Water's Threshold

by Jillian Jacobs

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  He moved his lips lazily over hers, a slow climb from sweet to demanding that scaled past sanity straight to crazed lust. She parted her lips and he swept in, deeply evocative, seductive. He settled to play with her lips, advanced and retreated, enticing her to capture more. Her nerves were stretched tight, and she aggressively returned each hard-edged caress. Intensity grew and she outlined his body with her hands. Frustrated by the clothing barrier, she pulled back. “Get undressed. Hurry.” She whipped her shirt over her head and wiggled her jeans over her hips.

  Terran copied her actions with his own clothing, but stopped and helped unhook her bra. He lingered, sliding the straps off each shoulder with a brush of his finger.

  That fingertip drew a hot line over her lips before pressing into her mouth. She licked and sucked, keeping her gaze on his.

  Withdrawing his finger from her teasing ministrations, he trailed down her neck and delved under each lace-fringed cup. Her bra floated to the floor, and he teased each revealed tip. His tongue replaced his finger, flicking over each pink bud.

  His touch elicited a torrent of need that shot straight to her core. Their future unclear. Their lives in danger. Their worlds separate. Yet, their connection endured—fluid and steady.

  In this moment, the outside world evaporated. Their cog on destiny’s wheel ground to a halt. They’d suspend this moment in time.

  Maya grabbed his arm and tugged him to the showers. The stalls had cream-colored curtains hanging from silver hooks. The rings jangled as she ripped open the curtain and adjusted the temperature dial. “The water’s not going to be overly warm. But I can fix that.” She shoved his boxers down his thighs and pushed him under the spray.

  “Hey, still a little chilly,” Terran shivered and backed into the corner.

  “I believe I said I’d fix it.” Maya dropped to her knees, held his thick root in her hand, and encased the seeping tip in her mouth. Peering upward, she watched his face as she skimmed her tongue around the rim of his engorged head. “You aren’t the only one who knows how to tease, Terran.”

  His knees buckled and he wrapped a hand in her hair, attempting to ease her away.

  “No. You want to feel. Want to know what’s real in this world. I am. We are.” As she licked her way up and down his turgid flesh, she held his heavy sacs. “I want to discover what happens to your body when you come. Why don’t you explain it to me?”

  “Not now. I’m all talked out. Science is all fucked in my head, and I’d much rather fuck you.” He placed his hands under her arms and twisted her so he was at her back then reached around and cupped her breasts.

  Her body arched as he massaged each tip with his thumbs. With his mouth, he brushed fevered kisses over her neck and shoulders.

  He slid his hand across her belly and past her wet curls. A single finger crossed over her slick folds and journeyed deep.

  Maya’s hands were flat against the shower wall while his teasing finger moved within her body. She reached behind and positioned him where she ached for him most. “Terran, please.”

  He placed her hand back against the wall. Not allowing her a modicum of control as he nudged her shoulders down, bending her, and then braced one hand on the wall linking his fingers with hers. A few teasing glides had her rising on her toes. He positioned his heavy head at her slit and slammed home in a single thrust.

  She recognized his quest to regain control over this basic element in his life and let him ease his troubles within her welcoming flesh. She studied her hand, linked with his on the wall. Such a simple joining, but each slap of his body against hers, the feel of his heavy sacs striking her with each plunge, symbolized their complete link. A steamy mist surrounded their entwined bodies, enfolding them in a hazy veiled world.

  Their union so complete, she easily swept past stormy seas to where he stood waiting on the shore. Her body rode out each rhythmic slide. Pressure percolated and he reached his hand around to skate magic fingers over her straining bud. A husky moan escaped Terran’s lips.

  The sound joined each droplet as they struck her back and trickled down her body.

  Control gone, he gripped her hips in both hands and heavily ground against her, working faster, harder. Words spilled from his lips in incoherent murmurs.

  Her hands remained pressed against the wall as the wick lit and fired through her body until it reached their joining point and exploded in a blazing rain of pleasure, storming over and over.

  He held her still then after two quick strikes, he sparked and his hot seed erupted like a red-hot lava flow, deep inside her body. His spasms fed her own.

  She quivered until the final sizzle faded, and she felt his head fall against her shoulder. His heart pounded against her back.

  After a moment, he spun her around and kissed her, a wet dip of his lips against her own. Toying, with a quick, teasing tongue. “Maya, you want to know what happens when I come?” His thick voice whispered against her mouth. “My body asks, how can I ever leave you?”

  She held tight and wished he never had to.

  # # #

  Now clean in every nook and cranny, Maya watched Terran’s reflection in the mirror as he shaved. He’d let her rub the shaving cream all over his cheeks—a real couple’s moment. Times like this would be locked away in her memories forever, which for her was a very long time.

  She grabbed a dry washcloth out of the shopping bag. Seeing him perform such a simple human act was like a slap of ice-cold water. “Quint flew over the cuckoo’s nest years ago, but his reaction to this defeat will make a psychopath look like a fairy princess. Not to mention the fact, we destroyed his pharmaceutical company. Vengeance. Death. Destruction. Pain. All on his to-do list. He terrifies me, even more so now that you and I are...that we are…not the same.” Not what she wanted to say, but she wouldn’t be a burden. The thought of losing Terran was unbearable.

  Terran wiped the dry cloth over his freshly shaven face. “Perhaps we were a bit precipitous in our actions, but Quint needed to be stopped. I didn’t believe he was Aether until I stood before him and watched his eyes turn pitch black, and I know this sounds crazy, but in that moment I glimpsed pure evil. The thoughts he projected in my mind…” Terran shook his head. “The science behind all this—you, Nodin, Flint, purple hulk-girls, and dark matter able to mesh with matter—it can’t be explained.” He sat on the bench, holding one sock in his hand, staring off into space.

  Maya took a quick peek into his mind and saw Quint’s black eyes staring into his. Terran’s fear and helplessness at his inability to break free broadcasted quite clearly. A chalkboard filled with an electromagnetic spectrum chart. Equations. A physics book. Her body bent before him. Quint’s voice screaming, “Come with me.”

  At that thought, Terran shot a glance her way, unable to mask the confusion in his eyes. Sad brown pools like a basset hound sitting on a front porch waiting for someone to come along, pat his head, and lead him down the right path. How could she make this elemental life easier for him to comprehend?

  He furrowed his brow, and he finally worked his sock over his toes. “Maya, I know you are used to digging through people’s thoughts, but you don’t need to comb through mine. If there is something you want to know, just ask. If you want to know how I feel, I am more than willing to tell you. It isn’t fair you can see everything, and I am still stuck in the dark.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. Gleaning is a habit and you looked so lost. You’re not in the dark. I’ll guide you through this. My love for you would light up any path. I know you are unsure of everything, including me. I will make it right. I promise.”

  She ran a hand over his damp hair and considered using her elemental powers to erase his fear and soothe his worries, but as he said, that wouldn’t be fair. Instead, she sat on his lap and ran a hand over his smooth cheek. He had not spoken of his love for her, but as he kissed her, she could feel it as his lips moved languidly over hers. A subtle, evocative meldi
ng as if he had all the time in the world to get drunk on the cocktail mix of their mint-flavored breath.

  He angled his head and enticed her with a playful advance and retreat.

  She squirmed in his lap, and she crept her hand under his waistband.

  A loud bang sounded on the bathroom door. Hinges rusted over time creaked open.

  Flint shouted, “We’re coming in.”

  “All of a sudden you care about privacy?” Terran quipped.

  “Not really.” A fact Flint demonstrated by stripping down in the center of the room. He flopped over and held out his hand to Maya. “Soap?”

  She slapped the squeeze bottle into his hand.

  Flint winked. “Nodin, I’m sure there’s plenty of hot water left. Terran’s human stamina being what it is.”

  Nodin laughed. “I know today was a lot to take in, Terran. But you handled yourself well.”

  “Ass kisser,” came a mumble from behind the shower curtain. “Nodin, go whip us up a couple of willing lasses.”

  “I’m not your air-tran delivery service. Find your own.”

  Terran and Maya slipped out the door as the argument continued.

  The water called to her, so she led Terran to the river’s edge. Tension held her in a tight grip as she gauged the approximate forty-foot distance between the truck and the stream. “I’m not sure about this, Terran. I can wait.”

  “You are not completely healed and after today’s attack, you need water. Go. I’ll be here.” Terran kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose. He held her tight in a prolonged embrace before he reassured her once more and strolled back to the truck.

  How many times would she watch him walk away? The dangers of life as an Elemental had presented themselves quite drastically today. Terran remained strong through all the confusion, anger, and feelings of betrayal. Not overly frightened, but stepping up and taking charge. They were a mish-mashed group without a strategy, but today, he’d emerged as a levelheaded leader. With Terran at the wheel, they would finally have a sensible driver. He’d know when to stop, when to go, but would he choose to sit in that custom-made seat?

  Chapter 35

  Throughout the night and into the next morning, Maya kept her head above the water’s surface. A constant state of awareness was necessary, because they couldn’t detect Quint through their gleaning. His dark essence existed outside of their elemental realm, which left them vulnerable. Once the golden streaks of dawn lit the horizon, she made her way to the river’s bank and shook dry. Nodin and Flint had not yet returned from their own recuperative wanderings.

  Throwing on her clothes, she chuckled, because she intended to take them right off again. She jogged over to the truck, planning to wake Terran with a proper good morning.

  As an icy chill shot down her spine, she skidded to a stop. A shroud of darkness dropped, painting her mind with grays and blacks, pitched against a canvas of unstable red rage.

  Quint, still clothed in Neb Aether’s skin, stood by the truck, staring in at Terran. The skin on Quint’s face drooped and revealed bloody eye sockets. His fingers against the truck window were shriveled and black. Only a few hair tufts remained on his head.

  Nodin!

  Flint!

  An early morning breeze blew the ragged pieces of Quint’s shirt open and revealed the white void in his chest. He registered Maya’s existence by snarling—a crazed look in his raven eyes. Impatience and something never registered from him before—fear, printed in black type across her mind.

  “Shocked to see me so soon.” His voice rasped out. “I believe I said I would return. Terran is mine, Maya. I will do with him as I please. I will keep him as my dog and break him. Chained. Bound. Obedient. He will beg to lick my hand. And then, I may decide to bring him back to you and your Mother for his transformation. You will see what it means to fuck with me as he rips out your throat. I will own him, body and soul.”

  “Quint, in case you aren’t aware, you’ve got a little something on your shirt.” Maya smiled, and then shot a ray of water, like a full squadron of fire hoses gone mad. The burst knocked him back, but not down.

  Quint roared and pitched toward the truck. He wrenched open the back door and yanked on Terran’s legs.

  Terran fought off Quint by kicking his face and arms.

  A gust of wind knocked Quint down. Nodin landed in the truck bed, followed by Flint.

  Quint regained his footing and pulled Terran out of the truck. A slithering black sludge began crawling over Terran’s clothes.

  “No.” Maya charged forward and wrapped her arms around Terran. She held tight as Quint tried to wrench him from her hold. She released a flush of water into Terran’s mouth, beating back the murky substance continuing to spread. Blue waves clashed with the black tar coloring his skin. As one vein of darkness stopped, another started.

  Wind howled around them, beating against Quint. He released Terran and turned his obsidian gaze toward Nodin.

  The morning sky faded to black.

  They were trapped in a dark world envisioned by the soulless monster trying to snuff out their existence. Maya wrapped an arm around Terran’s waist and yanked him away from Quint.

  Fireballs lit the obscured expanse around them. The intense heat bubbled her skin so she stepped away from the battle’s epicenter, tugging along an incoherent Terran.

  Trees were uprooted and flung through the air. One after another, they burst into flames before striking Quint.

  Maya steadied her grip around Terran’s back and led them toward the stream. “Are you all right? Can you breathe?”

  “S-s-s…Stop.…let…h-h-him…t-take me.” Terran scratched his arms, forming deep, bloody grooves in his skin.

  Lightning crackled and struck the earth. A loud boom resonated across the campground, shaking the ground. The universe shifted and shimmered before her eyes in a colorless blur. One focus, one goal had her straining toward the stream, passing everything trying to block her mission. Black rays shot down from the sky, striking the path before her. Maya hefted Terran in her arms and weaved around each bolt.

  Don’t look back. Move. Move.

  Maya converted into a waterspout, enveloping Terran in the center. A strong surge from Nodin pushed her forward. An invisible field blocked her, boxing her in at all sides. She spun against the barrier, again and again, unable to break free. A searing swell broke against her mind as Flint’s voice ordered, “Use your will, Maya.”

  Their combined Elemental resolve broke through her confinement.

  She tumbled to the ground with Terran in her arms. “Keep Quint back.”

  A sticky black sap poured down her face, seeping into her eyes and mouth. She blinked, trying to see through the muck. “Terran, hold on. We’re almost there.” She tightened her grip and allowed her elemental nature to lead her toward the water.

  Quint’s voice ripped through her mind. “There is no escape. Terran will pay for your defiance. He will beg for death. Perhaps, I’ll make you watch as I strip him down and invade every facet of his body.”

  “No,” Maya screamed. “You won’t take him.”

  “He’s already mine.”

  Terran gasped for breath. His heartbeat slowed as Quint’s dark matter coursed through his body.

  Quint is winning.

  Wind whipped against her. Heat flared at her back. Water, she needed water.

  How many more steps?

  Rock edges poked her feet and water seeped over her toes.

  Just one more step—

  No!

  Terran was ripped from her arms.

  Maya dropped to her knees and splashed water on her face, washing away Quint’s tar. Eyes still blurred, she saw Terran suspended above her. His body arched and writhing in pain.

  His human body couldn’t withstand much more of Quint’s barrage. She had to get him to water. She misted and shot upward, “Nodin, help me push him down.”

  A giant rumble groaned across the forest floor, like a mighty dragon
in the throes of painful death. The ground trembled and shook, and then split into a deep chasm exactly where she planned to land. Earth welcomed Terran’s arrival, shaking in anticipation, fighting her for control over his destiny.

  “What can I do?”

  “Push him into the earth.” Flint compelled.

  “No, not like this. He must have a choice.”

  “It’s too late.” Nodin’s voice was full of sorrow. “His transformation is inevitable. Let him go.”

  Nodin and Flint combined forces and propelled Terran into the wide crevasse.

  Knowing he spoke the truth, Maya switched back to her human form and hooked onto Terran’s legs. If he were falling through the earth, he’d receive her shelter.

  Quint’s malevolent voice scraped against her mind. “I’ll be back.” A chilling laugh trailed his declaration and followed her into earth’s abyss.

  They tumbled over and over as the ground split open before them and filled in behind.

  No escape. Their fates were sealed.

  Tree roots and boulders stuck out of the ground, gouging her skin. She adjusted her body around Terran’s, absorbing the brunt of nature’s gauntlet. They jerked to a stop as a huge root hooked onto his jeans.

  “Let him go,” Maya screamed.

  With a final rumble, earth rushed in from all sides.

  Chapter 36

  Maya shot out her hands, halting her landing above Terran’s body. The impact fired a rod of pain from her wrist to her shoulder. A dirt cave, no bigger than a coffin, surrounded them. She couldn’t breathe. Every suppressed human fear surfaced, and an unearthly scream ripped from her throat.

  They were buried alive. Buried alive. Buried alive!

  Vibrations from her cry caused a trickle of dirt to fall on her face and brought back her focus. She didn’t need to breathe, yet her mind screamed a different story.

  Focus. Concentrate.

  Terran was the one who needed to breathe and he was…barely. After gleaning all his injuries, Maya was grateful he remained unconscious. She pried open his mouth, clamped hers over his, and released her medicinal brew down his throat. Her elemental current flushed the darkness from under his skin, eradicating the remnants of Quint’s black stain.