Kenna nodded, numb with acceptance. She would replenish her stock, live as she had the last five years in quiet solitude, just another local artist whose work was sold in local shops. No Michael Laird show, no shows at all. She swallowed back a lump in her throat. A void, like a black hole, deepened in her gut. She’d lost the life she knew. And ached in ways she never had before for an existence she couldn’t understand. Not without Erion. She would find him, make him understand he couldn’t live without her, any more than Airiana could live without him.
Since Erion left, the female Air Element had remained silent. That frightened Kenna. But she also couldn’t deny the relief at being able to sit across from her mentor and not fear that he would somehow sense the voice she heard.
Kenna shifted her gaze to Marshall. He scribbled on the paper where he’d listed the ruined pieces. In his typical take-charge manner, he planned on getting her up and running and back in the game…back with other people. A tremor radiated through her. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to let that happen.
“I’m canceling the show.”
His head snapped up. “You’re overreacting. It’s a loss, but you can create pieces to replace the ones you lost.”
Kenna shook her head. “It’s too much, too soon. I can’t risk putting Michael in that position. If I don’t deliver the rest of the pieces, he’ll be in trouble. I won’t put his reputation on the line.”
Marshall set his pencil down. “You can do plenty in two weeks. What’s the real problem?”
“Did you see my workshop?” She froze, realizing the door she’d opened with the statement.
“It’s a mess, all right.”
“I can’t work in there,” she cut in. “And what clean-up crew can get hardened glass off concrete?”
“I’ll take a sledgehammer to it myself if I have to.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. He would do just that. Despite it all, the oddity, her attitude, he would put himself on the line for her. His fatherly concern was coming to the fore. Kenna clamped down on the sentimentality. Better to hurt Marshall than to burn him to a crisp.
“It’s not open for debate. I’m canceling the show. I’ll get somebody to clean up, but there’s no need for you to hang around. I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
His brow rose. “You’re kicking me out?”
“Nothing’s changed, Marshall.” Her heart jumped into overdrive. Would he buy it?
“Plenty’s changed, and don’t try telling me it’s because of our last conversation. I let you be, Kenna. You’re a big girl, and you have to find your own way, but we both know my warning wasn’t anything you hadn’t already considered.”
“It was an accusation,” she shot back with genuine feeling. “You accused me of stealing, of not having enough imagination to come up with something on my own.”
His face softened. “What I said was, people would think you didn’t have enough imagination. You wouldn’t be the first to be called a Gudentrath copycat.”
Kenna lifted her chin, memory of his words as real as they had been two years ago. “You said people, but you meant me.”
“You’ve clearly proven me wrong.”
Kenna blinked. She’d only half believed her own words. To hear him confirm her fears—her head whirled. Had everything been a lie, his belief in her, her ability as an artist…her very humanity?
“What’s going on, Kenna?”
His demand yanked her focus back to him. “I…I told you.”
“No, you haven’t.”
“I’ve lost a year’s worth of work, and there has to be something else wrong?”
“Doesn’t have to be,” he replied. “But there is.”
Fear shot through her, but this time, she was ready for his suspicion. Kenna gave a harsh laugh. “Problem is, Marshall, you were expecting the same doe-eyed girl you knew.”
“Two years couldn’t change you into the cynical woman of the world you’re trying to sell me.”
He rose and strode to where his duffel sat near the door. He picked up the bag and faced her. Her heart pounded. He was leaving just like that. Just as her mother and father had, just as Jared had…just like Erion.
She was truly alone.
Chapter Eleven
Filmy blue flitted across the darkness of Kenna’s dream world. She shifted fitfully in her sleep. Air shimmered into a translucent shadow against black, circled once, and covered her. She resisted the comforting warmth. The covering grew heavy and the masculine weight of muscled shoulders and thighs pressed her into the mattress. A moist mouth nuzzled her ear.
“Erion,” she murmured in drowsy awareness.
Sudden tears burned the corners of her eyes. Her mind fought for the reason behind the tears even as she arched her naked breasts against his chest. He gave a low laugh.
Kenna snapped open her eyes. She fought the pressure weighting her down and fumbled for the lamp on the nightstand and jabbed at the switch. Light flooded the room. She jammed her eyes shut against the blinding intrusion, but not before discerning Aiden’s blue eyes staring down at her.
“You’re dead.” Emotions choked her. “You can’t be here.” She bucked but instantly stopped, feeling his erection hard against her thigh. “You’re dead!”
“I’m not that easy to kill,” he said.
She opened her eyes, grimaced against the still-too-bright light. “You son of a bitch. Get off me!”
He ground his cock against her.
She bit back the fear and seized his shoulders. “Get,” she shoved, grunting with the force of each word, “off.”
His weight pinned her to the bed. Kenna started to yank a knee up, then realized doing so would settle his hips between her legs. Her stomach roiled at the thought of him inside her. Her head spun.
“This is what Erion gave you.” Aiden slid his cock against her flesh again.
Kenna froze. Fury lit his eyes like fireworks. Wyvern and Ormond had been right. Why hadn’t she listened? Because she’d believed she’d killed Aiden…and so had Erion. Had she known Aiden was still alive, she would have listened to the Drakaura. Now they were gone.
Erion was gone.
Her blood froze. But Marshall wasn’t gone. He slept across the hall in the spare bedroom.
Fear tightened her chest and lungs to near choking. If he heard her struggle, he would charge into the room, and Aiden would snuff him out without a second thought. Why hadn’t she forced him to leave when he’d faced her, duffel in hand, and asked where he was supposed to sleep? Though she hadn’t wanted to admit it, she’d nearly given into tears when she realized she misread the fact he’d simply picked up his duffel in readiness to take it to the room where he would sleep. That was quintessential Marshal. He said little and did much. But she’d been right in telling him to go. Now, he was in danger, and if anything happened to him, it would be her fault.
“You enjoyed fucking the man.” Aiden’s sneer sent her heart on an erratic beat. “You merged with his air.” Aiden thrust his cock against her. “Now you’ll feel my fire.”
She forestalled a cringe. If he sensed her weakness, sensed Marshall so nearby, both their lives would be over. She lifted her chin. “Never. I chose Erion over you.”
“I’ll have you one way or the other. All at once, or little by little.” Aiden flattened a palm on her ribs and began sliding the hand toward her breast.
“Erion will kill you.” Kenna cursed the tremor in her voice.
The hand stopped, and Aiden lowered his mouth to within an inch of hers. “Our combined fire will easily defeat him.”
“You’re insane. I’ll never merge with you the way I did with Erion.”
He laughed. “Fight me. Taking it will be far more pleasurable.”
Heat coiled in her stomach, then burst through her body.
A satisfied smile curled the edges of his mouth. “Very good.”
Warmth emanated from him. Her mind raced. Stay human and be raped, or shift and let him
claim my element. Tears burned behind her eyes. What if he forced the change? What if she forced him? Kenna envisioned her grandmother’s house ablaze. She would gladly sacrifice the house, but not Marshall, to keep her fire from Aiden.
“Resist,” he soothed. “It will heighten the energy when we merge.” He shifted so that his arms caged her head and fisted a hand in her hair. “Your colors are brilliant.”
His breath warmed her face. He smiled the handsome smile she’d seen the first time they met, and her stomach turned. “I will enjoy you, then savor the memory once your fire is mine.” His eyes darkened. “The longer the taking, the better the memory.”
Her core bubbled. Terror ripped through her in a heated frenzy that fed the fire. No! Not now. Not ever.
He leaned closer. She twisted her head aside, but his fingers tightened on her hair and forced her face back to his. She jammed her eyes shut, calling forth Erion’s face, dark eyes, easy smile. Just as when Erion thrust into her, the feeling of imploding into flames spread through her.
No!
Memory of his firm touch was displaced by Aiden’s lips touching hers. Kenna bit down on his lower lip. He grunted and crushed her in a brutal kiss. She clamped her mouth tight, but blood seeped through her lips, the metallic taste warm on her tongue. A palm gripped her breast with steely strength. Heat—Aiden’s fire—shot through her nipple and warmed her center.
No, she mentally commanded, and the sensation vanished. Aiden shoved a knee between her legs. Fear froze her. He was trying to ignite her fire by fucking her as Erion had. Kenna locked ankle over ankle. He wedged his other knee between her legs. She strained with the effort to keep her ankles locked while twisting in an effort to displace him.
He seized her hips and straightened her. She grunted as his full weight abruptly centered on her chest. Tears choked her. If she ignited while Aiden was inside her, he would enslave her, then kill Marshall. His final revenge would be when he destroyed Erion. Aiden released one hip and pinched her nipple. Needlelike pain pierced to the bone.
“I will have you, then deal with Erion,” Aiden hissed. “Never fear, sweetheart. The memory of these moments is what he will take with him into oblivion.” Aiden reached back and seized a calf, yanking the leg free of the ankle hold.
Aiden would claim her—as Ormond had predicted. What did that mean? Was Airiana enslaved by Erion? She lived inside him. Kenna began to tremble. Would she become imprisoned inside Aiden? What about Erion? Once he learned what Aiden had done, he wouldn’t rest until Aiden was dead—or die in the process. Could Erion—her kind—die? Kenna choked back a sob. She would be helping Aiden kill Erion. She had to get away from the house, from Marshall. Lead Aiden as far away as possible, then kill him so he couldn’t return for Erion. Could she? Did she have any other choice?
No.
Heat erupted in her core.
Kenna fell in on herself. Scorching pain ripped through her. She cried out. Aiden’s weight pushed her downward as they spiraled into nothingness, their bodies locked in an obscene death battle. She gasped against the intense sense of stretching into tiny fragments, then breath-stealing tearing that pulled her apart at the very core. Aiden’s weight vanished, and she shot outward as a tiny, blazing shooting star.
As if from deep inside a tunnel, his gasp echoed back at her. His roar of fury blasted through the barrier, causing a ringing inside her consciousness beyond anything she’d ever heard. Dizziness disoriented her. A shimmering wall of heat sped toward her like a tsunami. Breathe. She couldn’t breathe. She rolled across the air as if a helpless feather on the wind. Wind. She needed air. She needed Erion. No. She had to lead Aiden away from Erion. Away from Marshall, from the world and into whatever oblivion he had intended for Erion.
“Come with me.” The angelic voice of the Air Element whistled in Kenna’s mind.
A force propelled her across open air.
“Come with me.”
“No!” Kenna fought the force.
Scorching blue flames singed her edges.
She had to get away. Kenna spun toward the window and raced forward. An instant before she shot through the glass, Fiera screamed.
Chapter Twelve
Erion tried focusing on the figures displayed on the computer screen, but memory of Kenna persisted, hazel eyes bright, skin glowing as if lit within from the sun, her hair the color of a thousand suns as it had been after her transformation. He could envision her beneath him on the rug in front of the fireplace that smoldered with embers, his cock inside her, her eyes hazy with desire. They could spend weeks in his secluded cabin. He’d never get enough of her.
He jarred from the erotic picture. “Isn’t one woman’s death on your hands enough?” he snarled.
Erion reached for the Scotch sitting untouched on his desk, then paused. She needed him.
He allowed his hand to drop onto his thigh and gave a harsh laugh. “I need her.” He leaned back in the black leather office chair and raked fingers through his hair.
For millennia, Elements had emerged and thrived without his help. Fiera wasn’t the first. She wouldn’t be the last. But none of them had been his mate. It didn’t matter. She would be the last for him. Kenna’s existence as Fiera depended on him keeping as far away from her as possible. She deserved the chance for a full life. He would focus on Global Enterprises, leave the Giris—and mating—to others. But that didn’t mean he would forget her. Forget the sweet taste of her soft lips or the way she clutched at his shoulders as he filled her hot sheath with his cock. No, he’d ache for her, ache for her breathless sighs after orgasm. Ache for eternity. He’d never forget, because he’d never feel as good as he had in her arms, in her body…in her fire.
The phone rang. Erion swung his attention to the sleek black earpiece sitting on his desk. The number flashing was his London office. Miriam Weatherbee, his manager. She would want to discuss his newest project—the importation of classic cars to the UK. His favorite was the 1969 Mustang Fastback 390 with a V8. Not in the popular red, but rather a soft, olive green with a thick black stripe down the middle of the car.
Kenna belonged in a car like that. He could see her, red hair flying wild as they raced down the highway, windows all the way down. She would flash that heart-stopping smile at him, and he would take her anywhere in the world she wanted to go.
But he would never again see that smile, feel the rush of excitement that tightened his chest at the sound of her husky laugh. Another man would experience all that—and more.
The picture vanished, and the ringing phone blared. He snatched up the receiver. “Miriam—”
A crash through the window to the right of his desk brought Erion to his feet. The chair hit the carpet with a thud. A baseball-size ball of fire smoldered on the carpet. He threw the phone to the carpet alongside the chair. This wasn’t simple fire. The blue-hot flames were Element.
Aiden.
But the Fire Element had been destroyed in their joining. Erion started to give way to the weightlessness of his element, then stopped. The figure taking shape in the fire wasn’t Aiden.
He drew in a sharp breath. Kenna—no—Fiera.
She rose to her full five-feet-six-inch height, and the fire evaporated with a whoosh, leaving only a naked woman. She clutched at the air, as if off balance, and collapsed. Erion caught her before she hit the carpet. He hugged her trembling body close. She gasped for air.
“Slow, deep even breaths,” he ordered. “It’s always jarring the first few times. Concentrate on your breathing.”
She clung to his shirt, dragging in air. “I don’t understand,” she wheezed.
“I know.” Erion tightened his hold on her. “It’s not the same as when we merged.”
Kenna shook her head. “No.” She gulped air, then coughed. “I—” She coughed again. “I didn’t want to change into human form.”
He leaned back and looked down at her. “Why not?”
She dragged in another breath. “I was trying to turn around and f
ly away.”
He stiffened. What had he expected?
Kenna twisted and looked over her shoulder at the shattered window.
“Don’t worry about the window,” he said.
She looked back at him, eyes wide. “I have to turn,” a coughing fit nearly doubled her over, “to fire.”
Erion swept her into his arms and strode to the sofa in front of the fire. He sat down, settling her on his lap. She pushed from his chest and looked in the direction of the window again.
“Forget about the damn window,” he said. “Concentrate on your center. Bring your human form into harmony with your element.” She tried pushing off his chest. Erion seized her shoulders and gave her a shake. “Kenna.”
Their eyes locked. Fire blazed within her irises. The shift back into human form had disoriented her. He gave her another small shake.
“Focus, baby. Stay with me.”
She frowned. “I am here with you. That’s the problem.”
His heart twisted. He didn’t blame her for wanting to get as far away from him as possible, but he couldn’t allow her to shift while in this state of flux. She had to learn to control the metamorphosis or risk chaos. An Element out of control could cause havoc on the environment without being conscious of the destruction.
“Easy,” he said. “Once you’re centered, you can shift back into fire.”
Her buttocks warmed over his cock. His body pulsed, and his mind numbed. He jarred with the unfamiliar feeling, then fear tightened his chest. Their sparks. He was responding to her as a mate. He yanked back, despite the pain.
“I need to be fire again,” she said. “Now.”
“Dammit, Kenna, do as I say. Shift fully into human form.” How long could he resist the compulsion to experience the wholeness of being inside her? If he didn’t get her to shift back fully into human form—”Let your body reassemble,” he ordered. “Then you can shift back into fire and get as far away from me as you want.” And he would speed in the opposite direction.
“I tried that,” she snapped. “But something drew me here.”
Born Into Fire Page 9
