The fire catchs exactly where Master wants them, he fires at the dry timber beams instead of straight into the powder kegs. Sparks begin to fly across the wood, crackling soft at first but then building fast as the old dried planks get consumed by the fire. I watch it all from his arms as he picks me up, body pressed tight to his chest, my tail of course curled around his forearm in a tight grip whilst my ears are pinned forward to catch every beautiful sound of the fire spreading. The guards are however now shouting, boots pounding inside the warehouse, but the blaze is already spreading.

  Master doesn't wait for the boom. His arm siimply tightens around my knees, the other locked behind my back, and he simply picks me up like I’m nothing, like i'm completely weightless, hugging me close, my face go right to the side of his neck, my blonde hair spills over his shoulder. My legs dangle over his arms as my tail thrashes once in a wild primal delight before it coils tighter around his arm. I need to mark him, completely after this savage display.

  He has other plans as he bends his knees and launches.

  Eight feet of air in one clean leap. The warehouse roof rushes up to meet his boots, he lands soft, stretching his weight forward so the impact barely impacts me and then he's running again. My purr rumbles low and manic against him vibrating through both of us as he jumps again, another warehouse, another eight foot gap cleared like it's nothing.

  He keeps going. The warehouses blur into unimportant shapes, blue tarps flapping like dying flags behind us. By the time he finally slows, three buildings away, the first warehouse erupts. A deep, rolling boom shakes the night, orange light blooming bright enough to paint the night orange for a heartbeat. Powder kegs go off in chain, secondary blasts ripping through the roof, sending burning crates flying in every direction.

  Master drops to a crouch on the far roof, still holding me cradled against him, breath steady even after the run. I twist in his arms until I'm facing him fully, tail snapping around his waist twice to pin us together. My face buries deeper into his neck, rubbing slow.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The fire spreads fast, leaping from roof to roof in hungry arcs, the whole row lighting up like a funeral pyre. Guards are running blind, creatures against the fire. The manifest is safe in Master's pouch, pages tucked against his chest where I can feel their faint crinkle every time I press closer. Crimson’s little proxies just lost a fortune in alchemicals and a warehouse full of secrets. Tomorrow Reed will choke on his smirk when we shove proof in his face and demand the rest.

  “You beautiful, ruthless Alderian” I breathe against his neck, really pushing my nose into it, inhaling him deeply like some spoilt needy creature. “You lit them up perfect. Made the whole wing glow just for us. Ah just for me.” I then knead his shoulders.

  He inhales hard, nose pressed flat to my neck. I feel his chest expand against mine, ribs pressing, then the slow, shuddering exhale hot against my throat. My own breath hitches, turns ragged, I nuzzle deeper as I breathe him in feverish, frantic, like if I don't fill my lungs with him right now I'll suffocate.

  He doesn't speak, doesn't need to, his nose drags slow up the line of my throat, inhaling again, deeper, like he's trying to pull my entire soul in through his lungs. I mirror it carrying it on, nose shoved harder into his neck, tongue flicking out to taste, then pressing flat to lap once, slow and claiming.

  We stand there like that, locked together on the roof ridge. No words. No hurry. Just the slow, obsessive drag of noses and mouths along throats, inhaling each other.

  I break it to nip his earlobe, fangs grazing just sharp enough to sting, then soothe it with a slow lick. “Take me home, Master,” I murmur, body trembling against his, tail lashing slow arcs behind us. “I want to taste the smoke on your skin tonight until neither of us can think straight. Let the city choke on its own ashes tonight. We've got better things to do. Or should I purr and say I have better things to do..”

  He shifts me higher in his arms, one hand sliding under my thighs to hold me secure, and starts moving again, quiet leaps across rooftops, back toward the guildhall, the firelight fading behind us.