Family issues were the worst. How could she love someone so much and want to throttle them in the same breath?
“I texted Lach one more time, even though I should know better. Flora promised this Isidora will take care of him.”
A lazy growl sounded from beside the fireplace, where the guards had placed the custom purple velvet chaise lounge they’d retrieved from Lach’s apartment.
“That dog,” Elspeth said. “She’s sweet and loyal, but I feel like I’ve been overthrown in my own apartment.” She moved beside Aleron, resting her head on his shoulder.
His Fire and Air circled around her, and hers did the same with him, as if both their energies functioned best when guarding the other. Cocooned in peace, she reflected on the morning and on the pledges of support.
“I can’t believe today went that well.”
“I can. People want change, and they see opportunity—and hope—with you.”
Her phone vibrated on the coffee table, the song “Killer Queen” a loud slash through the calm. Kazumi. Goddess, it’d taken everything she had not to pick up Zum’s mother and hug the Magnus at today’s meeting. She read the screen.
No French treatment. Mom says S. Korea has new approach and is open to discuss research collab.
“Is everything okay with Zum?” Aleron leaned forward, shifting toward her. “I got nothing through our friendship thing.” He gestured to his wrist.
She showed him the text. “Zum’s mom is making some progress. I wish I could get out there and do more.”
“Look at it this way. South Korea’s offering to work with us. You’re already showing the world you’re a uniter.”
She met his beautiful brown eyes, the concern there such a comfort. He always had her back. Always. “I’m going to have to get used to having help. Having people want to help me. That’s totally new.”
Aleron moved to his knees on the floor, pushing out the coffee table to make space for his big body. His hands rested on her thighs, and his usually stern expression sobered.
“Do you trust me?”
“Absolutely.” She didn’t hesitate. She cradled his jaw where the scar had been. The internal one would remain, but she would work to soothe it when it flared. A thought occurred to her, the slap of truth sharp, like her heart had smacked her brain with wake up, girl.
She could have him. She could have her dream. The man in front of her, on his knees with love in his gaze, could be hers.
“We can do this.” She put her hands over his and squeezed. “We can be together.”
“No one can know. Not yet.” Strain deepened the line between his brows. “But we can. I want to. I’ve somehow got my family back. The only thing missing is knowing that I’ll have you with me forever. I love you, Elspeth, and I want to be with you no matter how we have to make it work. It’ll be hard enough for our people to grapple with so much change in leadership. I won’t be a liability to either you or your family.”
A blowtorch of anger scorched her insides.
“The best Nexus is a happy Nexus.” No one would take him from her.
No. One.
His smile turned devious. “I love it when your Fire gets all smelty for me.”
She leaned forward, her mouth inches from his. “No one’s going to tell me who I can or can’t love. I love you, Aleron.” She kissed him, a slow, firm press that she felt the flames of all the way to her toes. “I’m all for keeping us secret for now. It’s no one’s business anyway. I’m not about to share you.”
Fire, Air, Water, and Earth charged like warring soldiers at the notion of him regenning with someone else.
“Speaking of sharing, I took an Earth tonic Flora gave me, and for now, my Earth and Water energy are on par with the other two. The regen thing may not be an issue.”
“I’ll never be comfortable with you being with someone else, but we’ll figure it out. What kind of tonic?”
“Apparently, a Freddy special.”
He moved over her and her back met the sofa, her neck bent back over the edge, Aleron’s gaze hot and wild above her, her body pinned by his. “The man knows his swill. We’ll see what happens. Now, about getting all bossy and not sharing me. Be careful, baby. Your power can’t talk to mine that way and not expect one helluva refuel.” He blew out a steadying breath. “I have a proposition.”
Her elements strained toward his, even the Earth and Water. If she hadn’t known the rules, she’d swear her Fire and Air had somehow tossed a few scraps of energy to the other two.
“I’ll take all suggestions under advisement,” she teased, desire swirling in her at the fierceness of his love.
“When we’re outside this apartment, you’re the Judex, and I’m your bodyguard. When we’re home? Here? It’s just us.” He pulled the chain from beneath his shirt. “Normally, after a relic’s used, it destroys itself. I believe it still has value. Whether you agree to my terms or not, the ring saved me once, and I want you to have it.” His gaze wandered sweetly over her face. “One day, when everything calms down for you, and you’re ready, I want to marry you. I love you, and I can’t imagine truly living without you. Unhook the clasp.”
Her hands shook, the moment so private and real. Her dream was there, right there, in the warm space between them. She wanted to catch it, live it, ride it until her last breath.
The chain fell to the couch, the ring in his hand. He shifted his weight, the bulk of him, she realized, being taken by his knees as he straddled her. He took her left hand gently, his thumb gliding down her finger, and slid the band on, his gaze locked on her hand the entire time.
The metal heated, the stones backlit by an eerie glow, and the loose band shrank to a snug, but perfect, fit.
“Wasn’t expecting that, but I’m fine with you not being able to take off my ring.” His brows lowered, and his mouth pulled to one side. “I do recall many occasions where my mother wanted to blast my father into the backyard. Foussés can get a little…overheated at times.”
She put her hand to her chest. “I had no idea you had a temper. No clue at all.”
“One day, we’ll make it official, when you feel the time is right. You’re the one with something to lose.”
“The only blessing I want for our relationship is from the Goddess. We could join spiritually now, in communion, if you want.”
His head moved in a slow, steady nod. “I want.”
He stood and offered his hand, pulling her from the couch and guiding her to the hearth and facing her.
“Together.” He took her hand closest to the fireplace.
Her Fire reached out and coiled around his, and their combined energies erupted in a flame beneath the logs.
He took a step back, his gaze trailing down her body. “Are you partial to these clothes?”
“No.”
His eyes glowed a warm orange. Her pulse went thready at the slight sizzle over her skin. She watched the ashes of her suit sweep over the hearth and then looked down at her nude body.
She met the heat in his eyes with fire of her own and pledged to buy an entirely disposable wardrobe if this was the prize.
“Your turn. Trust yourself. You won’t burn me. Turn the heat up slow.”
She opened her Fire, letting it out slowly, inching it forward but keeping it firmly leashed.
“There you go. Clean up your mess, young lady.”
She channeled a small breeze at the clumps of ash and sent his clothes the way of hers.
The air glimmered. The cuff appeared on his arm, gold and glimmering with power, as if their sole wedding guest.
She took his hands, drawing them up between them to rest above her breasts.
The vow whispered inside her mind, the words fused into her flesh. She would love him forever. In this life and the next one. He was hers, now and into the ever after. Blessed be the Mother.
She blanched at the vivid fire in his eyes. “The words are ‘habeo omnia do tibi.’ I give you everything. Once you say it back, we’ll b
e bound until death.”
She studied his face, tracing her gaze over his deep-brown eyes, the tight knit of his dark brows. His mouth was the only soft feature on his face. Her life flashed before her, every bad thing falling away with every slow sweep of her gaze.
“Habeo omnia do tibi, Aleron.”
“Habeo omnia do tibi, Elspeth.” He brought up their joined hands and kissed each one. “I love you, always and forever.”
She rose up on her toes and kissed him, curling her fingers in his thick hair, realizing she’d met and found and married the love of her life. Her dream. Made real.
“Let’s seal the bond.” He took her slowly to the carpet, pressing her gently to the floor, his knee parting hers. Reaching between them, he positioned himself and pushed in. “I. Love. You.” He punctuated the words with three slow thrusts.
“I love you too.” Her heart threatened to melt as he began to move faster.
She canted her hips in their rise from slow to delicious fury. Warmth sizzled over her skin. Air lashed at their joined bodies. He stilled and dug his fingers into her hips as he came.
Her name came on a shout, and the bright light behind her eyelids burst into a thousand perfect suns. Her muscles pulsed around him, and she was Earth and Water and Fire and Air and Love.
She opened her eyes, meeting his, and gaped at their brilliant, jeweled green.
“Your eyes,” she gasped.
“They’re green?” A flicker of awe burned through the fear in his voice. “I didn’t think. Goddess, this is my fault.”
She took his face in her hands. “If it happens, it’s made of love. I want a family, if it’s now or later.”
“If it happens, it’ll be tough to keep our relationship a secret. Gestation’s only six months.”
“Do you want to be a dad?” She held her breath.
He bit his lip, his head lowered, his nods fast and short. “Family means everything to me.” He moved down her body and placed the gentlest kiss at the top of her sex, teasing his nose over her lower belly and worshipping at her breasts. “I will make as many babies with you as you want. When you’re ready.” His nose drew up the side of her face and nuzzled her hair.
She felt him firm and hard against her belly. Was she ready to be a mother? With everything else going on in her life and her new responsibilities? She sensed being a mother was one of those things you never truly understood until you were one, and she had a duty to her people, but…she had a responsibility to herself. To pursue what she wanted. To be true to Elspeth. The woman who’d put others’ needs ahead of her own for most of her life.
“No more condoms between us. It’ll happen when it’s meant to happen.”
His body stilled above her, and his cock pressed hot and thick against her belly. Flame snaked from the gas logs, a touch of air kissing the orange ribbon. The swath of energy circling them slid into his mouth. A spear of warmth shot down her throat and bloomed in her stomach and between her legs.
His eyes glowed a fervent, lush green. The decision all hers.
For hours, they gave and received from each other, lost in the ecstasy of sensuality and erotic renewal, Fire and Air pushing and pulling from both of them, their voices hoarse, their bodies beautifully exhausted. They’d eventually moved to the bed, and as she fell asleep with his arm and leg draped across her, she sensed a peaceful intrusion inside her, something new and sacred.
She felt herself smile as she succumbed to the steady rise and fall of his chest, her dream alive and well beside her.
New York One is on the scene of a four-alarm blaze in Hell’s Kitchen. Crews continue to struggle against the intense heat, but the fire remains isolated in a building recently sold by Seanair Lennox, the now-deceased chairman of the Fotiá Consortium, to the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Group. We’re also receiving unconfirmed reports of a house fire in the Hudson Valley area, near where Lennox is reported to have lived…
Samael swirled the last of his Old Pulteney, the whisky’s burn warm and smooth. Such an odd custom, the taking of a flammable liquid inside their bag-of-blood-and-tissue bodies until their senses were dulled. He didn’t enjoy the perspiration forming along his hairline, but he did, indeed, appreciate the woodsy, loamy scent of the liquor.
He particularly savored the respite from his pain, which would arrive sometime between glasses three and four. He held up his tumbler and gained the bartender’s attention before swallowing the last of his second scotch, closing his eyes, waiting for the face of his missing wife to dim.
He returned his stare to the TV reporter, impressed Elspeth had used the media so expertly to her advantage. She was clearly beautiful, and one day soon she’d be immensely powerful, but he hadn’t imagined she’d be so…clever. He rather liked a worthy opponent, and it’d been years since he’d had one. His elbow propped atop the long bar, he absently touched his lips, his nostrils flaring at the recollection of what it was like to kiss someone.
He’d been faithful to Ursula in the two years she’d been lost. Not once had he strayed in order to bind Earth energy to him. He called the energy two solid hours each day, chained to the ground and bound naked in his circle, gritting his teeth against the agony of overfilling his vessel to near bursting so he could wield more power.
He glanced down the bar at the two women sitting at the end and willed his dick to respond. Goddess, what would he do if he couldn’t get it up with the Lennox Earth?
What are you going to do if you can?
The bartender nodded toward the bottle in his hand. “This’ll be the last one I can serve you unless you order food.”
No food. He wanted numbness. The kind of bravery derived from liquid courage. The kind of backbone needed to be unfaithful to the love of his life.
He had no choice. He had to screw that Alpha-level Earth and grow stronger so he could free Ursula from wherever those Naturas had taken her. Seanair Lennox had known where she was, and he couldn’t be the only Lennox who did.
He sipped steadily and silently thanked Mother Nature for the poor young woman who’d escaped from the Naturas. She’d been able to share the information he and his kind had desperately needed, telling them before she died that fifty witches were being held captive.
At a lab.
More than two hundred witches and warlocks had disappeared in the past twelve years.
Seanair hadn’t even blinked at any of Samael’s threats to expose his involvement in the covens’ missing brethren. He’d considered the coven classes weak and not worthy of his concern.
But now the Lennoxes had a scientist who’d ascended to Seanair’s position. And if Graham didn’t know now what his grandfather had been up to, he would soon.
And Samael wouldn’t bother with threats this time.
The stool beside him slid back. A rush of air escaped the leather cushion as his ingenious son sat down.
“I’ll take a beer, whatever’s easiest to pour,” his son told the bartender, who headed down to the far end to fetch a fresh glass.
“What do you have for me, Egan?”
His heart damn near burst with pride. His blessed honorable, loyal, dependable son had walked away from his dream of being a doctor.
“I’ve combed through all forty-five hundred families in the database and pulled the ones with a net worth over ten million dollars. That’s two thousand Alpha families. Most of the Betas are worth less than a quarter mil. I was sure we’d find a clear money trail, but the field’s crowded.” Egan picked up the pint glass the bartender had placed before him. “What do you want me to do?”
He nodded toward the television at the headline splashed across the bottom of the screen. “It was smart of them to destroy their element signatures so we can’t easily charm them. They’re leaving town. You need to make sure you go with them. Do you know their plans?” Samael caught the bartender’s attention and and raised his empty glass. “I’ll take the basket of sourdough with the herb butter.”
The guy had said he’d have t
o order food. Didn’t mean he had to eat it.
“They’re heading to Seanair’s primary estate in Savannah. He has a house in town and a four-hundred-acre farm an hour west.”
“I don’t care what you have to do. Get to Savannah and insert yourself into their day-to-day operations.” He picked up drink four, his body warm, his vision swimmy.
“Should be easy enough. Ross thinks I’m a rock star. I’ll call you when I’m in place.” Egan tossed back the last of the lager, then smacked the glass on the bar.
“We’ll find your mother, son. I promise. I won’t rest until we do. We’re getting close, and I have something in play that’ll allow us to level up our game.”
“I’m not giving up. Any word from our other plant?”
“She’s working a new angle too. She has an in.” He swiveled his head toward his son, his troubles feeling lighter as he gazed at the thoughtful boy who looked just like his mother. “I’ll call you.”
“Be safe, Dad. I think this thing’s a lot bigger than we realize.”
“I think you’re right.” He bumped fists with his son and watched him walk through the revolving door before returning to his drink.
Ursula’s long, dark hair and red mouth faded with every sip. He replaced the fading memory of her features with a new target. Graham Lennox was a man of science. A boring man, based on his early assessments, who spent nearly every moment in a laboratory.
Samael wouldn’t attack this time. Instead, he’d sit back and learn everything he could about Graham’s work. The young witch who’d escaped had stressed two things—lab and experiments.
Seanair had likely been the money behind whatever’d happened to those witches, and if one thing held about the late leader? He kept his business in the family, so all signs pointed to Graham as the brain behind the operation.
He heard the click of heels first, the timing and solidity of the steps indicative of long, long legs. She stopped just to his right, and the moment held. Freshly turned dirt and grass brushed under his nose, and a web of spider’s silk teased over his skin.
The Call of Fire: A Natura Elementals Novel Page 35
