Elements of Desire

by C. M. Stunich

  The spirit stone.

  Everything inside of me went cold, and before I could stop myself, I lunged at her.

  I hit Gemma in her stupidly flat and toned stomach and knocked her onto her back, fingers tearing at the stone as I tried frantically to get it away from her. The second I did, I was chucking it into the ocean and saying goodbye to romantic fears and bullshit forever. The bio parents and the missing elementals, I could deal with that.

  What I couldn’t deal with was losing the guys after feeling what it might be like to have them.

  Too cruel.

  When I was alone, I was just alone and I was fine with that.

  Alright, some part of me had longed and ached for Warden, but … I’d come to some sort of peace with it. But not anymore. I was not going to lose out this time.

  Yanking the stone off, I stumbled back and narrowly managed to avoid getting scratched across the face by Gemma’s perfectly manicured nails. As she followed me up, she smirked and I clutched the spirit stone tight against my chest.

  “You’re a total idiot,” she said as the stupid rock began to glow in my palm. It wasn’t enough to draw the attention of any onlookers, just a faint sort of shimmer that swept up and over my skin, coating me in something that felt like ice. “For the spell to even work, you have to want it and willingly take it.”

  I dropped the rock in the sand and wiped my hands on my thighs to get rid of the greasy feeling coating my skin, but even though I wasn’t touching the goddamn stone anymore, shards of ice passed through me, cutting me to my core.

  The guys were there in a second, surrounding me in a comforting circle but … I couldn’t feel them anymore. Those silver strings, when I reached for them, were gone. Not just cut but gone. The pool of my magic rested singly and alone in an endless void of darkness and shadows.

  “That’s never been a part of what a spirit stone does,” Billy snapped, turning away from me and whirling on Gemma. He got up close and in her face, pushing her back against the retaining wall between the beach and the sidewalk with the force of his fury. “It’s a complicated spell meant to undo wrongs and set them right again.”

  “So I rigged it to go off if she grabbed it!” Gemma screamed back at him. Now people were starting to look, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t bring myself to care about anything. It felt like the stone was sapping my emotions along with my personality … and my love, all at the same time. If Warden hadn’t grabbed me around the waist, I would’ve collapsed into the sand face-first. “Because she’s that goddamn stupid. And I knew she’d be that goddamn stupid.”

  Billy clenched his fists and his teeth, and I had a feeling that if he were a lot of other guys, he would’ve decked Gemma in the face. Hell, it was almost sexist not to hit the snarky little cunt right in the face. Or hell, maybe cunt was right and she deserved a good cunt punt.

  “You’re despicable,” Billy said, touching a tattooed hand to his chest before looking up at Gemma with an almost startled sort of expression on his face.

  “We’re meant to be,” she whispered as Warden hauled me back up and into his arms. It didn’t feel as good as it had just minutes ago when Reg had done it. My head was spinning and the emptiness inside of me was gaping wide open. “I am righting a wrong, Billy,” she said as he stumbled back from her and over to our little group.

  Joan stood beside Gemma, but she wasn’t smug like I thought she would be. There was a resolute expression on her face, like she’d gotten done what needed to be done, fuck everyone else’s feelings, wants, or desires.

  “You can feel it, right?” Gemma called out as my boys carried me up the sandy steps and … away.

  I didn’t remember a lot after that.

  Waking up in my mom’s guest bedroom a second time was surreal—and in a bad way. The kookaburras laughed their monkey chuckles outside the window as the skunky smell of pot drifted into the room and swirled around me.

  There were at least three boys in there with me, but I felt too sick and dizzy to sit up and really take stock of them. My head was spinning and the comforting sense of connection that I’d felt to the guys since … well, honestly, since sleeping with them was gone. A hollow echo bounced around inside my rib cage, taking the place of my heart.

  “Please kill the kookaburras,” I managed to choke out because dear God, if someone didn’t shut them up, I was going out there with my spirit elemental powers and ripping the life right out of them.

  “Must be an old gum tree outside that window, huh?” Warden said, putting his hand on my hip and pulling it toward him so that I rolled onto my back. Even though I was sick and sad and hurting, too upset to feel true anger just yet, I had to roll my eyes at that.

  “Seriously? That’s the lamest, most clichéd, most overdone joke I’ve ever heard.”

  “Really? Because I have a few pickup lines that also follow those criteria that I’m dying to use. Can I check your label?” He reached over and teased his fingertips across my tummy, lifting up the waistband of my sweats. “Just what I thought: made in heaven.”

  “I’m not going to smile or laugh at that,” I declared, but the edge of my lip did quirk up a tad. “That’s even worse than the first joke.”

  “It worked, didn’t it?” Warden asked, pinching my nose and then sighing softly. “Look, Smokey, we’ve been through too much shit for me to believe it all ends with some idiot girl and a magic rock.”

  “But?” I asked, because I could sense big buts coming just as well as Sir Mix-A-Lot.

  “There’s no but,” he started, but I was already struggling to sit up, shaking my head even though it hurt.

  “No, whatever she did, she cut our bonds, Warden.”

  “Our magical bonds,” he answered as I realized it was George and Billy in the room with us. “Not our feelings. I just like you; I don’t give a shit about stupid predestined bullshit.”

  “And yet, you can feel her,” I clarified, not because I wanted things to be that way, but because the second I saw Billy’s face fall, I knew. He felt that pull between him and Gemma the same way I’d felt it between me and the guys all along. Like when I sensed Warden across the street in New York, just before the zombies showed up. Or like when I knew Dustin was in trouble before Dustin even had a name.

  “Yeah,” Warden said, and I swear, I gritted my teeth so hard that I cracked a filling, “but it’s all smoke and mirrors, Ari-Vampari. It doesn’t mean shit. We’ll fix this.”

  The kookaburras chuckled, and I swear on a ham sandwich that they were laughing at me.

  Closing my eyes, I let my magic out and touched each one of their spirits with a metaphysical finger, poking them and stealing just a tad of energy. They took off in a real big hurry after that. Stupid assholes.

  “Can we get another spirit stone?” I whispered, trying to be practical about this. When I opened my eyes and glanced over at Warden, he looked worried. Not a good sign. “Let me guess: they’re rarer than vaginal-only orgasms?”

  “Huh?” He reached up and scratched at his mussy red and black hair with long fingers. “Those are rare?”

  I gave him a look, but all he did was smile and reach out to take my hand.

  “We will figure this out, okay? I swear on a camel’s nutsack that I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “Do you just sit around all day and brainstorm new ways to curse?” I asked, but I did almost smile, especially when I realized that George and Billy were both awake, lying very still and just listening to our conversation.

  “I didn’t want to bother your heart-to-heart,” George said, stretching sun-bronzed arms over his head as he noticed me staring at him and rolled over the rest of the way to look at me. His brown eyes were just sympathetic enough to make me want to cry, but not pitying enough to piss me off. Good for him. I fought back a sniffle as he sat up and put his arms around me, holding me tight while Billy watched with a simmering rage buried in his ember eyes.

  I felt sorry for whoever next pissed him off because he was liable
to go full-on batshit.

  “We brought Joan and Gemma back here,” he said. Pretty sure my eyes almost bulged out of my skull at that one. “Just because we don’t want them taking off when we’ve got a spell to reverse.”

  “Your mom gave Joan a few dark chocolate truffles and … well, let’s just say that they’re ‘special’ dark chocolate truffles,” Warden continued, rising to his feet and bumping a small altar with his hip. Yep. My mom had an altar to the moon goddess and her lover, the horned god complete with incense, sparkly scarves with unicorns on them, and crystals. She was a terrible Wiccan, but at least she tried believing in something bigger than herself. This was a hell of a lot better than that time she was fully invested into the Beanie Babies craze. Thus, the reason I had no college fund. Thus, the reason I now had student loan debts.

  “My mother got Joan stoned?” I asked, and because it sort of rhymed, I almost chuckled.

  But then I remembered my evil mother-in-law had schemed, stalked, and belittled me until she’d finally gotten her way and allowed some … some weirdo with a stupid name to steal my men from me. Then it wasn’t quite so funny anymore,

  “Damn,” I murmured, rubbing my chin thought, “it’s virtually impossible for someone to OD or die on marijuana. Why not a real drug like meth or something? I bet we could get rid of her with that.”

  George brushed loose strands of hair from my face and pressed his cheek to mine, just snuggling me close. It was good to know there was at least one guy in my little harem that wasn’t a total prick. George was the blanket of night that the stars rested against. They couldn’t shine in all their dickish glory without him there to back them up.

  “Should we go out and kick Gem’s ass right now … or should the four of us take advantage of our moment of privacy?” George whispered against my ear. Hmm. How come every time I had the thought that he was a nice guy … he got a little dirty?

  Not that I was complaining … A shiver ran through me as I eyed up my bedful of hotties.

  "No," I sighed, already regretting my decision. "As much as I hate to say it … now probably isn't the best time for a four-way. We need to fix the shit that Gemma has brought down on us, because I refuse to believe it’s permanent."

  "Five-way," Reg corrected, popping up from where he'd been sleeping on the blow-up air mattress on the floor and joining us on the bed (there really wasn’t enough room for the whole sept up there).

  "Us too, Firebug," Billy murmured softly, caressing my leg with a hot, hot hand. "Maybe we haven't been clear enough with you before now, but … well … okay, I can't speak for everyone, but I know I'm in love with you."

  His admission made the breath catch in my throat and a strangled sort of noise squeaked out of me. Not that I didn't reciprocate—clearly I was in love, too—but it just took me a bit by surprise.

  "Me too, Blossom," George agreed, placing hot little kisses along the curve of my neck. "I've loved you since the moment you woke up and asked for wine."

  Warden snickered. "Isn't that every morning?"

  I whacked him in the chest and he groaned. I knew what George was talking about though. When he and Reg had first shown me their elemental forms, I'd fainted. When I woke up … well … you know what I'm like. George had been such a sweetheart, fetching me wine and reassuring me it was okay to drink straight from the bottle.

  "Reg," Billy prompted, poking him in the leg.

  "Fine," he sighed. "Not that I really planned on confessing my feelings in front of these D-bags, but yeah. You know. You're alright, Sugar Tits."

  "Alright?" I choked out with a laugh. "Ah, thanks?"

  "Reginald," George growled at him and he rolled his eyes, flopping back onto my pillow and covering his face with his hands.

  "I love you too, ST." His muffled words reached me and squeezed my heart in a tight grip.

  Warden stroked a finger down my cheek, turning my face so he could meet my eyes with his own serious ones.

  "You know I already love you, Smokey," he whispered. "I never stopped. Not for a second."

  For a long moment I just sat there and stared at my guys, feeling the overwhelming rush of emotions filling up in me like a tap left on when the drain was clogged with hair. When I finally went to speak, my breath sucked in with a shuddering gasp and I realized my cheeks were wet.

  "Babe?" Reg asked, sitting back up to peer at me. "Are you crying?"

  "No," I sobbed, quite obviously crying. "My eyes are just leaking cucumber juice."

  Of course, none of them understood that reference seeing as I only ever referred to myself as an emotional cucumber—as in, having the emotional scope of a cucumber—inside my own head. But that's where I was at. Those cucumber seeds of emotion were swollen and overflowing, causing juice to leak down my cheeks.

  Also known as crying.

  "Was it because Reg was an ass?" George gently suggested. "Because I get that."

  "No, I'm sorry," I blubbered, wiping the juice from my cheeks and taking a few shaky breaths to calm myself. "I just … I thought that after our bonds were gone you wouldn't have any reason to stay. That you'd just like … up and leave when you realized Gemma fucking Darling was your true soul mate and then I'd be here all alone and I'd end up becoming a mad, hippy stoner like my mum."

  I sucked in another deep breath before continuing my rant. "But instead, you guys stayed with me, and now here you are telling me that you love me, even though we're not bonded anymore and …" I had to trail off as more juice leaked down my cucumber skin. What the hell was wrong with me? My hormones were going spastic crazy like I was …

  … about to get my period. God, not every woman who cries is pregnant, you know? Those symptoms are just the same with PMS.

  "And it's all just really emotional," I finished, flapping a hand at my face while trying to get the tears under control. "But … I love you guys, too. Except maybe Dustin, because he's an asshole. But he might grow on me, you know?"

  "So … about that five-way?" Billy licked his lips, tugging lightly at the sheet which slipped from my chest and revealed I was quite naked up top. Somebody had bothered to dress me in sweats, but nothing else.

  "I'll take one for the team and go distract Mom and bitch-face Gemma," Reg sighed, leaning over to give me a quick kiss before sauntering out of the bedroom. The fact that he'd just called Gemma bitch-face gave me all sorts of warm fuzzies inside.

  Warm fuzzies that were only intensified by the warmth of Warden's lips on my erect nipple and Billy's hot hands yanking my sweats off and spreading my thighs.

  "Wait," I gasped, before I totally lost all rational thought. "Don't we need to work out what to do about Gemma? I mean, she's waiting out there. Don't we need to figure out how to reverse this … spell thing?"

  "If that's what you'd prefer," George said as his hand slipped across my bare belly and teased little patterns around my belly button. I was actually amazed my glamour was still holding up given how many incredible orgasms I'd been having lately. Orgasms which previously would have shattered the illusion.

  Still, Anita had said the magic was a whole lot stronger when all seven of us were bonded. Here was proof, I supposed?

  "It's not what I prefer," I groaned, tilting my hips closer onto Billy's teasing fingers which were stroking everywhere but where I wanted them. "But it's pretty important, don't you think?"

  Warden sighed heavily, his breath fanning across my skin and causing goose bumps to break out. "Yes, you're right, Smokey. It's important as all fuck-out. Very important."

  I blinked in confusion at his odd cursing then shrugged it off. "Okay, so … any ideas?"

  Giving them all a hopeful smile, I shuffled back up the bed a bit and away from Billy's oh-so-tempting fingers. This was going to require my full brain power, and that wasn't something I could do with Billy fingering me.

  "Idea one," Billy announced, sitting up onto his heels and not bothering to hide the enormous tent in his boxers. "You have to stay naked for the duration of this pl
anning session."

  "Billy," I groaned, rolling my eyes. "Be serious."

  His eyebrows raised and he looked offended. "I'm very serious, Firebug. Gemma aside, this is our honeymoon. The naked rule should have already been applied by now. Here, we'll join you."

  Without waiting for my response, he shimmied out of his boxers and reclined across the foot of the bed with his boner just out and proud in front of him. George and Warden followed suit, and before I could formulate any protests—hah, yeah right, as if I was objecting—we were all stark naked in my mum's guest room.

  "Right, now then." George took the thread of conversation as he made himself comfortable beside me with his dick in his hand. "Crap, I should have asked if you wanted wine or anything before we got naked."

  "Kind of a stupid question, Woody," Warden snickered and George blushed an adorable pink, scrambling off the bed.

  "Back in a sec," he said, darting out into the hallway without bothering to put on any clothes first. I stared after him wide-eyed and speechless for a solid minute or two until he came jogging back into the room carrying a bottle of wine. "Here you go, Blossom."

  He grinned, holding out the bottle to me then returning to his seat beside me on the bed before I found my voice again. Billy and Warden, for their parts, were both snickering.

  "George," I exclaimed. "You just … naked … and, you know …" I indicated to his still stiff branch sticking out in front of him. "Did anyone see you?"

  "Nah." He winked. "I'm pretty quick when I need to be. Only your mum's boyfriend, who I am pretty sure is at least bi because he seemed real interested."

  "Or he was jealous," Warden commented, eyeing up George's equipment and licking his lips. "You do have a handsome twig and berries."

  "Guys!" I interrupted, not trusting myself to continue down that particular line of conversation any further. Lord knew we weren't getting any thinking done once all of that started. "Gemma fucking Darling. What are we going to do about her?"