Genesis

by Christie Rich

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

  And there it was: his full smile. I totally wanted to lick that luscious dimple.

  “Nice visual,” he said, giving me a throaty laugh. I shut my eyes tight and moved to step away, but he snared my waist. “Mind moving aside, Nicco?”

  Heat sped up my neck and into my face. My heart pounded in my ears, and I could barely think.

  Squashed bug guts on the window. The smell of fresh cow manure.

  Heath’s blazing eyes.

  No.

  Road kill. Maggot infested trash.

  Heath’s lips.

  No.

  Skunk stink clinging to the air.

  He pulled me through the door and pressed my back against it once it closed. “Now what kind of message is that supposed to be?”

  “I’m trying not to think about you.”

  He laughed. “How’s that working for you?”

  I cringed. “To be honest, it’s making my stomach sick.”

  He ran his fingers over my hair before they meandered to my bruise. Somehow his touch soothed the pain. “This doesn’t have to be as complicated as you’re making it.”

  I closed my eyes and breathed him in. He was so close, deliciously close. If I leaned forward at all, his body would brush mine. I snapped myself out of it. “I’m not the one making this complicated.”

  “Rayla…”

  “Mmm?”

  “What do I need to do to get you to commit?”

  I still couldn’t bring myself to look at him. “Oh right, like you have.”

  “Open your eyes,” he demanded.

  I shook my head.

  His fingers brushed my parted lips then traveled down my neck, lingering at my collar bone. His voice came out feather light, but it sunk into every part of me. As if echoing me, he said. “You own every part of me.”

  If only that were true. I opened my eyes to find him watching me.

  A gasp escaped me before I could stop it. His eyes blazed with the same odd intensity as last night. Never in my life had a man looked at me with such raw need, like I was his beating heart.

  I swallowed and my fingers found his face. Gingerly, I contoured my hand to his cheek. His stubble bristled against my skin, awakening my senses further. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. I slid my arms around his neck and pulled his lips to mine.

  When our lips touched, fire lit my veins, searing my body with his heat. I let him mold me to him. I let him lead me over to the bed. I let him guide us down to the soft surface. I wanted him to do so many things.

  I had to stop this.

  “Why?” came his thought.

  “It’s not right.”

  His laugh rang inside my head as his lips danced with mine. “Still lying to yourself? Nothing has ever been this right. You feel it. I know you do.” His hand moved slowly over my thigh and up my back, pressing me closer.

  “I…” I moaned.

  Heavens this was right.

  He was right.

  No. I had to stop. Too much was at stake for me to give into my desire to make out with him.

  He grumbled something, pulled away then stood up. He might as well have ripped my heart out of my chest and tugged it along behind him. His absence was everywhere, in every part of me.

  “Heath,” I breathed, his name echoing in my mind like a lament.

  He shook his head. “You still aren’t ready.”

  I pounded my fist against the mattress, hating the weakness he caused in me. “Would you please just leave?”

  “Of course,” he said, his voice filled with sadness.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, all the while wishing he would come back to me, yet knowing he never would now. Not after I’d scorned him like this.

  He was almost to the door when he turned back with a slight smile playing on his lips. “Do you still want to know why I changed my mind?”

  I rolled onto my side and cupped my head in my hand. My scoff sounded warbled. “You’re finally going to tell me?”

  He nodded ever so slightly. “You were right. There was something I couldn’t stand to lose.” He looked at the ground and a serious shield fell over his face before his eyes found mine again. “It was you, Rayla. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  My mouth hung open as Heath let himself out.

  I laid there in awe for who knows how long. Had Heath just told me he loved me?

  I’d come up with so many explanations why he had withdrawn from me, but not once had I let myself admit I might be the cause. I mean, I’d thought it; I wanted to be the reason because that would mean he had real feelings for me.

  I flipped onto my back and stared at the ceiling. If only I could be sure. If only I could know his heart. If Jessica was any indication, I would lose everything I was if I gave myself to him, and yet, if I didn’t, I just might lose my reason for living.

  What a stupid thing to think, but it was true. Heath had become a part of me whether I wanted to think about it or not. Thoughts of Lily and Taylor bombarded me. I didn’t want their fate. I didn’t want to be devastated when this life was over. Going back to the human realm suddenly seemed like a curse.

  The image of Faine lingered in my mind, with her innocent wide green eyes. Once again I found myself hating a girl I had never known. If only that dream had been real. If I could get a message to Faine, I would ask her why she did this to me. Why she did this to the world.

  I didn’t have much time to think about it because Luke found me a few minutes after Heath left. I gave him several excuses to get out of training today, but he wouldn’t have it.

  He tucked my hand securely into the crook of his elbow before guiding me down several flights of stairs and a rather long hallway.

  I wasn’t ready for this; I wasn’t ready to be alone with him after what happened between us yesterday, but he had insisted we spend time together, alone.

  I’d promised him as much, but all I could think about was Heath and how much I wanted him. Maybe I should just give in…end this like he said. If I did, I would be tying myself to a man I didn’t really know. When it came to secrets, he was worse than Zach.

  Oh, why did Zach have to leave me in the first place? Even though I had been angry with him, I had always thought he would be the one I picked in the end. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

  Luke cleared his throat and tipped my chin higher. “This is only going to work if you focus.”

  I nodded, hoping my conviction had been strong enough to keep him out of my mind, and followed him into a bright, circular room. Glass walls gave a clear three hundred and sixty degree view of the blinding sunrise. I squinted, trying to take it all in.

  A small pool rested in the center of the space, maybe eight by eight. Other than that, the room was empty.

  He led me to the edge of the pool and peered down at me. “I’m sure by now you have a basic grasp of how to manipulate the elements, so what I want to focus on today is using the full potential of your power.”

  I tried not to narrow my eyes at him, but they didn’t obey me.

  He laughed. “Still looking for underhanded motives?”

  “Luke,” I said, scrambling for the right way to say this. “Given the circumstances, I think I’d rather just start out slow.”

  “I’ve brought you here for a few reasons,” he said, giving me his sun god grin.

  I waited for him to explain, but found myself clothed in a bright turquoise bikini. I picked at one of the rhinestones on the bodice. It could have been the same suit Zach wanted me to wear at Roger Wayne’s estate on our first date.

  How odd? How would Luke know about that?

  I fought to calm my rising pulse. Something questionable slithered in his eyes, yet he held a casual stance. What was his game?

  He edged closer to me, swallowing me up with his presence. He had on all his charm and then some. “I know you were overwhelmed yesterday, and I want you to be
comfortable around me.”

  I slunk toward the door, not really sure what I was going to do at this point. What happened to training me in the water element? Somehow I didn’t think I would get very far by bringing that up. I glanced at my hand. My ring was gone. What the heck? It had been there earlier. I’d made sure. I looked behind me at the door that was still too far away. “I…um…I forgot something in my room. I’ll just be a minute.”

  When I whirled around to leave, the door slammed in my face. My skin flushed with heat and my body ached in a way I didn’t know was possible.

  He was being so not fair.

  I wheeled around and glowered. “This is hardly my idea of comfortable!”

  He laughed. “You will soon see what that word means. I have a present for you.”

  Uh-oh. Zach’s warning about accepting fae gifts resurfaced. Did that apply in the realms, too?

  An obscure thought hit me. I’d taken that dress from Heath without even thinking about it. Damn. Did that count? Whatever Luke had planned lit up my bad radar. I sensed it in the air, like he was throwing off the signal.

  He smiled at me and my heart melted. Oh, man, I needed to ditch this place like yesterday. I braced myself for insta-travel and concentrated on Heath’s room. I had to talk to him…or Zach, maybe he was a better option because he knew what was going on.

  It didn’t matter because I couldn’t go anywhere. I fisted my hand in front of me and opened my palm. “Stop,” I said. My voice sounded weak. I tried again. “I said STOP!”

  He kept coming.

  “Luke, I’m warning you.”

  He locked eyes with me. “You’ve given me no other choice.”

  “What are you talking about?” I screamed in my head for the other lords to come get me, but my cries bounced off a solid barrier as if this room was shielded. That’s when I yelled for real. Maybe someone would hear me?

  Luke’s eyes glistened with near triumph. “Do you know how many times I’ve lost, Rayla? Can you even begin to imagine the things I have given up because of you? For you?”

  My mouth opened in disbelief. “I never asked you to give up anything; in fact, if I recall right, I haven’t asked a dang thing from you. You chose to go to that island. You were the one that came after me in the first place. I never wanted this life!”

  His face contorted into a mask I had never seen on him. Absolute furor. “Everything I have done thus far has been for you. To make you see how much you mean to me.”

  He was two feet away from me. I had to protect myself. I couldn’t let him come any closer. He wasn’t himself.

  “She’s controlling you, Luke! Why can’t you see it?”

  He shook his head. “That is where you are wrong. I am fully aware of what I’m doing.”

  “That makes one of us.” I slid sideways and backed away from him.

  He gave me a predatory grin. “I’ve tried to be nice. I’ve tried to woo you with my softer side, but that isn’t what you want, is it? You’re one of those girls that likes to be chased.”

  Where in heaven’s name was he going with this? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He shrugged. “Even if Ainessa was controlling me right now, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Her plan is not as horrible as you think. She merely desires to unite humans and fae—something I have tried to accomplish since the moment I set foot on this planet.”

  Oh, she had her talons firmly planted in him, and he didn’t even know it. “There has to be a better way than this.”

  We’d already made it halfway across the room, and I was getting dizzy from going backwards. I had waited long enough. The lords weren’t coming. It was just Luke and me and Ainessa, wherever she was.

  I called the elements, but the only one I had access to was water. I’d have to make due. I barricaded myself behind a shield of solid ice.

  Seconds before Luke made it to my barrier, the ice melted into a frigid puddle that frosted over my feet. Why couldn’t I use any other element? I was breathing so there had to be air.

  “Rayla…stop this nonsense. I will not harm you.”

  “No? What exactly do you have planned then?”

  “I need to make you see.”

  “There’s that word again, Luke.” I purposely used his name, hoping it would wake him up. “Why would you want to force me into a relationship with you? I would hate you.”

  His eyes glazed over. “Hate works as well as love in bonding.”

  I growled. “You need to come up with a more original comeback. Jett already beat you to that line.”

  He laughed. “And yet, here you are with me.”

  “Think about what you’re doing, Luke.”

  He licked his lips, bringing my awareness of him to a whole new level of need. My body shook from his attack, making it difficult for me to focus. “I’m merely finishing what we started back in the human realm. Now you are in my land and there is no one to stop me from claiming you. All I had to do was wait. It didn’t hurt that Tabitha is so gullible.”

  I gasped. “Did you make up the rumors about the raiders?”

  He smiled a grin that was so evil it chilled me. This wasn’t him. It couldn’t be.

  “The council is easily manipulated. What better way to explain your abduction?”

  “Then it was a lie?” I didn’t think the fae were allowed to lie.

  He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. “It could be true. There is nowhere to go, Rayla. The only way you are leaving this room will be as my bondmate.”

  I ran to the door and pounded the cold surface that I now realized was ice. Why hadn’t I seen it before? This whole room was made of water in some respect. But I could breathe. I concentrated on melting the door. Nothing happened. I turned toward the window, hoping for some way out.

  Luke grabbed my shoulders and wrenched me around. “Did you really think I would let one of them have you? I told you from the beginning you were mine.”

  My knees went rigid. “I am not a thing, Luke. You cannot own me.”

  “No?” His hands slid down my sides to my hips, burning a trail of steam with them. “We shall see.”

  In two seconds I was in his arms as he carted me toward the pool. I had to think. I had to find a way out of here—away from him.

  I’d thought of Luke as almost childlike, incapable of inflicting true harm, but that was what he had wanted me to see. I called one last time to Heath. No answer came. His hand slid up my arm and something metal bit into my skin. I couldn’t see what he had put on me, but I suddenly fell limp. Some kind of present that was.

  Luke stepped into the pool and we sunk, the chill of the water overwhelming my senses. I only had time to draw a quick breath before it entombed me. I was really going to drown. All of my fears for water resurfaced, smothering me even further.

  I tried to push against his chest and kick his shins, but my limbs wouldn’t work. We kept sinking deeper and deeper until I was sure my lungs would explode.

  Then I noticed a tug at my feet as if tiny hands had grabbed my toes and yanked. We spun in a whirlpool, going to depths I had never even imagined. I was going to die. That was all there was to it. I had trusted one too many times, and now I was going to pay the price. So much for fighting for love and freedom. So much for honor and commitment.

  Only one thought cheered me up: At least Ainessa wouldn’t get me. Once I was dead, my power couldn’t be harnessed.

  I laughed and tiny bubbles swirled around me. My body convulsed as ice slithered through my veins.

  With every passing second, my vision blurred more than it already had. Just before it faded to black, Luke’s face came into view, cutting through the murky water toward mine. He smiled and hugged me to him. His voice sounded strange at this depth, but I still understood him.

  “No one will take you away from me ever again.”

  My eyes fluttered closed, and I let out the last bit of air I had in me. Before I could suck in any water, Luke’s lips covere
d mine. Insistent, he pressed my lips apart with his tongue, breathing into my mouth.

  What a twisted man. I’d thought him strong enough to fight Ainessa off. I had been wrong about him, but my mistake didn’t just affect me. What would happen to my family, to my friends and other Elementals who were all counting on me to help them? What would happen to the messed-up world I had fought so hard to keep exactly the way it was?

  Luke yanked me out of the water and onto a hard surface in a matter of seconds. Off came the manacle, thank heavens. I coughed and gagged, yet managed to twist away when he touched my shoulder. He was still able to pull me into his arms.

  His soul slithered along mine, intertwining itself into crevices I didn’t know were there.

  My swollen throat made speaking difficult, but I didn’t allow it to stop me. “How could you let Ainessa do this to you? After everything she has already taken from you, why don’t you fight?”

  I found myself on my back with Luke looming over me, pure hatred frosting over his blue eyes. My head ached from the impact; my vision flickered again. “I have already told you, she is not controlling me!”

  I blinked a few times, and he finally came into focus. “So it was all an act before?”

  He sneered at me. “This is your doing. When you decided to let the lords choose for you, I had to change strategy.” He touched my face with softened fingers. “Don’t you see; they wouldn’t have chosen me.”

  He’d said as much before, but I didn’t listen to him. Well, I sure as heck was listening now. I put my hand against his cheek, and he hissed in a breath. “I know you think you have control right now, but you’re wrong.” I shook my head. “Think about it. This isn’t you. You would never treat me this way.”

  For one second I thought I had him. His eyes sharpened to the point that Luke gazed back at me. Just as soon, his eyelids clamped shut and his face reddened as if someone had cut off his air supply. When he opened his eyes again, she was there. I wasn’t sure how I hadn’t noticed before. His blue eyes had a halo around the iris the color of spring grass, just like Ainessa’s eyes. It wasn’t much, but I could still make it out. Suddenly it faded until it was barely visible. That answered that question at least.