"Paula would like to work as a scientist in training or however you want to call it. So I wanted to ask you if you could give her a summer job here since it would really help her to gain some experience." I gave him a shy look. "Please, Dad."
"Oh, how nice!" Cassandra said, her face lighting up. "Surely, Richard, you cannot refuse this! It is so wonderful to see young people interested in science."
"Yes," my father said. "Sure. Tell Paula to come see me tomorrow morning, and we'll see what we can find for her. That's a really good idea!"
Yep, it was an awesome idea if you wanted to look good in the eyes of everyone. "Thanks, Daddy!"
"What about you, Ria? Are you interested in science?" Cassandra asked.
"Umm, a little," I said, and spotted Michael in the crowd on my left, silently thanking God of Magic for that. "If you'll excuse me... I have to go."
"Oh, of course. Nice to meet you. I hope we can chat some other time," Cassandra said, and a frown line appeared on my father's forehead. He didn't want me to talk to her, but I had no idea why. Giving them both a broad smile, I hurried over to Michael.
"Finally!" I said, taking his hand. "I thought you'd disappeared."
"Is something wrong?" Michael looked at his hand in mine like there was slime or something on it. Ok, so maybe I shouldn't be grabbing my ex's hand like we were still together, but people could become suspicious if they saw us acting weird.
"No. Come dance with me," I said, but Michael didn't move a bit. "Most of the people are dancing. We look awkward just standing here. Besides, everyone's staring."
He let out a sigh, but followed me to the biggest part of the room, which was in the shadow a bit since there was no need for a lot of light like in the area with the tables. I relaxed when I realized no one was really paying attention to us anymore, but dancing obviously provoked strong feelings in some of the guests, because I could feel almost every element around me very clearly.
"Do you want a drink?" Michael asked as we were spinning around the room, our movements almost automatic.
"No, I..." Something cold brushed my arm, sending shivers down my spine, and for a nanosecond, the world of elements went quiet in my head. I gasped, looking around to find the person who had touched me, but I couldn't see anyone.
"What's wrong?" Michael looked at me, his green eyes full of worry.
"Did you see who touched me?" I asked urgently. We had stopped dancing, and I was staring at the crowd, but wherever I looked I could only see more or less unfamiliar people with elements.
"Err, maybe some guy in a tuxedo. I don't know. We grazed a lot of people while we were dancing." Confusion was written all over Michael's face. "Why?"
"Did you see his face? Where did he go?" Could it have been my brother? Or Adrian? I hoped it had been one of them, or I was in some serious trouble.
"No. But I think he went toward that table." Michael pointed at the dark corner near the door where I could see a small table with a glass on it. I immediately started walking in that direction, my heart beating loudly in my chest. Michael remained where he was, probably surprised by my behavior. I reached for the champagne glass, realizing it was full... but the liquid was completely frozen. Adrian! I quickly warmed the glass, melting the ice and hoping no one had seen it.
When I was sure no one was watching me, I slipped through the door, hoping that was the reason why Adrian had left the glass nearby. The air in the hall was unusually cold, and I used my element to warm it as I followed the trail of coldness. I found myself standing in front of my room, rubbing my arms to chase away the chill. Now what? Where was he? Could he have entered my room somehow? I stood there for a moment, straining my ears for any unusual sounds coming from the inside. Nothing. Well, I could at least check when I was already here. My keycard gave the green light and I opened the door wide.
The room was completely dark, and I couldn't see anything. Feeling a bit uneasy, I closed the door behind me and leaned on it, trying to slow down my pulse. Someone was here. I could feel it, but I was too afraid to move away from the door. Maybe I should take the stupid movie approach and ask if someone was there. Yeah, like that ever did anything except giving away your location to the big bad monster.
Another long moment passed. Damn it, if Adrian was really here, why hadn't he said anything already? I couldn't feel an element, which meant that if someone was here, he was definitely a magic disease carrier. The only problem was, was it someone I knew or not? Ah, screw it. I had to do something or I was going to lose my mind. Too bad they hadn't taught me yet how to create a ball of fire that could float in the air. Oh, well. I reached next to me, feeling the wall for the light switch. The room was suddenly bathed in a yellowish light, blinding me for a second. But there was no mistake whose gray-blue eyes were looking at me in amusement from across the room.
"Adrian," I said, angry and relieved at the same time.
"Ria." He gave me a smile that could melt any girl's heart. "I thought you'd never dare to switch on the lights."
"Oh, please. You could have said something! How was I supposed to know it was really you?" It was so weird to see him again. He looked great as usual. His black hair was still messy and falling a bit in his breathtaking eyes, but there was a bruise on his left cheekbone. I wanted to run over to him, throw myself into his arms and just forget about elements and everything, but Paula's words echoed in my mind. And I definitely didn't want Adrian to think I was desperate to touch him.
"And who could it have been?" He smirked. "Did you find another lover while I was away?"
"Maybe I was hoping someone else was here." I walked over to the bed, dropping my purse on it. Adrian was observing me curiously, but he didn't come closer. Fine. Two could play a game. Let's see who would last longer. I highly doubted he didn't long to touch me... unless he really was only toying with me.
"Umm, yes, I suppose all that ice and coldness weren't a good hint." He rolled his eyes.
"How did you get into my room?" Since I didn't know what to do with myself, I sat on the bed and crossed my arms in front of me. He took something out of his suit pocket and waved with it. A keycard identical to mine. "And where did you get that?"
"Your brother has a bunch of these. They can open any door, and it really wasn't hard to flirt with the receptionist while Oliver broke into the system files in the other room. The poor woman didn't even know what happened to her." He slipped the card back into his pocket. Anger rose in me like a wave, but I wasn't sure whether I was angry because he had flirted with some woman or because Oliver had helped Adrian to break into my room.
"Well, I hope you had a good time," I said through my teeth. "But I have to wonder how stupid you have to be to risk exposure for this! You could have easily told me to come outside or meet you somewhere!"
"Don't worry about it. I was well disguised." His face was like a cold, emotionless mask as he took a step toward me, opening his suit jacket and pointing at the edge of a blond wig peeking out of his pocket. "And maybe I didn't want you to drive my car again."
"But I like your car." I grinned. "It looks like I'll get to keep it since you are a dead man anyway."
He flinched, but the corners of his lips went up. "Don't you want me to take elements away?"
"I have no idea why would you think that I want you to weaken me. As you can see, I'm doing pretty well on my own." Which wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't entirely a lie either. I shifted slightly on the bed, letting my hair fall over my chest. I certainly didn't want him to stare only at my cleavage.
"Your boyfriend must be really happy." Maybe I was imagining it, but Adrian's voice was full of jealousy.
"Ex-boyfriend," I said, looking straight into his cold eyes. He opened his mouth in surprise, but didn't say anything. Wow. I really was seeing things, because he looked almost hopeful.
"Ex?" He finally said like he couldn't quite believe it and made another step toward me, but then he seemed to catch himself and stopped. I couldn't believe I was a
ctually winning this. Yes, come to me. Come to me, Adrian.
"Yes, ex." I played with a lock of my hair. "But don't get so happy. Michael and I didn't break up because of you." Well, not directly anyway. It had all been me more than Adrian.
"Interesting." He came to the foot of the bed, his hand outstretched. I slowly got up, feeling the rapid beating of my heart, but I didn't go to him. I couldn't. He let his hand drop, clenching it into a fist. No, I wasn't the only one who wanted a few moments of peace.
"My father might be the one behind all this mess you are in," I said, breaking the tension-filled silence. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?"
"Yeah, I figured your father and Alan could be behind the whole story. They want me back in the lab." He looked away from me. "Do you really think I killed someone?"
"No, I don't." I finally walked over to him until we were only inches apart. His gray-blue eyes met mine, and my breath got caught in my chest. Why was he so damn beautiful? And then he was kissing me, his lips crushing against mine, his arm around me, his hand in my hair... Nothing existed but us, and I thought I could stay like this forever. I pulled away, flushed and breathless. Adrian closed his eyes, licking his lips.
"You missed me," he said, and it wasn't a question.
"Maybe a little." Elements were back, stronger than usual. Wait, was it because I'd touched Adrian but not long enough? He really was weakening me.
"What's wrong?" He reached out for me again, but I stepped back and sat down on the bed. I wanted to ask him if he felt any different because he had spent some time away from me, but he'd been with my brother, so it wasn't like he could tell if his control was slipping too. Besides, he'd had much more practice in being on his own.
"Nothing." I sighed. "I just need to..." The room was spinning around me. I was flying, completely weightless, and I needed to get to the ground. Someone was in the hall, her element calling to me.
"Ria!" Adrian had his arms around me, panic evident in his voice. When had I gotten up? I was almost halfway to the door and I had no idea how that had happened.
"Shit." I let him lead me back to the bed. There was no way I was becoming so damn dependent on him.
"Are you ok?" I nearly laughed out loud when I looked up at Adrian's worried eyes. I'd never seen him this concerned over anything, but hey, I had never walked all the way to the door without thinking either.
"Just don't let go of me." And what if that only made it worse? Oh God. I couldn't go around holding onto Adrian's hand all the time. But what could I do? Walk outside and kill someone? Hmm...
"Ria, tell me what's wrong." Adrian sat down on the bed next to me, his arm around me, my head resting on his chest.
"I hate this! Your touch makes everything better, but at the same time it makes things worse. I managed to stay in control of the disease longer when I was away from you, and now you come and touch me... and everything falls apart."
"No. You're probably just tired. You pushed yourself too hard," he said confidently. "I know we weaken ourselves when we're together, but it can't be this fast or strong."
The temperature in the room dropped by several degrees. Ah, lovely. He was lying to me. Should I be happy that it had affected him enough to show through his element?
"You can't know that, can you?" I raised my head to look into his gray-blue eyes.
"We'll figure this out. I promise."
"Yeah. When?" I said bitterly. "When I can no longer live without you?"
"Ria..."
"What?" I pulled away from him, hoping I was strong enough not to get caught up in some deadly, disease-induced hallucination.
"Oliver found out where your father is hiding the secret files and plans about the Element Preservers Organization." Adrian watched me intently as he slowly pulled his arm away from me. Elements were back, but nothing I couldn't handle on my own.
"Huh. And he's going to that place, I suppose?" I rubbed my neck wearily.
"Yep, but only to check out the security. You might be the one who'll get to go there." He reached for the remote control that was lying discarded on the other side of the bed.
"Me? Really?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "How exactly am I supposed to get in?"
"You're your father's daughter, and thanks to that press conference, the whole world knows what you look like. I'm sure no one would think you'd do anything your father doesn't approve of." He focused on the remote, looking for the right button or something. I tried to snatch the thing out of his grip, but he moved out of reach.
"You probably want to hear if there's any news on TV about you, but I'm sure there's nothing." I sighed. "My father or whoever wants you alive, so they can't say anything. And I'm sure Alan told another story to the students to explain your absence."
"I'm not looking for that." He pressed some button and a soft music filled the room, making him frown. What the hell was he doing?
"Oh, and how are you so sure the people in that place wouldn't be suspicious of me? I might be my father's daughter, but that doesn't mean they'll let me do whatever I want."
"You can always try." There was a satisfied look on his face as some gothic metal song started to play, completely filling the room with the piercing sound of the guitars. Was this his technique to avoid conversation?
"I'm going to change into something more comfortable," I yelled, going for the closet. As I tried to find a T-shirt and pants, Adrian put his arms around my waist, pulling me against him.
"Maybe I can help you undress," he said into my ear, his warm lips brushing against my ear. Shivers of delight ran down my spine, reminding me just how much I enjoyed his touch. I grabbed the first shirt I could get my hands on, turning around to meet Adrian's gray-blue eyes.
"No," I said, "you can't."
"Ria..." Adrian started to say, but I just shook my head and went for the bathroom. Before I closed the door, I looked back at him. He was still standing where I'd left him, confusion written all over his face.
"You should probably leave," I said just before I locked the door behind me. Maybe some time on my own would help me decide what to do next, especially now that I knew for sure that being with Adrian only made me weak.
Chapter 07
I wasn't really surprised when I found Adrian still in my room after I'd gotten out of the shower. He was lying on my bed, his eyes closed. His suit jacket was draped over the chair, and the radio was off, which meant he had a serious plan to stay. Great.
"Adrian," I said softly, sitting down on the bed next to him, hoping my still wet hair would drip onto his face and wake him up. He didn't even stir. Ugh! "Adrian!"
Nothing. I observed for a moment the steady rise and fall of his chest and the darkness of his long eyelashes. His white shirt was unbuttoned a bit, making me wish I had his element so I could put something really cold onto his exposed skin.
"Adrian, I know you can hear me," I said, exasperated. "So open your eyes now or I'm going to go to the bathroom and get some water to spill all over you."
"You'd get your bed wet," he murmured, opening his eyes.
"I'm tired, Adrian."
"Then come to bed." He propped himself up on his elbows. I shook my head at him.
"Can't you find somewhere else to stay?" I hadn't really thought about whether he had where to sleep, but I was sure he and my brother could manage something. Besides, if Adrian's disguise was so awesome, he could easily get himself a room at any hotel he wanted. It wasn't like people would ask questions if he offered them enough money. Even if he couldn't use the money from his account, I was sure my brother had more than enough.
"Let me stay tonight, please." There was a catch in his voice, but I wasn't sure what that meant. He did look sincere, only with him it was hard to tell whether he had an ulterior motive or not. "Ria... Look, you need strength. Let me stay tonight and I promise you I'll never touch you again if you don't want me to."
I considered that for a moment, staring into his pleading eyes. What was he trying to achieve this ti
me? Nothing came to my mind. Ah, well. "Fine. But don't forget what you promised."
"It's a deal." He smiled, settling himself back on the pillows. "Get in the bed."
"I need to dry my hair first." I might have dried my hair with the towel enough not to drip around, but that didn't mean I wanted to get everything wet.
"I don't mind. You can just warm up the room. It will dry on its own."
That wasn't such a bad idea since I could probably warm up the air around my hair. "But the pillow would get wet and that's harder to dry than my hair."
"I'll be your pillow."
As I opened my mouth to protest, he took hold of my arm, pulling me forward. I fell down on his chest and rolled over so I could lie down next to him. He shivered slightly, probably because his shirt absorbed the wetness from my hair. I focused on my element, goose bumps rising on my skin as the temperature in the room started to go up really quickly.
"Ok, what's wrong?" I said after a few minutes of silence.
"Nothing." Adrian's whole body tensed.
"Nothing. Huh." I increased the temperature in the room even further. Being wrapped up in a cloud of warmth felt incredibly comforting. "Are you sure? Because I don't think you'd promise what you did just like that."
"Maybe I'm just sure I won't have to keep my promise." He chuckled.
"Oh, really? Is that so?" I looked up at him, grinning. "Maybe I'll just find another way to stay in control."
"Possible." He was smiling at me, but his eyes were deadly serious.
"You don't believe I can do it!" I frowned.
"Oh, you can do many things, Ria." He traced his finger down my shoulder. "But I don't really think you can..."
"What?" I glared at him. "How can you say that when you've been doing just fine on your own?"
"I had years of practice. You, on the other hand..." His hand slid down my arm. "You can't spend even a second without someone's help."
"I'll prove you wrong," I said determinedly. "And I'll wipe that cocky smile off your face."
"Oooh, is that a challenge?"
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