“Kazumi, this is Aleron Foussé, my guard until the wedding. Aleron, my best friend, Kazumi Fukada.”
The two all but circled each other like cats with arched backs trying to decide who was going to strike first.
“Both of you, back off.” Goddess save her from elemental arm wrestling.
“Foussé? The Fire family?” Zum draped the dress over the back of the sofa and folded her arms, her classic battle pose.
Wait a second. “You know them? Him?”
Zum’s smile was all teeth, no eyes. “Not him personally, but yeah, Mom’s mentioned the Foussés. He’s the one you texted me about? The Elite One ass—”
“Yes!” She widened her eyes to try to tell Zum to zip it. They’d talk all things Aleron when they were alone. “We’ve worked things out. Everything’s great.”
“‘Great’ and ‘guard’ aren’t two words you usually put together.” Zum fussed over the garment bag, her tone taking a guards-with-benefits direction. She turned and did a thorough visual assessment of Aleron like he was a car she was considering purchasing. “Did you hear about the attack last night?”
Hmm. Maybe he’d passed Zum’s initial inspection, since it seemed she’d backed off of her impending hurricane attack on Aleron and was as smooth as deep water.
“I haven’t heard a thing. What happened?” Shitshow averted, she moved toward Zum, her stomach knotting at her best friend’s stark expression.
“I can’t believe it. A Natura couple was killed. Murdered in their brownstone.” Kazumi scrubbed her hands up her face. “The deaths were strange, and there were Earth signatures everywhere, like the energy had no control. Mom says there’s some weird-ass shit happening, something about a disturbance with released energy. Whatever it is, it’s not good.”
“That’s horrible.” Her pulse kicked up, the truth a clog in her throat. After what had happened the night they’d gone to Freddy’s, she almost brought up the witches, but she didn’t want to breach the confidentiality about Zum’s mom and the meeting.
“How were the bodies discovered?” Aleron moved to the other end of the couch, standing like a lava-filled Hulk, all heat and menace.
Zum arched one of her perfectly plucked brows. “The human cops and Con Ed showed up, since whatever did it decided to burst the water and gas lines for an entire block. It’s headlining every news channel. What have you been doing that you haven’t heard?”
Aleron pulled his phone from his back pocket and thumbed across the screen. “Fuck.”
“Hard fuck, chief,” Zum agreed. “Elite One better get their shit together, or humans won’t be buying the ‘natural disaster’ BS much longer. Con Ed can only get blamed so many times.” She blinked, then rubbed her eyes. “Holy… No wonder I feel like I stepped inside a campfire. You have two Fire mantles?”
Aleron’s nostrils flared. He drew up straight and folded his arms behind his back. Irritation buzzed inside Elspeth like flies on fruit. He didn’t have to stand at freakin’ attention in front of them.
“My father gave me his mantle a long time ago.” His gaze shifted to one of Lach’s paintings.
Zum’s expression smoothed. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Aleron’s jaw worked, but other than the almost infinitesimal movement, he didn’t so much as blink.
Kazumi didn’t seem insulted by the lack of response. Instead, she took the dress and walked toward Elspeth’s bedroom. “I’d better shake this out, or it’ll be wrinkle city. Join me in the bathroom in two minutes.”
Elspeth was used to her best friend’s mercurial shifts but felt the need to explain when Kazumi was out of earshot. “Don’t mind Kazumi. She can go from floodgates open to Zen water garden in a heartbeat.”
Aleron met her eyes but stayed stonily silent.
She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m sorry you lost your dad and that I didn’t say something before.” The weight of grief was one she was used to carrying. “My parents died when I was a baby. I know what it’s like to miss someone. It’s a wound that won’t heal.”
His dark expression deepened, and she was more grateful than ever that he was assigned to protect her, because for a moment, he looked like he wanted to burn both her and Kazumi into the rug.
“Don’t say anything about the Astrux.” He glared down his misaligned nose.
She didn’t know what she’d done wrong, but she was glad for the excuse to get out of range of Aleron’s rage-filled eyes.
“Zum’s waiting. You can stand down, okay? Everything’s all right.”
He pinned her again, without so much as shifting his weight. “Everything is far from all right. Don’t drop your guard, and don’t get chatty.”
Her hackles rose, dispelling any momentary weakness she’d been caught in. “Don’t you forget that you’re my guard, not my boss. I’ll let you know what my plans are after I’ve visited with my friend. You’re free to go back to your room, or patrol, or whatever else it is you do.”
She didn’t wait for a response and instead donned the mask she’d worn for years to conceal her thoughts and feelings. Moving through her room and into the bathroom, she stopped short, awed at what came naturally to most Naturas.
Goddess love Waters. Zum was using one hand to direct the steam coming from the hot water running in the sink onto the dress she’d hung from the robe hook. The fabric smoothed from neck to hem, the material releasing every crinkle in a cascade like special effects in a movie.
“Let’s see Rowenta come up with a steamer like that.” Elspeth couldn’t contain a smile at her tiny friend’s concentration.
Zum’s expression transformed from intense to amused in a blink. “Not in a thousand lifetimes.” She gestured to the dress. “I trust no one but myself with Burmese lotus flower silk.”
“I don’t either,” Elspeth agreed, as if she had a clue about silk from Myanmar versus any other place on the planet.
“Do you like it?” Apprehension notched a line between her bestie’s brows.
How did her badass friend have one speck of doubt about herself? Every creation Kazumi made was something beyond magical.
She took Zum’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “It looks like you took a million emeralds and melted them to make this. It’s stunning, and I love it. You’re amazing. And you gave me no hints at all the other night that you’d outdone yourself again.”
“Girl, I had to get up and sew the next morning and put my needle into overdrive to finish. You have to look like ten million bucks tomorrow night.”
A wave of nausea hit her at the thought of the upcoming gala. Seanair’s events were spectacles, with the Lennox family on full parade.
“What’s wrong?” Zum clutched her hand tighter. “Did I mess something up?” She was scanning the dress like she’d dared to miss snipping a thread.
“I’m…not used to color. I wear black to everything. I like to blend in at these events.”
Zum wagged a scolding finger. “No, no, no. No more haute funeral looks for you. You’re almost twenty-four, not ninety-four. You’ve got curves, and it’s time the world sees them.”
“I don’t know…” She stood and noted the deep plunge of the neckline and the slit up the leg. “I’m no prude, but I normally don’t show so much skin at family events.”
Who was she kidding? She’d never shown that much skin anywhere.
“Normal is boring and no longer part of your verbiage.” She gave the dress a game-show-host wave. “I call this the Manslayer. All those chickenshits too scared to ask you out because of Granddaddy’s death stare will be crying in their cocktails. My goal, though, is to see how the Russian responds once he sees the photos of you online in this dress.”
“You’re baiting my fiancé?” She jerked her head toward Zum and about choked on the word.
Surely she could be forgiven for forgetting. She’d signed the contract only three days ago, and for the love of the Goddess, she hadn’t even met Yuri yet. She’d been too busy dealing with Tall
And Broody, who was somewhere out in the living room, and getting attacked and then having the Fire kissed into her.
“I’m dangling you like a gorgeous, tasty carrot to see if he bites. It’s the racy-text test. Tabloid photos will be online before you even make it inside the hotel.” Zum stood and folded her arms, a super-pleased smile on her face. “Actually, this gown is my middle-finger salute to your fiancé. Has he bothered to text, call, Snap, anything?”
“We’ve had no communication other than the contract.”
“No communication? Do you hear yourself?” Zum took the dress in hand and unlatched the straps from the hanger. “I may be glamming you up, but I’m still not down with this whole thing. My mother says the only reasons anyone deals with the Russians are oil and gas.” She looked over her shoulder as if she could scan the bedroom through the walls. “I want to hear all about the Elite One man in your living room. Come to think of it, where’s the rest of your security detail?”
“Aleron’s like ten guards in one, so the others were reassigned. I’m enjoying the privacy.”
And him pushing Air into my lungs with his mouth.
“Good thing he’s not your gala escort, or the paparazzi would have a field day. It’s still us, right? The chick power posse?”
“New York’s Powerpuff Girls.” Elspeth laughed at the memory of going back to their college dorm wasted and watching the silly show.
“I’m still Buttercup, and you’re still Blossom.”
“Not sure I’m the leader of anything, but I wouldn’t mind having Bubbles’s supersonic wave-blasting power.”
“You’re going to have plenty of power at Seanair’s soirée. You’ll be a siren no one can resist.”
She felt her expression fall. “That’s not power. That’s being on display like a prize pig. I’m a guest like everyone else. It’s not about me.”
“Oh, it’s so about you.” Zum’s tone was shrill. “Your grandfather does nothing without a plan. The event may ostensibly be about honoring Jon Costa’s promotion, but now that the engagement’s official, Seanair’s making a statement.”
“It would have been nice if the statement had included an ‘I love you,’ or even ‘congratulations.’”
Zum ran a thumb over Elspeth’s cheek. “I’m sorry, E. Your family sucks in the emotion department. You should’ve been a Water like me.”
A lighthearted laugh escaped as she pulled herself together.
Zum unzipped the back of the dress. “It might surprise you, but I actually approve of Seanair’s heavy-handed gesture. A two-mantled Fire is like toting around a turbo Easy-Bake Oven of protection, which is called for after what happened last night.” She gave Elspeth’s sweatpants the stink eye. “Now strip, and let’s get this fitted.”
Elspeth didn’t hesitate. She and Kazumi had been dressing and undressing in front of each other since boarding school, so she pulled off her nightwear and held out her arms for the dream of molten green in Kazumi’s arms.
The silk flowed over her in one smooth kiss and fit as though the fabric couldn’t stand to be away from her skin. A zip and a button and she faced the mirror, her mouth agape.
She looked…amazing.
Even with no Spanx. Even with no makeup. Even with her hair a mess.
“Holy adjective attack,” Zum breathed, her eyes shining with pride. “Stunning. Dazzling. Spectacular. You’re going to be a one-woman boner fest.”
Normally, she and Zum cracked themselves up with their banter about men. All this talk about guards and boners sent her thoughts to places she couldn’t go.
They moved into the bedroom, and Elspeth stood before the triplet of mirrors in the corner. She wasn’t vain, but she had to be scrupulously conscious of her appearance when she met clients and had installed the trio years ago so she could be sure she was tucked and put together without any help. Now, the vision reflecting at her from three angles was anything but neat, buttoned down, and business-like.
The neckline plunged. The halter snaked around her neck as though her throat was being caressed by a lover’s hands. Her shoulders were bare, and from nape to waist, her back was exposed. Her personal bits were fully covered, but the allure was how much Kazumi had left to the imagination.
A sharp knock was followed by the door opening before she could respond.
“I need to—”
Aleron’s words died in his throat as he looked at her, devouring her bared skin with his eyes and then taking in the plunging front in the mirror.
She wasn’t sure how much of her he’d seen last night, but it’d been enough to make his breath catch and his hands jittery while unhooking her bra. Now, he stood transfixed, and her heart pounded as she imagined his eyes on all of her, taking her in. She anticipated what his kiss would feel like on places besides her mouth.
Kazumi’s laughter was a rippling brook of amusement. “Down, boy, or you’ll scorch yourself.”
The moment of unbridled lust in his gaze sharply turned to disapproval.
“Need I remind you you’re engaged?” Aleron ground out.
For a split second, she’d felt beautiful. No, gorgeous. The light, the fire, the heat in his eyes had nearly melted her in the best of ways. She’d felt like she was honey, and he’d needed to devour every sweet drop of her.
Now, she prayed some rogue Earth would cause a freak earthquake, and the floor would split open and swallow her.
She caught herself and called on the vow she’d made on her twelfth birthday that she would never cower in front of anyone ever again.
She straightened and summoned the haughty coolness she used with most Naturas.
“Did you need something?” She refused to address his remark.
He gave a sharp nod. “I’m going outside to do a perimeter sweep. I’ll lock the apartment. Don’t try to leave.”
“I know how to unlock my own doors.”
“Not that kind of lock.” Zum folded her arms. “He’s trying to put me in my place too. FYI, Waters can’t be contained.”
“I won’t be long.” He glowered at Elspeth.
If she hadn’t known better, she’d say his feelings had gotten hurt, but given the way he was acting, she wasn’t so sure he had any.
The front door closed.
Zum’s eyebrows shot up in a what’s-that-all-about arch. “He’s a li’l crabby Fire. Maybe he needs a colon cleanse? I’ve got the will and the Water.”
A laugh burst from her. Goddess love her filterless bestie. If the thought formed, Zum spoke it. “You are incorrigible.”
“It’s why you love me.”
“One of a million reasons,” she whispered, her mood since the attack a roller coaster of twists and turns.
She’d shoved aside yesterday, the event so terrifying it seemed unreal, but her best friend was the realest thing in her life. Soon, there’d be no more Kazumi pop-ins at the office or her apartment, no more it’s time for a mochi run texts. No more impromptu drinks at places like Freddy’s. She’d long considered Kazumi a sister, a sister who hugged the breath from her, a sister she laughed and cried and commiserated with.
How would a FaceTime friendship last?
There were no hugs on FaceTime.
“Help me out of this.” Elspeth reached for the buttons at the back of her neck.
Kazumi stepped in, and in seconds, the silk slid down her body, leaving her naked except for her undies. Her best friend stopped abruptly. Stared.
Her fingertips grazed over Elspeth’s lower back. “What the hell are those?”
“What are what?” Elspeth twisted to look in the mirror.
“These.” Zum pointed at the faint yellow marks, her fierce frown full of don’t give me any bullshit. “I’ll forgive myself for missing them in the bathroom because that mirror sucks. But this looks like you’ve taken up bronc riding.”
She couldn’t lie. Not to Zum. But she wasn’t going to spend her last weeks in New York under house arrest. And after the way Aleron had just made her feel, he
could shove his orders about what she could and couldn’t do up his ass with the stick that was already there.
“Give me a sec to get dressed and make coffee, and I’ll tell you. If you promise not to tell anyone, including your mother and especially Seanair.”
“Let me put this back on the hanger, and then you can tell me something I know I’m going to hate.” Zum took the dress into the bathroom.
When they were together again in the living room, Elspeth sighed in relief at being back in jeans and an NYU sweatshirt, her hair tamed into a ponytail.
“So, spill.” Zum accepted a mug with both hands. “You know the rule, chicks over dicks. Or in this instance…” She cast a glance at the front door. “Best friends over assassins.”
“What?” Elspeth followed Zum’s gaze.
Zum sputtered the sip of coffee she’d taken. “You don’t know? I thought you knew every Natura alive.”
“Hardly. I can’t know that many people.”
Or anyone advertising themselves as a hit man.
“In this case, I have to give your Godfather Granddaddy some props.” Zum took a careful drink, her glare coy. “In light of recent events, sending his top killer was a smart move.”
Elspeth was still trying to process the last twenty-four hours, and her brain refused. She understood security. Understood situations sometimes got rough. Understood sometimes force was necessary.
“His top…killer.” The alley came back. His rage. His ferocity. His burn-the-world-down power.
“You think Elite One hosts garden brunches?” Kazumi fired a get-with-it-girl glare. “Listen, the guy’s got a serious rep and probably tons of baggage. I know he’s protecting you, but be careful. Fires like that flare up, and you don’t want to be caught in the flames. You can’t have a job like that for long without losing your soul or your mind, but as I always say, Seanair don’t care. He’s probably using the guy up like he’s somehow using you for this marriage gig.”
The Call of Fire: A Natura Elementals Novel Page 12
