety set her teeth on edge.

  It didn’t matter if the infuriating man was right. She ignored the pang she felt at the idea of not seeing him again. She started walking again and he fell into step with her. Storm didn’t say anything until they were in front of the building.

  “Why do you insist on calling my whole name?”

  “Because it makes you act all warm and fuzzy,” was his calm reply.

  “Did you just tell a joke?” Storm gaped at him.

  “Leaving the building to prove you can escape your partner is moot at this point.” Killian held open the door that read Phoenix Attorneys at Law—it was the alias for the building. It was what they did—protect earth from those things they couldn’t even fathom existed.

  “It’s the principle of it.”

  “So this principle lets you try to sneak out of the building although you have already lost the bet with Kalina.” Killian shook his head. “That makes no sense.”

  At the reminder of Kalina, her boss and Killian’s sister—he along with Kalina and their other sister were triplets—she harrumphed. Kalina had bet her she could get her a partner who would stop her from leaving the building, and it was still a sore subject.

  “I was tricked.” Storm strode past him.

  “Because you were able to get away from your other partners, thus getting rid of them. Yet you can’t shake me but that does not mean you were tricked. Why don’t you ask me what it means?” Killian closed the door and they strode across the lobby past the receptionists.

  They went to the elevator and Storm pressed the button. As they waited, Storm wanted to know what he meant but refused to ask. When the elevator came, they got on and Storm leaned against the back wall. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at Killian. He was standing straight and stiff as he usually did.

  Damn, he’s looking sexy. She shook herself slightly. Damn it, why am I noticing stuff like this about the pain in my ass? Why does he all of a sudden look so good?

  The elevator door slid open and Storm exited. Killian followed and they continued down the hall to the Assassination Unit she was a part of, where Killian again held open the door. Storm went in and glared at the other agents, who glanced at her and smirked. They all knew of the bet she had made with the head of the unit and she was still trying to get away from Killian, although Kalina had already won the bet.

  “I still don’t understand why you keep leaving when it serves no purpose,” Killian said.

  “Principle.”

  “Your principle makes no sense.”

  “Not to you, but it does to me,” Storm retorted.

  Killian shrugged. “You are one strange woman, Storm Davis.”

  “Again with my whole name.” Storm blurted out, “Why doesn’t it mean I wasn’t tricked?”

  Killian stepped closer to her. Storm tilted her head to meet his gaze. An expression she couldn’t define was on his face.

  He leaned close and spoke by her ear. “It means I’m just better than your previous partners. That’s what you’ll eventually come to realize. I’m better and I won’t ever let you go, Storm Davis.”

  There was promise and a threat in his low tone. Storm turned her head and their faces were inches apart.

  “And you’ll come to realize that unless I want to be kept, you don’t have a chance in hell of keeping me.”

  Killian inclined his head. “I will remember your words, Storm Davis.” He spoke in a low tone again. “But putting yourself into my keeping can be beneficial.”

  “Humph, being my partner doesn’t make you my keeper.” Storm frowned.

  “Perhaps.” Killian smiled.

  Storm inhaled and his masculine scent—a mix of musk and the earth just after it rained—filled her. Killian’s amber gaze flickered with fire then he inclined his head again before disappearing. Storm scowled, not liking that the mystique of Killian was making her lose her senses.

  “You really know how to get him going,” a woman with a rich, melodious voice spoke behind her.

  Storm turned and sighed when she spotted the third triplet—Killian’s other sister, Kaitya. Like her siblings, Kaitya had amber eyes, similar features and reddish hair. Kaitya, however, differed with her personality. She was laid-back and nothing ever seemed to bother her. It was one of the reasons Storm liked her. Kaitya was one of the few agents who were part of more than one unit in the agency. She was both an assassination and a tracker agent.

  “How do I actually get him to go, as in let me escape?” Storm headed to her office.

  Kaitya walked with her. “Now you wouldn’t want him to let you escape. You want to do it on your own merits. Although, you don’t have a bet to win anymore.”

  “I wouldn’t want him to just let me escape. The bet is beside the point.” As they passed, Storm noted that Harmony was in Lennox’s office and they seemed to be in a heated discussion. She made a mental note to find out what it was about later. Although her nieces were grown and each had mates, Storm still felt protective toward them.

  “There is no point. You’re just being stubborn.” Kaitya chuckled. “Killian is the same way. The two of you are perfect partners.”

  “Humph, why did I think you were my friend?”

  “Because I’m one of the few people who give you back as good as you dish out.” Kaitya patted her on the shoulder then continued on and out of the secondary exit from the unit going to her office that was between the two divisions.

  Storm entered her office and went over to the window. She had work to do, but she couldn’t focus on the tedious paperwork on her desk. Using her power to increase her eyesight and see through the structures blocking the view, she was able to view the Statue of Liberty. The elegant lady who watched over New York was one of her favorite places to go to think. Storm decided she would go there later. Killian’s words had her off kilter and she didn’t like the feeling at all.

  * * * *

  Killian held back a smile until he was in his office in the tracker unit, behind closed doors. As he walked to his desk, he was surprised he wasn’t as irritated as he usually was after dealing with Storm. The damn woman was stubborn and a pain in the butt, and he was saddled with her as a partner. Killian could laugh at the irony of the situation. He was used to organization and now more than ever he craved it. He sat at his desk and leaned back in his chair, sliding his fingers together then placing his hands under his chin.

  He stared off into space, not even glancing at the work he’d left on his desk when he’d felt Storm leave the building. Since he’d won the bet a while ago, he’d been letting her get farther outside before going to retrieve her. Killian would only admit to himself that he enjoyed the thrill he felt at the disgruntled look on her face and in her hazel-green gaze. Storm’s face was exquisite and very expressive—he usually had no trouble reading what she was thinking. He particularly liked the look she gave him when she was resisting the urge to hit him. Storm had never come out and said it directly, but he’d read her body language in her clenched fist, the flare of her nostrils, and tic in the side of her jaw when she bit the inside of her cheek. She pushed her kinky curls that always wildly framed her face back over her ear before she gave in. It was her tell that she was controlling the need to deck him.

  Storm was chaos that he didn’t need at the moment. With all that had happened recently, Killian wondered when his life would stop feeling so out of place.

  “Uh-oh… There is that broody pose again.” Kaitya strode out of the wall and into his office.

  “I don’t brood.”

  Kaitya snorted as she flopped into the chair facing his desk. She placed a leg over one arm of the chair, hanging it there as she rocked it back and forth. Killian couldn’t help but smile when he spotted the colorful knee socks she wore—these were emerald green with lime green roses— as she was prone to do instead of shoes. Many people saw her laid-back attitude and underestimated her but very few knew that although it was her way to not be bothered by things she saw as inc
onsequential, Kaitya was actually a master strategist who was always thinking and many steps ahead of everyone else.

  “You brood all right. Spectacularly, too.” Kaitya studied him. He struggled not to squirm at the intensity of her scrutiny.

  “Stop that.”

  “Little brother, I have no idea what you mean.” Kaitya used her wide-eyed, innocent look.

  “By one minute you’re the oldest. You only use that when you’re about to impart older sibling wisdom that either I’ll want to accept or throttle you for giving.” Killian shook his head. “Humph, that expression doesn’t fool me.”

  “And I’m two minutes older than Kalina and you’re one minute older than her. So if it’ll make you feel better, you can go act older sibling on her. I missed that when we were dead. I’m sure she missed it too.” Kaitya’s smile was fleeting and sad.

  Killian’s heart clenched and he swallowed back the pain. They had died centuries earlier and Kalina had been all alone while he and Kaitya had been together in the Amazonian Warrior heaven. From the discussions he and Kaitya had shared since being brought back, they had both retained memories of that time. Watching Kalina suffer alone had been hard, but they hadn’t been able to let her fully go and were there to live it with her even if she didn’t know they were. They’d also kept an eye on their mother who had also been suffering their loss. At the time, he and Kaitya had ached for their loved ones, powerless to bring them together to realize they needed each other.

  “She did. Although she’ll gripe about it. We’ll go see her in a moment. After you get off your chest what you came to say.”

  “Maybe I didn’t come to say anything. Just a friendly visit to my little brother.” Kaitya grinned.

  “Again with the older sibling thing. So yeah, you have something to say.” Killian lowered his hands and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his desk.

  Kaitya rose and came around the desk then he turned the chair. She sat on the arm of the chair and leaned against him.

  “I’ve sensed that you are feeling out of sorts.” Kaitya blew out a breath. “Not just about Storm, although if you stop fighting so hard you’d figure out why she makes you so on edge.”