“I take it the baby can’t be drained?” The other man’s eyes were dark, unblinking, intent on his answer.
Ajax shrugged with a twitch of his shoulders. “I don’t know. I haven’t brought it up to Walker to ask.”
“That, I understand.” Levi sighed. “Let me know if you find out?”
Ajax nodded.
“I have to get back to my patrol. Enjoy your evening with the family,” Levi said with a half smirk and a wave, returning to his car.
“Levi.”
He turned, hand on his door and the shadow still on his face. “Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Like I said, not a freebie.” His face softened. “But you’re welcome.”
Levi got in his car while Ajax sucked in lungfuls of cool evening air. Whatever Levi’s other reasons were, Ajax understood the risk he was taking in keeping this secret. Why would he do that for him?
He hung his head, relief and something else making his chest tight. He’d told Emory that he’d never wanted friends or family. He got the family anyway, and maybe…maybe he got the friend too.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Who was that?” Emory jiggled Jackson on her hip, her curiosity piqued by their private conversation and the way Ajax had acted before the other man had shown up.
Nervous, angry. Anger seemed normal for him; nervous didn’t.
She’d recognized the dark-haired guy from the alley that night at the bar, when he’d come out to see what was going on.
Ajax shut the door with a sigh, clicking the locks shut.
“That was Levi. He’s one of the others.”
“Others?” Her brows lifted. She’d never thought much about the others… But of course. They were all Warriors too. There wasn’t just Levi, but the guys he’d been sitting with a year ago too. She couldn’t recall any of the other’s faces, however. She’d been too intent on staring at Ajax without trying to be obvious.
“Yeah. There’s a total of four of us here in Topaz Ridge.”
“So if you’re Air, what is he?”
He put his hands in his pockets and looked out the window at the car pulling away. “He’s Fire.”
“Oh.” Fire, wow. A quiet minute passed, Ajax silently watching the car disappear down the dusty road.
“Is everything okay?”
Ajax walked forward and looked at the both of them, her and Jackson in her arms. “I think so. I hope so.”
She turned to put Jackson on the floor with some toys, her heartbeat pounding in her throat. Something was going on. When he was occupied, she turned and gave Ajax her full attention, hands clasped tightly in front of her.
“What is it, Ajax.” This was it. This was going to be when he backed out. Levi had said something to make him change his mind.
Ajax stared outside into the dark. “He figured everything out. He knows Jackson is my son.”
Her heart spasmed, and she put her fingers to her lips. What did that mean? Was Ajax going to have to leave—?
“But he said he wouldn’t say anything,” he added, turning to her.
She dropped her hand and took a deep, calming breath. “Do you believe him?”
Ajax pushed a hand through his hair. “Whatever else I could say about him, he’s an honorable Warrior. A good guy. So… Yeah, I do. He’ll keep the secret.”
She nodded and pursed her lips, letting out a tiny relieved breath. Whatever the reason Ajax was keeping Jackson a secret from his colleagues was his business. But at least he wasn’t backing out, wasn’t leaving.
She went to him then, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. He held her close, his chin on the top of her head. Everything he’d been saying earlier, about trying to work out an actual relationship, all the things he didn’t say but were there in his eyes—It could have all been over if that other Warrior hadn’t decided to keep Ajax’s secret.
For the first time she wondered about those consequences he’d mentioned, what they would be for him. She’d been so concerned about him protecting Jackson no matter what, and beating back her attraction to him… She’d never given much more thought to what it might cost him if the others found out about her and Jackson.
She closed her eyes and sent out a silent thank you to that Levi guy for keeping their secret, whatever his reasons were. But Ajax had said their were others.
“What if the other Elementals find out too?” That surreal feeling passed over Emory again after she said the words, almost in disbelief that it was a question she’d have to ask in her lifetime.
“I think we’re okay right now. Micah has his own assignment somewhere else, and my commander, Walker, is almost always at the base or on his own mission. Levi is the only one close enough to worry about. And now he knows.” Ajax shrugged. “So, I no longer have to worry about that.”
He pulled back and gave her a smile she hadn’t seen before. She’d seen him confident, teasing, lustful. She’d never seen him happy.
“You’re relieved, aren’t you?”
“Hell yes. This means we have more time, and it means I have an ally. As long as things stay like they are, I don’t have to worry about Walker finding out about Jackson. That buys us lots of time.”
His eyes were intense as he said that last part. He walked forward and brushed her hair back, keeping his hand cupped on her cheek. “I was ready to fight Levi if it came down to it. I thought we were out of time.” Ajax’s eyebrows were low, his face serious.
Ajax shook his hands out, rotated his neck and shoulders. “I’m still twitchy from Levi’s visit. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Well, I still need to do the dinner dishes.” She smiled at him, and waved him into the kitchen after her.
Ajax followed Emory and Jackson into the kitchen. She put Jackson in his high chair and then went to the sink, running water for dishes.
“I’ll wash, you dry?”
“Sure,” he said with a secret smile as she handed him a towel. He wouldn’t need it.
“Do you mind if we talk while we do this?”
“Sure,” he said, throwing the towel over his shoulder. He waited until her hands were in the dishwater again and then moved behind her, bracing his hands on either side of her on the counter and nuzzling her nape.
“Uh, what are you doing?”
“We’re talking.”
But he instantly forgot what he was going to say as the gentle scent of roses and cream filled his nose again. He sucked in a deep breath. “You smell so damn good.”
He heard her quick little intake of breath. Excellent.
“Thank you. But I thought you were going to dry the dishes?”
“I will.”
“And I thought we were talking?”
“We are. Talk away.”
“I don’t know, I don’t even know where to start really,” she said, turning off the water and grabbing the scrubber. “I was just hoping to learn… more. The Chaolt,” she added softly, “Why are they after Erratics? Why are they trying to kill people?”
Ajax sighed, backing away to prop a hip against the counter. “We’re not completely sure. We think they are trying to get to our world, and the only way to do that is to destroy this one first. What their ultimate goal is…we have no idea.”
Emory’s shoulders were tight, her movements jerky. He wanted to comfort her. “They’ve been trying for a long time, and haven’t succeeded yet.”
“How long?”
He turned to her, gaze on her profile as she scrubbed. “Since the beginning of time.”
She stopped scrubbing and looked at him, shock on her face. “You’re that old?”
He chuckled. “No, but we Elementals have been coming to the mortal plane to fight the Chaolt for millennia.”
He brushed a lock of hair back from her cheek. He didn’t want her to be scared, hated that she was. “They haven’t won yet. And they won’t.”
She only looked slightly reassured as she went back to washing.
But more than ever, he was intent that Chaos wouldn’t win. He believed in his duty, believed that this unique and fragile world should be protected. And his duty now had a face. Two faces; Emory and Jackson. Were a Chaolt to get to an Erratic as strong as Jackson, both their lives would no doubt be lost, as well as anyone else’s in a certain radius.
He sucked in a breath around the tightness in his chest and watched her rinse and stack dishes in the drainer. He sent a steady, gentle rush of warm air over and around them.
He moved to stand behind her. “Don’t think about all that right now.”
“It’s kind of hard not to, Ajax.”
“Here,” he murmured, caging her against the counter again. “Let me help.”
He pulled her hair back and kissed her neck, her shoulder, breathing her in.
“What about drying the dishes?” she asked breathily, leaning her neck to the side to give him better access.
He kissed across her jaw, moving up to whisper in her ear. “They’re dry.”
“But—” She turned her head toward the drainer, reaching out to touch the closest plate, and laughed. He felt a smile on his own lips at the sound, and was still smiling as she turned around in his arms.
“You cheated. But thank you.” Her gentle kiss on his lips immobilized him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, pulling back at his sudden stillness.
“Thank me again.”
Her smiled bloomed slowly as she drew closer. “Thank you.” Another kiss. “And thank you for protecting Jackson. And for the walk earlier.”
She gave him a small kiss between each phrase, and he had to close his eyes at the way even that innocent press of lips made his hunger for her increase.
But something had happened between them at the park today, and he didn’t want to give her a reason to pull away. Every time things got hot, she seemed to. He kept his eyes closed and just gave her a gentle, small kiss in return.
“I need to get Jackson ready for bed. When I’m done, maybe we could…talk…more?”
Ajax opened his eyes, unsure if he heard the emphasis on the word talk the way he thought he did. But her arms had fallen away, and she’d turned to pick up Jackson.
Wishful thinking.
“Sure.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll just do a quick check of the doors and windows while you do that. When you’re done, we can talk.”
“Okay.” She waved one little arm of Jackson’s at him. “Say good night.”
He took a step towards them and took Jackson’s hand. The little fingers curled around his, and he looked up to see a sleepy, toothless smile. His heart contracted painfully at the thought of him, or either of them, ever being hurt.
On impulse, he put a hand behind Jackson’s head and kissed his cheek. It was downy soft and warm. And the first face he’d ever kissed that didn’t belong to a woman.
“Night, little guy.”
As Emory carried him away to put him to bed, he checked the house, the perimeter. Reached out with his power and all his senses. Now, more than ever, he had to make sure they were safe.
He might have been in love with Emory since the very first time he’d seen her in that dumpy bar, and the feeling had only grown since her and Jackson came back into his life.
But now…
Now he loved them both.
Emory put Jackson to bed, half of her mind on Ajax. Always on Ajax.
He’d said he was all in, and the memory of his words made her heart beat fast again. Maybe they could have a life together, the three of them, as crazy as it was.
He’d kissed Jackson good night, the love visible on his face. He cared about their son, she saw it there in his eyes. And he cared about her, because he wanted her, but held himself back.
At first, when all Ajax seemed to care about was getting her back into bed, she could resist him. But now he cared about them both. He was doing more than just protection, he was sharing their lives.
Everything about his mannerisms, about the way he’d said ‘Thank me again’ after the dishes, told her he wanted to devour her as he’d done every other time they’d kissed. But then he’d just given her that little kiss instead of the hot, deep one she’d expected.
And just like that first night, when he hadn’t pushed her to leave with him… Not pushing her to kiss him made her want to push him. God, was there anything hotter than a man that wanted you badly, who suffered to rein himself in and respect your boundaries?
Somehow, that just worked for her. It made her want to smash those boundaries to smithereens, make him lose that tight control.
Because she could. He was an extraordinary man-an extraordinary being—that excelled at everything he did and yet struggled to keep his hands off her.
Everything she’d been dreaming of since her first night with Ajax was within reach. He loved them, she was sure of it. And if he could drain Jackson, they could have a normal life. He’d be a great dad, even if he had to leave for his missions sometimes. Jackson would have two loving parents, and she would have the love of an extraordinary man.
In fact, the only thing she wanted that she didn’t have was another night in Ajax’s arms. It was time to fix that.
Jackson fed, put to bed, and lights off, she kissed his forehead and tip-toed out. It was time for her talk with Ajax to continue.
And if she had her way, there would be a whole lot less talking and a lot more kissing.
When she came out of Jackson’s room, Ajax was locking the front door.
She walked right up to him, close enough that she could feel the heat of his body, and waited.
He left a palm on the door and turned fully toward her.
They stared at each other for a minute.
“I wanted to thank you again,” she said, stepping closer and bringing her mouth to his. It was a light kiss, a test. “For the help with the dishes. With Jackson.”
She pulled back an inch, but saw what she was looking for in the muted glow of his eyes, growing incrementally brighter as he stared at her.
She kissed him again, with all her pent-up passion behind it, and he responded quickly. His kisses turned hungry, but still achingly gentle.
She was so done with gentle. Everything in her body craved the way he’d touched her before, on their one night together. With purpose, with passion. A touch that could slow down time and delay the sunrise, no care for what the next day would bring. She wanted to feel that from him again, to feel how much he wanted her.
“I want you, Ajax,” she said between kisses, “Tonight.”
“Are you sure? Be sure,” he growled, a rough repetition of the same question he’d murmured in the bar that night.
“I’m sure,” she gasped out as Ajax kissed the corner of her mouth, her chin, her neck, his hands roaming her back. And then it was like she’d loosed a hurricane.
Ajax turned her toward the door, flattened her against it, his hands and lips everywhere at once. When she tried to catch her breath, it got stuck in her throat again because he’d touched her somewhere new, touched her some new way. Touched her with the pent-up passion he’d been saving all this time. Touching her, like he couldn’t get enough.
Yessss.
This was it, what she remembered, what she craved. Being lost in the tempest that was Ajax.
He picked her up in his arms and then in three steps, laid her back on the couch cushions.
He still knew how to touch her, had known from the very beginning. He knew how to make her feel appreciated, feel attractive, feel seen. She couldn’t escape the feeling that he was made for her, that he fit her. He was the only man on Earth that could draw her in this way, and so what if that was because he wasn’t from Earth. He made her feel more loved than anyone here ever had.
Her realization pierced through the haze of desire and she gasped. But he was devouring her, and she didn’t want him to stop. She’d think about what all that meant later… after they were done devouring each other.
He put a hand on eithe
r side of her head, holding her still for his sweet assault. His kisses were hungry and wet, his teeth sharp but gentle as he alternated nibbles of her lips with sweeps of his tongue. It was the hottest kiss she’d ever had, and that was saying a lot for the man whose every kiss stole her breath, her thoughts, her sanity. It was the kiss she’d been wanting in the kitchen.
When one hand moved under her shirt to her breast, she arched into it, gasping. His deft fingers on her nipple sent pleasure spiking through her body, pooling between her thighs.
And she could feel herself giving in with each stroke of his lips, his hands. She was weak. She couldn’t resist anymore. Didn’t want to. She’d wanted him, had been fighting it, for so long. Tonight she just wanted to give in, be selfish. To breathe him in, get lost in him with no worry about the consequences, like she had that first night. Allow his touch to take all her thoughts and worries away. Restless, she shifted under him. More. She wanted more.
She couldn’t help arching up against his hips with hungry movements.
“Do you have any condoms?”
It took her a few seconds to register his question. “No. But I got an IUD after Jackson was born.”
“How effective are those?”
“They’re pretty much a sure thing as far as I know.” She tilted her lips to his, kissing and nipping softly.
He groaned and pressed his forehead against hers, his hair veiling them. “That’s what I thought about being sterile.”
Crap. Yeah, there was that.
“We couldn’t have the same luck twice.” Could they? She bit her lip at the desperation in her voice.
“I just can’t risk it, Emory.”
It was her turn to groan. Her body was crying out for him, aching and empty. She’d been so ready to just let go, and let him take her to that breathless place again. The place where all she thought about, all she cared about, was touching and being touched.
“Okay. It’s okay.” She started to pull her arms from around his neck, but he stopped her with a chuckle. The sound tightened her nipples and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Her eyes flew open again as his lips started trailing down her neck, his loose hair flowing across the skin he exposed. He tugged her bra down lower and her breast popped out, nipple already hard and craving his touch.
Rise (Elemental Hearts Book 2) Page 12
