by Allie Burke
“Elias,” Jeanine looked over at him, sitting silently next to Jane. “Go into the refrigerator and get Jane some bottled water, please.”
He got up slowly, his movements reluctant. He looked back at Jane a few times, and went to the kitchen.
Jeanine knelt down in front of Jane, placed her hand on her leg. “Did you kill him?”
“No,” she muttered, without lifting her head.
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” she answered, still speaking through her knees. “I didn’t want Elias to see—” she finally sat up. “I don’t want him to think I’m a monster.”
“You are not a monster.”
“Look at me, Jeanine. One mention of Lewis’s name and I want to go outside and throw a tree at your neighbor’s car.”
“Go ahead. They egged my house.”
Jane tried to hold back, but she quickly exploded into laughter. Just then, Elias walked in with the water. Jane’s smile disappeared immediately. She watched his every step towards her, like a gunman, just waiting for him to make a wrong move against her. He handed her the bottle of water, and she drank it slowly, never taking her eyes off him.
“Elias, bring Jane into the back when she’s ready.” Jeanine got up, and left the lovebirds alone.
Jane crushed the empty water bottle in her hand. Elias was watching her, his eyes stiff and motionless. She opened her mouth, but then she closed it again. How would she apologize? My energy controls me. If I ever get too upset, I could kill you. Hardly.
“Unstable, right?” he said. “That’s what you said?”
“There’s no excuse,” she said.
“Yes there is. You have something inside you that’s sometimes more powerful than you. So don’t sit here and kick yourself for something you can’t always control.”
“Elias—”
“You’re still human, Jane.”
She wasn’t. As much as she looked like a human, liked to feel like a human, she could never be. “Am I?”
“Shut up.” He lifted her by her waist so she stood with him. He firmly grasped her hair in his fingers and kissed her hard. “Shut up,” he repeated. “I never want to hear that shit again. You know who you are. I know who you are.”
She bit her lip. “You’re too good to me.”
“You deserve it. Come on, Jeanine has something for you.”
Elias took a strong hold of her hand and walked her into the kitchen, down a hallway, and into a back room. Each room had a color, a theme. Jeanine’s kitchen was bright orange, decorated in a Tuscan style. There was a long table in the dining room, covered with an orange tablecloth and black table settings. The hallway was painted an earthy green, the walls exhibiting paintings of nature. They passed a blue bathroom, decorated like the ocean, with seashells and ships and flip flops. Jeanine’s home was put together beautifully, though no one would know it from the view of the outside.
They arrived in the last room. She gasped when they entered. The rest of the house she had seen, but never this space. The entire room was a mural, its beauty painted on every space of wall. It was all Elias and Liam, when they were babies, when they were boys, and then grown men. Lying in a crib, building a sandcastle, playing in the rain, having a beer. Every different event of their lives melted into the next one, all one portrait. It was breathtaking.
“It’s beautiful,” Jane said.
“Thank you,” Jeanine said, her stare as blank as the colorless canvas before her. “Every artist needs their space. I’m sure you can understand.”
Jane looked back at Elias, holding her from behind. “I’m no artist.”
He only smiled.
“Don’t be silly,” Jeanine said. “Of course you are.”
Jeanine got up and went to a closet. “Alright, it’s been sitting, waiting, so it may be a little dusty.” She opened the closet door, and removed a framed canvas. She turned it to Jane.
A world of emotions passed through Jane. Her hand shot to her mouth, tears streamed down her face. An old woman in a garden smiled up at her. She was surrounded with beautiful blooming flowers and full trees. She tended her garden, a sun hat on her head and gardening gloves covering her hands. The sun shone upon her body, casting a glow on her thick, dark hair that fanned around her in the breeze. Jane had forgotten how she had looked, how absolutely beautiful she was before her eyes turned black and her skin grew old. It was Annabelle.
Chapter 14
Elias let go of Jane, and stepped forward and hugged Jeanine. He leaned forward, and whispered into Jeanine’s ear.
“If you make her cry again I swear I will never speak to you for the rest of my life.”
She pushed him away, spoke to Jane. “Let’s go to dinner. Anywhere you want. Elias is buying.”
He couldn’t help but smile. Jeanine was so stubborn. She’d never admit she was wrong, even if she knew she was. He drove them to a steakhouse, Jane’s choice, and he paid for a ridiculously expensive dinner. He couldn’t complain as his two favorite girls in the world ate and drank and laughed. He was completely ignored, but if that’s what it took to keep Jane smiling tonight, he was compliant. They finished up, and they made their way back to Jeanine’s.
Movement against the windshield dropped his heart from his chest down to his stomach. He distracted himself, turning on the wipers, focusing on them as they swished back and forth. The radio was on, but it was too quiet to overpower the sound of it. He gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. He couldn’t breathe.
“Elias, pull over,” Jeanine said from the back seat.
“I’m fine,” he grumbled.
“I’m not talking about you,” she argued.
He looked over at Jane. Her eyes were wide open, her hand stretched in front of her, as if she could touch the drops through the windshield. Her distress was opposite his. He was trying to get away, she wanted to be—in it.
Elias pulled into a small parking lot, abandoned of any cars or people. As the car slowed down, Jane got out, leaving the passenger door open. He hadn’t even parked yet.
“Jane?” he quietly asked.
“Can you see her aura?” Jeanine asked. “When she’s in the water?”
“Yes,” he answered, peering at Jane as she walked away from the car.
“Watch,” Jeanine ordered.
He looked closer. Jane stood in the rain with her arms out, the headlights glowing over her skin. Her eyes were closed. He saw Jane’s aura, but it was different. Instead of one cloudy form, there were thousands of little purple sparkles near her. They exploded off her body and returned to her skin, like little indecisive jumping gnats. Elias was glad he was paying attention, because he never would have been able to understand what happened next if someone tried to explain it to him. Jane’s aura wasn’t purple anymore. The sparkles had changed colors, and were continuously changing back and forth, green and yellow and red and blue and still purple, all together in a scattered swarm of glitter, lighting up the entire sky. It was an out of body experience, like watching a new life go though its cycle, eventually reincarnating into a new vivid color of the rainbow. The depth of the colors, he had only ever imagined shades so vibrant, never thought he would have the chance to see them in person. He wished he had a paintbrush with him.
Elias got out of the car and went to her. She didn’t open her eyes. He touched her face, but she didn’t move. Oddly, she wasn’t freezing. Her temperature was close to his, if not hotter. He held her in his arms, and her eyes finally opened.
“Elias?” she whispered.
“I’m here, beautiful.”
She smiled, inhaled a breath of fresh air through her nose. She stretched on her tippy toes and kissed him. Elias felt alive. He was warm, not hot, but warm like the morning sun felt against his skin. A cool breeze gave him goose-bumps. Water whooshed through his veins. He smelled the wood of evergreens, trees and dirt and the aromas of a thousand luscious flowers. He couldn’t recognize what else, Jane was kissing him, her hands in his
hair, her legs wrapped tightly around his body. He held her perfect ass in his hands, her lips plump on his, her legs pulled him against her, oh, god, if he could just get her inside the car…
Jeanine. Shit. He squeezed Jane against him once more, and disentangled his lips from hers.
“Sorry,” she said, her mischievous grin not very apologetic at all. “Don’t let go. My legs are mushy.”
Elias carried her to the car and sat her in the passenger’s seat. Elias couldn’t get around the car to the driver’s side before she was asleep.
“Do you love her?” Jeanine asked Elias.
They were in Jeanine’s bedroom. Elias had brought them back to Jeanine’s house, and carried Jane, still asleep, to the couch. She still had not woken.
“Yes,” he confessed immediately.
Jeanine got up and went to her dresser where a wooden box with glass doors and little drawers stood. She opened it, removed an item, and held it out to him.
It was a very unique ring. It had a silver band, which held a single red ruby square jewel.
“I’ve never seen you wear this,” Elias said.
“It was your grandmother’s. I want you to have it, for Jane.”
Elias stared at the ring. “It has crossed my mind,” he said, to Jeanine or to himself, he wasn’t sure.
Mrs. Elias Linden. He couldn’t help but feel unreasonable, but it felt like he had known her so much longer than he actually had. He pocketed the ring, ignoring his man instinct that screamed Are you crazy?
Jeanine sat back down, rested her hand on Elias’s knee. “How are you feeling?”
Elias thoughts reeled back to Liam. “I haven’t had so many good days since he died.”
“You know what I think?” Jeanine said. “I think that she would love to hear about him.”
“Yeah,” Elias nodded in agreement, “I know.”
Jane woke in Jeanine’s living room, blinking in her surroundings. She didn’t get up from the couch, she just lied there with her eyes barely open, staring at the ceiling. Footsteps ascended on her. Jane’s eyes drooped as Elias entered.
“Oh, beautiful, I’m sorry. I wanted to be here when you woke up.”
Jane was surprised that her lips would move despite her exhaustion. “It’s okay. I haven’t been awake for very long.”
“You ready to go?”
Jane nodded.
“Can you walk?”
“Yeah, I think so, but I need a little help.”
Elias removed the quilted blanket from her body, and served as her leaning post as they walked out to the car. He drove them back to his house so he could pick up a few things, and then to Jasmyn. They went inside to the couch and sat together.
“Rain,” he said, asked, challenging her guardedness with his stare.
She glared at him. “Rain is the most unique form of nature. Everything is affected by it. It comes from the sky, where the sun shines. Rain is wet, it shifts with the wind, sinks into the earth. It brings all the elements together, as one.”
“Is that what you do? Combine them?”
“No. What you felt—you’re the only human—” Anger clouded his eyes and she chose her next words carefully. “The only non-Enchanter that can penetrate my aura. It was a transfer of energy, the elements of me, wired to you.”
“That’s how you feel? All the time?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. Jane resisted the urge to laugh. His body language said okay but his facial expression was almost childish, like wow, that is so awesome!
“So what about the lake?” he asked her.
“What about her?”
“Her,” he said. “So, she would have hurt me?”
Jane smiled. “No. Jasmyn just has a very dry sense of humor. Not everyone gets her.”
Elias chuckled. The water has a very dry sense of humor. Ha-ha.
Jane got up, and walked down the hallway.
“Where you goin’?” Elias asked casually.
“Jammies,” she called over her shoulder.
She took off her sundress, and threw it in the hamper. She went to her dresser and removed some flannel pants and a white tank top. When she turned around, Elias was standing directly in front of her. She breathed surprise, and the pajamas dropped to the floor.
Elias lifted his hand to her shoulder, and slowly glided her bra strap across her skin. It fell, dangling off her arm.
“It’s impossible that you could be so beautiful,” he whispered. “My eyes are burning.”
He held her cheek and he kissed her. His hand traveled down her neck and to her chest, his fingertips trailing even farther, between her breasts, down her stomach and between her legs. His hand was inside her panties and she couldn’t help but express a sound that was not familiar to her ears. Elias glided them down and off. His lips were still fastened to hers, so she felt around, found his belt, and unbuckled it. His pants came off, then his shirt. His hands went up her sides, and slid to her back. He unfastened her bra with ease, and she let it fall off. Elias took a step back, gazed at her naked body, but mere seconds had not passed before his arms were around her again. She removed his boxers. He kissed her, his lips warm and his tongue hot, cupping her breast in his strong hand. Jane tore her head back and sucked in a breath that was shocked at the arousal that she felt.
He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him. He took a step, and then she was up against the wall. He stared at her. Jane bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood. She had never been unsure about her sexuality before, but now, under Elias’s gaze, she was nervous. It was like he was peering deep inside of her, his stare revealing every detail of her heart to his eyes. What if she wasn’t as good as he believed her to be? Jane’s bloody lip trembled under her grip. She was a wreck.
Elias placed his thumb on her bottom lip, and set it free. “Jane, let go. Let go, even if it’s just for one night.”
She exhaled a breath, and Elias slid into her, his pace perfect as he made love to her. She moaned with every breath. Her breasts were pressed up against his chest, his hands were tight on her skin, and his complete manliness was stiff inside her. He kissed her neck, and the most extraordinary orgasm consumed her.
She looked up at Elias. He mildly gazed at her with soft blue eyes, ready to let her down, but she held onto him and kissed him. She slipped her eager tongue into his mouth, and maneuvered her hips forward, sinking him deeper into her. Not for the first time since she met Elias, she was greedy. She wanted more.
Elias released his lips, but kept them close. “Tell me,” he whispered.
Loud moans altered her unrecognizable words, her prayers answered as he plunged in and out of her deeper and quicker than before. There passionate sounds melted into one, and they finished together.
Elias set her down, and she led him to the bathroom. They showered together, their lips seemingly connected during the entire hygienic ritual. When they got out, Elias dried her hair—the natural way, with a towel—and began drying her neck and chest. When the soft cotton warmed her breasts, Elias pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and kissed her. Before she knew what was happening, the cold temperature of the porcelain sink was chilling her thighs as she begged him not to stop, and then she was face down on her bed with her hair entwined into Elias’s grasp. They ended up on the floor, Jane’s exhausted body collapsed on top of him, his hands fiercely gripping her sides. They needed another shower.
Chapter 15
Elias and Jane lied in Jane’s bed, after showering again.
“Are you sure this is okay?” he asked her, pointing at the sheets.
“Yeah. Just don’t leave me, okay?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” It wasn’t the first time he’d made this promise to her.
Jane snuggled up closer to Elias, rested her head on his shoulder.
“My brother was murdered,” he said. The dramatic rise of Jane’s chest was bright in the dark bedroom. “It was a client—the only case he ever lost. The
guy broke out of jail and came after him. I was at a show. When I came home—” like Jane’s, Elias’s chest rose with a massive breath.
She looked up at him, her distraught expression pleading with him to stop.
“No. You have opened your entire life for me to see, Jane. I haven’t been fair.”
“Elias—”
“I found him in the living room,” he muttered. “He was propped up against the couch. I couldn’t see his face, it was—” Elias shuddered as he saw Liam’s bloody, matted face in front of his eyes. He couldn’t finish the sentence, so he started a new one. “Liam Linden was shot with a twelve gauge shotgun. Point blank, by a man he defended.” His voice cracked, but he couldn’t stop the words from spilling. “This guy was a killer. Liam knew that. He never should have defended—”
The rest of his words were jumbled. Jane had covered his mouth with her hand. She kissed his cheek.
“Tell me about him,” she said.
“He was gay. My parents didn’t approve. They disowned him, and then me for picking him over them. The fucked up thing is, my mom’s a judge and my dad’s an Assistant D.A. Liam was the best criminal defense attorney in the state. He followed in their footsteps.” Elias paused. “It’s not like he went public with it, he kept it a secret. No one knew, but they shunned him anyway.”
“Were you two a lot alike?” Jane cleared her throat. “I mean, besides the, you know, gay part.”
Elias smiled. “No. He was—” he looked over at her, a quick wonder if she would believe him. Of course she would. She had seen weirder things. “He was telepathic.”
Jane sat up quickly, exhilarated. “Really?!”
“Yeah. That’s why he was such a great lawyer. He got into people’s heads. If they were lying, he knew.”
She smiled. “Where are your parents now?”
“Still in Washington. Probably trying to figure out how to cut me out of their lives forever.”
Her smile ran away from her face into the dark room. He regretted her sadness.