A silly impulse came over her, and she gave in without a fight. She ran in front of Levi and blocked his steps down the hall, causing him to change direction or run her over. She followed him, blocking him again.
“What are you doing?” he asked, stopping and pulling her hips close against him.
She looped her arms around his neck and smiled into his amber eyes. “I’m trying to dance with you. But you’re making it awfully hard.”
The slow grin he gave her as he positioned her hands made her breath catch in her chest before he even swung her around the hallway. But he surprised her, pulling her close and tight against him, swaying her slowly back and forth instead of a quick dance like that first time. She closed her eyes when his lips brushed her temple, marveling how much had changed since that first quick dance out in the sunshine.
“So it looks like you’ll be staying here awhile.”
Ajax’s loud declaration made her pull back from Levi, but she turned to him with a smile. It died quickly, the magic of the moment fading away under his glower.
“Walker told me you’re moving in,” Ajax said, walking up to them. “Here at the base. Where only Elementals are supposed to be allowed.”
“Yeah, what of it?” Levi asked, stiffening at her side as Ajax passed by them.
“I think that’s fucked up, that’s what,” he said with an icy backward glance before getting in the elevator.
Brooke put a hand on Levi’s arm as he took a tense step in Ajax’s direction.
“Don’t.”
Ajax glared at the pair of them as he waited for the elevator doors to close. He flipped Levi off just as they did, smirking. But despite the smile on his lips, his long hair shifted in a breeze they couldn’t feel, his eyes still glowed from anger… or something. It looked a bit like hurt.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what the hell his problem is,” Levi said, turning back to her with his jaw tight.
“His problem is that he likes to get a rise out of people.” She gave him a knowing look and a smile, and then looked back at the closed elevator, considering. “And I think he’s jealous.”
“Well he can’t have you,” Levi hissed, and she felt the heat from his skin increasing through his shirt as his shoulders bunched.
“Not of me,” she said before he started smoking. “Just… in general.”
He grabbed her hand and started walking towards his suite. “He’s got plenty of women he can go console himself with.”
Ajax had stood on the porch of her rental house, eyes glowing and a bitter twist to his lips, talking about someone who refused to be forgotten. “Oh, I don’t know. I got the impression from talking to him that there was one he wanted in particular.”
Levi stopped mid-step and turned to her. Then turned and looked back at the elevator for a moment, brows low. “Huh. Really?”
“Yes, really,” she replied at his perplexed look.
“That’s… odd as hell.”
“Why, because Elementals don’t fall in love with humans?”
His smile was hot and fierce as he pulled her in his arms again. “No. Because Ajax never spends any time talking to women beyond propositioning them, is why. I’ve only ever seen him try with one and… He said he struck out with her.” Levi’s brows dropped down over a curious smile. “But now I’m wondering if something happened after I left.”
“We’ll probably never know,” Brooke shrugged.
“Yeah, because if she’s human, it doesn’t matter anyways. He can’t… ”
She met Levi’s eyes as all the humor left his face. He must be thinking the same thing she was; that if it wasn’t for her being an Erratic, she wouldn’t be here with him right now. There would have been no reason for them to see each other again after their walk. And just look at what they would have missed out on.
Had Ajax experienced something similar, and had to walk away?
Her heart twinged a little bit for him as Levi pulled her in close to his side. Ajax was still a jerk, but it was getting easier to see why he acted the way he did. People were individuals, and just because she herself wouldn’t act a certain way didn’t mean she couldn’t understand it, at least a little bit.
Speaking of which.
“I need to call my mom.”
Levi shrugged and agreed, opening the door of his suite for her.
She’d always wanted to be independent, to be stronger than her mother. And she was. Now it was time to let her mom know she forgave her for being so much weaker. Maybe not in so many words, but maybe just with a little more patience and understanding.
But even before she did that, there was something else she needed to do. Again. More.
Always.
“Levi, I love you.” Saying the words more now wouldn’t make up for not saying it sooner, for not accepting it sooner, but she’d never leave it unsaid again.
He stopped half-way across the room and turned back to her, palming her cheeks and bringing her face to his for a kiss.
Her eyes prickled and she realized she’d closed them.
When she pulled back to look back up at him, it was to see a little bit of orange in his gaze, a gentle flame behind his irises.
He kissed her deeper then, his tongue sweeping across hers, and she raised herself up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. To get closer. To put everything she was feeling into her kiss as emotions swamped her.
When he repeated her words back to her with another gentle kiss, it warmed her from the inside. Down deep inside, where the bond fed her powers with his, and where his love fed her heart.
Epilogue
"Hit me!"
Brooke obliged, twisting out of Ajax's grasp and jabbing out to connect with his nose. She didn't stop there. A knee to his stomach while he was still reacting to the nose shot doubled him over, and he raised a hand in plea.
She was pretty sure he was exaggerating his reaction for her benefit, but she still bounced on the balls of her feet with a grin, feeling tough. "Like that?," she asked, trying to keep the laugh out of her voice.
"Yep. Just like that. Good job. Knives now?"
She hesitated and then nodded. "Knives."
She should be better at these by now. Slow and clumsy, she went through the movements. Ajax and the other soldiers, they moved so smoothly that the knives seemed to be an extension of their arms. Gritting her teeth around her frustration, she kept going. Even awkward and sluggish, she was pretty sure she could still defend herself with them if she ever had to.
And that was the whole point. Thanks to Ajax's self-defense and weapon lessons, and Walker's lessons with her powers, she'd never be helpless around the Chaolt again.
She hoped…
She faltered, almost dropping the knife. She cut off the thought, focusing harder on her slashes and jabs.
After so many weeks of being carried along by the current of crazy events, it felt good to take action and make decisions. She'd asked for one of the soldiers to help her with self-defense. Levi had refused to, bless him, because he couldn’t handle causing her any pain. Walker had given the assignment to Ajax.
And maybe Ajax wasn’t her first choice, but he was more accepting of her once he found out the whole situation with her powers and the unsuccessful drain and all that. And he was good at what he did, and that's what mattered.
She could reasonably defend herself physically, and was learning how to control and use her new powers. How far she would get with that, she didn't know, because most of Walker's knowledge was just inherent. They both got frustrated sometimes, but she counted it a win that she'd learned anything at all.
She finally felt like she had her independence back. Or most of it, anyway.
Sure there was a tracking device on the car she'd bought with the insurance money, but at least she had the freedom to leave again. Freedom to work and visit her mom and… yeah that's about all she did, still. But she guarded her time off jealously, because every minute of it belonged to them. Her and Levi.
He’d had a lot of soldier stuff to do this week, and she’d worked more than usual because of the summer ad campaign they had going on at the paper. It felt like weeks since they’d really had time together. He said he had a special surprise for her today, and she didn’t care what it was, as long she ended up naked beside him at some point.
Fumbling in her movements again, she sighed hard. She was impatient.
"Ajax, I think I'm done for today." She holstered her knives, avoiding his gaze as he paused and stared at her.
"Mind not in it today?"
No, her mind was definitely not on weapons practice today, but somewhere else. The gutter. “Just ready for a break,” she said, crushing down the heat that wanted to rise to her cheeks.
She turned away and wiped the sweat from her face with a towel.
“Brooke… ” Ajax started. She turned toward him, waiting for him to finish. “I’m… happy for you and Levi.” She could hear the ‘but’ loud and clear, see it in his stiff stance.
She met his eyes and saw what none of the others could see, not even Levi. Ajax was bitter, because he wanted what her and Levi had, and couldn’t have it. That bitterness, that ache, combined with his tendency to poke at people to get a reaction from them made him seem like a jerk. She wouldn’t hold it against him, because even though he could be snarky, he’d never mistreated her. Was helping her in a big way by training her, too. “You should talk to Walker about it.”
He visibly flinched, and then shook his head.
“Why not?” she insisted, stepping towards him. “He might understand. Maybe he can help—”
“No.” He stood there, fists clenching over the handles of the knives in his hands. “She’s human.” Teal-white eyes flashed to hers. “Completely human.”
Not an Erratic like her. Which meant she was unaware of and forbidden from knowing about the Elementals, their world, the war. All of it.
And she had nothing, no advice she could offer him. Not that he seemed like he wanted any, since he was ignoring her now and back to practicing with his blades.
"Thanks for another lesson, Ajax. See you Friday?"
He only answered with a nod, slicing through the air with a vengeance.
She threw the towel in the hamper and got her bag, trying to walk out at a normal pace. She gave up and jogged to Levi’s suite.
“Hi,” she said, as she breezed in the door, dropping her bag on the floor. He’d been waiting for her, and as their lips met, she sighed and melted into him. His arms were strong, his kiss soft, and the hot excitement that had made her quit weapon practice early transformed into a sweet heat. A simmer instead of a flash.
He pulled back just enough to murmur, “Hey baby,” against her lips before kissing her gently again.
She smiled back. “Hey. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Levi backed away towards his dresser with a grin, where a navy blue box with a white bow sat conspicuously on top. “Are you ready for your present?”
Brooke put her hands behind her and took a deep breath, nodding. She liked presents, really. Who didn’t? But considering that Levi’s last gift was a graphics super-computer, she was a little nervous what this one would be. Though, she’d finally got her insurance check for her apartment and belongings and replaced almost everything, so there weren’t any other big purchases he could surprise her with. And she couldn’t think of anything she needed that would fit in the four-by-four box Levi put in her hands.
She was nervous. Why was she nervous? It wasn’t like it was a ring.
“Open it. It wasn’t expensive.”
She gave a little laugh. How well he knew her. She drew apart the bow and took off the lid. Nestled in white satin was a large sphere of clear glass. Gingerly, she plucked it out and held it in her palm.
Deep in the middle of the clear glass was a design where deep blue met bright orange. Water, and fire. The glass artist had done such an amazing job that she could almost see them move: the blue splashing up the left side, droplets frozen in motion. Fire that really seemed to burn on the right as she tipped it from side to side. The two designs curled inward, making a heart. It was their whole journey since meeting on the sidewalk, encased in glass.
“Levi…” She took a deep breath, emotion clogging her throat. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.” He put his hands in his back pockets, and shifted to the other foot. “So, you like it?”
“Yes, I love it!” She clutched it to her chest and raised herself on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Thank you.” Only then did his shoulders relax.
He’d been expecting her to react like she had with the computer, but this was different in a way she couldn’t quite pinpoint. It wasn’t something she could or would have ever thought to buy for herself. He loved glass art, loved the beauty that fire could help create, and he’d gifted it to her. Because he loved her. And that made all the difference.
Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him again, still clutching the paperweight in one hand. “It’s gorgeous, and I love it, and you can stop worrying that I’m going to ask you to take it back.”
“So you’re not going to insist on repaying me… ”
Brooke’s eyebrows went up and she pulled back at his plainly disappointed tone. “I wasn’t planning to, no. Why?”
He tightened his arms, pulling her back flush against him, and with a toss of his head, he motioned to the bed. “I had a few suggestions lined up in case you did.”
“Oh yeah? I was fighting off the urge to repay you, just a little bit.” She tried hard to keep the smile off her lips and completely failed. “What did you have in mind?”
His hands slid lower over her butt and squeezed, pulling her against his hard body. Hot breath at her ear, he said, “The first thing you can do is keep smiling like that, while I take all your clothes off.”
She laughed, because that was going to be easy to do.
Later when dusk was falling and pinky-orange light filled his room from the sunset outside, Brooke lay on Levi’s chest as he rubbed his hand through her hair, drowsy.
Beneath her ear was a very human heartbeat. It amazed her that he was so much more than that. Her friend and lover, a powerful soldier. An Elemental being.
It was crazy to think about the chain of events that led her to this exact spot, snuggling with him in his bed. And for some reason, that made her think of Ajax. Of how she might never have this crazy, amazing thing—this amazing man—if circumstances were different. If she were just human. She sighed, tightening her arm around his ribs. It was painful to think about.
“Don’t leave yet,” he said, tightening his arm around her, voice gruff.
He must have thought her sigh was a sign she was going to get up, but the thought of her own room was enough to have her burrow in closer to his side. “I don’t want to go yet.”
“Good,” he said with another squeeze.
More often lately she’d been staying in his bed until her work or his made them get out. Right now, in his arms, was heaven. She wanted more of it, all of it, which only he could give her. She’d realized that separate living quarters didn’t make her independent; all they did was serve to limit moments like these. With a secret smile, she decided it was probably time to tell him.
She propped her chin on the hand on his chest, smiling at him as he drowsily turned to look at her. “Can I stay here?”
He hugged her close, flattening her head on his chest again. “Of course you can. Stay all night if you want to.”
“I want to stay for all the nights. I want to move in with you.”
She felt the telltale stutter in his heartbeat beneath her hand, before it started thumping steady and hard.
He stared, pushing his fingers into her hair on both sides of her head. “Are you sure?” With a gentle grip, he brought her lips to his for a kiss. “I don’t want you to give up your place if you’re not ready.”
And that right there was another re
ason she loved him.
“I’m not going to give it up.” She smiled at his confused look, her fingers walking across his chest. “I’m going to leave my computer there for the days I have to work. It will help my concentration.” Fingers taking a downward turn toward the sheet across his hips, she added, “And my productivity.”
“Makes sense,” he said reasonably, and arched his hips so that the sheet slipped further down towards his growing erection.
“So you’re okay with it?” Her eyes followed the sheet, and then her fingers did too, slipping underneath it and making him groan as she grasped him in her palm.
“Of course. I’ve only been waiting for you to decide that’s what you wanted.”
She stroked him lightly, loving the feeling of him swelling, stiffening, in her hand. The sheet fell away as she caressed him, inviting her to kiss him there on the smooth head.
She did, long and slow and deep, and then raised herself up and straddled him, poising her folds right over him.
They joined hands, and she worked herself down onto him, until the sensations made her throw her head back on a gasp.
He raised her up and pressed her down hard in a mind-blowing rhythm. His hands then stroked up her back and tangled in her hair, tugging just enough to keep her head back.
And then he sat up and began to devour her.
Neck, collar bone, breasts and back up again, he ate her up with hot open-mouthed kisses and gentle nips of his teeth. She went limp in his lap, muscles turning to jelly from desire. The fingers in her hair tugged her any way he wanted her, and even the feel of his grip ratcheted up her desire until she was panting and moaning. Burning.
My god.
Keeping one hand in her hair and one tightly across her hips, he laid back again until he was reclined on the pillows with her lying on his chest. He put her head on his shoulder and turned it so he could kiss her, hugging her tight and close.
But his hips kept moving.
Lying skin-to-skin from cheek to thighs created such delicious friction that it was enough to steal every breath and every thought. He stroked slowly in and out of her until she was moaning into his mouth with each rise of his hips.
Burn (Elemental Hearts Book 1) Page 19
