Everything had been so tense over the past few weeks, regardless of our banter in every attempt to lighten the mood. So the feelings that bubbled up when Branton and I laughed over nothing and everything at once really touched me.
Still, through the laughter, I pushed at his chest. “Get off me!” I huffed as my naked ass stood from the bed and made my way over to my dresser. “I’m glad you find this whole situation funny, but I still plan to cover your peen up so I don’t get the cooties. Last thing we need is a pure mating with a mutt.”
He laughed again at my joke mingled with reality. He also continued to enjoy my nakedness as I grabbed a condom from my dresser—one that was probably way too old—and ripped the top with my teeth.
“There. Now you can’t back out on me, Mr. B,” I joked. Surprisingly, that comment didn’t make him laugh.
I tried not to act awkward when I advanced with the condom ready in my hand. I honestly prayed he wouldn’t notice the tremble in my hand when I attempted to sheath him with the rubber.
“Sorry… I’ve just… I’ve never done this before,” I said with a stutter. I didn’t dare look at him as I spoke.
“You’ve never put a condom on before? Aren’t you the one who insisted on the infuriating thing?” he asked with a chuckle.
“No… well, yes, and no…” I stuttered again.
Mortified didn’t even come close to describing how I felt. Here I was, fumbling with a rubber hat on this man’s dick, and I had to admit my faults to boot? Fun stuff.
“Just put the dang thing on yourself, please,” I demanded, my heart going a mile a minute with nerves. I tried to look unaffected. He didn’t need to know how nervous I was. That didn’t mean I wasn’t in freak-out mode on the inside though.
He put his hands behind his head, lying flat on my bed and laughing. “Nah. I like watching you struggle. It’s cute.”
“And you’re an asshole.” I flung the condom on his belly and stood from the bed. “Just forget it.”
“Wait!” He grabbed my hand. “Did I piss you off? I was just joking around.”
“I’ve never had sex before… and you decided it was something to laugh at me about?” I looked away, worried my emotions would cause my powers to flare. “You’re not exactly the guy I thought you were if you find any of this funny.”
“Oh, shit.” Branton sat up, his boner long gone and the unused condom falling from his chest to the floor. “I thought it was funny you couldn’t get the condom on because they’re a pain in the ass to deal with. I wasn’t laughing at you.”
I didn’t respond. There was nothing to say. That excuse was pitiful, and we both knew it.
“Wait… how has someone like you never made love before?”
“Someone like me?” I balked. I had no legitimate words to even come close to a response. I was appalled he would generalize me.
“Someone as beautiful as you,” he corrected. “Not to mention your ex-boyfriend is a witch. I should’ve known better than to assume he’d be able to protect himself.”
Most women would see his statement as a compliment, but all I saw were more generalizations and assumptions about the dumb but pretty girl.
He must’ve seen the whites of my eyes as they rolled with outright frustration. I might have been naked in front of this man, but that didn’t mean I’d bow down and give him whatever the hell he wanted just because he called me beautiful.
“Seriously though. You’ve kinda caught me off-guard with this whole virgin thing. I don’t want to mess anything up with you.” He paused, his eyes glancing to the sheets on the bed before looking back up at me. “Plus, these stupid rubbers are difficult for anyone to get on.”
I couldn’t help but match his laugh. And he clearly took my laugh as an invitation to advance on me again. Still, I hesitated.
Did I want this?
I mean, I wanted Branton—but now?
My mind was cloudy. I felt the desire mere moments before, but now all I could picture was the fog of sleep. Branton’s naked form advanced on me, and instead of welcoming him with open arms, I pushed him away, my hands feeling even colder than usual against his warm chest.
I looked away, my eyes closed tight to avoid any accidents. “Sorry. I think I’m just too tired.”
I felt more than saw him nod. “We’re okay though, right?”
“Yeah.” Now it was my turn to nod. “It’s just so late, and I think exhaustion is finally setting in.”
“You’re right. It’s pretty late.”
I watched him gather his clothes, sans pants of course, and rush to get them on. As he walked out my bedroom door, I couldn’t help but wonder what the heck was wrong with me.
24
Before he hit the first step of my staircase, I was in motion, chasing after him and calling his name.
“Don’t go. Please,” I pleaded. I never begged, but at that moment, I was damn near falling to my knees at the mere thought of being by myself right then. I didn’t need Branton around. Need definitely wasn’t the correct word. There was no doubt I could’ve survived without him. However, I sure as hell wanted him to be near. It was like an itch I couldn’t scratch without his help—a basic desire thrumming through my veins.
Desire trumped necessity.
I’d grabbed my sheet before I bolted to the door and screamed his name, the thin fabric now dangling around my body like a curtain. Branton halted mid-step, but never turned to look at me.
“Seriously, Kirsi. It’s fine. I have work in a few hours anyway. Just get some rest.”
“Just stay with me. Please?” While I was sincerely asking, I felt and heard the pleading tone in my voice.
I wasn’t sure what the hell had gotten into me, and the sole thought brought a giggle to my lips… l was laughing because the thought of Branton being into me had my inner-teen bubbling to the surface.
Finally, he turned, probably in response to my chuckle more than the begging that preceded the unexpected laughter. His brow was cocked in confusion, but his feet didn’t move. He was probably contemplating why the hell he would bother to put up with me after all I’d put him through.
“I’m not easy to deal with, I know. And there’s no way I can apologize for that because… well… I am who I am. But I would love just a few more minutes of your company,” I admitted, pausing to gather my resolve. “If you’d like.”
Finally, he began to move, but not in the direction I’d hoped for.
“I’m sorry, Kirsi. I just don’t think I have it in me to protect myself from you anymore tonight.”
With those words, as few as they may have been, I knew he was right. How dare I even think to ask him to risk his life when his heart wasn’t invested… when he honestly couldn’t hold the juice to save himself from the poison that flowed through me.
I didn’t say another word as Branton made his way down the flight of stairs and out of my sight. I was an idiot for thinking I could have a normal relationship with the man. I was also way too fucking tired to fight it.
Just as I turned my back on the steps to make my way into my room, my bed calling my name, a yellow glow reflected off the walls.
“What the hell?” I whispered. I swiveled toward where he’d disappeared mere moments before. That was when I saw her. Well, not her at first, but I knew who it was by the overwhelming glow emanating beyond Branton’s now-silhouetted figure.
My mom.
Branton began climbing the stairs toward me, his feet working in a backward motion, my mother following him. The back of his head bobbed with each step, and I had to wonder why he was backing up. Even though I couldn’t see his face, it almost seemed as if she were pushing him—forcing him to retreat from where he came.
Her form glowed and illuminated the dark stairwell. A light breeze that seemingly came from her blew at my bare skin beneath the sheet.
Not only was I trying to think of why my mother was in my home, but I also grasped at every reason imaginable as to why she’d look so ethereal. I
was also very interested why she’d graced us with her presence twice in a matter of twenty-four hours when I hadn’t seen her in forever.
“I didn’t hire you to sleep with her.”
Even though I couldn’t yet see her mouth move, I knew it was her speaking—Mother Nature. Although she’d never been there for me as a mom, she was still the most powerful elemental in the universe, and one most would bow to without a second thought.
Branton didn’t bow as he finally found his footing and stood next to me.
Suddenly, my brain processed her words.
I turned to him, anger filling my once-chilled veins. “How could you?” I asked, my voice incapable of being more than a whisper. My hand automatically clutched the snowflake that hung around my neck, the other still keeping the sheet firm around my chest. I should’ve known better than to trust anyone, especially him.
He didn’t say anything, instead just stared at me with pleading in his eyes.
“Well, at least you did something right,” my mom said to him, her voice still booming around us as if it were in our heads instead of coming from her mouth. “It seems you’re good at keeping secrets.”
I backed up, nearly tripping over the sheet draped around my body. I knew not to trust her, regardless of the fact she’d given birth to me. But the fact that I couldn’t trust Branton had my insides curdling like sour milk.
“Don’t believe her, Kirsi,” he said. His hands flew up in defense as my mom smirked, her smug smile making my anger grow exponentially.
“So you don’t work for her?” I was seething. It was all I could do to keep my temper in check. “You mean to tell me she’s lying? That she didn’t hire you to steal from me?” My hand was still wrapped tightly around my pendant, the edges of the snowflake digging into my skin.
“Yes, I mean… wait… no.” He couldn’t seem to keep his story straight as he blubbered and tripped over his words. With a deep breath and his hands still held up in defense, almost as if I was holding a gun to his head, he finally straightened his words out and spoke. “Yes, I was hired by her. No, it wasn’t to steal the relic. Yes, I know what it is. No, I was never instructed to take it from you.”
I looked at him as even more of a slime. What the hell would he have been after if he didn’t want my necklace? I kept backing away from him. And even though I couldn’t take my eyes off the man I’d just about slept with, I still kept Mari Ranta in my vision. Once I was done dragging the truth from Branton, she was next on my shit list.
“Quit getting carried away, child,” she said. Her lips were now moving, yet her voice still echoed through my head as if she were embedded in my brain rather than standing a few feet in front of me.
The blank eyes of my mother matched my glare—staring at everything and nothing at the same time. Her blonde, nearly ghostly white hair glowed beneath her ethereal form, and I suddenly felt the draw to reach out and touch the silky gown she always wore.
Because she encompassed all elemental powers as one, she had an attraction about her that almost no one could resist—no one but her own blood.
She still had no fucking clue what she’d missed out on by abandoning us so long ago.
My lips twisted in a snarl over my teeth, the air around us becoming a cold I felt all too comfortable with. “I might be your blood, but I’m sure as fuck not your child.”
“Now you’re just being dramatic,” she said with a wave of her hand, dismissing me entirely. “But you,” she added, turning to Branton and pointing her sharp fingernail in his face. “You were supposed to make her stronger as an elemental, not make her a woman.”
My body felt tired. So very tired. Not only was I physically exhausted, but I was also tired of having a mother who didn’t know her place in my life, tired of the bait and switch with the men in my life, and oh so very tired… of… well… everything. I was especially tired of all the bullshit.
“She’s stronger than she’s ever been before, and it was no thanks to either one of us,” Branton said. He was being brave standing up to Mari Ranta. No protective spell he conjured could stand against her power, and I thought he was smart enough to know that.
“Don’t try to fool me, boy,” she said with a snarl, her words coming out more like a ninety-year-old grandmother scolding her grandchild than an employer. “I’ve seen nothing but parlor tricks from her so far.”
“I can’t believe you’re talking about me like I’m not here.” I was looking directly at her, my voice shrill. I had no desire to tone it back either. Turning, I glared at Branton. “And I can’t believe you were her accomplice this whole time. I should’ve known better than to trust you.”
Frost began to collect around my eyes. I had to control my emotions. I’d be damned if they saw me cry.
My mom’s eyes glanced at the snowflake pendant still hanging like a boulder around my neck. Wearing it was so natural to me, yet I never took its weight for granted.
“So that’s what you’ve been after all this time?” I asked while clutching the hunk of jewelry to my chest. “What the hell is so important about this charm that you would go through controlling my life and the people around me to get it?”
“The fact that you don’t know the immense power you hold is the reason I need to keep it safe,” she said with impatience, rolling her eyes.
I looked at Branton, both pissed and confused with his involvement. Why the hell did he want to help her? Was she paying him? And why strengthen my powers if she very obviously wanted me to stay weak?
I suddenly wished Calder were here. I might’ve kicked him out, but having some sort of backup would prove to be useful.
Without another word or explanation as to why she’d shown up at my house, Mari Ranta turned, the ethereal glow following her like a shadow as she began walking down the stairs. Branton and I looked at each other in stunned silence.
I was seriously sick of all the bullshit. I hated going through life confused. I wanted to call after her, tell her what a horrible mom she was for leaving my father to care for five supernatural children. But all I could do was stand there with my mouth agape and maul at the charm that was clearly more important than a simple sentimental item.
Yet, my hand came up empty.
“What the hell?” I whispered as my fingers continued to paw at my chest in search for the Relic.
It’s gone.
I didn’t waste a single moment before running down after her, my feet barely finding purchase on the steps as I flew. I wasn’t sure how the fuck she did it, but my mother stole the pendant from my neck without even coming near me.
“Stop!” I screamed. Somehow, the glow around her body grew stronger, illuminating the darkness at the foot of the steps so strongly I almost had to shield my eyes from the onslaught. “Stop. Please don’t take it. It’s the only thing I have left from Daddy!”
The frost developing around my eyes was almost overwhelming, yet I forced myself to swallow and show her I wasn’t going to take this sitting own.
“He was a good man,” she said, shifting the conversation to a softer topic and completely ignoring the fact she’d just stolen from her own daughter. “But he had no business giving these to you.” She looked down to her hand where the snowflake was, the light from her body bouncing off the gems like glitter.
My lips quivered with anger. “You weren’t there.” My finger pointed to the floor in anger, my teeth grinding with pure frustration. “You have no right to tell me about our business when you didn’t give a shit.”
“Stop being so childish. There was no way I could’ve stayed, and you know it.”
“What does that even mean?” I asked with frustration.
I was losing sight of the topic, but I couldn’t stand that she constantly danced around me with riddles and nonsensical statements.
“You’d never understand,” she said, again avoiding my words entirely.
“You’re so right. I will never understand your absence, and I never want to.” What I wanted was
for her to go away and never come back, but I didn’t say it out loud. No need to give her a reason to extend this family reunion. “Just give it back and we’ll part ways.”
“Not happening, Kirsi,” she said in defiance, her fingers slowly wrapping around the charm, concealing the gems so they no longer glistened in her glow.
I just looked at her, dumbfounded. I couldn’t understand what the hell anyone would want with a piece of my jewelry.
She opened her hand a moment later, her palm coming up empty.
“Now it’s in a safe place.”
The End
* * *
If you enjoyed Frigid and would like to keep following the Ranta siblings, The Elemental Trials continues in Sade’s book, Scorch.
* * *
Thanks for reading!
Continue The Elemental Trials Series in book two, Scorch.
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About the Author
Rene Folsom, author of paranormal romance and erotica, lives in Florida with her husband and three kids. She has officially diagnosed herself with creative ADD and often has a million and one writing projects going at once. In addition to writing, she is also a graphic artist who enjoys creating custom book covers for indie authors. She is definitely an artist at heart and would love nothing more than to be elbow deep in clay during her waking hours.
Rene believes that all fiction is based on some form of reality—otherwise we would never have the inspiration or knowledge to dream up the realistic situations we portray with our words. She is proud to say that her personal experiences have been inspirational, though perhaps not always identical to that of her fictional characters. Where reality and fantasy diverge, however, must remain her little secret…
Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection Page 85