The water running off her body started out gray with ashes and soot.
Ashes. Of Chaolt.
She closed her eyes as her stomach rolled a little. She wouldn’t mind forgetting the fight and the aftermath when Walker drained her. And the part where she thought Levi was lost to her forever, burned into ashes himself.
The quick ache across her chest told her she should avoid any other thoughts like that. He’d somehow avoided being turned to ashes by sucking all the energy from the burning statue, and thank god for that. That few minutes where she’d thought he was dead… A hot tear leaked out from under her lashes, and Brooke breathed deep and tried to empty her mind of thoughts again. It worked, for a minute.
She had to tell him. What if she forgot when they drained her? It took him almost dying for her to realize how much she cared for him, how much she needed him on a soul level. How much she loved him… What if she never came to that realization again? She needed to tell him before they went to see Walker.
Even if the thought of it made her heart pound and her palms sweat. If he didn’t return her feelings… would she survive intact? Or would she crumble?
In her mind appeared a picture. Levi looking at her across the sand. The sadness, the regret in his gaze. A tenderness she felt even as he burned up, eyes only for her.
Even the memory of that pain hurt like a stab in the chest. On an inward gasp, she opened her eyes.
And stopped breathing. The water from the shower head was pouring out in incredibly slow motion. Straight up.
Broke finally exhaled on a yell. The mass of water shimmered above her head, silent. She stared, fearful, and then reached back and shut off the water. The water stayed up there, moving and morphing.
“How do I fix it?” she gasped.
Right then the door bounced open and she heard the signature schick of knives leaving the holster before Levi yelled her name. “Brooke! What’s wrong?”
She sagged against the tile wall. Levi. Always saving her. Taking a calming breath, she said, “I’m okay! I think—”
And then she squealed as the entire bubble of water splashed down on her at once.
At the big splash and her following yell, Levi ripped back the shower curtain. “What’s wrong?”
She stood there, dripping and sputtering and wiping water out of her eyes as if she’d just been dunked.
But the shower was off.
“Brooke?”
“Levi!” she cried, covering herself and turning away, “What are you doing?”
“I… ” The long line of her back and round buttocks turned his thoughts to mush. “I heard you cry out. I thought… something was wrong.”
“Oh. Um,” she said to the wall, “I… I think I’m okay. Can you get me a towel, please?”
“Yes. Right. Towel.”
He went to grab a towel and realized both knives were still in his hands. Shaking his head, he holstered them and held up a towel, staring at the tiles on the wall.
He’d been only worried about her safety, but now that he knew she was okay, the details from when he threw the curtain open were coming into focus.
High, rosy breasts. Round hips. A sparse patch of curls. And all of it blushed and wet.
He closed his eyes, yanking hard on his control so that the towel wouldn’t turn to cinders in his hands.
She took it from him and wrapped herself up as she stepped out of the shower.
When she murmured his name, he looked back to her. Her eyes were deep and dark, her pose unsure. “I need to tell you something. Two somethings,” she said, looking away. He waited, and she started picking at a string on the hem of the towel. “Remember when the Chaolt said my powers had gotten stronger?” she finally started.
He nodded, crossing his arms to keep from pulling her towards him.
“Well,” she said wrapping her arms around herself, looking back towards the stall. With a deep breath, she met his eyes again. Emotions flitted across her face as she chewed her lip. “They’re no longer latent.”
It took him a minute to absorb her words, and when they sunk in, he looked at the shower. “The water?”
She nodded with a deep breath. “The water.”
Poor thing, no wonder she was yelling. It would be a great shock to suddenly get the powers he had without being born with them. Shit. They had to drain her, and soon.
“I’ll call Walker.” He turned away to go make the call.
“Levi, wait. Don’t call Walker yet.” Damp fingers touched his arm. She stood closer to him when he turned back, hand on his chest. “I needed to tell you something else. Before we do that. Before I… forget.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
Her palm flattened on his chest, and she looked up at him with a tiny smile. One that started the other fire raging inside. He cleared his throat, but didn’t step back. He wanted her touch.
”Yeah.” When she stood on her tiptoes and threaded her arms around his neck, the towel trapped between them, his heartbeat throbbed throughout his whole body. He brushed his fingertips through the droplets on her shoulders, taking the opportunity to touch her, even if he wanted more. But would she still want him after she lost her memory of the last few days?
“As scary as this power thing is, I don’t want to wait another moment to tell you.” She feathered kisses along his jaw, and he shut his eyes.
“And what’s that,” he murmured, lips already stroking her cheek despite the risk of rejection.
“I love you,” she whispered in his ear.
He pulled back, searching her face. Eyes shiny, lip trapped between her bottom teeth, she nodded. A bright bubble started growing in his chest.
Forcing himself to breathe steadily, he asked, “Even though I’m not really human?”
She threaded her fingers through his hair, eyes traveling over his face. “I’m sorry I ever said that.” She touched her lips to his in apology. “Whatever else you are, you’re human enough for me.” He heard her swallow. “And I love you.”
The feeling inside him grew, filling his chest with a warm pressure. He gazed at her a moment longer before the bubble inside him burst, and he mashed his lips down on hers, pushing her against the wall.
She met him stroke for stroke, teeth and tongues clashing. When they came up for air, he was panting. “Brooke.”
“Yes?” she gasped as he scraped his teeth down her damp neck.
He pushed a hand into her wet hair, holding her head so she would meet his eyes. “I love you.” Even after his realization in the desert, he still hadn’t said it. Too afraid she’d reject him for not being human.
“I was hoping you would say that,” she whispered. And like his first sunrise, it started with a blush, and then her face slowly brightened into a smile like the first one she’d ever given him. The one that had sparked this other fire inside him from the moment they’d met, the one that made him chase after her to save her. The one that made his knees weak.
The one he had been afraid he’d never see again.
He tucked her stringy hair behind her ear, his insides melting in an unfamiliar rush. “When Walker agrees, we’ll get your stuff from your rental house and bring it here,” he said as he began kissing her.
She turned to the side, gasping. “When Walker agrees to let me stay here,” she said, breathing hard, “I want my own suite.”
Levi rocked back on his heels. She didn’t want to stay with him?
Her smile said she knew exactly how he was feeling, and she chuckled. “I still want to be with you, I just want to keep my independence too. Have my own place, return to work… ”
“We have plenty of money from selling gemstones.” Her eyebrows raised at that. “You don’t need to work,” he said, moving in close again.
Her palm pushed against his chest. “Now hold on a sec. I need to work. I want to work. And I said I loved you, not that I wanted to move into your tiny suite with you.”
Her forehead was wrinkled, eyebrows down low. Smile gone.
He held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “You’re right.” Despite the desire to claim every bit of her time and attention, he knew she was right. “None of that is a problem.” He could see the wisdom of it in fact. She needed her own space to escape to, to feel independent in.
To go when he pissed her off.
“I’m happy to have any of you I can get.” He started kissing her again.
Her hand softened against his chest, expression smoothing as he kissed her cheek, her jaw, her neck. “We can probably work up to the living together thing”, she murmured.
“No rush,” he said, hiding a smile against her neck, as her hands caressed his neck and scalp. He would give her all the freedom she wanted, anything she needed. All he wanted was her heart. And now he had it. Before she could speak again, he covered her mouth with his own.
She loved him.
The knowledge did something to him that felt so sweet it hurt. Something light and gentle and yet, hefty. He didn’t know how to tell her what it did to him. So he tried to put everything he was feeling into his kiss, to show her how wonderful, how precious she was to him.
When a cold mist touched his face, he paused, pulling away slowly.
Her eyes were dark and languorous when she looked at him, skin flushed, lips plump and wet.
And all the remaining moisture from her shower floating an inch above her skin like a silvery aura.
Her eyes bugged when she looked down at herself. “Ummm.”
“Time to call Walker,” he said with regret. Stroking the back of his hand down her cheek, he said, “It’s caused by strong emotions,” he reminded her, “It will go away when Walker drains your powers.”
She took a few deep, calming breaths, causing his eyes to lower where the towel was beginning to loosen and slip.
He groaned and she grinned, hand over the knot. “Then it can probably wait a few minutes longer.”
And she dropped the towel.
“I can’t do it. I can’t drain her.” Walker’s hand fell away from her temples.
Brooke loosened her white-knuckle grip on the arms of the chair. “What?”
Levi’s hands on her shoulders gave a quick, reassuring squeeze. “What do you mean, Walker?”
Walker looked from her to Levi, the puzzlement on his face almost comical for a man who barely ever changed expressions. She held back a nervous giggle. Was this good or bad?
“I mean, I can’t drain her powers.” Walker stood and paced away. He stopped and stared at the giant oil painting above his desk, a scene of nothing but ocean waves.
She’d been so wound up by the whole thing, waiting for that moment when things would get fuzzy and she’d wake up with a giant gap in her memory with no idea what she’d lost. They’d made love in a frenzy, and it killed her that she was going to forget that. She’d made him promise, between biting kisses, to tell her right away that he loved her, and that she loved him, and to not give up on her until she admitted it again. Because she’d loved him for a long, long time. That’s why she’d made love with him the first time. She’d already been lost to his passion, his strength. His tenderness, and care. She’d just been a scared idiot.
Kind of like now.
“Why can’t you drain me?” she asked Walker. “Is that bad?” She didn’t want to lose her memories of the last few days, even if some of them were truly awful. The memories of her nightmares, of the burned Chaolt, Levi dying… She shivered, but she still wanted to remember every moment with him. But the shower thing… If Walker couldn’t drain her, would that keep happening?
“Something is preventing it.” He turned back to her, arms crossed and brows low over his dark blue eyes. “And I don’t know if it’s bad, but it can’t be good,” he added with a shake of his head.
Brooke let out a slow breath and turned to look up at Levi, weaving her fingers with his hand on her shoulder. He looked as confused as she felt, but not worried.
Walker turned to look at the two of them and then stared at Levi, hard. It was only a second before Walker sighed and ran his hands down his face. “Levi, come here.” Walker came over to stand in front of her, and Levi joined him. “Look,” Walker said, motioning at her.
Levi just gave her a puzzled smile. “She just looks beautiful as usual, Walker. What do you want me to see?”
Walker stabbed his hand at her again, harder. “Look. With your powers.”
She met Levi’s eyes, curious what he would see. His irises flared orange as surprise crossed his features. “What the hell?”
She tightened her grip on the chair arms again. “What? What is it?”
Levi turned to Walker. “Did you know this could happen? That this was a possibility?”
Walker turned from her to Levi. “I’ve heard of it happening before, rarely.” He stroked a hand over his scruffy chin. “But it didn’t even cross my mind that this was a possibility with her, because she’s mostly human.”
“Guys… ” Brooke insisted, temperature rising. “Tell. Me. What’s going on?”
They both turned to look at her, and then Levi knelt down to her level and grabbed her hands. He gave her that same puzzled smile, eyes traveling over her face. “You’re a Fire Erratic now too, Brooke.”
She looked to Walker.
He just shrugged at her. “And Levi, you’re also part Water Elemental now.”
Levi’s head snapped around to his commander. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” Walker’s jaw tightened. “Sorry,” Levi said, waving a hand in apology for his tone. “You’ve got to be shitting me, Sir.”
“No. I’m not,” Walker ground out, but there was a tiny uptick to one of the corners of his mouth. “It’s weak, barely registers, but it’s there.”
Levi stood in a rush and pulled her up with him. He put an arm around her hips and pulled her close, facing Walker together. Oh sure, now she was included. “What is this?” Levi asked Walker. “You said you’ve heard of this happening before.”
“If I’m right, it’s an alo conexio, a bond.” Walker walked to the painting above his desk again, and she wondered what he was seeing when he looked at it. “Basically, it’s a bond between Elementals that lets you share the other’s power, makes you both stronger. It’s very rare, very special.” Walker added, voice thickening in a way that made her tilt her head and look at him more closely. His shoulders raised and lowered with what could have been a sigh or shrug, and then he turned away from the painting to address them again. “I only know of it happening a few times in recent history.” Voice quiet, he added, “And never someone who was mostly human. Although… ” Walker’s look turned thoughtful. “You’re much stronger now, Brooke.”
Because of her bond with Levi. Somehow that had increased the strength of her powers, and her ordeal with the Chaolt had brought them to the surface.
Yay?
Was it a good thing to have stronger powers she wasn’t even sure she wanted in the first place? Except… “Do you think I could develop them into anything useful, Walker?”
“What are you thinking?”
“That maybe… Maybe I could learn to defend myself from the Chaolt in case it’s ever an issue again.”
Walker pursed his lips. “Erratics don’t seem to have the same null from the Chaolt as we do. That could be an advantage.”
“And hey, maybe I could join the team!” she said, as Walker’s eyebrows rose.
“I don’t—”
“No. No way,” Levi interjected before Walker could respond or she could explain she was joking. “She’s not a soldier.”
She frowned at him. What made him think he had a say in this? She’d only been joking anyways, but she didn’t like choices being taken away from her.
He looked at her then, everything there in his eyes. “You’re not a trained Warrior, so you have no business fighting the Chaolt. I think maybe some training for self-defense is a good idea, but I couldn’t handle the thought of you in real danger every day. I love you too much.”
Oh. Yeah,
he did get a say then, because he loved her. And she loved him. She threaded her fingers with his and smiled at him.
“Okay.”
Walker cleared his throat. “That’s not something either of you ever have to worry about. Ever. But I agree that perhaps learning to channel your powers would be beneficial. I’ll do what I can to help you.”
“Really?” Brooke asked, her own brows going up as she looked back to him.
“I can’t drain you, because of your tie to Levi. That doesn’t really leave me any other choice but to work with you.”
Okay, so it wasn’t really generosity that made him offer, but it didn’t matter. “Thank you, Walker.” He couldn’t know how important it was to her to not feel so helpless, so dependent if she ever came up against the Chaolt again. But Levi knew, and he squeezed her hand.
They’d already talked to Walker about her staying here, and he’d agreed easily. Even before they knew he couldn’t drain her powers, because she would have only forgotten the last few days, and not everything else about them. Now she would forget nothing. She looked at Levi as he talked to Walker, no longer hearing or caring what he was saying.
They left Walker’s office while she was still lost in the haze of her thoughts.
“You okay?” Levi asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she said with a small smile, “Just thinking.”
Walker was going to help her control her powers. She would be safe from the Chaolt living here in the base, and she would be going back to work soon. She would have her independence, even if it was so far from the form she ever thought it would take.
And other than some occasional male high-handedness, Levi wasn’t going to try to take her independence away from her. He knew she needed it, supported her in it, and respected her for it. And he loved her. With him right now, she felt stronger, not weaker. Even with her heart in his hands. He loved her, and as scary as the possibility of their relationship ending someday was… His heart was in her hands, too. She had the same power over this amazing, powerful being. This amazing, powerful man.
There was a lot of strength in knowing that. And an amazing amount of joy.
Burn (Elemental Hearts Book 1) Page 18
