Boiling Point

by Watts, Mia

  Her chest ached. She wanted him to touch her, and that was exactly the problem. For whatever reason, she was attracted to exactly the wrong kind of guys. A being that manipulated heat and fire, was anything but human, qualified as wrong.

  “I think this is what humans call love. It’s terrible, so make it go away before you tell me I can’t be near you anymore.”

  Fauna turned her invisible head to blink back the tears pooling in her eyes. Her hands shook. She pushed away from her stool and left the room. She needed air. She needed to think. Cooper clouded her judgment on every level. Above all else, she had a job to do. A job that, it seemed, was more important than she imagined and it needed her full attention.

  She could deal with her relationship to Cooper once the job was all over. Now she needed to clear her mind and put a steel lid on the emotions he elicited in her.

  Just how, exactly, do I do that?

  Chapter Six

  Fatigue gripped Cooper as he and Fauna climbed the stairs. After a long night working in the lab, and a quick breakfast, he wanted nothing more than to curl up with Fauna in his arms and fall asleep to the sound of her breathing.

  Instead, he stared forlornly at the braided rag rug, just inside the door of their room. Each thick strand of the tightly woven, multicolored fabric mocked him. He winced in anticipation of waking with matching knots of muscle on his back.

  Gauging Fauna’s expression to see if she’d actually meant him to sleep on the rug, or if it had been an empty threat, didn’t give him any reassurances. Her eyes narrowed, as though she expected him to ask. If there’s one thing he’d learned about her, you didn’t push Fauna. She might change her mind on her own, but if he pressured her, she’d hold fast. As stubborn as scales on a wet sylph.

  “I’m sure if you ask super nicely, Mrs. Linthrop will let you curl up in the fireplace downstairs,” Fauna offered sweetly.

  Her lips were tight and her eyes snapped. She didn’t look like she was going to back down.

  “Thanks, but technically, I’m a salamander, not a ball of flame.”

  She blinked widely, too innocently. “A warm rock, then. That can be arranged too.”

  “Geez woman, you cut to the quick.”

  He thought he saw a moment of hesitation then suddenly it was gone and her chin lifted. “I’m going to take a shower. Then I’m crawling into my bed, alone.”

  “Thanks for the anticipatory narrative, but you already made your point. I’m not sleeping with you. I get it. I fucked up, and now I’m going to pay by sleeping at your feet like a dog.”

  There was that flicker of hesitation again. It was nice to know she didn’t get off on being mean, he thought.

  “Not like a dog,” she said, looking uncomfortable.

  “Really? Me, curled up on a rag rug beside your bed all night?” Slyly, he added, “Naked as a jaybird? Yeah, sounds pretty canine to me.”

  “Naked?” she choked.

  “Have you ever known me to sleep with my clothes on?”

  Fauna blushed to her roots. Adorable, he decided.

  “I thought you did that because…”

  “Because?” he pressed, knowing where she was headed.

  “Because we…” Fauna stalled, looking more flustered than ever.

  “Because we, what?” he pushed.

  “You know.”

  “I do?”

  Fauna huffed in exasperation. “Because we slept together.” Words tumbled from her lips triple-speed, jumbling into a subdued mumble.

  Cooper leaned in. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

  “Because. We. Slept. Together,” she said distinctly.

  Cooper drummed his fingers on his folded arm. “Hm. I guess we have been sleeping together every single night since we got here. Then I guess you do, in fact, know that I sleep in the raw. But since we’ve been having sex every one of those nights, you may not realize that I always sleep naked.”

  He stressed the word “sex”, raising his voice as he did to drive the point home with as much effect as possible. He saw her eyes shoot over his shoulder.

  Oh, did I leave the door open? Shame on me.

  Fauna dodged by him, catching it with her fingers and shoving it closed. Cooper turned, closing off her escape. She’d either have to back up against that door, or ask him to move. Knowing Fauna, she wouldn’t reduce herself to asking him for anything. She’d consider herself fully capable of handling her own space and definitely wouldn’t want to risk continuing their conversation by a request he may not chose to honor.

  He felt a little wicked for forcing her hand.

  “I’m nuts about you, Fauna. If you want me to sleep on the floor, I’ll sleep on the floor. Hell, I’ll even curl up in the fireplace like you suggested. Do you know why?”

  Fauna nervously folded her arms, mirroring his stance unconsciously. “Because you’re trying to guilt me,” she suggested.

  “There might be some of that,” he agreed with a soft smile. “I’d do it, because I know I’m wrong, and if that’s what you want as reparation, I’m happy to oblige.”

  Her gaze fell. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Being agreeable doesn’t make what you did, better.” She lifted her beautiful green eyes to his. They were filled with uncertainty, but it was the hurt in them that pricked his conscience like no punishment could.

  “I know.”

  He reached for her, not able to stand the distance between them when they’d been so close over the past weeks. Fauna tightened her hold on herself, flinched away. There was no playfulness in her body language. Cooper resisted the urge to follow her, press her up against the wall, and kiss her until everything was right again.

  Keeping his secret from her had been a more serious offense than he’d thought. Of course he hadn’t actually thought about how she’d take it when the truth came out. That hadn’t been the goal. The elementals had sent him on a mission. His attraction to Fauna had been a pleasant bonus.

  He’d been thinking about saving his hide. He’d been thinking about the job. He’d been thinking about how much he liked being with Fauna, and hoping that if she felt the same way, she’d overlook the rest.

  He’d been wrong. So wrong.

  His first mistake had been in thinking he and Fauna could have a fling while he was on assignment. The second was underestimating her aversion to magical beings. A third mistake on that order wouldn’t be acceptable. He couldn’t mess up how he handled their relationship from here. Doing so would mean losing Fauna.

  He might have already.

  Fauna made her way to the bathroom with her robe and clothes. As a fire elemental, there shouldn’t be a point in his existence where he felt chilled, but the anguished silence rolling off her pierced him straight to the heart. He wished he understood her aversion better. Hell, he wished he hadn’t assumed he could break through her emotional wall without coming clean.

  On the other hand, he hadn’t been at liberty to disclose his identity. He still wasn’t, but telling her had been important to more than the mission. It had become important to see if they could continue their relationship once the final measures for security were installed.

  The water turned on, and steam filled the tiny closet-sized bathroom. It spilled moisture into the bedroom. There was nothing but steam between Fauna’s naked body and where he stood, frozen in place. A day ago, he’d have stripped off his clothing and joined her. They hadn’t had shower sex yet. Just thinking of the soap bubbles slicking her body had him hard and ready. The chances that she’d let him in were ridiculously low.

  Cooper ran a hand through his hair. How was it possible to want someone so badly? How did people move on from recklessly destroying their relationships with lies before realizing they’d fucked up?

  The shower turned off, and he saw her swat her arm out to collect her clothes where she could change around the corner from where he stood.

  “I’ve seen you naked. You don’t need to hide,” he reminded her, hoping the light bante
r would ease the nearly palpable tension.

  Fauna didn’t answer.

  He caught the sounds of fabric moving, then the soft barefoot pats of her feet moving from shower to wood floor. When she emerged, hair slicked back and wet, she met his gaze with a sad look of her own.

  It felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He wanted to comfort her, knew she wouldn’t let him.

  “Can we at least talk about it?” he asked.

  “There’s nothing to say.”

  “There’s a lot to say,” he contradicted

  “No, there isn’t. This was a stress-relieving arrangement we had. While we didn’t owe each other anything, lying was the wrong card to play. Now I know, and I no longer want to donate my body to the cause.” She shrugged, dropping her eyes and fiddling with her robe tie. “It means nothing. We just move on from here.”

  “It does mean something,” he insisted. “Fauna, I fucked up, but I couldn’t tell you who I was because I wasn’t permitted to. I still haven’t been. Our relationship reached a point where you knowing about me was more important than keeping information from you. That should say something about my level of commitment to us.”

  “There’s no us.” She shrugged, turned her back on him as she folded down the bed sheets. “The way I see it, you not only lied to me, you’ve betrayed your kind by disclosing your identity.”

  “Either way, I’m a loser in your eyes?” he asked, the frustration building.

  “I didn’t make the choices you made. I didn’t have your commitments, so I’m not responsible for the way you’ve dealt with your conflicts. You are. You always have been.” She climbed into bed and looked over at him. “For a brief time, I was drawn into that, but I’m taking myself out of the equation. You’re free to do whatever it is your kind, and your conscience, direct you to do. Just leave me alone unless it involves work.”

  She rolled away from him. She hadn’t even bothered to remove her robe. Like it was her armor against advances he’d make on her. That, more than anything, hit him like a slap.

  “Well, if this is the way you treated the other non-acceptable faery-men you’ve come across in relationships, I can see why they walked away.”

  Fauna flipped over to glare at him. “You have no right to say that to me.”

  Cooper paced toward the bed. It was the first time he’d been able to make himself move since Fauna had slipped off to shower. He kept his hands on his hips, not wanting her to feel threatened by folded arms or hand gestures while he spoke.

  “You’ve underestimated me, too. Those other guys might not have cared enough to stick around and prove they were different than what you thought. I’m not going anywhere. I’m in love with you and the sooner you realize that, the better this will go.”

  Her eyes widened. Fauna sat up. “You’re in love with me? How’s that even possible?”

  “Really? I spend every waking and sleeping minute in your company and you think it’s impossible that you’re worthy of someone falling for you?”

  “I didn’t say that,” she scoffed. “We’ve had a lot of sex in a short amount of time. All you know about me is the job and what positions I favor.”

  “Wow, that’s—harsh. And a little crass.”

  “And true.”

  “And not,” he countered, leaning on the bed, one fist on either side of her hips.

  Fauna slipped from view. Cooper sighed, softly. “I’m not giving you up without a fight.”

  “I didn’t give you the choice.”

  “I guess that makes me stubborn and hard-headed.”

  “I’m not disagreeing,” Fauna said on a sniff.

  “If you don’t want me to touch you, I won’t. If you don’t want me sleeping with you, I won’t. If you want to keep things professional, then I’ll do that. But, Fauna, you can’t tell me I’m not allowed to love you, or argue with me about it when you can’t possibly know how I feel.”

  He reached up and tucked a glowing gold tendril behind her ear. He stroked the side of his thumb along her cheekbone.

  “I love you, Fauna Harper. I’ve screwed up, but I’m not going to let you bully me into leaving.”

  “Basically, you’re going to harass me?” she asked, though her words didn’t carry conviction.

  He smiled. “Honey, I respect your space. I’ll give it to you. But I’ll be loving you at a distance. Hopefully, you’ll come to understand that not all magical males are complete assholes.”

  Fauna turned her back on him again. His words sounded great. Unfortunately for him, she wasn’t buying.

  Cooper sighed heavily. “If you need me, I’ll be in the shower. Then on the rug. Woof. Woof.”

  She winced. Even as pissed off as she was, she understood his point perfectly, and reducing him to sleep on the floor felt painfully callous. She’d hoped he’d get a clue and leave the room to her, sleep somewhere else where she couldn’t hear his night noises, his breathing, every uncomfortable shift on that rag rug.

  Instead, she strained for every sound from him. And right now, he was collecting his clothes and had cranked on the shower. As tired as she was, her pulse kicked up. She imagined him peeling off clothing, revealing one beautifully sculpted body piece after another.

  He really did have an amazing chest. Such strong shoulders. She loved the way his sprinkling of chest hairs trailed low over his belly, pointing a sexy line to his substantial cock and heavy balls. Packed quadriceps bracketed his groin and with each padded step to the bathroom, she visualized the tight flex and release of his ass, the swing of his long, thick penis.

  Fauna bit back a moan. Sliding her fingers between her legs, she pressed her pussy in an attempt to quell the burning thrill the naked thoughts of him gave her. It was no use. She craved him. Her body knew what it was like to have him fill her completely, his large hands touching every part of her, his lips knowing just where to kiss her for maximum pleasure.

  Her nipples tightened and her stomach flipped as she remembered his sly grin when he sank between her legs for a leisurely, thorough kiss that sent her senses into a mindless whirl.

  The glass shower door opened and closed.

  Her pride taunted her. If she gave him a chance, confessed that she wanted him, she could walk right into that bathroom, strip, and get under the warm spray with him. He’d probably smile, tease her a little bit, then pull her against his gorgeous naked body.

  Her senses shimmered with a magical tingle, and Fauna knew she’d disappeared again. Eyes widening on an idea, Fauna shucked her clothes and hurriedly slipped from bed, tiptoeing to the bathroom. It was a childish, cheap thrill, but he didn’t have to know she was spying on him.

  It’s not like I haven’t seen him naked before, she reminded herself when needles of guilt prodded her.

  Fauna slipped into the bathroom, grateful for once that there wasn’t a door to squeak or let in a sudden blast of cool air. Though steam filled the space, dampening her invisible cheeks, there was enough circulation throughout this room and their sleeping area that steam hadn’t collected to fog the shower door.

  Water hit the back of his neck. Cooper’s chin tucked to let it spill over his shoulders. His eyes were closed and Fauna’s gaze traveled with the rivulets along their course. They trailed over his collarbones, rushing at his chest and splitting into two paths around his Pecs. Her gaze picked up the rivulet that continued down his body, skimming his washboard abs and coasting over his flaccid cock to drip off the blunted tip.

  She almost sighed.

  Even his wet leg hair looked sexy. His toes gripped the floor as he reached for the soap off to his side. Fauna leaned against the corner of tile where the shower door met wall. She leaned her head back to rest on it, her eyes filling themselves with every beautiful inch of him.

  Back up, her gaze went. She stopped, licking her lips when she noticed that he was no longer flaccid, but well on his way to erect. Her gaze shot up, wondering if she’d become visible, though she still felt invisible.


  Cooper paid her no attention. His lips had tipped up into a wicked, knowing smile. He hummed as he soaped up his washcloth and sensuously rubbed his arms and chest with it.

  “Hey, Fauna. Can you come wash my back?” he called loudly.

  Fauna bit her lip. God, she’d love to. Running her hands over his tight body, watching his muscles shiver when she applied just a little bit of nail. Moisture seeped from the seam of her pussy, tickling her, begging her to reconsider her stand on magical beings.

  Cooper chuckled to himself. He finished washing up, then rinsed out the small cloth. Picking up the soap again, he lathered his hands until creamy, white bubbles coated them. He slid his hands down the center of his body seductively.

  Fauna’s eyes bugged.

  He took his cock in hand, jacking it with a loose fist and unhurried pace. She knew he was cleaning himself—maybe enjoying the cleaning—but the motion seemed more erotic to her than to him.

  Just as she thought it, he lifted his head back and increased the speed of his fist on his penis. He made a low, shuddering groan that Fauna felt to her very needy core. Her pussy spasmed sympathetically.

  Cooper arched his back, his hips thrusting rhythmically now. His balls swayed, sullenly ignored, but his slicked, hardened cock seemed to almost demand more in its reddened veined state.

  This was wrong. She should leave.

  Instead, she pressed a hand to the glass. Her other hand stole downward, between her legs. Gaze locked on his cock, Fauna parted her pussy lips to touch the distended, eager nub. She had to swallow the sweet sob of pleasure threatening to escape her that would reveal her presence.

  She held her folds aside while she worked her middle finger over and around, then along each inner lip, already so sensitive and flushed from arousal, so wet. Cooper had slowed his stroke. She timed her touches to his, imagining him on her, in her.