Well, at least I can go run errands with the brothers, she thought. She hoped they could be sweet talked into taking her to the mall for a few hours.
Chapter 2
Aira received a confirmation email before nightfall. After telling Aiden and Dylan—sheepishly—that she had joined, both were in favor. Apparently they were both active on the forums; they had to be, as part of their job.
“There are some really good people on there,” Dylan assured her. “Maybe you’ll find someone to hang out with.”
Aira shrugged off the idea, though she had thought of similar reasons for joining. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. But since the power surge had begun to abate, Aira had found herself dwelling more and more on her sense of restlessness—and an underlying dissatisfaction at her celibacy over the past several weeks. The reckless kiss that she’d shared with Aiden hadn’t faded from her consciousness as much as she wanted it to. While Aira knew any physical involvement with Aiden would be a bad idea, her grandmother’s hint notwithstanding, she couldn’t rid herself of the impression it had left on her.
As she, Dylan, and Aiden wandered around the mall from store to store, Aira’s mind continued to get caught up in the brief but consuming passion she had felt the moment his lips met hers. She kept telling herself she didn’t want to repeat it, but she had never experienced a connection so involving in her life. She had discussed it with Dylan privately, on more than one occasion after the fact. She wondered why she couldn’t just develop feelings for the younger of the two brothers; he was so receptive, so patient, and such a good ear for anything she wanted to talk about. But there was no spark between them—there wasn’t that passion Aira felt for his brother.
Aira had been distracted all afternoon, thinking about the way it felt when Aiden pressed against her. She firmly denied the possibility of an attraction to the man himself, though she had to admit he was not unattractive from an objective standpoint. She stood firm in her insistence that she was not interested in him. She was interested in sex. She blushed as she realized that her libido was more active than it had been before, and wondered just how much the power surge had to do with that change. She wanted to charm someone, to flirt and give him a knowing smile and cock her hip just so, to lure him into her bed. She wanted—needed—to get laid, and that was all there was to it. The difficulties associated with a one night stand were a little frustrating considering she would have to be guarded by Aiden and Dylan, but Aira was determined to overcome them.
That night, Aira logged into the forums and introduced herself in the appropriate thread. She didn’t say much—only that she was an air-aligned elemental, that she lived in a general area, and that she was getting used to her abilities in an adult setting. She had enough caution to know better than to reveal her lineage, or the fact that she was about to come into full possession of her power. Dylan and Aiden added her as a friend on the system and commented on her post, solidifying her entrance into the social group. Aira had not exactly avoided elementals as she had entered adulthood; one of her close friends was an elemental as well. But she had slacked on the task of networking with elementals her grandmother had introduced her to through her teen years. For the most part, Aira had tried to live as normal a life as her abilities would allow. She knew, not only from her grandmother’s reports but also from Aiden and Dylan’s confirmation, that elemental politics had become fraught and tense.
She looked around the forums, reading posts and trying to get a feel for the different personalities. There were some people who lived in her area, and Aira found herself responding to threads about things to do, clubs to visit, bars that were worthwhile. She knew she should be cautious, and at first she was able to keep that necessity at the front of her mind; after all, she was a target. She wasn’t going to be targeted by most of the normal population, who had no clue that elementals existed; she was an object of interest for certain elementals. Even those elementals without a vested interest in her due to the strength of her lineage would be interested in her because of her strength. Although Aira hadn’t given her relative power much thought as she had grown up, the surge that had awakened her, and occasioned a brief local news story about a freak wind storm, had made it impossible to avoid the realization that she was more powerful than most of her family members at least.
Aira felt as though her new-found sense of caution was chafing her. She remembered the kidnapping. The knowledge that she had been disarmed, captured, and carried off relatively easily, gnawed at her. She had never been the type of person to doubt herself, but in spite of her cavalier attitude, she felt more vulnerable than ever before in the wake of the kidnapping.
Out of anger, she’d sent a scathing email terminating her relationship with the client who had put her in a position to be kidnapped. There was no way to be sure how much her former client knew about the designs on her, but his willingness to put her in danger at all had made her indescribably angry. Anxiety was a familiar feeling for Aira, but very rarely had she ever known direct fear. The sensation was frustrating.
When she swallowed her pride and told her grandmother what had happened, she endured the sigh of disappointment and waited for the lecture she knew would come.
“You need to find a mate,” her grandmother had reiterated. “If you had taken my advice, you wouldn’t have had a problem from that man.”
Aira bit back the sarcastic retort that fought to escape. Knowing the man had wanted to marry her solely to secure her power for his own ends didn’t exactly make her feel too charitably towards the institution of marriage.
She did recognize that her grandmother was ultimately right. If she found someone to enter into a serious relationship with, it might defray at least those in the elemental community who saw her as a commodity rather than a person. Aira told herself she wasn’t looking for a husband when she posted in the forum, but she was open to the idea of meeting someone – a boyfriend who could entertain her and maybe take some of the pressure off.
That night Aira talked at length to a local elemental named Alex. He claimed to be air aligned like her and live only a city away. According to his profile picture, he was rather appealing. Six feet tall and originally from England, he had a lean, almost hungry look to his face. His bright blue eyes and dark brown hair framed an intensity that both startled and intrigued Aira. The next day, she found herself taking breaks from her work to chat with him. Like every air elemental Aira had ever met, he was charming—a trait that they all managed to embody. She knew her own flirtatious abilities had more than once been called devastating. It was nice to be able to talk to someone who could keep up with her banter. Although she wanted to maintain her reserve, she found herself opening up slightly. She talked about her grandmother without naming her, told him about her childhood spent learning to control her abilities.
They exchanged stories about their childish displays of power, about the times their precocity had gotten them into trouble and talked about their families. Aiden began chatting with Alex’s cousin under the pretext of investigating the man Aira was talking to. Aira’s libido, along with her curiosity, were piqued. She even found herself blushing when he addressed her as “Air” in spite of the fact that she normally hated the nickname. Aira knew she should be careful. She, of all people, knew how dangerous a charming person could be. But that didn’t stop her, she wanted to have some fun in her life. She entertained no illusions that Alex was “the one,” but the idea of having fun with him was appealing. Aiden’s conversations with Alex’s cousin, Dolores, had veered from checking out a potential date of Aira’s to something more akin to a flirtation.
Dylan seemed to be the only one of the three questioning motives. “Don’t you think it’s a little bit suspicious?” Dylan asked Aiden, making a slight face “I mean, no offense to you bro, but it’s kind of our job to be suspicious of anyone who’s overly interested in getting to know Aira. I mean, basic precaution, right?”
Aiden dismissed the concern. “It makes se
nse. Besides, Aira’s supposed to be looking for a mate. If someone’s interested in her, we should guard her, obviously—and take precautions—but if she can’t be allowed to spend time talking to someone, then she’s never going to find a mate.”
Aira shrugged when Dylan looked at her for her input. “Obviously we can’t assume everyone is safe, but we can’t assume everyone’s a threat either, can we?”
Aira tried to read the look on Dylan’s face. It wasn’t disappointment or anger, it was a kind of concern. “I have no interest in being kidnapped again, but I also have no interest in staying put and just hoping everyone will decide there’s no point in either killing me or forcing me to marry them.”
“At least, if you decide to meet up with these two people, make it a public place, and bring me along. I can be objective.”
Aira looked at Dylan for a moment and wondered if some of his concern might be due to him being lonely. Since Aiden had started chatting with Dolores, Dylan had been left more frequently to his own devices.
***
They made arrangements to meet with the cousins for lunch, two days before Aira’s birthday. Aira was also hoping she would like Alex enough to convince him and his cousin to attend the party she was planning for the evening of her birthday. She would be traveling back to her grandmother’s house a few days after her birthday, but she wanted to really celebrate reaching her full abilities beforehand. She never mentioned to Alex that it was her “special” birthday, instead letting him believe she had already reached her full power as an elemental. She knew she needed to be careful around him, even if she did find herself attracted to him and the easygoing charm he radiated in their chats. She admitted to herself that she was hungry for attention from men.
In the midst of planning, Aira received a letter from her grandmother. The hand-written envelope was a surprise. Everything was put aside. If her grandmother wrote to her, the contents of the letter were important indeed. She’d tried to convince her grandmother to embrace technology, but the older woman refused to get used to chatting online, or even email. On more than one occasion she’d stated the phone was her personal limit for technology. She even still kept printed books and magazines for her gardening, instead of looking online. “Oh, I’m impressed and awed at how far things have come,” she told Aira, “and I’m glad that you’re so well-versed in how to use the newest technology, but I don’t have the patience to learn it myself.”
Normally Aira’s grandmother called when there was something she wanted to say. Letters were reserved for communication that required more privacy than the phone offered or for topics she wasn’t comfortable speaking about verbally. Aira wondered which of the two categories the letter would fall under.
Considering in the lingering danger—and that her grandmother had been the first one to be cognizant of that danger and insist on protection—it seemed odd that she would choose such an archaic form of communication, one that could be intercepted easily. Then again, Aira knew their code was hard to break and would look like nonsense to anyone else. She tore into the envelope.
Dearest Granddaughter,
You would probably prefer to have a conversation like this in person. However, I’ve never been comfortable talking about these kinds of things directly in the flesh, as they say. There is an aspect of your transformation into a full elemental that I wanted to explain to you. I had been hopeful that you would find a mate before it came time for your birthday, but since you haven’t, I thought a word to the wise would be a good idea. You are going to experience very strong—almost impossibly strong—lust as part of your transition into your full powers. As you approach the day of your birthday it will intensify and on the night of your birthday, it will be at its most intense. I want you to be very, very careful about who you spend your time with in that period. If I did not think that Dylan or Aiden were safe choices, I wouldn’t have them with you, but you should think very carefully about any other partners.
Aira felt herself blushing; she had indeed noticed an increase in her libido, just as her grandmother said. She kept reading.
I considered advising Aiden and Dylan, but Aiden, I assume, would know already and I trust your intelligence and sense of self-preservation. Please keep in mind that as an unstable elemental, you are more likely to find it difficult to control yourself. I love you, and I look forward to seeing you once you’ve assumed your full powers; I still have a great deal to teach you.
She set the letter aside and considered the message. Aira told herself she had no interest in either Aiden or Dylan. She was sure even a sharp increase in her libido, beyond what she was already experiencing, would drive her into either man’s arms. Talking with Aiden about it crossed her mind. He would know what she was going to experience—but she was wary of talking about her sex life with him. She considered going to Dylan. He wouldn’t be able to empathize with her from experience, but he was the person she trusted most.
She decided to think about it more and put the concern aside until she had a better idea of what the extent of the problem might be. Feeling her cavalier attitude returning, she assured herself it was possible she would be able to control her lust just fine. Even if she couldn’t control her lust, what would be the worst possible outcome? She would satisfy it with some man she didn’t care about and move on with her life, in possession of her full abilities. If she was unable to disconnect herself from a situation like that, she would consider herself a poor elemental indeed.
***
Aira worked hard over the next two days to get as much work done as possible; she didn’t want any assignments hanging over her head for her birthday, or for the week or so following it. Dylan and Aiden amused themselves practicing guitar and martial arts, playing video games and watching TV—and in Aiden’s case, talking to Dolores. Aira tried to ignore the slight stab of jealousy his attention to Dolores incited.
She reminded herself she had no interest in him. Just because he had the dark haired, light eyed look she preferred in men, and just because his every touch against her skin sent a burning, sharply desirous sensation through her body did not mean she had any intention of inviting any advances from him. Not that he made any. She thought about that fact as she glanced at him grinning and typing away on his laptop.
Watching him, she considered how from the time she had been safely extricated from the earth elemental who kidnapped her, Aiden had been increasingly distant. He avoided being alone with her, avoided talking to her at any length about any serious subject. In fairness to him, Aira realized her actions—grabbing for him and kissing him hungrily in the ecstatic aftermath of achieving her freedom—had implied she was interested in him. He was clearly communicating that what he saw as her interest was not reciprocal. Aira tried not to let it bother her, in spite of knowing she had never failed to charm a man she wanted. I’m not interested in him, she reminded herself.
She had to believe her lack of a social life was driving her crazy if she was regretting men she didn’t even want to be involved with. That can change—will change, she thought. Once she came into full possession of her abilities and learned how to master them, she knew she would be a match for anyone who might decide to come after her. She would allow Aiden and Dylan to remain her bodyguards, but she was not about to curtail her activities anymore.
Aira contacted her friends, working out a plan for her birthday. She wanted to go out, drink, and make a fool of herself. Approaching 23, she knew there would be few opportunities left to really enjoy being foolish and getting drunk. She wanted to enjoy the time she had left before she was consumed with responsibilities or a “mature” relationship with a “stable” elemental who would likely get her pregnant in a matter of months. The idea of “settling down” had always been an enigma to Aira, and never more so than when it loomed and seemed more necessary than it had ever been before.
She planned an evening to rival the level of partying she had achieved during her college days. The evening’s festivities included her
favorite bar, which hosted karaoke on the night of her birthday eve, a strip club, and an after-hours location she had only partied at rarely, but knew stayed open until almost dawn. Dylan and Aiden could handle her security, and she knew she didn’t need to worry about a ride home—Dylan was responsible enough to make sure they got home in one piece.
Aira thought it would be nice to invite Alex, if he didn’t turn out to be less interesting and charming in person than he was over the computer. She and Aiden would meet him two days before her birthday celebration, which should be ample time for him to clear his calendar and have the night free, if she decided she wanted him to be part of her revelry.
The four of them—Aiden, Aira, Alex, and his cousin Dolores—were going to meet for lunch. The prospect was very inviting, and Aira didn’t even need to consult her lust to know that a desire for intimate contact was very strong inside of her. She was tired of being careful, of avoiding her social life for fear of being attacked or kidnapped. She wanted to live a little, to enjoy herself.
Chapter 3
Aiden woke up in the middle of the night, frustratingly aware of the stillness of the apartment around him. In the days since being awakened abruptly by the sound of Aira’s screams, he had found himself repeatedly jolted from sleep with the anticipation of another crisis. He remembered coming into his full powers and the week before that birthday. He had told Aira about lighting his bed on fire twice, but he had not told her about what had provoked the fires. He wondered if he should talk to her about one of the side-effects of the power surging through her. He had experienced it himself. The lust he had felt starting a week before his full possession of fire abilities had never completely abated. He had learned to control it, to push it aside when it wasn’t convenient, but he knew it would take something very intense indeed to satisfy the desire he still felt.
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