"A house Aktor has kept for many years that no one knows about," Theo murmured, his lips brushing my head through my hair. I couldn't imagine what nasties had fallen into it, but he didn't seem to mind.
"How did you get away?"
"Aktor was waiting on the cell level. Once the guards imprisoned me, he chose his moment well. Only two guards were incapacitated in order for me to escape."
Incapacitated. Was that a euphemism or not? I didn't have it in me to ask. I knew it was weak, I should have found out. Because it was important. If Theo killed Pyrkagia guards to escape, then things were beyond repair.
Not that I truly thought this could be fixed, but I had hope Theo would not become a fugitive like me. Still, I remained silent.
"He got me out through the passageways and then returned for you. We could only guess where Nico had taken you. I described our former hiding place to Aktor." Theo let out a huff of a laugh. "Who apparently wasn't aware of it at all."
"My memory is not as good as it once was, sir," Aktor apologised.
"Your memory is more than good enough, my friend," Theo replied. I could see Aktor's smile in the rear vision mirror.
Several seconds passed before anyone spoke. It was me who broke the silence.
"What happens now?"
Theo leaned his head back on the seat and let a long breath of air out.
"I'm not sure, Oraia. For now all I can do is protect you, hide you. We'll work this out with time."
It wasn't an emphatically positive response. Theo's uncertainty matched my own. He had to know what doing this would mean. The consequences of betraying Pyrkagia. I closed my eyes and stifled my own reaction to his words. Theo was a wanted man. So was Aktor. And God knows what was happening to Nico right now. And all of this was because of me. You'd think, at least, I'd know why. But I didn't. Everything still made absolutely no sense. There was no explanation for what I had become, why I had become it. I didn't have any more answers than I did the first day I crawled out of that pit of dirt. If anything, I had more.
And on top of that, I had pulled the one man I had ever loved into the pit of confusion with me.
The guilt was a weighty blanket that settled on my shoulders and made the world turn a little darker outside. And despite being held tenderly in Theo's arms, despite knowing he was right there beside me searching for the answers to all of this as well, I felt so very alone.
Because I knew, God knows how, but I freaking knew, that I would have to fix this myself. No one else. It started with me and it would end with me. Of this I was resoundingly sure. And yet, I had no idea why.
Chapter 21
In A Delicate Dance Against My Skin
The drive to Aktor's property took another forty minutes. The roads were quiet, but winding as they headed further east, out towards the shore and away from suburbia. We finally pulled up outside a single storey gated house, right on the water's edge at Beachlands. Nikau Palm trees lined the short driveway, mixed in with low lying shrubs and a few ferns. The lawn was immaculate and well cared for. I wondered how often Aktor came out here to get away from city life.
The car pulled to a stop under a portico and the sounds of waves gently lapping the beach replaced the hum of the engine as Aktor switched it off.
"It's beautiful, Aktor," I said as I stepped out of the car, Theo climbing out behind me and placing a hand immediately on my hip, pulling me against his side.
"Thank you. This is my refuge when I need a little peace and contemplative silence."
I glanced at the old butler; his words held more meaning than they should have.
"Sometimes we need solitude, Cassandra," Aktor explained, obviously seeing the question on my face. "When you are as old as me, you crave moments of privacy and isolation. Too many memories can clog our minds, and for some, seclusion is all that keeps us from crumbling under their weight."
"Yet for others, distraction works just as well," Theo offered and received an arched eyebrow from his butler.
"Tell yourself that, Theodoros, but wait until you reach my age. You begin to lack the desire to seek out diversions for the sake of amusement."
"Ah, Aktor," Theo teased, "we are more alike than you realise."
"Really?" the butler muttered and headed toward the front door of the house. "Could have fooled me."
"But that's the point," Theo said as he pulled me after Aktor. I wasn't sure if there was much of a point to the conversation, other than reminding me how very old both men actually were.
I ducked out from under Theo's arm and received a frown for my efforts.
"I need to talk to the Earth," I said, slipping out of my shoes and walking backwards, keeping my eyes on Theo's. "I'll be in shortly. I promise." Solitude sounded good about now, I think Aktor was on to something.
"Is everything all right?" Theo asked, taking a step after me.
"I'm fine. Really. I just want to check on things." Theo cocked his head and arched his brow, but refrained from asking the obvious question on his mind. He just nodded, thrust his hands in his trouser pockets and took a step toward the now open front door to Aktor's house.
"Call out if you need anything, Oraia," he murmured and I could have sworn there was a vulnerable look on his face. But if it was there at all, it was gone too quickly to be sure. I nodded and turned around to skip across the grass to the largest Nikau on the property.
My hand reached out and ran over the layered trunk of the tree, my fingers tracing the ridges. I had always been intrigued by the regularity of the segments to a Nikau Palm's trunk. Like stacked cylinders, they rose up the body of the tree creating a perfect sculpture of nature. I walked around the girth of the plant and just breathed for a time. Allowing the scent of Earth to calm me.
"Who are they?" I whispered eventually, when I'd settled my nerves enough to ask the one question that had been on repeat in my mind since escaping Pyrgos.
They are coming, the palm whispered back.
"Yes, but who is coming?" I pushed.
Those who mean you harm. Since when had they started to talk in riddles?
I stopped my trek around the circumference of the trunk and frowned down at the ground. Why weren't the trees being more forthcoming? They had been honest with me in the past. Told me things without having to be asked, but whoever they were referring to now, was obviously not something they could divulge. Which didn't make any sense at all.
It was getting late and I was tired and hungry, having only eaten a few mouthfuls of breakfast and nothing since. I felt filthy, grubby and emotionally wrought. Trying to work out the Earth's riddles right now was beyond me. I needed a shower, food and sleep. Preferably in that order.
I patted the trunk, muttered a thank you, and then turned to go inside Aktor's house. Within a couple of steps I saw Theo's shadow outlined on the porch. He'd been watching me, or keeping guard, I wasn't sure. I hesitated, wondering if I should feel annoyed at the intrusion, but then how often had I seen him feeding his Stoicheio by the fire? It was hardly a private thing and I did sense his worry. He'd been worried since he pulled me into his arms outside that tunnel. Hell, he'd been worried since the meeting had been shifted to this morning and I'd been summoned along with him to Prygos.
I pasted a smile on my face and walked up to the steps, stopping on the bottom one, so Theo was two above me. He looked down at me and then with a tender touch, brushed his fingers over my cheek. Gold flecks danced in his eyes.
"You like to touch," I said quietly.
"All Pyrkagia enjoy touch," he murmured. "Gi enjoy scent. Nero enjoy taste. Aeras enjoy sight. Pyrkagia enjoy touch."
"Oh," I said, understanding dawning. The Earth's scent always soothed me. Obviously Theo felt soothed by the touch of heat from Fire. I could see those senses would offer enjoyment elsewhere. I knew that I loved Theo's Mediterranean spices, sunshine and rosebud scent, in any case.
"Who are you trying to find through the Earth?" Theo asked, the question taking me by surprise.
"I'm not su
re," I replied, walking up the remaining steps until I was on the same level as Theo. "The Earth warned me, while Aktor and I were escaping through that tunnel, that they were coming. I was trying to find out who they were."
Theo frowned. "And the Earth wouldn't tell you?"
"No."
"That is odd. When has the Earth denied you anything before?" He had a point. I started to furrow my brow in consternation. Theo reached out and ran a thumb across the wrinkles forming there. Smoothing them out with just his touch.
I leaned into his hand. It was automatic, my body dictated the move. In the next second I was wrapped up in Theo's arms his lips crushing mine, his hard body flush against me. His heat embracing me, engulfing me, surrounding all of me. I made a sound and he lifted me up off my feet and carried me towards the house. But he didn't take us through the door, he pushed me against the side of the building and continued to devour every inch of my mouth.
I craved his touch, his scent. Him. There wasn't an ounce of embarrassment in admitting I was lost to this man. To everything he did to me, everything he made me feel and desire. In Theo's arms I felt safe and wanted and perfect. There was no nervousness now. Not when he kissed me, anyway. The more we did it, the more I wanted. And that longing drowned out all other emotions with ease.
Heat washed through my body, but it wasn't his Stoicheio, it was my lust for him. Oh, he stoked it, but not with an element. He didn't need to do that. All he'd ever needed to do was just be him, be near, and I was gone. Lost to the sensations I was feeling. Yearning for more of the man.
"Casey," he murmured against my lips, then started kissing over my cheeks and down my neck. His hot breath fanned across where he had bitten me, a shudder racking his body when he pulled back to see his mark. "I want you," he whispered and all thoughts of exhaustion and hunger left me. I wanted him too.
But despite that desperate desire I hadn't forgotten the dusty room I'd spent the day in, or the dirty tunnel coated in cobwebs and streaming with foul smelling drips of water. My dress was filthy, my hair was matted and streaked with muck. I was sure my face was a mess, even though Theo continued to look at me like I was the most beautiful thing he had laid eyes on in this world.
"I need a shower," I admitted, but soothed the brush-off with a kiss to his throat. He smelled earthy and sweaty and all male, a combination that made my stomach flip delightfully, despite some if it being because of his own adventures today.
"A shower sounds perfect," he murmured, his nose nuzzling behind my ear.
What? Did he want to shower too? With me? And here I thought I'd passed the point of blushing.
"Sweet little Gi," Theo teased. "There is a water shortage, you know. We would be doing a service to the district by sharing a shower."
I pushed back against his chest playfully. "I shower alone," I insisted, even as my stomach continued to flip with images of a water soaked Theo before my eyes, ready for my lips and tongue to taste.
"Not anymore," he husked against my throat, his teeth dragging deliciously over my skin. "You are mine, Oraia. And I want to care for you, clean you, pamper you. You cannot deny that you want this too."
Part of me did want it, but that was a very new part of me. The old part of me who couldn’t even flirt with a man, was terrified of being naked under a spotlight and not live up to how Theo saw me in his mind. I chewed the inside of my bottom lip and ducked my head, unable to meet Theo's eyes. The warmth in my cheeks mocked me.
Theo sighed and pulled away slightly. The loss of his body heat was acute.
"All right, Casey," he said, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I'll show you to your room and I'll shower in the guest bathroom next door. Aktor is fixing us something to eat, so we shouldn't take too long, anyway."
He wasn't going to push me, he wasn't going to do a thing unless I wanted it. I felt relief course through me, immediately followed by regret. And disappointment. Why didn't he push? If he really wanted me that much, wouldn't he try a little harder?
I followed numbly after Theo as he led me through a light and airy interior, past the main open plan lounge, dining and kitchen - where Aktor was busy fussing away creating a masterpiece no doubt - towards one side of the house that led to bedrooms, running off a long hallway.
"This is where I'll shower," Theo said, indicating the first door on the left. "And here is your room, there's an ensuite bathroom attached. Aktor has laid out some clothes for you to wear."
I nodded and wrapped my hand around the doorknob, pushing it open so I could step inside and think through my tumbling and conflicting emotions. I looked back over my shoulder at Theo, who was watching me with a longing in his eyes that almost made me stop dead in my tracks. How could he look at me that way and not push for more? I needed that push. Couldn't he see that? I wanted him to push me to take the next step. But Theo had never pushed me. He had only ever shown me infinite patience, only following my lead and not presuming to take any more than I offered.
I shut the door as he began to turn away, unable to watch him go.
The room Aktor had prepared for me was lovely. White linens and blue accents, reminding me of a sunny beach. The curtains were gauzy and the window was open, allowing a salty breeze to lift the material and make it dance. Small knick-knacks dotted the room; shells, a starfish, brightly coloured ornaments depicting fish that couldn't possibly be found in New Zealand waters, but somehow they all worked. It was a bright and cheerful room, and I had to admit I was surprised the butler had such a delicate decorating hand.
I glanced over to the bed where Aktor had laid out some clothes. They included an oversized man's white button down shirt and soft white drawstring cotton pants. They'd be a little big on me, but at least they weren't Theo's size. I could roll up the sleeves and cuffs, and tie the shirt around my waist to not be completely lost in them. They were a damn sight better than the now terribly dirty dress.
I stripped off my clothes and folded them neatly in a pile beside the clean ones, then slipped into the bathroom and took a look at myself in the mirror. Bad move. I looked pale and had shadows forming under my eyes, and that was if you ignored the smears of dirt. I washed my hands and face in the sink, even though I was about to step in the shower. I needed to see myself first in the mirror. I needed to ground myself and look in my eyes to make sure I was still me inside.
So much had happened. So much was still happening and threatening to happen. I'd come a long way since I woke up in that pit of dirt, but that didn't mean I was OK with it all. I had so many questions and so few answers. But take all of the Ekmetalleftis developments aside, I had still experienced some important life changing moments these past few days. Of course, losing your virginity to a man you had harboured a crush on for a year, was nothing compared to becoming an immortal. But it was all enough to make me stare blindly for several minutes and just force myself to breathe through the enormity of it.
I had to ask myself if Theo hadn't walked into my shop and shown an interest in me, whether this would have happened at all.
I sucked in a deep breath and placed a hand in the middle of my stomach to stop the plummeting feeling I suddenly felt. Oh God, I hadn't thought of that before. What if this was all happening because of Theo? What if none of it would have happened if he hadn't decided to try out a deli on Parnell Road and been served by me? Was there a connection? Or was it just fate, a mere coincidence?
I wasn't sure there was an answer to that question, like so many of the questions I had in my head. And I decided adding more useless questions to the pile was a really bad move. But I'd thought it now, and I couldn't simply pretend it wasn't there; stuck in my mind, screaming to get out. What if?
What if?
I closed my eyes and lowered my head. The sound of Theo's shower being turned on next door, reached me through the wall. He was about to step into it, I really needed to step into mine. I took a deep breath in and raised my eyes to the woman in the mirror, immediately catching the marks of Theo's t
eeth on my neck. They were fading, by tomorrow they'd be gone. Why weren't they more permanent? Was that because I wasn't his Thisavros after all?
I didn't like that idea. I mean, I really didn't like that idea. I frowned at the mark and ran a finger over my neck, trying to feel the indentations. I let a sharp, short breath of air out. It didn't matter whether my connection to Theo made this all happen. It didn't matter at all, because if I had the choice to do it all over again; to avoid Theo and never become what I am or to repeat it and be standing here confused, but having loved the man - I wouldn't even hesitate. I'd do it all again exactly as it was.
Getting to know Theo over the course of a year. Learning to flirt with him, the first time I had ever been able to flirt with a man in my life. I may not have enjoyed the pit of dirt and the questions that still remained were pretty heavy. But I'd face it all, every single confusing bit of it, to lie with Theo, to feel his touch, his kiss, him. To have him love me like he did in my bed last night and this morning. To have him crave my body, want me, claim me, call me his.
I looked at the wall that separated my bathroom from Theo's and I knew what I wanted to do. I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my body, then ran across the bedroom to the door that led into the hall. Peering out, I made sure Aktor was nowhere about, then crept down the hallway and before I could change my mind, turned the handle to Theo's bathroom.
Steam billowed out and wrapped around my ankles. The warmth of it inviting me further. I was getting used to heat. In my cheeks. In my veins. In my body. I took a shaky breath in and stepped inside, closing the door softly behind me. The water sounded loud as it pounded against the glass of the shower stall. It had condensed, but through the mist I could see him. One hand stretched out above his head, forearm leaning against the cool tile of the shower. His head was bowed low, the water pummelling across his broad shoulders and back.
He was incredible.
I had to just stand there for a moment and stare. Take all of him in. No, I would definitely do it all again. Every. Single. Moment.
The Tempting Touch Of Fire (Elemental Awakening, Book 1) Page 21
