by Larissa Ladd
“You know how much I want you right now too.” Aira couldn’t quite keep her hands off of him, even as the prospect of his mother knowing what they were doing frustrated her. “You know she’s going to know exactly what happened.” Aiden sighed.
“Just because she’s going to know doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.” Aira closed her eyes, pressing her lips together. Finally she sighed, letting her head fall against Aiden’s chest.
“I am taking my birth control pill right now.”
Aiden and Aira began undressing each other with the ease of practice, their hands wandering over each other’s bodies idly as they unbuttoned and unzipped, tugged and guided. Aira felt the energy inside of her growing, surging and tingling through her veins. When the first crackling boom of thunder sounded outside, she shook her head; in spite of knowing that Jessica would interpret the howling wind and lightning properly, she couldn’t deny the deep-seated lust she felt for the man she had given herself over to. She knew that if she had cut him off—if she had let her misgivings over vicarious spectators overcome her desire—she wouldn’t get even an hour’s sleep, spending the night instead tossing and turning, full of energy with no outlet other than sex with the man she loved.
Aiden reached out blindly and turned on the stereo, filling the room with the atmospheric strains of Radiohead. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and Aira opened up her mind to him completely—the way she had every time they had made love since they had bonded. She felt Aiden’s energy surge through her, filling her with heat that made her glow from the inside out; her own energy shot out of her body and into Aiden, mingling with his fiery essence to create a feedback loop that neither of them could resist. They tumbled onto the bed together, touching and caressing, teasing each other relentlessly in a power game that they had stalemated on over and over again—and yet they continued every time they were alone together. Aiden pushed her right up to the edge, bringing Aira to the point where she would almost—almost beg him to finish her off, to give her the relief she craved; but she managed to hold out, to be just a little more patient than her fiery lover. To date, he hadn’t managed to achieve her surrender.
The music didn’t quite muffle the sounds of increasingly violent and powerful lightning outside, but Aira was too wrapped up in sensation, too involved in the feeling of Aiden’s touch and the taste of his sweat to be self-conscious. She gasped and shivered as he stroked her pleasure center, nibbling sharply along the column of her throat and bringing his lips back up to hers to kiss her until she was breathless. “If we’re not careful,” Aira said between panting breaths, “we’re going to light your bed on fire.” Aiden chuckled lowly, one hand cupping her breast while the other worked away at her ability to think.
“The sheets are flame-retardant,” he murmured in her ear, his lips closing around her earlobe and his teeth worrying it a moment before he continued. “The walls are too. And the carpet. Just make sure you don’t shatter the windows when I make you come.” Aira let out a frustrated, indignant squeal, the sound dissolving into a moan of pleasure as Aiden teased one of her nipples, rolling it slowly and firmly between his fingers.
“That—that only happened once,” she told him firmly. “And don’t even start … on the power outage.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Aiden said lowly, biting sharply at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. “Mom does have plenty of surge-protectors though, and a generator.” Aira shoved at his shoulder half-heartedly as she felt him move into position between her thighs, wanting to register her displeasure at his joke, but more intent on feeling him inside of her.
“You are such a jerk,” she said, kissing him hungrily as Aiden thrust into her slowly, letting her feel him fill her up inch by inch. “I don’t even know why I like you so much.” Aiden laughed, pushing deeper inside of her until their hips were flush, holding still to torment her. He nuzzled his stubble-rough cheek against hers, brushing his lips along her jaw.
“You like me so much because you know you’ll never get me to give in to you,” he told her, his voice low and intense, full of the arousal Aira could feel as potently as her own. “You like me because you know you’re never going to tame me. The same reason I love you. Admit it, Aira: you’re all mine.” Aira wrapped her legs around his waist tightly, clutching him close.
“I am,” she said, agreeing without even being entirely sure what she was agreeing with. Aiden’s body flush to hers, his energy flowing through her, the heat of him deep inside of her, were all that she cared about. “And you’re mine.” Aiden kissed her on the lips lightly before he dragged them along her skin, stopping at her ear.
“All yours. Always.” Aira heard the air-ripping sound of lightning shattering through the keening, eerie tones of the music on Aiden’s stereo, but as her pleasure mounted, as she came closer and closer and then tumbled into orgasm without being able to help herself, she couldn’t care less. All she could think of was how good she felt, how whole and right and powerful—and how satisfying the echo of those feelings coming from Aiden felt.
CHAPTER FOUR
AS THE VISIT WAS COMING to an end, Dylan and Aiden reluctantly loaded the car to make the long trek back to Aira’s apartment—their de facto base of operations. Dylan found himself both reluctant and relieved to be going. It had been good to be with his mother; like all water elementals, he found strength in being with his family, especially with the woman who shared his alignment. It also had been amusing to watch the ways in which his mother subtly—and sometimes not-so-subtly—reinforced her campaign for Aiden and Aira to make their bond official through marriage. While the elemental world recognized them as mates, the broader human world wouldn’t recognize the bond until they were married, and Jessica, like many elementals, was just as concerned with human society as she was with the society of paranormal individuals she had been born into.
The first morning, when Aiden and Aira had finally managed to satisfy themselves long enough to come to breakfast, Dylan had watched with amusement, recognizing his mother’s attempts for exactly what they were. The previous night’s lightning storm and howling winds had been all the encouragement that Jessica had needed to continue her culinary efforts to intensify the bond between Aiden and Aira. She had brewed tea for the lovers—full of peppermint and vervain—along with coffee. “Did you sleep well, Aira?” she asked as she served up a big breakfast of eggs, whole grain toast, richly-buttered grits, and ham. Aira blushed a bright crimson and Dylan sipped the coffee his mother had poured him, fighting back the urge to snicker.
“I did,” she said, recovering her composure. “I was surprised at how comfortable Aiden’s bed was; he and I haven’t been able to find really comfortable flame-retardant sheets yet.”
“If you want, I can send you home with some; the secret is a little spell that his grandmother and I whipped up together. It imbues the material with water energy that keeps it from being able to light.” Aira had nodded, amusement and horror warring for dominance on her face. Jessica was discreet enough not to mention their sex life directly; but it was clear to Dylan that his mother had decided that the best way to persuade the two to make their bond official was to do her level best to get Aira pregnant. Dylan knew that Aira was on the pill as a matter of course—he hadn’t mentioned it to his mother, because he knew that if Jessica was aware of it, she would concoct a brew that would negate the artificial hormones.
Although his mother’s attempts most likely hadn’t resulted in Aira getting pregnant, the trip had intensified the bond between his brother and the woman he loved; that much was plain to see, and it gave Dylan both satisfaction and a kind of sadness. One afternoon, while Aiden was supposed to be taking Aira sight-seeing in town, he and his mother had had time to sit and talk—both as parent and child, and as one elemental to another. “I can feel you getting stronger,” she had said, smiling. “I will always be grateful to Lorene for giving you more tutelage—much more than I could have taught you.” Dylan had smiled, shruggi
ng.
“She didn’t have time to impart much to me directly, but I’ve had access to her books and notes, thanks to Aira.” Jessica had nodded, looking at her own collection of elemental lore.
“When your grandmother and I agreed to send you to Lorene, I had almost hoped that you would bond with Aira—bring our two families together. But of course, that’s been the result anyway, through your brother. Are you okay, Dylan?” Jessica’s face had clouded slightly. “I can normally read you very easily, but since you’ve been here you’ve been murkier than usual.” Dylan had shrugged again, looking away for a moment. He had never hesitated to confide in his mother before—they had a unique understanding, sharing an alignment as they did.
“Just feeling a little lonely, I guess.” Jessica took his hand, and Dylan opened his mind to his mother, feeling the cool, soothing comfort of her energy washing through him.
“The unfortunate problem of our alignment is that we’re often lonely,” his mother told him gently. “Air and fire elementals are social by nature, and earth elementals can be happy spending their entire lives with their families…we tend to be a little more reserved, a little less trusting. I know you’ll find a mate soon—I’ve seen it in my dreams, though I can’t see the woman herself.” Dylan had taken comfort in that idea. “But there’s a lot of strife ahead for you—and for Aiden and Aira, of course,” Jessica had chuckled. “It seems as though both of them are destined for continual drama.” Dylan had echoed her laugh.
“You know, if I didn’t know better,” he said, shaking his head, “by the way they fight and bicker I would think those two would be the last two people to make a happy couple.”
“Their needs are not the same as yours, Dylan,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze. “You need someone who you can understand, who can understand you—you need a restful companion, not someone who fires you up. Of course, you’ll find passion with the right woman, but you’d quickly get tired of the kind of pyrotechnics that Aiden and Aira create.”
“I know that,” Dylan said, thinking deeply for a moment. His mind always seemed clearer when he was in contact with his mother. “I just…I envy them the intensity of their feelings for each other. I shouldn’t. I should just be happy that Aiden isn’t moping around or trying to nail every attractive woman he sees. But I’m…I’m hungry for more than what I have.” Jessica had given his hand another squeeze; the depth of her cool calmness flowing into him.
“You’ll find it. I promise you, son, you’ll find the woman who makes you happy. You’re not far from it now; just make sure you’re ready to fight for her, and to recognize her when you see her.”
Dylan loaded the last of the bags into the trunk. They would be leaving soon; Dylan wanted to get back to work as much as Aiden or Aira possibly could. For him, it was a question of filling his hours with something useful—giving himself as little time as possible to nurse his feelings of loneliness. Dylan was a generally cheerful person, but he knew that his watery essence lent itself to melancholy easily. The last thing he wanted to do was dampen Aiden and Aira’s essences by projecting his lonely hunger onto them. His mother had looked into his future and seen him happy, seen him with a woman to love—that was enough to hold onto for now.
Dylan went back into the house, where Aira was sitting in the living room, telling Jessica stories about her grandmother—not the myth-like tales of Lorene’s intense abilities, but more lighthearted bits and pieces of her life as the woman’s granddaughter. Dylan smiled to himself, sitting down quietly. They would need to hit the road soon, but it was easy to understand Aira’s attraction to his mother’s house, her lack of desire to leave it—in spite of knowing that Jessica was trying to manipulate her, to convince her to marry Aiden. Aira was used to the vagaries of water elementals; and Jessica’s strengths in that alignment were a reminder of her grandmother—though of course, Dylan’s mother had not even half the potency that Lorene had had. It was soothing, comforting to be in her presence; it felt like a calm in the midst of a storm.
Dylan also knew from his mother that there were stirrings of rebellion against Aira’s rule; not from members of her own element, but from the still-dissatisfied earth elementals who were holding a grudge against her. While she was a guest in another elemental’s home—particularly a water elemental—they wouldn’t move against her, but once they were on the road again, and working, their plans and schemes would resume. They were not fond of the way that Aira had taken charge of her position, the way she had decided to rule as she saw fit, young as she was. There had been respect for Lorene, and a certain amount of restraint—and at one point, the most powerful earth-aligned families had hoped to ally with Aira. But their hopes had been dashed, and Aira’s attitude towards unstable elementals was much more lenient than the earth faction wanted. Since Aira had been considered unstable—volatile, too powerful for her own good, potentially a danger to the community as a whole—Dylan thought their surprise at her leniency was ridiculous. Of course Aira would empathize. Of course she would want to give the unstable air, water, and fire elementals the opportunity to correct themselves, to stabilize safely.
But for a group that was used to being the backbone of the elemental community, it was difficult to tolerate a volatile personality like Aira having such influence. She couldn’t be the sole determiner for water and fire elementals, but she was able to intervene among the air elementals and keep them safe where she saw appropriate, as well as voting. The balance—with a monarch for fire, one for air, and one for earth—was definitely skewed more towards energies that the earth elementals considered dangerous. Dylan hoped that there would be a worthwhile candidate for the water monarchy sooner rather than later; with a full balance of forces amongst the elemental rulers, there would be less of a struggle for power. But he knew all too well that thus far there were no obvious potential rulers; certainly he was not on the short list for that responsibility. Dylan knew that he had a stronger ability than his mother—potentially stronger than his grandmother—but he was no Lorene, an immensely powerful elemental with a nearly-destructive force behind her.
“We need to hit the road,” Aiden said, looking around with regret. Dylan knew that Aiden was well aware of the difficulties they would face—their mother would have warned him as well, knowing that Aiden’s alignment with fire would make him doubly protective of Aira. Dylan hoped against hope that he wouldn’t make his protective feelings too obvious—Aira would not respond well to the imposition of too heavy a guard.
“I hate to see you all go,” Jessica said, smiling sadly. “But you’re doing good work and I can’t keep you to myself forever.” Dylan stood in the same moment that his mother did, and watched her hug Aiden quickly; he could feel the pulse of her energy flowing into him. “Don’t lose your patience, son. Everything will happen in its time.” Dylan thought that advice from his mother was a little ironic—she was clearly impatient to see him married—but he knew what she meant underneath. Aiden’s short temper had been diffused somewhat by his association with Aira, but he was still, at heart, impatient and quick to anger—especially when it came to defending the woman he loved. Jessica hugged Aira next, and Dylan looked away, knowing she was open to Aira’s mind and energy, trying to sense the possibility of a child, trying to read her. “You can come here any time you want—you’re always welcome, not just as my son’s mate, but in your own right. And you will always be safe here.”
Finally, Dylan wrapped his arms tightly around his mother, burying his face against her shoulder. “Remember what I told you,” she said quietly. “Don’t let the melancholy freeze you. You have a life of purpose, you have things to do.” Jessica kissed him lightly on the cheek and Dylan felt her energy flowing into him, steady and strong, cool and tranquil, like the slow sluice of snowmelt. He kissed her cheek and broke away, taking a deep breath. It would be back to work, and back to the sub-rosa task of keeping Aira safe in the midst of an upheaval in their world without offending her independent spirit.
CHAPTER FIVE
DYLAN GAZED INTO A SILVER bowl filled with water, concentrating on the slightly rippling surface and clearing his mind of everything going on around him. Aira and Aiden were doing investigative work of their own—out on the streets of Kyoto, talking to people, trying to understand what was going on, trying to get a lock on the elemental who they were after. There was a fire elemental whom the Elders insisted was dangerous; young, coming into his full potential before he reached physical maturity, his parents deceased. Dylan wasn’t trying to track the individual down with the scrying bowl—with a fire alignment, it would be difficult to get a psychic lock on the boy himself. But he could use the natural clairvoyance that came with his elemental energy to discover what he could about the incidents the Elders had mentioned. If Aira and Aiden could locate the elemental, Dylan would be of use in subduing him—but they had to get a lay of the land first and understand the situation as best as they could. Aira’s air-aligned facility for languages and her innate ability to compel answers out of people she spoke to had been a big benefit to his and Aiden’s work.
Dylan closed his eyes for a moment. He was starting to get better at divination, using the right tools for his element and practicing the methods that Lorene’s books and her own lessons had given him—but it was sometimes easier for him to follow his empathetic senses rather than his clairvoyance. He focused down, opening his mind to the flow of water, slipping his fingers into the bowl and stirring the water around as if searching for something sliding and slithering in the liquid. He felt a frisson of cold fear and opened his eyes, looking down into the bowl. He saw a house in flames, people screaming in terror—the fire had erupted seemingly from nowhere, the old material lighting in the middle of the night. It was clear to Dylan in a flash what had happened: The boy, coming into his powers, had fallen asleep in the old building, curled up somewhere he thought was safe. Power had surged through him—just as it had surged through his older brother during Aiden’s adjustment to his abilities—and the boy had not known how to contain it.
