“Sadie?” Elder Merrick, not Cain with that tone, called loudly, his voice odd, waking me from my sleep.
I blinked my eyes open, rubbing them, calling, “Yeah?”
I heard a door bang open, then stomping feet, then he was leaning a shoulder against the door frame to my bedroom. His curly hair was dripping wet with only a towel around his waist riding low on his hips, making my gaze falter in the early morning light, not noticing at first what he lifted in his hand, but, then I did, as he slowly twirled a small case between his fingers like it was a poker chip. “This was on your counter.”
I was already frozen, trying to think of an excuse, but absolutely nothing brilliant came to mind.
Black eyebrows lifted as he continued twirling the case, navy blue eyes evaluating me closely. “You do know birth control pills don’t work for Mysticals?”
My lips pinched, unable to say anything, happy I had even found a doctor to give them to me since the one I normally used wasn’t even born yet. It had been over two weeks since the boxing episode with the Kings and Elders, and I’d had my period that next week, which was a good thing, and a bad one.
The good: I’d had my period, no pregnancy.
The bad: Even though Cain had come over, our casual acquaintance had been very one sided.
But, luckily, thinking ahead, I had searched for a doctor. I’d started taking the pills, but they wouldn’t be effective for another month. And I would really like to stop using condoms if at all possible, seeing as I had to dispose of them quickly just in case Kincaid came back into my room for whatever reason.
His eyes instantly narrowed, but quickly altered to serene, not missing a damn thing, his voice more gravelly in the mornings. “Did someone tell you they work?”
“Cain,” I cleared my throat, my head teetering back and forth, trying to think in code, “I’ve said it before, but do you believe all Mysticals are created alike?”
He stated point blank, his feet quickly eating up the distance between us, “Sadie, I don’t know what” oh, that was a not a happy expression, “asshole told you these work, but Mysticals bodies eat these like candy. They don’t work.” He tossed it in the trash by the dresser.
“Don’t do that.” I instantly scrambled out of bed, tugging the sheet with me to keep myself covered, grabbed it out, then quickly hid it behind my back when he tried to grab it again. “Wait!” I heaved in a breath, showing him the bruise on my arm I had got from doing inventory at work, showing him clearly the bruise still livid on my wrist, the same one he had been eyeing covertly all the previous evening. “I will ask it again. Do you believe all Mysticals are created alike?”
He stopped from trying to grab the pills again, glaring at my arm. “How is that bruise still there? You shouldn’t be injured still.” His wolf growled quietly. “I’ve felt your power. You’re damn strong for your age. Even a weak Mystical heals more quickly than,” his eyes narrowed further on the purple mark, “that.”
“Cain,” my lips pinched, “think. Do you believe all Mysticals are created alike?”
Furious navy eyes flicked to mine, then back to my bruise. “No.”
I waved my hand at the bed. “Why don’t you take a seat?”
He moved, but he appeared antsy, if he actually could, sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands on his thighs, the towel stretching very nicely over them. I jerked my attention away from muscled legs, and stared him straight in the eyes, focusing on coherency instead of letting myself fall into them, and I stated point blank, “One of the reasons I prefer to keep what I am hidden here is because, when I don’t…people tend to…stare…or assume certain things, but as I stated to Elder Jacobs, I cannot speak on it, so I have to move around certain issues in code.” Inhaling heavily, I asked, “Will you not tell anyone what I’m going to try to show you? Ever? I’d prefer to keep this between us, and there are reasons why spirits are unable to speak on such things.”
He nodded instantly. “Mum’s the word.” He blinked, and then held up a finger. “Unless you’re in danger, or another spirit Elemental is, then I can’t promise that.”
Well…that was honest, at least, and I didn’t disagree, so I nodded. “Okay…first off, don’t laugh at my actions, and try to keep an open mind.” I licked my lips, tying the sheet around me tighter so I could use both hands. “First—” I smiled grandly and lifted the birth control, then picked up a row of condoms on the dresser, and made a disgusted face, tossing them in the trash. I crossed my arms, and stared at him pointedly.
Bone dry words with raised eyebrows. “I’m going to miss my meeting to play charades?”
I ground my teeth together, for the first time, anger and irritation flaring for this man. Elder Merrick. The one who could be a damn professional and insensitive prick at times. “Right,” I spoke through gritted teeth, “I understand.” I turned on my heel, grabbing the birth control, so he didn’t try to throw them out, and took a step to march away.
A quick hand grabbed my bicep. “Wait.” He took his hand away. “I’m sorry. That was rude. You can’t speak on it, and honestly, all I’ve ever heard about spirit Elementals is rumor. I never even met the spirit Elder Jacobs referenced.” I turned slowly to face him, my arms still crossed, and watched as his head cocked in thought. His eyes went to my bruise. To the birth control pills I still had in my other hand. Gaze professionally ran up and down my frame. Back to my bruise. He nodded once. “I believe you. Birth control works for a spirit Elemental.” And his voice held the conviction that he really did. Flicking his wet curls out of his face, he waved an arm at me. “You can obviously be injured easily, like a Com.” Abruptly, he chuckled quietly, his gaze heating a bit. “I’ve got to admit, though, the birth control is a plus.”
I ignored his gaze the best I could even as his nostrils flared, and he rested back on the bed, showing his body to best display, a small—dammit—smile playing on his lips. “Okay, let me try to explain a Com.” I was going for code, glancing over his shoulder, not at the fuck me body I wanted to jump. “What happens when a Com doesn’t…exercise…and eats too much junk food and sits around doing nothing?”
“They get weak and fat.”
“Forget the fat part, but you were on the right track with the other…” I murmured helpfully.
His forehead crinkled the barest bit, actually, damn adorably. “Okay, if they don’t exercise they get weak.” His brows rose after a silent moment of contemplation. “So, if a spirit doesn’t exercise their powers they become frail?”
I kept my mouth shut, unable to voice he was right, but smiled.
He glared, his gaze snapping. “Then why the hell aren’t you using your powers?” And, I saw it instantly flicker in his eyes. “Because you’re hiding it from everyone.” A quick nod with a roll of his hand. “Do something. You don’t have to hide it from me. I’ve already seen and felt it. It’s the stars, the galaxies, the universe.”
My jaw seesawed as I tried to decide what would be most beneficial without sending off too much power to trickle outside my room without his blocking it, and I shrugged, deciding on going for something minor, but doing it long enough would help as I did every once in a while, so I opened my Core, letting my eyes and body glow dimly, a nice ethereal glow.
“Huh.” Cain’s head cocked. “You’re not as bright as when you climax.”
I could say this one. “When we’re together, your power keeps mine contained because you’re so much more powerful than me, but I don’t want it leaking out so my neighbors feel it. Shifter power is normal, not mine.”
Cain’s feet tapped absently on my floor while he stared. “You’re very beautiful.”
Instantly, I couldn’t help the grin that spread, my glow shining brighter at the compliment. During sex, yes, there were compliments said about each other’s bodies, but he had never just paid me a compliment when we weren’t in the heat of the moment. This one was extra special. “Thank you.”
He blinked slowly, staring. “I should probably
say that more often.”
“Only if you want to and you mean it,” I mumbled, brushing hair behind my ear, my glow dimming some as I felt anxious, the stupid glow so telling, making me want to shut it down.
“I will,” Cain stated clearly, his nostrils flaring, sitting very still on the bed. “Because you are. When you’re glowing and when you’re not.” His head cocked, and I know he didn’t miss the tiny flash in my glow as my heart swelled a bit at the simply stated compliment. “There’s got to be a way to find out more without going through the charades.”
I shrugged. “I can show you some things. It just can’t be spoken of.” My head teetered back and forth trying to explain the next in code. “And do you like what’s in libraries?”
“Libraries?” He blinked, and then his feet started pattering on the floor again. “You mean books. Are you saying there are books recording spirit’s history or saying there are books explaining what spirits can do?”
“I can honestly say I’ve never read…a book…because if I had,” I let the stars fire flame in the palm of my hand, his feet faltering as he stared, tossing the birth control on the bed so I’d have a free hand, “the book would be gone.” I lifted a pair of socks off the dresser and tossed it into the air, shooting a bit of the fire after it, the sock instantly becoming ash, his eyes widening a bit, an instant grin on his face. But, it wasn’t a nice one, instead, it was one of those deadly ones, more than likely, as he thought about the destruction I could do with my power…and he seemed to like it, just as evilly as I did. “So, if you read any…books…don’t leave them out for me to read.”
“Hide all material about spirits I want to keep.” He nodded once, his finger flicking to me. “Is that enough power usage to heal your bruise?”
I chuckled quietly, and then lifted my arm, clearly showing the bruise was only fading a bit, the area appearing like a black splotch against my otherworldly skin.
“That’s a no.” He sat up, his brows puckering, moving a hand toward me, slowly reaching. “It really is an amazing power to behold even if you’re more vulnerable in other ways.” He shook his head, placing his hand in mine. “You’re not using very much power right now, I can tell that much, but it’s still heady.”
I grinned, and decided to throw him for one more loop. “Don’t freak on me.” Since he had touched me, I floated through the cosmos briefly, concentrating on his hand, our connection, and through the abyss of the stunning nether I found his shimmering black tether, and pulled it to my lips. A bit curious, I altered my choice, whispering, “Show me the first time you respected me.”
His heart rate sped further as she became even more, watching as she walked through the hotel living room like a trained killer, like a tiger, her steps gliding and graceful, silent and deadly. So tiny, so frail, confusing him further at his attraction. She wasn’t his kind, a blistering rage burning him, making his hands tremble so he crossed them just in case she looked back. His wolf bashed inside him, snarling, wanting to chase her, pounding deep within, but he pushed the wolf back as to not frighten her. Watching as she moved, anger and respect riding him hard—
I cut it off, not about to intrude further, coming back to myself to blink at him, his grip brutal on mine, and I wasn’t sure if it was from anger, or trying to hold on as his chest heaved, eyes wide open.
“My memories,” he said with admiration…and a little anxiety. “You can see my memories.” I squeezed his hand hard, placing my other hand on his chest, and he nodded slowly, watching my movements. “You can see them if you’re touching me.” My nose crinkled, and taking my hand off his chest I teetered it. “Okay, when I touch you.” I rolled my glowing finger, edging him on. “When I touch you.” I nodded, smiling happily. “It’s,” he sounded confused, “good?” I quickly nodded, then touched his chest again, scowling at him. “And when you touch me, you can still see them, but it’s,” his eyes flicked between mine, and I let go of his other hand, pointing one finger out straight while brushing my other over the top of it repeatedly, shaking my head slowly, and his lips quirked, “it’s naughty to do so.”
Again, I beamed as he summed it up quickly, getting it right.
And this was how the next hour went before I had to go to work, and he missed his next meeting, as he learned many secrets of the spirits slowly and methodically, unrelenting in his pursuit to know more, or possibly, me, when I was unable to voice anything, his intelligence so keen and insightful, in was truly something to behold. And on that day, so quickly it stunned me as I realized it, I wasn’t just in hot water as we laughed and worked together, but I was in the all-consuming kind, the kind you wanted to dip into, even knowing it will burn you.
Knocking at the door woke me close to two o’clock that Friday morning. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I quickly rolled out of bed, grabbing my robe from the floor and pulling it on, hurriedly walking to the front door before whomever it was knocked again and woke Cain, since we’d only fallen asleep an hour before. It was saying something about this day and age I was living in that I didn’t grab a weapon before peeking through the peephole, believing my home safe, even if I didn’t think the streets were. I blinked, rubbed at my eyes, and then peered through it again, seeing in fact, who I thought I was seeing.
“What the hell?” I muttered quietly, and then, indeed, ran to the kitchen, grabbing my gun from a drawer, hiding it behind my back before I opened my front door to the Mage standing outside. “Mr. Stellar…what are you doing here?”
The illegal gaming owner took in my rumpled appearance with a slow, sensual perusal. “Did I wake you, Ms. Farrow?”
“Yes,” I murmured, brushing hair out of my face with my free hand, the tangled mess it was. “Again, I’ll have to ask what you are doing here.” And honestly, I had damn near forgotten about him, and my plot to take him down, wrapped up in…happiness…all-in-all in life.
I didn’t turn—to show my weapon—when I heard Cain exiting my bedroom, asking quietly, and sleepily, “Sadie, are you on the pho—” His voice cut off abruptly, and Mr. Stellar’s eyes slammed behind me, widening a bit, before blanking at whatever he saw. There were a few beats of silence, then Elder Merrick, not Cain’s voice, turned utterly attentive, but very cool, asking, “Ms. Farrow, to what do you owe this pleasure,” The sound of a sheet whipping sounded as he moved toward us, “in the middle of the night?”
Golden eyebrows rose the barest bit as Elder Merrick came to stand by me, tying the bed sheet more tightly about his waist…wisely standing on the side where my weapon wasn’t, so I could use it easily if needed, but also out of view of any watchers outside, and Mr. Stellar’s lips curved the barest bit. “Ms. Farrow was just asking me that same question.”
“And the answer would be?” Elder Merrick asked unruffled, but his eyes were hard on the Mage.
Mr. Stellar peered back to me, eyebrows lifting further in silent question, even as he lifted an envelope slowly, and carefully, from the inside of his suit jacket, holding it out to me. “I came to give Ms. Farrow back the cash she had under a marker since it’s been well over a month.” His lips twitched a bit, eyes darting to Elder Merrick, then back to me. “I see now why you haven’t returned.”
I took the envelope from him steadily. “You have the wrong impression, Mr. Stellar. He and I were having a discussion when he had too much to drink to drive. I offered my bed. He accepted, so I took the couch.” I dipped my head to him. “Thank you, by the way, for bringing my cash back. It was overly generous of you.”
His eyes glowed a bit, head cocking oddly, before their glow died, and he grinned outright, already walking backward. “Sometimes, Ms. Farrow, generosity is not what it seems in the most unique of environments.” He winked at me before smiling at Elder Merrick. “And sometimes…others surprise us.” Then, he was hopping down the stairs quickly, the wind ruffling his golden hair as he went.
We both watched him, Elder Merrick moving to the glass sliding patio door to do so, peeking around the side of the wall an
d through a blind as Mr. Stellar started walking through the parking lot…to disappear, not even needing to flare golden to do so.
Elder Merrick just grunted quietly as I calmly shut the door, locking it, before turning to stare at him. He stood arms crossed, muscles bulging they were so tight, and with nostrils flared. “Mr. Stellar,” he was speaking very slowly, appearing to try to keep his cool, “as in the illegal gaming owner the Prodigies have been winning big at so recently?”
I blinked. “They’ve been going recently?” His jaw only clenched further, but I shook my head in amazement. “Those four are unbelievable. They knew I had something big planned for him, so they never took me back.” I tossed the envelope of cash on the coffee table. “God, they’re still protecting me.”
A slow inhale and exhale, then he cracked his neck, muttering, “He shouldn’t be hard to kill if he tries to blackmail me, I guess.” He cracked his neck the other way. “In fact, it may be a little fun.”
Oh, whoo-whee. That was some look. I almost felt like whispering in Mr. Stellar’s ear to give him a head start. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to face off against what I saw flittering through his eyes right now. And then, I froze as he started stalking, prowling, toward me, his eyes instantly glowing, and I knew I saw his wolf peeking out as he, kind of, hovered over me, stating very slowly, “The next time you feel the need to grab a fucking weapon before opening the door,” he bent, putting his face in front of mine, glaring, “how about you think to wake me?”
I clicked the safety back on, letting my arm relax by my side. “Cain, I really can take care of myself.”
Instant growl. From wolf and man. “Two is always better than one. Next time, fucking wake me.” And my jaw dropped, and I went completely still when he did…something…complicated with his hands, and suddenly, my own gun was in his, pointed a few inches averted from my head, I guess for safeties sake, as he continued glaring. “Do you understand me, honey?”
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