The Elementals Collection

by L. B. Gilbert

  “Logan? What’s wrong?” Serin asked.

  Logan wished fleetingly that it had been Diana communing with her element. Until recently, she and Diana had the same amount of experience with men. Zilch. But then, Alec had come into Di’s life—and had refused to leave it. Now Logan was the only inexperienced one in their small sisterhood. Talking to Serin or even Gia about something like this was a little like talking to her mother.

  “Nothing,” she said. “Just a little keyed up.”

  “Are you at the Maitland compound?”

  “Not yet. We’ll get there tomorrow.”

  Serin wasn’t stupid. “I see. And you’re with the Were. Is he giving you any problems?”

  “Not a problem per se,” she hedged. “He’s…a big flirt.”

  Across the aether, Serin laughed. “Men flirt with you all the time. You’re pretty good at shutting them down. Unless you don’t want to shut this one down?”

  Damn, the woman was perceptive. Logan hummed noncommittally.

  “I see.”

  “Stop saying that. I’m not going to do anything stupid. He’s a case, nothing more,” Logan said.

  Serin sighed. “I don’t know. You sound…different. This Were has succeeded in getting your attention. And he’s done it in record time. He must be something special. Even that actor you were stringing along couldn’t seal the deal. And you’re the one who always says you only live once…” She trailed off, her voice distant.

  I knew it! Something was definitely up with the Water Elemental. And Logan would bet anything that something was Jordan. Under normal circumstances, Serin would have been lecturing her to be cautious. If she was actively encouraging Logan to get involved with Connell, then something was off.

  Maybe her sister was seeing the light about her own relationship? It was essentially an arranged marriage, after all. How many of those worked?

  “Serin, you know you can tell me anything, right?” she said.

  “Don’t change the subject.” Serin laughed. “You’ve been itching for a fling for a while. Don’t think I don’t know what you and Diana talk about behind my back. I know you think I’ll disapprove—and there was a time I would have. But fuck it, doll face. Do what you want. Fling away.”

  Okay, this was not the Serin she knew. This was Serin 2.0, and Logan loved her. Not that she hadn’t loved her before. But she had two mothers—her mom and Aunt Mai. A third had been a little much.

  “Well, that’s…new. I hope you’re not trying to live vicariously through me. One little change, and you can get your groove back too.”

  “I’m not dumping Jordan,” her sister said in a tired voice. But there was a tiny hint—a not yet in her words.

  “Course not. I don’t know what I’m going to do about my little two-hundred-and-seventy-pound problem, but if I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”

  “You do that. And try not to worry so much. You’re a big girl. You can take care of yourself.”

  Wow, it must have been a huge fight.

  “Uh, okay. Thanks,” Logan said, grateful for the vote of confidence, even if it had been brought about by Jordan.

  “All right, sweetie. I have to go. Stay safe. If he gives you any trouble, I’m sure there’s always a handy tree to throw at him,” she finished.

  “Aww, that’s the Serin I know and love. Don’t worry. I’m good now.”

  “All my love,” Serin said before withdrawing.

  Feeling better, Logan decided there was no reason to worry. She was in charge. Connell was a puzzle, but not one she was afraid to solve. He was able to track her, and she was damn near impossible to track. Not as bad as Serin, but difficult.

  No normal Were should have been able to do that. And there was the fact he was able to travel with her. Another nearly impossible thing—but there were exceptions to the rule. There was still room for doubt, but she wasn’t going to figure out anything hiding in the clouds. She rematerialized on the porch and walked inside, confident in her ability to handle one flirty werewolf.

  The sight that greeted her almost made her swallow her tongue.

  “Hey,” Connell said casually.

  He was stretched out on the bed, flipping through a hardcover book. There was a small towel wrapped around his hips…and nothing else. Washboard abs gleamed under the overhead light.

  Logan moved into the room, trying hard for nonchalance. “If you’re done with the shower, I’m going to use it. I’ll be quick,” she said, grabbing her pack.

  She went into the bathroom and shut the door, taking a long, hard breath once she was on the other side.

  She showered in record time. Heat coursed through her body that had nothing to do with the warmth of the water. She washed carefully, her skin more sensitive than usual. So were her breasts and other more secret places.

  Logan was sorely tempted to take the edge off her arousal, but she was pretty sure Connell would smell it if she did. Of course, he could smell her unfulfilled desire just as easily. She didn’t know which was worse.

  Refusing to dwell on it, she jumped out the shower and briskly toweled off. She pulled on a tank top and boxer shorts from her pack. Pausing a moment, she inhaled deeply before opening the door.

  Connell sat up in bed. He’d put on a pair of shorts himself, but he hadn’t bothered with a shirt. Man, he loves to display that ten pack. Logan’s hands itched to touch it, but before she could give into temptation, Connell shot up from the bed.

  “Whose are those?” he snarled, putting his hands on her arms with a hard grip.

  Confused, Logan shrugged him off with a frown. “Whose are what?”

  “The boxer shorts. Where did you get them?” He towered above her almost aggressively.

  “At Target, you douchebag.”

  Connell’s head drew back in surprise. “What?”

  “I said I bought them at Target,” Logan said, shaking her head in exasperation.

  The possessive note in his voice stroked something deep inside her, but she wasn’t about to let him get away with being an ass.

  “Oh.” Connell backed away.

  He sat on the bed, avoiding her eyes. His face was flushed, but Logan wasn’t willing to let him off the hook. She walked to the side of the bed to stand in front of him.

  “Even if these belonged to another man, it’s not your business,” she baited him.

  His eyes flashed dangerously. Quicker than she could blink, she was flat on her back on the bed with Connell’s hard body over her.

  “Everything about you is my business,” he growled before taking her lips with his in a hard kiss.

  10

  Hours later, Logan shifted next to him in the bed. “You know those boxers are way too small to belong to man. I got them in the boy’s department,” she said.

  Connell lifted his head to look for the pieces of her shorts. He’d flung them across the room. Tearing them off might have been overkill, but he’d wanted to make damn sure she wouldn’t be able to wear them again.

  He didn’t like seeing her in men’s clothing that wasn’t his—even things she had bought herself. And she wouldn’t need anything to sleep in when she was with him from now on. He ran possessive eyes over Logan’s naked body, which he quickly followed with equally possessive hands. She was pressed to his front like a blanket, but even with so much skin-to-skin contact, he couldn’t stop his arms from wrapping tighter around her.

  At least his grip had gentled. Sex had blunted the hard edge of his hunger enough for him to relax his hold on her. But it didn’t stop him from splaying his hands on her naked skin to try and touch as much of her as possible. It was an instinct stronger than anything he’d ever felt. And the contentment he was feeling at this moment was strange—considering his condition.

  He felt great. Amazing. Better than he had since he’d woken up alone in the woods all those months ago.

  Did sex with an Elemental heal you? Connell did a mental self-evaluation. No. He was still wolf-less. And the hole in his h
ead was still there, a glaring flaw that was probably glowing like a neon sign to Logan. But it was as if the volume on it had been turned down somehow. Like what he had first felt after spending time with her at the French safe house, only stronger.

  He grunted. “I don’t like other men’s clothes on you,” he said. “Even if you bought them. If you need something to sleep in, you can wear one of my shirts.”

  The better to mark her with his scent. That Harry Potter dematerialization thing she did made it fade. He was going to have figure out a solution for that.

  Logan yawned and stretched languorously across him. “And what will you wear?”

  “When I’m with you—nothing,” he replied.

  She laughed. “Hmm. You may have a deal.”

  11

  Logan woke up boiling hot. She could barely breathe. Groggily, she moved to shove her blanket away, but it didn’t give at all. Startled, she realized her blanket was flesh and blood. Very naked flesh. Cracking her eyelids open wider, she saw Connell pressed against her, fast asleep.

  He was wrapped around her like a vine, somehow managing not to smother her with his massive bulk as he slept. And not quietly either. His breath was a low-frequency whistle that wasn’t quite a snore. In fact, he sounded like her dog Nico used to when he slept at the foot of her bed as a child.

  Sighing, she watched Connell sleep with a mixture of anxiety and satisfaction. He was an amazing lover. She was glad that he had been her first. There was a sense of rightness being there with him, touching him. He must feel it too, she thought, her hand going to the bite mark at the base of her neck. It hadn’t hurt—well, not a lot—but she was very conscious of it.

  Logan was still young, and she had planned to sow some serious oats before committing to one man. However, it appeared the Mother had other ideas if Connell was her mate. And despite how good the past few hours had been, she still thought it was a big if.

  It was simply too much of a coincidence that she found her mate right after Diana met Alec. Things just didn’t work that way. It wasn’t like the Mother manipulated the events in their lives, but an Elemental meeting a mate meant change. And the Mother didn’t like a lot of change—not all at once. Still…the fantasy of being able to keep Connell was too tempting not to indulge in.

  She traced a line up his abdomen, running her finger over the ridges of hard-packed muscle there. Her mind drifted until she daydreamed about introducing him to Diana and her mate. The fantasy fell apart a little there. Connell and Alec meeting couldn’t end well, even if Alec was atypical enough to keep company with Weres. Dmitri was proof of that. But Connell was probably not a fan of vampires. Not if he ran true to hairy form.

  Things were about to get very complicated. Connell was second in command to one of the largest Were packs in the world. Only the Russian pack was bigger. Logan needed to figure out what the hell this thing with him was going to be—if it was going to be anything at all. In a way, Serin was lucky. She had known who her mate was for years before they got together.

  Okay, you need to think clearly. Sex hormones were messing with her head. Connell wasn’t her mate despite the little love bite she was currently sporting. The timing was off. And his bite hadn’t broken the skin.

  Didn’t she read somewhere in the archives that there had to be a blood-and-saliva exchange for a wolf-mate bond to take? That hadn’t happened. He couldn’t even shift. Maybe he had decided a little bite wouldn’t hurt since he didn’t even have his wolf.

  That had to be it. He didn’t think he was her mate. He had simply been playing since it had been safe to do so. She was working herself up for nothing.

  Stomach tight, Logan decided she needed a little air. However, extricating herself from the huge arms wrapped around her without waking him proved complicated. Giving up, she dematerialized straight into the clouds over the cabin.

  So much for the casual in casual sex, Logan thought with a disquieting pang. She should have just slept with Michel. Choosing to take a Were as her first lover was monumentally stupid. She didn’t know anything about Connell. It only felt like she did. As usual, she had jumped in with both feet without looking.

  “Hey!”

  Connell’s voice sounded as if he were standing next to her instead of on the ground in the one-room cabin. And he must have been yelling at the top of his lungs. Or that deep bass voice carried with preternatural resonance. Unless it’s a mate thing.

  Shut up, she told herself.

  He hadn’t slept long. Dawn was starting to lighten the sky in a faint glow, the black night giving way to a deep navy blue. Unable to stall any longer, Logan descended through the cabin’s chimney and rematerialized on the kitchenette counter, lounging with a casualness she wasn’t feeling.

  Connell was pacing in the nude when the sprite rematerialized in the kitchen area.

  He’d snapped awake the second Logan had disappeared from the bed, annoyed he hadn’t been able to hold her during those first few moments of wakefulness. At least she’d puffed away without getting dressed, a sight he’d been looking forward to.

  Except, she was somehow wearing clothes now. Connell frowned, checking out the dark jeans and sleeveless turtleneck she’d paired with the smallest combat boots he’d ever seen. Seeing clothes instead of all that glowing, naked skin he’d been expecting, he felt a little cheated. Especially since her top covered his mark at the base of her neck.

  “Where did you get those clothes?” he asked.

  “From my bag,” Logan answered with a one-shoulder shrug as she swung one tiny, booted foot up and down.

  “How did you get them?” he asked, eyes narrowing.

  He hadn’t dressed in the hope of more mind-shattering sex before they left for the compound.

  Logan shrugged. “I called for them. It’s a simple spell when I go non-corporeal. They show up when I pop back if I haven’t taken them with me. Doesn’t work for weapons or people. Those have to be with me when I go. But I can call for the uniform,” she said, leaning back to grab a jar from behind her.

  She opened it and sniffed, the scent of peanut butter filling the air.

  “Oh,” he said. “How…disappointing.”

  What was even more disappointing was her scent. Or the lack of his. He should be all over her, but there wasn’t even a trace of it on her now. Every time she took to the air, it was like she took a shower. Or ten.

  Hell. It was going to take a lot of work to keep her continuously marked.

  No time like the present to start, he thought as he got up and stalked over to her. Logan’s appreciative eyes took in his naked body, and he glowed with pride. Resisting the urge to preen, he lifted her to him.

  “If you can magic them on, you can just magic them right off,” he said, tossing her back on the bed.

  Logan laughed. “What happened to getting an early start?” she asked with a giggle as he climbed over her.

  “Fuck it.”

  “I’d prefer it if you didn’t refer to me as an it,” she said cheekily before she disappeared.

  Before he could blink, she was back underneath him, all silky skin without a stitch of clothing.

  “Okay. I take it back. That could come in handy,” he murmured as he pulled her body flush against his.

  Logan’s laugh filled his ears…but he made sure she wasn’t laughing long.

  12

  “I can’t believe we broke the bed. What will your friend say?” Logan asked, peering at the broken support underneath the mattress.

  He grinned. “Something along the lines of congratulations. This frame was double reinforced steel. Jack’s a pretty big guy. It took a lot of down and dirty acrobatics to break this. He’ll be impressed.”

  “Charming. Is Jack in your pack?” Logan asked as she lifted the frame to inspect the damage more closely.

  Connell raised a brow at her, and she put the bed down.

  Oops. She should have waited for him to get off the bed. Never a good idea to remind a guy that his new love
r could bench press two of him.

  He exhaled slowly before answering. “No. He’s a human I served with. Mostly human anyway. My team was all Weres, but we often worked with another one that was humans of mixed heritage.”

  Logan nodded in understanding. When a Were said mixed heritage, he meant descended from a shifter line in some way—humans who hadn’t inherited enough to sustain a change. They were often large and strong with bodies like rugby players, slightly bulkier than normal Weres. Full-blooded werewolves were sleeker, but their muscle mass was denser. Their mixed relatives were often too distantly related to be aware of their lineage. Most became soldiers or professional athletes.

  “Hmm,” Logan said as she finished examining the broken frame. “Hope he’s an understanding guy, because I don’t think we can fix this without welding tools. And if he’s anywhere as big as you, then a fix like that wouldn’t last long.”

  “I’ll leave him some cash to pay for a replacement,” Connell said as he stripped the sheets and threw them in a hamper she hadn’t noticed.

  He was shining with a post-coital glow that made her want to jump him all over again. Or at least lick him up and down.

  Good thing he doesn’t smell like wet dog, Logan mused, and then wondered if that would change once he got his wolf back. A lot of things might change…

  She watched Connell pensively as he pulled the mattress off the broken frame. He shoved the metal pieces together enough for the whole assembly to fit inside the concealed wall space again, leaving the mattress on the floor in front of it. Logan pulled on her clothes while Connell rummaged through his bag for shorts.

  After he was dressed, he ransacked the cupboards and made a breakfast of powdered eggs with some beef jerky in lieu of bacon. Logan took one look at it and went for the peanut butter. She ate it with some crackers she found in the cabinet, along with a fistful of dried Captain Crunch, while sitting cross-legged on the kitchenette counter.