“He’ll ride with Saoirse and me,” she said firmly. It was the only safe way. Aira only hoped that Alex would do the right thing and keep his mouth shut during the drive back to Aira’s apartment.
CHAPTER 10
AIRA SAT ON THE FLOOR of her living room, staring at Alex as he sat on the couch. Dylan and Aiden created a cordon made of rock salt, which confined Alex to a small segment of the apartment. He could use the bathroom, he could sit on the couch, but he couldn’t move around much more than that. Aira had to stay a fair distance away from the salt. As an earth element, it would sap her abilities just as readily as it would Alex’s. They had kept the ankle shackles on him—locked not with a traditional lock, but with a spell—but had given him the freedom to use his hands. Aira felt apprehensive about keeping Alex contained, but she knew she had few choices.
Alex met her gaze and Aira shifted backward slightly. His bright eyes were clouded over—not just with the fatigue and pain of the iron that sapped his abilities, but with something deeper. Aira felt an odd sort of empathy for the other elemental, in spite of her resentment towards him. He was clearly struggling, clearly having difficulties maintaining his own touch with reality.
“I remember you and I don’t remember you, all at once,” he said. “I know that I tried to seduce you, to sway you on my family’s behalf.”
Aira’s jaw tightened. “If I remember correctly, your plan was to get me pregnant so that I would have to marry you, so that my grandmother would have to decide not to have you executed and to keep your family safe.”
Alex nodded. “You would at least have had a lot of fun getting pregnant by me,” he said with a faint ghost of the charming grin she remembered from their time together before. “And I wouldn’t have been a bad mate for you. I could still be a good mate for you, in fact.”
Aira shook her head. “Not the way you are right now,” she said firmly, suppressing the instinctive attraction she felt for him. In spite of the iron working away at his abilities, there were fundamental aspects of his personality as an air elemental that made him attractive to Aira, even knowing and feeling how he had betrayed her in the past. “If the iron wasn’t on you, you’d be trying to use your persuasion against me.”
“Not that it ever worked before,” he commented with exasperation. “You figured me out, don’t you remember? You’re the one person I’ve met so far who hasn’t been swayed by my ability.”
Aira almost corrected him; she remembered the injunction Dylan had made on Alex’s mind when they had defeated him and his cousin, Dolores, at the last moment. Alex was still unaware of how close he had come to succeeding.
“I’ve been obsessed with you ever since,” he said, his voice tired. “All I can think about—all I can dream about—is attracting and keeping you.” Aira brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, uncertain.
“I think that’s probably more of an indication as to why I shouldn’t choose you as a mate,” Aira said, tightening her arms around her knees. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. It would be far too easy for her to fall for Alex’s charms once more; she didn’t understand why she had become an object of obsession for him—but she knew it ultimately didn’t matter. She was not going to even remotely entertain the possibility of allying herself with Alex’s family. Even if Alex hadn’t done what he had to her, her situation was precarious enough as it was.
“Wouldn’t you like to have a mate that thinks about you constantly? I mean, I wouldn’t smother you, of course,” Aira felt she warming up to the sound of Alex’s British accent, and told herself firmly to stop it. She was supposed to be deciding the man’s fate, not letting herself be drawn in by him. “But you know as well as I do that air elementals make the most spontaneous, engaging lovers.” Alex’s gaze latched onto hers and Aira shivered slightly. She took a deep breath, forcing back the memory of what it had been like in her bed, the night she had come into her powers completely, with Alex making love to her.
“I don’t know,” she forced herself to say, though to her own ears her voice didn’t sound quite as flippant and nonchalant as she could have hoped. “Fire elementals are pretty spontaneous and engaging too.” Alex’s eyes widened and Aira felt herself blushing. She tightened her hands into fists. “We need to stop this right now,” she said firmly. “You’re here because I have to decide your fate. Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t just let them put you to death?” Alex stared at her for a moment longer and Aira steeled herself against the intrusion of his will—even knowing that he should be incapable of exerting his influence, his persuasive ability, with the iron binding his energy.
“Because you’re unstable, too,” Alex said. “I don’t have your power or I’d be in contention to be the elemental ruler just as well as you—but if you mess up once during your trials, do you really think they won’t put you to death? They’re terrified of you, love. They’ll accept even less instability in an elemental as powerful as you are.”
Aira rolled her eyes. “I know what the stakes are,” she said. “I know they’re worried about me. That’s why they gave me this shitshow of a trial.” She scowled at Alex. “That isn’t a good enough reason. Maybe you need a little time alone to consider how you should plead your case.” She knew that even with the bindings, Alex’s air-charged mind would realize he had struck a nerve. She was terrified of what would happen to her if she didn’t manage to make it through the selection process victoriously. She knew after the power she had shown in her first trials—in the battles—that the elders would be even more on guard against her. She also knew anyone who succeeded in her place would not want an elemental as powerful as her existing as a flashpoint for any dissent.
She stood quickly, taking another deep breath. She had to keep it together; she couldn’t let Alex see that she was frazzled. She pinned him down with her gaze. “I told you once never to try and lie to me,” she said firmly, bringing her will to bear on the man. She felt the push of her mind against his, felt his cursory resistance to her persuasive ability. She found the crack in his armor, the break that let her into his mind. “Never try and manipulate me like that again,” she said, pushing out with the force of her will. Alex’s eyes widened, the light that had begun to creep into them began to fade into confusion. She turned and quickly left, rushing up the stairs to her room and the hope of space and privacy to handle her conflicting emotions.
*
A moment after Aira reached her room and closed the door behind her, someone knocked. It was impossible for it to be Alex, though Aira’s worried mind insisted that it could be. She shook the thought aside and pulled her door open quickly. Aiden stood on the other side, his blue eyes widening in surprise. Aira realized she probably looked flustered and upset and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
“I’m a little bit weirded out by having Alex downstairs,” she said, stepping back from the door and sitting down on her bed. “What do you want?”
Aiden walked into her room, and Aira took in the sight of him in nothing more than pajama pants, his bare chest tantalizing. Aira pushed the thought aside.
“I’m worried about you,” Aiden said, barely meeting her gaze. “I think the elders are trying to break you with this, and I don’t trust Alex even if he is in iron and surrounded by rock salt.”
Aira made a face, feeling irritated with the situation. In spite of the fact that she had fled the living room because of her own discomfort with Alex’s charm, and she knew she was likely to take it out on Aiden.
“Well, what else would you suggest? I mean it’s not like I could have told the elders ‘thanks, but I think I’ll pass on this particular trial, let me know when the next one comes up.’” She crossed her arms over her chest, pinning Aiden down with her stare.
“I just don’t think you should spend any time alone with him. Make your decision objectively, or interrogate him with me or Dylan there with you.” Aira raised her eyebrows.
“I am not some helpless damsel in
distress!” she said. “This is a decision I have to make all on my own, and I will use whatever means I think I have to use in order to make it. You and Dylan won’t always be there to help if I do become ruler. ” She stood, her anger intensifying. The wind began to pick up outside. Aira ignored it, reasoning that it was not even close to dangerous.
“You don’t have to do everything on your own! Christ, Aira, how many times do you have to decide to cut Dylan and me out of your choices and fall on your ass before you figure out you can ask for help sometimes?” The wind howled and Aira glared at Aiden, becoming angrier by the moment. Even if he had good intentions, Aira felt it wasn’t fair of him to hit her with such a low blow.
“Oh, so the situation with Alex had nothing to do with the fact that you let your guard down and became enchanted by his cousin? And the time I got abducted, when I brought Dylan with me—how was that me cutting the two of you out?” She put her hands on her hips and looked up at Aiden, her temper running out of control. “You’re my bodyguard—not my keeper, and certainly not my husband. You don’t get to scold me for my choices.” Her voice grew shriller. Aira heard the wind outside and knew she had to get control over herself before she put out a window or downed a tree. Aira took a deep breath. “I am done talking to you about this, Aiden. Get out of my room.”
Aiden looked as though he was about to argue his point further—his mouth opened to deliver a retort—and Aira reinforced her command with her persuasive ability, repeating her order to get out with her will behind it. Aiden shook his head. “You’re being irrational,” he said, turning and walking out of her bedroom, crossing the hall and slamming his own door behind him.
Aira stewed in her frustration and resentment for a long moment afterwards, throwing herself onto her bed and groaning into her pillow. She managed to get her anger enough under control and bring the wind down to a dull roar, breathing slowly and steadily. Aira picked herself up off of her bed, leaving her room quickly and running down the stairs at a headlong pace, barely stopping at the landing to steady herself. She came out into the living room where Alex was still on the couch, lying lengthwise with a book.
“What a pleasant surprise,” he said, not looking up from the book. “I thought I heard some commotion. You and Aiden weren’t getting busy up there were you?” Aira threw herself onto the floor just outside of the perimeter, scowling at Alex slightly.
“Shut up,” she said brusquely. “I was giving you time to come up with a reason why I shouldn’t tell the elders to kill you.”
Aira’s heart was pounding.
“Well, there is the fact that I am very trainable. With the right mate, I could hope for some stability. Find me another woman who can’t be swayed by my airy wiles, and I’d be very safe for the general population.” He closed the book, turning his bright gaze on Aira. “Or, of course, you could agree to be my mate. In spite of my disgraceful betrayal, we had a good time together.”
Aira stared at him for a long moment. Her anger and frustration—both at Alex and at Aiden—had only made her attraction towards Alex more intense. She knew it was a bad idea to engage him.
“I told you not to try to manipulate me,” she said.
Alex shrugged. “I’m not trying to manipulate you. I’m trying to convince you to have sex with me.”
Aira rolled her eyes even as she blushed. She couldn’t deny that she was attracted to Alex; she couldn’t quite push the memory of their tryst out of her mind. Aira felt a spike of lust, a physical arousal that had nothing to do with what was correct, proper, or appropriate. In spite of the obvious fact that he was slightly unhinged, Alex was still gorgeous, and Aira remembered all too well that he was very, very good in bed.
“This isn’t going to affect my decision,” she told him.
“I wouldn’t dream of affecting your decision,” Alex murmured, reaching out weakly as Aira stood, only inches away from him. She leaned in and kissed him hungrily. Her anger, frustration, and lust coursed through her veins, driving out any misgivings she felt about what she was doing. The wind began to rise once more outside, but Aira couldn’t care less as Alex deepened the kiss, his hands wandering over the curves of her body. He began to pull and tug at her shirt, and Aira broke away from the embrace, reaching down to the hem of her blouse and drawing it over her head. She cast it aside, paying no attention to where it fell. Alex reached around to her back, drawing her in once more as his fingers worked at the clasp of her bra. Aira was surprised at how deft his touch was, remembering how ineffectual she had been when her kidnapper had locked her up in iron. She justified it with the thought that her wrists had been locked up as well as her ankles.
Alex broke away from the kiss once more to bury his face against her breasts, nuzzling and lavishing attention on them with his lips and tongue. Aira moaned lowly, arching into his mouth, hearing the wind beginning to howl. She ran her fingers through his hair, let them trail down to his shirt, unbuttoning slowly but steadily. Aira pulled his shirt away from his skin, dropping it to the floor and running her hands over the planes of his chest, the warm skin of his arms. Alex claimed one of her nipples with his mouth, sucking and licking, and Aira felt a hot jolt of electric pleasure run through her body at the sensation, turning her on even more. Alex switched from one breast to the other and back again, teasing and pleasuring Aira until she was writhing, moaning over and over again.
Alex pulled her down onto the couch, awkwardly slipping on top of her, covering her body with his own. The iron on his legs sent a painful shock through Aira’s body as her own legs came into contact with the material, the proximity weakening her abilities slightly. She knew contact with the iron over a longer period of time would eventually weaken her almost as much as it was doing to Alex—but she pushed aside the concern. She shifted her legs up slightly, to get away from the iron that was distracting her from pursuing what she really wanted. Alex’s hands moved down her body to the waistband of her jeans, and he began to unbutton and unzip while their lips met once more, hungrily. She heard the chains on his ankles rattling as he moved on top of her, tugging her pants down from her hips, over her legs. Alex finished stripping her and broke away from her lips, kissing a path along her neck, lingering at her breasts for a long moment, and then moving down along her abdomen. “This could be my last meal,” he murmured jokingly. “I should enjoy it.”
Aira gasped as Alex slipped down between her legs, nuzzling his way to her pleasure center. She moaned as he began to pleasure her with his mouth, licking and sucking, sending electric shocks and jolts of sensation through her body. Aira writhed and twisted, quickly getting closer and closer to climax as Alex lavished attention on her, moaning in his own arousal. Her fingers tangled in his hair, gripped at his shoulders as he teased her relentlessly, backing away and then pressing against her once more. She was a live wire underneath him, unconcerned by anything but the need she felt for relief. Aira’s energy crested—she felt Alex’s body and mind connecting with hers, and sensed her excess of elemental essence pouring into him as she cried out in pleasure, her whole body tensing and then relaxing, her muscles flexing in spasms of pleasure.
Alex held her for the long moments it took for Aira to recover, and as she came back to herself, she felt him caressing her, his fingers slipping down between her legs, turning her on once more. “Mmm, Alex,” she murmured, pulling his face around and kissing him passionately. Alex’s weight pressed against her and Aira barely noticed the feeling of iron against her skin, the fact that it was sapping away her elemental abilities as he positioned himself on top of her. She reached down and unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pushing them down over his hips and to his knees. Alex grinned down at her, breaking the kiss and watching her face avidly as he thrust into her.
Aira cried out in renewed arousal and pleasure as he filled her, pushing past the initial resistance of her body. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her legs around his waist, pulling away from the iron that was causing her pain and fatigue. She rocke
d her hips up into his, writhing as Alex thrust deeper and deeper into her, finding his rhythm and matching it.
“Oh, Aira,” Alex murmured, kissing her feverishly as they moved together. “You feel so good, I almost can’t hold back.” He began to pick up the pace, and Aira felt her energy rising again inside of her. She felt Alex’s skin against hers, the delicious friction of their bodies pressed together; her elemental essence, exhausted only moments before, was overflowing once more, and Aira heard but didn’t pay attention to the sound of cracking glass only a few feet away. The wind’s howling obscured the sounds of their sex as they both came closer and closer to orgasm. Aira cried out, muffling the noise of her pleasure against Alex’s lips, against his neck and shoulders.
She reached her second climax quickly, twisting her hips as her whole body tensed. The outpouring of her energy into Alex wrung her out almost as much as the pleasure that coursed through her body, and she held onto him desperately, wanting to hang onto the moment as long as possible, to savor the intense sensations playing at her nerve endings, making her whole body shiver and tremble. She collapsed against the couch, barely aware of the sensation of Alex finishing inside of her, of the sound of his moaning in release. Aira closed her eyes, holding onto her former lover as she fell into a contented doze.
CHAPTER 11
A BITTER, BURNING TASTE IN her mouth brought Aira out of her sleep and she opened her eyes as the sensation traveled down her throat, bringing the aftertaste of dried leaves and dirt to the back of her mouth. She looked at Alex, who was holding himself up next to her, an empty vial in his hand.
“What is that?” Aira asked, as she felt a deep sense of wrongness spreading from her stomach to her extremities. Her heart was pounding, and she felt her body growing cold in spite of Alex’s proximity to her.
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