Wrath of Wind

by Kat Adams

  “Because we are at our most vulnerable when our focus is, um…elsewhere.”

  “So we watch a movie.”

  “You know what I mean.” He went back to pacing and added pushing his fingers through his hair. “I don’t like being forced into this.”

  “No one is forcing you,” I snapped. Was having sex with me such a huge burden? I enjoyed it, and he definitely didn’t seem to mind when we bonded on a whole other level. “Look, if it’s going to be that big of deal, forget it. I’ll take care of it myself.”

  Wait, that came out wrong.

  Embarrassment engulfed my cheeks as I pushed off the couch to storm to another room in dramatic affect. I hadn’t yet explored the cabin, so now seemed as good a time as any. Bryan needed space to get his head in the game, or his head was never going to make it inside me, not tonight. Maybe not ever again if he kept acting like sex with me was this massive undertaking.

  Back to the cabin. Everything was hardwood, from the polished floors, to the D log walls, to the vaulted ceiling. It reminded me of something I’d see in Montana. Rustic. Secluded. Full of charm, just like the state and the people in it. Maybe the guys and I could visit my old stomping grounds before the snow hit. I loved Montana, missed it like crazy, but I did not miss the mountains of snow and bitter cold that turned the state into the arctic six months out of the year.

  I checked out the bathroom. It was cute, a little small for my taste, but perfect for someone like Stacey Layden. The bear-claw tub took up half the room. I definitely planned to take a swim in that before I went back to the academy, where we only had communal showers. I left the room and walked down the hall, peeking in a bedroom. Like the bathroom, it was a bit small for my taste, but served its purpose. Black-and-white pictures of towns at the turn of the century decorated the walls. A colorful knitted afghan covering the double bed was a nice contrast to the colorless images.

  I closed the door and padded down to the door at the end of the hall. When I opened it, I let out a breath, impressed. Now this was more like it. The room had to be the size of the living room and kitchen combined. I walked in and glanced around, enjoying the way my feet sank into the plush carpet. Floor-to-ceiling windows lined the wall facing the trees. The room was big enough for two bedrooms, at least. It was set up as a bedroom and den, complete with a fireplace and shelves full of books.

  This place was the bomb dot com. I could totally live in this room alone, and thought of all the reasons to convince Dean Carter to let me live off-campus. Not every student lived in the dorms.

  I walked up to the windows and stared out, wishing I’d wake up to this view every morning instead of my cranky roommate and her infatuation with pink. Although that wasn’t really a problem right now. As soon as Spencer went away, she’d be back to her awesomely annoying self.

  That thought stuck with me. Would that be what launched her to the dark side? Would Spencer leaving do it? What if Jules came back to convince her twin to come with her? Would Jess follow her this time?

  I yawned and eyed the bed. It looked a hell of a lot more comfortable than the couch. If Bryan wanted to contemplate his life choices, he could do it without me. As I sat at the foot of the bed and tested the mattress, smoothing my hands along the soft comforter, my palm began to ache where the cut had been. I immediately studied it as panic fluttered my heart.

  Although the gash was gone, a faint yellow glow had taken its place.

  “Bryan!” I yelled as I stared at the pulsing light under my skin.

  He raced into the room and over to me, dropping his gaze to my palm when I offered it. Sinking to the bed, he took my arm and brought my hand closer to study the…the…weirdness happening to me. “Why is it doing that?”

  “I don’t know. Should we call Stace?”

  “No.” He cupped my face with his hands and stared deep into my eyes. “I got this.” And then he kissed me so deeply, so passionately, it robbed me of my breath along with my sanity. He pulled back and searched my eyes, and I felt it in my soul. “I got you.”

  Desperation fueled my movement as I yanked at his shirt, the need to feel us skin to skin overwhelming my senses. We’d always had that connection when our flesh met, that instant recharge to my system, and I needed that now. I needed him.

  He removed my clothes from the waist up and pulled me into his arms, sensing my need. His kiss consumed me. I tasted the hunger on his tongue as we tangoed, each fighting to dominate the kiss. With smooth finesse, he got rid of the rest of our clothes without breaking the connection and flattened us out on the bed. My lady bits tingled in anticipation of a little attention.

  Stretching my arms over my head, he grasped my wrists to hold me in place as he took his time trailing kisses across every part of my body his lips could reach without letting go of my wrists. I knew why. He’d been pushing his call to me since the instant he kissed me. When I tried to take back my hands to touch him, he held me in place. “Stop. Let me do this. Let me heal you.”

  “You can do that and still let me touch you.” I arched my back when he pulled a hard nipple between his teeth and gently bit down.

  “Relax.” He dragged his tongue along the curve of my breast and up to my shoulder before drawing back to look at me. His hazel eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them. When he flashed that crooked smile, showing off the dimple I loved so much, I turned into a giant puddle of emotions.

  I trusted him more than I trusted anyone else, myself included, and relaxed as best I could while he still restrained my wrists above my head. My skin hummed with heated energy where his hand held me, his control insane as he slowly devoured me. So slowly, it was torture. Sweet, sweet torture.

  “Katy,” he growled as he captured my mouth in a kiss to measure all kisses. With his free hand, he skated it between the valley of my breasts before dipping lower, lower, until he struck gold. He brushed my throbbing clit and I just about came off the bed. With a low rumble of a chuckle, he held one of my legs between his and opened me to him. Our flesh felt like it caught fire where we touched, which was a new experience for me with Bryan. Fire was Rob’s and my thing. Even Clay’s. But Bryan couldn’t call fire, so us being so heated worried me.

  “Are you feeling that?” I asked breathlessly.

  He locked his gaze to mine. “You mean this?” He brushed across my tight nerves again. This time, I did come off the bed. “Or this?” He moved his fingers in slow, lazy circles, massaging my clit and pulling more juices from my body.

  I’d never seen this side of Bryan before. So teasing. So in control. My earth elemental liked to take his time when we had sex, which I loved. But this? This was something more. He continued to explore my body with his mouth while he kept my arms above me with one hand. With the other, he drove me to the brink of orgasm before moving away from the sweet spot until my body stopped trembling. He’d then start the torture all over again, so by the time he lifted above me and wedged himself between my legs, I was already so close to exploding I couldn’t stop quivering.

  Then he kissed me so tenderly, so controlled and deliberate, I whimpered into his mouth, writhing for him to let go of my wrists so I could touch him the way he was touching me. But he tightened his hold and pressed the tip of his cock to my drenched entrance as he positioned himself between my knees. With a gentle rock of his hips, he slipped inside.

  I gasped and arched my back from the delicious invasion. His cock filled me, stretched me, completed me. I wanted to touch him. I needed to touch him and tried to break free, but he continued to hold me in place as he slowly slid in and out of my body in long, steady strokes.

  The passion between us as we connected was unlike anything I’d ever felt with him before. It was more than emotions. It was more than a physical bond. We were connecting on another plain, a spiritual plain, and I wanted to cry from the overwhelming experience. Our souls became intertwined so deeply, I’d never again be a complete person without him.

  “Bryan,” I cried as he scraped across se
nsitive nerves that had my body vibrating with pleasure. If he kept doing that, I’d hit the big O in record time. “Let me touch you.”

  “Not this time,” he rasped and latched onto my ear, pumping into me with more purpose. Over and over he joined us, his flesh sinking into mine, the feeling of being one with my earth elemental so intense, I cried out again. The orgasm built, tightening every single nerve ending. I whimpered at the impending explosion. It was going to be a big one, I could feel it.

  “This time,” he whispered against my neck. “I want to be the one doing all the touching.” He slammed our hips together, earning another cry from me.

  “You’re definitely touching all the right spots.” I bit my lip when he drove even harder, pushing deeper, clear into my soul. He kissed me as he thrust in and out, in and out, until my climax hovered just out of reach. I lifted my hips just as he buried his cock, and it shattered me.

  I called out his name, over and over, as my orgasm consumed me. He swallowed my cries and groaned into my mouth as he erupted. His element bonded with mine, and I swear to all things holy, it was the most intense surge of power I’d ever felt. We rode out the release, rocking and writhing, until we both collapsed to the bed. He rolled to his back, and we lay there, panting as we stared at the ceiling.

  I wanted more and turned to my side, running my hand along his chest. Something had changed between us. I felt it. I know he felt it. I saw him in a new light. I’d always loved his hazel eyes, his crooked grin that brought out that dimple. Loved the way his sandy-brown hair always appeared perfectly groomed. His barrel chest. His wide shoulders. His enormous…confidence.

  But this? This was more than something tangible. When he looked at me like I was the only girl in the world, he peered right into my soul. And I felt him there. Sweet baby Jesus, did I feel him there. “Am I allowed to touch you now?”

  He laughed low. “Absolutely.”

  I crawled on top of him, straddling his hips and resting our nether regions together. “Like this?”

  He grasped my hips and moved me back and forth, back and forth, sliding me up and down his rigid flesh. “How about like this?” He lifted me and thrust his cock deep inside.

  I threw my head back and hissed. “Yesssss.”

  Unbelievably, he still had some power left to transfer to me, which he did as we seated each other together, over and over, until I cried out as another orgasm hit me. He groaned as his climax consumed him. I collapsed to his chest, panting and shaking from the violent release.

  I rolled to my back, and we resumed the position of lying there, gasping for air as we stared at the ceiling.

  “How’s the hand?”

  I held it up for both of us to see. The glow was gone. “All better. How about you? Did I completely drain you?”

  He nodded as his lids grew heavy. I had more energy than I knew what to do with, so I dressed quickly and tucked him in before kissing him and leaving the room. Rob was still on the front porch, so I joined him. “Hey.”

  He had a cocky grin as he eyed me. “Hey. I take it everything went okay.” It wasn’t a question. He lifted his gaze to the trees. “They were dancing. A lot.”

  So were my lady bits. “Shouldn’t you be back at the academy?”

  “Professor Layden gave me permission to stay. I knew Bryan would be drained, and I had no idea if it’d work enough to heal you.”

  I held up my hand for him to inspect, which he did. “See? It worked.”

  “Good. I guess that means you won’t go all Dark Phoenix on us again.”

  I laughed, appreciating a reference I actually understood. “What time is it?”

  “It’s after midnight.”

  A yawn snuck up on me and popped my jaw as I let it out. “There’s no way I’m getting up early for 3C tomorrow.”

  “That’s actually something else I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to talk to you both.”

  “Bryan’s asleep.” I didn’t like the troubled look clouding his expression, creasing his hooded brow. “Rob? What is it? Is it about what happened at the extraction?”

  “No.” He moved to the other side of the porch and leaned against the railing, staring out into the darkness. “It’s so peaceful out here. No sounds at all.”

  It was dark. Really dark. “Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” I flashed a wide smile when he shot me a sideways look. “What? Not a ’Twas the Night Before Christmas fan?”

  “Not in August.” He returned his attention to the woods surrounding the cabin. “Stace and I talked before she left.”

  “Stace? Since when are you and the 3C professor on a first-name basis?”

  “Since she offered me a job with the Council.”

  “What?” My shout of surprise echoed through the trees. This was a conversation best had close, so I hurried to his side. “What sort of job?” Please don’t say—

  “Patrol. I’d be hunting down the clans of dark elementals.”

  No. Nonononono. When Stace had told me she’d only be going on patrols until they trained more elementals to fight the dark side, I had no idea she’d be stealing one of my boyfriends. As if I wasn’t having enough of a heart attack knowing she was out there hunting down dark elementals.

  “It’s a great opportunity for me,” he went on, oblivious to the confusion and sorrow twisting inside me. I knew we’d never stay at the academy forever, and I knew he’d be the first to leave since he’d been there the longest, but I didn’t think I’d lose him so soon after finding him. “She said with the level of my power and my experience from extractions, not to mention everything that happened last year, the Council would waive my probation. I’d actually start as a full-fledged member of the patrol. The pay is pretty decent too, so I’ll be able to afford my own place since, you know, I won’t be living in the dorms.”

  I swallowed over and over to keep from throwing up. I’d never hold any of my guys back from doing something they wanted to do. Judging by the eager shine in his eyes, he really wanted to do this. “That sounds…” I swallowed again. “Amazing, Rob.”

  “Really?” He pulled me into his arms. “You really think so?”

  “Of course,” I lied through my frozen smile. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “I thought you’d be angry. She told me your reaction when she’d mentioned she’d been out on patrols.”

  “It’s not like I can tell you no.” Could I?

  “You’re pretty incredible, you know that?” He kissed my nose. “I love you, Katy Reed.”

  My hear seized. A man I loved was going to put his life on the line on a daily basis as he hunted dark elementals alongside my 3C professor. I hated everything about this. “I love you, Rob Emmett. And hey, at least we have the rest of this schoolyear to prepare, right?”

  His gaze searched mine. “No. I’m leaving Clearwater at the end of this week.”

  16

  Rob and I didn’t talk about him leaving the academy again as we crawled into bed. I insisted he sleep in the bed with Bryan and me, which made it a little crowded, but I didn’t mind being between them. Bryan was completely dead to the world. I’d stripped to my bra and panties, while Rob just plain stripped. It was a skin-to-delicious-skin sandwich. I turned and curled into Rob, holding him tighter than necessary before drifting off to an unpeaceful sleep.

  I kept dreaming about him battling dark elementals, some of them human, most of them monsters worthy of the scariest haunted house. No matter the dream, no matter the enemy, it all ended the same—with Rob dying and me jolting awake to make sure he still held me.

  I peeled away from my guys at the sign of first light and the overwhelming urge to go for a run, which might be more terrifying than the nightmares. I hated to jog. Lord knew I didn’t have the appropriate clothes for it, what with the creepy dude’s fantasy schoolgirl uniform, but that didn’t stop me. I dressed and left the cabin, taking in a healthy breath of fresh air.

  It smelled good out here. Really good. The fragrant trees. The f
lowers just waking up to bask in the rays of the sun. The fact we seemed to be miles away from the pollutants of the nearest town. I pulled in another deep breath before stepping off the porch.

  The warmth of the sun hit me. It felt great, and I hesitated walking into the shaded woods, lifting my head and bathing in sunlight. Raising my hands high over my head, I stretched slowly, enjoying the feeling of my muscles loosening.

  As I walked into the woods, gently brushing my fingers along every tree I passed and taking in the power of the element vibrating inside them, I thought about Rob’s new job with the Council. It really was a great opportunity for him. Not every elemental gets a job using their powers.

  I thought about Leo and the look on his face when I’d attacked. I’d never get that image out of my mind, and I shouldn’t. Although Rob and Bryan seemed to have forgiven me, I hadn’t yet talked to Leo or Clay. If I trusted my air call, I’d teleport to them and beg them to forgive me.

  I thought about Bryan and what it meant now that everyone knew we shared a primary. It definitely bonded us at an entirely different level. It didn’t make me any less connected with the other guys. If any of them thought that, I’d have to do whatever it took to convince them otherwise.

  I thought about Clay and how short-tempered he’d been since school started. I didn’t like my carefree air elemental acting so strict all the time. We needed him to keep us all laughing and to remind us life didn’t have to be taken so damn seriously.

  On top of everything else, I thought about Spencer, about what it meant that he was still my handler even after everything he’d done. Attacking my guys during lessons. Attacking me during lessons. What did the Council know that I didn’t? What weren’t they telling me? It had to be monumental for them to ignore all the bad stuff he’d displayed since arriving at the academy.

  I rubbed my hand where the gash had been, positive it was more than a coincidence I’d gotten it while training with him. Did he somehow cut me from twenty feet away? Did he use dark magic on me? On himself? Was that the reason why none of us could feel his calls? How he seemed relatively unaffected when I called light? Was he really a mysterious leecher who’d turned himself into a magically enhanced elemental?